Our homeschool choir orders from https://sepapparel.com. They are very high quality and usually ship fairly quickly. Only downside is shipping is expensive.

1999. Zillow and Realtor.com say it's worth 211-213k now.

I was 20, DH was 22. We were newly graduated from college, both working full time. Our first house was 3 BR, 2 BA, 1500 square feet in a suburb of Oklahoma City. We paid $83k for it and sold it 5 years later for $103k.

Yes, I've seen lots of champagne brass/gold. Kind of a softer finish, not as shiny if that makes sense. I think it's so pretty but probably a trend.

We just finished a complete gut of all our bathrooms. We originally did some cosmetic updates 10 years ago and chose oil rubbed bronze for the fixtures. Turns out ORB is now passé and was difficult to find and more expensive. 😕 Several salespeople told me that they think black is on its way out also. I would have gone with a classic nickel finish if I could have convinced DH.

New house slippers One of those tools to help elderly put on their socks - My dad can hardly bend over to put socks on and this is something I want to get him. A magnifying glass - they make ones that are lighted as well as ones large enough for a whole page at once. My grandma loved hers! Gift certificates for a monthly pedicure, maybe in-home? Many elderly have a hard time maintaining foot health. Pajamas since he sleeps a lot Elderly are often cold, what about a heated throw blanket? A window bird feeder Large dot dominoes or deck of cards Graeter's ice cream - you can choose a gift box of 6 or so pints to be mailed directly. I did this for our neighbors one year and they loved it!

I kinda want to do pink for my daughter next year! 😂

We got our daughter a birthstone ring for her 16th. It was right at $100.

Ugh, this makes me so nervous! We just submitted our applications for new passports last week. We're traveling the 2nd week of May. We did pay for expedited processing and delivery, so hopefully they'll be here in plenty of time. The lady at the post office said we didn't need the expedited service, they were processing in 3-5 weeks, but I didn't feel comfortable with that. The State Department website said 5-7 weeks which really cuts it close.

The Awakening of Miss Prim by Natalie Sanmartin Fenollera. One of my all-time favorite books! It is a little bit romance, a little bit philosophy, and fits really, really well with home education. From the description on Good Reads: "In this #1 international bestseller, a young woman leaves everything behind to work as a librarian in a remote French village, where she finds her outlook on life and love challenged in every way. When Miss Prim, an independent, accomplished young woman, reads an ad in the newspaper seeking a feminine spirit to work as a librarian in the lush countryside of France, she finds herself compelled to apply. Little does she know what kind of world she is about to step into. Miss Prim dutifully accepts the job and begins organizing her employer's vast library. A knowledgeable, mysterious gentleman with very specific opinions about life, he challenges Miss Prim's seemingly unshakeable disposition. And as she becomes familiar with the other townspeople, she begins to realize that the surprising lifestyle of the town awakens amazement, perplexity, and even disdain in her. For in this tiny corner of the world, a flourishing colony of exiles have settled into a simple, rural existence, living around great literature, intellectual discussions, family, and sweet indulgences. Their peculiar and unconventional ways slowly test Miss Prim's most intimate ideas and fears as well as her most profound convictions. She quickly comes to realize that her advanced degrees did little to prepare her for the lessons she's being taught the least of which is a lesson in love. Set against a backdrop of steaming cups of tea, freshly baked cakes, warm fires, and lovely company, The Awakening of Miss Prim is a delightful, thought-provoking, and sensitive novel that gives rise to theories about love and companionship, education, and the beauty of every passing moment."

We just replaced ours a couple months ago. 4 large double windows and 6 regular size windows. We chose double-pane low-E, single-hung aluminum windows, which is a huge upgrade from our 1970s single pane aluminum windows and storm windows that didn't open. Our cost from a local window company was $14k. We haven't replaced our sliding door yet but expect that to run $2-3k. We also replaced all our sunroom windows, which was $25k.

I put French turn rods in my kids' bedrooms and they are amazing at keeping the room darker! Combined with blackout shades, it is very conducive to sleeping. I probably wouldn't put them in a living room or more "decorative" space, but I highly recommend them for bedrooms.

Criminal Minds, maybe?

I'm so far behind on planning this year. Usually by now I've purchased everything and am making lesson plans. This year I'm still undecided on a few things! English: Literature from OK History, possibly IEW or EIW for writing component, but also considering The Power in Your Hands. Math: TT Algebra 2 Science: Discovering Design with Chemistry, done at co-op History: Oklahoma History using multiple resources, with literature and field trips Foreign language: ASL at co-op Electives: Christian Light Home Economics, homeschool choir, Bible

My oldest is taking her first online class this year. The policy is 10% deduction for every day the assignment is late. An assignment can be re-submitted for one week after the work is graded to earn a higher grade. For example, if an assignment was two days late and the student also missed some answers, they could resubmit but the assignment would max out at 80% (20% deduction for being late). It has seemed like a very fair policy to me, and the teacher has generally returned all grades within a week of the due date.