Have you done anything lately that gives you satisfaction?

[Jean in Newcastle]

I've been working on Khan academy by myself.  I had a lot of trouble with math growing up and still have some math anxiety.  To see my progress has given me a lot of satisfaction.  I just started the site so I'm still in junior high skills - doing the mastery challenges to show what I know - but hey, that's something!  I've actually surprised myself by remembering some algebra and geometry.  

 

How about you?  What have you done lately that gives you satisfaction?  It doesn't matter what it is, just that you feel good about what you've accomplished.  

[Laura Corin]

I sang in Handel's Messiah last Saturday.  It wasn't a perfect performance, but it's a great piece to sing.

 

L

[Hannah]

I wake boarded again after about 15 years. Got up the first time I tried. My girls were SO impressed :).

It made me feel great that I can still do it despite being a lot less fit and a lot fatter than then.

[Mom0012]

I'm taking a Latin class with my dd that I absolutely love. I'm also working my way through CLE algebra, AG, and I'm reading The Lively Art of Writing. I'm excited about working through math with my son during the high school years and I'm hoping that brushing up on my grammar and reading some books about what constitutes good writing will help me work with him on his writing skills. I feel really good about doing this and am really enjoying it.

[RoughCollie]

I've been working through a math book I got at the library at the beginning of August.  It covers algebra, trig, calculus and statistics. 

 

It hits the high points, I think -- a general review, in a dense booked packed with math problems -- no pictures of frogs, no extraneous information.  It was published in the U.K., which I didn't realize until I got to section on bearings.  Not even once have I ever learned about bearings ... turns out they are compass bearings.  I had to look it up on the internet.  I understood how to work the problems eventually, but don't put me in charge of a compass!

 

The librarians are real sweet and keep renewing the book for me because no one has ever checked it out.

 

My ultimate math goal is to get through calculus.  I'm going to tackle each subject individually, starting with algebra II when I'm done reviewing.  I have to know calculus so I can learn about and understand basic physics (not interested in physics for poets). Science has changed a lot since my day.  Genetics, for example, is a lot more complex than Mendel and his peas! I aim to learn this stuff and keep my brain active.

 

When I'm done with this book, I'm getting a graphing calculator - they didn't have those when I was learning math. 

 

Right now my kids know more than I do about math and science -- I cannot participate in their many conversations because I have no clue what they are talking about.

 

 

 

[Heidi]

Well, I had my 6th baby a week and a half ago, but this was my first home birth and i did it unassisted. It was just me and my husband. I had a friend there also that waited in the living room and helped with the cord and placenta. It was so awesome and beautiful! It's not something I can go around talking about IRL because it is definitely frowned on here (midwifery is illegal, home births are rare), but I thought it was a pretty wonderful accomplishment.

[Tiramisu]

I have sat beside my 8th grade dd to do almost every problem of Saxon algebra 1 nearly everyday this year. I've also done Latin with her with the same commitment. I know this isn't a big deal but I feel satisfaction at doing my part. She had become very independent in recent years, but she needs my support now so I'm glad I'm able to do it without life getting in the way.

 

I also have written over 30,000 words for Nanowri. I won't finish the 50,000 by the end of this week but I put a a lot into it. I realized that I had to make sure I was getting other stuff done because dh had mentioned very nicely that he had no socks for a couple days in a row. I had washed them but wasn't even sure myself where I had put them because I never got around to putting them away. I was also scrounging for underwear myself, and there were no clean towels. So I also feel some satisfaction in being able to realize I needed to slow down to make sure my family's needs are also being taken care of, even if it meant giving up something I was enjoying.

[MomOfOneFunOne]

Well, I had my 6th baby a week and a half ago, but this was my first home birth and i did it unassisted. It was just me and my husband. I had a friend there also that waited in the living room and helped with the cord and placenta. It was so awesome and beautiful! It's not something I can go around talking about IRL because it is definitely frowned on here (midwifery is illegal, home births are rare), but I thought it was a pretty wonderful accomplishment.

AMDG

Pins, Abigail, pins to you! I wanted a home birth but just couldn't get my husband on board. I did have a natural birth at a birthing center with a midwife and had a ton of pushback from family, friends, and complete strangers. I can only imagine what you could have faced!

Welcome to babay!

[momacacia]

Washed the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen last night, and it looks so beautiful this morning. Does that count? :laugh:

 

Really, I love washing dishes and a clean kitchen. Don't talk to me about cooking. :glare:

[Chris in VA]

I helped a dear friend clean. She has 12 dogs. They don't go out regularly. 

I did it in as non-condemnatory way as I could. She is finally letting someone help her. I think she was just afraid of criticism and couldn't face things.

Been there. 

[amo_mea_filiis.]

I'm in contact with a couple state legislators and a ton of others about getting a law enforced. My immediate goal is completely selfish; get ds treated. But my ultimate goal is to get this whole thing fixed so it's not only not a fight for others, but completely normal.

[Carrie12345]

I joined a gym and hired a persoonal trainer (inexpensive group sessions.)

 

But, um, I haven't exactly gone much. Germs mean the kids can't go in the babysitting room. We're on week 2 of the cold that won't die. Hopefully I'll be able to drive at night when dh is home once my new glasses come in!

 

But we've been talking about doing this for a long time. Actually joining was a big step for me, and I'm thrilled to have done it!

[MomOfOneFunOne]

AMDG

Well, I'm reading through the great books. I'm enjoying that tremendously.

 

I'm also learning to fiddle. I have taken lessons for a couple of years. I stopped lessons this summer b/c, honestly, with how much we pay for my lessons, I feel that I should be returning that gift to Our Lord in some way. I always thought I'd play at nursing homes or . . .something. When I finally realized that I will probably never play in front of another human being (daughter excepted), I very mournfully quit my lessons. This has been very sad for me. Well, I finally decided that playing gives me great joy and my daughter and I love to play together, so . . . I asked for lessons for Christmas. I'm pretty sure I'll get them so I've been practicing again lately and it feels really good. Really, really, good. I'm excited about that.

 

I doubt if this will be interesting to many but I really enjoy cooking and preserving food. I plan on Mondays and cook for the week all day Tuesdays and try to can/freeze/dry something a few times per month. This very satisfying for me. I love learning new recipes and techniques.

 

Ih, and I'm decluttering, organizing, and deep cleaning my home and making an effort to fall in live with my city/state.

[ThatHomeschoolDad]

After struggling for years, I asked for, and got a really big restructuring of our second mortgage, dropping the monthly payment by a grand.  That was immensely satisfying the way only a heavy FedEx envelope can be.

 

Little satisfactions this week:

Now that we're in the last year of Nebel science, I figured out how to halve the time it takes to put together a Nebel science lesson.

My King Arthur cinnamon swirl bread didn't come out flat again yesterday because I tripled the rise time.

I quickly jumped on some very latent side effects from last November's treatment and prevented a trip to the ER, which is good.

[MomOfOneFunOne]

I've been working on Khan academy by myself. I had a lot of trouble with math growing up and still have some math anxiety. To see my progress has given me a lot of satisfaction. I just started the site so I'm still in junior high skills - doing the mastery challenges to show what I know - but hey, that's something! I've actually surprised myself by remembering some algebra and geometry.

 

AMDG

Wonderful, Jean! I, too had serious math trouble as a kid (and adult) and commend you for tackling your bigaboo! Awesome, YOU!

[shanvan]

Dc and I gave baths to 9 puppies to help out our English Springer Spaniel's breeder.  She was thrilled to have help and we thought it was fun!  They are so cute an cuddly we didn't want to go home.

[Jen in NY]

I started practicing seriously again... like between 2 and 3 hours a day. For many years I played enough to get by; enough to just eek through a community band concert, for instance, but this is new. It is motivation that comes from within to play well and serve the music, as opposed to motivation to not screw up, and I like it. I am trying to leave behind my total perfectionist tendencies about it all and give myself some props for the progress I have made so far. I feel hugely satisfied about my improved playing but even more about my new mental health in regards to my playing, if that makes sense. I have my moments of relapse but I keep going, and that's new, too. Only took 35 years of playing to get here.... :)

 

Last night I played in an amazing concert (for those in the know we played The Soul Has Many Motions by John Mackey...wow!!, Sketches on a Tudor Psalm, Armenian Dances, English Folk Song Suite... and a few others....) and for the first time in my life I breathed through it and just observed the amazing music that was going on all around and through me.... I tell you ... it was transcendent. Good way to begin Thanksgiving week.

[Camelfeet]

I fostered and found a home for a kitten I found on the streets a few weeks ago. 

 

I skated 22 laps in 5 minutes, only 4 more laps to go before I meet minimums.

 

 

[DawnM]

I am curious.  When you went to college, was math required at all?

 

Since we went to the same college, I am wondering.

 

For my major, NO math was required (I am told that has changed now) so I didn't take any!

 

The last math I took was Geometry in high school.  I was required to take Algebra and Geometry, so that is as far as I got.

 

Dawn

 

 

I've been working on Khan academy by myself.  I had a lot of trouble with math growing up and still have some math anxiety.  To see my progress has given me a lot of satisfaction.  I just started the site so I'm still in junior high skills - doing the mastery challenges to show what I know - but hey, that's something!  I've actually surprised myself by remembering some algebra and geometry.  

 

How about you?  What have you done lately that gives you satisfaction?  It doesn't matter what it is, just that you feel good about what you've accomplished.  

 

[MomOfOneFunOne]

AMDG

Im obviously not Jean but some kind of math was required at every level of my college career. I had a tutor from the firsr day of every single class.

 

Sad.

 

On the other hand I have been almost obsessive in providing the best math for my kiddo.

[Snickerdoodle]

I'm working on a fitness goal.   By next autumn I want to be able to do a specific movement and now I have a solid working plan with appropriate progressions.   I'm so excited!

[AK_Mom4]

I'm coaching x-country skiing this year.  I wasn't really excited about working with 5-6 year olds, but my kids have been in the program for years and I felt like I needed to give something back.  Turns out that this year there is a big group of 10-12 year olds that have never skied before - that's the perfect age I like to work with! 

 

I'm having lots of fun, the skiing is great and I'm giving back to the ski program and the community teaching these kids a skill that means they can go out and have fun in the dark-dark winter here.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I am curious.  When you went to college, was math required at all?

 

Since we went to the same college, I am wondering.

 

For my major, NO math was required (I am told that has changed now) so I didn't take any!

 

The last math I took was Geometry in high school.  I was required to take Algebra and Geometry, so that is as far as I got.

 

Dawn

I had to have math as part of my teaching degree - so a "Math for Elementary Teachers" (which covered the basic content of what we were teaching, I think) and another class on teaching techniques for math (manipulatives, grids, number lines etc.)  Otherwise, I'm embarrassed to admit that I did have to take a remedial course because I didn't pass the math entrance test.  I never took Geometry in high school.  I took Algebra and then a Consumer Math course.  The Geometry I know now is from trying to help ds through geometry last year!  

[Jaz]

I started taking Body Pump classes. I am the strongest I have ever been.

[Debbi in Texas]

Exercising regularly and losing weight. I have been needing to do this for a long time.

[Soror]

Let's see I tried rockclimbing :) I'm in love http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/495409-any-rockclimbers-here/

 

I set up an appt for myself to get my hormones/thyroid checked. I should have done this months ago but I'm glad I finally did.

 

I started the evaluation process for ds, next comes the results and follow through, which I imagine will the hard part but at least I got it started.

 

I did a day long cooking extravaganza and cooked enough meat for a months worth of meals.

 

Earlier in the summer and fall I made a lot of progress studying grammar but I've been at a stand still with that until my brain starts working again.

[Jen in NY]

I set up an appt for myself to get my hormones/thyroid checked. I should have done this months ago but I'm glad I finally did.

I totally need to do this, too.

[MIch elle]

Tonight I'm going to a Shakespeare Club!  They are starting Hamlet, and it's read aloud at the meeting. I'm also studying the BIble, here's my post: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/495229-historical-and-literary-bible-study/

 

EDIT:  I went to the Shakespeare Club and because someone didn't show, I read the first line of the play!  I was Bernardo. I wasn't prepared to read, but it went well and I had fun. 

[Karen in CO]

I took a sailing class this summer and am patiently (or not) waiting for spring so I can take more.

 

Two weeks ago, I drove to Texas (15 hour drive each way) just to have dinner and go  shoe shopping with my sister.  It was a long drive, but it was wonderful to see her.  We had fun, and I got a cool pair of knee-high boots.  

[Jerico]

I am reading everything agatha christie has ever written :) and tackling some books that have been on my kindle for years. :)

 

It is nice to think about this because usually all i can think about are the things i am not doing. :/

 

I only had one math class required in college. I took the lowest level possible and still went to tutoring.

[Guest janetmeg]

Last week i tested for black belt (1:30p.m. til 7:30p.m.) and passed.  In january it will be 4 years of weekly training.  I never grew up doing athletics and so doing this was pretty huge!  Now I get to give back and teach younger belts which is rewarding as well.

[DawnM]

Ah.

 

I didn't get my teaching degree in undergrad and I didn't get an Elem. teaching credential, so that may be the difference.

 

Dawn

 

 

I had to have math as part of my teaching degree - so a "Math for Elementary Teachers" (which covered the basic content of what we were teaching, I think) and another class on teaching techniques for math (manipulatives, grids, number lines etc.)  Otherwise, I'm embarrassed to admit that I did have to take a remedial course because I didn't pass the math entrance test.  I never took Geometry in high school.  I took Algebra and then a Consumer Math course.  The Geometry I know now is from trying to help ds through geometry last year!  

 

[Erica in OR]

I've done some Spanish language practice every day for over six months in a row and hope to continue toward my goal of being able to speak to/understand semi-fluently.

 

Erica in OR

[Happy]

What a fun topic!

 

I've built a business.

 

Three years ago I got my real estate license. Two years ago, cancer treatments meant I simply couldn't work as much as I wanted. This January, I set a significant (for me) dollar goal to make and I reached that at the end of October. Yippee! It is fun to see the hard marketing work pay off--and the work is fun, too.

[ScoutTN]

This thread is inspiring! 

 

I hope to soon be tackling math myself. Making up for poor teaching, preparing to teach and just generally improving my mind. I think I could have enjoyed math if I'd had better teachers. In college we had to take 9 hours of science or math and I choose astronomy and biology. No math courses, though astronomy did require some very basic math.

 

I built a greenhouse/hoop house for our garden so that we can have homegrown greens all winter long. Well to be honest, I planned it and DH built it. But it was my intiative that made it happen and it works and we should harvest our first round of spinach and lettuce soon. :)

 

 

 

 

[Liz CA]

I have (almost) finished more academic classes in my field. Always feels good when I check another course off my list.

[MrsMommy]

I was a guest on a radio program, and got to talk about one of my favorite topics. It was a lot of fun, and I felt like I had shared something important.

[fraidycat]

Washed the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen last night, and it looks so beautiful this morning. Does that count? :laugh:

 

Really, I love washing dishes and a clean kitchen. Don't talk to me about cooking. :glare:

This is my big accomplishment, too! :laugh:

[Happy]

Washed the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen last night, and it looks so beautiful this morning. Does that count? :laugh:

 

Really, I love washing dishes and a clean kitchen. Don't talk to me about cooking. :glare:

When I was a young mom,

 I had a photography studio to run, a small mail order business, did some speaking at ladies' classes, raised dogs, rode horses, and had two sons to wrangle. One gal at church asked me once how I managed it all...I looked her straight in the eye and said I don't clean house.

 

Which, sadly, was pretty darn true. I did the basics and ignored the rest...there was so many other wonderful things to do in life. These days I can afford to have someone deep clean once a month...and I sure wish she could come once a week.

 

For me, a clean kitchen is a nearly impossible dream. :)

[MomOfOneFunOne]

Absolutely! "I" didn't clean the kitchen last night and had to look at it first thing this morning. :glare:

 

AMDG

 

I really do not like waking up to a messy kitchen.

[laundrycrisis]

Yes.  I have finally started making regular use of the exercise bike I got last Mother's Day.  I bought myself some UnderArmour "power pants!"  and some very cool socks to encourage myself to exercise.  I rode 5 miles this morning, while playing Candy Crush :)

 

I started a quilt for my mom.  It will probably take me 2 years to finish it, but hey, I started it !

 

I started using a retinol product on my face every night, and I'm seeing results :)

 

I've done a few impulsive purges since last week.  At least half of the shirts  in my closet - all the ones I never chose to wear - are gone.  This morning I went through all my sleepwear and bagged everything that I thought of as unflattering and rarely wore.  I intend to keep up the purging.  Instead of waiting for the perfect time, I am just doing it when the impulse hits me.

 

On impulse, I bought a novel from the Kindle Daily Deals.  I put it on the iPad and read it in two days.  Very satisying!

[Renee in NC]

Tough Mudder  :D

[KRG]

I cleaned the oven today.

[BarbecueMom]

I started practicing seriously again... like between 2 and 3 hours a day. For many years I played enough to get by; enough to just eek through a community band concert, for instance, but this is new. It is motivation that comes from within to play well and serve the music, as opposed to motivation to not screw up, and I like it. I am trying to leave behind my total perfectionist tendencies about it all and give myself some props for the progress I have made so far. I feel hugely satisfied about my improved playing but even more about my new mental health in regards to my playing, if that makes sense. I have my moments of relapse but I keep going, and that's new, too. Only took 35 years of playing to get here.... :)

 

Last night I played in an amazing concert (for those in the know we played The Soul Has Many Motions by John Mackey...wow!!, Sketches on a Tudor Psalm, Armenian Dances, English Folk Song Suite... and a few others....) and for the first time in my life I breathed through it and just observed the amazing music that was going on all around and through me.... I tell you ... it was transcendent. Good way to begin Thanksgiving week.

I got my trumpet back out and started practicing again a couple weeks ago. My tuning slide is stuck. Need to get that fixed soon.

 

I know what you mean about getting into a mentally healthy place as a musician. I struggled with anxiety toward the end of my music degree, which is what caused me to leave my instrument shelved for several years. Other than some range (and 75% of my minor scales, yikes!), I haven't lost too much. Haven't decided where I'm going with this. I'm just trying to find some joy in it for now.

[LibraryLover]

<Gah>  Hosted a Sunday buffet brunch at our home.  It all ended up OK/nice.  I stop worrying once the first guests arrive and eat something.  Before that...a little stressed. ;)

[Pod's mum]

Well I feel satisaction at having just written, filed and served more legal papers.

These include a large demand that I've not had the intestinal fortitude (guts) to demand many years ago.

I have no legal training and find the whole proccess difficult and traumatic, but we are doing it anyway. (yet. a-bloody-gain.) so time to fight for the way it should be.

 

I also organised a history day last week, that nearly 70 kids and parents came to and after umpteen emails and phone calls, it was great and flowed beautifully.

 

I'm also going through all our belongings (with help) and managing to hand many carloads of boxes and bags on to others or out.

 

 

[PrairieSong]

For the past three months I've been teaching myself French with an iPad app called Duolingo. I love it! I took 3.5 years of German in high school and always thought French would be harder but it isn't. The accent is tricky. When I'm cooking I listen to a Paris radio station online. They talk FAST but I'm excited when I can pick out words and phrases. Today a guy said, "C'est totalement fou!" Which means "that's totally crazy!" It's funny; I will learn new words and then almost right away recognize them on the French radio.

 

Our daughter has been living in France for over a year and a half and is pretty fluent now. She writes me emails and snail mails partly in French, and I'm able to understand most of what she writes. Reading is always easier than listening to someone speak the language. I just need someone to talk to in French! I want to do Pimsleur or Learnables after I've finished Duolingo.

 

I also play my guitar every day and sometimes write songs...not in French though! I knit and crochet and am making Christmas gifts. I love reading what everyone else is doing!

[SharonM]

I went back to college this year. I started in  online college in Jan. I am about to wrap up my second semester, and doing very well, considering that I am holding down a part-time job (drive a school bus) and keeping up with the house (with my dd's major help!)..  I started school at age 56. It is never too late! I always wanted to  get my accounting degree and I am almost halfway there.

[Aurelia]

I started learning to play the guitar at the beginning of the month, trying to practice at least an hour a day. I forgot how much I missed playing music! I've also been sticking to my diet and exercise plan pretty well, and the consistency in exercise is big for me. 

[Happy]

For the past three months I've been teaching myself French with an iPad app called Duolingo. I love it! I took 3.5 years of German in high school and always thought French would be harder but it isn't. The accent is tricky. When I'm cooking I listen to a Paris radio station online. They talk FAST but I'm excited when I can pick out words and phrases. Today a guy said, "C'est totalement fou!" Which means "that's totally crazy!" It's funny; I will learn new words and then almost right away recognize them on the French radio.

 

Our daughter has been living in France for over a year and a half and is pretty fluent now. She writes me emails and snail mails partly in French, and I'm able to understand most of what she writes. Reading is always easier than listening to someone speak the language. I just need someone to talk to in French! I want to do Pimsleur or Learnables after I've finished Duolingo.

 

I also play my guitar every day and sometimes write songs...not in French though! I knit and crochet and am making Christmas gifts. I love reading what everyone else is doing!

 

Thanks for this! I just signed up for Duolingo French. What a fun app....maybe on the next thread llike this, I'll say I've learned vast amounts of French. :)