2022 Books Read May - December

Every year I have a goal to read at least 52 books. With the exception of this year, I have been able to accomplish that goal every year I have been keeping track. I am not sure why I was not able to reach my goal this year. I feel like I got off to a bad start the first half of the year, and I spent the rest of the year trying to make up for my deficit, but I just couldn't catch up. By the end of April, I had only read eleven books which is unheard of for me. If I had to guess, I would say that I am much closer to twenty books by that time period. I ended the year only reading 49 books. I am actually much more disappointed in my results than I had anticipated and am going to try very hard to make sure this doesn't happen again next year. 

Like every other year, I had some books that I read for the second (or third, fourth, or fifth) time because they were so good, but I would say that the majority of the books I chose to read were all new to me. I think that there were only one or two that I did not like. I only read a handful of fiction books as my love of reading really centers on non-fiction books, particularly history books. 

Here are the books I read from May = December of this year:

I am very passionate about illegal immigration and the root causes of it. I also tend to read books in clumps where I will read multiple books on the same topic, usually back-to-back. I become obsessed with one topic and then tend to move on to something else. Usually, I will come back to topics I have read before and try and find books to read. 

Some books, like the one above, I see referenced in other books I have read. This book has come up several times in different books I have read. It was a pretty neat first-hand account of one's captivity among the Sioux Indians. 

Such a good book series about life among Saudia Arabia women. The covers are a little tacky (in my opinion) which makes them look like they would be fiction books, but actually they are non-fiction.

This book caught my attention because it reminded me a bit of Studs Terkel's book titled Working.

I loved Working so much. If I could have a dream job, it would be interviewing people about their lives. That fascinates me. 

I read this book every year, sometimes twice a year because I love it so much. 

I have become intrigued by the Vanderbilt family since we now live so close to the Biltmore. I have fascinated with dynasty families of which I would include Vanderbilts. 

This is the third book of a trilogy that I first read a year or two ago and decided to tackle it again.

This is another book I have read multiple times and can see myself reading just about every year. 

Christmas 2022

Christmas this year was pretty subdued. With the death of my grandfather on November 24th, I just wasn't in the mood to celebrate the holiday season. I didn't listen to Christmas music, we got our tree up a couple of weeks later than normal, and we did not decorate the outside of the house like we have in years past. 

For the first or second time ever since becoming a parent 22 years ago most of the kids (with the exception of Andy) slept in until 8:30 am. We opened our gifts and then just hung out ate good food and watched some shows. Josh headed up to his girlfriend's house later on in the evening after we finished our sit-down dinner in which everyone partakes in a part of the meal. It was a guilt free day of lounging around which are hard to come by when the constant 'to do' list is on speed-dial in my brain. 

I am hoping next Christmas season will be a little more spirited. 

Bobby getting ready to grill up some breakfast with the apron my brother gifted him in our adult secret santa exchange. 

My crew before opening gifts. 

Prepping for his part of the meal.

 

Homeschooling in May: Weeks 22-25 Spring 2022

Just found this from last year: Guess I never posted it. 

Math: 

Sarah - Factoring polynomials, Solving Systems of Equations, Finding Measure of Central Tendency, Writing the Equation of a line, Parabolas with the quadrative equation, Simplifying Rational expressions

Elizabeth - Graphing a coordinate plane, Solving 1-step equations by division and multiplication, Analyzing and comparing Statistical Graphs, Solving two-step equations, Solving declining equations, Differentiating between relations and functions.

Science:

Sarah - The Skeletal System: Histology and Movement

Elizabeth - Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus

Government - The exercutive branch

Geography - The Middle East

Latin - Chapters 8 & 9 Perfect and Pluperfect tenses

Braille - Punctuation

Language Arts - Spelling, writing papers, grammar, reading, greatbooks

Josh's 2nd Collegiate Soccer Season Fall 2022

What a soccer season this was for Joshua. It was full of ups and downs and twists and turns. It was a true rollercoaster of emotions. 

Collegiate soccer has been nothing like any of us expected and this season was no different. Last year, Josh was placed on the first team (which is the team that plays in the games that count verse the developmental team which has games, but they don't count towards anything). He hardly played which was hard for him as he is used to playing full games. He struggled at different points mentally and physically, but always hung in there, put his head down, and did the hard work. He ended up getting about 20 minutes of play time spread out over the course of three games towards the end of the season. 

This season, Josh's second year of eligibility, we all thought that Josh would be on the first team again, and that maybe, just maybe, he would get more minutes on the field. The joke was on us. Josh found out at the beginning of this season that he was not actually going to be playing on the first team, but was being bumped down to the second team. No coach told him that. Instead, he found out when he received his soccer kit (uniform) that he was bumped down based on the uniform he received. Josh was really shaken up and upset, and as his mama, I was pissed. Yes, we were all upset that he was bumped down, but what made it worse was that there was no explanation as to why, no respect for him as a player to tell him that he was being bumped down - none of that. Just being handed a uniform that clearly showed him that he was no longer a member of the first team.

So, he began the season starting for the developmental team. He didn't even get to play in full games in the beginning and, although he always started, he sometimes only played half of the game. It was a complete confidence buster to say the least. As the season went on, Josh found his footing and gained more playtime on the second (or developmental) team. He really started to come into his own again (something that he lost at the beginning of his first season) and began to play at an elite level again. The coaches took notice and began asking him to practice with the first team (the teams do not practice together). After a week or two of this, he was bumped up to the first team (along with another teammate) and got to play in his first first team game of this season. He did not start, but he played the entire second half of the game and played really well. After that, he got his first start on the first team, and he started each subsequent game of the season. Just like when he was bumped down, there was no rhyme or reason as to why he was bumped up, and we never knew if he was going to start or get any play time on the first team as his spot was never really secure. This made us all appreciate every minute he got on the field. 

When he was playing on the developmental team, the team was undefeated. The first game both he and his teammate were pulled up to play on the first team, the developmental team had their first loss, and to my knowledge, they lost every game once Josh and his teammate were pulled up to first team. On the other hand, the first team was something like 1-7-2 before Josh was brought up, and after he was brought up the boys went 2-2-1, plus he scored his first goal (and he plays defense). I would say that he definitely helped improve the first team's performance. 

No one knows exactly what will happen this spring and in subsequent years. Maybe Josh will continue starting, maybe he won't. Maybe Josh will play on the first team, maybe he won't. What I do know is that he loved playing on the developmental team because they played as a brotherhood which is how Josh thrives when he plays soccer. The first team does not play that way at all, and it is every man out for himself. (I would say that maybe this has to do with how bad they were/are?) Josh walked away from this season after having reached the apex of collegiate sports by being a starter on the first team (and reaching his goal) with the serious notion of quitting the team and giving it all up because he was so disillusioned with how the program is run and the realities of playing soccer for Belmont Abbey. As a mama, that was really hard for me to watch. 

What I did love is watching my kid come into his own and finding his passion for the game again while he was on the developmental team and then carrying that attitude up to the first team. He stopped worrying about all of the mental bullshit that comes along with playing collegiate sports and just played his best. If that was good enough for the coaches, then so be it. If it wasn't, then so be it. He began to play for himself again and he was lights out this season because of that. 

Here is a look at his season: 

Josh's first start

Game over after Josh's first start. As always, his cheering section was there. 

Game that his first (and only) goal was scored. It was a header on a corner kick. 

My crew.