Many Little Links {July 12, 2009}

Summer Journals - Let's Explore

It feels like our summer is already winding down, as I try to sort out and get ready for next school year. But, I definitely will have to try this for next year.

What is my Lightbulb? - An Ordinary Mom
Really interesting reflection on what things in your life are distracting you from the big picture. Very thought provoking.

An Old Suitcase Made New - Chasing Cheerios
I had to forward this on to one of my sisters, for whom nothing is safe from Mod Podge and a sponge brush. This project is too cute!

Maple Glazed Chicken & Bacon Skewers - Cooking During Stolen Moments
Seeing the picture and reading about this made my stomach growl. It was mad that it wasn't eating one of these. I'm sorry, stomach. They do look good, don't they?

Breathe - Zen Habits
A nice reminder about focusing on being more present. Also, perhaps, a nice reminder if you find yourself forgetting to breathe. (Okay, not really.)

Homemade Taco Bell Mexican Pizzas - Cooking During Stolen Moments
I was so inspired by this that I drove to Taco Bell and ordered a Mexican Pizza. But...maybe next time, I'll just make my own. Kate certainly makes it sound doable!

Homemade Memory Game - Make and Takes
I think this would be even more fun with pictures of loved ones. But, stickers make this extra easy and fun.

Love Life, Not Stuff - Zen Habits
Can you tell that I love reading Zen Habits? I enjoyed this one enough to post it on Facebook too!

10 Questions to Help You Declutter - Simple Nest
I worked on a lot of decluttering earlier this summer, but these are some great questions to keep in mind while working through your house!

Finding Inspiration for Homeschooling (Plus an Around Zine Giveaway!)

I have posted about Around Zine before. It is a super fun zine that appeals to homeschoolers and the homeschooling lifestyle. Issue number three just shipped out, and I had to post about it again.

I like that I can stick this in my bag and take it along with me somewhere. It is a fun and easy read, and it gives me a "pick me up" for my homeschooling journey. Plus, I have enjoyed writing for this issue (and the last issue as well). This time, I wrote a piece called, "Lessons Learned from Our First Year of Homeschooling."

I am excited to share some of this inspiration with you, as I have two copies of issue number three to giveaway. Here is some information about issue number three (from the Around website):

Issue 3 Preview

Handmade By & For HomeSchoolers (featuring members of the Etsy HomeSchool Community team)
Mission Accomplished: A Family Reconnected essay by Kris
Unshelved cartoon
Favorite Summer Smoothies
Lessons Learned From Our First year Of HomeSchooling by Angie
Audio Books
Mama Merit Badge GiveAway
Resource review by Lorilee
My PlayList
South Florida HomeSchool Convention Review
Artist Trading Cards: gallery, contest, and swap
original illustrations by Linda (front cover) & Heather (back cover) & Fran (throughout)

To enter the giveaway for one of two copies of Around Zine Issue #3, you can do any/all of the following (just leave a separate comment for each item):

1. Leave a comment on this post.

2. Twitter or Facebook about this giveaway.

3. Post on your own blog about the giveaway (come back and post a link).

4. Subscribe to Many Little Blessings.

Giveaway ends at 11:59 pm EST on Sunday, July 12th, 2009.

You're Telling The Wrong Person

We have spent most of the past week with my family, as we have had family visiting from out of state (and then many of the closer family members have also come to visit).

A quick story of one of my favorite things that was said while they were visiting...

My two oldest nephews both go to the university that my eldest sister (their Mom) works at. I won't fill you in on her position just yet, but we'll just leave it that she works there.

Anyway, several family members were sitting around and talked about the university. Our Dad was surprised to hear about people coming from far away to go there, since it is not a huge or overly well known college (at least I had never heard of it, but that doesn't mean anything). My sister was telling him about one of their programs that is ranked very high in the nation for the field.

At that point, my almost 19 year old nephew (who is just about the sweetest and kindest teenager I know) chimed in that the program that he is in is really up and coming, and is moving up in rank. He then turned to his Mom and said, "...if you didn't know," as he finished up his statement (not in a sarcastic way, but an informative one).

She laughed and declared, "I'm the Dean of the College, yes, I did know."

I don't know why, but every single time I think about it, it still makes me giggle.

From Sick in Bed to 20 Guests for Dinner in About 48 Hours

About 48 hours ago, I was getting ready to go to the urgent care doctor on the 4th of July. I had been sick in bed for two days straight, with a fever that peaked just under 102 degrees.

That illness also included a pounding, unending headache. I also had horribly stiff muscles (especially my neck and shoulders) that then included me touching my chin to my chest about a thousand times as I said in my head, "Please don't let it me meningitis." (As a little side note -- apparently you can't touch your chin to your chest if you have meningitis.) Then there were the night sweats, inability to properly sleep, etc.

And, here we are, 48 hours later. I'm getting ready for having 20 people over for dinner tonight. Well, actually just 15 extra people, and then the five of us that would be here anyway, of course.

That's a big leap in just 48 hours, I think. Especially when you consider that I didn't know that 48 hours ago that I would be having everyone over. But, that's okay. It's family, and some that we rarely see, so it is a good thing.

If you were planning a meal for 20 with a couple of days notice, what would be on your menu? Would the menu be different at different times of year?

In all fairness, we originally planned to have at least a portion of those people over, but when I got sick, plans were off. Then, when I could do it, even more people could come.

We thought about some things that we already had in the house, to minimize what we had to buy, and we opted to grill out burgers (we already had some here at home), hot dogs (already had some of these too!), and tofu hot dogs. We'll also have corn on the cob, sauteed zucchini (from our garden), chips, and fresh fruit.

And, as an extra blessing, Eric already cleaned/totally disinfected the house this weekend after having two of the kids and I sick.

So, do share -- what would have been on your menu? Or, what's a go to quick meal you can throw together if you had even less time to prepare?

photo by linkerjpatrick

Many Little Blessings: June 2009 Recap

Thanks so much to all those sites that referred traffic here in June 2009. Here is this month's top 10 list:

1. We are THAT Family

2. Happy to be at Home

3. The Homeschool Classroom

4. The Lazy Organizer

5. Balancing Beauty and Bedlam

6. Life as Mom

7. Tammy's Recipes

8. The Finer Things in Life

9. 5 Minutes for Mom

10. Conversion Diary

And here some of the most popular links here at Many Little Blessings in June 2009:

1. 13 Uses for Homegrown Tomatoes

2. How I Do Our Menu Planning One Month at a Time

3. Create Your Own Craft Kit For an Inexpensive Gift

4. Old Toys Made New and Exciting

5. An Inexpensive Way to Advertise Your Blog