tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57789433142052260292024-02-08T11:51:42.184-05:00My Homestead in the 'VerseIf I can't be on Atlantis or in Serenity, then I will have to be here.mishbloomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03293978676268050657noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5778943314205226029.post-40882134853255640632015-05-27T11:20:00.000-04:002015-05-27T11:20:21.389-04:00MYO Cold Gel Packs<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #351c75;">I've been meaning to try making some gel packs for the Man/lings in case they got bruised and bumped, but it just so happened this morning the Munchkin slipped down the deck steps (again). So Manling #3 and I did a quick search for solutions.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #351c75;">Apparently all they consist of is:</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #351c75;">1 cup water</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #351c75;">1/2 cup rubbing alcohol</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #351c75;">freezer bags--1 for the pack, 1 to layer over top while freezing to prevent leakage.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #351c75;">You can double or triple the recipe depending on the size you want to make.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #351c75;">If you add more rubbing alcohol, the pack will be softer; easier on worse injuries.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #351c75;">No reason not to have some of these on hand!</span></span></span>mishbloomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03293978676268050657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5778943314205226029.post-20789221202640452362015-05-27T10:24:00.001-04:002015-05-27T10:24:37.928-04:00Winter Projects and Books 2015<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Yes, of course it's the end of May and I'm planning my projects for the upcoming winter. Heavens! When else would you? If I wait till winter gets here...well, that's called "Procrastination" and I am not one of those! A-hem.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I will, naturally, add to and amend the list as needed throughout the summer/fall. I'm going to tack the Reading List on here too....so I don't forget where I put it. </span></span></span><br />
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<u><b><span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Winter Projects 2015</span></span></span></b></u><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">1. <i>Corn/Rice/Flax bags for heat/cold packs.</i> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">My boss when I worked at The Office had a lovely rice bag she would use to keep warm when our side of the office hallway was freezing (which was nearly always because the heat didn't work in the winter and the A/C was stuck in "high cold" all summer). I used it when I was in after-hours to keep my fingers from freezing to my keyboard, and it was a lovely little thing. I've been meaning to make some for at home for years now, but it's one of those "not really important" projects that I have finally decided to pursue for this year. The Man/lings prefer the heater set substantially lower than my (aching, aging) bones like, and I love the heaty blanket they bought me...but the thought of using the electricity for that makes me cringe. So when I saw "Therapuetic Corn Pillows" at <a href="http://lehmans.com/">lehmans.com</a> I immediately went looking for these:</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://homemaking-cottage.com/Needle-Crafts/corn-bags.htm">http://homemaking-cottage.com/Needle-Crafts/corn-bags.htm</a></span></span></span><br />
<a href="http://www.agentlestrength.com/microwavable-heating-pad/corn-bags-heating-pads-how-to-do-it-yourself"><span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">http://www.agentlestrength.com/microwavable-heating-pad/corn-bags-heating-pads-how-to-do-it-yourself</span></span></span></a><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Because I've got scrap fabric, and this cheapskate ain't payin' money for a bought one! </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">2. <i> New tablecloths for the table.</i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I've been looking for some at thrift stores and yard sales, and I guess I'm just picky 'cause I haven't found a whole lot I like, not to mention we could use some new napkins and maybe even (gasp) placemats! Can you imagine? ;) </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The next question then is whether or not I'll have a new table by then. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></span>mishbloomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03293978676268050657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5778943314205226029.post-40367707341036680312015-05-26T18:34:00.000-04:002015-05-27T10:25:29.551-04:00Spring and Summer Book List 2015<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">At present I have a plethora of mom/home/schooling ebooks I'm reading, bit by bit. I think I got the better part of the pile out of an Ultimate Bundle of books the other year; and in true Procrastinator Fashion, they have been lounging in a quiet dusty corner of my hard drive, awaiting the light of my Adobe Reader. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">One of my (unlisted) Goals for the year was to clean out said hard drive, particularly after its brief demise in January, glean what I could, ditch what was redundant, and save/print what worked and was Really Very Useful--like Thomas the Tank Engine! Whoo-whoo! (Sorry, my little buddy from across the street was here last week, and my brain is still in shock from having Small People in the house again.) </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I'm still reeling from the sheer enormity of the task I have set myself (along with finishing up the backlog of scrapbooks from the last ten-plus years), but I have learned a lot. Here is my current stack, and a short review of each.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b>Book List 2015</b>:</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">1. <u>Live for Him</u> by Leigh Ann Dutton of <a href="http://intentionalbygrace.com/">IntentionalbyGrace.com</a> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">This is my new favorite goal-setting workbook. She also has a new <u>Intentional Planning</u> book to help set up your goals and plans in a workable way for the year. I've gotten so much more accomplished this year due to these two books. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">2. <u>Goal Setting Workbook</u> by Ruth Soukup of <a href="http://www.livingwellspendingless.com/">www.LivingWellSpendingLess.com</a> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The graphics in this workbook are charming, and I had filled it out before I read through <u>Live for Him</u>. I loved them both so much I will probably still use them both together even though there's a bit of overlap. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">3. <u>Hula Hoop Girl </u>by September McCarthy <a href="http://hulahoopgirl.net/">hulahoopgirl.net</a></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I was glancing through this ebook while watching a movie and realized I was paying more attention to the book than the movie, which is usually a good sign that I should just read the book. I am adding it to my quiet time in the mornings.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">4. <u>One Second After the Lights Go Out</u> by Lisa Bedford <a href="http://www.thesurvivalmom.com/">www.thesurvivalmom.com</a></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">This is a emergency prep report in advance of her upcoming book on surviving an EMP. I can't wait to read the book, because the report was so full of good information. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">5. <u>The Homemaker's Guide to Creating the Perfect Schedule</u> by Amy Roberts <a href="http://www.raisingarrows.net/">www.raisingarrows.net</a></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">This is a lovely little guide to setting up a household/homeschooling schedule. I didn't realize how dated my schedule had become now that the Manlings are older. We were working with a daily routine that suited a bunch of elementary/middle school boys, not teenagers who need more sleep and would rather play video games than read books. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">6. <u>One Bite at a Time</u> by Tsh Oxenreider <a href="http://www.simplemom.net/">www.simplemom.net</a></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I resisted this book for a while, I think because there's 52 WEEKS of projects. Overwhelm! But as I started through it, there were some projects I was already in the middle of or had already put in place or really didn't need to set up. This book has still been very helpful in pointing out different ideas or ways of doing some of the things that might or might not be working for me. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">7. <u>Good Wife's Guide</u> by Darlene Schacht <a href="http://www.timewarpwife.com/">www.timewarpwife.com</a></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">This is on my July book list.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">8. <u>Called Home</u> & <u>Simply Homeschool</u> by Karen DeBeus <a href="http://www.simplylivingforhim.com/">www.SimplyLivingForHim.com</a></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">We are two Manlings graduated, eleven years in, and two Manlings and five years to go. I have my days when I am so tired and exhausted of anything school-related that I think I might go bonkers. These two books are like a fresh breath of air and a shot-of-Godly-grace in the haze of the hardest days. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">9. <u>True Christian Motherhood</u> by June Fuentes <a href="http://www.truechristianmotherhood.com/">www.truechristianmotherhood.com</a></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">This is on my June book list.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">10. <u>Kingdom Distractions</u> by Jenny Ervin <a href="http://www.amothersheritage.com/">www.amothersheritage.com</a></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I read through this short and sweet little ebook in about 15 minutes. Then I printed it out, put it in my prayer notebook, and whenever I start to lose sight of The Goal, I take another 15 minutes to read through it. The book is about just what it says: distractions. You know the ones: the Internet and too many outside activities, time-wasting distractions that sneak up our time and steal it away like a thief. If you have a tendency to lose yourself in externals during the day, read this little gem whenever you need to!</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Other books on my To Do List:</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">1. <u>Pride and Prejudice</u> (Jane Austen), again. I prefer <u>Sense and Sensibility</u>, so maybe I'll read that later this week.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">2. <u>The Four Loves</u> (CS Lewis)--I wish I could say this one has me captivated, but it gets a bit long-winded. Not for the faint of heart, I'll say that.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">3. <u>North and South</u> (Elizabeth Gaskell)--The BBC miniseries of this book is one of my all-time favorite movies; but my friend has read the book and says it was sorta dry. But I plan to read it anyway, between canning this summer.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">4. <u> Stepping Heavenward</u> by Elizabeth Prentiss (with a Bible study to use with it)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">5. <u>Under God</u> by Toby Mac--This is part of our Bible study during the week.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I'm always open for reading recommendations, so if you've got something good or funny or good and funny, drop me a comment and let me know. </span></span></span>mishbloomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03293978676268050657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5778943314205226029.post-82034607841499561682015-05-20T14:57:00.002-04:002015-05-20T14:57:28.320-04:00Why do I always think I need to re-invent the wheel?I have been trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up.<br />
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The Hubs seems to think that once the two youngest Manlings are out of the house, I will be going back to work at a full time job somewhere, and the truth? The truth is, I can't fathom leaving this house to spend my days with a bunch of strangers, every day, for the rest of my adult life. I've developed some serious anxiety issues over the last couple of years, and my stress level goes up every time I have to go out. I really would like nothing better than to just stay here, quietly, in my house, for the rest of forever...with the occasional drive on Sundays and a trip to local graveyards for genealogy research.<br />
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This is not the point of this post.<br />
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The point of this post is that I have been thinking about really doing "the blog thing" for a while, but I have no ideas what I would write. Most of what I know someone else already has a blog for or writes about much better than I could. I'm not even sure I qualify as a semi-expert on ANYTHING. Except feeding Manlings, and my husband is better at that than I am. <br />
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But after starting a blog at Wordpress, and not liking it, I think I'm going to stick with this. Because I like this blog set-up, and I like this spot in the 'verse.<br />
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Now to figure out what I'm good at....mishbloomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03293978676268050657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5778943314205226029.post-38660112213801005272012-01-13T08:59:00.001-05:002015-05-20T14:44:38.079-04:00I want SNOW!!<div style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I'm married to a man who loves cold weather.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">My Manlings would rather play in the snow than swim in the summer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">And I confess....I love snow days. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I really do.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">There's just something so peaceful about a cold winter day with snow quietly blanketing the ground. Something refreshing and cleansing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">When I lived in Wyoming, winter storms consisted of howling winds and blowing snow that would drift up to your windowsills and sometimes pile so thick it would stop life cold. I LOVED it. Especially since it meant afternoons huddled by the woodstove in our basement living room, sewing or reading or playing board games with my brother and sister. Very Laura Ingalls Wilder-ish. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Now I live in a little suburban house with no woodstove, no fireplace, and the only winds that blow across the farmer's cornfield down the street usually bring Rain. Lots of Rain. This year it's rained so much that I think we might have beat out Washington for precipitation. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">But every once in a while...</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">...grey clouds will pile up on the horizon, and a cold wind will sweep in. And we'll get a snow that makes the homesickness that never quite goes away almost bearable. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Today is not that day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">There's barely a dusting on the ground. Those clouds look much more fearsome than they are. All bluff and bluster! Still, even as the golden yellow sun breaks through from the other end of the development, I can close my eyes and pretend. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">On the upside, the roads are clear, barely wet anymore; and today is Town Day. So I'm off to the bank and the store and Lowe's for paint to get that laundry room done. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">And who knows? Maybe those clouds will decide to be ferocious. Maybe God will send MY 18 feet of snow to cover our house and neighborhood. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Or maybe we'll just have to move to Alaska. </span></div>
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mishbloomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03293978676268050657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5778943314205226029.post-65412989212594463182012-01-10T16:29:00.000-05:002015-05-26T21:17:27.210-04:00Positively Filthy Rich<div style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">It's been a rough day...and God knows I needed a bit of a kick in the pants to remember that my current "mess" is my own fault. But in the midst of the mess, He also wanted to point out the fairly obvious: no matter how "poor" we might be by America's standards? We have SO MUCH when compared to the rest of the world. It's absolutely appalling, the waste and excess in this house. I can state without blinking an eye that I had NO idea just how much Stuff was sitting in my laundry room. Granted, a lot of what was on the shelves in there was storage. I keep extra paper towels and laundry soap ingredients up above the washer and dryer. One wall has wire shelving for cans and jars. But it was the Stuff I didn't know about--things I had just haphazardly stuffed in an open space because I would get to it "later"...and later just happened to be today. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I'll spare you the gory details of what necessitated the emptying of my laundry room. But the cleaning led to a huddled discussion with The Hubby about when/how we were tiling the floor in there. Why not now, we decided. We had got the tile a couple of months ago, and there were a couple of items to pick up at the hardware store to complete the project (tile grout, etc). So we picked up the Older Manlings from VoTech, went to lunch, and then to Lowe's. When we got home, the Manlings and I all finished emptying the laundry room and stripping the walls.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Which brings me to the point of this post:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Regardless of how AWFUL my days may seem, the sheer insanity of life that astounds, the complete idiocy of some decisions made around here, we have life GOOD. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">No, not good. We have it GREAT.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I can walk into my pantry...or the laundry room...or the cellarway...or go downstairs to the storage room....and I can fix any one of a dozen...maybe two or three dozen..different meals because I have everything I need. When compared with places like Africa and India, we are positively Filthy Rich. </span></div>
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mishbloomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03293978676268050657noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5778943314205226029.post-16533181344950735882012-01-08T14:08:00.000-05:002015-05-20T15:59:12.373-04:00<div style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Well, despite the fact that we called a couple of Sick Days for the end of the week thanks to this nasty little upper respiratory bugger, I think I got more done than I'd hoped for. All things considered, I should give myself a bit of a pat on the back.</span></div>
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<u><b><span style="font-size: small;">Weekly Accomplishments:</span></b></u></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">1. School work--I sat in my favorite chair, huddled in a blanket, sipping hot tea like I had no tomorrows for three days, and still we managed to get everything done (except the State Study, and that is NOT priority). Go me!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">2. Obviously starting my Cleaning Rampage was not on for the week, BUT! I felt better on Friday and decided to mow through some of the mess in my bedroom. UGH. It was a mistake, 'cause the dust I kicked up just made me feel worse again the next two days...but there was a serious amount of mess taken care of. So...Bonus Points for Mommy!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">3. Paperwork--Oh Lord....it follows me around wherever I go! Please, slay this dragon for me! *deep sigh* Yeah, He helps those who help themselves, right? Well, then maybe I'll get a reprieve for a bit. I went through most of the bookshelves in my Home Office area and filed and sorted and prioritized and even conquered some of the "to do list". </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">4. Menu Plans--Why am I struggling so hard with these? I updated the Recipe Binder, organized a whole bunch of meals behind the plans, and I still just can't sit down and MAKE UP THE MENU. I even printed off some other people's weekly suggestions for lunches, etc. Stuff that we'll eat and are acceptable budget-wise. So why can't I just go for it and make the menus?? *stops to consider* </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I think part of this problem is that I am not very adventuresome in the kitchen. I worry too much that something will flop or the Manlings won't eat it or DH won't like it. I know I shouldn't let that limit me, but it's frustrating when you want to try new things and are worried all the men in your house won't eat it. (Not that I can honestly say this has ever happened...completely. There are one or two protestors regularly whenever I make something; but it scares me!) </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Well...I guess I'm going to have to deal with it. 'Cause the menu I did manage to cobble together for this week is a LOT of new stuff. More Bean recipes and a couple of Red Meat recipes (which is something we don't do often with DH's gout). </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">5. Family Genealogy--I stumbled across a scholarship that Manling #1 is eligible for since becoming an Eagle Scout. One of the requirements is to fill out a 4 Generation Ancestor Chart. Lo and behold, you can now find the Family History binders on my newly-cleaned shelves...and I went through and filled most of it out for him last evening. And then I started poking around on <a href="http://ancestry.com/" target="_blank">ancestry.com</a> AGAIN. And I decided to put up My Basic Family Tree and another for the Hubby. Around 11 o'clock last night, I finally decided to stop for the night.... Heh. I showed the Manlings this morning (and they all pretended to be suitably impressed, good children that they are), and they asked if I'm going to continue. I think, yes. I've got A LOT of information I've gathered over the years. It deserves some organization and updating. Once I get that all sorted and uploaded, then I'll get my membership renewed and start some more research. *sigh of contentment* I like not working....</span></div>
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<u><span style="font-size: small;">On the To Do List for this week?</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">1. Start my Cleaning Rampage.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">2. Can some chicken stock.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">3. Finish cleaning the bedroom.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">4. Plan our family vacation for Memorial Day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">5. Start working on the boys' official high school transcripts.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Oh ambition...where art thou??</span></span>mishbloomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03293978676268050657noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5778943314205226029.post-44588841032823010342011-12-09T08:31:00.000-05:002011-12-09T09:13:56.858-05:00List: Emergency Prep<div style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">This morning's post is brought to you courtesy of "what to do about the changing times?" </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">My oldest Manling is fond of zombies and the apocalypse and took notes as he read the Left Behind books. He jokingly refers to all things in a time frame that ends with 12/21/2012. In an attempt to keep him under control (and also keep that little voice in the back of my OWN head quiet), I've made an effort to keep informed on items like this. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Just a bit of a rant before I get to the list: I can understand people scoffing and making fun of "random dates" and "conservative Christian mumbo jumbo". As it says in the Bible, no one knows the date or time or even the hour. Not even Jesus. God will do His thing in His own good time...which I know from experience to be...well, whatever "His own good time" really is. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I take in stride the people who ask me what I'm buying mass quantities of food for when there's plenty on the shelves. (I DO have four growing Manlings, people. See them rooting through the cart behind me???) If I put some of that excess into jars or the freezer at home, well, call it "foresight". It's not about the apocalypse or the possibility that our government could fall apart any day now. It's a situation far scarier and more real. We've Been. There. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">You know Where. Where the bills run too high, and the money runs too short. The only thing standing between you and a bunch of people calling, screaming to be paid is a prayer that God keep providing "just enough" every month. (And He always has, I might add.) If we hadn't had "extra" in the house, I'm not sure what would have happened. I'm sure I don't want to find out. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I should add that, when we were in the midst of this crisis situation, I had only STARTED looking into prepping. Better late than never, right? Yes, well. Not again. I swore I'd have a viable plan in progress within a year or two...just in case. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">You know the Just In Case too. Just in case: someone loses a job or gets "down-sized"; someone leaves or gets sick or dies... Or there's even the Just In Case of when money just can't make ends meet for The Way We Used to Live. There's a whole lot of that going around right now. The people who had Lots of Everything have almost nothing of anything. Granted, a lot of those people should have planned ahead, prepped, read, and realized that tomorrow is just as fluid as everything else. But hindsight is always 20-20, as my momma used to say. It is heartless and worthless to berate millions of people for their lack of planning. I'd venture to say that sort of reasoning still applies to even some diehard preppers in one area or another of their lives. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">It should be no stretch then, to point to my life and say: This? Is where your goals ended up. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">It took another trip to the hospital for my husband for me to realize that I had not gotten as far as I had hoped. But even if we're not There yet? We're much closer to the goal than we were before. I think most of the pieces are physically in the house...just not organized so well as I would have liked. Cleaning The House will be Emergency Prep too--getting everything put in its place.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The Prep List then, for today:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">1.<b><i> Get the Emergency Prep Plans printed off and ready to go</i></b>. (I've started using <a href="http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/" target="_blank">Food Storage Made Easy</a> You can sign up for a free emergency binder of ideas. It gets emailed
piece by piece every two weeks for a year. I haven't had time to do
much more than skim the lists and print them off for my Housecleaning
Rampage next month, but I'm going to be ready when I get there! I'm sure that MY list probably differs from theirs...and yours will differ from mine. But this is a great jumping-off idea--they give you the basic framework; you fill in the holes.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">2. <i><b> Update my "Alien Abduction Notebook". </b></i> I'm sure there's other names for it--but I love science fiction so the idea makes me giggle everytime I open the book. And that's the point, right? To OPEN the book...and work on it...and make sure The Family knows where it is. This is what holds the Keys to Life As WE (The Family) know it. Copies of birth certificates and SS cards and whatever else might need to run out the door in a hurry if we have a fire or a flood or a Zombie Apocalypse. Stuff the Guys will need to know if something happens to...me. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">3. <i><b>Man-handle my actual Planners into submission.</b></i> This was my one Big Project for the month of December, and I'm getting close. The Homeschool Planner actually went together far easier than I thought it would, most likely due to the fact that, even though it's my first Official Planner, I've been doing this gig for seven years. I know what I need and what I don't...and that will change next year! The Household Planner on the other hand... *sigh* It's not that I don't WANT to do it. It's that every time I open it up, I see the last four years of not being organized; and it flattens me. Once I'm in the full-on Rampage, I'm sure my planner will be very handy. Right now it's giving me a Massive Inferiority Complex! I also have my little Day Planner that I got down at "Ken's Educational Joys" in Ephrata a couple months ago. I love writing things in it! It's a whole new year!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I think that's enough for today. Three items may not seem like much; but when you're dealing with a Full-on Household Cleaning Rampage, this is more than enough. 'Sides, I just need to be Ready by the end of the month, not Started. That will come soon enough.</span></div>mishbloomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03293978676268050657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5778943314205226029.post-16339410165178998072011-12-05T09:50:00.001-05:002011-12-05T10:01:12.610-05:00why am I always tired?<div style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Some times I think the reason I drug my feet for so long to get out of my part time job was mainly to do my lack of energy on any given day. I've wondered for a while now if there isn't something physically wrong with me--'cause it seems there should be no real reason for my regular fatigue. But how will I function now that I have no "real" excuse to blame my inactivity and inability to DO something on?</div>
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I get plenty of sleep.</div>
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I don't always eat as well as I would like or exercise as regularly as I want to, but neither are completely lacking either.</div>
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I don't drink much or stay up till extra late hours.</div>
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But on a normal day I will have to DRAG myself out of bed around 7:00 in the morning (sometimes closer to 8:00). I then spend at least half an hour (usually more) checking email or blogs or just doing everything I can to avoid being a Mom...or even a Human Being.</div>
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I have long thought it was probably a combination of Stress, Anxiety, and hormones. I know that in November/December when it starts to get dark and cold, I have some degree of seasonal affective disorder. (All I need is one sunny warm day in the middle of all the gloom to prove that theory.) But there are days in the middle of July that I have the exact same problem. And then there are the random days when there's no real reason at all. </div>
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It's rough. And I don't know why it is. </div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">So now it's a goal--to either make the problem go away or at the very least make it easier to live. </span>mishbloomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03293978676268050657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5778943314205226029.post-73173753107427040592011-12-04T20:22:00.001-05:002011-12-13T09:40:06.347-05:00<div style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">So the guys gave me the whole month to be a "bum" and settle into being home. Which is nice. It means I can get myself oriented and organized and ready to tackle the rest of life. So I started in on getting my Planners together--Household and Homeschool and Emergency Prep. I've made some pretty serious progress too, in between episodes of Atlantis and trying to beat Manling #1 at Castleville. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I realized as I was going through my computer and flash drive that I've got SO much stuff I didn't even remember downloading. But it's nice to know I don't have to reinvent the wheel to get myself together.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I've also started making Lists of things that need doing--by Day or by Activity, as it works out. There's a lot of Paperwork, so I'll probably break some of that down into individual days or rotate weeks or something. Likewise the Scout Lists. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">One item I can't wait to get back on my Lists is the Scrapbook Time for Mom. I haven't even looked at my scrapbooking stuff since March. That was in reference to the Eagle Scout book...and it didn't get finished. It's all piled up on the ledge in the upstairs hallway--don't ask, I have no idea why!! (Especially when you realize my scrapbooking table is in the basement. *eyeroll* Yeah....) </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I need to get through the school stuff for after the holidays too. But since most of that is already in The Box, it shouldn't take more than an afternoon to finish up. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Now...since I'm on Day 11 of my Bum Time...we interrupt this post to bring you another Episode of Stargate Atlantis...Season Four! YAY.</span></div>mishbloomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03293978676268050657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5778943314205226029.post-78843140566999503882011-12-01T19:09:00.001-05:002011-12-01T19:34:47.691-05:00<div style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Tonight was my second night of Not-Working. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">--When do you stop wondering what's going on there without you?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">--How long does it take before the endless list of Things That You Aren't Doing At Work comes off repeat in your head?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">--Who is sitting at my desk? Doing my work? Maybe doing it...better.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">--What did my boss think when she realized I REALLY wasn't coming back? </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">--Why does it matter if I'm happy being home? </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">These are the things I can't post on my Facebook Wall. Two of the girls from work read that...and I can't bring myself to try to explain to them why I left earlier than I had planned. I'm not even sure I totally understand myself.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I can't discuss these questions with the Manlings or the Hubby. Why? Because they don't quite understand when I say things like, "I loved my job" or "my boss is going to hate me"--they wonder why it matters. I have them to take care of and love and homeschool and spend the rest of my life with. It was just a job. Right?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Sure. It WAS just a job. But it was a job I was good at. It was a job I had for nine and a half years...and I turned my back on a good paycheck and great hours and work I was excellent at...to be with them. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Only here, in my blog, can I try to work through the morass of feelings and mixed emotions that I have about being a SAHM as opposed to a working medical secretary. Try to somehow find some middle ground in my head about Who I am now and Where I am not anymore. Maybe make some sense out of the jumbled craziness that has been these last three months.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Why did I leave Now...rather than in two weeks as was the Original Plan? </span></div>
<div style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I told myself it was because I was just fed up with the idiocy of the Docs trying to find competent help. But if I'm being honest (and I need to be, brutally, messily, completely transparently Honest), then the real reason I left Now rather than Then, is because I just couldn't train someone to replace me. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Whatever my boss thinks of me now, the brutal truth is that deep down, this was not a decision I made lightly. I didn't wake up one morning and decide that I hated my job and didn't want to be there anymore. It took nearly six months of back-and-forth with the Hubby before we finally decided together that it really was time for me to stay home. It took another four weeks before I mustered up the courage to actually tell my boss I was quitting. I gave her six weeks' notice...and then volunteered to stay on another three months when another Front Desk girl quit that same week. Dragging my feet to leave?? I'd say just a bit. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Then they actually hired someone to do my myriad assortment of jobs...and I suddenly had to face the realization that The End was finally in sight. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Part of me was ecstatic!! I was looking at the end of not being home with my boys, and my house would finally get the attention it needed so desperately. What I posted this morning about an Adrenaline Surge for Housekeeping was an understatement. I was PSYCHED!! The house would be clean and tidy; the floors would be swept; the meals would be planned and made; the budget would be controlled....</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">....and someone else would sit in My Office...at My Desk...using My Computer...doing My Work.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Change is hard. Even when it's welcome and long overdue. </span></div>
<div style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I just walked away from a job I had been in for almost a decade...a job I loved....to stay home with the ones I love....and I can't tell you if the tears are of loss...or happiness. I made the right choice.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;">But it wasn't easy.</span><br />
<br />mishbloomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03293978676268050657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5778943314205226029.post-15837843252789074532011-12-01T10:02:00.001-05:002011-12-01T10:15:25.881-05:00<div style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I have decided. </span></div>
<div style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">*pause*</span></div>
<div style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I have decided (which is more than half the battle, y'know?)...AHEM.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I have decided:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">a) I will make the Lord my focus each day, and I will walk in the path He's set before my feet. I will do this INTENTIONALLY.</span></div>
<div style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">b) I will be the mother and wife I want to be. If not now, then when? Better to do it now. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">c) I will be more organized in 2012.</span></div>
<div style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">d) I will post each night before bed as recap. </span></div>
<div style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">e) I will get my Lists in order and keep them.</span></div>
<div style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">f) I will start to catch up all of the projects I have started and not finished.</span></div>
<div style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">g) I will clean the house from top to bottom, and I will be the Keeper of THIS House.</span></div>
<div style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">h) I will get our Emergency Prep Plans back under control, and then I will implement them. No more putting things off....not in these times. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">To further all these aims, I am using the rest of December as "Prep Month". I need to get my planners updated and organized. I've been woefully under-organized the last four years. That must stop. </span></div>
<div style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
<div style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Funny how once you make the Plan to Start, the adrenaline starts to flow. One wouldn't equate the start of a race for instance with a (re)start of Homemaking. But I suppose it's all the same to your brain chemistry. It's an eagerly anticipated event, something to be sought after and waited for (however impatiently). </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">And I've waited a LONG TIME to reach this point. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I am home. Thank God.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<br />mishbloomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03293978676268050657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5778943314205226029.post-36599717280453797412011-11-23T15:25:00.001-05:002011-11-23T15:25:11.619-05:00I. Am. FREEE!!!!mishbloomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03293978676268050657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5778943314205226029.post-48137096526211138902011-11-21T20:41:00.001-05:002011-11-21T20:41:46.685-05:00I will officially be a stay-at-home/homeschooling Mom as of 2:00 EST on Wednesday afternoon. YAY!! It's taken a long time...but the wait was worth it. I'm just glad to be on the downhill stretch.mishbloomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03293978676268050657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5778943314205226029.post-39543171963671357172011-07-10T20:10:00.000-04:002011-07-10T20:10:46.510-04:00The Weekly CanningToday's canning list is brought to you courtesy of the vegetables: celery, onions, carrots, and rooted parsley....all of which were excised from the rich black composted earth in my garden boxes to take up new residence in my fridge, freezer, and almost two dozen canning jars on the shelves. <br />
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I found a wonderful recipe last year in Mother Earth News for "Roasted Root Vegetables" which is pretty much nothing but chop 'em, toss 'em in olive oil, and roast 'em in the oven till they taste fantastic. This cannot, of course, be canned; but it freezes very well for later. I've done various combinations of all the above mentioned veggies, along with potatoes, parsnips, and turnips. (The turnips I accidentally baked almost crunchy....and they were the best batch so far! But I'm one of those weirdos who likes black hot dogs too, so...) Since my children are impervious to the deliciousness of this mess, I have done single servings for me to eat at work. <br />
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All of the carrot tops, parsley greens, and some of the onions, along with the celery "fringe" went into my biggest stock pots to be boiled down into the most beautifully green organic veggie stock imaginable. I had gotten the celery on special buy at the local farmer's market (49 cents a head), so I chopped up most of it, dug out one of the onion beds, and heated up a dozen pint jars of veggies--which were then canned in my wonderful stock. I then filled my "little" canner with 7 quart jars of stock...and this post is brought to you courtesy of a gorgeous summer sunset on my back deck as my two canners "gurgle" away on the outside stove. <br />
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This would not have been possible without the combined effort of all the Men in the House--since our deck roof was just finished over Memorial Day Weekend, and it would simply have been too stinking hot in the sun to can without it. I love my Manlings! (And their father too...) LOL<br />
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Next up...green beans...and yellow beans...and scarlet runner beans...oh my...mishbloomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03293978676268050657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5778943314205226029.post-36258528559764509302011-07-10T18:31:00.002-04:002011-07-10T18:32:18.226-04:00We're NOT Unschoolers! *SOB*<div style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">...er...</span></div><div style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Okay, according to the "original" definition of "unschooling" at the Yahoo Board I used as My Homeschooling Bible/Resource when we started out on this journey 7 years (almost to the day!) ago, we're still (to my way of thinking) "unschoolers". At that time, unschooling on the Board was defined as "child led learning". Within certain parameters (mainly my OCD and my DH's insistence on Math, English, and Science as "regular" classes) most of what we do on a yearly basis is chosen by the Manlings. Even books and other miscellany for The Core Three were approved and subjected to the test of the Manlings' time and tolerance. In other words, I know my guys. I know what makes them miserable, and I know when they are just giving me a line about how "boring" something is. (Boring here being a subjective term referencing just how much they would rather be playing with their iPods and laptops and other paraphernalia.) </span></div><div style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">My youngest two like to work together. Manling #3 is content to work below his "grade level" if it means he doesn't have to work through his English by himself. Manling #4 has benefited from this is a number of ways--he's far and away the best speller in the house, knows a good bit of grammar for a boy his age, and realized that all those letters in books spell out wonderful stories and vast amounts of knowledge that he is now able to mine for himself. I won't even comment on the happiness in my heart at the way the two of them work together. On a Perfect Day, the heavens open and angels sing over our dining room table! *cheesygrin* All the other days, we lock the doors and pretend we don't live here!</span></div><div style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Manling #2 likes to do his own thing...which generally means trying to buck The Core Three and spend as much time as he can either outside on his rollerblades/bike or up in his room with his head buried in a book that (while educational) isn't going to help his plan to graduate from "high school" before he's 30. He's beginning to realize now that goals are not there to limit him but rather to challenge and prod him on to the next step on his path. He does have a pretty concrete plan of "where he wants to be". We just have to help him get there. </span></div><div style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Manling #1...has discovered that when "classes" have a purpose, he's much better pleased to try to comply with a teacher's request. He started VoTech last year and is maintaining a high A average, despite his apparent lack of interest in everything else. My biggest problem at the moment has been his discovery of a social life and the amount of time it seems to be eating up in his schedule. We are going to have another go-round about it post-camp again, I know it. </span></div><div style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In the midst of all this homeschooling bliss, something happened. </span></div><div style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The definition of 'unschooling' changed at The Board, and suddenly I am confronted with the proposition that our years ought to be "endless summer vacation with learning happening as you bump into it." Or something to that effect. </span></div><div style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Taken back just a bit by this shift in the universe, I asked Manling #3 if he thought "endless summer vacation" would be beneficial. He (being of the honest and no nonsense persuasion) blithely informed me that he'd prefer to just go back to public school then. Seems endless summer vacation sounds about as boring as it is trite. </span></div><div style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Thing is, the Manlings have definite goals. And while letting learning opportunities happen "organically" SOUNDS wonderful? Sometimes when you know what you want, you need to chase after it....not just pray it turns in your direction. In that sense, we still follow the original definition of "unschooling"...child led learning. They are leading me in the direction they need to go to attain their goals. </span></div><div style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span> </div><div style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">And honestly? It's okay if we don't get the "endless summer vacation". We prefer "autumn walks in the woods at twilight" anyway. </span> </div><div style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
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</span></div>mishbloomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03293978676268050657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5778943314205226029.post-38048019292647599862011-05-30T09:24:00.000-04:002011-05-30T09:24:00.616-04:00CoffeeAsk anyone. I have a Coffee Problem. <br />
It's tragic really. I used to be a fairly normal girl. I drank iced tea, water, occasionally the glass of apple juice. Sometimes I'd have a beer if it was a social occasion. <br />
<br />
Now I live from cup of coffee to cup of coffee. I tried to give it up for Lent this year. That lasted all of a week...till the basement flooded and my Manlings very wisely handed me the largest hottest cup of coffee they could lay hands on before leading me down the steps to see The Flood.<br />
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I tell myself that if I really want to get serious about the weight loss thing, I should lay off the Java and start hitting the water. But where's the fun in that??? I even switched to <a href="http://www.almondbreeze.com/">Almond Milk</a> rather than regular milk in an attempt to convince myself that it's "not so bad" to have six cups before noon.<br />
<br />
*sigh* Not working. <br />
So what coffee can't I live without if it's become the central part of my operating system? <br />
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1. New England Coffee's Blueberry Cobbler. I'm sure for some of you coffee purists that sounds just awful, but my boss got me hooked at work in a rather underhanded fashion (she refused to make anything else for two weeks). Now she and I are both devotees.<br />
2. Dunkin Donuts French Vanilla--I have to confess I only drink this if I go to the store to get it. I love it fresh made (and not by me). LOL<br />
3. Sheetz Vanilla Nut--Discovered on a roadtrip with a friend of mine (Rachel!) to see another friend (Meg!). Have been unable to function properly without at least a cup or two a week since. It's good stuff, guys. If you need a quick fix? This is the way to go.<br />
4. For plain ole coffee, I have to admit that I'm a Folgers girl. There's not much to tell when it comes down to the bare nuts and bolts of my coffee problem. I'm a redneck/cowgirl at heart, and if I've got no fancy fixins' I'm just fine with it hot and black. <br />
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Just make sure you keep it comin'!mishbloomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03293978676268050657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5778943314205226029.post-25427466410272739562011-05-30T09:06:00.002-04:002011-06-01T13:50:53.076-04:00The Weekly CanningThis week's canning will be relatively simple (I hope). After spending the weekend putting the roof on the deck, I'm pooped.<br />
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Things to can this week:<br />
1. <strike><span style="color: #cc0000;">Strawberry jam</span></strike>--that's right, I managed to save a nice chunk of our strawberry crop from the robins. So I will be canning jam this week! YUM. Am going to try the <a href="http://pomonapectin.com/">Pomona Pectin</a> that one of the girls on the Home Canning Board recommended. Cuts out the sugar and supposed to be dummyproof.<br />
**Canned 7 jars of jam--kept one in the fridge "chus fer so". YUM. And the Pectin worked like a dream! And fast. <br />
2. <span style="color: #cc0000;">Vegetable Broth</span>--if I have time. We're starting to run short so it's gotta be done sometime.<br />
3. <span style="color: #cc0000;">Beans</span>--only if I have fifteen spare minutes and have nothing better to do. Don't see that happening.<br />
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**highlighted in <span style="color: #cc0000;">red </span>means Not Done. Crossed out means Done.mishbloomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03293978676268050657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5778943314205226029.post-26730248431494977112011-05-29T11:25:00.001-04:002011-05-29T11:26:04.048-04:00The List of Lists (Part I)LISTS!<br />
For those of you who don't know me well, I LOVE lists. There's just something about the orderliness of a well-made and checked off list that makes the OCD in my heart and soul sing with delight.<br />
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So, in order to take full advantage of this, I'm going to make my blog a series of lists. Daily lists, project lists, general to-do lists, canning lists, storage lists. You name it, I'm gonna make a list of it (if possible). YAY! I luff it!<br />
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What lists will I do this week? Hmmm...let's see...<br />
I should have some weekly lists:<br />
<br />
<br />
1. The Weekly Canning<br />
2. Cleaning This Week<br />
3. Counting My Blessings<br />
4. Tales from the Zoo<br />
5. Household Projects<br />
6. Steal a Moment for Myself (Books)<br />
7. A Look Back (and Ahead)<br />
<br />
Mmmm...yes, I like this. If all else fails, I can cut and paste while in the midst of five other things, right? LOL<br />
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Some miscellaneous posts for this week:<br />
1. Reasons Why I Hate PA<br />
2. Coffee<br />
3. Tales of Parsley<br />
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Yes, I think I can manage this. It will also be something fun for me to help keep track of stuff too. ("Tales of Parsley" will be about the care, cultivation, and drying/freezing of parsley. Something I need to remember anyway.)<br />
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Alright, that said, I'm going to go get some chores done and get back to this later.mishbloomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03293978676268050657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5778943314205226029.post-24074022723508193492011-05-24T11:08:00.000-04:002011-05-24T11:08:51.170-04:00Things I'd LIKE to do with this Blog<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">When I started this blog, it was supposed to be my "adult blog". The blog where I kept all the notes about homeschooling and homesteading and just being me.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">*sigh*</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I have not been as proactive in that move as I would have hoped I could be. In all fairness, it's been a rough year so far. We've been up to our ears in Life--Eagle Scout and Webelos Crossover ceremonies, homeschooling, basement tide pools, and trying to figure out why this whole mess isn't working anymore.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">While I can't stop Life from happening, I do know partially why it's not working so well now: a mother was meant to be home with her kids and her husband, taking care of her home and making four bare walls into a place of comfort and shelter. I'm so tired of being a "working mom." </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">After a long long overdue chat with my husband, I have managed to make him see that all of the things he's constantly complaining about at home are things that I SHOULD be taking care of in that time between finishing up school with the boys in the afternoon and when he gets up in the evening. Housework and meal planning and school prep for the next day. Hours and hours of things that don't get done because I'm Not Here. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I've also finally convinced him that we are never going to "keep up with the Joneses" and thankgod for that! I don't WANT to feel like I need to have everything that everyone else has. I want to just have what we have and work with that. I don't need to have all the new fancy gadgets or expensive clothes and stuff that the rest of America flaunts (like we are entitled to it). I'm tired of trying to keep track of the stuff that clutters our house as it is. I've been slowly trying to weed through everything and regain some control over what we do have and need.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Trebuchet MS;">So from here on out, I'm going to try and use my Blog to that advantage: to chronicle my quest to find my quiet center at Home...and my transition out of The Job. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Trebuchet MS;">*sigh*</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Did you hear that scream? My boss. She's not going to like this....</span><br />
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mishbloomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03293978676268050657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5778943314205226029.post-38375533593214641292010-12-24T15:34:00.001-05:002010-12-24T15:37:43.947-05:00August to December...where do the months go?<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I need to make a full confession: we have not done much at all in the last six months. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Okay, I lie. We've done a lot of hiking and leaf-watching as the seasons changed. We spent an inordinate amount of time out-of-doors just enjoying the weather and each other's company. We have spent long lazy hours just reading and playing computer games and discussing music and life. We've contemplated the snuggle to happiness ratio of petting small rabbits (and big Hueys). There have been days when we didn't bother getting out of our pajamas, 'cause we would have gotten right back into them within hours. There were days when we only got out of our pajamas to go to VoTech or work or an appointment of some sort...and then came home to return to our previous pajama-clad state. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Trebuchet MS;">In order to precipitate this state of things, I worked mornings again for Sept-Dec. By the time I came home, I wanted nothing more than to nap and veg. Very little actual bookwork got done--with the exception of what I left the Manlings to be done in the mornings. I didn't check most of it. We didn't even really have Family Reading Time or Devotions. I did make the added effort to finish "Pilgrim's Progress" (which the Manlings all loved) by the beginning of December. It was started in August. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Trebuchet MS;">After berating myself endlessly for several weeks about things we hadn't done, I stopped. Why?</span><br />
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<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Trebuchet MS;">Because I have a camera full of pictures of my sons outside, hiking in the most beautiful fall foliage, and (better still) a heart full of memories of the talks we had during those long tramps. DH was usually sleeping for work, and we would head out when I came home from work. Squirrels were chased up trees, deer were spooked (accidentally) from thickets as the two younger Manlings stalked each other through the brush, and we tried to be amateur ornithologists while attempting to identify birdcalls. I practiced using the different settings in the new digital camera as we looked at flowers and dying weeds and spotted trapped logs on dam-breasts and eyed Scotch pines at Middle Creek. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Trebuchet MS;">So why didn't we rush right back into schoolwork when the long lazy days of fall had ended?</span><br />
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<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Trebuchet MS;">I suspect we really needed a break. It's been a hectic year, with planning the Eagle Scout project and camp and new leadership at Scouts and just all of the general chaos of the year. Scott is now an Eagle, and I've still got the ceremony to plan. Luke crosses over to Boy Scouts in eight weeks, and I need to get that finalized this week. We even got burned out on reading our Bibles 'cause we did SO MUCH of it this spring. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Trebuchet MS;">So we stopped. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Trebuchet MS;">And it was good. I plan to spend this week finishing up some odds and ends for the New Year, and we go back to a real schedule the first week of January. I will be nights again, which works better and is easier on my peace of mind. I am actually looking forward to schoolwork with the boys again. And they are BORED with TV and the video games...which is perhaps the best part of all. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Trebuchet MS;">I am looking forward to just being with the boys and not worrying about all the headaches at work. My focus was getting far too split, and that needs to stop. I guess this is what some SAHM moms mean when they say, even though it's tempting to get a PT job, they would rather concentrate on their Real Job. Heaven knows, I understand that. I've spent far too much time the last six months worrying about what is happening at work. I'm done doing that. We're going to finish taking care of our debt, and then I hope to quit. OR at the very least cut back some until the boys are all grown. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">I also got updated internets now. We are getting high speed wireless on Monday, so online time will be more productive. Less time spent waiting for pages to load...more time using what I found. I like this!</span> </span>mishbloomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03293978676268050657noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5778943314205226029.post-70792327482087604652010-08-27T17:11:00.001-04:002010-08-27T17:15:54.850-04:00Time To Get it Together<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">After a year of working at work AND at home, I'm beat.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">We've gotten to the point at work where I'm about as caught up as we're ever gonna be. Consequently I am now looking forward to having some Real Time to start cleaning up and re-organizing my home. I've gotten very tired of "knowing" I have something and not being able to find it. And let me tell you...after almost four years of just trying to keep up, I can't find much of anything!! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The last couple of weeks of canning/freezing have also been spent taking inventory of what's downstairs in the storage room. At this point, I can say with some conviction that we will simply NEVER run out of corn...and I'm completely out of Pumpkin Bread. (Although I made batches and batches of the stuff 3 weeks ago!) LOL</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">So some of the items we still need to prepare for the rest of the upcoming winter season are:</span><br />
<ul><li><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">pumpkin bread, pie, muffins, and cheesecake</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">tomatoes/zucchini canned together (using up the last of the zucchini and the stray tomatoes)</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">homemade ketchsup</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">canned ham/broth</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">canned turkey/broth</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">canned Huey-Rabbit if my DH has anything to say about it! *EEK*</span></li>
</ul><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I'm too exhausted at the moment to go into all the other stuff I need to worry about...but I am going to spend most of this weekend getting my "attack list" together. Then we'll start Deep Cleaning the house. First up? My closet. Ack.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I also need to get some more quality online time too. I've got tons of stuff I want to get printed off and organize in my Emergency Prep Binder.</span>mishbloomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03293978676268050657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5778943314205226029.post-21101340327207180622009-10-15T10:33:00.002-04:002009-10-15T10:33:54.713-04:00<center><a href="http://preparednesspantry.blogspot.com/2009/10/food-storage-analyzer-gift-card.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Gift Card Giveaway" src="http://beprepared.com/images/art/giftcardbanner40.png" /></a></center><br />
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<br />
Checked out the Food Analyzer over at Emergency Essentials.<br />
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It’s nice…but if you’ve already got a pretty established food storage, it’s going to be a weekend project to input all your stuff. (This is where we run into problems, ‘cause there’s no list for home-canned and frozen garden stuffs, and a lot of my store-bought items are not in there.)<br />
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If you’ve already got a working tracking system for your storage, I’d say skip it. (Unless you use it to track your Emergency Essentials purchases, which I think I’ll do.)<br />
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If you’re just starting out and don’t have much to input, this is definitely a go. It’ll help you keep track of your purchases and what you’re missing and how much you’ve really got on hand. <br />
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Nice graphics! And it’s dial-up friendly.mishbloomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03293978676268050657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5778943314205226029.post-67492803343869799312009-10-07T10:19:00.000-04:002009-10-07T10:34:22.426-04:00<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;color:#000066;">It's a wonderful sunny, blustery autumn day outside...and I'm sitting here at the computer with a Rerun Pig on my lap, trying to find some Beatrix Potter activities for Manling #4. He's really into Peter Rabbit at the moment, so I thought I'd see if I can find some lapbook inspiration for him. (He's getting into his Rabbit one--I'm having less trouble with motivation on his part than with Manling #3 and the Bee Lapbook he BEGGED FOR...and isn't working on. *sigh*) </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;color:#000066;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;color:#000066;"><em>That's a little better. Re wanted to run, so I have both hands free now. She's a good pig but very insistent on ear-scratches and chin-scratches when she's on your lap. Not that I can blame her!</em> </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;color:#000066;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;color:#000066;">I'm thinking I'll have him make a little flap-book as we read through his Beatrix Potter Collection--like we did with the one James Herriot book that he and Manling #3 loved so much. Just a little picture to coordinate with the story and a short narrative about each one. Nothing real indepth--just something to spork his brain into thinking mode. He really isn't ready to "write" but sometimes you can sneak it past him! *feels a little devious*</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;color:#000066;">The next thing I need to do is get our Civil War stuff together. I promised my older two that unit this year, and if I don't deliver there may be blood....mine! </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;color:#000066;">I also need to find some Bible studies for our Bible Notebook. I think we're going to work on that collectively this year...and then they can branch out into their own next year if they decide to. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;color:#000066;">Heavens....here I'm thinking they aren't 'Doing' anything....and I'm up to my ears in stuff to gather up for them! I think going back to notebooking and lapbooking was definitely the way to go. Thank the Lord for making that clear.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;color:#000066;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;color:#000066;"></span>mishbloomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03293978676268050657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5778943314205226029.post-82507575390295210672009-10-04T19:47:00.000-04:002009-10-04T20:06:02.175-04:00<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;color:#000066;">Didn't really get a chance to update on how homeschooling has been going.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;color:#000066;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;color:#000066;">Well...</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;color:#000066;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;color:#000066;">I guess it's just kinda going at the moment.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;color:#000066;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;color:#000066;">Manling #3 says he's completely bored with his math program, which is unfortunate 'cause I have no more monetary resources to sink into curriculum this year. He's just gonna have to suck it up and DEAL until I figure something else out. </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;color:#000066;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;color:#000066;">Manling #4 is steadily learning to read. I am slightly shocked and mildly confused. He just decided overnight to start reading....but he flat-out refuses to practice or read anything other than his reader and school book. I don't know if he scared himself with the fact that he actually CAN DO IT now or what. *sigh* Boys.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;color:#000066;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;color:#000066;">Manlings #1 & 2 are being your typical teenagers. One day they don't mind doing anything I ask them to. The next day it's like I've infringed on every conceivable liberty they've ever possessed or dreamed of possessing. *headdesk* Heaven help me till the testosterone wears off a bit! I've been told repeatedly by other mothers that they do eventually become human again. I'm not going to last that long....</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;color:#000066;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;color:#000066;">I am feeling the pull toward going back more into lapbooks and notebooking. That way the guys can work on stuff they really WANT to be working on. Manling #1 and his train/electrical stuff. Manling #2 and his WWII history. The younger two can work with me on fun stories (like Black Beauty and The Trumpet of the Swan) and do some lapbooks for them. They both told me yesterday that they really like their lapbooks from last year. They like being able to look back over them and seeing the results of what really wasn't all THAT much work! </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;color:#000066;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;color:#000066;">So at the moment, I'm looking up stuff to use in a lapbook for Black Beauty. All I never wanted to know about horses..... LOL But since it's set in England, we can do a chart on the Peerage, and look at pictures about hunting, and read about hounds, and do some horsey knowledge too. Not to mention English geography. Throw all that into a lapbook, and they've got a pretty good little reference to use later.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;color:#000066;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;color:#000066;">Now if I could just motivate the two older ones a bit. They're way too content to spend their free time in front of the TV or computer....playing games or watching crap. I'm not happy. But at least they're doing their science and math and grammar. Manling #1 is doing the Botany unit with the two younger ones, and Manling #2 opted to read through Joy Hakim's science books. (He was bored with plants.) I'm going to start M#1 on Joy's History of US this year too. Count it as US History for high school credit. We're gonna make a Civics Unit out of their Citizenship in the Nation merit badge this year too. Work M#3's Citizen Webelos badge into it. It's all good. </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;color:#000066;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;color:#000066;">Yeah....now let's see how this all pans out....</span>mishbloomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03293978676268050657noreply@blogger.com0