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! 

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.

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. 

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.

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!

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.

² Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
³ 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.
⁴ Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
⁵ For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

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!  ;)