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?

Dressing up

A lot of families are dealing with weight issues, because modern technology has replaced some of the more laborious tasks of generations passed. Laundry and dish-washing used to be time-consuming tasks but now we just use the machines, and we can all agree that life is easier this way. Unfortunately, the foods we eat have also been replaced by franken-food, stuff that's made entirely in factories and all the enzymes and nutrients that nature would have us consuming aren't in our diets anymore. So there are many reasons people nowadays are just plain fatter than they used to be. It's a fact of life, but it can be avoided.

Thank goodness for plus size fashion stores, specialty clothing shops that only sell plus size clothing. It's an industry that's been growing in popularity because people want to look good no matter what their size is and most clothing stores don't order a lot of the larger sizes because they're a little harder to sell. People who wear plus sizes prefer a specialty store because the clothes fit better and look better.Anyway, if you're wearing pus sizes, please share about your shoopping habits in the comment section. Maybe you've had luck with Sears or another surprising place, maybe there's a website you're in love with for shopping, if not you should check out the links above because Jessica London is like the queen of plus size clothes. Seriously, check them out.

Cute in any size

I know a lot of people in the area have trouble shopping and even though we're not in the market for plus size clothing, I do notice a lot of plus sized residents in town and do we even have a store that specifically sells  plus size women's clothing?  I have no idea.  I can see how frustrating it would be to go shopping for plus size clothes and have to sift through an entire store just to see what they happened to order in your size.  My size is pretty standard and average, I take for granted that some people have a harder time finding things. Plus, clothes that aren't specifically made for a heavier frame might end up not being sturdy enough or flattering on a larger body. 

Take formal dresses for example. Sometimes the styles and cuts are made to emphasize the features of a smaller body, so even if you manage to find one in the right size it won't be flattering. That's why I like to see shops that specialize in plus size formal dresses because then the consumer knows they're getting something that's designed with their body in mind, so they won't have to sorry about feeling unattractive or frumpy or anything. Anyway, you should check out the store I'm linking to, they also have swimwear and bras (that would be a nightmare)  and plenty of other items made just for supersized gals who don't want to skimp on style. Enjoy :)

Big Bro Hooks Me Up

Guest written by our friend Gladys Fuentes

Man it’s nice being able to use my brother’s cabin in the winter. It’s only about 2 hours outside the city and having a place to go to get out of the hustle and bustle is absolutely essential for me and this makes it a lot less expensive all in all. He bought the place about ten years back and he’s told me before what a money pit it ended up being. He had to put a lot of money in to get it fixed up right and he even went to shopelectricityRatesTEXAS.com last year to get those electricity bills down because they were killing him. My favorite time to use it is in the winter when it gets kind of chilly out and I can start a fire and my wife and I can watch movies and drink wine. It’s so great and cozy and when it’s like that outside it’s all I can do to even open the door for more firewood! I love my brother and I really appreciate his generosity with this house of his.

Cleaning with Kids

Learning to maintain a house is important for boys and girls. Sure, for big messes and deep cleaning it's probably smarter to call http://www.thesteamteam.com/  or something, but for every day maintenance it's just smarter to crank up the music and embrace the task of cleaning as an act of love. This is so much smarter than making it a chore or punishment because those methods only teach children that cleaning is an undesirable activity. Since we've been cleaning with joy in our hearts, the kids are so much more eager to help tidy up. I can't imagine why we ever thought it was wise to associate cleaning with negativity. 


Sure, there are some tasks that require professional help, like fire and flood damage austin for example. And national air duct cleaning austin is another one, I mean can you imagine asking your 7 yr old to clean the air ducts? I know my daughter would be climbing through them with a wash cloth.  I'm not sure how the professionals do it, but I think it would be smart to seal them all off and then just vacuum through them with a powerful sucking device. I know that if you don't clean them regularly, the dust builds up and can cause a fire. It also reduces the air quality in your home because germs, bacteria and mold spores can live in there.  In our house, it could be woodpeckers or field mice. WHo knows? Either way, I know it's important for home maintenance, that's for sure. 

Hey medi-folk

I know that if you're working and homeschooling you probably can use all the money-saving ideas you can get, right? Especially when they're simple and easy. So go check out http://www.blueskyscrubs.com/ and see what they have going on there. you won't believe the prices first of all, and then you'll be blown away by the selection. They have like a million different things to choose from for uniform scrubs and lab coats and medical uniforms for people who work at doctors offices, hospitals, clinics, labs and places like that. It's really cool when you can have a lot of different pieces to choose from for your work wardrobe because by the time you're done mixing and matching you can end up with hundreds of different outfits from just using different color combinations and if you add in a few patterned pieces, then you're styling. 

Survivor Not Really Reality Anymore

Contribution by Terrance Kirby

"Survivor" is under way for another season of entertainment. There is now a new twist in the game called DirectTV packages with popular programming. The show needs to quit bringing back the past characters and give the new players a chance to play the game.
The producers this season are taking it easy on the players by supplying a ton of supplies at the camp sites. On the next Survivor they will probably have huts and dinner waiting. Players always had to compete and win the supplies to make their campsite more comfortable. Well hopefully, some of the new players like Kristina and the farmer can make the show more entertaining to watch and less of soap opera.