Long hiatus...

It has been a long time since I've checked in here. You see, I was spending too much time on the computer and not enough time on things that needed doing in "real life." With the approach of the new school year, I knew that something was going to have to give.

Now I know as home educators, we don't have to stick to society's school calendar. We can start our academic year in August or September like everyone else, or we can start in January with the calendar year, or we can just sort of keep on going, year-round, starting new material as we finish the old. However, our outside classes and activities (choir, debate club, speech class, art class, etc.) run on the September - May/June academic schedule, and so we tend to do the same.

Anyhow, as I was saying, I needed to spend much less time online. I cut back on online commitments. I limited my email and web-browsing time. I set aside time for the girls to use the computer for their academics. (They also spend too much time online, and I'm not talking research or academic pursuits, but that's something we're still trying to work on, and if we ever do manage to straighten it out to my satisfaction, I'll let you know.)

The computer situation at our house has also dictated less computer time for me, as one by one our rebuilt bargain-priced laptops meant for academic use (listening to lectures and doing writing assignments) have deteriorated and died, leaving us all competing for computer time on the remaining computer. (How do people manage, on a homeschool family budget, the cost of student computers, anyhow? The cheap rebuilt route has not worked really well for us. We're not going to sign up with a government school-at-home program just in order to get laptops for the girls. I'm open to other suggestions...)

It's been occasionally rough. My email box has burgeoned to unbelievable proportions. I've missed reading emails that I needed to read, if only to be informed of events going on at church or connected to our extracurricular activities. I have not blogged since August. I signed up for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month -- where you aim to write a book in 30 days' time) with the girls' encouragement, put in one day of writing, and then my own laptop and the last remaining student laptop got very sick at the same time, meaning that the five of us were now sharing one semi-working desktop computer. As you probably have figured out, that book didn't get written. Yet. (As my mom used to say, "If it's important, it'll come back to you." We'll see. It just wasn't a priority right now.)

I have a phone that can browse the web, which has been handy for web-based research when out and about (doing Language Arts with Youngest in a coffee shop, for example, and needing to look up a grammar rule), and browsing blogs while waiting for the girls at classes or appointments, so it hasn't been a complete break from the internet. I've found encouragement and helpful how-tos on blogs, recipes for gluten-free foods or homemade cleaning products or just plain food for thought. I can read email on my phone, although for some reason I can't send email, so answering emails can still be a problem (depending on when I can get on the desktop at home, and also if I remember that I needed to answer something).

Anyhow, I'm going to try again, if only a little something every day. It's a way of connecting, for one thing, joining an ongoing conversation, as well as organizing information (Now where did I put that recipe...?). I'm just a bit wiser than I was (at least I hope so) when I was blogging earlier. I use a timer these days, for one thing.

Thanks for listening.

Rainy, blustery Tuesday, good day to read

Found some new blogs here.

It's not like I need more blogs to read, mind you. But I was happy to hear The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew had taken top honors in the 7th Annual Homeschool Blog awards, and so I went to check out the awards list.

Just in case you were looking for blogs to read, there are some good ones here. I added a couple to my sidebar, as a matter of fact, and spent the last half hour reading blog entries aloud to the girls. Lunch break over, time to get back to work.

How's your Tuesday going?

I don't have anything to post for "If it's Tuesday it must be gluten-free" as I'm lacking inspiration today, but for lunch we're having twice-baked potatoes. Y'know, bake them until soft, scoop the middles out, mash with milk and grated cheese (and bacon, if you have some already cooked, and anything else you'd like to include) and scoop back into the potato shells, and bake some more until GBD (as Rachel Ray is so fond of saying -- golden brown and delicious -- though this is definitely not a 30-minute meal).

Anyhow, it's time to get back in the saddle and herd those butterflies. See ya.

Yikes!

It seems I'm following my own blog. Don't worry, I'm not a raging egomaniac. I'm just trying to figure all this stuff out...

What fun!

It's a grand adventure. Into the unknown...

Under construction!

I'll be copying blog posts over to this blog as time allows. In the meantime...

To find previous Home Sweet Home(school) posts, please click on the link.