Friday, September 28, 2012

Friday Funny--Great Photo Idea!

Isn't this a cool idea! Take pictures of adult children in the same poses they did as children. And they are definitely fun to look at!!!

Source: fumaga.com via Betsy Price on Pinterest

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Free Museum day--Saturday, Sept. 29

Smithsonian Magazine is hosting the annual free Museum Day this Saturday, September 29. There are museums all around the nation that are accepting the free tickets which you download HERE. There is a limit of one free ticket per household, and each ticket is for two people. So, if you have a family of four, only two could get in for free, but that's still 50% of what you would normally pay!

Click HERE to find out what venues are participating where you are! In my city there are over 15 places participating.

Now, don't forget if you are a Bank of America customer, you can also go to certain museums for free the following weekend which will be the first weekend of the month. Bank of America offers Museums on Us. Find out more HERE.

I would check to see which are available for you as well. After all, why waste the Smithsonian ticket on a museum you could visit for free with Bank of America!

Let me know where you go for free!

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

50 Sucks--My Husband's Birthday Gift

This past weekend my husband turned 50 years old. I never do an "Over the Hill" theme for him because I'm only a few years behind!

He's not a big party person and yet we managed to get two small gatherings in over the weekend. First was one with his family. Mija made a dump cake for that occasion. Second gathering was with our small group from church.

Mija and I made a gift which we present him with at his family's house and continued to share it the next evening. I've been waiting for a few years to make this for him!

We chose a basket and used a Styrofoam ball which would give the finished product a nice shape. We painted half the ball black, so it wouldn't be so noticeable.

We ran out of paint part way and finished the rest with a couple of layers of marker.

Then we picked out 49 suckers. We chose Tootsie Roll Pops and Blow Pops for the variety of color and texture. We also picked out a few others for accent pieces.

If you noticed, each sucker was tied with a golden ribbon (for 50 years you know) and then we curled them.
This was the first time mija was introduced to curling ribbon. She was very impressed.

I realized that everything safety procedure I had taught her about scissors was undone with this one activity! Holding scissors closed and the blades away from you fingers became,

"Hold the scissors open. Put your thumb and ribbon along the

sharp edge of the blade and pull!"

We had found a large sucker at Party City which actually said, "50 Sucks." I had planned on having to make one, but this saved me a BIG step. That became our 50th sucker. We then assembled our "bouquet" as it were.

It went all the way around. 3D. Here's the back.

50 Sucks took two bags of suckers and a few extra to accomplish. There was only one or two left to celebrate with after making it. Of course, mija found one of the extra suckers!

He thoroughly loved it. Everyone was impressed that 1) we made and 2) how many suckers 50 actually was! ;-)

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

These Coupons will be Ending this Month

Monday, September 24, 2012

Managing My Minutes--Scheduling review UPDATED

I am always blessed by Lorrie Flem of Eternal Encouragement and this item is no exception BUT there is one thing that really bugs me. The cover! This woman with five arms kind of freaks me out. Reminds me of one of those Hindu goddesses or something!

Okay, on to the real review.

Lorrie's updating her scheduling bundle. It will have three sections and I was able to read and review the first section.

My first comment is "Hurry up and finish the rest of the bundle!!! I need more!" The whole bundle will be completed with all this new content soon, but I need it now!

UPDATE!! It's available now! Just go to Attention Moms.

In this section of the bundle, Lorrie uses several articles to demonstrate the need to have a schedule. I think she more than accomplishes her goal. (That's why I want the rest!) Some of the things mentioned that really moved me includes the fact that all time is actually God's. We will need to explain to God how we used our time. That's a scary reminder for me.
She also mentioned several times that a schedule is just a tool. It's for your use. There are no schedule police that will nab you if you get off schedule or decided to skip part. This helped me because I often see a schedule as a big taskmaster which shames me every time I fail to live up to it's standards.
I've also used my husband's mixed up work/unemployment schedule as an ~~excuse~~ reason for not scheduling. I really never considered before that I could have different schedules to use for different days or weeks.

Since this section convinced me of my need to have a schedule, I can't wait for the bundle to be released! You need to be looking for it, too!

Oh, and every time I've typed the word "schedule", I've wondered if you're read it as "skedule" or as "shedule". I'd love to know if you read/speak it American or British! Mention it in the comments!

This item was freely given to me in exchange for my honest review.

Friday, September 21, 2012

Five Minute Friday: Wide

I'm running late, but since it's still Friday, I'm doing Five Minute Friday with Lisa-Jo Baker. It's five minutes of focused writing. No editing, back pedaling, just writing. So, here's my Five Minute Friday for today.

Wide:

Man, am I wide. No seriously. I don't realize it when I'm just living, but when I look at a photo I take up the space of two people. When did that happen?

I mean, I've always been large, but now it's beyond large. It's wide. Maybe I should put one of those wide-load stickers on my back.

You know what bothers me? When people try to deny that I'm wide. How can I trust your opinion on other things when you can't be honest about that? I mean, I don't want you to call me a cow, but don't say I'm not wide.

I hope that I've gotten wide in other ways besides physically. Has my heart widened? Do I love God and others more than I did before? Has my knowledge base widened. Even more importantly, has my wisdom widen? No use in having knowledge if you don't know how to live it.

Well, I'm wide. I need to deal with it. Maybe being honest here will be the first step.

Well, there you go. Five minutes on wide. Off the top of my head. No editing.

Friday Funny--Ryan Gosling Hey Girl

The Homeschool Ryan Gosling site is up an rolling again. BTW, did you know he was actually homeschooled for a year when he was ten?

by Anne H.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Business Cards--great resource for moms!

Vistaprint is offering another great deal. Yes, I know I'm offering a business card deal for homeschoolers and moms, but they really do come in handy. How many times have you met some other mom at a co-op, library, etc. and wanted to give her your contact info? Well, ta-da! Hand her a business card.

You can choose from hundreds of designs, input your contact information, and order lickity split!

It's all for only $5 with free shipping!

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Free Sample of Finish Quantum

Talk Like a Pirate Day

Correction...it's International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Yes, there is an official day and even an official website!

I thought I'd share a few things to aid in your celebrations today!

First, did you know you can change your Facebook page to pirate? Go to your account settings and select English (pirate) and soon you'll "Update your Plunderin'" and "be eyen' with pleasure."

Next, you can generate your pirate name by going HERE.

If you need some help actually talking like a pirate, try these sites.
Talk Like a Pirate
English to Pirate Translator
Pirate Dictionary

Activities, Crafts, Games:
DLTK-Pirates
Busy Bee Kids Crafts
A to Z Kids Stuff

Want it a little more educational?
National Geographic Pirates
Brethren of the Coast
World History-Pirate Powerpoints

Enjoy t'day, mateys! Make sure to blabber at your mates liken' a pirate!

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Mija is the word

A number of people have asked me recently why I call my daughter "mija" on my blog and what it means. I thought I'd take a moment to share.

First the why. Early in my blog, I referred to my daughter by name, but then I learned from other bloggers that there could be dangers or privacy issues. Strangers would know my daughter's name and could use it. While it wouldn't be an issue most of the time, it only takes one kook to cause trouble.

Now, on to "mija". Mija is pronounced ME-HA. It's a Spanish abbreviation for "my daughter." And since I am discussing my daughter, and I have a Mexican heritage, I use "mija."

What's really funny is that mija is about an eighth Mexican, so really funny seeing this little blond-haired, blue-eyed girl talk about being Mexican!

Oh, and sometimes you'll see me refer to "abuelita." "Abuelita" means "grandma" in Spanish. That's what mija calls my mom!

Abuelita, mija, y una prima (and a cousin)

There is your Spanish lesson for the day!

Monday, September 17, 2012

Slpelnig Is Not Taht Ipmrontat.---Post about spelling review

Picture courtesy of Home Educating Family Blog

Today's my day at Home Educating Family Blog! It's about spelling review.

Hvae you seen tihs bforee? As lnog as the fsrit and lsat lterers are in the smae palce, you can siltl raed waht is witretn.

Cool. Huh? Even if that fact is true, we cannot let spelling slide. Spelling is important, and spell check is nice, but definitely not reliable. We must trudge through teaching and reviewing spelling. I suppose the use of the word “trudge” gives you an idea of my feelings about spelling. I had to work hard to do well in spelling when I was in school. I remember the hours I spent copying the words over and over in class and the hours (literally) I spent drilling the words the night before the test.

Finish reading the rest HERE.

Friday, September 14, 2012

Five Minute Friday--Focus

Focus...
GO

Focus.
That's a good one.
I would love to be able to focus better. Sometimes I think I have ADD. I'm washing dishes and then remember that I need to put TP in the bathroom and then remember that I was going to call someone.
I need to just do the next thing.
Focus on what I'm doing.
Focus on where I am.
Especially focus on WHOM I'm with.
Whom? Who? I think it's whom since it's the object of the preposition and whom is the objective case.
See what I mean.
I lose focus.
But I do come back. Eventually.
Thankfully, God can handle that.
I wish I could. He's so much more grace-giving than I.

STOP

Friday Funny--The Parent Rap

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Dry-Erase Weekly Calendar--like on Pinterest

This idea is not original with me. I found it on Pinterest here. BUT I do get credit for actually doing something I found on Pinterest and not just pinning it!

I made a dry-erase weekly calendar using only things I already had! you can't beat that!

You need a collage frame. Of course, 7 or 8 frames are recommended, but I only had a 6 frame one.

Now, the one on Pinterest had each square a different pattern. I chose to use three different patterns with related colors. I also wanted to make sure each had black in the pattern because of the black frames. I just thought it would be more cohesive.

Here's my finished project.

As you can see, since I had 6 frames, the weekend is combined on one frame. I also tried to vary the direction of the patterns to add a little more interest.

I really like it! While many hang on the wall, this frame works better as a stand which makes it very convenient for me. It's right behind the chair I use for my computer, so as things come up, I just swivel around and post it on the schedule! There are many more things on there since the picture was taken!

And you know what else was really nice? Just the fact that in the midst of the chaos which is my life, I could take a few minutes and bring some beauty and order to my family!

Linked to:

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

You child: Sinner or self-esteem?

My friend, Julie Ganschow, of Reigning Grace Counseling Center posted a great piece today on her blog about the cross. I especially appreciated her comments about her children. Read it and let me know what you think!

Biblical Counseling for Women: No Longer on the Cross: What is the cross to you? When you see it in your church or in your minds eye what do you see? As a child in my former religion the cross a...

Monday, September 10, 2012

Easter is About Jesus--review and GIVEAWAY

One of the benefits of blogging and reviewing is getting to know a lot of other ladies who are sisters in Christ, serving God and their families, and sharing their talents. One of them is Mukkove Johnson. She asked me to review her newest book. Instead of telling you about her in my words, I'll let her speak for herself!

Betsy, thank you for having me on your blog.

First an introduction: I am a Christian, wife, mother and author who lives in Alaska. Following God and seeking His face grows more important to me as time passes more quickly. My husband and I met in high school over 20 years ago. We still love to hang out together whether we’re working or playing. As a mother I choose to educate my children at home. I know I can’t teach them all they need to know, but I want to do my best to be sure the foundation is solidly Biblical. I love to write. I think best on paper, or keyboard. My published work is what brings me to Betsy’s blog.

Children absorb the sights and sounds around them like sponges, which is fantastic for learning. The things they decide about what they observe is not always on track. We’ve all heard funny stories about the observations and resulting conclusions of children, like my son’s version of Row, Row, Row Your Boat.

Row, row, row your boat,

Gently down the steam.

Mary, Mary, quite the fairy,

Had a little dream.

Or my children thinking my husband and I don’t fight because we never do anything to annoy each other. I had to explain we in fact do things that can be annoying but we choose to give each other grace and respect instead of instantly being offended.

When it comes to spiritual truths we want to be sure to clear up misconceptions as soon as possible. The only way to do that is good communication. Not only telling and teaching children, but listening for what they actually heard. The sights and sounds of Christmas were a place I saw potentially bringing confusion to my children. I wrote Christmas is About Jesus: An Advent Devotional as a tool to teach my children to focus on Jesus during our culture’s commercialized Christmas. Now Easter is About Jesus: Family Devotions for the Easter Season is available to help families teach their children to focus on Jesus in that season. Both books serve as tools to open up communication with your children about what they see and what you believe.

Thank you for taking part in the Easter is About Jesus Blog Tour!

Blessings,

Mukkove

Yup, that's her! And I really like her book.

I really like how Mukkove has taken some of the elements that are more secular than sacred and redeemed them as it were. She's taken things like chocolate bunnies, eggs, and Easter bunny (along with expected things like palm leaves and the cross) and allowed them to point to the Person we celebrate and praise. Each devotion truly points to what should be the real focus: Jesus. She gives a few discussion questions and activities you can do for each. These are simple, non-intimidating activities. She even gives suggestions on how to use or schedule her book to get the most out of it. I can't wait until Easter to use it!

Now, if you want to purchase your own signed copy, you can purchase it from her website Kove's Cove. Her site also has links to other sites where it can be purchased!

BUT

If you want to try to win a copy for FREE, enter my Rafflecopter below. This giveaway is for one free, signed copy of the book. I will run it for one week, so get your entries in.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Missionary Letter--Even Worms Play a Part

If you can read through this letter without shedding a tear, you're made of stronger mettle than I!
This is an actual, recent letter from one of the missionaries our church supports. You can feel the heart of a mother and the hand of the Lord in this. After reading it, it had definitely encouraged me to find the worth in willing walking through this challenging time God has for us if it means that "Fatima heard of her savior, was saved, and worshiped the one true God."

After days of clearly seeing our Father's leading in moving our family here, we all began to be struck with physical ailments. We were all sharing symptoms of an odd blistering rash, fevers, headaches, vomiting and then an infestation of worms. These worms had burrowed into the top layers of the skin, and as they moved around it caused severe itching. In the evening, Lydia laid in our bed as I applied medication, and she was about in tears over it all. We were praying for the medication to help, and she began questioning why we had moved.

As I held her, I asked her, "If Fatima heard of her savior, was saved, and worshipped the one true God, would you be willing to have worms? Would it be worth it?" She turned to me and questioned, "Who is Fatima? We don't know a Fatima." I replied a little exasperated, "I don't know. It's just a name I came up with. The point is that if a girl heard of her savior through you, would you be willing to suffer through these worms?" She just soaked it in, and I could tell she was processing it. And honestly, so was her very tired mama.

The following morning, a national friend stopped by to check in on our family. She had visited us the day before where she had seen me fatigued, yet excited that God might have provided a solution through medication. We chatted about how everyone had seen improvement. Praise God! She had brought her niece with her. Her niece has worms, too, and had scratched the skin raw. "Can you help her?"

"Let us prepare some medicine and try." I asked Lydia to play outside with the niece while we prepared. Those two girls enjoyed each other's company so much, even with a language barrier! The niece had such a sweet demeanor. We applied the medicine, and my friend and her niece began to leave.

I looked at the girl and said, "We would like for you to come back and play. How old are you?"

"Eleven."

"That's great; Lydia will be eleven in a month! What is your name?"

"My name is Fatima."

Lydia squeezed my hand, and I stood silent. We wished our friends farewell. As I closed our gate, my daughter looked at me with wonder and asked, "Is that THE Fatima?"

Our family spontaneously worshipped our immense, real, and intimate Father. What a gift of grace. As we recounted the story to one another, Lydia suddenly realized that she would not have met Fatima if she hadn't had worms. Now her desire to share His Name has increased tremendously. This is a fight, and we all experienced that what was meant for evil, our Father meant it for good.

Friday, September 7, 2012

Friday Funny--Math and Nutrition

Some math and nutrition humor for your Friday!

Okay, do I need to explain this one?

Thursday, September 6, 2012

My favorite FREE Science Teleclass--Wed. Sept. 12

Remember! All Superchargeed Science classes are taught by a real rocket scientist! We always enjoy them and know you will, too!

Free Live Video Tele-class:

Astronomy!

Relax While Your Kids Have Fun Learning Science and I Do All the Teaching For You!

Rocketry & Space Flight
Online Video Tele-class

Blast your imagination with this super-popular class on rocketry! Kids learn about fin design, hybrid and solid-state rocketry, and how rockets make it into space without falling out of orbit. This class is taught by a real live rocket scientist (Me!). We'll launch rockets during the class, too.
The next live video tele-class is coming up! I'll teach your kids real science through totally fun hands-on activities. My goal is for them to gain an appreciation for the wonder of the world around them through science.
The free tele-class on the science of Rocketry and Space Flight is on...

Wednesday September 12, 2012 at 12:00PM Noon Pacific Time

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER...All it takes is an email address!

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Sorry I've been hit and miss...explanation

I haven't been as regular as I normally have on my blog the past few weeks. A lot of things have been happening which have called me to focus on the tyranny of the urgent!

I've been fighting a sinus infection which is possibly starting to focus on upper respiratory. That's enough to suck the energy from you.

We started school this week. Unfortunately, it hasn't been a stable start either.

What's been taking most of my energy and attention has been my husband. This is what he looks like since Tuesday AM.

It appears as if he has a third foot!

The saga began last Tuesday. I came home from an errand to find mija informing me that daddy cut himself very badly. I checked. Yup. It was very badly. I had placed a broken vase in the trash and neglected to mention it to him. He decided to condense the trash with his right fist and....
laceration about an inch long directly over his right index finger knuckle with this little white thing sticking out.

We went to the emergency room. Turns out that little white thing sticking out was a tendon. A severed tendon. Here, let me make it educational for you!

But it was the right hand instead of this left hand.

The ER doc just sewed it up and sent us to the specialist. When we saw the specialist on Thursday, she couldn't really see it, of course, because it was sealed with 3 stitches, but instead scheduled surgery to determine that needed to be done and then do it.

You see, there are those two tendons close together, and if one is severed, it's okay. She would just seal it back up and let it heal. BUT if the EDC one was severed, well, that's a really important one. The laceration would need to be extended and the tendon reattached.

The only work he's been able to find has been two part-time jobs during this past month. He's been working 7 days a week between the two and 3 days a week, he worked both! Well, it was pretty clear that stocking shelves at the grocery store was going to be out of the question. He tried to continue to pizza delivery job, however, but after the second night, the restaurant fired him because he was too slow.

We were at the hospital this past Tuesday morning at 6 AM getting him ready for surgery. It turned out it was the EDC which meant it was the worse case scenario. We've have him schedule for physical therapy. It's going to be about 3 months before he can even gently grasp something with his right hand.

Of course, he's dealing with the pain and discomfort of the hand AND the pain of discomfort of being totally unemployed again and not being likely to find some in his current physical state.

And I'm dealing the guilt of it being my fault.

I continue to be confused by what God is doing in our lives, but I'm attempting also continue to trust that God knows what His is doing and it will be for my best and His glory.

So, if I'm hit and miss for awhile, please think to pray for us. I'm just trying to "do the next thing".

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

#FlirtWithHairColor--I got to color for FREE with Clairol

I frequently get to try cool things for free with VocalPoint.com. This time, I got to try Non-Permanent Hair Color from Nice 'N Easy.

I was really ecstatic because my hair has been in dumpy, frumpy mode for quite awhile. A husband unemployed does not leave much moola for things like hair coloring and cuts. I even had to cut my own toe nails!!! So, the chance to add some color to my hair gave me some hope.

As it states, it is non-permanent. It will wash out in about 28 washes. Mmmm, if I only wash my hair once a week, it would last half a year! That's not going to happen so, it will fade away gradually. Personally, that's why I usual purchase permanent. If I'm going to pay the same amount of money, I want it to last!

There was a definite challenge in finding the product. Once I did find a store who carried it, it was a very limited selection. I usually prefer to go with an auburn, but there were none, so I went with a light golden brown in an attempt to bring some color to my hair. My hair is fairly dark except for all the gray hairs radiating from around my face! Finding a color that will "do" something can be challenging.

The process was the same as any other boxed hair coloring. No challenges there! Mija was very excited to watch me "mix up the magic" as Ted Gibson calls it on What Not to Wear.
Here's the before and after:

You really can tell a difference. It is more "golden" than before an a slightly lighter hue. My one disappointment was that it didn't cover the gray very well. I know gray never gets covered all the way, but it was still a very prominent looking blond color. Here's a picture taken outside.

So, all in all, it was a nice treat. The coloring worked fine, but I still would prefer a permanent hair color. If you've never colored your hair before this would be a great way to try it out!

Monday, September 3, 2012

Labor Day & More Holidays & Celebrations for September

Yes, I'm laboring on Labor Day just for you! Life around our household has been a little crazy this past week. My husband lacerated a knuckle and severed a tendon in the process. As a result, he lost both part-time job and will be having surgery early Tuesday AM! Sorry, I've been so hit and miss!

Well, I know personally, both my husband & I like September because we're both September babies! Our birthdays are 4 days apart. Oh, and 3 years years!

Now to some things you might want to include in your month.

2--VJ Day
5--Cheese Pizza Day
6--Read a Book Day
9--Grandparents' Day
10--Sewing Machine Day
11--Patriot Day
12--National Chocolate Milkshake Day
13--National Peanut Day
14--National Cream-filled Donut Day
15--Make a Hat Day
16--Mexican Independence Day
17--Constitution Day--US Constitution signed in 1787
18--National Play Dough Day
19--International Talk Like a Pirate Day
21--Miniature Gold Day
22--Elephant Appreciation Day & First Day of Fall
23--Checkers Day
25--National Comic Book Day
26--Johnny "Appleseed" Chapman born 1775
28--Native American Day
29--William the Conqueror invaded England 1066
30--National Mulled Cider Day

Pages

Sunday, September 30, 2012