Daybook: Shoeboxes and Tetnus Shots

FOR TODAY

Outside my window...the birdfeeder needs to be brought in, cleaned, and refilled. The TWO birdfeeders need to be brought in, cleaned, and refilled. I think I'm beginning to see the downside to this hobby.


I am thinking...that I am not coming out from my little penguin blanket cocoon until the temperatures are once again consistently above 60. Also, cocoon is a weird word to spell.

I am thankful...for the fifty-eight Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes a small group of co-op students packed up today.

In the kitchen...I stopped by Aldi's on the way home from the shoebox packing party. I picked up a refrigerated pizza, a box of hot wings, a box of sweet bbq wings, and a box of chicken tenders. Move over Martha Stewart.

I am wearing...a penguin blanket. Under that is my pink turtleneck with the pretty little snowflake necklace a Brunswick elf made for me, jeans, and unicorn slippers. I am a living fashion plate.

I am creating...shhhhhhh....it's a secret.

I am going...to the dentist sometime this week I hope. Toa of Boy has a loose tooth. The loose tooth looks suspiciously like a permanent tooth and not very much like a baby tooth.

I am wondering...can I make my Thanksgiving rolls on Wednesday? They won't be warm on Thursday. But, they'll be done....and that's worth a lot. Also, we have six people for Thanksgiving. And two pies and one cake. And I think I need to add another baked good. Ooooo....I know! Peach pake! 

(Wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey footnote here. I went to bed at this point on Monday evening and am writing the rest of this daybook on Tuesday morning. Thus change in tense and day and what not.)

I am reading...haven't started Ender's Game yet. I am doing a Bible study on the life of Abraham called The Magnificent Obsession. I'm just using the participant's guide, not the book by Anne Graham Lotz.

I am hoping...that this week comes together as easily as the last couple weeks have. I've gone off my 'to-do' list and am trying to take a Mary approach to life rather than a Martha approach. But, that's hard to do on Tuesday morning when all I can think of is all the stuff that needs to get done.

I am looking forward to...my cousin and his family coming over the Friday after Thanksgiving. They moved to Florida last fall and we haven't seen them since. Sweetling and Toa of Boy really like getting together with their kids and we really like getting together with the grown-ups. We used to get together at least once a month....but alas, those good times had to come to an end.

I am learning....that my pediatrician's office doesn't have Toa of Boy's shot records on file. I kind of think that in the five years we've been a patient there, someone should have asked me about that on one of our well-child visits. Instead I find out when I call to make sure Toa of Boy is up to date on his tetnus vaccine because he took a nasty fall in the woods last night. I'm a little miffed about this.

Around the house...don't ask me about the house. The house needs vacuumed. The laundry needs done. The dishwasher needs unloaded. The bathroom needs cleaned. The tub needs scrubbed. The house is not in a good state this morning.

I am pondering...there have been a few other 'glitches' at my doctor's office. Every time one of those happens I think about switching to a pediatrician for the kids. But, I don't really want to wind up in a group of pediatricians where its spin the wheel to see who sees your child. I like having a family doctor that sees both me and the kids, who knows my family, who supports homeschooling, etc. So, I never switch doctors. I like my doctor; I don't like her office staff.

A favorite quote for today...elephants. It's not a quote, but there is a herd of elephants escorting Sweetling around the house this morning. Last night the discussion was, if we had access to a shrink ray and could make elephants small enough to be house pets, what would a good size be for a pet elephant?

One of my favorite things...God's hand is on my day and on my life. I don't have to worry about the big picture. I just have to be faithful moment-by-moment. That's hard enough in itself.

A few plans for the rest of the week:
Tuesday: tetnus shot? Call the dentist. Call Lazer Kraze and pre-pay to save our spot for Wednesday. Vacuum and clean.
Wednesday: laundry? school. Lazer Kraze.
Thursday: grocery store. school. Y classes.
Friday: Week TWO of the Jedi's holiday time! We might be going to the range. Also, I need to bake and decorate cake for a first birthday.
Saturday: Vaya's baby's first birthday. Dr. Who's 50th anniversary special. Originally a souffle was to be made that morning, but the birthday party preempted that.

A peek into my day...
No peeks. No peeks for you. Some horrible person forgot to take a SINGLE picture at our shoebox packing party. That horrible person could kick herself for that right now :(

---Format courtesy of The Simple Woman's Daybook.

Simple Woman's Daybook: Jumping Back into Blogging

I know. Months without blogging and now, what, three posts in one night?

I wanted to write this on Monday at co-op....but, co-op is a busy place.

I really want to get back to blogging regularly. Ideally, I want to have at least two posts a week...a Two for Tuesday and a Week in Review.

But first, I need to get over my guilt at having let my blog slide, forget all the posts that I meant to write, but never did...and just start blogging again.

Easiest way to do that is with a Simple Woman's Daybook. Don't worry about my "to-write" list. Just focus on the now.

FOR TODAY


Outside my window...
Last week I put up a bird feeder. Two in fact. In my front yard on a double shepherd's hook. I can see them from my kitchen window. (Yes, my kitchen faces the front of the house.) I got two bird identification guides from the library and signed up for project feeder watch. So far it's attracted several house sparrows, three cardinals (one male and two female), a pair of house finches, and at least one chickadee. In my backyard, I think I saw a Northern Flicker.

I am thinking...
Writing is hard. Writing is so hard.

I am thankful...
For how well school is going with both kids this year. This is what homeschooling should be, I think. Sweetling has a really, really heavy workload, but it's mostly things that she wanted to learn. Her new weekly schedule seems to be working well for her. And Minecraft is the best thing that has ever happened to Toa of Boy's education.

In the kitchen...
Fish tacos were not as yummy as they sounded. Oh, the fish tacos Sweetling made a couple of years ago from scratch were delicious. The frozen fish stick tacos I tossed together after a long day at co-op were about as good as one would expect frozen fish stick tacos to taste.

I am wearing...
Jeans, unicorn slippers, an old college honors society sweatshirt, a wool wrap. I was wearing electrically heated gloves that plug into a usb cable or something while I type, but I took those off to facilitate the nose wiping. Sexy, I know.

I am creating...
Germs. Maybe a year of pies. Not at the same time though. My pies are germ free. Thus I prove that I am sexy and have great marketing skills.

I am going...
To see Thor: The Dark Planet on Friday. The Jedi is home every Friday for the rest of the year. It's one of my favorite parts of the Christmas holidays. Agents of Shield next Tuesday has a Thor tie in. Thus, a movie trip is in order.

I am wondering...
Where I can buy an inexpensive elf on the shelf. I need an elf. I've given up on a house elf, but think an elf on the shelf is withing my power to acquire.

I am reading...
Ender's Game. Or re-reading it. Toa and I are reading Michael Vey and the Prisoner of Cell 25 together as his literature read aloud. I've read all three of the Michael Vey books, because it was my job to pre-read them, of course. Not that I got sucked into the story line and had to find out WHAT HAPPENED. That never happens to me.

I am hoping...
To get over this cold soon. Toa of Boy has had this lingering cough for at least a week now.

I am looking forward to...
Fridays. I love having the Jedi home for several three-day weekends in a row.

I am learning...
That I can't tell the difference between a black-capped chickadee and a carolina chickadee. Personally, I think it's very unfair that an Ohio girl should have to worry about a carolina chicakee, but apparently Cincinnati is graced with both varieties. Lucky me.

Around the house...
Clutter. I suffer with severe flat-surface syndrome. Fortunately, there is a medication derived from the cocoa tree that can relieve my symptoms.

I am pondering...
Why, at 11:10, I just got an email from my daughter whose school night bedtime is supposed to be 10:30.

A favorite quote for today...
"I shot a superior officer in the chest." (Simmons, Agents of Shield).

One of my favorite things...
How quick the Jedi is to help me, fix things for me, and take care of me.

A few plans for the rest of the week:
Wednesday: pick up Sweetling's holds from the library. Bellydance class at the Y was on the list, but we'll see how much energy the cold leaves me with.
Thursday: Y classes, if the energy is there. Though, I think I can do the stretching class and skip the stability ball/core strength training.
Friday: Thor.
Saturday: house cleaning party at a friend's before her surgery, shoebox packing at church, gaming :)

A peek into my day...
Slept in. Fed the dog. Stared at the snow on the ground. Snow. No birds at the feeder. Made my breakfast. Started my devotions. Got a shower. History and Bible with Sweetling and Toa. Vacuumed. Swept the kitchen floor. Sorted and started laundry. Made and ate lunch and watched Code Lyoko prequel with Sweetling. Transferred laundry, straightened my hair, took Jupiter for a walk. Not a jog. I'm not jogging in the cold. I can't figure out how to stay warm and not sweat. Did school with Toa. Figured out the bird I saw in the backyard was probably a northern flicker. Wrote two blog posts. Let my family scrounge for leftovers in the fridge. Played hookey from evening Y classes. Watched Downton Abby and ate tacos. Watched Agents of Shield with Sweetling and the Jedi and drank hot chocolate. Ignored the laundry still in the machines and wrote this blog post instead.


(add your picture here)
You'll note there is no picture. I think I should make another goal for Friday be "ask the Jedi to teach me how to get pictures off of both my phone and the camera. I can't do either.

Daybook: Daffodils!

FOR TODAY

Outside my window...There's so much work to be done in my garden that I'm almost wishing the snow would come back and cover it up again. Ok, not really. But, lots of work.

I am thinking...naptime. I'm listening to a smattering of news...but I'm not really thinking about it. I'm thinking about naptime. Maybe I should see if I can work the phrase "not really" into every section of my daybook today.

Squirrel story from Mama.....Mama says she was on her way to church this morning and was waiting her turn at a stop sign. She was thinking of me, and a little squirrel went scampering across the street. Because she was thinking of me, she said aloud (with her car windows up), "Well hello there little squirrel; Jesus loves you!"  As soon as she said, "Jesus," the little squirrel turned around, sat up on his hind legs, and made eye contact with Mama. Mama says she was as surprised as the squirrel seemed to be. She kept talking to the squirrel, telling him all about how much Jesus loved him. The squirrel sat enraptured looking at Mama. Another car came up behind her, so she had to cut her testimony short and drive away. But, she wanted to share the story with me.

I am thankful for...a wonderful birthday, a wonderful family, a delicious chocolate cake, and friends who not only put up with, but who will participate in my crazy ideas.

From the learning rooms..... I have zero motivation to continue our current curriculum. Zero. I always have trouble being motivated to do school in the spring, but now that we are for sure using a different curriculum next year, my normally deficient motivation has decreased to zilch. Some other solution needs to be worked out for the rest of this year. Hmmmm....

From the kitchen...the Jedi is great, made me the chocolate cake! This was my birthday present from the family. Each person did parts of it. The bottom layer was a Ghiredelli dark chocolate brownie. This was topped with a layer of Hagendaas dark chocolate ice cream. Then a layer of dark chocolate cake, a layer of dark chocolate hot fudge, and another layer of dark chocolate cake. The final, top layer was a ganache made with Gheridelli chocolate. It was every bit as good and as decadant as it sounds.

I am wearing...church clothes still. In honor of my birthday, I wore the long, silver-grey embroidered dress which I wore to Vaya's wedding. I paired it with a long silver necklace with orange crystal beads and dangly silver earings with tiny orange crystal pendants. I got lots of compliments on my dress and jewelry today :)

I am creating...ONE WEEK until the children's Easter musical. ONE WEEK. And I'm noticing that I tend to overuse the effect of repeating a word or phrase as a sentence fragment for emphasis. When the writer notices the technique is being overused, its probably been ridden into the ground.

I am going...back to church at 5 for musical practice. A dear brother is there now working on the set. I wanted to go back and help him, but have been told that he is in the creative process and extra people there would be the opposite of helping. So, I am at home.

I am reading...just finished Graceling, an excellent fantasy book. Its been a long time since I've read an adult, or young adult, fiction book without picking it apart....but Graceling fits into that category. Believeable, well-developed characters, an unusual and original premise, a nicely flowing plot... if I had one criticism, it would be that the book wrapped up too quickly. I would have been happy with at least two or three more chapters.

I am hoping...for 40 responses to my birthday challenge!

I am hearing...birdsong from outside. The Jedi has turned the news off, since the principle vote isn't going to happen for another couple of hours at least. Downstairs, Toa has just finished sharpening a pencil. He is sitting at his school desk voluntarily spending his Sunday afternoon writing something!!! We don't know what he's writing, becaue it's private until he's ready to share. But I never thought I'd see the day when the boy's weekend activity of choice was writing!

Around the house... spring cleaning and decluttering or arson? Its a tough choice to make.

One of my favorite things...um....chocolate cake of course! And the daffodils with opened up just in time for my birthday are a close second!

Garden news.... the Jedi came home with four boxes of Pachysandra on Friday afternoon. His company is redoing their landscaping, and all that ground cover was just going to be ripped out. They asked if anyone wanted it, and the Jedi said yes! I'm thrilled! We planted it on the wooded slope of the backyard yesterday.  I also discovered, while we were outside working, that giant piles of autumn leaves which are raked into piles for jumping in and then left all winter, will kill the grass. Go figure.

A few plans for the rest of the week:
Sunday: rehearsal
Monday: I'm trying to talk Telephone and Kindness into coming over for chocolate cake after Kindness gets off school.
Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday: We need a curriculum solution for the rest of our school year. There are some things in our present curriculum which we must finish up....but surely some fun and enjoyment can be found in it?
Saturday: Dress rehearsal! and Junior High Girls outing to Living Cross.
Sunday: Rez the Rock who Rolled! Easter Musical

Here is picture for thought I am sharing... to be added after nap, when pictures are unloaded from the camera.

To view other daybooks, check out The Simple Woman's Daybook

Simple Woman's Daybook

For today, Monday, Jan 4, 10:42 pm.

Outside my window...its a whole new world of cold out there. I opened the patio door a little after seven this morning to toss some crackers out for the squirrels and every joule of heat in the air around me was immediately sucked away. There is no snow to speak off, only tiny little flecks that have not really formed far enough past the basic ice crystal state to qualify has a snowflake. There is just enough of them in the air to swirl around in the bitter wind to sting eyes and face. I was outside for a second time this morning to carry library books to the car for Mama. I looked up once to see a swarm of snow's more sinister cousin come swirling off my neighbor's roof during a gust of wind. I hustled my shivering body back inside.

I am thinking....we're likely driving back up to Canton today. The Jedi's mother was going to give us a call this morning with an update on Dad's condition. Here's what needs done today:
--pack clothes for me and the kids.
--pack the bathroom bag?
--pack Toa's school books
--pack Sweetling's school books
--make a list of easy menus I can cook up in Canton
--make a grocery list and check Meijer's sale flier for the groceries I need
--go to Meijer and/or Walmart to get some of the shopping done before the drive
Sweetling has just finished her math for the day, and Toa is just now finishing up phonics. The laundry is done and folded, so we're off to a good start.

I am thankful for...a good and gracious God who hears our prayers.

Toa is finished with his phonics worksheets. I'm off to start packing.

Monday Morning in December

Just a few observations:

--We're on a homeschooling snow delay. This means that although the weather in no way interfers with our schooling, the first dusting of snow is on the ground outside and it must be stomped in before it melts away for the day. There is nowhere near enough snow to make snowballs to throw, yet the children are out there giving that their best efforts. I'm watching through the kitchen window.

--Flatscreens, despite their slim appearance, are surprisingly heavy for their size.

--No, I didn't drop it.

--The actual computer box is even heavier. Plus, my computer box isn't a tower, it lays down. It lays down so flat that it was near impossible to try to wiggle my fingers under it to pick it up.

--Plastic tablecloths, no matter how bright and cheery, are not a good option to use under a computer. Computers get warm, you see, so even when you finally manage to get your fingers under the computer to pick it up, the plastic table cloth will have partially melted and become glued to the bottom of the computer, making it impossible to easily move from one spot on the table to another.

--After putting one edge of the computer down and tearing the tablecloth away from its bottom, you get to repeat the step before last.

--Not one, but two school buses have gone past with small children longily looking out of bus windows at my children happily playing in the snow.

--Through the kitchen window, I called yellow car on both the first school bus and the yellow salt truck. Sweetling may or may not have been amused, you never can tell with bees.

--I decided, much earlier this morning, that I never want to sit at my school computer to write or work, because I don't have any desk space to the left of my keyboard to put notebooks, snacks, grocery fliers, or other needed items. Now my computer, despite its bond with the tablecloth, sits happily in the middle of the table, leaving me a nice work space on the left to quickly clutter up.

--I think my computer might finally be close to recognizing my authority. When I put the flat screen back on top of the box, the flat screen was very politely displaying a window titled "Help and Support Center". I think it was the machine's deferential way of suggesting I might have sought some help in this tiny relocation project.

--Yes, I moved it when the computer was on. I don't know if that's good for the machine or not, so let's not tell the Jedi. But really, I didn't think it would be that big of a deal to just move the system 18 inches to the right.

--To demonstrate my new dominance over the computer, I uploaded some snow play photos from my camera. Take that technology.

 

--Lastly, a second cup of hot chocolate is 150 calories. According to CalorieCount, if I weighed 150 lbs, which I don't, I could burn off those calories by vacuuming for 40 minutes. Hmmm... so...if I vacuum my house and switch my loads of laundry, I can totally justify a second cup of hot chocolate? I love the internet.

Simple Woman's Daybook, Monday, November 9th

FOR TODAY
(Monday, November 9th, 9:58 pm)...

Outside my window...once again, it is dark. I can tell you that most, but not all of the leaves have been raked off of the back patio. They were combined with many leaves raked together from the lawn in order to form a big pile for jumping in. The big pile is still sitting out there. It will probably sit there until spring. No, I'm not worried about my lawn. It is not a delicate lawn. Its a wild lawn of any green plant matter that wants to volunteer for duty out there. It's very durable that way.

I am thinking... isn't it about time for another weekend? How can it possibly be only Monday? Plus, why does my cursor jump to the very bottom of my post every time I hit enter, instead of just going down one line?

I am thankful for...the health of my family. As much as I moaned and complained and bellyached about having the flu the week before last, really, we've been very blessed with good health overall. And no one came down with a severe case of the flu either.

From the learning rooms...we have officially lost the head start we had by beginning school in August. Between the days off for the Buffalo/Niagra trip (totally awesome) and the week or more that we missed for illness, we are no longer ahead. I'm not sure that we're behind yet....but I don't think we'll be hitting 50% completion before Christmas, as I was originally hoping for.

On a way cool note, we have started two new traditions. At nine o'clock (or thereabouts), we start the school day with chess puzzles and pawn games. Both children are enjoying this. After lunch, we come back together for a read-aloud chapter book. Its a good way to transition from "recess" back to school.

From the kitchen...I tried two new recipes recently. Both were a "breakfast for dinner" menu. One was for peanut butter french toast, which was very filling and well-liked by the kids, but not so kindly received by the Jedi. (I used what was on hand, which was wheat bread, 2% milk, no yogurt, and Total cereal. I also halved the amount of eggs and milk called for, and the lesser amount worked very well.) The second recipe was for fluffy pancakes, which was one of the best and quickest pancake recipes I've ever made.

From the garden... we planted bulbs on Sunday, raked leaves to jump in, and then piled leaves on each of the kids for photo shoots. (Before we went outside, Toa of Boy was begging, "Please may I rake leaves, Mommy? Please?"  I felt like Mrs. Piggle Wiggle.) Then we mulched our flower beds with leaves to protect them from the upcoming winter. Yes, i know I'm supposed to shred the leaves first, but I figured being thoroughly jumped on by my 6 and 11 year olds was almost like shredding them.

I am wearing...the Phillip Island t-shirt which the Jedi gave me as a birthday present, like seventeen years ago or so. I remember I wore it to Gingerbread during my first year or two of teaching. Everyone asked me if I had gone to Australia. I said no, my husband knew I really like penguins, and found a way to order this t-shirt from a gift shop in Australia over the computer. Everyone was amazed that such a thing could be done. It seems strange now to think that on-line shopping was so completely novel not too many years ago. (I think I've just found the topic for the compare/contrast essay I'm writing with the 6th graders at co-op.)

I am creating...or failing to create, choreography for the worship dances in our Christmas Reflections program at church. Normally, I feel pretty good about my contributions to this creative effort. Tonight though, I had zilch. Nada. Nothing.

I am going...to give up on ever being able to breathe through my nose again. My nose's new purpose is simply to hold up my glasses.

I am reading...just finished a Terry Prachett Discworld trilogy, Wee Free Men, A Hat Full of Sky, and, Wintersmith. The first two books were outstanding. Many times, I was literally laughing out loud while reading A Hat Full of Sky. The third in the triology was good, but not great. I think perhaps because many of the Mac Freegle stunts that had me laughing so hard in the first two books had already been done by the third book. Plus, I was really hoping to see more done with the character of Roland. The Baron's son started to turn into an interesting character in the last book, rather than just a blank foil for Tiffany, and I would have loved to see more attention on him. (See what a jaded, nitt-picky reader I've become? This is comletely Stephanie Meyer's fault.)

I am hoping...that our Children's Ministry continues to grow and be strong. I cannot keep Toa of Boy home from church without tears. He is broken-hearted if he doesn't get to go to church. Granted, he tells me about the games they played first, but then he also remembers the lessons. He's learning and singing worship songs and memorizing Scriptures...and loving it all.

I am hearing...the dryer buzz. The Jedi is turning in for the night, the children and Mama have long since been in bed. Its just me at my computer.

Around the house...laundry, laundry, laundry.

One of my favorite things...is not laundry.

A few plans for the rest of the week:
 School, school, more school. Also Tuesday Tae Kwon Do; Wednesday groceries, Awana, and the Brink;  Thursday Co-op, library, and Tae Kwon Do; Friday---hooray for the weekend!

Here is picture for thought I am sharing... 

Simple Woman's Daybook, Sept 9th

FOR TODAY
(Wednesday, September 9th, 10:54 pm)...

Outside my window...the crickets and tree frogs? are singing. Otherwise the windows are dark mirrors.

I am thinking...that I should be in bed. But here I am, because I haven't blogged in a while, and addictions are cruel masters.

I am thankful for...my husband. I know, I know. Jedi stories always dominate this space, but this week is no different. Sweetling has been unhappy recently with school. The work load this year is a lot tougher, and more of my time this year is needed by Toa of Boy, so Sweetling has been trudging through her assignments by herself. The Jedi commented last night that her schooling used to incorporate and make use of her imagination and creativity, whereas this year it has really been more "seriously academic." He wondered if there was someway to bring back the "make believe" element with her school. We talked about it, and I launched operation "Daydreaming Scholar" today. It was a huge success. Sweetling taught "Eggy" all day today. (Eggy was a large ball whom she adopted for the day, carried around, made a nest for, and filled its day with cognitive enrichment.) Sweetling was a happy cheerful girl all day, and she got her school work finished by noon.

From the learning rooms...three big updates. Operation Daydream Scholar is a go. Toa of Boy is as bouncy as ever and is really reading. Tomorrow is our co-op kickoff day.

From the kitchen...Daniel Boone Chicken. It was absolutely delicious. Of course, I dropped and spilled rice grains all over the kitchen floor, but Toa of Boy said, "Don't worry Mommy! I'll go get the mop!" And he got the broom and dustpan and swept up the kitchen floor for me.

I am wearing...a white summer weight sweater, tan shorts, teal necklace and earrings.

I am creating...ten unique labels for the 6th graders' co-op supply box. Each label has the meaning of their name, their name in cunneiform, and their name in hieroglyphs. I'm especially proud of what a good job I did on the heiroglyphs, because I managed to encorporate symbols for both the phonemes in their names as well as the meaning of their names. I'll have to do one for myself and ask the Jedi to scan it in so I can post it.

I am going...to co-op. Hi ho, hi ho! I love co-op :)

I am reading...just finished "The Girl who Could Fly" by Victoria Forester. I highly recommend this book for anyone in the 5th through 7th grades or so. It would make a great addition to a homeschooling curriculum. Or, Nora, your gifted kids would really like it.  I can't tell you why without giving away the plot, so you'll have to trust me and check it out from the library and read it yourself.

I am hoping...for something personal. Really though, I know what I need to do next in the process and just have been dragging my feet on it. No one is surprised by this revelation, but at least I'm taking ownership of the situation!

I am hearing...crickets and tree frogs and whatever it is that makes so much noise on a summer night. I love their noises, but I'm always amazed by how loud it is, and by how vague my knowledge of the source of these sounds is.

Around the house...everyone but the naughty Mommy is asleep. But the Mommy isn't too naughty, because the house is clean and the laundry is done and folded and the kids are packed for the first day of co-op and my project was done an HOUR before midnight. (Ok, technically, there are still 4 bags of non-perishable groceries sitting on top of the washer machine that need to get put away in the pantry, but still, I have kicked butt today. Which is probably why I walked out of the girls bathroom at church carrying the soap dispenser. The universe must maintain its cosmic balance somehow.)

One of my favorite things...my seventh grade life group girls at church. I really love everyone's personality and comments. We are like a wonderful ethnic dish, with a rich variety of flavors that are each distinct and yet complimentary to each other.

A few plans for the rest of the week:
Thursday: co-op, Incredibles, library, Tae Kwon Do (where I have just about mastered the fifth form!)
Friday: school, family night
Saturday: Vaya's baby shower. I've decided I'm not ready to be a grandma. That just sounds old and stuffy. But I'd love to be a Meemaw. Meemaws are fun and quirky. The Jedi is going to a 9-12 rally in BlueAsh.
Sunday: Sweetling goes to youth instead of the sanctuary. Toa of Boy is in Kidzone instead of Clubhouse. (He has told everyone, and I do mean everyone, that he is now with Miss Bethann.) Sunday night we are all supposed to be back at church by 5. I have no idea how that's going to happen.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...hmmm...no heiroglyphs for you so....

Daybook at the Park

For today, Monday, August 31st

I am...sitting at the park. I've kicked my shoes off and am enjoying the last of the summer sun. Sweetling and Toa of Boy were playing Secret Agent on the elaborate wooden castle. Heir game has been taken over by another little boy, who very politrly asked if he could join, and then transformrd the game into "Jumangi". Though in all fairness, they want climbing past me several minutes before that, talking about "bonus levels", so I,m sure the game has gone throuh several other transformations as well. Even as I typw, yet another child has begun following the trio at a discreet ditance chanting "I9 a ghost, I will find you...."

I,'m thinking...that the tiny little keypad on my phone yields a lot of typos. Plus, it appears blogger mobile must be set up from my desktop first, before I can actually blog from my phone. Silly people, that requires advance planing. So, I shall email this to myself, and copy and paste it into my blog later.

From the kitchen...we've discovered sveral new dinner possibilities while watching man vs food. (and i'm supposd to ignore the bee slowly crwling across my leg, right? Ok, its gone.) So, dinners... Fried chicken and waffles, yes, together...and; dinner number two... monster burger, which is a cheeseburger topped with bacon, a fried egg, another slice of cheese, and then served between two grilled cheese sandwiches instead of a bun.

Simple Woman's Daybook, Aug 17th

FOR TODAY, Monday, August 17th 12;45 pm ...

Outside my window...weeds. Weeds and hornets. Overcast. Muggy. Hot. Still, there are no less than seven robins having a banquet in the grass.

I am thinking...that Toa of Boy and I would like a pet guinea pig. Now, there are two major obstacles to this thought becoming a reality. (Well, three, if you count the expense of buying or building a habitat.) The first is, where would we put a guinea pig home? Guinea pigs need a lot of square footage, and we are rather scarce on the "free" square footage department. The second is, would the Jedi and Mama be allergic to the guinea pig? I need to find someone with a guinea pig who needs a pig sitter for the weekend. Then we could find out if a guinea pig would be an allergy issue.

I am thankful for...the wonderful, wonderful weekend we had.

Friday I was congested and miserable. Saturday morning, I woke up at 5am and couldn't go back to sleep, so I read a mystery novel and went back to bed a little after 9. I had a lovely nap, and woke up feeling much better.

We played MarioKart in the afternoon (during which we discovered that if your little boys says "I love you Daisy...I mean Mommy" that maybe everyone should take a break from MarioKart.) Saturday evening we held Monkey Vs Food. This was a huge hit. I made peanutbutter syrup to go over plate sized banana pancakes. Sweetling and the Jedi each ate one pancake. Mama and I each managed a half a pancake. Toa of Boy thought that the entire stack of pancakes should be his, but had to settle for his one, plus the half that Mama couldn't finish, and then immediately declared, "I'm hungry." That evening the Jedi and I laid on the waterbed and read together chapters from our books to prepare for Sunday school.

Sunday held a lovely service, during which God once again put a message about prayer in my path. Sunday afternoon held another delightful nap, followed by a successful battle waged against the laundry monster, a game of Mario party, a family geography challenge to draw and label the seven continents and four oceans from memory, and finally more reading and discussing with the Jedi.

From the learning rooms...we've officially been "back to school" for a week and a half now. Yet still, lessons didn't start till 10:15. (Ok, that isn't quite true, everyone did their morning devotions AND everyone took turns exercising with Wii Active Life: Outdoor Adventure.) Before lunch, Toa of Boy and I had an impromptu fire safety lesson, rehearsing what to do if there was ever a fire in the house.

From the kitchen...Monkey vs Food of course! And, I tried to make chicken fingers on Sunday. They turned out all right, but a little bland. I've decided next time, I'll dip the chicken in ranch dressing, then bread them with Ritz cracker crumbs and bake them.

I am wearing...jean shorts (my favs) and a cute coral tee. Tonight we're taking a family picture to send to the child we sponsor through Compassion International. The Jedi wanted to take one yesterday, but he asked me about it after I had put on sloppy clothes and had just woken up from a nap. Today, my hair is curled, my clothes are casual but cute and attractive. Today I can have my picture taken.

I am creating...I refuse to say "nothing". So help me, I'll come up with something to create rather than leave this prompt empty.

I am going...to Blockbusters after school today. Toa of Boy won the point contest and would like to pick a movie for tonight.

I am reading...Have a New Kid by Friday and How to Make Children Mind without Losing Yours, both by Dr. Kevin Leeman. They are both very good books. I tend to prefer the first over the second, because I think it has a clearer emphasis on molding your child's Attitude, Behavior, and Character through increasing their feelings of Acceptance, Belonging, and Competence. Both, however, are extremely good books. I've put some of the principles into practice and saw immediate and positive results. I read the first book aloud to the Jedi in the car and he also thought it contained great material. We're working together to utilize some of its principles.

I am hoping...hmmmm...that we can get school finished in a timely manner this afternoon? Sweetling still has quite a list ahead of her, so I'm concerned about her finishing in time to go to Blockbuster with us.

I am hearing...the children working together to redecorate Toa of Boy's igloo on Club Penguin, the dishwasher running, the ceiling fan creaking, the keys clacking as I type.

Around the house...the school room transformation is finally complete :) Our new set up is working out really well for us. We still have some furniture that either needs to get stored in the garage or given away.

Last Thursday, I thought I would be oh so clever and clean the living room carpet. I dragged or carried as much extra stuff out as I could and then vacuumed really well. Now, I have a Bissell carpet cleaner, but it's been broken for a while now, because it wouldn't spray out soap from the detergent dispenser. So, it would get the carpet wet, but not clean. However, a couple of weeks ago I found a tip on Works for Me Wednesday about cleaning with vinegar water. I thought, ha! I can do that with my machine. So, I dragged out the furniture, I vacuumed. I pulled the Bissell out of the corner of the laundry room and wiped off the thick layer of dust. I hefted the heavy sucker up the stairs. I filled the water tank with a gallon of warm water and a half a cup of vinegar.

I plugged it in, turned it on, and...although the engine was revving and the carpet brush was spinning, no water was coming out. I went back downstairs and dug the owner's manual out of a drawer. (I knew exactly which drawer it would be in, because the Jedi keeps and organizes all the owner manuals. Otherwise, you know it would have been long lost.) I checked the trouble shooting section. I did all the things it said to do in the trouble shooting section. Still nothing. The last item on the list was to check the drive belt. I got a screwdriver and began trying to pry off the belt access plate. Several frustrated minutes later, I had the thought that if I lacked the mechanical aptitude to even get the access plate off, perhaps I had no business messing around with the drive belt. Nevertheless, I persevered and got the access plate off. The drive belt appeared fine. The clear plastic tubing held water. I tried to figure out where each tube came from and where each tube went. I discovered that the axle that the drive belt was wrapped around was still hot. I closed the access plate. I tipped the machine over and scraped out layers of filth that had caked around the concave housing for the scrub brush. I tried to keep Toa of Boy from putting his face in the filth as he watched Mommy "fixing". Still no water spray. I got a huge tapestry needle from my sewing kit, tipped the machine over, and began jabbing the needle in any small hole-like space on the bottom of the machine, in case there was a clot in some critical spot. I had the fleeting thought that large tapestry needles are not part of any sane person's repair kit. I continued jabbing anyway. When I was convinced that no hidden clots, I plugged it back in (see, I do have some sense) and tried again. Still no cleansing spray. I resorted to kicking and shaking the thing. Toa said, "No no Mommy, you're going to break it!" I replied that it was already broken.

The Jedi came home, and calmly suggested I should just wait until we could take it in to a repair shop.

One of my favorite things...time with family :)

A few plans for the rest of the week:

Monday: movie night
Tuesday: grocery shopping, Tae Kwon Do
Wednesday: Miss Tammy visits in the morning and Mrs Mollie and kids visit in the evening and play wii. Also, Toa of Boy's new glasses should be ready to be picked up.
Thursday: Tae Kwon Do
Friday: family fun night? date night? hmmm...maybe a little of both!

Simple Woman's Daybook, July 13th

FOR TODAY (Monday, July 13th, 11:43 am)...

Outside my window...Sweetling, Pinkie, and Toa of Boy are playing on the swingset. The sand box has become a weed box. The 6 foot tall (no joke) orange tiger lilies have finished blooming and now their stalks are beginning to dry and will soon need pulled up.

I am thinking...of rearranging the school room. The main purpose behind this is to move my desk so that I am sitting right beside the window. Last winter, I didn't use the school room at all through the months of January and February, because it just felt too dark and cold. Granted, moving the desk beside the patio doors wont make the area any warmer, but I think with a space heater I should be fine, as long as I'm sitting in sunlight. The catch in this plan is that I think the computer network jacks are in the absolute opposite corner from the corner I'd like my desk to sit in. So, while I say *I* would like to rearrange the furniture, really, what it will come down to is the Jedi reconfiguring the computer set up.

I am thankful for...how much the Jedi appreciates me and how often he expresses that appreciation.

From the learning rooms...the boxes of curriculum started to arrive on Thursday. I don't have the school room ready for the new curriculum to go on the shelves, so the boxes are stacked beside the front door for now. In the school room, I have no less than 6 other boxes in which I am "in the process" of packing away last years books and papers. Some books get shipped back to k12. Some go to the garage for storage to be dumped on my poor children when they reach adulthood and have a house of their own. Some are 'portfolio' quality and need to be put in a three ring binder/portfolio.

From the kitchen...Sweetling and Pinkie made French Toast all by themselves this morning. I didn't even go upstairs to check on them. They also, so I've been told, completely cleaned up the dishes and the pans that they used.

I am wearing...one of the new outfits I bought last month shopping with Telephone and her daughter. Its a white sleeveless top with little wooden beads sewn around the neckline. The short skirt is white with a brown, tan, and grey flower print on three tears of ruffles.

I am creating...a cool learning environment. Well, I will be, as soon as I get these boxes out of here. If the budget will allow it, I'd like to get some cans of silver spray paint to cover the short black school shelves. We have several placemat sized world maps and US maps that could be fixed to the top of one of the shelves as a neat top surface. Then, since I'm crazy, I'm thinking of doing a paper mache project to make the planets in the solar system to hang from the ceiling.
Other than that, I'm creating a lot of dirty tissues cause my allergies are just driving me crazy today.

I am going...to Boonshoft Museum of Discovery on Wednesday with Vaya. And if I could come up with a way to tag a couple more short prepositional phrases onto that sentence, I would. Just to do it.

I am reading...The Surrendered Wife by Laura Doyle, which I picked up a few weeks ago at a library used book sale. Also, the Jedi and I are leading a Sunday school class for couples using the books For Men Only and For Women Only.

I am hoping...that my school desk really can go in the corner by the patio door.

I am hearing...the washer and dryer, the faint hum of the fan at the top of the stairs, the fainter music of DragonTales in the livingroom (Toa of Boy came in from playing after he dropped a large rock on his foot. I put a bandage over the scrape, and now he's watching PBSkids.) Outside, I can just hear the birds chirping and the cicadas cycling and Sweetling's voice directing her and Pinkie's imaginary play.

Around the house...boxes. More boxes. Bags of clothes to give away. Bags of clothes given to us. Clean laundry on my bed and dirty laundry in baskets.

One of my favorite things...summer. Despite the fact that I'm still working on decluttering and organizing my house. Despite the fact that I didn't get any scrapbooking done this summer. Despite the fact that nearly every weekend has been super busy. Despite the fact that we start school in two-and-a-half weeks, summer is still one of my all time favorite things. The long, warm, sunny, unscheduled days of summer are an absolute delight.

A few plans for the rest of the week:

Monday:
I'm going to carry boxes out to the garage today and look through my binders to see if I have any on hand which can be portfolios. I'm going to (shudder) try to straighten out the school supplies on shelves under the stairs and in plastic drawers under my desk so that I can make a list of what we need for next year. There's an elder's meeting tonight that the Jedi will be attending, so the kids and I will head to blockbusters to pick out a movie.

Tuesday:
Speech, grocery shopping, and Tae Kwon Do.

Wednesday:
Boonshoft Discovery Museum with Vaya. We're packing lunches for a picnic on the grounds. Maybe the Jedi can move my computer desk that evening.

Thursday:
Speech and dentist appointments and Tae Kwon Do.

Friday:
Rearranging the rest of the school room furniture and unpacking the boxes sitting by the door.

Saturday:
Tae Kwon Do belt testing. Maybe the Dayton Air Show, depending on what time we get done with . The Jedi and I both donated blood this past Saturday so we could each get two free tickets.

Sunday:
Either the annual Tae Kwon Do picnic OR the Dayton Air Show.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...

No picture thoughts. The memory card in my camera died and I lost the pictures of our expedition to pig island.
But check out this cool youtube video.


And, cool resource to keep in mind....Nature Journals.

Daybook, May 18th

Outside my window...the ants have made the mother of all ant colonies under the green welcome mat by the patio door. The strawberries have completely covered the little stepping stone path. The sandbox and hopscotch path desperately need weeded. And the square foot garden sproutlings are tiny, tiny, tiny little green dots surrounded by dirt and cypress mulch.

I am thinking...most children get grounded and sent to their rooms. Sweetling is going to be grounded *from* her room tomorrow after an afternoon on little lesson progress while in her room.

I am thankful for...the opportunity to homeschool, even if I've been whining a lot lately. It is a huge blessing. We aren't going to be done by the end of May, which is really difficult for me to take, but the opportunity to homeschool is still a blessing, and I want to keep that in mind during the first two weeks of June.

From the learning rooms...Toa of Boy read his own word problems today in math. He needed help with a few words, like "does", but his actually reading!!!

From the kitchen...I got squat. We had hamburgers and french fries for dinner. The Jedi made rice krispie treats on Saturday. I wanted to make Mama a caramel pecan cheesecake, but the rice krispie treats are now in the pan I need. Keep reading, I promise the other parts will be more interesting.

I am wearing...I lied. This isn't interesting. Jeans with cool pink embroidery and a pink blouse with white socks and green and blue plaid shoes. It works. I swear it does. Even the shoes.

I am creating...a blog for a fantasy character. This is my character from the game the Jedi runs.

I am going...to Canton this weekend! Sweetling's birthday is on Thursday and Toa of Boy's birthday is on Friday. So, we're driving up to Canton and having a birthday party for them on Saturday with cousins and friends of the family at Pump it Up.

I am reading...The Little House Reader, a collection of writings from other members of Laura Ingalls Wilder's family as well as pieces Laura published before the Little House books.

I am hoping...for the courage to begin working through past issues (again). I make progress, then take a little break from the heavy stuff. Now its time to start processing again.

I am hearing...the hum of the computers, occasional trampoline bouncing from the living room where Toa of Boy is jumping and playing Wii, clicking of the keyboards, and I'm talking on the phone to Telephone.

Around the house...the laundry is all washed and dried, I'll start folding it soon. Coupons from the past few weeks are all cut and half filed. Have I mentioned I want a house cleaning fairy? Ria has offered to come over and help me clean out closets, again. I might take her up on that when we're finished with school.

From the garden....I can grow things! woo hoo! I have half an hour of weeding to do, but the areas I've focused on are doing really well. I've seen a couple of ripe strawberries and I think I'll send Toa of Boy out to pick them tomorrow. my daisies aren't anywhere close to blooming though, maybe they bloom at the end of June.

One of my favorite things...Heggy's hot fudge! I finished off my Christmas supply last week eating it like fondue on strawberries. It is, hands down, the yummiest hot fudge in the world and the only place to get it is Heggy's Ice Cream Parlor in Canton, Ohio. Guess what we'll be picking up this weekend?

A few plans for the rest of the week:
Monday--laundry, coupons, watch Enterprise with the Jedi
Tuesday--school, grocery shopping, Tae Kwon Do
Wednesday--school, help Telephone finish her scrapbook for her soon-to-be grad
Thursday--Sweetling's birthday. An outing picked by Sweetling (TBD) and spaghetti dinner.
Friday--Toa's birthday. An outing (also tbd) picked by Toa, pack for Canton, chicken alfredo for dinner, then drive to Canton.

Daybook, really? again?

I like the daybook format. Yes, I know I'm not normally one to like pesky things like rules and patterns and directions. But on days when I don't have anything in particular I want to write about, the daybook format at least gets me sitting down and, you know, writing. It doesn't make for thrilling reading, I know, I know. So, if you want a thrilling blog, you're welcome to leave me a comment with a suggestion for a writing topic, and I'll hop right on that. Wind me up and watch me go.

But for know, you're stuck with yet another daybook entry. My blog this past month has been nothing but daybook entries and friday fill ins.

FOR TODAY, Tuesday, April 21...

Outside my window...I brief patch of cold, but welcome, sunshine quickly dissappeared behind more April rain clouds. Rain is good for the flowers. Rain is good for the plants. Rain is not so good for the Xuan, though.

I am thinking...I'm having a lull in creativity. In March I was full of plans and ideas. Why has the April showers washed my mind clear of any ambition? We need a spring break. An honest to goodness, spring break. Not the everyone is sick so we aren't doing school break that we had around Easter. Not the drive to the OAT testing site every other day for a week that we're having now. But an honest to goodness spring break. And a clean uncluttered home that just magically happens. I want that too.

I am thankful for...my husband. The Jedi has been the blog star for a couple of months now, and his track record continues this weekend. Friday night he ran a game just for me, cause Christopher Robin and the Bear ditched us to have a date night. Selfish them ;) Saturday morning he took me out to Bob Evans for breakfast and then we sat in the van afterward reading and talking. And Sunday he drove for nearly two hours (one way) to take Sweetling to a God Rocks concert.

From the learning rooms...OAT testing. We spent yesterday afternoon at the school building where we ususally have co-op. Susan did the first of four state mandated testing days while Toa and I sat in the cafeteria downstairs and did math and phonics. We made cookies when we got home in the afternoon though. Cookies make all things better.

From the kitchen...cookies, of course. I posted on Facebook that I had cookies in the oven, but no dinner in the oven. Toa of Boy thought we should have cookies for dinner. I actually considered it, and went to facebook for someone to be the voice of reason, but my Facebook buddies all thought cookies for dinner was a swell idea. But we had bbq chicken, spanish rice, sweet potatoes, and green beans for dinner. We had the cookies first of course, but dinner did happen.

From the garden....I put the first of my seedlings out today. I watered the seedlings in their little clear plastic tub on the livingroom windowsill, and I splashed just a drop of miracle gro in their water. The zucchini seedling was sending roots out of its little peat pellet and trying to invade the neighboring peat pellets, plus he looked so top heavy I thought he was in danger of breaking his stem, so he just needed to go in the ground. Because he's a big vining plant, he doesn't fit in my square foot garden, so he got to live in the butterfly garden by the garage. I had already dug up and transplanted a Sedum Autumn joy, so I just popped the zucchini seedling into the space where the Sedum was. Later, I need to pick up a white plastic chain from the hardware store. I'm going to anchor one end of the chain to the wood wall of the garage about six feet above the ground. As the zucchini vine grows, I'm going to tie it up along the chain so that I can grow the plant vertically.

I am wearing...brown cords and a beige sweater. Its cold. Cold and rainy. I am as monochromatic as the weather.

I am creating...zip. Though, on Saturday, I did get to borrow the Jedi's power drill. I made holes in some old plastic garbage cans (the big outdoor ones) and layered green and brown materials in them to make compost bins. I didn't cover them though, so I'm sure the compost is absolutely soaked. Can compost get too soaked? Who knows. I surely don't.

I am going...testing. Testing, more testing. And grocery shopping tomorrow. And co-op on Thursday. I *want* to be going to pick up vermiculite and peat moss and compost to mix soil for my square foot garden. I have my seeds nicely started, and the little seedlings need to go in the ground. But I have no ground for the little seedlings to live in yet.

I am reading...just finished For Men Only with the Jedi. Once again, let me sing the praises of this book, and its companion book, For Women Only. The Jedi and I are considering offering to lead a Sunday school class for couples using these two books.

I am hoping...for a magically clean, clutter free home. Sadly, I am the only house fairy that is going to make that happen. The house fairy needs to get off her house fairy bottom and make that happen. No, that's not fair. Its not as if the house fairy hasn't been busy. The house fairy has been busy. But the house fairy needs to go back to taking just 15 minutes a day to declutter. Maybe after testing.

I am hearing...the muffled sounds of Super Smash Bros. Toa finished his morning school work, so he was off to Wii while I took 30 minutes to blog before lunch.

Around the house...Toa is defeating Mario villians. Sweetling has just emerged from her room for lunch. In an hour and a half, she did about 30 minutes of actual work. What happened to my independently functioning daughter?

One of my favorite things... the dandelions in my yard. Yes, I know the neighbors hate me, but I really, really like the cheery yellow flowers dotting my grass. Ok, more than dotting, speckling my lawn. Why are dandelions so maligned as weeds? They are lovely and yellow and their seed heads are fun and fluffy.

A few plans for the rest of the week:
Monday: testing
Tuesday: Ohio history lessons, co-op homework, Toa's schooling. Then dinner, dance, and Tae Kwon do.
Wednesday: grocery shopping, testing, maybe a quick run to the garden center. Leftovers, church.
Thursday: co-op, library, dinner, Tae Kwon Do
Friday: testing, family night.
Saturday: Oh....heres a cool one! We're going to the Ashville Viking Festival!!! The admission is canned or non-perishable food items for the local food pantry. They have a 40' replica of a viking long boat. I wanted to go in costume, but the Jedi said, wisely, that the month was already pretty booked up and I shouldn't add sewing 4 costumes to my activities.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...

Which I found on Caverna Obscura Fantasy Fashions by Elvina Ewing while looking for some pictures of elven chain for a character.

And Sweetling at the concert--

Daybook, April 13th

Outside my window...it's wet and cold, but the water droplets on the long leaves of the daylilies are glittering jewels.

I am thinking... that I'm not necessarily a "worrier". I don't fret over the usual daily worries, but I have to confess that I've just realized that while I trust God for provision, for health, for safety...I've struggled this last year or two with trusting him with my heart. It seems ironic and incongruous, but it is true. These past few months, well, maybe past month, has been a quiet, inner revival for me. I don't want to lose what I am just reawakening to. And I know we all go through seasons where we are close to God and seasons where we feel spiritually dry. Nevertheless I want to cling to the first and consciously work to avoid the latter. I really appreciated the article "From Worry to Worship" on the Heart of the Matter.

From the learning rooms... back to the books. I've said it a million times, whining to everyone who's ear was tilted even slightly towards me. We didn't have a spring break, we had a sick break. Now everyone is healthy again, and its back to phonics and algebra. As soon as the weather warms up, its out to the garden we go.

I am thankful for... this weekend. The Jedi is awesome and made sure everyone had a great weekend. We slept in on Friday and then went and got a new cargo topper for the van and ran a few other errands in the afternoon. That evening we decorated our Easter eggs. Sweetling found a rubber band technique on Family Fun that we tried. It was a little tricky, and there were a couple of casualties, but we all had a good time. Saturday was the Easter egg hunt at church, followed by a trip to Sharon Centre's indoor adventure station. We got home and I cut Toa's and the Jedi's hair, and Dear Mama picked up KFC for dinner. That night we watched Bedtime Stories together. Sunday was a pancake breakfast at church, followed by a Resurrection Service. (Oh, and a sneaky bunny tried to hide baskets in the kids bedrooms while they slept, thinking the kids would look through the rest of the house *first* before finding the baskets in their bedrooms. But the kids got up and got ready for church, like good little children, before looking for their Easter baskets, and were then rewarded by the discovery of Easter baskets in Toa's closet and hiding between Sweetling's dresser and her wall.) After church, lunch at home, playtime with new Easter bunnies, a box from Nana and Bapa, a freshly mowed yard (and grass clippings raked up for a new compost bin), and a nap. Then, Mario Party on the Wii, a family egg hunt, pork tenderloin and sweet potato casserole, Star Trek: Enterprise and Extreme Makeover Home Edition. Also on Friday and Saturday nights, the Jedi and I are reading "For Men Only" together, having just recently finished "For Women Only" together. Both are outstanding books and I hightly recommend them.

From the kitchen... we have stacks and stacks of Easter treats. Sadly, I have no idea what I'm going to make for dinner tonight. Something simple and wholesome and straightforward. Stop laughing. That's the plan.

I am wearing... brown cords, a green T with blue and pink flowers (I refuse to let go of spring, despite the cold), and a beige cardigan. Yes, it goes together. You just have to squint and make the image a bit blurry.

I am reading... "For Men Only". And I HIGHLY recommend its counterpart, "For Women Only". Did you know on a national, objective, professional survey of hundreds of men, 74% of men responded that if forced to choose between two negatives, they would rather be alone and unloved than to feel inadequate and disrespected? See, I had always heard that men needed to feel respected, but I never really understood what that *meant*. I blogged about this in an earlier daybook. Check it out. (you can just skim down to the "I am reading section.") It's obviously significant enough that a month later, I'm still blown away by the revelations in this book.

I am hoping... for warmer temperatures this week. Amen to that, sister. The Jedi has given me permission to use his power drill (with trepidation and under supervision.) So, I can get started on my idea for a compost bin soon. And the Jedi has offered to go with me to pick up bales of peat moss for the square foot garden. I haven't told him yet about the vermiculate I also need, but I bet I get that too. :)

I am creating... a web of links. Yes, yes, I'm link crazy today. I've also started to go back through and apply labels to my blog posts, so that they are nicely sorted by category.

I am praying... for obedience, discipline, and focus. “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go. If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river.” Is 48:17-18

Around the house... laundry is underway. Toa of Boy is busy drawing scenes for a puppet show, for paper puppets glued on popsicle sticks ...which will be created next. Sweetling is hopefully completing a unit review for algebra. The kitchen is clean, though dishwasher needs unloaded. All in all, not bad....especially for a Monday. And a rainy, cold, blecky Monday at that.

One of my favorite things... how the Jedi holds my hand. He did that a lot this weekend. Sitting in church, riding in the car, watching tv, he would just reach over hold my hand, slipping his fingers in between mine. While we were reading "For Men Only" on Friday, we read a few lines written by a survey respondent. She concluded her anecdote with "it just made me feel so heard." I, of course, knew instantly what she meant. The Jedi started chuckling. "Wow," says he, "I didn't even know that was an emotion." But Sunday night, as we were drifting off to sleep, he asks me, do I feel heard? I love him so much.

A few plans for the rest of the week... back to co-op on Thursday. I need to write a short story for my composition class. (Yes, I'm the teacher, but somehow that hasn't gotten me a free pass on the homework assignments.) I have the outline done, but need to put the pedal to the metal and get the story done. Back to Tae Kwon Do this week after a week and a half of sick days. That's going to be rough.

Simple Woman's Daybook, March 9th

I am thinking... that although I have a million and one thoughts about the Weekend to Remember marriage conference the Jedi and I attended this weekend, I'm not blogging about any of them right now. It was truly, truly, a wonderful experience, and I highly recommend it to any married or engaged couple. (Except you Smurf, you would hate it...it's way too conservative for you.) But other than Smurf, if you've been thinking about attending one, they hold them all over the US, by all means do! It's well worth the investment of time and money.

From the learning rooms... let's face it, the mommy and the teacher has lost interest in school around Christmas this year. Every year in January or February, I want to throw out the entire curriculum and do something different. And no, it isn't because of the curriculum. The curriculum is a perfect fit for Sweetling, and so far for Toa of Boy, but it's because of the seasonal affective disorder that strikes the Mommy every winter. I get restless, I start to lose motivation and interest, and feel like I'm just plodding through life. But spring is almost here. I'm re-instituting the weekly field trip policy. It works like this: I print out Sweetling's assignments for the week. As soon as they are finished, Sweetling picks a field trip for us to take either on Friday afternoon of that week or on Monday afternoon of the next week. It's a wonderful tool to keep us both focused and productive.

I am thankful for... my husband. People who know the Jedi only casually can never picture him as sensitive, but he is, oh his so much is. I'm thankful that he planned and initiated and prioritized the marriage conference this weekend. I'm thankful that our marriage is important enough to him that he is always seeking for ways in which it can grow. I'm thankful that I am important to him.

From the kitchen... my fridge needs cleaned out. Over the weekend Dear Mama found a cucumber on the back shelf that I had completely forgotten about. (Then again, maybe if we get bored with school, we can just use what's growing in the fridge for a great science study unit.)

I am wearing... jammies and a bathrobe again. Silly you. Am I ever wearing anything else on a Monday morning? I got up at 7am, had a prayer and quiet time and did some stretches. By then it was 7:45. Dear Mama wasn't in the shower yet (see what happens when I fail to follow through on Maven's device?). I can't hop in the shower at 7:45, cause Dear Mama *needs* to get in the shower so she can be out the door to go to work at 8:30. Rather than fret and fuss upstairs, I just came downstairs to blog a little while.

I am reading... For Women Only. Actually, the Jedi and I are reading it together because within the first three pages I had to stop. No way, I thought, no possible way. So I asked the Jedi, and he said, yes, yes indeed. It goes like this. The Jedi has always said that respect is important for a man. I thought I understood that. I respect the Jedi, so you know, I can just check that off my list, right? I'm reading this book, which was assembled after interviewing and professionally surveying over a thousand men. The author states that most men would rather go through life alone and unloved than feel inadequate and disrespected. Nuh-huh, thinks I, who in their right mind would chose that? Apparantly the Jedi would, and he isn't at all surprised by this statement. In fact, it makes perfect sense to him. You know those stories of husbands who say "my wife should already know I love her, why should I have say 'I love you?' " I felt like one of those husbands. I figured, I respected the Jedi, so I didn't really need to worry about the details of this need he had. I suddenly realized I had no real idea what he meant by respect, what respect looked like to him, or whether or not I was meeting this emotional need or not.

I am also reading.... the Book of Luke. Our church is participating in a Reset Journey, along with a few other local churches. The challenge for week one was to read through the Book of Luke. I read through most of that gospel in the children's museum last week, and realized I didn't really understand all of the symbolisms in several of the parables and speeches of Jesus. The Jedi and I did a brief Bible study together on the way to the marriage conference. The Jedi brought his Jewish commentary on the New Testament along so that we could get more of a cultural perspective on the symbolic language.

I am hoping... for a productive day! I really want to get school and laundry done so that after dinner we can watch Little House on the Prairie together. (The recent mini-series done my Disney, not the old TV show. The Jedi has an elder meeting tonight, so Mommy picked out a family movie for the rest of us to enjoy.

I am creating... plans for the garden. Yes, yes, I am. Stop shaking your head. It's going to be different this year.

I am hearing... the shower running! Woo-hoo! (It's 8:30 now, but I've had a nice morning.)

Around the house... the living room has been picked up, and the entire house has been vacuumed. I only have two more loads to push through the machines, but lots to fold and hang. Toa of Boy still has his December artwork on the school room door, and I have a pile of his stuff to hang sitting on the corner of my desk, so I think I shall add that to my list for the day.

One of my favorite things... I am God's perfect provision for the Jedi. This means I bring something into the Jedi's life that the Jedi would never be able to provide for himself. This something I bring certainly isn't organization, so I need to stop measuring myself and finding myself lacking on that standard. This something I bring has to do with who I am in my innermost being. Creative, spontaneous, fun, child-like, gentle, and lovely. I need to nurture and enjoy who I am, and stop fretting about not being a typical Suzy Homemaker. (No offense to any Suzies out there. You know I have the utmost admiration for the name Susan.)

A few plans for the rest of the week... school. Tae Kwon Do. Co-op. Church. FIELD TRIP. Garden planning. Creative writing. Being myself.

Here is a picture thought that I am sharing...



It's 8:37. Dear Mama has just left the bathroom, so I'm off to shower. Peace out.

Simple Woman's Daybook, Mar 2nd

I am thinking... that the Jedi and I have scared three of the youth boys into eternal bachelorhood after last night's class about marriage and communication. The sad part is, I think the Jedi and I do communicate, but we surely didn't communicate that well last night!

From the learning rooms... a well deserved field trip to the Children's Museum today! We're picking up Pinkie on our way down.

I am thankful for... my friend Mango, who is my lost birthday twin and an ENFP just like me. I was feeling pretty down and sorry for myself at 4:50 am this morning. Then I got an email from her, and without even trying, she perked me right up!

From the kitchen... my entire house smells like badly, badly burnt popcorn. Dear Mama heard from someone at work that the way to make perfect microwave popcorn, down to the last kernel was to always set the microwave for five minutes. So she did that and then walked away. The Jedi was downstairs in the computer room. I was in the bathroom giving Toa of Boy a bath. Sweetling was in her bedroom reading a Babysitter's Club novel. So, no one knew what was happening in the kitchen until the smoke alarm started going off. Sadly, the smoke alarm going off is not that unusual, so no one immediately responded to the beeping. Eventually the Jedi came upstairs to discover smoke pouring out of the vents on the side of the microwave. By that time, the entire house reeked of the burning. We opened all the windows, despite the sub-freezing weather and artic gusts of wind. At 6:15 this morning, when the Jedi got up for work, the first thing he said was, "The house still smells burnt." And it does. I have two candles going to try to override the nasty smell. I have also finally discovered something that Magic Erasers don't clean. The inside of my microwave is forever discolored. I haven't tried turning it on to see if it still works.

As soon as I get my shower, I'm going to make a batch of mini- blueberry muffins to take as a snack for the car ride home from the museum.

I am wearing... jammies still, even though its 11am. I finally fell back asleep at 6:30 am and then slept till 8. By then Dear Mama was just getting in the shower and I needed to get breakfast for the kids, do devotions with Toa of Boy, get the new March calendar with all its magnets on the fridge, bandaid a thumb that Toa of Boy scraped trying to get scotch tape from the dispenser, respond to emails, etc, etc, etc. I did stretch this morning though. Points for that.

I am reading... the Love Dare and Nzingha:Warrior Queen of Matamba. I need to update my shelfarie (however it's spelled.)

I am hoping... that spring happens soon!!!!! I'm so done with winter!

I am creating... plans for a garden. Yes, I'm a glutten for punishment. This year, I need to weed the butterfly garden/strawberry patch; move the rest of the strawberry plants to somewhere else (where I don't know). Finally order black-eyed susan's for my Sweetling (she's been wanting those for years now. Reseed the former strawberry patch with grass and hope it actually grows. (Yes, I am so gardening challenged I can't even grow grass.) And maybe start a small square-foot vegetable garden. Oh, and try again with sunflowers and miniture pumpkins in the front. And divide the daisies.

I am hearing... Super Smash Bros from the living room. I'm not pleased with that game. It has no redeeming qualities. It is pure mindless video game. But Toa of Boy has his morning list done, and I'm still writing. I think I'll chase him off of it soon.

Around the house... four baskets of dirty laundry in the living room. Two burning candles. Scraps of paper on the kitchen table from making the March calendar. Clutter on my sewing machine. A baggie of coupons that need sorted and filed. A half plate of fudge. An unplugged microwave. Blankets from last night's snuggle time crumpled on the couch. Art from church on the table. Webkinz also on the couch. But a new calendar on the fridge.

One of my favorite things... hot chocolate, my Mango, the Jedi who loves me anyway, laughter, the Jedi still has a job, sale on packs of infant onsies at Big Lots this week (I'm stocking up for Vaya and for another young lady yet to be named here), being able to break the rules occasionally, blue blue skies, a freezer full of food, croc sandals, three pair of earings my ears don't react to, comments left on my blog, craft in preschool church yesterday, Sweetling's awesome taste in clothes, Sweetling's awesome taste in music, theological discussions with Toa of Boy which includes "Mommy, did God make aliens?", and curly brown hair.

A few plans for the rest of the week... Museum today. School and groceries and Tae Kwon Do tomorrow. Mango's kids coming over here on Wednesday, and church Wednesday night. Co-op on Thursday and Tae Kwon Do again that night. Friday, our kids are going to Mango's and the Jedi and I are going to the Weekend to Remember marriage conference!

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...

Simple Woman's Daybook, Feb 9th

For Today...

Outside my window... my kitchen blinds are still shut, even though it's 10:20 in the morning. I did feed the squirrels earlier and lingered for a moment to watch a squirrel climb up and down and up again a grey tree trunk. The squirrels in my backyard are named Captain Scraggles the One-Eyed Pirate, Lieutenant Flagg, and Sophie. Sophie is smaller than Lieutenant Flagg, but I'm still working on telling those two apart when they aren't near each other.

I am thinking... that I am really really really really tired today. I went to bed right after Sweetling did last night and I slept in till 7:45 and I am just dragging myself through the morning.

From the learning rooms... Toa of Boy and I started reading Leading Little Ones to God this morning. For an activity, I suggested he make a bookmark for his new devotional book. He wasn't thrilled with this suggestion until Sweetling piped in, "You can make a Kirby bookmark." Now Toa has drawn eleven Kirby's (we counted them in both English and Spanish) on one side of the bookmark. On the other side he has drawn the big King of the Kirbys. Sweetling is finishing up an algebra problem on commissions.

I am thankful for... my fuzzy red bathrobe. Sleepy tired Mondays are just made for staying in fuzzy red bathrobes and bunny sleepers. Its the next best thing to being back in bed.

From the kitchen... Sweetling made "ready to bake" cookies by herself last night for snack. I have no idea what's for dinner. But I do have several cups of homemade chicken vegetable soup in the freezer. One of those containters might come out to become lunch.

I am wearing... blue penguin jammies, long warm red bathrobe, fuzzy bunny slippers.

I am reading... Saving Your Marriage before It Starts. The Jedi and I are teaching a small elective class to the some of the senior high youth. Our first class was last night and it went really well. We have five youth in the class, and we asked them what made them decide to come. One mentioned the high divorce rates and how he wanted to get a jump start on doing what he could to keep any marriage he might later have from becoming one of the casualties.

I am hoping... for Spring! Tomorrow it's supposed to get all the way up to 60F. After a month of below freezing and frequently subzero temperatures, we're going on a nature walk tomorrow afternoon. Oh yes, yes we are.

I am creating... hot chocolate. Today is a multiple cup day.

I am hearing... the dishwasher run, Toa of Boy call for his webkinz "Mary" the little lion, and Sweetling being a big sister and lending a hand in the search.

Around the house... clutter, clutter, and more clutter. Where does it all come from? There's three plastic milk jugs by the sink that need rinse and crushed, a pile of mail that needs sorted and dealt with on the kitchen chair beside me, I don't even know what on my sewing machine, stencils and art supplies in a bag from last Thursday's co-op that *still* hasn't been put away. And Webkinz. At least one webkinz on every piece of furniture. An opened Bible beside me. And now two children being ghosts under blankets in the living room.

One of my favorite things... my new Corelle dishes. They came in the mail from Amazon last week. I wanted a pattern, but in the end went with winter white. Now, if I can get my hall closet cleaned out, as a reward I will by some wipe-off seasonal placemats so that I can change my table settings and decorations.

A few plans for the rest of the week... dentist and nature walk tomorrow. Toa of Boy's vaccinations this afternoon. Tae Kwon Do on Tuesday and Thursday evening. Oh, and the new Fireproof class on Wednesday! Date night on Friday :)

Simple Woman's Daybook

I've seen this many times, on many blogs I love to read. I've always considered playing along, but its usually Thursday or so before i read the daybooks on other people's blogs. But now, its only Tuesday, I have my act together enough to follow the link, and I think I'll give it a whirl. :)

So...

The Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY (Tuesday, January 14, 2009)...
Outside my window... it's dark. The neighbors across the street still have their Christmas lights up. Personally, I hope they leave them up all winter. They have strands of delicate white 'icicles' hanging from the roof line of their ranch style home and a light sprinkling of colored lights atop the evergreen bushes that run along both sides of the house. Its simple and understated with just a touch of color and light. I need that during the long winter nights when both the evenings and the mornings are dark.

I am thinking...that I should be working on my grocery lists and coupons. But I woke up early this morning, and so I thought that deserved a little extra "me" time.

I am thankful for...the kisses the Jedi gave me just before he headed out the door. He never forgets to come and give me a kiss before he leaves for work. Even when I'm still in bed, he comes back to the bedroom, leans over, and kisses me lightly. He is so my prince charming.

From the learning rooms...Toa of Boy can read sentences like "The dog was hot and sad in the van." Sweetling can use a compass and straightedge to construct the bisector of any angle. My big goal is to get 5 chapters of her history book read before co-op tomorrow AND to get my note cards done for the research paper the composition class is working on. (Ok, technically that's two goals. But I could say 'my goal is to be prepped for co-op tomorrow.' That makes it one goal with two parts.)

From the kitchen... my oven currently has a yellow post it note stuck to the door which reads "Do not turn on oven!" I'm completely serious here. I baked fish on Saturday, and I put the fish on flat cookie sheets with no rim. The fish oozed fish oil (who knew?) which ran right off the cookie sheets and puddled and sizzled and became burnt pools of goo at the bottom of the oven. So, monday morning I grabbed the spray can of oven cleaner and READ and FOLLOWED the directions for use. Preheat oven to 200 degrees, but do not exceed 200 degrees, read the can. I carefully put my oven on 200 degrees, its lowest marked temperature setting. I waited a few minutes. I put on the rubber gloves the spray can told me to wear. (See, I can read and follow directions.) I held the can 12 inches from the surface of the oven. I depressed the spray nozzle while gently morving can in a horizontal direction parallel to surface of the oven. I thought I would pass out from the noxious fumes that erupted with the cleaner hit the oven surface and vaporized. I slammed the oven door shut and stumbled into the other room, vision distorted through watering of my eyes, gasping and choking and coughing for air. (See, even when I read and follow the directions, I'm doomed, so I may as well do things my way.) When I could breathe again, I opened the oven door slightly to let it cool down. Maybe my temperature setting was just a little too high, despite the fact that I had set it to 200. After my oven had cooled for 15 minutes or so, I tried it again. Same results.

Plan B was to go with the overnight cleaning method in a completely cool oven. I left my oven alone for several hours. This didn't break my heart any. I sprayed the toxic waste container into a completely cool oven. I still coughed and sputtered, but didn't feel that my life was in imminent danger, so I perservered. This method required leaving the oven closed for 6 hours while the holy terror I had just unleashed upon its interior did its work. Fine by me. I slapped a post-it not on the oven door, and there we are.

Now, don't get me wrong. I've cleaned my oven out many times. It has a habit of collecting pools of burnt goo along the bottom. I don't know why. But I've realized that paying the extra money for the name brand FUMELESS oven cleaner is totally worth it. The generic nerve gas was not a bargain.

I am wearing... fuzzy bunny slippers that Sweetling has named "Flip" and "Flop". White socks, cause despite my heated waterbed and feather down comforter and extra blanket on top of that AND a Jedi that is he's own heat generating wonderfullness, my feet get cold at night. A pink nightgown that has totally seen better days. I don't think I'm a restless sleeper, but the busted seams on most of my nightgowns claim otherwise. And I was going to say more about that, but Sweetling reads my blogs. The tears aren't there from fun times. I said it anyway. Moving along, I am also wearing a heavy burgandy bathrobe. It's like a portable blanket and I love it. Now, normally my goal is to get up by seven (and when I say normally, I mean, every few weeks I reset this goal for myself. I do it for about a week, then I fall of the wagon. Then a month later I decide, I really need to get up by....) So, ideally, my goal is to get up by seven and to get a shower by seven-thirty. Today, Mom was up (well, she's always up) but today she decided she wanted to get her shower early. So as soon as the Jedi left for work (just before seven) Mom got in the shower. Now its 7:25 and she's out, but I'm blogging.

I am creating... a mess? That's always an accurate answer. Actually, my current 'work in progress' is a character history. I'll post some of it later.

I am going... to pink up Pinkie this afternoon if both girls get their school work done. Then we have church tonight. I need to step down from children's ministry for a while. I got burnt out last spring and I just never recovered. I'm not excited about going to church tonight. And it used to be that I was excited. Oh sure, sometimes I got overwhelmed and busy (ok, often), but it still brought me joy and pleasure in the midst of my business. Now I'm not overwhelmed with children's ministry, but I'm not joyful either. I refuse to speculate that the two go together. They totally don't. I do NOT need to be overwhelmed to feel fulfilled, thank you very much.

I am reading... Diddly squat. I have a stack of library books AND a stack of books Nora loaned me and they have been sitting here all fall. (Well, not the library books, but that's a rotating stack. I take them back unread and bring home new ones that will sit unread.) Normally, I'm a book-aholic, so I'm completely baffled by this behavior pattern.

I am hoping...that's a good question. What am I hoping for? I'm hoping for pleasant and productive weekdays.

I am hearing...Mother bustle around getting ready. This is alternatively accompanied by whispered mutterings to herself and quiet humming.

Around the house...it is dark and quiet. The Jedi is gone. The kids are still sleeping. Mom is down the hall and I can hear her, but the light from her bedroom or from the bathroom is stopped by their closed doors. The living room is dark, the stairway behind me is dark, the picture window beside me is dark. It seems like only the kitchen light is on as I sit at the table with my laptop.

One of my favorite things...Ghiredelli brownies. I had forgotten how good they were. Mother had a meeting after work yesterday, and everyone was to bring a dessert to share. On Monday, Mom decided to go to Walmart and just pick up a ready made something. She asked me what I wanted, since she was planning on getting something to take with her and something to leave at the house. I said we needed eggs and I would like a 99 cent brownie mix please. She said, no, she didn't want me to have to make something. I said the brownie mixes were way yummer than the premade store bought brownies. She agreed to that and came home with 18 eggs and four Ghiredelli brownie mixes. I made one to keep with us, one for her to take to work, and put two boxes in the pantry. (I also took the batteries out of the smoke alarm, cause the brownie baking was happening after the fish baking had occurred.)

A few plans for the rest of the week:

Church tonight. (Hey, I just realized its really Wednesday, not Tuesday. I'll have to adjust what I wrote earlier.) We have co-op tomorrow and we're going to try to launch our new 'get most of the errands done on one day' plan after co-op by hitting walgreens, cvs, and the library that afternoon. Then Sweetling has Tae Kwon Do at 6, Toa of Boy takes a bubble bath on Thursday nights, and the Jedi and I have Tae Kwon Do at 7:30. On Friday afternoon, Pinkie and Equistrian are coming over for God's girls. I think we're gaming Friday evening, which means I need to finish my character write up, update my character, and vacuum before gaming. Saturday is blissedly free of plans (except that I'll be helping Mother get her classroom portfolio worked on). Sunday morning is church. Sunday afternoon is cleaning and laundry day. Sunday evening is Extreme Makeover Home Edition. And that brings us back to Monday. Monday afternoon Sweetling has a dentist appointment (they found a cavity at her check-up yesterday.) Monday evening is free. It's the only weekday night that is free. Unless the Jedi has an elder meeting. Tuesday we'll go to Meyer in the afternoon, Sweetling has Tae Kwon Do at 6 and I have dance at 6:30 and then Tae Kwon Do at 7:30. And that's our upcoming week. Plus, you know, homeschool during the days.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...





This is my character sketch of Aimee. I did the drawing quite some time ago, and made a character from the sketch. But I never had a clear history or story for her, so that's what I'll be working on this week.

Now it 7:55, and I'm off to get a shower.