This is this week’s question of the week over at WAHM bloggers. I thought, great, an easy one. I know how I measure success, right? I DO know how I measure success, don’t I? I mean, success is… uh oh. I DON’T know how I measure success. Rats. Another week of introspection required to answer the question. So, I think that the easy answer for me would be “success... [Read more]

So, it’s flooding here in Houston. Fortunately, it’s not flooding HERE, and if the low will move off as predicted, hopefully it won’t approach the levels of Tropical Storm Allison. It’s also my 4th child’s 4th birthday. He’s having a good day so far, in spite of the rain. We gave him one of his presents before his party, so he spent some time for a while this... [Read more]

I’ve decided that I’m taking one day a week off from reporting or even recording what I eat. I think I need to do this to keep from becoming fixated on the topic of food. So, yesterday I took the day off. You can guess what I ate, if you like, but I don’t know whether I’ll confirm or deny I did get my Jorge Cruise books in the mail yesterday: 8 Minutes in the Morning ... [Read more]

Thanks to a fellow blogger’s website, I came across this site that blew me away. I never knew such a think existed. You can go there, and people will bid to loan you money. Regular people loaning money to regular people… what a concept.  Read More →

Not much time to write today, so here goes. breakfast: yogurt, granola, blueberries lunch: Nutrisystem minestrone dinner: pasta casserole with whole wheat pasta, spaghetti sauce, and cheese; bread; 2 servings of strawberry shortcake exercise: 20 minutes yoga  Read More →

It’s hard for me to narrow down what my first job was– would that be babysitting, mowing, helping my Dad set up mobile homes? Or do I consider my college on campus work-study job to be my first job? Or would it be my post-college days of waiting tables and working retail? Or how about my first salaried job teaching? I decided to share my top 10 lessons that I learned from an assortment... [Read more]

Blog spam. I log in, I see I have comments, I click on the comments… and there it is… blog spam. I’m not sure what the suitable punishment is for people who send blog spam, but it’s got to be worse than just deleting their messages. Any good ideas?  Read More →

Weighing is just frustrating me, so I need to do that less often. Our scale is crazy, anyway, so perhaps I’ll just weigh twice a week when I go to the gym. Today’s food breakfast: apple cinnamon oatmeal, 1/2 cup of milk (I probably should have added some nuts or something with more protein to the oatmeal) lunch: leftovers from last night dinner: I will be eating out tonight, but I’m... [Read more]

Well, no weight loss yet, but that doesn’t really surprise me. After all, I’m really working on exercising, so my trainer has warned me that the initial change may not come on the scale. I do, however, have a pair of pants picked out to use as a measure of progress. I’m hoping planning (words are very important when you’re trying to lose weight– there’s a big... [Read more]

Okay, so I’m trying to lose weight and get in better shape. So, I was thinking if I had to write down what I was eating and what exercise I had done where anyone in the world could read it, that might be a level of accountability that I could use. So, look for regular updates on whether I’m losing weight (or at least inches). My starting weight is 192– ugh. Just writing that... [Read more]

I haven’t been writing much on any of my blogs right now because I’m busy putting up a brand new site. It’s a wiki on homeschooling. A wiki, in case you don’t know, is a community based website. Basically, that means that anyone can edit it and add content. The new site is called knowhomeschooing.com. So, take a peek over there and tell me what you think. There’s... [Read more]

Over the years, you’d think that you’d learn to appreciate a lot of simple things. But I really had to think on this one. Nothing came to mind instantly. But then I thought about one of the recent changes we’ve made in our house– we bought a second car. It has been really wonderful to be able to run an errand without having to wait for my husband to come home. Forgot orange... [Read more]

I think that getting out is key when you’re a stay at home Mom, doubly so when you homeschool, perhaps triply so if you also work at home. So may women make the mistake of thinking that they can’t find the time. But then ultimately they burn out and have to find the time to get a job and put the kids in daycare because “being a stay at home Mom didn’t work out”. Well,... [Read more]

I’ve been posting a lot today on my Natural Family News blog. Ironically, today I am equally annoyed with Wal-Mart and Horizon. Why is this ironic? Well, I’m always annoyed with Wal-Mart. But Horizon? I thought they were one of the good guys. Turns out, maybe not so much. I guess I should have known better. I have friends who really support buying locally. I think it’s a... [Read more]

There is a recent trend towards birth control methods that eliminate your period. Initially, this was done as a way to avoid having a period for big events, such as weddings, honeymoons, etc. Now, you don’t need a reason. Products, like Seasonale, allow women to only have a period four times a year. New products on the horizon would eliminate a period altogether. So, that’s great,... [Read more]

For many Moms who work at home, the summer provides a new obstacle– what to do with the kids? School’s out, and they’re home. How do you handle the additional distraction. In the Manty household, school is in session pretty much every day, and Mom Manty is the teacer, so the only difference that summer makes for us is that we actually tend to do more schoolwork to avoid the throngs... [Read more]

I’m trying something new here– participating in a blog carnival. There’s a Work At Home Mom blog that posts a question of the week. This week’s question is “How do you stay fit mentally and physically?” So, here’s my answer. I have five children. When they’re not draining my brain power , I think they help me stay mentally fit. Not only do they... [Read more]

Another 60-something is expecting a baby and, no, it’s not Mick Jagger or Rod Stewart. Patricia Rashbrook, a 63 year old child psychologist, is seven months pregnant. I wonder what makes 60 year old women decide that it’s a good time to have a baby. Is it an attempt to regain their youth? Shouldn’t they be preparing to be grandparents, which can be a full time experience (just... [Read more]

We all know that gas prices are ridiculous right now. And we know that not buying gas for a day, boycotting certain suppliers, etc. won’t really work. But there is a way to greatly decrease gas use immediately. Many companies have telecommuting policies, and many employees could telecommute, but for whatever reason, there is a stigma attached to telecommuting. So, managers frown upon it.... [Read more]

My 7 year old just told me that he did his best stacking the silverware, and that his best was the best he could do. I was right there with him, thinking “That’s right my best is the best I can do”. Then he quantified it with “Well, it’s the best I can do without taking more time”. When I tried to explain to him that sometimes our true best takes a bit more time,... [Read more]