2004

This was a very good year for me. Everything was great in "real life." Online, I tried but failed to negotiate some peacemaking between people, but rumor has it that they "patched it up" later on. It left me pretty devastated beause I feel like I lost two friends in trying to help out. I also got spoken to harshly by a couple of people on line (one person more than once), and I am thinking about not being a moderator anymore. I had never had any problems until I became a moderator. So, this is what I am hoping for in the future. I don't now how Tia will respond to that, but this is what I want. I am much better at "coming alongside" another person rather than being a "moderator." So, this is what I am thinking right now. I do think it is one person in particular who continually is at the center of the conflict. It just happened to be that I was the target a couple of times this year, and now I know how the other people feel in their position. It is not fun, and I know my only role is to pray about it now because I want my concentration to be in real life. She is out of my "sphere of influence."

The Christmas holidays were absolutely perfect, and I didn't let that one person online ruin my Christmas, and she didn't. I didn't have the holiday blues, and I had lovely times with my real life friends going to movies, eating out, watching football, scrapbooking, and talking on the phone. I loved this 2004 Christmas so much.

December

Well, it has been so long since I posted! I got so discouraged with the last one that I just gave up posting.

We ended 2004 well. The kids figured out they could have longer in Christmas vacation if they just went for the Math! They did, and we were done by December 13th!

Since then, I have been having fun with reading WEM novels. I finished Portrait of a Lady and Huckleberry Finn. This is SOOO fun and rewarding. I am loving this, and Nikki is such a great partner to have. Most people have a hard time when I get goal-oriented and feel all flustered and overwhelmed. Nikki is just as determined and goal-oriented as I am, and I really like that about her. We are very similar in personality type, but I am more extroverted.

Well, I better go. I am going to see Spanglish in fifteen minutes with Teala. My kids are at the Gilardi's playing and swimming this afternoon, and I am going to go play with my girlfriend!

WOOOOOHOOOOOO!

I love my life. Love my life. Love my life!

After many tries on my old blog, I started a new

I couldn't get my old blog poster to come up, and it doesn't look like there is a place to ask why. So, I am starting a new blog. Sigh.

I am now on Day 57 of homeschoo. We just finished studying the American Revolution! It has been great reading such great books of historical fiction like Johnny Tremain and Tolliver's Secret. We have also read great books that told us more detail about the lives of Paul Revere and King George III. I have a better handle on all of these characters in history. Tonight, we will finish up JT and watch the Disney movie from 1957 as a family treat on Wednesday night.

Math is going fabulously since I realized we needed to do it in the morning instead of afternoon. My life has changed in that I don't usually have to help the kids with Spelling in the afternoon. So, I am done by the morning.

December will be a more low-key month as we take a history break and read history from Scripture about the birth of Jesus. We are also going to read Skipping Christmas by John Grisham since it is a funny book. We will catch up on our Physics experiments and readings and do a bit of Art and Music appreciation and application. I might even buy a BrainPop subscription for the kids for Christmas!

In my own self-education, I have read Crime and Punishment, Return of the Native, and am reading The Portrait of a Lady. I will discuss C&P and ROTN with Nikki on Sunday. I put off those questions and regret it!

TTFN