Just received this video via my dog club email loop. Thought I'd share!

Over on "HOOville" one of the ladies asked me the following (inset) questions. Thought I'd share the answers here.

What is it like...to be officially "done" with homeschooling? I can't imagine it - in some ways it sounds great, in others very sad. We are excited to see what path ds follows as he grows but it's hard to imagine my life not revolving around him! Was it a gradual thing for you as ds got older?

Surreal is probably the best word to describe it. For at least the last 3-4 years, he's been doing his work fairly independently. I've had it all written down on what was expected and he knew that what was written down for M-F had be finished before the next Monday so if he wanted free Saturdays or Sundays, he had to get to work. He really started becoming more independent (with me gathering materials and telling him what he was to do with them) when he turned 12. So it's definitely been a gradual "weaning." Not anything like if you have a child 8-10 (or younger) where you have to be sitting right there next to them, orchestrating almost everything--we were there at those ages, too!

I still have some math to correct and his transcript and/or portfolio to put together to be completely done. I've been juggling several things lately and have them hanging over my head (http://donnac.com/reviews.htm and my Friday Columns to stay on top of), plus I needed to get my website up and running, as well as this message board moved, etc. The first deadline for college applications to get in (A&M) is January 15th, so I have a little time, but not much!

How is ds doing, what is he doing, and does he have any insights on the transition now that he's a homeschool graduate?

Hmm, how many times can I sing this son, or how many times I sing "same song, same verse"! LOL Not here, but elsewhere and "IRL"... no worries, I'm getting used to it.

He has no idea what he wants to "become," what to study, where to attend college... nada, nothin', no clue. We are applying at TCU (relatively next door, easily a 5-8 min. drive, could be walked or bicycled to from home, but due to $$$$$$, I'm not expecting much), UT Arlington (Glenn's alma mater & where I attended my 2 years in college -- public school & relatively close), A&M (my dad attended summer classes to get his accreditation to teach ps high school and is a very big Aggie due to that), and to TCC (Tarrant Community College - the junior college may be where he begins his higher education; get the first 2 years out of the way cheaply and in-town, possibly help him figure out what he'd like to do in the future). We're giving him a partial "gap year" between now and the Fall of 2009, when we do expect him to be in some college program. During this time, I want him to do some volunteerism and possibly get a part-time job. First order of business has been (and is, as he's finishing up this week) getting his room decluttered and reorganized so I can complete the winterizing process (tape up a blanket on the east dormer window, the 2 north-facing ones have been done already, and get the enclosed oil-heater out and working) to make sure the room is warm enough for mom, as well as getting a bit more floor space open in there for the both of them.

Do you have any new ventures in mind now that your hsing time is free?

Well, I know I will continue to market my book and keep the website up and running (as well as HOOville, of course). I know that I will continue being at the Arlington Book Fair in May(s). That location is easy and fairly easy to do financially.

If wishes were horses... or money.... I'd travel all over the US talking and selling my book. It just takes a lot of outlay to do that and we're just not making enough for me to do that. (There's not just travel, eating, & lodging expenses, but booth costs and speaking costs [You don't pay to speak only if you are the keynote speaker, at least for the most part].) It's too much $$$ right now for us. Although I'm always willing to do a road trip where I might stay & be fed with someone to help defray costs... so I'm always open to exploring possibilities. :)

I want to get more training in my art. There's a place in Atlanta, GA where you go for a week for about $2,000 (counting travel, eating, & lodging expenses on top of their fees) and learn not only more mural techniques (trompe l'oeil as well as marbling techniques, etc.) but they help you set up a business plan and you come away with a full portfolio of work to show prospective clients. I would like to do more mural work as well as more watercolors. I need to find out about shows in Fort Worth that I can enter to get that kind of exposure also.

I also have at least 3 books on the back burner of my brain... One will be the companion book of Homeschooling Only One and its title will be "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Graduation." It will show what I did the remaining years not covered in the HOO (grades 9-12) as well as be an encouragement. I dealt with a bad case of depression in 2004-2006 and it definitely affected how Mike's high school years were handled. I'm not happy about that, but perhaps the Lord had me/us walk that journey to encourage others. (The homeschool journey is not all a "Homeschool Magazine Cover Life"---all picture perfect, etc.) Another is a historical fiction and the other is a book about grief (our journey with Richard, Mike's younger brother).

Glenn has asked me to be thinking about getting a job. I am still dealing with a "cup of acceptance" on that one. It's been over 19 years since I had a "time card" type job and I do not relish the idea of going back into the workforce in that capacity. I'd much rather work with my artwork and such and be on a more independent schedule. He wants the same for me (and I've shared with him the above hopes & dreams) and says we're not at "critical mass" yet where I have to get out there "NOW." I know I need to get to the point where I'm willing to do what the Lord wants me to do, even if that means an 8-5 or 9-6 office job, or even a 10-9 retail job. So I'm working on that. Not sure how that will all pan out, but we'll see... we're not desperate by any means and we're confident we are in the Palm of God's Hand, in His caring and He is ever-faithful. We'll be ok. :)

Since I was not home much yesterday when I should have posted this... I'm posting it today....

For Today... October 14, 2008

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FOR TODAY October 6, 2008...

Outside My Window... saw a woodpecker earlier and now it's starting to get dark from an approaching storm... I so love it when we have storms. I am so energized by cloudy skies, rain, and storms. I feel sucked dry when there is only blues skies and sunshine.

I am thinking... about all the things I need to be doing.

I am thankful for... my life and my family.

From the kitchen... not much is going on.

I am wearing...shhh! my nightgown!

I am creating...my Friday Columns for the next few weeks. (I hope!)

I am going...to my obedience dog club monthly meeting tonight.

I am reading...a biography by William Hague called William Wilberforce: the Life of the Great Anti-slave Trade Campaigner. It's very good!

I am hoping... for our finances to increase. We're under a lot of stress lately. But that comes from being self-employed. It can be feast or famine around here.

I am hearing...my son flicking the corners of his current schoolbook and the hum of the wind going thru the ceiling fan. Not much else here.

Around the house...there is lots to be done. I'm restarting FlyLady with baby steps, but I can state that my sink is shining! (Or as much as a plastic utility sink, that resides in the bathroom since I have a make-shift kitchen with no running water in that room, can shine!)

One of my favorite things... oh, I have too many! My dog, Lucia; chocolate chip cookies, hot from the oven; lobster; steak.... :)

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week:

Continue to work a routine/schedule of cleaning & decluttering

Continue to get a mile walk in daily (except for Sundays)

Work with the dog some so we're both ready for our class on Thusday

Work on my writing:  my Friday Columns and a new book the Lord's given me

Here is picture thought I am sharing...

I took this photo as I experimented in the car on the way home from church in May. I think it was Mother's Day, but not sure. The church handed out flowers for the ladies. I had never really done much with my Macro setting on my digital camera and decided to experiment with it. You can't tell the car was moving at all, can you?

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My family stayed home from church today to take a break.

We took my mom up to Atoka, hooking up with her sister & bil to take her back up to Broken Arrow for the next 3 weeks. We had a lovely drive home, stopping at Cabela's. We decided to have a double feature movie night last night starting about 10pm (watched Captain Ron and Hot Pursuit -- good movies, rotten language).

So this morning, we watched our church's Internet Campus live service. You can too - go to http://lifechurch.tv and click the LIVE in the right hand upper corner of the main screen. As I type this, it says the next Experience will start in 16 min. and 45 seconds (has a count down). Other times you can watch live are Tuesday at 12 noon and 8pm, but you can watch any sermon or sermon series at any time.

Today is the first in a new series called You Don't Have What It Takes! Today's particular topic was You're Not Good Enough: Performance-based Acceptance. Next Week will be about Pleasing Others. Check it out! It's neat to be able to see what we would have seen if we were at church. (We have a live band but all campuses watch our senior pastor preach via satellite live. He's good and Rock solid.)

...and wanted to share. I will be adding her to my list of "Friends with Blogs Elsewhere."

Jill Stanek

She was a registered nurse in the Labor & Delivery Department at Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn, Illinois, in 1999 when discovering babies were being aborted alive and shelved to die in the soiled utility room.

She's currently blogging this week from the DNC (Democratic National Convention) in Denver, CO. She had been rejected to attend the Democrat National Convention as a blogger. Rejected bloggers were encouraged to apply to cover the convention from The Big Tent a few blocks from the convention, sponsored by Daily Kos and Progress Now, and so she did and was accepted. She is one of two conservative bloggers there, so she has said.

Go to the bottom of my central column and turn off the music... ENJOY!

Sorry, this video was removed from YouTube by its creator.

(It was a great "re-invention" taking the song I Will Survive and making it into I will Survive Homeschooling. Very cute and very creative.)

...as you can tell by the dates here...

Life with my Mom under the same roof has been a blessing. She says she's very happy to be here. It's definitely a tight fit, with her sleeping in 18yo Mike's room, but we're moving ever slowly to making the addition a reality. Her estimation that it could be a year before it happens looks like a good guess. I sure hope we don't have to wait that long, but we'll just have to wait and see.

It took us 2 months to get the approval from the Landmarks Commission (over historic homes, have to get their approval before you even start with permits and talking to contractors). But we have their approval. Dh Glenn is currently demolishing the porch between jobs. (We still have a way in and out the front door at least.) The porch needs to come first.

The addition will be mom's own little home, with a bedroom, bathroom, kitchenette, and living/dining area, probably 400-500 sq. ft. which will share the same wall as my kitchen-to-be, and the common door will be into our utility room, making it easy for her to do her laundry. With her financial input (once she's in the addition), we should get it paid for fairly soon, then her financial input will help us get the rest of the house fixed up.

I've been kept busy getting her set up for cataract surgery and as of Monday, August 11th, she's had both eyes done. She is amazed how well she can see without glasses and at least is ok with the need for reading glasses (using 2.75 OTC Readers). When she gets seen next week, we'll see what they think we need to do for the Glaucoma. She's got about a 90° field of vision (whereas most people have 190°). The eye doc mentioned the possiblity of surgery or eye drops, so we'll see. Found her a primary doctor this week (Monday) and got the results of her blood work on Wednesday (everything looks GOOD). She's going to go visit one of her sisters in Tulsa next month.

So, I've been busy juggling a lot lately and writing on my blog has sadly been one of the "easier" things to drop. (So far,I've been able to keep up with my Friday Column over on HomeschoolBlogger's Company Porch.) So that's what we've been dealing with lately.

I wanted to mention a friend's blog that I added to my list tonight. Sheila lives in TN and is a pastor's wife. She's a TERRIFIC writer and has some this phenomenonal thoughts. She's well worth the time and effort to read and to get to know through her Blog.