52 fridays and BAM ~ week 31

been in a fog lately...hoping it lifts soon

52 books :: book 36 :: Living Simply with Children

Living Simply with Children by Marie Sherlock is an excellent book. If you ever have considering living more simply but wondering how to do it with children, this is the book for you. We have lived a simple life for many years, but I still learned lots from this book.
The book is filled with other book recommendations, websites, and even kids books. It has great suggestions for activities, small and big changes ideas for living a simpler life. It also gives many real life examples, showing how families follow a simple life in the "real world".  I take notes when I read non-fiction books, and I had so many notes from this book!
I found the book to be well organized too, part one is the "whys" why your family should practice simplicity, with steps included. The second part is the "hows", starting with what a simple living family looks like, to marketing mania, tv or not tv, peer pressure, and more.
An excellent book that I would highly recommend. One book that Marie Sherlock mentions repeatedly is Your Money or Your Life by Joe Dominguez, another very good book that I read last year.

Books read: 35/52
Pages read: 10960
Next book: The Unschooling Unmanual

movies and kleenexes

I cry during sad movies, but also happy movies. Tears of sadness, tears of joy. I can get easily teary eye in real life too, but during movies, I just let it go. Just like when I am reading, I get completely immersed while watching movies, almost like I am leaving my own life behind. I feel for the characters. I can see my husband's head shaking when he notices that, yes, I am needing a kleenex yet again while we are watching something together. I am one of those people that comes out of the movie theatre with red eyes. I have learned to not go to the theatre if I know that it is a sad movie, I just wait until it comes out on DVD. For the last couple of years, I just wait until it is available at our local library. I used to be embarrassed by it, but not anymore. I am just an emotional person. I rarely have a reason to cry in my real life, so movies are good for my tear ducts.

I know that last sentence is a little silly.

Maybe I will blame this whole post to my lack of Facebook. Facebook withdrawal day 3! No, actually it hasn't been that bad for me. I don't miss it as much as I thought I would. The last 3 days, I have checked my e-mail, read a couple of blogs and then that's it. Definitely not as much time spent on the computer.

To get back to movies, I just watched My Sister's Keeper. A beautiful and  touching movie, I really loved it, but about half of one kleenex box disappeared. It made me so grateful to have healthy children, I can't imagine going through what this family went through. I know that the movie is based on the novel by Jodi Picoult but I have not read it yet. I did notice that this movie was directed by Nick Cassavetes, who directed The Notebook, a favourite of mine. I like watching some of these romantic or sad movies. I usually watch them by myself, on a laptop that my mother-in-law gave to us, cozy in my bed, while my kids are busy or on evenings when my husband is working late. He usually doesn't want to watch that type of movie!

I use our local library to watch movies, researching by the studio name and seeing which newer releases I want to see. Some of the more popular ones and the newest have long waiting lists, but others are available fast, and since there is no cost, it's great!

the full thunder moon

On July 25, the moon was full and beautiful. It was the full Buck moon or also called the full thunder moon. Since we have had quite a few storms, I thought the full thunder moon was more appropriate! I love watching the moon.

*updated: for the full list of 2010 full moons and their names & meanings, you can visit the Farmer's Almanac page or for a different link, visit the Handbook of Nature Study blog.

Facebook-free for one week

Facebook. Everyone is on it. I have been on there for a few years now, and I enjoy checking what everyone is up to. I have friends from all over the world on my list. People I grew up with in elementary school, college, work, friends, and homeschool friends too. A huge amount of my contacts are relatives. It's been a great way to keep in touch.

So if I think it is a good thing, why am I going Facebook-free for one week? It's a challenge given by Homeschoolin'Momma and it's something I have been thinking about this summer and I even started a couple of weeks ago by taking myself off the games. I was playing Farmville, Frontier Ville and Baking Life every day. It never took big chunks of time, but I would check these a few times over my day, usually first thing in the morning, at lunch, and in the evening. They're fun, but really, I started asking myself why was I playing these?

I realized that it was an escape from reality. For a few minutes everyday I could forget about whatever needed my attention in my real life, and instead chop down trees, collect milk from goats or even bake hundreds of biscottis! Then I thought that it was pretty silly since I really don't think I need an escape from my life! I rather spend time reading, sewing, or playing games with my kids. So I stopped and it was easier than I expected!

This morning after reading Homeschoolin'Momma's post, I decided to take on her challenge of staying off Facebook for 1 week, starting today. I quickly posted a new status, letting everyone know they could reach me by e-mail or by phone. And I am OFF! I will let you know next Monday how it went. Thanks to Homeschoolin'Momma for the little push I needed, just don't ask me to stay away from my blogs ;) 

Would you like to join me? Let me know if you do!

*photos of four-o-clock flowers from my garden*

reduce :: my longest post yet!

Since my corner is my little place to share stuff,  I felt it was time to start doing that, more than my weekly self portraits, my reading or gardening adventures.

Here is a little background, but I wasn't sure how much I should share, so let me know if I seemed to have missed something major.

I am the home learning mama of 3 kids, wife to a very patient husband, and mama to 4 pets. We have lived in several places over the years, actually we have moved 8 times in the last 15 years. This last move, two years ago, was one that we thought would be a great one. We were moving closer to a lot of family and moving to a less expensive real estate area. We did cut down on our mortgage which was nice, but the family thing didn't turn out as nice. My husband ended up changing jobs, resulting in a substantial pay cut, but in a much better suited company for him, which is essential.

We don't follow the rat race. We own one car. Our girls share one bedroom. Our children don't attend organized sports, ballet classes, or music lessons. There ísn't money in our budget for those and we also don't agree with rushing here and there for all these activities. We instead spent time together, bike or walk together around our neighborhood or in nature, play games together, talk, basically hang out. We watch what we spend on groceries, clothing, etc. We reuse when we can and buy used as much as possible. It's been that way for many years. It's just the way we are and what allows our family to have one parent at home. We also recycle a lot, donate what we don't need anymore, or reuse. It breaks my heart to see the amount of garbage bags on our street every week for collection. There is no limit in our area, recycling only every two weeks and no green recycling.

A couple of weeks ago, I made a pact of not buying anything that is not essential from now to the end of this year. I told my children about it. We don't buy much already, but we sometimes purchase a video game or a movie, or I will pick up some special snacks, a book, magazine or a small toy. I just felt that we could do more or in this case, less spending and also simplifying our lives even more in the process. I also believe that it is a good lesson to teach to our children by simply doing.  

There are some very simple "rules" to follow when trying to reduce spending:

• ask yourself "do we really need this?"
• do not buy on impulse, wait a certain amount of time, days preferably before purchasing the item
• think about the effect and cost on the environment (production, use, disposal?)
• the cost to you "can we truly afford this?"

Pretty simple. I have been and will continue to follow these. The purchases that we will continue on making will be for food, household necessities, and basic clothing. My girls often receive hand me downs from relatives and I have saved my oldest daughter's clothes for my youngest. The only one that I usually have to buy for is my son, and I know he will be needing running shoes for this fall, and probably snow shoes for the winter. Those I call essentials and will likely be new (along with socks and underwear), but his other clothes won't. We usually are able to find most of his pants and shirts at thrift stores. 

I have found a few websites about this topic, and there are many about simplifying our lives as well. Decluttering, donating, passing things on, all those things help us live a simpler life.

The compact: to go beyond recycling, to reduce clutter and waste in our homes, to simplify our lives. (also has a yahoo group).

Step 1: reduce from the Global Stewards site ; all environmental tips here.

I love this post. I save all our out of season clothes in rubbermaid bins and go through it all every change of season, but I really like the idea of doing this with our closets once a week. The giveaway drawer is also wonderful.

I have found many others that are taking on a challenge of living with less, simplifying, de-clutter, or even selling it all and hitting the road! Are you? What are your goals?

storms

We've been having a few tornado watches and heavy thunderstorms these last few days. This is the view from our front window yesterday afternoon!

The kids and I love watching the storms, especially the lightning and the heavy rains.

52 fridays and BAM ~ week 30

Played around with two photos today for the self portrait assignment. A little black & white, and a pop art look. I like the orange and yellow in the pop art.
Why do I take these self portraits? It's like a little date with me every friday morning. I prefer to keep the photos as natural as I can, but also like to play around with picnik or the big huge labs tools. It's so easy as a mother to forget to look in the mirror, to take time for ourselves. I am always taking photos of my children, my pets, or even my vegetable garden! This year has been different. I am more accepting of my flaws and the way I look. I am pushing myself to try new things (like the belly love shot last week).
I am always learning, learning to accept what I look like and love myself a little more. It's a journey.

52 books :: book 35 :: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society written by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows is a historical type novel that I enjoyed very much, especially after reading the depressing Outcast.
It is a book filled with letters written by many characters to Juliet Ashton. Juliet is a writer from England that receives a letter from a stranger from Guernsey, a founding member of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.  Guernsey is a small island in the English Channel.
Here is one of my favourite quotes from the book, this is Juliet writing a letter to Dawsey about a book called Selected Essays of Elia:
"I wonder how the book got to Guernsey? Perhaps there is some secret sort of homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers. How delightful if that were true."





Books read: 35/42
Pages read: 10682

the story of cosmetics

If you haven't seen the Story of the Stuff, it is a must see. This video is the newest one by Annie Leonard called The Story of Cosmetics. If you are already reading the ingredient lists on your food, don't forget to check the ingredients on your beauty products as well...and your pets food too while you are at it. It is so important to be educated. What we put in our bodies, even through the use of shampoo is very important. I hardly use any make up, but I still have to use shampoos and soaps, and since I have two daughters, I like to keep myself educated as much as possible.

If you want to read more about cosmetics, I have used the Skin Deep: Cosmetics Safety Reviews site before. It includes shampoos, baby products, toothpastes, and more.
The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics has a great article about making your own cosmetics with recipes here. The same website does a great job explaining the ingredients found in cosmetics.

my garden :: update

My little garden has been growing like crazy!

The black-eyed susans are gorgeous, they are right below Andre's giant sunflowers. The sunflowers don't have any flowers yet, they just keep on growing!

The peppers are slowly turning red.

We have been having a lot of golden grape tomatoes and more coming!

There are also bigger tomatoes, not red yet, but a good size already.

It's like a jungle! The tomatoes have taken over everything!

Here are some of our harvest, green peas, cherry tomatoes and golden grape tomatoes. Delicious!

i wish i could speak dog

what would he tell me?

those eyes..

probably asking me why i am taking pictures of him again!..

52 fridays and BAM ~ week 29

This week is LauraJ's birthday, one of the participants of the 52 Fridays. She asked us to make a sign and take pictures of places that we might take her to for her birthday. We decided to take her to FabricLand and to the Peace Fountain in Windsor.

I am also participating in the BAM self portrait challenge, and for this one I decided to really push myself this week. I was inspired to do a belly love portrait. I saw this one from another BAM participant and thought it was very courageous to do. So I pushed myself and took a photo of my naked belly. no touch ups, no playing around with picnik. Just my belly. I looked at the photo and realized that instead of being picky about how it looks, I was only grateful for it, because it gave me three beautiful and healthy children.

A little belly love (second photo down).

The one below was after a sleepless night. I just wasn't in the mood to smile, just wanted to lie on my bed some more.

52 books :: book 33 & 34 :: Peanuts and The Outcast

I am writing two reviews at once again, so Peanuts is the first book and The Outcast the second. Just wanted to be clear that Peanuts and The Outcast wasn't the title of the book!

Peanuts A Golden Collection: The Art and Story of the World's Best-Loved Comic Strip was like a breath of fresh air. After reading Revolutionary Road, I wanted something light and happy. Peanuts always delivers. This book was also quite interesting with the little anecdotes by Schulz in the margins of the book. 

The Outcast by Sadie Jones was an interesting novel. It is the first by this author. I think I realized something about how I should choose my books. Sad tales are just not what I want to read when I grab a few moments to read, as great as Peanuts is, I don't want to just read that either! I guess maybe The Outcast was too close to my own childhood in certain parts. It left me very sad, but in defense of the book, it was well written, just not for me.

Here is a review from amazon.com:

Set in post WWII suburban London, this superb debut novel charts the downward spiral and tortured redemption of a young man shattered by loss. The war is over, and Lewis Aldridge is getting used to having his father, Gilbert, back in the house. Things hum along splendidly until Lewis's mother drowns, casting the 10-year-old into deep isolation. Lewis is ignored by grief-stricken Gilbert, who remarries a year after the death, and Lewis's sadness festers during his adolescence until he boils over and torches a church. After serving two years in prison, Lewis returns home seeking redemption and forgiveness, only to find himself ostracized. The town's most prominent family, the Carmichaels, poses particular danger: terrifying, abusive patriarch Dicky (who is also Gilbert's boss) wants to humiliate him; beautiful 21-year-old Tamsin possesses an insidious coquettishness; and patient, innocent Kit—not quite 16 years old—confounds him with her youthful affection. Mutual distrust between Lewis and the locals grows, but Kit may be able to save Lewis. Jones's prose is fluid, and Lewis's suffering comes across as achingly real. (Mar.)


Next, I will try a title that I have noticed over the last few months, and also another non-fiction one. See below for the links.

Books read: 34/52
Pages read: 10407
Next books: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows,  The Shallows by Nicholas Carr. 

a perfect quote

"In dwelling, live close to the ground.

In thinking, keep to the simple.

In conflict, be fair and generous.

In governing, don't try to control.

In work, do what you enjoy.

In family life, be completely present."

Tao Te Ching

homemade birthday cards

Yesterday was Adrienne's 13th birthday. We spent a wonderful day together, a great start to the teenage adventure.

I like to make my children birthday cards, draw something that reflect their interest at that time. I don't consider myself a good artist, but they enjoy receiving these one of a kind birthday cards and I like spending the time drawing them. This year, for Adrienne, I chose the character Misery from the Ruby Gloom cartoon, she likes her and I thought it would be simple enough...You can see the real one here.

For Celeste's birthday in May, I had done 6 little princesses:

A homemade present or card is always better in my opinion.

a new adventure

Thirteen years ago on July 12, 1997, I was holding a brand new baby and became a mother for the first time. My husband was next to me and we were so happy to enter the world of parenthood. Our baby girl came to this world after about six hours of labor, with the help of a wonderful dula, without medication. She was a big baby for me, 8 lb 5 oz. I still remember the doctor telling me not to worry, that I would be having a small baby since I was small, 7 lbs at the most. I learned not to put to much trust in what doctors say after that! Adrienne was such a happy baby from day 1. Over the years, she has grown in a caring, responsible, and smart young girl. She is a wonderful big sister to two siblings.

I am really looking forward to this new adventure with her, the teenage years!  

a lazy sunday afternoon

These zucchini oversize muffins were delicious (recipe here) and a perfect partner to my reading. I used zucchinis from our vegetable patch, maybe that is why they were so yummy!

Adrienne was doing some reading as well. She has been devouring this series. This one is the third in the Vampirates series. She likes the pirates, not the vampires, she tells me. This marks the last day of her tween years, tomorrow she turns 13!

nature is imagination

Andre - May 2009

‎"The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way. Some see nature all ridicule and deformity...and some scarce see nature at all. But to the eyes of the man of imagination, nature is imagination itself." William Blake.

part of BAM!

photo credit: mosaic by childplay {tiffani}

I was invited to join another self portrait flickr group...this one is led by childplay (tiffani) and I am loving the creativity so far. Can you find me?

52 fridays ~ week 28

on our way home from the dog park ~ happy to be all together

head in the clouds

Wordless Wednesday ~ Friends

my garden :: tomatoes and zucchinis

52 books :: book 32 :: Revolutionary Road

A few weeks ago, I watched a movie I had picked up at our library called Revolutionary Road. The movie was pretty good, and when I noticed that it was based on a novel, I decided to read it. 
The story, based in the fifties, is about Frank and April Wheeler. This young couple find themselves in suburbia and realize that they are not happy. When they were just dating, she got pregnant, they were then married, had another child together (just to prove that the first one wasn't a mistake), and now are reflecting on their lives, asking themselves how they got to be just like everyone else when they thought they were different. 
This story is a sad one. I can't relate to the main characters since I chose my life (having children, staying at home to raise them and homeschooling).
I think it does show how important it is to think about whatever decisions you take and really decide for yourself, not just follow the trend or what "people" think you should do.
This book is part of the Time 100 best english language novels . If you want to find out more about this novel, you can read a plot summary, chapter by chapter, here.  
Here is the trailer from the movie. The movie itself is rated R, but the trailer is for all audiences:



Books read: 32/52
Pages read: 9862

mmm...raspberries

We love going to local pick-your-own farms. Raspberries are one of our favourites, we don't make jam with them, but instead freeze them to use in smoothies or just to eat as a cool snack. We will be going again soon, since a lot of the raspberries didn't look ready yet!

52 fridays ~ week 27

Canada Day was yesterday...we had an awesome day (you can read more about it here). The end of June marks the 20th anniversary of my moving to Canada.

20 years! WOW!! So many wonderful memories in these 20 years. It would be a very long post if I started listing them all in detail, but the top three would be:

- meeting and falling in love with my Canadian husband

- the births of each of my three children

- all the wonderful people I have met, through college, work, homeschool groups, etc..

I have been a Canadian citizen from birth, but didn't grow up here. I have always had a love for Canada, but this love grew even more once I moved here.

Simply put: I ♥ Canada!

Happy Canada Day!

I don't like to duplicate posts from my homeschooling blog to this one...but this little beaver is so cute that I just had to. I hope you won't mind if you happen to visit both of my blogs...
and to my fellow Canadian visitors:

Happy Canada Day!!