Sunday, August 21, 2011

Pinching pennies

If you or your spouse works at a place that requires scrubs, then you should totally check out this link for a website called Blue Sky Scrubs at http://www.blueskyscrubs.com/categories/Scrubs/ because they are an online scrub store that has an amazingly huge selection and also great prices. It's no surprise really that a web based business would be able to offer the best prices and selection, but when you compare like on an item by item basis, it becomes suddenly the most exciting thing int he world to shop for scrubs. I just LOVE the simple layout of the site and how easy it is to browse through the color swatch tabs. I can't do it on my husband's computer because his color is a little off and everything looked a little greener than it's supposed to be. But on my computer, I love to see the full range of beautiful colors they have and so many different prints and fabrics and sizes. They even have scrubs for kids. You know, in case you're like Doogie Howser's mom or something. Anyway, be sure to take a peek and see what they've got. You're SURE to save some money and I dont' know about you but shopping online is so much MORE FUN than actually going somewhere, right? For me it is, anyhow. I'm not much of a shopper. 

Putting the HOME back in homeschool

Have you ever walked into a homeschooler's house and you get that sinking, crappy feeling that you're back in school again? Charts on the wall with gold stars ensure that kids are being taught to follow someone else's reward system rather than their own inner guidance... lesson plans that ensure that the specific target points of knowledge are being communicated and stressed, even if it's in spite of true understanding or enthusiasm. That used to impress me, but I don't think a homeschooling mom's job is to recreated the (failing) classrooms of the world. Life is joyful and learning is fun and there's no reason a home should be anything but a home.

It hit me when we were shopping to decorate my daughter's room. The rest of the world was shopping for school supplies, but that was the farthest thing from my mind, I just wanted to create a beautiful environment she'd be comfortable in. She's picky and I know it's important to HER that things be in order, so we set off with hot cocoa, our snuggies and started shopping online. She wanted everything she saw on this site, but we settled for a beautiful pegasus vanity and a trundle mattress that she can use when friends come over and some matching floral lamp shades to bring it all together.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Girl History



One thing we love about visiting the SCA re-enactments is the opportunity to check out the clothing and jewelry that was popular during that time. We like learning about the textiles, dyes and patterns they used. We've never tried to make any, but we do appreciate it. Maybe because we're girls. My daughters definitely want to have authentic medieval outfits, but the amount of work that goes into them is just maddening. Jewelry is a different story, though. There are some great historical jewelry reproductions. Especially if you're looking for Celtic designs. Celtic jewelry is beautiful and easy to find, too (especially since I just gave you a link to click on!) I absolutely love the Celtic knot patterns and I might even want one in tattoo form eventually.

I had to look up the term "Claddagh ring" and I'm so glad I did.  According to Wikipedia:


The Claddagh ring (Irish: fáinne Chladaigh) is a traditional Irish ring given as a token of love or worn as a wedding ring. The design and customs associated with it originated in the Irish fishing village of Claddagh, located just outside the city of Galway. The ring was first produced in the 17th century during the reign of Queen Mary II, though elements of the design date to the late Roman period.


Isn't that sweet? I love the idea that jewelry can have its own story. You should seriously check out some of the beauitful designs, they have something for everyone, for sure. And learning about traditional and historic clothing and jewelry automatically teaches lessons about materials, livestock and farming practices of the day and helps to get an understanding of the lifestyle in the time period, instead of just memorizing dates and names. I was never interested in war history and when I was a kid, that's all history was; memorizing dates and names of winners of wars. BORING. This is one reason we homeschool, to learn what life was like back then, not about the wars.




Monday, August 8, 2011

Remove It



Now is definitely the time to get rid of those nasty old appliances. You might want to call a service like Appliance Removal Chicago because they specialize in coming right out to your house and hauling away whatever it is that you want removed, as long as it's an appliance. So maybe you have an old dryer on your back porch, or an old washing machine or an old refrigerator or an old oven or an old freezer. Whatever it is, they can take it away for you. I mean, what else would you do with an old appliance, right?

Well, not so fast... I once saw the most adorable planter made out of an old dresser and I keep thinking it would be kinda cool to use an old washer as a planter. You could plant rosemary in it, or some other hanging-basket type of plant, like petunias, because they would spill over the top like too many soap suds. Hey, that would actually be kinda cute, to have a line of washers back-to-back like a little dividing wall, with flowers growing inside of them and maybe a row of pots in front of it. Anyway, it would be tacky but sometimes that's cute. I'd rather have that than a stack of nasty old machines on the porch collecting dust and spider webs.


Saturday, August 6, 2011

All shapes and sizes

We all know that people come in all shapes and sizes, right? Actually, they come in under ten pounds and as soon as they get here they just grow and grow. Some grow more than others. Sure, there are averages but there will always be  few people who thrive at levels above or below that average. That's where averages come from. It's necessary to have two extremes. So it's a good thing there are Big and Tall Clothing stores, as well as clothes for women's plus sixes. Next thing we know they'll be making a children's store that specializes in oversized kids. Not that it matters what their size is, UNLESS they're unhealthy. Then it matters because they deserve to be healthy. A lot of kids these days don't have a choice. There is a general lack-of-knowledge when it comes to the importance of whole, natural foods for health.  Some people eat nothing but processed foods. We choose to eat only whole and natural foods, but that's our choice. Mine, actually.  My kids get to make their own decisions, but they generally choose healthy foods, with a little more candy than I enjoy. Lately I have no craving for sweets at all. I think that means I am officially old or something.  I don't know, maybe it's because I just don't eat refined or processed foods much. I guess I start each day with a cup of coffee that's made with refined sugar. I should find a substitute I like. Maybe stevia. I wouldn't mind switching from coffee to tea, if I had  badass tea collection. Maybe I'll do that one day. Anyway, life is good. have a nice day.


 

Wear one out

Hey homeschoolers, wanna get your hands on some great Christian T Shirts? I know what you're saying; "A T shirt isn't capable of accepting Jesus as its savior." But lighten up, I just mean that there are some awesome shirts out there with Christian sayings, quotes and graphics. If you decide to visit their site, be sure to check out the top selling funny shirts.One cool thing about this site is that so many of the shirts are able to be customized. When you see the designs, it's kind of funny to see that each shirt says "Your words here" I collect quotes, though, so I'm always thinking of which words would go on a T shirt and I bet they might sell more if they display them with actual words instead of making the consumer think of their own. Oh well, they must have an artist on staff because the designs are fresh, modern,(yet traditional - nothing trashy) AND they're well-drawn. So basically you go for the art of the T shirt and you have to then choose your favorite quote or saying to be printed with the art. It's really a unique idea and the shirts are beautiful.  I'm sure they would make great gifts, too. 

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Home Economics

I took home economics in High School and it wasn't an economics course at all. We learned how to cook and clean and sew. Not that I can even sew a simple set of kitchen curtains today, it's not because I didn't learn how, it's just because I wasn't interested at the time.  Either way, that's not economics. Economics is managing money. Maybe they were trying to teach us that it's cheaper to bake from scratch or to sew things instead of buy them.... but we didn't really ever learn how to juggle bills, how to make a family budget or how to save money eating out. That's the kind of economics I find useful as a mom and homemaker. We redecorated our kitchen once fore like $30, they didn't teach us THAT in high school, right? I mean, you can't buy one single kitchen decor item for that much, it's ridiculous.

I don't know about you, but one reason we homeschool is because I want to be sure that the kids have real-life skills that they can use and one way we do that is by including them in decisions. See, in life, you really CAN have everything you want, as long as you work out a method to get it, right? Actually I shouldn't say that because every plan I make seems to fail but I still end up getting what I want. Life is good. The world is a good place and people want to help your dreams come true. That's why we homeschool. You don't need to have an average set of knowledge in every topic in order to be successful. A better approach is to be an expert in your favorite things and homeschooling allows us to raise kids who have time to pursue their passions and become experts in their field, without the time-wasting, mind-numbing, soul-crushing focus on mediocrity. so what about you? Did you take Home Ec in school? Do you think they missed the mark, or did you learn valuable homemaking skills? How does your homeschool differ from the experience you had as a child?