Journey to Excellence

What's something you wish you knew how to do, but feel like it's too late to learn? It's never too late to learn to do something you want to know how to do. I've always wanted to know how to sew. Your least favorite thing to shop for? Why? Good deals on clothes. I love clothes and I love good deals even more.  Oops. Read that question wrong the first time. I love to shop. I can't think of anything I don't like to shop for. Maybe bathing suits? Just because ick .... someone had that same one on without underwear before me. Thankfully, other than top size, I can pretty much just buy the same size bottoms these days without having to try them on first. How has the celebration of Thanksgiving today changed from when you were growing up? Thanksgiving is still pretty much the same. We spend time with family and eat a lot. Now that I have my own family, though, we DVR the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade so that we don't have to get up early to...

I am thankful for a mindless Tuesday Coffee Chat this week. We have some heavy things going on in our family, so my brain cells are a little limited. Here we go ... Heels or Sneakers ... Honestly, heels, but not dressy pumps, stilettos, etc. I have a high arch in my foot so a heeled boot feels so much better to me than a pair of tennis shoes. If I am wearing yoga pants or a hoodie and jeans and want to wear sneakers, I will wear them for a while. But once I get home I put on a pair of slippers instead. Sneakers are not comfortable to me long-term. But I can wear a pair of heeled boots all day, even shopping, without any problems. Coke or Pepsi ... Makes no difference to me. I do like Diet Coke, but can drink a Diet Pepsi just as easily. Instagram or Flickr ... Definitely IG, all day every day (@nikki_taulman). Tomboy or Girlie Girl ... Neither. I am definitely somewhere right in the middle. Nap or Read ... Now that one is not fair! If it is nap time, I might start ou...

You know how the last few weeks we have been home all the time and have really worked on the basics, those core subjects? Well, last week we were home pretty much all week, but nary a basic core subject was touched. We took off for Thanksgiving Break starting last Friday. Since we were at a stopping point in several subjects and didn't want to start any new lessons with the upcoming break, we did more reading, lots more science, and delight-directed learning. Plus, I have had some raging fall seasonal allergies going on and felt pretty cruddy all week. A constant sinus headache is so draining, so the kids doing lots of extra reading and primarily independent work was especially helpful last week. Schoolwork One biggie was finishing Under the Blood Red Sun by Graham Salisbury and then watching the movie. This was an excellent book that fit in perfectly with our studies of WWII. The movie was just as outstanding, and I will have a review of it on the blog next week. Also b...

What's surprised you most about your life, or about life in general? Not much surprises me, unfortunately. But I guess the lack of care that people have of their own environment does baffle me. I just don't understand why you wouldn't want to have a well-kept home and yard, children who are truly loved and disciplined, pets that are cared for, a nurtured personal appearance. It's just a lack of care. Among others, these ten words were added to the Oxford English Dictionary this year ... awesome sauce, beer o'clock, brain fart, buttdial, cat cafe (apparently this is a real thing), fat berg, fat shame, angry, Mx (gender neutral), and skippable. Your thoughts? In looking over the list, which word do you find the most ridiculous? Which word would you never in a million years say outloud? Which word would you most likely to use in a conversation? I am not saying I will not ever use one of these words in conversation, or even that I haven't. But just becaus...

In the wake of the Paris tragedy, today's Tuesday Coffee Chat prompt is timely ... What do you hope to be remembered for? As I get older I realize how unimportant so many things are in this world. And one of those things is what other people think of me. I have just come to a place in my life where I don't sit and worry about it. I mean, I want to be a positive influence in the lives of others, bringing light and joy to their lives. I guess I hope that others see me as someone who has a strong faith and tries to live it out to her fullest, who has successes in that endeavor and who pushes through the failures. Chances are others will focus more on the failures. But, that's okay. Because, I think, in the end they will come to the conclusion that I am a fighter who never gives up. The things I am willing to die on a mountain for have decreased over the years. Maybe I don't have the stamina and energy, maybe I have become calloused, or maybe I really do live by t...

There weren't a lot of exciting things going on here this week, in a collage photo kind of way. But we were hunkered down doing some learning. Don't you just love when all of your subject matter goes naturally cross-curricular? That happened several times this week and it made me smile. Our studies of The Chronicles of Narnia and WWII have had several cross-overs. We are reading a great book called Under the Blood Red Sun by Graham Salisbury. It is about the attack on Pearl Harbor through the eyes of Japanese boy living in Hawaii. We are also reading the third book in The Chronicles of Narnia Series : The Horse and His Boy . These are two completely unrelated books. However, their subject matter have criss-crossed with each other and some other resources. For instance, Further Up and Further In ( The Chronicles of Narnia unit study) raised the topic of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World because The Horse and His Boy referred to one of the "wonders" of N...

In two or three sentences tell us what Veteran's Day means to you? The kids and I have been doing an exhaustive study of World War II this year for our history studies. Veteran's Day has taken on a whole new meaning during this study. To me, on Veteran's Day we need to be letting a Veteran, or many, know how much they are loved, that they are not forgotten, that we are grateful for the horror he or she endured for our freedom. We are definitely doing something tangible for some WWII veterans and for one person currently in the military this Veteran's Day. We can't do a lot, but we can do what we can. What's your favorite film with a patriotic theme woven into the storyline? In the 80's my dad loved the movie "Uncommon Valor". We watched it many, many times together. It ranks up there as one of my favorites. Flu shot - yes or no? If you answered no, do you plan to get a flu shot? If not, why not? Have you ever had the flu? No flu ...

This morning's Tuesday Coffee Chat is a simple one ... Do you volunteer? I used to volunteer for everything, especially at church, especially if it involved planning something (cause I love to plan!). But through the years I have realized what a toll it takes on me to do so. When I do something I do it all the way so I found myself making my volunteering activities a priority over my family. I have scaled way back. I only volunteer to do two things: I teach the 4th-6th grade Sunday school class at church. We attend a small Methodist church in our small town (the same Methodist church where I grew up) and I only have a class of about 4-8 kids. Two of those are my own. But they are a great group of kids, and I enjoy teaching them. Teaching is my spiritual gift, and I feel as if I am disappointing God if I don't use it for His glory. My other volunteering activity involves teaching, also. On Wednesday afternoons the kids and I host an enrichment class with four of...

What a great and much-needed week! Why so great? We spent it at HOME actually HOMEschooling! See us there? We are at HOME! (And I look horrid because I was recovering from the time change AND extra innings that brought home the crown for our KC Royals the night before!) This pretty much sums up my Monday. Sometimes we can get so caught up in running around and seeing and experiencing all because we are homeschoolers and we can ! And if you read my wrap-ups regularly, you have seen that we have been out and about a great deal during the last month . Although that is lots of fun and very educational, I find that we need these weeks where we stay snuggled up in comfy clothes with books and clipboards in hand getting some of those 3R's accomplished. Sometimes you just gotta do your math! And this week we did just that. And it felt good! Reading Sometimes I feel like all we do is read. We read out loud, we read together, we read alone, we read history, we r...

Besides Thanksgiving, something you're looking forward to on your November calendar? Kyndal turns 21 on November 18th, so that's an exciting milestone. But the event I always look forward to is our yearly Christmas trip back to Tulsa. We usually go in December, but our niece is showcasing her pottery at An Affair of the Heart, which is a pretty big deal, so we are going back that weekend, instead. We always stay in the kids' favorite hotel, go out to dinner at a nearby Mexican restaurant, visit Santa (the real Santa) at Bass Pro Shops, walk through the amazing Rhema Bible College Christmas lights (although I think we will miss those this year since we are going so early in the season), and visit with family and friends. If I gave you a thank you card right now who would you send it to and why? I would send it to Dawson's employer and her son. Last week they ordered and presented to him as a gift a brand new laptop computer for him to use not only at work bu...

Okay, first this ... Do you know that I set my alarm to get up extra early so that I can have enough time to drink enough coffee before I start my day? I really do that. Now while I enjoy said coffee, onto today's Tuesday Coffee Chat : If you could teleport, where would you go? I have never been here, but right now I can't think of anyplace I would rather be ... A cabin in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. Doesn't that look like Heaven? I would love to rent a huge cabin in the mountains and take my whole family for a week of pjs, coffee, hot cocoa, board games, food, hikes, reading, and movie watching. Maybe someday.