html404 - Faith and Family Reviews

Archive for html404

How to Organize Your Coupons

Posted by html404 on March 17, 2011
in Guest Post, Organization, Saving Money

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post. While we appreciate our guest writer’s submissions, this does not constitute endorsement or agreement to the opinions expressed in the articles featured.

by Diane Johnson

Taking the time to find and cut out coupons may be a time-consuming process, but it can save you hundreds of dollars each year. However, even when you take the time to cut out the coupons, if you don’t have an effective way to organize and store your coupons, you’ll be more likely to miss out on the savings, simply because you can’t find the coupon you need or the coupon’s expiration date has slipped by you unnoticed. Learn to organize your coupons effectively, so you can take advantage of the savings awaiting you!

1) The first step to evaluate your coupon-clipping habits is to make sure you’re only cutting the coupons that you will actually use. Coupon clutter is a common culprit of coupon disorder. Avoid the clutter by collecting coupons for products you actually buy and for the stores at which you actually shop.

2) After you’ve determined to quit the coupon clutter, the next step to organizing your coupons is to determine how to sort your coupons. There are several ways to sort and categorize coupons, so experiment and find the most effective way for you. One of best ways to sort coupons that many consider to be the most intuitive is to organize by corresponding aisles in the store. Another common way is to divide your coupons up into categories such as “Beauty”, “Produce”, “Cleaning Products”, etc. And, of course, another simple and effective way to sort coupons is to sort by expiration date. The system isn’t important as long as it works for you.

3) The next step in organizing your coupons is to determine how to store your coupons. There are several viable options, so choose the one that works best for you. One viable and easy option is to use a series of sandwich bags or envelopes—one bag or envelope per category. Another simple way to store your coupons is to use an accordion file. These come in many sizes, some as small as a wallet, so you can easily toss it in your bag when it’s time to go to the store. Still another option is to store coupons inside a binder with sleeves or page protectors where you can store all the coupons according to your sorting system. This method of storage allows you to easily see how many of each type of coupon you have.

Once you have determined how to best sort and store your coupons to fit your needs, having an organized system of coupon clipping will lead to tons of savings as you can easy sort, find, and use your coupons. Happy saving!

About the author: Diane Johnson primarily writes about online education and anything else that interests her. She enjoys traveling, shopping, and sports.

{5 comments}

Interview with Dietician Katherine Brooking

Posted by html404 on March 15, 2011
in Health and Nutrition

March is National Nutrition Month (don’t you just love the image above? I do!) and last week I had the privilege of interviewing Katherine Brooking, a registered dietician, who has appeared on national morning shows including the TODAY show, Live with Regis & Kelly, The Early Show on CBS, and Good Morning America Health. You can access her full bio here:

Interview

Moms are busy, what kinds of tips can you offer to help us take care of ourselves while taking care of our families?

Yes, we moms tend to put ourselves last, but we need to put ourselves first because our health is critical to our family’s well-being.

Double meals. Doubling them does not take that much more effort and will give you a meal for another day.

Buy frozen and fresh fruits and vegetables on a regular basis. Cut up fresh veggies while on the phone or the night before so they are readily available the next day without much thought or effort.

Munch on veggies while talking on the phone.

Carry healthy snacks in your purse. Apples, pears, bananas, baby carrots will all transport easily, if you are a mom on the run.

Get enough calcium/vitamin D. Did you know that 1/2 of all women over 50 will break a bone. Bone health is very important. Yoplait is still offering their Free cup giveaway of 1 Yoplait Original, which contains 2x calcium of other brands. This is an easy way to get the DRA of calcium our bodies need. They are also easy to carry and take with you.

Maintain an healthy weight. Do something active every day.

http://www.appforhealth.com/about-us/katherine-brooking

What are some nutritional myths we may believe?

There are so much weird info about sugar out there. Be mindful of added sugar in products because added sugar has no nutritional value. For example: A diabetic may not be able to eat a ripe banana because it has its highest sugar content at that stage. However, they may be able to eat a banana has lower sugar content when it is less ripe, plus it has potassium and vitamin C that everyone needs. It will depend on how they are maintaining their sugar levels. (if this question seems a bit “off” it is because I kind of interrupted with a blurb about how my mil, a diabetic, could not eat bananas or at least a whole one)

Carbohydrates. There is a lot of confusion surrounding carbohydrates even though we are out of the Atkins fad diet. Carbohydrates are important in a healthy diet. The USDA is now recommending more whole grains, but choose wisely. Things like barley, quinoa, oats rather than cakes and cookies.

Don’t eat after 7-8pm. So often TV watching triggers eating or a stressful day or you may just be a night time eater. If you eat after 7 o’clock, again make wise choices. It is the quality and quantity of food that matters. Choose low caloric foods and know that the body treats calories the same no matter what time of day it is.

What can we do to teach our children to eat a healthy balanced diet?

Many children have a relunctancy to eat new foods. Be a role model. Our example is important. They are more than likely to to follow our example. Therefore, if we are eating right, they will most likely eat well too.

Contrary to popular belief, we do not have to serve 3-4 meals. As parents, we control the shopping, we choose the foods our families eat. Not in an ogre way; we don’t have to be short order cooks.

Eat together.

Be patient while introducing new foods. It takes 15-20x of exposure to a new food for it to grow on a child/person. This is not in a force way but a gentle way. Give options to pickier eaters, at least a couple of times in case one fails. This also gives a child the option to choose.

Be persistent.

Talk to children about healthy eating, not just about the food choices. Relate to them that if they want to be healthy and strong then eating healthy foods will help them grow, help them run faster. Children relate better to that official health terminology.(Not that we are advocating you eliminate health terminology from your vocabulary but often quick words of encouragement are more readily accepted.)

What does “Eat Right With Color” mean and what is the easiest way to do this?

It means a variety. Different colors offer different nutritional value. Seasonality is important too, if possible. Frozen veggies can play a huge role in this. Availability affects eating seasonally. Research shows there are more health benefits to eating more fruits and veggies.

Finally, what kinds of things can you suggest we do to celebrate National Nutrition Month to make it fun for our families?

Of course it will depend upon the ages of your children, but here are a couple to get you started:

~ Visit a local farm, it’s fun, shows children where our food comes from and shows support for local food.
~ Start a strawberry patch. Grow your own food.

Thank you, Katherine, for sharing your expertise.

Free Cup of Yoplait Original

Remember, you can still get a free cup of Yoplait Original yogurt as part of the “Million Cup Giveaway” by going to www.facebook.com/yoplait or the direct link is http://www.facebook.com/Yoplait?sk=app_168462209855664

Feel free to visit Katherine’s website too at

{One comment}

Orchids and Greenhouses

Posted by html404 on March 13, 2011
in Education, Encouragement for Moms, Gardening

by David Niblack

“We have someone new!”

The leader’s voice broke through the speakers. I had crept in late, hoping no one would notice me.

“Stand up and tell us your name and where you go to school!” the speakers boomed.

“My name is David and… I don’t go to school— I’m homeschooled.”

“What was that?”

“I said, I am homeschooled—I am taught at home.” I replied.

The leader squinted, trying to place me. After a pause, the voice resumed. “OK, cool! Did you say `homesachooled?’ Let’s give an applause!”

After the lesson, the assembly broke apart, drifting into little groups bubbling with laughter and exclamations that rose over the background music. I knew nothing of Jennifer Knapp and had not been to the high school football game. I was clueless of the upcoming prom or the latest air-filter add-on for 4×4 enthusiasts. My peers spoke a language that was nearly incomprehensible to me. Quietly, I escaped out the side door.

I didn’t realize at the time that what was causing my awkwardness in the popular youth culture would build a sanctuary for my faith. As a pioneer homeschooler I was “weird” to my public school counterparts, but little did I know I was on the front edge of a movement that would give a radically new freedom for young people to live out their faith.

Homeschooling has provided my generation with a greenhouse for their faith. Greenhouses are different than conservatories. In conservatories, plants grow all their lives indoors because they are never able to withstand life outdoors. Greenhouses serve a different purpose. The gardener places the plants he wants to grow strong into the greenhouse where fragile limbs and roots can grow form. When the plant is strong, the gardener can confidently move it outside where the plant will withstand even the harshest conditions.

After high school, I attended a liberal arts Christian college in southern California where I met Nathan. He was a greenhouse homeschooler. Raised in a logging town in northern California, I could tell he was more comfortable in the woods than in the trendy sunglasses-and-palm-tree life on campus. He wore plaid shirts, a big belt, and wire-rimmed glasses. His straight-leg blue jeans ended right above his ankle, creating an awkward gap between the hem of his pants and the top of his hiking boots.

I assumed he was a “sheltered homeschooler” until the day I slid my meal tray next to his in the cafeteria and spent half an hour hearing his story. Politics were his passion, and he had worked in elections and interned at the state capital. He had a vision of life that transcended the whims and trends of youth culture. Beneath his unassuming exterior was an articulate man of courage who as a freshman in college was already having a godly political influence in our state. I saw that he was out of tune with the popular youth culture; he simply played in a different orchestra.

The “independence” of today’s adolescent is a misnomer. So often breaking away of the emerging generation is not fresh independence but simply a transfer of the old dependence; from family and parents to the popular dictates of the youth culture. Few are free to be who they really are, and I had met no one as free as Nathan. As I listened, I realized that his plaid shirt and too-short blue jeans were not a mark of oddity, but a badge of freedom. This young man was free. Free to wear what he wanted, free to act as he wanted, and most importantly, free to live his faith unhindered by the pressures of the popular youth culture.

The next spring I discovered how God used this same freedom in my life. I was invited to speak to the staff at a summer camp the week before camp started. The staff lounge was quiet, and my hands were trembling as I awkwardly opened my Bible to give the message. Camp counselors intimidated me; they were often the loud, popular types, full of energy, jokes, and spiritual savvy.

I was nervous, but started speaking. Stillness came over the room and I noticed the counselors’ expressions change. Their faces are unforgettable; the deep look in their eyes, brows furrowed in thought, and I could tell something was stirring a deep spiritual hunger. I closed with a prayer. The room was quiet and hushed. “So that is what they are teaching you at Bible school, eh?” one of them asked me. What a hard question.

I only said, “Yes, I have some very good classes and I’m learning a lot.” But the answer was hollow. I wish I could have told him that in fourth grade my parents took me out of school and taught me at home because I was bored with the tedious pace at school. I wish I could have told him what life was like growing up in an environment set apart from the world of my peers. I wish I could have told him how, when camping with the Boy Scouts, I was so shocked at the locker-room jokes and stories of the other boys that I buried my head in my sleeping bag clutching my little New Testament close to hide my tears for friends that did not know God.

I wish I could have told him how difficult it was getting older and reaching the place where I was starving for an identity, rejecting the identity of my parents, and yet unable to find one with my peers or my school and being driven to find the purpose of who I am in God. I wish I could have told him what it was like being homeschooled in a house with no TV and being clueless of Seinfeld, Friends or Jim Carrey, and instead discovering Dickens, Shackleton, and John Piper.

I wish I could have told him how it felt to hear the stories of high schoolers – their stories of proms, of dating, of honor classes – and to go home and do school work that night with my parents. I wish I could have told him what it meant to have a life where God had drawn me to live away from what was popular so that I could learn to listen to Him long enough to find the freedom of being different. Homeschooling may have made me “weird” but it gave me the chance to find joy in the voice of God. This is what gave me the heart to preach; Bible school gave me the tools to make it possible.

At a volume unparalleled in history, our world screams with distractions into the lives of young people. Under the mask of “be independent!” and “be yourself!” is a machine-like pressure to conform to cultural norms set by TV, advertising, and peer pressure. Add to this the educational “success-at-all-costs” philosophy of a materialistic worldview and my generation is driven to live lives of shallow busyness that produce spiritual deafness to the voice of God.

We have loud worship music, dynamic youth speakers, and engaging cell groups, but where is the place of silent isolation where the heart can yearn for the presence of God? The explosion of homeschooling in America, with now over a million participants, can create that sacred ground, and is doing so in the lives of hundreds of young people in my generation.

But this explosion doesn’t mean homeschooling is a quick-fix fad. In fact, the trend is thousands of years old. King David was homeschooled. His brothers attended the King’s the best generals. David was taught by the bleating of sheep. But between the lectures of sheep and the whisper of the Judean wilderness winds, David learned to hear something else. He learned to hear God.

He grew so strong in the greenhouse of the lonely pastures, that when he went to the battlefield not even Goliath was a match for his fibers of faith. The author of the best-selling devotional book of all time did not attend a prestigious Bible school and was not accepted by his peers. But he had learned in the wilderness what it meant to hunger and thirst after God.

Two years later I was invited to speak in the youth group. I preached my heart, and to my surprise the kids listened. Eyes wide open, brows furrowed, and that same yearning depth dancing across their faces. I later overheard one of the kids talking. “Whoa, we normally go to youth group to have fun, but he made it so real it was scary…” His words were satisfying. I felt I had connected. Almost like a mini homecoming. I chatted for a while before I left. And this time I used the main doors.

This article was republished with permission. David Niblack is a homeschool graduate and now a Chicago area pastor. You may read more about David Niblack at his website: http://davidniblack.com/site/?p=21

{2 comments}

Baby Clothes: Down Memory Lane

Posted by html404 on March 12, 2011
in Baby Products, Children's Clothing, Family Stuff

Ok, the other day in my post about Please Mum I mentioned that we had a couple of articles of clothing that has last through our four boys and in the comment section I clarified that it was baby items. I was able to scrounge up one of them, I am still looking for the other. Here is the little vest my friend gave our son. I love it not only because of the fleece material, but because it has the Canadian flag on it reminding me of my heritage, of my friends and loved ones still in Canada:

As you can see baby boy was not very cooperative this morning, but that will have to do as I am quite out of time. Trying to take the weekend off and while cleaning found the vest so wanted to post about it before I forgot all about it. If the other outfit turns up, I will post it too. It is a little green vest, a red and white striped shirt (had matching socks but I think they’ve been long lost for a while now) and brown pants. The fabric of the pants is so silky soft. But is a cute little boy’s safari-like outfit.

Oh and here are a few other older baby outfits that all eight of our children have worn:

If I was a mom with more time to devote to a proper post, I would look back in my old photo files and find you pictures of my kids wearing these outfits, but alas, I am a very busy mama who needs to get back to cleaning, sorting and getting giveaway things packed up and ready to ship out. Yep, getting rid of baby stuff too. There is no more room left in the inn. Only a few favorites will stay, just in case another little Gould happens along. No, that was not a hint. There is no new little Gould on its way. Only the Lord knows if and when.

Gotta run….

Ok, I am back again. I found two more of the three missing items. Amazing what you can find in the cracks, beneath the bed, in the clean laundry pile or in the among the other children’s clothing. The striped shirt from Please Mum is stretched out a lot since we got it nine years ago, but still wearable, more so beneath the vest though. Here they are:

{One comment}

Please Mum

Posted by html404 on March 11, 2011
in SALES, Shopping

I don’t know if you have ever heard of Please Mum, but it is a Canadian children’s clothing line. As a Canadian, I am rather biased I will admit, but they do have quality clothing. A friend of mine gave me a couple of outfits from Please Mum when our first son was born nine years ago and these pieces of clothing are still in mint shape after four boys….and they were second hand to begin with. They wash and wear well on little ones. I will try to scrounge up the outfits and take photos of them…but we are slightly unorganized around here (that is an understatement!) so forgive me if I cannot get the photos up today…it might take a little work to unearth them.

Anyhoo….Please Mum has a spring sale (50-70% off) going on right now that you might be interested in, so take a look and tell me what you think.

Additionally, their new Dressy collection is at 25% off and they are a company who gives back.

and tops are only $4.99!

{2 comments}

Closed FFR Crocs Tone Review and Giveaway

Posted by html404 on March 11, 2011
in Contests, Faith and Family Reviews Friday Giveaway, Girl Stuff, Giveaways

Congratulations to Erica! You won this giveaway! Winner chosen by Random.org. Thanks to all who entered and to Crocs for sponsoring this great giveaway!!!

Crocs has a new line of women’s shoes out called Crocs Tone. This new line of shoes has 4 different shoes in many colors and styles. Check them out below:

The Skylar Sandal:

The Skylar Flip-Flop:

The Skylar Clog:

The Skylar Flat:

The new line of Crocs Tone shoes, a new women’s collection that comes in 4 stylish models that still uses the same lightweight and odor-resisting, patented Croslite material as the original Crocs. The new Crocs Tone shoe offers the benefits of toning for your upper and lower legs without sacrificing any comfort or style. How wonderful is that?

My Review:

I was sent a pair of the Skylar Clogs to review in watermelon color because I am a girly girl. Love the color by the way! I also like the fact that you can wear them with the strap around your heel or you can push them forward and wear them like a slip on with no strap around your heel.

When I first tried them on I felt rather teetering because of the design on the bottom of the Skylar Clogs, it’s like you can rock in them when you stand. Weird I know, but after a walking in them that goes away the more you walk. Just took some getting use to compared to my other footwear.

I have to say that I really like Crocs. I have never had a pair before and I might have to fight with my daughter for them (not really but you’ll see why I say that). My 10 year old daughter took a shine to my new Crocs and tried them out even before I did since I was at the organic farming conference when they arrived. When I talked to home base over the phone they told me that my CROCS had arrived and asked if Giggles could open them, I said yes. Little did I know she would wear them ALL weekend long! And yes they fit her because we think she is going to be tall since her feet are nearly the size of mine and I wear size 9! Although I am short…..so I could be wrong, but she is tall for her age.

Editor’s Note 3/12/11: I wore them all day yesterday while working in the greenhouse and a walk around the neighborhood and I did start to get a blister on the top of my feet and the pads of my foot are sore a little. They are not quite broken in but my knees do not hurt and usually a shoe will let me know in my knees that they do not have enough support!

Two thumbs up for Skylar Clogs from Crocs!

Enter to win a pair of Crocs! (winner gets to pick the style and color!) Estimated value $50.

Mandatory Entry: Tell me what style of the new Tone Crocs you want and what color!

Extra Entries (Please be sure and leave a comment and link for extra entries):

1 Entry:Follow Faith and Family Reviews On Twitter

1 Entry: Follow Crocs on Twitter

1 Entry:Like/Friend Faith and Family Reviews on Facebook.

1 Entry: Like Crocs on Facebook. And leave a comment saying- Faith and Family Reviews sent me.

2 Entries: Follow Faith and Family Reviews on Google Friend Connect (on the our right side bar).

2 Entries: Tweet about this giveaway, but only one tweet per day please. Include your tweet url with your comment. You may write your own tweet or use this one:

Giveaway: Enter to win a pair of Crocs! http://bit.ly/fHh04U @faithfamilyrevw! Please share! Thx!

5 Entries: Blog about this giveaway and link back this post and Crocs

1 Entry: for every comment you leave anywhere else on this blog, but please leave a link with your comment!

Details:
This giveaway will run from March 11th, 2011 to March 25th , 2011 at midnight CST. The winner will be chosen through Random.org. Crocs will send one winner their prize. Winner will be contacted via email on or before March 30th and will be asked for their contact and other pertinent info. Winners will have 48 hours to send me their e-mail at [ffr] [giveaways] [at] [gmail] [dot] [com] (without spaces and parenthesis). Please note: This giveaway is offered to USA only.

Thanks and have fun!

{141 comments}

Thrifty Thursday: Create Cards with Melissa from Itty Chic

Posted by html404 on March 10, 2011
in Articles, Guest Post, Thrifty Thursday

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post. While we appreciate our guest writer’s submissions, this does not constitute endorsement or agreement to the opinions expressed in the articles featured.

My name is Melissa Correll with Itty Chic! You can create cards, scrapbook pages, and anything else that you set your mind to with things you already have around your house!

Today, we are going to create a simple card out of:

Cardstock

Buttons

Cotton Twine

Glue

A stamp with your favorite saying

Ink in your color of choice

Step one: Take your page of card stock and cut it in half. Then fold your half in half to create a blank card.

Step two: Choose your buttons and cut your twine. I had a bag of random buttons sitting around and I chose my colors out of that. You will need 6 buttons for the petal of each flower and a color for the center. Then you will choose buttons for your leaves. Use cotton twine just like what you use to sew up your turkey on thanksgiving! Cut it long so that it will be easy to handle

Step three: Lay everything out so that you can see how it will turn out. Play with the arrangement till you like how it looks!

Step four: Bring out the glue! Now it is time to make your creation a reality. Start by putting down the centers of your flowers and building the petals around them one at a time. Next, you are going to want to glue down the twine. The easiest way to do this is to either lay a thin line of glue directly on the paper and lay the twine over it, or run your glue down the twine and place the twine down that way. Once your twine is placed, you should still have the ends hanging off the end of the card, leave these until the twine dries! Place your leaves and let the glue dry.

Step five: Time to finish it up! Cut your loose ends and choose your favorite stamp, I chose simply Smile! With a bright lavender ink. Something important to remember when you are stamping, push straight down and pull up, or you will end up with uneven ink, or a double image!

Step six: Bless someone else. Now that your card is finished, all you need to do is find someone to give it too!

More about Melissa and Itty Chic: I started my business in Mid July of 2010 with the sale of cards, and memory boards. I grew up poor and loved turning nothing into something. I started my business because my goal is eventually to quit my day job and be a stay at home mom. I want to raise my future children, not have them raised by a daycare. To see this and more, go to http://ittychic.com and http://ittychic.com/Blog!

{One comment}

A Trail of Ink

Posted by html404 on March 9, 2011
in Books

Faith and Family Reviews received the following product in exchange for writing a review. While we consider it a privilege to receive free products to review, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product.

It has been a while since I have read a medieval tale. A Trail of Ink penned by Mel Starr was not what I would call a “candy” book. By candy I mean a book that you pick up and speed read through it. It had more substance to it than candy. After all the language of the 14th century England was very different than how we speak today. This is a good thing because it actually makes our brains think. Here is a list of words, see if you can guess what they mean without Googling them:

Candlemas

Coney

Egg leaches

Kirtle

Prebend

Anyways, A Trail of Ink is about the mystery surrounding missing books, a murder, with a love interest thrown in. Sir Hugh de Singleton is a Baliff for a Lord, as well as a surgeon. He is very cunning when it comes to solving mysteries so he is asked to solve the mystery. His love interest has a keen eye for seeing clues too. I found it rather slow in parts, but when it picked up it picked up and I was anxious to see where the next clue led the story. One of my favorite parts was when the Sheriff found Sir Hugh hanging a knight out a window!

I found the feudal system intriguing and wondered how the people lived as they did when certain ones thought them better than others with a higher station in life. At first my thoughts focused on how glad I was that this is not how it is today. However, the more I thought on it I realized that this does happen today in some respects, which is unfortunate. After all, who wants to live feeling beneath another person due wallet or land size? None of us.

While this was not my favorite book, I enjoyed reading of the time period and following the mystery.

About Mel Starr
Mel Starr was born and grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan. After graduating with a MA in history from Western Michigan University in 1970, he taught history in Michigan public schools for thirty-nine years, thirty-five of those in Portage, MI, where he retired in 2003 as chairman of the social studies department of Portage Northern High School. Mel and his wife, Susan, have two daughters and seven grandchildren. www.melstarr.org

{One comment}

Wordless Wednesday: Mississippi River & Linky

Posted by html404 on March 8, 2011
in Family Stuff, Travel, Wordless Wednesday

When we went to the MOSES conference a couple of weeks ago, this was the view out our hotel window.

And this week’s linky….be sure to leave some comment luv too and I will return the luv, thanks!

{5 comments}

Beware of Entrecard

Posted by html404 on March 8, 2011
in Blog Stuff

Ok, some of you seasoned bloggers will probably think me naive for using Entrecard, but I did use them for over a year. Not that I noticed any traffic increase, but I kept my end of the bargain in keeping their button on my side bar – here and at my professional website. However, last night while my daughter was working on a little project for me she came across the Entrecard button on my professional site and let’s just say the image on it was not appropriate for a business site. I was appalled and sickened not only that my daughter was the one to find it, but that it was even on my website!? Needless to say, I wanted to warn all new bloggers (and old) not to use Entrecard if you are at all family-friendly. Why take that risk? If I had known, I would never have signed up. Plain and simple.

Entrecard heard from me this morning and I have now deleted both banners from off my sites. I will not be using them again, I don’t care how many point thingys I have accumulated. It is just not worth it.

Lesson learned: Nothing is ever really free, it comes with a price. In this instance it was my reputation. 🙁 It still sickens me to think about it. What WERE they thinking? And just how many potential clients came across it? And how long was the filth even rotating on the ad? Did I miss something when I read through their terms and conditions? Beating myself up just a little…..

Bloggers beware of Entrecard.

{12 comments}

« Older Entries Recent Entries »