What's Happening?

Update on me: my life hasn't been terribly interesting lately.  My schedule is literally family, faith, hw, soccer, and babysitting.  I had a spa night with girlfriends last weekend and went to a swing dance.  Both of which were incredibly fun!

The other day I wrote my favorite things about being homeschooled that I thought I'd just copy and paste :)

I've been homeschooled all my life and so has everyone in my family. My parents believe that they are primarily responsible for the education of their children and for us that means being well formed in our rich Catholic faith. We didn't have the money for private education so my parents took on the responsibility of homeschooling. Like any other schooling, you have to work hard so it's not always "fun". But I can say that without a doubt, homeschooling has formed me into the person that I am today. Homeschooling enables me to become very close with the people I will always have a relationship with for the rest of my life, my family. And I'm not just saying this. My best friend is my older sister and that relationship would not nearly be as close as it is now without homeschooling. Even with my extremely close friends, although I ignore it most of the time, there is always this tiny seed that I might be judged for what I say or do. And let's face it, some friends come into our lives and leave with no explanation. With my family, I am always free to express myself. I can always trust them. In highschool, there were some ups and downs in my family, especially ailments and family trials.  If needed, we took a break from school to sort out the medical needs of the family. As a family unit, we've learned how to get through the good and bad times. Homeschooling allows for flexibility, but it also teaches the student to be responsible for his own work. I'm enrolled in a curriculum, which means that I have to send my work in regularly to an accredited program to receive an official transcript. I'm also heavily involved in classes outside of my house or online classes. I have homework deadlines. I gained work experience through refereeing, babysitting, and nannying. I am a captain on both of the soccer teams that I'm on now (highschool and travel) so I understand what it takes to be a leader for homeschoolers and public schoolers. I didn't get brilliant scores on my SAT's, but they weren't bad. My GPA isn't above a 4.0, but I still got into the Honor's program at Belmont Abbey  I'm very extroverted, social, and I'm definitely not sheltered. I'm your average teenage girl who thinks one direction is the cutest thing and loves to go shopping and have spa nights with my girls. I think my parents protected me in a good way, but they never withheld information from me. Most importantly, my faith has been allowed to blossom through being homeschooled and it has definitely been challenged by peers and adults. I am confident in my faith and am able to have charitable discussions with those I do not agree with. I LOVE that I have grown up with going to daily mass, holy hours, and confession on a regular basis. For me, homeschooling has been the greatest platform for me to be able to grown within myself and develop my talents.

Yuck

Guys,

Today I have to dissect a Frog.  Do you know how gross that is?

Sincerely,
Me

Prom Dress!

I found my prom dress yesterday!

Nothing could have made me happier.

OK, that's not entirely true.  

But I was super happy that I found my dress at a thrift store for such a great price that I bought 2.  Only I would buy more than one dress for prom.  hehe.  The only problem is that they both need straps to meet the modesty requirements for our homeschool prom.  But I hope that can be fixed easily.

 Whoops that's not a prom dress! But he's still cute so I think I'll keep him.

Now here's the prom dress!

 And here is the extra one!

I'm off to do homework now!

Bacteria, Mold, and Everything in between

I decided I needed a blog post with pictures.  So here's my month in pics! Just in case ya'll thought I was kidding about some of this.....

My favorite dress from Prom Dress shopping.  Only problem is that it is too expensive :(

Yay for Kingdom Monera!  

 Opera night and interview dress that Goalie gal helped me pick out!

 Pete's 5th B'day

MOLD that I got to work with yesterday! 

 Signing my letter of commitment!

 =D

 Semi Formal pics from earlier this month! I'm with Capsangel, kitty, SRP, Goalie Gal and Clowny

Shoe party I had when they were all on sale.  

 Chilling with my babies.

 Belmont Abbey trip where my grandparents surprised me by joining me for the weekend! What a blast!

Travels

Traveling to North Carolina one weekend and Richmond the next is exhausting.  Let me tell you.  Lucky for me, in between those travels there was a birthday party, virus, iron deficiency problems, soccer, school, and lots and lots of medication.  Also, prom dress shopping, a hilarious opera at the Kennedy Center, the start of lent and penances, and some very happy news.

I was accepted into the honor's institute at Belmont Abbey!

So all my travels were worthwhile and wonderful and exhausting, but mostly wonderful.

The best part about traveling? I got some one on one time with my parents.

The trip to North Carolina was spent with my daddy and the trip to Richmond with my mom.

Also, in one weekend I got to spend some quality time with both sets of my grandparents! It is rare for me to see one set of grandparents at all, but to see both in the span of one weekend - inconceivable and purely awesome.  

But back to my one on one time with the padres.
I guess I've transitioned from this stage of thinking of my parents as authoritarians and am starting to view them more as companions? They still provide for and protect me, but there is also this (blessed) freedom during this stage in my life where I get to spread my wings a bit.  After all, I will need to be able to manage myself when I go off to college.  I feel very blessed with the parents God has given me and everything they do for me.  I tell them thank you at certain moments, but all they do and have done is really starting to sink in.
See I have a Choleric temperament and I have issues when people (*cough* parents) tell me when to do something and how I should do it.  Being a senior is hard because you are right at the cross roads.  Almost gone from the house, not wanting to listen, because we have it all figured out right? But - oh those stupid buts - we still have to remember our place and God's rules.  Yes, I'm talking about that whole fourth commandment thing.  So it was really swell that I got to spend 2 weekends just hanging out with my parents.  Sure we had itineraries and places to go, but we also got to have deep discussions and moments in the car rides (which were long) where we just enjoyed each other's company and shared common interests.
And my parents are both so different that it was really an awakening for me to notice how differently I related to my mom as opposed to my dad in such an intimate setting.

Other than travels and sending in my deposit for college (!) nothing much is going on.  Well, actually, I might have just found my roommate....so that is pretty exciting.

Personally, I find the beginning of lent to be rather dull and the end to be much more exciting...

Nothing is really typical around here

I’d like to take you through a typical *cough* day of me being a homeschooler.

7:45 – I wake up.  As in, I open my eyes hoping that this state of being awake is just a bad dream.  But, alas, as I lay there for a minute or two my brain begins to function.  I begin to remember the mountain of schoolwork that I must complete and all the things I must do before my trip this weekend!  Curse you brain for using your organizational powers on me at this exact moment.  Now I feel obliged to do something productive.  Lately, I’ve been noticing my mood when I wake up and the impact it has on my day.  Like this morning I woke up in an optimistic “I’m going to start fresh and have a good day,” mood.  Whattadifference.

8:15 ish – I walk downstairs, eat cereal, CHEERIOS are the way to go imho, and start school.  Mi madre is really into classical music these days; something about appreciating real talent.  Whatever that means.  Haha.

10:02 - Some people in my family are sick so somehow the baby, 2 yrs, is getting away with watching Thomas the Tank Engine.  Why, when I was a kid, I never got to watch TV in the middle of the day.   

10:15 OK so sometimes I write little love notes to my future husband.  Because I’m a romantic and yesterday was Valentine’s Day.  Hey I’m single and I can do what I want.  Don’t judge me!   

11:30 Lunch break! One of the most beautiful things about being homeschooled is how creative you get to be in the kitchen.  Like today I had a scrumptious salad for lunch with some cookies.  I also *had* to do some things like discuss prom forms for my 3 dates with my mom, brother, and 2 friends.  And I’m pretty sure I talked to my sister somewhere in there.

3:30 School day is technically over.  I did some Macbeth, Woman in White, government, religion and bio.  Now it’s time to babysit!

6:30  Whew.  Why am I so tuckered out after only 3 hours of babysitting? I babysit weekly for a 4 yr old and twins for a family who lives right down the street from my house. C, one of the twins, is soo adorable.  There was this one moment when I was holding him and he just randomly gave me the sweetest kiss on the cheek.  What a ham!  Also, it’s kinda fun and challenging to hold the twins in my arms at the same time.  Don’t worry, I’m careful!

7:30 Doing dishes for 10 people when the dishwasher runs out of room for all the soup bowls is loads of funnn.

8:30  I look in my inbox to find a recruitment questionnaire needs to be filled out for some press conference.  Yipee.  My recruiting coach called and I called him back but I got his voice mail.  Wonderful.  Atleast I get to listen to Taylor Swift’s new song “Safe and Sound” while I write this questionnaire out.  I’m also looking into buying Audrey Assad’s album “Heart”.  From the demos on itunes, all her songs sound really beautiful.  I love authentic Christian artists! 

10:36 Forget that government test.  I need me some Downtown Abbey!  Buying season 1 was a mistake….I’m so obsessed with the time period, characters, COSTUMES, and setting.  I highly highly recommend it!  

10:40 GAH there is so much to do before I leave on Friday morning! 

Today is...

Today is the day that I sign the National Letter of Intent, which binds me to play soccer at Belmont Abbey in the fall.  

Talk about a major decision! 

After much praying, talking, and deliberating it has come down to this:

This is the college I believe God has put a special place for in my heart.

This is where I can see myself being totally fulfilled academically, spiritually, and athletically.  

I'm a little nervous because I'm human and we worry about big decisions, but, at the same time, I know worrying ultimately isn't doing me any good.  It'll just add more pressure and who needs that? Besides, I'm pretty confident next year will be great no matter the challenges or rewards! 

Also, I'd like to give a shout-out to College Girl for selecting me as the winner in her 10,000 post drawing! Thanks for the gift card College Girl! 

Happy Wednesday all!