Giveaway at Keen Inspirations

My Friend Sharon, over at Keen Inspirations, is hosting a Tina's Tie Dye giveaway on her blog. Check it out!

Dance

Tonight I went to a ballet class with Abigail. It was mother-daughter dance night. Only one other mother came. I felt a little bad for the 12 girls without parents. Abigail and Morgan may have felt bad that their Mothers showed up.

In 1974 I took ballet. Before that I took tap dancing lessons. I was not good at either - but I liked to dance. Sometime after I started middle school I lost interest in ballet and quit, but picked it up again my freshman year in high school. I am so thankful I had the opportunity to try something and learn it was not for me.

Which brings me to my point. Daughters 1 and 2 wanted to dance but I said no. I had good reasons (I thought) - not enough time, not enough money, not a place to dance. I am glad I stopped listening to the NOTs and listened to the heart of my daughter who wanted to learn ballet.

Maybe one day Abigail will be a famous dancer (like the photo above) - you never know. What I do know is that in 30 years I won't miss the money I spent on lessons and my daughter will have fond memories of getting to try something she REALLY wanted to learn. Synergy at its best!

Homeschooling and Spelling (or why I love DSP)

I am a 17 year veteran of homeschooling my 4 children. I have a 5th grader, so I have 7 more to go. Over the years I have tried dozens (yes, really dozens) of spelling programs. Some I have liked, some I have not. 4 years ago I met the author of Daily Spelling Practice at our homeschool co-op. We were paired up to teach the journalism class. I was relieved that someone who actually knew what she was doing was going to be my helper - she was relieved that she did not have to work in the nursery. It was a perfect fit!

I was so excited to learn about Daily Spelling Practice (DSP at our house) and to try it out on Abbie, because she was very unhappy with the curriculum that I was using (and that her older sisters had liked.) You can read about the program by clicking HERE.

I love that DSP has a workbook. I am generally not a workbook lover, but I like that the daily exercises are all contained in ONE place. Just the workbook and a folder takes care of spelling now.

I wish I could say that overnight my daughter became a wonderful speller. What I did notice was that with DSP she did not regurgitate words back on a test, but was learning the whys of spelling and applying those rules to her daily work. We are now on level 4. I can say that I have seen great improvement. My children like that they can be DONE with spelling in under 10 minutes a day. I love that I can be done with spelling in under 10 minutes a day. No more word lists, no more word puzzles, and no more whining (well maybe just a little whining.)

Thanks DGP for publishing an affordable, easy to use, and efficient spelling program. I <3 DGP! Tomorrow I am going to be featured on my friend Sharon's blog - Keen Inspirations - for a giveaway. Check out her site by clicking on the link.

Today I found out that I had WON a contest with my purse cleaning blog post. Anna over at Ask Anna had a giveaway and included a bonus challenge for an extra entry. THANK YOU!!!

We are in a fight. . .

Not you and I dear reader but Walmart and I. I don't like the word, but I am going to say it - I HATE that store!

Whew, I feel better!

When my daughter Melissa was younger and got mad she would say, "We are in a fight!!" When I heard that I knew it was serious and I had better not laugh or do any of those things that mothers do and later wish they had not done. The term, "We are in a fight" has come to mean (in our house that is) - I don't like this or I am mad about. . .

So, to my least favorite store ever - we are in a fight! I know that store can save me money. I know that store has it "all" and can be a time saver - BUT by the time I am done shopping there I am mad. I rarely ever find all the items I came to buy. Usually there are not enough checkers. Heaven forbid I need to return or exchange an item (even if I have a receipt) because I will spend 30+ minutes in line to speak to a harried clerk who usually has to call a CSM for authorization.

If I ran that store things would be different!! Let's hope that never happens because I'd probably close most of them. Thank goodness for Dollar General so I can avoid Walmart most of the time! If the day ever comes where I run Walmart, my dog Zeus will be the Executive VP - he is used to being in a fight with me.

Purse cleanup challenge

I helped clean the attic, I cleaned my closet, and now I have cleaned my purse. I actually carry a Vera Bradley backpack, not a purse. I wish I could say I like the backpack for the style, but it is actually for the storage. I have a lot of stuff.

I was surprised by the weight - 4.2 pounds. WOW, it is no wonder my shoulders hurt. I could carry a backpacking pack with ease - but 4.2 pounds is a lot for a purse.

First I emptied everything out - ugh!

I have not totally emptied my purse since 2008 when I was on a cruise and wanted to WIN a contest. I change purses often, but I employ the dump method (you know when you just dump stuff from one bag tot he other). So I emptied it out looking for silly stuff. I had a lot of that! I have always felt organized because my purse has several zippered storage bags. I can find stuff (usually). My pretty storage bag holds things I may need when I am out. If I am going for a walk I will leave it in the car. This is what was in it before I cleaned it out.

After cleaning it out this is what I wanted to put back in the mini bag. One look and I knew I still had too much stuff. I got rid of some more cards and papers - YEAH!

30 minutes later I had pared down the contents of my purse to this (I fed Abbie the Snickers.)

Finally I packed it all back and here is the final project - just 3.4 pounds!

Thanks to Anna over at Ask Anna for her challenge to clean my purse!