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Saturday, 08 January 2011

  • Currently
    The ESV Study Bible
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    Changes Ahead!




    I am not a person who likes change, but I am about to make a big change!! I am going to be moving over to Blogspot for my blogging! Xanga has been great for the almost 4yrs since I joined, but I am ready to make a blogging change. I want to be able to do so much more with blogging and Xanga doesn't allow that unless I pay for an yearly fee. I can't afford a fee and want to expand my horizons with blogging. I have been maintaining 3 blogs since '07 and I am ready to combine the topics and just maintain 1 blog!  I have been "fancy"ing up my new blog and I am almost ready to launch it! I should be ready to make my first post over there by tomorrow!

    I will always keep this one open and probably post on it here and there, but I am ready to make the leap deeper into the Blogging world!

    My new blog will be at: FamilyMgrKendra

    Hope to see you over at my new blog soon!!!



Friday, 07 January 2011

  • Currently
    Taming Your Family Zoo: Six Weeks to Raising a Well-Mannered Child
    By Donna Jones
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    I love a good deal!!

     


    I love a good bargain and my husband is always telling me "there is no bargain you can't pass up". LOL!!

    Well he is sorta right! I scored 2 great bargains over the last couple of days that I am really proud of!

    I was at Office Depot yesterday picking up something and just happened to bump into my sister who was there shopping for her boss. I ended up getting in line right behind her to checkout. She had already checked out and bought some really nice clearance furniture. She showed me the stuff on clearance. I ended up getting a really cool bookcase for our house. My sister purchased two for her house. Here is a picture on the bookcase:




    This bookcase normally sold for $39.99. It was marked down to $20. We were buying 3 between my sister and I, so the total was $60. We had a coupon code for $10 off a $50 or more purchase, so that bought the total to $50. Office Depot is having a special this week for "Star Teacher" card holders. I have a "Star Teacher" card because of homeschooling. We got an additional $6 off because of the Star Teacher promotion. So the total for all 3 was $44. My cost was about $15 for this wonderful Bookcase! We are going to use it for our library books. Everyone will have their own cubby hole and and basket! I even had a $30 GC that paid for my portion of the bill, so really no money out of my pocket!

    Also, a local grocery store, Ultra Foods,  has Fresh(not frozen) Perdue Boneless Skinless Chicken breasts on sale for $1.39/lb. I went to the store today and purchased 20lbs!! Too good of a deal to pass up and definitely a stock up price! Our freezer is quite full, but that is OK, that means we have plenty of food! There is so much that can be done with Boneless Skinless Chicken and we love BSC in our household!

    I love a good bargain, don't you!!!

Thursday, 06 January 2011

  • Currently
    Hannah's Art of Home: Managing Your Home Around Your Personality (Capital Lifestyles)
    By Hannah Keeley
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    Family Movie Night/Walmart and P&G




    We all know that good family movies are getting harder and harder to find. Movies that the whole family can sit down and watch and not have to fast forward through parts. Well, WalMart and P&G have sponsored Family Movie Night since last spring on Network TV. The first 3 movies have been awesome and our family is looking forward to the 4th in the series this coming Saturday night on our local Fox station.

    "Change of Plans" starring Brooke White of American Idol season 7, Phylicia Rashad of Cosby Show Fame, and Joe Flanigan of Stargate Atlantis all star in this Family Movie Night. This movie is coming highly recommended from many Family Organizations. Here is an email letter I received from Dennis Rainey of Family Life:

    A special message from Dennis Rainey

    If you're anything like me, you sometimes have a hard time finding quality entertainment that you can watch with your family. That's why I am so excited to tell you about a new movie airing on Fox this Saturday night (8 PM, 7 Central), as part of Walmart and P&G's Family Movie Night series.

    Change of Plans tells the story of a young couple, Sally and Jason, whose lives are turned upside down when Sally's best friend from college is killed in a tragic accident. Sally and Jason are forced to make some life-altering decisions when they discover that she has been named legal guardian to her friend's four children, three of whom were adopted from third world countries. Change of Plans stars Brooke White (American Idol) and Phylicia Rashad (The Cosby Show) and according to the official website, portrays how "fulfilling life can be when you look beyond your own plans and invest in the lives of others." What a great discussion starter for you to engage your kids around issues that are truly important.

    To view a trailer for Change of Plans and to read more about the movie, visit the movie's official website by clicking here.

    Immediately following the movie, you can tune in to a live webcast sponsored by Chick-fil-A's WinShape Foundation that features FamilyLife's own Paul Pennington, Executive Director of Hope for Orphans, as he and other leaders answer questions about adoption. To learn more about the webcast, click here.

    One other thing, you may also be interested in going to www.loveishere.com which will also be featured as part of Family Movie Night. This site, sponsored by our friends at the WinShape Foundation, is designed to give help and hope to marriages and populated with a lot of great articles and resources to help marriages and families. FamilyLife has stockpiled a number of our articles and resources at loveishere.com as a part of our partnership with Chick-fil-A's WinShape Foundation.

    Join me and take some time with your family this Saturday night to watch this important movie. It's pro-family, pro-children, and pro-adoption - all things that are close to the heart of God. While you're at it, invite your friends and family to do the same, and make sure you tune in to the webcast afterwards.

    One Home at a Time,
    Dennis Rainey



    A couple of other organizations who are highly recommended this movie are Dove Foundation and One Million Moms. (both links have letters or interviews from these organizations)

    If you would like to watch the trailer of this movie and also enter for your chance to win some great prizes go here:
    Change of Plans Trailer and Contest . If you would like to know more Family Movie Night and join the "Crusade" to get more family friendly programming on TV check this out:  Moms4FamilyTV .

    The first 3 movies in the series included: Secrets of the Mountain, The Jensen Project and A Walk in My Shoes. You can find trailers and more info on these movies you can visit: Family Movie Night Series.

    My family will be watching this Quality Family Movie Night and I hope you will also!



Wednesday, 05 January 2011

  • Currently
    Hannah's Art of Home: Managing Your Home Around Your Personality (Capital Lifestyles)
    By Hannah Keeley
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    Works For Me Wednesday





    Do you have too many files, photos or music stored on your hard drive? Does your computer seem to run slow?? Paying for USB Flash Drives almost every other week?? I found some great solutions to all those issues!

    It is very important to Back Up any computer all the time, but who really has the time to do it. We are all busy and even though our Hard Drive info is very important to us, it does tend to take "Back Seat" to work, household and family.

    I wrote a post last spring about FREE Computer Back Up Tools. I still use those sites and methods, but I have added a couple and one of them is just awesome!!





    I was using Mozy for daily back up. Once installed on your computer, Mozy does daily back ups of your hard Drive. It offers 2GB of FREE storage space. Well, after 18 months I used up all 2GB and even though it offers monthly plans w/unlimited storage, I didn't want to pay for online back up storage. So I did some research and found SugarSync.  GREAT site! I love it!

    The great features of SugarSync include:
    1. Online Backup
    2. Multi-Computer Sync
    3. Remote Access
    4. Mobile Phone Access
    5. Music and Photos
    6. Sharing
    7. Data Security
    Check out all the great features in full detail here: SugarSync Features

    I personally believe SugarSync is better then Mozy! First of all you get 5GB of FREE storage,with the opportunity to earn up to 5GB more free. I like the Mobile Phone access and Syncing. I was able to download the SugarSync app to my Android phone and sync all 135 pics from my phone to my PC and then delete the photos from my phone. Mozy does not have a mobile phone app. Another great feature is the ability to access your files from any computer anywhere. Also, SugarSync has "File Versioning" which means if you change a document that has already been backed up, they save the new version as well as keep the older version on file.  The only downside of SugarSync is that you manually have to do web archive. Web Archive allows your documents to be stored on a remote server at SugarSync. This feature is very useful in case of "lost files, accident delete of file or computer crash" you can go to the Web Archive and retrieve your files, photos or music. If you don't web archive and just "Sync" then if you delete or lose a file, it is gone. It is fast and easy to Web Archive though. For more info on Web Archive check it out here: Sugar Sync Online Backup.

    I was browsing MSNBC.com the other day and they have a 2 minute video on the importance of backing up computer data and they recommend SugarSync also. MSNBC/Computer Back Up.

    Computer Back and SugarSync WORK FOR ME!! For more great hints and tips visit Kristen over at We Are THAT Family.

Tuesday, 04 January 2011

  • Currently
    Hannah's Art of Home: Managing Your Home Around Your Personality (Capital Lifestyles)
    By Hannah Keeley
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    My 2011 Calendar and other tools

     

     


    A few years ago my dad asked me to make him a calendar on my computer. Well he liked using it so much that I am now in my 5th year of making him a calendar. I just "edit" the previous years one and change the dates/days I print it out for him on card stock and have it comb or coiled binded at an Office store. Total cost is about $6 each year. He likes it in portrait format rather then landscape and it is hard to find calendars like that to fit his needs.

    I also use this calendar, expect I don't print out the whole thing at once. I use it month by month. I input all our appointments, activities and more in at the beginning of the month. I "color code" our entire family, so everyone has their own color that I use when typing everything in. Also, because my boys are young, I also try to use images for things like AWANA, the zoo, camping, church and more, so they can tell by the picture. I then print it out, put it in a sheet protector and put on our fridge for the month.

    Here is the calendar that I created for this year. It is able to be downloaded and it is "editable and can be typed in".
    2011 Calendar                                                            




    I really love using this calendar. I know it seems a little "old fashioned", especially with all the technology for family calendars, but I really like the set up and ease of use!

    For those who like their "Calendar on the Go" or to use technology for their calendar here are some great FREE options:

    Google Calendar  Google Calendar is nice because you can "Color Code" the family and print it out. It can be printed by the month, week, or daily. It can also be synced with other calendar programs like Outlook and also with many "Smartphones".

    Cozi  I like Cozi and use it sometimes. It also has the "Color Code" option, printable by month, week or daily. You can also set it up so that you can get email or text reminders of upcoming events or activities. The full list of features available on Cozi include: Family Calendar, Grocery Shopping Lists, To Do Lists, Family Journal, Mobile Access(for internet accessible phones), Reminders and Messages via email or text, Photo Collage Screensaver, and Sync with Outlook. Cozi just recently released iphone and Android Apps and will be releasing a Blackberry App this summer. The one feature that I really, really love is the ability to create a shopping list and text it to my husband. We use this feature a few times a week. Saves on "I forgot" and saves on paper lists. This feature is even available for any phone with regular texting. Cozi is a really great FREE program!

    Famundo is very similar to Cozi. Family Schedules/Calendars, Creating Shopping Lists and more. For a full list of the features on Famundo check here: Famundo Features

    YadaHome is another online FREE program similar to Cozi! It also part social networking site! It allows sharing of Recipes, To do List and more.  It has FREE apps for iphone, Blackberry and Android phones!

    This is just a sampling of the many great FREE Online and On the Go Calendar and "family managing" programs and apps out there! I hope it is helpful to someone who made a resolution of getting more organized this New Year so they don't forget appointments and activities!