Rural Ramblings

I seem to have dropped off the internet face of the earth for a spell, so I figured I'd better check in again. The last time I posted, I said I would be busy and I did not lie. My life pretty much consists of:

Homeschooling

College 

Pathways

Family

God

Friends--and honestly the friend part is really lacking lately. Things are just busy.

I did get to see my daughter last week, so that was an awesome thing. I will post pictures another time. 

I got huge project done for school, just in time to do more.

I picked up some more clients for my work at Pathways, and that always takes time.

I'm getting ready for the Walk for Life benefit on Saturday.

Tomorrow I go to my church to help set up for my Pastors re-do wedding. Him and his wife got married in July in Georgia and are going to have a redo on Saturday.

I'm going to the wedding on Saturday.

Sunday is church and then finishing up any school work I have.

So, all that to say ....my life is busy.  I need to make more time for the things that matter, so if I'm on a little less then usual that is why. Not that this blog doesn't matter, it does. However, priorities need to be reset and relationships reevaluated. Keep checking back, I promise not to be too long between posting. If you follow me on Twitter, you will always know when I post because I always Tweet it. 

How about you? Are there things in your life that you need to readjust? Priorities that need to be changed? Relationships that need to be reevaluated? 

Scenery

It is going to be a busy week for me, so I thought I would share some pictures that my daughter took last week. I will try to get on later this week to add more and perhaps post a little. 

Favorite Homeschool Curriculum-- Math

It has been awhile since I have shared my favorite homeschool curriculum. Back in August I shared my favorite phonics curriculum's, so this month I will share my favorite math curriculum's. 

Saxon  is the one math curriculum that I have used almost exclusively. I know some people don't like it, they think it is excessive with it's review. Personally, I needed a lot of review in math and so do my children. Keep in mind that, the curriculum should not work you but you should work it. Meaning, if you don't want to do so much review then skip it! If you want more review then either make copies or find some printable math papers online. The thing that I like best about Saxon is that the company is there for the parent/teacher. If you cannot figure out a problem, call the 1-800 number and they will work it out with you. I have done this, I can testify that they do work with you. 

http://teachingtextbooks.com/  is another favorite of mine. We have only used them once for Algebra 2, mainly because of the cost. If you have lots of children who you will pass these down to, then it is well worth it. If you are going to sell them on ebay or homeschoolclassifieds  then they would be well worth it too. The thing I love about it, is that EVERY single problem is worked out on a companion CD for the computer. My daughter does the work in her room, but if she cannot figure out a problem she goes downstairs to the computer to get some help. My math level does not go beyond Algebra 1 and then I really have to sweep the cobwebs out of my brain to remember it. 

Math Shark is such a handy way to learn basic math!! It is so fun, I wonder if the kids know they are even learning!! :o)

Basic Flash Cards, who can do without basic math flashcards? I remember years ago going over flashcards as my grandmother held them up for me. To this day I use those very same flashcards with my own kids! 

That wraps up the Math portion. I realize there are many other great math programs out there and these are only a few. However, these are the ones that I have used with my own children so those are the ones that I personally can attest to. I hope it has been helpful.  

Visitor

Yesterday this little fella visited us. He actually lives two houses down, but decided to come on up to our house and eat our grass. I think he knew we let a friend borrow our lawn mower and since we have yet to get it back, he figured he'd help out. 

Isn't he just plain old handsome! 

I think he is actually posing here. ;o) 

Day in my life 9/15/2010

* Lasagna Cooking

* Reading for School

* Got the Part for the Washing Machine

* Swept the Kitchen Floor

* Went to the Laundrymatt

* Read Lots of Political Blogs

* Watched Political Video Clips From the Primary

* Went to the Bank

* Registered my Husbands Trailer 

* Went to My Sister-In-Laws for Coffee

* Went to Scenic View Farm to get Feed, Hay, and Shavings

* Fed the Cows, Goats, and Chickens

* Put Shavings Down for the Goats

* Folded and Put Away Laundry

* Read Bible

* Cleaned Bathroom

* Visited with Hubby

* Chatted on the Phone

Tagged by Penny @ icouldbefake.com

1. If you could have any superpower what would you have? Why?

Hmmm....I think the superpower I would want would be to just have one week where I really hear the needs of people. So many times we pass people by without realizing that they are dying inside. It would be so great to hear those needs and then be able to give comfort in some form or another. The reason I said for one week is because I would think it would get totally overwhelming after awhile.

2. Who is your style icon?  Not exactly sure what a "style icon" is but I'm going to go with my sense of style. I would call it comfy, maybe a little rustic, and not trendy at all. At 43 years old, I pretty much wear the same thing I did at 16: Jeans, T-Shirts, Sneakers, Hoodies, and other comfy clothes. I do like wearing 'nice things' too, like skirts and button down shirts. I guess that look would be more 'classic' then 'rustic'.

3. What is your favorite quote?  I'm terrible at remembering quotes...so I guess I have to pass on this one. 

4. What is the best compliment you’ve ever received? My mother told me that my 'relationship with God' was so real that it was evident by my daily life. She said it was more then a 'religion'. That really blessed me, because that is how what I want my life to portray. The grace, mercy, and love of God. 

5. What playlist/CD is in your CD player/iPod right now? I love music!! :o) Right now my favorites are: Down Here and David Crowder. 

6. Are you a night owl or a morning person? I used to be a night owl, changed to a morning person, but now I'm seem to getting back to the night owl thing. 

7. Do you prefer dogs or cats? If I had to choose I would say dog. I do love my cats though!! :o)

8. What is the meaning behind your blog name? I live in a very small rural area, I'm a mom, I do ramble, and our family has 6 people. :o)  

I got this meme from Penny at icouldbefake.

The "real you"

With the advent of all this technology we can communicate with people we probably will never meet. We can also get to people that we may really have nothing in common with in "real life", but on the computer can become best of friends. If you have a Face Book account you can read snippets of someones life, see pictures, and even chat with them. If you have a Twitter account you can see shorter snippets of someones life and get a teeny birds eye view of that persons life. Then there are blogs where in a way you can see even greater pieces of a persons life. I know there are many other social sites, but since I'm on those three that is what I know. 

All of this talk is leading up to one thought:  

Can you really get to know a person through the Internet?

I know some would give an unequivocal and rousing, "Yes!". 

Those are the people who most likely chat online or email on a regular basis. 

As for me, I think it takes more then seeing snippets of someones life to get to really know them. After all, I don't post every single detail of my life here,  though it may seem like it. ;o)  There are many things that people who just know me on Face Book, Twitter, and even here at my blog don't know about me, but because they read snippets of my life they may think they really know me. I do try to be very real when I share things, but I don't share every single thing. To really get to know a person takes time, more time then just reading some snippets of their life. 


Any thoughts? 

Weekend Ramblings

I realized that it has been awhile since I caught you all up on the normal mundane things, and who doesn't like normal mundane things? 


As you probably know from some of my other posts, I'm taking college courses through Liberty University.  My major is Christian counselling and right now I don't have a minor, but I'm thinking about business. My classes started two weeks ago, and they have kept me very busy and given me brain drain. I only have two classes for the first 8 weeks and they are Bible and Theology. So far my favorite is Theology, but Bible is good too. 


Our homeschool starts tomorrow, at least some semblance of it. Our official start date in next Monday, but I figure the kids better start doing something to get ready for their classes. My daughter will continue with her Algebra 2 and my son will be doing math, reading, and grammar. 


If you remember from previous posts, I volunteer at Pathways Pregnancy Care Center this year one of my jobs is in the area coordinator for the annual walk for life.  That has certainly kept me busy, and honestly I'll be glad when it is over. It is a great cause, and I am very happy to be a part of it!! :o) 


This weekend was a good one! :o) After I got all my schoolwork done (don't I sound like a kid?) me, my love and our son went to the Lancaster Fair. I was blessed with two free tickets and so we only had to buy one. We were there for awhile and had great time looking at the animals, eating the food, and watching the three-horse pull. That is one of my favorite things to do at the fair!! :o) Yes, I am a redneck and proud of it!! :o) 


Sunday was church and that was really good. The worship was totally amazing and the sermon was right on target. The best thing about it was that one of my friends showed up!!:o)  I was totally surprised and very blessed that she was there. 


That pretty much sums up the weekend. What did you do over Labor Day weekend? 

Maine 2010 - Day 2

More pictures from our trip to Maine this summer. 

Lindsay and Emy~ Sister-in-laws to be.

Max and Lindsay 

The cabin and that little house over there is the 'outhouse'. 

Ocean

Duncan and I think that's Toby. 

Me, Duncan, and Toby

Toby

Seagull 

Duncan and Toby by the tide pool. 

Lobster traps, or you live in northern New England..lobstah traps. 

Back Cove bridge.

*** More of day two later, I gotta run and finish up my school work. ****

Allergy Testing = Epic Fail

Today I took my daughter to Dartmouth Hospital for allergy testing and we basically wasted the three hour total drive time plus the hour or so there. Honestly, I was hugely disappointed. My daughter has food allergies to an unknown item or items. We kind of think it is to MSG and other nasty additives, but we are not 100% sure. One thing I do know is that she is no allergic to Cod, Shrimp, or Sesame Seeds. Those were the only three things they tested and why they tested for those, I am not sure. It had something to do with the fact that one of her big reactions was at Burger King. She at a couple of fries and had a sip or two of a shake and within minutes had to use her Epi Pen. 

The allergist we saw today honestly did not seem to have a clue. The only things he could see were the things that were inside the norm. He said that it is not "normal" for people to have allergies to MSG then he told me they couldn't test for that any way. He pretty much said it could be her vocal chords. Her vocal chords, ya. I guess there is something weird that the vocal chords can do when under stress.....

.....it all sounded like he had no clue what he was talking about, but really liked to talk. 

So, we have no answers but there is no way she is going to eat things with MSG or other processing items. It really irritates me that we went all that way and he didn't even listen to us. He had his idea and that was that. Grrrr.... in the meantime the kid still carries two epi pens. Hopefully she won't have to use them.