The Second Semester Has Begun!

After that arduously long post about the Heart Rate Monitor, I feel I owe my small group of reader a short and sweet post. :)

I spent all day Saturday (well, after sleeping in very late.. hey we were up partying late New Year's Eve! Partying... aka, having a major pajama party, eating goodies, playing games, and watching movies) and everyone just slept until very late in the morning.

After I got caffeinated I spent over 5 and a half hours organizing, prepping, printing up for our second semester, which started Monday.

After some major Techno-geek fiddling around, Dale got the out of date "xlr" file format converted to a "jpg" format. He explained it all to me, but I'm afraid I glazed over. I can say, it took several steps and lots of fiddling around.

Anyway, here is what our weekly plan looks like for the Second Semester, here at the BeeHive.




We implemented it with great success, but this morning, it is all out the window. On the second day. That has GOT to be a record of some sort.

In the interest of holding to my promise of keeping it short and sweet, let's just say I planned on getting a good night's sleep last night, but Isaac did not. That lead to oversleeping this morning. Oh well... that is beauty of home schooling. We can be flexible!

Holiday Afterglow... Warning: Long Post, Get Some Tea!

I hope everyone had a happy and safe holiday! I catch snippets from other blogs and they have lists out of what they are going to read in 2011, what projects they are going to do, what things they are going to blog about, etc. etc. I'm not that organized. You, like me, will just have to be surprised to see what trouble I get into, er, what I am up to, throughout the year.

During the week off we were busier than I had intended, and I feel like I need more time to do all the nothing I had planned on doing, but alas, school and work start up Monday, bright and early, so I'll have to save all my "nuthin'-doin'" for another time. Dale will probably be on a few weeks lay off around March, so maybe I can get some in then! Ha!

Right before we put up our tree I moved my sewing stuff down to the guest room. The tree goes where my sewing desk usually is, and in past years I have just moved the end table by the couch and crammed my creativity along with my sewing machine into the corner. Usable, but not as comfortable. This year I moved it down to the guest room. I was working on Isaac's quilt and needed to lay it out so I could work on it. The pattern was one where I had to pay attention to how things were getting sewn together. It was very handy to do it in my own little room without little hands touching and moving pieces at unexpected intervals. My mom, who usually comes out during Christmas break, was unable to come this year because of work, so I have gotten spoiled by having my own little sewing room. I love it! Our guests may have to start sleeping on the fold out couch. :P

Actually, for the time being I do prefer having my sewing area in the living room where I can keep tabs on everyone. It is a nice central location and I don't have to wonder what is going on with Isaac or the cat, or both. So, next week, we'll be rearranging the guest room back to it's former glory, and my sewing area will be reestablished in the main living area.

Monday we did a bit of running around, and of course it took all day. I call this whole mess the Saga of the Heart Rate Monitor. This all started because when I hit 30lbs lost I wanted to do something to motivate me to keep going. Well, looking at what I have left to lose should be motivation enough, but I realllllly wanted a heart rate monitor so I could get an accurate reading on calorie burns. Generally I use MyFitnessPal.com but I have read that their calorie burns may not be entirely accurate. Our chemistry is so different that what burns say 100 calories for me, might only burn 75 for someone else, or maybe it burns 125 for another person. As I have said before that losing weight is basic math. You have to burn more than you take in. Hard to keep track of that if you don't have somewhat accurate numbers.

Before Christmas I had to take my big-footed son (yeah... men's size 14 at 14 years old!) and Elizabeth up to the Mall (ick) to get boots. Elizabeth's were easy to find. She is about a woman's size 8 1/2. But Benjamin's... now that was fun. On the Saturday before Christmas, too. What was I thinking? Anyway, while were were there, I figured I would run into the sports store and scope out heart rate monitors. I had gotten a lot of good word of mouth on the Polar ones, so I looked at those. As soon as I started looking a very nice gal came up and asked if she could help me. So I started asking questions. She preferred the Polars too, and the FT4's were on sale. I asked specifically if they would give me a calorie burn, and she said yes. Then she said they were on sale. Great! So, she went to unlock it so we could get it off the rack, and....

the alarm went off.

And wouldn't stop.

The poor girl was trying to unlock it and shut off the alarm and it just wouldn't stop. She called the manager on her fancy ear thingie and he came over, trying to appear professional. By then, the alarm timed out, and stopped. She handed him the key, and he went up to unlock it and....


the alarm went off.

Again.

And wouldn't stop.


He fiddled and fiddled and finally the thing came undone. But the alarm just kept going. Over the shrill protesting of the alarm, the nice gal, Sharon, told me about the unit, and said that if the right price didn't ring up to tell them to call her. I made a point of confirming that I could return it if I needed to, and she said yes. I've never bought a heart rate monitor before and wasn't sure I would like the style, so I made sure my bases were covered.

We go up to the register and wait in a long queue. I mean L O N G. Even longer than this little tale is getting to be. I finally get up to the register and the nice lady there, also named Sharon, scanned it in.... and it pops up at the wrong price. I repeat what the other Sharon told me and the Register Sharon gets on her earpiece and asks Alarm Sharon to come to the back register for a price check. Alarm Sharon shows up with the proper bar code, and then everything is scanned in. Suddenly Register Sharon says... "Oh, did you want the warranty on it?" I ask how much it is and for how long. There is a long pause. Register Sharon starts pushing buttons and trying to find it but can't. I suggest she look in the literature she just put in with it, and she does, but to no avail. Finally she calls a floor manager over and after a brief explanation he hits a few buttons, cancels out the transaction, and we have to start over. At least this time she has the right bar code in front of her, so the price check with Alarm Sharon can be avoided. We go through the whole process again, this time adding in the warranty, and I breath a sigh of relief as we head out into the mall again.

Then the alarm goes off.

What????

I step back into the store, and Register Sharon takes the thing all apart and examines it over. There isn't any shoplifter alarm on the heart rate monitor anywhere. She tells me to just go, and not to worry about it. I do, and as we walk out, the alarm goes off AGAIN. I look over at Register Sharon who waves us off, and as we walk out through the mall, I'm looking over the monitor again, just to be sure. I didn't find anything. However, I did find, on some leftover packaging a little tiny adhesive type safety disk. I tore it off and threw it away. Later, when we got home, Dale found another one that I never would have recognized. He said that they see them in the warehouse all the time. Thankfully none of them were on the unit itself, so there was no damage or self destruct, or whatever it is the devices do.

Fast forward a very busy week of school and preparation for Christmas. It's the first day of vacation, and I'm playing with the monitor. It works perfectly... but there is no calorie burn count. I read over the directions which are in English, Swedish, French, Spanish, Japanese, and Norwegian. Great... you have to multilingual just to figure the thing out.

No calorie burn count. AT all. No where. Okay, good thing I have the receipt and since we were going to be up that way anyway, Dale and I decide to go ahead and exchange it. After doing research I realize I need an upgraded model.

Dale takes everyone but Benjamin and Elizabeth with him to Best Buy to look at electronics and I take the remaining two with me, who are just coming along for the fun of it. I get in the store and find the correct model and realize I can't take it off the rack because it is locked. I get in line at the back register, and wait. And wait. Once in a blue moon an employee walks by muttering under their breath how they are short handed. It's like a subtle message to the waiting customers, and a not so subtle complaint about management that doesn't have the foresight to realize that the week after Christmas is a busy time for customer service with all the returns and exchanges.

We wait patiently in line. I'm starving, because we put off lunch until after this *quick* errand. I'm hot, because I'm all bundled up against the whipping wind and the snow outside, but inside, I'm cooking. Thankfully the littles are all with Dale and not having to endure a grueling wait.

When it is my turn at the register, I say: " I need to return this," and the guy barely looks at me and says, "You have to do that up front."

Excellent.

I go up to the front where the hidden customer service desk is, and see that there is only one lady in line. Yay! I get behind her. The gal behind the desk has a pile of clothes and is on the ear piece talking to someone about sending some fleece jackets to another store. She is fluttering about but really doing nothing. Finally after about 10 minutes of waiting, she asks her question about sending the jackets and apparently gets a negative response. She then asks the lady in front of me how she can help her, and the lady in front of me asks for a fishing license. I can see the Register Gal get a blank look on her face and I groan inwardly, while trying not to look tired, hot, cranky, and hungry. I just know my blood sugar is at zero by now.

Register Gal is back on her earpiece like some sort of Sporting Secret Service, and asking the manager about fishing licenses. I hear her say, "No, I can't use the register, it isn't unlocked." I'm thinking... You have got to be kidding. She's been here all this time and she isn't even cashed into the register? A co-worker shows up and gets Register Gal's register opened. Brilliant.

Fishing Lady looks a little annoyed, but seems to be handling the wait well. Benjamin and Elizabeth were browsing the store and show up at my elbow.

"How's it going, Mama?"

"Peachy." They know what that means.

Register Gal tells Fishing Lady, "It'll be just a couple minutes." Then she turns to me and says the magic words:

"May I help you?"

Yes!

I had the manila envelope with the monitor and all the paperwork and receipt and explain that I need to return it.

"Oh, is it broken?"

"Um, no, it isn't the right model."

Uh oh. A deer-in-the-headlights looks comes over Register Gal's face. I groan again inwardly. It can't be that difficult, can it? She is back on her earpiece again asking for the manager to come to the desk. I'm beginning to wonder if using the earpieces is habit forming.

The manager comes along and asks what the problem is. I explain yet again I need to return or exchange the monitor.

"Is it broken?" he asks.

"No, it isn't the right model." I'm beginning to feel like a broken record. I hear Benjamin and Elizabeth snicker behind me. They are enjoying this way too much, in my opinion.

The manager takes a quick look at it and says with a tone that is quite final, "You can't return this."

There is a special look that runs in our family that is reserved for such times as this. When my brother got married, my mom rode with us on the 14 hour trip south to the wedding. My mom had had a run in with a bat in a hotel room, and though it didn't appear that it bit her, she was still going through the rabies shot treatment. She had a shot just a day prior to the trip so she wasn't feeling too well. I was in the first trimester, pregnant with twins, and I definitely wasn't feeling well. I spent the trip with a bucket in one hand, and hard candies in the other. After several confirmations before the trip, we were assured our hotel rooms were secure. Oh, did I mention my oldest was 18 months old and VERY ACTIVE? After the L O N G drive down, we got to the hotel, dead tired, sick, and needing a bed to collapse into only to find they didn't have our rooms reserved. And nothing apparently was available.

Dale had gone in to the lobby with my mom, and I stayed out in the car with Benjamin, who was finally asleep in his car seat. Dale told me later that it was "The Look" that mom gave that made the manager cough up two rooms in a hurry. I've seen "The Look" and heard "The Tone" only a handful of times growing up. That isn't to be confused with the Magic Hand, which was used on my brother and me when needed. The Magic Hand is nothing compared to The Look and The Tone.

Apparently the kids have heard the tale about that trip to Uncle Paul's wedding. As soon as the manager off handedly said "You can't return this," I employed "The Look and The Tone." My mother would have been proud.

Seriously, all I said was, "Excuse me?" in a nice somewhat louder tone than necessary. I think I heard the kids suck in their breath. I might have accidentally scared them. Oh well, I don't think they are psychologically traumatized. I noticed they weren't snickering anymore.

The manager was most certainly affected. I quickly explained, still using The Look and The Tone that I was told it would have a calorie count function, and it did not. I was also reassured before purchasing by Alarm Sharon that I could return it if I wanted to.

The manager took on a conciliatory tone and asked very nervously, "would you like money back or exchange?"

"I would like to exchange it. It won't be an even exchange though, so I'll have to pay for the difference."

"Just go get what you want and we'll take care of it here."

I rolled my eyes. This was getting old, FAST.

"I already tried that. The rack is locked."

The manager gets on his Secret Service device and told someone named Colby to meet me back at the proper aisle.

I got back to the heart rate monitors and Colby, if his name tag was right, was there waiting. I told him what I needed and he said, "Oh, I don't have the key for that."

"You're kidding." I wasn't really surprised, to tell the truth.

"Some kid lost it last week."

And this is my problem? I didn't say it, but I wondered why he didn't have it replaced yet. Colby gets on the ear piece and talks to someone who apparently had a key. They came, unlocked it, and I got back up to the Customer Service desk. They were kind enough to let me finish my transaction without waiting in the rather lengthy line that had formed while Fishing Lady was trying to get her license. She was still waiting, by the way.

Finally! I had my new heart rate monitor that does the calorie count, and Benjamin, Elizabeth and I left the store into the mall.

The alarm went off.

Seriously. I couldn't make this stuff up.

Here we go again, I thought.

I walked up to the back register and after he was done with the customer I interjected (also known as cut the line because there was no way I was waiting another 20 minutes in a long queue) and told Register Dude that I had just bought the heart rate monitor. He checked it over, punched a few buttons and said I should be fine now.

We walked out... and no alarm! One point for the home team.

We power walked over to Best Buy. I figured Dale was going to think I got lost or abducted by this point. We went sailing into Best buy.

And the alarm went off.

Oh for crying out loud. There was a couple registers right by the door and the Best Buy Guy looked at me and I held up the Dick's Sporting Good bag and said helplessly, "I just bought a heart rate monitor."

I was thinking I was going to need a blood pressure tester by now too.

The Best Buy Guy scanned it in his computer and voila! No more alarms.

That my dear readers is the abominabley long Heart Rate Monitor Saga. Let's pray that there aren't any continuations.

The rest of the vacation was much more pleasant. Even the rest of that day was much more pleasant. Lots of family time, and I got a two day quilting spree with a good friend which was so much fun and so refreshing. On New Year's Eve we had a pajama party with lots of grazing, games and movies. I almost made it to midnight. I was watching a movie with some of the kids down stairs, sprawled out on the couch, and my eyes just slammed shut. They woke me up later saying, "Mama! It's three minutes until midnight!"

I was going to post some pics of some of the goodies we made, but I'll save it for another time. This post is already way too long, and if it entertained you at all, then my job is done for now.

Happy New Year!

Birthday and Baking

Happy Birthday to Isaac! I can't believe he turns 2 today. Though he is the baby of the family, he definitely is NOT a baby anymore!

Here is a couple of weeks old:



Here is a recent pic:


I love that newborn snuggle stage, but honestly, I have to say, that every age has its fun points. What a joy to see his soulful eyes light up in laughter, or when he discovers something new. I love to watch him study things over and watch how he is so dexterous! He has excellent fine motor skills.

This morning Jerusha and I made Isaac's birthday cake. Then I wrapped his gift and we went about our day.

Esther was mixing up some bread dough and I realized how cozy and nice it was to have us girls in the kitchen, working together. Elizabeth was busy washing breakfast dishes, too.

Speaking of Esther, she took on the task of making a gingerbread house... from scratch. I offered to get her one of those kits from Target, but she just looked at me scornfully and said, "I'll do it from scratch, thank you." Look out Martha Stewart!

Here is the end product, which came out pretty well at first. She finished yesterday before church, but when we got back we saw the roof had collapsed and knocked down part of a wall. She and Dale tried to fix it, but it didn't hold very well. This morning more of the wall was down. I don't know what happened, but my guess is that more frosting was needed to glue it all together. Overall though, it was an excellent first attempt!



Since last January I have been on a journey to lose some weight, but more than that to get into a habit of healthier living. I have recently bought a Heart Rate Monitor as a reward to myself for losing over 30lbs. It will help me more accurately gauge how many calories I am burning during a workout, and while going about my usual routines. That way, I can be sure not to overestimate how many calories I need to consume.

I have learned that no matter what approach you take to losing weight, it boils down to the math. You can mess around with carbs all you want. You can go on specialty diets (which I do NOT recommend). But it is very simple... you have to burn more calories than you take in. I also have learned it is a whole lot easier to put on weight than to take it off. Most importantly I learned NOT to diet, but to change my lifestyle so that it is healthier.

One of the side effects to this healthier lifestyle is that the clothes in my closet have become way too big for the most part. Earlier this fall I went through and got rid of two large garbage bags of clothes that no longer fit. Over the summer I had to replace a couple of jean skirts. Now my favorite black and khaki skirts no longer even came close to fitting, so I had to replace those in a size I haven't worn since I had the twins. That's 13 years! I also got a new top and stylish scarf with a gift certificate my mother in law gave me for Christmas. Talk about good timing! anyway, I hate to toot my own horn, but here is the "new" me:



I still have a little ways to go, but I'm so excited to be feeling energetic and slimmer! I have no plans to revert away from all I am learning. It is a process, but at least things are going in the right direction.

Oh, I got my new skirts from New Creation Apparel. I recommend them for affordable, modest, stylish clothing. Their sizing charts are right on. When they say the waist is say, 32, then it really is a 32" waist. I measured myself at home to make sure I got the right size, and it was exactly as they advertised. Also, I ordered the skirts on Monday afternoon, and it got here Wednesday afternoon... and that during the busy holiday season. So, two thumbs up for New Creation Apparel!

Have a great day everyone!

Isaac's BSJ

I guess technically it is a TSJ... Toddler Surprise Jacket. :) I just finished this yesterday. I really enjoy the BSJ pattern, and may try to upsize it for my 10 year old son. The directions I have give the formula for doing that, I just haven't worked up enough courage to tackle the math. It isn't that complicated, but I don't want to make a large sweater only to find it it is way off. Of course, one of the benefits to having a large family is that if it doesn't fit Josiah, it will either fit Caleb or will be ready for Caleb to grow into it.

Speaking of Caleb, I started on a simple vest for him with some wonderful yarn I got from Knit Picks. It is City Tweed, in Jacguard. It is gorgeous to look at and work with. I have plans and yarn to make a matching one for Isaac. I was thinking originally of making one for Josiah too, but the pattern doesn't go up to his size, and I'm not comfortable altering knitting patterns too much yet.

Anyway, here is Isaac's new sweater... all ready to wear!





Also, I finished up another secret project. I can't post about it here, but if you are on Ravelry, you can catch of glimpse of it there.

Left on my "to do" list before the holiday is a ton of wrapping. Have a great day everyone!

De-Scrooging

Things are really getting Christmassy here! Here is some proof that the holiday spirit is prevailing:

Last night we decorated our little Charlie Brown tree.



Ummm..... that's not the tree.



Oh yeah, so innocent looking. Too bad my halo is held up with horns.



Okay... those aren't trees either. Really, we do know what a tree is.



Yeah, I know... not a tree either. What a face. Only a mother could love it.

We did finally get around to the tree, after a lot more goofing around from which I will spare you.... the finished product looked something like this:



I say "something like" because after about an hour Isaac decided to rearrange some of the ornaments, then I saw evidence of Pumpkin doing the same this morning.

Last Saturday the kids treated Dale and I to a "date night". Pizza was on the menu, but they did up the kitchen like a little restaurant. They switched around the big table and little table, so that we could have our own little romantic spot in the side of the kitchen.



We had a lovely pizza dinner with some sparkling cider, and were waited on hand and foot. In fact, when I got up to refill my own water, I was thoroughly scolded by the maitre'd.

Part of our decorations is a little bouquet of mistletoe. Fair warning to all, if you are standing under it, you are fair game. Isaac found that out last night.



One of the kids' favorite decorations is our little Christmas Village.



I have been working diligently on my projects and putting in every spare moment. I am glad to say that Isaac's birthday quilt is finished... two days ahead of time! I just need to wrap it.





The rest of the week we have some special baking to do (oh, there goes my diet! Oh no! LOL) and a TON of wrapping to finish up. Overall, things are on schedule and though I have one little secret project to finish up, I'm feeling much less stressed than I was about a week ago. I'm even getting some non-holiday sewing and knitting done during my down times.

I'm still fighting this throat cold, but overall I think it is getting better. Hopefully. The coughing is calming down some, which is so exhausting when you spend most of your time sounding like you are hacking up a lung. It isn't in my bronchial tubes at all, just all in my throat, which makes it sound horrendous.

Last Sunday the kids and Dale sung a nice special at church. I tried all day yesterday to post the video I took of it but cannot get it to work. After trying several different tactics from the laptop and desktop computers, I believe the problem is on Bloggers end, and not mine. I will try again posting it in the future. They did a really good job! Benjamin played guitar, Elizabeth and Josiah played recorders, Esther played violin, and the remainder bodies sang, except for me, who bowed out from throat troubles. This mama was very proud of her brood! I'll keep trying to get the video on, but I may have to resort to showing it to grandparents when they come visiting, and stop hiding in the south. :P

Have a blessed day!

Getting in the Christmas Spirit

Bah Humbug.

I've been very Scrooge-y here lately. I'm counting down the days until Christmas, but not with anticipation. I'm working on all my projects, but to me, they are just one more thing to cross off the list of things to do.

Before I go any further with this post, let me just say that our trip to the Animal shelter last week yeilded a small, 10 month old orange kitty which we adopted and named Pumpkin Truffle.

Pumpkin is still a bit skitterish, but is settling in well enough. Mattan was a "percher" but Pumpkin is what I call a "duck and hide" kitty. When he wants to relax, he likes to get under our bed and snooze. At night, when I am locked in my room knitting on... er... something.... Pumpkin likes to curl up in my lap. Usually he'll snooze a bit, but lately he has been loosening up a lot and now attacks that horrible yarn that keeps tapping him on the ears or back while I am stitching away. The other day I was knitting along and came to the end. Only there wasn't supposed to be an end to the yarn there. That striped kitty (who we really should have named Neelix, really, but the kids wouldn't have understood that) bit the yarn in two! Little stinker. It was good yarn too. Oh well... such are the hazards of owning a cat I guess.



He is quite lovey-dovey once he becomes comfortable with you. He is absolutely terrified of Isaac. He refuses to be in the same room as that loud, unpredictable two legged creature. He is slowly warming up to the others, but it is going to take a while. The kids all agree (and so do I, but don't tell them that!) that it is nice to have a kitty in the house again.

This week we have kicked it all into high gear. Monday, we made home made Christmas cards. Tuesday we did our annual candy making. Wednesday we painted some wooden ornaments I got on sale at JoAnn's last weekend. The kids were all gung-ho on decorating Monday, as well, so we split it all up into teams and did it. It didn't take long.



Christmas music is playing, presents are getting made, some are even getting wrapped, and I think I am finally getting a little bit into the spirit of things. I joked with Dale that by the time I feel like I'm in the Christmas spirit it will be Easter!





I can't share too much of what I have been up to since some of my readers need to be kept in the dark for nine more days. :D I can tell you that Isaac's quilt is coming along fabulously. I absolutely love the fabrics I picked out. I have the top all done, and the back prepped, and was going to get it all basted this afternoon while Isaac was sleeping only to find I didn't have batting. Ugh. I was just at JoAnn's Saturday for crying out loud! Why didn't I think to get batting? I have a wee little bit, not even enough to piece together to make a big enough piece for the crib quilt.

I went to start getting the cards we made all filled out. I like to use my fancy calligraphy pen set to make it look extra special, but wouldn't you know it, the set is MIA? I looked through drawers, shelves, under desks, then the kids looked, but to no avail. I may have to purchase another set.

Feeling rather frustrated over the delays in what I really NEED to get done NOW, I decided to just start piecing another quilt. Ahhh.... stress relief therapy. This one is overdue for my newest nephew. It won't be ready to send with the Christmas gifts, but should be done shortly after the new year.

Other sundry secret projects are coming along on schedule, with minor glitches that come with crafting anything.

Oh, did I mention the shopping is all done? Esther and I finished it up last weekend. I was breathing a sigh of relief when I realized that just because the shopping was over, that didn't mean my job was done. AT that time I still had cards to make, candy to make, ornaments to paint decorating to do (all done, as previously stated), but now I need to finish Isaac's quilt, a couple of other little gifts, and wrap like crazy. Some of it will have to be wrapped and ready to get in the mail by this Saturday.

While we were at the mall (gasp.. faint... jaw drop... I actually braved the mall! In December! Those of you who know me know I am NOT a mall rat, and stay away from them usually like they were the plaque), we stopped at a Subway for a very late lunch. I needed a break and a chance to revamp my list, check it twice, figure out who has been naughty or nice... oh wait, that isn't my job!

While we were eating we were regaled by a young teen group playing Christmas music. This live band would have been more pleasant to listen to if the accompanying instruments were softer. Why they had the sound so loud on the guitars, I'll never know. What little I heard from the vocalists, made me think that they had nice voices, but you absolutely could not make out the words at all, and most of the time the singer was totally overpowered. When we did hear her, she hit a good half of the notes off key.

I know, it sounds like a Scrooge type comment. But I couldn't help it. Few things irritate me more than performers being off key and overpowered by instruments. And the poor teen group got my bad review when we got home, because they were inferior by comparison.

What happened was that when Esther and I got home, Benjamin and Elizabeth and Josiah had the pizza made, and the table set with candles like a little pizza bistro. We were waited on for every little thing we wanted. It was so sweet! The pizza was delicious (kudos to Chez Ben). As we were finishing up, Benjamin brought up his guitar and he played while Elizabeth sang a few folks songs and a couple of hymns.

I have to say, I was proud of them. Now there is a gal that can sing on key! Even when her big brother flubs up on the guitar.

Not that I'm biased. :)

The Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY December 13th...

Outside my window... temperatures have dropped and we are getting some snow!

I am thinking... that sleep is highly overrated and that I'll be burning the candle at both ends AND the middle until Christmas.

I am thankful for... Helpful hands.

From the learning rooms... Studying Albert Einstein, doing a unit study on Huckleberry Finn, music practice, and all the regular stuff.

From the kitchen... Supper in the crock pot, bread raising, and tomorrow we'll be making candy.

I am wearing... jean skirt, t-shirt, and my cranberry tweedy type sweater.

I am creating... Oooh, I can tell anyone that yet. :D

I am going... to hopefully get into the holiday spirit soon.

I am reading... the second book in the "39 Clues" series the kids like.

I am hoping... to get lots of time to work on Isaac's quilt this week.

I am hearing... washer and dryer running, recorders, guitar, and piano practice going on.

Around the house... Decorating (hopefully!), lots of laundry, and general picking up, organizational tasks, cleaning out ashes from the woodstove.

One of my favorite things... being serenaded by my kids.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Get and decorate a tree, get all the "away" gifts sent, cards made, candy made, and a secret project or two done.

Comfy-Cozy Crazy sock!




For guidelines go to: http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/