The World According to Leslie

While Tony and I were in town, just chilling out (aka making a list of things Chasity needed before we left Asheville), last week, we rode over to Black Mountain.  I can't wait to go to the Black Mountain Arts Center and some of the shops there. It really is a great little place. We came upon a BBQ place called Phil's Bar-B-Que Pit .  We both like BBQ, so we thought we'd try it. We got a plate of pulled pork, pulled chicken, chips, mac and cheese, and hushpuppies to share.  We both preferred the pork, but it was all delicious. So much so that this past Thursday, when Mom, Dad, and I were in town to pick Chasity up to come home for the weekend, we went there to eat! My parents liked it too!  One really unique thing about this restaurant is that there are stickers on the metal bar where you order your food. There are license plates from just about everywhere on the walls. And...there are hats! There are hats hung on the ceiling.  This isn't remotely close to all o...

  It's move-in day! I can now say that (well, write that) without tears.  Over the past couple of weeks, I have cried a lot because my baby was leaving for college. Today, we officially moved her in.  Her room is beautiful. Her roommate seems nice; we only got to talk to her for a little while as we moved Chasity in and set her stuff up.  She has already started EmBark Orientation to get used to campus and get ready for the semester!  We drove up to Asheville last night. Our van was a little  packed when we left home.  It took us two hotel carts to get all her stuff up to her room. She's on the 7th floor and has an amazing view of the mountains!  Naturally, we had to make a trip to Wal-Mart for things we forgot. We still forgot masks, even though they have been on the lists the past 3 weeks. Who would have guessed that we'd forget that!  She has her room all set up. She has 4 pillows and 3 blankets (not counting her comforter). One of the bla...

Junior Gold National Tournament, 2021 Indianapolis, IN In 2019, we went to Detroit, MI, for almost two weeks so that Chasity could compete in the Junior Gold National Championships. She qualified in May of that year, we we took off to Michigan in July.  This year, 2021, we took off on July 8 to Indiana. We drove through a few states to get there. On the way back, we stopped in Kentucky (to see Church Hill Downs) and Pigeon Forge (just because).  On the way to Indiana, we saw a lot of rain, but we saw some beautiful clouds after it.  After one of Chasity's practice sessions, we went to downtown Indianapolis. We found Lucas Oil Stadium where the Indianapolis Colts play. We did not go for a tour, but we did drive around and take a lot of pictures. Chasity took pictures on my phone. I used my camera.  Between her 2nd and 3rd practice sessions, we went to the Indianapolis State Fairgrounds . That place is H.U.G.E! We had to do registration so she could get her badge and b...

 There are a million-and-one things that go into homeschooling. Over the past four years, I have been making notes about the things we have needed, wanted, gotten, or gotten rid of in our homeschool.  Enjoy the ABCs of Homeschooling according to Leslie. (Please note that some letters may have more than one thing!   Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash A--Attitude; Art supplies; Art classes B--Books; Binders; Boldness; Bowling Balls C--Curriculum; Conferences; Computer; Compassion; Curiosity; Calculator; Classes D--Desk; Dinner; Dining Room; Decisions; Dishes E--Expectations F--Faith; Fun; Family; Flashlights; Forgiveness; Fairness G--Goals; Grace; God; Google H--Humility; Help; Home; Hot Chocolate; Honesty I--Integrity; Intensity; Imagination J--Jammies; Jokes K--Kids; Kindness; Kidding L--Library Card; Love; Lesson Plans; Learning M--Mentor; Mind; Mental Health N--Notebooks; Neatness; Niceness; Noise; Notes O--Openness; Open-mindedness; Outings; Obedience  P--Pen...

  If I have said it once, I've said it a million times, I love writing. I want to be able to make a living at it. I would love to build this blog so that it will make money. How do I do that?  There are several ways, but getting consistent with writing, planning out my posts, and getting consistent views are some of the ways.  Obviously, if I am consistent with my writing, the views will come. In order to be consistent in writing, I have to get my posts planned. I have a notebook with a list and several planned out posts. Do I actually sit and type them? NO! Should I? YES!  Here are some thoughts about planning: Needs: --Post Ideas                     Don't get me wrong; I have ideas. I just don't always write them down, and then I lose them.  --Education                    I need to learn about affiliates, web hosting, and pictures/images/videos (w...

As Chasity's high school and homeschool days are coming to an end, May 2021, I find myself reflecting on the things we have done and how they worked, or did not work for us.  One thing that we had to adjust quite often in the beginning was the schedule. It has changed a lot over the years.  When Chasity was in 9th grade, we had to play around with her schedule to get it just right for her and us. I was working part-time, and we were new to homeschooling. Oh yeah....and it was HIGH SCHOOL!!   Typically, I worked 3-5 hours a day at the daycare where my mom was the director. It was normally 10am-12:30pm (or 2:30pm), depending on the day. If I was going in as a substitute teacher in the school system, I would work longer days.  At the beginning of October 2017, I was called to cover a maternity leave from October 16th to December 1st. Then the teacher decided to stay out until Christmas break. Then, the week before Christmas, she decided she wanted a week AFTER brea...

Last week, Tony, Chasity, and I had the opportunity to help assemble bicycles for Toys for Tots.   Cougar Run Winery in Concord saves their tip money for the year and purchases bicycles to donate to Toys for Tots. Last year, they had over 100. This year, they had ALMOST 100---but they were shut down for 4 months!   Imagine what they could have done this year, if they had not been closed for 4 months!  Panoramic Shot of the Room of Bikes and Volunteers Chasity and the group of scouts she was working with assembled 46 of the bikes. That's about 1/2 of the total. They started at 6pm last Thursday, and they were done (and cleaned up) by 9pm. Three hours, 8 scouts, parents too, and they completed 46 bikes!  Tony and Chasity together worked on and completed 8 bikes. Chasity only allowed me to help once or twice. :)  She wanted to do it herself. Tony was there for assistance, if she needed it.  The hardest part on every bike was the brakes. She had to make s...

 Anytime I can get Chasity to dress up, we do not have many reasons to around here, I try to get her to let me take a lot of pictures of her.  I do have to warn her ahead of time, and typically, she is cooperative.  Easter 2019 was one of those cooperative times! I think I got some good shots.  I typically take them on my camera instead of my phone. That is why April 2019 is just now being posted. I need to get better at posting soon after I take pictures.  NOTES:  1. The sun was bright and I use a point and shoot camera.  2. I am much better at nature photography.  3. I love taking pictures of my daughter!   That may (or may not) be picture overload!   Let me know in the comments if you have suggestions for better pictures. (Be kind!)