I've moved!

Hello! If you follow my blog by reader or by email, then please add my new blog to your reader or sign up for it by email by clicking on over to Making the Most of Every Day. I still blog about the same type of stuff, but if you know me, then you know that I like to pack things in. This life is short and I want to make the most of each day while I try to follow hard after God! Won't you join me?

Bedder Covers

EXTRA!! EXTRA!! 
READ ALL ABOUT IT!!!!

My husband has just launched his new business: Bedder Covers - the better truck bed cover! We will be attending One Spark, "the world's largest crowd-funding festival" to promote it and to seek funding to make our product a reality. We are project #21857 (vote for us!)

What is a Bedder Cover you want to know? I'm so glad you asked! It is, to put it simply, a better truck bed cover. It is a one-time use, easy-to-use flexible, recyclable material that will adhere to your pick up truck's bed, covering and protecting your goods from dirt and rain. 

What?!?

Yup! Say you are moving a sofa to your house and it looks like it might rain...you need a Bedder Cover! 

Or let's say you are hauling a load of mulch for your flower beds (or sand for your new sandbox) and you don't want the mulch/sand to blow out while driving down the road... a Bedder Cover to the rescue!

What is currently available on the market for covering your stuff is a blue tarp. These covers are hard to secure, flap incessantly, and leak. Bungee cords that used for attaching the tarps are either too long, too short, don't have enough attachment points, snap, come off or scratch paint. 

Enter the Bedder Cover. This flexible material adheres to the truck creating a seal that will prevent water and dirt from entering your truck bed, protecting your stuff inside. The sticky material comes off easily and leaves no residue nor does it damage the vehicle's paint. 

Are you interested in finding out more? Here's what you can do...

• Like us on Facebook 
• Follow us on Twitter.
• Visit our Bedder Covers website. We will eventually be selling product on the website. You can sign up to receive our newsletter. We will periodically send out information (like when we are selling product or when new products are available) through the sign up link on the home page of the website. 
• Attend One Spark on April 7-12 and vote for us! We are creator # 21857 and we will be hosted at the Landing. We are also looking for volunteers to help us in the booth. Email us at beddercovers {at} gmail {dot} com to sign up to help!

Sonlight Blog Party: How did you decide on curriculum?

We first heard about homeschooling after my husband spoke to a guy from Idaho whose family was doing it. I hadn't, personally, met the family, but my husband returned from a training trip with this zany idea and tried to convince me of it. At first I thought he was crazy, but he managed to pique my curiosity by talking about how we would be able to travel as a family when all the other families were in school. We could travel to Europe in the low season and take advantage of lower airfares, cheaper hotels and uncrowded cities! It's true. That's what got me thinking about it at first. We love to travel and we wanted to pass that love on to our kids. Plus I wanted to visit my family in Italy and it would be waaaaay cheaper to go in September/October than it would be to go in July/August. I was willing to give it a second thought.

Later, over time, and many discussions, research and prayer, we developed better reasons, loftier reasons. But it's true that at first our reasons were pretty shallow. No matter. In the end, the end justified the means, or the reasons anyway.

We decided that our school needed a name. People were forever asking where our kids were going to go to school. Our brother and sister-in-law's kids were attending Hickory Christian Academy (HCA for short) so we decided that DCA or DelCharco Christian Academy sounded good. In time, we got to where we would answer the Where do your kids go to school? question with a nonchalant Oh, they go to DCA.

We not only named our school, but we sat down one day to to develop our goals, mission statement and vision for our school. I'll recreate them here for posterity's sake. Plus it might help a new homeschooler out - inspire them to create their own goals and mission. Or you might just think we're crazy. Whatever...

DelCharco Christian Academy (DCA) 

WHY WE HOMESCHOOL: [So on those days when I wanted to call it quits, I could pull out this list and remind myself. If my reasons had changed, I could enroll them in Beauclerc Elementary. If they hadn't, well...it was time to suck it up and just.do.it.]

1) Nobody can love or teach my kids better or want them to succeed more than me.

2) We want to be the major influence in our children’s lives; to have some control over the influences in their lives.

3) We want our children to have uncompromising character; for us to be proactive in their character development and education.

4) We want our children to have compassion for others; a heart for others; time before money; people over things; a true love relationship with Jesus.

5) We want our children to be able to work at their pace; explore their interests further; fill their loving cup when they need it; pace their maturity with appropriate exposure to sensitive material; teachable moments extended throughout the day.

  

 Mission Statement:

To develop bright, intelligent kids, who have a strong moral character, a heart for God and others and a life-long passion for learning.

[We then defined what some of these key words mean.]

Definitions:

• Bright
• Clear thinking/think on feet
• Common sense
• Articulate
•  Intelligent
• Depth of knowledge
• Well rounded/founded
• No fear of any subject
•  Strong moral character
• No compromise
• Clear on absolute truths
• Biblically based – no situational ethics
• Respectful
• Well mannered
• Gal 5:20 – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness gentleness, self-control
• Heart for God and others
• True desire to be in communion with Him
• Selfless – thinks of others as more important than self
• Life-long passion for learning
• School does not end
• Research options to make well informed decisions

   

Goals:

5-year: daily QT, solid relationship with Jesus, voracious reader; strong math skills.

10-year: fully-orbed human beings; making wise decisions; not easily swayed by peers; to be capable sailors; finding their niche in sports; active lifestyle (camping, hiking, fishing, running, biking, etc…); wouldn't consider drugs because they're just stupid.

Life: loving disciples of Christ following His lead; Servant heart; discipling others.

We have mostly met those goals. Not all. And we are still homeschooling so we are still a work in progress, but for the most part, we are doing well. But I digress. I'm supposed to be explaining how we decided on curriculum. 

I had read several books on homeschooling. [I do that. I like to research and do my homework whenever tackling a new project.] I was deciding between Abeka and Bob Jones when I learned about a homeschool convention that was in my town. A friend from church had told me about it and had photocopied the workshop descriptions and schedule for me. She had circled the ones she was going to go see. I poured over the schedule and workshop descriptions and did the same, circling the ones that seemed relevant and interesting to me. For one particular hour, there were no workshops that grabbed me so I decided to attend the one my friend, Beryl, had circled. It was about Sonlight. 

Shawne and Katie, the consultants, spoke about learning from "real books."[I *love* reading!] They told of the world focus that Sonlight has. [I want my kids to learn about the world!] They explained how the founders' desire was for a missionary family to remain in the field for one more year by providing them with a box of books and everything they'd need to homeschool their family for one year. [I want everything I need to come to me directly!] They explained how you could teach history, Bible, science and do read-alouds with multiple aged kids. [Hey, that's gonna save me time!] And how these books would be able to be reused with subsequent children. [Hey, that's gonna save me money!] 

I was hanging on to their every word. [That sounded like FUN, not school!] I  was incredulous to learn that you could teach using real books, not textbooks. [Can you DO that??! Is that  even ALLOWED?!?]  I took the catalog home and poured over it with my husband. I was hooked. I was a BELIEVER! We started our first year of homeschooling with Sonlight's Basic K (now Core A). Best.decision.ever.

Linking up with Sonlight's Blog Party.

Recipe: National Margarita Day!

Rumor has it today is National Margarita Day so in honor of that I'm going to share my husband's delicious recipe of one of my favorite drinks. We used to make it frozen with a can of limeade and it tasted just like Chili's frozen 'ritas. But over time it didn't taste as amazing as I used to remember it. Maybe my taste buds were growing up but it just wasn't as good.

Plus when I started eating the Trim Healthy Mama way, I didn't want to drink that much sugar. So I asked my hubby to create a more on-plan indulgent drink for me. Now I love them again and prefer to drink them at home, on the rocks.

One thing he did to make them more on-plan is to use real limes and sweeten with my homemade on-plan sweetener. Then to reduce the amount of sugar even more he substitutes part of the triple sec with fresh orange juice. Have you heard of Cara Cara oranges? I just recently discovered them at our BJs and they are ah-MAZ-ing!

 I admit that it doesn't taste like the traditional margarita this way but in my opinion it's even better. Plus I get real vitamin C this way so it's practically good for me, right?? Interested? Here's what you'll need to make it!

juice of one lime
juice of one Meyer lemon
juice of two Cara Cara oranges
1 T sweetener (can use sugar if you'd prefer)
2.5 oz gold tequila
1 oz triple sec

Mix all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Pour into a frosty salt-rimmed glass and serve.

Today, we decided to try it frozen. It turned out great! Here's what you do.

First you squeeze the fruit. We love this squeezing tool.

Add the juice and the sweetener to the blender.

Add the alcohol and ice then blend.

While the concoction is blending, use a lime or orange rind to wet a frozen glass and then it dip in salt.

Pour into glasses and enjoy! Salud!

Style Me Bloggers: All glammed up and no place to go

I have a confession to make. You ready? It's pretty serious. Here it is:

I don't care about the Oscars, the Grammys, the Emmys, Golden Globe, CMAs, etc.

It's true. I also don't read People Magazine, or know who is married to whom, who is having whose baby, what so-and-so named their baby, who is sleeping with whom or any of that stuff. I have a hard enough time keeping up with my family members and my friends that I have relationships with, so keeping up with strangers is at the very bottom of my interest list.

And I don't watch much TV or go to a whole lot of movies so I'm usually in the dark when it comes to what people are winning prizes for. And the hype! I can't stand hype which is one reason, the main reason, that I don't watch the news.

So I'm probably the last person you'll want to go for information regarding any of these topics.

That being said, if I EVER were to go to a gala event, you can bet your last dollar on the fact that I would not wear anything revealing or scandalous. I believe in a classy look rather than a shock inducer. Here are a few examples of things I might consider if money were of no consequence.

I love the lightness of the fabric and the appliques!And black is always elegant, don't you think?

 This two-toned dress is simple but the shine and weight of the fabric adds a level of lux. Also I like the empire waist to create an illusion of height. We short girls need to think of things like that!

The simplicity of this dress is brought up a notch by two things. The high-low hemline is modern and the bright kelly green is a fun alternative to black.

I love this dress! The flowy fabric is reminiscent of a princess's ballgown, and the periwinkle color is so different! The off-the-shoulder neckline adds a level of sophistication without baring all.

So there you have it. I would be delighted with any of these dresses. Do you notice the similarities, a pattern? My body type looks best with a fit-and-flare dress style. I am not as comfortable in shift dresses or mermaid style (like the one in the background of the above picture.) It's not that I dislike them; I just don't look good in that dress style because I am so short waisted.

What is your favorite fancy-schmancy dress-up dress? Do you watch the various awards? What do you like about them? I really am curious and would love to hear!

Check out the other Style Me Bloggers to see what their take on the subject is!

Shoes to Shiraz | Two Teens and their Mama | A Lovely Little Wardrobe | R Squared 

Confessions of a Frumpy Mommy | Family Love Inspiration Education  

The Mishaps and Mayhem of Solitary Life | The Blondissima | Positively Learning | Quilty Joy Joy

 Daily Style Finds | Sheila's Potpourri | Puppies and Pretties | She thought She Could 
 Foxy's Domestic Side | Once Upon a Time & Happily Ever After | Sprinkled Just Right

An InLinkz Link-up

First week of Create 28!

I realized I never published the first week summary! Oops! Here it is!

The stylish Carrie of A Lovely Little Wardrobe has been giving some great guidance on how to style certain pieces, shopping from our own closets. She has great tips and I've been having a lot of fun trying out her recommendations. Here are the looks I styled this past week:

 1. Your favorite look - Sunday
           I chose to style a favorite outfit combo for a church day. I took my usual formula of skirt+tshirt+cardigan+scarf for color and changed it up by adding a knit blazer and heels.

2. A monochromatic look - Monday
          I went with grey for my monochromatic look, styling grey skinny jeans, a grey polka dot top with a grey bf cardigan and a light grey scarf. I added red quilted flats for interest.

3. A neutral look - Tuesday
          My neutral look was also monochromatic. I wanted to do a lighter color, like white or cream but it was cold this day so I went with what I have in my closet: navy. I paired dark skinny jeans with a navy sweater layered over a light blue tank and a blue ombre scarf. I wore leopard print flats since they are a neutral.

4. A colored bottoms look - Wednesday
          I bought these red jeans last year and I've gotten so much mileage out of them! I paired them with a black/white flannel shirt and did a little pattern mixing with the leopard flats.

5. A dots look - Thursday
          I just love polkadots and I love how this top has a contrasting wrist on the inside. I paired it with black jeans and a red puffer vest for a pop of color and my trusty leopard flats for more pattern mixing (can you tell I was out of town and limited in my shoe choices?)

6. Show your denim - Friday
         It was cold again this day so I paired bf jeans with lots of layers! A tank under a grey turtleneck sweater under a denim jacket and black boots kept me warm.

7. Your favorite cardigan or cozy sweater look - Saturday
          I realized I forgot to get a picture of this look. I paired jeans with a brown sweater under a waterfall cardigan for this busy errand-filled day.

8. Style a skirt - Sunday
          Since Carrie styled a pencil skirt, I decided to do the same. I've had this skirt for years but it's so simple and classic that it's timelss. I paired it with a light blue shirt and a tweedy blazer. Instead of wearing heels, I wore black tights and tall black boots. Off to church!

Next week will be tricky. I'm traveling for work and I'll be wearing a uniform on two days. So on those days I won't participate in the challenge. But I'll do as many as I can!

Create28: A few looks

The lovely Carrie of A Lovely Little Wardrobe has been challenging us to create outfits from our closets and she helps us by giving us prompts as part of Create 28. Today's prompt is Leopard Print & Patterns. I was going to go with my usual (I say 'usual' but it's new to me as of the Fall Challenge) stripes and leopard like this one:

But then I read her blog post and her outfit inspired me to try something different. I mixed a black and white gingham shirt with leopard print scarf. I was going to pair it with my leopard flats, but today is cold in Florida so I opted for riding boots instead to go over dark wash skinny jeans.

Surprise, surprise - I like it! I used to NEVER mix patterns but lately I've branched out and tried a few combinations. I like the way this looks. I also used to never mix warm and cool colors, like this black and brown, but I've gotten to where I like that too! Do you mix patterns or warm and cool colors?

Here are a few more looks from this past week.

Day 10: Bright Colors Look

Day 11: A Stripes Look

Day 16: A Thrifted Look (tank, shirt and jeans all thrifted)

Day 17: Vest or Jacket Look

Days 12- 14 this was my look. I was working.

I missed several days this past week. I was either traveling or wearing the above uniform. I sure am having fun playing along with this challenge! You can still join in! It's free. Just follow Carrie's blog to see what the OOTD is. You can share your look on Instagram with the hashtag #Create28BLovely.