Donalacasa's Daybook: Friday, July 2, 2022

  

Outside my window... Hot and muggy.

I am praying for ... The camp where The Grand Duchess and I have the opportunity to minister to grieving children. Praying for health and safety for all participants. Praying that everything will be done decently and in order. I am also praying for the safety of the Girl Scout camp where Princess Butterfly is the program director. I am thankful... Princess Butterfly is entering her LAST year of undergraduate college. In 2010 we didn't know how we were going to get ONE child through college. Now we're in the home stretch for #3. Yah has been SO faithful. I am wearing... One of my capri sets from Haband that The Grand Duchess calls pajamas. I am reading... The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate. I am listening to.... Gun Lap by Robert Woglemouth. I heard about this book by listening to the podcast Revive Our Hearts. It written for men to encourage them when they start getting close to retirement age. I want to fulfill the blessing that is read over me every Shabbat that I would do Friend Hubby good and not evil all the days of my life. I want to understand the things that are going through his mind in this season. I have already learned much. It is helping with my Empty Nest thoughts as well. 

I am hoping... That Abba answers The Grand Duchess' prayer and blesses her socks off.  

From the learning rooms... I am working on posting the homework for each of the classes that I am teaching for the upcoming school year in Google Classroom. I have World History I finished and I am halfway through World History III. Last year, I was overwhelmed by teaching 5 classes using curriculum I had never used before on top of starting graduate school two weeks late. What I am doing now will save me at least an hour or two PER class so that I can focus on my graduate school classes.  

A few plans for the rest of the week ... I am presenting at a homeschool conference later this month. I need to sit down and do an outline and send a short video so that they can assess the quality. I am also going to be a camp buddy to a bereaved child next week. I need to open the packing list and start gathering my things together.

From the learning rooms... I have been working, little by little, on reformatting all my lesson plans from last year into what assignments I want my students to do this year. I am also going down the calendar so that they will automatically populate during the school year. Last year, was EXTREMELY stressful since I was teaching 5 classes and I had not ever taught any of the curriculum before. In addition to my graduate school work, I had to type up homework assignments for each class, put together lesson plans, and grade the homework. What I am working on this summer is to make my workload lighter so that I can devote more focus to my grad school work. From the kitchen... I don't cook much in my empty nest, but I did make this recipe for the second time. Friend Hubby loves it: Best Instant Pot Chicken and Brown Rice. Around the house... I have FINALLY gotten back around to completing the painting on the gameroom that our son Kotaishi Sanban started when he came for a surprise visit in early January. School started again right after he left so I couldn't work on it. For spring break, we went to visit him at his duty assignment so nothing got done then. As soon as school let out, we took another 4000-mile road trip so no progress then either. Now, I am trying to dedicate a couple of hours in the late afternoon to getting it done. I am forced to now, because I have unplugged and moved the TV into my workout space. I haven't worked out in over a week because of that. I am trying to control what I eat better, knowing that I am not working out at the moment. The other day, I told Friend Hubby and The Grand Duchess that when I am finished working on the gameroom, that I will be moving into Princess Butterfly's room. They both stood there in stunned silence until one of them timidly asked, "You're moving into Princess Butterfly's room?" LOL Silly people. I am going to be turning my remodeling attention on her room! LOL Last fall our master bedroom was transformed into a luxurious and comfortable space with a king-sized bed. Why would I want to move out of there? LOL 

Also I put this shelf together all by myself. Mind you, the day before I did it I was texting Sanban for instructions on how to get the TV to show my channels again, but three steps forward, two steps back. Whatever. LOL I have a couple of shelves under my desk already, but the collection has grown and I began stepping over them to get to my desk.  

 

A peek into my day... I went to my yearly physical and then did all the things that I needed to do for a couple of upcoming homeschooling conferences I am speaking for online. I am excited for this phase of life. I know others have been doing it for years, but I felt like before I got started telling others about homeschooling that I needed to be finished and able to step back and look at the finished work. Too many people give directions when their still in the middle of their journey. They don't even know where they're going to end up. As far as homeschooling is concerned, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith." I have FRUIT.

My self-care... I haven't done a lot of working out over the past couple of weeks for one reason or another. I know that I need to get back to it. I had been very consistent until we took a 4000-mile road trip. My father announced his weight loss success for the past year on Facebook. He is a foot taller than I am and weighs about 20 pounds less than I do now. This cannot be. I have done really well over the past year, but it I need more consistency. I was sharing with Princess Butterfly, who has an ENFJ personality and always makes herself available for everyone else, that she needs to put herself first at least once I day. I need to make sure that I take my own advice. Shalom and blessings!