Panic Button

It's amazing I'm not morphing into a headless chicken. Really.

Let's see, in the past couple days I have been working a ton on my new proofreading business. I have been cut down in my new proofreading business. My classmates, from this class, have lifted me back up in my proofreading business after I wanted to just cry and eat ice cream for the rest of the day. I have restarted working my business after wanting to go completely crazy.

Working for yourself is hard ya'll! Worth it in the end, but hard!

What else?

Oh our car went back to the mechanic (again), we moved Talia to a booster seat, Katelyn has a toddler bed now, and our plumbing under our kitchen sink fell apart while I was washing dishes. Now I can hate dishes even more! Yay! Not to mention I'm behind on all things housewife-y, mother-y, and housekeeper-y.

And don't get me started on how far behind I am on my Bible reading. We are supposed to be done in four days! And I'm a good 5 days behind... Who gets behind on something right before they finish it? That'd be me.

So am I here to vent? Well, yeah, but not just to vent.

I want to remind anyone going crazy like me: You aren't alone, it's okay, and it will get better!

Maybe I'm just talking to myself, and that's fine with me. In that case, self, take this advice from myself:

1. Calm it down! Your self-worth is not based on others' opinions of you, how you proofread compared to others, how clean your house is, or how many fits your kids throw. It's based on what God thinks of you, and self, He thinks pretty darn highly of you!

2. Ask for help! Don't think you're alone in this world. Last I checked, there were a few billion people residing here with ya. I'm sure one, maybe even two, could lend a helping hand! I would even guess you personally KNOW one or two people who would help.

3. Press the panic button! What's that? Pray. Pray, pray, pray, PRAY! Really, this should be #1, so don't take this list too chronologically seriously. Being in constant conversation with Jesus can never go wrong.

4. Know it will work out. The floor WILL get mopped, you WILL get caught up reading, dishes WILL get done, and the kids WILL learn.

5. Get a system in place. Self, you need to ingrain this into your brain like none other.

6. Get rid of the non-importants. Give the kids to Papa and Nana and clean out that basement! Say no to things that aren't essential. Prioritize your life!

Come on, self, we can do this!

Proofread Anywhere Review

Hey friends. Many of you have asked about my new career as a legal transcript proofreader. Well, I'm here to explain more and give a review of the course I took.

Here's the short and sweet version of what I do. I proofread transcripts from depositions, examinations under oath, hearings, etc. for court reporters. They pay me.

Told you it was short and sweet! :)

Now, I grew up with impeccable English skills. My dad was a journalist for years and my mom did copy editing. I have my associate's degree in English. So this is a pretty natural fit for me! I'm always finding errors in books, online, signs, etc. I even found errors in the oh-so-popular, and oh-so-fabulous, Hunger Games books! Even amazingly huge novels like that have issues!

I never expected to use my English degree. Ever. I know so many people who don't use their degrees. For example, my dad is now a real estate agent.

So, I was definitely shocked and a little skeptical when I came across ProofreadAnywhere.com via MoneySavingMom.com. But, I was also excited. This sounded right up my alley!

I talked to Caitlin, who founded the site, a lot. I'm sure she got real sick of me asking question after question after question. ;)  But it was so nice to talk to a real person, get quick answers, and have a real conversation with her. I decided to take her full-fledged course.

Wow. This course was not exactly what I was expecting- which is not necessarily a bad thing. I do remember asking Caitlin what she teaches in it and how much she equips you. But, wow, did I feel out of my depth real quick. Certain punctuation and grammar rules were totally different from everything I'd been taught! I kept missing things I should have caught. About halfway through the class, I had a big panic attack and was losing my mind!

But here's what's really cool: I wasn't alone. She has a Facebook group set up and I was able to ask questions to several different people. I saw, and still see, others getting frustrated like me. And it's all okay! So she not only teaches this class, she creates this community to better each other, better ourselves, and support each other.

This is a hard class. It's not a quick-and-easy thing you can do in an hour. It requires an amazing eye for errors, it requires hard work, it requires time, and it requires humility. Really, I went in thinking it wouldn't be "that bad." I don't think I would call it "that bad" now, but it was kind of shocking (and very humbling!) to realize how much I had to learn from scratch.

Now, I am much more confident in my skills. I still tend to do things my own way, but that's okay. I now have a much broader scope of proofreading skills, and a sharper eye for legal transcripts in particular. I learned some things about me that I never thought I would, like how I now despise hyphens with a passion and that most reporters ignore the Oxford comma, which just makes me twitch a bit. (If you don't know what an Oxford comma is, I would say be grateful because it tends to induce twitching.) Some things you just gotta let go... woosaw...

I am very thankful my frugal self stumbled upon this course. It's challenged me in so many ways, grown me as a person as well as my skills, opened my eyes to this whole new legal world, and (hopefully!) will allow us to do some things we can't do right now (hello private school!).

Thank you, Caitlin, for this course, and everyone for letting me bother you day and night. I'm excited to see what it turns into. (Wait... in to? LOL just kidding...)

We're Homeschooling! (Yipe!)

It's been forever since I wrote on here... I guess that tends to happen when you get busy, exhausted, and repeat that cycle.

I've wanted to write about this for a while though- homeschooling!

Yes, we're doing it. I won't say for how long we're doing it, but for Kindergarten at least. I'm not sure anything makes me more excited, terrified, dreadful, confused, and anxious as this. I'm going to need prayers!!!!

I get asked a lot as to why we're doing it and there are so many reasons. They include the flexibility,  being in control of what she's learning, me hating Common Core, challenging her on-on-one, and sleeping in (hehe...). Seriously though, she is so stinking advanced with reading that she blows my mind every day! I think she started reading on her own a month ago or so Not to mention I am SO excited to go on field trips that I plan out and have them be a mini-vacation!

I told my husband straight up that if I commit to this I'm doing a one-day-a-week program. I need that one day badly... I researched several places and wasn't super impressed by any.

This is where the story gets crazy! One day on our way home from preschool, my daughter asked to go a different way home. Note: in nine months of going to preschool, we have NEVER gone this way before. But I figured what the heck, so I let her navigate home, and we happened to pass the Christian school by our house. Their marquee out by the street had a sign that said "Homeschool Program" and I just about wrecked the car in excitement.

I cannot tell you how many times I've driven by that school and not seen that sign. I haven't seen it since either. Talk about some Divine Intervention!

So, I came home, and immediately emailed them to get more information. I was able to schedule a tour two days later, and completely fell in love! So did my daughter- she didn't want to leave LOL! She will still get a Christian education, it's close to our house, and it's not nearly as expensive as full-time Christian school. Personally, I'd love to put her in there full-time, but holy moly private school is pricey!

That's all the good news so far! We're so excited about this. I'm still worried over her being at home six days a week, us butting heads, getting bored/cabin fever, or just slacking off and not doing anything for a year. Preschool has been an enormous blessing, so doing something different has me nervous! In other words, please PLEASE pray for me!!