Sigh. I wanted to go traveling this year, perhaps out of state, but right now the prospects are bleak. I have been promising my brother that we really, really WILL visit him in Virginia! But getting away has proved to be difficult. It’s been a very long time since I traveled south (or outside of the state, for that matter). Last time I went through i was 14 years old! I took a trip with an adult friend all the way to Florida and back, by Greyhound bus. It was quite an experience for a young lady. It was the first time I was away from home like that, and there was a limitless roster of things to do in Orlando! We got to see Disney World (the rides were absolutely wild and crazy!), the new Epcot center, and the Museum of Wax in the city. It was a great time! Of course, my friend made all the plans and this was long before the Internet was available. Back then, we relied on brochures, if we could get them, and word of mouth. I prefer having everything on the Internet at my fingertips, today.

I’m a big fan of Trusted Tours & Attractions for finding stuff online and when I need discount tickets for sightseeing tours, they are the first place to go. They have the best listings and discounts I have ever seen for the 23 most popular cities to see in the United States. I’ve even signed up for their newsletter, for when we do decide to travel (we also have plans to see Boston and maybe check out things to do in Atlanta, too). The newsletter is great. They have a promotion going on now: sign up for their newsletter by May 31st, and you’re entered in a contest to win a free $150 iTunes gift card.

My eldest daughter graduates in a few weeks. She’s been “homeschooled” her entire life. I guess this officially makes me a veteran homeschooler! Wow, that time went fast. :| Only three more to go…

Some folks ask me about our schooling techniques, etc. Of all the blogging I do, I really don’t blog much about homeschool. I’m not sure why. I guess it just doesn’t interest me enough. Now, if you had caught me 10 years ago, I was CRAZY about homeschooling; I might have blogged about it then. But now, it’s just another segment of our lives, kind of like washing the dishes or working in the gardens. Our homeschool has settled into a routine, and there aren’t too many exciting (read: disastrous) events to detail. Perhaps when something becomes so effortless and organized, you know you’re doing OK.

Well, I’ll just blog about it a little. No pressure; I’ll just chit-chat about our routine, why we do it, what works for us, etc. Hopefully you parents who homeschool will find something useful. I’ll break it up in a number of posts, to retain readability.

My husband and I decided to school our kids ourselves because we both realized the corruption of public schools and were wary of the social engineering of modern education. We’d read a lot of books and also remembered a lot of our own experiences. There was NO WAY we were going to send our children, day after day, to be indoctrinated into secular humanism, the fallacies of evolution, values clarification, and “health” classes (euphemism for Perversion 101). Public school was very stressful for me as a kid; I desperately wanted to learn, but school was so socialized that the consuming issues were your hairstyle, boyfriends, and the latest acne treatment. I wanted something different for my kids.

For the first few years, we sent the kids to a private school in the church. It was a classroom environment, but it lacked the one-on-one education. And the curriculum (ACE) was terrible. Eventually, the school organization was completely revised, and we opted for something called an “umbrella school.” Basically, we pay tuition for an administrator to maintain all records and tests scores, but we parents teach the children and supervise their work at home. I think it’s the best of both worlds, actually. I do no administrative work, but I get to work with the kids. We have assigned books, so I don’t even need to worry about the curriculum. We dumped the lousy ACE and have had good success with Abeka. We have purchased the books from the tuition monies, and we share the books among us, so the financial burden is decreased. (The children do not write in the workbooks; rather, they write their answers in notebooks).

The children are tested every week by the administrator. They must score an 85% average or better, per subject, or else they repeat the book. This helps us maintain a schedule and standards, and encourages accountability among us. I have stricter standards, where I expect my children to get 90% or better on their tests. On the harder subjects, such as Algebra, I am pleased with 85%; but in history, science, and language, there is no excuse for them to score below 90%. We work very hard at home and I will not tolerate slackness. Now, everybody has a bad day or week, so we are very flexible. That’s what makes homeschooling so successful- the parents are well aware of the child’s abilities and therefore expects the child to meet certain goals. There is no “dumbing down” in my home. Some criticize that I am too militant, but tell me, how many moms have Ivy League professors practically knocking on your doors, hoping your kids attend their schools? My kids are well-educated and very self-disciplined, and it shows in their demeanor and communications.

Well, I gave the body of why we homeschool, and of our general philosophy. I’ll talk more about our routine, our organizational habits, and other tidbits in posts to come.

Eh, I’m just a wee chatty tonight. I joined a health club today. It’s a big deal for me. The cost is so low my jaw dropped and I wondered why I haven’t done this before ($10 a month). Because of my back injury, I’m supposed to keep my abdominal muscles in shape. I haven’t seen the physical therapist is eons because it is too expensive and because gas prices are too high for me to travel the distance. This health club has a coach who will help me with the machines to build up my muscles again– and the coaching comes at no extra cost! So the money I’m saving in prescription painkillers (I won’t take them anymore) will pay for the monthly membership!

Hey, have any printing needs? Business cards, cards, notes, stationery, rubber stamps, invitations, announcements (whew!), and more? VistaPrint has it! I love VistaPrint and I have been a customer of VistaPrint for several years now. I’ve had all my business cards printed through them (they allow complete customization, which is what I love best about them) and I encourage all my family members to go through them. Their stationery is beautiful (yes, I am one of those weirdos who still do write letters), and their card selection is really neat. They allow for complete customization. I am a real stickler for that! I must customize, because I don’t like the “cookie cutter” cards and stationery that more expensive places churn out. And VistaPrint is a fast shipper. I’ve always received my stuff in a few days. I am so impressed with the company that I really can’t sing their praises enough.

And guess what? I’ve got a link where you can find vistaprint coupons for you to save even more money! Check it out. I have personally bought stuff from VistaPrint and I love them! I think you will, too!

I tweaked my blog theme a little more. How does it look? Is it too dark? I have a few minor adjustments to make. I’m not 100% sold on the background, even though I love the leather embossed look. I may decide for something more… sprightly. Got any ideas?

I also found a really cool little graphic toy called the ASCII-O-Matic Generator. I uploaded my husband’s photo and look what it did:

The ASCII-O-Matic will generate a photo using type in letter and numbers. You can do it in color, too. It took some doing to get the photo to EXACTLY 60 x 50. It won’t accept anything else. And the photo must be a .jpeg file. But it’s fun and Hubs loved it!

Hat tip Ty’sBlog for the link.

Spring is here! We are rejoicing in the streets at last, lol! Girls, you know what this means– time to peel off and pack away the drab winter dregs of the old clothing and break out the new and beautiful spring clothing and accessories! If you are like me, you 1) need some new duds, 2) want a few very classy pieces to accent your wardrobe, and 3) are looking for good deals on beautiful things. Here’s a tip: check out the latest stuff at Shangby.com. They have a slew of gorgeous new products - including new cashmere line, called the Woo Scarf, that will knock your socks off! I am nuts about cashmere and I nearly flipped when I saw the new line of products. Isn’t this lavendar scarf exquisite?! It would be the perfect, classy accessory for a simple black dress. Noooice! The red scarf is beautiful, too. Choices, choices! Look at the detailed work on the scarf though. It is truly a masterpiece of design.

ShangBy is an amazing store. One of their goals is to bring U.S. shoppers to the retailers in China, for access to fabulous products and excellent prices. If you like cashmere and other products (jewelry, cashmere, bedding, apparel, etc) that are quality-produced, ShangBy is the place to go. They are going to be streaming live video online from Woo Cashmere on May 21st to introduce this spectacular new line of the best cashmere brand in Shanghai. Woo Cashmere is renowned for it’s beautiful and spectacular quality (created by Stephen Sun, influenced by the artist Yifei Chen). The Woo Scarf is a breathtakingly beautiful cashmere scarf. It would make an absolutely perfect gift, too!

If you go to the site, you can view videos on other products, too. And if you need an excuse to shop, here’s a coupon code to get you going: use the code simple luxury for $30 off good through May 31st!

I came across a fun, regular meme called “Manic Monday” when I read Midlife Musings this morning. It’s a blog I’ve been checking out more recently, lately. I am finding Midlife Musings oddly and uncomfortably familiar these days. I’m 40 years old now; am I midlife?! :|

Here are the questions:

1. If the statement, ‘You are what you eat’ was true, I would be a _______.
2. If you had to have one piece of music (softly) playing in your mind for the rest of your life, what would you want it to be?
3. What is the most important thing in any relationship?

1. …I would be a … cup of coffee-two-creams-two sugars with the aspirations to be puritanical green tea.

2. A tabernacle choir singing “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” and it plays in my mind all the time, anyway.

3. Fidelity and trust. The two go hand in hand but have distinct differences as they are the “give and take” elements of a healthy symbiotic relationship. I think that without fidelity and trust, you really can’t even have a relationship.

I think I like Manic Monday memes! But this, my first one, wasn’t too terribly manic. Maybe next Monday. :)

Today is definitely a Manic Monday in the sense of my “real life.” My old pair of glasses broke and I am reluctantly using my “new” pair. The “new” pair is two years old and I have never worn them, because they are so poorly constructed that I can’t see clearly with them. Poor vision and the wearing of thick glasses is bad enough; wearing poorly fitted, poorly constructed glasses is insane!

OK, to make something perfectly clear– the following is not a criticism!!! It’s an observation. :)

I was dropping Entrecards and visited the entertaining Geek Mom Mashup blog. She has an interesting post about a Japanese-invented gadget (actually, they are stickers that you place on the toilet) that encourages proper “aim” for kids who use the toilet. A common complaint among moms is that the kids whizz all over the place. Yeah, I have kids and I remember those potty-training years, and all I can say is THANK GOD THAT’S OVER. lol. Besides childbirth, potty-training is the worst!

Anyway, I was absolutely stunned at the idea of stickers. Are stickers and such things really necessary?! Back in the old days, a swift little swat on the kid’s backside, or forcing the child to clean up after himself (*GASP*), was enough to solve the problem! What is this new fad where mothers are resigned to be their child’s slave? There is no way on God’s good earth that I would ever spend our hard-earned money on toilet stickers because the durn kid is too lazy to aim correctly! No wonder the youth walk around like they are God’s gift to earth!

Disclaimer *sigh* This post is not intended to criticise, disseminate, or otherwise offend Geek Mom or her devoted readers, or the Japanese, or Moms Against Spanking Kids (MASK), or anyone who happens to use said toilet stickers, or anyone who to this day still cannot aim. However, I am very comfortable offending youth who walk around like they are God’s gift to earth and to their parents who encourage that. :D

The lilacs are in bloom here. I have only two little lilac bushes, white and Princess Pink. But my neighbors have one side of their yard fenced with huge lilacs. The bushy tops are so peppered with purple blossoms that the neighbor is scented with them. It’s enough to drive me mad. I absolutely LOVE the smell of lilacs. The only negative thing I can think of when it comes to lilacs is that their bloom time is so brief.

My son helped me snip off a few tender blossoms from my shrub. I have the jar of them beside me and I am swooning. They are just amazing flowers. I’ll have to get a photo up of my pride and joy– my little lilac tree that I have been nursing. It is rewarding me this year with a knockout quantity of blooms. The little buds are just about ready to burst with their deliciousness. For now, here’s a borrowed photo. Can’t you just smell them from here? Ahhhhhhhh. So although I might get Kentucky Derby Party Invitations and watch them “Run for the Roses,” what would really knock my socks off is if they ran for the lilacs!