If You Like HGTV, Have I Got a Puzzle for YOU!

If you’ve had children who are 20-something, you probably recognize this routine:

Grieve when they graduate high school, move them to college, insert several years of school and several moves in here. Okay, maybe one move back home, then another out. Love develops, marriage ensues, graduation happens, and then? Another move – THIS time into their first home…the summary of my eldest’s last few years.

If you take that first paragraph and move around the sentences, delete college and insert hair school, no marriage yet, move into a rental home with roommates, and add helping with fix-it jobs around the home, then we’ve summarized my second child’s life. And, if you’ve been through this process at least once, you know your own home may, at times, serve as a furniture exchange service and holding company.

When relatives die, the furniture gets divvied up among the family members.  A pair of aunts or an uncle look a piece of furniture up and down, talk amongst themselves, then declare, “Here, THIS table might be good for Rylee when she moves out.”  Thus, a Duncan Fyffe table and chairs, plus matching occasional tables gets put where?  You got it.  Into the Mick and Kelly Roberts furniture depository (MKRFD).

Another relative or perhaps my child is at a garage sale and spies a “can’t-refuse” deal that will go nicely in the bedroom “whenever they get their own home someday,” and forthwith the piece is shipped to the MKRFD (single-car garage wing) and logged into the inventory for future withdrawal by said child.

Curiously, however, children continue to grow and make their way into the world and suddenly, days like today come along.  Promptly withdrawn from the MKRFD this morning was: a dining room table and chairs we’re giving the kids as a housewarming gift; Rachel’s bed she’s had since she was three or four, a painted and antiqued china buffet, four chairs we got from a business office giveaway, a micro-fiber sectional and matching pillows, an old antique dresser and mirror rescued from a great-uncle, and….

Wait. Our house can breathe…yes! On second thought…our house is empty!  You know what that means, right?  Time to redecorate!

And THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is where I could use your help.  Over the next year or two, I’ll be redoing our two “now” guest bedrooms and creating a new office in what used to be a formal dining room.  The office project is first.  Here is a photo of the space:

Continue reading If You Like HGTV, Have I Got a Puzzle for YOU!

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On the Horizon: One Victim Too Many

Childhood is supposed to be a fun and innocent time in our lives. While danger and fear is an unfortunate part of life, it should not permeate our youth. The schoolyard is meant for playtime and the classroom is a place for the mind to grow and prosper. As we go through the school system, be it private or public school, clicks and groups begin to separate. Kids begin to view others as not being good enough and others see their vulnerability as an excuse to lash out at other students. By the time students enter middle school, a definite pecking order is established and if you are at the wrong end you may find yourself shoved in a locker or falling victim to the all-too-famous “swirly.”

Today’s bullies are not only beating kids up on the playground, that will get them caught too easily, they are resorting to cyberbullying and emotional terror. Today’s victims are not just swallowing it and hoping it goes away either. They are taking matters into their own hands and either harming their attacker or themselves.

In today’s video blog, we take a look at how bullying affects students and what they are doing to stop it. While the footage they shot is fictional, the issue they go up against is all too real. These students are talented at what they do. They tell a gripping story and will inspire you to stand up and start a movement.
Andy Barth

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On the Horizon: World Food Paradox

Millions of people die every year for a ridiculous reason… they are just too poor to stay alive. Estimates are as many as seventeen thousand children die each and every day from hunger and malnutrition related illness.

It has been called the world food paradox. In the developed world we have so much food our life expectancies are actually falling because we eat too much and are dangerously obese. Meanwhile in the developing world millions starve or crippled by the lack of good nutrition.

For decades the Western world has tried to solve the issue with food aid. Well intentioned but too often detrimental to a poor country’s own agricultural structure. Today in our video blog, we are going to look at the issue of food insecurity in the developing world through the eyes of a group of Oklahomans who, thanks to a state department grant, have been working in Uganda, Africa.
Rob McClendon

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Motivational Speaker Heads to Oklahoma to Talk to CareerTech Teachers about Simple Sense

Well this week I visited the home state of my hero Will Rogers, Oklahoma. I was there doing a little speaking to folks about my take on common sense. You know that thing that everyone used to have but now only our grandmas and grandpas have.  And because common sense isn’t so common anymore, I’ve decided to repackage it and make it applicable to our modern Internet-driven age as Simple Sense. It’s pretty bad when you have to simplify something that is based on common sense.

Anyhow, the folks at Oklahoma Department of CareerTech and the teachers of Oklahoma got a dose of my Simple Sense, which has the power, if applied, to relieve-stress, increase-success, and improve-productivity, without any of the nasty side effects.

Now as students everywhere would be thrilled to hear, even teachers need a little schooling sometimes. These Oklahoma folks are spending the week talking about and getting tips on how to educate the Generation NEXT (you know, those who have never heard of a phone that plugs into a wall).  For this generation, short of twitter feeding them and serving up 5 hour energy drinks to keep them awake, you might have to pull a big stunt where you jump off of something and hurt yourself, jackass-style.

Outside the classroom, I noticed that things have changed with entertainment as well.  Every night that I look out into the house of the theater I work in, I see 2000 people sitting comfortably in their seats watching a show, but there are more than a handful, of all ages, that are texting, facebooking, taking pictures and sometimes I even see folks talking on their phones.  And this is all happening in a seat that costs $150.  My only guess is that someone else must have bought that seat for them!

When in Oklahoma, I said, “If a cat can lick its hind legs and get 3 million hits in the first 3 minutes, then the way we entertain and educate has to change.”  The good thing is that after my little talk with the Oklahoma teachers they got it, then again Oklahoma is home of the pioneer. Embracing that same forward-thinking spirit, professionals aiming to lead in tech can benefit from focused resources like engineering manager interview prep, which equips candidates with the tools to succeed in today’s competitive landscape.

“In this modern day and age America`s newest slogan is: Mom, apple pie and high-speed Internet. They say you can live two weeks without food, a day or so without water but take someone`s smart phone away, and that person won`t last five minutes.”

– Will Roberts 

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On the Horizon: Healthcare Reform – Affordable Care Act




I have heard people discussing the hot topic of healthcare for the last few years but honestly never did my homework until recently. As most everyone is aware, when President Obama was elected into office, he put the topic of Health Care to the top of his agenda and in 2010 the Affordable Care Act was signed and put into place.

This year there was discussion as to whether this new law was constitutional and with much debate the Supreme Court ruled it so. With some of the new laws taking place immediately, other steps will happen gradually throughout the next few years.

Healthcare is an important topic that affects most everyone so it is necessary for everyone to become informed. For more information check out this video blog discussing the changes that are taking place to our current healthcare system.
Kela Kelln

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