Earlham CollegeThe First Stop on Jeremy's Spring College Tour

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Earlham College is 660 miles from just outside the Holland Tunnel, on the Jersey side, where we gassed up on our way out west. Although the trip took nearly one whole day (11 hours) of driving and two tanks of gas, the school is definitely worth the trip!

Earlham is a small college in Richmond, Indiana, minutes from Dayton, Ohio. The school was founded by Quakers in 1847, and, like Guilford, has a philosophy strongly rooted in Quaker beliefs and values. The school sits on 800 acres, some wooded, and is made up of Georgian style red brick buildings. The overall architectural theme is one of simplicity, and although the campus is not the most beautiful we have seen, it has an extremely pleasing look and is peppered with lots of old, tall trees, many smaller, colorful flowering trees and lush green lawns in between. The buildings are clustered around a quad affectionately called “The Heart,” making the walk from one to the next relatively short.


A prospective student visiting Earlham is given a schedule created by the admissions office. Celeste just signed up for a tour, but Jeremy attended a class at 9am, (computer science-artificial intelligence,) went on a tour at 10am, and was interviewed at 11.




At 12 there was a lunch tour and all of the visitors and their parents who were visiting that day walked to the dining hall and we all ate together at two big tables! It was so welcoming and, well, fun! We made many new friends and chatted with people visiting Earlham form all over. Celeste and I actually toured twice, once with Emma and once again with Mallory. Interestingly, there is no info-session. It is up to us to speak to people and gather facts and information about the school ourselves. So we chatted with almost everyone we met. It makes for a warm and very personable experience.






What makes Earlham so special, in my opinion, is that it is a little oasis in the middle of no-where. It’s a beautiful college in the middle of a lesser known little town in an area of the state that is open and flat, and lacks the beauty of mountains or rolling hills. And, Earlham is full of friendly, sophisticated, liberal, like-minded folks who seemed to have gathered in this out-of-the-way place to make a great school that does wonderful and important things. Earlham is, hands down, the most racially diverse school I have ever seen, and it has the most diverse soccer team of all. We were told that only a small percentage of students hail from the immediate area. The bulk, like 80%, come from other places, and many, maybe 18% are international students. It seems Earlahm attracts a certain caliber of student and facluty to gather in this magical place. This makes for a rich and diverse student body, and an interesting place to be.

I must mention the beauty of the buildings, both inside and out. The student center, for example, is open, bright, clean and wonderfully appealing-something that stood out especially after our next tour. There is a student art gallery inside! The living and learning areas are pleasing and comfortable-I saw no cinder blocks! I wish I had photographed the large, bright dining hall that everyone calls SAGA. There is just one, and everyone eats together at big round or rectangular tables at specific times. Students who miss a meal can use their card at a coffee shop. I've always believed that schools with one dining hall help build community that way.


Jeremy had a lovely meeting with the men’s soccer coach, who met him at lunch with other players. Afterwards, he took us around to his office and then down to the soccer fields. He spoke at length and with pride about his school and his team’s accomplishments. He has been at Earlham for 31 years, and plans to continue on for at least a while longer. He invited Jeremy to return in the fall for an overnight and to see a game.

Next time, Jeremy will be flying…

I'm keeping the dog!

To contact us Click HERE
Here is Jesse in his too-big crate, which I sold on Craig's list before the new one came! What a mistake.

I have spent this vacation learning as much as I can about training and re-training an adult dog. My dear friend and her expert dog-breeder friend have suggested that socializing a distant beagle, a roamer by nature, is virtually impossible and certainly not worth the effort. The breeder suggested that I return the dog to the rescue center. Hearing this advice was shocking and upsetting, but it helped me tremendously. 1. I began to accept the situation we are in: I am starting from scratch with Jesse and I can have NO expectations. 2. I love Jesse and having him is great, despite the challenges.

The housebreaking is a challenge, his tendency to chew and destroy given the opportunity is a challenge, and teaching him to be a loving house dog is a challenge.

But, I'm learning. I bought the Nature's Miracle and have cleaned the rugs with it. I bought baby gates to restrict Jesse to the kitchen when no one can be home with him. I've ordered a smaller crate to help with the housebreaking. It should arrive soon. I leash him in the house and force him to follow me everywhere so that he in involved with our lives and daily routines. A puppy would do this instinctively, but Jesse has to be taught to be curious. I've also learned that the walking schedule must be adjusted if Jesse goes out and goes earlier than usual-that it's the duration between walks that counts. I'm reading the Monks of New Skete and that has really helped me understand how dogs think. It has also given me hope that even adult dogs can be taught and retrained to adjust to their new lives and homes. The Monks explain just how to do everything! Best of all, I found a beagle support group on line, so from now on, I'll be posting about Jesse there instead of on this blog.

Happy new year!

Pell Grant For Moms - A Vehicle For Achieving a Mother's Dream

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Via the efforts of the federal government numerous moms will now have the opportunity to return to college and end a school diploma. A Stimulus Strategy which provides moms the quantity of $ten,000 a yr in the type of academic grant will assist deliver 1000's of moms back again to college.

The best barrier why moms have a tendency to stop pursuing their dream of an schooling is simply because of lack of funds. Moms these days have two or 3 work opportunities just to help their households and make ends meet generating it not possible for them to carry on their education and learning.

With the support of the Federal Pell Grant, moms can attain that dream of a much better existence. The grant will assist moms throughout the nation to finance the expenditures in obtaining a school diploma. With introduction of on-line schooling program moms are no lengthier confronted with the issue of quitting their careers or leaving their children at house. They can now research and complete their schooling in the comforts of their personal residing rooms.

On the web finding out applications are provided by various schools and universities in the United States. Moms can verify their preferred instructional establishments if they are providing the technique by just going to their sites or just by seeking in the diverse search engines.

The Pell Grant is a motor vehicle which will assist hundreds of lives. Mothers could now have the career they need and at the identical time provide their little ones and people with greater dwelling problems. Not like pupil loans, Federal grants desire not be repaid. So a mother will end her school diploma with no currently being indebted.

Utilize for the grant right now for a much better daily life tomorrow!

Connecting with your life's purpose: Sandra Hilton at TEDxWhitehall

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Published on Dec 28, 2012Sandra Hilton talks about the importance of connecting with your life's purpose.

Sandra helps senior leaders of global organisations discover and define their purpose in order to be authentic and effective in an increasingly stressful and chaotic world. Her work is informed by her own life experience as Sandra has a pretty eclectic background. Before becoming a consultant, she spent several years as a project finance lawyer and before that worked in the film industry, living and working for almost ten years in Russia through the dramatic changes of the 90s.

Whatever she has been involved in, she is driven by the belief that everyone is more successful and more fulfilled when they're living on purpose and bring the value that only they can bring. Her passion is to help people understand, define and live that value and to serve her own life purpose of creating wholeness within herself and others.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

Freedom of Speech doesn't give people the right to be A-holes

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Today, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled 8-1 in favor of Westboro Baptist Church. Saying that the First Amendment gives this church the right to protest at soldiers’ funerals. The SCOTUS ruling also reversed a five million dollar judgment given to the father of Matthew Snyder, a marine whose death was protested by the church members.

I am all for the first amendment, it is a right that many other people in the world don’t have. In the United States no one is going to stop us if we say something bad about the president or the legislature or anything about the government. The press is allowed to report what ever the news is, the government does not control them. There are talk radio shows geared directly to either conservatives or liberals that tailor their coverage to what their audience wants to hear.

The first amendment should not extend to protesting a soldier’s funeral. I am very liberal in my political beliefs, I think that George W. Bush was an idiot and we had no right to invade Iraq or Afghanistan. However, it is a tragedy when ever any soldier dies and while our beliefs might not be similar I would never insult them or their families by holding up a sign saying that their loved one is in hell because the US is tolerant of homosexuals.

Which is precisely what the members of Westboro claim, that the terrorist attacks of 9/11 the casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan are all due to the US’ tolerance of homosexuals. They claim that God is mad at this country for being tolerant of another person’s way of life. Black, White, Latino, Asian, Indian, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Atheist, Wiccan, Straight or Gay regardless of classification we are all human.

The freedom of speech might protect their right to believe and say what ever they want, but their so-called beliefs should stop them from judging another and damning them to hell. I might not be a super religious person, but what I remember from the bible is “Love thy neighbor, as I have loved you”. I have already had this fight with the super religious and I know that you can find a quote in the bible saying how being gay is a sin. I also know if you look in the bible you can find quotes that defend racism that demean women and every subject in between.

The bible was never meant to be the only absolute truth in the world. It is a road map if you are Christian that is influenced and expanded upon by preachers. This is the 21st century. You would think that we would have stopped being scared of things we didn’t understand a long time ago. And yet it is groups like Westboro and others of that ilk that hold us back.
Whether are beliefs are similar or different can we at least agree to be decent to one another. I know it’s a new and terrifying idea to accept people as they are, but how about we give it a try. Let tolerance and reasonableness dictate our actions instead of crazy antiquated beliefs.

Earlham CollegeThe First Stop on Jeremy's Spring College Tour

To contact us Click HERE

Earlham College is 660 miles from just outside the Holland Tunnel, on the Jersey side, where we gassed up on our way out west. Although the trip took nearly one whole day (11 hours) of driving and two tanks of gas, the school is definitely worth the trip!

Earlham is a small college in Richmond, Indiana, minutes from Dayton, Ohio. The school was founded by Quakers in 1847, and, like Guilford, has a philosophy strongly rooted in Quaker beliefs and values. The school sits on 800 acres, some wooded, and is made up of Georgian style red brick buildings. The overall architectural theme is one of simplicity, and although the campus is not the most beautiful we have seen, it has an extremely pleasing look and is peppered with lots of old, tall trees, many smaller, colorful flowering trees and lush green lawns in between. The buildings are clustered around a quad affectionately called “The Heart,” making the walk from one to the next relatively short.


A prospective student visiting Earlham is given a schedule created by the admissions office. Celeste just signed up for a tour, but Jeremy attended a class at 9am, (computer science-artificial intelligence,) went on a tour at 10am, and was interviewed at 11.




At 12 there was a lunch tour and all of the visitors and their parents who were visiting that day walked to the dining hall and we all ate together at two big tables! It was so welcoming and, well, fun! We made many new friends and chatted with people visiting Earlham form all over. Celeste and I actually toured twice, once with Emma and once again with Mallory. Interestingly, there is no info-session. It is up to us to speak to people and gather facts and information about the school ourselves. So we chatted with almost everyone we met. It makes for a warm and very personable experience.






What makes Earlham so special, in my opinion, is that it is a little oasis in the middle of no-where. It’s a beautiful college in the middle of a lesser known little town in an area of the state that is open and flat, and lacks the beauty of mountains or rolling hills. And, Earlham is full of friendly, sophisticated, liberal, like-minded folks who seemed to have gathered in this out-of-the-way place to make a great school that does wonderful and important things. Earlham is, hands down, the most racially diverse school I have ever seen, and it has the most diverse soccer team of all. We were told that only a small percentage of students hail from the immediate area. The bulk, like 80%, come from other places, and many, maybe 18% are international students. It seems Earlahm attracts a certain caliber of student and facluty to gather in this magical place. This makes for a rich and diverse student body, and an interesting place to be.

I must mention the beauty of the buildings, both inside and out. The student center, for example, is open, bright, clean and wonderfully appealing-something that stood out especially after our next tour. There is a student art gallery inside! The living and learning areas are pleasing and comfortable-I saw no cinder blocks! I wish I had photographed the large, bright dining hall that everyone calls SAGA. There is just one, and everyone eats together at big round or rectangular tables at specific times. Students who miss a meal can use their card at a coffee shop. I've always believed that schools with one dining hall help build community that way.


Jeremy had a lovely meeting with the men’s soccer coach, who met him at lunch with other players. Afterwards, he took us around to his office and then down to the soccer fields. He spoke at length and with pride about his school and his team’s accomplishments. He has been at Earlham for 31 years, and plans to continue on for at least a while longer. He invited Jeremy to return in the fall for an overnight and to see a game.

Next time, Jeremy will be flying…

I'm keeping the dog!

To contact us Click HERE
Here is Jesse in his too-big crate, which I sold on Craig's list before the new one came! What a mistake.

I have spent this vacation learning as much as I can about training and re-training an adult dog. My dear friend and her expert dog-breeder friend have suggested that socializing a distant beagle, a roamer by nature, is virtually impossible and certainly not worth the effort. The breeder suggested that I return the dog to the rescue center. Hearing this advice was shocking and upsetting, but it helped me tremendously. 1. I began to accept the situation we are in: I am starting from scratch with Jesse and I can have NO expectations. 2. I love Jesse and having him is great, despite the challenges.

The housebreaking is a challenge, his tendency to chew and destroy given the opportunity is a challenge, and teaching him to be a loving house dog is a challenge.

But, I'm learning. I bought the Nature's Miracle and have cleaned the rugs with it. I bought baby gates to restrict Jesse to the kitchen when no one can be home with him. I've ordered a smaller crate to help with the housebreaking. It should arrive soon. I leash him in the house and force him to follow me everywhere so that he in involved with our lives and daily routines. A puppy would do this instinctively, but Jesse has to be taught to be curious. I've also learned that the walking schedule must be adjusted if Jesse goes out and goes earlier than usual-that it's the duration between walks that counts. I'm reading the Monks of New Skete and that has really helped me understand how dogs think. It has also given me hope that even adult dogs can be taught and retrained to adjust to their new lives and homes. The Monks explain just how to do everything! Best of all, I found a beagle support group on line, so from now on, I'll be posting about Jesse there instead of on this blog.

Happy new year!