Home made laundry soap is one of the simplest things to make. It costs next to nothing and is safer for the environment, less toxic for your body and good for your wallet.
For me this was one of the first things I did because of allergies. I have severe allergies to most chemicals. I break out in hives and get migraines from scents. I started making my own laundry soap about 8 years ago. From time to time I have bought some of the hypo-allergenic laundry soaps, but I can make it so much cheaper that it makes no sense for me to spend 3 or 4x's as much for the same product.
What you need for laundry soap:
Basic's
1 box washing soda (NOT baking soda!)
1 box borax
1 bar fels naptha soap
water
1 bottle to mix soap in and 1 to store dry soap in.
Fragrant soap:
I have used rose water or a variety of essential oils.
Using a cheese grater (preferably one that is just for soap) grate the bar of Fels Naptha soap. Pour both the borax and the washing soda into a mixing bowl and add the grated soap bar into this mixing well. For a liquid soap pour 1 cup of dry soap into a 1 gallon bottle. Add water to fill bottle and shake well. You can then add the scent 1-3 drops of essential oils for a 1 gallon bottle. Or in place of regular water use rose water.
For cleaning I use:
Castle soap, A few drops in a sink full of water will clean an entire room.
Lemon: I have not found much that lemon doesn't help with. A little lemon and baking soda cleans flat surfaces, and stubborn food stains on pots and pans. Plus it will clean brass pots like nobody's business.
Vinegar: You can mix vinegar and water with lemon in a spritzer bottle to deodorize a room. The vinegar will dissipate and as it does it takes the stink with it. Of course white vinegar also is a natural fabric softener, so put 1/4 cup in the wash in the fabric softener holder and your clothes get deodorizer and are naturally softer. There is also the wonderful no streak clean that it leaves behind on mirrors, windows, and flat top cook stoves.
Baking Soda: as mentioned in the other two you can clean a lot of things with this. I also like to sprinkle it on carpets and sweep it in, Then after an hour I vacuum the floor well. The room is refreshed and the carpet is cleaner.
Hydrogen Peroxide: That's right, regular over the counter peroxide. I use this to clean stains like blood out of clothes or even off counters. Animal blood sometimes will stain counter tops and a few drops of peroxide will bubble up and dissolve the blood proteins.
For the dishwasher I always just use borax & washing soda. Then I saw this post and am now going to make my own single use packets that can be found on this blog.
These are the cleaning products I use. You will notice there is no bleach listed, nor is there any ammonia listed. Both of those products are highly toxic and I do not use them.
Showing posts with label organic learning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label organic learning. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Simplifying Life
I have been on a mission for many years now to cut back spending, simplify my life and enjoy the little things. This isn't always easy with the fast paced, spend, spend, spend world we live in now, but it is possible.
Some of the things that I have used to cut back the shopping budget are:
I always buy meat on sale, and always in the large "value packs" or "family packs" I then divide the meat into at least two meals. I always buy whole chickens when I can find them at a good price. I rarely buy boneless or skinless chicken, It's not hard to skin the pieces and if you want the bone out own a good knife and follow the bones and viola you have boneless and skinless. Use the bones to make a healthy broth that you can freeze for use in soups and stews later.
Having leftovers go to waste is one of the top money wasters of today's average family. I keep an arsenal of recipes that turn left overs into something new. One of my families favorites is Turkey Casserole. Of course it can be used with any poultry but I don't often have left over chicken.
Remaking old clothes is something that we have recently taken into our family as a must. Old clothes that are no longer serviceable (torn beyond repair) are being stashed away to be turned into rag rugs. This was something our grandparents or great grandparents did with old clothes and it served two purposes. 1. It recycled those clothes for yet another use and 2. It helped cut down on drafts and cold in a room. But they often were made in certain colors and can be made to beautify a room as well. We have also reused old clothes to make doll clothes, pieces for puppets, and of course rags for cleaning. I should say that we always pass on clothes that are still serviceable. Clothes that children have just outgrown always get passed onto a local charity or posted for free on Craigslist.
Growing your own veggies is not hard, even if you have limited space. You could choose just a few of your favorites and grow them in containers. Learn to can or "preserve" your own food if at all possible! this is such an easy way to save some of your favorite foods for later, plus you will cut the cost of groceries even further if you can your own home grown foods. Container gardens can be just as fruitful as plots and if you are growing what you love best to eat you will eat them more often.
If you are not sure where to start when it comes to finding a local farm try Local Harvest They are one of many websites that help you find local farms. They happen to be my favorite for many reasons, one being that they allow you to search by zip code. This means that you can search them and find several within a certain radius of you. Go to the local farms and talk to them, often they know of other small farmers that may not have a listing on Local Harvest. Also check Craigslist in your area in the farm & garden section. You can often find people who may be selling just certain local foods in season. Sometimes they are just back yard farmers who have a surplus of food from their own gardens. They will often sell you what they have at a deep discount compared to what you would find it for in the grocery stores.
Shopping thrift stores is a no brainer. Most of them have some awesome finds and you can not beat the prices. I recently bought a perfect winter jacket for my Cuddle Bug who has outgrown everything lately for 1.95! That's right a less then two bucks!!! He chose the jacket himself and it fits him perfectly. In two months when he out grows it I won't feel horrid that I spent so much money on clothes that he no longer fits.
Buying in bulk is not possible for everyone. Since relocating to the east coast I have had a hard time finding stores that sell dry goods in bulk. If anyone from NC happens to know of any please pass on the info! In California I had a favorite store that I always bought my dry goods in bulk. Buying these items in bulk cuts the cost by almost 1/2. My dry goods list consists of; Rice, Pasta, Beans, Legumes, Quiniua, Flax seeds, Nuts, and all Flour.
When I say avoid stores that sell "everything" I mean box stores, IE walmart, target, kmart. Stores that sell both groceries and everyday household items. It is easy to over spend in these stores because you find something "on sale" or its "only 5.00" these items add up fast and you often don't need them. If you start shopping with intent behind what you buy you can save money. Should you need to replace towels you shop around for them and find the best sale and shop within your budget. If you are shopping for groceries only shop in stores that offer you fresh local produce and only groceries. Shop the perimeter of the store and hit and miss down the internal isles.
These are just a few of the tips I have used to cut down my family budget. I average 100.00-150.00 a week on groceries for a family of 6. This includes toiletries. The budget is on the lower side of that number more often then not.
Coming Soon...
How to cut costs on toiletries, soaps, laundry soap, and cleaning supplies.
Also don't forget to enter for your chance to win in the drawing I am holding. Give Away You have to go to that blog and comment there to be entered. Its really that simple. :)
Some of the things that I have used to cut back the shopping budget are:
- Stop buying all prepackaged pre-made food.
- Buy local produce, in season.
- Buy meat in bulk
- Remake left overs
- Recycle old clothes
- Grow your own veggies
- Shop with your local farms
- Shop thrift stores
- Buy in bulk, Rice, Beans, Pasta
- Avoid stores that sell "everything" stick to just what you need.
I always buy meat on sale, and always in the large "value packs" or "family packs" I then divide the meat into at least two meals. I always buy whole chickens when I can find them at a good price. I rarely buy boneless or skinless chicken, It's not hard to skin the pieces and if you want the bone out own a good knife and follow the bones and viola you have boneless and skinless. Use the bones to make a healthy broth that you can freeze for use in soups and stews later.
Having leftovers go to waste is one of the top money wasters of today's average family. I keep an arsenal of recipes that turn left overs into something new. One of my families favorites is Turkey Casserole. Of course it can be used with any poultry but I don't often have left over chicken.
Remaking old clothes is something that we have recently taken into our family as a must. Old clothes that are no longer serviceable (torn beyond repair) are being stashed away to be turned into rag rugs. This was something our grandparents or great grandparents did with old clothes and it served two purposes. 1. It recycled those clothes for yet another use and 2. It helped cut down on drafts and cold in a room. But they often were made in certain colors and can be made to beautify a room as well. We have also reused old clothes to make doll clothes, pieces for puppets, and of course rags for cleaning. I should say that we always pass on clothes that are still serviceable. Clothes that children have just outgrown always get passed onto a local charity or posted for free on Craigslist.
Growing your own veggies is not hard, even if you have limited space. You could choose just a few of your favorites and grow them in containers. Learn to can or "preserve" your own food if at all possible! this is such an easy way to save some of your favorite foods for later, plus you will cut the cost of groceries even further if you can your own home grown foods. Container gardens can be just as fruitful as plots and if you are growing what you love best to eat you will eat them more often.
If you are not sure where to start when it comes to finding a local farm try Local Harvest They are one of many websites that help you find local farms. They happen to be my favorite for many reasons, one being that they allow you to search by zip code. This means that you can search them and find several within a certain radius of you. Go to the local farms and talk to them, often they know of other small farmers that may not have a listing on Local Harvest. Also check Craigslist in your area in the farm & garden section. You can often find people who may be selling just certain local foods in season. Sometimes they are just back yard farmers who have a surplus of food from their own gardens. They will often sell you what they have at a deep discount compared to what you would find it for in the grocery stores.
Shopping thrift stores is a no brainer. Most of them have some awesome finds and you can not beat the prices. I recently bought a perfect winter jacket for my Cuddle Bug who has outgrown everything lately for 1.95! That's right a less then two bucks!!! He chose the jacket himself and it fits him perfectly. In two months when he out grows it I won't feel horrid that I spent so much money on clothes that he no longer fits.
Buying in bulk is not possible for everyone. Since relocating to the east coast I have had a hard time finding stores that sell dry goods in bulk. If anyone from NC happens to know of any please pass on the info! In California I had a favorite store that I always bought my dry goods in bulk. Buying these items in bulk cuts the cost by almost 1/2. My dry goods list consists of; Rice, Pasta, Beans, Legumes, Quiniua, Flax seeds, Nuts, and all Flour.
When I say avoid stores that sell "everything" I mean box stores, IE walmart, target, kmart. Stores that sell both groceries and everyday household items. It is easy to over spend in these stores because you find something "on sale" or its "only 5.00" these items add up fast and you often don't need them. If you start shopping with intent behind what you buy you can save money. Should you need to replace towels you shop around for them and find the best sale and shop within your budget. If you are shopping for groceries only shop in stores that offer you fresh local produce and only groceries. Shop the perimeter of the store and hit and miss down the internal isles.
These are just a few of the tips I have used to cut down my family budget. I average 100.00-150.00 a week on groceries for a family of 6. This includes toiletries. The budget is on the lower side of that number more often then not.
Coming Soon...
How to cut costs on toiletries, soaps, laundry soap, and cleaning supplies.
Also don't forget to enter for your chance to win in the drawing I am holding. Give Away You have to go to that blog and comment there to be entered. Its really that simple. :)
Monday, January 9, 2012
Weekly Organic Learning Report
I meant to write this on Friday and post it but, well life happened. I am sure some of you understand that all to well!
As a homeschooling mom who firmly believes that children need to be allowed to follow their own passions and dreams I work hard to see where the spark is and keep them going in that direction. It's not always easy but I do try.
This week has been one of challenge for me. My darling Spitfire has come to me and informed me that she wants more structure. I will admit right here and now that I was really hurt by this. Here I was giving her the freedom to explore everything she wants and do it all how she wants. Only to be told by her that I was doing it wrong! Well Ok, she didn't say it was wrong, only that she wants more "school work". As a few people reminded me that is what Organic learning is all about. Choosing how you learn, and what you learn. She is still following her own path, she just wants it to be more structured. This week I spent a lot of time doing some research just for the Spitfire. I am going to be using some resources online and of course printing some stuff as well as trips to the library. We do a lot of that stuff already but I am going to have to put it together a bit differently so that she can get her needs met.
One resource that was shared with me in a Facebook group is a free site called e-learning for kids this resource has subjects broken down into grade level and kids can work at their own pace. I think this will become the number one tool for the next few weeks for the Spitfire. I am sure that the Cuddle Bug will want to join her because he never likes to be outdone by her. He wants to work just as hard as she does and keeps pace with her in all things.
I also see a lot of printer ink and paper in my near future.
On other Organic Learning fronts, my hands on learner is very interested in blacksmithing. We have found several blacksmiths in our new area and he has composed emails to them to see if someone would be willing to take on an apprentice. He has books on blacksmithing and has watched a few documentaries on metal work. He wants to learn about making swords, so we are looking for this sort of thing now. He is interested in medieval times as well and the sword play there and that is another great resource.
The Bookworm is working on writing. I have given her a little push to finish and try to publish one book this year. She is going to try. She has several novels in partially finished stages and it will be good for her to see it through to the end.
This week I have spent a lot of time in groups and discussions. I have another favorite blogger to add to my growing list of homeschooling bloggers. The Innovative Educator's blogger Lisa is wonderful at providing an interesting perspective as well as tons of helpful links.
And in blogger news, Don't forget to check out my Giveaway! It's not to late to enter! entering is easy, just comment on the blog for the giveaway will give you one entry. Sharing it on your blog, or other social networking site and coming back to share the link with me will give you another entry. Its simple and you get one of the three awesome prizes I made.
As a homeschooling mom who firmly believes that children need to be allowed to follow their own passions and dreams I work hard to see where the spark is and keep them going in that direction. It's not always easy but I do try.
This week has been one of challenge for me. My darling Spitfire has come to me and informed me that she wants more structure. I will admit right here and now that I was really hurt by this. Here I was giving her the freedom to explore everything she wants and do it all how she wants. Only to be told by her that I was doing it wrong! Well Ok, she didn't say it was wrong, only that she wants more "school work". As a few people reminded me that is what Organic learning is all about. Choosing how you learn, and what you learn. She is still following her own path, she just wants it to be more structured. This week I spent a lot of time doing some research just for the Spitfire. I am going to be using some resources online and of course printing some stuff as well as trips to the library. We do a lot of that stuff already but I am going to have to put it together a bit differently so that she can get her needs met.
One resource that was shared with me in a Facebook group is a free site called e-learning for kids this resource has subjects broken down into grade level and kids can work at their own pace. I think this will become the number one tool for the next few weeks for the Spitfire. I am sure that the Cuddle Bug will want to join her because he never likes to be outdone by her. He wants to work just as hard as she does and keeps pace with her in all things.
I also see a lot of printer ink and paper in my near future.
On other Organic Learning fronts, my hands on learner is very interested in blacksmithing. We have found several blacksmiths in our new area and he has composed emails to them to see if someone would be willing to take on an apprentice. He has books on blacksmithing and has watched a few documentaries on metal work. He wants to learn about making swords, so we are looking for this sort of thing now. He is interested in medieval times as well and the sword play there and that is another great resource.
The Bookworm is working on writing. I have given her a little push to finish and try to publish one book this year. She is going to try. She has several novels in partially finished stages and it will be good for her to see it through to the end.
This week I have spent a lot of time in groups and discussions. I have another favorite blogger to add to my growing list of homeschooling bloggers. The Innovative Educator's blogger Lisa is wonderful at providing an interesting perspective as well as tons of helpful links.
And in blogger news, Don't forget to check out my Giveaway! It's not to late to enter! entering is easy, just comment on the blog for the giveaway will give you one entry. Sharing it on your blog, or other social networking site and coming back to share the link with me will give you another entry. Its simple and you get one of the three awesome prizes I made.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Weekly Organic Learning report
Ahh its been a while since we had a weekly report so I thought I would toss one out there this morning.
Moving is always an adventure in learning. You learn what you are made of, either you can't handle doing it all or you are the kind of person who doesn't stop until its all done.
My kids are all in the second category. They are awesome. Even The Spitfire and The Cuddlebug pitched in and packed loads of boxes and brought them to the truck!
As for learning well We have been watching a show on netflix called The Colony. This show was done with test subjects where they were all from different walks of life and the senerio is that there has been catastrophic disaster. These people have had to come together to build a safe place to stay. They have shown us how to build a battery bank and how to recharge it with solar power so far. Its pretty cool and we all have enjoyed it.
We are also building our own bench seats for the kitchen. This has been great for teaching the kids some very practical math skills as well as how to recycle wood used for other projects previously.
We are getting ready to craft some stuff for Christmas gifts as well as Christmas cards for our beloved friends back in California. It is a lovely time of year to be settling into a routine and having our family be together again. The move from Virginia to North Carolina was costly but has been well worth it in family time. We are enjoying the family dinners together again and having quality time with Dad. It is nice to have the ability to spend little moments together everyday.
The routine is slowly forming and I am sure that in the coming weeks our Organic learning will develop into a much richer format soon.
Moving is always an adventure in learning. You learn what you are made of, either you can't handle doing it all or you are the kind of person who doesn't stop until its all done.
My kids are all in the second category. They are awesome. Even The Spitfire and The Cuddlebug pitched in and packed loads of boxes and brought them to the truck!
As for learning well We have been watching a show on netflix called The Colony. This show was done with test subjects where they were all from different walks of life and the senerio is that there has been catastrophic disaster. These people have had to come together to build a safe place to stay. They have shown us how to build a battery bank and how to recharge it with solar power so far. Its pretty cool and we all have enjoyed it.
We are also building our own bench seats for the kitchen. This has been great for teaching the kids some very practical math skills as well as how to recycle wood used for other projects previously.
We are getting ready to craft some stuff for Christmas gifts as well as Christmas cards for our beloved friends back in California. It is a lovely time of year to be settling into a routine and having our family be together again. The move from Virginia to North Carolina was costly but has been well worth it in family time. We are enjoying the family dinners together again and having quality time with Dad. It is nice to have the ability to spend little moments together everyday.
The routine is slowly forming and I am sure that in the coming weeks our Organic learning will develop into a much richer format soon.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Weekly Organic Learning report
This week so far has been a fun week.
The Spitfire has decided to learn to sew, by hand. I searched through fabric and found some cute printed fabric that someone gave me long ago. This fabric has printed candy canes with giant bows on them. You cut out the pattern and sew it together to make decorations. I think we will make a strand of these and then tie them together to make a garland. Spitfire has finished sewing one together and we are going to stuff it.
There was lots of outside learning the last two weeks. The kids are having a blast playing in the falling leaves.
Sunday was my Bookworm's birthday party and the kids all helped her clean up the fire pit area, gather and chop wood for a bon fire. They were all so excited about doing it on their own. They helped cut down dead and fallen trees and cleaned up the area to have a lovely fire.
We took a trip to the thrift store and found parts and pieces for costumes. The Bookworm is going to sew her own cape for her costume. This is the ultimate in recycling because the pattern is vintage from the 1960's from a stash my mother in law had given me years ago. The fabric is from a bolt I bought years ago that was on clearance. The bolt was 1$ a yard and there was 22 yards on it. So I bought the whole thing. I made a skirt out of it before and still have loads of fabric left so this cape is costing me nothing to make. The Spitfire is going to be a ballerina since we found a costume for a couple of bucks at the thrift store. I did have to buy her slippers but she will wear them for a while still I am sure. The Adventurer has yet to decide what he wants to be, and waffles between not wanting to dress up at all and then of course thinking maybe he will. The Cuddlebug has not come up with a solid costume yet. I told him he was running out of time. He just can't seem to think of what he should be.
I think the fall has been lovely so far. We have learned to make jam and now apple jelly. We are loving watching the leaves change on the trees around us. I personally am loving the cooler weather, it feels crisp and lovely. I am planning a few projects for the next week and hope that I can share some pictures with you all.
The Spitfire has decided to learn to sew, by hand. I searched through fabric and found some cute printed fabric that someone gave me long ago. This fabric has printed candy canes with giant bows on them. You cut out the pattern and sew it together to make decorations. I think we will make a strand of these and then tie them together to make a garland. Spitfire has finished sewing one together and we are going to stuff it.
There was lots of outside learning the last two weeks. The kids are having a blast playing in the falling leaves.
Sunday was my Bookworm's birthday party and the kids all helped her clean up the fire pit area, gather and chop wood for a bon fire. They were all so excited about doing it on their own. They helped cut down dead and fallen trees and cleaned up the area to have a lovely fire.
We took a trip to the thrift store and found parts and pieces for costumes. The Bookworm is going to sew her own cape for her costume. This is the ultimate in recycling because the pattern is vintage from the 1960's from a stash my mother in law had given me years ago. The fabric is from a bolt I bought years ago that was on clearance. The bolt was 1$ a yard and there was 22 yards on it. So I bought the whole thing. I made a skirt out of it before and still have loads of fabric left so this cape is costing me nothing to make. The Spitfire is going to be a ballerina since we found a costume for a couple of bucks at the thrift store. I did have to buy her slippers but she will wear them for a while still I am sure. The Adventurer has yet to decide what he wants to be, and waffles between not wanting to dress up at all and then of course thinking maybe he will. The Cuddlebug has not come up with a solid costume yet. I told him he was running out of time. He just can't seem to think of what he should be.
I think the fall has been lovely so far. We have learned to make jam and now apple jelly. We are loving watching the leaves change on the trees around us. I personally am loving the cooler weather, it feels crisp and lovely. I am planning a few projects for the next week and hope that I can share some pictures with you all.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Weekly report on Organic Learning
I am going to try hard to post each week about our Organic Learning adventures. This is not always easy for me to do since each day, and each week is a totally different adventure. We never stay in one place long and we often bounce from idea and thought to project and back again.
My kids love computer time. So I have worked hard to find great free websites they can play on and play games that encourage learning. The new favorite for The Spitfire and The Cuddlebug is a site called Go Go Kabongo. There is a free option and they love playing there. The nice thing is that it encourages reading in a fun playful way. The kids enjoy the games and that makes it more fun for them to learn.
My son The Creator is teaching himself to play guitar and I found a wonderful website that is completely free for him to use. The site is called Justinguitar and they start at the most basic level. Using Youtube videos to show you how to play.
The Bookworm is officially "Graduated" so she does not have any set type of work however she is writing several books. How she keeps them all straight in her head at once is beyond me. She loves to write and I keep wondering how long it will be before she publishes her work.
Last week we watched documentaries on Herod's tomb, we also watched episodes of Mythbusters. We love that show! There were also episodes of Quantum leap which we love.
My kids love computer time. So I have worked hard to find great free websites they can play on and play games that encourage learning. The new favorite for The Spitfire and The Cuddlebug is a site called Go Go Kabongo. There is a free option and they love playing there. The nice thing is that it encourages reading in a fun playful way. The kids enjoy the games and that makes it more fun for them to learn.
My son The Creator is teaching himself to play guitar and I found a wonderful website that is completely free for him to use. The site is called Justinguitar and they start at the most basic level. Using Youtube videos to show you how to play.
The Bookworm is officially "Graduated" so she does not have any set type of work however she is writing several books. How she keeps them all straight in her head at once is beyond me. She loves to write and I keep wondering how long it will be before she publishes her work.
Last week we watched documentaries on Herod's tomb, we also watched episodes of Mythbusters. We love that show! There were also episodes of Quantum leap which we love.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Teaching Independence?
Is this something we really teach or is it a way of life that some have and others lack?
I have always felt that my most important job as a parent is to guide my children into adults. I believe that children only become responsible when given responsibilities and given the support to do the task at hand.
I have always facilitated my children's independence. In every little thing they do I am encouraging independence in their lives.
Some of the ways I do this are to start them out very early. As toddlers I encouraged them to pick up their own toys as soon as they were done playing with them. We kept a basket in the living room with all their toys in it and they could play with them whenever they wanted but when they were done all the toys had to be picked up and put back. As they got older we increased the responsibilities according to their age and ability.
At this stage I have very independent children. Sometimes this is bad for me as the parent, but then I remind myself that it simply means I am doing my job very well. My job is to make adults, not create big babies.
I have come to realize that not everyone holds my ideals, not every parent thinks or understands that their biggest job is to raise healthy functioning adults. I am amazed that there are people out there who do not grasp the concept that teaching children to be independent is fundamental to them being functioning adults. It's as if they expect that on their 18th birthday suddenly a child goes from being a child to being an adult. This is no miracle. It happens gradually over the years if you are teaching it.
So what do you, my readers think? Do you think that its important to teach children how to be independent or is this something you feel that will happen over time?
I have always felt that my most important job as a parent is to guide my children into adults. I believe that children only become responsible when given responsibilities and given the support to do the task at hand.
I have always facilitated my children's independence. In every little thing they do I am encouraging independence in their lives.
Some of the ways I do this are to start them out very early. As toddlers I encouraged them to pick up their own toys as soon as they were done playing with them. We kept a basket in the living room with all their toys in it and they could play with them whenever they wanted but when they were done all the toys had to be picked up and put back. As they got older we increased the responsibilities according to their age and ability.
At this stage I have very independent children. Sometimes this is bad for me as the parent, but then I remind myself that it simply means I am doing my job very well. My job is to make adults, not create big babies.
I have come to realize that not everyone holds my ideals, not every parent thinks or understands that their biggest job is to raise healthy functioning adults. I am amazed that there are people out there who do not grasp the concept that teaching children to be independent is fundamental to them being functioning adults. It's as if they expect that on their 18th birthday suddenly a child goes from being a child to being an adult. This is no miracle. It happens gradually over the years if you are teaching it.
So what do you, my readers think? Do you think that its important to teach children how to be independent or is this something you feel that will happen over time?
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Todays lesson brought to you by...
Annie Leonard.
Seriously at our Luminous Learning Academy we LOVE Annie! She is fantastic at putting big information into easily understandable mini movies.
Today was the release of The Story of Electronics...
I want to encourage everyone to watch all of the videos on the website. Not only are they great from an educational stand point, they are short and packed with lots of information. The Story of Stuff website has videos on "The Story of Stuff", "The Story of Cosmetics", " The Story of Bottled Water", and "The Story of Cap & Trade". We have watched each of these videos and they are fantastic. Annie doesn't mix words about how bad for us so much of this stuff in our daily lives is. She does put everything in a very clear down to earth terms so that even the youngest person can understand. My 6 & 7 year olds watch these videos with us and we are all becoming more aware of the things that we buy, use and how we use them.
Seriously at our Luminous Learning Academy we LOVE Annie! She is fantastic at putting big information into easily understandable mini movies.
Today was the release of The Story of Electronics...
I want to encourage everyone to watch all of the videos on the website. Not only are they great from an educational stand point, they are short and packed with lots of information. The Story of Stuff website has videos on "The Story of Stuff", "The Story of Cosmetics", " The Story of Bottled Water", and "The Story of Cap & Trade". We have watched each of these videos and they are fantastic. Annie doesn't mix words about how bad for us so much of this stuff in our daily lives is. She does put everything in a very clear down to earth terms so that even the youngest person can understand. My 6 & 7 year olds watch these videos with us and we are all becoming more aware of the things that we buy, use and how we use them.
Monday, October 18, 2010
its all in the interpretation
There are always different ways to look at everything. I learned a while ago that I needed to stop looking at everything in black in white.
For example take this weekend:
Perspective 1~
we sat around all day long in pjs cuddled under blankets and snacked on food. We watched movie after movie and didn't plan anything else all day.
Perspective 2~
we spent the entire day immersed in education. We explored cyclones, learned all about the great depression & how hope was reborn, we journeyed to China & learned the true meaning of Kung Fu and then we adventured into medieval times where we learned about the code of honor.
Our next movie was the New Karate Kid
This was actually not a movie I had ever wanted to watch because I am a fan of the original and I honestly HATE remakes. That being said this was a great movie. Not only is it done differently with a different feeling and setting but it has same general gist of the original that you are compelled to watch it. Jackie Chan brings his expertise and is a wonderful edition to the movie. Jaden Smith is a talented young actor who I foresee going far in this business. The movie holds some great morals and teaches that fighting isnt always the answer. It also is great at proving that you can and do learn things in ways that are not typical to how everyone else learns. Jacket on Jacket off. ;) its the new wax on wax off. Get with the groove.
Our final movie choice is a little known movie called Dragonheart. I know that many people do not know this movie but it is a good one. This movie teaches a lot about the code of honor. This code is what honorable knights of the round table fought by and is used throughout the movie as the basis for why the honorable knight does what he does.
I learned a long time ago that it is important to change the way you view things. If I didn't change the way I viewed things I wouldn't believe that my 7 & 6 year old who are playing at my feet with their duel electric pianos were learning anything at all. I wouldn't believe that children could learn while watching movies, or that not everyone has to do everything exactly alike in order to learn.
For example take this weekend:
Perspective 1~
we sat around all day long in pjs cuddled under blankets and snacked on food. We watched movie after movie and didn't plan anything else all day.
Perspective 2~
we spent the entire day immersed in education. We explored cyclones, learned all about the great depression & how hope was reborn, we journeyed to China & learned the true meaning of Kung Fu and then we adventured into medieval times where we learned about the code of honor.
Now perspective 1 is the typical view of how things are done. You certainly would not assume that if a family sat and watched movie after movie all day on a Sunday that they learned anything at all. Of course we are talking about movies and can we really trust the Hollywood version of anything? Well the truth is that a movie is where the interest sparks. Once we see interest in a subject we can delve deeper. As an organic learning parent my goal is to teach the children how to recognize their passions. So we spent the day watching movies and exploring where our passions could lead us today.
For those of you sitting here wondering what movies we watched.
We started with a classic, The wizard of Oz.
This movie has so much educational experience all rolled into one movie that its no wonder its a childhood favorite. You learn how to make new friends, but keep the old. You learn how to trust your friends will be there for you. You learn how to defeat witches, even if this requires you to have either A) a house or B) water. you learn that sometimes those minions who are doing evil deeds simply are doing them to have a job to do and would be happy to see the evil power vaporized so they could go about doing good instead. Of course you also learn the obvious things like you do not need a degree to be smart, you don't need to be noticed to have courage, you certainly do not need to wear your heart on your sleeve (or your metal chest) in order to prove you have one, and if you are lost Home is only as far away as your loved ones are.
Next we watched Seabiscut.
If you do not know the story of this amazing horse you should certainly watch the movie. Not only is this movie done well it is a heart warming story. The story of Seabiscut tells us about the Great Depression and how broken men and a broken horse came together to beat the odds. The horse was a tiny horse in comparison to all other race horses, he was broken in spirit and broken physically when his new owners took him and turned his life around. Seabiscut beat the triple crown winner War Admiral in a Match Race at pimblico. There is something to be learned from watching a little horse with a big heart win a race that most thought he could never win.
If you have never seen this match race before check it out:
If you have never seen this match race before check it out:
Our next movie was the New Karate Kid
This was actually not a movie I had ever wanted to watch because I am a fan of the original and I honestly HATE remakes. That being said this was a great movie. Not only is it done differently with a different feeling and setting but it has same general gist of the original that you are compelled to watch it. Jackie Chan brings his expertise and is a wonderful edition to the movie. Jaden Smith is a talented young actor who I foresee going far in this business. The movie holds some great morals and teaches that fighting isnt always the answer. It also is great at proving that you can and do learn things in ways that are not typical to how everyone else learns. Jacket on Jacket off. ;) its the new wax on wax off. Get with the groove.
Our final movie choice is a little known movie called Dragonheart. I know that many people do not know this movie but it is a good one. This movie teaches a lot about the code of honor. This code is what honorable knights of the round table fought by and is used throughout the movie as the basis for why the honorable knight does what he does.
I learned a long time ago that it is important to change the way you view things. If I didn't change the way I viewed things I wouldn't believe that my 7 & 6 year old who are playing at my feet with their duel electric pianos were learning anything at all. I wouldn't believe that children could learn while watching movies, or that not everyone has to do everything exactly alike in order to learn.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
10 reasons Columbus was no hero
My family and I feel very strongly that today is no holiday, should not be celebrated and is in fact a criminals holiday. I am working to set the record straight for some people who may not know the difference.
These are in no particular order and I will furnish links for as much of the information as I can to verify said facts.
1. Columbus did not set foot in what is now known as The United States. In 1492 Columbus discovered the Bahama's. It is unknown precisely what island he landed on, only that the island was named San Salvador by him although the native people of the island had a different name for it. 90-95% of the population he came in contact died within months of his contact. verify here
2. Columbus believed that he had discovered a new route to Asia until he died.
3. Columbus enslaved the native people and returned them to Spain as 'proof' that he made it to Asia. verify here
4. Columbus was arrested on charges of tyranny. Verify here
5. Columbus was a liar. He made up stories of the Native people in order to validate his capture and enslavement of the Native people. " While Columbus once referred to the Taino Indians as cannibals, a story made up by Columbus - which is to this day still taught in some US schools - to help justify his slaughter and enslavement of these people. He wrote to the Spanish monarchs in 1493: "It is possible, with the name of the Holy Trinity, to sell all the slaves which it is possible to sell Here there are so many of these slaves, and also brazilwood, that although they are living things they are as good as gold" Verify here
6. Columbus was a rapist who encouraged his men to take what they wanted from the enslaved Taino Natives as well. verify here
7. Columbus was a thief. He stole what he wanted from the Native people. verify here
8. Columbus was a bruit who would disfigure Native people if they simply did not give up what he asked for. verify here
9. Columbus was a racist. You can verify it from the last two links.
10. Columbus was a pedophile. "selling girls as young as 9-10 into sexual slavery" verify here
These are my reasons for not honoring this man on this day in America. My family is of Native heritage and this alone is enough to not celebrate this day as a holiday. These 10 reasons only fuel the fact that he is no hero.
One of the best books we have found in our organic learning adventures is Lies my teacher told me. Please do yourself a favor and read this book. It is a brilliantly written book that exposes the truth of many historical facts we were taught in school.
I would also like to take a moment to do some honor to my Canadian friends. Today is Canadian Thanksgiving. Canadian Thanksgiving began in 1959. I am thankful for my Canadian friends, they are such friendly people. :)
These are in no particular order and I will furnish links for as much of the information as I can to verify said facts.
1. Columbus did not set foot in what is now known as The United States. In 1492 Columbus discovered the Bahama's. It is unknown precisely what island he landed on, only that the island was named San Salvador by him although the native people of the island had a different name for it. 90-95% of the population he came in contact died within months of his contact. verify here
2. Columbus believed that he had discovered a new route to Asia until he died.
3. Columbus enslaved the native people and returned them to Spain as 'proof' that he made it to Asia. verify here
4. Columbus was arrested on charges of tyranny. Verify here
5. Columbus was a liar. He made up stories of the Native people in order to validate his capture and enslavement of the Native people. " While Columbus once referred to the Taino Indians as cannibals, a story made up by Columbus - which is to this day still taught in some US schools - to help justify his slaughter and enslavement of these people. He wrote to the Spanish monarchs in 1493: "It is possible, with the name of the Holy Trinity, to sell all the slaves which it is possible to sell Here there are so many of these slaves, and also brazilwood, that although they are living things they are as good as gold" Verify here
6. Columbus was a rapist who encouraged his men to take what they wanted from the enslaved Taino Natives as well. verify here
7. Columbus was a thief. He stole what he wanted from the Native people. verify here
8. Columbus was a bruit who would disfigure Native people if they simply did not give up what he asked for. verify here
9. Columbus was a racist. You can verify it from the last two links.
10. Columbus was a pedophile. "selling girls as young as 9-10 into sexual slavery" verify here
These are my reasons for not honoring this man on this day in America. My family is of Native heritage and this alone is enough to not celebrate this day as a holiday. These 10 reasons only fuel the fact that he is no hero.
One of the best books we have found in our organic learning adventures is Lies my teacher told me. Please do yourself a favor and read this book. It is a brilliantly written book that exposes the truth of many historical facts we were taught in school.
I would also like to take a moment to do some honor to my Canadian friends. Today is Canadian Thanksgiving. Canadian Thanksgiving began in 1959. I am thankful for my Canadian friends, they are such friendly people. :)
Friday, October 8, 2010
Test Anxiety
This week completely flew by! Today is Friday and I feel like yesterday was just Monday.
I had a midterm for my Mexican American history class yesterday and I had so much studying to do that I barely remember the days of the week that I made it through. The kids were left to their own devices a whole lot more then normal. I am so glad that we have the computer with some great games like I Spy and of course Diner Dash. What? Diner Dash is to educational! Just think of all those motor skills they are using when they play it! Plus as the levels advance they have to really use critical thinking to make sure they can meet their goal. You see everything we do is educational, you just have to find the learning in it.
I remembered this week that I actually have SEVERE test anxiety. It has been so long since I was in school that I had forgotten that fact. Being that I am a life learner, and an unschooling mom we do not focus on an actual test to prove you have knowledge. Unfortuantly for me colleges do require you to take tests to prove that you know what you are supposed to know. Some of you might wonder why I say my test anxiety is severe? If you go to the link I provided you will see that there is 10 questions they ask, if you answer yes to 4 of them you have test anxiety... I can answer yes to 9 of the 10. I am still learning how to deal with this. It is frustrating to do so well on homework (100% on all homework thus far) and to get such low grades because of test anxiety. For example yesterday I had a make up test in my health class. In this health class I get 100% on all my homework, I know the material when we are just discussing it in our discussion groups online, then I take the test yesterday and its a possible 50 point test, I got 38.5 out of 50. Now because it was a make up test I am not beating myself up to bad over it, I mean after all I could have gotten a 0 for that test. That does not change the fact that I obviously know the material and my brain freaks me out so bad that when I take the test to PROVE I know it I simply can not recall much of the information or correctly answer the questions asked.
I believe that I may start working with my older children especially on test anxiety study skills as there will likely come a point in life when they will have to take a test or two. It is inevitable and unfortunate that many people believe that a test is the only way to prove that you know something. I could talk to you for ten minutes and you would discover that I know the material. Put me in a room at a desk with a piece of paper and a pen/pencil and suddenly my brain panics, I know nothing!
Yesterday I was grateful for my yoga because it reminded me to breathe deep when I was feeling the worst stress, and I remembered to stretch out those muscles in my neck and shoulders where my stress builds up and knots. Of course it didn't completely solve the problem and today my shoulder is still knotted horribly but I think its better then it could have been.
Do any of you have Test Anxiety? How did you deal with it?
Today as my reward my dad is taking me to see Secretariat~ The greatest triple crown winner ever! Tomorrow, or maybe even later today look for a review of the movie. :) until then have a great day.
I had a midterm for my Mexican American history class yesterday and I had so much studying to do that I barely remember the days of the week that I made it through. The kids were left to their own devices a whole lot more then normal. I am so glad that we have the computer with some great games like I Spy and of course Diner Dash. What? Diner Dash is to educational! Just think of all those motor skills they are using when they play it! Plus as the levels advance they have to really use critical thinking to make sure they can meet their goal. You see everything we do is educational, you just have to find the learning in it.
I remembered this week that I actually have SEVERE test anxiety. It has been so long since I was in school that I had forgotten that fact. Being that I am a life learner, and an unschooling mom we do not focus on an actual test to prove you have knowledge. Unfortuantly for me colleges do require you to take tests to prove that you know what you are supposed to know. Some of you might wonder why I say my test anxiety is severe? If you go to the link I provided you will see that there is 10 questions they ask, if you answer yes to 4 of them you have test anxiety... I can answer yes to 9 of the 10. I am still learning how to deal with this. It is frustrating to do so well on homework (100% on all homework thus far) and to get such low grades because of test anxiety. For example yesterday I had a make up test in my health class. In this health class I get 100% on all my homework, I know the material when we are just discussing it in our discussion groups online, then I take the test yesterday and its a possible 50 point test, I got 38.5 out of 50. Now because it was a make up test I am not beating myself up to bad over it, I mean after all I could have gotten a 0 for that test. That does not change the fact that I obviously know the material and my brain freaks me out so bad that when I take the test to PROVE I know it I simply can not recall much of the information or correctly answer the questions asked.
I believe that I may start working with my older children especially on test anxiety study skills as there will likely come a point in life when they will have to take a test or two. It is inevitable and unfortunate that many people believe that a test is the only way to prove that you know something. I could talk to you for ten minutes and you would discover that I know the material. Put me in a room at a desk with a piece of paper and a pen/pencil and suddenly my brain panics, I know nothing!
Yesterday I was grateful for my yoga because it reminded me to breathe deep when I was feeling the worst stress, and I remembered to stretch out those muscles in my neck and shoulders where my stress builds up and knots. Of course it didn't completely solve the problem and today my shoulder is still knotted horribly but I think its better then it could have been.
Do any of you have Test Anxiety? How did you deal with it?
Today as my reward my dad is taking me to see Secretariat~ The greatest triple crown winner ever! Tomorrow, or maybe even later today look for a review of the movie. :) until then have a great day.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Chocolate Cake is the answer
After hours of studying and reviewing information in my Mexican-American history class I feel brain dead. I am certain that the answer to every question the teacher asked must be chocolate cake. Wasn't it the Aztec's who introduced chocolate to us anyway?
I have hours more to study and several chapters to read. I am certain that this is going to be a challenging essay that I have to write because I simply can not retain the information needed to get me through. I feel as though I am spinning my way through this class and not really getting very far.
So instead I resort to doing what I do best. Cook! I am going to plop a wonderful dressed chicken in the oven and roast it for several hours. I am going to chop veggies and add them to this roasted delight. I will bake a chocolate cake completely from scratch and top it with grandma's coconut pecan frosting. I will make delicacies that everyone can enjoy and will bring me pleasure. I will then come back completely sated and attempt to compile information from the recesses of my brain so that i can pass this test.
I am posting this blog pictureless but will come back and add pictures soon ... Pictures of the beauty of roasting chicken and baking chocolate cake.
Alright folks you have waited all day for pictures of this beautiful cake so here they are!
The frosting has to be cooked, but it tastes wonderful & is well worth the effort.
I have hours more to study and several chapters to read. I am certain that this is going to be a challenging essay that I have to write because I simply can not retain the information needed to get me through. I feel as though I am spinning my way through this class and not really getting very far.
So instead I resort to doing what I do best. Cook! I am going to plop a wonderful dressed chicken in the oven and roast it for several hours. I am going to chop veggies and add them to this roasted delight. I will bake a chocolate cake completely from scratch and top it with grandma's coconut pecan frosting. I will make delicacies that everyone can enjoy and will bring me pleasure. I will then come back completely sated and attempt to compile information from the recesses of my brain so that i can pass this test.
I am posting this blog pictureless but will come back and add pictures soon ... Pictures of the beauty of roasting chicken and baking chocolate cake.
Alright folks you have waited all day for pictures of this beautiful cake so here they are!
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| The Ingredients |
Baking tip for the night, when making chocolate cake grease your pan and then "flour" it with coco powder instead of flour. This will prevent your cake from sticking, but will also prevent that flour look on the outside of your cake. :)
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| before baking |
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| after baking & cooling |
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| start cooking |
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| let it boil |
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| add coconut & pecans |
The finished product is calling for me! I pour the frosting on while its still warm right into the center of the cake and work my way out from the center to the edge. This makes a wonderful frosting method especially when its still warm enough to spread easily. I do not like frosting in the center of this cake so I simply make a larger cake and then frost only the outside.
I hope that you all enjoy the pictures. I may post the recipe for this cake & frosting soon if enough people want it.
Friday, October 1, 2010
October 1st
Around here October 1st means many wonderful things.
The REAL start of Autumn.
My daughter M's Birthday
Halloween
and the "official" start to our school year with the filing of our records with the state.
In California we had some serious battles over the right to homeschool and I am so grateful that the state decided the way they did. Filing each year as a Private school allows me to be in complete control over how, what, when, and where my children (pupils) are learning. I am the one solely responsible for their education. I am grateful to all of the people who worked so hard to help ensure my rights and the rights of everyone else wishing to homeschool in such a way.
Since we are what I like to call Organic learners (aka unschoolers) we do not follow traditional school setup. We love to do experiments and get out in the world and discover what learning is really about. We feel its so very important to get the kids to understand that we learn everyday no matter how old we are, or at least we should strive to learn everyday.
Here are some glimpses from the past, a few of my favorite learning experiences we have had.
There so many wonderful memories over the years but its hard to choose which ones I love the best to share. So these were a few of the most memorable things we have done over the years. I tried to upload more pictures then this but blogger was being difficult and didn't want to work. I hope this does not become a habitual problem.
The REAL start of Autumn.
My daughter M's Birthday
Halloween
and the "official" start to our school year with the filing of our records with the state.
In California we had some serious battles over the right to homeschool and I am so grateful that the state decided the way they did. Filing each year as a Private school allows me to be in complete control over how, what, when, and where my children (pupils) are learning. I am the one solely responsible for their education. I am grateful to all of the people who worked so hard to help ensure my rights and the rights of everyone else wishing to homeschool in such a way.
Since we are what I like to call Organic learners (aka unschoolers) we do not follow traditional school setup. We love to do experiments and get out in the world and discover what learning is really about. We feel its so very important to get the kids to understand that we learn everyday no matter how old we are, or at least we should strive to learn everyday.
Here are some glimpses from the past, a few of my favorite learning experiences we have had.
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| making bouncy balls |
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| Little D with his bouncy ball |
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| Military Museum in Sacramento, Ca |
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| display of Navajo Code Talkers |
There so many wonderful memories over the years but its hard to choose which ones I love the best to share. So these were a few of the most memorable things we have done over the years. I tried to upload more pictures then this but blogger was being difficult and didn't want to work. I hope this does not become a habitual problem.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Garden
I have not updated much on the garden and I think now is a good time to do so. The children and I have had so much fun going and discovering what little treats our garden has left us each and every day.
The cucumbers have been plentiful and we have shared several from our crop with friends & family. I have loved making cucumber salad with these little delicacies, or simply slicing them up and adding them to sandwiches.
The cucumbers have been plentiful and we have shared several from our crop with friends & family. I have loved making cucumber salad with these little delicacies, or simply slicing them up and adding them to sandwiches.
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| creative organic learners funny face |
Harvested cucumbers
Here are some of our squash that we harvested recently.
And then we decided that our watermelon was taking over the whole garden area, It had exploded over the box, across the yard and into the other boxes.
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| moon & stars watermelon |
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| Heart of Gold Cantaloupe |
For some reason one of the watermelon's (the bigger of the two) was not ripe yet even though it felt ripe. The cantaloupe was so soft, sweet and juicy.
Having a garden has been more fun then I could have imagined it being. I believe we will be starting some winter crops soon, we LOVE broccoli, and cauliflower, and some of the other veggies that are grown in the late fall/early winter. It is nearly time to clear out the boxes once the fruit that is still growing is finished ripening. I am disappointed that my tomatoes never really ripened, we do have some green ones on the vine and maybe I will still get some but we are quickly coming to a point where we wont have the chance for them to get ripe.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Dream Big
As the mother and teacher to my 4 growing kids I am always telling them to dream big. Nothing is to big for you to accomplish. This is not something they always believe when I tell them, its hard to believe when your a child that you really can accomplish anything if you put your mind, and passion to it.
That is what I am doing with my dreams, dreaming big! I want one day to own & run a B&B. Maybe it that does not seem like a grand thing to many people but for me it sounds like so much fun. I love the quaintness of a B&B for relaxing in, I have visited many over the years. Some are rather close to home, because as the mother of 4 children we don't like to go to far when they are to young. The first B&B we ever stayed in was in the town I live in, when my oldest two were 4 & 2, my husband and I needed some time alone and this provided a great place to just relax! The Harkey House has great local history and was so much fun to hear stories about the first sheriff of this town we live in. Since then we have stayed at several other B&B's usually for our anniversary. We make it a point to go away together at least once a year, it is so important to keeping a relationship healthy, getting time alone. Our latest trip was a fantastic voyage to Fort Bragg California. We went for 3 nights and enjoyed so much of our time together! We stayed in a lovely victorian home that was modified to a wonderful B&B blocks from the ocean, called Glass Beach Inn. Over the years we have stayed at The Grateful bed, The Riverside B&B in oroville, that seems to be closed now, as well as a wonderful one tucked into a wonderful little town known as Placerville called The Glen Morey house. Each of these visits has only taken my dreams to new heights.
I want to put my personal touches on things and use my creative talents to allow others a peaceful place to relax in. I love to cook, bake and create. When I am doing those things I find that is when I am my most authentic self. I am Happy in the kitchen, I am happy having a place to create wonderful dishes that please other people. I love seeing people smile when my food hits their pallet and they are enticed by my creative spice choices. I love decorating the home, if I had the finances I would have different fabrics and patterns for each season in my home personally. So taking all these things I love and combining them into one big thing seems like the most logical thing in the world to me.
I dream at night that my B&B is just on the outskirts of some town, where I have a flower garden, and a food garden. I dream that my home will be a relaxing environment to come to and that I can add my homemade touches of crocheted afghans, baked breads, cookies, and cakes, and where there is a wonderful reading library for those who want to to sit and enjoy a good book snuggled under one of those crocheted afghans.
Here are a few of the pictures that I have taken over the years that have inspired me in my love of a B&B...
If you have never enjoyed the accommodations of a B&B I would like to encourage you to give it a shot. If you figure in the cost of a hotel room + your breakfast you really are not spending anymore for a cozy more home like feel. In fact I have found you are likely spending less. A good B&B offers week day rates that are less then weekend rates and if you can take advantage of that by getting a Thursday- Saturday stay or a Sunday-Tuesday stay you will spend less and get great service. You also will have a pleasant personal experience then a cold impersonal hotel room. One other thing to remember about B&B's is that they are all locally owned, when you support a local business over a large chain you help out your local economy, or the local economy of the location the B&B is located in. Supporting small businesses is so very important in this economy, but that is a blog for another day...
So remember to Dream BIG!
That is what I am doing with my dreams, dreaming big! I want one day to own & run a B&B. Maybe it that does not seem like a grand thing to many people but for me it sounds like so much fun. I love the quaintness of a B&B for relaxing in, I have visited many over the years. Some are rather close to home, because as the mother of 4 children we don't like to go to far when they are to young. The first B&B we ever stayed in was in the town I live in, when my oldest two were 4 & 2, my husband and I needed some time alone and this provided a great place to just relax! The Harkey House has great local history and was so much fun to hear stories about the first sheriff of this town we live in. Since then we have stayed at several other B&B's usually for our anniversary. We make it a point to go away together at least once a year, it is so important to keeping a relationship healthy, getting time alone. Our latest trip was a fantastic voyage to Fort Bragg California. We went for 3 nights and enjoyed so much of our time together! We stayed in a lovely victorian home that was modified to a wonderful B&B blocks from the ocean, called Glass Beach Inn. Over the years we have stayed at The Grateful bed, The Riverside B&B in oroville, that seems to be closed now, as well as a wonderful one tucked into a wonderful little town known as Placerville called The Glen Morey house. Each of these visits has only taken my dreams to new heights.
I want to put my personal touches on things and use my creative talents to allow others a peaceful place to relax in. I love to cook, bake and create. When I am doing those things I find that is when I am my most authentic self. I am Happy in the kitchen, I am happy having a place to create wonderful dishes that please other people. I love seeing people smile when my food hits their pallet and they are enticed by my creative spice choices. I love decorating the home, if I had the finances I would have different fabrics and patterns for each season in my home personally. So taking all these things I love and combining them into one big thing seems like the most logical thing in the world to me.
I dream at night that my B&B is just on the outskirts of some town, where I have a flower garden, and a food garden. I dream that my home will be a relaxing environment to come to and that I can add my homemade touches of crocheted afghans, baked breads, cookies, and cakes, and where there is a wonderful reading library for those who want to to sit and enjoy a good book snuggled under one of those crocheted afghans.
Here are a few of the pictures that I have taken over the years that have inspired me in my love of a B&B...
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| a flower bed |
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| scrabble tiles that included our names |
If you have never enjoyed the accommodations of a B&B I would like to encourage you to give it a shot. If you figure in the cost of a hotel room + your breakfast you really are not spending anymore for a cozy more home like feel. In fact I have found you are likely spending less. A good B&B offers week day rates that are less then weekend rates and if you can take advantage of that by getting a Thursday- Saturday stay or a Sunday-Tuesday stay you will spend less and get great service. You also will have a pleasant personal experience then a cold impersonal hotel room. One other thing to remember about B&B's is that they are all locally owned, when you support a local business over a large chain you help out your local economy, or the local economy of the location the B&B is located in. Supporting small businesses is so very important in this economy, but that is a blog for another day...
So remember to Dream BIG!
Monday, September 27, 2010
Almost
I am a part time college student, in my spare time ya know. I am taking 2 classes this semester and am working towards a degree in culinary arts. I love to cook! It truly is my passion. One day very soon I will post a blog that is ladened with pictures of all the culinary goodies I like to make, it will surely make your mouth water. In the mean time I have been a stay at home mom, and homeschool Organic Learning teacher for 16+ years. I have not held a job outside the home in that amount of time. Since my husband was laid off and we live in such a poor area it has been difficult to find work for him. We are waiting for active duty orders to come through so he can just finish out his active duty time and collect his retirement. So when I went looking for work that I had plenty of "home" experience in I was denied time and time again because there are just to many people out there who have "work" experience that can do the job. So I decided that it would be a good idea to get my degree in Culinary Arts so that in a few years I can then either get a part time job working in the field I love, or open my own business like I really want to do... The dream is to own a B&B (Bed & Breakfast), If you have never had the pleasure of staying in a B&B you should check it out sometime.
At any rate when Daughter M got sick 4 weeks ago my schooling was a bit derailed. The first week she was home and I stayed on top of things okay. It was when she went into the hospital and stayed in the ICU for 9 days that I slowly started slipping behind. My professors have been very understanding and even allowed me extra time to make up some of my work. You would not believe how much time it takes to make up work once your behind! As of Friday I had 6 history lectures to review and take notes on, 2 health lectures to review and take notes on, a test in health AND a 2 week food journal to type out and save. This food journal had to be started while I was taking shifts staying with my daughter in the ICU so it is not really a good example of my daily eating habits. It is frustrating to have to take notes on what your eating daily.
As of today I only have about 5 days of food journaling to finish typing up and then I am completely caught up with both my classes! I am sick of typing up food entries. It is rather tedious to type out all the different things you ate and drank in a day, but at least I can get it done quickly and be ALL caught up!
As for Daughter M, She got her staples out today and is recovering nicely after having her appendix rupture from the tip. The dr said that it rotted instead of truly rupturing. I am so amazed by the body! her body attempted to heal itself by wrapping the Omentum around the ruptured appendix to stop the leakage of bacteria. Simply amazing! Of course we are grateful that the dr was able to remove the offending appendage and clean out the infection, saving Daughter M's life. She was seriously ill for many weeks, but now she is almost healthy.
At any rate when Daughter M got sick 4 weeks ago my schooling was a bit derailed. The first week she was home and I stayed on top of things okay. It was when she went into the hospital and stayed in the ICU for 9 days that I slowly started slipping behind. My professors have been very understanding and even allowed me extra time to make up some of my work. You would not believe how much time it takes to make up work once your behind! As of Friday I had 6 history lectures to review and take notes on, 2 health lectures to review and take notes on, a test in health AND a 2 week food journal to type out and save. This food journal had to be started while I was taking shifts staying with my daughter in the ICU so it is not really a good example of my daily eating habits. It is frustrating to have to take notes on what your eating daily.
As of today I only have about 5 days of food journaling to finish typing up and then I am completely caught up with both my classes! I am sick of typing up food entries. It is rather tedious to type out all the different things you ate and drank in a day, but at least I can get it done quickly and be ALL caught up!
As for Daughter M, She got her staples out today and is recovering nicely after having her appendix rupture from the tip. The dr said that it rotted instead of truly rupturing. I am so amazed by the body! her body attempted to heal itself by wrapping the Omentum around the ruptured appendix to stop the leakage of bacteria. Simply amazing! Of course we are grateful that the dr was able to remove the offending appendage and clean out the infection, saving Daughter M's life. She was seriously ill for many weeks, but now she is almost healthy.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Going Green
As a homeschooling teacher we have spent a lot of our energy learning about current affairs in the world. The decline of the ice caps is a big concern for us as family and should be a global concern. This adventure started about 3 years ago for us. My son A who is a very hands on learner (don't know your learning style? find out for yourself here) also known as a tactile or kinesthetic learner, likes to build or do things in order to fully understand them.
Our knowledge slowly grew from one thing to the next. We started by learning all about planned obsolescence when we watched The story of Stuff by Annie Leonard. We love all of Annie's videos, they tackle complex problems with a very clear understanding that even my youngest can understand. We as a family feel it is very important to cut back on the "stuff" in our life. Do we really have to have that latest gadget? We feel that if we don't step up and cut back on those things we don't need to have we are simply compounding a problem that was started decades ago and has just boomed to a point where we are all drowning in "stuff".
So as I was saying we started this project because my son A wanted to get his hands on some projects. We started learning about solar power, & solar energy. Since we live in a rental we can not build solar panels and live with solar energy producing most of our electric needs, yet! We actually are discussing ways to build a portable solar panel system that can at least do part of the energy work for us. That is still in the works for now. A great book on solar is Power from the sun: a practical guide to solar energy. We started simple though and built a small solar oven, kinda like this. The biggest problem we had with this was location. Our backyard is covered with a pergola and does not offer a lot of good sunlight locations.
In the grand scheme of things we are working towards becoming more green, not because its cool or the 'in thing' to do but because it is the right thing to do. We carry our own water bottles when we can, we do not buy non essential items, we shop in thrift stores when we can, we do not shop in box stores if we can shop anywhere else first, we do try to fix what we can on our own first. Living green does not mean you can't have nice things, or that you have to give up modern convenience. It does mean that you have to be aware of the cost of those things. We are a small car, one car family right now. We do not do a lot of travel right now because we feel strongly that our dependency on oil is not healthy. If we could get a car that was diesel and then convert it to bio-diesel or veggie oil we would like to travel all over the united states on grand adventures, but for now we are doing our part.
We all need to remember that this is our planet and if we keep polluting it with toxins all over the place then we eventually will have no where else to live. I personally want the beauty of this world to survive so I can take more pictures like these:
Our knowledge slowly grew from one thing to the next. We started by learning all about planned obsolescence when we watched The story of Stuff by Annie Leonard. We love all of Annie's videos, they tackle complex problems with a very clear understanding that even my youngest can understand. We as a family feel it is very important to cut back on the "stuff" in our life. Do we really have to have that latest gadget? We feel that if we don't step up and cut back on those things we don't need to have we are simply compounding a problem that was started decades ago and has just boomed to a point where we are all drowning in "stuff".
So as I was saying we started this project because my son A wanted to get his hands on some projects. We started learning about solar power, & solar energy. Since we live in a rental we can not build solar panels and live with solar energy producing most of our electric needs, yet! We actually are discussing ways to build a portable solar panel system that can at least do part of the energy work for us. That is still in the works for now. A great book on solar is Power from the sun: a practical guide to solar energy. We started simple though and built a small solar oven, kinda like this. The biggest problem we had with this was location. Our backyard is covered with a pergola and does not offer a lot of good sunlight locations.
In the grand scheme of things we are working towards becoming more green, not because its cool or the 'in thing' to do but because it is the right thing to do. We carry our own water bottles when we can, we do not buy non essential items, we shop in thrift stores when we can, we do not shop in box stores if we can shop anywhere else first, we do try to fix what we can on our own first. Living green does not mean you can't have nice things, or that you have to give up modern convenience. It does mean that you have to be aware of the cost of those things. We are a small car, one car family right now. We do not do a lot of travel right now because we feel strongly that our dependency on oil is not healthy. If we could get a car that was diesel and then convert it to bio-diesel or veggie oil we would like to travel all over the united states on grand adventures, but for now we are doing our part.
We all need to remember that this is our planet and if we keep polluting it with toxins all over the place then we eventually will have no where else to live. I personally want the beauty of this world to survive so I can take more pictures like these:
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| plum tree in bloom this spring |
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| The Sutter Buttes California |
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| sunset from my backyard |
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| Canadian geese flying in front of moon |
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| natures bird bath |
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| ocean after a storm in Fort Bragg California |
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
In todays edition we are going to continue our camping trip to the return home. From there our blogs shall take on a more present day adventure with a little pop into the past now and again.
I left off yesterday with our trip into the forest where the Ewoks lived... 
Can't you just see their cute little faces poking out of this fern ladened forest? While we were here we decided to walk through the forest and down to the river where the little darlings took their socks & shoes off to splash in the edges of the water. 
Can't you just see their cute little faces poking out of this fern ladened forest? While we were here we decided to walk through the forest and down to the river where the little darlings took their socks & shoes off to splash in the edges of the water. 
and of course to skip rocks into that peaceful looking water flow. 
From here we stopped at a lovely little shop and wanted to go in only to discover they were closed. However we did get to view some wonderful sculptures carved out of redwood.
at camp we enjoyed a simple meal then set about building fairy houses on our last night at camp. We sent children off to gather natural items that were laying about on the ground; rocks, moss, leaves, sticks, pine cones, and anything else they found that they thought would make nice houses. Then we divided up the finds between them
Then we paired the kids up, each little one got a big one and they had to work together to build their fairy houses.
A & C fairy house ... 
was built right into the base of a tree log that was laying on the ground.
was built right into the base of a tree log that was laying on the ground. H & D fairy house ...
I love that it so well blends into the nature around it that you can hardly tell its a fairy house. :)
I love that it so well blends into the nature around it that you can hardly tell its a fairy house. :)M & K fairy house 
theirs was butted up against a living tree and was so cute with a little fence around the whole thing.
theirs was butted up against a living tree and was so cute with a little fence around the whole thing. Each house really took on the personalities of each child working on it and we had so much fun watching them from our spots around the fire pit. They each went off into different directions and built out of the way of any human eyes. We had loads of fun pondering which types of fairies would love these homes.
The next morning we packed up camp and headed for home. We stopped in a sleepy little town known as Willits along Highway 101 to have lunch in a lovely park.
subway sandwiches chips and drinks for everyone before we hit the road again!
Then once the kids had played we had ate and drank our fill we got back on the road to travel another several hours home. We decided to make one more pit stop at the Buffalo farm.
Man o Man was that some GOOD Jerky!
why is it that mom is always the last in line for the bathroom? I tossed this one in just so yall would believe I was really there! :) O and those hides behind me are so luxurously soft i wish I had the money to buy one! We got to see the herd of buffalo outside, they had the yearling's separated from the rest of the herd and up close to the farm. 
my daughter thought it would be a good idea to take a picture of us looking at the baby buffalo.
my daughter thought it would be a good idea to take a picture of us looking at the baby buffalo. We also saw a bunch of bird nests on the side of the building that were pretty cool. 
These birds build their nests out of mud and live in colonies together like a very large extended family. They are called mud swallows here. I am not sure what the actual name is.
This concluded our camping adventures for August, we wrapped up our month with a birthday bash for my youngest, D turned 6. I do not know where time went but he sure has been fun to watch grow!
September started off with my oldest getting severely ill and ending up in the ICU for 8 full days. So it has been nice to look back and remember this fond time that really was not so long ago even if it does feel like years ago already!
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