Me: a pedicure a few times a year, Close Reads Patreon and a few webinars from the House of Humane Letters House: beeswax candles, nice soap Family: streaming (PBS Passport, Amazon Unlimited, Disney+), occasional meals out

How old is your middle schooler? And which year of SOTW? 5th and 7th/8th can be very different. I think 5th graders are really still elementary for school purposes. The books are more complex as they move up. I think the later two need more supplementing with the history of art/science/culture and social history. They get very politics and war focused. Echoing K12. Nice narrative tone. Purposefully addressing the history of ideas - at an age appropriate level.

@HomeAgain Yeah, coaches being very specific is good. They can name qualities the players cannot yet see in themselves or articulate. We did a “top ten” list for Ds when he turned 13, highlighting 10 strengths. I think that had a lasting positive effect on how he sees himself and has helped him to lead with his strengths rather than be wrapped up in his weaknesses (which are substantial).

Silly dog slept on Dd’s bed all afternoon. Lounge-dog.

Yes, you inspired me! I needed to be quick tonight, so I got frozen fried rice at Trader Joe’s instead of making it myself. It was good! I think my guys will finish it all tonight.

Yeah, especially in such a heavy contact sport. Ds does seem to thrive in rough games, though. I really want to get some of the moms together to do something nice for the team after the season ends. Every boy has worked so hard and improved so much. They are playing teams twice or three times their numbers who have 3+ years more experience. Half our team is new to the game this year, essentially middle school skill level - playing against true Varsities. Only three players will get honored at the school sports awards (MVP, best offense, best defense), but all of them deserve some recognition.

Ate dinner. Yummy eggroll in a bowl and fried rice that I made before we left. Moved laundry along. Thought about tomorrow. Need to figure out something easy to do for dinner. I will be gone most of the day. Crock pot maybe? Thursday is soup night and church dinner on Wed is lemon artichoke chx. Next up: drink more water and read my book. Third in a trilogy and I can’t wait to see what happens.

Ds’ team lost again. Zero wins this season and only 14 boys left on the team. And two are hurt. (Lacrosse has 10 players on the field.) The other team was not really much better, but they had 13 boys on the sidelines to sub, better offense, and played more physically. Sigh. Driving home with Dh now. (Ds is riding the bus.) No way will any homework be happening tonight. Football season is so much easier; only 1 game a week and not on a school night.

Ours are: Tillamook ice cream Shrimp Beef tenderloin (at Christmas)

Whatever the budget, we all have special things that fall outside of it. Given some extra grocery funds or a “need” for something extra nice, what do you buy?

Sleepy! Need coffee!

I saw the totality from my front yard in 2017. Glad to have seen it, but would not be taking a trip to do so. Only 95% here, in 14 minutes. But it is overcast anyway.

In tutoring writing, I find diagramming helpful to explain why a sentence is bad. Or even not actually a sentence!

Next up: Return a call. Get dressed and head to my church job.

The customer service rep from the 1-800 number was super nice and helpful last week. I guess I should have known that this was bound to go downhill. Hopefully we can get these details updated, including my POA and the online acct, so any future issues will not require in-person hassle.

The man at the SSA office was very rude on the phone. They do not take appointments for what mom needs to get help with, so tomorrow will be a long drive with a long wait. Ugh!

We did some each year in elementary, then an intensive year with lots of diagramming before beginning Latin. Then applied what she knew to Latin, then later to French. We did a bit of spot-reviewing when needed, mostly for writing.

We did not use the Common App. Dd entered the recommender’s email in the applications and the schools contacted them directly. Dd could see in her portal if the rec had been turned in or not. She did think about whom to ask and speak to those people about it late in her junior year, but the action all happened in the fall of her senior year.

Early summer, after the previous year’s admissions season is essentially over. Might be later this year due to the FAFSA nightmare? We know plenty of kids who applied in the summer and were accepted (to local, non-selective schools with rolling admissions) by the beginning of the school year.

I remember “splurging” on half n half for my coffee in grad school. Those were lean years, for sure!

Ds is at school. I have coffee and have done some housekeeping. Accepted the substitute job. Hope the onboarding is quick. Call Social Security office for an appointment. Possibly rearrange other things after that? Let mom know what is scheduled. ✔️ Tutor online ✔️ Order dog food ✔️ Staff meeting and lunch ✔️ Trader Joes ✔️ Tutor in person ✔️ Make dinner ✔️ Go to Ds’ game tonight? ✔️ Remind Dh about call with lawyer’s office tomorrow. Sometime, I need to work in YNAB. Did some. More to go. Read

Sad that tomorrow will be cloudy here. We are not in the path of the totality, but we were supposed to have 95% at about 2:00 tomorrow.

Definitely trying the goat cheese! Soon. Maybe cheese grits as a side with a pork roast later this week?

Dinner is leftovers. Not cooking. Started some laundry and put some dishes in the dishwasher.

We buy grits from local farmers. SO much more taste than grocery store brands!! Plus, supporting small family farms.