Monday, May 20, 2013

The Homeschool Mother’s Journal–5/17/13

This post contains affiliate links. Please see Disclosure/Policies.

Monday, Monday, Monday.” –in that special radio voice… “Manic Monday, wish it were Sunday.” –by the Bangles…

(5/13) It was just another Monday. Lee had babysitting but for two hours longer than usual so I didn’t bother to stay in town. It meant two trips in the car. I had contemplated, very seriously, mowing the lawns in between car trips but I decided against it because I always worry that I’m doing something wrong with the mower. It’s a riding mower that just has a few too many steps to get it going. I can do it; I just don’t like to. I also didn’t think there was enough time. Well, my surprise when we got home and hubby was mowing the front yard. He’d worked 11 hours and then set to work on the yard as soon as he got home.

Fox and I played the challenging board game National Parks Query Quest off and on. We bought the game 4 years ago at a used book sale in Torrington,Wyoming. But it is for teens and adults and the kids were definitely not quite old enough to enjoy the game. It isn’t easy but it’s definitely educational. I see it at the site for $35+ shipping; we bought it for $2 Smile

Oh, yes, and I made some coconut/almond milk. So yummy. I am okay with the almond milk, minus the fact that I cannot strain it quite enough and always have the tiniest grittiness when I drink it. But this time, I used less almonds and some shredded unsweetened coconut. At first I tried to do it like usual: soak it overnight, then use room temp filtered water, blend, strain. Uh, the fat from the coconut wasn’t cooperating. I warmed up what little bit I had strained and started again with warm water. Much better! The almonds by themselves usually have a nice cream top (not sure what it’s called) but with the coconut there is actually the fat that solidifies in the fridge. I like the almond cream but not so much the coconut oil. I attempted to separate the coconut oil from the rest after it was cold; somewhat successfully.

Also, I’ve had some good success with gluten free sourdough starter and bread. I just need to let it rise more before baking. I’m so impatient! And I think I need to cook it longer than the recipe states. It has been too moist when ‘done’. It isn’t as light as I expect it to be, according to the recipe. The last time I fed my starter, I used garbanzo bean flour. It loved it! It overflowed the jar even though it had a good 4 inches to the top.

Otherwise in the day- I was expecting a package from Amazon for this Kindle Fire Keyboard and this glass pitcher. Neither showed up Sad smile It’s going through Prestige shipping (never heard of them!). It shows that they got the paperwork for the shipment but no actual shipment yesterday. Oh boy.

GEDC0620Sourdough rising…

GEDC0621Sourdough baked…it fell just a bit.

Tuesday- (5/14) started my day with more sourdough bread. I had to clean up the overflow from Monday’s feeding of the starter before bed. I didn’t/don’t want to waste it so I went ahead and made up a quick dough to be baked today. It rose nicely. The flour I used was 2 cups rye, 1 cup Bob’s Red Mill All-Purpose (which has rice flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, garbanzo and fava bean flour…anything else?), and 1 cup Bob’s Red Mill garbanzo bean flour. It should be ready to bake around 2:30 pm…If I can just wait that long. It’s already risen an inch in 2 hours. Smile Edited: it turned out great! I baked it after only 3 hours. It reminds me of very moist homemade whole wheat bread- without the wheat!

Wednesday- (5/15) Last night I made enchiladas for dinner. DH has a long, hard week at work and I wanted to make him some good food to come home to. Chicken enchiladas are one of his favorite meals. They smelled so good that I decided I’d suffer if need be to have two of them. Delicious, simply delicious. But I did indeed pay for eating them. Woke with terrible headache and just feeling not well. After feeding the cat, I laid on the couch for another 4 hours; oblivious to all that was around me. Finally, around 10ish, I was human again. The weather must have sympathized with me because it rained and stormed in the morning but was nice and sunny later.

Fire&keyboardAnd it was ‘sunny’ later also because I got my Kindle Fire HD keyboard (oh yes, and the glass pitcher Smile) that I was hoping for yesterday. I figured out ‘who’ Prestige shipping is/was. They are the same people who deliver a lot of our packages one day later than it says it is expected at Amazon lol. There is a mechanical pencil on the left of the keyboard, to give a bit of perspective to size.

I had to drive Fox to Young Marines and Lee and I were to go to prayer meeting but she wasn’t feeling well. We (Lee and I) stopped by the Chick-Fil-A near the armory Fox goes to for Young Marines so that she could get an application. Her first real application!? It just seems so… unreal. I helped her understand what’s what on the application and guided her through filling it out. Now comes the difficult part: turning it in.

Thursday- (5/16) Just a simple, somewhat lazy day. Kids worked on their ‘must finish’ list, then walked to the library. I worked on compiling a list of books and resources that have been used this year. It’s for the portfolio assessment that we’ll have done May 30th. I also plan on taking a printed copy of The Weekly Barden. What else to take? I’ve no idea! I’m not nervous, per se, but I guess I am a bit more than I think. I keep wondering should I take much, or not. I want the kids (and myself, I guess) to talk more about what we’ve done/learned, rather than have a lot of papers. And honestly, a lot of the kids’ work is digital, on the computer.

…And apparently, that’s as far as I made it with my weekly journal entry lol. Posting late but posting anyway!

Thursday, May 16, 2013

2013-2014 Curriculum Plan, AO’s Y10 & Y8, 11th & 9th Grade

Not that I’m switching curriculum because it’s AO every time. We’ve come far from our start with CM/AO and I’m impressed with my kiddos. We still won’t cover absolutely everything on the booklist or on the schedule but I’m confident in what we, they, will accomplish. You can see the original Y10 and Y8 AO booklist and weekly schedules at AO’s official site.
I’m getting this all down now and out of the way. Just about all of the books have been acquired but for just a couple. Next step will be the week by week break down. Another post may detail our science plan (not that we really did so well with our ‘plan’ for science this year lol- it’s good to have a plan anyway). There are still 2 weeks left of the 2012-2013 school year but I’m looking forward to next year! *I’m also looking forward to our break in between Winking smile*
This may seem like a long post but it’s mostly just because I’m spelling out (snicker) all my abbreviations for the year for each student in this post. Of course, it might also have some mistakes. This is possibly the first year using AO that we will have so many physical books. There are links here in this post, none are affiliate links and all link to free resources.

Lee: 11th grade, Y10

Book abbreviations (some books used all terms, some *T1, others **T2 &/or ***T3):
TCS: The Christian’s Secret to a Happy Life (devotion) –ebook
AHAP: A History of the American People (history) –physical book
*KUTC: Key to Uncle Tom’s Cabin (history) –online
*TSotA: The Spirit of the Age (short bios) –online
*UFS: Up From Slavery (history) –online
*WtB: Walking the Bible (geography) –physical book
EB: Evaluating Books (govt/econ) –physical book
*TL: The Law, Bastiat (govt/econ) –online
CiD: Character is Destiny (citizenship) –physical book
CE: Current Events (citizenship) –online
WB: Weekly Barden (citizenship/current events/writing)
TSCW: Thinking Straight in a Crooked World (worldview) –physical book
HOEL: History of English Literature (literature/history) –physical book
LM: Les Miserables (literature) –ebook
*UTC: Uncle Tom’s Cabin (literature) –physical book
ROtOS: Roar On the Other Side (poetry) –physical book
POWA: Paradigm Online Writing Assistant (composition) –pdf
LoF: Life of Fred Advanced Algebra, Geometry (math) –physical book
NWtS: North With the Spring (nature study/science) –physical book
HtRaB: How to Read a Book (logic) –physical book
* **AoA: Art of Argument (logic) –physical book
YSGtC: Young Scholar’s Guide to Composers (music) –pdf
Term 1Bible: Reading, verses, TCS
History/Biography: AHAP, TSotA, UFS, Speeches/Documents
Geography: Eothen, WtB, Seterra
Govt/Econ: EB, TL
Citizenship: Ourselves, CiD, CE, WB
Worldview: TSCW
Literature: HOEL, LM, UTC, KUTC
Essays: various
Poetry: Coleridge, RotOS
Grammar/Composition: POWA, written narrations
Math: LoF
Science: Chemistry
Nature Study: journaling, NWtS
Logic: HtRaB, AoA
Art: Degas, Manet, independent projects
Music: YSGtC, practice (trumpet, piano?)
Health/PE: Nutrition 101, other books (?), outdoor activities, homeschool events
Foreign Language: Latin, Sign Language
Free reads: UFS, WtB (those 2 at-your-own-pace, but must be completed by end of term), NWtS, LM (those 2 year-long), any from AO’s list
Book abbreviations not mentioned above (used **T2 &/or ***T3 when specified):
KA: Killer Angels –physical book
ASAL: A Short Life of Abraham Lincoln –ebook
** ***TOT: The Oregon Trail –online
** ***ToB: Tower of Babel –pdf
FR: Frankenstein –ebook
** ***DJMH: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde –ebook
Term 2Bible: Reading, verses, TCS
History/Biography: AHAP, KA, ASAL, Speeches/Documents
Geography: Eothen, TOT Seterra
Govt/Econ: EB, Sowell Essays
Citizenship: Ourselves, ToB, CE, WB
Worldview: TSCW
Literature: HOEL, LM, FR, DJMH
Essays: various
Poetry: E. B. Browning, RotOS
Grammar/Composition: POWA, written narrations
Math: LoF
Science: Chemistry
Nature Study: journaling, NWtS
Logic: HtRaB, AoA (? may be finished Term 1)
Art: Hudson River School Artists, independent projects
Music: YSGtC, practice (trumpet, piano?)
Health/PE: Nutrition 101, other books (?), outdoor activities, homeschool events
Foreign Language: Latin, Sign Language
Free reads: NWtS  (year-long), any from AO’s list
Book abbreviations not mentioned above (only used T3):
BMH: Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee –physical book
QV: In the Days of Queen Victoria –ebook
OL: On Liberty –online
GA: Graves of Academe –online
SM: Silas Marner –physical book
Term 3Bible: Reading, verses, TCS
History/Biography: AHAP, BMH, QV, Speeches/Documents
Geography: Eothen, TOT, Seterra
Govt/Econ: EB, OL, GA
Citizenship: Ourselves, CiD, ToB (?), CE, WB
Worldview: TSCW
Literature: HOEL, LM, DJMH (?), SM
Essays: various
Poetry: E. B. Browning, RotOS
Grammar/Composition: POWA, written narrations
Math: LoF
Science: Chemistry
Nature Study: journaling, NWtS
Logic: HtRaB
Art: Hudson River School Artists, independent projects
Music: YSGtC, practice (trumpet, piano?)
Health/PE: Nutrition 101, other books (?), outdoor activities, homeschool events
Foreign Language: Latin, Sign Language
Free reads: NWtS  (year-long), any from AO’s list

Fox: 9th grade, Y8


Book abbreviations (some used all terms, some only *T1, others **T2 &/or ***T3):
TCC: The Case for Christ (devotion) –physical book
TNW: The New World (history) –physical book
*AMFAS: A Man For All Seasons (history/biography) –movie/movie guide
*LSFB: Life of Sir Francis Bacon (history/biography/citizenship) –online
GD: Galileo’s Daughter (biography/history) –physical book
TLCC: The Life of Christopher Columbus From His Own Letters and Journals (geography/history) –ebook
WHJ?: Whatever Happened to Justice? (govt) –physical book
CTAP: Christian Theology and Ancient Polytheism (worldview) –physical book
SotS: Secret of the Scribe (worldview) –physical book
AYHIW: A Young Historian’s Introduction to Worldview (worldview) –physical book
WH!: Westward Ho! (literature) –ebook
*FWFL: Fierce Wars and Faithful Loves (poetry)
SS: Shakespeare Sonnets –online
JG: Jensen’s Grammar (grammar) –physical book
TLAW: The Lively Art of Writing (composition) –physical book
RH: Rural Hours (nature study/science) –ebook
F&WM: Fearfully & Wonderfully Made (health/science) –physical book
HtRaFF: How to Read a French Fry (science/cooking/home ec) –physical book
CE: Current Events (citizenship) –online
WB: Weekly Barden (citizenship/current events/writing)
HOEL: History of English Literature (literature/history) –physical book
ROtOS: Roar On the Other Side (poetry) –physical book
LoF: Life of Fred Beginning Algebra (math) –physical book
HtRaB: How to Read a Book (logic) –physical book
* **AoA: Art of Argument (logic) –physical book
YSGtC: Young Scholar’s Guide to Composers (music) –pdf
Term 1Bible: Reading, verses, TCC
History/Biography: TNW, AMFAS, LSFB, GD, Speeches/Documents
Geography: TLCC, Seterra
Govt/Econ: WHJ?
Citizenship: Ourselves, Utopia, Francis Bacon Essays, CE, WB
Worldview: CTAP, AYHIW, SotS
Literature: HOEL, Everyman, WH!
Essays: Francis Bacon
Poetry: SS, FWFL, RotOS
Grammar/Composition: JG, TLAW, written narrations
Math: LoF
Science: Chemistry
Nature Study: journaling, RH
Logic: HtRaB, AoA
Art: Degas, Manet, independent projects
Music: YSGtC, practice (piano?)
Health/PE: F&WM, Nutrition 101, other books (?), outdoor activities, homeschool events
Home Ec: cooking, HtRaFF
Foreign Language: Latin, German
Free reads: WH!, RH, HtRaFF (all three year-long; at-your-own-pace but must be done by year’s end), any from AO’s list
Book abbreviations not mentioned above (used **T2 & ***T3 when specified):
AHPP: A History of Plymouth Plantation
** ***OC&RP: Oliver Cromwell & the Rule of the Puritans in England
TLoJD: The Life of Dr. (John) Donne –physical book
TDoSP: The Diary of Samuel Pepys –online
** ***KT: Kon Tiki –physical book
GA: Great Astronomers –ebook
Term 2Bible: Reading, verses, TCC
History/Biography: TNW, AHPP, Johannes Kepler in GA, OC&RP, TLoJD, GD, Speeches/Documents
Geography: TLCC, KT, Seterra
Govt/Econ: WHJ?
Citizenship: Ourselves, Utopia, Francis Bacon essays, CE, WB
Worldview: CTAP, AYHIW, SotS,
Literature: HOEL, WH!, TDoSP (excerpt)
Essays: Francis Bacon
Poetry: SS, John Donne & George Herbert, RotOS
Grammar/Composition: JG, TLAW, written narrations
Math: LoF
Science: Chemistry
Nature Study: journaling, RH
Logic: HtRaB, AoA (? may be finished Term 1)
Art: Hudson River School Artists, independent projects
Music: YSGtC, practice (piano?)
Health/PE: F&WM, Nutrition 101, other books (?), outdoor activities, homeschool events
Home Ec: cooking, HtRaFF
Foreign Language: Latin, German
Free reads: WH!, RH, HtRaFF (all three year-long; at your own pace but must be done by year’s end), any from AO’s list
Book abbreviations not mentioned above (used only in T3):
TW: The Holy War –ebook
WH&D: William Harvey and the Discovery of the Circulation of the Blood –ebook
Term 3Bible: Reading, verses, TCC
History/Biography: TNW, OC&RP, GD, Speeches/Documents
Geography: TLCC, KT, Seterra
Govt/Econ: WHJ?
Citizenship: Ourselves, Utopia, Francis Bacon essays, CE, WB
Worldview: CTAP, AYHIW, SotS
Literature: HOEL, THW
Essays: Francis Bacon
Poetry: SS, John Milton, RotOS
Grammar/Composition: JG, TLAW, written narrations
Math: LoF
Science: Chemistry
Nature Study: journaling, RH
Logic: HtRaB
Art: Hudson River School Artists, independent projects
Music: YSGtC, practice (piano?)
Health/PE: F&WM, Nutrition 101, other books (?), outdoor activities, homeschool events
Home Ec: cooking, HtRaFF
Foreign Language: Latin, German
Free reads: WH!, RH, HtRaFF  (all three year-long; at your own pace but must be done by year’s end), any from AO’s list

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Birds, Spiders, Rain, and Food

Photography by Lee (Autumn Lee on the watermark) and me, from April and some of May.

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A well traveled path at the North Chagrin Reservation Metropark.

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Fuzzy Lamb’s Ear in our backyard (Richmond Heights).

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Dandelions are everywhere this year! These are in our backyard.

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I don’t know what kind of plant it is but I like the red coloring. This was at the Euclid Creek Reservation Metropark. More from Euclid Creek Reservation Metropark.

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It’s never quite as majestic in a photograph as it is in person.

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The creek bed is made up of shale.

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The kids enjoyed exploring the fragile nature of this rock type.

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I love to find hearts in just about everything. My kids pointed this out for me.

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The rock layers seep water when pressed. And it may be strange, but I like these two photos showing the scuffed and old shoes of my kids.

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Water at some point ran through this spot and moved the rock pieces around.

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This is from May at Tinkers Creek Aqueduct.

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I like the contrast of the bark and the branches.

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The spider…

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And the birds.

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At Tinkers Creek Aqueduct, where we had some Nature Study and Ohio Study at the same time, there is a falls. Lee captured it quite well in this photograph.

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This feeder is less than 5 feet from where I am sitting at my computer. A few days after we put it up, this Gold Finch found it. Unfortunately, the cat likes to sit in this window and it scares the birds. This picture was kindly taken by Fox.

We have two other feeders for birds and one block for squirrels. The squirrels can’t figure out how to get at the block though. A woodpecker, perhaps a Downy Woodpecker, has discovered it and loves it!

I have no photos of the rain but rain it has. The last two or three days it has been intermittent. It looks to be rainy this coming week as well. We don’t plan on going out much when it rains.

Oh, yes, and the food. Sometimes I wonder if I could make a cookbook with all the things I make. It seems I’m always cooking something. Perhaps I’ll make one for each of my kids.

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Homemade tortillas. These are for the rest of the family since I can’t eat the wheat. (shh, I ate one anyway- yes, I had a headache later)

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Pizza casserole.

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Sourdough starter made with rye, oat and garbanzo bean flour. I get to use it today! There is much more now than when I took this photo.

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My mix of rye, oat and garbanzo bean flour. The ratio is 1:.5:.5; if that makes sense. For each cup of rye flour, I have 1/2 cup each oat and garbanzo bean flour. Unfortunately, I’m running low on the rye flour…

Well, that is my photo post for awhile. Since I’ve not done a Weekly Wrap-Up for a little while, I thought this would be fun.

Monday, April 29, 2013

Book Review: The Tower of Babel {New Leaf Press}

tower-of-babel

The Tower of Babel: The Cultural History of Our Ancestors by Bodie Hodge
ISBN: 9780890517154
Available in many formats, page count 272 pages
Publisher: Master Books
Retail: $13.99

About the book (from NLP):

The Tower of Babel: The Cultural History of Our Ancestors reveals our shared ancestry as never before! Many are familiar with the Biblical account of Babel, but after the dispersal, there was a void beyond Biblical history until empires like Rome and Greece arose. Now, discover the truth of these people groups and their civilizations that spread across the earth and trace their roots back to Babel as well as to the sons and grandsons of Noah.  

Many of today’s scholars write off what occurred at the Tower of Babel as mythology and deny that it was a historical event. Beginning with the Biblical accounts, author Bodie Hodge researched ancient texts, critical clues, and rare historic records to help solve the mystery of what became of the failed builders of Babel. For the purpose of defending the Bible, Hodge presents these and other vital historical facts surrounding this much-debated event. Teens and older can use this layman’s reference for Biblical classes, ancient history, apologetics training, and to realize their own cultural connection to the Bible.

 

My thoughts:

Wonderful book! It has been thoroughly researched and includes both sides of this ‘story.’ I won’t go so far as to say it is an unbiased research into this because Bodie Hodge is definitely on the side of the Tower of Babel being an actual historical event, as it is mentioned in the Bible. It is written in a way that is both interesting and accessible. Hodge deals with what is known of languages, uses historic documents and accounts (not just from the Bible), conversations and research from both creationists and evolutions, as well as proponents and opponents of the Tower of Babel being an actual historical event. It has many references in the footnotes; I love that!

When I said that the book is written in an interesting way, here is a snippet from Chapter 16, “By What Means Did Those Scattering from Babel Travel?”

“Well, let’s rule out air travel right from the start! However, it is possible that advanced technology existed in these cultures, such as hot air balloons*. But would such things be used for scattering? Likely not. If anything, such balloons were used for surveying and spotting, if they existed at this time” (pg 103). *he references this in the footnote.

The entire book is interesting and made me want to keep reading. In reference to the above snippet, I would not have even considered air travel in the days of Babel!

I am a Christian who believes the Bible to be the inerrant Word of God. If the Bible says it’s so, I believe it. But when it comes to a book, even when written by an author who also believes that the Bible is inerrant, that is trying to convince readers of something, I expect there to be a lot of concrete evidence. I already know the Bible is true, so for a book to say “the Bible says so” as their argument isn’t going to get me interested in reading the book. Hodge doesn’t do this. He uses the Bible, definitely, but he also has other evidence that supports his claim. Here is an example, from Chapter 12, “Did All ~7,000 Languages Today Come Out of Babel?”

“Both Vista World Languages and Cultures and Ethnologue, companies that provide statistics on languages, agree that there are more than 78 (estimates constantly change but are currently sitting between 94 and 120 languages families). Some groupings include sign languages, and constructed languages that have been developed. With further study in years to come, this may change to a smaller number, but this figure is well within the range of families that dispersed from Babel (Genesis 10)” (pg 68).

A bit later in the chapter, towards the end, he concludes that

“the contrast in the secular view, where we all allegedly evolved from rudimentary ancestors with a single primitive grunting language. This theoretical “proto-language” is not even close to the multitude of root languages that gave rise to languages of today…But let’s clarify a misconception. God is responsible for the languages and it was due to judgment…so is having one language a bad thing? Philo, an early Jewish historian, hit the nail on the head when he said, ‘For it was not the languages which were the causes of men’s uniting for evil objects, but the emulation and rivalry of their souls in wrong-doing’” (pg 73).

He also includes charts and graphics (that when viewed on a Kindle Fire aren’t as good as I’m sure they are in the printed book).

The description says that ‘teens and older’ can use this book, but I’d venture to say that some discerning younger folk may be able to get use for this as well. I really think it is a good book. I intend to recommend it to both of my kiddos, who are both teens.

Now, having said all that (and mentioning that Hodge is definitely on the side of this is an actual historical event- and he is a Christian), if someone is looking for both sides of the story without bias- it won’t be found here. The bias is not hidden in this book. We, the reader, know the agenda of Hodge when it starts out. There are quite a few times that his religious standing is mentioned. Again from chapter 12, he says, “It’s good to be a Christian today, understanding languages from a biblical perspective instead of the world’s faulty ideas” (pg 73). So if you are looking for a book that takes out the Christian aspect and only presents the ‘facts’ without feeling or beliefs, this is not that book. He says,

“When looking at…information, it is good to understand how to categorize it or more properly “give the proper weight” to a source…God is the ultimate authority…Sources outside the Bible can never be trusted with certainty. There is naturally a rank, though. For example, historians’ commentaries can be trusted far more than mythology…(pg 115)”

You can see the table of contents at the Amazon listing here

About Bodie Hodge (from NLP):

Bodie attended Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (SIUC) and received a BS and MS (in 1996 and 1998 respectively) in mechanical engineering. His specialty was a subset of mechanical engineering based in advanced materials processing, particularly starting powders. 

After earning his master’s degree, he accepted a position of Visiting Instructor at SIUC and started in the fall semester of 1998. He was only 24 years old when he began teaching undergraduate engineering courses at the university. 

While working at Caterpillar, he taught apologetics to junior high and high school students at his local church, which was a natural outcome considering his love for science, history, and theology. He did this until taking a position with Answers in Genesis in 2003. Currently, Bodie is a speaker, writer, and researcher on a host of topics, including fall of Satan and related events.

Bodie was saved when he was nine. As a youngster, he was active in baseball, football and basketball. His hobbies also included hunting and fishing, which are almost unavoidable pursuits while growing up on a farm in Western Illinois. 

***Disclaimer: I received a pdf of the above book free from New Leaf Press in exchange of an honest review. No compensation was given. All opinions stated are my own. See Disclosure/Policies.***

Saturday, April 27, 2013

100 Bible Verses in 2013–Update

100 Bible Verses in 2013

In January {at least I think it was then} I posted that we had decided to join in this challenge. Well, *I* decided we would; they had no choice Smile

This post is an update on where we are and I’ll be quite honest, we are behind. Some of us have memorized more than others {I’m on the lowest end here}.

Beginnings: The Bible's Fantastic Four

Week 1 (Dec. 31):  Genesis 1:1, John 1:1

Week 2 (Jan. 7): John 1:14, John 3:16

The Roman Road: The Plan of Salvation

Week 3 (Jan. 14): Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23

Week 4 (Jan. 21): Romans 5:8, Romans 10:9

Listening: The Word of God and Prayer (starts with 2 Tim. 3:16)

Week 5 (Jan. 28): Romans 10:10, 2 Timothy 3:16 ~10 VERSES MEMORIZED!!!

Week 6 (Feb. 4): Joshua 1:8 (Lee did 1 John 4:7 instead- it was a church ‘thing’) (Fox is doing both), Psalm 119:11

Week 7 (Feb. 11): Deuteronomy 6:6, Deuteronomy 6:7

Week 8 (Feb. 18): Hebrews 4:12, Hebrews 4:16

Week 9 (Feb. 25): 1 John 5:14, 1 John 5:15

Assurance: Inner Peace and Security

Week 10 ( Mar. 4): 1 John 5:11, 1 John 5:12

Week 11 (Mar. 11): John 14:1, John 14:2

Week 12 (Mar. 18): John 14:3, John 14:6

The kids have mostly memorized all that are here but for a few hiccups every so often. I am still way way back at… hmmm, Week 7. When we get into the 1 Johns and John I’m still struggling. So I’m about 10 weeks behind and they are about 5  weeks.

Where we still have to get to to catch up {I’m not optimistic we will actually “catch up”}:

Week 13 (Mar. 25): John 14:27, Isaiah 26:3 ~25 VERSES MEMORIZED!!!

Week 14 (Apr. 1): Isaiah 53:5, Isaiah 53:6

Praise: Worship and Thanksgiving

Week 15 (Apr. 8): 1 Peter 1:3, Psalm 100:4

Week 16 (Apr. 15): Psalm 100:5, Revelation 4:11

Promises: Verses to Stand On

Week 17 (Apr. 22): Matthew 6:33, Romans 8:28

Week 18 (Apr. 29): Jeremiah 29:11, 1 John 1:7

The kids use the Memorization System found at Simply Charlotte Mason but I use the free app Remember Me Bible Verse Memory for my Kindle Fire. I should probably use mine more often…

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The Homeschool Mother’s Journal–4.26.13

Sunday- The electricity went out around 3am. I don’t know exactly when it went out because, well, the clock is electric. We have a alternate power supply in dh’s office to power his computer when this happens. It has an annoyingly loud beep when it comes on. That’s how I knew the electricity went out. Dh turned it off and we slept….and slept late. The kids and I went to church but missed Sunday school.

GEDC0573I made another loaf of sourdough bread and guess what- it is like real bread! It’s not a brick; it’s light and fluffy. Well, it is still the shape of a brick since it’s not as rounded on the top as I’d like. Of course, I can’t taste it because I’m still doing no wheat but both the kids said it isn’t as sour as the previous loaves. Fox said it’s the best loaf yet. I measured nothing but the oil. On Saturday night I poured some starter from the jar into a bowl, then poured some more in. I dumped in some flour, poured in what I thought to be about 1 tablespoon of honey, measured out 1 tablespoon oil, and about 1 teaspoon of salt (palmed it). I mixed it; too dry so added some water. Still too dry; added a bit more water. “Kneaded” it in the bowl with my fork. Let it sit for a few hours then scooped it out onto a very floured board. Kneaded it until I liked it’s texture, then folded it into a loaf shape. I put it in a pyrex loaf pan that I’d greased and let it be until Sunday morning. I actually forgot about it! Since the electricity went off and I didn’t have an alarm to wake me up, it was hours past when I ‘should’ have taken care of it. It was beautiful! Nice and fluffy and risen to the top of the loaf pan. I baked it at 400* for 10 minutes then at 375* for 40 minutes.

The photo above is when I remembered the dough! I had to slowly peel off the moist towel that was on it. Here is it in in the oven {great photo, I know} and after baking. And, yes, it’s all white flour. One step at a time.

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GEDC0576I got my portion of Australia Everyday Explorers done, just in time! I seem to forget about it until Sunday night. Not a good thing to do because it isn’t always really easy to put together and it creates more work for others.

The kids and I also went to the evening service. Pastor talked over Haggai 2:1-9. LOL I hardly knew where that book was!

I made sure to get the kids’ schedules done for the week. I think I’ll share what’s to be done for their school (this is after all a home & school blog *wink*)

Lee (10th grade/Y9): Monday: Bible reading (written narration) and verses, Ohio Study (final paper due this week), The Christian Life, Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, Sign Language, Latin, A History of the American People (written narration), Pride & Prejudice ‘workbook’, Astronomy
Tuesday*: Bible reading and verses, Commonplace Book entries, Current Events & Weekly Barden, Sign Language, Latin, Home Ec, Math, Astronomy   *she gets her braces off this day so school will be delayed
Wednesday:
Bible reading (written narration) and verses, Current Events & Weekly Barden, Commonplace Book entries, Math, Art of Argument, Ourselves, Common Sense, Sign Language, Latin, Paradigm Online Writing Assistant
Thursday: Bible reading (written narration) and verses, Current Events & Weekly Barden, Commonplace Book entries, Math, Washington the Indispensible Man, Sign Language, Latin, Are You Liberal Conservative or Confused?, The School for Scandal, Marcet essays, Poetry by Cowper, Wheatley and others, Love is a Fallacy
Friday: Bible reading (written narration) and verses, Current Events & Weekly Barden, Commonplace Book entries, Math, Walking the Bible, Paradigm Online Writing Assistant, Seterra, Sign Language, Latin, Art & Composer study, Art of Argument, Nature study

Fox (8th grade/Y7 Lite-ish): Monday: Bible reading (written narration) and verses, Ohio Study (final paper due this week), The Birth of Britain, German, Latin, Ivanhoe, Astronomy
Tuesday: Bible reading (written narration) and verses, Math, The Birth of Britain, German, Latin, Astronomy, Jensen’s Grammar, Age of Chivalry, Current Events & Weekly Barden
Wednesday: Bible reading (written narration) and verses, Math, The Birth of Britain, German, Latin, Writing, English Literature for Boys and Girls, Art of Argument, Current Events & Weekly Barden
Thursday: Bible reading (written narration) and verses, Math, The Birth of Britain, German, Latin, Keat’s Poetry, Jensen’s Grammar, Ivanhoe OR The Age of Chivalry (his choice), Astronomy
Friday: Bible reading (written narration) and verses, Math, Art & Composer study, Nature study, Art of Argument, Seterra, Astronomy ‘catch-up’

I’m so glad the school year is just about over. I’m going to be looking at some assessment tests for math for both kids near the very end of the year

Monday- Here’s the plan: exercise, school, head to Mentor, maybe play outside. That’s it. Nothing more. I do have a review to write for An Unholy Communion. That can be done in the 2 1/2 hours Lee is babysitting. I want to work on my book as well. Of course, there’s always cleaning that could/should be done. Bleh.

So far, I’ve done none of those! It’s 8:45 am.

Dinner is supposed to be fish. I think we are all a little tired of fish. It’s gone from once a week, maybe, to three times this week? I kept switching the fish with a different dinner of the week because it just didn’t sound good to anyone. I got a good deal on talapia though, that’s why we’ve had so much this week. Well, I’m sure it’s good for us. Edited: we had burritos instead Smile And we did all but play outside.

Lee no bracesTuesday- Lee got her braces off!! That is really the most exciting part of the day. Here is a pic of her- BIG smile!

Otherwise, school was mostly finished {2 hours at the orthodontist kinda put a monkey wrench in the plans}, we visited the new library {where we saw some friends}, and Lee bought me a book {North With the Spring by Edwin Way Teale}, dinner was sloppy joes for the fam and canned salmon with mixed veggies for me.

I’m looking for those assessment tests for Fox’s math. Just keep searching, just keep searching…

Wednesday- I forgot to make sure we exercised yesterday because {partially} Lee’s orthodontist appointment was early in the day. But I’m never sure if I should ‘make’ Fox do his exercises because when he goes to Young Marines, he usually has exercise. Eh, it won’t kill him Winking smile

Edited: no exercise. We decided to go to the library to try out their quiet rooms for school. They worked quite well! While we were there, the kids both used the computers for a bit, both for school and personal. We got home around lunch time. The kids had grilled cheese on sourdough –that loaf I made on Sunday Smile 

The highlight of the day –at least for Lee –came when she called WCLV to request a piece be played. They don’t do requests –sad. But lucky for Lee, the host was feeling nice. Jacqueline Gerber, the First Program host, is our favorite person on WCLV. We listen to the station all day long but she’s the best Winking smile Almost forgot –not only did the piece get played, but Ms. Gerber even mentioned “Colleen, a 10th grader who used to live in Wyoming”. Yep, that’s my Lee. She was jumping all around with a huge smile. Made her day.

I had heartburn terribly and felt sick so we missed prayer meeting. Dinner was mystery soup/stew. Basically, if it was in the freezer, and had previously been cooked, it went into the pot. I thought it was quite good. Lee did as well; she had seconds. I liked it but it made my heartburn worse and it has wheat in it.

Thursday- Lazy day. Well, it feels like that but it’s not really. Lee finished her school before lunch; she started around 8am. Fox hasn’t been quite so gung-ho.

Yesterday I started an experiment {I love to experiment in the kitchen apparently –sometime I might take a photo of the ‘experiments’ lining my sink lol} with sourdough starter and oats. I used 2 cups oats; 1 cup old fashioned, 1 cup quick. I think I used about 1 cup or so of starter. Then I added in about 1 TBS honey and oil and a bit of salt. Mixed it together and let it set like a regular loaf of sourdough. This morning I ‘kneaded’ it some then formed it into a loaf shape. It’s in the oven with the light on and a warm bowl of water under it. This evening I will bake it. It is rising –I think it’s neat! We’ll see how it tastes.

Edited: It was a fail. Not a total fail, though. I just crumbled the entire loaf and made it into crumbs. I think it will work okay for hamburgers, meatloaf and maybe, just maybe for bread pudding {for the kids- I don’t eat that}. I also briefly thought if I crumbled it small enough and baked it that way, I’d have my own homemade Grape Nuts.

Dinner isn’t planned tonight since I’ve not done my menu for the week. I’m winging it until perhaps Monday. That might be as long as I can go without doing the shopping. There’s always beans Winking smile Edited: I found two boxes of Kraft Mac & Cheese so that was for dinner.

Friday- Hmmm, what happened this day? I bought some soil for starting seeds. Also bought the seeds since I can’t locate my stash. LOL I will tuck these newly purchased packs away somewhere thinking I’ll use them next year…then I won’t be able to find them Winking smile 

I used the bottoms of paper egg cartons for the seed ‘pots’. I put those in the bottom of grocery bags then rolled down the sides. Now when I water them, it won’t leak every where and I can plant the ‘pots’ directly into the garden. Genius, I know. LOL

I said in the Weekly Barden Wrap-Up that I was going to mow and that we were going to go venturing outside. Well… the ground’s still too wet to run the riding mower over and I was too tired to go ‘venturing’. The kids walked to the library only to find that the internet was down.

School was done well and fairly quickly. I think the Nature Journal entry didn’t get done by either of the kids though... hmmm. Lazy mom makes for lazy children. Sigh.

I’m reading…
…More like ‘trying to read’. I have a few books that are for review, thankfully {rather, unfortunately?} they do not have hard deadlines. Let’s see, I AM THAT I AM, Advice for Seekers, Tower of Babel, What A Son Needs from His Mother, Brimwood Press Worldview curriculum {really enjoying that one}, and also following along with AO’s book discussion of The Scarlet Pimpernel and 20 Principles Study. The book discussion just started and the 20 Principles officially starts the 29th. LOL –I’m already behind. Or it feels like it.

Praying for…
…Denise, my grandmother, Charlotte and her father, my children, my husband, for all {myself included} a clean heart and determination to follow God’s Word.

Quote to share-  It is never too late to be wise. Daniel Defoe

Link to share- The Weekly Barden, Vol. 2, Issue 4

I’m going to be linking up with these posts:

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Book Review: An Unholy Communion- Book 3, The Monastery Murders {LitFuse Blog Tour}

 
Enter Today - 4/22 - 5/12!
 An Unholy Communion The Monastery Murders Donna Fletcher Crow Kindle Fire Giveaway

 

The newest offering in The Monastery Murders series, An Unholy Communion (Lion Fiction).

Following the ancient tradition, ordinands from the College of the Transfiguration gather at first light on Ascension morning to sing their praises from the top of the college's tallest tower. Not one to miss any liturgy, Felicity finds herself swept up in worship as she listens to the timeless words. But her delight quickly turns to horror when a black-robed body hurtles over the precipice and lands at her feet. Her investigative instincts immediately kick in when she sees a double-headed snake emblem clutched in the lifeless hand. Was this suicide? Or murder?
Purchase a copy: http://ow.ly/keus1

Meet Donna:

Donna Fletcher Crow is author of more than thirty-five novels. She has twice won first place in the Historical Fiction category from the National Association of Press Women, and has also been a finalist for "Best Inspirational Novel" from the Romance Writers of America. She is a member of The Arts Centre Group, and Sisters in Crime.

Find out more about Donna Fletcher athttp://www.donnafletchercrow.com.

Read other reviews: http://litfusegroup.com/author/dcrow

My thoughts:

I really wasn’t too impressed with the book. It starts out with action and suspense right away but it fails to hold it up. I read this book because it is outside my usual subject matter. It is heavy on Catholic history and references, many I didn’t get. It does have quite a bit of historical fiction. The descriptions of the pilgrimage stops are very well done and I found it very interesting to research the actual places that the characters visited in the book. Much of the book otherwise wasn’t very interesting. Some details felt like simply like filler for the book. It’s 382 pages long and ‘something’ happens only a few times; a death at the start and finish of the book; a few unexplained troubles along the way. And a few details are thrown in to throw the reader off the trail, but they really just are confusing or unnecessary. I did have it figured out who-done-it as well as why but one or two people I had a little off.

The characters, Father Antony, Felicity, and the members of the youth group on pilgrimage, Michael, Lydia, Nancy, Adam, Jared, Evie, Kaylyn, Ryan, Colin, and later Chloe, are not very well developed in this book. The main characters, namely Antony and Felicity, may be more so in the first book {which I’ve not read}. None of the characters meant anything to me; I didn’t feel an attachment to any of them.

I didn’t like the ‘dark’ feel of the book. You would think with a book that has murder as the theme would be dark anyway but it’s not that kind of dark. There is a scene where an occult is holding what is intended to be a sacrifice and Crow puts in print the supposed chant of the group. I skimmed it because I didn’t feel comfortable reading it.

So like I said, I didn’t really appreciate this book as much as others may. If not for the descriptions of the historical places and the historical fiction tossed in, I’m not entirely sure I could have finished the book.

***Disclaimer: I received this book free from LitFuse, in exchange for an honest review and participation in the LitFuse Blog Tour. No compensation was given and all opinions are my own. See Disclosure/Policies.***

Saturday, April 20, 2013

The Homeschool Mother’s Journal–4.19.13

{Disclaimer: This post has affiliate links. See full Disclosure/Policies.}

Sunday- Another loaf of sourdough bread set to rise. Check. Bible reading. Check. Breakfast made for everyone. Check. Church. Check. Rest and relaxing. Check. It was a pretty good day with not a lot going on. It’s also no screen time day. No computers, no video games, no tv. It actually all went rather smoothly; unlike other Sundays. I did a lot of Bible reading while the kids read ‘ahead’ for school. It’s not really reading ahead because we are behind anyway. Dinner was super easy- bean and cheese burritos. I actually attempted to make tortillas with sourdough dough. I got very tired of the work. It kept sticking to the countertop no matter what I did. Eventually, I just made a ball out of it and let it rise for a round loaf. The tortillas, though, were super yummy. I like them better than the usual tortillas I make with baking powder.

Monday- The day started with the kids and I doing some exercise. I’m going to try to get us into a daily routine. We all need to exercise more. After doing our exercises, we discovered how nice it was outside! That meant a walk to the library. That’s where I am right now. School for Monday is much lighter than usual weekdays.

We got home about lunch time and dh came home from work sick. Shortly after that, the electricity went out! Apparently all over town. I’d planned on going shopping and so I did. The kids stayed home and did their best without electricity. It was a little later in the day when we heard about the Boston bombing. Thoughts race in my head but not in complete sentences; it brings such emotion, but not so many words.

We {Lee and I} saw a Northern Flicker and had a fun time trying to identify it. We have iBird Pro 2 on the Kindle Fires so Lee spent quite a bit of time on there looking for this bird. I figured {correctly lol} that it was a woodpecker. Unfortunately we didn’t get a photo of it.

Dinner is meatloaf, supposed to have been made by Fox (aka: Cheffery Winking smile) but he was busy so I did it. It is a totally made up recipe so here’s to hoping it’s edible. But really, with meatloaf, if it’s bad, there’s always ketchup!

I’m reading An Unholy Communion by Donna Fletcher Crow. What’d I get myself into!? Also next week the AO group is starting The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy. They recommended this version, but I’m using the public domain and the audio book narrated by Michael Page {highly recommend that!}. And just a few days after that, Brandy from Afterthoughts will be leading a discussion of the 20 Principles from Charlotte Mason. Super excited for those both.

Tuesday- Start the day…with coffee. Of course. Then I made bread pudding for the kids and eggs for myself. Checking my email it is so easy to just delete many of them. Without even reading the contents. I usually check, first, the sender, and second, the subject line. This morning I saw one from Doorposts- O Give Thanks…It reminds me of all that I have that I certainly have reason to be thankful.

It also reminded me of a dream I had. W.e.i.r.d dream. My dd, who in the dream was only 15, not almost 17 as she really is, was being pursued by two young men. They both wanted to court her! Ack! I woke up and realized how fast time is going! My little girl is…not so little. I’m not against marrying young…but well, goodness…My dd can’t be old enough to even be thinking about that! But, honestly, she most certainly is old enough. {To be thinking about it that is.} Oh, and if you read the post and wonder how I made the connection- Pam made mention that her married daughter called her.

Speaking of Lee- she’s had something wrong with her foot for the past week. Pain when she walks. Nothing visible and no activity that caused her to injure herself.

Dinner is fish. I’m looking through the cookbooks to find a nifty way to prepare it as opposed to the usual. Edited: I finally decided to make them individually in aluminum foil, each with it’s own combination of spices. Turned out very yummy. We had fresh broccoli in the aluminum but also some frozen cauliflower, broccoli, carrot mixed veggies.

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Fox finished In the Days of William the Conqueror by Eva March Tappan today and  In Freedom’s Cause by G. A. Henty tonight. He finished The Once and Future King by T. H. White last night. I thought that one would be a summer read but since we only get one month for ‘summer break’ he didn’t want to have to do that.

I’m a smidgen over half way through An Unholy Communion by Donna Fletcher Crow and eh, I’m not overly impressed. It’s a LitFuse blog tour book. The tour is scheduled 4/22-5/12. My review will be up sometime between those dates.

Wednesday- No exercise this morning. Fox has Young Marines where he most likely will have quite a bit of exercise and the kids want to walk to the library. If the weather holds out, I plan on working in my garden bed some. I need to keep turning the soil but it’s been way too wet to do so this past weekend. Edited: I did indeed work in the garden, and got a little blister for my troubles Smile So many red worms in my garden! And there was a giant black, fuzzy spider. I just covered him up and let him be; he’ll eat the bugs later.

School is lighter on Wednesdays; but not as light as Mondays. The kids took their walk to the library and I’ll pick them up in a bit. Edited: picked them up and school was finished.

I made –for a snack for myself –a mix of cottage cheese and frozen berries blended with a small bit of oat milk. Actually quite yummy. The cottage cheese is lowfat which leaves a funny feeling in my mouth that I don’t like but otherwise it’s good. Just thought I’d share Smile

Dinner is chicken and green beans. Bread and butter for those who are still hungry.

Tonight I heard about the fertilizer plant explosion in Texas. Terrible.

Thursday- The kids and I went to Willoughby to visit some friends. Lee spent the entire 2 hours outside practicing sign language, while Fox stayed inside and matched ‘wits’ with a 7-year-old playing Super Smash Brothers Brawl. And I? I sat in the kitchen with my friend just enjoying adult company. Oh yes, and her ‘littles’ this time decided to visit.

It was a beautiful day! The temperature got to 80*F, at least. The kids pulled weeds in the front of the house and we turned the compost bin. I actually thought that I’d been super slack and let them get away with not doing much school but looking over their schedules, they did most of what was scheduled.

After dinner of spaghetti, dh and I went to a meeting to plan a ‘family’ camping trip for the homeschooling families of the church. The plan is to do the camping at the end of May. I got voluntold I’d be doing a Survival Station covering First Aid. Um...I was hoping I’d be in the crowd going around to each station, learning along with everyone else. But nope. That’s alright. I really need to work on sharing rather than taking anyway; sharing knowledge rather than just taking it. Lee was also voluntold that she’d be helping to plan some campfire singing; she gets to pick the songs we sing Smile It’s going to be fun! {even if we are sleeping in tents…outside…where there are bugs…*small nervous laugh*}

Friday- It’s raining right now. Well, more like sputtering. It was fairly warm this morning but it is cooling off. The high has been reached; it’s all downhill from here. By this afternoon it will be in the mid-40s; down from 70*F at 6am!

There isn’t a plan to go anywhere today although I do need to get some eggs to be able cook all that is on the week’s menu. Miscounted when I went shopping on Monday, I guess. It’s just icky out though, so I think I’ll make do without. Do you think pancakes can be made without eggs? Or better yet –I can make scones! Eh, we’ll see Winking smile

For school, I think I will have the kids work on the books/subjects that we are trying to get finished for the year, rather than what’s actually on the schedule. It’s just one of those days/weeks where I could easily say, “Forget it all!” Must stay focused and motivated. It’s one of the hard parts of homeschooling. For me anyway. Edited: Both did really well with decided the things to do for school and it was  a good school day; one step closer to the finish of the year!

Saturday- This post wasn’t going to include Saturday but for some reason, I forgot to publish my post after it was done yesterday! Thursday was so very warm and nice …and then there was Friday with it’s 40s temps. But that’s nothing compared to today! It is snowing. Sigh.

Fox has community service with the Young Marine’s in downtown Cleveland. After he gets home, around 1ish, we are going to the grand opening of the newest library. It closed one that was somewhat close that we loved to go to, but this one is going to be awesome, I think. Looking forward to that.

Homeschool tips…
…When going through my email on Tuesday I saw this: How to Critique Your Young Writer from FiveJs. I thought it was well done. You can see the other posts in the series. Young or not, I think it’s good information.

“Always remember first and foremost, your critiques are meant to help your writer.

Another helpful homeschool tip is an online group called The Virtual Homeschool Group. They have some science go-at-your-own-pace classes as well as other classes. All the non go-at-your-own-pace classes are full right now but I’m going to be looking at the Fall classes. Just thinking ahead.

Other thoughts…
…I’m starting to wonder if I don’t have some sort of intolerance to some food. There was a week that I had next to no dairy and wheat and had no headaches, no bloated belly. Since I’ve started making the sourdough bread, I have a chronic headache and my sides are super itchy, along with burning sensation in my right thigh. Of course, I’m also using dairy again. I dislike the idea of having a food allergy, or at least an intolerance. I’ve known that milk doesn’t agree with me for awhile now but I’ve tried to ignore it. These headaches lately are making it hard to ignore that there’s something going on.

Since not using wheat {boy that’s difficult btw!}, I do not have itchy sides and only a headache barely that I associate with eye strain instead of ‘just because’. I’ve also lost 3lbs. Not much but I’ll take it!

Updated Saturday: I did not eat wheat Monday morning through Friday afternoon. I did have a slight headache on one of those nights before bed, like I mentioned above. I ended my experiment for homemade pizza {I even made sourdough pizza crust} Friday night. I had a very small, personal pizza with no cheese, just sauce and pepperoni. This may be purely coincidental but I woke up around midnight with heartburn, which I’ve not had in quite a while, that made me puke {the sauce and pepperoni?} and a whopper of a headache this morning and my gut feels like it has lead in it. Also, before bed, I swear my sides were trying to get my attention. I mostly ignored the urge to scratch. So, I’m going no wheat again. And since nothing else is different, I should be able to tell if it’s the culprit.

I rewarded my kids this week by…
…Letting them take time off school to do things they want –go to the library to use the computers. There’s a show that they are watching {manga/anime sort of thing that was recommended by HEO students on the AO forum- not that I recommend the show; it sounds…depressing really} and it just doesn’t like to play on my s.l.o.w. computer.

My favorite thing this week…
…Finding a watch that a fairly recently purchased watch battery actually fits in, and that I would actually wear. Open-mouthed smile I’m happy now. I used to wear a watch all the time but for some reason stopped. I’ve been wanting to wear one again but couldn’t find any of my ‘old’ watches that the battery would fit into correctly. On Wednesday morning, I did.

Link to share…
…The Weekly Barden, our little family newsletter that we share with family and friends {and anyone else that wants to read it}. It’s a Google doc, but can be downloaded as a pdf.
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzThmlDef-0tYjJfS29fSUJHdk0/edit?usp=sharing

I’m linking up with Hammock Tracks, Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers, The Homeschool Mother’s Journal and Collage Friday (although I’ve only one photo…hoping Mary doesn’t kick me out *wink*).

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