Debbie in OR
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Posts posted by Debbie in OR
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Very political here. Love to discuss it, read about what's going one, etc...My dad ran for State Representative (twice); I have toyed with the possibility of running for office. The only thing I know for sure that I will do is when this season of homeschooling is done, I will be going back to school to get a Doctorate in Constitutional Law...this is my passion.
Plus, I come from a looooooonnnnnggggg line of very political -- and very vocal --people.
As a matter of fact, the only time I ever remember my dad raising his voice to me (and it also came complete with a fist bang on the counter for emphasis) was when I was in college and had just told him I was going to participate in a peace rally. He asked me what my reasons were and I didn't have an answer. Then...the raised voice and fist-bang. He didn't care that I was going to do it (although he is very conservative...as am I...and a retired Army Lt. Col); what made him mad was that I had NO IDEA why I was doing it.
His point was made and I have since always known why and what I believe about issues.
Also, we live by the unwritten credo: "If you complain about something, you expose your requirement to do something about it."
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For crying out loud...is NOTHING sacred anymore? :glare: (I voted "completely inappropriate" and NW is now off of any list)
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We lived outside of Woodbridge for 6 years and outside of CO Springs (well, Denver to be exact) for 7 years. Colorado wins hands down for us. But it depends on your preferences.
I like dry weather with no bugs, cold winters for skiing, cooler summers, aspen and pine trees and the mountains. You will also have less traffic in the Springs. Plus, you have Denver within an easy drive for all the best a city has to offer....pro sports, zoos, museums, etc.. Colorado has everything for me.
Virginia does have great deciduous forests, but also warmer summers, milder winters, humidity and more bugs. The only thing I miss about Virginia is it has great autumns, and great apple-picking like someone else said (we used to go to Winchester in the fall for apple-picking and I can still smell the orchards in my mind....it was wonderful!).
Either place you will be able to find like-minded homeschoolers.
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We love salads and low carb veggies, so could you make suggestions in that vein?
I was just looking through the book I had recommended and many of her containers are full of lettuce and cabbages...apparently they grow very well in containers.
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I highly recommend the book Easy Container Combos: Vegetables & Flowers by Pamela Crawford. I was trying to figure out the same thing because the house we are moving into has plenty of yard (nearly 2 acres) but none of it fenced (deer and other critters) but we have several off the ground decks. Plus, the people who we bought the house from left about 7 huge wooden wine barrels that have been cut in half so I figured we could potentially have a large container garden with them.
Anyhow, I checked the book out from the library and was so impressed with the information and how easy the instructions were, that I went ahead and bought the book. It has great reference info on what will grow in what areas, which veggies do well in containers, how much sun/shade, what fertilizer is the best, what season to start each veggie in and how to stagger them...she even includes info on how tall or round each veggie becomes so that you make sure and plant it in the right container. I learned from her book why my carrots never grew last year. It's an easy read, as well...not technical, lots of pictures, but very thorough.
Plus, all of the containers are so beautiful...mixed with flowers and ornamental grasses. I can't wait to have them sitting on our decks!
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Hmmm..we were wondering this same thing a couple of days ago. Also, does anyone know if Amazon streaming has a comparable list of movies available? At first glance, it doesn't appear that Amazon has the same volume of available titles that Netflix has.
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Thank you for posting this. We use Xylitol almost exclusively and have been known to throw a crumb now and then to our dogs. Stopping that right now..
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And be realistic...you aren't going to learn how to be a survivalist fur trapper / bark boiler at this point...focus on stuff you can control first, and don't sweat the rest. :)
:blink::smilielol5:
I just bought a book called Emergency Food Storage & Survival Handbook: Everything You Need to Know to Keep Your Family Safe in a Crisis by
Peggy Layton. I also ordered a book from the library called Easy Container Combos : Vegetables & Flowers by Pamela Crawford so that we can container garden. We have nearly 2 acres but our CCRs won't let us do a big ole garden. Like Barry Goldwater said, focus on what you can control. I figure we can plant container gardens and store food/vitamins/supplies as it makes sense.
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"How do you tell a communist? Well, it's someone who reads Marx and Lenin. And how do you tell an anti-Communist? It's someone who understands Marx and Lenin."
- Ronald Reagan
In addition, I always loved his wit, his turn of phrase...whether you agreed with him or not, you had to at least appreciate that.
This is my favorite. :lol:
Also: "I will not make age and issue in this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent's youth and inexperience."
What a great sense of timing he had.
I was in high school/college while he was president and I love it that the first election I was old enough to vote in was for him.
I miss him. Thanks for the reminder, pqr.
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In addition to jplain's book recs, I would also include Life Without Bread by Christian Allan.
I have been thin my whole life and was in that same "calories in/calories out" interpretation of weight management but after running for years (trying to get rid of the 5-7 pounds of post-pregnancy weight but it's so hard now that I'm over 45:glare:) and noticing that my weight never changed no matter what I did, I started to question this for me.
In addition, my mom was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes last summer and since I had gestational diabetes with my first pregnancy, I decided to start eating like a diabetic so that I WOULDN'T become diabetic.
In researching, I came across Life Without Bread and Why We Get Fat (Taubes) and it changed EVERYTHING. Whoa. And it's not just about weight management...it's about addressing a whole host of other issues that a carb-heavy lifestyle creates.
Life Without Bread is pretty user friendly, although there are some medical-heavy chapters. And in the back, there is a very reasonable plan to follow to help you begin reducing the amount of carbs you consume.
I am transitioning to a very low-carb lifestyle so in the meantime, I bake with almond and coconut flours and use birch (xylitol) sugar, which make it so much easier to travel that road :tongue_smilie:.
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That a person can have correct doctrine in some areas of his/her life and not in others is nothing new. Everything Luther said should be held up against Scripture. Where it strays from Scripture, it should be thrown on the dung heap (i.e. anti-semitism). Where it aligns with Scripture, it should be welcomed.
Scripture alone is the arbiter of truth.
Anyone who has studied Luther in any real depth realizes the man had some serious character flaws.
I agree with this. And where do we draw the line with others' sin and "junk", anyhow? Do we throw out all that King David left us/did because he slept with another man's wife and then had him killed? What about Moses? More current,what about Clinton (although not a fan) and his *ahem* relationship with ole what's her name? Closer to home, what about my own screw-ups (there are many)? Does that invalidate every thing else??? I mean, I thank God for grace and forgiveness.
I am very pro-Israel and am sickened by all the evil that has been done to the Jewish nation. I also knew about Luther's legacy, both good and bad, but these things only makes me more grateful that there is mercy and that I don't get to decide who gets a pass and who doesn't.
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I ADORE FF! It's one of the only curriculums that I have not tweaked, dropped, forgotten to use, had trouble implementing, etc..
My ds did PL, LL1 and the first few lessons of LL2 and also some Minimus in there somewhere. I think it is genius the way they have put it together, little grammar chunks at a time, building into translation. Plus they include diagramming and don't include Roman history, which I am very happy about because I want just Latin. Also, the pages are clean with a lot of white space...if there are sidebars and misc. material on each page, both of us get lost (he and I have a very similar learning style).
Anyhow, the way they have laid out the program makes sense to ds, so he can (mostly) work on his own (he's in 6th grade), although I bought the DVD in case we get stuck. As a matter of fact, it is so well laid out that this week was the first time since we started FF well over a year ago that we had to break out the DVD for the lesson on adjectives.
Each lesson usually has either 4 or 5 pages each week so it's very easy to do a page every day and complete a lesson every week. We do vocabulary and endings memory work on Fridays.
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If you all want to come to Guatemala, I can set you up! Just let me know the details.
I am interested! We have run into the exact same issue as the OP....our church does missions trips but none to where we feel led. All the other places we have checked into have a minimum age of 13 (our youngest is almost 10).
My dh spent a year in Guatemala and that is his heart...my kids want to go there as well.
I don't think we can do it this year, although we might, but next year definitely. Should we wait until it's closer or is there something we should be doing now?
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Two brothers, only one living though. He is two years younger and quite possibly the wisest and best person I have ever known. I dearly love him...we are as close as brother/sister could be, I would guess.
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I get so tired of hearing people use their socio-economic status to perpetuate their state of living. The whole 'woe is me' date=' I was born poor...never had the opportunities that others had to go to college because no one would pay for it' just doesn't fly with me.
I call BS on that attitude. Both my dh and I were poor growing up. My dh was the oldest of three and was babysitting his siblings overnight when he was just six years old while his mother went to one of her three jobs. She was on welfare at some points in their lives. His mother made sure education was a priority in their lives, though. My dh worked hard in school, ended up the valedictorian and won a scholarship to college because he worked hard. He didn't sit back and wait for gov't or anyone else to hand him something.
I was in the same boat with my family. I chose the military option. I was in the reserve for eight years and they paid for my college while I was in the reserve. I worked full-time to pay my living expenses while going to college. At Christmas time I worked more than one job so I could have a bit more money (for things like textbooks). It took me longer than the standard four years to graduate because I couldn't always take a full load of classes, but I did it. Was it easy? Absolutely not.
Too many people in gov't programs expect someone else to get them out of it. They need to put on their big girl panties and do it themselves. Problem is, too often it involves hard work beyond what a person is willing to do.
And, as far as income equalization. I worked very, very hard to be where I am today as has my husband. I absolutely abhore the idea that someone would take my paycheck and give it to someone sitting on their a$$ at home because it's only "fair." When income equalization occurs what you'll see is that those who previously worked hard to earn their incomes and enjoy the benefits will simply stop working hard. Why should a person work hard when their neighbor gets the same amount of money for flipping burgers? Productivity and ingenuity will disintegrate.
Those who are willing to work hard and make sacrifices to get ahead shouldn't be punished for their effort. If a person is unhappy with their standard of living, then they should get off their a$$ and do something about it rather than waiting for someone to hand it to them on a silver platter.
Yes, I know...getting on my own flame retardant suit.[/quote']
I so agree with you, Bev. My dad, one of 6 who grew up dirt poor in Appalachia, is now a highly successful adult with 5 highly successful siblings...because they worked hard. My grandfather (their dad) would drive the welfare man off their land when he came around trying to convince him that they needed assistance (which, by the way, I am not opposed to when necessary). Instead, he taught all 6 of them to work hard. Period. My dad now has 3 degrees (one, a PhD) and gives away cheerfully -- and not his scraps -- much of what he makes.
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this whole thing just makes me so sad. WHERE is the concern for PEOPLE! and if we as a society are so "home of the free and the brave" and yet we have no compassion for others, are we really that fortunate?!?
The faith based system is a cool idea but its completely impractical and untenable. First of all- it would require GENEROSITY which, obviously is SORELY lacking in people in general, and secondly, could pretty much everyone afford to contribute an extra 20% or whatever, while still paying their whatever percent in taxes? not a chance! i think that the faith based system comes from people who have no qualms with throwing the poor their scraps.
:confused: Where are you getting your information? Read the book "Who Really Cares?" by Arthur C. Brooks to get an accurate assessment of this.
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We have one. We don't use it nearly as much as I thought we would but when we have, it's good.
Here's how it works: you still have to rent or use your own dvds, but the dvd player comes with a special memory stick that you use to download the changes (off of their website) to whatever movie you are planning to watch. Then you put your dvd into the player, plug the memory stick into the player and then a menu comes up that lets you pick which alterations you want (language, s*x, violence, etc).
As you watch the movie, the changes that you downloaded onto the memory stick adjust the movie and you get to watch without the language or whatever.
I would say, most of the time it works great. There have been a couple of times when the "timing" gets off and it's like watching an old Japanese war movie where the mouth movements of the actors are behind or ahead of the actual dialogue.
They have a huge inventory of movies so we have never had a problem being able to download changes to any movie.
I think we pay around $8/month for the service. While we don't use it that much, it's kind of like having a double oven: you may only need it at Thanksgiving or Christmas but it's hugely helpful nonetheless. :001_smile: It is also a regular DVD player, so you just play dvds in it without using the memory stick, too.
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I would do anything...a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g...other than dusting, which is why I have convinced my dc that it's the easiest job in the house. :tongue_smilie:
Hate it. Hate.it. (and I live in the high desert, which means I could conceivably dust every 3 hours and never be done :glare:)
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I have never like kale but I had this soup at a potluck and it was fabulous!
Olive Garden Zuppa Toscano
1 lb. spicy Italian sausage – crumbled
1 qt. water
(2) 14.5 oz. cans (about 3 2/3 cups) chicken broth
2 lg. russet potatoes – scrubbed clean, cubed
2 garlic cloves – peeled, crushed
1 med. onion – peeled, chopped
2 cups chopped kale OR Swiss chard
1 cup heavy whipping cream
salt and pepper – to taste
Directions
Brown sausage in a pan over medium to medium-high heat, breaking up into small pieces as it cooks.
Drain sausage and set to the side.
Place broth, water, garlic, potatoes, and onion in a pot.
Simmer over medium heat until potatoes are tender.
Add sausage to the soup.
Simmer for 10 minutes.
Add kale and cream to pot.
Season with salt and pepper.
Heat thoroughly.
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They are available in CD as well as download, and I think can be ordered with or without background music. I know at least one volume is available without music but don't recall if both are.
Ha! We were typing at the same time! I am so glad to know this...I would be willing to invest in the ones without the music.
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We have them and although I love the material and actually prefer the information to SOTW, they have background music playing the entire time she is speaking and it was TOTALLY distracting to me. My dc didn't really notice it but after awhile, I could not even hear what she was saying because all I could hear was the music.
If you know of anyone who has them and you could borrow them, I would try and listen first before investing: it may not be an issue for anyone else (I think I am somewhat ADD so that could be why it was so distracting to me...it doesn't take much:tongue_smilie:), but it's quite an investment so it would be worth checking it out first.
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My dd is getting a book on designing doodles...they are half finished dress/clothing designs and she gets to finish them. She is turning into a pretty good clothes designer but she gets stuck and doesn't know where to go after awhile. These will get her started with the ideas that she can finish. Anyhow, when it arrived, I sat down to look through it and it was all I could do not to pick up some colored pencils and start designing! Way fun!
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I think the key, though, is that all those "hard" things are also the deepest and most meaningful things in your life. For a bright teen stuck in a PS system full of busywork and predigested factoids, where's the meaning? Where's the relevance? Telling them they need to work hard in HS, even if they find it all pointless and boring, so that they can get into college (which many kids assume will be just as pointless and boring), is a pretty abstract goal.
When I was 13 or 14, my goal was to be a Forest Ranger in Colorado and live in one of those smoke-spotting towers, so I could read all day and not have to talk to another human being! The only reasons I agreed to go to college were (1) to get away from my psycho family and (2) the hope that college would be different from HS, and the work would be interesting and meaningful. So I totally get the idea of kids just skating by in HS, essentially "serving time" until they can be free to get on with their lives. I was one of those kids — and yet, once I was turned loose to study things I was passionate about, I ended up spending 10 years in college & grad school.
IMO the way to convince kids to work harder is to make the work meaningful and relevant to them, so that the hard work pays off much sooner — a light bulb goes on in science, a work of literature deeply effects them, an intense discussion helps them connect the dots and understand something about history they never really understood before, so they're interested and engaged in the world. My DS went from being a reluctant "school learner" to a pretty avid reader & researcher once he was turned loose on topics that really interested him. DS has really forced me to question even the most fundamental assumptions about education, like the idea that young kids really need a broad, "mile-wide, inch-deep" survey of all subjects in elementary, followed by a slightly deeper "mile-wide, 2-inch-deep" survey in HS, and that specialization should be left until college. For some kids, I think that may be too late — they're already convinced that institutional education is nothing more than an endless loop of memorizing facts for the sole purpose of passing exams that measure nothing more than the memorization of facts.
I've had to ask myself: Why can't we go in the other direction — let kids start from their interests and add connections as they grow, ever widening the web and yet keeping it meaningful and relevant to them? Why not use their interests to teach them to think critically, to organize and analyze information and communicate their ideas and interests to others? Why not let them work hard in pursuit of the things they find important and meaningful?
Jackie
Thank you for posting that...so much to think about. But it is stirring something in my homeschool soul...
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Love this! I may paint that somewhere permanent...
The question of whether we have made childhood too easy therefore making adulthood too difficult for our children is another question that keeps me up at night.
Ugh. Me, too.
How in the world do you homeschool through morning sickness?
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
I don't have anything to help you, just :grouphug:. (I can't even figure out how to homeschool through whining, so I got nothing):glare: