Wacky Patterns Night at Youth Group

That's my boy ~ There's a place for tie-dye in everyone's life!
(Yes, those are Elmo socks.)



Aaaaa! I just got back from Youth Group and M's Youth Leader, Rocky, put M's picture up on the huge screen! It was LARGER THAN LIFE! That guy is crazy.

Thank you Starbucks!

What a yummy treat for all us teachers everywhere!

FREE Starbucks Coffee for Homeschool Teachers

FREE Starbucks Coffee for Homeschool Teachers

This coming Monday, September 29, homeschool teachers will be able to pick up a complimentary tall size (12 fl. oz.) cup of Pike Place Roast from Starbucks.

This promotion is part of Starbucks “Great Start for Great Teachers” promotion, and is now open to all teachers.
HSLDA intervened when we were alerted that homeschool parents were not included in the promotion.
We are pleased that Starbucks is recognizing the contribution of homeschool parents by extending their program to us.
In order to pick up your free cup of Pike Place Roast you will need to present evidence that you are a homeschooler.

Any one item on the following list should be accepted by Starbucks:

* Home School Legal Defense Association membership card.
* Membership card from a state homeschooling organization.
* Notification from a school district or state government recognizing compliance with compulsory attendance.
* Paperwork submitted showing intent to establish a homeschool program.
* Paperwork showing the establishment of a private school.

If you don’t have one of the items on this list be creative and try to provide other proof of homeschooling.
Please note: the final decision about whether to accept proof of homeschooling resides with Starbucks.

I know where I'll be on Monday!

Take Action!

Click here to voice your opinion. Faith without works is dead. (James 2:26)

Toothless!

C lost her top teeth and her smile is the cutest thing ever!

What's a Cicada?

I met my first cicada twenty years ago. Whilst in Palm Desert this week, I heard cicadas singing in the trees, so I looked them up on the internet to show them to my kids. It was so interesting that I wanted to put them on my blog. There's lots of info on cicadas, including this link: Answers to Cicada Questions.
Here's a good clip: Return of the 17 Year Cicadas

You can hear the Cicadas in this one: Singing Cicadas

Here's a pic of the cicadas seen and heard in Palm Desert. I took it with my little pocket digital, so it's not all that clear. This pic has been cropped as tight as I thought I could, making sure the cicada was identifiable. : )

Fabric Dyeing

I did some fabric dyeing over the past three days, but nothing too creative. I simply (over a boiling pot of water with scalded fingers) changed the color of a few tops. In boiling water, I dipped and soaked my pre-dampened shirts in dissolved Rit dye, one cup of dissolved salt, and one tablespoon of laundry soap (according to package directions). I stirred them each for twenty minutes (package said to do it for thirty), then I hung them to dry in hopes of getting them to be darker towards the bottom (looks cool and slims the hips). To my surprise, the salt crystallized as my shirts dried. The salt then dropped off here and there as the wind blew, and the droplets of salt dyed everything it touched! I didn't realized this until later in the evening when the night air became moist and dissolved the dyed salt. By this time, I'd hung my shirts inside because they were "dry".

But wait - there's more! Before I discovered this phenomenon, I had heat set the tops in my dryer. When I opened the dryer door, the dryer walls were the same color as my shirts! A-a-a-a-a! Several cleaning, bleaching, rinsing, back aching, scrubbing hours later, the dryer walls were finally close to normal again. I ran the dryer with a damp white towel to see if it picked up anything like the previous towels had ~ nope, clean as ever.

All in all, my shirts turned out great, but I sure miss my old washing machine that didn't change color when I dyed fabric. Dying over boiling water is time consuming, exhausting, and sweaty.
Wa! Wa! Wa! Get me a tissue.