Beyond Blah

It’s that time of year again. You know, the one that follows the most wonderful time of the year. It’s the mid-winter blah time of the year. No matter how much you and your kids love snow, you’re bound to get tired of it at some point during the cold, dark, shorter winter days. Can you tell I’m a warm, sunshine kinda gal? Since moving to Florida or Arizona isn’t in my plans for right now, I’ve had to brainstorm some more practical ideas for not only beating the mid-winter blahs, but for bouncing back from them.

My teenager and her friends came up with the following list: writing a story or writing in a journal, drawing, going to the farm (aka riding horses), and going to the movies with friends.

From my health-conscious acquaintances: get outside for some fresh air and sunshine the second you see the sun peeking through the clouds; get plenty of exercise (inside or outside); take a nice, long, soothing bubble bath (with a “do not disturb mom sign” on the door!); stay hydrated with plenty of water; eat nutritiously.

The Bible gives us some great encouragement and advice: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9). “I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint” (Jeremiah 31:25). “Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall” (psalm 55:22). “You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothe me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever” (Psalm 30:11–12). Scriptures quoted from the NIV.

Here are some just-for-fun ideas: Have a summer-themed party inside, crank up the heat, put on a pair of shorts, blast the Beach Boys, and toss a beach ball around. Go outside and make snow angels—with or without your kids. Have a snowball fight with your honey; you know you want to! Warm up with hot chocolate, your favorite Starbucks drink, or a pot of tea with some chocolate chip cookies.

The bottom line is hang in there; this too shall pass. Before you know it, the math will click (I hope!), the days will be longer and warmer, the kids will stop fighting (at least for a little while), and you’ll realize that the blahs have become a bed of roses.

This article appears today over at Heart of the Matter Online.

Q4U: What are your best tips for beating the blahs? Obviously, I could use some help, too!

How to Reach Your full Potential for God - review

Have you ever felt like there should be more to life? Have you ever felt like you could do more with your life, but you didn’t know how? Charles F. Stanley’s new book, How to Reach Your Full Potential for God, will exhort you never to settle for less than God’s best for your life. How do you know if you’ve just settled in life? Dr. Stanley tells you. If you think you’ve got too many hurdles to overcome, Dr. Stanley addresses each and every one of them. He also gives you a solid biblical look at yourself the way God sees you: created by God and full of potential. Essential to reaching your full potential are a clean heart, a clear mind, using your gifts, a healthy body, right relationships, a balanced schedule, and taking God-approved risks.

With his inimitable, exegetical style, Dr. Stanley doesn’t just tell his readers to do better. He defines those essentials, tells us why we need them, and how to reach them. I liked his real-life examples, practical suggestions, and Bible verses to back up every premise. This book is your lifeline if you’re floundering in the sea of complacency.

I’m a member of Thomas Nelson’s BookSneeze program and they provided me with a complimentary copy of this book to review.

Crafty Containers

A reader posed this question in answer to my poll the other week: "What are some tips you have to organize art/craft supplies for homeschool? I have one of those under the bed containers (because my space is extremely limited) and get very frustrated with it!" The answer to this great question really has two parts: 1) how I organize my craft supplies, and 2) my suggestions for organizing craft supplies with limited space.

At the risk of discouraging those of you with a small area for your craft things, I'm going to start by sharing how I organize our art and craft supplies as well as my seasonal (non-Christmas) decorations. Somewhere along the way, we acquired several sets of large shelves. I use 2 stacked on top of each other against a wall in our guest room to hold all of our craft containers. This is what the shelves looked like after several months of neglect, kids not putting stuff away properly, and new items just shoved in.

This is what it looked like when I was done with it. I basically put like items together (in containers, and on the same or adjacent shelves, consolidated some things, and threw out the trash. Now, even though it is all neat, I still don't want my overnight guests to have to look at all of our crafting stuff. So, I took an old quilt my grandmother made me years ago and sewed small, plastic circles on the back. Then I put tacks (cup hooks would be much better) at the same intervals along the top of the shelf and viola, a discreet craft shelf!
Now, for those of you blessed with a smaller area to clean, you can still store your crafts neatly and organized in such a manner as to be able to pull out just what you need quickly and easily. The three most important things are containers, containers, and containers!

Each type of craft item (markers, paints, beads, stamps, etc.) should have its own small container. Sort everything out, LABEL the containers, then fill them. If the only place you have to store craft things is under a bed, get several large, flat containers that fit under the bed, then put the smaller containers inside the larger containers. You could have all your paint, markers, crayons, etc. in one bin, then have another container for all your scrapbooking, card making, and stamping supplies, for instance.

Another idea is to clear a shelf in a closet or the pantry and stack your small, labeled containers there. Or, you could invest in a small, 3-shelf bookshelf (less than $20 at WalMart or Target) and put containers or baskets on the shelves.

Organizing your craft supplies does not have to be expensive. Shoe boxes (cardboard or plastic) are a great size for many craft supplies, as are empty baby wipes containers. Clean soup cans can be used to store markers, paint brushes, or colored pencils. Baskets of various sizes that you already own can also be used.

Here's what it all boils down to: put all like items together in the smallest container in which they will all fit. Store like items near each other. Clearly label your containers so that you and your kids know what's where.

This may be obvious, but just in case it isn't, I'm going to say it. The key to keeping your art and craft supplies organized is to put everything away where it belongs as soon as you are done with it. You'll need to train your children to do the same (that's the hard part in my house!).

Q4U: What are your best art and craft organizing tips? Please share!

Travel to Spain and France with Rosetta Stone and HOTM

Surround your family with language. By taking them there!

Travel to Paris, Madrid and Barcelona with Homeschoolers from all over the United States. Join Rosetta Stone Homeschool, Heart of the Matter and Fusefly on the inaugural Homeschool Language Learning and Networking Trip August 2-11, 2010. Become immersed in new lands, explore history, culture, art and community. And truly speak to the world. For more details visit Rosetta Stone.

Hurry, registration for the trip ends February 15, 2010.

For your chance to win a Rosetta Stone language product, please visit Heart of the Matter. Entries are being accepted until February 1st.

Molly Gets Organized All in One Place - review

Excerpts on Organization from Molly’s 2009 Digests

What could be better than reading organization tips from Molly each month? Having them all in one e-book, that’s what! Or, if you missed a month or two of the 2009 digests, the new Molly Gets Organized All in One Place e-book will bring you up to date. The table of contents goes month by month through Molly’s 2009 digests and then lists all the included topics. This e-book is so comprehensive that it would be more appropriate to ask what’s not included than to ask what is included in the area of organization. If it’s in your home, Molly gives great tips on organizing it!

Start off the New Year right by getting your finances in order. If there were a widespread emergency, would you have the right supplies in your car? What if something disastrous happened to your home? Would you remember everything that you owned in order to file an insurance claim? Help! The kids’ toys and clothes have exploded everywhere! Need help figuring out how to start and maintain a Christmas card list? Are you thinking about spring cleaning the green way (as opposed to the chemical way) or planting a garden in a few months? Molly Gets Organized All in One Place addresses all of these concerns and more! As always, Molly includes many helpful forms to print out, Web links, picture illustrations, and step-by-step instructions. Take one month at a time, and you’ll have a beautifully organized home in no time!

Molly Gets Organized All in One Place is available from the TOS store to download immediately for only $7.95. Hurry on over for year-round organization and savings.

Disclosure 3: Review or Sample Copy. I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The Value of To-Do Lists

I love lists. I love them so much that I have lists of my lists. I have lists in several different spots. The two most important things that lists do for me are to keep me on track and to give me satisfaction when I can cross something off of one.

Without a list, I flounder through the day. I can't remember which of my editing deadlines comes first. I forget an important writing deadline. I even forget to blog! I'm unlikely to forget to make dinner with 3 other people asking me "What's for dinner?" and "When is dinner? I'm starving!" although it has been known to happen. I forget that I needed to spend time rehearsing music for upcoming events. I'm unlikely to forget to take a shower or to do school with my children, so those things don't usually make it onto a list.

My lists focus on things that I need to work on and am likely to forget. If a particular item has a specific due date, I note that. If there's no set due date, but it's something that needs attention, I note it on my list to work on when I have time. The list gives me a framework of items that need my attention while the kids work on their schoolwork independently. I use my BlackBerry to add things to my list whenever and wherever I think of them, since I don't always have a pen and paper handy. Then, I transfer things to the appropriate list later. The list helps me to focus on the next thing that's due. Occasionally, the list overwhelms me, but that's a different topic!

The next best thing about lists is the satisfaction of crossing items off! This is especially helpful for days (or weeks!) when I feel like I haven't accomplished anything. I can look back at the list and see things crossed off and know that I did, in fact, complete important things. One of my lists is on my BlackBerry, so while I don't use a physical pen or marker to cross off the completed items, it will put a cute, little, green check mark next to items I've finished. That is equally satisfying :-).

The list pictured here is on a small write on/wipe off board that I keep on my desk. I use it to detail all of the writing and editing projects I have coming due. I put specific due dates where applicable and use the list to prioritize my time to make sure that everything gets completed in a timely manner. Sometimes I work until I finish a whole project, sometimes I figure out how much I have to do of one project each day for a certain number of days. Sometimes I just work while I have inspiration for something, then move onto something else.

Q4U: How many to-do lists do you have? What is your favorite thing about utilizing a to-do list?

I'm Here for You

Really. I am. I'm not here to give myself another thing to do. I'm not here to brag about how organized my bookshelves are. I'm not here to confess that occasionally my desk looks like a hurricane blew across it (like it does today).

I AM here to come alongside of you in this homeschooling and organizing journey as a voice of experience and encouragement. But here's the thing, I can write away to my heart's content about what I THINK you all want to read and I could be totally off base. In order to provide the most helpful information, I need for YOU to tell me what you want to read here. If you're interested in organization tips, please be specific about what kind of organization help you need.

So, here's your chance; hit me with your biggest needs and your toughest questions (about homeschooling, organizing, editing, and writing--I'm no Dear Abby!). I promise to write every single idea down on my "blog article idea" page for consideration for a future post. If you wish to receive credit for posing the question, let me know, otherwise I'll assume you want to remain anonymous.

Q4U: What topics do you most want to see The Organized Homeschool Mom address?

Headsprouts: Review and GIVEAWAY!

Looking for an online reading supplement for your kindergarten through second grade student? Looking for an engaging, online reading comprehension program for your second through fourth grader? Look no further than Headsprout.com.

Headsprout’s Early Reading program ensures (with a money-back guarantee) reading success for every child. The 80 online lessons are phonics based, individualized, and adaptable. Cute graphic themes offer fluent knowledge of more than 90 phonetic elements and more than 100 sight words with lots of repetition disguised as fun games. Kids will be reading at a mid-second grade level by the end of the program.

Headsprout’s Reading Comprehension program takes your second through fourth grader to the next level. It teaches the reasoning behind the comprehension questions, not just rote memorization. It teaches strategies to answer literal, inferential, derived meaning (vocab.) and main idea comprehension questions with built-in assessments and performance reports in 50 fun, engaging, online lessons.

Teaching your child to read and comprehend what he is reading are two of the most important investments you can make in your child’s education. Get the help you need from a researched, tested and guaranteed program: Headsprouts. Please check their Web site for complete pricing details (at the bottom of the FAQ page). They’re kind of long and complicated to list here.

Now for the fun part: my first ever giveaway!! Here’s what’s included: my online access code (for both the early reading and reading comprehension programs), a folder containing fun posters, incentives, and explanations, a plastic ruler with the Headsprout characters printed on it, a green plastic bracelet, a “Read to Me” button, a flashing Headsprout button, and a Comprehension Companion, volume 1.

To be fair, I’ve got to include some rules: 1. Only enter if you have a child in the K–4 grade age range and will use the program. 2. Enter by leaving me a comment. 3. Only enter once. 4. You must have an easy way for me to contact you in your entry (email or blog address is best). 5. The giveaway is open until Wednesday, January 13 at noon EST. At that time, I will hold a random drawing and notify the winner. I’ll also post the winner’s name here. 6. Valid only in the US (sorry!). 7. Disclosure: Headsprout provided me with free access to their program and the other fun giveaway stuff. No other payment was received from them.

Proofreading is a Dying Art

Not sure what proofreaders actually do? Join the club!

Man Kills Self Before Shooting Wife and Daughter This one was caught in the SGV Tribune the other day and the Editorial Room was called to asked who wrote this. It took two or three readings before the editor realized that what he was reading was impossible! They put in a correction the next day.

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Something Went Wrong in Jet Crash, Expert Says
No, really? Ya think?
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Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers
Now that's taking things a bit far!
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Miners Refuse to Work after Death
No-good-for-nothin' lazy so-and-sos!
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Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant
See if that works any better than a fair trial!
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War Dims Hope for Peace
I can see where it might have that effect!
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If Strike Isn't Settled Quickly, It May Last Awhile
Ya think?!
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Cold Wave Linked to Temperatures
Who would have thought!
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Enfield (London) Couple Slain; Police Suspect Homicide
They may be on to something!
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Red Tape Holds Up New Bridges
You mean there's something stronger than duct tape?
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New Study of Obesity Looks for Larger Test Group
Weren't they fat enough?!
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Astronaut Takes Blame for Gas in Spacecraft
That's what he gets for eating those beans!
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Kids Make Nutritious Snacks
Do they taste like chicken?
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Hospitals are Sued by 7 Foot Doctors

Boy, are they tall!
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And the winner is . . .
Typhoon Rips Through Cemetery; Hundreds Dead
Did I read that right?

Yes, I admit it: I borrowed this from an email I received from a friend. What does this have to do with homeschooling? Well, nothing directly, except to reiterate the fact that teaching your children how to edit their own essays and stories effectively is an important skill. As you may or may not know, my other job is being a copyeditor. :-)

Q4U: What’s the funniest typo you’ve ever seen?

Evaluate, Prioritize & Organize--Molly Style

If you’re like most of us, you’re ready to evaluate, prioritize and organize many aspects of your life in January. Molly’s January 2010 Money-Saving Digest will help you to do just that. The Digest has undergone a makeover and now includes a new Kids’ Corner as well as many favorite sections from past digests. Topics covered this month include how to make a pie (from beginners to advanced, including beautiful photographs), fun dates for the month (Winnie the Pooh Day is Jan. 18), what’s on sale this month, how to display Scripture verses in your home frugally and attractively, ways to eat more healthfully—including a week’s menu with a shopping list—and tips from other readers.

Molly tackles the three biggies: time, money and stuff. She lays out a sensible plan to evaluate where you are now, how to decide where you want to be, and how to prioritize and organize in order to get there. My personal highlights from this issue are the printable forms to help with evaluating, prioritizing and organizing (with more forms promised in coming months), a directory of just the Web site links from each section (organized, of course!), the full-color pictures and step-by-step directions for everything. Pour a cup of tea and sit down with Molly as she guides you through preparing for a great, organized new decade!

All of this great, friendly advice is only $4.95 from The Old Schoolhouse Store. If you really want to get organized–and to save—check out the Organization Bundle that includes Molly’s January Digest as well as the Molly Gets Organized e-book for only $9.95. Also, be sure to check out Molly's Econobusters blog and for more great tips and deals.

Thicker Than Blood - book review

There's a reason that C.J. Darlington's debut novel, Thicker Than Blood, won the Jerry B. Jenkins Christian Writers Guild Operation First Novel Contest in 2008: it's an excellent, entertaining, yet realistic story.

Christy tries to build a new career in the antique book business, but finds that her past mistakes catch up with her faster than she can counteract them. In desperation, she turns to the younger sister (May) she abandoned years previously. Christy has to discover whether there is a tie that's thicker than blood, or if the sisters will part without a true reconciliation.

The storyline riveted me; it was action packed from beginning to end. The realistic characters and dialogue were well rounded. The fact that Christy displayed every imaginable vice was the only slightly unbelievable aspect. I was challenged by May's overt faith and reactions to difficulties. Overall, I would highly recommend Thicker Than Blood as an inspirational redemptive story.

Thanks to C.J. for sending me an autographed copy of her book as a blog-contest prize. She wasn't expecting a written review, so this is totally a freebie!

The Sweet By and By - a book review

The Sweet By and By, by Sara Evans with Rachel Hauck

Jade tries to leave her past behind in her new life, which includes a hot, rich fiancé and a successful vintage business. Secret skeletons, hippie mothers, and big-mouth little sisters tend to turn up without warning, though. Jade needs to find redemption and absolution before the day of the quickly-approaching wedding, but if it could go wrong, it did.

Authentic characters make the story realistic, although the fiancé seems a bit too good to be true. Jade grew stronger and worked through her problems, but her conversion experience seemed a bit flighty and insubstantial. This story had me laughing, crying, and sympathizing with the whole cast. It was a pleasant, quick read that I would recommend to my fellow fiction readers.

I’m a member of Thomas nelson’s Book Review Blogger program and they provided me with a complimentary copy of this book to review. http://brb.thomasnelson.com/

2010 Goals

Happy 2010! Let's start off the new year properly and decide how we're going to pronounce it. Is it two thousand ten or is it twenty ten? What do you think? I'm sort of on the fence and find myself alternating between the two! Guess I should make a decision soon, since it's here already.

Many people make New Year's resolutions, and then promptly break them by mid-month. Is there a better solution? The new buzz I've been hearing is about making goals with specific action points. Goals somehow sound more accessible and attainable, less all or nothing. Whatever you call them, I've decided to develop and write down some concrete, personal goals for 2010. What's more, I'm giving myself permission to have an off day now and then so that I'm not tempted to throw in the towel completely when (may as well be realistic here!) I have an oops. Yes, I have some goals for my family and for our homeschool, but the focus here is on my own personal goals. They're not in any particular order.

1. Take my writing to a new level.
Actions:

• Finish working through An Introduction to Christian Writing, by Ethel Herr, including the exercises.
• Work through For the Write Reason, by Mary Beth Whalen
• Send out at least one new magazine article query per month
• Follow up on old queries
• Put together a working outline, sample chapters, and proposal of The Book

2. Be more consistent with my quiet time.
Actions:

• Read through My Utmost for His Highest (again)
• Keep a daily journal
• Read through the book of Psalms

3. Explore the possibilities of more homeschool speaking assignments.
Actions:

• Hold a spring paper monster seminar (my house again?)
• Check on speaking at the HINTS Bookfair this summer
• Hold another early fall organization seminar (bigger audience/venue)

4. Pursue better health.
Actions:

• Follow the elimination diet (Balsam of Peru & Sugar Sensitivity) to find out my sensitivities and allergies
• Exercise at least 5 days a week
• Cut back significantly on processed foods
• No surgeries, broken bones or major health issues! (I had all 3 last year.)

That's just 4 goals. No big deal. Yeah, right! That's what I keep telling myself, and then I take a look at what I just wrote out here for all of cyberspace to see, and I start feeling a little overwhelmed. I can do it! I want you to check out Bonita's Encouraging Words for Writers article entitled "The Write Way to Enter 2010." She's got a very daunting list of goals for herself for 2010, but she's also got encouragement to meet those goals.

Now I have 2 assignments for y'all:

1. Help keep me on track with my goals by asking me about them from time to time.
2. Tell me some of your personal goals for this coming year.

Let's work toward achieving our goals together in 2010!