Saying Goodbye, Onyx

Today is a very sad day for us. We had to say goodbye to our dog, Onyx.  Onyx is a 2 year old black puggle. (beagle/pug mix).  He over all is a good dog, but had behavioral issues that were beyond our control. Mainly, getting out of the yard. No matter what we did, we have tried several things for the 1.5 years we have had him, we just could not get  him to stay in the yard.

We were tried and overwhelmed and knew it was time to give him to back to the shelter we got him at so that they could find a better suited home from him. A home that would love and care for him just as much as we do, but a home that could curb him of his behavior and give him the proper environment and training. More then we can provide for him really.  We love you, Onyx truly we do. We wish you the best -- honest!

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What to blog about?

Part of the issue is I took so much time off of blogging because real life got in the way -- well not in the way -- but my focus and energy was on helping to build, get the word out about a co-op I was co-starting that I got sucked into facebook.

Wow, facebook truly does suck you in once you are there -- I had no clue. Now, that the kids are older teenagers, high schoolers, I feel a bit lost on what to blog about.  I look at all the blogs I have followed, new blogs I'm following and I see all the projects, arts, crafts, hands on activities and while we have had our share in recent years of those things -- life here is well -- boring -- not blog worthy.  That with one in public school (against my wishes) and the other might be going there too (against my wishes) -- I won't have much to blog about in terms of homeschooling and high school -- at least not from a personal experience.  Of course I'm praying, hoping, talking with my husband (the reason public school is even on the radar) and trying to have that changed.  I truly want my kids home, I want to be homeschooling, them and seeing them through until college.

In the mean time it has left me kind of in limbo for the blogging world.  My time off has lost me my steady readership and make feel alone at time -- seeing interaction is next to nothing now.  I feel like readers would want to come here and see posting filled with cute pictures, tips, and other things about homeschool -- every much like how it was in the beginning of this blog.  Oh look we went to the museum today, we did this art project, we did this craft --- etc.

We do things but not weekly -- not at the level that it was -- we have clearly gone more of the textbook type of schooling as the kids have gotten older and honestly there is nothing fun about hey here is a picture of the girl once again sitting at the table doing her math work, or on the computer working on her reading skills,  Just last week we dissected owl pellets and I did post pictures up on my facebook page, but that was the first thing we had done in months -- that was perhaps blog worthy -- or least what I felt was blog worthy.  However, instead of blogging about it. I opted for the easier route of just posting a few pictures up on facebook.

I want to blog, I would like my readership back, I would like new readers to interact with, but I'm lost on what to actually blog about, talk about, do.  Even though my kids are older and actively homeschooling is coming to a fast close for me, homeschooling, parenting, etc is still a huge passion of mine.  I just don't want to fill my time with blogging about all these things that I'm not actually doing myself -- any more -- or blogging about the pass, etc.  Remember that time when my kids and I did this, or that time my daughter threw a tantrum over math.  That is what made blogging someone fun back in the day -- I was able to vent and share and know I wasn't alone and show others hey you are not the only one. Homeschooling is not prefect, there was some bad days, days that perhaps make you want to throw in the towel -- but even then it's still worth it.  We can over come the bad days, the tantrums, and our kids will be great because of it.

So I'm in limbo it seems? What would you want to hear about from a veteran homeschooler. I guess that's what I am now -- someone that has been there, done that -- I still want to be in the trenches. I got high schoolers now, so raising the kids is not done with -- but homeschooling high schoolers is not the same as elementary kids.  Most of the blogging I have done here my kids were elementary age.   High schoolers, at least for us, you give them a stack of books, list of assignments, and they read and do it. If they have questions they come to your or an consult and you check the work over just to be sure they got it and didn't blow it off -- but there really isn't much more to it. Sometimes there is a couple of labs to do in science which you again might work with them or just give it to them and say here you go.  -- sigh. This mama just doesn't know what to do anymore.

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Is Tripe Yummy?

This year we have been using an animal science curricula from schoolhouseteachers.com.

With this curricula each week is a new topic. This week topic is: cows/beef.

One of the activities for this topic was to go to the grocery store and find various beef products  and determine what part of the cow they came from.

I, knowing this, decided to take Web-Princess to an local ethnic store. A store that I knew would sell more "exotic" cuts of meat then what she's use to seeing at our typical store.  I expected to see beef tongue, beef heart, beef liver along with the regular cuts we are use to like steaks, hamburger, roast, etc.  

What I did not expect was to see an item called beef tripe.  I did not know what beef tripe was so I took out my phone and googled it right there.  Tripe = the editable lining of the stomach.  I had no idea that the lining was editable.  Web-princess, who won't touch fish, was begging for me to buy some so she can try it!  It wasn't that pricey, but honestly I'm clueless on how to cook it.

Thankfully some of my facebook friends were able to direct me to an recipe that I could try. I pretty much followed this recipe -- I just omitted the mint added noodles and a little bit more water. Over all the dish when done looked good, smelled good, and over all taste was fine. We just couldn't get over the texture issue of the tripe.  It was just very spongy and chewy.  -- the best way I can describe it is chewing on a kitchen sponge -- it was purely a texture issue.

Well at texture issue for Web-princess and I.  We could have eaten the rest of the food in the dish and just avoid the tripe, but my husband wouldn't even touch it. He flat out refused to try it. Superstar, my son, tried -- but he won't eat spaghetti and this was to much like that so he refused to eat too. -- that's why step 4 picture is Italian beef with fries. We decided to order food!

Step 1 is the tripe in a pot of water. This is what my daughter saw in the store and said, "Mom, lets try it!"

Step 2 is the browning of onions and bacon.

Step 3 is the finished dish.

Step 4 is the food we ordered seeing the dish turned out to a failure.

Have you tried tripe? or anything else that would be exotic to you?  Tell me about it!

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