Cheese Making

Guess what I did today! :)

Blurry pic (I don't have my camera fixed yet, so I'm borrowing a little one,) but a friend snapped a few while I was stirring my mozzarella.


It.was.delicious. Like really truly amazingly delicious. I added basil to mine.

/DROOL

So good.

We made homemade grilled cheese on rye, for lunch.

In other news, although I haven't taken much time to blog lately, I HAVE been doing art whenever I can, usually with the kids in the afternoon or late at night. The other day I made some little clay figures with Sculpey, oven-bake clay. These are about 3" tall. I haven't painted them yet, but I will soon, and then I'll hide them around the house, as little surprises for whoever spots them.

50s Garden Party

I love being around my friends. I love to dress up. I love to be outside. And I love good food. Monday night was FAB-U-LOUS!! This is SO-OO my era!

Don't we look the part?? I went Marilyn Monroe retro-style,

and Adelia went lovely Elizabeth Taylor classical-style. Julie did a mini-photo shoot before we left, but I can't divulge all of those portraits at this time! ;-)Here we have Laura R, Sherri, and Beth eagerly awaiting their mouth-watering meal. And, below, Laura and Trish are forced to pose every few moments.
The price of sitting at my table. ;-)

You can tell we were having fun, goofing around outside after the meal.

And here we have the beauties, Adelia and Trish.

This was our absolutely AMAZING hostess, Sam, with two of her equally amazing sons. And, below, there's Sam's mom standing with her. Do you see where she gets her loveliness?

It took us a moment to get organized for group pictures.

Here we are!! All homeschool mamas, all dressed up for a party.

Miss Jerri and Sam (yeah, I have lots of friends with guys' names! ;-)
heh heh Just kidding, guys!)

Saying good-bye at the end of a wonderful evening.

back up to prom

Quick catch-up. Last weekend I attended the homeschool prom, to just have fun and take pictures. It was a special treat for me, as there were no homeschool proms when I was in high school!!
The theme was masquerade, in case you couldn't guess.

Some of the sweet "kids"...

Boys are so much fun!!

A wonderful meal at the "grown-up" table.
I'd write more, but it's late and I'm tired. ;-)

Decorating with Cents-- and a lesson in humility

Tonight I was the speaker for MUMs (Moms Uplifting Moms.) My presentation was done through Power Point. PowerPoint offers amazing flexibility in creating custom multimedia slide shows that could allow me to guide the conversation, show step-by-step instructions, and so forth. Great for a decorating topic. (Great for keeping eyes on the screen and not me. I'm a people person, but I'm not thrilled about being in a front of a group.)
Can Power Point really be that easy? Well, realize that PowerPoint can easily import photos, run the show on "automatic" timing, continuously "loop" the show until you turn it off. Yeah, it's great. I love it.
That is, when I can actually use the 40-slide power point presentation that I've created.
Mmm Hmm. You guessed: I couldn't. Every time I've ever been to MUMs, there was a power point of announcements running. SO I made the obvious (and erroneous) assumption that there would be Power Point this time as well. And I guess I didn't tell the right people that I needed it. This was no one's fault; it's just "one of those things," and certainly a lesson in humility for a gal who hates public speaking. (sigh) And, in the grand scheme of things....
yeah.
Rather than reliving my dry-mouth, body-quivering speech, I'll post what I was going to say here! Oh, you are so lucky!! :-)
Skipping the intro. You know me.
Right to it then.
•Philippians 4:8 (New International Version) Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
How can we dwell on the goodness of God, lovely things, whatever is pure and right when we surround ourselves with clutter, messes, stacks of bills, and not a bit of God's artistry?
Okay, open the blinds/ curtains on your windows. WIDE. Let that light come in. Good. Now we'll start.

First things first. Visualize "your place." I'm not talking about high ceilings and marble counter tops. I'm just talking about your space, the place you are blessed with. Visualize it clean. Visualize it as an inviting, cheerful, restful place. Got that in your mind? Good, check off step number 1. Seems like we often work towards something, but we really don't know where we're going, and we have no idea when we're on the right path. Sometimes making a list helps. Don't let it get you discontent or materialistic-- NOT what we're going for at all.
Read Proverbs 31 again. This frugal and intelligent woman uses her ingenuity and creativity to care for and provide for her home.
•To me, this means that working in the home is rewarding!! It's not just about dishes and diapers-- there can be bed coverings, scarlet, and sashes, OH MY!
Take delight in the ideas, abilities, and talents that God has given you. Run with it. Surely every person is capable of making a home that elicits a smile (at least from that person.)
If you can't visualize your own home as the inviting and cheerful place that you long for, then try another "happy room," that can give you something to work towards.
Think about the colors that make you happy. Paint is cheap. And easy. Think about the fabric you prefer. Fabric can be cheap if you shop right, and recovering things is usually fairly straightforward. More on that soon.


This room looks lovely to me. It reflects nature, which is important to me. It is bright and bold with patterns and lines, and various textures.
So, before you learn how to decoupage, stencil, build, and paint, you should determine what you are going for, if you don't already know. If you're like me, my goals change with each room, but I have an underlying connecting theme: Reflect God, make it family-friendly, bright, light, colorful, cheerful. For some, the goals might be relaxing, restful, or vibrant, intense, energizing... Decorate with sense before cents.
Want to try some fun quizzes? Check these out, to see what your "decorating personality" is.
Better Homes and Gardens: What's Your Decorating Personality?

Woman's Day: What's Your Decorating Style?
More soon!

home school mamas unite

Could the weekend have been any busier? Probably not. Hence the multiple posts.
And tons of pictures. :-)
I need to learn how to upload videos using You Tube, too. Some of the videos of us playing Gestures are just priceless. One of the best videos is Tina's futile effort to act out "wheelchair." After Kat guessed "constipation," that round was pretty much shot. No one could see through the tears of laughter.

Put a group of homeschool moms together, without the kids, and things can get a little crazy. ;-)

Cathy and Laura were our fabulous speakers on Saturday.

Here I am, with Kat and Tina. We were the "Retreat Committee."
Lots of work, but well worth it.

During the games, Kat decides to sneak up and strangle Suzanne.
Or at least, that's what it looks like...

Our very own talented Tab did the worship music for us. Her voice is amazing!!!

Garden Parties and happy days

First, just to let you know, the knee is completely better and so is the house. I tried the "ignore and focus method," but I broke down and vacuumed the whole house. It's a disease, I'm telling you.

We had a great day today, too. Friends came over for lunch, then I got to hang out with my sis and take pictures. When Fred got home we played with the kids outside, took a walk, played Uno after dinner, and then he started reading the kids Old Yeller. It's days like this that I just fall in bed with a smile on my face. :-)

And now- da da DAAH (as Trevor says)-- the pictures from the Garden Party on Memorial Day:

This is our fabulous group. So many amazing ladies that I'm blessed to know.

Sherri and Rebecca

Laura and Ginger

Ladies visiting after the meal. Look at some of those dresses and hats!

Our beautiful hostess and chef, Sam, and her darling handsome boys, who graciously served us our entire 3-course meal and desserts.

And my new profile picture is taken from the Garden Party as well. What a wonderful time!!

MUMs

What a wonderfully encouraging night! Sometimes I feel like I must be the only one homeschooling; the only one having struggles and preparing for another year; the only one who is thinking of expenses and scheduling and making learning FUN. Going to CHESS meetings reminds me that I'm not alone. There are LOTS of us. There are rewards for this awesome task.

Laura MacFarlan led us verse by verse through Matthew 6:30-44.
We gleaned from these verses what the "Woman of God" would do. I'm not going to remember this all correctly, and I'm sure I'll omit parts, but I'm going to write what I remember.

The woman of God confers with God about what she has done and taught. That isn't the wording that Laura used, but it's the same idea, based on the first verse!


The woman of God protects her bedtime!

The woman of God spends time alone with God.


The woman of God expects interruptions.

The woman of God loves and acts out of that love.

The woman of God looks at what she does have. Count your blessings!

The woman of God is organized.

The woman of God is thankful. She is satisfied.

The woman of God is blessed by her faithfulness.

The greater the task, the greater the reward.
It was very uplifting and encouraging to me. Sometimes we just need those reminders to rest and commune with God.


We also voted for board members, had refreshments, picked out scholastic books, and we each got gift sacks. Very cute items with meanings behind each thing:

Ocean Creature Bite-Size Crackers (like Goldfish) for our bread and fish story,

A Memo book and pen for writing down announcements and notes at MUMs meeting

Stickers to encourage our children

A candle to light when we're burning at both ends

Chocolate just because we need it!

Tea to relax, unwind, rest...

A red pen for grading those papers daily "before you check your email!"

Sticky notes for reminders

An eraser for all those times we mess up

Glue for holding it all together!

More chocolate, just because we need it!

A magnetic apple with the verse Isaiah 50:4 :
The Sovereign LORD has given me an instructed tongue,
to know the word that sustains the weary.
He wakens me morning by morning,
wakens my ear to listen like one being taught.

Lord, I pray for myself and each of these women. Please honor our desire to teach our children. Give us strength and wisdom through You, and help us to encourage one another. Amen.



Please pray for all of us. Good night.