2022 365 Picture Today Post

59/365 | Monday, February 28, 2022 | #365PictureToday

Clean

Picture You | Makes Me Happy 

Here I am turning on the water for my morning shower today.

 

 

 

2022 365 Picture Today Post

58/365 | Sunday, February 27, 2022 | #365PictureToday

Beaming

Picture You | Makes Me Happy | Sunday Selfie

My son's new job is at a cookie store so he has been bringing cookies home every time that he works since he is there after they close every night.  It makes me happy to be able to share these cookies with my church family today.  "There he was transfigured before them.  His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light." ~Matthew 17:2

 

2022 365 Picture Today Post

57/365 | Saturday, February 26, 2022 | #365PictureToday

Cheery

Picture More | Rules of Thirds

My son recently started a new job.  This is the hat he wears there.

 

 

 

2022 365 Picture Today Post

56/365 | Friday, February 25, 2022 | #365PictureToday

Intuitive

Picture More | Rules of Thirds 

I picked up some library books today, and since it was such a nice day, it was intuitive that I should take a picture right there at the library.

 

 

 

2022 365 Picture Today Post

54/365 | Wednesday, February 23, 2022 | #365PictureToday

Valued

Picture More | Rules of Thirds

My bowling ball is very valued every Wednesday.

 

 

 

2022 365 Picture Today Post

51/365 | Sunday, February 20, 2022 | #365PictureToday

Knowing

My son brought his new puppy over to meet us today.  Her name is Winnie, short for Eowyn from The Lord of the Rings.  I missed getting pictures of her outside so this was the best I could do.

And just for fun, here is a silly one from the grocery store.

Someone was having way too much fun arranging the soda cases.

2022 365 Picture Today Post

50/365 | Saturday, February 19, 2022 | #365PictureToday

Honor

Picture Color | Red 

This bluebird honored us with its presence today.

 

 

 

2022 365 Picture Today Post

49/365 | Friday, February 18, 2022 | #365PictureToday

Off Prompt

Picture Color | Red

Today was the end of an era.  I opened a bank account in October 1986 at what was then called Fauquier National Bank in Catlett.  I was sixteen and a senior in high school, and it was time to upgrade from a savings account to a checking account.  Several months later I traveled off to college at the University of Virginia, and even though the internet was a few years off, the ATM had become popular and merchants in Charlottesville were willing to accept out-of-town checks from college students because of the strength of the Honor Code at UVA so I kept my account at my hometown bank.  I stayed in Charlottesville for several years after graduating, and thanks to direct deposit, I still kept my account at my beloved small town bank.  After getting married, my husband and I moved back to Fauquier County to raise our family, and still, I kept my account at our local bank.  Over the years the name changed from Fauquier National Bank to the Fauquier Bank, and they added more branches.  Other local banks merged with big national banks.  Some banks closed. New banks opened.  But for 120 years the Fauquier Bank was here to serve our county.  They were holding their own and fending off attempts from larger banks to absorb them.  Then on April 21, 2021, that all changed.  The Fauquier Bank decided to merge with Virginia National Bank to become a regional bank.  Promises were made that the merger would be good for Fauquier Bank customers and that our interests would be protected; that nothing would change.  That turned out to be far from the truth.  Bank lobbies were closed during the summer of 2021 for weeks at a time for "training."  Charges for routine banking services were suddenly appearing.  Bank lobbies again closed in January 2022.  I stuck it out as long as I could, but by the fall of 2021 it was clear that the new management didn't care about their clients in Fauquier County; they were just out to make a quick buck off of us.  I did some research and found a new local bank, and after allowing all of our checks to clear and establishing direct deposit at the new bank, it was time to close my account.  Since the lobbies are closed, this required making an appointment.  Yes, I had to make an appointment to do a routine banking activity!  So after 35 1/2 years, I closed my account at what was formerly The Fauquier Bank (the signs still say it is), now Virginia National Bank.  Because of the bank's red brick, this manages to fit with color week.

 

 

 

2022 365 Picture Today Post

48/365 | Thursday, February 17, 2022 | #365PictureToday

Valiant

Picture Color | Red

More bowling. This guy made a valiant attempt at knocking down the pins.

 

 

 

2022 365 Picture Today Post

47/365 | Wednesday, February 16, 2022 | #365PictureToday

Tough

Picture Color | Red 

We made a tough showing in bowling today.  We won one game and took total pins against the first place team.  The only red I saw was in the recap display. 

 

Homeschool Sports Access in Virginia - Part 2

HB 511 passed the Virginia House of Delegates by a narrow margin.  The next stop will be the Senate since I haven't heard that there is a separate Senate bill this session.  In case you're interested these are the delegates who voted against the bill: Adams, D.M., Bagby, Bennett-Parker, Bloxom, Bourne, Bulova, Carr, Clark, Convirs-Fowler, Coyner, Delaney, Filler-Corn, Glass, Guzman, Hayes, Helmer, Herring, Hope, Hudson, Jenkins, Keam, Kory, Krizek, Lopez, Maldonado, McQuinn, Mullin, Mundon King, Murphy, Plum, Price, Rasoul, Reid, Roem, Scott, D.L., Sewell, Shin, Sickles, Simon, Simonds, Subramanyam, Sullivan, Torian, Tran, VanValkenburg, Ward, Watts, Willett, Williams Graves--49.

This is quite interesting because I received the following e-mail message from my delegate, Elizabeth Guzman, after e-mailing her:

Thank you for reaching out to the legislative office of Delegate Guzman. We value your position on this topic and I have logged your support for HB 511 into Delegate Guzman's online system.

I am pleased to inform you HB 511 has passed through the House of Delegates and is on its way to the Senate . She will take your position, as well as all others, into consideration before she is presented with the opportunity to vote on similar legislation in the future. 

 

Please never hesitate to reach out to our office if you have other pieces of legislation that you would like her to have your input on. Additionally, please never hesitate to reach out to us as our office handles a wide variety of constituent services and we will work diligently to solve any issues you might be facing.

 

Oddly, she voted against the bill but is pleased to inform me that it passed??? 

If you are interested in this legislation finally passing, I urge you to contact your State Senator sooner rather than later to ask him or her to support this bill when it crosses over.  As of February 15, it is in the Senate Committee on Education and Health.  The following Senators are on that committee:

Lucas (Chair), Saslaw, Howell, Newman, Locke, Barker, Petersen, Cosgrove, Lewis, Dunnavant, Suetterlein, Peake, Edwards, Hashmi, Pillion

Since these senators represent the interests of all Virginians, you should feel free to contact any of them, especially those who may be on the fence, to ask them to support this bill.  I feel certain that Governor Younkin would sign this bill if it crosses his desk.  Contact information for all senators can be found here: https://apps.senate.virginia.gov/Senator/index.php

 

As a recap on the issue, VAHomeschoolers has a breakdown of all of the pertinent information here: https://vahomeschoolers.org/advocacy/issues/sports-access

 

 

 

 

 

2022 365 Picture Today Post

46/365 | Tuesday, February 15, 2022 | #365PictureToday

Absolutely

Picture Color | Red

I absolutely was not able to get the splash thing to work today. Someone in my photography group said that they made a hundred attempts.  Well, I gave up after seven.  Instead, you get a picture of my Chick-fil-A coffee cup with a red background.  The coffee was absolutely necessary after getting up early to take my son to have his wisdom teeth removed this morning.

 

 

 

2022 365 Picture Today Post

45/365 | Monday, February 14, 2022 | #365PictureToday

Ecstatic

Picture Color | Red | Macro Monday 

 

Valentine's Day

The other day I found this pin from when one of my sons earned the rank of Life Scout in Boy Scouts.  Both went on to earn the rank of Eagle Scout so I photographed the heart-shaped Life Scout pin in between my two Eagle Scout mom pins.  I'm ecstatic that I was able to support them on their Scouting journey, and on this Valentine's Day, it's a bonus that I found a heart-shaped pin.

 

2022 365 Picture Today Post

44/365 | Sunday, February 13, 2022 | #365PictureToday

Pluck

Picture Color | Red 

There is a new banner at church, and this plucky, red heart is in the middle of it!  It contains part of our new vision statement: Sharing Jesus begins in our neighborhood.  "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." ~John 13:34-35 

 

2022 365 Picture Today Post

43/365 | Saturday, February 12, 2022 | #365PictureToday

Approve

Picture Style | Food 

Today we were supposed to come up with our own version of an "Eat This Not That" picture.  To celebrate Valentine's Day we went to dinner at a Japanese steak house, and I took a few pictures of my dinner for this prompt.  I ordered the filet mignon, scallops, and lobster hibachi combination since it was a special occasion.  I took one picture after my scallops and lobster had been cooked, and then I took another picture after I had eaten most of my meal.  The vegetables here consisted of zucchini, mushrooms, and onions.  Of those, I only like zucchini so my "Not That" picture is of the vegetables I don't eat and some of the fried rice that I couldn't finish.

 

 

 

2022 365 Picture Today Post

42/365 | Friday, February 11, 2022 | #365PictureToday

Adorable

Picture Style | Food

I made a single serving mug cake for tonight's dessert and put it into a cute snowman mug that we have.  I added some whipped cream and piece of chocolate.

 

 

 

2022 365 Picture Today Post

41/365 | Thursday, February 10, 2022 | #365PictureToday

Prompt Free

Picture Style | Food 

I keep forgetting to take pictures of my dinners because it's so late by the time I sit down to eat.  So you get eggs from breakfast again.

 

2022 365 Picture Today Post

40/365 | Wednesday, February  9, 2022 | #365PictureToday

Beautiful

Picture Style | Food

During December and January, we had additional help at work so I was able to have Wednesdays off.  Now that all of the college students are back at school, I am back to working on Wednesdays so it's a long day away from home with bowling in the morning followed by rushing to work in the afternoon.  Tonight I thought I deserved a small bowl of ice cream (our current favorite Tillamook Mudslide) with a few extra chocolate additions.

 

Homeschool Sports Access in Virginia

 

Once again a bill is making its way through the General Assembly in Richmond (HB 511) to permit homeschool sports access.  These bills are commonly referred to as Tebow bills after Tim Tebow, who famously was permitted to play high school sports in Florida as a homeschooler.  Often this bill will make it through the General Assembly and on to the governor, but the last couple of Democratic governors have vetoed them without even researching the issue as a nod to the VEA, who remains steadfastly opposed to it.  During the last session of the General Assembly, I'm not even sure the bill was introduced, and if it had been, the Democrats wouldn't even have let it get out of the education committee.  This year is different though, and it has a chance to get signed into law.  Read on for why this particular bill is necessary and worthy of passage.

According to a VCU Commonwealth Education poll more than two-thirds of Virginians (67%) favor allowing homeschooled students to participate on public school teams. In fact, when my son was playing baseball and was looking for a more competitive environment in which to play, his friends from church and Scouts couldn't understand why he was not even allowed to try out for the team at the local high school.

Some additional facts to consider: School-based sports teams are often the only opportunities available at the high school level in rural areas of the state, and they allow uncommonly talented athletes the chance to be considered for college scholarships. School boards should have a choice about whether or not to allow homeschoolers to try out. These bills would allow local school boards to set the policy that is right for their communities and does not place a mandate on public schools. Homeschool sports access is working smoothly in 29 states. No state that has enacted homeschool sports access has repealed it. In fact, some states have increased the scope of that access over time. HB 511 would only allow bona-fide homeschooled students to try out at the public school in their attendance zone, and the bill allows public schools to charge reasonable fees. The impact on public schools and public school students would be small. There are fewer than 6,000 homeschooled high school students in Virginia. This averages to about 19 homeschoolers in the attendance zone of each of VHSL’s 311 member schools. Most would not even try out for public school programs; those who do would be trying out for a variety of different programs. Many who try out would not have the skills to make the team.

Homeschooled students in Virginia need legislative support in order to be allowed to try out for their local high school interscholastic programs. Despite significant effort by homeschooling organizations since 1997 to work with members of VHSL to develop fair, reasonable and practical eligibility guidelines for homeschooled students, VHSL has refused to consider any change. Virginia’s homeschooled students are depending on the General Assembly for a chance to try out. Homeschooled students are already involved members of their local communities, playing recreational league sports at younger ages, participating in local Scouting organizations, and maybe even rooting on their local high schools at football and basketball games.

We homeschooled our children for 18 years.  My older son graduated in 2014 and attended college at VCU, studying mechanical engineering. My younger son graduated in 2019 and is taking classes at Northern Virginia Community College and working. Even though we no longer homeschool, I still support this bill and will continue to lobby for it until it becomes law in Virginia.

2022 365 Picture Today Post

39/365 |  Tuesday, February 8, 2022 | #365PictureToday

Ideal

Picture Style | Food

I have been getting home from work so late these days that it has been difficult for me to find the time to post the pictures that I have been taking.  I made coleslaw to go with dinner, and it is an ideal vegetable to accompany dinner because with the prepacked mixes, it is so easy to throw together with some coleslaw dressing and sour cream.  By the time it chills in the refrigerator all day, it is a delicious accompaniment to dinner.

 

 

 

2022 365 Picture Today Post

38/365 | Monday, February 7, 2022 | #365PictureToday

Constant

Picture More | Food 

Breakfast is a constant.  I love breakfast so much that I will often eat breakfast foods for lunch.  If my family would let me, I would make them for dinner on occasion too.

 

 

 

2022 365 Picture Today Post

37/365 | Sunday, February 6, 2022 | #365PictureToday

Incredible

Picture Style | Food 

In addition to church, Sunday is also usually grocery shopping day for me.  There is an incredible assortment of apples at the store.  "Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail." ~Lamentations 3:22

 

2022 365 Picture Today Post

36/365 | Saturday, February 5, 2022 | #365PictureToday

Innovative

Picture You | A Different Angle | Picture My World 

This year I decided to take my seasonal picture using this holly as a backdrop.  To try to be innovative, I am sideways and I'm off to the side of the picture.  It was a busy day, and I forgot to wear sunglasses so I'm squinting. 

 

 

 

2022 365 Picture Today Post

35/365 | Friday, February 4, 2022 | #365PictureToday

Refreshing

Picture You | A Different Angle | Picture My Hands 

I made some brownies today for a bake sale at our church.  I jazzed them up some with frosting and chocolate candies.

 

 

The finished product.

 

2022 365 Picture Today Post

33/365 | Wednesday, February 2, 2022 | #365PictureToday

Remarkable

Picture You | A Different Angle 

It's remarkable that I get to bowl with my mom on Wednesdays.  She used to bowl on a team with a neighbor when I was in elementary school but stopped when she went back to work.  She decided to take it up again when I suggested that it might be something we could do together about five years ago.

 

2022 365 Picture Today Post

32/365 | Tuesday, February 1, 2022 | #365PictureToday

C D

Picture You | A Different Angle | Picture the Alphabet 

I found the C in a sign in the same shopping center where I work, and the D comes from a shirt for my favorite band.  I'm trying to find the letters each month in something meaningful to me or something representative of my daily life, and I'm hoping that I can use the same collage every month also.