The Simple Woman's Daybook

I am participating in The Simple Woman's Daybook today. If you would like to join in, please click on her name and join in!!


FOR TODAY Tuesday
Outside My Window...Trees blowing in the wind as there is a storm coming.
I am thinking...That the house is a mess and my mum arrives to stay in two days.
I am thankful for...Living in such a beautiful place
From the kitchen...Not much, I need to go shopping!
I am wearing...Fat Face top, flip flops and my favorite skirt that has seen much better days and that my girls have banned me from wearing outside!
I am creating...A silver and glass bead bracelet.
I am going...To be a published writer
I am reading...Jodi Picoult's latest, Grapes of Wrath, books on freelance writing,
I am hoping...That our new business will be successful and will be less stressful
I am hearing...My daughter watching TV while she knits and the wind in the trees outside my window.
Around the house...Clothes that need putting away, an ironing board still out, books on the floor, tables and every surface, pictures of our trip around Asia.
One of my favorite things...When I'm working and one of the girls comes in and says " Is there anything I can get for you mum?" That my husband brings me a cup of tea every morning and wakes me up.
A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: Tidy the house, take Lara to Barnes and Noble, make some earrings to match a necklace I have made for mum.
Here is picture thought I am sharing...

The girls having fun after visiting the Dali museum

Review of digital edition of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine

This is one of the easiest digital magazines I have ever come across in the way of finding my way around it.
You click one button to see the whole magazine laid out in thumbnail size pages and them click on the one you want to read. To turn a page or zoom in there are arrows.
One feature that makes it much better than the paper version is the search button. How many times have you read a magazine only to remember a point you wanted to share and not be able to find it again. It is also much more eco-friendly too, as you are saving trees by downloading instead of buying the paper version. You can print from it too though if there is a particular article you want to keep.
You can even share it with a friend by clicking on the button and filling in their email address.
It works out much cheaper too. For just $16.95 you get a whole years subscription as opposed to $39 for the paper version.
I loved it and being a homeschooling mom I am always looking for new resources and ways to save money.

Mothers and Sprouts

This week is countdown until mum arrives on Thursday. It's going to be a busy few weeks I think, as we are leaving for Orlando on the Monday as some really super friends have arranged for us to stay in a luxury apartment for the whole week. The girls are really excited as it has swimming pools and loads of other activity stuff.
I have started writing for a new online publication called Helium. Just trying to make some extra pennies as Nick sets up our new business venture.
Our car is definitely dying. So we have booked it in for fixing the week we are away as we were going to hire a car anyway (we didn't trust it to get us to Orlando and back!). So we have to decide whether to buy another or put the money into fixing this one.
Nick put up our new washing line yesterday and I can't tell you how good it feels to not be using the tumble dryer. All the washing smells great too. I bought a sprouter this week too as I was fed up of having plates all over the kitchen with alfalfa and mung beans in various growth stages. It seems really good, and we ate our first crop yesterday in a salad and I put some into the bread mix this morning which turned out really delicious.
I have been experimenting with different bread flours, much to Lara's unhappiness! All wholemeal is just too heavy, so I mixed it half and half with organic white. Then I tried a mix of white, spelt and wholemeal which was great. Then I tried a cup of brown rice flour in the mix and it was dreadful. I think the best is a cup each of wholemeal, white and spelt with some flax and sunflower seeds thrown in. It just tastes so yummy and with a generous helping of Irish butter, it's all we eat for lunch some days.
I am happy to say we are getting greener all the time. xx

Product review The SchoolHouse Planner

When I was first asked to review this product I must admit I didn't think it would be that great, not being much of a planner myself. How wrong I was. It is one of the best resources I have come across in a long time and I only wish that I'd had it ten years ago when I was first starting off on our home school journey.
It is actually 247 pages long and can be printed off, if you prefer. It is also very easy to use as a pdf document as you can put little post-it notes on the calender and weekly planner.
It has much more to offer though than this. There are website addresses for everything from curriculum to holiday resources, delicious recipes, info sheets on subjects such as a time line of inventions, a page on famous composers and tips on everything from teaching writing to learning a foreign language.
It covers from July 2008 to June 2009 but it really can be used in any way you see fit and for as long as you like.
It also has an annual planner, a twelve year planner and yearly goals page. Also a prayer journal page and a bible reading schedule that will enable you to read the bible in just a year by reading between 2 and 4 chapters a day.
I think that this will definitely help me to get everything done and planned over the next year and for just $39 it is a home school dream, everything in one place, and able to be looked at either with the click of a mouse or the turn of a page.
For more info click here.

Overheating Gardening and Rehearsals

It's been an interesting few days! Friday we took the day off to do some gardening and apart from some severe thunderstorms, pelting rain and Nick getting stuck on Gulf to Bay as the car overheated, we managed to get quite a lot done. It was cloudy all day though which was great as it meant that it was much cooler. By 4pm we were exhausted and filthy and a shower had never felt so good.
That evening we were meant to study our WT but instead we practiced our part for the rehearsal the following day. Both of us were quite nervous really, so goodness knows how it will be on the day!
So there we were standing outside the Holiday KH at 1.30 on Saturday afternoon all dressed up in 90 deg heat. The three brothers all togged out in suits and nobody turned up! Guess what... we had the wrong place it was another half hour North which meant that we arrived at the rehearsal 30 minutes late, which meant that instead of being first we got to do our part last...argh!! Three hours later, when we should have been finishing off the garden and cleaning the house for our visitors coming the next day we were still just leaving some booney town an hour North of where we live.
To make matters worse the car overheated again on the way home which delayed us another hour. So there was Nick in his suit leaning over the engine and wondering how we would get home. Some really nice guys at an auto discount store kindly lent him some tools and we managed to limp home.
So no meeting the next morning though, as the car needed to be fixed. While Nick laboured over the engine (yet again!) and finished off the garden, Lara and I spring cleaned the house, which was long overdue.
We have decided to sell the Land rover in England so that we can get a more reliable and economical car here. It's a tough decision as we will lose quite a bit of money on it. Nick rebuilt the whole engine and did loads of upgrades, so he is a bit sad. It's no use to us there though. We are just praying that we get a decent price as it's not a vehicle that sells well at the moment.
I have been reading this awesome book called Gorgeously Green.
It gives you some great ideas on how to live greener and some real eyeopeners on what chemicals are in our cosmetics and cleaning products, even stuff I though was ok. So yesterday I went through all my toiletries and looked at the labels more closely. Most of it I won't be buying again. I had already switched to greener cleaning products a while ago though, so I was ok there. It really bugs me how little people recycle here. Having lived in Dunedin and now Clearwater, our neighbours really don't bother much.
Now that the garden is tidy Nick is going to put a washing line up so we don't have to use the dryer as much. Much more eco!!
I have ordered some soapnuts to try out instead of laundry detergent, as although I buy the Seventh Generation stuff, it is rather expensive. Apparently these nuts work great and are much more economical.
Mum is coming in just over a week, so we are all excited about seeing her. We have thought of some great places to go while she is here and of course there is the convention which will be very special.

Life in the jungle

What have we been up to?! Work, beach, ministry. Nothing exciting really. It's still really hot and we are all dreaming of the autumn when it gets cooler. Last night we went down to the beach to meet up with some friends who were having a cookout.
I have been writing for a couple of internet newspapers suite 101 and Associated Content.
I am also flogging my jewelry left right and centre (well trying to, anyway!).
The economy is crazy here and everyone is moaning about the price of gas although in Europe it has been a ridiculous price for years. It's now at $4 a gallon which still doesn't seem too bad to us, but is quite shocking when you think that only a few years ago it was at a dollar a gallon.
We don't know where the next year will take us but are just enjoying where we are and what we are doing.
We are planning on getting lots done in the house at the weekend. We have been here for 8 months and still haven't fixed the jacuzzi, so that is first on the agenda. An ice cold tub to jump into would be wonderful right now. We also have to try and tame the jungle outside that used to be our garden. It has just exploded recently and needs major attention.
Anyway it's 5.30pm and definitely time for a glass of something. Got to get through the summer somehow!
Happy whatever you are doing, sewing, knitting, making jewelry, taking photos........ xxxxxxxxxxx

Snakes and other lovlies

Yesterday was one of those days where you wonder if it would have been better just to stay in bed. As usual Nick brought me a cup of tea to wake me up. I heard him and Candace whispering and banging about in the dining room and wondered what was going on. They told me it was nothing to worry about, which immediately made me suspicious. I glanced around the corner and thought that they were trying to kill a cockroach which everyone knows I loath, but it was too big to be a roach and longer. They had only found a snake in the dining room! It was black with a yellow ring around it's neck and a bright orange and yellow underneath. Once it was dead Candace rushed to the computer to find out what kind it was and to see if it was poisonous or not. I informed Nick that if it was there would be two choices, a hotel, or a plane back to England. Fortunately it was not harmful at all. However that was just the start to the day. It was to get better....
About an hour later, after we had done our study and bible reading, Nick called his parents to say hello, only to be informed that our storage place with all our boxes and furniture had been broken into. The dreadful thing was that we are the only ones who really know whats in there so until we go back to the UK we won't know what's gone. We do know that whoever it was took our hi-fi speakers and a small antique dressing table and maybe some of Nick's woodworking tools. Hopefully nothing else though. It's not like there's anything of value to anyone but us though. It's mostly books, clothes and other bits and pieces. It's horrible to think that someone has been through your stuff though. Apparently the boxes had been opened and rifled through. So after a cup of tea and lots of moaning we decided there was nothing we could do.
Next on the agenda was a dreadful afternoon at work dealing with awful people.
We were in two minds whether to go out to Kelly's for dinner like we planned as we wondered what could go wrong there. It turned out lovely though. The meal was delicious and we had a nice walk down to the marina where we chatted to some friends who live on a boat down there.
It felt good to get into bed and realise that we had survived the day!!! Things could only get better tomorrow. Right?!

Crazy dayz

So this week I had my first sale on Etsy...yeah!! Hopefully there will be many more. I have been busy querying editors left, right and centre so just waiting to hear back. It doesn't look like we will be going on a big trip in September but hopefully we will still get to see the Grand Canyon before we leave the US. Actually we are determined to!
The weather is still VERY hot. 90 most days and humid and sweaty, but what do we expect, eh, living in Florida in the summer. Most of the sensible people have left to go north or to cooler parts of the world.
Candace has been busy knitting a beautiful blanket for a friend who has just had a baby. She has started an Etsy shop too, called simplesurfer. She makes knitted stuff and cute handmade origami boxes.
Her tomatoes and sweetcorn are ripening so we will be having some lovely salads soon with homegrown produce.
Ooh.... I sold a load of jewelry at my local hairdressers last week too, very exciting!!We are off to the Dali museum in St Pete on Friday so can't wait to blog about that as it is years since we have been. Lara has been busy reading up on him in between her other studies.
We went for a lovely walk last night, just Nick and I, and we couldn't believe how busy the beach was after sunset. I think everyone was enjoying the lovely cool (well cooler)breezes after such a hot day. We went all the way down to the Carlouel Club and tried to find the house on Eldorado that was the first permanent home to be built on the island. I think it had been knocked down though as there wasn't anything there!

Writing and other bits and pieces

I was thinking today about this blog and I realised that I don't really know who looks at it anymore. It was started originally so that our family and friends could keep track of our travels last year. So if you still look at it let me know. I would love to know what you think of it and what you would like to hear about.
It has evolved into more of a normal everyday blog now I think so I will try to update whoever looks at it about our lives.
Life in the US is great and living on the beach is wonderful, a situation we could never match and which we are grateful for every single day. We are working hard at the moment to simplify things even more. I have been trying to get my jewelry business started and Nick has been very supportive, of course. I have also been busy doing some freelance writing which I really love to do. It's all about balance though and that is proving difficult at the moment, a real juggling act. Maybe that is what everyone does though in trying to balance out our worship, family responsibilities, work and hobbies. We do get so caught up in our own lives that it seems that we are the only ones around.
Anyway the work day is done and Monday (the worst day of the week) is over. I am writing this with a whiskey next to me as everyone deserves a stiff drink after surviving Monday in this house (as long as you are over 18!!!).
It's hot here. There is no more to say, no more description of life than walking out the front door at 7.15 in the morning for early morning ministry when the heat envelopes you in it's sticky embrace and you sweat before you can get the car cool enough to relax . We hop from air conditioned house to air conditioned car to air conditioned....well you get the idea! I am not complaining though..honest....

The latest news

Well the most exciting news we have is that Candace is getting baptized at the district assembly in August. We are so proud of her.
I have started my writing again, far more seriously this time. I am determined to make it work. I have also started a website for my jewelry apart from selling on Etsy. It's www.candaradesign.com.
Another thing we have put in place is something we have wanted to do for a long time and that is to expand our photography. We both enjoy it and have started selling it on a website called yessy - http://www.yessy.com/candara/gallery.html.
Life is very busy with all of this but exciting too!
Lara has signed up for a couple of courses with the Oxford university home learning system so we are just waiting for it all to arrive.
Our trip for September has evolved into a months journey across America. We plan on leaving at the beginning of September and driving to the Grand Canyon and then up to Wyoming to meet everyone and then back down to Florida. It will take a lot of planning but what a trip!

Life's a beach......................

Well May is proving extremely busy and we are working everyday just to fit things in. Work is busy but we are trying to develop some new ideas that will give us a bit more freedom from the internet and mean we can travel more. We are looking forward to our trip to Wyoming in September. There is a group of about 12 going so far so it will be lots of fun. We will be staying around the Jackson Hole area and doing lots of exploring of Yellowstone. The whole family is excited already and planning tons of hiking and maybe a night or two camping also.
I have finally got around to listing my jewelery for sale on Etsy. If you haven't checked it out it is a very cool site full of handmade stuff. Hopefully I will have some buyers soon!
We have been having fun with our new camera too. It is so wonderful to finally have a decent one and I am driving everyone mad with photos at the moment. I have had some good reviews on flickr (another great site) and some not so great! It's all in the learning process though.
The last few days we have had amazing weather. Hardly any humidity and lovely and cool at night. We have still managed to hold off using our air conditioning as it is nice and breezy all the time here on the beach. Unfortunately by the weekend the humidity levels will be back up, but we will cope.......
The pioneering is going great and I now have a lovely study and we all have great progressive calls. It seems worth all the hard work when we have great days on the ministry and the girls are enjoying it.

18th ANNIVERSARY

Well it's over a year ago that we started this blog for our trip and I just wanted to update everyone on what's been happening in our lives.
We are now living back in Florida. My last post said that we would be moving back to France but circumstances changed and it wasn't possible for us to do so. We also realised that it would be better for the girls here for various reasons. So here we are somewhat settled on Clearwater Beach. We have been auxiliary pioneering since December and are loving it. We have some wonderful calls and a great study. Business is good and so is the weather! WE have a new member of our family...MOJO. He is Candace's Chihuahua and is very small and cute and very good. The girls have made some great friends locally and are growing up fast.
We are so fortunate to be able to live in such a gorgeous place, which brings me to this weekend....... It is our 18th wedding anniversary on Monday and we had planned to go away for a few days down to Pine Island but realised how silly that would be as we already live on the beach. So here we are having a weeks holiday at home. No packing, no traveling, just lots and lots of relaxation. Eating, drinking and being merry!!! Rosemount & Ben & Jerry's (Not together though)!!! We have loads of movies to watch. Last night we started with The Great Escape and tonight it's probably My Big Fat Greek Wedding..........again!! Appropriate as we are cooking a Greek meal.
Anyway no future plans at the moment. Well not definite anyway! Travel will always feature very largely in our lives. Sometimes we do feel the East calling us again but at the moment we have to stay put and save some money. One day the wind will blow though and we will be off on another adventure. We don't 'do' established or settled but at the moment we couldn't be happier. We LOVE life on the beach. We have had 18 amazing, fantastic, wonderful, exciting and fun filled years together and plan on much more excitement for the next 18++++. Who knows where we will end up??!! That's part of the fun.......................