My birthday gift to you...Christmas Music Unit Study

I've created this unit study for my children this year, and am sharing it here with anyone who might like it.

As a new decade begins...

I know I've neglected my poor blog for way too long, but as I stand at the edge of the newest decade in my life, I can't "deblog" any longer. I just want to let all of my loyal readers know that 40 isn't the end of the world. In fact, it's the beginning! I've been looking forward to my birthday, and to being "in my 40s" for several weeks now. I have decided to dedicate this decade to Personal Growth and Fitness, since I found that having a theme for my 30s decade was highly effective. So, good-bye 30s, hello 40s. HERE I AM!

Blog Prompts

I found the wireless generation's answer to journal prompts, thanks to what she said too! This looks like fun...might get me blogging a bit more ;-) Check out mindbump in your spare minutes, and then make sure you blog one of their prompts ;-)

suggested by Gemma Wiseman's Greyscale Territory ~ Poetic songlines

"If you were a tree, what would you be and why?"

I would without a doubt be a sugar maple tree. Just look at this gorgeous tree. Full, leafy, colorful, very shady, and best of all, it bears a sweet secret. I love maple trees all year.

In the spring...well actually starting in the winter...as the leaf buds turn red and begin to swell, my backyard becomes better than Bath & Body Works! My dad taps sugar maples all around our properties, as well as at friends' homes, and makes his own maple syrup. I wake up in the morning with my house infused with that smoky, sweet scent savored by maple syrup aficiondos. All year long, my 4-Grain Pancakes are topped with REAL syrup. Syrup finds its way into lots of other things in my kitchen...cappucino, baked goods, and even our fingers and hair ;-)

In the summer, our sugar maples (and other maples too) are leafy and provide wonderful shade. You'll find us enjoying the cool respite as we read together or have a picnic lunch.

Fall is my other favorite season, when those same maples turn gorgeous shades of red, yellow, and orange before dropping their leaves. I love fall colors, particularly those of the maple.

Winter for the maples is a time of preparation for the upcoming "active" season. Even while bare, those maples are still beautiful when they're coated with snow and ice. Their branches provide roosts for birds (including wild turkeys) and animals.

The maple tree is useful year-round. I want to be like the maple. I want to be useful, comforting, sweet, and pleasant to be around. I want people to look forward to my presence, no matter when that may be. I want to be steady and consistent for those whom I love.

Blog for Sale!

My blog is worth $2,822.70.
How much is your blog worth?

Anybody wanna buy it? LOL, j/k...I'm keeping it!

Slippery.....Sticky.......Who?

Our yard is yielding an abundant crop of Suillus luteus and Suillus granulatus this fall. The easier to pronounce moniker is slippery Jack mushrooms. They are one of the last edible fungi to be found in the fall, along with Calvatia gigantea, the giant puffball. (This one pales in comparison with the size of the one we're trying to nibble our way thru right now, LOL.)

Anyway, a couple of days ago, ds6 came running in the house hollering for me to come look. He'd found a smallish cluster of slippery Jacks but he couldn't remember the name, so he wanted me to come see the "Sticky Joes" he'd found! ROFL, well, he was close! Now every time he's out in the yard, he has to pick the ones he finds and bring them in. Really, I'm tired of eating them darling. You may leave them in the yard, LOL.

Vacation Favorites

Here are a few of my favorite pictures (not already blogged, that is!) from our recent camping trip:

Yep, that's me. On a zip line. Awesome!

Nope, that's not me on the climbing wall. I chose the inside steps to ascend the 40' tower for a gorgeous view of the Straits of Mackinac, as pictured below (except this photo was taken from the lighthouse!) DD11 made it to the top, tho!


Old Mackinaw Point Lighthouse

Oh no, don't run in to each other!!!! Yikes! Whew, they're just going to pass in the St. Mary's River, but it sure looks close, doesn't it?

Me 'n my Honey

Breakfast in the camper. We never starve on vacation ;-)

Our favorite ship, the Edwin H. Gott, 1005 feet long. I don't know why, but somehow this ship has become our signature ship. Vacation is always better when we see our ship!

Trip to the Agawa Pictograph Site

We took an afternoon trip to view the Agawa Pictograph Site, which is about 110 km northwest of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. DH and I have circled Lake Superior, probably 15 years ago, and we had visited this site at that time. I'd forgotten how rugged the northern Ontario wilderness becomes as soon as you leave the city. It's a gorgeous drive...a mixture of Lake Superior vistas, rocky gorges, sand flats, and just plain wilderness. The colors are starting to change...some reds and purples but no oranges, yellows, or browns yet. The scenery was worth the drive, even if we hadn't had an interesting destination!

Anyway, this was where we were headed. Yes, that is Lake Superior, the largest freshwater lake in the world. Yes, it's cold. No, we didn't get our feet wet. This time! Yes, that is a very narrow rocky ledge that we had to walk out on in order to see the pictographs. Yes, it was scary. Yes, it was windy. Yes, the wind made you feel like you had to hug the rock cliff!



Interestingly enough, when we last visited the pictographs, we were not up close and personal. We walked out on these rocks and because we were farther away, the pictographs were pretty hard to see! I like the "up close and personal" version of 2008 much better. Yay for higher lake levels! But I get ahead of myself a bit.

This was the hike down toward the lakeshore.


Yikes, I really hope these rock walls don't move anytime soon, LOL. The rock wedged across the top is HUGE, and it's hard to see in the pic, but Lake Superior's waves are crashing into the opening and there is wave action up into the canyon.


Along the way, I noticed this moss-covered rock, with a blanket of ferns growing out of the moss! Interesting!


These are some of the small (and not-so-small, one of them has several houses on it) islands in Lake Superior, adjacent to the pictographs site. Some of the rocky outcroppings were believed by the First Nation People to be the shape of the spirit of the devils that controlled the lake.


And finally, the pictographs. We Had to climb down to the rocks at the base of the cliff, and then hug the cliff wall as we inched our way along to see the paintings. The paint was made from a mixture of ochre (from iron-rich rocks found on an island about 30 km away from the cliff) and animal fat. Sometimes it's hard to tell where a pictograph ends and the rock's natural red coloring begins. There are some non-descript red markings that look as tho once upon a time they may have been pictographs, but they have faded too much to know or sure.

DS6 sits next to two snake pictographs.


Pictograph of four canoes, probably commemorating a battle expedition in the late 1600s.


Another canoe.


Misshepezhieu, the devil spirit of the lake.


Horse and rider above a canoe and 4 discs, which are variously believed to be 4 suns, or that the chief who drew that pictograph belonged to the 4th order of the Midewiwin Lodge.


This was the path back out of the site. You didn't think the climb UP was going to be any easier than the climb DOWN, did you, LOL?

Shipwatching on the St. Mary's River

DS6 and I (wearing our hospital logo wear so we can submit the picture for the employee newsletter ;-) with the lake carrier Montrealais in the background.

Mist on the river...Mission Point, looking over toward Sugar Island.

The Kamistigua (spelling error!) emerging from the mist, upbound at Mission Point.

Vacation is great, especially camped on the river, and especially this morning when the campground emptied out and we have a better view of the river. I'm sure that'll change later today ;-)

Couldn't Resist Trying the Omnivore's List...

Since there are foods on here that I have eaten, and they didn't appear on the vegetarian list! I've eaten 32 of the foods on this list.

Here’s what you do:
1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at http://www.verygoodtaste.co.uk/ linking to your results.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:
1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

One Hundred Foods to Try

Vegetarian Version
Non-Vegetarian Version

Take your pick and give it a whirl. I've had 59 of these foods...so far. Be sure to leave me a comment so I can come and look at your list!

1 Fresh young coconut
2 Dolmas (stuffed grape leaves)
3 Truffle oil
4 Pomelo
5 Kalamata olives
6 Saffron
7 Inari sushi
8 Huckleberries
9 Cashew nut butter
10 Vegetarian black pudding
11 Banana roti
12 Laotian coffee
13 Chocolate chip cookie dough peanut butter milkshakes (in Chicago!)
14 Poutine (you can find a vegan version in Brooklyn)
15 Gnocchi
16 Roasted chestnuts
17 Baba ganoush
18 Wheatgrass juice
19 Soy cheese pizza
20 Yucca or taro root
21 Fresh grilled corn on the cob
22 Sangria
23 Macaroni and cheese
24 Persimmons
25 Indian barfi
26 Mangosteen
27 Vegetarian caviar
28 KFC Vegetarian Chicken Sandwich
29 Vegetarian turducken
30 Steamed edamame with sea salt
31 Saltwater taffy
32 Vegetarian Hot and Sour soup with lotus and woodears
33 Black sapote
34 Vegetarian Chinese steamed buns
35 Navajo tacos
36 McDonald’s Veggie Burger
37 Sake
38 Gulab jamun
39 Fried pickles
40 Chai tea
41 Thai papaya salad (som tum)
42 Pecan pralines
43 Fried green tomatoes
44 Goat cheese
45 Vegetarian s'mores (over a campfire of course!)
46 Stevia
47 Macadamia nuts
48 Nutella
49 Veggie corn dogs
50 Garlic ice cream
51 Jackfruit
52 Vegetarian shu mai
53 Mango
54 Tandoori masala
55 Fennel
56 Fried plantains
57 Horchata
58 Sweet potato fries
59 Sunchokes/Jerusalem artichokes
60 Caramel popcorn
61 French camembert
62 Tofurky
63 BK Veggie Burger
64 Vegetarian gyoza/potstickers
65 Sun dried tomatoes
66 Vegan cheesecake
67 Avocado maki
68 Durian
69 Nutritional yeast
70 Real butterscotch
71 Lemongrass
72 Chartreuse
73 Zapp’s or Tim’s brand potato chips (trust me on this one!)
74 Fortune cookies
75 Cotton candy
76 Salted lime margaritas
77 Vegetarian rice crispy squares
78 Vegetarian prawns or shrimp
79 Balsamic fig reduction sauce
80 Brussels sprouts
81 Passionfruit
82 Marmite
83 Wasabi
84 Vegetarian fluff
85 Honey dijon mustard
86 Bubble tea/boba
87 Blueberry beer
88 Deglet noor dates
89 Chocolate covered espresso beans
90 Chinese or Taiwanese stinky tofu “choh doh-foo”
91 Vegetarian Tom Kha (Thai Coconut Soup)
92 Vegetarian reuben
93 Coconut oil
94 Peanut brittle
95 Creme brulee
96 Vegetarian jerky
97 Crystallized ginger And last but not least, someday.....
98-100 Carl’s Jr, Wendy’s and Jack-in-the-box Veggie Burger (Hey, a girl can hope, can’t she?)

Thanks to my blogging friend...

Dolphin Valley Academy I know, from her recommendation of the MapMyRide website, exactly how far I've been going on my bike rides. Except it doesn't like my little short cul-de-sac road, or the fact that my route doubles back on itself. So, just add on 1/2 mile to every ride and you're there, LOL. I've been going 6+ miles on my solitary rides--not that far with kiddos in tow but hey, dragging 50 pounds behind me counts for something. Methinks I burn just as many calories ;-)

Funny...or Embarrassing?

So, I gave my hubby a $25 gc for Home Depot, for Father's Day. Guess that should have been a gc for $25.34 instead. He used it for recent purchases which totalled out to the larger dollar amount--and had to put the 34 cents on his debit card because he didn't have any cash on him. Oops! BTDT ;-)

My "Before I Turn 40" Resolution

OK, maybe it's not a resolution, because those are meant to be broken, right? And I don't mean to break this. So, it's decided. It's not a resolution. It's a way of life. A change for the better. I can't let myself go any longer--and I can't give excuses and wait for other people (my dh, my children) to be healthy with me. If they want to, fine--if they don't want to, I'm not letting that stop me. I already eat pretty healthy, but exercise has been my downfall. I really enjoy bicycling. Always have, since I was a teenager. And I've decided that I'm going to ride again, for my own health and enjoyment. I'm trying to get at least a 30 minute bike ride on the Rail Trail every day that I can. I'm not setting a goal of so many days per week, because that just doesn't always work out. My goal is to ride every day that I can--THAT works for me. Sometimes I'm by myself...sometimes one or two children join me. Whichever way is fine with me. It's the time duration that counts for me now, not the distance I go (that 50 extra pounds behind me with a kid on a co-pilot shortens the distance, ya know ;-) I fell better for finally getting regular exercise. And I dare not hope...but...ya know, my pants and shorts feel a bit looser on me than they used to. Not complaining at all!

Now where's the cattle prod for my dh's behind? He's the one who NEEEEEEEDS the exercise, for his heart and his weight and a bunch of other things that would be improved. But I'm not letting him hold me back anymore. Yay for me!

New Homeschooling Resource Blog

Homeschooling Apropos is up and running! Check there often for bits of wisdom, tips, and materials reviews, culled from the iVillage Homeschool Board.

Playing the trump card

Or, how to silence a child quickly ;-)

DS6 inquired of his sister how many American Girl dolls she needs to have, because after all, they ARE expensive, you know ;-) When I informed him that his Lego cargo train cost more than sister's AG doll and extra outfit that she got for her birthday, he had nothing more to say. You should have seen her smirk ;-)

Warning!

Turning 11 is hazardous to your health. It makes you turn quite orange. This is dd's costume for an orange birthday party she attended today. We paid less than $12 for the whole thing, including nail polish and hair dye, thanks to the Salvation Army store and the dollar store. The pants were too orange, so she used my bleach pen and made cool designs on them. She bought fabric at WM to make her belt and matching hobo bag. She's very into DIY.

Her efforts paid off, as she was the runner-up in the orange contest at the party. She won a $5 gc to Coldstone Creamery :-) Yay dd11, you go!

On the Eve of A New Decade

To My Dear DD10:

In just a few short hours, your second decade of life will begin. How time has rushed by so quickly with you in its firm grasp! 10 years ago, you were leaving infancy and on the brink of exploring life and the world around you. Today, you stand at the brink of young womanhood, as you rapidly leave childhood behind. I'm thankful that you are right where you are. One minute you are happily playing with a doll or other toy, and the next minute you are the hyper-mature, mothering young lady of the house. I am loathe to see you grow up so quickly, yet I am glad that you allow me glimpses of who you will be when next you stand at the brink of a decade.

My wish for us is that we will remain friends in this next decade. I know you won't always agree with me or see eye to eye with me, but I hope that we can work through our differences and remain in love with each other. I hope that we can respect each other, and learn from each other. I know there are a lot of things you can learn from me yet, LOL, but there is also much that I can learn from you, if I remain openminded and keep an open heart. Remember that you can come to me with anything--a question, a problem, a dream, anything you want to share or need advice about. I will always love you, even if what you have to say to me is upsetting. We can work through any problem--but hopefully there won't be too many of those along the way!

Dear daughter, please remember that God is your anchor. Stay firm to His truths. Remember that He loves you and desires that you will be a child of His Kingdom. I gave birth to you, but HE gave you re-birth. You are more precious to him than you are to me, hard as that is to imagine.

Blessing for my DD

My dd loves to sing. She's in a children's choir and has been selected to be in the children's honor choir for the ACDA-MI convention, in October. We finally got the packet with music and schedule in it, and found that it totally fits with our being able to observe our Sabbath and her still being able to participate. The music is sacred. The fun activities are before Sabbath begins (Halloween party!) Should be a fun time. I think every kid should get to participate in a music conference of some sort in their lifetime--preferably more than one, in fact!

In A Word

Gina did this on her blog and I thought it was fun...so I'm doing it here. :)

You can only use one word to answer each of these...no cheating!
1. Where is your cell phone? Table
2. Your significant other? Paul
3. Your hair? Old
4. Your mother? Organist
5. Your father? Sad
6. Your favorite thing? Family
7. Your dream last night? Wasn't
8. Your favorite drink? Water
9. Your dream/goal? Grandmotherhood
10. The room you’re in? Dispatch
11. Your ex? Who????
12. Your fear? Incapacitation
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Same
14. Where were you last night? Work
15. What you’re not? Home
16. Muffins? Driedcherry
17. One of your wish list items? Money
18. Where you grew up? Michigan
19. The last thing you did? Typed
20. What are you wearing? Birkies
21. Your TV? Off
22. Your pets? Home
23. Your computer? Laptop
24. Your life? BUSY
25. Your mood? Relaxed
26. Missing someone? Kids
27. Your car? Uplander
28. Something you’re not wearing? Socks
29. Favorite store? Christopher & Banks
30. Your summer? Cool
31. Like(love) someone? Family
32. Your favorite color? Rainbow
33. Last time you laughed? Today
34. Last time you cried? Thursday

Is it wrong?

My kids are both in a stage production this summer. The play is entitled "Auschwitz Echoes." You can guess what it's about. Anyway, the night of the first read-thru of the play, they met me at my work with their scripts. One of my co-workers was saying she'd like to bring her kids to see the play. A supervisor was standing there, and he was just horrified that a) my kids would be in something with "Auschwitz" in the title; and b) that my co-worker would consider taking her kids to see said play!

This really set me to thinking. How can it be wrong to teach children about past history, in hopes of not repeating that history in the future? How can it be wrong to teach children that bad things have happened to good people, but that there were people who cared enough to try and help as many of those people as they could, even tho that perilous to them? It's amazing how society in general can think that kids need to go to school to "learn to deal with the real world, how to deal with bullies," and other things they're exposed to in school--yet heaven forbid we learn about something horrendous that happened in the past.

As for me and my kids, we've read some very interesting age-appropriate books about the holocaust, and Auschwitz, and we've definitely had good dialogue about what happened and why, and the fact that genocide still happens in the world today. I hope and pray that I am raising children who will grow up to abhor violence, and who will be gentle and caring, and who will care enough about others to maybe be involved in humanitarian efforts somewhere, someday.

KISS

Conversation between my ds6 and another child's dad, playing giant frisbee at a friend's birthday party. The disc grazed the dad's nose, and he said:

Dad: yikes, that got me on the schnoz
DS6: where?
Dad: on my snout
DS6: your what?
Dad: on my proboscus
DS6: why don't you just say that it hit your nose? That would be so much simpler ;-)

That kid keeps us giggling, for sure ;-)

Budding actors

My kids have a great opportunity this summer! They're cast members in a play called "Auschwitz Echoes" which is being presented by Give Me Shelter Arts Education, which is an organization that provides creative outlets for people with disabilities. The cast is mixed--some of the members have physical or mental disabilities, while others are from the community. There are a number of younger members of the cast, tho my kids are the youngest. DS6 had his first rehearsal today, and the director and cast were all over him. He IS cute, you know ;-) We'll practice at home--his lines are easy but he has a number of cues he needs to pay attention to for actions. I think it'll be fun watching it all come together, even if it does mean lots of sitting thru rehearsals between now and the end of August! The closest I've ever been to theater is playing in the pit orchestra, and of course, the rehearsing for that is much different from that of the people on stage.

I'm also perusing the library for children's books on the Holocaust and Auschwitz. I found a few in my first cursory exploration, but I need to get online and find more. I think my kids are starting to get a sense of what it was all about.

Wanted for HOME Invasion

I have NO idea who these strange characters are, but they're wanted for HOME invasion. If you see them, place them in custody. Their daddy will deal with them. Tickle Finger Torture is an effective torture ;-)

HOME Wedding

We homeschoolers are such a wierd bunch. We don't even leave home for weddings! It's all just done at home. So unsocialized ;-) LOL, j/k. A friend got married in Vegas last fall, and we joined her via computer. The "reception food" was tasty too ;-)

Animal HOMES

Prairie Dog habitat
This kangaroo has a joey in her pouch. It never obliged us by popping its head out, but you could clearly see it moving inside it's HOME. Momma seemed more comfortable lying on her back. I wonder why, LOL!

Sleeping HOUSE

Some people just have to have a little HOUSE to sleep in. Isn't he as snug as a bug in a rug?

Moveable HOME

My kids have their own house! Poppa built it for them. It's insulated, has screened windows, and electric. If you want running water, you have to get that from the river tho, LOL. We moved it from our old house. These are a few pictures detailing the moving process.
Here's the house in the woods at our old house. It's braced for the move, and in the process of being dug out.
Here it's lifted almost free of the ground.
DS was 2 at the time. He was glued to the window watching it all take place!
Yikes, is that a GIRL I see driving the big yellow crane?
Playhouse placed in its new home in our backyard. Funny, we hadn't yet moved into the house, but we needed to get the playhouse moved before winter set in, and the previous owners didn't care if we put the playhouse in their backyard. They were surprised when they came home and there was a new house out their back door ;-)

Alternative HOME

The kids enjoy sleeping in this HOME once in a while. Somehow they never last the night tho, and have to be rescued. Keep the HOMEfires burning, LOL.

Lighting the HOME

Just think! It wasn't all that long ago when HOME lighting meant dipping and burning candles! Whew, I'm glad for the flip of a switch when I want light. It's fun to recreate the past for brief moments, however ;-)