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Hello, Reader.

Did you know March is "National Music in Our Schools Month?" If you homeschool, like I do, that means March must be "Music in My Home Month," as well.

Couple that with the fact my daughter-in-law recently wrote urging me to listen to more Beethoven (she'd seen a study in which his Fifth Symphony had apparently killed breast cancer cells in a lab), and that makes this a great time for me to share some music-themed links with you. Enjoy!

Free resources for you this week:

• ​50 Hymns to Gladden Your Heart - these are the classics I grew up singing in church
• ​Musical Instrument Word Find - race to see how fast you can find the hidden words
• ​Music-Themed Conversation Starters - discussion prompts for the music lovers in your life
• ​Encouraging Mozart - these music note flashcards help beginners learn how to read music
• ​Piano Practice Sheets - this is the printable we use for tracking music assignments
• ​Harmonica Music - instructions for playing several hymns on the mouth organ
• ​Sing of His Love Coloring Page - you needn't play an instrument to praise God in song!

What I'm reading this week:

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In How to be Better at (Almost) Everything, author Pat Flynn advocates adopting the mindset of a generalist by learning something about a broad range of topics that interest you, then stacking the knowledge and experience you gain through such an approach into a unique and marketable skillset. He convincingly argues that this is the way to succeed in today's global economy, rather than dedicating an entire lifetime to mastering one specific skill (although, if I ever need brain aneurysm clipped, I'm going to want a highly-specialized neurosurgeon to do the procedure rather than a generalist, no matter how broad his base of knowledge).

What I'm eating this week:

As part of my cancer-fighting regimen, I've cut out all meat and dairy, refined sugar, refined flour, seed oils, and ultra-processed foods. In so doing, I've dropped over 40 excess pounds and feel amazing!

As for all the foods I've given up? After three months of eating veggies, fruits, nuts, and whole grains, I can attest I seldom even crave them any more.

One of my favorite dishes right now -- and one I've been eating nearly every morning for 6+ weeks -- is sautéed mushrooms and greens:

• heat a little olive oil and red pepper flakes in a ceramic pan
• add minced garlic and sliced onion, cook until translucent
• stir in sliced white button mushrooms, sauté until brown
• top with baby spinach (or kale or collard greens)
• cook, stirring, until color brightens and bulk is reduced
• season to taste with salt and pepper, then eat while it's still warm. Yum!

On the podcast this week:

Still no new episode. My first, post-surgery appointment with my oncologist is coming up, so all my free time has been spent researching risks/benefits of the next steps I suspect he'll recommend. So I'm sharing another popular episode from the archives this week:

Loving Life at Home: Episode 32 ​HOW TO GET STUFF DONE​ This episode pulls back the curtain on habits that have helped boost my productivity. Most of the tips I include were taken from a blog post I wrote 10+ years ago, but I’m still living by the vast majority of these principles today. I hope you’ll find them helpful for accomplishing all the stuff you need to get done, as well. Listen Now

Progress on last week's goals:

Due to the aforementioned research and the fact my boys have been dragging their feet on getting senior pictures made, I still ❌ have not made their senior slide shows.

However, by the grace of God, I did finish everything else on my list. I ​✅ walked 7+ miles, ✅ hosted our annual Leprechaun Lunch, ✅ finished this month's 5-day, cancer-fighting, water-only fast (just in time to eat our green cuisine!), ✅ completed the sample project I taught my co-op leather class how to make this week, and ✅ sent this month's memory passage to my kids and grandkids.

Personal goals for this week:

• finish slide shows for our graduating seniors (no more excuses!)
• attend a swing dance with our children
• tour the crime lab at our local police department
• accompany my husband to an honor society dinner at our alma mater (where he's speaking)
• clean out my closet
• visit with my daughter who's coming to town this weekend
• fill a donation box for Goodwill
• finish embroidering last three floral quilt squares
• send research findings to our kids (& pray they'll be at peace w/whatever treatment decisions we make)