Books & Reading

Book Blitz: Shattered Compass by Lenore Greiner

A Memoir of Loss, Escape, and Renewal   Memoir Date Published: June 11, 2025 Publisher: Acorn Publishing   How does a young woman cope when she cannot speak the truth? When nineteen-year-old Lenore experiences sexual assault while studying abroad in Italy, her entire world shifts. Survival becomes the focus of her daily life, physical illness …

House & Home

Implementing Energy-Efficient Landscape Design

Today’s guest post comes from Leenah Arandia of Build & Renovate. As global awareness of sustainability and carbon footprint grows, it’s crucial to build your home’s surroundings to be resilient and low on energy consumption. Adopting energy-efficient landscaping practices is one legitimate way to do that. The residential sector accounts for approximately 20% of energy-related …

Health & Fitness, Life

Life’s More Fun When You’re Fully Present for It

When you’re bored, it’s easy to check out. We watch movies or listen to podcasts while cleaning. We mindlessly scroll through social media while waiting for more exciting things to happen. But if we’re not careful, we can scroll long enough that life starts passing us by. Even worse, we start to become bored with …

Books & Reading

Book Blitz: Jacob’s Melody by Jacqueline Diaz

Harmony in Autism Children’s Book Date Published: May 7, 2024 Publisher: MindStir Media   Meet Jacob, an autistic friend who sees the world in his own way. Struggling to make friends, he discovers the power of music- and music therapy- with the help of a caring teacher. In the rhythm of challenges and quiet moments, …

Life

Bringing Back Two of My Blogs: Just a Secular Homeschooler and Activism My Way

At the end of 2021, when I changed the name of this blog from Wining Wife® to Well-Caffeinated Mom, I also put some other projects into retirement. I changed the name of this blog to reflect changing priorities (I still enjoy wine and spirits from time to time, but there are other things I want …

Life

Stop Asking People to Tamp Themselves Down for Your Comfort!

Recently, I had an interaction where I posted a question in a homeschooling group asking about microscopes. I received a response that had nothing to do with my question and instead told me to avoid using the curriculum I was planning to use (and that I’d beefed up a good bit) with my rising 5th …