I'll Have A Cup Of Quiet, Please

Have you ever just sat in a quiet dark room and sipped a cup of coffee? No kids, no TV, not even your phone on? Have you taken the time to just sit and be?  It’s harder than you think.  We are programed to go go go.  So taking the time to just sit and be still and quiet is hard, but very necessary. I think it is one of the most necessary things that is overlooked in our crazy busy world.

In this quiet time, we can let our minds wander at their leisure. The first step is the quiet.  I often have this time in the morning after my first cup of coffee.  Just me and the cats, alone and I am awake anyway.  I sit in my comfy chair and let my mind go.  No input from my phone or tablet, no computer screen or TV, it’s just me and my thoughts.  In our crazy world we just don’t do this any more.  It may be the most important thing in my day.

Silence is the universal refuge, the sequel to all dull discourses and all foolish acts, a balm to our every chagrin, as welcome after satiety as after disappointment.

~Henry David Thoreau

Can you remember the last time you just sat and were in the quiet? We have come to crave constant input. How many times a day do you check your phone, or log on to facebook? I am almost always connected.  The time I spend in the morning disconnected and quiet has become a respite for my brain and my soul.

Dawn is breaking and another crazy day is on tap and I have recharged my batteries with my few minutes of silence. However, I think I may have one more cup of coffee.

 

Posted by,

Heather Garcia

The Holiday Meal

Christmas is coming.  I feel like I am at the start of the hunger games.  Line up and go.  People pushing and shoving and rushing all around.  Why do we do this to ourselves.  Why do we get caught up in the race to make this one bigger or better than the last.

The holidays have lost a little luster for me now that my kids are older.  Now with only one at home, who is 14, everything seems to be a trial. I go on.  Getting the house decorated, and the tree up and making sure I plan dinner for the family.

Really this holiday for me is all about my family time.   I enjoy cooking and planning for our dinner.   I could do without the shopping and running around.  I enjoy a well done ham, some mash potatoes, and gravy.  I usually make a cheesecake for dessert.

So as I plan my menu I wonder what other people have on their holiday table.  

Leaf Bread (Laufabrauð)

Made of a thin, waferlike dough, this crisp flatbread is a holiday tradition in Iceland. Many families make it together a few days before Christmas; some Icelanders joke that it's the only time of year the men will help in the kitchen. It's first cut into intricate geometric patterns, then deep-fried and saved to be eaten as an accompaniment to Christmas dinner. Traditionally, a special tool called a leaf bread iron is used to cut the patterns, but we found a paring knife works just as well.

Sauerbraten (German Pot Roast)

The addition of sugar to the einbrenne (roux) gilds the gravy even as its sweetness balances the sour lemon note and the zing of pickling spices.

Buche de Noel (Yule Log Cake with Coffee Buttercream and Ganache)

This version of the traditional French Christmas cake is filled with coffee buttercream and covered in chocolate ganache.

Doro Wat

In Ethiopia, no holiday meal is complete without Doro Wat, a long-stewed dish of chicken flavored with chile, garlic, berbere, cardamom, and ginger, served with boiled eggs.

Tourtiere (Quebecois Meat Pie)

Apple cider and warming spices make this Canadian rustic meat pie a perfect holiday dish.

Here are just a few things I found while researching.  While I am not doing it this year.  In years past I have made tamales and stuffed cabbage a real mix of our families heritage.  This might be fun to do with the kids to research and add a food to your menu from another country.  

Whatever you do remember to take time to enjoy this season.

Posted by

Heather Garcia

Traditions Change

Like most families we have traditions during this holiday season. My husband and I have been married for almost 17 years. When we started out we made a lot of our own traditions. One thing we have done is get a real tree every year. Some years were smaller some bigger, but each year we all pile in the car and pick out a tree. My husband puts up the lights and I hand the decorations to the kids and they decorate the tree. This worked well for many years. I have never been one to be overly fussy about how it looks. Our decorations are a hodge podge of stuff I have collected over the years. Some of them are handmade gifts some I have made myself. In the end it is always festive. Now with only one 14 year old boy at home, tree decorating is just not as fun for me. My husband does the lights and we all jump in and help get the decorations done, however the fun is not there anymore. 

I committed a sin. I asked for a fake tree. My husband always had a fake tree growing up and it has been a big deal to him that we have a real one. Now with almost no help I am left to take the whole thing down myself. The boys in my life said they would help and so we will get a real tree this year. Honestly if they have strong opinions about it then so be it. However I do think if I am lugging a real tree down stairs and cleaning it up by myself next year we will have a new tradition.

I guess as kids get older and leave home things change. This is the first year it has hit me that I only have one left. So with a sniffle and a tear I have to hope that this is the final time for the real tree, and next year I can put up a pre lit seven footer in 10 minutes. Maybe then I will get my joy back for decorating it.

That said I know the first year I have the fake tree I will be sad, and miss all the family memories when we decorated the tree as a family. 

Christmas 2003


Posted By
Heather Garcia



   

Holiday Blues

Here we are again less than a month until Christmas.  A time when people should be full of joy and giving.  All I see is kids who are asking for more than parents can give and a big deal about spending money.  

So many times I see parents going into debt to buy that one gift a child wants.  It seems to me that we have changed the meaning of the season from one of joy and giving to one of commercialism and greed. I did this, even though in the past I have tried to teach my kids that it is a time of loving and giving. Perhaps we should have made something instead. 

 

 

Even I have fallen prey to this feeling of needing consumerism to show that I care.  When my girls were little we used to go to the mall and pick a child in need and get a gift for them.  Something fun and educational because that’s who I am.

In years past I have made gifts to give out and been excited to see them opened. I am not sure when I lost that joy.  Now I fret over choosing a gift, spending money I don’t need to spend, to make the right impression.  I know I am not alone.  

I say bring back the feeling of the season. Bring back the joy and love.  Bring back the spirit of giving.  Bring back a time when just spending time with people was a gift in itself.  We are so busy we forget that giving our time and energy to another can be a gift.

Time to shake off the holiday blues, so give your time freely, love freely and remember that in the end a bigger better gift is no replacement for true joy.

Posted by

Heather Garcia

Change It Up

After homeschooling for years I have noticed a pattern.  Right as we hit the “holidays” things get busy and our schedule seems to get off track. Both my son and I start to deal with some boredom. I start to conserve time by trimming off this or that, but a couple of years ago I had an idea.  What if I changed it up?  

One of the many joys of homeschooling is it can vary from family to family even child to child.  What works today may not work tomorrow and that is ok.  It took a long time for me to get there and to find out how to work with it instead of against it.

So we do a lot of learning on the go.  We do a lot of “off hours” learning.  We take advantage of life to help us learn.  Best of all it’s a joint project.  I think I learn as much during these times as he does.

I did a little research to see how other moms break the cycle and change up homeschooling.

1. Do a topical study.  Use a holiday to study the history, or the change in seasons to discuss the weather.
2. Read together.  No matter the age taking time to read together can bring you closer and help a struggling or unenthusiastic reader.
3. Do a service project.  Find a senior center and read to seniors or just adopt a grandparent. Help at a soup kitchen, or even make lunches for the homeless.  

This is just a taste of what I found that others are doing to change it up, but even things such as a change of scenery can revive and recharge you for the rest of the year.

Posted by

Heather Garcia

Tech Addiction

It’s funny. I have a husband who spends all day sitting at the computer and almost no time on the computer that is not work or personal project related, where as I am a self-professed social network addict.  I am working on this flaw. I have seen it in my kids and I am not a fan.  How can I ask them to stop if I am on Facebook 24/7?  So I need to learn to turn it off. The world will not end if I miss a text message, email or status update.  

Park play dates have turned into mom’s checking phones, teens checking phones and kids running around. We have checked out of personal contact and into a safe world of make believe.  

We crave that hit of dopamine we get when we check our phones.  We need to be connected to everyone on our friends list.  When did this happen?  Why did this happen?  Social skills are an afterthought.  No one writes personal notes anymore.  

We have a tech free dinner table.  This is a must.  We come together and sit down to eat and talk about our day.  No room there for Facebook or Twitter.  No room for Snapchat or text messages.  I think we need to do this more.  My husband has been saying this and I have been fighting the wave.  

I am not afraid to admit my guilt, but I am ashamed that I have let myself get this way.  Now it’s time to take a hard look and figure out how to get out of the hole I have dug myself into.  So I issue a challenge.  Put your phone down and talk to the people in your life.  Your friends, your family, the stranger next to you in line.  Look your cashier in the eye when she says hello and respond.  It will enrich your life.  

Posted by

Heather Garcia

Fall Co-op Wrap Up

 

Another successful co-op is in the books.  We would like to extend a huge thank you to the teachers, assistants and clean-up crews that made this all possible.  Also a thanks to Kristie for making this run so smoothly.  We are always looking to improve on our success, and as such the ideas from the board are already flowing.  If you have any ideas feel free to comment here or send a message to the board.  

With such a diverse group I am always happy to hear from teachers and parents how much they enjoyed co-op but I have to tell you there is a special place in my heart when the kids say “thank you” on the last day of class.  

I loved seeing all the creative costumes for our trunk r treat. It seems like everyone had a great time and the pictures are all fantastic. It was great seeing a mix of allergy safe and traditional treats given out.

Each session the classes get more and more creative and interesting.  So make sure you are thinking about what to teach in the spring.  I know it seems far away but I think that it will be here before we know it.  

We are currently looking for a new location for our spring co-op, hopefully in Wake Forest.  If you know of anywhere we might look into please feel free to let us know in the comments or send a message.   

Again thank you for a fantastic fall co-op.  Let’s see how we can top this one for spring.  

Posted by

Heather Garcia