Thoughtworthy (Sugar-Free Mochas, AfterCast, and Finding Time to Read)

:: 1 ::

Want an quick way to make a sugar-free mocha at home? It’s pretty simple, actually. It only requires three ingredients: coffee, heavy cream, and NuNaturals NuStevia Cocoa Syrup. You could also use half and half, but I do the cream because half and half bothers me. There is enough stevia in the syrup, so just add it to taste. I would experiment with the amount, but start small.

I usually just drink plain coffee with cream and stevia, but now that it’s cold, I find myself wishing for more of a treat. This is my sugar-free solution!

 

:: 2 ::

I’ve spent some time this week prepping Season 1 of AfterCast. If you missed my announcement on Facebook, AfterCast is the soon-to-be audio companion (aka podcast) for this blog. I’d tell you more about it, but that would defeat the purpose of Episode 00. For now, I’ll just give you something to look forward to.

 

:: 3 ::

This article dovetailed nicely with my posting on Monday regarding finding time to read:

The problem with being too busy to read is that you learn by experience (or by your men’s experience), i.e. the hard way. By reading, you learn through others’ experiences, generally a better way to do business, especially in our line of work where the consequences of incompetence are so final for young men.

This reminds me of that place in On Free Will where Augustine:

Ev.: … if knowledge can never be a bad thing.

Aug.: It never can, unless by knowledge we mean knowledge gained by experience. Experience is not always a good thing, for we can experience punishments. But knowledge strictly and purely so called, because it is gained by reason and intelligence, cannot be evil.

The reading of books can make us wise and help us avoid many pitfalls in life. I loved this from General Mattis:

We have been fighting on this planet for 5000 years and we should take advantage of their experience. “Winging it” and filling body bags as we sort out what works reminds us of the moral dictates and the cost of incompetence in our profession.

We might not be “filling body bags” when we try to wing it, but surely the past has much to teach all of us, no matter our walk of life.

 

:: 4 ::

This month in 2013:

What does teaching mean for the teacher? That’s what I was pondering.

 

:: 5 ::

This week’s links collection:

• Bob Fletcher Dies at 101; Helped Japanese-Americans from The New York Times
  • The story of a hero.
• The Horror Stories are Real. Don’t Give Your Children a Smartphone from For Every Mom
  • What do YOU think?
• Trump names Scott Pruitt, Oklahoma attorney general suing EPA on climate change, to head the EPA from The Washington Post
  • I’ve been watching Trump. His choice of DeVos for Secretary of Education concerned me greatly. But between Pruitt for EPA and Mattis for Defense, I’m encouraged.
• Ohio Passes Bill That Bans Abortion After A Month And A Half from BuzzFeed
  • We’ll see if this continues, but for now, babies with beating hearts are safe in Ohio. That’s progress.

 

:: 6 ::

Answering your questions:

• Question: How do you get so many read alouds accomplished with your kiddos? Are you reading 7 days a week and how long do you read?
  • Answer: We are sort of read aloud maniacs around here! We usually read a chapter after lunch. (Right now, we’re reading a Shakespeare play for our lunchtime selection, so I’m just reading one Scene at a time — it’s quite short.) We often, but not always, read a chapter (sometimes more) after dinner. When we don’t have Circle Time because it’s a day off from school, I usually read yet another chapter. I often read aloud once on a Saturday, but very rarely on Sundays. We also read aloud on long car rides when my husband drives. These are habits we built when the children were very little, so it’s never stressful for me — it’s just the way we live life. It’s quite amazing how much a family can read together, even if they only cover a couple chapters a week!