I write you sitting comfortably in my home - although that may not sound surprising - I have been without use of my pc/internet access for what seems like forever.  But tonight, it is working again, and I am sitting on my couch with my laptop, watching The Sound of Music with my family at the same time.  I do hope to visit with all my friends, but before I go around and visit, I wanted to at least finish my post of Biltmore Estate.

Have you ever visited the Biltmore Estate in Charlotte, North Carolina?  If not, it is worth the effort if ever given the chance to visit it.    The house covers 4 acres, totaling 175,000 square feet. It consists of 250 rooms and  includes 35 guest and family rooms, 43 bathrooms, 65 fireplaces, and three kitchens.  The old fashioned kitchens are my favorite rooms in the house.  In fact, I love everything in the basement - the 70,00 gallon indoor pool, the old fashioned laundry rooms, and the multiple pantrys.  I wish I had pictures to share of all this, but you are not allowed to take pictures once in the house.  Also in the basement is a gymnsasium and a bowling alley. 

.A favorite room of my children and husband is the two story library.  This is an amazing room filled with old books and beautiful woodwork.   

Upstairs on the third floor, in addition to more bedrooms, are areas where guests once
played parlor games and took afternoon tea, as well as rooms formerly occupied by ladies’
maidservants.

.

Fully electric and centrally heated, Biltmore House, at the time of its completion, was
considered one of the most technologically advanced structures ever built.  It used some of Thomas Edison’s first lightbulbs, elaborate indoor plumbing for all 34 bedrooms and even had several elevators (that still work today.)

So that's it - now I'm going to see if I can come by and visit and say hi!

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This is a tag for how girly I am...

WHAT YOU HAVE:
[x I think so!! ] You own over 10 bottles of nail polish
[] You own a designer purse
[] You own perfume that cost over $60
[]You had/have fake nails
[] You have more body/hair products than you can use
[] Your pet is a chihuahua/Pomeranian/Yorkshire Terrier/Siamese/Shih Tzu
[I wish!] You have clothes/shoes/accessories for your pet 
[x] You have enough clothes to cover an entire refugee camp. Probably!!
[x] You have enough pictures to create your own wallpaper. (probably)
[x part of it's pink!] A pink comforter, carpeting, walls or sheets
Total: 4

DO YOU:
[] Spend more time at the mall than you do at home/work? That would be cool!!
[] Have a hair color that is not natural
[x] Have "blond moments"
[x]Buy stuff because it's awesome and then never wear it
[] Constantly keep your phone at your side (If I had one!)
[x] Dance around in your room when nobody else is home (and sing!)
[] Have a name for your car
[] Know what celebrity is dating who and who broke up this week
[] Refuse to go out in public without makeup
[] Prefer to be called "princess"
Total: 3

DO YOU ADORE:
[x] Makeup
[] Glitter
[x] The Color Pink
[x] Jewelry
[] Mirrors
[] Chick flicks
[x] Shoes
[x] Rainbows

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For all my homeschooling friends who think ObamaCare will solve their financial and health insurance woes, think again. It may give you temporary relief for your financial headache, but it may also invite government nannies into your home to improve your child's well-being and health.

HR 3200 that passed the House of Representatives, currently has a provision for funding states that implement a "voluntary" home visitation program for parents with young children or who are expecting. (See Sec. 1904 sec. 440)

The intended purpose is to " improve the well-being, health, and development of children by enabling the establishment and expansion of high quality programs providing voluntary home visitation for families with young children and families expecting children."

"Health and safety inspectors are to be given unprecedented access to family homes to ensure that parents are protecting their children from household accidents.

New guidance drawn up at the request of the Department of Health urges councils and other public sector bodies to “collect data” on properties where children are thought to be at “greatest risk of unintentional injury”.

Council staff will then be tasked with overseeing the installation of safety devices in homes, including smoke alarms, stair gates, hot water temperature restrictors, oven guards and window and door locks.

The draft guidance by a committee at the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) has been criticised as intrusive and further evidence of the “creeping nanny state”.

Where are the safety devices for the "creeping nanny" who keeps sticking her nose into our personal lives?

Why homeschoolers support this bill or President Obama is beyond my understanding.

-Spunky

Cross-posted, with permission, from SpunkyHomeSchool

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Last week got a little messed up because our plans got jumbled.  But for the most part, I stuck to our menus.  We ended up with doctor apointments on Friday, later in the day, so we ate out that night.

Here's our menu for this week:

Monday: Quiche, French Onion Soup, Caesar Salad, Bread

Tuesday: Baked Honey Mustard Chicken, Roasted Yukon Gold Potatoes, Green Beans & Garlic, Bread (to spread the garlic on)

(I'm rolling the chicken into Wednesday night dinner)

Wednesday: Chicken, Spanish Rice & Black Beans dish with Tortillas & Salad

Thursday: Baked Beans, Corn Muffins, Fruit Salad

(Rolling beans and fruit salad into Friday night dinner)

Friday: Hamburgers, Baked Beans, Fruit Salad

Saturday: Potato Veggie Chowder, Fresh Baked Bread

Sunday: Pancakes, Fruit Smoothies

For more menu ideas and recipes, check out the Organized Junkie at www.orgjunkie.com!

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WOW!  That week went by fast.  They're right when they say, "the older you get...."  And I am feeling old these days.  Must need some more vitamins, eh?

We had a full weekend.  Housework on Saturday morning, hair appointments in the afternoon, then we headed down to Costco and Food for Less.  Costco has their coupon for organic canned tomatoes this month.  If you use tomatoes, I recommend you stock up.  I did.  We were completely out of them.

I'd never been to the Food for Less we have in this area.  It's big and kind of scary, if you don't download the store map before you go.  (Thanks, Mom!)  But they have a very good natural foods section.  I was very impressed.

As with any other store, you need to know your prices before you go.  Never assume someplace has the lowest price just because of their name.  Keeping a price book can come in handy, especially when there is just SO MUCH to look at.

Sunday, we worshipped at church, came home for lunch, and did some paperwork.  Then I baked cookies for an event we're having at our business this week.  I'll be busy this week getting ready for that.  Today, I meet with someone about the sandwiches for the lunch we're providing and bake  more cookies.  Of course, when that's over, I'll have Thanksgiving to think about.  It's never ending!

Blessings today,

Kris

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WOW!  That week went by fast.  They're right when they say, "the older you get...."  And I am feeling old these days.  Must need some more vitamins, eh?

We had a full weekend.  Housework on Saturday morning, hair appointments in the afternoon, then we headed down to Costco and Food for Less.  Costco has their coupon for organic canned tomatoes this month.  If you use tomatoes, I recommend you stock up.  I did.  We were completely out of them.

I'd never been to the Food for Less we have in this area.  It's big and kind of scary, if you don't download the store map before you go.  (Thanks, Mom!)  But they have a very good natural foods section.  I was very impressed.

As with any other store, you need to know your prices before you go.  Never assume someplace has the lowest price just because of their name.  Keeping a price book can come in handy, especially when there is just SO MUCH to look at.

Sunday, we worshipped at church, came home for lunch, and did some paperwork.  Then I baked cookies for an event we're having at our business this week.  I'l be busy this week getting ready for that.  Today, I meet with someone about the sandwiches for the lunch we're providing and bake  more cookies.  Of course, when that's over, I'll have Thanksgiving to think about.  It's never ending!

Blessings today,

Kris

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Mike Huckabee, Chuck Norris, and Michael Farris talk about how the new health care bill that will allow the government to enter our homes and tell us how to parent our own children.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSqmDC28jPk

You can read Chuck Norris' article about the bill on World Net Daily.

Huckabee, Norris, and Farris also discuss how international law may be used to judge a case on juvenile heinous crimes instead of American law. This is important for homeschoolers to know because because the international law that may be used is from Europe and Europe has made the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child. So Europe is telling us how we have to judge our juvenile criminals and that can lead to telling us how we have to raise our children as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrtiEAC1wlk&NR=1

Hat tip to Lisa Barthuly

Tia Linschied
Senior Editor of HSB

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This is our 17th year of homeschooling.

I still love it!

Even though learning doesn't stop for the week-ends, I am excited that tomorrow is Monday!!!

Are you???

~Candy~

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This is what we did yesterday afternoon on a beautiful fall day.

We went hiking in the Smokey's with my Grandparents. The Smokey's are only about 45 minutes away! It was a very easy trail that we went on and there are small waterfalls on one side of the trail.
One waterfall


Here is another

This is me looking at one



Here is an up close pic of one


We passed quite a few horseback riders (Sorry it's blury!)



That's it!! We were running out of batteries so we couldn't take to may pics!! Bye!!

SWIMMERBUG

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