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| Great Memorial Day Plans! |
| 05.31.04 (7:49 am) [edit] |
It's rainy today, but fortunately my Memorial Day plans are mostly inside, so that's not a problem. I'm going over to spend time with my best friend Helen, getting some addresses from her so I can send out my Arthritis Foundation fundraising letter to people who will want to support my marathon participation. Then we're going to a fun big screen theatre to see Shrek 2.
Later my husband is going to barbecue a nice filet of Copper River salmon and we're going to have corn on the cob and watermelon. Is life good, or what?
I do have to work tonight, but only after a day full of fun stuff, so I have no complaints. Happy Memorial Day to all of my loyal readers!
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| eBay Princess, Working Towards Queendom |
| 05.30.04 (8:04 am) [edit] |
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Woohoo! According to my husband's Quicken software, this has been my best month ever in selling stuff on eBay. Not that I'm getting rich or anything, but I do sell enough to be able to pay for extras like pizza nights, movies, etc., and sometimes even to cover the groceries, too. And the best part is, I really enjoy doing this. I love to browse garage sales and thriftshops, but I don't really need any more stuff in my own home, so this is a great way to do my retail therapy and make a little money from it.
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| Spending Time with Adults |
| 05.28.04 (11:19 am) [edit] |
Wow, one of the side benefits of some of the changes going on in my life right now is that I'm spending more time with grownups. This is really nice!
At my new job, so far I've been too busy getting trained to be able to really get to know anyone, but I can see how my life will be enriched by getting to know these folks after I'm trained. They all seem very nice. Most of them have been working at this same antique store for many years, so they must be pretty happy with their work, because they could all be making more money somewhere else if they wanted to.
I like the adult staff members at Betsy's new school. It's nice to have someone to kind of check in with each day.
This morning after I dropped off Betsy at school, I was in no tearing rush to go anywhere, and I went to a couple of estate sales to buy stuff to resell on eBay. Then I stopped in to visit a good friend of my best friend's...someone I've known for years but have never really hung out with. We had a great chat for maybe 45 minutes! I found out we're both in very similar places in our lives...wanting to make choices that will enhance the quality of life, feeling somewhat constrained in doing this because of money, family commitments, etc., working it through on various levels (physical, emotional, and spiritual). Rodica called it a midlife crisis, but I think it's a very vibrant, exciting time, for me, anyway.
I still like the time I spend with my kid and my husband and the time I spend alone...but having Betsy is school is definitely giving me the opportunity to spread my wings a little and connect with more people, and it's fun!
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| Blogging Away From Home |
| 05.27.04 (9:02 am) [edit] |
Here's something new for me...I dropped my kid off at school and stopped at a cafe for coffee on my way to work. Cranium's lets you use their computers free for a few minutes with any purchase. So I'm doing my blog at the cafe today.
Betsy is loving her new school. Today I was a little alarmed because she actually brought a book with her...a biography, even! Last night she brought home all of the cleaning rags from school and learned how to use the washer and dryer. I dunno...this is pretty serious learning!
I learned how to make espresso drinks at my new job yesterday and how to open up various locked cases of antiques and collectibles. Today I will learn how to work at the front counter. Then they unleash me to do a regular shift this weekend. Fortunately there are always several people working together on the weekend, so I will be okay if I forget any of the multitude of details I need to know for this little job. Yesterday I learned so much, I could hardly remember my own name!
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| Repositioning |
| 05.26.04 (6:22 am) [edit] |
Wow, when things happen, they sometimes happen fast! My daughter is a visiting student this week at the private school she wants to attend in the fall. I have applied for a part-time job so I can pay the tuition, and I got it and am starting immediately! So I will be seeing today whether Betsy can stay at the school for the remainder of the school year, rather than waiting until the fall to enroll.
Betsy loves the school. By law, she needs to be there 5.5 hours per day, but she wants to be there the whole time they're open, from 9 to 5. She even complained yesterday when I took her out for Krispy Kreme donuts on the way to school and it delayed our arrival by 20 minutes! And she hid from me when I came to pick her up, even though we were going home for a fun birthday party for my stepdaughter!
I'm happy about my new job as an antique sales lady. It will be very educational and probably a lot of fun, too.
Last night I had to find my Daytimer, which I had not used in about 5 years. But I need it now, to keep track of the two part-time jobs, kid events, my Dublin Marathon training schedule, etc. Otherwise important details will escape me--as they did last night, when I totally forgot that my best friend was coming for the birthday party! So now everything will have to go in the book. This is the only way a Type B like me can live a Type A life.
:oops:
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| T.G.I.M.! |
| 05.24.04 (6:06 am) [edit] |
Thank God It's Monday....that's what workaholics think, I'm told. Not that I would know anything about what alcoholics think, from personal experience.
Actually I was something of a workaholic back in my 20s, when I worked for a court reporting company in Alaska. I transcribed court proceedings and depositions, and I got paid by the page. It was really a big incentive to work a lot. Plus I had the energy. I also taught flute lessons and played in the Anchorage Symphony. I kept really late hours and could still get up early to go to work every morning. Just thinking about those days now makes me want to go take a nap.
Anyway, I'm grateful for this Monday because it's nice outside, my kid is going to go try out her new school today as a visiting student, I have a second interview for an interesting little retail job at an antique mall, and just about everything else I can think of in my little part of the world is good. So T.G.I.M. after all.
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| Serene Sunday |
| 05.23.04 (10:00 am) [edit] |
:D I took a fabulous walk this morning, about 3.5 miles, over to a quieter area of my neighborhood that has unobstructed views of Puget Sound. (We live just [i]behind[/i] the houses with the views--we had to choose between having a view or having enough bedrooms to go around.) I love being able to spend an hour walking. I saw a red-headed woodpecker and other birds I can't identify; saw some neat things people have done with their gardens and yards; walked through a little neighborhood park I'd never explored before; and mostly enjoyed having the sky overhead. You don't get to experience some of these things when you're driving--only when walking.
Usually the first half-hour of my walk is a piece of cake. Then it starts to get aerobic and a little more challenging. Then at about 45 minutes, I really hit my stride. My legs stretch out to a longer, faster pace and my brain also goes into a relaxed, stress-free place. I guess that's "the zone." I usually stay in that until I get home. When I walk longer, say, when I do a 10K, I stay in the zone longer.
Now I have to buckle down and do a bunch of editing work, but I will need to take a few breaks during the day, and my garden will be a great place to take them! I'm clearing out some areas to plant more veggies. I'm debating about whether I'd like a swing in the backyard for my birthday, or whether I need a new monitor for my computer, since this one sometimes refuses to work. I guess I'll know by the time my birthday rolls around next month.
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| Bald Eagles |
| 05.21.04 (2:48 pm) [edit] |
Today Betsy and I went to another Adopt-a-Stream Foundation class. This one was about bald eagles, and the presenter was from the state wildlife department. She hardly got a chance to give her presentation, though--there were about a dozen homeschoolers in attendance and they had so many questions! It was great! The kids just asked one question after another. Fortunately, the speaker's slides and her vast knowledge were up to the task of answering all those questions.
Betsy got really inspired by today's talk, and she'd like to go camping someplace where there are eagles that we could watch. We haven't gone camping yet this year. We're committed to Betsy being a visiting student at her new school next week, so I told her we could go camping after the one-week trial. By then, I'll have a better idea of where things are going...whether the school is a good fit, whether I'll get the antique mall job that I've applied for, etc.
I really love it when I see one learning opportunity leads a curious kid to the next one!
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| Enjoying My Midweek Weekend |
| 05.20.04 (10:32 am) [edit] |
I have deadlines to meet for my editing job on Monday and Wednesday mornings. After I turn in my work on Wednesday, I have two days until I have to start on more. There is always a backload, and I could work some during those two days, but I'm learning to really relish this time off.
This is my second day of puttering around the house, alternating between things I need to do and things I want to do. I've been gardening, building slate pathways, reading, cooking, watching movies, selling stuff on eBay--just putzing around from one thing to the next. It feels great!
I cannot get my little homeschooler to get out of bed today. I would be happy to take her someplace fun if she'd get up. But since she still hasn't shown up downstairs, I guess I'll go take a nap. We can homeschool during the summer. Life is good.
Here is one of my favorite planters that I've assembled this spring. The colors are better than they showed up in the picture. There's a dark coleus that is nearly black that really sets off the colors of the pansies and snapdragons.
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| TV Commercials |
| 05.18.04 (4:10 pm) [edit] |
Today my daughter and I watched "Whale Rider" on the Oxygen Channel. I love that movie! I think it has a lot of great messages in it...that people need to be open-minded and willing to change even if they are trying to preserve a traditional culture; that girls can be leaders; that we are all connected to nature; etc.
What amazed Betsy and me, though, was how many ads there are on daytime women's TV for diapers and drugs! Good Lord! Do they think women have nothing else to think about? I'm too old to be needing diapers for my kids anymore and too young to give in to chronic pain. I spend my day thinking about how to best educate my kid; how to contribute to my family's income while maintaining the ability to stay at home quite a bit; how to eat healthy and get enough exercise; how to make my home a pleasant place, how to contribute something to my friends' and families' lives...stuff like that. The movie they offered today on Oxygen was great for my demographic, but the ads were really yucky!
In a way, this was another aspect of home education today. Betsy was as put off by the ads as I was...and becoming aware of what the media is trying to sell you is a good thing.
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| Sunday Cooking Lessons |
| 05.17.04 (6:39 am) [edit] |
Yesterday I taught Betsy one of the basic culinary skills, how to make a white sauce. We added cheese and put it on broccoli, which she is now willing to eat if it has cheese sauce on it. This is progress--for years, she hated the stuff!
Betsy has a real problem with sugar addiction. Yesterday I took her shopping for tasty non-sugary foods. She made some great choices. I am going to have to stay on top of helping her with this...one day at a time, as with all addictions. Otherwise, she'll just be back to jonesing on Oreos in no time.
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| Dog Beach Day |
| 05.14.04 (1:33 pm) [edit] |
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After a few typical Pacific Northwest rainy spring days, we've gotten our glorious sunny weather back. I got to do some gardening yesterday, and today I am taking Betsy and a dog or two or three to the beach. We have a beach that's designated for dog use in our town, and it's always a great, relaxing place to meet and hang out with dog-friendly folks.
My husband's dog, Jack, loves the beach the most. Once I took him to the Post Office, which in our town is just a few blocks from the beach, and he went totally nuts...pulling on the leash towards the door, crying and whining, wanting to get to the beach, not understanding WHY we were inside when we could be out.
I noticed shortly after that, they put up a sign in the Post Office saying, "Service dogs only."
My dogs aren't service dogs, but they sure do expect good service!
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| My Day Off |
| 05.13.04 (7:06 am) [edit] |
I've been working like a dog lately. Well, actually, my dogs have it a lot easier than I have. They mostly lie around, bark at anything annoying, and eat. I get to do these things, too, but only between other tasks.
Today I don't have to work at my editing job unless I feel motivated to get a head start on next week's work, and I have a manageable list of things to get done around the house. I actually have both the time and a little money to take my kid someplace fun and educational today! So I guess I will figure out a little fieldtrip for us. And, as a bonus, it's really a nice day outside, too!
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| Antique Ladies |
| 05.12.04 (2:07 pm) [edit] |
Today I saw an ad for part-time sales help at a local antique mall, and I'm looking for a second part-time job, so I applied. I hope they hire me! I would fit right in! I'm just about as antique as the other ladies that work there. And I would sure learn a lot that would be helpful to me in my eBay sales and other money-grubbing endeavors. Plus it's only about 10 hours a week! My kinda job!
Betsy is continuing her research into what would be involved in having a parakeet as a pet. Today I took her to the pet store so she could price the bird, the cage, the food, etc. I am going to have her also make some phone calls to various people who have direct experience with birds, including Auntie Helen!
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| H*** No, I Won't Go! |
| 05.11.04 (7:02 am) [edit] |
I work part-time in a job that I can work from home, homeschool, and take care of my family and home. So you would think I am home a lot. But sometimes I have so many places I need to go, I feel like my backside is permanently attached to the driver's seat of my PT Cruiser. As they say, "If I'm a stay at home mom, how come I'm always in the car?"
Today I have no destinations and I'm going to keep it that way. We're out of milk, but my husband drove to work today, so he can get some on the way home. I have to talk to various people in my home town about some fundraising and other projects, but I will do everything I possibly can on the phone rather than in person today.
And, maybe, just maybe, a little housework will get done around here....
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| Coyote! |
| 05.10.04 (9:40 am) [edit] |
On Monday mornings, I deliver the editing work I've done over the weekend to a co-worker who also works at home, in the same town as I do. Today after leaving the work at her house, I saw a big coyote crossing the road in front of me. I slowed down and stopped and watched him and he watched me for several minutes. Unfortunately my camera was docked to the computer rather than with me!
Eventually he wandered into the woods and I went on my way. But almost immediately I made another stop, to pick up an old painted dining room table and chairs that someone left out with a "Free" sign in front of their house. They will look great on my little deck just outside my home office!
TGIM, I guess.
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| The Parakeet Campaign |
| 05.09.04 (8:13 pm) [edit] |
Betsy and Larry have a tradition of going to Petsmart every month or so to buy a case of canned cat food, and it's always a natural learning opportunity. Betsy picks out a variety of flavors and textures of cat food, and she visits the rodents, birds and other small animals that are for sale.
When they went last week, Betsy found a pretty little white and purple parakeet that she believes she must have. We already have three dogs, three cats, a fish, two triops, and occasionally visiting pets. And Betsy made an agreement with her dad several years ago that Larry would buy her a Gamecube in exchange for NO MORE PETS. But she is waging a campaign now to get her dad to change his mind.
I'm staying out of it, but I think it's a wonderful chance for Betsy to learn. She's already written Larry a persuasive letter today (it's Sunday--home schooling can happen anytime, I guess!) and now she's working on a report that's sort of a business plan of how she would take care of the parakeet, what expenses are involved, etc etc.
I really don't know what the outcome of this whole interaction is going to be, but it's interesting to observe. It shows how kids can work hard for something that they really want. Normally, if I asked Betsy to write a letter or report, she would object, but when she decides it's something she wants to do, there's no stopping her.
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| Owl Puke! |
| 05.08.04 (7:28 am) [edit] |
There's a new book out from Workman Press called "Owl Puke!" that comes with a sanitized owl pellet. I so wanted to get it for Betsy, but it was rather expensive...so imagine my delight when we went to a birding class the other day and each participant was provided with a complementary owl pellet as part of the package! Gee, how lucky can you get? We dissected mine there at the class, and brought Betsy's home for later dissection. Life is good.
We bought the Blockbuster "Freedom Pass" for a month. For about $20, we can get one movie a day. And there's no late fees if we keep a movie over the usual deadline. So far we are catching up on recent movies that we missed seeing in the theater, but we may also pick some educational movies such as "Pearl Harbor," "Diary of Anne Frank," etc.
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| Sour Milk |
| 05.07.04 (2:59 pm) [edit] |
Even though it is supposedly my daughter who is being homeschooled, I keep learning stuff all the time, too. Today I was reading a book that I picked up at a garage sale, called "From Apples to Zucchini: The Frugal Cook's Guide to an Overstocked Refrigerator and Overflowing Garden," by Jane Marsh Dieckmann. There are recipes for different types of foods that you may have in overabundance. I was really surprised to find a whole section of recipes to use up sour milk! Evidently you can bake with it, just as you would with good milk, except that you need to add 1 tsp of baking soda for each cup of sour milk you use. Wow! Think of all the pancakes, puddings, cakes, etc. that never happened because I always just dumped the sour milk down the drain!
So I have a new spin on, "If life gives you lemons, make lemonade." Now it goes, "If life gives you sour milk, make coffee cake..."
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| Sacred Altars in the Home |
| 05.06.04 (6:20 am) [edit] |
Last night I went out to do some thriftshop/eBay buying while my stepson was at his martial arts class. Among the treasures I found was a book about creating sacred altars at home. It has some great ideas about how to make and use places throughout your home to remind yourself of your connection to greater things, whatever your personal beliefs might be. This morning I was able to quickly identify several potential places in my own home where I can make some kind of display that will remind me of spiritual matters, such as my connections to other people, to nature, and so on.
In the meantime, however, I'm realizing that if some anthropologist from another planet came to my house and studied my current "altars," he would come away thinking that I belong to a cult that worships the computer, the TV, small kitchen appliances, my dogs, etc.
Today Betsy and I are going to a birding class, and perhaps we will find something of beauty to add to an altar at home. It's supposed to be another gorgeous day.
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| All-Star Volunteer! |
| 05.05.04 (3:02 pm) [edit] |
Betsy's volunteer work at the special ed kindergarten class was really appreciated today. One of the kids who needs daily medication showed up unmedicated, and one of the aides had to spend the entire morning with just that one child. The poor kid was flailing his arms and had no self control.
So Betsy basically stood in for an adult aide today! She handled the crafts at one table while the main teacher handled the other table. Pretty good for an 11-year-old who sometimes needs a lot of one-on-one attention herself!
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| A Walk in the Park |
| 05.04.04 (8:52 am) [edit] |
Before I started taking longer walks to prepare for the Dublin Marathon, I used to just walk to the little neighborhood park a couple of blocks away. Walking to the park, around the loop within the park, and then home again used to take me 20 minutes or so.
Today I did the same walk in just 10 minutes!
We are going to another favorite park today to see if the baby ducks have been born yet. Betsy estimated they would be born on April 41st...which must be coming up soon. She has also saved up her allowance to buy a new videogame. Why is it that she can do math so much better when it has to do with money for something she wants?
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| Self-Repairing Appliances |
| 05.03.04 (7:28 am) [edit] |
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Life is so good right now. My toaster was broken earlier this morning, but it fixed itself.
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| Houseboat Brunch |
| 05.02.04 (9:04 am) [edit] |
I feel so lucky today. My husband and I have been invited to breakfast with two adults, no adolescents and no dogs! Our friends live on a houseboat...this is an idea we've toyed with for retirement in a few years, so I'm looking forward to seeing theirs. Plus it's just a wonderful opportunity for us to be somebody other than Mom and Dad for a couple of hours.
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| Free-Range Children |
| 05.01.04 (1:16 pm) [edit] |
I ran across the term "free-range children" the other day and thought it was a pretty good one! It describes my own educational philosophy. Kids naturally like to learn, and they will do so if you encourage them and don't stand in their way.
I love it when my daughter pursues an interest or passion. When she initiates her own learning, there is no boredom. She'll spend unlimited hours browsing, reading, and enjoying books about animals.
I'm constantly amazed when I bring up some topic that I don't think Betsy will know anything about...and she's already read some book about it! In fact, she'll read just about anything at hand, and she absorbs knowledge like a sponge.
When I heard this term, I searched the Web for information about "free-range children," and I found one site after another that eventually led me to a local private alternative school that offers the type of education I want Betsy to have. So we went to visit it the other day, and Betsy is thrilled by it! She can hardly wait to start. We'll be sending her for a trial week later this month, and then we'll enroll her for the fall.
I have mixed feelings about quitting homeschooling, but mostly I feel happiness that there is a place that my kid really wants to go and learn! I also think the staff at this school will be able to nourish Betsy's enthusiasm for learning because that's basically what they feel their role is in educating the kids. So I'm thrilled by this development, too.
We'll continue to homeschool for several more months, so I'll keep up my Unschool Bus blog for the time being...perhaps I'll be renaming it in the fall when my focus will shift more to my own activities.
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