Hi!

This morning, we headed out to Walmart to pick up some pencils for school & to get my son a new pair of sneakers.  He was very grateful as his feet were beginning to peak out of his old pair!

We parked the van and started to walk towards the entrance, and what did my daughter see hanging from a handicap parking sign? 

A cocoon with a caterpillar nestled inside!

He (she?) was busily "weaving" himself onto the edge of the sign.  We watched in amazement as his little head bobbed steadily from one side of the sign to the other; attaching his silks skillfully as he went.  Only 1/2 of his body poked out from his hanging home as he worked.

Oh, if we only had a video of the show! 

God's creatures are so wonderful and intelligent!

So, keep your nature eyes opened - visual delights such as this one may abound even in a humble parking lot!

Good morning!

D-E-N-T-I-S-T

Just that word makes me shiver with dread. 
Well, I finally decided to tackle this cavity I've been
having problems with for quite some time.  When drinking something very cold began sending me through the roof and then there was the slightest "thumping" when I was on my daily run, I knew I was in trouble. 

I know, I know...shouldn't have waited to get it fixed, but, alas...that word - DENTIST - wrapped me in fear.

So, I finally make an appointment at an office that I'm very pleased with and get mentally siked to get it over with.  Well, I get in there today and am told I need a root canal.  No big deal.  I figured as much when the tooth started to bother me when running. 

 However, I was NOT prepared for the estimated cost of this 2-step procedure. 

OK, what was that cost?  (drum roll)  approximately - $900.00.

Yes, folks, that's almost a thousand bucks for ONE small bicuspid!!

Do I have insurance?  YES!!  Why?? I wonder.  We pay dearly for that insurance.

Honestly, what's the point of insurance if you can not chose a dentist you're comfortable with?

I was told that my dentist in not in our insurance "network" and the cost might be lower at an in-network office.
Regretably, I ended up leaving the dentist chair this morning to locate another provider that's in "our network".
Unfortunatley, this usually translates into the fly-by-night dentists in our area.  Not the modern, friendly dentist's office that I chose.

The root of my problem (pun intended) is now no longer fear of the dentist.  That fear has been transferred to my insurance company and the looming cost of my dental care.

Hello all!

Well, my hubby & son returned from their camping trip (along with TONS of dirty laundry & a stuffed car to unpack).  They had a fantastic week!
My son accomplished a whole lot towards his Eagle scout requirements and moved up to 2nd class in rank. I'm sooo proud of him!

My hubby had a week to kick back & actually read his Clive Cussler book he's been attempting to complete for about 6 months.  LOL 
Does anyone else's husband go ga-ga over Clive Cussler???  I just can't seem to get into the themes...but what the heck...must be a guy thing.  LOL

My daughter & I had a blast on Wednesday rumaging around the Leesport Farmer's Market.  She picked up a DVD copy of "Sweeny Todd" for only $5 and we munched our fill of deep-fried veggies.  Mmmmmmmmm!  Cauliflower is just awesome battered & dipped in ranch dressing!  I love low fat foods! 

We spent a great deal of time choosing tea for the coming week.  An activity we find mesmerizing.  Such a wonderful world - TEA!
Inside the market is a woman who has this huge basket of a variety of tea bags inside the little packets.  Twinings, Yogi, & my favorite STASH tea!  You can mix & match 10 for $1.20.  Not a bad deal - of course, we picked out 30!
Why be deprived?

So far, Twinings Black tea with red berries has been my favorite this week!  We've gone through almost an entire jar of honey and it's only Monday!

Ok...why did I title this blog entry -  procrastination??

Well, I had this whole quiet week to myself.

     What did I get "done" for our upcoming homeschool year?? 

Watch this video - Procrastination

I had the best of intentions.  Truly, I did.
As you can see from my post last week, I figured I'd get so much done during my "free time".  Plan chemistry...schedule history readers to match chapter 1 of Volume 4.

Did I get any of that done?  NOPE! NADA!  (why? - see video)

 However, I DO have a VERY clean house and my desk is so organized I can't find anything! 

Have a great day my friend!

Hello all!

Wow! It's been a furiously busy couple of days...hunting down batteries, lanterns, first aid kit items, bug sticks, and of course the elusive "hydration bladder", but, my husband & son just left this afternoon for a week-long Boy Scout camping trip.  Needless to say, I will miss them very much...however; Woohooo!!  a whole week ALONE! (well, except for my 16 yr. old daughter)

It's only been 4 hours since they've vacated the house, and I've already cleaned off my bookshelf in the bedroom and downloaded "deadbeats" from my file cabinets in preparation for the homeschool planning I'm going to accomplish this week with all of my free time. 

The first chapter of Weaver Volume 4 is starting to come into focus and my first goal is to schedule history reading and chemistry assignments to corresponde to the objectives in the Volume 4 Supplement.  I intend to complete this goal by Tuesday before I head into work. (I work parttime for a Home Health Agency)

 My daughter & I are going to spend Wednesday morning browsing the tables at a local flea market in Leesport, PA.  We are flea market freaks!!  Ya never know what treasure you'll discover at a flea market.  Last week I picked up a set of hand-painted dishes to display on our dining room table.

What are your plans for the upcoming week?

Have a successful week!

Summer vacation is not necessarily a total break from homeschooling for mom.  I don't know about you, but I usually spend 1/2 of my summer "vacation" planning our upcoming year of schoolwork for my two children.

This summer has been no different. 
In fact, I believe I've already surpassed my previous year's planning time and summer is only half over. This year, I will be teaching a 6th grade boy and 11th grade girl.  My obvious priorities are to make sure my oldest has what is "required" of her to graduate from our homeschool in 2 years. 

However, I want her to grow in the knowledge of the Lord and to pursue her interests such as history and literature.
I set about to persue various curricula in my home so that I could chose the best course of study. One of my goals is to have both of my children on the same "page" in history so that they can both be on the same "topics" in their literature readings. I had 3 major curriculum vendors that I was very curious about and which I felt would allow me to acheive that goal: Sonlight, Tapestry of Grace, and Weaver Unit Study.

So, I quickly launched to my favorite "for sale" boards to find used packages of Tapestry Year 3, Sonlight 20th Century, and Weaver Volume 4.
(Why Weaver Volume 4?  We used Weaver Volumes 1-3 and LOVED it, until "highschool fear" gripped me and I decided we needed to use textbooks when my daughter entered 8th grade.) 

If you've been homeschooling long enough to experience highschool fear, then you'll know what I mean.

Amazingly, I found everything I was searching for used (cheap!) and I eagerly awaited my boxes of "stuff"!  I figured whatever I didn't want, I could just sell back to the boards. It's summer vacation right?  What else should I be doing?

I was leaning towards Tapestry of Grace Year 3 as I had read & heard so many great things about Tapestry. Well, after pouring over binders full of history & literature notes, teacher's resources, writing instructions, and visiting Sonlight & Tapestry user forums more times than I'd like to admit, I discovered that neither would be a good fit for us. 

I felt as though Tapestry would be too much work and too big of a learning curve for me to tackle for my daughter's last years.  There were SO many notes and I thought some of their literature selections for Rhetoric level were a bit dry. (IMHO)