Hiked today, too! And the VERY BEST NEWS of all is that we are foster-adopting a new DOG this week! My lonely walking days are nearing an end. ❤️ I have been so very much missing my faithful dog Thor who walked with me for 11 years. We are starting a new chapter, and I am filled with hope. I also am going to continue the Intermittent Fasting mini-challenge b/c I thought it was successful! I had to make the window larger so I eat breakfast as soon as I'm awake, but the IF-after-6-pm is a good way to trim off those "extra" little 100-calorie snacks that were muddling up my progress.

Long walk with a friend today - it was 21' F + wind! Chicken noodle soup, hot tea to warm the hands, and chocolate hummus on whole wheat pita for dessert.

Maybe you encouraging people can help me with something - I am not athletic, and actually hate to exercise. I like walking and do not mind cold, but it does take a long time to do the length I like. My problem is that I feel overwhelmed when I start to try to "ease in" to anything. Do any of you have recommendations for an uncoordinated, middle-age mama looking to verrrrrry slowly start getting stronger? (I have 5 pound weights sitting in a closet. I could maybe start by increasing time for a plank? What are your best tips? tricks? I'm growing into the realization that even if I don't li

Long winter walk today: invigorating! I take podcasts, and just love the fresh air. Both yesterday and today, I was really struggling when I woke up, feeling almost sick to my stomach due to low blood sugar, so I ate a healthy breakfast well before 9am. Have had good success sticking to the evening intermittent fasting window, so - I'm chalking up the morning problem to either (a) idiopathic sensitivity to blood sugar fluctuations (this runs in my family) or (b) maybe aiming for too broad of a window too soon. I'll still consider the mini-challenge successful if I can observe the fast af

The official College Board practice tests are the best ones; they're available free online, or (the same tests) in a book.

@wintermom - I *LOVE the idea of measuring in happiness! Oh, wow! I'm going to think on that and apply it to a few different areas of my health / weight loss / fitness journey. My mini-challenge this week is to experiment with intermittent fasting - this is not something I have done before, so if I mess it up, it's okay. I'm using it as a tool to help cut out evening noshing - the unplanned treats / snacks / boredom eating are tripping me up! So I would like to aim for eating only between 9am - 6pm. If I'm hungry in the morning, I'm giving myself permission to eat sooner, but going to re

Completed my mini-challenge for the week to eat & photograph 3 different colored veggies for lunch at least 5 of the 7 days! I sort of cheated and made chicken noodle soup, which I ate all week, but it did get me out of my box and thinking of salads, peppers for snacks, etc. I did do less walking, though - only hit my 10K twice (but probably will tomorrow, too). Our ice is *not quite* solid enough for safe skating, though if you go even 10-15 miles north, it's been fine for a long time. My kids are eyeing the neighbor's (spring-fed / last to freeze) pond closely. 😉

We're currently searching for a dog, and they are VERY hard to find in our area (north). I would also hang up physical signs with no picture. Best wishes for this little canine friend! ❤️

No, I am not required to submit the composite. I haven't, because we had no need for the information. I agree that if you're wanting practice for the PSAT or SAT, taking the CLT will not likely benefit the student too much. The PSAT and SAT *are quite similar since the 2016 SAT revisions, though, so practicing the SAT *will help a student prepare for the PSAT. Practice SAT's are available free online (from College Board website as well as through Khan Academy). I tutor locally for the SAT, and one observation from my (limited) personal experience is that st

My state has 3 annual evaluation options, one of which involves a "standardized test" - since the CLT is a college entrance exam accepted by > 150 colleges and universities in place of SAT or ACT, I personally have deemed it "acceptable" as a "standardized exam." (I am not required to report WHICH exam, so the choice is mine; I could also use CAT, IOWA, Stanford, etc.). *IF* I choose the testing option, the kids need to score in the 40th percentile, but I do not have to report that to any outside agency (our other options are a portfolio evaluation - I serve as one of the state evaluators -

At our house, the kid who cooks dinner gets to choose (pending mom's approval). I plan out a week or two in advance, and that kid has to write his ingredients on the shopping list. I do pay them (a very small fee) to make dinner, and to leave my kitchen spotless afterwards. Once every few months, I conscript them all into a freezer cooking day, too. I work part-time to help pay for home schooling expenses, so it's just "how the family team works" in this house. (Editing to add: We started this when they were young, and I gave "free lessons" for the recipe / meal of Kid's cho

This is the one we're doing: https://extension.unh.edu/events/4-h-wildside-2020-2021-winter-hiking-challenge

The CLT 10 has been free, easy, and online the last few years. It's the PSAT-level-correlation for the Classical Learning Test. (Our goal in testing was for the students to gain experience, and to meet state requirements, so - it was perfect for both of those!)

Woop, woop! Go, wintermom! That looks awesome, and definitely something our family would do, too!

Kids and I are participating in a Winter Hiking Challenge, which coincides nicely with our usual Sunday afternoon family hike, so we got Hike #1 done today. This week's personal mini-challenge is to eat & photograph 3 different-colored veggies at least 5 of the 7 days. For the purposes of the challenge, green comes in many shades 😉 but "mixed greens" count as only 1 veggie. I have red peppers in the fridge for snacks, and chicken-veggie-noodle soup on the lunch menu!