Review of Legacy Documentaries' Almanzo Wilder DVD

Everyone knows about Laura Ingalls Wilder. Everyone has read the Little House books. Even those who have not read the books have seen the TV show. Those of us with Laura's name were secretly delighted as little girls when we first discovered Laura, especially if we happened to have the brown (or, in my case, auburn) hair and had a slightly older blonde sister - who just happened to be perfect (Hi, Analisa!). But what about that other key figure in Laura's life, apart from Mary? Didn't she have a husband? Oh, yeah...

If we're being honest, most of us will admit that in our minds, Dean Butler *is* Almanzo Wilder (Laura's husband), probably even more than Melissa Gilbert is Laura Ingalls. Whether that is because there is just more Laura-belia out there or what, I don't know, but what I do know is that Legacy Documentaries has gone a long way toward correcting this gap with its DVD Almanzo Wilder: Life Before Laura.



Okay. I'll come clean. When you click on that Legacy Documentaries link, you're going to see a familiar face. I'll wait here, so don't forget to come back. Yes - it's Almanzo. No, it's not! Shame on you (me)! That's Dean Butler! It's hard not to be star struck when realizing that Legacy Documentaries is Dean Butler, but it's such a nice synchronicity that it makes the whole DVD viewing experience more complete. Since Little House, Dean Butler has worked as a producer on several other projects, but I'm really happy that this is the company he chose to form.

Almanzo Wilder: Life Before Laura is a WONDERFUL DVD. I don't say that lightly. There were a million ways this DVD could have been boring or repetitive or have shoddy production value. It was none of these things. It was outstanding. Right after I finished watching it, I could have started it over and watched it again immediately. I know that we will watch it over and over as a family.

Based largely on the events described in Farmer Boy, the second book written by Laura Ingalls Wilder, this DVD uses contemporary pictures of the Wilder farm in upstate New York, along with the original drawings from Farmer Boy and re-enactors (who, most of the time, remain silent) to tell the story of Almanzo's 9th-10th years) to show viewers what life would have been like for Almanzo. The use of the original illustrations, colorized and made mobile (if that makes sense - the illustrations are made to move around the screen as if on a storyboard) recalls the story of Farmer Boy and the Little House books in general, but the narration by Dean Butler and the additional information not in Farmer Boy makes this a complete experience unto itself.

At no point do you feel as if you are watching "Farmer Boy: The Movie." Instead, it is the best of both worlds. The DVD both recalls the book (if you have read it), so that you find yourself smiling in agreement when a food historian talks about Almanzo's apparently unrealistically voracious appetite and offers new insights, as when a Morgan horse expert talks about the historical importance of the breed to the area. In short, my family and I all loved this DVD. If you are old enough to appreciate the Little House books, you are old enough to be captivated by the DVD.

This DVD would make an excellent addition to any library, but definitely belongs in a homeschooler's library. At $21.95 (53 minutes), it is pretty affordable, too. It would also make a terrific gift for a Laura enthusiast. For all that he is not the star of the Little House books, Almanzo is a wonderful character. I'll confess that, as a child, I didn't love Farmer Boy. I read it, but it was not my favorite. I am so glad that I read it to my children last year, and so was able to ensure that they did enjoy it (in other words, I didn't let them skim or skip parts!). As an adult, it is one of my favorite books in the series. Now that I have seen the DVD, I have a whole new appreciation for the book. I can *see* everything! Thanks to an "extra" on the DVD, one is even able to see the town of Malone, NY as it is today!

I love this DVD so much, I'm gushy. To see what other Crew members thought about it (and about one on Laura!), click the banner below.

Talent Searches for Gifted Kids

The title of this post makes me smile, but it is actually true. There are talent searches to identify gifted kids! Why would you want your child to participate in one? Each talent identification program has different benefits, but the primary reason for participating in any of them is prestige. Simply, it looks great on any kind of application, from scholarship to college entrance. Of course, many of them also boast other benefits that can really help gifted kids, not the least of which is putting them in touch with their peers - something many kids can only dream about. Below are some of the most popular talent searches for gifted kids.

1. The Duke Talent Identification Program is probably the best known talent identification program. Many of us likely remember taking the SAT in 7th grade as part of this program. I know I do! It was a wonderful opportunity to get a look at a test that most of my peers wouldn't experience for many more years. It also started a flood of college mail arriving at my house, which started me dreaming about college at a young age - never a bad thing. In fact, it was as a direct result of the Duke TIP that I first discovered classical education. I received a brochure from St. John's College and knew that I wanted to go to a school like that. I didn't end up at St. John's, but I did end up getting a superior classical (and Catholic!) education. I digress. If you can get your gifted child into one of these programs, do. You never know what spark you might be lighting.

• 4th-6th Grade: I actually didn't realize that Duke had this program until I went to sign Therese up for the 7th grade program. Now that I know, I can sign Nicky up! Once you qualify (as early as 4th grade), your enrollment continues through 6th grade. To qualify, "students must score in the 95th percentile or higher on a grade-level standardized achievement test, aptitude test, mental-ability test, approved state criterion-referenced test, or 125 or above on an IQ test." Enrollment begins 10/1, so it's not too late for this year! There are too many benefits to list here, so be sure to check the website. The fee is $37.
• 7th Grade: From the website: "Duke TIP's 7th Grade Talent Search is the largest program of its kind in the nation. Since its inception in 1980, over 2 million students have participated in a Duke TIP Talent Search. The 7th Grade Talent Search identifies academically talented seventh graders based on standardized test scores achieved while attending elementary or middle school. Candidates are invited to take the ACT or the SAT college entrance exam as seventh graders, which allows them greater insight into their academic abilities. 
• Participants gain valuable benefits and have access to unique resources for gifted students." Enrollment for this one began 8/1, so be sure to sign up soon! Therese already has her SAT testing date (1/25/14 at Langham Creek - anyone in Houston want to come keep her company!?). The fee is $74, but it covers the cost of the SAT and some prep materials, including a practice test. Again, there are many benefits to being a Duke TIP participant, so be sure to read the website. If your SAT score qualifies you, you may be invited to a state or national recognition ceremony. 

2. The Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth Talent Search - This talent search is for grades 2-8, although it, too,offers the 7th grader the option to take the SAT or ACT. The Center for Talented Youth is a prestigious program that boasts famous alumni, including the founder of Facebook. This program offers numerous summer programs and online courses for its participants. Like the Duke program, membership has cache, and through the program your child will be able to meet and interact with kids like him/her. If you're not sure which talent search to participate in, you can do what I'm doing: Therese is taking the SAT through Duke and the ACT through CTY. The talent search application fee is $39.00, and you can enroll online now. 

3. Not a talent search, but definitely something you want to pursue if you have a profoundly gifted child, the Davidson Young Scholars Program from the Davidson Institute for Talent Development offers a multitude of resources for profoundly gifted children. Unless you have had your child take an intelligence test before (like the WISC-IV or the Woodcock-Johnson), you might want to wait for the results of your child's SAT/ACT to apply to this program, as those scores are the easiest way to qualify for the Davidson program. Unlike the two previous talent searches, this program does not accept the results of standardized tests. Instead, students must have scores in the 99.9% in at least one section on the above tests (see this page for full qualifications), or certain sliding-scale scores on the SAT or ACT. If you do what I'm doing and have your child take both tests through both talent searches above, you hedge your bets that she will qualify with at least one test. 

Why Davidson? Honestly, you need to visit this website to see all that is offered for free. There is a real community feel to the organization and if you, like me, sometimes wonder if you are doing right by your gifted child, you will really appreciate the free consulting services available to Davidson families. I wonder when college will be appropriate. I don't want Therese to go early, but I don't want to have taught her everything by the time she gets there. Hello, consultant? What are your thoughts?

I know this post has been dense, and I thank you for sticking with me. These are things that we as homeschooling parents of gifted kids need to know. Fortunately, the process for applying for these programs is easy for homeschoolers. In fact, Duke even has a school code for homeschoolers (something I didn't see when I first started investigating the TIP a few years ago). If you know of other great programs for gifted kids, please do share in the comments!

 Laus Deo,

Front-Loading Your Day

Once upon a time, this post was a guest post on another blog, but because it has disappeared from that site and I still get requests for it, here it is by popular request. My children have aged a few years since I wrote it, but everything else has stayed exactly the same:

Have you ever noticed how some women just tend to get more done than others? It’s probably not that they have discovered the secret of making 24 hours stretch to 30 (but if you happen to know that formula, please let me in on it!).  It’s probably not that they are just naturally more capable than the rest of us.  Instead, these women have found a formula that works for them: a means of getting the most usable time out of any day.  While it would be delightful if this same formula worked for all women, that’s probably just wishful thinking.  For the most part, each of us has to find what works for her.  I am willing, however, to share my formula for getting the most time out of a 24 hour day.  It works for me.

While I am not a fan of front-loading washing machines (another article altogether), I am a huge fan of front-loading everything else in my life.  I front-loaded my dissertation in graduate school, writing the most difficult and lengthiest chapters first.  I front-loaded my children (that is, I had them when I was on the younger side, and all together at that: 4 in 40 months!).  I front-load my week: as a freelance writer, I have numerous assignments going at any time, but I always make sure to work hard and long at the beginning of the week to free up time at the end of the week.  Sometimes that time goes to new assignments, but it often turns into free time for me!

Since I am obviously all about front-loading, it should be no surprise that I front-load my days as well.  I firmly believe that one of the main secrets of women who get a lot done in a day is that they get up early in the morning.  Early is, of course, a relative term.  What is early for me (6:00 a.m.) is not early for my husband, who rises at 4:30 every morning.  By getting up an hour and a half before my children do, I am able to have my day ordered and started before having to deal with breakfast and homeschooling.  We all know that the computer represents a huge time suck in our days.  Designating actual computer time in your schedule can alleviate this problem.  Try doing your necessary computer stuff early in the day.  For me, this means drinking my coffee (the first of many, many cups) while reading my email and checking my must-see websites.  Chief among these are Facebook and Ravelry.  Enjoying the early morning with my virtual friends and knitting compadres puts a nice spin on the rest of the day.  I also attend to any work emails that have come in since I put the computer to bed the previous night (which I do early).

By the time I wake up my children, I have had the quiet time I need to gather my thoughts, I have had my computer time, and I know exactly what the day entails.  I also have breakfast ready.  Because I have been awake for a while and have caffeinated my brain, the kids are fed and ready for school in less than half an hour, which is key as I also front-load our school day!

All four of my children (10, 8, and nearly 7 year-old twins) start their school days with math and language arts, the two classes that require the most of them mentally.  All four of them do different math programs in different grades, but if I spend five minutes conferring with my oldest two, I am free to work more rigorously with my twins.  After doing language with the twins, I stop the big kids where they are in their work so we can do group subjects (science, history, etc.).  My oldest daughter is in 8^th grade, so she obviously has her own science and history, but she still listens in while the other three are taught, working on handwriting or something else that doesn’t require her full attention.

By 10 a.m. my twins are done with school.  By 11, my 8 year-old son is.   The 10 year-old is working independently enough that she is not done before lunch.  My work with her, however, is.  I know homeschoolers who let their children sleep in, beginning school whenever they wake up.  That obviously works for them, but the more things I knock off my to-do list early in the day, the more relaxed I am as the day progresses.  By the time my husband comes home, the children have been educated, the house has been cleaned (as much as it ever will be, anyway), and dinner has been cooking for hours (oh, my best front-loading tip of all: the crockpot! Befriend her and she will become your new best friend!).  I am not frantically trying to finish things that have been left undone during the day.

I am one of those moms whom people always ask, “How do you do it all? You’re amazing!” No, I’m not.  What I do have, though, is a plan and a method, and I stick to them.  Hopefully, front-loading may work in your life as well.  If not, try another method, and keep trying until you find the one that unlocks more time in your day, too!

Twice Exceptional Kids

If you hang out in homeschool circles at all, you have likely heard the term "twice exceptional" or "2e", but do you know what it means? In its most basic form, 2e refers to gifted children who have some kind of disability. The disability can be a learning disability (and it often is), but it can really be any kind of learning challenge. In fact, I often become frustrated when I see twice exceptionality associated *only* with learning disabilities, such as dyslexia. That definition is way too narrow. A 2e child is one whose giftedness is further complicated (I would say "enhanced", but I really want to keep it real here, and parents of 2e kids are nothing if not realistic) by another challenge. I say another challenge because, make no mistake, giftedness is a challenge in and of itself.

There are several common "exceptionalities" in 2e kids:

• ADHD
• Aspergers/High-Functioning Autism 
• APD/CAPD (Auditory Processing) 
• Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, and Dyscalculia
• Sensory Integration Issues
• ODD (Oppositional Defiant Disorder)
• OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder)

Each of these "Alphabet-Soupisms" presents special difficulties for a parent. When the symptoms of one or more of these disorders are conflated with the evidence of giftedness, though, it can be very difficult for parents to begin teasing out what's what. That's one of the things that makes homeschooling a gifted child an extra blessing - it's not a worry that has to consume your day.

Without getting too far off track, we're still not entirely sure what our 2e son has. He was diagnosed with ADHD at 7 by his therapist. At 9, his psychiatrist did in-office testing that said he did not have ADHD. His therapist still begs to differ based on behavioral observation. After an audiology workup, we were referred for a complete CAPD workup. I'm in the paperwork phase of that now. What everyone does agree on is that he has OCD. He does take medication for that, but only because he has intrusive thoughts that don't allow him to sleep at night. How much of this stuff makes schooling him more difficult? I'm not sure. I do know that homeschooling him is a major challenge. I definitely know that traditional school would, for him, be a total disaster.

Resources for Homeschooling 2e Kids

Without a doubt, Hoagies Gifted Education site is the best place to go for any resources on homeschooling gifted kids. Their page on homeschooling 2e kids is no exception. If you have a question about a particular exceptionality, this is the place to go. You can also sign up for the 2e newsletter - it's a great resource.

While Hoagies is the clearinghouse for information on all things gifted, Uniquely Gifted is the repository for information on all things 2e. There are so many great articles on this site that I am frustrated that I can't link them all. If this is a topic that interests you at all, it's a site well worth your time.

Davidson Gifted is a great website about gifted kids in general, and it has a good introductory article on the issue of twice exceptionalism.

So How Do You Homeschool 'em?

Trick question! You homeschool your twice exceptional munchkin just like you homeschool all your other children - in a completely individualistic way! Seriously, these gifted children more than any others require patience and workarounds. Don't expect what you're doing to work right the first time, and don't necessarily expect what worked today to work tomorrow. I know how frustrating that sounds - and  it is.

What really helps me, though, is constantly reminding myself that whatever I am doing at home with my son is SO MUCH BETTER than what he would be doing at school. Because of my son's OCD, I don't always know why he insists on doing things a certain way - and that's okay. Unfortunately, my Type A personality does not mesh very well with his OCD. Combine my gifted with his gifted, and it's pretty much a firestorm around here some days. Again, though, that's okay. Be realistic. On any given day in our homeschool, we do more substantive schoolwork than they do in the public school down the street in a week. How do I know this? Because I'm friends with the moms whose kids go to that school. Because my kids take the same standardized tests. 

Every day you need to remind yourself that your child is not like all the other kids, so you can't expect him to act or learn like all the other kids. You can't treat him like all the other kids. Does that mean you don't have rules, expectations, and consequences? Of course not. But you have to be realistic. Anything else will just have you beating your head against a wall and your 2e child wondering what he is doing wrong and, possibly, beginning to hate school. Why do we homeschool if not to instill a love of school in our kids?

This is one topic near and dear to my heart, and it is one with which I struggle daily. However, my space here is limited. If you have a 2e child, explore some of the links above, feel free to email me, and don't forget to thank God for entrusting your extra-special blessing to you!

Now click that banner to read more great Crew blog posts about all topics related to homeschooling than you could possibly imagine! Then come back here tomorrow morning to find out about all of the neat talent searches and organizations to get your gifted kids involved in!

Laus Deo,

Some Great Curriculum for Gifted Kids

As every homeschooling parent knows, no single curriculum fits every student. This fact is so much more true for gifted children. Just because a curriculum is marketed as being for gifted kids, that doesn't make it right for *your* gifted kid. In fact, at this point in my homeschooling journey, I have two very different, but according to testing, equally gifted children. They don't use a single piece of the same school material, unless it is something we are reviewing or something that the whole family uses as a group subject. For example, they are both doing Algebra: one is using Thinkwell and one is using YourTeacher.com. They just don't learn the same way or respond to the same methods! So the takeaway from this post is, just because it works for my gifted kids, for your friend's gifted kid, or for the curriculum creator's gifted kid does not mean that it will work for yours. Investigate lots of curriculum choices, try them out, and find the one that works best for your own child.

Having said all that, though, here are some things that I have found to be exceptional for gifted kids whose brains really do work differently from other kids'.

Grammar
Rules of the Game

I don't know how prevalent this program is; I don't personally know anyone else who uses it, but our local Homeschool Store does carry it. That's how I found it. What makes this series of three workbooks different from other approaches to grammar is that it does grammar inductively. That is, whereas other workbooks will say, "This is a fragment ----. Identify which of the following are fragments," Rules of the Game will set forth several examples and then ask students to identify what each of them has in common. In the case of fragments, students observe that each example lacks either a subject or a verb. Students are then told that such word groupings are called fragments. The first approach teaches grammar deductively, the second inductively.

For whatever reason, the second approach works very, very well for my son. He likes to see for himself what is being taught before he is told what is being taught, if that makes sense. He also likes to "do it himself." That shouldn't be news to any parent of a gifted kid. This series of three workbooks is stated to be for kids 5-10 grade. My son started the series when he was 8 and will finish it this year when he is 10. Don't ask me what grade he is in; I have no idea! Kids can do this program completely independently.

History
Trisms

TRISMS is something that I looked at for years before I actually bought it. It's not at all cheap, so I was very blessed to find it used at our Homeschool Store. TRISMS is kind of like Rules of the Game in that it is what I think of as a curriculum that works backward. Let me explain: at the end of a year with TRISMS, your student has written a history textbook rather than having read one. If that doesn't light up your gifted child, I don't know what will! (Caveat: it is my daughter who adores TRISMS - this would not appeal to my son at all.)

More than a unit study, but definitely resembling one, TRISMS incorporates almost all subjects into one. It is classical in orientation, but you don't have to be a devotee of classical education to embrace TRISMS. The unique features of TRISMS are summarized here, but suffice it to say that it basically turns school into one big independent study. Everything is integrated, everything is done by your student, and there is no way to begin to explain how much they learn. If your student lives to research (mine is the kid who copied the dictionary and the encyclopedia when she was five - brought back so many memories of when I was a kid!), you must spend some time on this website. I know it's expensive, but you can find this program used occasionally.

Science
Science for High School
This is one of those programs that I never would have found without the Crew. How amazingly lucky am I? What I would have said in my review had I not been afraid of taking any attention away from this wonderful program is that *this* is the science version of TRISMS! I kid you not - it works in much the same way: backward! You don't read a text and answer questions. You are given questions which you then seek to answer from sources of your choosing. It is such a perfect complement to TRISMS that I was blown away. I won't go into how much I love it here, but please go read my review if you haven't. You can find it right here. Don't forget to come back to this post, though ;-)

These are just a few of the things that we have found that we love. Oh, don't get me wrong: there are tons of things we love in our homeschool, but these just seem really geared toward gifted kids. The one thing that they all have in common is that they go about things in a different way. They teach to kids differently. They also teach 100% to kids. For my son, that is really important. Now, he has other issues that I will talk about a little later in the week (the joy of the 2e, or twice exceptional, child), but it is for my daughter in some subjects, too. Ironically, it is my absolute joy in teaching my daughter that makes it essential that she be able to tackle some subjects by herself. I have four children and there is just not enough time in the day! If I could, I would teach her all day, every day. I just love working with her. With gifted kids, as with all kids, though, you have to make choices as to which subjects your presence really enhances. Come back tomorrow for my opinion on that.

Laus Deo,

How Do I Begin Homeschooling My Gifted Child?

Homeschooling gifted kids...it's a deep subject (it ranks with wells on that score). If you try to figure it out all at once, you are likely to give up altogether. I have been making my way down this path officially since 2007, when we began homeschooling, but unofficially since my daughter began talking long before she turned one. In fact, she was carrying on complete conversations many months before she could even walk. Of course, as she was my first, I didn't understand why some people looked at me strangely as I carried around a little person who was capable of having an intelligent conversation, but not capable of walking!

Of course, homeschooling gifted kids presents challenges. One of the first we face is which curriculum to choose. There are so many great articles out there on choosing curriculum that I won't go into the specific choices. Instead, I am going to caution you that homeschooling a gifted child is not like homeschooling other children. For this reason, I would strongly recommend against a stock curriculum (i.e., "Company X's 5th Grade) for two reasons:

1. It is entirely likely that your child will finish it in less than half the time allotted
2. It is entirely likely that your child will get bored with the format/books/material/font/etc. long before the year is finished

For that reason, your homeschooling path will probably be, of necessity, eclectic. You may hit on a company that really *gets* gifted kids. There are several out there that claim to. The problem is that gifted kids come in all shapes, sizes, and attitudes. Some are pretty compliant. They will do the material you set in front of them, even if they don't really like it. After all, they know that you paid good money for it, they see the value in it, and they respect you. This is my eldest daughter (12 in two days), Therese.

Then there is another variety. They really don't care that you paid good money for something (or, probably more correctly, that thought is just not on their radar). They are bored if they don't feel engaged by their curriculum. They will challenge themselves if they are really interested in a subject, but otherwise will do the minimum to get by. That puts the onus on you to continually find good material to challenge and interest them. That's my 10 year-old son, Nicholas.

Thus, the best advice you can get if you are embarking on the journey of homeschooling your gifted child is one of the hardest (at least for me!) to follow: Do not overbuy curriculum! The odds are very good that you will not use most of it. Five other key pieces of advice to consider when beginning to homeschool your gifted child are as follows:

1.  Do not plan more than a couple of months at a time. If you're not a big planner, this one won't bother you much. If you are the kind of homeschooler who plans a semester or a year at a time, though, it might drive you crazy. Trust me, though. The phrase "rabbit trail" is familiar to homeschoolers - it's that fun little journey you take when something interests you and you deviate from your plan for the day. If you're homeschooling gifted kids, you can begin planning for rabbit warrens. If you have lesson planned too far in the future, you can fully expect to be recycling those plans.


2.  Expect your child's learning to be cyclical: some days/weeks/months/years your child will learn so much so quickly that you will be breathless, while at other times, it will seem to you that your child is going nowhere. First, rest assured that your child is always learning at all times. Even when a gifted child is not "doing school", she is learning. In fact, for some gifted children, school is completely incidental (but that post is coming later this week!). As your child's interest levels wax and wane, though, he may really be acquiring tons of information now and not quite so much later. Relax. It's okay. He's still really, really smart. He's not going to lose that along the way.

3.  Let your child decide how much school he'll do and when - within reason and strictly according to your child's personality type. This one comes with a huge caveat: you know your child best! This one applies very well to Therese, but not at all to Nicholas.

4.  Closely related to the previous, but more applicable to all gifted kids, do not get hung up on what you think you *ought* to be doing for school. This one is hugely important for all homeschooling parents, of course, but even more so for parents of gifted kids. Your kids don't learn like other people's kids; you can't measure your schooling against other people's. Down that road lies madness.

5.  Forget about grade levels. They are meaningless. Your 10 year-old may be doing algebra, but may not have any idea what a five paragraph essay is. So what grade is he in? Who knows? What's more, who cares? Your 5 year-old may be reading her way through Jane Austen but struggle with borrowing in math. What grade is that? And then there are those kids who are in all high school subjects before their age reflects double digits. Don't even bother trying to convince anyone of that fact. Yes, people will ask what grade your child is in. Resort to that stock answer of all homeschoolers and leave it at that: "He's homeschooled." That answer explains and excuses a multitude of issues!

So we've talked about a few things to consider as you begin homeschooling your gifted child. Tomorrow, I'll tell you about some curriculum that I have found really works with gifted kids. For now, click on the banner to find your way to the next fabulous post in the Blog Hop!

Laus Deo,

Happy Birthday, Therese

My mini-me (not in looks, fortunately), Therese, turned 12 yesterday.

A whole bunch of my friends chimed in to wish Therese happy birthday on Facebook, and that made me very happy. Some of them know her (or knew her when she was a baby), but most of them don't. It turns out that those "likes" *do* mean something to a parent!

So Therese started her day by talking to her birthday twin, my SIL. Then she went to lunch with her grandparents and to the mall with her grandmother, my MIL, where she got a James Avery charm bracelet with pointe shoes and a dachshund, both very meaningful to her. As usual, I cast a pall on the rest of the day by coming down with a vicious migraine which put me to bed for the rest of the day. Fortunately, she received The Sims for her birthday, so she was set. Tomorrow, she gets to go to a jewelry making class with her best friend. I get to sit in a corner and put the finishing touches on my Blog Hop posts for next week :-)

Because this post originally contained content that sounded self-pitying, I will include the final paragraph as it was first written:

So, here's a snapshot of the uglier side of me.

No, I promise! My hair really did used to be red...okay, maybe not *that* red, but you can't expect me to show all of my bad side at once...