Jingle Bells

The History of 

We all grew up singing this "Christmas song", but do you know the true meaning behind the song and where it came from?  

The song Jingle Bells was written in 1857 by James S Pierpont and was originally titled "One Horse Open Sleigh".  

Jingle Bells was not written to be a Christmas song, but was actually written for a Thanksgiving program for a local Sunday School group.  James was inspired by the one-horse open-sleigh races that took place in his town around this time of year. 

The song "One Horse Open Sleigh" was not popular at first. Even though is was republished in 1859 as "Jingle Bells", it did not become popular until several years later. Sources say that the song became popular with the spread of the first phonograph records, which allowed people nation wide to hear the catchy song. 

The verse below is usually left out of the song, but it is the third verse of the original piece.  Some versions of the song do include it, but not many. 

Now the ground is white

Go it while you’re young,

Take the girls to night

And sing this sleighing song;

Just get a bob tailed bay

Two forty as his speed.

Hitch him to an open sleigh

And crack, you’ll take the lead.

References

http://1019litefm.cbslocal.com/2011/12/21/the-story-behind-jingle-bells/

http://www.americanmusicpreservation.com/jinglebellssong.htm

Tornado

Tornado

With our recent severe weather, I decided to look into tornadoes and what exactly causes them.  I know that cold front mixing with a warm front cause severe weather, but why?  While researching on google, all sites confirmed that in order to have a tornado, you must have instability (warm and cold temperature) and high wind in the lower atmosphere. There are many instances where a tornado can form, so we must stay alert and listen to the warnings that the weather channel gives out.

Tornadoes can cause a lot of damage to houses, buildings, cars, trees, power lines, and pretty much anything that gets in their way!  Severe weather can bring tornadoes, but also heavy rain, high winds, hail, and lightning.  These can all cause major damage!

There are different types, or levels of a tornado based on how fast the wind was blowing and the amount of damaged caused.  This is measured on the Fujita-Pearson Scale.  Tornadoes can be rated from an F1-F6, with F6 being the worst.  A tornado's intensity cannot be told by the size of it, but by the strength.  Small tornadoes can cause a lot of damage, while sometimes bigger tornadoes aren't as strong.  

Holiday Traditions

Holiday Traditions

Each family has their own unique way of celebrating the holidays.  Religion can play a big part of how some of these holidays are shaped, but each family adds their own special touch to it.

Thanksgiving is a holiday, in which we celebrate the people, events, and things that are special to us.  In my family, my mom wakes up very early (with some help from my sisters) and cooks all kinds of food.  Turkey, stuffing, pies, salad, several kinds of potatoes and more! Our family usually spends the day at my parents house and our grandparents usually come over too.  We have a pretty quiet day of eating, playing board games, watching football and resting.  It's fun, but low key.

Black Friday is pure madness and I refuse to leave my house on this day.  My mom used to always go when my sisters and I were little to get good sales on the toys that we really wanted.  Now, my mom just goes out for fun to see what kind of deals she can get and to laugh at the people who take it way too seriously.  My mom convinced me to go with her when I was around 12 years old...NEVER AGAIN.  I hate crowds and rude people.  I stay in my house and get the same good deals online! 

Christmas Eve day is pretty calm around my house.  We do any last minute present wrapping and just have a relaxing day while my sister Gabriella stalks Santa on the "Where's Santa" app on my phone.   On Christmas Eve, my family goes to church together and then we usually eat dinner at Japanese Steakhouse.  When we get home, my two sisters (11 years old) get to unwrap one present.  It's usually a movie, which we hope will put them to sleep to Santa can come. Yes, we are lucky enough that one of them still believes in Santa. :)  

On Christmas morning, my 21 year old sister instigates and wakes up my two 11 year old sisters very early in the morning! We pull ourselves out of bed and open presents.  After this we usually eat breakfast (some go back to bed for a little bit) and then we relax the rest of the day and enjoy family.

My husband and I are quite boring on New Year's Eve.  We like to spend it when my 11 year old sisters.  We play games, build gingerbread houses, do fire works, and eat.  They love it and feel so cool when they drink their sparkling grape juice of their "fancy cups" as they call them.  We like to hang out with them and talk about all of the great things they achieved in the past year and find out what their goals for the future are.  

Lupus

What is lupus?
Lupus is an auto immune disease that can damage any part of the body.  Basically, your body attacks itself because your immune system can no longer tell the difference between foreign invaders (bacteria, virus) and healthy tissues.  Lupus is different for anyone and can attack any part of your body including organs, muscles, and joints.

What are the common symptoms of Lupus?

• Extreme Fatigue
• Headaches
• Painful, or swollen joints
• Fever
• Anemia
• Swelling
• Pain in chest
• Butterfly shaped rash on face
• Sun, or light sensitivity 
• Hair loss
• Abnormal blood clotting
• Fingers turning white, or blue
• Mouth, or nose ulcers

http://www.lupus.org/answers/entry/explaining-lupus

I was diagnosed with lupus 3.5 years ago, although the doctors seem to think it started about 5, or more years before the actual diagnosis. My Lupus flares up severely when the weather changes quickly.  It's a very frustrating disease because there is really nothing the doctors can do except try to keep you "comfortable" and handle new symptoms as they appear.  The most frustrating part of all of it is the fact that I don't "look" sick, even though I am in unbearable pain everyday.  People have no idea how much it takes for me to do "normal" things such as balance school, work, and everything else that I do.  Friends don't always understand why I don't want to go out and would rather stay home and relax.  It's not that I don't want to, it's that I'm exhausted and don't want to feel worse than I already do.

The Lupus is attacking my joints and muscles, so I am on strong anti imflamatories to help with the joint swelling and I still swell. I have pleurisy about 80% of the year, which is the swelling of the tissues that line your lungs and chest wall.  It's causes severe pain when I breathe. It has also given me severe fatigue.  I never have any energy and am constantly exhausted.  I sleep about 12 hours every night and I still force myself out of bed and feel tired.  The only hope for energy I have is steroids and I currently cannot take them due to a digestive issue I am having.  I have to have an endoscopy in a few weeks, which the doctors are assuming will show stomach ulcers and swelling in my esophagus, which makes it painful to eat. I also have horrible blood circulation, which causes my fingers and feet to always be funny colored and numb, even if I'm hot.  It's very painful and annoying. With Lupus, it's always a never ending battle.  I get one issue taken care of and my body decides to go after something else. My doctors have told me that the cartilage in my knees and hips are gone and that at this point, it's bone rubbing bone.  They predict that I will need both knees and hips replaced by the time I'm 30 years old.  

I think Lupus is very misunderstood disease. 

Halloween

October 31, is a fun filled day for most! Children get dressed up in their favorite costume and going trick or treating through the night! Many people decorate and carve pumpkins.  Some throw Halloween parties, or go to Haunted houses.  Superstition is in their air and people are jumpy and vulnerable. But why? Where did all of this come from?

According to history.com, the tradition of trick or treating probably dates back to the All Soul's Day Parade in England. During the parade poor citizens would beg for food and the church encouraged people to hand out "soul cakes", as a way to replace the tradition of leaving food and wine for roaming spirits.  This was called "going a souling" and was soon taken up by children going through their neighborhoods asking for food and money. 

According to history.com, the tradition of wearing costumes share Celtic and European roots. Winter was a scary time for people long ago and they believed that on Halloween, ghosts would roam the world and if they left their homes, they would encounter these ghosts. In order to avoid being recognized by the ghosts, people would wear masks when they left their homes because they believed that the ghosts would mistake them for spirits. On Halloween, people would place bowls of food by their front door in order to keep the ghosts from entering. 

Halloween is a fun tradition.  Even though (most) people no longer fear ghosts and evil spirits, there is still s sort of magic, or creepy feeling in the air.  It's a time to celebrate the fears of the past and to have fun with the haunted houses, decorating, and dressing up.  

Gatlinburg, Tennessee

Gatlinburg, Tennessee

Every year, my family and I visit Gatlinburg, Tennessee for fall break.  It's always beautiful this time of year because all of the leaves on the trees are changing colors.  We usually have warm weather, which is perfect for walking around, shopping, and doing other outdoor activities. We will be visiting this area the week of October 21st this year.  

We usually stay at the Wyndham Resort in Sevierville, which is about 5 minutes from Pigeon Forge and about 15 minutes from Gatlinburg.  This hotel has a huge indoor water park with big water slides, a kid area, and a wave pool. There are also a couple outdoor pools and hot tubs.  I have two 11 year old sisters and they love this hotel because of the water park.  There are also golf courses on the property, which my dad and husband appreciate.  

The streets of Gatlinburg are lines with different shops.  I love the candy/fudge and popcorn shops! They are always taste so yummy! They also have antique stores, tourist stores, candle stores, toy stores, and just about anything else you can think of.  There are also a lot of restaurants and bakeries.  There are many different attractions in this area that could keep you busy for weeks.

There are many different shows, museums and attractions that you can visit.  One of my favorites is the Wonder Works Upside House.  There are a lot of different things to do inside of this attraction.  It's child friendly, but also fun for adults.  They have tornado simulators, rock climbing, an arcade, a bed of nails that you can lay on and many other types of attractions.  This is an all day type attraction. 

Gatlinburg is beautiful, especially in the fall.  There are several different camp grounds, hiking trails, and horse riding trails through the mountains.  There are natural water falls and the scenery is amazing.  This is one of my favorite places to visit in the fall.

Performing Arts-A Positive Experience for Kids

Lately the media is loving all of the negative shows and attitudes that are being brought to sports and performing arts.  Shows such as Dance Moms and  Cheer Nation are making these activities look horrible. They show parents and instructors screaming at the kids, drama between parents and kids, children who are half naked, and children being pushed too far physically and emotionally.  

I own a performing arts academy and cannot tell you how many times I've been asked if my academy is like Dance Moms.  My response is always absolutely not. We promote a safe and fun environment, while positively challenging the students to reach new goals.  We do not tolerate drama and if would arise, the  family would be asked to leave.  I hold my dance families to high standards and am very proud of the business I have created. 

My academy does have a competition team and my students have won awards regionally and nationally and we take pride in the fact that our students are happy, healthy, and can still win.  We don't yell and scream at them, but motivate them in positive ways.  Our competition team is one big family and you do have disagreements in families, but in the end, we always come together and get through it.  Our dance parents do a great job at encouraging their own children, as well other the rest of the kids. It's a great atmosphere. 

In the end, it's about more than just teaching them dance steps.  It's about teaching them responsibility, commitment, dedication, hard work, building self confidence, and making lifelong friends.  I am lucky to have such hard working, passionate dancers.  I know these kids will go far in life in anything they choose to pursue.