Wednesday, September 28

I'm not gonna lie- I'm pretty proud of this picture, especially since I was just lying on the ground watching my cousins play horseshoes when I noticed this perfect photo op just sitting there.

I LIKE IT!

I was babysitting on Monday and I had brought my science book along to work on when the girls went to sleep. I was sitting there watching the two year old and her baby sister eat their lunch when suddenly...
2 yr. old: Read to me!
Me: What do you want me to read?
2 yr. old: That big book over there.
I go get my science book.
Me: This one?
2 yr. old: Yeah!
Me: OK, but I don't think you'll like it.
2 yr. old: I do! I like it.
Me: If you're sure...today we're going to learn about chlorofluorocarbons.
I proceed to read a paragraph.
2 yr. old: I don't like this book.
So what did we learn today? A two year old's attention span, already like that of a sparrow suffering from ADHD, is shortened further by ninth-grade physical science.
Maybe I should bring an easier book next time....

Sunday, September 25

WFHESL SGA Service Activity

This Saturday, the West Florida Home Education Support League's Student Government Association (whew!) went to a retirement home to play games with the residents for a few hours. I know that playing card games with a senior may not be your idea of a great Saturday, but it actually was really fun! We had a bunch of card and board games, bingo, and Wii, as well as a couple of door prizes.
Some of the guys playing Scrabble with a resident

BINGO!!!

Geoff playing the piano

A group playing Apples to Apples
OOH! Pretty flowers!
Wishing for that chew toy....

Thursday, September 22

Wisdom from the Marches

"I see. It's nice to have accomplishments and be elegant, but not to show off or get perked up," said Amy thoughtfully. "These things are always seen and felt in a person's manner and conversation, if modestly used, but it is not necessary to display them," said Mrs. March. "Any more than it's proper to wear all your bonnets and gowns and ribbons at once, that folks may know you've got them," added Jo; and the lecture ended in a laugh. -from Little Women

Tuesday, September 20

Warning! Really Long Post Ahead! My Library

 This is my library! You will find if you volunteer at your local library for the summer, you will have an irresistable urge to organize books, CDs, and movies. Yesterday I organized our CD cabinet (only about half of our CDs actually make it in there). I have also taken some of the books that were sitting on top of bookshelves and put them inside the shelves. Anyway, I had also taken all of the books and CDs I either own or have sort of claimed as mine and put them in my "library".
 Kind of pathetic, huh? But anyway, all of my favorite books are in there, along with some of my favorite music. There are nine or ten books, but I have only put eight of them in here, because one is all ratty and gross and the other one- well, I couldn't find it.(sheepish grin)
These are my two favorite series of books so far. At least the two that I have multiple books from. They are the Mysterious Benedict Society series, by Trenton Lee Stewart and the Mother-Daughter Book Club series by Heather Vogel Frederick. The Benedict books are basically mysteries. They're very enjoyable, plus they're not the kind you can just sit down and read in twenty minutes. They come highly recommended. By me. :) The Book Club series is kind of a candy book series. That means that there's not really anything super memorable about them. I like them because the characters are pretty relatable, and I can get my 'candy' reading without devouring the entire book right away. They actually take me almost an entire day. I'm actually missing one of the books, because they didn't have it at the bookstore when I had my last book shopping spree. They're good for me because the girls are going through middle and high school, starting in sixth grade, and I first started reading them in sixth grade. The problem is making them last that long! :)

 Here's a close-up of the Benedict books. There's book 1, The Mysterious Benedict Society, book 2,  The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey, and the last book, The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma. I never really understood how Harry Potter fans felt about the last book coming out until I read online that Prisoner's Dilemma was the last book. :(
 Here's the close-up of the Book Club books. The first is the pink one, The Mother-Daughter Book Club, then the second is the one I'm missing. It's blue, and it's called Much Ado About Anne. In that book, the book club reads Anne of Green Gables. It's fun to read the way that the characters compare themselves to the characters in whatever book they're reading. The third book is the purple one, Dear Pen Pal. I think they read Daddy Long-Legs in that one. I've never read that book, or even heard of it before I read Dear Pen Pal. Then comes Pies & Prejudice. Yes, it's an and sign, not the word and. Read the book and you'll find out why! As you probably could have guessed, they read Pride and Prejudice.

This is my CD collection. As you can see, I need to work on expanding that a little. Two of the three CDs are Christmas music. The third is one of the 5 Browns' CDs. They're a group of siblings who are all really talented pianists, and they play songs together. Their CDs usually have one or two with all five of them, a couple of solos, and duets, trios, and quartets. It's fun to listen to because my brother and I like to play duets together on the piano.

So there's my entire library! Usually I keep it on my bedside table, so if I want to read a new book or change the CD, I can just reach back and grab one. And yes, this is my artistic layout for photos only. Normally they get kept in stacks and containers.

Here's a picture of what my bedside table usually looks like. You can see my library, along with my small collection of shells, necklaces, and nail polish. There's also my Bible and my duct tape wallet, courtesy of my little sister. Oh, and pay no attention to the Snickers wrapper. That's not mine. :) It was probably Frederick, the imaginary homeless man who lives in our dishwasher. :)
Anyway, have a great day and don't forget that there's no better combination than this:
Gray day + Good book + Quiet music + Chocolate = :D

Wednesday, September 14

Beach Photos

I hope you aren't hoping for pictures of me, because you will not find them. Let's just say that none of the pictures of me turned out. At all. Partially because half the time, I didn't even know my picture was being taken, so I look...well, natural, to be honest, which, in this case is NOT a good thing.
Unfortunately, we had to leave at 5:30, so I didn't get a chance for any sunset pictures :(
Maybe next time!
Cameron digging a hole or something :)

The waves were relatively small that day

It was a perfect day for the beach-not too hot, not too cold, sunny,
plus, there weren't that many people there

Us with some of our friends who came too

A blue heron that was trying to steal these people's fish
(he didn't succeed, by the way)
All in all, it was a great day, and we came home with minimal sunburn. Which is a first for us.

Water Lilies!

What better on Wednesday than Walt Whitman?

When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer
-Walt Whitman-
When I heard the learn'd astronomer,
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,
When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them,
When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room,
How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,
Till rising and gliding out I wander'd off by myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look'd up in perfect silence at the stars.

Tuesday, September 13

Merry Christmas!

I know you just looked at the title of this post and went, "Man, how long was I sleeping?" No, it's not actually Christmas yet. :( But I'm still playing Christmas music! That's right, I have been playing songs about Christ's birth, angels, snow, trees, and a horned animal with a luminescent, crimson nose. Why? Honestly, I don't know! I just picked up a book and decided to play from it. Maybe I'm trying to trick the weather into turning cool. If that's it, it's working because it is quite comfortable in Florida. Not that I don't love having an eight month summer. Now I must return to my zillion pages of history reading for the day! Have a fantasmerifical day!

Friday, September 9

Well THAT'S off my chest!

So glad that my speech is over and that it went well! I got a 95 from my group's evaluator and good constructive criticism from my peer evaluation sheets. I somehow managed to fool my audience of six that I was relaxed when, in reality, I was knock-kneed :) Everybody seemed to feel pretty good about how they did afterwards, and they looked glad to have it over with, too! Tonight we head off to the opening meeting of the West Florida Home Education Support League. Hopefully I can get some names on my sign up list for the field trip I planned!! So, how do I feel about my speech? The best way for me to say it is with a quote. In the immortal words of some kid, "THUMBS UP EVERBODY!" :)

Thursday, September 8

Lemonade!

Here's the yummy, refreshing orange lemonade we made yesterday! It was just a typical lemonade recipe with some orange juice in it. It was absolutely delicious! And everybody knows that anything tastes delicious if you serve it in a goblet! :)




I just had to post this picture! It always brightens my day! The panda just looks like a little toddler wearing a fur suit and you just want to start petting your computer screen cuz he's so fuzzy and cute!!!

Saturday, September 3

OOH, WIND!!!

So today, we pretty much stayed at home, except for taking Dad to work and getting lunch with the family. Do you want to know why? I'm going to tell you anyway!!!!! We are in the middle of hurricane season here in Pensacola, and currently, the Sunshine State is anything but. So, I have just one question for you guys. Well, just one until I think of another one, anyway. Am I weird for totally loving this tropical storm we're getting right now? Because I'm, like, relishing it! I just love the high winds, especially when I get to stand out in them, and the rain is so cool to watch, especially when it's coming down sideways. Although I may not enjoy it so much at church tomorrow when I have to walk from the Sunday School building over to the main auditorium! :)
Remember your umbrella! And wear about two cans of waterproof hairspray!

Friday, September 2

Artwork

Okay, so, while I don't think my artwork is that good, I am my own toughest critic. These are just a few of my favorites! So enjoy, and tell me what you think of them! By the way, our scanner is not that great, so I'm sorry if the pictures look a little funky :)
 You may recognize the picture above from a previous blog post! I've done about six versions of this, but this is the best one.
 This is also a picture from Banner Elk, NC, where we have our family reunion.
I told you the scenery was beautiful!!! If I am not mistaken, this flower is mountain laurel, and it grows a lot in the camp we stay at. When we had a baby shower for my aunt, we picked some of this and a few adventurous souls even managed to get some water lilies for some pink decorations!
This is a painting I did two years ago and it is still my favorite watercolor I've ever done. It's, like, the only one where I don't look at it and go, "EEW! That looks absolutely disgusting!!"
So that's a good thing, right? :) 
This is a painting I did in January, I think. I take most of my reference pictures from Zoobooks magazine, which we used to get but don't anymore. In fact, I'm not sure if it's still around. But anyway, we have about six trillion and three here, and they're filled with perfect models. They don't move at all, so you can take as long as you want! I believe this one took me about two days, which is a really long time on a painting for me. I like to start, get it done, and put it away. Or post it on my blog so you can see it!!
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed looking at these, and if you would like more, just tell me!