Just Some Other Thoughts

This is in the "Other Thoughts" section of the upcoming Weekly Barden.

After we went to prayer meeting Wednesday night, I changed the focus of my thoughts here. Pastor talked on Philippians 1:9-11. The portion that was really impacting to me was verse 10: 

“That ye may approve things that are excellent, that ye may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ.” (KJV; emphasis mine)

There wasn’t really anything wrong with what I’d wrote before but I could not call it excellent. (I possibly still can’t.) And of course, being human and imperfect, my writing will never be truly excellent. I don’t plan to stop writing just because it doesn’t meet that standard, but there is always room for improvement. 

The thing that really got me was this little train of thought: God doesn’t need to prove why something is wrong; we need to prove how or why it is excellent. If we cannot, then it is not good enough. Does that make sense? 

What does excellent mean in verse 10? In the Strong’s concordance, it is number 1308, diaphero. It is that which is different, set apart, of more value. 

My thoughts in my writing had been around different publications that supposedly are for “Christian” enlightenment. I read a lot of articles, posts, and some print magazines, and am searching for another good print magazine to subscribe. It’s difficult to find something that is excellent. I read things that are by Christians and non-Christians alike; things that are specifically labelled Christian and things that are specifically labelled secular. 

Verse 10 says that ye may approve things that are excellent. It is important (I think) to look back to verse 9, which says Paul prays the Philippians’ love abound in knowledge and judgment. When we reach that point, {is it only when we reach that point?} then we will be able to approve things which are excellent.

Sweet Notes from Strangers

Remember that pen obsession I talked about …was that yesterday? Anyway look what I got in the mail today

I think that’s sweet! Thanks, Paige (from poppin)!

If you are interested in fun (and bright) stuff –yes, stuff –check out poppin.com They are on Twitter and Facebook, too (who isn’t?).

hmmm now I want some of the notecards she sent this on…

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.

Warm Weather- Yes!

Although I have no photos to show {yet} of our wonderful warm weather, I am so glad that it is here! We are finishing up indoor schooling so that we can hang outside. It is supposed to be nice all week.
Last night was horrid. Absolutely horrid- rain, wind, thunder and lightning. *shudder* But we awoke to blue skies and chirping birds! The grass looks greener and the sun is shining.

Beautiful!

Our plans for today at least are to hit a few libraries and then find a nice park or two to investigate. We are trying to find places that we have not gone to thus far. There are a lot of them around so we are guaranteed to not be disappointed!
I will be taking our Nature bag {includes bird book or two, our nature journals, colored pencils, drawing pencils and erasers, watercolor crayons, and binoculars} on our jaunt. We really enjoy putting in entries. I like to look back on them. It’s like seeing it again for the first time.
I am hoping that the nice weather sticks around; I’m ready for Spring. I may even change my blog background- regardless if it snows again.
Oh, and I caved in and purchased a paperback of The Handbook of Nature Study. I cannot wait for it to get here! It is in Denver, CO, as we speak {well, write type and read}.


I hope to have some photos to share either later today or tomorrow.

Love warm weather!

Pinterest- I *Heart* You

Pinterest is taking the web by storm. Causing some swells along the way {you’ve heard of the possibility of infringing on copyrights, haven’t you?} but in general people are flocking to it with zeal! I’m actually just getting into it although I’ve been a member since almost the beginning.

I, for one, was not terribly impressed with it when it first was introduced to me. Not to say that I didn’t see the potential. Okay, okay, at first I truly did not see how awesome it could be.

But now… I pin something just about everyday. Why? Because the bookmarks I’ve created over the years from my browsers toolbar are next to useless to me. I cannot recall where I filed it under and I cannot recall what the website was titled {or what I chose to title it}. I’m pretty sure that I have quite a few duplicate bookmarks in that list. Sure of it.

With Pinterest I can *see* the bookmark. So even if I pinned it under, say, gardening {which I don’t appear to even have a board with that title- yet}, and it is truly clothing {and not related to gardening- who knows why I’d put it there- but it could happen }, I am able to *see* it.

And I love that it is a way to share bookmarks, share great sites {or just very interesting ideas}. There are *gulp* 175 ‘pinners’ that I follow which means to me that there are an exponential number of sites that I now have access to that I may not have even thought to look for before.

Oh, and if you are concerned that this is just another time leech- it can definitely be. Oh yes. But if we that worry about such things are careful, it can be an extremely useful resource. Perhaps use it for searching like you would your usual search engine. Or set a time limit…and stick to it

There is a search feature at the top of the site- type in what you are looking for and you are almost guaranteed with a nice return of results. {if you put in ‘Shamoo’, however, your results will be quite slim lol} The screenshot below is only a small part of the results for “classical education”…

Or for ‘blue’…

The pins go to websites that are commercial, personal, blogs, organizations, and just about anything else that you can think of. If it’s online, you can almost assuredly find a pin of it.

The *only* qualm I have with Pinterest is that the website must have an image to pin. I think it would be swell if there is *no image* that Pinterest could take a screenshot and pin that. That’d be just nifty.

Have you checked out Pinterest? Why or why not? If you do, how do *you* feel about it?

A World Without Math?

Math…the dreaded four letter word. Some parents and their children do quite well with this subject; they require no extra help to tackle it and get it right. But there are plenty of others who do not get along so well with math. It is an important subject to be able to understand and master. Every part of our lives in some way involves math- buying groceries, purchasing a gift for someone else, planning a birthday party, or more extensively for those who work with cash or measurement on a regular basis.

Math is a foundational subject; the base must be understood and mastered before the next tier or layer can be attempted. Often there is a gap or lack of understanding of those base concepts. This prevents students from moving onto subsequent concepts, leading to frustration, low self esteem and/or limited opportunities.

According to a study done by Harvard University, only a small proportion of students (4.5%) in California’s Silicon Valley are doing as well as the country of Portugal. Massachusetts is the state with the highest percentage of advanced math students. So you can move to Massachusetts…or a more realistic solution would be an elementary math intervention program.

In first grade, I had a horrid time with understanding math. For some reason it just did not click. My teacher would sit inside with me at recess to try to help me. I cried over how hard it was. In middle and high school I didn’t have the same problem and I didn’t say the words, “When will I ever use this?” because I actually enjoyed math to a point.  But now that I have kids, I have heard those words. It would be so easy to say that they can just leave the math behind. But they really cannot. It would be extremely unfair and almost downright cruel to let them skip math.

Can you imagine a world without math? It would have no computers, no televisions, telephones, or any electronics. It wouldn’t have medicine or machines to build. We would never have enough food to go around and we would never be able to plan a party! Obviously it’s important. It’s important enough to get a hold early on and an elementary math intervention program may be just what is needed for some.

This post sponsored by Dreambox Learning. See Disclosure/Policies.

Best of Both Worlds

Thanks to Wm Rowe

Living further away from the hustle and bustle of city living isn’t necessarily a bad thing. There are times when I drive into the city and imagine what life would be like living in a swanky high-rise condo overlooking the city’s skyline. There would be access to amazing night life and wonderful restaurants without having to even get into the car. Big cities offer amazing cultural events like the ballet, the symphony, and a multitude of museums and exhibits. But then I am brought back to the fact that I have a family- and two dogs! Can you imagine navigating an elevator or a flight of stairs ten times a day to take your dog out to use the restroom? Where would my girls ride their bikes or even play in a fresh patch of grass? Country living does not have to mean exclusion from the “real world.” When I logged on to http://www.wildbluedeals.com/, I was happy to realize that I could still be connected to the bigger world. I could check out all the weekly offerings at local attractions and smaller venues, and if I wanted to brave the “Big City,” I could look online to see what new events or happenings were going on without sacrificing the clean air and spacious living. It’s truly the best of both worlds.

Less Than One Month Until Winter…

It is a very nice day today. The sun is shining through the intermittent clouds. The wind is a breeze and not too gusty.

But I know, just know, that it could be snow tomorrow. I do wonder though if the weather will hold out its mildness throughout winter this year. Many are saying that last year in this area was very wet, wetter than usual. Perhaps this winter will not be so bad. Well, I can hope.

I have thought about checking out the local bus barns to see if anyone is hiring. That would mean I would have to get an Ohio driver’s license {shhh, don’t tell- I’m still an Oregonian!!- heehee, yes, even after 3 years in Wyoming}. My student loans come due (well payments anyway) the first part of December and I would rather have a way to pay than to put them in deferment (or whatever it is called).

Have you heard of Indeed.com for job search? I just was made aware of it and surprisingly, it was quite easy to look around on the site. I’ve been to many job search sites that just turn my head around. Can’t make heads or tails of them! While there I saw an opportunity for H&R Block.

I’ve always {yes, as long as I knew what H&R Block was!} wanted to work there! Just one of those things I think I will put in my application. Yes, I think I will.

I did put in my application.

Another site that I found {although not in my ‘field’ or even geographic area} is for travel nurses in the Colorado Springs/Denver, CO, area. That’d be an interesting job to have! They say you can grow your career while traveling the countryside. Too bad I’m not a nurse, and I do not have a very good bedside manner either.

Oh, and about winter- if I am able to get a part time job {because that is all I want/need} I will be able to put some money into our Christmas fund. It won’t require much because we are doing simple gifts {one thing to read, one thing to share, one thing to wear, one thing of need} but it could also put money in savings.

It is amazing how time flies…it’s less than one month until winter.

This Post is Just For Spilling My Thoughts

It’s 7:26 pm, Monday evening. I am most likely going to ramble on about a lot of nothing important but I feel the need to let it out so here goes. 

Today is the first day of our no school week. I had plans, oh the plans. But I’ve sat on my rump most of the day. So here I am going to try to make myself feel better about what I did with myself for today.

I did make myself breakfast, lunch, a snack, and dinner for everyone {the kids thankfully made their own meals today- thank God for the little things!}. Hey, I’ve got to eat, right? Drank a lot of mint tea and some apple cider. No coffee although I thought about it…briefly…this morning.

Oh, I also ran around the living room and kitchen playing with the cat {I have the scratch and bite marks to prove it} and washed a lot of dishes. Way too many dishes.

I wasted a lot of time on FB, waiting for my niece to reply to my comments on her wall posts. And reading what others have been up to. It generally makes me feel so insignificant when I read others’ posts, so generally I don’t read others’ posts on FB. Not liking the feeling of inadequacy that I continually subject myself to, it’s easier to just avoid it altogether.

Unfortunately, I miss the good bits and pieces by doing that. Today though I took the time and read a lot and tried to catch up to where I’ve missed. A lot of time. And I’ve discovered I can’t catch up. Not possible. I did read some really good thoughts from Betty Eisenhour from Peace Creek on the Prairie. I like how she thinks.

I’ve also worked for hours on my paper. I really think I could be done with it in just a couple of days. If only I could extract from my files {in my brain} how to format it in APA style. What and how do I cite the table I put into my paper?? Why won’t word let me change the table number?? When I am done here with this post, I will go back to writing on my paper. I’m on a wee bit of a roll. Just a wee bit.

All those years of college classes- blah. For naught, I tell you! You don’t use it, you lose it. Plain and simple. I was thinking about that today also- my college classes really have taught me nothing. Well, wait, that is not true. They did teach me how to write in a way that others {read: instructors} want me to so that I could get a good grade. Having always been inclined to make my writing grammatically correct and being a wee bit fanatic about spelling, my college classes only intensified that. And it’s not the fault of the institution. Nope. Not entirely anyway. I didn’t take a genuine interest in very many of my courses. Get an A, get a good grade, get it done; that was the mentality.

Fiddled with my blog layout. I need to reword some things on my About Me page. It’s outdated. Wondering if I should do this or that with the blog. But I didn’t come to any conclusions. Just moved a few things and deleted a couple of others. I already have my winter theme picked out for the background…won’t change it though until it snows really good here. I’m determined to keep fall around {even if only in my ‘world’} for as long as I can.

I have 26 minutes until I usually head upstairs to my room for the night so I should close this post now and resume my writing. Yeah, that is what I will do now.

This concludes my rambling. Carry on…

Survey Says…& Going Back to Narrations

Well, wouldn’t you know! It seems that there are different views as to what is the most important aspect of the Charlotte Mason method. I’m not really surprised Notice that the question was open-ended. It wasn’t multiple choice nor a simple yes/no. I like to hear the thoughts and opinions when I ask a question It’s one of the first things I look at when it comes to curriculum: what type of questions are presented?

At the time I write this post there have been five gracious survey takers (thank you!) and their answers are as follows (in condensed form):

• Living books: 3
• Science of relations/make their own connections: 2
• Narration: 2
• Living ideas: 1
• Short lessons: 1
• Children are born persons: 1

Did I miss any?

The reason I posted the survey in the first place is because I wanted to hear where others place the importance in their CM learning environment. I’m not trying to copy {but I do anyway}. I want to get as much information as I can to make informed decisions. I agree with all the aspects listed as important to CM learning. For myself, the act of narrating the information learned was the first activity that I found to be different from other ‘curriculums’ I had researched. And when I say ‘curriculum’, it is because I did not understand that Charlotte Mason was advocating a way of life- a life long desire for learning.

Even with living books it is possible to move away from CM by administering tests and quizzes in the traditional format {I’m not referring here to the exams that are available at Ambleside Online-those are not the dreaded multiple choice, yes/no type}. I do not think that those tests allow for an accurate assessment of the actual learning that has taken place like open-ended questions and narrations do. I won’t go so far to say that connections cannot be made when using other methods {textbooks as opposed to living books} but the enjoyment is often missing. With textbooks the information is learned to fulfill a test {it’s usually dry and boring}; with CM the learning is for the benefit of gaining knowledge {the living books are engaging and descriptive –usually}. The textbooks generally are written by a small group of authors, sometimes even just one, giving only one perspective. Reading many living books open up the subject to various perspectives and are often interesting {that always helps with retention}.

We Narrate and Then We Know.

“'I am enrolling my child in the PNEU,' says Mrs. Smith to Mrs. Jones. 'Ah yes,' says Mrs. Jones. 'PNEU, that's narration, isn't it?' Of course, narration is by no means the whole of PNEU, but it is quite an important part…” (E. K. Manders. C. M. T. Parent’s Review, Vol. 2, no. 4, July 1967, pgs 170-172)

Narration is what I discovered that really shows me what my kids have learned {myself as well}. If we cannot relate back what we read, then how well do we really know it? Unfortunately, I’ve gotten away from narrations. Well, let me explain- with my dd (yr8), she writes very well. Coming from a public school background she had been writing for years already. Her oral narrations were always good and so I moved her to written narrations. I think that AO suggests that high schoolers will be doing written narrations one a day and still will be doing the oral narrations for their subjects but …we moved away from the oral and leaned more heavily on the written.

My rush into the written hasn’t resulted in wonderful results. I will be honest and admit that it was because *I* didn’t want to take the time away from whatever it was that I was occupied with to listen to narrations. It was much easier to have her write her narrations and I would read them- generally once a week. She is very good with grammar and mechanics so there isn’t much in the way of editing to her narrations. What is missing however is the interjection of her own thoughts. It is simply a retelling –much like a textbook. It is dry. Her oral narrations used to be fact-filled {that doesn’t mean she never missed a name, date, event, etc.} but they also had the emotion for me to see and hear that the reading gave her. If it was an exciting event, she would be more animated. If it were a somber event, she was more quiet.

“To begin with, there is nothing mysterious or magical about narration. We all do it. When we have had a pleasant outing or listened to a beautiful concert or seen an exciting play, our first impulse is to tell our friends about it, and how frustrating it is if, when we get home the friends are out or watching a television programme which must not be interrupted. We tell them about it later on, but our account will not have the same vividness and spontaneity as it would have had if we had told it when it was fresh in our minds. This is an important point to remember when we come to consider the method of a narration lesson (E. K. Manders. C. M. T. Parent’s Review, Vol. 2, no. 4, July 1967, pgs 170-172).”

With the written narrations…it is just the facts. Nothing but the facts. There is no opinion or reflecting intertwined in her writing. I do wonder if this is because we went so quickly from oral narrations to written ones. Perhaps I didn’t allow enough time for the oral narrations so that they would flow somewhat naturally into the written narrations {do they normally flow so easily?}. I’m not sure.

Another confession is that a few of her subjects were being neglected in terms of narration completely- no oral narration; no written narration. That was 99% my fault- my neglect. {hanging my head in shame}

We’ve added in a few things to our CM homeschool {more consistent composer study, hymns, and working on nature study} but personally, without the narration I don’t know that they are making the connections. When we read something we retain a portion. When we read it and say it, we retain much more. Of course the rest of that goes if we read, say and write something we retain most of it {or something close to that- I didn’t write it down *wink*}.

With ds (yr6), we hadn’t been as diligent with narrations as before and I could tell that the retention was slipping. It wasn’t just slipping in his school work but in other aspects of life. I suspect that by letting him ‘get away with’ not doing narrations, it was having an effect on other aspects of his life {but perhaps that is a discussion for habit training and focus…}. We have to get back to oral narrations.

“Do let the narration follow directly after the reading. Otherwise, the children will be in the same difficulty as we were in when our friends were watching the television and couldn't listen to our adventures (E. K. Manders. C. M. T. Parent’s Review, Vol. 2, no. 4, July 1967, pgs 170-172).”

And that is what was on my mind when I posted the survey about Charlotte Mason I’m still learning as we go along in our education {I’m being educated as well!} and sometimes I think I’ve got it, other times not so much. As for narration, have a look at this page at Ambleside Online.

Oh, yes…I’d Forgotten

It seems that I am very forgetful lately. Yesterday, in the middle of a sentence I totally lost my thought. Just like that. How weird is that??

But while I’m here and the thought is still in my mouth, er, mind, I will share a coffee cake recipe that I used to make breakfast this morning.

A Day in the Life of Our Homeschooling Family (10/31/11)

I thought I would share how our day looks at North Laurel Home & School. I won’t say that this is a typical day but I thought it would be fun to share anyway

I wake up at 6:30 am each weekday morning (even Saturday!) and today was no different. Normally I make a pot of coffee first thing in the morning (right after feeding the cat and letting her loose from her ‘dungeon’) but there was leftover from yesterday. Day old coffee…? Doesn’t generally bother me

Toss Together: Vegetable Chicken Soup

What to make for dinner? I like to plan my meals but haven’t done so in um, well, it has definitely been too long.

What to make when you have V8 juice, a can of diced tomatoes and chicken breast? Unfortunately, we aren’t big on the tomato base but eh, what if that’s all you have? I did scrounge up (lol it sounds like I scraped it off of something…I had some left in a jar in the fridge) some chicken broth (made it myself) and a can or two of veggies.

I just thought this was interesting; all different brands lol.

Here is what I did with my findings:

In a large pot poured in V8 juice (should have used two- but that means taking from dh’s stash *wink*), chicken broth (from a can and my leftovers), dumped in diced tomatoes, cut green beans and carrots. The chicken I had to thaw and then I cut it into strips. Cooked in a little oil and seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic powder (my three most favorite ‘spices’) I cut them into chunks and added it to the soup.

      

I started the soup at about 3pm and we usually eat by 6:30pm. I figured that 3+ hours would be good to get the chicken flavored. The only thing I didn’t count on (and yet I knew better) was that the canned veggies are already soft and giving them a bath in soup only makes them soggy.

I like rice so I might cook up a little rice to toss in with my soup.

What’s your favorite ‘toss together’ meal?

Scrubs?

For a reason unbeknown to me, sometimes when I am in a store, I look at the nurse uniforms (you know, medical scrubs). Why? I do not know. It is a strange obsession, I think. Granted when I was young I did want to be a nurse but I don’t have the best bedside manner and I don’t like other peoples blood.

Perhaps it is because I see such cute designs nowadays on scrubs. They are no longer just plain green or gray. They have monkeys, they have dogs, cats, fish, and such bright colors. Someday (hopefully sooner than too much later) one of my sisters will be a nurse. I can imagine her scrubs will be BRIGHT! To match her personality  

Not all stores carry medical scrubs, of course. I live in a town that the majority of people are employed as either nurses/doctors, railroaders, or farmers. So there are scrubs at a local store Here though they are the generic colors. For those in the medical field, you most likely already know about buying scrubs online. Well, I checked out some scrub stores online and came across Blue Sky Scrubs. Looking at the hats that they sell, I wonder why others couldn’t buy them. Correct me if I am wrong, but aren’t the scrub hats to keep hair and other cooties from falling where they aren’t wanted? The same for food workers, eh? I recall working in a college cafeteria and having to wear a hair net. Ugh. But these hats would be great for that!

Perhaps they already make them for the food industry and I am just behind… hmmm. An interesting topic for a blog post, eh? But really, have a look at this:

This one is made for short hair. And here’s one for longer hair:

Some of the designs:

Okay, I am done now You are returned to your regularly scheduled blogging.

This post brought to you by Blue Sky Scrubs
http://www.blueskyscrubs.com/categories/Scrubs

And in the forcast...more rain

Looks promising, huh?

Not when we have this problem...

And hubby just put grass seed down on the back yard... now it's all in puddles and blotches. Some spots aren't so bad and I really think that there is grass sprouting but it's all muddy and I can't get close enough to really see.

But perhaps it will help the drought that this area seems to go through every single year. That would be good. And I am liking the 60s temperatures. :) I really really do not do well with heat (yes, 70 is hot to me!)

Jabber, Jabber...!

Eh, I am so not a good blogger. (Mom stands behind me and says, "Bad blogger, bad!" Hehe) Anyways, I'm posting now so that I don't forget later...

Not that I really have anything awesome to say, just some jabber...!

Okay, well, to start...

I got up before everyone else and decided to figure out breakfast. So I looked at our breakfast options and 'Muffins' caught my attention. I took out a cookbook and hunted down a good-looking muffin recipe. I found just a basic one, 'Muffins'. Because they sounded boring, I decided, I want the oatmeal variation!

So when Mom came up, I pointed out the recipe to her, and she just said, "Get to it, then." (Or something like that...0.0) 

The muffins are just now down and out of the oven. (Thank goodness Mom took them out of the oven... Ovens scare me!!) Sadly, they aren't coming out of the wrapper-things very well. (Which, by the way, I arranged in a special pattern in the pan, hehe)

I'll be back and finish this after I eat some of my supposedly yummy muffins...!

Yum, they are yummy! ('um, yeah...' says my inner self) They're really good with Mom's honey butter. (Perhaps I'll ask Mom to post the muffin recipe here, cause they are really good and quite simple. And I'm too lazy to post the recipe myself)

Okay, Jabber Part 1: Completed.

 Now, Jabber Part 2...

My book!!

I am in the process of getting a copy of my book, The Bright Stone. (Which I wrote for NaNoWriMo last year) Using Lulu.com, I can get a copy of my book! I just have to wait for the 'print-ready file' to complete (which will take years) and then I'll order a copy for myself. Just one, to make sure that all the formatting and stuff is done right. Then I shall release my book to the world!! (Bwahahaha)

(computer voice:)Jabber Part 2: Completed.

Jabber Part 3...!

Have you watched Megamind?! If you haven't, you are really missing out!

When I first watched it, I was skeptical, because it is said to be better than Despicable Me (which I didn't find very awesome, really...) So my first viewing was kinda in an 'ehh' state of mind. After we (Fox and I) finished it, he said, "It'll probably be better the second time." And it so totally was...! There are so many funny little bits in it...!

Some of my favorite quotes from the movie:

Titan: There is no Easter Bunny. There is no Tooth Fairy. And there is no Queen of England!

Megamind: Unfathomable. It's like, uh, without fathom.

Megamind: You were right, minion. I was... less right.

Megamind: (hits head on windshield) Ow! My giant blue head!

You really have to watch the movie, to understand the quotes a little better...!

(computer voice:) Jabber Part 3: Completed.

Jabber: Completed.

Lee, out...!

Just Not My Day...But It Gets Better

Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed: for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. 

Isaiah 41:10 KJV

I woke up this morning not feeling great but not too bad. I got ready for church, made hubby breakfast and coffee. Then it hit me. A horrid and painful bout of stomach something or other.

That was the beginning of my day. 

Missing church 3 times in a row starts to weigh on a persons mind. At least it does mine. I felt guilty for not going this morning. About an hour after church would have started, I was feeling much better. It's a bit like missing school when you're sick and then before the day's done, you're fine.

I turned to my Bible for comfort. I think I've mentioned a book that I am reading, 31 Days of Drawing Near to God, and that is where I found some good verses to help me today. The one that is at the top of this post was probably the best for me today. 

The church is not the way to salvation. It is important. The fellowship and the instruction that we receive at church cannot be replaced. But it isn't where God is, where He resides. God is within us. 

I know it's silly but I have one less follower today and it made me sad at first. But it is okay. We all have moments in our life when certain things are important...and then they are not, or not as much. I don't really worry that I've said or done something that has caused this person to no longer follow my blog. Although I do blog for others, I blog mostly for myself.

So, although my day may not have started on the best note, it's okay.

And tomorrow's Monday... lol

Accomplishments!

Today was to be my usual Sunday- wake, get ready, go to church, come home for a few hours and do who knows what. I did the first few things as usual. But today I feel accomplished!

I also multi-tasked and I washed almost all of the dishes, made homemade soap, did laundry, made granola, shared with others something I feel is worth thinking on, made Tuna Helper from scratch, filtered water to refill water bottles, and did a little (wee bit) of reading and research for my capstone project.

It felt really really good to do things that I set my mind to!

Unfortunately, those things took me up until just a bit ago to complete. In that time, I forgot that church started about 30 minutes ago. Honestly that thought just about stole my happiness at what I had accomplished. But I feel somewhat okay that I missed church (when not in a habit of going to evening service it's a bit difficult to get into the habit) and only because I tried to share what I had learned and experienced from morning church with my readers.


I'm not saying that all my 'worldly' accomplishments are more important than going to church but I feel that God was helping me to do something that I have had a problem with lately- motivation as well as ambition (and follow-through). Of course, I could just be trying to make myself feel better for missing church. 

I still feel 'accomplished'.

Turkey - It's What's For Dinner

http://www.printactivities.com/Mazes/Shape_Mazes/Turkey-Maze.html

I really wanted a photo of a turkey that hasn't been cooked... but this is probably more acceptable. We aren't having turkey in the traditional sense- like Thanksgiving dinner. Nope. We are having turkey, bean (and rice) and cheese burritos.

Last month, Tristan @ Our Busy Homeschool posted a recipe for crockpot refried beans which I just thought was totally awesome. (That does have something to do with this post, I promise) At the time I had only a 3 quart crockpot, which work fine for the recipe, with a little tweaking. But for Christmas my hubby gave me a 7 quart crockpot! I was itching to use it for something. I'm going to admit that I did not use it for Tristan's crockpot refried beans (I had forgotten about it- yea, my mind goes in and out). I did make beans however. The original plan was to make bean soup. I added the beans and let them cook, then I added some spices and .... some rice. Well, the beans hadn't cooked enough for me to add the rice but I wasn't paying attention. By the time the beans were finally done, the rice was not visible. But it was a very thick soup!

I thought it was a little funny actually. I ate some of the beans with some cheese sprinkled on top and thought it was good. Well, I scooped the remainder (no one else ate any- grrr) into containers to put in the fridge. It was about this time that I realized because of the consistency, this could be used as beans for burritos, in place of refried beans. So I grated up some cheese and made some bean and cheese burritos. 

We had that for dinner one night and then I got the bright idea (oh, yes, I'm so smart hehe) that I would make freezer burritos. I put a sheet of aluminum foil on the counter, with a piece of saran wrap on top of that. The burritos went together nicely and first rolled in the saran wrap then the aluminum foil (and finally all put into a freezer bag) keeps them 'fresh'. 

Well, at Thanksgiving we were given 4 turkeys. God smiles on us :) We ate the first for Thanksgiving. The second I thawed after the first of the year to cook but silly me I forgot that I don't have a pan for it. So instead it got cut to pieces. What didn't get used (the edible meat) was put in the crockpot with some water, garlic, carrots and onions to make turkey stock. All the meat I cut up and put in freezer bags. But honestly I wasn't sure what to do with it.

I almost forgot about it! Good thing I didn't though- that would have been quite a bit of meat wasted! So today with my awesome food processor, I made ground turkey. I was doing this when Lee asked what would be for dinner and I really had no ideas. But a little later I was dealing with the remainder of the beans and making burritos for the freezer. It dawned on me that we usually use ground turkey for our meals that use meat. Why not make burritos with the ground turkey and the beans? Great idea! :) 

Simple turkey, bean and cheese burritos:
4 tortillas
.71 lbs ground turkey (cooked)
16 oz salsa
about 8-10 oz bean stuff
olives
and a lot of cheese :) 


The only thing really missing was a salad or some type of veggie. Kids are drinking juice so I feel better about that omission. 

Since we still have 2 whole 16 lb turkeys and 3 lbs of ground turkey, I figured it would be good to see what I can make with it. I like new ideas. Here is a blog with 25 Ground Turkey Recipes- some look really good.

Topic That Most Would Rather Not Think About- Life Insurance, Death, Funeral Arrangements

Not a pleasant topic. You might not wish to continue reading, and I understand.

A few years ago (well, almost 6 years to be more specific), my dh lost a close friend in death. He was the same age as my dh, who was 28 at the time. It was a very unexpected blow. It caused my dh to start thinking about things that he definitely didn't want to: death. And life insurance and funeral arrangements.

Not even two years after his friends death, my step-father passed away after dealing with cancer. Within a few months of this my dh lost one of his grandfathers in death. It just brings it to the forefront of our mind how fragile life is- how uncertain. My dh made the arrangements for what would happen in the event of his death. It's not something that I like to think about but at the same time, we need to be prepared because we just never know.

Just last month a 'friend' from the online community passed away from cancer and it again got my husband and I thinking about what we would do if one of us were to pass away. It isn't a lovely thought, it is downright sad and depressing. But it is something that I think needs to be thought about and discussed- and long before it is 'needed'. 

Something that I have thought about is the funeral process. When my great-grandmother passed away in 2002, I had no idea about final expense insurance or about funeral insurance policies. Of course, I wasn't part of the group of family members that took care of all the arrangements so I wouldn't have even been paying attention to those things. Something that I think, now, I should probably at least know about. But as I get older, these are some things that I need to think about. My dh tells me, "I've taken care of everything." But really, I don't know how it all works and I think I should.

I know that there is life insurance through MetLife that we can use to help ease the worry of financial strain in the case of an untimely death (when is there ever a 'timely' death??). I used to think that life insurance was only for those who were in dangerous jobs or situations or those with a lot of money (not sure why on that last one). But it isn't just for those people. It is actually for those who are left behind. The insurance would be helpful if a family member were to pass away- it would allow more time for the grieving perhaps- by allowing the added strain/stress of money issues to be less. 

I do apologize if this topic is something that brings sadness to any of those who read this post.