25 Things You May Not Know about Me

#1. I am a follow-the-rules kind of woman, except when the rules are dumb. Like telling me that I have to tag 15 or 25 people to do a list like this. Not gonna do it!

#2. I'm thinking to myself that the stuff you don't know about me, maybe you SHOULDN'T know about me! :-p

#3. I have all my teeth, my tonsils, and my appendix. Everything that I was born to have. I have no plans to part with any of it! haha! [UPDATE: Wrote this in 2009. In 2013, a surgeon removed my healthy appendix without my consent while he was searching for the cause of my pain! Then in 2014, I had to kiss my gallbladder good-bye (figuratively, not literally). So now I can no longer say I still have all the parts I was born with. Boo.]

#4. I won the Spelling Bee 2nd place trophy in 6th grade. I choked either on the word brilliant or the word sheriff. My mind went totally blank. It was so embarrassing.

#5. I'm normally a gracious human being, but I have my moments. (Don't we all?)

#6. I don't base my actions/reactions on the actions of anyone else. I choose to do the right thing (except for the occasional slip-up) no matter what others are doing.

#7. Number 6 is probably an issue of pride. Nuts. That shouldn’t be the motivator!

#8. I have a bulletin board COMPLETELY COVERED with ribbons won by my kids and myself! Mostly them, from 4-H and a local multi-county fair. Oh, some medals are hanging there as well. Mine are from that fair as well. We placed a lot in photography over the years, as well as in food.

#9. As an adult I’m very disdainful of dogs, but that’s the only kind of pet I had growing up!

#10. I once took a test that said I was more conservative than Rush Limbaugh! Which is probably true.

#11. I loved being married, I loved my husband, but he did me wrong, and I plan to be single for the rest of my life. [UPDATE: in 2014 I started to think this plan might be a bit nuts.]

#12. I am descended from farmers on both sides of the family tree, but I hate gardening or anything that involves getting in the dirt!

#13. I love to look at landscaping books. Designing a landscape would be fun as long as someone else did the grunt work!

#14. I held my ex-husband’s baby boy. And later, his baby girl. I’ve kissed the babies too. (and then felt like crying the rest of the day)

#15. I have encouraged contestants in vocal competitions who were competing against my kids. I can’t help it! I see someone shaking and scared, and I have to boost his or her confidence! (It sucks when they win, though. LOL!)

#16. Although I make a living as a writer and proofreader, I do NOT judge my friends’ blogging/spelling/grammar skills. But I’m very critical of my own, because y’all may be judging my skills! :-O

#17. I eat LOTS of sugary things when I’m under stress. LOTS. Trust me. [update for 2017: did you know that most sweets are sweetened with corn syrup? I developed a sensitivity to corn and can no longer indulge in foods that have corn-y ingredients. Boo! But it’s okay.]

#18. As a child, I always wanted to be “Mary” in the children’s Christmas program in church, but I never was chosen. I was an angel or the innkeeper’s daughter. At least I never had to be a sheep or donkey!

#19. I HATE being lied to. My mom is the same way. Honesty is a must.

#20. I used to dream of being a star in musicals on Broadway. But I didn’t have the voice for it, not to mention the confidence and drive needed to succeed.

#21. I wrote a full-length mystery novel. It’s around here somewhere ... unpublished.

#22. When I drive by houses that are obviously down-on-their-luck, I wish I had the money to fix them up. My daughter feels the same way!

#23. I never had a teddy bear as a child. I have some now!

#24. I have not spoken to my brother (his choice) since 1995, the Christmas before Dad died. He suffers from depression and chronic pain and locks himself away from the world. Mom is the only one he will see and speak to. [Update! After 20 years, he has started speaking to me again and even wished me a happy birthday! And asked for my help as he bought his first computer and was struggling to get it set up.]

#25. I have a purple lava lamp. I once had a blue one, but it got broken during a move. My former husband bought the blue one. I bought myself the purple one. I’m a purple-lava-lamp kind of woman.

Why I love Homeschooling

1. Family togetherness

2. Control over curriculum - the ability to choose quality materials that are geared to my children's learning styles and that have a Christian worldview

3. Flexible schedule, and being able to work around various appts.

4. Fewer distractions for these two ADHD children!

5. The ability to move as quickly or as slowly through the lessons as required for the student to understand and master the concepts

6. Just KNOWING what it is they are supposed to be studying rather than being in the dark.

7. No homework in the evenings - more family time. Homework is to prove to the teacher that a student mastered the material. A homeschool parent knows from working with the student individually whether he or she mastered it; no homework is necessary.

8. The ability to gear lessons to the child's interests

9. More time for extracurricular activities such as sports, science, or the fine arts

10. Field trips geared to child's or parent's interests!

11. Three meals together, and time to teach the kids how to cook and other life skills they will need

12. Social benefits. At one time I had more control over who the kids played with, and they played well with each other too. My kids never felt that the opposite sex had "cooties" or that they should only be friends with kids that were their age. Homeschooled kids typically get along with all ages and are more likely to carry on intelligent conversations with adults as well!

13. Reduced peer pressure

14. No labels among classmates - who's got brains, who's stupid, who's artistic, who's clumsy. There is safety in learning, testing, experimenting at home. Example: a developmentally-delayed 9-year-old who has only mastered stick figures will be humiliated by her peers in art class. Her artistic development will probably end right there. At home, she can experiment and enjoy art, and by the time she is 14, she will have developed more drawing skills, all because no one judged her and told her that she couldn't draw.

15. The opportunity to work on character issues. I may have a lot of friction at home (did I mention that I'm dealing with two teenagers now?), but when the kids are off with their various groups, I get good reports on their behavior. They are kind and helpful kids.

I could probably think of more, but I'll stop here. Yes, I know that homeschooling is not for everyone. When I share the joys of homeschooling, someone is bound to get defensive, but this is my blog about my interests - one of which is homeschooling! I know that public, private, and Christian schools churn out some model students each year. So does the homeschooling community. You do what works for you, and I'll keep doing what works for me.

Peace and blessings!