Random Hodgepodge {Wednesday Hodgepodge}

1.) What creeps you out?

Roots…Yes, strange, I know. Almost makes me cry, vomit, scream all at the same time. Makes it tough to garden  

2.) What’s your least favorite candy?

Sour candies and candy corn.

3.) Are you a fan of scary movies? What’s the scariest movie you’ve ever seen?

No…. not at all! Never have been and never will be. Scariest movie- The Exorcist which I happened to see ‘accidentally’ before I was a teen. I cannot recall all of it, thankfully!, but enough that it terrifies me. More recently- The Ring.

Shudder.

Gasp! Just thought of White Noise. Oh…that’s a terrifying movie.

(Just heard on the radio! Supposedly watching a really scary movie can burn off a candy bar! up to 184 calories)

4.) What part of life confuses you the most?

Why I cannot keep myself on track and motivated. Why the good in me doesn’t just continue on, instead it falls off the track. Very confusing.

5.) Pumpkin, sunflower, sesame, poppy...your favorite seed?

Can I say none? I don’t particularly care for any of those but I’d guess sunflower would be my first choice.

6.) Imagine your life ten years from today...what's changed?

I’d be a grandma! I just know it I’ll hopefully work part time doing something I really enjoy. God will be there so I know no matter what, it will be good (even if I don’t have a job and/or am not a grandma…yet ).

7.) What do you a) love most and b) like least about the Hodgepodge?

I’ve never done it before but I enjoy the randomness. Can’t say there’s anything I like least yet.

8.) Insert your own random thought here.

Eggnog from Aldi is not very good and the almond milk has too much sugar, not enough protein. Mixed together and put in coconut flavored coffee…eh.

2012-2013 Back to School Week!

Wow. So just wow. My kids are in 10th and 8th grade. How did that happen!? Here’s a recap of our week (some days are more detailed than others- and this is just a long post in general):

Sunday: We had church (finally! I was able to go…been down with a tooth infection for 2 weeks- and wouldn’t you know, this time dh was down sick almost all day). I was hard pressed to focus during Sunday school and the main service for some reason but I was all ears for the evening service. The evening was about “dispensationalism”- a term that I had never heard of before (dispensation is even in the Bible- Ephesians 1:10 KJV). It made a lot of sense to me and I am going to be researching into it some more. Pastor gave a four page handout (an outline that was printed on one side per sheet) before he began his talk.

After the evening service we met at the Pastor’s house for some ice cream and socializing! I’m afraid the kids and I are a bit socially awkward. You ever think of what you should have said during a conversation hours after it takes place? I do that all the time. Something to work on lol. But the kids (and I) had a great time.

Sunday= success!

Monday: Excellent start! Well, except perhaps that Fox didn’t get out of bed until 9:30 am. On school days, up by 9 is the rule (oh yes, I’m such a slave driver!). I did make some sweet scone biscuits (just scone recipe with a bit extra spice and sugar, cut into biscuit shapes) and gave them iced coffee. I mean, really, that’s enough to make my morning great! *wink*

We started with our ‘together’ subjects: {prayer} Bible discussion, Latin, and for Monday, Ohio Study and Home Ec. We had some really great discussion about, among other things, capital punishment, whether the “Law” still pertains to us today (the Mosaic Law), and whether fish lived during the flood during our Bible discussion. We are using {somewhat} the Judah Bible curriculum for this because I like the principles and ideas put forth. We definitely had been in need of some direction in that area. For Home Ec, we discussed just what it is and the many aspects of the subject. Then we narrowed down our list to include the ones that they want to cover as well as those that I insist we cover. After those subjects, Lee and I ran some errands {post office, orthodontist office, bank} while Fox stayed home and did some independent work.

The day ran a little long but I do think that is because we got a bit of a late start, we took an hour or so for errands and it’s the first day back. Lee honestly did not finish all of her work but boy howdy! I still say it was a great day!!

Subjects covered today (in addition to above mentioned): Bible reading and verse, Grammar, History, Foreign Language (Lee: Greek; Fox: German); Fox also did Math, Current Events, Penmanship and Poetry (Idylls of the King –Literature)

In other parts of our day…
Lee saw a fawn with two deer this morning. She wasn’t able to get a photo but it is something I’m sure we’ll talk about for a long time! It was so cute; spots and all!
I am thinking of holiday crafts for some reason. Possibly because it’s so hot lately and I am thinking of cooler days? Eh, well, whatever reason. I found a site that has free crafty tutorials for lots of different things! The last email I received was about Christmas crafts. Fits my mood perfectly
And we’ve been working away at our art poster. My mother-in-law added her artistic touches while she visited in June as well.

Art Poster progress VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Lee made spaghetti for dinner –yum!

Monday= success!

Tuesday: It’s all hubby’s fault. Yep, all his fault. We got started late today for school and while my dh staying home from work throws me off of my usual schedule, it really isn’t his fault. Neither of the kids got up at the time they were supposed to so…it’s their fault. *Nevermind that I didn’t get up when I was supposed to because I was still ready when I needed to be haha. I did my Bible reading, used the elliptical machine, made coffee and mine and hubby’s breakfast. And showered. All long before the kids woke up lol.

And actually, it’s not like we had a bad day at all! It just started late. Today we sat out in the backyard on a sheet to do our together subjects of {prayer} Bible discussion, Latin, Plutarch’s life (Pericles) and oh, well, I guess that was it. We were supposed to do Science but…I forgot to have them read ahead so we moved that ahead to Thursday (today’s work will be done on Thursday). And school was done by 2pm I believe for both of them.

Fox did really good narrations for The Birth of Britain- surprising me. We listened to Age of Chivalry on Librivox and decided we don’t like how the first chapter is read. We finish the chapter tomorrow. Next chapter might be better- I checked ahead.  Lee did excellent narrations for her Bible reading and Ourselves.

Other subjects covered today: Bible reading and verse, Math, Foreign Language, Current Events, and more Literature. Fox did Penmanship as well. Lee read Matthew Henry’s Bible commentary for Galatians.

Cannot recall what was for dinner… hmmm. I know we ate lol.

Tuesday= success!

Wednesday: {recorded earlier Wednesday} Another late start. I think bed time is going to move back some… But all school did get done and in a timely fashion. Chores were a little bit neglected. Lee has babysitting today (we leave in just a few minutes actually) so some will have to be either done late or missed.

{finished on Thursday} We missed a few subjects and chores were mostly done –so it was alright. I’d have to look it up what was actually done…I don’t feel like it lol.

And dh and I saw two fawns in the back field. The neighbors, however, must be city folk {haha…we live in the city} who don’t know how to act around skittish wildlife. They came out of their houses all loud and scared the deer away.

Dinner was pb & j’s lol. Hubby found leftover spaghetti.

Wednesday= we didn’t die so it’s good

Thursday: Orthodontist appointment. That just threw it all off! All independent subjects {for the most part} were done but none of the together subjects today. Thursdays just are our Mondays.

Poor Lee. Two appointments ago {so roughly 2 months ago} she’d been, ahem, complaining because her teeth were not bothering her at all after her appointments. No discomfort. No pain. Well, today she says she’s going to be more careful what she asks for! They changed the wires {for the last time!} and she is in pain. Not just discomfort but pain. She had to take some aspirin {usually she prefers ibuprofen}.

I was stressed because of money today and so wasn’t with it for much of anything. It got me to thinking though. I haven’t stressed about money in quite awhile. Why would it be different now? We’ve not been spending more than usual, and we still have the same coming in. Here’s my take on it- I was starting to get away from trusting God would give us all that we need. I’ve been trying to do the coupon thing…trying to save money here and there. I’ve not had to do that in the past; why would I think I needed to now? Well, I realized I don’t. God always provided before- He’s always faithful.

Another thing is that I’ve been trying to get something off the ground for awhile now but decided {on my own lol that’s not usually a good sign} that it wasn’t going to fly. Then …we start feeling the pinch financially and if I kept up with what I’d thought of originally, perhaps it would have eased that pinch. Coincidence? I personally don’t believe much in coincidences. And don’t get me wrong- we are so far from actually ‘struggling’ that I don’t even like to mention our ‘troubles’ generally. We are better off than so many other families. I am very grateful.

I’m working on revamping my blog. I cannot change where I blog {yet} because I do reviews but I’ve got an idea a-brewin’ in my head Hopefully I can get it out.

I made ‘creamed’ beef {just means browned ground beef in a thickened sauce made from broth with spices added in- oh and I added in onions, usually I don’t have those} over rice with steamed zucchini {from the garden}.

Thursday= another ‘we didn’t die so it’s good’

Friday: Woke up way late myself. 2 hours late. Did get my Bible reading done, but not much else first thing in the morning. The kids and I were going to go the Cleveland Art Museum but our plans have been waylaid because our garage door broke. The repairmen will be here today…some time. I have to stick around home until they show up. It’s already almost noon and so far nothing.

Tomorrow, Saturday, we are going to a picnic with our church. It’s at one of the Cleveland Metroparks- so beautiful. We are looking forward to it. I’m making potato salad to take along.

Dinner tonight might be homemade mac & cheese. Haven’t decided yet.

Friday= still in progress but…it’s Friday, it has to be good- right??

I will be linking this up at the following places {there may not be links on them yet…I promise there will be }:

Pets–Adding a Little Extra

I know that not all families have pets. Some people have allergies that prevent them from taking that step while others just choose not to have any, for whatever reason. When I was talking to my dd, Lee, about what things she thinks of when she hears “Making a Home”, pets was one of the first things she thought of {doing dishes was the very first lol}.

Growing up I always had dogs and cats. Sometimes we even had birds. My mother loved fish as well. My dh also had dogs and cats. His were outside animals where my were a mix of both inside and outside animals. When we had kids, it didn’t take long for them to start asking for a pet.

The title of my post is about the little extra that pets add to a family. When our kids asked for a cat {they figured that a cat was the safest to ask for- dogs you had to clean up the yard after they went pooh; they dig holes in the yard; they had to be walked, if you didn’t have a yard; dogs chewed on shoes and furniture; dogs are more dependent; etc.} we made them list all the new responsibilities a cat would add to our family.

The obvious costs {literal in terms of money as well as of time} were food, litter and cleaning up after the cat. They didn’t quite figure in all the time that the cat would take for play or how much sleep would be lost while it roamed through the house at night, jumping on counters and tables, knocking over the trash… Those ‘costs’ were figured out soon enough though.

Fortunately our cat, Kawaii, has been a very good cat. She rarely jumps on counters and never on the table {so far}. I do pay a little more than I like for food for her but she doesn’t cough up hairballs and isn’t sick very often {only once so far and she’s almost 3 years old}. If she’s happy, then I’m happy {for the most part}. When we were seriously considering if a cat was right for us, we found a checklist for us to fill in the costs and responsibilities of cat ownership. I wish I had saved the checklist. I did not but here is a good page to give an idea of the costs {financial} of cat ownership. For us in particular, I will break down our costs:

Food: $13.00 (about, with tax) once a month. It’s not specialty food but it is what we’ve found that works for her; she doesn’t have hairballs and stays relatively satisfied
Litter: $9.00 (about, with tax) every 6 weeks. There is less expensive brands but it keeps the odor down –a must for us.
Vet: Initial visit, $65-70 (we even got a ‘free’ collar); subsequent visits, once a year, (for shots) $16-30; emergency visit, $25 + a few dollars for medicine (she had a respiratory infection)

If we figure that in a year (including the emergency visits –which we’ve only had one but it’s good to have it in there anyway as a buffer for if you do need it):
Food: $156
Litter box: $34 (ours is a nifty one that you just turn the entire box and do not have to touch the litter)
Litter: $36
Vet visits for the first year: $70
               for subsequent years: $55
Total first year: $296
        subsequent years: $247

Of course we also buy her a toy now and again (nothing more than $5) and some treats (usually $2). That is very rarely though so it might add to the total $14 a year. She doesn’t go to the groomer and she’s not required anything out of the ordinary.

But an animal, –cat, dog, fish, bird, tortoise/turtle, etc. –can add a lot to a home. For us, having a cat, the joy of seeing her when we come home from an outing, her purrs, her ‘headbutts’ {which we consider to be signs of affection}, the smiles she brings when we play with her, all those far outweigh the cost and responsibilities of having her. She’s even weaseled her way into dh’s heart –they have an understood relationship.

I’m linking this post up with Making a Home at Linda’s Lunacy, where we can share posts about homemaking ideas, recipes, crafts, decorating, cleaning tips, basically anything that has to do with caring for a home and family.

Staples of Our Food Cupboards

Thinking about ‘how to grocery shop’ got me to thinking about how we plan our grocery list. I’m going to share what was on our list (as it was written):

• butter x4
• milk x4
• eggs x2
• froz veggies x10
• fruit
• salad veggies
• olives x6
• tuna
• cheese, shredded x4, sliced x2
• juice x4
• ground meat
• tea
• oj
• yogurt
• crackers x4
• flour x4
• dishwasher soap
• laundry soap
• toilet paper
• mayo

That is what I put on our list for one month’s worth of grocery shopping. You might see there is a lack to my list. It isn’t orderly; it doesn’t have specifics; and it doesn’t really tell what is priority. I do have a word document file that has everything split up into categories {cold: dairy; frozen: veggies, meat; dry: noodles; etc} as well as prioritized but I haven’t used it in a few years. When I began shopping for my family, I did use it and will definitely print some out for my kids when they get to that point.

I like to buy enough that it will carry over to the next month. The reason for that is because I’m never really sure what may come up {what unexpected expense will take from the budget} or how the prices may change. Milk this time was a great deal so I purchased 5 gallons instead of the 4 I’d planned on. Sometimes I can only get 3 because the cost would prevent the purchase of another item that is wanted/needed. On my list, not everything was crossed off; we didn’t buy it. Sometimes rationing does have to happen in our house. There are some items that I try to get every time we go shopping. These are our staples.

What are ‘staples’? Staples are the items that you just seem to always need. They are the ingredients that you can make just about anything from. What are staples for one household may not be for another. From the short list I gave above the staples for our family would be milk, eggs, fruit, flour and possibly frozen veggies. These are the food items we consume the most. My hubby would love to have meat be included in that list but honestly, I don’t include it. My ideal list would look more like this:

• flour- whole wheat and white
• rolled oats
• dry beans
• oil
• dry milk
• honey
• fresh fruit and vegetables.

The first time I saw a staples list {that I can recall paying attention to} was in the More-with-Less Cookbook* (page 41 in my book). I have other things that I would include on that list that I would like to stock my shelves with but those are the ones I would like to make sure and get each time. Honey would be the first thing to be taken off the list if needed.

Many times people consider staples also to be storable. In that case, fresh fruit and vegetables do not fit in that category. Canning and drying would be a viable option for those but that’s a post for another time {and probably better written by someone else!}.

I’ve been trying to help the kids learn to make some basic food items, such as bread, pancakes, granola, etc. {hmmm, need to get more in there besides breakfast!} so that they will be able to do it on their own when they move out. There’s no point to purchase granolas for $5/lb when it can be made relatively inexpensively at home {and you know what’s in it}. I think having a list of ‘staples’ will help with that.

I think it will be quite fun when the time comes to go shopping with my kids, when they do the shopping for themselves.

*Amazon.com affiliate linked image; “an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.”

I’m linking this post up with Making a Home at Linda’s Lunacy, where we can share posts about homemaking ideas, recipes, crafts, decorating, cleaning tips, basically anything that has to do with caring for a home and family.

Week #26- Done! & Some Other Stuff

I’m using the wee little netbook to write this post and although I am still using LW (love it), the formatting is somewhat different than I am  used to! I’m being oh so nice and letting the kids use my big screen laptop- games are more fun on the ‘big screen’.

The week seems like it just was dragging but it really wasn’t so.

In my life this week…
…it’s just been…well, it’s just been! The weather is weird- cold, wet, then warm, sunny and back to snow. It’s getting me all confused. It’s raining right now but I heard something about snow on the radio.

I made liquid dishwasher detergent again and it works okay except for on plastic, like Rubbermaid containers. Some of my glass dishes (my square storage containers) also do not ‘like’ it. It leaves a film coat on these as well as pots, pans and aluminum dishes (such as my espresso scoop). It’ll work until I can buy more store-bought- I think I will quit making it on my own for now lol.

In our homeschool this week…
…we’ve been doing quite well! Only one day, Lee felt just completely unmotivated. So much so unmotivated that not even taking away her ‘screen time’ did anything to motivate her. She did finally get some stuff done but not all…and she felt just fine with that. Fox has been a trooper with every subject EXCEPT math. He detests math. I honestly have no idea what to do but just keep on keeping on. He cannot recall formulas and concepts from yesterday, last week and definitely not last year! My main focus right now, though is to help him try to have a more positive attitude about math. It’s okay that he cannot recall; we just will go over it again. It isn’t the end of the world and it never lasts long- it’s not worth letting it ruin one’s day.

Monday was testing and I finally got the previous week recorded. Tuesday and Wednesday were good and that’s where I posted about my latest dishwasher detergent. Thursday was Lee’s ‘funk’ day but today’s been good.

Here is Fox’s work Thursday and Friday:
Bible: Reading Deut. 33, John 9; verse Romans 12:1-6; Who Am I?, read 76-89, did pages 60-63 in notebook; Saints & Heroes rest of Coligny (narration)
Math: Saxon Algebra 1, Lesson 6 and correcting
English: Jensen’s Grammar Test 4 and Lesson 21; Age of Fable chapter 37 (started); The Aeneid for Boys and Girls by Church (this is for English and History)
Logic: Art of Argument pages 14-17, question set A
Science: Creek Edge Press Task Card #7 (gears and belts), activities 5-7 (PowerPoint Presentation)
History/Geography: Story of the Romans chapter 6 & 7 (written narration), A Journey Through Learning notebooking pages

And here is Lee’s work:
Bible: Reading Joshua 10, Romans 5; verse Colossians 3
Math: Life of Fred Advanced Algebra Lesson 11 & 12
English: Excellence in Literature (essay); Progeny Press, The Screwtape Letters, working on Letters 1-4
History/Geography: Western Civilization pages 413-416; Kon Tiki chapter 2
Current Events no post this week {ahem, she didn’t “like” anything that was going on and so didn’t report on it}
Foreign Language: Greek Level 5, Lesson 16
Government/Civics: -
Science: Biology, chapter 8 (reading about cellular respiration)

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…
…LIBRARY! Don’t forget to use the library! OH-EM-GEE! I don’t know why I’ve not tried it more often (wait, yes, I do know why- before our library was, ahem, lame extremely small and underfunded and didn’t have much of anything). If you have the option of interlibrary loan (with out the fees) GO FOR IT! I requested a book from one of the local colleges through our public library. We used to have to pay $3 to have a book delivered from the library 10 miles away- per book- at our old library.

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…
…other than to the library a few times this past week, Fox will be going to a wild game get-together with another church tomorrow. He will be able to eat various wild game (he’s hoping for squirrel). He will go with our pastor and their two boys. Lee and I have opted to stay home. We also made it to the park once- it was so nice out but cooled off quickly. We had lunch at Euclid Creek Reservation.

My favorite thing this week was…
…playing with my kids. My ds is almost as tall as his sister and she is just an inch or two shorter than I. We love to ‘wrastle’. We used to do it so much when the kids were small enough that I could pick them both up at once…we do it less as they get older but when we do I love it. I love the hugs I get from them afterwards.

Oh and my new sweatshirt:

What’s working/not working for us…
…hmmm, I think things are going well. Other than math being a constant thorn in the side everything else is going well.

Things I’m working on…
…actually finally nothing! I spent all week getting some worksheets made as well as trying to figure out how to get all our review items into the schedules and now I’ve got nothing to work on :) It’s a wonderful thing. Even if it is only for the weekend.

I’m reading…
…too much! Oi vey! Here is my list: More Beauty, Less Beast by Debora Coty; By the Light of the Silvery Moon by Tricia Goyer; Light Under the House by Aaron and Donna Dawson; It Could Happen Tomorrow by Gary Frazier; Vicious Cycle by Terri Blackstock; Heiress by Susan May Warren; The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis. I finished a couple of books this week but I feel like I’m overloaded with reading!

I’m cooking…
…well this morning I made blini –a bit like crepes but supposed to be not as sweet. I put more sugar than was called for because we didn’t have anything to put on them or to wrap in them. We got the recipe out of the Who Am I? book from Apologia. They were extremely difficult to make. I’m not sure if it is because I do not have a good skillet and/or my spatula is too old and mutilated (makes it difficult to gently get under the blin). Next time it’ll be pancakes like we are used to; they’re easy. For dinner I might make burgers and hot dogs- easy.

I’m grateful for…
…so much! I was thinking today, but really all week, how wonderful God is and how my life is blessed. We have everything we need and so many things that we want. I am grateful for freedoms and privileges that are taken for granted. I’m so so grateful for my little family. My kids are the absolute best gift that I’ve ever been given and I am so thankful that they are home with me. My husband is so so precious to me. That God has given me so much makes my heart swell and brings tears of joy to my eyes. My life is so blessed- Thank you, God.

I’m praying for…
…the families affected by the school shooting in Chardon, OH, this week. Three of the five teens that were shot have died. One mother spoke about the morning of the shooting: her son was not a morning person and usually was late to school. He wasn’t that morning. She feels that God has a plan and who knows why but her son was on time to school that morning. One of the adults there that morning stayed with the kids who were shot, he prayed with them, tried to comfort them. He wiped their tears. I pray for him- God comfort him. I pray for this entire town. I pray for this country. I pray for this world. Jesus is the only answer to end all suffering.

Photos to share…

That’s been our week. Linking up with the following:

Come on over for a visit :)

Relax, Cold, Stress {not in that order}- Weekly Wrap-Up (2/10/12)

In my life this week…In our homeschool this week…
It’s been a fairly normal week here. Monday I worked {but not my usual hours- which threw us off a bit}, Tuesday we enjoyed the cold outdoors, Wednesday we did it again, Thursday I worked {again not my usual hours- which didn’t throw us off this time} but was able to get a book review in, and Friday I worked again {normally I don’t work on Fridays at all…so you can imagine how much that threw us!}. We finished up week 24, only 12 weeks to go!

t’s also the week before break week so we get a little lax in our work towards the end. Friday the kids both did just one thing…and I am mostly okay with that. They spent the day in a relaxing manner {while I slaved away at work- lol, I’m kidding! my job is extremely easy}. Right now as I look outside, it is completely white. We’ve no plans to go anywhere today {although I had wanted to go the store for a few things} and it looks like shoveling will be the biggest chore. I wish we had some hot cocoa to make after the cold job of shoveling- perhaps I’ll make warm vanilla milk. It’s really easy to make:

• 1 cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 spoonful (small spoon lol) sugar

Mix milk and sugar, heat in microwave until desired warmth. Mix in vanilla and enjoy! Of course you can tweak it – add cinnamon, use more/less sugar, or try it with other flavors. It’s a good replacement for hot cocoa.

I had intended on going to evening church on Wednesday {I’m still working on my goals of being closer to my church ‘family’- slow going} but found out something that made me need to stay home with my dear husband and comfort him. I’m aware that the enemy will do anything to prevent us from being close to God, which includes secluding us from church, but God also uses those times to let us be a light- His light. {and everything is alright now but prayers are always appreciated}

Last night was Friday movie night. Generally the kids will choose a movie for them to watch downstairs. It isn’t something that we all usually participate in. Sometimes I watch; sometimes I don’t; hubby rarely watches. But last night hubby got a movie for us to watch together- as a ‘treat’. We watched It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. At it is aptly described as Goofy! Hilarious movie!! We all laughed so hard. Also we stayed up way past the kids’ bed time so they liked that. They don’t make movies like that any more.

Also, yesterday before I went to work {was actually late getting ready because I was so preoccupied} I worked on an ATC card for a group we are in. The theme is Yellow. My favorite color! Here are the cards we made:

Our chances of winning the lottery they do each month is higher since we have three entries Some of the cards made by the group are absolutely stunningly beautiful.

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…
We are going to visit a museum in Dayton, OH, area this weekend. While we are there we will be visiting my oldest sister and her family. It will be the first time that my sister (along with her husband and two kids) and my husband will have met. I’m super excited! My hubby is really interested in the museum; I’m more interested in seeing my sister and her family {shhh, don’t tell lol}.

Things I’m working on…
There are a lot of reviews in our house right now! On the right side bar you can see upcoming reviews for TOS Crew. There are 8 of them. I am extremely grateful and thankful for being chosen to review all of them but I must admit that I am feeling a tad bit stressed {okay, I feel very stressed}. I also have agreed to help with the Teacher’s Toolbox, do a review for Vocabulary Spelling City, am still helping my mom with some things {drawing}, and there are a few other things that I *want* to work on but probably won’t get to. Time management, always working on time management. I can do all this, if I manage my time well. {we’ll see *wink*}

I’m reading…
I’m still reading Surprised by Laughter by Terry Lindvall. I’m really enjoying it. There are still over 200 pages to go and a review of this book will be a long one, I think. I’m also reading the book written by Heidi Kreider, The Secret of Counting Gifts. There will be a review of that book soon but I’ll give you a heads up- I like it

I’m cooking…
Tonight, or very very early tomorrow, I will be cooking a Green Bean Casserole and Mashed Potatoes for church tomorrow. I still don’t know what’s for lunch, let alone dinner, for today!

Some photos to share…
Taken with my phone, all are from Euclid Creek Reservation, a Cleveland Metro Park.

 

 

I’m linking up with