Lazy Autumn Evening?

Do you see the question mark? Here's the story behind it.

Today was such a gorgeous day! I could almost forget the fact that today was a Monday. The sun was shining brightly in a cloudless blue sky while a soft, cool breeze tossed the leaves around in the trees and stirred up my hair. I went in to my part time job, not sure what to expect. (I work with some interesting and generally happy folks. I count myself pretty blessed to know them.) Work went on without a hitch and I'm keeping a close eye on myself so that tomorrow is the same. I came home to find most of my dishes washed and my baby goats ready to work on schoolwork. (Well, OK. School is school and if they have to write anything of length, they're generally not too happy about it but they did their work without complaining too much. Kudos to them!) It just so happens we're starting a unit study on Stars and Stargazing this week. We created Sky Journals and they had a blast filling out the first entry while John took some star trail photos. (Speaking of which, if you'd like to see John's photography and talk to him about it, you can find him at J.D. Kittles Wordpress and J.D. Kittles Photography on facebook.) While the girls wrote about what they observed and drew a photo of the observations, I heated up milk for their hot cocoa and prepped my supplies for working on my next project. I managed to get my to do list all checked off and I still don't feel any more tired than on any other day. This is the reason for the question mark. Today really felt like a lazy day but so many tasks were completed! I'm seriously feeling good about that. :) Just wanted to share it with y'all. I haven't been able to post for quite some time. I blog for our business at Kittles Family Artworks 2012 at Wordpress if you think you might be interested in reading those posts. We post at least one a day on that blog. I hope all the links work. Please let me know if they are not. I hope you've enjoyed this post and that you are enjoying the autumn weather (or current seasonal weather) wherever you are.

Laugh a lot! Remember to breathe...

Check Out Steam Powered Giraffe!

Check out this article from Organic Consumers Organization

http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_28148.cfm
I don't know about you guys, but I want to know what's in the food I'm feeding my kids. I found this article in my email this morning. I really hope the word gets out and the people defeat the corporations in Washington state. Eat well. Live better. Laugh a lot and remember to breathe!

Let The Project Begin!

It's no longer my birthday. As a matter of fact, it passed about 2 weeks ago. However, I ordered things for my birthday so they've continued to come in over time. The last of my birthday gifts arrived today. I'm so excited! I can finally get started on my shabby chic window treatment. Our kitchen window is tall and thin and just happens to be in the inside corner of our carport. (That's a covered parking space for those of you unfamiliar with that term.) Needless to say, we only get good light through it during the early morning hours. I wanted to bring light in and still be able to cover the opening. We'll see if my idea works. Here's hoping! Laugh a lot and remember to breathe!

Craziness and Libraries

As crazy as the title of this post is, it's a great representation of what life has been like in our family over the last couple of weeks. About 4 weeks ago, my sister and I were informed that we were going to be hosting a baby shower for one cousin and one cousin-in-law (a double shower, as it were). Two weeks ago, I found out we were expecting 50 people at this double shower. o.O I don't mind. Not really. I just prefer to be asked rather than told. I do have stuff to do every day. And I'm not sitting at home every weekend twiddling my thumbs, as it must seem to some folks. {chuckle} Oh, well. My cousins are awesome people and they both deserve a baby shower and it's such a great thing to celebrate... I can hardly remain annoyed. :) I'm sure everyone will enjoy it. To be fair, my sister is tackling most of the work, since she is aware of our situation. Also about two weeks ago, we had yet another shift in our income. Needless to say, a bit of scrambling had to be done in order to make sure we had what we needed to make ends meet. Thankfully, my boss allowed me to come back to work early. (I was going back in December or January, originally.) But that meant speeding up my lesson planning, which was supposed to happen during the entire month of August. So for the last two weeks, I've been putting in as much time as possible on the lesson plans. I know this presents more questions for some of you, my faithful readers. "How are you going to home school when you're working?" "It's a part-time position with plenty of time left for teaching my children." "How are you still sane?" "I don't know. I'm pretty sure if you looked closely, you'd seen a couple of God's fingers supporting me so I don't collapse." Seriously, though, my faith has a lot to do with how I get through tough times, how I look at situations and circumstances, how I perceive the things around me. It's my faith that gives me just enough hope to continue putting one foot in front of the other. I used to be a very negative person but I'm finding that as I grow up a little more each day, my outlook is more positive and forward-looking. I like that trend. I am going to do everything I can to continue that trend. Reflection is always good. A mind that recognizes reality is a fabulous thing, too. But a mind that is also receptive to possibilities? Wow! What a lot you can do with that!

So the next part of that kooky title is 'libraries' and you're probably wondering what in the world all that craziness above has to do with /them/. Well, the library is one of my favorite places. Next the the little local coffee shop, it's definitely my favorite place to go. If it qualified as a place to 'go out' to on Friday nights, you could definitely find me there. But part of the old draw was the fact that no one else had discovered the beauty of a wonderfully silent (or mostly silent) library. I know a computer system does make the library run a bit smoother than before. I'm a geek, though, and I prefer looking through the card catalog manually. It required you to focus at least long enough to find that book you really wanted. I can't stand the fact that the library now has computers that are free to use for anyone. This means that on any given holiday or Saturday (the only times I'm able to go), I will find my local library teeming with life, which does not lend itself well to the beautiful silence of old. I still like hanging out at the library. I love the sights, scents and atmosphere. I wish I was at the library right now. And I wish more people went to the library to read than to check their facebook pages. {sigh}

Laugh a lot and remember to breathe...

Science Fun

We love adding extra fun things to our school curriculum. When I discovered Aurora Lipper's free online classes and experiments, I was pleasantly surprised! She speaks clearly, in a way that is easy to understand. If we have questions, there's a nifty chat box available. The chat box also works for class interaction. I have really enjoyed our time spent in those classes and I believe it's been really interesting and fun for the kids, as well. She has a fabulous-sounding science curriculum that I'd love to try. If you would like to check out Supercharged Science, click here. (Again, no one pays me for these opinions. I just write about things I have tried, things I find interesting, and things I like.) Laugh a lot and remember to breathe.

A Contest from Karla Akins!

Karla Akins is hosting a pretty nifty contest on her blog. If you are not a regular reader of her blog, I would definitely recommend it for those who are aspiring authors, pastors' wives, and fellow bloggers. Her posts are pretty interesting and she often brings out some really thought-provoking topics. Back to the main reason for this post...the contest! You can find it here. She's giving away an Island Cabana Wax Warmer. Check it out!