Oops

Since it has been almost a year since I last posted, I am pretty sure that it will surprise you when this pops up in your feed.

All I can really say is "oops." Honestly, I haven't felt like blogging because . . . I don't know exactly why. Part of it is that the stuff that was most on my mind wasn't mine to share. Partly that I still had stuff to work through. And then there is the guilt.

 I felt guilty for not blogging and then there was the question of what to blog about. When it has been months and months, there is almost a feeling of "what I write should be important, major, significant etc." Since I don't really do significant, major, important etc, it is a little hard to live up to.

Since it has been so long, you get a bullet list to kind-of catch you up. (Lucky you!!!)

• Daisy turned 13 in July which I didn't quite need therapy for, although I thought about it.  Luckily I am blessed with a wonderful 13 year old who does things like cook dinner when her mama has a headache.


• Daisy decided to do 4-H Wildlife again after 2 years off. In case you are wondering, that is long enough to forget almost every thing we learned. And some of what we do remember is no longer on the contest. So far we are doing pretty good, I can ID about 40 of the 60 plants, trees, and grasses that they have to learn. Why do I have to know it? I'm not really sure other than so I can pop quiz them. I suspect Daisy knows more than she thinks she does because she was able to tell me some of the identifying characteristics (bark color and texture and some other things that I don't remember anymore) of a black cherry. The only way I could identify a black cherry would be if I were told "this is either a black cherry or a grass." I might could figure it out then. Maybe. 


• In a related note I have had chiggers for the first time since I was 15, and that was over 20 years ago. I also found a tick which would have had me calling a therapist but they typically don't accept new patients at midnight. Like a good homeschool mom/4-H mom, I googled it and found out that it was the Lone Star Tick and that they do not carry lyme disease. We now spray down with bug spray.


• Junior got his black belt in Tae Quon Do which was a great reward for his perseverance. We were incredibly proud of him. I was also thrilled to have Tuesday, Thursday and Friday evenings free.


• I no longer have Tuesday and Thursday evenings free. 


• Tuesday is known by my family as "nightmare day." Daisy has piano at 3 and Junior has guitar at 3. About 1 mile away from each other. Both of their lessons end at 3:30. Also one mile apart. Then we swing through Sonic because it is Happy Hour and get to Wildlife at 4 which lasts until 6pm. At 6 we go to Robotics and are done with that at 8pm. If we are lucky, I managed to put something in the crockpot so that we can eat dinner when we get home.


• We are still gluten-free so if I don't put dinner in the crockpot, there is only 2 fast food places to get food, Five Guys or Chic-Fil-A. 


• I love both Five Guys and Chic-Fil-A but I can get really tired of them quickly.


• We learned what Junior's reaction to gluten ingestion can be. He gets irritable. For about a week. It is kind-of like PMS irritable where you don't realize that you are making everyone walk on egg shells because you think that you are being completely rational. It was a long week. I think he still doesn't realize how cranky he was.


• I have some others but they are long enough to be posts on their own so . . . 

The End

Hello again

Well I took an unintended hiatus for a bunch of little reasons, most really inconsequential but some of them worth a blogging break. I have written posts in my head that never quite made it past my fingers and I have been where I couldn't even think about doing any posts.

Part of it is that God and I have been dealing with some issues that I think are now mostly resolved. I think.

Then there was also gearing up for Food and Nutrition contest with both kids competing for real. (The posts on that are here and here).

I have been cooking more again and enjoying it. I did a wonderful roast chicken tonight that looked so good my husband asked where I got it. He was surprised that I roasted it so well the first time I tried it.

I am also trying to figure out what exactly to do with these blogs. Part of me says to combine them, since some things (like the contest posts) I would like to have here even though they seem to fit more with the cooking. The other part says to keep it separate because I don't know how many of you would be interested in gluten-free cooking or why I measure with a scale now or whatever. I would love to hear your thoughts on the matter.

I think I should be posting more now that I have worked through some things with God (I may share more on that latter, just not ready to right now).

3in30 February closing thoughts

February is officially over and now it is March. So how did I do on my February goals?

Not so great but not horrible. sort of.

On reading the Bible every day, I am way behind. Like a week behind. I should be able to get caught up this week. I think. I am over half-way through though.

As for doing meal plans, I did do this and I mostly followed them. However, I didn't always get them done at the beginning of the week. One week it was Wednesday before I had the plan done and I was supposed to do it Monday. I don't know about you but Mondays are crazy for me so I am thinking do menus on Sunday (which is going to be one of my goals in March so pretend you didn't hear this).

And exercising didn't happen. I can give a long list of excuses but I am not going to do that.

So February didn't go as planned but that is ok. I am just ready to get on with March.

My March goals are going to sound somewhat familiar because some of them are carry-overs or refinements.

So without further ado:

• Bible Reading: You had to know that this was going on here. When I do my Bible reading, I just feel better.



• menu plans & grocery list on Sunday: To me Sundays are sit around after church, flipping through the paper, maybe catch a football game. I can just as easily flip though cookbooks looking for recipes. I am working on getting a menu plan that includes some cooking some freezer meals, first I have to find out what is gluten-free that freezes well. And we like.



• declutter: Oh how I need to declutter. I thought about putting it down for all three this month but I decided that that was a bit much.

I also want to focus on getting earlier to bed and getting up earlier but still getting more sleep (I just might be perpetually sleep deprived.) And I hope that will make my days flow better.

While I am getting up earlier, I should also eat breakfast. It is not my favorite meal of the day.

And I need to . . . .

That is the difficulty with 3in30, there are so many things I want to put down and I don't think I should try that many at once. I would really like to get all 3 goals mostly accomplished one month.

To look at more 3in30 goals you can look here At the Tuckers Take Tennessee.

3 in 30 February Check-up

This month I am doing better than I did last month. For the most part.

But that isn't saying much.

My first goal is reading the Bible every day and I am doing pretty good on that one. I am not behind on the Bible in 90 Days (today is day 40!) but if I am honest, some days I don't read at all and then I have to catch up the next day.

The next goal is doing meal plans. You wouldn't think it would be this hard but it is. I spent 2 hours on it on Monday. Well, I got the meal plan written down, then cleaned out the freezer and found stuff that had been forgotten and so changed the plan. That is why it took 2 hours. But it has been great. I looked at the weather so I could plan cold day meals on the coldest days and it was wonderful. I want to do some bulk cooking but we are still trying to find new recipes (or variations that we can eat) but that will make the whole thing even better.

My other goal was to exercise for 15 minutes a day. Did you know that Texas has been experiencing a freakish couple of cold spells? Really, really cold spells. No, not as cold as it gets where you live (probably) but cold enough to make Southerners miserable. And I have been miserable. We do have a fully functioning heating system but I am a wimp and I was the only one freezing. I just look out the window and feel cold. The idea of jumping around and moving when I really just wanted to hibernate was more than I could bear handle. Next week will be one of those crazy/busy weeks so I am thinking not then either.

So to sum up: I am doing well on 2 out of 3. The other goal is being ignored.

How are your goals?

3 in 30 February

Tomorrow is the first day of February and time for a new set of goals. While I could just redo my goals from January, (especially those that didn't go so well) I decided not to do that.

Well, not completely.

Without further ado here are my goals for February:

• Reading the Bible every day: I did do fairly well with this one, I am not behind on Bible in 90 days. I did get behind a couple of times but was able to catch up, but its only day 28 so I still have more to go before I have read all the way through. I am almost 1/3 of the way through!



• Plan meals for each week: I don't mind planning out the meals but I have not successfully followed a plan for a week. If I plan some easy meals and more difficult meals but don't set the day of the week, I cook the easy ones first and then skip the harder ones. If I plan set days to do each meal, then I get aggravated because the warmest day of the week is the one I put down for chili - since this is Texas we could be having chili on the day it is 80F out and the next day have a low of 20F. So not only do I have to keep our schedule in mind, I also have to look at the weather. I am hoping that if I stick to the meal planning thing for a month, I will figure out how to do it so that it works for me.



• do some form of exercise for at least 15 minutes: yes, I know 15 minutes isn't very much. Some days though, that may be all I can manage. Plus my hope is that if I do it for 15 minutes, I will add on some extra and make it 20 or 30 minutes worth of exercise for that day. Also, if when the 15 minutes becomes habit, I can up that habit to 20 or 30 minutes. I think.

So now you know what my goals are for February. What are yours? If you haven't set any goals yet, you might want to join 3in30.

Oh, how did I do in January? I did well with reading the Bible but not so good on cooking real meals which is why I am trying to plan meals to cook. The food diary was done I think one day out of the month. Again, meal planning should help with that one. So all in all, January wasn't great with meeting my goals. February will be better though. Right? Hello?

3 in 30 January check up

How am I doing?
Well . . .

• On reading the Bible every day, I am actually doing well. I have read some every day and I am a bit ahead on the Bible in 90 days challenge. I like to stay one day ahead so that I am not behind if I am not able to do a full days worth one day. Honestly though, I am really enjoying it, and learning from it. Since it was only a few days before that I read where the Edomites came from (for example) I remember the connection when the Edomites don't let the Israelites pass through their land.
• Keeping a food journal: I stink at this. Seriously. I journaled one day. Really I need to figure out some app for the Blackberry that makes it easy because I always have my phone with me.
• On cooking more real meals: I did! I cooked a healthy, balanced, delicious meal for every day of the week. And then I woke up. So really not so much. I did do 3 meals with a TON of left-overs. We had homemade tomato soup (full of veggies) with grilled cheese sandwich (homemade bread), PW's Chicken Tortilla Soup (except it was more like a casserole because I didn't add the water. Because I doubled it. And my pot was too small. seriously), and homemade chili (which needs a bunch of work to taste right since there was no mix involved.)
  
  As a side note, I think it should be required by law to state if the serves 8 is 8-that-are-also-eating-Thanksgiving-dinner or 8-that-haven't-eaten-all-day-long-and-this-is-all-you-are-cooking. Because it really makes a difference.
  
  As another side note, we like chicken tortilla casserole.

So I guess I did halfway in all :-/

Next month I will challenge myself to breathe every day, eat every day, and brush my teeth every day.

The end.

A new challenge

I don't know about you but I am not huge on New Year being a big new start. After all, I still weigh pretty much the same as I did last week, bank account is still about the same, kids haven't turned into perfect angels. Everything is pretty much the same except I have to correct myself every time I write the date (I will finally get used to writing 2011 about April or May).

On the other hand, January does seem to be a good time to challenge myself and I do have some goals I want to practice. Did you know it takes 21 days to make a (good) habit? So if you start now, by the end of January you can have a new habit.

With that in mind I have decided to do 3 in 30. Meghan Tucker and some others decided to break all these goals down into manageable pieces by tackling 3 a month. That's all. No 20 page lists of self improvement goals. Just 3.

Then next month 3 more.

See it doesn't sound too hard does it.

So what are my goals for January? Mostly things I have been needing to do for a long time.

1. Read the Bible everyday Last year I signed up to to the Bible in 90 days and I wasn't able to finish. This time I will. If you want more information about this years reading challenge (its not too late, it only started January 3rd) you can go here
2. Cook more meals I mean real meals not just a quick throw together of omelets or mac and cheese. I need to increase how many veggies we eat too. I am not saying I can do it for every dinner but I would like to cook 5 healthy main meals a week. (ok, I would rather have a genie or fairy that would do the cooking for me, but we all know that won't happen.)
3. Keep a food journal Being gluten free has helped me tremendously, fewer headaches, less joint paint, better digestion, clearer thinking. I know suspect that there might be something else that bothers me. I do still have headaches and more frequent than I would like. I am hoping a food journal will help point to whatever else I need to remove from my diet.

And that is the gist of it. Do you want to take the challenge too?

#amazonfail

In general I am fairly laid back. It takes a lot to get me upset but this Amazon thing is disturbing.

There is currently a how to book on amazon on what "rules" should be followed when indulging in pedophilia. These rules may help you to get a lighter sentence if you are caught and prosecuted for "practicing pedophilia."

Personally I don't care how much you limit yourself when raping a child. There isn't a whole lot you can do to make it any better.

And amazon seems to feel that it is appropriate to leave it up for sale.

They aren't completely ignoring the situation because the reviews for this book went from well over 100 (with 2 positive reviews) to only having 15 and one of those being positive.

Twitter is exploding with tweets complaining about this book.

You can do a search on twitter using #amazonfail

Ironically this book violates Amazon's own guidelines for publishing because they claim to not publish books promoting illegal activity. Last time I checked pedophilia was illegal - at least in the United States.

Ultimately Amazon either decides to do the right thing or we can force them to do the right thing by not spending our money there. I did have some items I wanted to purchase but those are going on hold until I can find another supplier.

Amazon isn't going to be supported by me until they remove this book.

For more information you can look here Mile High Mama has written an excellent post.

Somewhat Crunchy Mama is calling for a boycott complete with a list of other bloggers who are boycotting Amazon Right here

Meet my new Swap Sister

Homeschool Post does a fun swap with homeschool mama's about every two months. They are so much fun, I love getting to know other homeschoolers. You really ought to check it out.

This time my swap sister is the lovely Susan from Homegrown Learning. She lives in West Virginia with her husband, one son and two daughters. She is a newer blogger but has an amazing blog and a wonderful marriage story. Please check her blog out here

As for what she sent me, I was not able to resist getting my fingers in the yarn.

So the beautiful black and luxurious red were new and in the package, but I had to start playing with them. She also sent me a gorgeous scarf hand knit by her mom and that was another reason my fingers were itching to get into the yarn - she said it was done with a simple garter stitch. Yet another reason I couldn't wait is the new knitting needles - I love bamboo needles but I only had a set of double points. And then to hold knitting projects, she sent two reusable bags with my initial on them. The red scarf is going like a dream - thanks to the bamboo needles and lovely yarn.

Thank you so much Susan!

Spring reading thing

You may or may not have noticed, I like to read. ok, I love to read. Given the choice of a book or tv, the book wins - no contest.

 

I love to dive into a book for the first time, meet the characters and get to know them. I also enjoy reading a new book in a series where I know the characters but get to know them better.

 

I also love to reread a book, it is like meeting up with an old friend. Anne of Green Gables is a bosom friend of mine. I wish to console Elizabeth Bennet over Mr Darcy’s treatment of her. The clicks of Madam Dafarge’s knitting needles still send chills up my spine.

 

So with my love of books, it makes sense I would join a reading thing and luckily for me Caddapillar Days is doing a Spring Reading Thing.

 

I just need to come up with a list of books that I plan to read. Unfortunately I don’t  do book lists well, I always have the best of intentions but I am easily distracted by a new/different book or author. I do usually finish a book before I get distracted and very rarely read more than one at a time.

 

That said, I will give a booklist a try

 

Fiction:

• Here Burns my Candle – Liz Curtis Higgs

• Deliver Us From Evil – Robin Caroll

• Witness - Edward Lewis

• Prophecy – Dawn Miller

• Finding Jeena -Miralee Ferrell

• Starlighter  - Bryan Davis

• Darlington Woods - Mike Dellosso

• Code Blue - Richard L. Mabry, MD

• Morning for Dove - Martha Rogers

• The Chosen Ones - Alister McGrath

• Songbird Under a German Moon – Tricia Goyer

• An Unwilling Warrior -  Andrea Boeshaar

• Deadly Disclosures - Julie Cave

• Glaen – Fred Lybrand

• Sing – Lisa Bergren

• A Flickering Light – Jane Kirkpatrick

 

Non-fiction & biography:

• Real World Parents – Mark Matlock

• Twilight Gospel – David Roberts

• Bonhoeffer – Eric Metaxas

 

To read with the kiddos:

• The Lightning Thief - Rick Riordan

• Caddie Woodlawn – Carol Brink

• Kingdom’s Dawn – Chuck Black

• Kingdom’s Hope – Chuck Black

• Kingdom’s Edge – Chuck Black

• Kingdom’s Call – Chuck Black

• Kingdom’s Quest – Chuck Black

• Kingdom’s Reign – Chuck Black

 

Plus any other random books I pick up.

 

I am also going to see how I can drag my reluctant reader into this.

 

So what are you going to read?

WFMW – Speed Dial

This is a new one for me, my (much taller) little brother just showed it to last week so I haven’t gotten it completely figured out but I love it so far.

 

I use a laptop and with the rectangular screen, space is at a premium. I had actually gone through the trouble of making my own toolbar just to have more space for the frequently used links. Yep I am a nerd. And a computer geek.

 

As a side note, part of the problem is that everyone uses my profile. You know how you can set up different profiles on the computer so that everyone can have their own background? Or their own favorites. Or whatever. My family won’t use them. They use my profile. So I have all my links plus any that anybody else thinks is important. I could lock them out of my profile but that is a little snarky – not to mention a pain for me because I would have to get the other one set up.

 

Anyway, my little brother saw the frightful mess of links across the tool bars (and the number of toolbars) and suggested I look into Speed Dial instead. It stores the webpages that you load in (which is really easy to do) along with a screenshot so you can easily glance and find whichever website you are wanting.

If Speed Dial is set up as your homepage and set to automatically open in new tabs or windows,  then it is easy to go to any of you favorite places.

 

You also have the ability to put more spaces in the screen as well as having more “groups.” I have my main group, then a blogging group, one for my husband and then one for my kids.

 

Easy Peasy.

 

It is just a simple little download. My only complaint is that I don’t think I can have the other household computers all synced  with this. There is the ability to export settings so I assume that once I get it the way I want, I can import the settings on the other computer. But if I want to add a new webpage, I will have to do it on each computer.  On the other hand, because it is simple to work, Daisy could add the websites herself.

 

Notice to the FCC – I am not getting any compensation for this review. Speed Dial does not know who I am nor do they care. I got speed dial for free but so can you. 

And the winner is . . .

Well the winner of the Tea with Hezbollah book is Heather. My 6 year old drew the name out of the bowl and since he had no idea what he was doing, I know he didn't cheat.

Actually now he is a little annoyed because he didn't win.

So I am shooting you a message Heather about how I can get this book to you.

And the winner . . .

of the One-Day Way book giveaway is Melanie! Shoot me an email with your address and I will get your book in the mail.

I like the idea of the 100 push ups and 200 sit ups. But I admit I like them better when someone else does them - which is why I am the shape I am.

And the Wii balance board is a whiny wimp that cries way too easily.

A Giveaway - The One Day Way

Today is the day that matters, not yesterday when you ate a hot fudge sunday and not tomorrow. Just today.

This is the basic background idea behind the book The One-Day Way and it make sense. You focus on what you can do today to be healthier and to lose weight. Today you may chose not to have the potato chips with your sandwich or to up your intensity on your workout - and those are great goals to have and much more attainable than "I will never eat potato chips again because they are soooooo fattening."

Don't focus on the past ("I ate healthy all month but then I ate a whole package of oreos yesterday so I have failed"). Just focus on what you can do today.

Realistically this applies to more than just losing weight. Stop smoking by not having a cigarrette "today" (each day). Focus on keeping your temper today.

The One-Day Way gives you everything you need to lose weight and get fit in body, mind, and spirit:

• Break free from past dieting defeats
• Learn a realistic, life-changing way to measure success
• Change the way you think so you can change your life
• Translate your dreams into goals, and your goals into lasting achievements
• Get strong with thirty-one simple exercises, no fancy equipment required
• Take advantage of ten ways to eat better while you lose weight

There is a meal plan for 7 days in the book and it isn't a complicated one that would have you spending hours in the kitchen.

There are exercises that you can do in the comfort of your home - no fancy gym membership needed.

All and all this is a great resource and guess what?

I am giving away a copy! Not my dog-eared copy but a nice new copy.

WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group was nice enough to send me a copy but also a copy to give away.

So what can you do to win a copy?

Leave a comment with one thing that you are going to do today that is healthy for one entry. If you blog about it or tweet about it leave a comment with the address for additional entries. Please leave me your email address so I can contact you

The drawing will be next Friday, January 15th. Good luck!

If you want to go ahead and buy a copy you can go to RandomHouse.com

Just popping in . . .

from a holiday blogging break to wish you

A Happy New Year!

A new friend and a swap

I love getting good stuff, fun stuff in the mail, so when I saw the swap over at The Homeschool Post, I had to sign up. When you sign up for it, you get paired with a "Swap Sister" that you email, get to know and pray for and then buy a gift for. And your swap sister does the same.

On Tuesday, I got a fun package in the mail from my swap sister Nikowa. She sent a Food Network magazine, a wonderful notebook in my favorite color, a Celestial Seasonings fruit tea sampler (I am trying the apple cranberry zinger right now - yum), 2 delicious smelling candles, a pack of Lifesavers, a pack of Doublemint, and a container of Orbit.

The biggest blessing has been getting to know Nikowa. She and I have quite a bit in common, we have kids the same age, same favorite color, and quite a few other things. She homeschools her oldest but it about to start the adventure of co-schooling her younger son. She blogs over at Knowledge House Academy so please go get to know her too.

7 quick takes

Don't forget to check out Conversion Diary for more quick takes!

1. It drives my husband crazy but I honestly don't do it on purpose. I have a tendency to forget where I put my keys last. They could be in my purse, on the counter, in my pocket of the jeans I was wearing, the pocket of the jacket I was wearing, or some other totally random place.

If it hasn't been but a day or two since I used them last, I can usually find them fairly quickly. But if it has been more than a couple days . . . .

Wednesday I lost them. Completely. As in we spent all day cleaning and decluttering hoping to find where I had left them. We missed piano, didn't get to go to the library, didn't get to the grocery store.

That evening I found them. In my jacket pocket. I shook the jacket much harder than I had the previous 3 times I checked it and heard a jingle.

2. Thursday it was wet rainy and gross outside, plus my stomach hurt so I planned a nice quiet day at home. It didn't happen.

WARNING -
THOSE WITH A WEAK STOMACH NEED TO JUST SKIP ON TO THE NEXT ONE.

As a 4-H project, Daisy has been raising rabbits - and not the cute little fluffy pets but the meaner meat rabbits. We have found homes for most that she has raised so it hasn't been too bad.

Yesterday though one of them was sick, belly swollen like a balloon. I was pretty sure what it was and that it would probably be fatal soon. The one person who might have known what to do was unavailable. Hubby wasn't home and the poor thing was miserable so I had to dispatch it. That was the first time I had ever had to do anything like that. And hopefully the last.

We did get a homeschool lesson out of it though, we went ahead and dissected it and so identified the heart, lungs, stomach, intestine, liver, kidneys, bile duct, etc.

3. Charlie Hall band came to perform on Saturday night and Sunday. Saturday night was cold (for us anyway) so it wasn't as well attended as it might have been but it was so much fun! I love the music - nice and loud and the kids had a blast. For those of you that don't know him, he sings a lot of praise music although I suppose it could also be called christian rock.

We loved their music. You should check them out.

4. I still haven't heard from the evil dentist office if they are going to continue trying to make us pay. They were supposed to call back the next day (almost 2 weeks ago). I have been trying to call the past 2 days but no answer.

5. Daisy bought her first brand-new good camera with her birthday money. She loves taking pictures but pushing her into artistic pictures is not as easy I would have thought.

I do have her taking as many pictures as possible and have told her 30 shots of one thing is not too much because in that you may have 1 that you love.

6. The men of our church are going together to see a hockey game as a guy's get-together. Junior is so excited that his Daddy is taking him even though he has no clue what a hockey game is. Hubby has never been to one either. Daisy is glad she is a girl and so she can't go.

I wish I could go.

7. Our wal-mart remodeled. That means it takes twice as long to find everything. I hate wal-mart.

WFMW- Quick bread recipe

Ok, I like to try new things and experiment which sometimes mean I bring home a new beer to try. Some of these are absolutely wonderful and others . . . leave a bad taste in the mouth.

Those that we don't like then just sit in the refrigerator taking up space. For weeks.

So now I cook with them. I know wine people say "only use a wine you would drink" but usually when I don't like a wine or beer it is because it is too strong in something. Cooking dilutes those flavors, especially since I usually can't use enough to get a wine or beer flavor (the kids whine about it).

One of my favorites is Southern Living's Sweet Beer Bread.

Sweet Beer Bread

• 3 cups self-rising flour - I have also made it with half self-rising and half whole wheat BUT then you need to add some more leavening - like baking soda or baking powder but I don't remember how much


• 1/4 cup sugar


• 12-ounce light or dark beer (which is a bottle or can - really convienent for measuring)

Dump the ingredients in a bowl and stir. Pour into a lightly greased 8 1/2- x 4 1/2-inch loafpan.

Bake at 375° for 55 to 60 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack 5 minutes. Remove from pan, and cool on wire rack.

With the different beers, you get different flavors. I have made a couple that were slightly bitter because the beer was a bitter beer but most were very good. I am thinking that an Apple Jack beer would be really good with this, add some cinnamon and you have apple cinnamon bread.


Using beer this way works for me. Check out more Works for Me at We Are That Family.
Check out more Works

You know you wanna

Elizabeth Esther is doing a Saturday Evening Post. People submit their own best post of the month, whether it is funny, sad, thought provoking, artistic or a recipe.

I have done it. I chose Pick your side now.

It is your turn to do it now.

You know you wanna.

7 quick takes

Don't forget to check out Conversion Diary for more quick takes

1. I really, really hate it when there are a bazillion ideas for posts floating around in my head (kind of link watching dust motes in the sunshine) but when I get to the computer they all disappear. Unfortunately it happens too often. I have thought that it would be convenient to have my thoughts transferred to the computer - kind of like a portable thought Dictaphone without the talking out loud. The problem is that it is scary enough for me to follow my thought process - I don't know that anyone else would want to see the true "stream of conscious"ness.

2. Our homeschool group does soccer this time of year, we just meet on Saturdays and the kids are divided into three groups. With the younger groups, it is very relaxed and low key. No score keeping, the kids are divided into teams each Saturday and the coaches try to get the talent evenly spread out so there isn't one team obviously better than the other.

The kids love it, this is Junior's first year and he was a bit nervous at first but he had a good time. Not that he will admit it. No, he was only smiling so he could stretch out his mouth.

3. Boys wisdom: "If everyone in the world all pooted at the same time, all the free air would smell really, really bad." (pooted would be passing gas, flatulence, whatever you want to call it).

4. We had co-op today and I have had some mild virus all week. By the time we finished and I picked Daisy up from her extra class, it was 4:30 and I had a headache and was tired. So I thought I would lay down for a bit and ended up sleeping 3 1/2 hours.

Hubby knows how much a I hate to take naps, I may doze off on the couch but I seldom lay down in bed for a nap. So he knew I needed the sleep and took care of everything for the evening - even reading the stories which he really isn't fond of doing.

5. We are currently taking large doses of vitamin D because I have heard from various sources that a vitamin d deficiency is linked to flu and colds. Researchers in Canada or studying to see if this is also true of the h1n1 virus.

In the meantime, I prefer to go ahead and take it and ward off (or reduce the symptoms). So we all recently started taking vitamin D in addition to the regular vitamins. Perhaps I wouldn't have gotten sick if I had gone ahead and started taking it earlier. (There is an interesting article here explaining more about it and the science behind it. The first part of the article is talking more about why this guy started researching it, but it does get into the science and research).

6. Have you seen this video?



I wish I knew more about the history of it but I think it is still amazing. Both Junior and Daisy watched it, he liked the music at the beginning and thought it was impressive to watch but didn't really understand the story. Daisy understood the story better but wasn't sure why the live veiwers seemed so upset. After all it was such a long time ago that the war happened (1945). It didn't seem quite so far away when she learned that her great-grandfather would have fought in that war had he lived in the Ukraine.

7. Shameless plug: I also have the two other blogs, homeschool and recipes. I have even been a little better at updating them so I would love it if you would check them out. They are featured in the buttons up top that say "Our Little Homeschool in the Pineywoods" and "Kitchen Chaos."

Ok, I am really tired despite the long nap so I am done. That's all. No more. Fini.