All posts by NerdMom

Contesting Monday

Contesting Monday 9/23

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The regulars around here may notice that I am at a new domain and with a new design! I decided to combine my NerdFamily Empire;). This is Contesting Monday’s new home!!! Welcome!

So here is the deal. If you are hosting a giveaway or have a post about someone’s giveaway just leave a link. Make sure this link is to the giveaway post itself and not just the blog or it will be deleted. If you listed it last week but your giveaway is still open, list it again! Also your link must be to something family friendly or it will be deleted.

So now you need to add your giveaways and go enter some giveaways! Let them know that Contesting Monday sent you! Make sure you pop back later this week for a giveaway of my own!!!

Homeschooling, Homeschoooling

Talk Like A Pirate Day

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By aussiegall from sydney, Australia

September 19th is International Talk Like a Pirate Day and really, what could be more fun? And it can be educational! There are some great educational resources out there.

There is an actual Talk Like a Pirate site! They have games and book recommendations. They even have Pirate Game App recommendations.

The Pirate’s Realm has all kinds of great actual pirate knowledge! They talk about everything from flags and weapons to the positions on a pirate ship! Not only is it fun but also historical!

The Maritime Pirate History site has all kinds of great information! The have all kinds of Pirate facts and history! They even have over 20 pirate biographies.

The History Channel also has a variety of Pirate video clips! Go check them out!!!

And last but certainly not least, what is your Pirate Name?

So what do you do for Talk Like a Pirate Day? We have not only been talking like pirates but also have talked about the fact there are still real pirates like the Somali pirates! I think that scared them a touch!

Contesting Monday

Contesting Monday 9/16

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The regulars around here may notice that I am at a new domain and with a new design! I decided to combine my NerdFamily Empire;). This is Contesting Monday’s new home!!! Welcome!

So here is the deal. If you are hosting a giveaway or have a post about someone’s giveaway just leave a link. Make sure this link is to the giveaway post itself and not just the blog or it will be deleted. If you listed it last week but your giveaway is still open, list it again! Also your link must be to something family friendly or it will be deleted.

So now you need to add your giveaways and go enter some giveaways! Let them know that Contesting Monday sent you! Make sure you pop back later this week for a giveaway of my own!!!

 

As Seen on TV, Smart Living Strategies

Weekend Prep for a Sane Week

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saneweek2
Is it just me or does it seem like once the school/work week starts it just speeds through until Friday night? I am always looking for ways to make the week days just a little more sane (and therefore a little more enjoyable)!
Things to do on the weekend for a sane week:
1)Have the kids layout their outfits for the week. This is when you actually have time for them to pick out their own clothes (versus, “Just put on what I am handing you, we are running late”)! Just give the final approval. Remember every outfit needs underwear, sock and a shoe plan! And girls need to plan what is going in their hair.
2)Did you just by a 1 pound bag of baby carrots? Take a minute now to portion out 5 days worth straight into baggies!
3)Same thing for that big bag of chips! It is so much more economical to just buy the big bag but it doesn’t have to cost you time during the week!
3)If you using brown bags: put a drink, snack and the carrots in each and start a row in your frig (if you have the room).
4) Make sure all the pencils in the house are sharpened!
5)And make sure by Sunday night all the house’s homework supplies are in 1 spot and ready for homework on Monday.
6) Go over the week’s calendar along with the kids’ school calendars and any work calendars. Will the kids need a permission slip on Wednesday? Library books that are due on Tuesday? Now is the time to get those all organized in an easy access place so they can just be grabbed during the week. Make sure to at least note them on the family calendar!!!
A few steps to take care of those little details that seem to drive us crazy during the week! It really is that simple!

Contesting Monday

Contesting Monday 9/9

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The regulars around here may notice that I am at a new domain and with a new design! I decided to combine my NerdFamily Empire;). This is Contesting Monday’s new home!!! Welcome!

So here is the deal. If you are hosting a giveaway or have a post about someone’s giveaway just leave a link. Make sure this link is to the giveaway post itself and not just the blog or it will be deleted. If you listed it last week but your giveaway is still open, list it again! Also your link must be to something family friendly or it will be deleted.

So now you need to add your giveaways and go enter some giveaways! Let them know that Contesting Monday sent you! Make sure you pop back later this week for a giveaway of my own!!!

 

 

 

As Seen on TV, Smart Living Strategies

Sorting an Adult’s Closet

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IMG_20130903_204838405Now that the kids are back to school and have their wardrobe all situated it is now the adults’ turn!!! But cleaning an adult’s closet isn’t a cut and dry as cleaning out your child’s. It isn’t all about if a garment actually fits. Especially for women! Women tend to have a total of 3-4 different sizes in their closet at any one time. And I understand, you don’t want to just toss all those valuable clothes. Or even just toss them to the bottom of some generic donation stack. But there are some worthy causes that need your clothes or you can even sell them!

So how are we to attack this monster? With some logic steps, of course;).

First look at everything that doesn’t fit.
1. Is it torn, stained or otherwise not in its best state? Toss it!
2. If it fit perfectly would you really want to wear it? Be honest, in a closet full of clothes would you really pick it? If not, it is time to bless someone else.

Now lets look at everything that fits.
1) Pull everything out you haven’t worn in 18 months. Do it!!!
2) Is it ripped, torn or stained? Toss it!
3) Does it need mending? Are you really going to do it? If you aren’t then toss it! If you think you will take it out and put it in a box. If you don’t mend it in 3 months, toss!
3) If it is a special occasion outfit then you have to ask yourself the hard question. Would you still wear it if the special occasion came up or would you use it as an excuse to buy some thing new? If you would want to buy something new: donate! Otherwise put it back in the closet.
4)Otherwise you need to donate it!

So now what do you do with all these clothes?
1)Swap with friends!
2)Sell on Craig’s List, eBay, website or consignment store. It takes some work but can make some money.
3)Donate!!! Sometimes donating makes it a little easier to get rid of those clothes that you paid so much for but don’t wear.

Here are 3 great donation options here in Fresno!
1) My Sister’s Closet that helps dress women for jobs after helping them with resume and interviewing skills.
2) Suiting for Success that dresses both men and women! It is for the Welfare to Work students and helps them to be dressed for the job they are trying to get!
3) Goodwill is always a great option for everything else that may not be career wear! And of course there are trucks all over the city and they will even unload your car for you!

Cleaning your closet will help not only bless others but also bless you by making your space a little more organized and sane!

Contesting Monday

Contesting Monday 9/2

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It is a holiday weekend!!! I hope you all are having a wonderful 3 day weekend! And what could make it better than winning some great stuff?

So here is the deal. If you are hosting a giveaway or have a post about someone’s giveaway just leave a link. Make sure this link is to the giveaway post itself and not just the blog or it will be deleted. If you listed it last week but your giveaway is still open, list it again! Also your link must be to something family friendly or it will be deleted.

So now you need to add your giveaways and go enter some giveaways! Let them know that Contesting Monday sent you! Make sure you pop back later this week for a giveaway of my own!!!

As Seen on TV, Homeschooling, Smart Living Strategies, tech

5 Apps to Start the School Year With

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AppCollage

September is rapidly approaching and it is a perfect time to make sure you are all set for a great academic year. And 1 step in that is making sure you have some great apps to help with not only your kids’ homework but your own intellectual development. Lets make those phones and tablets work for us!!!

To that end I have put together a list of 5 must have academic apps! (Note: these are all Android apps that can be found in the Amazon Store)

1) Merriam-Webster Dictionary: This is not the only dictionary app but it is my favorite free one so far. It has a vocal search and does a great job of popping up spellings as you type! There is also a word of the day with full definition and parts of speech!

2)This Day In History: This is a great history app in so many ways! This is great because it can help you see a variety of concurrent events in history. You can search dates, names or key words so you don’t have to know when something happened. There are also different categories like World history, sports, Disney and USA histories. Side note, did you know that my best friend Sara shares a birthday with Oliver Cromwell?

3)Key: Minerals: We have gotta have some science! I love this free earth science app! You can look up specific minerals and learn everything from compositions to looks to how it is formed. You can also input certain characteristics and it will give you the minerals that match. There is even a quiz. The makers of this app (Web Solutions) also have a variety of other science apps so if you are studying something else make sure to see if they have an app for it!

4)Famous Quotes: My mom used to tell me to use quotes in papers and arguments because no one thought something was important just because I say it but if you can quote someone more important. That is a great tip that I have used my whole life! But unless you are inherently an encyclopedia, you need something to get your quotes from! Famous quotes has the ability to view by author or search by key word! When I search the word integrity I got 23 results going from Ayn Rand to Dr. Laura.

5)Wikipedia: This is my all time favorite nerd app! I use Wikipedia for everything else (except math). I think I use it at least 3 times a week in just conversations. Why wonder when you can look it up in Wikipedia. A word of caution: It is publicly sorced and derived. Don’t use it as a source in papers and don’t change your life. It is usually right but not always!!!

So what are your go to nerdy and academic apps? I am always looking for more and free is preferred. Hopefully this will be great resources for you and your family this school year!!

(Disclosure: I am a Verizon Ambassador. That is how I get my phones to put these fabulous apps on. But as always, the words & thoughts are mine. The apps have also been chosen exclusively by me! #VZWBuzz)