Having trouble organizing family activities, chores, money, allowances, and bank accounts? Oh, life is so much more complicated and busier than ever before. I have tried a few “family organizers” and management books and software, but nothing has ever captured the attention of the kids AND me. There really hasn’t been anything that consolidates all the family activities into one easy platform– UNTIL NOW. I just found doughmain.com! This site is really cool! It is loaded with all the family organizer tools you need to manage everything. It’s also a terrific way to educate the kids about finances and responsibility with the DoughMain financial responsibility game.

Basically, a parent signs up for an account. It’s free and takes about 3 minutes. From there, you create smaller accounts for family members. Each family member will log in to his or her account to see his/her schedule, finances, allowance stash, chore chart, and more. Kids can also play some cute games that teach financial responsibility (TheFunVault.com, SandDollarCity.com and IRuleMoney.com).

Highlights include the allowance tool, the family calendar (an ONLINE one that cannot be lost or eaten by the dogs!), and the chore tracker. The chore tracker is nice– the Boss (that’s me) creates a calendar of events (like vacuuming) and the child checks in each day for his/her assignments. He/She clicks the chore when done to mark it as done. It’s a great way to encourage the “work first, then play on the computer” habit. I made a little chore chart– what do you think? Is it too stuffed?!

DoughMain is a really incredible site. It can be a real blessing! Definitely check it out. By the way, you can enter to win a $500 Visa gift card if you use the word “dough” as the reference code!

Back then, there was no Internet, but today, thank God, there are tutors online who can help! We have tried a number of them and I am always impressed with the tutoring skills and knowledge of the teachers. TutorHub is such a site. The tutoring at TutorHub is very, very flexible. Does your child have a quick question? Ask (for free) in the community! Does your kid need just a half an hour to understand a certain concept? Pay for only that half hour tutoring! Need a longer term session? Take advantage of the online tuition program! I love this!

It’s a perfect place for homeschoolers and publicly educated kids. Definitely check it out. Hey, you may even learn a few new things yourself!

***

I am currently unemployed, except for a few blogging offers here and there. It’s the first time I’ve ever wanted work and never got it. What a terrible feeling. I now know how debilitating and depressing unemployment can be. I simply can’t imagine how awful it must be over an extended period of time, especially for a man who is the bread winner of a family.

***

My kids, who learn their school lessons at home, are pretty self-sufficient when it comes to the schoolwork. I have to look over their work, I do some administrative duties, and sometimes one of the kids will have a problem where they need assistance, but most of the time they read their own books and do the work without any active teaching from me. (It took a long time to get to this place, believe me!). The two most intensive subjects where they still usually need Mom and Dad’s help is with writing compositions and certain math concepts (such as algebra). I handle the writing and the husband handles the math.

Last night, my husband was working with my youngest son on math– banking, taxes, and investing. I was busy working on the computer while they were wrangling through various word problems and filling out math worksheets upon math worksheets of calculations. I tried to “set the mood” by playing classical guitar– you know, brainy music that would “enhance” the learning experience. At one point in the conversation, I heard my husband say quietly to my son: “Einstein said that compound interest is the most powerful force in the universe.”
That made me literally laugh out loud. Unfortunately, my  BWAHAHA!!! interrupted the brainy reverie for a while. :duncehat:

***

In church on Sunday, part of the following passage was read to us. It’s one of those “precious” parts of the Bible that I love:

For you know quite well that the day of the Lord’s return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. When people are saying, “Everything is peaceful and secure,” then disaster will fall on them as suddenly as a pregnant woman’s labor pains begin. And there will be no escape.

But you aren’t in the dark about these things, dear brothers and sisters, and you won’t be surprised when the day of the Lord comes like a thief. For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night. So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded. Night is the time when people sleep and drinkers get drunk. But let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation.

For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us. Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when he returns, we can live with him forever.
1 Thessalonians 5:2-10, New Living Translation

Our culture likes to mock Christians and Christian beliefs, but to me it seems people are cutting off their noses to spite their face. It’s like they don’t WANT to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that He rose from the dead, and that He is returning. The proof of the holy scriptures and of the resurrection is rock solid. But it’s all mocked, all in ignorance of the facts and the historical precedents before us. You know about those guys who did such silly things like invented the steam engine, drafted our Constitution, developed the heliocentric theory of the solar system, developed electromagnetic induction, developed the first and second laws of thermodynamics and the absolute temperature scale, invented the method for milk pasteurization, and invented peanut butter? Yeah, all those stupid people were Christians who believed in the birth, death, resurrection, and return of Jesus Christ. How silly they were, right? I mean, they didn’t even have their own TV shows!

Today, it’s so fashionable to be skeptical, but I think it’s so stupid to be skeptical, especially when the facts are readily available for anyone to look into. Jesus is coming back soon.

I once talked to someone about the book of Revelation, the last book in the New Testament. I said that I found it absolutely amazing that in no other moment in history were the events in Revelation able to occur until now. A global currency? Not possible until now. An army of 200 MILLION?! Not possible until now. A “mark” that is forced on everyone or else they can’t buy or sell anything? Not possible until now. As I stated this, I asked the person to whom I was talking, “Isn’t this some proof that the Bible is true and that these things are going to happen soon?” The person just looked at me and said, “Well, they MAKE it happen.”
:duncehat:
How can you MAKE HAPPEN an army of 200 million people PLUS all those other things? At the same time?! It’s not something you just cook up one day.

I spent a lot of years, looking all this stuff up. I have scoured ancient documents, researched archaeological discoveries, read books and books and books. It’s pretty insulting to have someone throw all that research back into your face because they just don’t “feel” that it’s true. If people don’t want to believe it’s true, fine. Don’t. But it’s so insulting and baffling for some folks to mock my years and years of looking into the subject and mocking the people of the past upon whose discoveries and inventions we enjoy today. I don’t know, maybe I am now led by a sense of duty to at least make the effort and cast my opinions aside and see what the truth is. I just figure others would want to know, too.

*steps off soap box*

***

The cares of our life can swallow us up whole, if we let it. We forget that we are emotional beings– spiritual beings. There’s an old Scottish proverb:

Be sure to live your life, for you will be a long time dead.

Indeed. I don’t think that means to eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die. It means to make peace with God and live in peace in this life, for the next life will be a long time lived in light of our decisions here.

***

I told you I’ve been thoughtful, lately.

Thanks for reading.

There seem to be a LOT of silent monks singing The Hallelujah Chorus lately, as I spotted at least a dozen on YouTube alone! LOL. Must be one of their favorite renditions. I watched some of them, and many of them were much more polished than the video I posted here… but I like mine because it’s done by kids and they make it very fun.

Then today, I visited Karen’s blog who had posted a video of The Hallelujah Chorus as done by students in Alaska. Wow! These kids are terrific and I laughed out loud a number of times.

What a great video!

I looked up the history of Handel’s Messiah and found it so intriguing that I thought I’d share it with you. Handel’s full name is George Frederic Handel, and he was born in Halle in 1685. He’d been a relatively successful composer, but had difficulties with his royal patrons (all music composers were supported by various royal houses of Europe at this time) and sometimes lost funding. Handel also became severely ill (so he said) from a stroke, and suffered debt, financial ruin, and severe depression. Handel retreated to a private life in London and stopped composing music.

George Handel with King George of England.

In his depressed state, Handel came across a piece of music written by Charles Jennens. The work was entirely Biblical verses put to music. Handel read the verses and was “deeply affected.” He plunged into creating a composition about the Messiah, Jesus Christ: the first part involved prophecies from the Old Testament (the book of Isaiah, specifically) that gave information about Christ’s coming to earth. The second part dealt with Christ’s birth, ministry, death, and resurrection. The third part centers on the New Testament book of The Revelation, and concerns Christ’s next coming. Handel’s work is SIMPLY AMAZING. When Handel wrote the Hallelujah Chorus, he said, “I did think I saw heaven open, and saw the very face of God.” That is exactly my response, too. It’s nothing short of inspiring.

Handel performed Messiah for King George of England, who was so overcome with awe and praise for the King of kings and Lord of lords that he stood up when the singers sang The Hallelujah Chorus of the composition. Back in those days, when the king or queen stood up, EVERYBODY stood up, so the entire audience stood with him for the entire performance. This has become a tradition whenever The Hallelujah Chorus is sung.

Me, I want to jump up and down. HALLELUJAH!!!!!!!!!

1. I worked at Chuck E. Cheese. AS CHUCK E. CHEESE. Yeah, I wore the costume. In the restaurant. In Philadelphia. I lived there for one month. It was all I could take. I lived there my friend who I’d met through a Star Wars fan club– we were pen pals for a few years. After graduating high school, she invited me to live with her in her parents’ home in Philadelphia. So I did. I intended to stay there the entire summer, working at Chuck E. Cheese. But I couldn’t stand the city, I couldn’t stand my friends’ lifestyle, and I couldn’t stand Chuck E. Cheese!! So I left after 4 weeks. I wrote more about my experience in my post Upchuck E. Cheese. lol

2. I went to drama school. I attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Manhattan in the mid 1980′s. I still can’t believe I did that– where did I get the chutzpah to leave my rural Upstate NY home and live in the nation’s largest city, knowing absolutely NO ONE? But I survived. It was quite the experience.

3. I suffered a house fire. It was arson. Without getting into too many gory details, my family life was, shall we say, “dysfunctional.” My stepdad went bonkers after my mom left him, and he set the house on fire. Thank God, no one was home at the time (although it was pretty hairy for a while because we couldn’t locate all of the family members at first, and the firemen were nervous about that), but the house burned to the ground. It was a really rough time in my life, but Jesus got me through it.

4. I delivered a 10 1/2 pound baby. For a while, we didn’t think I was gonna get it done, and my son wasn’t terribly cooperative…. at one point during the delivery, the doctor freaked out a little, and hollered to one of the nurses to go get the surgeon immediately. The nurse hesitated. He yelled at her again, but she turned to me first. She told me that the baby was not moving. My husband and I prayed loudly, “In Jesus’ name, get out!” and my son was born immediately. We could almost hear the doctor’s jaw clatter to the tile floor. He later muttered “It was a miracle!” The nurse later told me that if the surgeon had been there, he would have broken the baby’s collarbones. This is a very dangerous procedure, with a high risk of nerve damage, and my son’s limbs could have been paralyzed for life.

5. I was a disc jockey for a few radio stations before becoming a “stay at home mom.” I loved those jobs! I thought perhaps I could get back into radio after the kids were grown, but radio has changed so much. There are very few local stations anymore– everything is nationalized. Local stations no longer have local DJs, but they subscribe to satellite feeds from one centralized station. The local flavor and fun is gone. Such a shame.

6. I’ve been on TV and in a movie filming. I worked with Edward Hermann on a telethon in New York in 1986. I can’t remember what the fundraiser was for, but I was part of a group of fresh-faced drama students who “answered phones” on television. We were instructed to look busy and answer the phones even when the phones were not ringing. Hermann chatted with us students briefly. He has a wonderful voice– he did the narration for the PBS American Experience: Liberty series, and he’s done the Dodge Ram commercials, too. I was also cast as an extra in a movie called “A Christmas Rose.” It starred Della Reese and Randy Travis. It was filmed in Walton, NY, in the winter of… 1984? 1985? The movie never went to the big screen; instead the footage was redone for TV, for a show called “Touched By an Angel.” It was quite an experience.

7. I won a spelling bee. My family had JUST moved to a new town, and I was determined to start a new leaf and become more sociable and active in my school. I wasn’t a very good student– average “B” student — and the new school I attended classified the kids by their average grade. There was the “elite” group of really brainy kids, the “average” group of kids like me, and the “dummy” group full of dysfunctional or lazy kids. I don’t like those nicknames, but those were the nicknames we students gave each other at the time (kids can be so cruel sometimes). Well, only the “elites” entered the spelling bee, but dumb ol’ Rebecca the New Kid had no idea at the time that “average” and “dummy” kids never entered these contests…. so I entered, on a whim, and I won. I think everyone was very surprised that a bespectacled “B” student could outspell the brains. I think I was the most surprised! The prize was $10, a fortune at that time.

8. I’ve been baptized in the Holy Spirit. Yep, talking in tongues and praising the Lord. It’s in the Bible, ya know!

9. I was a Bible Trivia champion. Over ten years ago now, back when Microsoft MSN had public chat rooms, I joined a Bible Trivia Chat Group. It was led by a man from California– he’d been a criminal in jail, read the Bible, and became a Christian. He was so overjoyed that God had forgiven him that he started a special chat room dedicated to knowing the scriptures. It was so much fun– a moderator began by asking a Bible question, and the first one to answer correctly got to ask the next question. We went in rounds. It was great. I was awarded the champion because I knew so many details about the Bible (especially Old Testament history). It was a great opportunity, too, to share the gospel with other people. Boy, it was fun!

10. I can trace my genealogy back to the Scandinavian tribal chiefs from 900 AD. Weird, I know. Some of my ancestors include a King of Jerusalem (Guy Lusingnan), the kings of England, and a signer of the Mayflower Compact.

I’d really like to know what your unique accomplishments or experiences have been! I am in my 40s, and I’ve had a lot of time for experiences, lol. But everyone has some unique things that have happened– what are yours?

I was too shy and quiet in my large urban school to be a “cool cat,” or, as they are called in yearbooks, a “superlative.” I was small for my age, wore hand-me-down clothing and wore glasses. Not a spectacular start for a blossoming First Grader…

But the family moved to a smaller, rural school when I was teenager. This was in the 1980s, when it seemed that EVERYONE was suddenly getting glasses, lol! I decided to try to come out of my shell a little, get a fresh start with this new school. By my senior year, I was voted as “Most Creative” in the yearbook. Surprised? lol

So, were you a “cool cat” in school?

A common complaint by some young kids around here is that there is “nothing to do.” No matter where I live, that seems to be a pretty common complaint. Well, I have an idea! How about the Boy Scouts of America!

The Boy Scouts has been around for over 100 years, did you know that? It was founded in 1911 by W.D. Boyce of Chicago. He started the Boy Scouts of America after encountering an “Unknown Scout” in London, who helped Boyce find his way through a foggy London street. The BSA was formed to teach boys “patriotism, courage, self-reliance and kindred values.” During this period in America, the progressive/socialist movement was forging aheda in America, and some men were concerned that young men and boys would lose their sense of American patriotism and values.

Boy Scouts is WAY more than just a bunch of guys who get together and go camping or play basketball. The organization teaches boys skills they will need for a wholesome, fulfilling life. Camping and survival skills are a part of that, but so is honoring God, treating people with respect, taking responsibility for one’s actions, and more. The famikly unit is very important, and scouting supports family values.

Check out more about the Boy Scouts of America, and see how you can Be A Scout or a scout leader. Yes, there IS something to do arond here! How about you help make it happen?

***

Why are “historical” movies so unhistorical and riddled with errors, even when it’s a very small matter to be historical? Ever see that movie “National Treasure”? In it, the film claims 55 men signed the Declaration of Independence. That’s wrong: 56 men signed it. I mean, why be so inaccurate when it’s such a small effort to be correct? Some people may shrug their shoulders and say “big deal,” but what if someone said you only had 2 children when you really had 3? Wouldn’t that be a “big deal” to correct it? And the Declaration of Independence is *kind of* a big deal.

***

Why does Hollywood spend SO much money and go SO out of their way to be historically accurate with period clothing, hair styles, props, sets, etc etc and then blow the whole shebang by having the characters swear like sailors and act like harlots? Hellloooo… believe it or not, people didn’t act like 21st century people in the 16th century! There were *gasp* repercussions to, for example, fornication– called children and social excommunication! People back then also didn’t have s*x on their minds as much as people in our modern culture. Human nature hasn’t changed, of course, but back then there were boundaries and social expectations of good behavior to keep it under control. Societies understood back then than a licentious society was chaotic and divided. Social order and behavior was much more stringent, but you’d never know it, watching a Hollywood film.

I love history so I am always looking for a good movie about history. I recently saw the movie “Elizabeth” about Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen of 1554, and was disgusted and disappointed. What a lousy movie, full of smut and error! Memo to Hollywood– Elizabeth did not fornicate with Robert Dudley and then become the “virgin” queen because he was so unfaithful! She did not shave her head and wear white makeup to pattern herself after a statue of Mary the mother of Jesus! Duh! Elizabeth got smallpox later during her reign, and it wrecked her appearance. She lost a lot of her hair and her face was scarred– thus the wigs and makeup.

I get upset that Hollywood does stuff like that– they view historic figures and everyday folks through their own lens of self-absorption and immorality.

But the movie costumes and hairstyles were magnificent. :-p

***

I think BBC produces the best historical movies. They are accurate not only in costume but also in behavior. They don’t always have the shiniest, glitteriest props like Hollywood has, but so what? Give me accuracy over shiny props any day. ;)

While I like Cate Blanchette’s acting and I think she resembles Elizabeth I more than any other actress, I think the best Queen Bess was Glenda Jackson in BBC’s “Elizabeth R.” That was a phenomenal series. It was accurate, outstanding, and there was no swearing and no need to depict Elizabeth as a swooning, sensuous barmaid. Don’t get me going about Helen Mirren’s manic depressive Elizabeth… yuk….

***

I’m so so so sick of hearing about the debt ceiling and debt deal. The government NEVER does what we the people want anymore. I can’t believe they’ve dug us so deep into such a financial mess. I have a mortgage and credit card debt, God forbid I couldn’t pay them off, not even a VA refinance or help from FHAHomeLoan.org would help me. But the government can do whatever they want and that’s OK??

My husband made up a very good allegory about the current debt. He said that if our country paid $100 every second, it would take over 4,000 years to pay off the current national debt. FOUR THOUSAND YEARS. Our government needs a tad more education about refinancing on Wikipedia, it seems. The real world operates a totally different way. I’m very concerned with what out future holds, but I try not to think about it too much, or I’ll get an ulcer. And with ObamaCare as our destiny, that makes it all even worse!

***

Our heat wave is over! I have been glorying in cooler weather. Cooler as in mid-80s. Hey, I’ll take what I can get. lol.

***

Why does McDonald’s food make you feel so awful after eating it? The husband came home today with a Filet O Fish for me, as a treat. I haven’t had one in a while and– after eating the real thing (fish) for a while– the sandwich seemed like fake food. After eating, I thought I was going to pass out from exhaustion. What do they put in their food that makes my heart race like a marathon and I feel so exhausted I could konk out? Hmmm…? Anyone know?

***

Do you remember those “Happiness is” snippets from the Peanuts comics? Such as “Happiness is a warm puppy”? I sometimes come up with my own little “Happiness is” phrases. I thought of one today when Livvy came to see me as I typed this:

Happiness is when your kitty clambers up on the bed to see you, nuzzles your face, and starts to purr when you whisper “Hello, sweetheart.”

Have a great weekend!

But I have just found THE coolest website!!! It’s an online instrument rental site!!! Can you believe it?! They will ship their instruments directly to my door. All instruments are fully inspected before shipping to make sure the instrument is in tip-top shape. My son has been desperate to play the violin, but I have resisted because a new violin is very expensive (and what if he decides he doesn’t like it?). But with an online rental system, we can try anything we want. All instruments come supplied with a carrying/storage case and mouthpiece. Delivery is free via UPS.

The company that runs the rental business is RMI (RentMyInstrument.com) based in Kansas City, Missouri. The monthly rental prices are very, very affordable. I am extremely pleased. A nice violin is $32 a month. That’s low enough to try it out for a month or two before deciding if we should purchase a violin for the budding musician. RMI.com has a guaranteed no obligation return option and pre-paid maintenance and repairs are included in the rental price.

Homeschoolers, if you’ve been looking for an affordable way to help your kids get an instrument, here it is. Check the site for more details.

As a homeschooling parent, I have had my fill of difficult English grammar, year after year after year. :brudder: It’s not been easy, especially struggling through the participial poohbahs and diagramming doldrums… so I can’t say I have much love for the many snarls of English language grammar. But just because something takes great effort doesn’t mean it should be eradicated.

The kids have this saying about the English language, a running gag between us:

The only English grammar rule that does not have an exception is that every English grammar rule has an exception.

:duncehat: LOL. It’s true!

I finally figured out how to label parts of speech when I was teaching my youngest son 8th grade grammar. He’d been struggling to understand why the word “their” could be both a pronoun and an adjective, and how could you tell the difference when labeling?! I realized that when labeling parts of speech, you must look at the entire sentence to determine the word’s intention and placement, and not just interpret the singular word and it’s particular definition.

Yeah, after 35+ years of English, I finally figured that one out! Sheesh!

BUT….

Good grammar and spelling are important!

As a student, I loved English classes in school but struggled with grammar (who doesn’t?!) because it was so difficult to remain consistent and interpret it accurately. English is a crazy amalgam of languages, a mish-mash melting pot of Dutch, German, Latin, French and slang. It was a very loose language until the printing press, when the spelling and grammar was managed by printers who used their own preferred style of writing. Various regions had their own styles of grammar and spelling. Even after the printing press, the language was still extremely flexible. Go read excerpts of Lewis’ and Clark’s journals of their expeditions, and you’ll see what I mean. Talk about creative spelling!

There have been many movements over the centuries to forcefully change English grammar and spelling. One notable modern movement began in 1906 when wealthy steel magnate Andrew Carnegie started an organization called the “Simplified Spelling Board.”

I wonder how TR would have liked changing the way he signed his name to "Theodor Rosevelt."

He wanted to get rid of the effluence of letters in the English dictionary such as the unnecessary silent letters: “e” in “are”; “h” in “ghost”; “hy” in “rhyme changing it to “rime,” and etc. Theodore Roosevelt latched onto it and commanded that the government printing office make the changes immediately. He was voted down by Congress, lol.

In the mid-1960s, another guy wanted to radically alter a great deal of English spelling words, such as change friend to frend, and head to hed. It didn’t go over well in the United States, but the Australian government adopted much of the idea.

I personally prefer to leave traditional spelling and grammar alone, unless there is good reason to alter it. I dislike the social engineering philosophy in general.

I’ll share a MAJOR pet peeve with you, while I’m thinking about it- the metric system. I hate the metric system! For one, it was introduced by a bunch of humanists during the atheistic French Revolution. They’d disliked the Biblical system and wanted to overhaul everything even remotely traditional.

The French Revolution's first act for liberty and tolerance was to eradicate the liberty of thousands of "intolerants."

They even placed a dancing girl on a dais and named her the Goddess of Reason. Not a very good track record of temperance and intelligence, if you ask me.

Anyway, the United States has remained staunchly on the side of the traditional English measurement system. And I hate this push to make everything in my country metric! Our household measuring tools are even metric, and I can’t (and won’t) make heads nor tails of them. I wouldn’t mind it, I guess, if the metric system was on the back of the measuring cups and all as a choice for our European friends, but no– the metric system is on the FRONT of our measuring tools! I have to turn the tools around and hold them in my left hand to use them! :-p I hate that kind of sneaky social engineering. I stubbornly resist! lol! And you KNOW if you go to Europe they don’t have measuring cups with the English system on the fronts and metric on the backs!

Ah, I feel so much better getting that off my chest. lol

I think English grammar and spelling is important. It’s a good discipline. It’s the best method we have to communicate with each other, to make sure that we are all communicating on the same level.

And that’s why I’m proud to be a part of the grammar police. HAHA!!