Back To School 4 Homeschool High School

This is the year we've been waiting for! The beginning of High School! For our School that just means you will be working harder, concentrating on classes you really want to take and taking some classes maybe you aren't quite sure you want to take.

(Picture from Momlogic: Homeschool or High School)

My twins will be 15 next month. This is their 4th year to be homeschooled. If you ask them they will tell you that they love homeschooling. They love starting school at 9am. They love snack time whenever they need a snack. They love hour long lunches doing whatever they want to do. They love learning what THEY want to learn. They love all their homeschool friends. They also love all their other friends who go to school all over the place.

I think that it is very important to recognize that each child has a different level and a different style of learning. That is why they do not have the same exact curriculum. Quite of few subject they have the same material but both will receive individual attention in planning how they go about tackling their courses. Most likely they will not be working the courses at the same time.

I like to plan school up to Christmas break. Together they will be working on:(click to explore the titles as most of them link to another site)

Chemistry AP via Thinkwell

American Government via Thinkwell

Lingua Latina year 4

The Story of the World V. 2: The Middle Ages

(Enjoying ART at Southern Illinois University with other Homeschoolers)

ART

Catechism

Giggles in the Middle: Caught'ya! Grammar with a Giggle for Middle School

(Made her first dress this past school year and wore it for Easter and Homeschool Prom)

Home Economics- Taking care of yourself so you can serve your neighbor

Literature-TBA

As individuals one will be doing:

Algebra 1 Brightstorm

Drama/Theatre

Soccer

(Drama Girl)

And the other:

Pre-Algebra review with Kiss My Math

Music lessons

Community College Band

(Jr High School band)

If you have any questions about what we are studying or need any help at all related to Homescholing feel free to leave a comment below! If you want to talk in email please leave your email address and I'll email you. You can also tweet me at @susieqtpie

Feel free to explore the subject links on my side bar. I keep our favorite school links listed for easy access to me and friends who ask about resources. The links are for all ages and for all levels of schooling. If you have some favorite links please share!

Click the link to take you to The Homeschool Lounge! You will find a lot of information there too! Super place to share, learn, connect and have a bit of fun!

Feel free to check out 2 other recent post on Back to School Food: Snack Time and Back to School Food: Healthier Snack

About This Post

It’s back-to-school time, and this year Sprite and TwitterMoms have
partnered with bloggers like me to share back-to-school tips and
tricks, advice, stories and more! http://spritebts.twittermoms.com">Visit Sprite's back-to-school
channel on TwitterMoms to get helpful ideas, learn how to survive
the back to school rush, seek out advice from other TwitterMoms and
join the conversation. You can bit.ly/UW2GJ">learn more about
donating your My Coke Rewards Points to support your local school, how
to enter for a chance to win some Back to School cash, check out
recipes, or even play some fun games. Here's to a successful and
stress-free back to school season from Sprite and TwitterMoms!

Nescafe Dolce Gusto Single Serve Coffee Review

**Have you ever taken a drink of something and said "mmmuuuummmmmahhhh....now that hits the spot!"

**Have you ever taken in a smell that made you think "I could smell that all day long?" I felt that way when I first smelled and drank a cup of coffee from my

Nescafe Dolce Gusto Single brew machine.

This machine and coffee was sent to me for a review. Thanks Michelle! I was thrilled to get the machine and do the review. What I didn't count on was that I would fall MADLY in LOVE with it!!!! Am I overly dramatic? Perhaps but you have to understand that besides drinking fun coffees I love fun coffee toys to play with! I love trying different coffees! I never drink the same coffee two days in a row.

So here is the QVC show demoing this machine. I strongly suggest that you watch it. I agree with everything that is said in this video. After viewing I will share a few of my favorite things about it!!!

So what did you think? Here is my take on the machine:

*The smell and the taste of the coffee on the first cup was very rich! I really thought that it came from a coffee shop. The coffee that is used in the capsules is made of premium 100% Arabica pure coffee beans. After my first cup of latte macchiato I was almost hooked!

*I love all the capsule flavors! They are espresso, caffe lungo(regular, mild and decaf) , cappuccino, choccocino (no coffee just pure sweet hot chocolate), mocha, latte macchiato and cappuccino ice. They sent me all the flavor and I have tried them all. I feel like I'm in a real coffee shop in my own kitchen! The machine has over 15 bars of pressure, which is more than a lot of professional coffee houses (that's what gives you the nice, thick foam and to extract the full flavor of the beans).
*I was disappointed a tad with my brews because I didn't think that the coffee was hot enough. This would be a personal issue with me because I love hot coffee. Sometimes I order it extra hot at coffee shops. WELLLLLL Guess what? I wasn't waiting for it to get warmed up before using it. The QUICK START said to "push power button, wait until light stops flashing" and then brew. I read that as "keep holding the button until it stops flashing." That was usually for 5 seconds.
WELL after watching the QVC video I realized that it was MY HUMAN ERROR. On QVC, she pushed in the button and let go. It took about 20 seconds and then she brewed her cup! I didn't believe it! SO I ran to the machine, put in an espresso capsule and tried it out! HOT COFFEE!!! I knew that this was true love!*I love the fun design. It fits in great with my coffee machine collection! It will be a sure hit when I have some friends over to share the brew.

*DO you have this machine???

*IF not go to Nescafe DolceGusto and read more about the machine.

*Remember that you too can enjoy cafe quality coffee, taste and smell for only .50 - $1 per cup!

~~~~~~IF YOU READ THIS POST go back to any contest that you entered on my blog and give yourself 5 more entries! Make sure you say "I just read the Review on Nescafe DolceGusto Single Brew and earned 5 extra entries". Leave a comment on this review too!~~~~~~~~~~~

Nestlé® believes that the unique design of the NESCAFÉ® Dolce Gusto™ system produces the highest quality coffee, as good as, or better than, coffee from any of its competitors and from coffeehouse machines-in your own kitchen, whenever you're in the mood for a smooth cappuccino, latte, or regular cup of Joe!

Teeccino Caffeine Free Herbal Coffee Amaretto Amore Recipe

This review is for all my friends who had to stop drinking coffee because of the caffeine or the acidity of coffee. First off, I'm really sorry that you can't drink coffee. Secondly, if you really miss it and still want to drink it I highly recommend Teeccino. Teeccino products are yummy. I haven't found a flavor that I didn't like. So if you are a coffee freak like I am you will want to try it, too!

(This review is all my own. I wasn't sponsored to write it and the giveaway is from my own stock)When I first tried Teeccino, my sip was small and deliberate. I was skeptical of herbal coffee. I wanted to let my taste buds do the talking instead of my "no herbal coffee is just plain weird" thoughts that were going through my head. My first sip was Java Herbal. After that first tiny sip, I put my cup down and read what was in this coffee. I was amazed at all the flavors. The ingredients were organic roasted carob, organic roasted barley, chicory root, organic chicory, almonds, organic dates, natural coffee flavor and organic figs. After I finished my coffee I felt HEALTHY! To me that is the funniest thought ever but I did feel that way!

If you are skeptical, just as I was many months ago, that is AOK! You do need to try it to see if you like it. Here are 3 FREE ways to try a sample: 
1) You can sign up for their newsletter and receive a free sample in the mail
2) Enter my Giveaway here and win some free sample packs and
3) Enter the "Take the Teeccino 21-day Optimal Energy Challenge" and win a gift basket of goodies! I strongly suggest doing all three.

Are you addicted to caffeine and have been told that you need to cut back the caffeine. Take the Caffeine Addiction quiz if someone has told you that you are addicted but you know that you are not addicted.

You might be addicted if you are
1) Drinking coffee while you are reading my blog
2) Find yourself getting a coffee refill twice while reading my blog
3) Find yourself entering ALL my Coffee Giveaways ( haha teasing ).

Here is a small list of Nutritional Benefits I found on their site:

• Naturally caffeine-free - no processing, no chemical residue
• High in heart-healthy potassium and soluble fiber
• Natural energy boost - from nutrients, not stimulants
• Alkaline - helps reduce acidity and restore alkaline balance
• Rich in inulin, a soluble fiber in chicory root, that helps improve
  digestion and elimination plus increases the absorption of calcium and minerals

They also have fun recipes!

Teeccino Amaretto Amore

Into an 8 oz. cup, add the following:

• 4 oz. brewed Teeccino Almond Amaretto
• 1/2 oz. cinnamon syrup
• 1 wedge of fresh orange
• 6 oz. hot milk, frothed
• Optional: 1/2 oz. of Amaretto liquor

Add cinnamon syrup and Amaretto to Teeccino. Squeeze juice of orange wedge into Teeccino. Stir and add foaming milk. Dust with cinnamon powder.
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****OVER****GIVEAWAY
FIVE - 6 cup packets to one Person!
The flavors are Maya Mocha, Mediterranean Almond Amaretto, Mediterranean Chocolate Mint (heard that this one is great over ice), Mediterranean Original and Mediterranean Mocha

TO ENTER:

1) You must visit Teeccino and post something about their site that I didn't list here.
BONUS ENTRIES (do one, all or none!)
2) Enter any or all of my other giveaways and comment back here to tell me which ones you entered (1 entry per giveaway entered)
3) Subscribe to Teeccino Newsletter (5 entries)
4) Add your blog to the MckLinky above (5 entries)
5) Add my COFFEE BUTTON and or BLOG button to your blog (5 entries each)
6) Follow me on Twitter as @susieqtpies(1 entry)
7) Tweet giveaway (1 entry per tweet up to 2 a day)
8) Fan Teeccino on Facebook (5 entries)

GIVEAWAY ENDS AUGUST 16th. US residents only. Must provide email addy and respond within 48 hours to win! RANDOM.ORG pics the winner!

Subscribe to our mailing list

Country Hearts four COFFEE scented Tarts GIVEAWAY

Have you ever smelled something and just couldn't wait to eat it? Your mouth starts watering and your mind is imagining the taste that is about to pass the tongue? That is how I felt when I opened up the package of Country Heart Wax Tarts in 4 yummy scents! I had to triple check that these were not edible!!!!

Pam from CountryHeartGifts over at ETSY has some really great Bath and Body products! She says, " Scented Bath & Body products don't have to be harsh or drying. In fact, many can serve a duel purpose and leave you with a wonderful fragrance while nurishing your skin with natural butters and/or oils."

According to her bio, she has "always loved scented bath & body items and started creating them in my mom's kitchen as a teen, mostly using what ever she had in the cupboards and fridge, and making quite the mess. Now that I'm much older and no longer working full time outside of my home, turning my love of bath & body items into a business made sense. So in 2005 Country Heart was born."

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Pam states this about her products,

"I don't use alcohol or harsh chemicals in my products, and they are gentle enough for just about everyone. However; some people do have allergies or sensitivities to certain things, so reading the ingredients in each product is always the best place to start. Second would be to contact me if you have any questions about a product or ingredient and I will do my very best to answer any question you may have. Also, regarding Essential Oils…if you are pregnant or nursing, please consult with your doctor before using any product containing essential oils. "

I love how she knows her product! She has full disclosure on what is used. She is very helpful and concerned about who is buying her products. I didn't realize that nursing or pregnant moms should contact their doctor before using Essential Oils!
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She has a list of clays and essential oils that she uses what they claim to do! I really love this and decided to post it here:

Anise Seed Oil is said to be an antiseptic and a stimulant

Bentonite Clay is said to have healing and detoxifying properties
Carrot Seed is said to be fantastic for skin care (revitalizing and toning) and considered one of the best Essential Oils for Mature Skin. It is said that carrot seed oil also assists in removing toxin and water build up in the skin giving it a fresher more firmer appearance.

Charcoal is believed to absorb impurities from the skin.
Green tea extract is said to help repair the effects of aging and environmental factors, and said to help heal and soothe the skin.

Honey which is a humectant, which attracts and retains moisture. It is also said that honey acts as an anti-irritant, making it great for sensitive skin.

Lavender is said to have the ability to remove nervous tension, relieve pain and disinfect. Many find the scent soothing and relaxing.

Lemon is said to be an antiseptic, astringent, and bactericidal oil

Lime is said to be an antiseptic, antiviral, restorative oil

Pink Koalin Clay is believed to have the power of drawing out impurities and removing toxins from the skin. Clays in soap makes for a smooth and silky soap. It is a gentle clay, making it suitable for sensitive skin.

Tea Tree oil is considered to be an, antiviral, anti-inflammatory and bactericidal oil.

Tomato is said to help maintain the skin's pH balance while helping oily conditions, refine enlarged pores, and provide soothing relief for troubled complexions

Spearmint is said to be an anesthetic, antiseptic, decongestant, expectorant, stimulant and an astringent.

Sweet Orange is said to be an antidepressant, anti-inflammatory, bactericidal, fungicidal and stimulating oil.
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GIVEAWAY

4 Country Heart Tarts in the scents of Caramel Toffee, Hazelnut Coffee & Cream, Irish Mocha and Coffee & Gingerbread (remember don't eat them)

TO ENTER:
1) You must visit her store and come back here and post a product other than the yummy tarts above that you would buy for yourself!

BONUS ENTRIES (do one, all or none!)

2) Enter any of my other giveaways and comment back here on the post. (1 entry per giveaway entered)
3) Add Country Heart Gifts to your ETSY favorite (5 entries)
4) Add your blog to the MckLinky above (5 entries)
5) Add my COFFEE BUTTON and or BLOG button to your blog (5 entries each)
6) Follow me on Twitter as @susieqtpie (1 entry)
7) Tweet giveaway (1 entry per tweet up to 2 a day)
8) Subscribe to Country Heart Gifts FEED on her ETSY page (5 entries)

GIVEAWAY ENDS AUGUST 16th. US residents only. Must provide email addy and respond within 48 hours to win! RANDOM.ORG pics the winner!

Back To School Food: SNACK TIME

We are a homeschool family! It is our 4th year to homeschool. Lately I've had on my "Back to School" thinking cap! (Bet you all have one of these! LOL)

We usually do not start school until after Labor Day. So I use the month of August to work out what we will be doing up to Christmas Break.

For some reason I've been thinking a lot about FOOD! Teaching at home also means eating at home- ALL DAY! I've always thought that it was important to have easy to grab snacks. A wise mom told me that she has a list on her fridge of snacks that her kids could have anytime. I haven't done this but plan on starting it this year. We do not have a scheduled snack break. When you get hungry and if it is not meal time then you can grab a snack.What snacks are great to have around for a quick grab?

I am the shopper so it is up to me to keep the snack stock full. Each girl gets to pick out one special snack at the store. This helps me with making the decision on what to buy.

I've created 4 weeks of snacks. We can rotate snacks in and out of the schedule. This will allow us to incorporate seasonal recipes. The fruits and veggies will change depending on the season. The schedule will allow some variety and easier for me as I head off to the store!

I want to make sure that my daughters are following recipes and preparing the snacks, too! This is a very important to me. I want my daughters to be able to cook for themselves and others.

This year I'm going to work on teaching them how to make something from what you have in your pantry. I love doing this. It takes practice for some!
Here are the first 4 weeks of snacks. Some have links. Others need recipes. I will post recipes in September.

Week 1 Snack options

• Pencils
• Granola bars
• Cheese sticks
• Sea Salt Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
• Fruit snacks
• Bugles
• Apples, Pears & Banana Kabobs

Week 2 Snack options

• Granola (1/2 c each: butter, honey, wheat germ, brown sugar, raisins, 3 cups oats, 1 c each sunflower seeds and other nuts. Melt together butter, honey, sugar. Add all other ingredients. Microwave on high for 4 min. Spread out on baking sheet to cool. Store in covered container or Ziploc bag.) *We are going to try some new granola recipes which are lower in sugar. I will post those recipes results in September.
• Apples, Pears and Grape Kabobs
• Whole Grain Chocolate Chip Cookies
  
• Yogurt
  
• Cheese and crackers
• Fruit snacks

Week 3 Snack options

• Sticks and Stones
• Pretzels
• Apples
• Yogurt
• Pudding cups
  
• Rice Krispy bars (make according to box directions)
  
• Soft Pretzels (We will try out a few recipes and post in September)
  

Week 4 Snack Options

• Craisins
• Nuts
• Fruit Leather (Never made it but want to. I have several recipes. We will do these and report back in September!
• Cheese
• Snack crackers
• Yam n Jam Muffins
• Spiders (share recipe later)

What isn't on the list are carrots, celery, ranch dressing and peanut butter. They are staples around our house because the kids love to eat them.


If you have any snack recipes to share please include them in the comments. If you have a blog and want to share your snacks or Back To School Ideas please add your link in the above Back To School MckLinky! That way my visitors and I can come visit you too!

Stay tuned for more Back To School Food ideas featuring those other meals!

This post has been sponsored as part of a larger campaign.

(ENDED) BIG CITY COFFEE GIVEAWAY

Today's listed giveaway is just for the next 24 hours. So Tuesday morning at 7AM I will announce the TWO winners.

Big City Coffee sent me a lot of goodies to review and giveaway! I will have more on them later in the week!!!

I'm giving away 2 of their really cool Bumper Stickers!!! They have 3 of them! You get to pick which one you want. They are pictured above!

To enter

(1) If you are on Facebook you have to FAN them and write on their page that SUSAN BUETOW sent you!!! Here is the link BIG CITY COFFEE FACEBOOK FAN PAGE. They are trying to get to 3,000 FANS! They are giving away prizes there too! (1 entry)

(2) If you are not on Facebook then go to their website and come back and post something that you would buy for yourself. (1 entry)

(3) Join any of my other Giveaways posted. (1 entry per each one)

Please leave separate comments for each entry! USA only. You will have 48 hrs to claim your prize. Thanks!!!

My-Kap & Reuse your Keurig K-Cups

(Green Mountain Coffee has the one I own on sale right now for $169.95 and free shipping!)

How many of you LOVE your Keurig Machine for that single cup whenever you want it fresh cup of coffee???? I personally LOVE my Keurig Machine. I love all the varieties of coffee to choose from. My only problem with my machine is that I live in a tiny rural town and the only way to get more K-Cups is to order online. There are places ALL OVER the Internet to order them. Amazon and Green Mountain Coffee are two that I go to the most. I also found that I wanted to use my favorite coffees that were not in K-Cup form (For example, I love Big City Coffee and I they are in K-cup form so this allows me to drink it!!) . That is when I met My-Kap!

My-Kap allows you to reuse your Keurig K-Cups! This made me very happy! They sent me My-Kaps to try! Super easy to use! Every time I'm finished with a cup of coffee I now dump my grounds in a bowl to take out to my garden! I also like the fact that I'm reusing a product instead of just tossing it in the trash. It allowed me to use my favorite coffees that were not available, I didn't have to wait for a shipment and it saved money! Check out the video!

This is what My-Kap has to say:

"So you say, why not get a reusable K-Cup. Good idea. But there are a few problems with the system Keurig wants you to use. First the reusable K-Cups cost $14 and up. If you want 10 of them, that is $140 just for the reusable cups. Second, the cup does not produce as good of a cup of coffee as the K-Cup itself. The designs are different and the water flows out the sides of the filter rather than down through the coffee (take a look at it closely). Third, the design is big, bulky, and hard to store. If you already have a turnstile for K-Cups, you can not store these there. With this product you can."

"The My-Kap kap allows you to recycle your K-Cups. Fill them with your favorite coffee or tea. And use them many times before they have to be thrown out for good. That lowers your cost for each cup of brew and also give you better brews each time."

Some Frequently Asked Questions and Answers from the Website

Q: How many times can I re-use my K-Cup?
A: As many times as you are comfortable with. I have used mine 10-20 times. The paper filter in these cups is very durable. Wash it out every time and you will get many uses out of a K-Cup.

Q: How many times can I re-use the Kap?
A: Forever. This Kap is made of extremely strong plastic. Keep it clean and re-use it forever.

Q: How much coffee should I put in the cup?
A: Fill the K-Cup up about 3/4 of the way. Make sure you use a fine grind.

Q: Will the My-Kap work with any K-Cup?
A: Yes and no. Not all of the K-Cups are made exactly alike. I have found it works well with the coffee K-Cups and less well with the tea and hot chocolate K-Cups.

Q: What kind of plastic is used?
A: My-Kap is made of polycarbonate plastic. It is one of the most used plastics in the world. It has an extremely high melting point and is 250 times stronger than glass. Your eye glasses are probably made out of this material.

Q: What about BPA?
A: This has been in the news lately. Plastic is everywhere we look. Much of the Keurig coffee brewer and K-Cup are made of various plastics that contain BPA. The fact is, it is almost impossible to not use a BPA containing plastic today. Also keep in mind that most hospital plastics contain BPA. If they thought it was unsafe, they would not use them.

Q: Is the Kap machine washable?
A: Yes. It is very durable and is Dishwasher Safe.

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My-Kap has great offers on their site! Go see how you can buy some today or get on their Referral Program! If you buy them them Scraps of Life sent you! Before you go enter to win some of your own. Thanks to My-Kap for sponsoring this giveaway! They have 3 sets for me to giveaway (set includes 2 Kaps and 1 removal tool!

MY-KAP GIVEAWAY (OVER)

3 sets!!!! 3 winners!!!

TO ENTER GIVEAWAY:
1-First entry: Go to My-Kap and tell me which color of My-Kap you would like to win! (1 entry)

BONUS ENTRIES (do one, all, none, up to you! Better your chances to get your own to try. Make a separate comment for each entry.

1-Grab my COFFEE BUTTON (top right on blog) and put on your blog (5 entries and counts if you did it for another giveaway)

2-Grab my blog button and put on your blog. (5 entries)

3-Friend me on twitter @susieqtpie (1 entry)

4- TWEET GIVEAWAY - tweet up to once a day for 1 entry per day and leave comment

5- Advertise giveaway and link on FACEBOOK (5 entries) post comment here

6- Leave a comment on any COFFEE POST from Aug 1st-15 and come back here and tell me which one you did for 1 extra entry every time.

7- Sign up on Mr MckLinky (top of blog) with your blog (5 entries)

6- Technorati, Stumble or Digg (3 entries)


GOOD LUCK! ALL GIVEAWAYS FOR COFFEE WEEK ENDS AUG 16th!!! (OVER)
Check daily because I will have a few surprise giveaways that will post that day and end that day! (HINT first one will be Aug 3rd)

DISCLOSURE- I was given a set of My-Kap to review.  I love My-Kap! It really makes me happy! I love the option of using my own coffee in the Keurig.