Vocabulary Builder

With two teens and a tween in the house, and college on the horizon for all of them, a little early SAT prep seems like a good idea. This vocabulary builder has some fun stuff you can do right on the site, like vocabulary tests similar to what you'll find on the major college entrance exams. You can choose testing formats, and there are downloadable tests as well as learning tools available to purchase. Since our kids are homeschooled, they haven't had to deal with as many of these standard-format tests as a lot of their public and private-schooled counterparts, so this kind of prep, especially since it's kind of a fun game they can do on the computer, could pay some pretty big dividends later. There's even a "Star War" game, and "Memory" games, both of which will go over big with the younger set.

Pickled Garlic

I made pickled garlic this week for the first time in ages. Years ago, when the boys were much younger, a boy on Eli's soccer team had pertussis--whooping cough--and the next thing I knew, Eli and Clayton were coughing like barking seals all night, sounding like they couldn't breathe. It was awful, and it went on for several weeks. We did all the home treatments I could think of to make it more bearable--a humidifier, hydrotherapy in the form of Wet Socks every night, and twice daily they took two cloves of pickled garlic chased by a spoonful of honey from our own bees. I considered it a powerful anti-viral punch and I believe that those measures, along with their naturally strong immune systems, are what got us through whooping cough in a relatively short period. For an awesome pickled garlic recipe, check out this natural health forum, and have some on hand for your family.

Scientific Basis for My Morning Exercise Preference!

I'm definitely more of a night owl than a morning person, but for years I've known that the best time for me to work out is in the morning, before I kick off my daily activities. The longer I wait, the harder it is for me to get out the door for a run, or to head to the gym. What's up with that? Well, a post on http://www.healthyfellow.com, illustrates what I've found to be true for me. Exercise was perceived by subjects in a small study to be more taxing after intensive mentally challenging activity. So if I've spent my day working, studying, and generally managing my life, my workout is likely to feel more difficult. Intuitively I think I've realized this, since even the idea of starting the workout becomes more difficult, seems more daunting, as my day progresses. So even though I'm a night owl by nature, morning workouts are definitely for me. You can check out the post at http://www.healthyfellow.com/152/the-best-time-to-exercise/#more-152.