Alternate Realities

My family will tell you that watching TV with me is an adventure.  I tend to get involved with the show and have long conversations with the characters like they can actually hear me.  You know that person who always tells the ditzy girl in the horror movie "Don't go in the basement stupid!", well that is me.  Except I do it all the time.  

For instance, I love Battlestar Galactica and I can watch the reruns about a million times and still love it as much as the first time.  Possibly even more than the first time since I have watched the whole season and it makes sense to me now.  But while watching BG, I am constantly yelling out "Don't listen to her.  She's a cylon!" or "You're a cylon!" just because I am a dork.  

I am also the type of person who will analyze TV shows and moves to death and write plots in my head or rewrite how it should have been.  

Needless to say after watching Downton Abbey, Episode 4 my heart just aches and I wish I could rewrite the whole damn episode.  I like many people am trying to remind myself that the characters are not real but to me they are real in their own little universe and it hurts.  

I refuse to post spoilers on here because I think that just sucks but anyone who is caught up on DA knows what I am talking about.  

Even though my heart is broken, I can't wait to see what the rest of the season brings but in the meantime, I will continue to feel sad about this little detour the show has taken.

Handmade Christmas 2013

I am trying to have a Handmade Christmas where 90% of my gifts are handmade.  I am saying 90% because there are some things that will never be handmade in my house.  For example, Princess Ivi gets a new toothbrush every year and a new hairbrush as well as numerous packs of gum.

To help achieve my goal, I have made a Christmas planner.

The planner contains a tab for each person I give gifts to.  Behind each tab will be knitting, sewing, baking and other ideas for that person.  That way, when I see things that someone will like, I can print it and add it to the tab.  Each project will contain a project planning page where I will list yarn ideas for knitting projects, fabric to use for sewing projects, etc.

The binder also contains a monthly calendar in the beginning so I can plan out the year and not be knitting on Christmas Eve.

I am hoping that this helps me with my goal.

Along with this same idea, I have created three hidden boards on Pinterest.  They will contain gift ideas for the three main "families" I shop for.  That way, as I see things that I think would make great gifts for people, I can pin them to the boards and not run into the problem where months down the road I say "Hmmmm...I saw something for Mom but I can't remember what it was or where I saw it."

10 Ways to Beat the Winter Blues

10 Ways to Beat the Winter Blahs

1. Live in Florida – This year, we have had a very mild winter and unlike a lot of places, our winters are very short.  However, since not everyone can live in Florida, I will complete the list below: 
2. Splurge on a floral arrangement weekly to bring some freshness and color into your life.
3. Go outside.  Even when it is chilly out, nothing chases the blues away like the feeling of warm sunshine.
4. Paint your house with bright colors.
5. Use scent to activate your senses.  You could use citrus fruits, candles or essential oils.
6. Spend time with friends and family.
7. Plan for the holidays.  If the holidays get you psyched, you could start planning now.
8. Spring clean early. Open your windows and let in some fresh air.
9. Get out a notebook/sketchpad and start planning your garden.
10. When you start feeling blue dance, sing, paint, or get creative in your own way.

Challenges of Homeschooling Teenagers

Princess Ivi is now 16.  (She will turn 17 next month.)  She is a junior in high school and she attend Florida Virtual School Full Time.  She is doing really well in this program. 

One big drawback to this program though is that there is no prom.  She has been browsing prom dresses a lot lately and I know that she really would like to go.  I know that there are some areas that offer proms for home school students and I found a list of organizations in Florida and I am going to email them.  If we can’t do something this year, at least she has her senior year next year.

The other big drawback is that there is no dual enrollment right now.  So for next year, there are a lot of steps necessary for her (and me) to complete so she will be able to dual enroll at the local community college.

She is preparing for her SATs right now too which is kind of a bummer but a necessary one.   

Down in the Grumps

I have been seriously grumpy for days now.  I am not sure where it is coming from or what to do about it.  We have a three day weekend but I am taking Friday as a mental health day so maybe a four day weekend will help me chase away the grumps.

Back to Blogging in 2013 - revised schedule

I have decided to get back to blogging and to focus on these areas: 

• Parenting
• Ten on Tuesday
• Homemaking (including Gardening, Freezing, Canning, Homemade Christmas, Knitting, Sewing, Cooking, Etc.)
• Books, TV, Movies, Etc. 
• Spirituality

Starting on January 21, 2012, once a week, I will post once about each of the topics above.  Hopefully, people will find them interesting.