The Show Must Go On!

The zipper on Adele's Annie costume broke.  Tonight's dress rehearsal! 

So I gave myself a pep-talk, ripped out the old zipper, and put in a new one. 

It's not perfect, but the show must go on! 

Sewing achievement unlocked! 

 

Fundraising

This year I'm on the fundraising team for the youth at my church. We're raising money for the youth missions trips this coming summer, trips my kids will likely be involved in. 

Every year, the team asks for donations from businesses, artists, and people in our church to host a raffle of themed prize baskets and a silent auction at the same time as the church play. 

In the photo above, you can see one of the "baskets" we will be raffling off. It's actually a handmade bag my friend donated. Another friend of mine made the handmade print inside. We added inspirational journals and pens that were also donated to the bag to make it complete. 

Yesterday, the team worked for several hours wrapping up these sorts of prize basket bundles and getting them ready for the raffle. 

It took hours, and I do not exaggerate when I say we could hardly walk out of church; We were so exhausted. 

Hopefully, the raffle and auction raise a lot of money for the youth as it has in years past, making it possible for more kids to be involved in the missions trips. 

But if anything, the raffle and auction always add a lot of fun to the church play. It's always fun to win a prize at the end of the show. 

In fact, Dwayne has brought home a few, special Ergo Chef knives from this auction over the years. 

Last year, our daughter won the voice lesson with Justin Stoney, which was an awesome experience for her. 

I'm thankful to be a part of the team this year.

Sourdough Success

My sourdough adventures continue. 

My loaves have been delicious, but they have not been rising well, so something had to be done. 

I troubleshooted with the help of a friend. We guessed that my starter was too wet making my dough too sticky and my loaf incapable of rising well. 

So I had to rehab my starter to adjust its hydration and get it to 100%. (That's a sentence I never thought I'd say.)

I saved 2 ounces of my too-wet starter, discarded the rest, added 4 ounces or flour and 4 ounces of water, let it sit on the counter for one hour, then refrigerated it. 

Then I repeated this same steps again the next day. 

This "reset" my starter and got it back to the right hydration for the recipe and method I'm using. I follow "Sour Dough for Lazy People" on You Tube (if you want more details than I provide here.)

I finally tried out my rehabilitated starter and the results are in. 

The loaf was amazing! It rose beautifully and tasted delicious! 

 

Noah at Sight and Sound

We took a quick trip to New Jersey to see Dwayne's mom, sister, and brother in law. We had dinner with them and visited until late and spent the night. The next morning, we took Mom to Sight and Sound in Pennsylvania to see Noah, and then we all enjoyed Shadymaple's Smorgasbord and massive gift store before driving Mom home to New Jersey then driving directly home to Connecticut before bed.  It was a great time and an awesome show! 

 

Annie The Musical

Our church is putting on Annie The Musical, one of my favorite musicals since childhood. It’s a busy season with Adele in the orphan ensemble and Avril in the stage crew. The girls keep a volunteer notebook that accounts for all the hours they put into service and arts projects like this. They use the book to answer questions about volunteer work when it comes time to apply to colleges and scholarships. Adele has already been at the church over three days when you add up the hours she's been at rehearsals so far! I’m thankful for a church that nurtures the arts. 

 

Sharing the Salt

I recently attended a conference at Belmont Abbey for students of Classical Liberal Arts Education was entitled “Sharing Salt." It's based on a quote from Book 8 of Aristotle's "Nicomachean Ethics," his chapter on friendship. The quote says, “It is not possible for people to know each other until they have eaten together the proverbial salt.” The last few days, those at the conference got to "share salt" by reading and discussing that portion of Aristotle’s Ethics, a portion of The Gospel of John, Willa Cather’s short story “Two Friends,” and John Henry Newman’s sermon on “Love of Relations and Friends." I’m grateful for my friends- those at home, and these friends at school, too. The best sort of friends need to be what Aristotle calls “alike in virtue" in the sense that they seek truth together and want to embody truth in virtue, the greatest of which is love of Jesus Christ. We shared a supra dinner, an amazing experience that lasted for hours and was a true foretaste or the fellowship and overflowing thankfulness and joy believers will share in Heaven. We also got to hear from several leaders in Classical Christian Education at the conference, who spoke to us on "salty" topics like "Whether or not Classical Education can be taught in a secular setting" with both sides powerfully represented and "What are the heresies present in current Classical Christian education?" So I have come home fascinated, and therefore, refreshed and inspired to get back to work in my home and homeschool. I'm also dreaming and preparing for work outside my homeschool someday, but... not yet. After all, John Henry Newman says, “The best preparation for loving the world at large, and loving it duly and wisely, is to cultivate an intimate friendship and affection towards those who are immediately about us.”

Orlando

Dwayne had to go to Orlando for a week for a conference, so we tagged along and made a mini- vacation out of the week.

The hotel where we stayed and where the conference was held, the Signia by Hilton, had an epic lazy river connected to its pools.  It took a full 15 minutes to float around the entire lazy river. We enjoyed the pool, lazy river, and hot tubs a few times throughout the week. We enjoyed the Starbucks at the hotel lobby everyday, managing to get addicted to cappuccino. A cappuccino maker is going on my Christmas list. 

On the nights when Dwayne was free for dinner, we went to special places like The Rainforest Cafe and Kura Revolving Sushi Bar. The sushi bar was probably our favorite experience of the entire week.  

When Dwayne was working for dinner, we went to special places, too, only without him. Lol! The girls and I went to Melting Pot. A fondu pot or two is also our Christmas lists now! 

We were able to use the Waldorf Astoria's pool, so we went over there for a few hours one lovely Florida afternoon.

When the conference was over, we took a few days to go to some parks. The girls had never been to SeaWorld; They didn't even know what it was. So we took them there. 

We love waterparks, so we enjoyed another day at Volcano Bay just playing together as a family. 

The girls had lots of new experiences and we're thankful for the memories made together.