Virtual Nerd

Don't you just love the name? I do. Virtual Nerd. Perfect. Their service is summed up wonderfully in the next line; "Real help in math and science". I would like to add that the phrase is quite accurate. Before I elaborate, I am going to allow Virtual Nerd to "speak for themselves", here is a little snippet of information directly from Virtual Nerd:

"Who We Are...
Virtual Nerd offers online tutoring in math and science to students grades 7-12. Our service is both affordable and convenient, providing help whenever and as much as needed. Using our patent pending Dynamic Whiteboard, each student has a very interactive and personalized learning experience. While watching our pre-recorded videos, they can drill-down for more information and access FAQs, terms and definition to assist in their learning process. Service is available on a subscription plan basis, a 1-month subscription is $49 - multi-month plans are also available."

Well put, and exactly what you will receive! Virtual Nerd is an online tutoring program unlike anything I have ever seen. Simple to use, just type in or look through their content, click a subject and up pops a video. A real human being teacher stands before a white board and draws out your problem, teaching you all the parts and whys of how to solve it. In another corner everything the teacher says is being written down for you to follow along, so you are covering multiple learning styles here!

For my family, we found we did not have a great need for this, as we only needed it a few times with my sons math, so for the price at this point in our life, it would be a bit costly. However, in the future as we get into more difficult concepts, this could be a wonderful addition to our homeschool curriculum. The teachers were upbeat and kept it interesting and no lesson was too long, just to the point and very helpful every time we used it.

Virtual nerd is definitely being bookmarked in my favorites list. And I would not hesitate to share this one with my homeschool community. I could see it being a very valuable tool in our future. Check it out, they offer you a free trial so you can get a "feel" for what it is all about!

Disclaimer: I am a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew. As such I have received this product free of charge in exchange for my honest opinion and review of this product. I have not received any additional compensation for my review.

Atira's Poem

Cute huh? This is Atira holding one of the newest members of our homeschool group. So sweet.

I wanted to share the poem Atira did today, I think it's fabulous.

Atira
Beautiful, funny, happy, stylish
Sibling of Obi
Love of family, animals, dolls, music
Who fears bees, spiders
Who needs to be politer
Who gives gifts to people
Who would like her room re-done
Resident of a pretty house
Roberts

Can I just add, amazing, sweet and incredible daughter....wow.

Dancing Moments

WHAT AN EVENING! This was a most memorable and fun evening and I am ready to repeat it any night of the week! Atira is apart of a most amazing American Girl Club run by a very sweet friend of mine. They are studying Felicity right now and apart of Felicity's life is learning to dance, which of course led to the club having ballroom dancing lessons. I am so thankful this became a family event. We had a wonderful two hour class where we learned Waltz and Swing as well as a circle dance.

It was an absolutely precious time to watch the Fathers and Daughters learning and working together, but you know I had to get a few turns in there myself! Our teacher, Michael, was top notch, he made everyone feel quite comfortable and did a great job in sharing both his passion and talents.

I am so blessed, in our homeschool adventure we have the best adventures and this is definitely one of them. I am thankful as well for such wonderful people in my life that make these adventures possible.

Keep watch, this Sunday we have a tea etiquette presentation....so more pictures and family updates coming!

See-N-Read Review

See-N-Read

I had never heard of this product before we were chosen to review it. Interesting concept, a simple tool to help you maintain focus and help you remember what you are reading. I was excited to give this one a try!

For the purpose of this review I received one paperback size reading tool as pictured above, one paperback tool that is cut out to allow you to highlight and underline and one tool for standard 8 1/2"x 11" paper.

As I used this tool I found myself able to stick to the topic in front of me, I have a bad habit of trying to read ahead of my brain....this really did help me not to do that. I found that I was better able to focus on the topic in the sentence AND retain more of what I have read. What a lovely benefit!

I also gave this tool to my teenage son. He used it while reading and he said he could see the benefits, for example, it helped him focus on the words better, he felt overall it slowed him down. He is an excellent reader, always has been and he does retain much of what he reads, so I am not sure if this is a tool for him, or maybe when he gets to some more intense information that requires a lot more concentration. We will definitely give this a try again in the future on some of our more difficult assignments and see if it helps.

Overall, I would recommend the See-N-Read reading tools. I could easily see how beneficial these simple, compact tools can be. I look forward to personally reading more, with more efficiency and comprehension.

You can find See-N-Read online at their website: http://www.see-n-read.com/ At their website you will find a plethora of information about this product, including research on the benefits of this product, the story behind it and SO much more. You can also find a full product listing. They even have a product for the computer! Prices begin at just $2.99 for a single tool and go up from there, you can buy multiple packs for multiple family members or classrooms.

Disclaimer: I am a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew. As such I have received this product free of charge in exchange for my honest opinion and review of this product. I have not received any additional compensation for my review.

Fit Mommy Friday

Ok, I lost my image...oh well.

So, how did I do? Overall not too bad, but I did not succeed. I ended up sick twice during December, making it very hard to stick to all my elements. The cool thing is I am really craving healthier foods, fruits and veggies while trying to get over the last bits of this sinus infection I had. So, the right amounts of those have not been a problem.

I have not worked out regularly, again because of sickness...but I will get back to it as soon as this is completely over.

I lost some weight, but not my goal of 8 pounds. It was more like 3. Wish it was better, but I am happy for at least going in the right direction!

I did post some of my verses...not every Monday....slacker, no other excuse.

I did drink my water as committed to. YAY!

Overall I would say I am in a better place than when I started and I am so thankful for that and ultimately that is my true goal. To continue on a better path of daily health.

So, for the new year I am kicking things off with a cleanse. I went to my naturopath and got all I needed to begin the cleanse and I will start on Monday. I know how cliche, I did not really plan it that way, I had been planning on a cleanse for a while, the timing just worked out good. So, I will be on a diet of select fruits and veggies, brown rice, lenitls and wild rice, select lean meats, chicken and fish and finally smoothies made with a detox powder of herbs and veggies along with detox herbal supplements. I think this will be a good thing for me, body and mind.

Congratulations to all of you who were in this challenge with me. You all worked hard at improving your health at some level.

May the Lord bless you and protect you in this new year.

Bricks vs. Stones

Genesis 11:3-4 They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

Exodus 1:14 They made their lives bitter with hard labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their hard labor the Egyptians used them ruthlessly.

As we read this week in our Torah portion about the bricks being made by the Israelites, I started thinking about the idea of bricks and the teachings I have heard on them. My favorite, by Rabbi Daniel Lapin, shows us how bricks are man made creations, they are made in such a way that they portray uniformity, mans way of being one, at peace with one another. Bricks are made to fit together and create a monument to the handiwork of man. They are not a reflection of the sovereignty of God. Bricks are what our society wants. Human beings that fit together nicely, building a strong society that looks, thinks and behaves the same, yet taking pride in our diversity, while never judging. A trophy to mankind showing that without a god we can become one, a strong functioning, diverse unit. If only we would all behave according to the standard, a worldly standard, not a godly standard.

I also thought about the process of brick making. Slapping together the mud, sand and straw. Spending hours each day mixing, forming, drying and baking to produce more bricks to become apart of a larger project. A project that was not God's desire in the first place. How often are we caught up in a brick making project, working endlessly toward a goal that in the end has no spiritual significance for us, does not cause us to grow in our walk with the Lord or reflect His light into creation?




1 Peter 2:⁴ As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Messiah Yeshua.

Then I thought about stones, as Rabbi Lapin says, stones are made by God. What a contrast. This beautiful picture above shows us the true diversity in stones. They are different sizes, shapes and colors. Stones start off jagged and broken and as they are tumbled about the earth, being washed with water, rolled through sand and tumbling against other stones, they become smooth, polished and beautiful.

As we walk through life, we are also being washed by His word, smoothed and polished. As we have encounters with other people we are being rubbed and our rough spots worn down. As we are caught on someones jagged edge, we must remember that we have them too, we still need smoothing and a forgiving heart as we are being used to smooth the rough spots on our brethren.

Exodus 20:25 If you make an altar of stones for me, do not build it with dressed stones, for you will defile it if you use a tool on it.

The altar was always to be made of stones, never bricks or stones that have had a tool used on them. The tool would be mans way of smoothing the stones, or bricks. And as we know from experience our way is rarely God's way. Allowing Him to create the stones upon which we would offer our sacrifice is the way. He gave us the Living Stone, our Messiah upon Him we can make our sacrifice daily of our own desires, or own way of doing things. Lay down our tools and take up His Torah. His teaching and way of living, so that we can walk in abundant life found in His wisdom.

Stones are what build up the Kingdom of God, bricks are what build up the kingdom of man. Let us be found pleasing in His sight, loving one another and working for His Kingdom.

Fit Mommy Friday - Verse Update

Fit Mommy Friday

Hm, can't seem to find my fit mommy image. So, this is getting done without it!

Here is a much overdo update to the Fit Mommy Challenge. Around the 1st of the month I came down with a cold, by the end of the second week I was mostly over it but had a wonderful case of laryngitis. (wow, I just spell checked that and it was right!! WOO HOO!!) So, that is why I have not been doing my regular check ins. But here is how things went over those couple of weeks.

As I started feeling better I was exercising again, I even went to Zumba which was great fun and will now become apart of my regular routine. I am going to attend class once a week with some of my girlfriends, how fun is that!? I did pilates as well, but I did NOT exercise all through the sickness, which I don't think I should do anyway, so no loss there. I did drink my water, albeit some of that was in the form of copious amounts of tea. But I could not possibly do both regular water and all the medicinal teas or I would never have a chance to lay down and rest! I did eat my fruits and veggies, sometimes that was in the form of orange juice as that was one of the few things I actually wanted to consume during this whole thing, but in my book that counts. Interestingly I found myself craving fruits and veggies throughout this cold. Which is not my personal norm...so that was a wonderful change for me! I did do my no sugar days as well! Which was not easy, but I did it! YAY ME! I did not always maintain my after dinner eating. I would have juice or something like that several nights after, sometimes I had to because of the tinctures I am taking. Does that count? I don't know...but I was not so concerned about it while trying to get better. I was making reasonable choices though. I also have not been keeping up on my bible verse, which I will be posting next. However I have been reading the word more frequently and that makes me very happy.

Now, an update to my update. After my cold was almost all gone I came down with a nasty sinus infection. Ugh. Double whammy. It's been years since I have been sick like this. So, I am now on a new tincture and 5000 mg of vitamin c per day. I am feeling much better today, but will have the doc check me over tomorrow to be sure I am fully on the mend. I am done being sick, time to go bug! I rested all day yesterday, did eat right, did eat later after dinner...but still not doing bad. So, I am hoping later this week to get back to an exercise routine, will start slow but move my way back into the groove.

I am grateful for this challenge, as it has kept me more mindful of how I am doing and what I am doing. Even while being sick I have seen some true positive changes I have made and it feels great.

Off to write a verse for the week! Hope you all are doing great!

Happy Hanukkah!

WHEW, what a week! This was a fabulous Hanukkah! We were SO busy! Started off the events with some lovely nights at home, having dinner, reading the Hanukkah story and of course, eating! We had latkes several nights, they are just so yummy! On Friday night our home fellowship gathered at our house for a Mexican themed Hanukkah party! That was a blast! We had plenty of food, doughnuts included and lots of fun. Max, Jeff's puppet friend made a special appearance to tell us all about what happened to the Maccabees and how they overcame with Gods help. We had a trivia game where chocolate was thrown to the person with the correct answer. We learned how to memorize the 10 commandments as well. We then moved on to some serious dreidel playing and closed out the night watching a Tim Hawkins comedy video. It was a fantastic evening.

We had Grandma Sheila over on Sunday to share an evening with her, light hanukkiahs and then of course she always brings them gifts. As usual, they were totally spoiled.

The week was wonderful, memorable and blessed. It went way too fast...but now my thoughts move forward to the spring when the cycle renews and with it comes more of His wonderful feasts.

Aleks Review

(From the ALEKS website)

What is ALEKS? Assessment and LEarning in Knowledge Spaces is a Web-based, artificially intelligent assessment and learning system. ALEKS uses adaptive questioning to quickly and accurately determine exactly what a student knows and doesn't know in a course. ALEKS then instructs the student on the topics she is most ready to learn. As a student works through a course, ALEKS periodically reassesses the student to ensure that topics learned are also retained. ALEKS courses are very complete in their topic coverage and ALEKS avoids multiple-choice questions. A student who shows a high level of mastery of an ALEKS course will be successful in the actual course she is taking. ALEKS also provides the advantages of one-on-one instruction, 24/7, from virtually any Web-based computer for a fraction of the cost of a human tutor. Math is NOT my strong subject, I love history. I thrive when my children and I are learning about History and so do they. Math is a struggle for us. I was really excited to review ALEKS. I love the idea of someone/thing else teaching my kids math, assessing them and making sure there are no "gaps" in their learning. Gaps, scary word for a homeschool mom. Reality is, there will be gaps, no matter what you do. But thankfully, learning doesn't stop at 18 and they can work their entire lives to fill those beautiful brains with knowledge, and even closing some of those gaps. However, having a program that is so complete that it continually assesses for learning issues, moves them on when ready and keeps records of everything is incredibly appealing. I set my children to work on this program right away, with very high hopes. They both enjoyed the assessment portion, both were happy with this portion. They then saw their pie chart that showed them where they have mastered and what they have yet to learn. Very satisfying, at least for mommy, to see this breakdown. Now I know what needs to be tackled! Not to mention I love to check things off! Let's get that green pie piece filled in!! I feel so accomplished! They liked it too....at least the idea of it. As they got working away, they enjoyed the program, but did have a few hiccups which turned into frustrations as we continued. They understood how to receive instruction by clicking on the explain button. However when they were sent back to the problem they had been working, the problem would be a new one after the explanation was given, they both found this frustrating as they wanted the opportunity to finish the work they had begun. They both needed a fair amount of help from mom throughout the program. They would read the explanations, it was different than the current programs we use, and this caused confusion. And I have to admit, some of the processes they used in the math was different than I had seen. I could understand it, but it was a different and it just added to them not understanding the procedure. I love the idea of the program, I even really liked the program itself. I think for my family it was just not a great fit. ALEKS is available for a wide variety of uses. Homeschool, Public Schools and is available for K-12. They offer free trials, which I would highly recommend as this program could be an excellent fit for you and your children! A subscription to ALEKS is $19.95 per student, per month, or only $99.95 every 6 months, or only $179.95 every 12 months. They also offer family discounts. Wonderful program, user friendly, just like everything it is not a perfect fit for every family or situation. I really enjoyed getting review ALEKS and overall, I think my kids liked it to. Disclaimer: I am a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew. As such I have received this product free of charge in exchange for my honest opinion and review of this product. I have not received any additional compensation for my review.

Hanukkah thoughts

The Hanukkah story is about a group of people, all zealous for the One True God, who would not bow down to an evil king who would have them forsake the commandments of their God for the religion of the king. King Antiochus Epiphanes was a very powerful ruler, he commanded the greatest army known to man at that time, the Syrians. They were feared by all who knew of them. They were powerful.

The king had set his eyes on the holy city of Judea, as it was known at this time. He wanted the people of God to worship him, he saw the incredible love and devotion these people had for their God. He coveted their adoration and determined to have it be his own. He set forth some laws beginning with a conversion from being Hebrews to becoming Greeks. And this is some of what the laws entailed:

• worship statues of Antoichus
• speak Greek
• learn the way of the Greeks, customs and holidays etc.
  
• circumcision forbidden
• do not observe the Lord's Sabbath
• do not keep a kosher diet
• do not study the Torah
• do not keep the Festivals of the Lord
  

As the story continues, the Maccabees, meaning hammer, rose up and gathered others who were zealous for God and His ways, they were a regular group of people from everyday walks of life. They turned anything they had into weapons, they prayed, they trained and they took on the most formidable army in the world. And by the grace of God, they won.

When they had won, they restored the temple, replaced all of the defiled instruments, and re dedicated it back to the Lord. That is where we get the name Hanukkah, it means dedication. This feast is also called the "Feast of Dedication" and you will find Yeshua celebrating it in John 10:22-23. As the traditional Hanukkah story goes, the Israelites found a single cruse of oil and it burned in the menorah for 8 straight days until more oil could be pressed. Sadly, there is not written documentation of this miracle. So for me, it is a fun story, but traditional.

However there really was a miracle at this time that should be celebrated and remembered! This band of regular everyday people, just like you and I, overcame the most powerful army in the world! They had full faith in their God and with His mighty hand, they WON! This is a promise for us to hold onto for today as well as for the future.

Just as in the past, this story is destined to be relived. There is coming a time, when a ruler will require people to live by rules that are against God's ways. Antiochus is a picture of the future anti-christ, what he did, the future anti-christ will do again (and I am sure a great deal more) ....refer to the laws mentioned above. Another one will sit on the throne of God and proclaim himself deity, just as Antiochus did. Can you see a relation between this story and the prophecy in the book of Daniel? Read Daniel chapter 11.

God says in Isaiah 46:10 I make known the end out of the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.

If we look to the past, we will better know how to be prepared for the future. We will have better discernment of what is God's way and what is man's way. We can walk boldly into this future, with confidence as we remember His awesome acts in the past as they are a promise and a reminder of a God who does not forsake His people.

During this season, it is a good time to rededicate your life to God and His ways. To discern between what is man's idea of loving God and with God's idea of loving Him. (Deut. 5:32, John 14:15, John 1) It is a good time to let go of the traditions of man and embrace the life giving path of the One True God.(Deut 30:19) Choose this day who you will serve, choose life.

Happy Hanukkah!

Master Ruler Review

Master innovations, LLC is a company offering homeschool families and classroom settings alike a wonderful new way to learn about units of measurement. I was looking forward to receiving this product for review, and my anticipation was nicely rewarded. The program I received "The Master Ruler" , was very easy to use, and my 10 year old daughter enjoyed the fun, quick projects to do in the workbook.

Items received for this review are: 1 workbook with 24 pages, 2 Master Rulers (which could be used for years to come), one for metric and one for standard measurement. We also received basic directions on how to use the product.



So, what makes these rulers special or different? Each ruler is layered, having clear plastic pages so to speak. Each layer giving a different measurement value such as inches on the inside layer, 1/2" on the next page, 1/4 inch on the next until you get down to 1/16 of an inch. This way he person using the ruler is able to see all the breakdowns in an inch at a glance, decreasing confusion in measurement.

The workbook is simple, black and white pages with different measuring projects to do on each page. Any given project never took our daughter more than 10 minutes to accomplish. It was a fun little addition to our homeschool day and she did enjoy her time learning.

Now, my only issue I have with this program is the price. The set I received retails for $41.25 (which does come with an additional teacher ruler, that I did not receive), but this is a bit steep for one minor subject in our homeschool life.

On the upside, on the back of the master ruler packaging, the creator has shared a wonderful testimony of how the Lord brought this idea about and what a blessing and encouragement to use a product inspired by the Lord.

Overall, I would say this is a fun product, a bit pricey, but also a blessing to help a local company and small business produce products that are meant to be a glorification to the Lord that inspired them.

You can find out more about Master Ruler and their variety of other products from Master Innovations though their website. It is filled with video testimonials and lots of wonderful information, check it out!

Disclaimer: I am a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew. As such I have received this product free of charge in exchange for my honest opinion and review of this product. I have not received any additional compensation for my review.

Fit Mommy Friday - Verse Update

“I am the Aleph and the Tav,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” Revelation 1:8

Love this...He is the aleph and the tav - teh beginning and the end, or in Greek He is the alpha and omega. However, He would never had said the Greek....His language is Hebrew. This word Aleph Tav in Hebrew is pronounced "et". It is the most commonly used word in the Hebrew scriptures, however it is never translated. The two letters themselves signify the Strong Covenant or Head of the Covenant. There is so much to these two little letters...and they are everywhere throughout scripture.

Here is a link to an interesting article by my favorite Hebrew researcher, Jeff Benner: http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/0_logo.html

Fit Mommy Friday

CHECK IN TIME!

So, this last week was pretty good...I am using SparkPeople App for Itouch, and I am really loving it! I am using it to keep track of my food intake as well as my calories burned from my workouts. It is fun to have a gadget to "play" with while working on this goal.

So, I don't think I met my water intake each day, sadly it seems like when I focus on one element another one gets lost. So, my goal for this week is to keep ALL my elements going strong, not dropping one to focus on another. I am sure I got close to my water intake, but just didn't quite make it.

I did great on not eating after dinner 5 nights out of 7. YAY!

I did all my workouts for the week. Which consisted of my pilates day, loving it still! Weights, cardio workouts combined with toning and today I went out and went for a walk/run. I am really enjoying the higher intensity of running in bursts throughout a strong walk.

I ate all my fruits and veggies each day...and I find it really helps make me more aware for my whole family. As of yesterday I decided I am going to work on getting lots of colors in our f/v intake as well. I can easily get stuck in a rut and I am trying to break out to get more great things in us! So, we bought pomegranates, yellow squash to go in salads, of course the usual suspects, such as green beans, peas, salads, etc.

Speaking of, here is a FABULOUS recipe for green beans...watch the fat in it, it can get a bit high if you are not careful.

Steam green beans in basket steamer until tender crisp. Meanwhile, chop up garlic cloves (as much as you like!) In a frying pan pour in a little olive oil and about a tablespoon of butter, warm these together. When green beans are done, add them to the frying pan along with the garlic, stir until garlic is tender. Season with salt, pepper and parmesan cheese. OH MY YUM!

I did my no sugar day, it took two tries, but I accomplished it. I am becoming so aware of just how easy it is to eat sugar. I cannot believe how many things it is in. How do people do it that have no sugar at all??? I have to start looking at my menus and foods I am buying. But jeepers, it's in catsup too!?

So, I am not telling you all how my goal of weighing is going, I am going to give a final tally on that at the end of the challenge. But I will give you a heads up...the scale is moving in the right direction. I just really didn't want this to be all about weight...more about my health.

Thanksgiving is coming up, my goal for this next week is to maintain all my current goals, up 3 of my days working out to 45 minutes instead of just 30 and to not overdo it on Tday. I will let you all know how it goes on Friday. Do you have any goals lined up to help get you through without blowing all your hard work?

Ok, that's my check in! I pray you all have a fabulous week, be strong, this week is Thanksgiving! I will be thinking about you!!

Fit Mommy Friday

Update...well, this last week went OK. Here is the breakdown,
I ate all my required fruits and veggies each day. I also successfully checked off my no sugar day, YIPPEE!! That one is a HUGE challenge, so I was quite pleased when I got it out of the way early on.

I did all my workouts as planned and even bumped it up a notch. I have an app on my itouch that has workouts for the treadmill or walking outdoors on it. It is great, I set it for a harder routine, headed off to the gym and ended up running for about 15 minutes at different intervals, the other 15 minutes were spurts of walking intermixed with uphill climbs. It was GREAT!! I also have to say, I am LOVING doing the pilates thing once a week. What a difference in how I feel overall when I get that day in. I almost feeling like doing another after because I feel so good. Notice: I said almost.

I have been drinking my water! This one is not too hard, but I can forget when I am not focusing on it as part of a challenge. Really all I drink is water for every meal....but I do like an occasional treat such as my Zevia pop. If you don't know about it, google it, great stuff.

I did my bible verse as you all saw! I love having a new one up each week, they sit right at my kitchen window so I see it all throughout the day. What a blessing that has been.

Ok, here is where I fell down, skinned my knees and sat there crying about it for a while. Well, not literally, but I broke my no eating after dinner rule 3 days this week. ACK! I did great last night, which I am very happy to report, since I had no reason to get back on track other than I wanted to, but it had not "payoff" for me like helping me win this challenge. I did it because I knew I needed to and I am very glad today I did.

So, today was weights day, it was great! I am finding this change up in my workout schedule to be very refreshing.

So, I am hoping everyone else had a good week too!

Apple picking

Last year we went apple picking and it was such a fun family activity! I was so excited when we were invited to go again! This time we went to our local pumpkin farm where they have apple orchards and were able to pick a big bag of apples. It was a lovely afternoon for being outside and enjoying our friends as well as some delicious apples.

Birthday Moments

So, I turned the big 4 0 this year, how weird is that?! It was a wonderful birthday for me too. My family and friends all came together to make it a special and memorable time. I will start off with my birthday at my moms, which was a wonderful and very special evening. You will see the table set beautifully by my mom and my daughter. My mom made tacos, spanish rice and beans. It was delicious and brought back memories. It was such fun to sit around the table and just enjoy the company. There was also an incredible cake for dessert!

Scott & my mom went in on an Itouch for me...what a wonderful gift! I really was surprised, even if I did figure out what it was before opening it! That for me, is just part of the fun!

On Sunday, my sweet friends coordinated a surprise birthday tea luncheon!! What a wonderful surprise that was! We enjoyed a full tea service, and lots of fun together. And I was truly utterly surprised when I walked in that room and saw if full of family and friends.

My children also went out of their way to make me feel special this year. Atira, my sweet and very thoughtful daughter, gave me a beautiful red wallet that can double as a purse so I can carry it while shopping, hands free! Jordan, my wonderfully conscientious son bought me slippers, he knows how much I count on and love my slippers each fall and winter season.

It was a wonderful birthday and turning 40 was no big deal. I am thankful for this age, there are so many blessings that go along with this time in life....I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Fit Mommy Friday - Verse Update

I know it is really late...but at least it is here!!

The Write Foundation

The Write Foundation is a Christian company offering curriculum designed to help reluctant writers. They offer three levels of study in their program:

• Level 1, Sentence to Paragraph Writing; Suggested ages 11-13
• Level 2, Paragraph Writing; Suggested ages 12-15
• Level 3, Essay Writing; Suggested ages 14-17

I received Level 2, Paragraph Writing. I will start off by telling you about their amazing customer service. My package arrived badly damaged, however the materials inside were in tact. Even so, the company wanted to make sure I had the best quality in the materials and offered to replace them immediately if I desired. They also decided to make changes in their shipping envelope choice. Their heart truly appears to be in helping their customers have the best experience with their product. It is a joy to work with a company that cares.

Now to the nitty gritty. I have to be honest from the start here, this was not a curriculum for my family. As I read through the instructions on how to use this product, I found myself frequently confused, and I hate to say it, but a bit bored by the style in which the information is shared. And I am not sure if it is just me or not, but I had a difficult time understanding what I was supposed to do with this curriculum. I finally decided to just jump in and see if it would start to make some sense if I was in their "getting my hands dirty".

I am happy to report, it did help....some. We got in there and started the work, my son really enjoyed the "Mind Benders", a game that you play here and there throughout the curriculum. We then moved on to lessons, I noticed that the instructions frequently reference group activities, I feel this may have been written more for a co-op than focused on a home setting. I also want to mention, there are many abbreviations and key words used throughout the curriculum, which I needed to memorize, I found this made the curriculum a bit more difficult for me as my poor brain is just filled to the brim with things I am supposed to remember!

Now, for the upside, as we did get into this, I could see the light shining in the distance. I can see how this curriculum offered some wonderful ways of teaching writing, that really helped my son see the mechanics of a well written paragraph. I believe if I dedicated some serious time to wrapping my brain cells around this curriculum, it would be very beneficial. And the passion the author has in sharing the beauty of writing is evident.

For more information, check out their very well equipped website. You can see free samples there, find out more about the author as well as so much more.

The Write Foundation offers this curriculum and level 3 for $65 plus tax/shipping/handling. Level 1 is sold for $100 plus tax/shipping/handling.


Disclaimer: I am a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew. As such I have received this product free of charge in exchange for my honest opinion and review of this product. I have not received any additional compensation for my review.

Fit Mommy Friday

A day late...oh well.

So, it was a GREAT week!

Again, I met my goal of exercising 5x, but actually I went an extra day to the gym with my hubby! Amazing! I did my day of pilates, my day of weights and a I went one day in the middle of the week and did Zumba! That was a lot of fun, although one song the lady played was a bit disturbing....

I did not drink my 8 glasses of water everyday. Almost everyday, bummer.

I did my no sugar day! And that is a tuffy for me. I had one day where I started out doing it, then without thinking I popped a bit of banana bread in my mouth, one bite and it was over. Ugh. Don't worry though, I made up for it, I ate a few more sugary things before the day was through, heck, if I am gonna blow it, why not just keep going? I know stinky attitude, but it was all within my calorie goal for the day and it was not true junk food, just things like jelly (which has sugar added) and other such silly things.

I did not eat after dinner 5 out of 7 days...YAY! I think this is one of my biggest accomplishments. I struggled for a very long time with night time snacking. Thank God for challenges like these that help me avoid that! And I have to say, brushing my teeth right after dinner is a huge deterrent!

And of course, I posted my bible verse...will work on another for tomorrow!

Can't wait to see how all you ladies did!!