Karlana’s Blog - My Life

With all that happens in our lives, we tend to overlook the many different things that makes our world go around.  And no, I am not speaking of money, stock trading, or the eye-popping price of a barrel or crude oil.

I am speaking of nature, the world around us that many of us take for granted.

Many of us do not think of how our daily lives could affect the natural world around us.  Once upon a LONG time ago, it was drilled in our heads that the rain forests were being cut down to make paper.  Well, as our population stretches into different realms of the earth, we are also butting into other worlds that Mother Nature has intended for animals.

Animals like the American bald eagle, peregrine falcon, gray wolf, grizzly bear, humpback whale and so many others.  With this being the third year dedicated to raising awareness about endangered species and how to help protect them, Las Vegas has its own habitat full of endangered species!

If you are from Las Vegas NV and have never been, then you are missing out.  It is the coolest thing to walk through the reef tunnel and visit the small pools.  All the different predators of the sea in their natural habitat are so cool to watch up close.  Sharks of all different types, sawfish, different rays, green sea turtles, moon jellies, and so many more different sea life live in these habitats right on the Strip. 

If you are visiting Las Vegas NV, this is the one place where you get your money’s worth!  They are not priced to bad and it is very educational for the kids.  My kids have always loved visiting there, and we have gone a total of four times!

Even though I am posting this as most have already closed out their day and are settling in for the night, you can always visit the Endangered Species Coalition website and visit their Endangered Species Day webpage and see what will be coming up in the next year, or even what other events are coming up in the next few days.  Some cities are planning events over a couple of weeks! 

If you are looking for more information on endangered species and how you can help, visit National Wildlife Federation!  They have great information on their website, including how to subscribe to some of the fun magazines for kids and educational resources for the classroom!

Credits :: YouTube video: ESCoalition; Reef Tunnel: Mandalay Bay Resort; Endangered Species Coalition; National Wildlife Federation

As many women had already known, there was a female-version of Digg, but it was a whole lot better - Sk*rt!

Now Sk*rt is tipping its own skirt and doing a Kirtsy!

The site is still the same, but a bit more “grown up,” if you will.  They had evolved and became the necessity among social bookmarking among women globally! 

Women, I tell you - if you haven’t visited Kirtsy, or the former Sk-rt, then you have missed out on putting all your neat little bookmarks among the other neat little bookmarks other women have been bookmarking. 

I personally love Kirtsy because all of the stories, bookmarks, and sites pertain to topics I pay attention to.  Most social bookmarking sites are for the general public and you have to search through a LOT of different topics to look for what you want specifically.  Sometimes you get lucky and find other interesting things along the way, but for me - more often I didn’t.

With Kirtsy, the topics pertain things I like in my girlie world.  Sure, there are news bytes!  Sure, there are global news stories being posted.  But when it comes down to it, I am the type of gal that would much rather catch up on topics that are geared towards me as a woman. 

Kirtsy and their awesome users place most of their bytes into topics like arts and entertainment, designs and crafts, family and parenting, fashion and style, food and home, and so much more. 

Users can vote for what they like, discuss it, share it, or “lose it” - a polite way of saying that perhaps it needs to go. 

So, ladies, if you haven’t Kirtsy‘ed today, then perhaps you try it!  Trust me, once you start, you will get addicted as I have!

This museum is full of great history, culture, and interesting artifacts that would be one fun stop on a road trip.  Lutcher Stark started his collection back in the late 1920s and early 1930s, starting with American Indian objects from New Mexico.  Since then, Stark and his wife have added to the collection as much as they can.

If you are not looking for a road trip stop, but perhaps an education trip for your students (See, I keep my eyes out for my fellow educators!), they offer programs and interactive tours for students.  They also have many teacher resources that can be accessed online.  There is also a resource library on site to research the history of the different artifacts that can be found within this museum.

The Stark Museum of Art presents different collections of Western Art, American Indian Art, Decorative Art, and rare books and manuscripts. 

The Western Art section holds many pieces from the 19th and 20th centuries and include artists such as Paul Kane, Gerard Curtis Delano, and Joseph Henry Sharp, to name a few. The American Indian collection includes different objects from tribes of the Great Plains, Southwest, Eastern Woodlands, and Northwest Coast.  Some of these artifacts include clothing, body ornaments and beadwork.  Some tribes also prided themselves on their basket-weaving and pottery, which are also on display, along with Navajo rugs and blankets.

The current exhibition that is running is the “Celebrate Shangri La” series.  According to the museum’s website: “In honor of the opening of Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center in Orange, Texas, this special exhibition features artistic representations of flora and fauna found in Shangri La. Works of art by artists such as John James Audubon and Dorothy Doughty vividly portray plants, birds and animals.”

To find out more about the Stark Museum of Art, visit them at http://www.starkmuseum.org/!

It has been so busy around here.  I have picked up work for everyday this week but Friday, but I am thinking that might change by 630am Friday morning.  Rosann at a particular middle school always calls me, says I am on the top of her list, and I really hate it when I have to turn her down when I am at another school.  I love subbing at her school, the kids are awesome!

As a matter of fact, I need to thank her BIG time for picking up work for me today!  My one job I had lined up for today had to cancel because her training had been canceled.  I still get to sub for her tomorrow, but thank goodness Rosann called me this morning so I could pick up the day again at her school.

If I could pick up Friday, I will have a whole week’s pay.  We could sure use it!  I know I save money by not paying out to daycare, but at least we’d have extra money and I’d get more time in the classroom.

Tomorrow I am going to another school I frequent often, and I enjoy being there also.  The kids are also awesome and work well when I come in to sub.

I haven’t got all my grades back yet, and I don’t remember if I shared I received a C in math.  Honestly, I didn’t even expect that, so I was ecstatic!  Scott, however, thought it was very odd that I breathed a sigh of relief over a C.  In his own words, “You never settle for less than a B!” 

Well, when you detest a subject as much as I do with math, I settled for the C!  I honestly thought I was going to get a D!

I think I might get that for my Spanish final, but that is okay.  I only have to transfer over the fourth semester, and that won’t hurt my GPA too much.

Alright, I need to put a little boy down for the night and hit the pillow myself.  TTYL and have a great night!