Quick takes- December edition

Lacrosse season has begun here in So California.  This year, Demi-Sky is trying out the goalie position.  I was equal parts worried that he would miss a bunch of shots and his team-mates would be mad and worried that he would be hurt because apparently, lacrosse goalies don't get extra padding. Not even shin-guards. Nope.  He did really well, his team-mates were happy with him and he only got a little hurt.

*******

Our bible-conference is over and slowly our house is being emptied of extra people.  We had a blast, lots of laughter, fun, eating and sharing.  We had several trips to In & Out burgers for our out of state guests.  We also might of introduced a couple of newbies to Dr. Who while they were here.  Maybe. Probably.

Meg played her violin at the police explorer's talent show, and since then, she has been asked several times to play the national anthem at different events.  We are so proud of her hard work and dedication!  Here she is at an event, talking to her dad.

******

We hardly go to the movies, the cost is just too great for us, but this last month we went to see Ender's Game, the Dr. Who 50th Anniversary in 3-D!! [whoot!]  and The Hobbit.  They were all really good.

******

With the New Year, I am really needing to clean/organize our homeschool books.  With this new semester, I am planning on starting up Apologia's Worldview Bible study with Demi and Amie.  I am also thinking of quitting Demi's online Latin class and continuing it at home with Memoria Press Latin.  I'm having trouble deciding....

So, any new plans for the New Year?

All is bright

Hello friends.  I'm back, I think. 

We are in the midst of holiday cheer here.  The kids are all out of school.  **Meg's first semester of college went really well.  She wrote a research paper for her criminal justice class and received a perfect score on it, along with a note written by the instructor that it was the best paper he had read since teaching that class.  She earned an A in her economics class, which was very hard-won, she still insists she doesn't really understand the subject!  **Josie still loves the performing arts high school, but this formerly-homeschooled-kid really anticipated the Winter break. ** Demi and I are surviving his 8th grade Lit & Composition class with Biola Star...I think this class might finally break me; weekly, I ask out-loud why I am doing this.... The last assignment he had before break was a report on a famous pirate, and they had to dress up as a pirate and do an oral report.  It was so much fun, they had a blast.  We went down a dark Jenn-trail with the assignment which involved me trying to make a paper-mache lego pirate head...don't ask....we abandoned that project the night before and went with a traditional dress-up.  Incriminating photos coming later- maybe. ** Amie continues with her parkour classes.

**Our church has a week-long Bible conference the week of Christmas.  Right now, we have six college-age-ish young people staying with us- they are a lot of fun!

**I am trying to get back into my creative groove with photography and art projects, but cleaning and the logistics of having guests have taken over so far.

**I registered for a college class and will return to school next month!  This will be really weird.  But good, and stretching.  I'm excited and a bit scared, it's a little out of my comfort zone...I'm a home-body.

It was 80 degrees today in Orange County....true story.

I hope your holiday season is merry and bright, blog-friends! :)

lines

just some lines about what life is like these days... I've been side-lined by pretty deep depression.  I've mentioned before that it runs in my family.  This episode is why the blog has been neglected as of late.  I thought about writing my thoughts about depression, but then, what can I add, really?  Depression is sadness, often without a real reason, and it sucks, and I don't know how to fix it.  I can't really get more profound than that.  A loved one was concerned that I hadn't managed to turn it around, like I eventually do...and he gently prodded me to come up for air, and added these sage words "you need to snap out of it".  I was mad for a split second, the wide-eyed - mouth-falling open-mad/shocked  - I thought after all these years he would "get" it a bit more about the helplessness of depression.  But then, I remembered that it is so foreign to his even-keeled nature and that he was trying to help.  I took a minute to get un-mad and then asked him, "if a reminder to "snap out of it" was all it really took, don't you think some corporation would have packaged it all up neat and pithy and would be selling it for a mint?"  He seemed to get my point.

okay, so no profound, deep thoughts on depression.  But, I think this is what depression sounds/feels like:

 ******

Homeschool is back in full-swing.  Today, Sky dropped off Josie at school, I worked-out with P90x - kempo.  Demi and Amie had piano lessons.  Demi worked on Aleks math and then had his online Latin class.  The class is through the Biola Star program and they are using The Latin Road to English Grammar.  Amie did her Aleks math while Demi had his class and then she worked on History.  We started using Veritas Press self-paced online course this Summer.  We are finishing up Explorers to 1850.  After Latin class, I took them to their art lesson.

Meg has been really sick with a bad cold, she slept in and skipped work (horse care) and her Biology lab at college, but then got up and went to her Biology lecture.

We returned from art and I read aloud to Demi and Amie.  We are reading Rainbow Valley (Anne of Green Gables, No. 7)by L.M. Montgomery.  I wanted to read Rilla of Ingleside with them because of how wonderfully it shows the impact of World War II on the families left behind, but then I thought the book would have more pull on them if they felt like they knew the main characters first as children.  I love sharing this book with them, The Anne of Green Gables series is such a treasure.  I try to read all 8 books every year or so.  (yes there are 8 in the Anne series).   After reading two chapters, Demi worked on Science and I sat with Amie and worked on Math Mammoth with her.  Once we were done, I took Amie to her parkour classes.  Demi was free to practice his piano and work on his short story.

we stayed for two classes today, usually I need to leave to go pick up Josie from school, but Sky picked her up today.  On the way home from parkour, I stopped and picked up some broccoli for dinner.  Amie worked on her creative writing story while I made dinner.

******

I made broiled pork chops, rice, broccoli and Hawaiian sweet rolls for dinner.  I have to tell you that I recently re-discovered broiling and have decided that it is the procrastinator's magic answer!  At our last house, the broiler on the oven did not work, and so I learned to live without it.  When we bought this house, the oven did not have a broiler drawer and I assumed it did not have one.  I kind of think now, after buying a brand new oven, that the old oven was probably like my new one and the main oven worked on broiler mode...kind of a slap your forehead moment... and so, I tried broiling some pork chops one day, and wow!  it was like 9 minutes on each side!  A very quick dinner for the procrastinator mom who doesn't think about dinner until it is dinner-time...

*****

Our wonderful neighbors are very serious about their garden, plants and trees (one of their sons is a botanist).  They hire a real arborist to trim their trees.  Sky is pretty friendly with the arborist -no he doesn't trim our trees, can't afford it, we just muddle through it ourselves... -and the arborist invited Sky to come to his house and take any firewood we want.

I love, love, love sitting by our fireplace in our dining room.  This unexpected gift is really, really appreciated.  :)

*****

Sky and I have started watching Duck Dynasty, it is pretty entertaining and kind of in a category all its own.  I have to admit I cried when we watched the grandparents re-new their wedding vows.

bonus photo of evil-kitty a.k.a. Oliver.  He plunks himself right down in the middle of whatever homeschool or homework we are doing.  On this day, he was very into the fish screensaver Amie found.

hope your week is moving along swimmingly, bloggy friends :)

Pork Chomps giveaway winners!

We have our two winners for the Pork Chomps giveaway,

congratulations to Allison and Carol S.  ( I will contact you for your info)

7 Quick Takes -lost and found edition

~1~

Well, hulllooo lovelies!  (I just said that in my head in a Queen of England accent/voice)  Yes, I have to tell you all this fantastic story about how I lost and then found my blog....okay, too far-fetched?  I'll change it to the story about how taking care of my grandparents, getting ready for homeschool/ school, caring for my kids and lying to myself and thinking I would deep clean and organize my house - all got in the way of me having time to blog.  There, I said it.

I missed you all!!  (that part was said with a shriek!) I miss blogging and sharing photos and rambling.

~2~

Josie spent the Summer painting a huge 30 foot mural for her fencing studio.  This was her very first mural.  It was very, very exciting. And also a lot of driving to-and-fro.  Towards the end, it got a little crazy, they were having a big community event and the Mayor and lots of people were going to be there, so we needed to have the wall done.  Yeah, I'm impressed with it- and I'm totally unbiased.  Totally.

~3~

Okay here is the finished wall.  And yeah, I'm still gushing...

~4~

I already mentioned that Josie was accepted into a performing arts highschool?  Yes, gushing again.  She is doing great, I was wondering how it would all go, with being homeschooled her whole school career so far, and add in the fact that the school runs till 5:00 4 days a week- yeah, it was a big adjustment for her and for us, but she seems to be thriving and loving it there.

~5~

Things are going better with my grandparents. Grandma is better and back home.  Things with grandfather are not so good, he is confused mentally, we had adult protective services out and they determined that he is in a sort of middle-ground, not impaired enough to be declared incompetent, but impaired enough to cause problems.  We have been looking into putting him on medicaid and wow, the whole thing is extremely confusing.  Even with my pretty-good internet research skills, I still don't know if they would qualify.  We are looking into hiring an elder care attorney to help us with the medicaid stuff.  I'm frustrated that it is so complicated.

~6~

We did the family-fair-thing.  It's tradition!!  Sky, Josie and Amie all had art entered.  Sky's was woodworking (of course)

It's tradition, and we are mostly there for the food.  {truth}

~7~

Meg was just accepted into the police explorer's program.  We are so proud that she is so gung-ho with initiative.  When she first announced her interest in a local urban force, the first thing out of my mouth was "oh sweetie, but what about Irvine?"  (Irvine is like one of the top safest cities)....turns out, it is still all about horses with Meg and the reason she is interested in the area she chose. I try not to think about it all too hard.  She is taking a full load at community college, we are really proud at how hard she is working and how diligent she is.  And yeah, she did dye half her hair blue with purple tips...

So friends, how was your Summer?

*Conversion Diary hosts 7 Quick Things every Friday, hop on over :)

Pork Chomp- dog treats- review

-sponsored review- I was thrilled to be asked to review premium pork chomps 100% rawhide-free dog chews.  Emma-the-wonder-labradoodle is a large dog, and she is more content when left home alone when she has something to chew.  I had read that raw-hide treats can be dangerous, so I am constantly on the lookout for treats that will satisfy her need to chew but that will be safe.  Pork Chomps are made from baked pork skin, have no dyes or fillers and they are more digestible than rawhide chews, dissolving up to twice as fast in a dog’s digestive enzymes.  ( Journal of Animal Science article here)

I was given a nice assortment of products for Emma to review.  The delivery of a big box of treats just for her, caused much excitement, she always seems to know when I bring home something just for her. I was sent quite a variety to sample including: Bacon Flavor Mini Twist, Baked Stripz, Baked Bones, Premium Sweet Potato Wrapped Sticks, Premium Bacon Flavored Twists, and Premium Sweet Potato Wrapped Bones. Emma has enjoyed everything she has tried, even the smaller plain-looking chews.  I appreciated that the chews are not messy, won't stain fabrics and aren't odorous.

You can read more about these products at the Pork Chomps website , find descriptions of their products and find a list of retailers who carry these chews, I have noticed these chews at my local Petsmart. Pork Chomps has a facebook page, also

http://www.facebook.com/porkchomp

{now for the fun part}

Pork Chomps is giving away 2 bags of premium pork chomps to 2 readers.  Easy to enter, just leave a comment!  Two winners will be chosen Wednesday, September 11th through rafflecopter.  Giveaway is open to mailing addresses within the continuous United States, void where prohibited.  Pork Chomps will ship the prize directly to the winners.  *if you don't see your comment after hitting submit, don't panic, some comments end up in the spam folder, I will check it regularly and approve them.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wordless Wednesday - a homeschooler's first day of school

Our family's first experience with school, our 11th grader decides to attend a performing arts school. This is her first day, a first day for all of us.

Happy {not so} Wordless Wednesday

notes from the desert

I am in actual desert here, but not just physically, it feels that way a bit because I am separated from home life.  My grandmother was in the hospital for one week, and now she has been at a nursing care facility for one week.  They think now, that she has a heart problem and might need a pacemaker.  My sister and I are taking turns caring for our grandfather and driving him each day to visit our grandmother.  My grandfather has symptoms of dementia and/or Alzheimer's disease but we don't have a diagnosis because he will not go see a Dr.  He will also not shower or put on clean clothes, and also used to have/still has an epic temper.   After I made him shower and put on clean clothes today, which we had a fight about, and then brought him home from visiting grandma (a half-hour drive from his house) I dropped him off (he eats toast with jiff and jam on it for lunch everyday) because he can get his own lunch, and then went to panera for a bite and to just decompress.  It's really hard to be at his house with all his fussing and because, despite living in the desert, he hardly ever turns on the air conditioning.  So, I'm chilling here for a bit, browsing the internets and then I will head back and prepare his dinner and then drive home.  I've been staying some nights over at my sister's house (which is fun in a spend-the-night-with-your-sister sort of way) but I am such a homebody that I am homesick, so I will make the drive home.  Sky promised to take me out to dinner, then I need to get a run in (funny how you start to crave running when you miss it for a day or two) and then I'm going to sit on the couch, watch some Big Bang Theory with Sky (we just started it a few weeks ago and are only on season 3) and spend some time with my poor doggy who misses me. we disabled grandfather's car, so he can't drive anywhere- and he's pretty canny, so he's on to us I think and keeps trying to start fights about it. Fun, fun, fun.

sigh.

so, that' my report from grandfather land

I think I need to go shoe shopping or something similarly soothing...