Dead Man Walking

Dead Man Walking is the surreal feeling I have had over the last couple of weeks and I might say, it is the weirdest feeling ever!

When me and my daughter started this blog, it was an aim for a healthier lifestyle in all aspects, for my daughter it stemmed from being born with Cerebral Palsy. For me it was a suspicion of cancer.

Over the last couple of weeks, that suspicion is becoming a reality as I go through all the testing. I have had the physical and the mammogram with ultrasounds as well. I still have the biopsy on January 3rd to go to and then wait a week after that to get the final results. Yet even at the physical it pretty much became a reality.

I took it pretty well as I had come to terms with it some time ago and put off getting it checked as we did not have insurance at the time. I finally found a program where I qualified for to get help but that took me quite some time to find. We are aware it is a good possibility of being in a late stage and I have faced that.

As soon as the news started breaking through the grapevine to loved ones, a bizarre world appeared that I did not quite expect. They started talking to me, about me, as if I was already in the grave! I had this urge to put a sign around my neck that read "Dead Man Walking!" I even had to ask a couple of times for people to quit talking about me like I was already in the grave!

You see it seems that if people are aware you may have stage IV breast cancer, they automatically believe the negative aspects of those statistics. Sure I have a 1% chance of kicking cancers ass. Sure I have a 15% to 20% chance of living 5 years and on average one at this stage lives 18 months after diagnosis.

Statistics scare the hell out of people!

But I am NOT a Dead Man Walking, I AM VERY MUCH ALIVE. my fate is NOT sealed and I have many choices on what I can do to increase my odds to get me to come out on the end of the long line of the survival curve.

Through modern medicine, and treating the whole body nutritionally, spiritually, mentally and physically, I see no reason why my odds won't increase and that I have many years ahead of me. This blog will help me stay accountable for these life changes.

This past week I have been establishing my fight plan for 2013, which I will be sharing soon. It will be a blend of a cancer fighting diet, imagery, music, touch therapy and physical exercise and I am looking forward  to getting it started!

Have a Great New Year everyone!

When Illness Strikes

While the end of the year brought holidays, winter and time with family, it also brought physicals, mammograms and ultra sounds. While we have suspected breast cancer for awhile, and kept quiet about it with the exception of a few close loved ones, it is now becoming a reality here.

I have a biopsy scheduled for the 3rd of January and will be called back to go in a week after that to get the final results.

This certainly explains why this blog and our daily life seems to have lacked energy and activity :) and December was a pretty bad month for me in general health wise. It is not looking good and very likely is in a late stage.

If anyone is interested, I will be blogging about my fight and my plans to increase my odds of survival over at my whole-istic living blog at http://awhole-isticlife.blogspot.com/


For our homeschooling, this leaves me at the end of the year wondering about 2013, I will need to set up a plan of action to increase the kids learning activities and independent learning. It will need to be set up with my days of lack of energy, and side effects of treatment with days I am sure of being really sick.

While it is hard to make concrete plans without final test results in to know exactly what we are dealing with, I can still come up with an outline for a plan of action and get something set up.

In any case, a New Year is always a good time to review and plan so look for our 2013 goals and plans of action to come soon!

Have a wonderful New Year everyone!

Moms Time Out: Finding Time For Yourself

Let's face it, no matter what method of homeschooling you use, it can be exhausting work. There is a lot to balance when one is committed to being mom, teacher, wife, housekeeper and not enough time in a day to get everything done all the time. So how does one keep from burning out? Finding time for yourself of course!

It is important to take time out for yourself on a regular basis to reflect, rejuvenate your batteries, contemplate, review and just simply get that much needed downtime. We are not an elite group of super hero's as much as we would like to think we are! We are human, there is only one of us usually and there is only so much we can accomplish before we need a small break to get ready for the next round.

For some it is easier to find that time alone, for others it may not be so easy. But no matter what the case it is important that you find that time. Taking care of yourself is the first step in being able to take care of the ones you love.

What you do in that time for yourself is up to you, but should be something that rests your weary body, uplifts your soul and revs up your creative thought processes. It may be taking a candle lit bubble bath, a long walk in nature, a quiet place to read or journal write, fishing, or taking a yoga class or some special cooking or art class.

When you are well rested and in a good mood, others pick up on this and follow your lead. We are in a better position to homeschool with joy when we take the time to treat ourselves in order to serve our best to others. Would you rather be taught by a tired and grumpy person that is short on patience? Or would you prefer to be served and taught by someone who is well rested, overflowing with joy and almost an unlimited amount of patience and giving?

If you like to keep daily to do lists, make sure you put "Take ME TIME" on it!

Taking time for yourself is not a selfish act, it is an important treatment of self-love that strives to be your best so you can best serve the needs of your children, spouse and family. By ensuring you are taking time for you and not burning out or stressing out, you are putting your best foot forward and modeling a happier well rested person. By putting forth a happier well rested person, those around you will be happier.

Find a way to give yourself a time out on a regular basis, even if all you can manage is 5 or 10 minutes a day, that just may be enough time for a peaceful short meditation to center your being and restore a more peaceful you! The older the kids get, the easier it is to find a little more time!

You deserve it and so does your family!

Islamic Homeschooling

Here are a few resources for Islamic Homeschooling, whether you are muslim or looking for some interesting diversity to add to your curriculum, I hope you enjoy these links! While this is not in any way a complete list, it should help get you started and is of a nice variety to start with!

http://www.pearlsofjannah.com/

http://middlewaymom.wordpress.com/

http://www.magcloud.com/user/islamichomeschooling

http://muslimhomeschoolblog.com/

http://hijabiandme.blogspot.com/

http://www.yemenlinks.com/Theme/HS_Islamic

http://www.islamiceducation.net/

http://sd2cx1.webring.org/l/rd?ring=muslimhomeschool;id=10;url=http%3A%2F%2Fourseeds%2Etripod%2Ecom%2F

http://www.ehow.com/info_8019291_islamic-homeschooling-resources.html

http://www.islamichomeeducation.co.uk/phpBB3/,

http://kinzaacademy.com/

Text Books are BORING

Let's face it, while textbooks may certainly have their place at least in the form of a reference book, they are BORING! Learning in the modern world we live in today offers so many more exciting ways in which one can focus learning on. There are many alternatives to textbooks that could be used to truly excite and ignite ones desire to learn any particular subject, why would you choose a textbook? If you find a textbook useful for a particular subject like zoology for example, then why not supplement it with material that would be far more interesting and beneficial to retaining what is being learned?

When thinking of any subject, think of as many alternatives you can to offer the lessons in an exciting way.

Think of:

Games of all kinds, from board games to group games, car games , made up games and even electronic games that could be used!

Movies that have the historical or theme of your lesson within it.

Edible projects that may be made to drill the point home, edible habitats, maps, mobiles, whatever you can think of pertaining to the lesson to make it an edible project!
Unusual items for unusual places such as Shower Curtains with the Periodic Table on them or the Weather or the World Map ( yes they have them!)

Real Books about Real People, Places or your Subject Matter ( historical Fictions are great too for history!)

Audio Books or Cd's

Music- sometimes you can find music CD's with the theme of your subject matter so be sure to check!

Play- role play, any kind of play that would implement the lessons into an activity of play

Museums that relate to your studies of the month.

People- relating to your subject matter may be able to help or be invited over depending on who they are and how well you know them.

Raw Materials- this would depend on what is being studied but do not miss out on gather related raw materials! This may be aluminum cans, nature items, steel, wood, mud or clay, rocks and gems you name it!

Apprenticeships? Perhaps an apprenticeship would be possible for such things as metal work, woodworking, auto mechanic or a tutor for foreign language or certain skills.

What ever the case, HAVE FUN!
Can you think of some other ways to present learning in a fun way without the use of textbooks?

Switched to Stevia

When I first tried Stevia in my coffee, I won't lie, I thought it was AWFUL! I then tried it in corn meal muffins with the same results. I put it aside and left it alone for a little while, perhaps as long as a month.

Then it struck me it is sweeter than white sugar, and when used as the same amount you would use sugar as, it also had a somewhat nasty after taste.

In coffee, which is where I consume the most sugar having 3 cups of coffee in the morning, then one or two in the evening, I really wanted to find an alternative that was not blocking my immune system for up to 4 hours per teaspoon!

So I tried again.

I normally use 1 teaspoon of sugar in my coffee. I found to replace it with Stevia, I only use a 1/4 of a teaspoon of Stevia and it worked! Not only am I now off the sugar and onto stevia but so is my hubby! Even my daughter uses it now from time to time!

Now, as an experiment, I  tried to use a teaspoon of sugar in my coffee after hubby mentioned it was awful, I found he was right! After getting use to the Stevia, it is now the white sugar that tastes just awful in the coffee!

Going healthier, one baby step at a time!

 

Coffee Time Lets Discuss...

Balance! We all know just how busy a homeschooling mom can be, so how do you balance schooling with chores, cooking, outside activities and anything else you may have on your plate like a home business?

Do you have specific schedules?

Are your children involved with helping with chores or cooking?

Do you clean before or after schooling?

Does everything just kind of blend together as everyone is learning by living?

Do you struggle with trying to balance everything?

Is your house well used and a little on the chaotic side or spotless and organized?

Please share your tips and experiences with what works well for your family and things that may not of worked! Balance can be a very hard thing for homeschool moms to achieve and your comments may be helpful to those who may struggle in this area!

Link Love

Thought it would be nice to share some link love with some wonderful and inspiring blogs out there! Happy Reading!

1.) Homeschool Happymess

2.) Homeschooling Uncensored

3.) High on Homeschool

4.) Homeschool Heart and Mind

5.) Fanny Hareville's Unschool Academy

6.) By Sun and Candlelight

What are some of your favorite homeschool blogs? Please share in the comments!

Using Grocery Shopping For Learning

Grocery shopping is one of those mundane tasks we all have to do on a regular basis. There is no getting around it for the most part, it is a chore that just has to get done. How often really depends on the family, some go every couple of days, once a week, bi-monthly or once a month but certainly is something that every family does.
For the homeschooling families, a grocery trip can be a fun hands on learning trip that happens every time you go!
The child can help prepare the lists, price compare, add up the groceries as they go into the cart. There are sales to figure out percentages,figuring out unit prices, estimating how much the overflowing will costs and in many cases even figuring out sales taxes on items.
A whole range of math concepts can be covered in any one shopping trip that can be presented in a fun manner that helps build good shopping skills at the same time. It is also a great way to demonstrate those math concepts in a way that is applicable to living, that is not seperate from our daily life.
Yet there is another angle that many miss here as well that a grocery store can open a new world up to.
If you keep an eye out for a new and interesting food your family has never tried before, this can lead to discovering something new you like. When you bring it home, this opens an opportunity to look it up online to discover what it is, how it is used and what country it comes from. Sometimes this leads to an in-depth study of a new country that has not been covered yet. Sometimes it leads to learning a whole new line of ethnic cooking, preparing traditional dishes of that country.
This can hold true of items purchased that are made in a different country as well. When this is discovered it can be a fun project to have a large world wall map and colored stickers or thumb tacks. Then go through your house with the kids and discover just how many items in your house comes from a different country, marking it all on the map!
You may want to keep it all fresh by visiting a new store once in a while too or even an ethnic grocery store. By using grocery stores in this fashion, many kids will get excited over shopping days and actually will enjoy going. The occasional visit to an ethnic grocery store will almost be like going to a museum with them where they are delighted by all the new items they see and try to figure out what it is or how it may be used.
By doing all this, it takes out the mundane factor and puts in the fun and exciting. You get a chore completed at the same time the kids are learning too. What could be better than all that?
Do you simply go shopping or do you use it as a diving board for learning?

Anime Cat Art

 

These are a few of my daughters anime cats that she has done using the microsoft paint program on our computer!  She has been spending loads of time drawing these ( I am only showing 3 of them) .

 

Once she has several done, she then goes into a Skype editing program and creates mini movies set to music and is really getting good at!

 

So for Christmas I could not resist and ordered her a drawing tablet for the computer where you draw normally on it but it plugs into the computer. I also ordered her a computer software program for Anime Workshop!  This will allow her to do so much more than what she can do now with them with the limited programs we have at the moment.

 

I can not wait to see what she will be able to create with some decent tools to help foster her deep passion of drawing, anime and editing. 

 

Unknown to her, she also has a digital camcorder coming for her love of movie making!

 

So what do you think? Would these critters make some cute T-shirts or what?

A 2011 and 2012 Comparison

At first glance it does not seem like much has changed from 2011 and 2012 as far as income and struggles. Yet when little details are thought about it has been a huge difference.


2011  had us bike riding 5 miles to town and back daily for 3 months
2012 had us being able to not only drive but to pay off the truck as well.

2011 had me bikng up to 20 miles a few times a week to collect returnable cans or forage for wild foods such as apples and pears.
2012 had us having a garden so the food was right out the door

2011 had us going absolutely nowhere but town locally
2012 brought us a 4 day camping trip and me and hubby's first date day in 2 years! (being homeschoolers I am with my kids 24/7 which I love but having one on one time with hubby was bloody fantastic!)

2011 had us reaching December with an empy propane tank, and shut off notices for electricity and phone. It also had us arrive at the holdays without a dime and relied on the kindness of a stranger.
2012 had us reach December with full propane tank and only a shut off notice for electricity that i was able to make arrangements on AND still have money to give the kids a wonderful christmas this year while also finding bargain deals for what they wanted.

2011 We had no chickens
2012 we have chickens supplying us with fresh eggs almost daily

2011 had us not hearing from adult son in several years with an estranged relationship
2012 brought our son home regaining a wonderful relationship with him

2011 had hubby for several months only getting 20 hours a week
2012 brought hubby full time each and every week

2011 had us building material needs from scratch as we moved up here with only what could fit in the trunk of our car.
2012 brought us a year where we really did not need anything

2011 was full of doubt and questions to what really was wrong with me
2012 is bringing us long awaited needed answers to those questions

2011 had us struggling to keep enough food in the house ( we managed but it was tough!)
2012 brought us ample food with no worrying about it

When starting to look at the details, 2012 was a much better year than 2011 hands down!

For the Homeschool Moms on Your Gift List

Pumpkin Cookies

• 4 cups all-purpose flour ( do 2 whole wheat and 2 all purpose)
• 3 cups  sugar
• 3 T. Molasses
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 (16 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, molasses,cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and salt. Add pumpkin, oil, eggs, water and vanilla; beat by hand or with electric mixer until well mixed. Fold in chocolate chips and nuts. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto greased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees F for 10-12  minutes or until edges just begin to brown. Cool on wire rack.

Kentucky Homemade Christmas

Menu Plan for December 3- 11

What do you know, I made one! LOL
Hubby says he can't wait that it sounds yummy to him!
Enjoy!

The Menu Plan

Monday-December 3

Breakfast- Coco Wheats, Whole wheat toast with pumpkin butter

Lunch- Lunch meat w/ cheese sandwiches, grapefruit, fresh carrots

Dinner- Soup made out of left over pork roast, added potatos, can of tomatos, carrots etc.,    corn bread

Tuesday

Breakfast- Toast with pumpkin butter, grapefruit

Lunch- P & B Sandwiches, fresh carrots

Dinner- Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Wednesday

Breakfast- Oatmeal, fruit

Lunch- Celery, green onions, whole wheat toast

Dinner- Lasagna, Garlic Bread, Salad

Thursday

Breakfast- Whole Wheat Pancake Fruit Rolls

Lunch- Bananas and Cream, veggies

Dinner- Slow Cooker Chili, Corn Bread

Friday

Breakfast- Hot Cereal, Fruit

Lunch- Muffins

Dinner- Japanese Chicken in a Pot, Fried Rice, veggies

Saturday

Breakfast- Muffins

Lunch- Bananas and Cream, Veggies

Dinner- Chicken Enchiladas, veggies

 

 

Sunday

Breakfast- Hot Cereal, Whole Wheat Toast, Fruit

Lunch- Cheese Tortillas

Dinner- Chinese Spiced Roast Chicken, Fried Rice, Veggie Tray

Monday

Breakfast- French toast, Fruit

Lunch- P&B sandwiches, veggies

Dinner- Tortillas, veggies

Tuesday December 11

Breakfast- Hot Cereal, Whole Wheat Toast, Fruit

Lunch- Tuna Sandwiches, veggies, fruit

Dinner- Meat loaf, mashed potatoes, green beans, veggies, fruit

 

Dreaming.......

I found this listing http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/115-Pleasant-Ave_Alma_MI_48801_M37115-78288 

Looks to be an old converted church and I instantly fell in love with the humungo Great Room!

This place is selling for roughly $14,000 and has been on the market a year and a half.

4 bedrooms, decent yard, and plenty of room at 2175 square feet........oh the hide and seek that could be played!

The heating would scare me but I would slap a few wood burners in there in a hurry haha!

Can you imagine the Christmas tree that would fit in the Great Room? Lovely visions that brings.

It is a 1950's home and with any old home they come with their share of character and problems needing resolved.


Well one can dream can't they? LOL

Have a great Monday everyone, today my son starts his job after being out of work for 7 months! WOOT

No Thrift Stores Here.......

Well it only took me 2 years to find our local Salvation Army, yeah sad but true! It is not in an area I usually go and prior to me knowing the main part of town, map quest just confused me.

So me and hubby went and took a look and I was so disappointed! Our Salvation Army is not a store and is only there to offer services. The store is in another town 30 miles away that we rarely get to because gas is usually an issue for anything more than local driving.

I am use to rural areas having very limited resources but this particular rural area seems void of everything and is starting to really frustrate me.

That being said, we have NO Thrift stores which I would really think would be beneficial to this area. We had one when we first moved here but a new owner took over and took the thrift out of it and made it a high priced novelty store. He lasted 6 months if that before he closed doors and resorted to trying to sell his high priced items at a perpetual yard sale in town.

Some real down falls of this undeveloped area has been

• decent Internet service, as it was for almost 2 years we had nothing but dial-up as high speed did not exist in our area.
• free video rentals from library-nope they charge and only have about 30 horrid horrid choices as it is like Austin Powers kind of stuff.
• no thrift stores- hangs head in total sadness
• For the first year we had a walmart that closed at 9pm and no food, a year ago we got a Super Walmarts that offered food and and open 24 hours so no longer a down fall
• Not any real choices of where to shop
• high winds most the time- that's what happens when the land is flat, flat, flat, flat!
• no choice for phone service- we have one choice which is Frontier which BITES BIG TIME and over charges on a monthly basis, been a huge headache for us
• closed minded small town mentality-enough said there! LOL

Now I do love my rural areas as there are many positives as well but I would really love some second hand stores within driving distance!

Some Positives are

• Low crime
• friendly farmer neighbors
• slow pace of life
• no traffic
• wildlife out your door
• everything closes at 5pm  ( except our newer Super Walmarts of course)
• quiet
• great fishing spots
• low cost rentals and housing prices
• foraging opportunities

So yeah good things too just as there is with everything.

I still want a goodwill or salvation army store here though!

Going off to pout while I finish our yummy pork tenderloin roast , mashed potato's and carrots for dinner!

Back to the Basics: DIY Laundry

 

 

While most don't sit around dreaming of the good old days in the form of washing laundry out by hand, this is what I have been doing all week! For us it is a savings of $20 a month as I typically hauled it to the laundry mat once a month.

 

For every way I find a way to save a few dollars, I plan on putting the savings up in a sealed jar and ear marking jars for a few certain funds.

 

Here is how I am doing it:

 

1.) I found an old phone line cord I do not need and tied it up in our bathroom indented closet that is the area meant for a washer and dryer to go in our place. I tied it around the middle wood piece that divides the cupboards that is meant for laundry soap and other laundry types of storage. The phone cord fit perfect from one cupboard across to the next forming a very small but usable clothes line for winter drying.

 

This makes it to where I have to wash something daily for my family of 5 BUT I should be able to do it in one day in the summer when I put up an outside clothes line and can hang  a lot more clothing!

 

 

2.) I take dirty clothes and hang them across the line to see how much will fit, when they reach across the line, I then take them and put them in a 5 gallon bucket. This ensures I do not put more in the bucket than I can hang to dry.

 

3.) I put a little laundry soap in and put hot water in, let soak for 10 to 15 minutes.

 

4.) I take a plunger and then plunge the clothes ( the bucket sits in the bathtub to make sure I don't make a mess and for easy filling and emptying of the bucket.  I plunge about 10 minutes.

 

5.) I empty the whole bucket in the tub, then wring the water out of the clothes putting them back in the bucket.

 

6.) I fill with cold water and plunge again about 10 minutes.

 

7.) Again I empty the whole bucket into the tub, wring the water out of the clothes and put them back in the bucket.

 

8.) Fill again with the cold water for a second rinse, plunge 5 to 10 minutes, empty bucket and wring the water out of the clothes really well and hang on the line.

 

9.) I have a large plastic sheet left over from winterizing the windows I cover the floor with under the line to make sure any clothes that may drip, will not ruin the floor.

 

 

The next morning I turn the clothes over on the line and put up when dry and get another batch done to hang.

 

 

No it is not romantic, nor is it convenient but it will save some money and I actually prefer doing them this way for the main point that I HATE going to a laundry matt where I feel like it is 2 hours of idle wasted time. I also hate hauling several bags and baskets all around in blustery cold weather which is NOT my idea of fun.

 

I like doing laundry at home on MY TERMS in between doing other things!

 

This way though does get them just as clean as a $2 washing machine and I don't need the $1.50 per load to dry!

No Black Friday here!

I do not see the craze that takes hold of consumers to camp out in tents, push people over, pepper spray them, rush around madly, fight crowds and a whole bunch of other things just a few hours after giving gratitude for our blessings to go shopping.

While perhaps a few deals may be had, the truth is there is a reason the stores make a huge profit for this event and it is not by granting everyone "deals." Sure some may be so the store can unload inventory they can not otherwise sell before they write it up as a loss. But this is not everything the promote as being a "sale" item and use a bunch of gimmicks to trick and confuse the rabid consumers.

Whether it is simply to get bargains on products you most likely will never use,  or to do your Christmas shopping on this day, to me it is simply not worth it or a trend I will ever give into.

So today finds me, sitting at home as will all future Black Fridays. It just is not a day for everyone, while I am sure some of you do have an incredibly fun day with it ( I am certainly not knocking anyone who enjoys Black Friday's!)

I for one, just don't get the point or why so many get so crazy over it!

Happy Friday Y'all, have a great weekend!