Simple Woman's Daybook

Since Leslie at Time Out for Mom is taking her summer break from Tuesday Coffee Chat, I thought I would start doing the Daybook on Tuesdays instead.

For today ... Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Outside my window ... it's gonna be a slightly cooler day today with a high of 80 and some rain. I keep thinking I will get sick of all of the rain, but I don't. In fact I wish it would even get cold and rainy!

I am thinking ... about Brynne's new volleyball team and how I hope the new organization all works out to the girls' favor and that they have a great upcoming season!

I am thankful ... for air conditioning. Although this has been an unseasonably mild summer, the humidity has been high with all of the rain. It sure is amazing to sleep peacefully with nice cold air instead of feeling sticky all night.

I am wearing ... workout shirt and tank and tennis shoes. I'm going to be working out after while. Kyndal and I are starting a brand new round of 21 Day Fix. I gotta get back into my exercise routine. It all starts today.

I am creating ... lesson plans for our upcoming school year.

I am going ... to also get back into my healthy eating routine, also starting today, tracking everything on MyFitnessPal again. I've got three races scheduled in the next two months, two 5Ks and a 4-mile run, and I need to stay ready!

I am wondering ... if we'll be able to get Dawson's financial aid red tape completed before the August 3rd deadline. It's just such nonsense for someone who isn't even going to be entitled to any financial aid. We have to do it all though so that his A+ Scholarship will come through.

I am reading ... In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume.

I am hoping ... that my mother-in-law's surgery she is having this morning to remove the cancerous tumor from her bladder is successful and is the first step to complete recovery!

I am learning ... all about World War II. How in the world did I go through 18 years of formal education and not know anything about World War II except that Jews were sent to concentration camps? I don't know how we can understand or appreciate our world and our existence without truly understanding what all was going on during this time period. In fact, looks eerily similar to some of the political shifts today. How can we learn from our past if we don't even know about it?

In my garden ... ugh, not a thing. What a cruddy year for gardening. It is a mess. However, my new berry plants are loving all the cool temps and rain! Maybe they'll produce some fine fruit next year.

In my kitchen ... I've had a little helper. Brynne has shown an interest in cooking. This past weekend she wanted to cook dinner for our family. Actually she wanted to cook boxed macaroni and cheese and wondered if there was a meat she could add to it. I bought a marinated pork loin, some boxed garlic and chive potatoes, and some corn on the cob for her to prepare. You gotta start somewhere, right? I wanted her to primarily learn how to read instructions and plan how to cook all of these items to have them ready at the same time. We did lots of talking, planning, and I walked her through her preparations. She cooked the entire meal by herself and it was amazing! In fact, we ate every bite. No leftovers.

In the homeschool room ... We are working this week on some math, grammar, and reading more out of Farmer Boy and finishing Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library. We haven't done nearly the formal schooling this summer as we have in years past. Looks like we'll end up getting in about 6 total weeks. Our schooling has been more in the form of camps, lessons, sports, and major family events.

A favorite quote for today ... "There is an ill, Mr. Epps, a fearful ill resting upon this nation and there will be a day of reckoning." ~ from the movie Twelve Years a Slave. (Sounds a lot like our country now, huh?)

A peek into one of my days ... 

This was my view this time last week. Missing the serenity of the lake!

One of my favorite things ... laying in bed in the mornings with my cup of coffee and my dogs doing my Bible reading. It's not the lake, but it's still all right.

From the board room ... I am pinning all kinds of resources about WWII for our school year. Fascinating stuff!

Post Script ... Taylar sent me a link to an article called "3 Reasons Why You Should Trust Your Heart with a Child of Divorce." Dawson had shared it with her. There is so much truth to it, and I am pleased that he agrees with the article. Divorce is a tough thing and a decision I doubt many people with children take lightly. I know I didn't. Believe it or not Kyndal and Dawson's wellbeing was actually a big factor in why I divorced their father 16 years ago. I can't say it's a decision I regret, although I do hate any pain it has caused them over the years. Thankfully I see them both having an incredibly strong ability to love, despite being children of divorced parents.