Middle School Homework is NO Joke

I am not a scholar but I feel reasonably smart but sometimes my daughter's homework really kicks my butt. It leaves me wondering if my parents ever felt stupid helping me with my homework. I'm pretty sure they probably did with Algebra and Physics since they weren't taught Algebra and neither took Physics. I guess I always sorta knew I'd get to that point too, where her schoolwork was hard for me to give adequate help but I really thought it would be high school before I felt that way. I had fears of Calculus and maybe foreign languages but even just her 6th grade Language Arts homework ends up being really tough.

Although her work is actual WORK for me too one benefit I have over my parents is that I can find answers and explanations with just a few little steps online. That has saved my butt for a long time, especially now that she is doing work a little more in depth than previous years. I don't routinely do algebra with fractions and other tricky things on a daily basis (THANK GOD) but its a huge help to look it up online and find diagrams, videos and step by step instructions how to solve problems.

Luckily, I think that the internet will do nothing but improve so hopefully by the time she has totally maxed out the knowledge I have to pass on to her I'll be able to find something online so she thinks I know what I'm doing!

Holy Cow! Cool Killer Whale Video

Wow, I cannot even imagine how cool/scary this would be to see in person! I worked at Sea World for a year or so and really enjoyed seeing these animals up close but I know that seeing them in the wild would be a totally different experience. This just amazes me, they are jumping through the waves like dolphins!

It Never Fails

I always try to be optimistic and find the good in things but sometimes things just get frustrating. Pay off debt, what comes after that? Oh you know, the usual. Some medical tests, company car (free) died so we need to purchase a car, pool pump messed up and the biggie--pavers around pool sinking due to improper support under spa during construction. I want to whine but I also know that I'm still better off than others so I shouldn't.

Comfy Cats

This is what happens when you hide a heating blanket under the covers on a cold day!

When you live in Florida and don't turn on your heat on a cold night it can get kind of cold in the house. It got to 65 the other day which is about my limit. I woke up and all 3 cats were curled around me. I felt a little bad that it got so much colder than normal overnight so I slid a heating pad under the covers for a little bit so the cats would be a little more comfortable.

Getting Fit, Making Changes

Source

I started doing Cross Fit a month ago in an effort to get myself healthier. I could not be happier, I love it. Yes, sometimes most of the time I'm the weakest in the class and on timed work outs I'm towards the end of the list but I love that I am seeing improvements and that I'm getting stronger. I always see this photo online and never really thought about it but so far its proving to be true. A month into Cross Fit I'm seeing I can lift a little bit heavier weights, not come in last on the runs, not shorten or modify the workouts down to such an easy level and all this progress feels great. Knowing I'm finally getting off the couch and making better choices feels really good. I've also been Diet Coke free for 5 days which has been REALLY hard at times but I know I need to stop drinking so many of them. Either way, I'm glad I am making myself do some stuff to be healthier, it isn't an easy process so I'm doing them in baby steps but I am really proud of myself for attempting and sticking with this long enough to feel stronger and see some progress.

It was THAT long ago?

Do you ever have things that really surprise you when you find out how old things are or the length of time that has passed since something happened? I've had that happen a lot lately. Just recently on the radio I heard that Cheers has been OFF the air for 20 years! 20 years? I remember watching the finale, hard to believe that was in 1993. Two more other things I was surprised about:

Madonna's Ray of Light cd came out 15 years ago. That means I worked at Wal-Mart as a cashier because I got a job there as soon as I was old enough when I turned 18. I bought this CD, I LOVE old school Madonna and with my first paycheck this was part of my purchase. I still like some of those songs every once in awhile. Definitely not her typical music but I like it. Its great when you want some background music with a good beat for working out.

Madonna-Ray of Light is 15 years old

What?!?!?! Holy cow, hard to believe all the kids  from Friends would be that old now

When Spring comes...

I'm planting some vegetables in our little garden area. We live in an area that used to be an old sod farm many years ago and things grow really well. In the past we've had good luck with tomatoes and peppers but I'll probably try some other things that I can use in more meals.

I don't like raw tomatoes unless they are in salsa and I'm the only one who eats hot peppers so I need to make sure that I grow some stuff that are a little more versatile. We did grow yellow squash one year and they were HUGE but when I cut into one that was over a foot long there was a few worms in it and I was beyond disgusted. Do you want to see these bugs when you cut open a vegetable? I actually haven't had a garden since that discovery, it seriously creeped me out and they were over an inch long. Even now I feel like my head and skin are crawling just thinking about them LOL

Source: www.green-talk.com

I'm also starting to grow some garlic. I'm not sure how it will turn out as I have never done it before but I saw a few pins on Pinterest about using a clove of garlic to grow more so I decided to give it a try. I also had one of these I found in the back of the fridge the other day so that gave me the motivation to grow the garlic

Grow Garlic from a Clove  

What are you planning on planting this Spring?