Routine

My husband and I were discussing routines last night. I like having a routine, I feel a little lost without one...though it doesn't have to be a rigid one. Flexibility is really awesome. Anyway, since my husband travels for his work, he isn't home every day and we were talking about what my routine was. So I gave it some thought...

Between 6-7 am I usually wake up and naturally the first thing I do is go to the bathroom.

The next thing I do is start a fire in the wood stove (in the winter obviously). While I'm getting the fire going, I turn on the computers and let them boot up.

By now, my son is usually getting up and it's about 7:45 am. We then feed all the animals and get our breakfasts.

It's now somewhere between 8 and 9 am and we start school. It takes a while to load my son's curriculum online, so I have that loading while he's eating breakfast. During this time, I check my email and a few of my favorite sites.

9am- 11am (usually) - Math, Spelling, Literature, and Language Skills fills much of this time. Sometimes it lasts longer. It all depends on my son's mood and the complexity of the lesson. Sometimes it takes a lot longer, other times, he's done by 10am.

Next we take a 30 minute break from school. This is recess time for my son - which he obviously loves. I take 15 minutes for a break and then start preparing for the next part of school.

More Language Skills, History, Art, German, and or Science comes next. These lessons are usually my son's favorites and don't take much time for him to complete. Most the time we will do two lessons and break for an hour lunch.

After lunch is over, we finish up school. It usually doesn't take too long because once again, what is left are my son's favorite lessons. Now we are pretty much finished with school and it's about 1:30 - 2pm.

Next is free time. Time my son plays, watches a movie, or play computer games. I break at this time and check a few more of my favorite websites, check my email, play with some graphics or play Sims 2.

3:30 - 4pm rolls around and it's time to start our afternoon chores. My son and I clean up, bring in firewood, feed the animals, and start thinking of what dinner is going to be.

After the chores have been done, we're pretty tired, duh. I make dinner, we eat, and maybe watch a movie. By then it's about 8:30pm and it's time to start getting ready for bed. My son goes to his room to read for a bit while I stoke up the fire for the night, shut down the computers, turn off the lights and I head to my bed to read.

9:30pm I'm turning out my light and I'm off to sleep.

Some days vary. Wednesdays we go to the bookmobile and post office around 1pm. We do school Sunday - Thursday and do our weekly grocery shopping on Fridays. It's kind of a pain in the rear to go shopping and do school in the same day.

So that's it, that's our routine. Pretty simple huh?

Have a great day!

Staying Conscious

I came across this article this morning, and felt it needed sharing. It's a really good inspirational article to help keep one grounded in the hustle and bustle of busy life.

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1. Live simply and live deliberately. By choosing not to get caught up in the details of this fast-paced world, you are doing your part to slow down the . You will also discover that you have more time to enjoy being alive.

2. Stay in touch with yourself. Soul searching, meditation, and journaling are just a few of the many activities you can take part in to stay aware and learn as much as you can about your emotions, reactions, likes, dislikes, dreams, and fears. Having a solid sense of self gives you a firm foundation for living in this world.

3. Support or teach others as often as you can. This can help you form connections with people while also giving you an opportunity to make the world a better place.

4. Consciously choose what you will allow into your being. The media bombards us with visions of hate, war, and pain. Be judicious about what you read, watch, and listen to.

5. Acknowledge the beauty that resides around you. Whether you live in a sprawling metropolis or a stereotypical suburb, there are natural and man-made wonders just waiting to be discovered by you.

6. Nurture your ties to your tribe. If you don’t have one, create a community that you can belong to. Modern life can be isolating. When you have a tribe, you have a circle that you are a part of. Its members – loved ones, friends, or neighbors - can be a source of support, caring, guidance, and companionship.

7. See the larger picture. Remember that the way that you choose to live is not the only way to live. Widen your perspective by exploring other modes of being through research, travel, and discussion.

8. Embrace the challenges that life presents to you, and challenge yourself often. After a time, even the most exciting jobs or lifestyles can seem routine. Never stop assimilating new knowledge about whatever you are doing, and your life will never seem dull.

9. Move your body. In this busy world, it can be easy to live a sedentary life. Movement reacquaints us with our bodies and connects us to the earth in a visceral way. It also restores our vitality.

10. Make time for stillness, silence, and solitude. The world can be noisy, and we are subject to all kinds of noises nearly every waking hour. We are also often "on the go" and unable to relax. Being alone in a peaceful place and making time for quiet can help you stay in touch with yourself.

http://www.dailyom.com/articles/2009/17202.html

Enjoy your day!

Libel, slander, mudslinging...

I'm not referring to politics today. Nope. I'm actually referring to a very sick person in our lives. Luckily I have never met this person, but my husband has unfortunately had to deal with this person for many many years.

This person is twisted in every sense. Emotionally and mentally. This person always seeks to write themselves in history as the "good guy" and makes us out to be the "bad guy". This person continually slanders us and lies and makes up things just so that they can justify their actions.

Does it bother me? Hell no. Why? Because I know what is true and I am a strong enough person to not let things bother me. Especially when it's coming from a twisted person who doesn't even know reality. If it doesn't bother me, then why am I posting this blog? Because if by chance this person happens to see it they will know it doesn't bother me. That is, if that person believes what I posted...which I seriously doubt will happen. Which then leads me to another issue which I think I will go ahead and post about, but I'll get to that in a minute.

This person may think they know me or my husband, but they don't. They don't even know the first thing about us. They *think* they do only because they spent a long time with my husband, but that doesn't mean they actually got to know him. This person may think they know me, but how on earth can they know me if they have never talked to me, seen me, or even met me?

Now back to what I was going to say. In my many years of research on human behavior, I have come to the conclusion that this person has Schizophrenia. Why Schizophrenia? Well, this person displays 99% symptoms of this mental illness including but not limited to:
* Not be able to think clearly
* Not know the difference between what is real and what is not real
* Have trouble managing emotions
* Have a hard time making decisions
* Not relate well to other people

Now I know that I am not a doctor, but I have actually spent a large portion of my life with doctors and helping people work through their issues that I can recognize symptoms of mental illness. Hell, maybe I should get a doctorate so that I can officially be qualified to make that diagnosis. Regardless, this person has serious problems that need to be dealt with. If not for themselves, but for their children, who are at danger whether they know it or not.

I'm not one to judge someone, and this isn't a judgment, it's an observation. The purpose of this blog today isn't to "clear my name". Nor is it to slam this person in response to their slander - have you noticed that I haven't mentioned any names or even whether this person is male or female? The purpose of this blog is just to blog. To write what is on my mind at the moment, and this happens to be what is on my mind. I truly hope that one day this person can eventually see that they need help and get it. Not only would it benefit us, but it would benefit themselves even more- and more importantly, their family.

Best wishes to all!