...

If we value the pursuit of knowledge, we must be free to follow wherever that search may lead us. ~ Adlai Stevenson

Thursday, October 12, 2017

We Are So Lucky...

If you follow the news at all, you may have seen my home town featured a lot in the last few days, though not for any reason I'd like.









Sunday night was a perfectly normal evening. We had dinner, watched an episode of Leverage, noted the howling wind, and headed to bed. At 4:45 am, I got a call from my dad, that he was possibly being evacuated, and then a barrage of emergency notifications came in from the university where I teach. The funny thing was that both my dad's retirement home and the university are in the next city down, and were not in danger at the time. Still, I got on Facebook and the news, and was horrified to see the northern part of MY town blazing in a fire that went from 200 acres in another county to 1,000 acres in mine in just one night. Hospitals being evacuated, an entire trailer park razed to the ground, hundreds of homeless in only hours. And as the day progressed, the evacuation lines kept moving outward. At seven, I woke the kids up and told them they had to pack only what they needed.

Our part of town was never touched. In a fire that so far destroyed over 2,800 homes in city limits alone, we remain safe, with power, and honestly, if we stay in our neighborhood, we'd never guess what was going on beside all the smoke and ash. My dad did end up being evacuated for a day, during which we couldn't find him because the home didn't contact any families, but is now safely back at home. All the schools in the county are closed. The Whole Foods where I worked was closed for a couple of days with no power. Thousands of people now have no homes, thousands more have no electricity or gas. And the fires continue to spread -- there are five or six of them now, started
through flying embers, downed power lines, exploding propane tanks and gas lines. Every night is restless, waiting for the gusting winds to shift direction. We've kept packed up and ready to go. Most of what we want is already loaded in the car, with only our clothing bags waiting by the front door. The cat hasn't set foot outside since Sunday evening so that we don't lose track of him.

It is strange how much priorities shift when something like this happens. I've been talking for years about wanting to declutter, to simplify, and now I can say I know exactly what items really count when it comes down to a choice. And believe me when I say, it isn't much.

We are so lucky. We haven't lost our house in this. But The Girl has had stomach aches all week. We all feel sick from smoke inhalation and a lack of sleep. We've lost a sense of safety we had here, and it will be a while before that comes back.

The main fire was at 10% containment this morning. I am not unpacking until we hit 60%. And the other fires were at 10, 3, 0.... We have firefighters coming in from as far off as Australia, trying to conquer this.

In the past few days, I have also seen an outpouring of love and compassion that amazes me. Our community is being made stronger through loss. Strangers are offering a place to sleep, a shower to use, clothing to wear, meals to eat. Firefighters are putting in 24-48 hour shifts. Police from all over the western United States are helping patrol the streets to stop looting and gawking. Bowling alleys are offering free games, toy stores free play hours, there's free WiFi everywhere, and endless cups of coffee. I returned to work yesterday and hugged customers when I didn't know what else to say.

Needless to say, there's been no actual "homeschooling" this week. My heart isn't in it while I'm trying to figure out each day. There's time for that later. We've been cataloging our possessions, studying our homeowner's insurance, watching a lot of TV to pass days inside. We'd volunteer, but right now, with enthusiasm as high as it is, they have all the volunteers that are needed. I know in another week or two, they'll need more, and then we can help.

Be thankful for what you have. Hug your children. Don't take anything for granted.

Saturday, August 5, 2017

Another Month...

Time sure flies by, doesn't it? I can't believe it is August already!

The Boy is really enjoying his job training program. So far, he's worked on a resume and cover letter; learned about pay checks, deductions, and budgeting; learned about employee rights; gotten his Food Handler's certificate (with honors!); and worked a shift in the on-site cafe. Next week, he'll put in another shift in the cafe, and participate in mock interviews.

The Girl has been reading Ballet Shoes and the original Winnie the Pooh book. She's working, off and on, with her dog -- training does need to be more consistent! I also took her to meet a horse!

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Learning about horse care
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And a riding lesson
It was a good, and fun, experience for her. Since the junior derby league has pretty much fallen apart, I am trying to find other activities she will enjoy, because frankly, she needs to be a lot more active.

I've been working, and trying to figure out fall, when I also start working as a tutor for the Writing Center at the local university. Whole Foods is okay so far. The people are nice, and all that, but it's not my dream job.

I did apply for what seems like a fantastic opportunity, as a "Literacy Paraprofessional" for a small, local, elementary-middle school district. I would love the work -- helping kids with reading -- and it would be great experience for the teaching intern program I'm applying for in January. Fingers crossed!!!

I also watched Minimalism with the kids, and we are determined to own less stuff.

Math is going well! The Boy is working through The Great Courses Algebra 1 still, and loves the professor. He says the explanations are very clear. We're still using Jacobs Elementary Algebra as additional practice. I found a geometry course for him as well, to tackle next! The Girl is back to Math Mammoth to tighten up a few loose ends, and it is working really well.

The Girl decided also to really tackle nicer handwriting, and better spelling, so I am thrilled with that. They are both working on writing, with me bringing in new elements of the Brave Writer Lifestyle bit by bit.

We're reading both The Hobbit and Homecoming (Cynthia Voigt). Two very different books, but we are enjoying both! We're watching a variety of shows: Eureka, The Flash, Sherlock, and Arrow.

I have let exercise slide the last month. I just don't have time, or energy, or even the desire really, for the intensive workouts that group of friends is doing these days, as they prepare for a physique competition. So, to get going again, I'm looking at these workouts... simple, straightforward, doable. I've also really changed how I'm eating. I stopped counting anything... calories, protein grams, etc. I'm really working at eating more intuitively. Sometimes at first, this process has meant too much junky food, but I'm feeling a desire for more healthful fare again. I am really trying to learn to trust my body. And in this process, I have gained back about 4 pounds, which once would really have stressed me out. Now though, I'm okay.

Our Gulf Fritillary caterpillars are back! We didn't have any last year (the drought?), so we were excited to see them out on the passion flower vine.

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I love our passion flowers....

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So that's a sort of run down as to our current state of being. Things are going along, good here, challenging there. Still a good summer though! Tonight we're going to see a free (traveling) drive in movie... The Goonies, to be specific. I'm really looking forward to it, as is everyone else. We've gone to a free concert in the park; spent hours and hours at the beach, in and out of the water; spent hours laughing with friends; played a lot of board games; and just enjoyed time together!

Hope anyone who reads this is having a great summer!

Wednesday, July 5, 2017

This and That...

...Job News...
Ugh. So I posted last time about my job at the junior college being frozen due to decreased revenue. No summer work, and as it turns out, no fall work either. So I had to scramble to find something to keep ends meeting. I started working at Whole Foods a couple of weeks ago. At first, I wasn't sure if it would work out, even for the summer, as I was getting very minimal hours, as in about 10 each week. I applied, and interviewed, for a couple of other jobs, with no real success. Thankfully, today I had my first evaluation, which went very well, and I picked up a lot more hours for next week. By the time I got home from work today, they had called to see if I wanted more hours this week too, since they "really like" me. Of course I said YES! Phew!

I also have a job interview next Tuesday for an instructional assistant position in a middle school. If I can get that, and work as a tutor at the local university in the fall, I may be able to quit grocery again. We shall see!

...Job Training News...
I also mentioned that The Boy will be doing some job training soon. He'll be working in the café at the teen club, and will be learning interviewing skills, resumé building, etc. This program is free to club members, and comes with a $200 stipend at the end. He's got plans for that money already... buying an engine for his 1972 Chevy pickup... or perhaps rebuilding the engine it has, though option A seems more likely. He might also use a little of the money for barista training, so he can work on getting a job.

...In Our Homeschooling...
I've asked the kids to take on more responsibility for their schoolwork. I'm making a weekly assignment sheet, and they have from Saturday mornings to the following Friday at noon to get it all done. Of course, I am available for assistance, and we still read our book of the moment and watch documentaries together, but they will be doing their math, other reading, and writing largely on their own. We've also added audiobooks back into our circulation! We're going to finally finish the Percy Jackson series, then listen to The Lord of the Rings. I'm in the process of updating our Afternoon Basket page at last!

...Around the House, Kitchen, and Garden...
Since I'm working shifts that are all over the place, and M puts in 10-12 hour days, I'm working again on actually meal planning. We have a few vegetarian/plant-based dinners a week now, both for health and to save money, and then some meat a few times a week. I need to put my crockpot to good use!

We have a list of things to be done before mid-fall too, like tarring the family room roof to help with leaks, rototilling a big chunk of the backyard and amending the soil, etc. The Boy and The Girl will have to be my primary helpers. Decluttering continues, especially after we've started watching the documentary Minimalism.

We planted several tomatoes this year, along with plenty of peppers and onions, some squash, and some lemon cucumbers. All are thriving! The above-mentioned rototilling is part of our plan to put in a real garden next spring at long last.

...Random Pictures...
Just some recent and random pictures to wrap up this post!

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Waiting for fireworks

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A recent leaf drawing by The Girl

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A trip to the beach on the fourth

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Meet Ted, our new caterpillar!

Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Summer Stuff...

A run-down of what we've been up to, and a few pictures...

The kids won a month's free skating, so they've been skating once or twice a week.

We fixed all the bicycles, so there's been a lot of that too.

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My bicycle

I've been working out 3-4 days a week, plus doing steep hill walks with my sister, and regular walks with The Girl and her dog.

We spent a lovely afternoon out at the coast...

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The "creek" that runs out into the ocean

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Dunes, beach grass, cypress, and waves

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A giant dune that we scrambled up a dozen times, and rolled and jumped and slid and ran back down

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Sandcastle in progress

You can see how pretty and sunny it was, and then we drove 45 minutes home into a thunder-and-hail storm. Just crazy!

We've been reading The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, and really, really enjoying it. We watched part one of Peter Jackson's movie version, and we all agreed... while we do love the LoTR movies, we just don't feel the same love for The Hobbit films. There was just far too much extra stuff added. ONE movie, that followed the book, would have been so much better.

Documentary watching has been half hit, half miss. We're enjoying our history selections, but haven't started science ones yet. That's okay. We will get there, and we've basically come to accept that we are year-round homeschoolers anyway.

Math is going pretty well. The Boy likes his Great Courses algebra lectures quite a lot. The Girl is making great progress through the Prodigy math game, where I set up problems several times a week to match her textbook.

The kids have taken to biking to the teen club, which saves me time... and gas. They visit it once or twice a week, and spend almost all their time in the art room. The Boy might be doing a job training program there soon, and they both want to take barista training.

I'm taking a very intensive Spanish course at the moment.... online. One semester of Spanish covered in only six weeks. So far, I've kept up. The Boy is teaching himself computer coding (I think javascript at the moment), and The Girl is working on her butterfly identification skills.

I'm also on the hunt for a job, as my position at the junior college has been frozen due to decreased revenue. I was supposed to start back next week, but that is not to be so at this time. I don't know about fall yet, though I am still hopeful. I may fall back on my grocery experience for the summer. Thankfully M is working a gazillion hours, so we're scraping by.

We're hoping to get out to the coast, and the river, soon. We have FOUR boogie boards now, so that will be fun! I plan on teaching the kids to grill -- they've been taking turns once a week to cook a dinner start to finish, and grilling in this weather would be nice.

And there's housework, decluttering, a recent return to fencing (The Boy), and gardening. I have tomatoes, squash, lemon cucumbers, peppers, and loads of herbs going now!

Hope anyone who reads this is having a lovely summer so far! Here are a couple of random pictures to wrap things up, then I'm off to make breakfast.

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The local lake during my early morning trail run last week
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A two hat kind of day

Tuesday, May 30, 2017

[Bitter]Sweet Sixteen and Summer Schooling...

From newborn to sixteen

The Boy turned SIXTEEN this month! I am still amazed daily, even after sixteen years, that I get to be his mom. And it is bittersweet because it is going by so quickly. In only two years, he'll be, legally, an adult.

We've had a few homeschooling changes since I last posted, and we decided, together, on summer schooling this year, as life got in the way far too often over the spring. We don't want to fall further behind, so we'll be tackling math, literature, writing, biology, and a survey of world history over the next twelve weeks (we started yesterday). Here's a run-down of our summer plans:

Math:
The Boy is using a combo of the Great Courses Algebra 1 and Jacobs Elementary Algebra

The Girl is using a combination of Prodigy and Basic Math Skills

Literature:
We are reading this beautiful edition of The Hobbit, to be followed by the Lord of the Rings trilogy

Writing:
The Boy is using bits and pieces from Writing with Skill, and he's started a car blog.

The Girl is using Junior English and free-writing.

Biology:
We're using a combination of documentaries (Life, for example); nature observations; and biology experiments. We'll be doing this microbial ecology experiment at last, which we will be using with the lecture series Changing Planet: Past, Present, Future!

World History:
We are keeping it very simple, and are watching Mankind: The Story of All of Us (I might use at least some ideas from this study guide)alongside the Big History episodes, and a few select movies.

In addition:
The kids skate once a week (roller derby is over for the season), and The Boy fences occasionally. We'll be heading to the beach when it's a tad warmer, and we plan to ride bikes a lot. The kids continue to visit the local teen club once or twice each week. We have gardening, decluttering, pets to care for, and so on. Plus, we have a new dog! Her name is Fiona, she's about three, and she's a pitbull-mix.


Hope everyone else is off to a good start to summer!


Wednesday, May 10, 2017

Hey There!

...What We've Been Up To...

The Girl started working with the wildlife rescue center. These are her foster babies:


They are, of course, opossums, four of them. We actually interact with them as little as possible, so that they remain relatively feral. They'll be released back into the wild once they're larger. The Girl learned to tube feed them (they can't suckle), but thankfully we are past that stage now, and they just eat foods (mice, sardines, fruit). They live in a very large tub in the bathroom for now!


The Boy is soon to wrap up his figure drawing class. His skills just continue to blow me away!



Some of his work has been hung in the student art center, and he's thinking of entering some in the local fair this year.

As far as homeschooling, it's been spotty, which is something we really need to address. The kids have already agree we need to work through the summer. Math, writing, literature, and more documentaries have all made the summer to-do list!

Speaking of literature, we watched the movie League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and the kids loved it! So we decided to read through all the books mentioned in the movie (a list I am still working on). Here is their first pick...


We have agreed to check out this movie version when we are done with the book.

We started watching Bill Nye Saves the World, which I think is okay, and they seem to like. I'm thinking American Experience, and/or maybe actually finishing Mankind: the Story of All of Us, and America: The Story of Us. We also have a few unwatched episodes of Big History. And there are plenty of biographies, etc. I also need to find some more science documentaries! We finished up all three seasons of The 100 that are currently available, and can't wait for season 4 to come to Netflix in June. If you haven't checked it out, you should. Totally engrossing!

Besides all that, I'm wrapping up my year of teaching at the university. I am planning to continue my teaching assistant position at the junior college for another year, but beyond that, I am not sure at the moment. I've applied for a couple of very part-time things, so we'll see what works out!

Hope all is well in everyone else's corners of the world!

Saturday, April 1, 2017

It Can't Really Be April Already!

I absolutely can't believe it is April already, and that I missed March on this blog entirely.

What We've Been Up To:

The Girl turned 14!!!

The Boy is enjoying the Big History Project. This will take us through the next year as well, since I'm adding in science, and it took us a while to get off the ground with it.

I've decided to apply for a Roots & Shoots mini-grant to help The Girl and I with our front-yard-turned-wildlife-habitat project.

The weather has finally gotten much nicer, so The Boy will be returning to his truck project.

Again, since the rains have (mostly) stopped, we can get a veggie garden going! I decided we would start relatively small this year, and add to it regularly, rather than overwhelming ourselves with another giant project at the moment.

Homeschooling on the whole is good these days! Math is going well for both, we're working on writing projects, we're reading The Golden Compass, and we discuss a lot of politics/political science.

We've also been enjoying sunny park days with friends; the kids go roller skating every week; they also visit a local teen club twice a week (most weeks) for arts, crafts, and more; and The Boy is loving his figure drawing class!

So instead of rambling on and on, here are some pictures from recent days, in no particular order...

The Girl got clay for her birthday, and is making mini sculptures

The cat loves his boy

Minecraft flower mini-sculpture by The Girl

Drawing from The Boy's art class

The view from an uphill walk I try to do at least twice a week

I love seeing hot air balloons when I drive my husband to work in the morning

Another drawing from The Boy's art class

I always see such pretty flowers when I'm out walking!

Have a great weekend and week! I'll try to check back in more regularly!

Monday, February 20, 2017

A Belated Happy Valentine's Day!


Again, it has been a while since I updated this blog! I keep meaning to, but life has been very busy lately.

What has changed?

  • We got a new (to us) vehicle last weekend after a string of incidents, starting with the unfortunate demise of Clarabelle, the 30 year old Honda Civic passed on to us by my dad. Around the same time that died, my mom's Acura broke down on our street, and then lived in our driveway for a month while The Boy rebuilt the cooling system. My mom and I then shared her 15 passenger "church" van, until that blew a spark plug. So we had to get something, and we happily settled on a 2003 Nissan XTerra in excellent condition. The downside? 20 months of payments. :(
  • The Boy dropped the mythology class early on in the semester. It turned out that it was very fast paced and highly academic, and he does not feel ready for that. BUT, he's loving figure drawing, and his sketches are amazing! Here's an example: 

  • My second semester teaching is flying by! I love, love, love it. We're reading a memoir and a novel this semester, and have actually just about finished up the memoir -- A Place to Stand. My students seem to be loving it! We're about to do a service project with first graders, and then will be jumping into The Book Thief. Last semester, our theme was how we identify ourselves by social binaries and concepts, and this semester is all about how words can shape identity.
  • I might shift up my employment again a bit in the fall. I want to teach another year while I write my Master's thesis, but I think instead of the junior college job, I may work in the writing center at one of the two campuses. I haven't been getting as many students in these days to my tutoring hours, and I hate feeling that I am wasting the college's time. Writing center experience would also just be excellent, both for my own development, and for my cv as I prepare to actually enter the world of teaching in another year plus. I haven't decided for sure though.
  • Homeschooling is moving right along. We're reading a lot... A Little History of the World; All About Cats; Son; and Exploring the Way Life Works: The Science of Biology... watching Z: The Beginning of Everything, and Mankind: The Story of All of Us... working on algebra and prealgebra... and writing, largely essay practice, though both kids are doing some creative writing on the side!
  • We're mostly enjoying the rain, though I know the flooding has been difficult for many in California. What's that saying about flood to famine, or vice versa? I complained a lot about the drought in the past, but we seem to be well past that now! Though it hasn't stopped us from going outside! As you can see, we were so wet by this point that The Girl gave in to her puddle stomping instincts!

Hope all is well in everyone else's homeschooling world!

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Nose to the Grindstone...

image courtesy of Saxton Studio
My winter break has come to an end. Today, the junior college starts back up, and next week, the university. So I am prepping like crazy for classes next week! I have almost finished my syllabus and a reading schedule for the first few weeks, so I just need to polish those up. This week, I am visiting the classes I work with as an instructional assistant, and next week, I will be teaching and studying. This semester, I am teaching the same students as last semester, moving them from English 100A to English 100B. The class I am taking is in composition theory/application and rhetoric... a practical class for a college instructor!

The Boy is also gearing up for classes, which for him start tomorrow. He's taking Figure Drawing and Comparative Mythology. The mythology class will likely be the most academic class he's taken so far, but I am pretty sure he can handle it. It will provide us with a great opportunity to practice his essay skills!

We started homeschooling again last week, so here is a brief run-down:

Math: Both used their "new" textbooks to do review work, which went well. We're using Jacobs Elementary Algebra (The Boy) and AGS Basic Math Skills (The Girl).

History: We started reading A Little History of the World (3 chapters), and watched the first episode of Mankind: The Story of Us, which lined up very nicely.

Literature: We read 3 or 4 more chapters in The Messenger, which we'll probably finish up in the next week or two. We'll most likely then read the fourth book, Son, before moving on to something else.

I also found our science book for spring! It seems very readable, I love the illustrations (as do the kids), and I love how it presents everything in an interconnected fashion. We'll start reading from it this week, and I'll weave in a few hands on projects here and there, though the bulk of our hands-on work will be gardening and nature observation.


 

I hope things continue to go as smoothly for the rest of the spring! I still have writing to work in as well, and spelling for The Girl, but we'll get there.

Monday, January 2, 2017

January Tidbits...

I always find Kim's monthly planning posts so inspirational, so here are some January plans of my own, mixed with some Monday musings!

New Year's Eve Cat's Cradle fun
January 1st: New Year's Day
We enjoyed a relaxed day, mostly at home. I made the kids some great pancakes for breakfast, and we checked out a new neighborhood park.

January 6th: Twelfth Night
We'll take down the Christmas tree, and I'd like to experiment with some Three Kings Bread (though this recipe for an orange bread looks really good too!), or we'll make The Girl's Applesauce Honey Cake. Maybe board games by the fireplace!

January 12th: Full Moon
I'd really like us to start paying more attention to the Full Moons, starting with this one, the Wolf Moon.

January 16th: Martin Luther King Jr. Day
We'll read or watch his "I Have a Dream" speech.

January 28th: Chinese New Year
We will celebrate the Year of the Rooster with a Chinese inspired dinner, probably something with long noodles (healthy Chow Mein?), fish, and other good-luck goodies (dumplings, etc.). Maybe we'll try making fortune cookies again, and/or Chinese lanterns.

Plans This Week
We're starting our Minimalism overhaul. Actually, The Boy started yesterday, of his own free will, in his bedroom. Like his dad, he collects odds and ends for projects that rarely happen. Unlike his dad, he's willing to get rid of some of it. I haven't asked the kids to go through their rooms, just to help with the rest of the house, so this is impressive! I'm starting today with the living room. We've discussed what to do with everything too: clothes will go to Goodwill and a local women's and children's day shelter; books to the library bookstore and the shelter; toys to the shelter.

I'm also going to start work on my syllabus for the spring semester!

Homeschool Thoughts
We're leaving TabletClass behind, and are returning to Jacobs' Elementary Algebra for The Boy. It is not that TabletClass was bad -- on the contrary, it is very good, but Jacobs is just a better fit. And The Girl will start using AGS Basic Math Skills alongside the Key To Math series. The Boy is also gearing up for two classes at the junior college this semester: figure drawing and comparative mythology. We plan to start back up officially in a week or two (depending on the arrival of The Boy's math books), though we're still reading from the Afternoon Basket in the meantime (which I need to update!).
Lovely recent afternoon walk

Around the House, Kitchen, and Garden
We've got nothing but rain in the forecast for the next week or week and a half, after a gorgeous two weeks of icy cold sunshine, so no yard work really.

I'm making plenty of veggie-heavy soup these days, as this is definitely soup weather. Meal planning is going well these days!

Rainy days will be focused on housework, reading aloud, and planning (as detailed above), maybe watching some documentaries and movies.

Have a great first week of January!

Sunday, January 1, 2017

2017 Already!


In 2016, I started a new career, and lost 40 pounds. In 2017, I am hoping to accomplish a few things related to home and family.

Around the House:
Put in a vegetable garden (a real one)
De-clutter like crazy (I just watched Minimalism, and was very inspired)
Fix the leaking family room roof, and the leaking bathtub faucet

For My Family:
Focus on real food, which the vegetable garden will help with, as will buying locally what we can't produce
Get the kids out and moving more—they're trying karate this week!
Set a homeschooling schedule

I'm purposefully keeping things pretty simple in my quest to simplify!

Do you have any goals for 2017?