On Tuesday Mum decided to take the challenge to read 100+ books in 2009. I have also decided to take this challenge!
Here is where you can look into it also if you wish (a note: there may be some objectionable pictures on the sidebar).
I have started a new blog to record all the books I read in 2009...
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
5 Things the Marshmallow Test can Teach You about Money Management
This is a post done by Millionaire Mommy Next Door , which I found rather challenging....I am afraid I am the take-the-marshmallow-immediately type. I thought maybe you would find this post interesting anyway.
5 Things The Marshmallow Test Can Teach You About Money Management
Tina is an intellectually-gifted bartender who struggles to pay her bills. Tina serves martinis to Susan. Susan is no more intelligent than Tina, but Susan is a millionaire. If not intelligence, then what explains the difference between wealth and financial lack? And what do sticky, gooey marshmallows have to do with it?
In the 1960s, Stanford University psychology researcher Walter Mischel conducted a longitudinal study. Mischel placed marshmallows in front of hungry four-year-old children. He told them they could have one marshmallow now, or if they could wait several minutes, they could have two. Some children quickly grabbed the marshmallow and ate it. Others waited.
Mischel followed the group and found that 14 years later, the children who eagerly devoured the first marshmallow weren’t faring as well as the children who had waited for two marshmallows. Years later, the “grabbers” suffered low self-esteem. Teachers and parents viewed these kids as stubborn, prone to envy and easily frustrated. The “wait-for-two-fers” possessed better coping skills; were more socially competent, optimistic, self-assertive, dependable and trustworthy; and scored about 210 points higher on their SATs.
Perhaps the key difference between between financial lack and wealth is not merely hard work or superior intelligence, but the ability to delay gratification.
What can the Marshmallow Test teach you about personal finance?
1. Avoid looking at marshmallows when you’re hungry
During the Marshmallow Test, some successful kids reportedly covered their eyes so they couldn’t see the tempting treat. My take away tip: Avoid temptation– stay away from the mall when you’re bored.
2. Save a marshmallow today and you’ll eat well tomorrow
The children who waited for the second marshmallow were rewarded with a 100% return on their first marshmallow. My take away tip: Unleash the power of compounding and you’ll be wealthy when you retire.
3. Drooling over s’mores? Wipe your chin and wait for the hot goo to cool– because you don’t want to burn your mouth!
One child reportedly licked the table around the marshmallow while waiting for the experimenter to return. My take away tip: Imagine having what you want, but wait until the time is right to consume. If you shop, wait until you have cash in hand to buy– don’t get burned by finance charges and credit card debt!
4. Stick your marshmallow into the fire, keep your eye on it and remove when perfectly browned– before it bursts into flames.
Some successful children watched their marshmallow to prevent others from snatching it, waited patiently until the researcher returned with the expected second marshmallow, then enjoyed their reward– without begging greedily for more. My take away tip: Invest in the market, monitor your investment and sell your shares when they reach your target price– before the bubble pops.
5. Give your children mini-marshmallows and teach them how to make rice crispy bars.
Some kids handled the wait by turning their back to the marshmallow, singing songs or talking to themselves. My take away tip: With practice, kids can learn how to delay gratification. Provide opportunities for your child to develop strategies. Give your children an allowance and teach them money management skills.
5 Things The Marshmallow Test Can Teach You About Money Management
Tina is an intellectually-gifted bartender who struggles to pay her bills. Tina serves martinis to Susan. Susan is no more intelligent than Tina, but Susan is a millionaire. If not intelligence, then what explains the difference between wealth and financial lack? And what do sticky, gooey marshmallows have to do with it?
In the 1960s, Stanford University psychology researcher Walter Mischel conducted a longitudinal study. Mischel placed marshmallows in front of hungry four-year-old children. He told them they could have one marshmallow now, or if they could wait several minutes, they could have two. Some children quickly grabbed the marshmallow and ate it. Others waited.
Mischel followed the group and found that 14 years later, the children who eagerly devoured the first marshmallow weren’t faring as well as the children who had waited for two marshmallows. Years later, the “grabbers” suffered low self-esteem. Teachers and parents viewed these kids as stubborn, prone to envy and easily frustrated. The “wait-for-two-fers” possessed better coping skills; were more socially competent, optimistic, self-assertive, dependable and trustworthy; and scored about 210 points higher on their SATs.
Perhaps the key difference between between financial lack and wealth is not merely hard work or superior intelligence, but the ability to delay gratification.
What can the Marshmallow Test teach you about personal finance?
1. Avoid looking at marshmallows when you’re hungry
During the Marshmallow Test, some successful kids reportedly covered their eyes so they couldn’t see the tempting treat. My take away tip: Avoid temptation– stay away from the mall when you’re bored.
2. Save a marshmallow today and you’ll eat well tomorrow
The children who waited for the second marshmallow were rewarded with a 100% return on their first marshmallow. My take away tip: Unleash the power of compounding and you’ll be wealthy when you retire.
3. Drooling over s’mores? Wipe your chin and wait for the hot goo to cool– because you don’t want to burn your mouth!
One child reportedly licked the table around the marshmallow while waiting for the experimenter to return. My take away tip: Imagine having what you want, but wait until the time is right to consume. If you shop, wait until you have cash in hand to buy– don’t get burned by finance charges and credit card debt!
4. Stick your marshmallow into the fire, keep your eye on it and remove when perfectly browned– before it bursts into flames.
Some successful children watched their marshmallow to prevent others from snatching it, waited patiently until the researcher returned with the expected second marshmallow, then enjoyed their reward– without begging greedily for more. My take away tip: Invest in the market, monitor your investment and sell your shares when they reach your target price– before the bubble pops.
5. Give your children mini-marshmallows and teach them how to make rice crispy bars.
Some kids handled the wait by turning their back to the marshmallow, singing songs or talking to themselves. My take away tip: With practice, kids can learn how to delay gratification. Provide opportunities for your child to develop strategies. Give your children an allowance and teach them money management skills.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Mansfield Park
Rebekah and Rachael received for Christmas the 1983 version of "Mansfield Park". We spent Saturday and Sunday watching it, and it proved to be a lovely 5 1/2 hours worth of movie. I highly recommend it to you. We watched it as a family, there was nothing objectionable or boring about it. We even had the youngest children begging to have it put on everytime we paused it!
This is a quote taken from this website, which gives an overview of the plot:
Fanny comes to live with relatives because her mother is overburdened with children and poverty. A selfish Aunt Norris who tries to keep Fanny humble and beholding to rich relatives although Aunt Norris can only criticize. Lord and Lady Bertram come to realize the superiority of Fanny and value her a a family member. Edmund has yet to realize that he loves Fanny. Edmund is blinded by false perceptions and allusion's of love with Miss Crawford. Fanny is pursued by Henry Crawford a man who has no scruples about pursuing her married cousin or any woman he thinks he can make fall in love with him as a lark. Henry meets his match in Fanny because she does not find Henry to be irresistible or sincere. Fanny persevere and wins the love of Edmund and the respect of Mansfield Park's residence.
Monday, December 15, 2008
My husbandry and I: Queen counsels thrift
For me spending money equals happiness. However, I always appreciate the principles behind thriftiness: especially being a good steward of the material things God has endowed me with.
Also I am an avid admirer of the Queen...so when I found this news story I jumped at the chance to post it here on this blog.
The Queen has invited Britain's royal family to follow her example and tighten the purse strings during the financial downturn.
The 82-year-old monarch has warned her grandsons Princes William, 26, and Harry, 24 third and fourth in line to the throne that all ostentatious signs of living it up would be inappropriate, according to newspapers.
British subjects are apparently in no mood to see the young royals partying in exclusive London nightclubs while the kingdom sinks into recession, the cost of living rockets and jobs are lost.An author of several books on the monarchy, Nicholas Davies, says, ''Whatever is the mood of the nation, she [Queen Elizabeth] tries to go along with that mood.''
According to the 2008 Rich List published by The Sunday Times, the sovereign has a personal fortune of 320 million ($A725 million) but she is not a spendthrift. ''She's not a flamboyant character and never has been,'' Davies says. ''She is not someone who has gone and spoiled her children, because she doesn't believe in spoiling them. She would expect them all [the other royals] to follow her example this Christmas.
''Children or grandchildren, they will all behave in the same way. It is unlikely that this coming season we will see William and Harry going out to nightclubs, getting blind drunk and fooling around with attractive girls.''
Adapting to the credit crunch should not be difficult for the Queen, who has long since garnered a reputation for looking after the pennies.
She insists that the Buckingham Palace lights are turned off when rooms are vacated and that banquet leftovers be reused.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Ye Olde Booke #2
It has just occurred to me that I recommended books that parents will likely want to censor for their children, and perhaps even for themselves.
"The Great Escape" has a lot of blasphemy in it, and some disturbing material at the end (details of some German's techniques in doing away with people...not nice).
Most of those WWII books will have blasphemy, so maybe just a black permanent marker will be suffiecient.
So far "The Wooden Horse" is the cleanest, along side of "The Dam Busters". But for the others, they are SO worth it, once the necessary steps have been taken to rid them of filth.
"The Great Escape" has a lot of blasphemy in it, and some disturbing material at the end (details of some German's techniques in doing away with people...not nice).
Most of those WWII books will have blasphemy, so maybe just a black permanent marker will be suffiecient.
So far "The Wooden Horse" is the cleanest, along side of "The Dam Busters". But for the others, they are SO worth it, once the necessary steps have been taken to rid them of filth.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Do Hard Things
The next generation stands on the brink of a "rebelution."
With over 16 million hits to their website TheRebelution.com, Alex and Brett Harris are leading the charge in a growing movement of Christian young people who are rebelling against the low expectations of their culture by choosing to "do hard things" for the glory of God.
Written when they were 18 years old, Do Hard Things is the Harris twins' revolutionary message in its purest and most compelling form, giving readers a tangible glimpse of what is possible for teens who actively resist cultural lies that limit their potential.
Combating the idea of adolescence as a vacation from responsibility, the authors weave together biblical insights, history, and modern examples to redefine the teen years as the launching pad of life and map a clear trajectory for long-term fulfillment and eternal impact.
Written by teens for teens, Do Hard Things is packed with humorous personal anecdotes, practical examples, and stories of real-life rebelutionaries in action. This rallying cry from the heart of revolution already in progress challenges the next generation to lay claim to a brighter future, starting today.
The Rebelution
The official definition of the 'rebelution' is "a teenage rebellion against low expectations." When you look around today, our culture does not expect much of us young people. We are not only expected to do very little that is wise or good, but we're expected to do the opposite. Our media-saturated youth culture is constantly reinforcing lower and lower standards and expectations.
The word 'rebelution' is a combination of the words "rebellion" and "revolution." So it carries a sense of an uprising against social norms. But in this case, it's not a rebellion against God-established authority, but against the low expectations of our society. It's a refusal to be defined by our ungodly, rebellious, and apathetic culture. Actually, we like to think of it as rebelling against rebellion.
And it's exciting, because the Rebelution has become a type of counter-cultural youth movement among young people from around the world, who are not only rejecting the lies of popular youth culture, but they're returning to biblical and historical levels of character and competence.
In 1 Timothy 4:12, the Apostle Paul tells Timothy, "Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity." In other words, as young people we are called to be exemplary in all areas of life. Our generation is falling incredibly short of that calling. Instead of serving as the launching pad of life, the teen years are seen as a vacation from responsibility. We call it the "myth of adolescence." And the Rebelution is all about busting that myth.
Our battle cry is just three words, but it's an explosive concept: Do Hard Things. That's it. And "do hard things" is a mentality. It's a mentality that flies right in the face of low expectations. The world says, "You're young, have fun!" It tells us to "obey your thirst" and "just do it." Or it tells us, "You're great! You don't need to exert yourself." But those kinds of mindsets sabotage character and competence.
Do Hard Things is just the opposite. It's how we build character and competence. It won't drop to meet the low expectations, it won't just do what comes easily, and it won't become complacent. It applies no matter who you are or what level you're on, because there's always something harder to do, something that will take you outside your comfort zone and cause you to grow.
The Rebelution is made up of three fundamental parts. We've talked about character and competence. The third is collaboration. It's not enough for us to be individual exceptions. We have to create a counterculture. We do that is by networking and encouraging one another in our common cause. That's what the Rebelution has become. When you have a community of young people committed to doing hard things for the glory of God and the good of others, that's an incredibly powerful thing.
The word 'rebelution' is a combination of the words "rebellion" and "revolution." So it carries a sense of an uprising against social norms. But in this case, it's not a rebellion against God-established authority, but against the low expectations of our society. It's a refusal to be defined by our ungodly, rebellious, and apathetic culture. Actually, we like to think of it as rebelling against rebellion.
And it's exciting, because the Rebelution has become a type of counter-cultural youth movement among young people from around the world, who are not only rejecting the lies of popular youth culture, but they're returning to biblical and historical levels of character and competence.
In 1 Timothy 4:12, the Apostle Paul tells Timothy, "Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity." In other words, as young people we are called to be exemplary in all areas of life. Our generation is falling incredibly short of that calling. Instead of serving as the launching pad of life, the teen years are seen as a vacation from responsibility. We call it the "myth of adolescence." And the Rebelution is all about busting that myth.
Our battle cry is just three words, but it's an explosive concept: Do Hard Things. That's it. And "do hard things" is a mentality. It's a mentality that flies right in the face of low expectations. The world says, "You're young, have fun!" It tells us to "obey your thirst" and "just do it." Or it tells us, "You're great! You don't need to exert yourself." But those kinds of mindsets sabotage character and competence.
Do Hard Things is just the opposite. It's how we build character and competence. It won't drop to meet the low expectations, it won't just do what comes easily, and it won't become complacent. It applies no matter who you are or what level you're on, because there's always something harder to do, something that will take you outside your comfort zone and cause you to grow.
The Rebelution is made up of three fundamental parts. We've talked about character and competence. The third is collaboration. It's not enough for us to be individual exceptions. We have to create a counterculture. We do that is by networking and encouraging one another in our common cause. That's what the Rebelution has become. When you have a community of young people committed to doing hard things for the glory of God and the good of others, that's an incredibly powerful thing.
Taken from: The Rebelution website, www.therebelution.com
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Ye Olde Booke
Today I traveled all the way down to Bungendore to pick up a parcel and do a few odd errands. One of the errands was to hire out the new movie "Journey to the Centre of the Earth", but as our video store doesn't open until 3:00pm (and closes at 7:00 pm), Jamie, who had come down with me, and I decided to walk into the second-hand bookstore.
It has an amazing pile of books, barely any order at all. Any other time I have walked into there I have come out empty handed, as they either do not have anything I might want, or if they do, it is an old, broken down edition with a very pricey tag.
This time, however, I found a whole section of truly glorious books! I squeezed past "bookshelves" and tiny openings, into a back section dedicated to real literature. I found Elizabeth Gaskell, Anthony Trollope and other great authors...and then I came across the WWII section...
I found heaps of books by my favourite WWII author, Paul Brickhill. I have read "The Great Escape", "The Dam Busters" and "Reach for the Sky" already. But Jamie found for me "Escape -or Die"......then I found something that I have been wanting for a while, "The Wooden Horse" by Eric Williams M.C. So Naturally I bought them both, but as hard as I and the bookstore owner looked we couldn't find my favourite war novel of all time, "HMS Ulysses" by Alistair MacLean. I just have to keep an eye out for that one.
"Escape or Die" is a collection of "eight stories: stories of escape in the desert, escape through Poland and Russia...escape by canal boat, and perhaps the most horrifying and amazing escape of a war that was richer in escape stories than any war ever fought--the escape of Squadron Leader McCormac from Malaya to Australia by way of Java."
("Escape or Die" introduction)
"It is well known that when a member of the armed forces is captured by an enemy in time of war, it is his duty, by all possible and reasonable means, to escape."
("Escape or Die" introduction)
"The Wooden Horse" takes its genius from the Trojan Horse myth. The POWs involved in this operation thought through their plan carefully. They built (out of wooden planks shoring the underside of the camp huts) a wooden 'horse'. It was hollow, with enough room for one man. The man whose lot it fell to would climb into the 'horse' and the others would push it over to a certain spot by the barbed-wire fence. Then he would dig through the opening underneath the 'horse'. There were two shifts per day, a morning and an evening. Over time, they dug a tunnel all the way into the woods on the other side of the fence, covering up the hole after every shift. The Germans never suspected what they were doing, not until the escape was made. The escapees traveled through Germany, Switzerland, eventually up through France and eventually back home to England. 
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
I have found the sixth person to tag!
The sixth person I am tagging for the "6x3 meme" is Sarah at Middlepaw.
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