karenika

March 2016 – From the Back – 14

All of these cards are drawn with the Stabilo All pencil and then watercolors.

Card fourteen says: Your vibe attracts your tribe.

From the Back is a Monthly Project for March 2016. You can read more about my projects for 2016 here.

March 2016 – From the Back – 13

All of these cards are drawn with the Stabilo All pencil and then watercolors.

Card thirteen says: Be stronger than your excuses.

From the Back is a Monthly Project for March 2016. You can read more about my projects for 2016 here.

A Book a Week – When

I read When because I loved the premise. I remember years ago, there was one episode of the TV Show Medium where she could see numbers above everyone’s heads and the number was how many more days they had to live. The premise was so fascinating to me that it stuck with me even after all these years.

So when I read that this book had the same premise, I decided I wanted to read it.

And I read this whole book in one sitting. It was an easy-to-read story and I enjoyed it. I don’t think it’s a life-changing book and I’ve read many better ones but I still enjoyed reading this one and it has stuck with me even though I read it a while back.

If it’s your type of thing, recommended.

March 2016 – From the Back – 12

All of these cards are drawn with the Stabilo All pencil and then watercolors.

Card twelve says: Become a priority in your life.

From the Back is a Monthly Project for March 2016. You can read more about my projects for 2016 here.

March 2016 – From the Back – 11

All of these cards are drawn with the Stabilo All pencil and then watercolors.

Card eleven says: Remember why you started.

From the Back is a Monthly Project for March 2016. You can read more about my projects for 2016 here.

2016 Stories – 11 – Achievement Unlocked

My kids are not the kids who do a ton of activities. With my schedule it’s not possible for me to drive the kids around after school from activity to activity. And my kids like having unstructured free time so I try not to force them to do activities. There are only a few non-negotiables for me:

must learn to swim
must volunteer
must do a sport
must do one other activity that you like (at the moment this is music for both kids. David’s learning the guitar and Nathaniel is learning the piano.)

David’s been taking swimming lessons since he was in preschool. This is 30 minutes a week split across 4 kids with 5 minutes of play time at the end of each class. Which means each kid gets about 6 minutes of instruction a week. At that rate, I’m amazed they learn at all to be honest. Especially because we don’t have a pool and don’t spend our summers in the water. So my kids don’t get a tremendous amount of practice time either.

Alas, slowly but surely, David’s made his way all the way up the swim school ladder. He’s learned all the strokes including butterfly. He’s already well ahead of me, but a part of me wishes he loved it enough to want to join swim team. Alas, he doesn’t. So I promised him that he can quit once he gets this ribbon.

And here we are. Achievement unlocked. Great job, David.

Stories from 2016 is a year-long project for 2016. You can read more about my projects for 2016 here.

March 2016 – From the Back – 10

All of these cards are drawn with the Stabilo All pencil and then watercolors.

Card ten says: The heart that gives, gathers.

From the Back is a Monthly Project for March 2016. You can read more about my projects for 2016 here.

March 2016 – From the Back – 09

All of these cards are drawn with the Stabilo All pencil and then watercolors.

Card nine says: Doors will be opened to those who are bold enough to knock.

From the Back is a Monthly Project for March 2016. You can read more about my projects for 2016 here.

March 2016 – From the Back – 08

All of these cards are drawn with the Stabilo All pencil and then watercolors.

Card eight says: Never let your fear decide your future.

From the Back is a Monthly Project for March 2016. You can read more about my projects for 2016 here.

A Book a Week – Excellent Sheep

I read Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite and the Way to a Meaningful Life because of a book club. It is not a book I would have picked up on my own. Partially because I don’t like reading non-fiction nearly as much as I enjoy fiction. Partly because I’ve read so many books on education. Partly because my kids are pretty far away from college still.

But alas, my group picked it.

And it was an interesting read. I don’t think I agree with the author on all his points, and I don’t know enough about some of his points to know how I feel, or what my own thoughts are. But I do think this is all fodder for thought. Even though David’s closer to going to college (only 7 years) than I am from my college years (20 years!) at this point, as I read this I connected more with my own college story. (Since we don’t have a David story yet.) so it was hard for me to really read this book the way I think it was meant to read.

If it’s your type of thing, you might want to pick it up. Otherwise, there are plenty other books to read.