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http://www.evernote.com/l/AAfhpyid4r9AKbuW7hQ-n5OsFJY-UEXcRdU/ Didn't finish any books this week. It's been busy, grandpa died, just didn't have a lot of time for reading. Will try to finish some of these next week if I can, but it may be slow going with all the stuff going on right now. I am really enjoying The 10X Rule, which has been my main read. The others are good as well, of course.

I use Evernote. http://www.evernote.com/l/AAcMT_6f4yFMEpJ8tote4rugjq7Whx-Z3yM/ This is my example for last year. I changed it just a little bit for this year, but still very similar. I may add total pages too.

We got Through the Ages ourselves. A LOT of fun, but it's a bit complicated to learn the basics at first. We were playing that all break.

I wasn't homeschooled, and my kids aren't homeschooled (too little). I joined here for self-education stuff, but now am planning on homeschooling my kids once they reach school age.

I like the idea of a challenge. I think I'll add to my list a book that I've owned but not read yet - Crime and Punishment - to add something from the eastern part of the world. I'll probably work through it fairly slowly (definitely will take longer than a week), but I'm looking forward to it. I also want to work on history a bit, but don't want to buy a new book at the moment. So, I'll be reading history as well, but instead of SWB I'll read Big History by Cynthia Stokes Brown. Current Books: The 10X Rule by Grant Cardone One Simple Idea by Stephen Key Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky Big History by Cynthia Stokes Brown Goal is to finish The 10X Rule, One Simple Idea and Psycho-Cybernetics this week, read CaP a little every night, and 2 chapters of Big History.

http://www.evernote.com/l/AAcMT_6f4yFMEpJ8tote4rugjq7Whx-Z3yM/ That's my full book list for the year, including repeats. My Goodreads list doesn't show books I've read in the past. 166 books all the way through, lots started but not finished. Books that changed my life: The Miracle Morning The Slight Edge The Compound Effect The ONE Thing The Obstacle is the Way The 12 Week Year As I like to joke, the "The" books. Thing to improve on for next year: read a lot of easy fiction when the kids were busy and I just needed to have my mind off in space. My goal for next year is to read more difficult fiction and focus more on non-fiction as well. I'm looking at: 20 more difficult fiction books. 30 new non-fiction books. 12 non-fiction re-reads. And whatever else I feel like at the time. One more goal - write in this thread more regularly. ;)

It's just us 4 this year, and the kiddos probably won't stay up. So, we're gonna have sparkling cider, chips, that type of thing. Not planning on cooking anything special for dinner. Sure have a lot of great ideas on my Pinterest boards, but there isn't that much of a point with no real celebration planned.

This is what I generally do. Every couple Saturdays, I'll go out for about 4 hours - whether it's to read and drink a coffee, get some personal errands done, whatever. It's nice to get some time to myself. Every Thursday the kids are also in daycare on post for a couple hours - but that's more for me to get work done than to relax. Having a Saturday to myself occasionally is nice. And of course, if DH wants a day to himself, he gets that as well. He prefers to go shooting with the guys on his days 'free'.

I started after reading a book called The Miracle Morning. I highly recommend it. I go to bed between 9-10, but I probably should be asleep at 9 to get a good productive day the following day. If I get less than 5 hours of sleep I get a little cranky. ;) YMMV, though. It's worth it to me, especially as both my kids are currently waking up at 9 - lots of time to myself, and I can get centered and ready to tackle the day, no matter how busy the 'work day' may be.

I did Stroller Strides for a couple months, it's pretty good and my instructors definitely attempted to keep the kids entertained during the workout, so there's that. I stopped because it was at 9AM, and messed with the 'flow' I prefer for my day. But I prefer to workout early. It was great having that accountability to workout, though, and that extra push to do your best.

I usually start my workout at about 3:30AM. It's 30 min-1 hr long, depending on the type of workout (my weightlifting workout is generally a bit shorter than my yoga/mobility/plyometric workouts). I like to have my workout done by 5 at the latest so that I can read, meditate, journal and get some work done before the kids wake up as well, so that's why I wake up so early. I find it's the best time to do it, though - nice and early, before my willpower is drained by everything else that happens during the day. If I wait until after 9 or 10, it doesn't often get done at all.

Goodreads and Evernote.

My one year old got something nasty - fever, hacking cough, puking, everything. She has a low WBC count too so we're having to watch her really closely to make sure her fever doesn't get too high. Hope she gets over it quickly, she was barely able to sleep last night. Hope your family recovers quickly!

Hmmm Prime is still 2 day, sometimes 1 day shipping for me. I once got something the same day I ordered it (though we have a fulfillment center down the street). I order enough where it's definitely worth it for me... but I wouldn't consider that part of my Christmas present either. I'd just consider it a household expense, because I'm saving a lot of money over that year.

I've read them all. Narnia is definitely easier for younger kids (I read those first), I read The Hobbit next, and it wasn't until Middle/High School that I read all of the LOTR series. I quite enjoy all of them, though, but I think I prefer LOTR overall.

My kids are getting Aesop's Fables for Children (with CD). DH is getting Red Harvest, and The Sound and The Fury. My brother is getting The Hungover Cookbook (he just turned 21). My parents are getting You're Only Old Once!: A Book for Obsolete Children (Dr. Suess). Not too many books this year. I guess I got myself a couple books from 'Santa': Never Eat Alone, Security Analysis, and What Every Body is Saying.

All I'm going to comment on is.... I'm so glad no one got killed last night. And I really hope that all the poor people whose stores were burned down had full insurance and won't be ruined for what happened. :(

I was going to recommend Pixelmon as well. The actual Pokemon card game can incorporate quite a bit of math. I can see a lot of art possibilities in there too. Minecraft can teach math, geometry, and that type of thing as well. Maybe even history (have him recreate old buildings) or the basics of architecture.

Costco will also refill some cartridges for cheap, if you have one nearby.

I don't know if this is often an alternative for turkey for most people, but we sometimes have beef wellington instead of turkey. Tasty. :P I am not a huge fan of turkey, though, at least the whole bird version. I prefer the days after Thanksgiving when it's incorporated into other meals - soups, salads, quesadillas, etc.

I love Filofax. Franklin Covey isn't quite as bad. I had issues with the whole expense thing too, but I'm glad I got my FF (Malden Personal in Purple). It replaced my wallet, I use it everywhere. Love the thing. Been looking for an excuse to buy more, but sadly I can't find any use to justify another $100.

Nice to have, but not essential. DH always uses the scoop, I usually use the spoon unless the ice cream is hard, in which case I like to use the scoop.

For plain exposure, nothing beats shows in German - either native German shows or favorite shows translated into German (Disney is great for this). German music is good too. What genres does she like? I can recommend some music. There are also some decent podcasts out there. Personally, I have found I get the most into a language if I really immerse myself into the culture, music, books, and movies before I start with the sit down studying. Course-wise, Duolingo is good for basic exposure, Assimil, German made Simple... Lots of free websites too.

The rule in my household is one tsp for every 2 cups. So 5 tsp for 10.