cheese, please!

A diet rich in ice cream and other high-fat dairy foods may lower the risk of one type of infertility, a study suggests.

hmmm ... having struggled with trying to add to our family size for almost 8 years now, this is very appealing. Apparantly, women who ate more than two low fat daily products daily were twice as likely to have difficulty conceiving than women who indulged in the fattier versions. have I ever told you that dairy is my most favourite food group? This fits in perfectly with homeschooling, too, because I can have access to the freezer and fridge whenever a craving hits!

"A good healthy dose of skepticism is good for people," especially when the results are so hard to swallow, said Dr. Patrick Remington, a University of Wisconsin-Madison epidemiologist.

What about ice cream or cheese or yogurt can possibly be hard to swallow? I think I may have to conduct some personal research ... now!


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Feb. 28, 2007 - then I guess you'll want
Posted by bestsister (64.231.61.216)


extra milk in your tea next time you are here? Maybe a little extra-cheesy cheese bread too. Or how about a good thin crust pizza with cheddar and feta....hmmm. All those handfuls of frozen mozzarella at the pizza shops you've worked for were building up reserves for you now! :-) Clearly, I've been indulging a bit much now. So the next time people ask me "don't you know what causes this?" I can say "yes, I eat too much cheese".


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Feb. 28, 2007 - better yet
Posted by bestsister (64.231.61.216)


extra creamy KD...you may need to up it to more than a box a week. and I may need to join you for moral support...ah the burdens I share with you.


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Feb. 28, 2007 - Dairy Serving Size...
Posted by anotherblogonthefire (24.57.172.39)


A piece of cheese the size of a deck of cards, right!
I'll eat more dairy to help too! I know this thing takes 2 of us!


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Feb. 28, 2007 - So...
Posted by SmallWorld (24.158.194.253)


MY question is, if you give ice-cream and cheese to your husband in large doses, does it make him agree to having another child???


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Mar. 1, 2007 - Or a better question
Posted by bestsister (64.231.167.247)


If we gave cheese and ice cream to the general public in large doses would they all like the idea of more children to the extent that they would stop teasing those of us who do have several?


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I can't help but wonder

This morning, on the CBC news, it was announced that 87 slot machines were voluntarily removed from some Ontario casinos due to subliminal messages. Ok ... is that an oxymoron? Apparantly, upon reviewing surveilance tapes, it was discovered that the jackpot symbols were being flashed to the slot-players. The timing was only something like 1/5 of a second, but some psychologists believe that the window was open long enough to entice some players to linger longer than they may initially have done.

read the story here

really?

As part of research for this story, CBC News went to several Ontario casinos to videotape about 20 different types of slot machines. There didn't appear to be any symbols flashing — until the video was slowed down. Then it became clear that the three games contained winning jackpot symbols.

Is it just me, or is this reminicent of the whole back-masking scare with Ozzy Osborne and Black Sabboth albums from the 80's? Yep, I tried with some of my friends to listen, and it didn't sound any better backward than it did forward. Oh the joys of a cool basement and a record player on a lazy, hazy day of summer. I also remember doing a search for subliminal messages in my grade 13 English Lit. class. Our teacher gave us each a magazine and asked us to check for any images in ice cubes etc, since alcohol advertisements were particularly suspect. This was the early 90's, and all of us left that class a little bit more "open" to suggestion.

This is not rocket science, people. My husband has had the unfortunate pleasure of working inside of casinos to a certain degree. He needed to make sure that the renovations the company he works for were being done properly ... no need to comment here, by the way, if you think he should not be working for a company that does casino work in the first place ... that decision was made quite a few years ago, thank you ... what he saw was anything but productive and pretty. All around him the faces of the people were drawn and lonely looking; they were in a trance almost, as if they weren't even sure themselves why they were there or what they were doing. Sad.

Charlotte Mason said children needed three things each day, something or someone to love, something to do, and something to think about. What a pity that somewhere along the line, these casino "children" were left to their own devices ... I cannot help but wonder what their day might look like if they had been taught to trust in Someone other than themselves, to give a helping hand, to work hard and for the joy of working, to use their mind to invent or create something outside of themselves, to be needed and counted on. But, I suppose the Province of Ontario is subliminally suggesting they play just one more game ... it helps generate revenue, you know.

so ...what would happen if I took multiplication flashcards and just held them up to the boys for 1/5 of a second ...

not so appealing to the masses

I know that the majority of HSBers do not live where I live ... in fact, and I would love to be corrected, the only HSBer that lives near me is my best friend . Now, I am not complaining, no siree ... she is the greatest thing since my husband and Jesus, but it does make one wonder sometimes where all the others are. All the cool ones, anyway. Guess they have to just stay "links" for now.

Did you know that she used to live in California? That she used to be vegan? That she is smart, like me? That she has home-births? That she really is all that in the kitchen? That I love to sample her food and that it is usually too spicy for me? That her husband used to be a chiropractor and is now a cool cop? That her children call me Aunt even though we only wish we were for-real related? And we share the same birthday! And my other best lives so far away that somedays I fear I will never see her again, or drink tea with her, or meet face to face the one she is carrying, or watch our husbands play with the kids and grill steak and drink , uh, stuff, and, man, does this woman know how to bake! ( Food really is a theme with me, though I am so skinny you would think I am lying. Just ask my bests ... they'll tell you I can eat ). These women know things. These women influence me.

So, what does this have to do with anything? It doesn't ... except it is Thursday, and I made a recipe from one of these best sister's of mine, and I did the same thing last week ... and I feel pretty darn priviledged, even if they're not my real flesh and blood.

A cord of three strands is not easily broken.

Children priceless but they can bust your budget

Children are priceless but they can seriously bust your budget. According to the experts, raising a bundle of joy will cost you a bundle of cash.

"unfortunately, having children is regarded as the worst financial planning move you can make -- the financial impact is enormous." says financial whiz Kelley Keehn, 31 ( unmarried, and childless, but a wonderfully wealthy and wise woman, to be sure ).

I have the priviledge of calling two women "best friend". One lives a billion and a half kilometres away, the other only 8. Both read this blog. Neither read the Petrolia Topic ... and well they shouldn't; not this Wednesday edition, anyway.

One of the above-average women afformentioned is expecting baby bundle number four at the end of August ( in steamy Saskatchewan ). poor, poor soul. The other friend has six smiling ones so far. both must be on the brink of financial ruin. That is what I just read in the Topic, isn't it? I believe the article states that Kelley Keehn is an expert ... I think. No ... wait, it says she plans on having kids some day, but she may reconsider as time and inflation press on because, she cautions, the biggest mistake people make is ignoring where their money goes. Gee ... maybe I should have thought twice about getting married ... and loving my husband ... or was that just dancing I should have re-thunk?

The article just gets more informative from here. Apparently it is socially and financially acceptable, even applaudable to have babies, as babies are inexpensive ( as long as they're not in daycare ) but what one is to "do" with said babies as they are likely to grow is not so clear. Children are more costly, while teenagers will bankrupt you! Must be another fact I never considered. We are one year away from the teenage years and so far, we still have a savings account and an emergency fund. Hmmm. Wonder what we're doing "wrong"?

I won't bother you with the quote on reasons to have brats lovely children through which many live vicariously their lost and wasted youth, though the Topic certainly had me re-thinking my children's own simple and deprived status in the neighbourhood. If only I had really used my degree ... then they wouldn't have to play hockey on the street; they could be stylishly outfitted and in a real rink. Woah is me.

The piece de resistance comes at the end. This one had my husband in stitches on the living room floor. Ready? Ok, here goes:

Heather McKechnie, a Newmarket registered marriage and family therapist, says kids are a good investment for adults who are prepared to make long-term commitments. For many people, having children becomes the central focus of their lives, which gives their life meaning beyond anything a pay cheque can provide.

Yep. I know parents like that. I know kids like that, too. Why do you think I homeschool? What do you say? I'm still "going for broke".

On Reading Aloud

I was recently directed to this wonderful article, written by Kate Pitrone. She homeschooled her six for nineteen years, so she has had just a little experience.

Don't leave out reading aloud

I found her writing very nourishing and warm, like a warm blanket on the thoughts of my mind. I hope you can find the time to ponder her words ... then act on them. Sometimes I fear that reading aloud is becoming a dying art, and that is sad. My boys are known to complain whenever they view a movie version of a novel we have completed. It just doesn't seem to come out quite right most of the time. Our imaginations are so adept and we do them an injustice whenever we override our mental images with some concocted Hollywood scene ( usually over the top and seemingly about some compeletly different novel than the one we remember so well ).

Can you tell I love to read?

Valentines Day is a Tinfoil Shock on the Cavities of the Mind

Valentine's day is like an unwrapped chocolate kiss in a mouthful of cavities. Most other holidays have meaning. Valentine's Day is an excuse, a chance for the loved to brag, a reason for the unwanted to become fat. While visions of cupids fling corny love-arrows at undeserving couples, while I stock up on candies that make me red with hives, while beautiful girls receive millions of valentines and screech in high-pitched voices, "ooh, he's sooo good looking", and even as I wipe the amber-coloured, cinnamon-heart lipstick from the corners of my mouth I feel the electric shiver of tinfoil on cavities. It is a warning. Valentine's Day is approaching, like Cupid's guided missiles batting 50 foot eyelashes at me. The end was nearing. This may be harder than I thought.

I hate Valentine's Day. If plastic cheerleaders in plastic skirts with their mouths covered in vaseline can have red Valentine carnations sent to them anonymously, I'm going to have one sent to me behind my back. High School love is shallow, easy, quick to end and occasionally entertaining, a tornado of victims whose names and faces get tossed around like common garden salads. The cliques, like prune-lipped spinsters, have already preconceived who should receive what from whom and when it is good or bad; and worse than the single, raised eyebrow or the "once-over" stare, is the "whispered comment". It is the last, suspended button on the sweater of pride.

The expressions of pity and insult, the sickeningly sweet smell of gingerbread and cinnamon and icing, the unmistakable feel of fingertips in an empty mailbox, the lump in your throat when you realize that Prince Charming forgot to buy stamps again --- all these awaited me on the arrival of Valentine's Day. On any normal day, friends would ask, "have you called him back yet?" On Valentine's Day they say, "maybe he forgot your phone number". I'd play it cool, and as casually as possible, reply, "He declined the Valentine dinner offer sometime last week". After a second of thought, sarcasm adds with a sting to last until tomorrow, "maybe he's allergic to heart-shaped jello".

Welcome ten unwanted, chocolate pounds, goodbye clear complexion. Hello red and pink, escaping locker-lovers, listening to "daytime drama" conversations, walking home alone, holding back the tears. Goodbye "single and loving it"; hello holding books in one hand, nothing but air in the other.

If nothing else, Valentine's Day has taught me patience, that you don't always get what you want, and that buying out the candy and flower shops doesn't always produce and everlasting love affair. Of all the holidays, Valentine's Day is the one that wakes you up to the real world. It's a lot like waiting for film to be developed ...

"Someday my prints (prince) will come".

p.s. my prince and I are doing just fine

the art of homeschooling

so ... I have resisted from leaving comments on a couple of blogs lately simply because I do not want to be bothered with "arguing" or trying to articulate why exactly it is that a certain post left me scratching my head. I suppose the best thing is to blog myself, since that is the reason I started at home, on fire in the first place, no?

Lately I have been praying and mulling over choices for curriculum for next year. This is something we all do, even if you are a school-in-a-can type. You still need to be sure that what is being offered you is what will work and that you are being a good steward of your finances. I am not a canned curriculum kind of gal, and if you have spent any time at all here in this blog of mine, that would not be a startling revelation. What I am trying to get at here is that we, as homeschoolers, and in the case of my family as artists, need to be drawing from the well of resources that the Father has already given to us.

But, don't be afraid to copy! There ... I've said it.

It is so important to learn from the work of other people, especially in the beginning. I read one post very recently about art in the homeschool and that we should not tell our children what or how to create. She went on to say that she is opposed to any kind of project where the child is directed specifically by the adult as this is void of experimentalism, creativity, fun and is not "art" in her opinion. I just kept thinking it over and really felt I needed to express my personal opinion on art and kids.

There is certainly a lot of talent in our homeschool co-op and my husband and I were blessed with the opportunity to teach a series of lessons in our home studio, Onfire, just before Christmas. I fail to see how the parents would have been happy to spend their money only to have their children bringing home random pieces of "art" while we sat back at night laughing over our pizza take-out.

God is a God of order, not disorder. It is a waste of time to try and teach a child to create a piece of art without taking the time to teach the fundamentals of art. It's all about perspective.

In order to write a readable novel, the author must follow a pre-written set of rules for grammar, spelling, punctuation and even presentation. Without these guidelines, the novel would never be completed. It reminds me of the Korean student we had living with us over the summer, a 21 year old male that I was paid to homeschool. The Instructors who did the hiring informed me that it did not matter to them if anything he said made sense to anyone in or out of the home; they simply wanted him to speak English. How could I realistically follow that logic? Not only would we have been frustrated to the point of giving up, but he would also have spent a tremendous amount of money in vain, able to communicate properly to no one and feeling foolish every time he attempted. No, trying to teach any subject without a specific method of organization is as un-doable as trying to sing a song without any notes.

One of the main objectives of today's public-school art program is "Free Expression" ( creative self-expression ). We know that people who do not know how to draw cannot express themselves freely. Teachers, for example, who cannot draw, cannot express themselves freely on the blackboard. The intended meaning of "Free Expression" is really expression free from rules ( anything goes ), but this kind of an objective leads nowhere. The other objective, "Appreciation", is something which must come from within and cannot be imposed from without. If the subject is understood - if the student knows how to draw - appreciation will follow, and so will free expression. If the subject is not understood - if the student does not know how to draw - neither appreciation nor free expression can exist in the true sense of the word. Bruce McIntyre, Drawing Textbook

Art, like all disciplines, does not exist in a vacuum. Some believe that if you analyze ( ok, copy ) the art of another artist, that your own growth will be stunted, if it develops at all. Nothing could be further from the truth. Study Da Vinci, Michelangelo ... both sought to emulate their masters until they were not only able to copy them, but also supercede them in time.

How is it that we know about History ... the legends and hero stories? How do we hear about Christ's workings in the lives of others? Stories are told and re-told, passed down from Grandparent to grandchild, Father to son, Mother to daughter. Our heritage is passed from generation to generation. This is our lineage. We teach our children to pray the way our Heavenly Father taught us ... by example.

We give the highest honour we can when we follow in the footsteps of those who have gone before us, trying our best to "copy" their behavour and mannerisms. It is good and right to take that which we love in others and make it our own. This applies not only to art and music, my two loves, but to all of life in general. I want to learn the basics so I may build my heritage on a firm foundation.

Then I want to be a revolutionary.


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Feb. 11, 2007 - Can you please...
Posted by SmallWorld (24.158.194.253)


write a book?? Or could you come live by me and be my friend? You are a gifted writer and express yourself soooooooooo beautifully!!


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Feb. 12, 2007 - I Got Dibs
Posted by bestsister (64.231.63.222)


you can be my friend first and foremost, but I will share you on occassion! Yes, you are quite a writer, and artist, and songwriter, and and and and...
When I think of Kristina, I just think of....
God's little girl. you look more and more like your Father every day. I love you and am so proud of you.
Love Barbara


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Feb. 12, 2007 - No Barbara....
Posted by anotherblogonthefire (24.57.172.39)


I think I get first dibs!


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Feb. 13, 2007 - Your World View Is Showing
Posted by AcceptanceWithJoy (67.142.130.25)


And I mean that in the best way ~

[The intended meaning of "Free Expression" is really expression free from rules ( anything goes ), but this kind of an objective leads nowhere]

You talked about a readable novel and grammar rules. I understand writing way better than the world of art, so... I will use that thought.

e e cummings, didn't believe in rules. His writing demonstrate a total disregard for punctuation, capitalization and grammar rules. He writing reflected his belief that rules (particularly the repressive rules of Christianity) had kept society from being truly great. You can find examples of artists in every field that express their worldview in their art.

By the way, I try to follow rules too. I don't get e e cummings, I don't get Picasso and I really don't get Jackson Pollock.


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Feb. 21, 2007 - Thanks for visiting my blog
Posted by HarmonyArtMom (71.143.16.62)


I hopped on over to visit yours and had a good time reading, especially this post. My passion is getting more families to give art and music a try in their own homes.

I agree with you that copying isn't a bad thing....I try to tell moms that all the time. You must learn the language of art before you can express your own ideas.

Besides, aren't we all copying the Greatest Artist of them all when we create anything? Col 1:15, 16

Enjoyed your blog,
Barb
Harmony Art Mom


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Feb. 23, 2007 - Untitled Comment
Posted by Anonymous (75.88.67.179)


I so much agree. The great artists learned by studying the great artists before them. They'd study under them and copy every stroke. They had to master what was before them before creating their own style and their own "thumb print."

I do think there is a place for letting a child just explore the materials, and I resist "art" projects which are little more than coloring sheets. But children seem born imitators and it is a grand time to teach them essential principles (of any subject) while they are naturally driven to imitate.


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Feb. 23, 2007 - Untitled Comment
Posted by Anonymous (75.88.67.179)


sorry...that was me



Dana

http://gottsegnet.blogspot.com


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Mar. 3, 2007 - art imitations
Posted by Anonymous (68.3.214.248)


like-minded in arizona
www.familygregg.blogspot.com

check out:
http://www.writing-edu.com/


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train a "child" in the way he should go ...

I was caught, almost instantly, by the title of the post from The Common Room ... Share Your Passions.

For anyone who knows me at all, I think one adjective that could fairly adequately sum me up, warts and all, would be the word passionate. I think from my heart, not always my head. I can seldom stick to one thing for an entire day ( my oldest just asked me what was important for today, specifically, and I could not answer him because I was trying to do three things at the same time ). I can think globally pretty well, but don't ask me how what I do or say will impact me for the future ... I just "think" and "do" a lot of the time. Spun? maybe. Sanguine? a little. Melancholy? more so.

I do know that I sat down some time ago and re-evaluated my life. Wow ... I sure do pack a lot in. that can be ok, but what stuck out to me was how much I had been complaining about having to work "another Saturday" at my part-time- because I only have two kids that are getting older- so I must need to do something other than stay only at home -because I did go to University so I have obligations to society -and I like to order pizza out sometimes- even though my family prefers my whole-wheat homemade- job. It was one of those clear -brained moments when I could see so easily how all the other aspects of my life were fitting together, and my outside job was sticking out like a sore thumb.

Like sitting on a deck in the Muskoka's on a bright, warm, summer day staring out at the lake, sipping cool lemonade and knowing you are just where you need to be at that particular moment in time.

There is nothing wrong with outside work ... if that is indeed what Father is asking you to be doing. but, when I looked at MY life, I saw chaos and disappointment, resentment and bitterness, tiredness and drudgery. That is not from God ... that is from me.

so, I handed in my letter of resignation. Funny thing, too, while I was writing it, I was reminded of the study guide I had begun to write last summer and had to put aside for my "other" job that paid. So ... I went to the Library yesterday and got the book out again, and will begin to feed my soul and spirit with the creative thoughts the Father brings to mind as I attempt to worship Him through my writing.

I love the way I felt reading a quote from the post I mentioned earlier ...

Look at who you are, who your other family members are, your collective strengths and weaknesses, your interests, and your circumstances- and share your passions and hobbies. The homemaking of a mother with a bent toward literature and music will look different than that of the mother with an interest in organic gardening and math, which will be different to the mother with a background in computers, which will be different to the homemaking of the mother who loves crafting and finds poetry boring.

if you are a piano player who feels guilty about taking time to play the piano at home, then I suspect that there is an underlying false assumption about what it means to be *"home". If you have a passion for writing but feel guilty when you take time to write, likewise. If you feel guilty about sitting down to read a book, maybe you need to reevaluate those standards. If you love to sketch, but think it's selfish to take time to do that, then I suspect you, too, have a mistaken idea of what we are called to do.

Our family members have a right to know who we are as people. Share your passions with your children, and allow them to share their passions with you.

* I changed "the homemaker" to simply read "home", as it encapsulated all I was musing and mulling over much more entirely.

as a side note, last night while I was at a rehearsal for the Community theatre group I am a member of, a friend of ours called to ask if I would bring my guitar and not only sing, but also play. It was such a confirmation to me of who I am in Christ, and my role in the body. I had been previously asked to come to this evening of art and worship, and willingly said "yes" ... the offer to sing and play only made it sweeter. In 2 Corinthians 8:12, we read " For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have."

This applies to every area of my life, especially my homeschooling. I am willing to "sacrifice" my Degree to stay at home and teach my children whatever it is I feel the Lord is directing me to. This is surprisingly easy. I am willing to make more homemade foods, not only because they taste fantastic ( see my best friends blog, bestsister and stay a while ) but because I know that I have a responsibility as a parent to give my children the best health that I know how. I also need to know what my calling is because Father tells me to bring the best of the firstfruits of your soul to the house of the Lord your God . 2Cor 8:26. If I believe that my body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, then I need to nourish all aspects of it, and teach my children to do the same ... body, mind and spirit.

My children know me. They know what I am passionate about. When I asked them, this is what they listed: them, music, God, organization ( this one always makes me laugh ), art, their Dad and my friends. Selling bread and cigarettes just wasn't something that stirred my soul ... and that's ok ...

"this journey is my own"

home, for keeps

This was one of those mornings when you struggle out of bed and think "ok ... so what now, Lord?"

My oldest was the alarm I actually listened to this morning ... "Mom, I woke up with a bloody nose ... I got it in the night!" Not that a bloody nose is a call to 911, but he has experienced so many since having his tonsils and adenoids removed two years ago. He usually swallows some of the blood, too, which makes for one sick feeling child that gets the chills and feels a little like passing out. I am not good with blood.

They both needed showers due to an excess of pink and purple hair glue the hairdresser thought would be a fun treat. At least it washed out. So, here it is ... 10:19 am and, no, school has not started for the day. It got me to thinking. What does a typical school day look like around the Campbell Academy of the Arts, anyway?

Funny enough ... a lot like this.

I usually have to email my husband a couple of times before I feel like I can start. He grounds me. When he is at work, I miss him terribly. Gag if you must. After 13 years of marriage, I am still spellbound by this one man, and I cannot get enough. (ok ... I will admit that there are some things he does I have had enough of, but I usually push those thoughts aside).
I wonder what it would be like if my husband was working from home, and how he would possibly put up with all the times I know I would interrupt him. Then I head to the spare room, where most of our more school-y things are kept. The boys hope, desperately, that there IS a wonderfully distracting something I have discovered so they can keep on eating and reading whatever it is that has distracted them!

I have noticed a pattern. We all get so wonderfully distracted in this home. Sometimes it's good ... sometimes it's Price is Right. (can that count as math .... somehow?) My boys love to read (they get that from their Mother's side) and they read very well, thank you. Many are the times that I am trying to teach a supposedly "new" concept when one or the other will fill me in on the details I either left out, or seemed to be quite ignorant of. They are never rude ... just really well-read people wanting to let me in on the secret information they have collaborated in their "spare" time. The capacity of the human brain amazes me.

Some days they will inform me that they think I am taxing their brains a little too much. Suprizingly, I have noticed a pattern here, also. It always occurs simultaneously with the phrase "ok .... let's get out our Math". This is the perfect opportunity for Mom to share her little-known secret that she learned in her days in University Psychology; the human brain, at the end of it's days, atypically has only used up 10% of its capacity.

Shazaaam!

What I do know is this:

I love my boys
I crave the challenge
l am at home
there is no where else I'd rather be.