Friday, November 30, 2012

again at the eleventh hour

Ooh, The Eleventh Hour!  That's the title of one of my favorite episodes of Doctor Who!

But I won't bore you with that.  I'm running late again.  The girls and I spent the day in Greeneville with my parents (Sarah is still there; she's staying overnight).  They got to decorate another tree while there and had a blast doing that.

Nelson's car died today, so we'll have to figure out what the problem is and how to fix it.  :-p  Cars: you can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em. 

I'm almost done with an article I'm writing on the health benefits of yoga, so I'm going to pop off now..  I posted something as promised, and if I finish this article tonight rather than putting it off I'll feel very accomplished.  ;) 

Have a good one!

Thursday, November 29, 2012

insert clever title here because I can't think of one

So I was looking forward to drinking a cup of my free coffee for breakfast?  Yeah, it kind of didn't happen.  Sarah woke up a few minutes before I did this morning.  She sneaked herself upstairs while I was using the bathroom and promptly set about making breakfast.  She fixed three bowls of oatmeal in the microwave.  And she made me a cup of coffee.  It was terribly sweet, and I was very touched.

The downside?  Well, for starters, I don't actually like oatmeal (unless it's baked oatmeal.  Which this wasn't).  And...the coffee was instant.  Easy for her to manage, but not my lovely Green Mountain coffee.  :(

Never fear though, I ate some oatmeal and drank the coffee and complimented Sarah on both and thanked her.  And I managed to sneak Natalie about half my oatmeal, so everyone was happy.  ;)  And I drank a cup of my Green Mountain coffee this afternoon.  :-D

I use a lot of freebie curricula that I snag from various sources.  We're finishing up a free Thanksgiving unit study that we didn't quite complete last week.  Gotta get Thanksgiving done before Advent starts on Sunday!  ;)

Supper tonight came partially from another free curriculum--The Children Around the World unit from which I pull ideas for co-op.  I was fixing meatloaf and decided to fix rice for a side (I was out of potatoes).  I remembered the curriculum had a recipe for yellow rice.  Of course I didn't follow the recipe completely as written (hey, it's me!), but I did get a lovely dish of yellow rice.  Sarah especially loved it.  I do want to try the authentic version one day, but I didn't have all the ingredients tonight.  Still, anything that jazzes up boring old rice is good in my book.  ;)

That's all I've got for today.  I've already talked about Sarah's aversion to edited poems on Facebook so I won't rehash that here.  ;)  Have a good night!

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

my favorite price

Today was the day of the freebies. 

I have absolutely no problem with that.  ;)  I love free!

Weeks ago, I signed up for a free sample of Green Mountain coffee.  I love Green Mountain coffee.  But it is p-r-i-c-e-y.  I don't get it often.  My coffee arrived today!  :)  I will be brewing a cup tomorrow morning--something to look forward to. 

Something else came in the mail today.  I posted that we went to a "trunk or treat" party at the local Shriners' Temple for Halloween.   We put our names in the basket for door prizes while we were there, but we didn't think too much about it.  Well, apparently we did win something, and we got it today!  We now have a free pass to Bays Mountain Park and a certificate for free Little Caesar's Crazy Bread.  :) 

The last freebie of the day is the most exciting.  Money Saving Mom posted today about an art curriculum that normally costs $75.  She had a coupon code to get it for free.  Sarah loves art, and I'm thrilled to get free curriculum.  Check out that post here.  I'm going to spend some time this evening browsing the new curriculum to see what's there and how we can start using it.  :)  I'm sooooo excited about that! 

Now I'm off to drink my daily medicinal tea.  It did not arrive today, but I do have six boxes of it in my pantry currently that I got for free!  Did I mention how much I like freebies?  :-D 

Have a great night!

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

stream-of-consciousness post

Yesterday I had two or three posts in mind.  I meant to write them up and schedule them to post today and tomorrow.  But Mondays are always crazy and hectic, and I didn't get it done.

Now I can't remember what either post was about. 

This is why I haven't been blogging often.  I forget what I was going to say before I ever even get a chance to say it.  :-p 

So here I sit, racking my brain to figure out just what it was I meant to write.  I keep thinking I'll at least get a hint as to the subject.  Something should niggle at me, you know?  But no.  I got nothin'.  It's just gone. 

Maybe I should start trying to post menu plans and shopping trips again.  That's at least something to write about, even though I'm sure no one cares.

Maybe I should ramble on for an entire post about how I have nothing to say.  That's loads of fun to read, right? 

Ooh, I know!  I'll talk about the kindergarten class I'm teaching for our homeschool co-op.  It's actually kind of fun.  My unit is Children Around the World.  We've had a great time eating, playing games, listening to music, reading stories, and finding art projects.  I drag my computer to class each week, and the kids look at pictures and sometimes even power point presentations.  So far we've done India, China, Australia, and South Africa.  Israel and Mexico will be coming soon.  I think I'm going to use some of the lessons for geography for Sarah--the resources I'm using can easily be adapted for an older child. 

Sarah's second grade class at co-op combines art, history, and a brief Spanish lesson.  I also have a couple of Spanish apps for the iPad.  I snagged an entire Spanish curriculum for free, and I was excited to start using it, but it uses cassette tapes.  Our tape player broke.  Completely kaput.  So now I have a lovely free curriculum with no way to use it.  :(  But at least with the co-op class and the iPad, she's learning a little, even if it's not ideal.  

And now I've bored everyone long enough.  For today, anyway.  ;)  Come back tomorrow and be bored again! 

Monday, November 26, 2012

some pics

This post brought to you by my iPad and my phone.  If the photos aren't quite up to par, that's why; I wasn't using a "real" camera.

S-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g to reach


Positioning everything just so.


Natalie liked playing peek-a-boo while decorating the tree.

Sarah took her job very seriously.



Posing once the job was done.

Sunday, November 25, 2012

it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

The girls have been getting out all the Christmas decorations.  They are brimming with excitement while waiting for Nelson to put of the tree so we can decorate it.  I will be switching out dishcloths and coffee mugs later.  I didn't realize we had so much holiday stuff! 

Maybe I'll try to take pictures and post them once it's all done.  Maybe.  No promises.

Although an all-photo entry would keep me from having to think of something to write that day....

Hmm.  That does have possibilities. 

Saturday, November 24, 2012

write something

I've been reading a lot of books about writing lately.  I snag them from Amazon when they're free and read them on my Kindle.  I also subscribe to tips from various writers, bloggers, publishers, etc. on Twitter.  Each one offers a different perspective, but one thing is common across the board.

Write.

Every day.  Write something

That is one reason I started this blogging experiment--to force myself to write something each day. 

The trouble is, I can't always think of the "something" to write. 

One of the writers I read said "writer's block" was nonexistent and was merely making excuses.  He said if you made yourself sit down and just start writing, something would eventually come--no block.  It's all in your head. 

So I guess this little bit of rambling I'm doing here still counts as writing something today, right? 

Anyway, here's my day today:  laundry, dishes, pumpkin waffles, bill-paying and checkbook reconciling, and writing my first story for this site I got an invite to. 

Oh, hey, there's something to write about!  I got an invitation to a writers' site!  It pays exactly jack and squat, but it still feels good to get noticed and invited to be part of something. 

Of course, I have four blogs I don't use much--maybe I don't need another site to write for right now. 

Oh, well.  At least I'm writing something.

Friday, November 23, 2012

Better late than never....

Sliding in under the wire as far as updating today.  I don't have any words of brilliance, and I'm typing on the iPad so you'll have to ignore any weird autocorrect quirks.  But I'm here.   "hey, I wrote something!"

We spent a lazy day at home, chilling out and watching movies.  I avoid Black Friday craziness like the plague.  I might see if there are any good Cyber Monday deals.  I encourage you to see if any of your favorite local businesses are participating in Small Business Saturday tomorrow.

Have a good night!

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Happy Thanksgiving

I wish everyone a joyful and blessed Thanksgiving Day.  Take a moment to count your blessings as you spend the day with family and friends.  We will be celebrating at my parents' house. 

A Psalm for Thanksgiving (using the King James Version so I don't get in trouble for copyright violations--eye roll)

Psalm 100

King James Version (KJV)
1 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.
Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

writer's block

So the problem with promising to write something every day?  Having to think of something to write every day.  :-p 

So I guess I'll try giving a bit of a glimpse into our daily lives.  Not that they're terribly exciting or anything, but I promised I'd write something.

Mondays are Kindermusik days.  Both girls are far enough into the program to have a bit of homework (Sarah more than Natalie, obviously).  Natalie's assignment was for me to make this homemade clay stuff for her to sculpt with, then bake off the pieces in the oven. 

The substance wasn't very clay-like, in my opinion--more like homemade play dough.  And boy, did it use a ton of salt!  I used up most of my salt supply.  One of the other moms confessed she bought cheap salt just for play dough making.  Like me, she uses kosher or sea salt for cooking and baking, and she didn't want to waste it on play dough.  I think I'll try that next time.  I bet Dollar Tree would have big boxes of cheap salt.  This time I just used what I already had on hand--hardly a frugal option. 

The girls really did like the not-quite-clay stuff though.  They wanted to try to make Christmas ornaments with it.  I think if I make the stuff again, I'll add some cinnamon so we can have scented ornaments.  Natalie proudly showed off her creations to everyone at Kindermusik--her teacher, the other children, the moms, Sarah's class, etc. 

Funnily enough, Natalie is starting to beg to do school every day, so I'm going to have to come with some activities for her.  Time to start stalking the preschool sites, I guess.  I don't believe in strong academics this young, so I'll be on the lookout for fun crafts or some such things.  Maybe I'll pick my SIL's brain--she's always posting these amazing things that she's doing with her young son.  Anyway, Natalie sees Sarah doing school each day, and she wants to do it too.  I can only hope they both stay that eager!

I did rather like Sarah's grammar activity yesterday.  The lesson was on linking verbs.  After we recited the definition and talked about examples, the hands-on activity was to make paper chains.  The chains were three links.  She wrote the subject on one paper strip, the linking verb on the second strip, and then whatever it was linking to on the third.  Then she attached them together as a chain and had a great visual of how linking verbs work.  Sometimes the lessons in this grammar book seem dry, but this one was really neat. 

Okay, that's enough for one day.  I don't want to bore anyone, and I don't want to run out of things to say all in the first day!  ;) 

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

experiment

*blows dust off this blog*

So I haven't blogged much lately...at all. 

Oops.

The funny thing is, sometimes I have posts rattling around in my head.  I just never manage to sit down and actually write them.  Then when I do log on here, I can't remember what it was I wanted to say. 

Again, oops.  :-p 

So, I'm going to try something.  It may work beautifully.  It may bomb horrifically.  Time will tell. 

I am going to post something here every day.  It may be a long, rambling post.  It may be as short as the tweets from my Twitter feed.  Topics will vary.  I'll either gain new readers or scare everyone off completely.  Who knows? 

But the fact is, I have four blogs to my name.  I rarely use any of them.  That's rather sad, and it needs to change.  This one is my favorite, because its lack of definitive theme means I can yammer about anything I wish.  So I'm going to take advantage of that and yammer away.  One of my goals for 2012 was to blog more regularly.  Time to make that happen.  If I post something at another of my blogs that I think might interest others, I might even share.  Maybe.  ;) 

But at any rate, something will be here.  Every day.  Even if it's just a "hey, look, I wrote something today!"

Let the posting begin.  :)

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Halloween (with pictures!)

Pat me on the back--three posts in a row with pictures!  I might be setting a new record here.  ;) 

Anyway, I would like to know first of all when Halloween became so massive and complicated.  It was simple when I was a kid.  You put on a costume (often homemade) and walked around the neighborhood getting candy on Halloween night itself.  A church or two might have an alternative celebration but those were also on that night.  End of. 

Now?  It's big to-do.  Downtown had its celebration the weekend before Halloween.  Some churches did as well.  I noticed one the day before Halloween.  Parties and celebrations all over the place--but forget about finding a neighborhood with people at home to give out candy.  At least the neighborhoods near us weren't.  :-p

We did find a "trunk or treat" party at the local Shriners' temple to attend on Halloween.  The girls got candy, played games, and generally had a blast.  All's well that ends well. 

And I do admit that I found it incredibly cool that Reformation Day was out-trending Halloween on Twitter for a good couple of hours--even with the big production Halloween has apparently become.

Here are some pictures.  Enjoy! 










This picture cracks me up.  Sarah really enjoyed that caramel apple!
In other news, there was a pumpkin carving contest at church.  Sarah talked about it for weeks.  She drew out possible designs.  She was so hopeful that she might win "scariest" pumpkin.  The night before, she and Nelson carved a pumpkin and placed a flashing blue light inside.  It was an awfully cute pumpkin, but it didn't strike me as terribly scary.

However, the pumpkin did win the "Carver's Choice" award, and Sarah was thrilled.  The prize was a $10 Chick-Fil-A gift card.  They will use that soon.  :)