Beckie Tetrault (dot) Com

The Name of The Doctor

2013-05-12T14:43:00.001-07:00

On the next episode of Doctor Who, it has been strongly suggested that the Doctor and Clara will go to the Fields of Trenzalore, where Dorium Maldorvar has said the Doctor's name will be revealed. Now, if you don't know what any of that means then please feel free to stop reading now, as the rest of this post will be just as confusing.

Now, just Whovians left? You, you there... I think you outta move along now, you just spelled T.A.R.D.I.S. with all small letters.. Now, for this of you who are left, grab a Jammy Dodger and a cuppa and relax..

I don't know if I wanna know the Doctor's name!

I have been watching Doctor Who for. Very long time...

Not THAT long, how old do you think I am???

That's better... Tom Baker, he was the 4th Doctor in the series, and my first Doctor thanks to our local PBS station. And we didn't know his name.. And that was okay.

The closest I think we have gotten to his name is from his baby cot, where it was written in Gallifreyian.

And while I haven't been searching for it, I also haven't stumbled across any attempts to translate this. I'm sure it's out there somewhere, but I'm not sure i want to know.

What if its disappointing? What if I hate it, or it doesn't fit him? I don't want to look at him and think Ralph.. Of course, Time Lord names are not anything like ours, Rassilon, Ushas, and Morbius to name a few. But it seems to me it doesn't matter what his name is, it won't feel right. He is and should remain only, The Doctor... Or Mr. River Song, but only among special company *wink*

I predict no name could be given to this man that will make the fans happy, and I don't look forward to the Internet after it is revealed. (Hopefully those who were affected by the BBC shop shipping error keep their mouths closed until next Saturday) There will be those who love it, armed to the teeth in a fight to the death with those who hated it.

I have my fingers crossed, that the revealing of Clara's secret will cushion the blow of my inevitable disappointment... In learning, the Doctor's name...

I feel bad for neglecting my blog..

2013-04-30T22:27:00.002-07:00

I want to blog, I really, really do. But I find myself frittering away the hours on Tumblr instead of getting serious and writing on my blog. Because that's kinda how it seems, it seems like seriousness here, and it's all silliness there. Tumblr, IMHO, seems to be made up of two kinds of people, Hipsters (who shall not be mentioned on here again) and FanGirls/FanBoys, who all geek out on their favorite stuff just like I do. Not that we all share the same fandoms, mind you, but there something there for everyone, if you can get past the fact that it is very likely that most of your followers were born after your graduated from high school.. So I thought I would inject some of the silliness of Tumblr here to my blog. So here is a quick tutorial on fandoms, shippers and OTPs. A Fandom is something you are into, I am mostly into TV Show fandoms, for example:

I am heavily invested in the Supernatural Fandom.

Firefly

And of course, Doctor Who :)
There are many, many others, but these are my top three. Now that you know what fandom you are interested in, next you need to learn about shipping.
Shipping is shortened from relationship. As in, I wish those characters were in a relationship, or I see signs of a deeper relationship than the dialogue seems to show.
It's pretty open for people to ship pairs or combinations of characters from a show, or among more than one show. Some examples:

Batman and Catwoman

The Doctor and his latest companion.
Not all ships are hetrosexual, even if the characters appear to be so. Not all ships are human to human (such as The Doctor and Clara, Time Lord/Human relationship)

JohnLock from the BBC series Sherlock

There is even a small but vocal group that ship Dean and Baby (his Impala)
So you have your fandom, and you have started shipping couples left and right. What you need to do now is find your OTP!
Your OTP is your One True Pairing. This is the relationship that ship above all others. The one that you see in all the shows subtext and the one that you talk about enough to drive your non-fandom friends crazy.
I have two OTPs.

Dean and Castiel from Supernatural
and

Jayne and River from Firefly :)
And most ships have cutsie names, like Destiel (Dean + Castiel), Megstiel (Meg + Castiel), Samifer (Sam + Lucifer).. All too adorbs.
There is a quick lesson on fandom, shipping and OTPs ;) Hope you enjoyed it! Feel free to leave a comment and tell me about your fandoms and who you ship!

Me Time Sponsored by EdenFantasys

2013-03-14T14:26:00.000-07:00

One of the things that I as a mother find the hardest to do is to carve time out of our busy day just to have a few moments to myself. I take care of everyone's stuff, then when it's all done, I am too exhausted to do much other then surf the net, and watch bad TV. I have decided I am going to try to change that in 2013! Even if I can't escape, at least I can do a few things that are strictly to take care of me! So when EdenFantasys offered me the chance to try out some of their yummy beauty and body products, I jumped at the chance! Now they have a HUGE bath and body section on their website, http://www.edenfantasys.com/beauty-and-body/ so I was like a kid in a candy store dreaming of all the fun things I could try. When it was all said and done, I chose two items, one bubble bath, and one hand lotion. I have been looking for a new bubble bath, ever since our landlord put in a new hot water heater, one that can FINALLY fill up my bathtub, lol! I had been using the kids Mr. Bubble, so it was nice to move up to something a little more adult, shall we say..

Dona has created a simply scrumptious line of bath and body products in a variety of scents. I am partial to the Pomegranate myself, but it is available in Goji Berry, Mangosteen, Blue Lotus, Acai, and Camu Camu! The bath foam comes in a 9.5 oz bottle, and 2 capfuls gave me a nice layer of scented bubbles.

The scent was light and pleasing, not overpowering, and the bubbles lasted while I sipped my tea and read my book. When I got out of the tub, the scent lingered. This bubble bath did not dry out my skin, and left it pleasantly scented.

This bath foam is paraben free & cruelty free.

Ingredients:

Purified Water (Aqua), Sodium C 14-16 Olefin Sulfonate, Sodium Cocoamphoacetate, Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Glycerin, Sodium Chloride, Lycium Barbarum (Goji) berry, Coffea Arabica (Coffee) Seed, Euterpe Oleracea (Açaí) Fruit, Morinda Citrifolia (Noni) Fruit, Punica Granatum (Pomegranate) Fruit, Camellia Sinensis (Green Tea) Leaf, Garcinia Mangostana (Mangosteen) Pericarp Extracts, Propanediol, Xanthan Gum, Citric Acid, Guar Gum, Benzyl Alcohol, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazone, Disodium EDTA, Fragrance

I was also given a bottle of Everyday Hand Lotion, from EOS, the company that makes my favorite lip balm! I chose the berry scent, but it is also available in Cucumber Melon and Nurture scents.

This hand lotion comes is a sleek bottle, perfect for on the go. It has a pleasing scent, and keeps hands soft all day. It comes in a 1.5 fl oz. package, but only a tiny amount is needed to cover both hands sufficiently and I didn't feel the need for many applications over the course of the day.

Everyday Hand Lotion is paraben free and made with 97% natural ingredients.

Water (Eau), Glycine Soja (Soybean) Oil, Cocoglycerides, Glyceryl Stearate, Dimethicone, Glycerin, Cetearyl Alcohol, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Avena Sativa (Oat) Meal Extract, Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Retinyl Palmitate, Fragrance (Parfum), Carbomer, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, DMDM Hydantoin, Sodium Hydroxide.

Between these two products, this mama is feeling the pampering! I love having lovely things around, and they encourage me to take time out of my busy schedule to take care of me. Which is something that all moms can probably use!

This post was sponsored by EdenFantasys, who provided me with the products for review. The opinions contained are all mine :)

Why I won't be wearing green on St. Patrick's Day

2013-03-13T11:33:00.001-07:00

Though I am Irish, I don't celebrate St. Patrick's Day. In fact, I go so far as to wear black on St. Patrick's.. I know most people don't give the day a second thought. It's a day to have fun, wear green, possibly pinch people and drink. They see the symbols, the shamrock and leprechauns as all good fun.

So, why am I so opposed to the celebrating of this innocent holiday? Well, because everything you probably know about what St. Patrick did is wrong..

When you ask the average person, why do we celebrate St. Patrick's Day, if they don't just shrug their shoulders, they will tell you St. Patrick drove the snakes from Ireland. That is the story that had been told over and over. There is a slight flaw with that story though... It's a complete lie.

Ireland, as anyone who has studied geography knows, is an island. And according to National Geographic there are no snakes today in Ireland (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/03/090316-st-patricks-day-facts.html). But you know what? There never were! Snakes can't swim though the frigid waters around Ireland to migrate there. So, if there are no snakes in Ireland... What exactly did St. Patrick do that made the Catholic Church like him enough to make him a saint?

He was a missionary. And missionaries have only one purpose, oh they may say they are building houses or digging wells, but the only true purpose of a missionary is to convert people to their religion, in this case Christianity. And that's what St. Patrick was doing in Ireland.

And missionaries at that time didn't come in hold hands and sing songs. No, this was more the wrath of god time frame. They came in and did their best to lay waste to the predominate religion of the area before replacing it with Christianity. And that's exactly what St. Patrick was doing. He was going after the Druids. He destroyed their holy places. He converted the king, which then put into place a system for the government to persecute non-Christians.

So when it is said that St. Patrick drove the snakes from Ireland, what they are really saying is his drove the Druids (who ancient symbol for wisdom was the serpent) out of Ireland. The celebration of St. Patrick's Day is the celebration of a religious genocide.

Therefore, on St. Patrick's Day I will be wearing nothing green. I will drink no green beer, and I will have no leprechaun traps built at my house. I do not celebrate holidays that glorify men who did nothing more with their lives then persecute and kill others. I choose not to glorify St. Patrick as I choose not to glorify Columbus. I choose to teach my children the truth, not the white washed hallmark version that most people believe.

5 Things to Catch You Up

2013-01-01T18:57:00.003-08:00

Since we last spoke many things have happened! So here is a quick 5 bullet point list to catch you up!

I turned 41 on November 21st! So far so good for my 41st year of life. It wasn't nearly as difficult of a number to accept as 40 was!
Also on November 21st, I had surgery! A hysterectomy to be exact. After spending a year in intermittent pain, and a month solid in pain, the decision was made to take those bits out that were causing me trouble. The surgery was 100% a success, and here about 8 weeks later, I am pain FREE!
Jack-Jack started back to Speech Therapy! This is a major thing. Since he was two, I have been the one to hunt down all the resources (testing, therapy and such) that he needed. It's SO NICE to have a the school helping out this time. They arraigned all the testing, and set up the new speech therapist and everything.
Our holidays were good, well, I slept through Thanksgiving, but Christmas and New Years were great. Kids all happy. I got a lovely Evil School of Evil shirt, a gift card to Kohl's, and a new Alice in Wonderland tea set :)
Wow, I said 5 didn't I? I can't think of a 5th one... How about this? Things are going pretty well. My Podcast, Savvy Homeschool Moms, is rocking out, after a month off for recovery purposes. Gist Academy is trucking right along, with all the usual numbers of tantrums and joyous moments. Dean and I celebrated our wedding anniversary this past weekend.

I guess that's about it. Hopefully I can find some more time to work on this blog, I feel bad not writing on it more. Not because I am worried about my hoards of rabid fans (heh, hoards), but because it was the best way I could record what's going on in our lives, for us to look back at later. I already get nostalgic when I read back to my first posts. Imagine how it would be 10 years from now?

Have I mentioned how thankful I am

2012-11-03T15:16:00.001-07:00

For my daughter..

She's 10 and she is beautiful. And while I've been going through some medical issues (which eventually ill get around to blogging about) she has been so helpful!

Don't know how I'd manage with out her some days..

I hope someday she looks back at the archives, finds my blog and isn't too mad at me for posting this ;)

Halloween is almost upon us..

2012-10-27T20:26:00.001-07:00

And there is something I want to remind people about. There are going to be lots of children out trick or treating. And honestly, I'd hate for one of them to see me beat you down.

Why, you might be wondering, would I be threatening the nice people who are just handing out candy to kids? Because every year there are a few ignorant f*cks who require my son to say "Trick or Treat" before making with the fun sized Snickers.

My son has a speech delay, and while most of the time most people mostly understand most of what he says, he has a really hard time speaking to strangers, or in stressful situations. Such as when some idiot is holding a bowl of candy just out of his reach and saying, "what do you say??" Umm, I say make with the candy before I smack your stupid face.

There are few things that actually get me as angry as this insistence on saying "magic words." Heck, I don't even make a fuss when people give my kids Chick Tracts (see previous Halloween post) or campaign literature with their cheap dum-dums. I calmly strip the offending paper off the candy and hand it back to them with a smirk. (Unless its a Halloween chick tract, I'm saving those for an art project). But insist my child says "magic words" to get candy and I will go mama bear on you. And yes, I suppose I could explain to all those people or better yet, make him wear a button, right? WRONG!

There is an unwritten contract on Halloween, you have lights on, kids knock, you give them candy. Period..

As Wil Wheaton says, "Don't be a dick" especially on Halloween..

Have some "adult" fun this Halloween ;)

2012-10-16T00:30:00.003-07:00

(This post is about fun adult things)
Around this time of year everyone starts to think about who they want to be for Halloween.. Maybe you have an adult party to go to, or you're having an intimate affair for two, EdenFantasys has you covered in style! And right now they are offering selected styles at 20% off! Heidi Ho, is a beer girl, but it reminds me of that great scene in Charlie's Angels!

Maybe you are in more of a Fairy Tale mood, why not be a princess in your own fairy tale?

Or do you lean more towards the darker side? A little True Blood maybe? The Fang Bangin' Fun Vamp is just perfect for a night at Bon Temps.

And of course, EdenFantasys doesn't forget the men out there.. Check out this Sexy Sailor Boy costume!

EdenFantasys isn't all just toys and costumes this Halloween season. They have a great community that they have built. And they are having Halloween themed contests! Check out the Sex Shop of Horrors contest! You could win a $300 gift basket! And check out the Eden's Haunted Carnival! All Halloween day starting at 10am check out all the opportunites to win Eden Points which you can trade in for gift cards! So check out EdenFantasys for all your sexy Halloween related needs :)

Beckie's Annual Halloween Rant

2012-10-15T21:43:00.000-07:00

Every year at this time, I climb on my soapbox like Andy Rooney on a bender, and rant and rave about how people are ruining my favorite holiday, Halloween. My usual favorite topics are the ever amusing Chick Tracts that people have the audacity to give to my children with their fun sized bags of M&Ms (check out the new one for this year, Satan comes to Salem.. I guess they don't let history pursuade them in their quest to publish lies, and my favorite from last year The Walking Dead!), cities that postpone or worse yet cancel their trick or treating because of religious pressures or Halloween falling on a Monday, and ANYONE who holds a Trunk or Treat in a church parking lot to help save their spawn from the horrors of the Pagan holiday. So far the airwaves have been pretty quiet, so I will just repost my post from 2009, and keep an eye on this space for any future developments ;)

REPOSTED FROM 2009:

Free Range Kids has a great post about how Halloween is being ruined for scores of children FOR NO GOOD REASON!! Something I have discussed on this blog several times ;)

Read it here!

Here is a repost of my classic posting from 2008 ;)

It's that time of year again...
When families are faced with the choice, to celebrate or not celebrate Halloween. Personally, I am sure all of you know, I not only celebrate Halloween, I revel in it! I LOVE Halloween, and would prefer to get rid of Christmas and Thanksgiving all together ;)

But I swear, the more I read people's arguments on why to NOT celebrate Halloween, I am filled with a dread that I can't shake. Are people really so paranoid of a holiday that PartyWorks and Hershey's have so corrupted from it's original form, that it is barely recognizable?? I understand the not wanting to expose your children to excessive blood and gore, okay, I get that. But to not even let them dress up and trick or treat?? Or worse yet, to be a TOTAL hypocrite and let them go to a trunk or treat at the local church. If they are trunk or treating, you are celebrating, so get over yourselves.

Let me give you a few thoughts to ponder. First off, if you have EVER gotten your information about Halloween from a Chick Tract, then please, click away from my page now and go and pray or something, cause you are too stupid to continue reading.

First off, Halloween started out as a harvest holiday known as Samhain. Now contrary to popular Christian belief, there was NEVER a pagan god known as Samhain. Samhain is derived from the Celtic word for Summer's End, cause DUH! it happened at the end of summer, LOL! So, no pagan god Samhain, and therefore no human sacrifices to him. Also, pagan's don't believe in Satan, and they sure don't worship him, cause he's NON-EXISTENT in pagan culture. So, no human sacrifice to him either. In fact, there is NO human sacrifice in paganism today, AT ALL! And if you look at history, Christians have killed many, many more humans then any pagans, I'm just sayin...

Secondly, the whole idea of poisoned, tampered with, or booby trapped candy. This is a myth that has been blown so far out of proportion, it's absurd! TWO, yes TWO cases of children being killed by Halloween candy have been recorded in the news since 1964 (yep, that was 44 years ago people). The first was a boy in 1970 who ate his uncles stash of heroin, and then the family tried to cover it up by saying the drugs were in his Halloween candy. The second, in 1974, a boy ate a pixy stick that was laced with poison. Upon investigation it turned out the boys own father planted the candy in his sons bag, to collect on the boys insurance money. NEVER has there been a recorded incident of a stranger handing out laced, tampered with or poison treats on Halloween, and contrary to the Chick tract above, it is not common practice to do this to harvest sacrifices for Satan!

So, while I can go on and on about the non-horrors of Halloween, I do want to make a point. These days, Halloween is another hallmark holiday, cleansed of all it's original roots, and make palatable to the masses. If you are a family who chooses to NOT celebrate Halloween because of it's pagan roots, then I recommend you think twice about Easter and Christmas too. Because while the historical activities attributed to those holidays, namely the birth of Christ and his resurrection, are widely accepted as accurate, the actual dates of said activities and the celebrating of those holidays are NOT specifically condoned in the bible. Shockingly the dates and MOST of the activities now celebrated for those holidays are in fact PAGAN in origin ;) Christmas trees or Easter bunnies anyone??

I will accept reasonable discussion of this topic in my comments. BUT keep in mind, any argument you make to me that uses God or the Bible as it's basis, will be countered with the teachings of the ALL POWERFUL AND KNOWING SQUIRREL IN MY BACK YARD :) After of course, the appropriate offerings of nuts and seeds are made ;)

It's Banned Book Week

2012-10-01T07:46:00.001-07:00

And if you've been reading my blog for any length of time, you know this is one of my passions!!

Here is the list of most challenged books for 2011:

ttyl; ttfn; l8r, g8r (series), by Lauren Myracle
Reasons: offensive language; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group

The Color of Earth (series), by Kim Dong Hwa
Reasons: nudity; sex education; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group

The Hunger Games trilogy, by Suzanne Collins
Reasons: anti-ethnic; anti-family; insensitivity; offensive language; occult/satanic; violence

My Mom's Having A Baby! A Kid's Month-by-Month Guide to Pregnancy, by Dori Hillestad Butler
Reasons: nudity; sex education; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
Reasons: offensive language; racism; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group

Alice (series), by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Reasons: nudity; offensive language; religious viewpoint

Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
Reasons: insensitivity; nudity; racism; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit

What My Mother Doesn't Know, by Sonya Sones
Reasons: nudity; offensive language; sexually explicit

Gossip Girl (series), by Cecily Von Ziegesar
Reasons: drugs; offensive language; sexually explicit

To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
Reasons: offensive language; racism

I am embarrassed to admit I haven't read many of the newer books on the list. Hunger Games, of course, but hasn't everyone? I had covered the classics, heck, Brave New World is one of my favorite books of all time. Which is why I feel the need to shout to the ether ever year for Banned Book Week..

I don't believe that anyone should have the right to tell me, or you, what books we can have access to, or what books we can read. I believe it is each persons right to make those decisions for themselves. And it's each parents responsibility to be actively involved in the books their child chooses to read.

I wish people could spend as much time working on themselves and their own lives as they do trying to control what other people can do with theirs.

But until that happens, all we can do is continue to speak out against book banning, read banned books and educate the future generation to do better!

Homemade egg tempera paints

2012-09-22T15:57:00.000-07:00

We are using Discovering Great Artists as a Friday elective type subject, and today we learned about the artist, Giotto di Bondone. Technically this was the first lesson in the book, but we had to shift it to later, because of a lack of good colored chalk :P

While DD worked on other subjects, I calmly sat across from her and grated chalk.

All the grated chalk ready to be made into beautiful paint.

After mixing in egg yolk, and a bit of water. DD said the paint was think and a bit chunky.

But she was still able to create something with it :)

Red cabbage PH indicator

2012-09-21T15:46:00.002-07:00

So my entire home smells awful right now, like someone's been boiling red cabbage all morning.. Okay, maybe not all morning but far longer than any sane person would..

Oh wait, that was me :P

DD is still working her way though REAL Science Odyssey, Chemistry Level 1. Today for Unit 7, we had to create PH indicator using red cabbage.

I cut the cabbage up, there was no way for kids to help with this one. The cabbage was far too firm, it was difficult for me to cut up!

Then we added 4 cups of boiling water over the cut up cabbage leaves. Once it was cooled and strained, this is what we were left with!

As you can see, the bases cause the indicator to turn green or blue, and the acids cause it to turn pink or red. It actually WORKED!

Now if I can just figure out how to get the smell out of my house, I will be a happy mom :)

Just so y'all don't forget about me

2012-09-21T15:36:00.001-07:00

Here is the family at the Chaffee Zoo the other day ;)

(Yes, I changed this post an hour after I posted it because I figured out this was the only picture that wasn't on some other blog post before or after this one :) )

1st week of school is over, and we all survived..

2012-09-03T18:02:00.002-07:00

Some of us just barely :P
Just a few pictures of how our week went!

The grand opening of Danielle's Day Spa

2012-09-03T17:28:00.000-07:00

Danielle's 10th birthday was last week, and for her birthday party we did a spa day for her and two of her friends!

We started out with pedicures, the girls soaked in cupcake scented water, and got a good scrubbing with raspberry scrub.

While their feet were soaked and scrubbed, I painted on their facials (fresh strawberries, greek yogurt and honey, the extra of which I froze and used for smoothies today, LOL) and of course cucumbers on their eyes..

The painting of the toes :)

My besties lending a hand!

After the DH BBQ'd up some super yummy hot dogs and we all ate till we were stuffed, Danielle opened her gifts.

She was super pleased with the Minecraft purse that DH and I got for her from my friend Kristn's Etsy Shop!

10 years.. where did the time go?

The funny things people search for..

2012-08-26T23:40:00.004-07:00

Here is a list of the most recent things people have searched for, and somehow managed to find me :)

funny current event

taco bowl

clever kingdom

r.e.a.l science odyssey quizzes

real science odyssey reviews

scent signals article august 14 2012

summer

Some things I am looking forward to!

2012-08-26T23:32:00.000-07:00

Wow, next week is going to be a doozy! So I am going to share with you what I am looking forward to, in no particular order:

Danielle's 10th Birthday is Thursday!! Mom is coming to town to visit and we are going to the zoo, per the birthday girl's request.
School starts on Monday!! YAY!! All this unstructured summer time has been super stressful on me. I look forward to getting back into a school-time routine!
We are headed to Visalia on Monday to visit the Eleanor Roosevelt Community Learning Center (the kids' charter school) for the first time!! Time to pick up the last few bits of curriculum we need, meet with teacher, and check the place out!
Danielle's birthday party is on Saturday, it's a spa theme. Should be fun to do facials and mani-pedi's on her friends.

What about you? What are you looking forward to this week??

Friday's Ta Da List

2012-08-24T21:15:00.001-07:00

I promise I won't do this everyday, but I'm trying to keep myself motivated. So, bear with me :)

1. Washed all dishes, & cleaned all counters.
2. Took apart the stove top and cleaned it. (eww)
3. Reorganized my weekly chores to better reflect our actual schedule.
4. Created new menu planning system and started on idea cards
5. Washed all the towels the kids used playing in the hot tub today

Not too bad :)

Ta Da List

2012-08-23T19:56:00.001-07:00

I think I am going to restart me Ta Da Lists. It feels good to look back at what I've gotten done. I feel better when I have accomplished something with my day, but I often lack the motivation. So hopefully this will help in that department. And to be honest, a Ta Da list is sooo much nicer then a To Do lost don't you think?

Ran dishwasher TWICE! (lots of pots and cups)
3 loads of laundry washed, dryed, folded and put away.
Prepared all the kids school supplies and organized the storage drawer. Laminated new calendars.
Cooked dinner (yeah, that's an accomplishment)
Revamped how I menu plan
Cleaned all kitchen counters
Caught up on all my SpiralScouts paperwork (I think?)

All in all not a bad days work!

Be it ever so humble..

2012-08-16T13:18:00.000-07:00

There's no place like homeschool :P Just wanted to share a few pics of our homeschool area, which also serves as our dining room :P

Here is a view of the back wall, with our school motto on the wall. The blue basket is our library book bin, it's a bit thin at the moment, usually they don't all fit. But it's the only way I can keep track of the 50+ library books the kids usually have out at a time! Above the air purifier is my Weekly Goal Planner for my personal goals, I really need to hang it up :) DD re-purposed a tissue box for a paint brush holder, and is in the process of transforming that Cheerios box into trading cards for her collectible card game.

This is my usual seat, where I can reach the black drawers under the globe where we keep all our daily supplies. I also keep a recycling box next to the shelves. Notice more of DD's art projects on the table *eyeroll*

This is our curriculum cabinet. (ignore my book shelf to the side, it's a mess!) We also have a supply cabinet, but it's in the kitchen :P

Well, I guess that's it, Blog Hoppers! Not super exciting I know, but it works for us :)

Check out the other blogs who are sharing their School Rooms this week!

We all want to smell pretty..

2012-08-14T21:07:00.002-07:00

That's why perfumes, body washes and such are such big business! But what if you could smell pretty, and be more attractive to the opposite sex? You can, with pheromones! Pheromones are the invisible scent signals that all animals give off. Human pheromones are the scent signals that humans give off to attract members of the opposite sex. Basically how you smell can make you more attractive to a potential mate. So how can you harness the power of pheromones? Check out the selection of pheromones enhanced products from EdenFantasys! I have picked a few of the different types to highlight, and with the site wide sale of 20% off with the coupon code "PLAY20" there is no reason not to give one a try!

Dona makes a lovely body shimmer spray in a variety of scents, such as Pomegranate or Blue Lotus, that contains pheromones.

Classic Erotica has a line of soy massage candles that contain pheromones. In fantastic scents such as Cinnamon Leaf and Strawberries and Champagne!

System JO Pheromone Spray for Men comes in a discreet spray bottle and is specially formulated for men to attract women. It is also available for women to attract men or men to attract men!

And the last one I want to share with you is Evolved Novelties Pheromone Bracelet. If you don't like sprays or lotions, fret not! Just wear one of these rubber style bracelets! Comes in pink and black and is available for her or him! *This blog post has been made in exchange for compensation from EdenFantasys. All opinions are my own.*

Bwhahahahahaha!

2012-08-06T11:50:00.001-07:00

Curriculum Choices for 2012-2013 School Year

2012-08-05T22:50:00.000-07:00

Welcome "Not" Back-to-School blog hoppers! Be sure to click on the link to see all the great bloggers posts about their curriculum choices!
Here's what we are using at Gist Academy for Gifted Youngsters school year 2012-2013!
Danielle, age 10

Language Arts, Science and Social Studies ~ Moving Beyond the Page, age 8-10
Math ~ Math Mammoth, grade 4 to begin with to fill in some gaps, then on to grade 5

Jack-Jack, age 6

Language Arts ~ Explode the Code and Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons
Math ~ Math Mammoth, grade 1

Both

History ~ History Odyssey, Ancients Level 1
Art History ~ Discovering Great Artists

Check out all the great blogs participating all month!

You may have noticed

2012-07-29T21:17:00.000-07:00

Or, maybe not if you are reading on an RSS Reader, but up there, up at the top, there is a new name on this blog. I have officially changed the name to Beckie Tetrault (dot) Com. As I am the Co-Host of a FAMOUS new podcast, Savvy Homeschool Moms, I felt it was was time to make my presence in the interwebs world more official. As such, I thought Spookiez Spot was a bit childish and non-nondescript, and did NOT suit my new look. Both URLs will still work to get here, so no worries about that :)
Oh, and for anyone keeping score, this is officially my 1,500 blog post!! YAY!!

I have a new Blog Button..

2012-07-29T20:43:00.003-07:00

I have not had a blog button up until now because I doubted my own ability to make one. Well, I still do, but here it is anyway :) And please look to your left for all your blog button sharing needs! If you share mine, leave me a comment and I will add yours here!