Artist Date: Simmer Pot

Working through Julia Cameron's Artist's Way (again).  The artist dates have always been a challenge.  Feeling *shouldy* and that there is always something a bit more practical I should be doing with the time.  When I do one, I often find myself welling up in gratitude and joy tears....  

Today's simmer pot date is the culmination of nudges.  1.  Fallon has been making "potions" nonstop-- food coloring on the counter, mud/sawdust/leaves potion in the yard, "frog potion" at preschool thankfully hot glued closed.  She's started taking cooking classes.  2.  We are between "home" candles since I ran out of the library scent and have concluded at least on Jens in cologne samplers, the heavy tobacco scent I substituted may not be the most charming.  This as he soaks his chain smoking dive buddy's gifted dive gear to try to lift the ciggy odor.  3.  I've wanted some sort of "kitchen sink" recipe for the citrus I buy as edible decor but never get around to eating.  4.  The pitcher plants I got "for Fallon's birthday" all blackened their pitchers from transplant shock and I'm trying to recover them with added humidity and less brutal sun exposure.  

So this concoction is lemon, lime, pumpkin spice, cloves and vanilla extract.  It gives me permission- Nay, Mandates I chill in the house for an indeterminate amount of time...  Even if that takes the form of some practical cabinet organization, cleaning, snacking, etc.  Right now, the clove-forward nose is reminding me of my Grandma Ivy's potpourri back in Jacksonville.   

August Goals Homeschool

 Dear FutureMe,

Are you excited for the first day of school?  How was Punta Pescadero?  

Last month I'd give myself a C for goals.  I am aggregating reverse planning notes about weekly, rather than daily.  I'm not pushing myself to capture dares or 1% improvements, although I did both of the examples primed (ride bus to The Lot and watch Springs homeschooling youtubes).  

This month, my goal is just to get the materials lined up for the first 20 day bout of teaching.  I am also going to go through my homeschool keep note and take the homeschool 101 course.  I want to always keep in my peripheral vision the idea of creating school habits that translate into adulthood and to find ways Fallon's school work can educate me as an adult.  

July Goals Homeschool

Learned in June that I can track daily projects pretty easily in phone notes.  Getting them into a journal weekly was something I procrastinated on.  Didn't have nearly as much "chill and learn" time as I anticipated with camp and Jiu Jitsu 3x/week and a pressure to keep her out on the town, playing with friends or otherwise not slowing down her grand's progress on the Steam room.  

So this month, my goal is to do smaller, more frequent goals.  As part of an evening routine, I'll transpose what we did that day and either: 1.  pick an educational dare for the next day or 2.  list a "1% better" adjustment I implemented that day.  

Some ideas to prime the pump:

1.  Dare: to ride the bus and watch a movie at The Lot-- possibly 7/2-7/3 when no activities going on?

2.  1%: watch one of the Springs Charter youtubes

June Goals Homeschool

We got into a charter.  They don't have a TK teacher available for part-time enrichment at the learning center.  We have ordered curriculum for August (FIAR teacher guide, Explode the Code, HWT KN, and Mystery Science sub).  

My biggest concern is around tracking what we've done consistently.  Feeling like I want us to keep on track (or let's be real, ahead of schedule) and have a sense for the velocity we are moving through content.  I got a 52 week homeschool planner and have watched some videos on reverse planning.  My goal for this month is keeping a Note open on my phone and tracking in broad strokes the activities and play we got into  that day.  Then going through in a weekly review and adding that to the planner.  At month end, I will try to get in front of tracking down materials and sketching out larger project areas to try for in July (i.e. Jot it Down has month-long project/portfolio outputs).  

Bonus points:  

• finding away to "pool school" Rightstart Math.  I've given myself permission to skip the review sections but this may take a bit more daily prep and waterproof-ish manipulatives.  F.
• putting this blog post into a FutureMe email to arrive at the end of the month and remind me to get back at it. A, helpful reminder
• scav hunt FIAR and FIAR mini unit titles, Poodle, and Grammar Island A- in progress-have GI, skipped Poodle, and a collection of X FIAR but a few more to track down
• sign up for 4 or less subscription services Done, Think Outside + 2 Kiwicrates for father's day + Chop Chop espanol.  Have been stealing Radish and LilChefs recipes to try but realistically easier to riff on things we already eat.  
• get a good rotation going on packable lunches and fast nutritious breakfasts and dinners B+ got a lunch box that doesn't spill, have found some favorites, moving into July with an experiment on slow carb + higher protein meal prep for me.  Still feels like a hassle to have to pack a lunch every night.  
• try some Brave Writer lifestyle elements: movie night, tea time, C it is in the weekly toast to do but don't actually sit down and schedule it.  

Kudos: aka you aren't sucking as hard as you think... 

• We pool schooled the Teach Your Child to Read index and very few words tripped her up.  With a couple Khan assignments on silent e's at the end of words (come, home, etc.), she will be more than solid.  
• Got a more than halfway through Jot it Down "Numbers" project and are spitballing a "Day in the Life" on the topic of a water slide park for next month.  
• Started Day you Begin FIAR mini unit, have looked at eggs with different shell colors and skin color crayons

6/26 review-- doing a great job with keeping a phone note.  Not loving the hassle of a weekly transfer into the lesson planner, but getting more comfortable with subject categories.  

#39 Do a sunscreen bake off

 2/3/2023 Prompted by a big acne break out and thinking this is not what I expected at 38.  First I hunted for local dermatologists.  Then I hunted Reddit for suggestions on what dermatologists would typically recommend for me.  I don't use a ton of makeup, but I am looking for a solid sunscreen-- possibly tinted to be foundationy, possibly water resistant given the pool situation-- that doesn't cause break outs.  Maybe eventually I'll figure out other cosmetics to add occasional "oomph" without break out consequences, but for now it seems that mascara is enough of a kick.  Reddit also suggested that perhaps my experiment making InstantPot yogurt to compete with our Brown Cow habit might have been to blame.  The first batch wasn't so obviously superior that I felt I could pawn it off on DH in good conscience, so I was eating it in quantity, mixing it into frozen yogurt and I've strayed more toward plant-based oatmilks and maybe the occasional cheese.  Evidently milk can throw your hormones out of whack even if you spring for the organic grass fed options?  

So any rate, if I'm going to be working with a derm, why not at least trial the super expensive sunscreens Redditors suggest for mature acne prone skin?  They don't make samples easy to come by and I felt a bit conflicted about buying them on eBay with their "not labeled for resale" packaging and who knows how much original product in there, but cheaper than dropping $150 on full bottles of stuff I might not even go through.  

Cerave Hydrating Mineral Sunscreen-- this was my default because the Cerave cleansers and to some extent lotions seemed to be the least irritating and also budget friendly.  I've since moved to just using vaseline as a lotion.  But when I put in the sunscreen, I notice some volcanoes starting to errupt on my nose and jaw line before end of day.  Hold over from the dairy project or something else?  EWG 2 (if same formulation as baby)  $7.81/oz.  Titanium dioxide 5.5% Zinc oxide 10%

Shiseido Ultimate Sun Protection Lotion-- I liked that this had waterproof properties and Redditors suggested "Japanese" product lines are less irritating, I was more interested in the wet force, but this was the most common listing on eBay.  This is the first thing I trialed (2/3/2023).  EWG 8.  $8.38/oz .  avobenzone 2.3%, homosalate 10%, octisalate 5%, octocrylene 5%

Shiseido Wetforce Cream --  I wonder why it is so much more expensive/oz... $19.83/oz...I thought I was getting both from eBay samples, but they both came back as SPLotions.  

Hero force Shield Super Light-- Redditors suggested blueish tint might actually help with correcting break out redness... EWG 2.  $11.83/oz.  zinc oxide 17.53%

Elta MD UV Clear/Tinted-- Reddit's most-replied and upvoted option for my situation, but very expensive.  I also sprung for the tinted version.  EWG 4.  $22.91-$25.29/oz.  zinc oxide 9%.  octinoxate 7.5%

La Roche-Posay Anthelios Melt-In Milk-- this has very favorable Amazon reviews and my Polish penpal was excited to try it.  My trial version was refunded by seller, so this might be a late entry if I don't find something I love in the first wave.  Water resistant.  EWG 6.  $8.33/oz avobenzone 3%, homosalate 10%, octisalate 5%, octicrylene 7%.    Also a tinted water resistant 11% titanium dioxide version at $18.35/fluid oz EWG 4.  

Also Paula's choice resist is tinted, $18.50/oz.  13% zinc oxide (similar to hero force shield but with tint vs blueish).  

Shiseido ultimate sun protection lotion-- first day: has fragrance, goes on very sheer.  Had some dry flaky skin in normal places.  day 2: tried to add my contour coverage sticks and mascara-- angry skin in a couple hours on nose where contoured.  washed it off, covered in vaseline, seemed to calm down, contour sticks are on notice.  Don't hate the fragrance, but would prefer unscented.  Ended up buying 2 of the same thing with slightly different bottle branding from eBay...   (2/20) finished 1 bottle and onto the next, but this one is in delayed luggage.  Verdict so far-- don't love.  The fragrance is too strong to combine with planned fragrances.  It dries down really sheer and I like that it is water proof, but finding that the break out I started with persisted in more microbreak outs while wearing.  I tried to attribute it to travel and changed skin routine/wearing mask for a day/eating more sugar and dairy indiscriminately, but even then, when I took 2 days off from wearing and kept all else pretty equal, my skin improved.  

Hero (2/20) first application-- I think the blue tint redness reduction is a gimmick that means I definitely couldn't slather this on in the dark and assume it was blended without a mirror check.  I like that this sample had a seal I had to remove.  Also like that it has no fragrance.   2/28-- still pretty happy with this, a bit chalky and drying (or was that the time in the new pool?) and I'm not sure the blue does much good, but prefer to Shiseido.  

Elta MD (3/2, 3/3)-- ok, these are in little packets that are generous pours.  Tried tinted first, thinking the color is a bit dark for my skin tone, but workable and end result looked "better" than the hero tint reduction, more even coverage (though blowing my nose, a lot of "brown" came off with the kleenex).  Smell is of sunscreen and with the heavy application, felt it migrate and sting my eyes a little bit during swim school monitoring.  I sat in the sun quite a bit this first day (after a retinol treatment the night before) and had a little bit of red leathery neck the next day, but mostly in the places I hadn't spread sunscreen as heavily, so I don't think this was an lotion-specific irritation.  I used clear the next day-- slightly higher SPF.  Otherwise, seems to be a similar thing.  All else equal, I would take the tinted which allows me to feel more "put together" in one step.  I probably wouldn't apply quite as heavily as the single serve packets.  If price were no option, I might get both and mix them to lighten the tint a little bit.  To be continued.  (3/4-3/5) noticed a few comedones on nose-- could it be a zinc oxide sensitivity?  that would mean I was sensitive to heroforce too, right?  going to try a 1/2 application of tinted and see. 

3/12-- LRP (tinted water resistant w/ titanium dioxide) arrived yesterday.  Loving how thin it goes on and its tint and dry down a bit more than the EltaMD...  so if this doesn't aggravate, I suppose it is a slight cost-savings and likely slightly more water resistant?  Penpal turned me onto Sheerene Idriss who had an SPF lineup (none of the ones I trialed, but a more repair-focused LRP made the cut).  This got me interested in checking out supergoop glowscreen for its shimmer effect ($18.40-36/fl oz), PA++++ EWG 2.  

37 Join a book club

 10/23/2022:  3 candidates so uncovered so far from artist date.  

1.  Spanish book club-- the things we lost in the fire.  Need to read 7-10 pages/day to be ready by the meeting. 

2.  Regular book club facilitated by Chris the Librarian-- just picked up the book today.

3.  Arvida movie screening at Frida book club-- Gaiman's Coraline, but they said they would have more of the title I prepurchased by last Thurs and still no dice (Sunday).  

10/27/2022: #3  Arvida still has not received restock of books.  offered to refund yesterday.  Mentioned to Ms. Lynelle and she offered to loan me her copy which I read overnight.  Prepurchased $10 ticket to Frida to galvanize my momentum even though it is as 7 (and it is 5:40 now, I am making Ramen for kid and no sign of husband to cover for me).  

... That was cool.  I didn't stay for the discussion because I was so worried about drowsy driving.  Introducing the Wybie friend changed the flow a lot, you didn't feel like this was a bored + lonely kid.  I liked what they did with creating button eyed doppelgangers though and saying the other mother used them to spy, the Gaiman version was a little too vague on what was going on there.  Also liked the eye candy of having some of it set in a big garden plot and having the workaholic parents be in the planting business.   

10/30/2022:  continuing to chug away at 7ish pages/day of the spanish book.  These are creepy slightly fantastical stories while also being more earthy in their observations about what it is like to be a teenager/new parent/etc.  Are they loosely related or completely stand alone short stories?  I see some names and professions repeat, but not enough to be coherent.  What is the "fuego" that is bringing all these ideas together?  some have smoking, burning buildings, etc. but not all of them.  

11/10/2022: finished Las Cosas Perdimos en el Fuego.  more macabre than I expected lots of ironic/perverse endings I didn't really expect.  Lots of relatable details-- having a hot girl-friend, hiding salame in the hotel mattresses, stupid teenage pranks.  Like the gradual realization that the narrator was unreliable or had become so (end of the road).  Also need to look up more geography of Argentina and what "lock down" they meant-- not the pandemic, surely?  something about dictatorships?  Some cultural things-- the murga, arana de tela table cloths, etc.  

11/18/2022:  I did it!  I went to the book club last night.  There were about 7 people there not counting me and the librarian facilitator.  The consensus seemed to be that a lot of these stories trailed off and didn't really seem "finished."  They also talked about a lot of realities of the poor part of Buenos Aires that were kind of gross to think about-- human trafficking for organs, drugs, dogs eating aborted fetuses, etc.  But I did understand some of the anecdotes-- about how a mom closed a car door on her kid's hand and felt terrible even though that was an accident and how to make sense of the pregnant junkie that got rid of both her kids.  Next up: el secreto.  

In other news, I went to Arvida to see if the Coraline shipment had ever come in.  It had, they had sold all of it without telling me about my preordered copy.  I got the refund I was angling for but declined the first time, thinking I was supporting a struggling customer-oriented LBS.  They don't know what the book club chose to read next, I should check their insta in the next week (as I was supposed to do to know when the shipment came in....)  I like the concept of community building but there is something kind of wonky in the execution here.  

#35 Trap and Fix Feral Cats

 10/11/2022-- I saw the all black kitten ("panther") alone in the yard after cuddling with mom and her + first litter juvenile (panda) disappearing for an errand.  Kiddo and I snuck out to the yard in our jammies to try plying it with wet kitten food (picked up at petstore adjacent to swim lesson yesterday), which worked.  Proto-siamese kitten ate a little off a stick while hiding in the bushes.  Panda came back and growl-polished off the rest of the can, but I think this was a good learning experience for the kittens and they are almost independent enough to take in.  Kinda want to keep siamese and all black and then that calico thing has a personality on it and then baby panda is has so eerily similarly markings to panda, it is tempting to keep them as a colony (fixed!) than to drop them at a shelter...  

10/12/2022-- find adult/juv cat doing weird gymnastics against the garage door.  Turned out the kittens were napping in there when I closed it and they got stuck.  3 left.  Could not find the 4th (black & white) and assumed it was hiding elsewhere.  10/13 AM found very distraught black & white in the garage (after dreaming of dead cat bodies under the truck).  All black joined adult/juv that morning for wet food.  catty cat grey and the paws siamese twin were missing but Paws brought them back later in the morning.  

10/16/2022-- determine these are 4-5 weeks old after watching some cat week by week development (and trapping videos).  Called for TNR pricing 2 days ago and it is hundreds-- $325-$663.  Was worried mom would move kittens after Rho snuck through the gate during breakfast and the garage incidents.  She moved them, but not all the way across the street as I feared.  I think they are set up in a snag of Mexican creeper/derelict perimeter fence/orange tree.  Hope that kept them kind of dry.  Tiny Paws (the siamese looking cat) has come out with Panda as the sun came out, but the ground is still very wet.  

10/18/2022-- Hubby complains of 7 or 8 fleas on him working out in the garage.  Rage visit to Home Depot to fumigate.  Have they bitten me?  Don't think so, seemed mosquitoes were a bigger issue.  Then again, I'm not in shorts and I'm not dwelling in one area more than a few seconds.  Moms never can.  So I spend most of the time kid is in preschool calling around, finding a shelter for the cats (which claims they don't handle Santa Ana cats but SAPD says they are under contract and do...)  Finding the least expensive spay provider ($260/cat).  Plan to get a carrier at petco today after the swim lesson.  oof.  But I found 3/4 kittens without supervisors and got almost a full tin of food into just them while petting them.  Tux was very wary and dragged the container she eventually showed up for into the shrubs.  PTSD from spending the night in the garage alone?  Or maybe already skittish and that was why it was hard to find when we were chasing them out of the garage.  

10/21/2022-- have fed 3/4 kittens in carrier twice (baby panda is very wiley).  Started a photo album for them and placement.  Someone interested in fluffy blue eyed cat.  

11/18/2022-- ok, so many updates here.  The fluffy blue eyed cat went up to potential owner who made a vet appointment same day.  The update was it had a host of problems (ring worm, fleas, mites, herniated disc that needed to be operated on, etc.) they eventually found a shelter to bring it to in LA.  I loaded up the other 3 the next day (this would be 11/11) and took them to our local shelter that claims not to handle Santa Ana cats, while Santa Ana says they are under contract with them.  Right.  So I picked a street a quarter mile away where the north side is Santa Ana and south is Tustin and said we'd found them there.  I keep looking for them to be posted on the adoptions page, but no dice.  Hopefully they didn't have big problems too and are just getting a little older before they get posted as the youngest ones listed there are 10 weeks.  

I'm continuing to feed Pause and Panda and the earliest the low cost spay and neuter place could take them is mid-February.  Plenty of time to get them on a routine and comfortable eating in the kennels, right?  Pause doesn't wander far but sometimes doesn't show for meals or just waits outside the crate for Panda to finish.  Waitlisted to be notified if spaces open up sooner.  

1/31/2023-- Low cost spay and neuter could get us in a few days early which is fortunate because I was worried the routine might be disrupted during Hawaii trip and not have a reliable rhythm for the return.  The cats had been chased constantly for about a week and a half by an incredible number of neighborhood Toms coming out of the woodwork.  Pause power backed out of the carrier so fast I didn't have time to close it.  Panda, a bit braver went back in for food and I locked her in.  Bribed Pause with wet food and astonishingly got her all the way in.  $480 and about 10 hours later, I picked them up from the low cost spay neuter place in Laguna Hills.  We were charged for Elizabethan collars which both had pried off before we got home.  Got some pain meds that I dressed wet food with so hopefully Panda is getting some relief.  Pause slunk off to hide without checking out the offering and had most of an abandoned can of cat food with her in the crate all day at the vet...  

2/28/2023 Cats seem to have recovered fully outside of growing out the fur on their shaved bellies.  We're continuing to feed them twice daily...