Alaska Homeschool

New at this Whole Grain business

No, this is not my bread, I did not make it, I don't know who did.  Nope, definitely not mine!!!

I am a newbie.  I bought my first two 45 lb. pails of whole grain (one is Prairie Gold and the other is Soft White) this week.  I also bought a gallon of pure honey, dough enhancer, and 25 lbs. of evaporated cane juice.  I am in with both feet now, so it better work.....

I have baked with store bought Whole Wheat flour, but never with my own freshly milled stuff.  I have a KitchenAid with the grain mill attachment (I know, I know, not good reviews on this) that I am going to try and try and try to make work for us.  I do not have a Nutrimill, or a Bosch or a mother who taught these things to me.  I am a self-taught, nervous, trying to improve my skills homemaker.  I want to be the Proverbs 31 woman...I'm really trying here! 

I need to buy a few more things before trying my hand with my beautiful grain.  I need to buy some SAF yeast and some better loaf pans.

So for those of you experienced at this: HELP!!! Advice needed.  I know I should start slow with getting the feel of things.  Any other helpful hints?  Or better yet, can you come to my place and make sure I'm doing things right?  I live in Alaska, just a hop and a skip away from most of you .  I will post again when I actually start and let you know how it is going.

I Love This!!! A chore chart that actually works for my family!!!!!!!!

I have 4 kids, 9 years and under.  Over the past year or so, I kept loosing track of which child had brushed teeth, made their bed, practiced piano, etc.  I had to find something to help me.  To say I was in dire need of help would be big understatement.  Just when I was about to loose it my dear sister-in-law who is also a homeschooling mom told me about Accountable Kids http://www.accountablekids.com/ She explained the program to me, showed me the book that comes along with the program and gave me her take on it.  The whole deal sounded ideal for our family.

So now, 4 months into using this system, I find myself with much smoother days (mornings especially) and I'm very happy with the program.  It was worth the expense (I thought it was very pricey!!!).  The kids are really thriving with this.  They earn tickets, bonus bucks, best behavior cards, dates with mom or dad, etc.  They love being rewarded for their consistent completion of tasks and good behavior.

I love the fact that I don't have to keep asking: "did you put your laundry away?", "did you take your vitamin yet?"  All I have to do is look at the chart and see if they have flipped that card over when the task is completed. 

So for anyone who is in the market for a chore/accountability/behavior/motivational tool, this might just work for you.

Liberty's 2 cents.

Porcupine Campground, Hope, Alaska

Alaska is gorgeous in the summer!  We went camping a lot this summer and this was one of the spots we visited.  Hope is along the Inlet and was gorgeous.  The only complaint: bizillions of mosquitoes and flies. 

Alaska Pictures

Welcome to Me!!

I never thought I'd be among the blogging nation!!  I have been very inspired by favorite bloggers and have decided I better join the club.  So here goes.

So which blogs have been inspiring me?  Which are my favorites?  I will gladly share:

Oddly enough one of my sources of inspiration has been "My Source of Inspiration" http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/inspired/  I love reading this blog!!  I wish I could spend a day with this momma and have her teach me a few things.  Lucky for me she is a frequent blogger and I get to read her stuff.

http://kareyswan.com/ is my next treasure trove.  This site is written by whole foods author Karey Swan.  I love her "Hearth and Home" book.  I also wish I could have this woman as my mentor and personal chef.

http://thepioneerwomancooks.com/ and http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/ are wonderful! Ree is th blogger and she lives on a cattle ranch and shares with her readers wisdom she has gleaned.  She is a former city girl, now cattle ranch matron.  She sharesrecipes with fantastic pitcures. Her blog is laugh out loud hilarious....one caution though, language is an occasional issue.  Despite this, I love these sites.

The following blog I have only started reading the past few weeks.  Not at the top of my list like the ones mentioned above, but still enjoyable: http://www.sgrbearskitchen.blogspot.com/ Recipes galore on this one.

These are my favorite at the moment.  I'm sure as time goes on, I will find more and add more favorites.  Will my blog ever be on someone's favorite list?  VERY DOUBTFUL!!! 

Welcome to me!

Liberty