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My Bear Encounter, What It Taught Me About Life
Some moments just stick with you forever! This bear encounter was one of those moments. I was sixteen and we were spending our family vacation in Maine. This was pretty normal for us, and I usually enjoyed it. To be honest I enjoyed this one too, and I wound up with a story that has influenced me for much of my life. When it started though, I’ll admit I was a bit perturbed, and that was over a boy. This trip hadn’t been planned much in advance, and I wasn’t going to be home for our regularly scheduled phone call. I wasn’t able to let him know either. (Yeah, this…
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3 reasons you need to make yourself take a vacation!
You really need a vacation. You know you do. I know you do, but you have all the reasons in the world that it can’t be done. It’s the wrong time. You don’t have enough money. Traveling with family is just so much harder than it was before kids. Well, I’m here to dispute all of that. You need one now, more than ever! No one else who isn’t in your home all day, every day has real perspective of what you actually have been doing all day, every day. They only see the times you purposefully clear in order to spend time with them. You know your job so…
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Staying Fluid In My Plans to Enjoy the Beach!
Ok, so This trip was still all I wanted it to be, but the plans I had in place changed a bit. It is actually important to be able to be a bit fluid in your plans anyway. This trip was definitely a reminder of that skill. Of course it’s important to take care of your own needs, but be open to doing that in different ways than you may have planned. This is what I wrote before I went on my trip, while I was still in the planning stages. It’s an interesting comparison. I have generally prioritized planning any trips well since having children. It’s also important to…
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10 tips for when power (or just the heat) goes out!
I’m thinking of everyone currently experiencing weather they never thought they would. While I write this it’s specifically Texas in the moment, but it could happen anywhere. (Ok, it’s unlikely in the tropics, but they have other issues they deal with I suppose.) We all kind of “get used to” the weather hazards which are normal for the area we live in. I am from Vermont. We see a diverse weather pattern, but the most severe comes in the winter. We often experience severe (potentially life threatening) cold, snow, and ice. During the worst of it also happens to be when we are at the highest risk to lose power.…
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Fall into this warm, delicious, and easy Autumn Stew!
It’s fall! I know a lot of people love fall. They look forward to it all year. I’ll be honest. It’s not really my favorite. My trouble is I just feel like it’s ushering in winter. Don’t get me wrong, there are a few good points. Here in Vermont we really do have a spectacular show when the leaves change most years. I can’t deny that it really is beautiful for a few weeks. The other thing I do enjoy when fall comes is the food. I really love some good comfort food. A warm stew really is lovely in the fall. Autumn/fall stew- A warm hug from your kitchen…
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In Memory of Strong Women
I have been lucky enough to have had many strong women in my life. I hope I can live up to half of what I’m left to only imagine they would expect of me. The one thing I know they had in common was high expectations. I was the eldest female in my household from just before my 5th birthday. My dad wasn’t one to put that position on me, but I felt it none the less. Before that my mom raised me to be a strong, independent spirit. Small moments with her taught me to express being thankful as well as the importance of making myself heard when it…
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Vacation Road Trip! Just in time for a foliage show!
Obviously, this summer we haven’t gotten out a whole lot. As you may recall from a post I wrote in March we had just reached a point where it was a bit easier to go on slightly longer trips with or without the whole family. My husband could take time off easier, and we were, well, at least a little more comfortable financially. Our girls are all older, and easier to “manage” if you will. A trip for each of us I feel fairly confident with various combinations of leaving them home alone too. The only one I wouldn’t be quite ready for is Youngest being alone overnight. Eldest is…
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Use Simple Routines to Gain Free Time
Upon first consideration it may seem routines would lead to the mundane but used well they give you more free time for what you’d like to do. You may have stumbled across this while raising small children, but it works for us adults too! (For the record I’m not one who loves strict schedules in case you haven’t guessed!) Fall- the season for hectic schedules This is the time of year it often stands out if I haven’t been following a schedule for a while. Things tend to get a bit relaxed through the summer, especially if you have kids. No one really wants to be constantly supervising others ALL…
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Photography Fun- Night Sky and Exposure Triangle
I think it’s time for another photography fun post. I haven’t spent as much time on my photography as I’d like lately, but I’ve worked on some interesting things. Specifically, I’ve been working on night photography, attempting photographing lightning, and I got myself a tripod! Oh and I learned there is such a thing as an exposure triangle?! More on that in a minute. Night time sky practice a lot! (Once in a while luck helps out) Recently I’ve been working on nighttime photography. It’s completely different from daytime. At times in the past I have lucked out with a cell phone on automatic, but I’m trying to get a…
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5 Tips from my own relaxed homeschool
This year we have had an incredibly large jump in “enrollments” in home education. Even public school parents have had to adapt by using methods usually thought of as homeschool methods. Now, while I believe homeschool is homeschool, and not really the same as virtual school, or especially public school’s emergency version of virtual school I do realize there are similarities, and those who are “emergency schooling” could definitely do with some guidance. The beauty of home education is that there are countless ways to approach it. Options that have descriptions from school at home to unschooling are all legitimate choices. The most difficult ones to take part in are…
