From a Cluttered Desk

I am Tammy Cardwell, she of the cluttered desk. (Hey, you think I'm kidding?!) I'm having a blast here in Blogland and invite to you to peruse my ramblings. Like a buffet, they offer variety - essentially whatever makes it to the top of the piles that sometimes clutter my brain. We'll eventually cover it all - homeschooling, God, our church, the Eclectic Homeschool Online, books I'm writing and publishing, conferences I speak at, the joys of grandmotherhood, and hopefully chocolate. Of course, this is only what's near the top now. Who knows what's in those piles?

I’ve decided to give away one of my secrets.

You know those really cool, oddball bits and pieces I come up with on occasion? Well, you never know where you’ll get recommendations, but one place I get them quite often (Indeed, I have a stack of "blog about this" notes) is Very Short List. This site provides subscribers (It’s free) with notes about great discoveries in very short emails five days a week. If you, like me, totally enjoy the off-the-wall, the unexpected, the geeky… You’ll probably get a kick out of the VSL emails. Yes, I get emails telling me about books, sites, products, whatever, that don’t interest me in the least, but I also get emails that send me down GREAT Internet-based rabbit trails.

So now you know, and those of you who sub will sometimes be able to look at my blog posts and mutter, "Yep, I know where she got that one."

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

For the benefit of my non-UHSE readers… If you pay attention to post comments, you’ve seen several by UHSE attendees. These people are all vying for one of the door prizes I’m giving out each day. (Door prizes are part of the benefit of attending the Ultimate Homeschool Expo!)

I wanted to take a moment to explain the process to those of you who are commenting for a door prize, so you’ll know it’s all on the up and up.

On this site, comments are moderated. First-time posters have to wait for their comments to be approved; that’s why some comments (Those of previous posters) show up right away and others don’t. Once I approve all of the comments, they’re there in order of posting.

But not everyone posts comments to the same blog entry, so I select winners by going into the back office and looking at all comments, selecting the first three from the time-stamped list.

Well, actually, both yesterday and today I selected the first five; I just couldn’t stop at three. I may or may not continue this; we’ll see.

And for all of the wonderful comments about how much you’ve appreciated my workshops, THANK YOU. I have a heart for homeschoolers and desire to help in any way I can. Knowing that you’re enjoying the workshops we recorded during the preview chats is a true blessing to me.

Have fun, guys!

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Okay, you’ll really have to be into Lord of the Rings to appreciate this, but…

I just happen to really be into Lord of the Rings. LOL!

You’ll find this and more at GraphJam.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

I just received an email from someone who lives in Texas (My state) and is considering homeschooling. In answering her email, I realized that what I was saying is valuable for anyone who is thinking about taking the homeschooling challenge, and at this time of the year there are many such people around.

So I’m pasting my reply to her here, in hopes of also helping others.

First, all you need to do in Texas is teach "reading, spelling, grammar, mathematics, and a study of good citizenship in a bona fide manner from a written curriculum from any source."

That may not be an exact quote of the regulations, but it’s very close. In Texas, homeschools are private schools and fall under private school regulations. What I quoted above is IT. We have no required number of days of attendance, we don’t report to anyone, we don’t have to keep records to satisfy state regs, we don’t have to use any specific curriculum, and we don’t have to test. We just have to teach those five things to our children from the age of 6 through graduation (Which can happen earlier than the traditional 17 or so years of age.) and how you choose to teach them is up to you.

The curriculum question is a HUGE one in that there are as many different ways to homeschool as there are homeschoolers. After years and years of working with homeschoolers, I’ve seen that most start out doing what they know from their own school days; they recreate school in their homes with traditional curriculum, set schedules, and…frankly…a lot of burnout. By the end of two or three years, most of these people have either moved on to a more realistic (And, in my opinion, effective) method of homeschooling or they’ve given up on homeschooling completely. I hate to see the latter and so strongly advise all new homeschoolers to forget about trying to recreate the traditional school in your home. After all, it’s a method of education that isn’t working all that well in the public schools, right?

So where does that leave you? With a world of options! I can’t even begin to share all of them in a single email, so I’m going to suggest, instead, that you do some research. I advise you to go to EHO Lite, which is the version of the Eclectic Homeschool Online that is designed specifically with new and wannabe homeschoolers in mind. Here you can read about the various educational approaches and get a feel for the ones that seem most promising for your family’s specific circumstances. You can read several articles and, when you’re ready, follow the link to the full version of the site and get even more, including over 2,500 reviews of various programs and curriculum offerings as well as links to other helpful sites on the web.

Don’t bypass this important first step. Homeschooling begins with you, the parent, schooling yourself in the basics of what some would call  a new career. While you’re doing this, if you want to go ahead and pull your children out of school, you can have them spend their time thinking about and making notes on the types of things they would like to be studying. Let them select books from the library and visit websites that will feed their interests and passions. Let them explore the physical world you live in. (Now’s a great time of year to get them sketchbooks and have them start keeping nature notebooks - drawing pictures of things they see, taking notes, recording interesting factual information…) Too, consider letting them in on your homeschooling study so that you all enter this new adventure with the same vision.

As to cost, that can vary greatly. Most people who have never homeschooled think it’s necessarily expensive, but I homeschooled for years on a gross income of around $20,000. The basic principle is that you will invest some combination of time and money. If you’re willing to invest more time (Your personal time), you’ll be able to school on less money. If you’re unable or unwilling to invest time, you’ll need to spend more money. Truly, a parent who is willing to do some digging can, with the help of a computer and a reliable Internet connection, homeschool for very little money indeed.

There are a couple of books I recommend to new homeschoolers. One is mine - See, I Told Me So!: Homeschool Veterans Declare "You Can Stop Worrying!" It’s an ebook that will help you see just what I mean when  I say there are any number of ways to homeschool. Too, every one of the contributors is either a graduate or a parent who has already graduated children. We all found the same thing to be true - that most of the things homeschoolers worry about aren’t worth worrying about at all. You can buy it and download it right away.

The other book I often advise new homeschoolers to get their hands on is written by Cathy Duffy, one of homeschooling’s true veterans. It’s 100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum: Choosing the Right Curriculum and Approach for Your Child’s Learning Style, and you can read my review of it at EHO.

I’m glad you wrote. Feel free to write again if you have more questions. I’ve made a point of helping homeschoolers since before I began homeschooling in 1990, and my youngest graduated a few years back. I’m here if you need me, just be patient when life interferes and you have to wait a few days for replies. <grin>

Also, if you’re seriously considering homeschooling, the best investment you could make right this minute is to register for the Ultimate Homeschool Expo. It started today and goes on all this week. It involves many many online workshops, some of which have already been recorded and are available to attendees as free downloads. Too, your $40 membership gets you a TON of free gifts (ebooks, audio workshops, and more) that have been donated by the various vendors, things that will help you immeasurably. You can get a ticket for it by clicking the following link.

 http://www.cindysaffiliates.com/go.php?offer=tcardwell&pid=1

I’ll tell you straight up that this is an affiliate link, meaning I’ll get a percentage of your ticket price if you register, but I promise you I would be recommending this online conference just as highly if I weren’t getting a dime. It is totally packed with information every homeschooler very much needs.

I hope you do decide to homeschool, and trust that if you do you will genuinely enjoy the adventure!

When people ask how I got started homeschooling, I usually share my "God said" story. Being in a chatty mood, I’ll share it here as well. You see, my husband decided that we would homeschool before we ever really thought about having children; I, of course, informed him that he was a complete idiot. (Well, maybe I didn’t use that word…) Several years later, our oldest went to public school kindergarten and before the year was out I knew he had learned way too many things (having nothing at all to do with the three Rs) that we did NOT want him learning. That school was no longer an option. Due to price, private school was no option. I was caught between the proverbial rock and hard place.

At the same time (Gee…imagine), a friend had begun seriously researching homeschooling. In the midst of her research, she decided to bring Gregg Harris to Houston so that the area’s homeschoolers could learn from him. She called me on "that" morning and told me that she needed someone to run his bookstore during the conference and felt I would be the perfect person since the bookstore manager couldn’t attend the conference and I was so opposed to homeschooling my own kids that I wouldn’t want to anyway.

Yep, you already know where I’m going. I got off the phone with her and returned to my desperate pacing and praying, crying out, "God! What am I going to do?!" His answer wasn’t audible, but it was so clear that it might as well have been.

"You’re going to homeschool like I’ve been telling you to."

My first response was, "But you don’t understand. I’d kill them!" His response was reassurance and, once I accepted what He was saying, total peace - peace I’d been lacking for months. So I called my friend back and informed her that I would be unable to help with the bookstore, but I needed her to tell me more about homeschooling. And that day marked the beginning of a wonderful life. Yes, like every homeschooler, I had self-doubts and days when I wished I were anywhere but home, but in total honesty I believe that choosing to homeschool was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. If I had it to do over again, I would definitely make changes, but I would most definitely DO it.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Joe Massa’s, that is.

We had our music ministry banquet tonight and this year we opted for dinner in a nice restaurant in downtown Houston. We’ve been having this banquet annually for over ten years and in years past the food has pretty much always caused the most and biggest headaches; I won’t even go into details, but let’s just say there is nothing easy about dealing with caterers or restaurants who host banquets.

Until now.

Oh…man!

Our moving this year’s banquet to a restaurant came as a result of me messing up the schedule. Since I’d messed it up, I was responsible for finding the location. After sending out a desperate plea to one of my lists, asking for recommendations, I received a phone call from a gal who used to work for Massa’s Seafood Grill. She told me to call and speak with Joe Massa, the owner, and assured me that if what I wanted could be done he would do it.

From my very first conversation with Joe, I knew this was going to be an entirely different experience from any I’d ever had before. He was up front about everything and every detail that I questioned (It’s amazing how many surprise charges restaurants can sneak in when you’re having banquets in their facility) he already had covered…and more. He quoted us a great price that included everything from beginning to end and he even offered our people a choice of two different entrees, which is something we’ve never had in all the…is it thirteen years we’ve been doing this? I forget.

He truly went above and beyond for us. When I commented about it on the phone on Thursday, he said, "That’s my job." Well, it may be his job, but most of the restaurant managers we’ve worked with in the past wouldn’t have considered it part of their jobs. The man is so thorough and thoughtful that when he found out late yesterday that the garage entrance he’d told us about would be closed, he phoned to make sure we knew how to tell our people to get to the entrance they needed and he then gave us his personal phone number in case anyone needed to call for directions. How many restaurant owners do you know of who would do such a thing? The man even went so far as to check the Houston sports schedule to ensure that we wouldn’t be facing game traffic and parking issues.

When we arrived, his staff was beyond courteous. I mean, really beyond courteous. We had a few special requests and they didn’t blink an eye at any of them. One vegetarian among us asked that the meat be left off her plate and the lady I assume was the head server told her that rather than just bringing the dish without the meat she would have the kitchen prepare a special veggie plate just for her. We had someone arrive late, not to eat but to be part of the program, and the staff quickly brought in an extra chair so that she could be seated. They were fabulous.

And so was the food! You were wondering about that, right? So were we, on Thursday. My boss and I discussed it, actually, because our relationship with the restaurant seemed almost too good to be true. We were hoping for the best banquet ever, but couldn’t help but wonder if things would fall flat when the plates hit the tables. Well, let me tell you, I had the Mediterranean fish and I don’t know when I last enjoyed a fish dish as much as I did this one. The fresh veggies were perfectly done and the garlic mashed potatoes…yuuuuuuuuuum. And the key lime pie we had for dessert? Ohmygoodness! The only thing "wrong" with it was its size; it was so good I think I could have eaten half a pie and enjoyed every bite even if it made me sick.

Yeah, there is a very good chance next year’s banquet will be in the same place.

And if you just want a good meal, be it fish or something else (They have non-seafood options), I highly recommend that you eat at Joe’s - Joe Massa’s that is. You’ll find Massa’s Seafood Grill right across from The Four Seasons Hotel at 1331 Lamar in Houston, Texas.

Find it. You’ll be glad you did.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

I"m whispering because it hasn’t totally happened yet and I’m almost afraid to say anything. Yep, that sounds superstitious, but you know how many times I’ve thought they were going to work on the new house and didn’t, right? (Well, you really don’t, because I stopped posting about it. <sigh>)

They tore off the old roof yesterday, the roof that was on the original warehouse. They found some rotten decking (Surprised us; we’d actually considered just doing a recover - glad our son ruled that out) and replaced it, then felted it. They showed up first thing this morning and got set up, now they’ve gone to get some last minute supplies (Apparently the ridge vent got damaged yesterday, for one thing). By the end of the afternoon, I’m hoping they’ll at least have gotten shingles on most of it. Well, I’m really hoping they’ll have finished the job, but it’s a bit of a job for three guys to get done in one day, so I’m not holding my breath.

Progress again. This brings on a sigh of relief, especially since it was raining down my bedroom wall again in the middle of the night. I really want to be in my new home instead of this one.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Okay, here’s another Living on a Dime tip that’s actually about earning the dimes you live on.

I’ve been a member of MySurvey.com for several years. With this site, I take surveys, most of which take only a few minutes, and I earn points. Now, you can use those points to donate to charity or select a prize/reward, but I let the points add up until I’ve earned a $10 check (Yep, unlike some places, they’ll send you a check as small as $10). Again, this isn’t anything that will get you rich overnight, but it is another easy way to bring in more of that much-needed cash.

If you’re interested, and if you’re 14 years or older, a resident of the 48 contiguous United States, and have a valid email address, just click on the banner. Only one member can join in any household, but everyone can take the surveys, which qualifies you for more points (meaning more prizes/awards, cash, or charity donations).

 Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

It’s official! It was announced today that Guillermo del Toro has contracted to direct both The Hobbit and a sequel, which will deal with things that happened between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. They’ve not announced a start date, and don’t have a script yet (Though I’ve also read elsewhere that our favorite Gandalf will, again, be our favorite Gandalf!), but every bit of news is good news for fans like me. This Variety article notes that…

With Del Toro blocking out four years for the project, it’s likely that the studios are aiming at starting shooting next year and releasing the films in late 2011 and 2012.

You know, I still remember how excited I was when I learned that a studio had finally decided to film The Lord of the Rings, a favorite read when I was in high school. I waited for years and years it seemed (Gee…it was years and years), hanging on to every tidbit of information I could get, and was wildly excited when The Fellowship of the Ring hit the theaters.

I’m rather feeling that same excitement right now, especially since I know Peter Jackson’s track record and, even if he’s not the one directing, I trust he will have a firm hand on things.

As my youngest son would say, "Sweet!"

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

I had to pass along this new trailer I just found.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

It’s been a while since I’ve done a Living on a Dime post. Actually, I’ve been so busy that posting has been scarce anyway. I read a post on a friend’s blog today, though, that reminded me of something - part of living on a dime is learning ways in which you can GET those dimes. I’ve recently discovered two ways in which you can make relatively easy money. No, they’re not get rich quick schemes; they’re just viable ways to bring in bits of extra cash.

The first is PayPerPost. 

 I’ve been blogging with PayPerPost for a while now, maybe coming up on three months, and it’s definitely helped out around here. The system is pretty simple; I look at the list of advertisers who are wanting bloggers to write about them, find one that fits with my blog, and blog about it. Then, 30 days later, I get paid via PayPal transfer. I’ve already been paid over $180 for blog posts I’ve written, and I’ve got around $135 due to come in over the next 30 days. If you have a blog, you should seriously consider clicking on the graphic above and checking it out. I’m very glad I did!

And then, today, I learned about Revolution Money Exchange. It’s a relatively new company that serves in much the same way as PayPal. Signing up is easy and, since they’re trying to build their member base, they are depositing $25 into the account of everyone who signs up through a referral link before May 15, 2008. All you have to do is click the following graphic, take a few minutes to sign up, and you will soon have an extra $25. If you sign up right away, you even have several days during which you can share the opportunity with others and earn another $10 referral bonus for each person that signs up using your link. That rocks!

And here’s the referral link for Revolution Money Exchange. 

 One thing I’ve learned in the past two years, while my dh has been mostly out of work, is that you need to earn what you can where you can. I may not have a single job that pulls down a double-digit income, but by taking advantage of opportunities such as these I’ve managed to keep food on the table and gas in the car. In other words, opportunities like this have supplied some of the dimes we’ve been living on. <grin>

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C