Simplified Pantry- TOS Review

Mystie  Winckler, creator of Simplified Pantry and I met on-line last year during a lengthy discussion of the Getting Things Done system by David Allen. He is a bottom up org man, as opposed to top down, like my long time friend, Stephen Covey. Anyway, GTD expanded my way of thinking about living a clutter free, organized and balanced life. Mystie was able to take Allen's concepts and distill them into the "do-able" for homeschooling Moms (check out her blog series on GTD here). I was thrilled to have the opportunity to check out the products Mystie put together to make getting things done do-able for regular folks like you and me.

Paperless Home Organization uses three free on-line products (Evernote, Remember the Milk and Google - calendar and email) to create a simple, effective, paper-less, home binder.  In this ebook, Mystie walks you through the set-up and use of each of these tools to create a system that is effective. GTD uses a bottom up method of organization, meaning they start with the minutia, create a system to deal with it and go from there. If you aren't a naturally detailed person, this system will help you remember what you would probably forget. If you are, this system will allow you to hone and refine your life. The bottom line is that Mystie's system can assist you in creating effectiveness and efficiency in your life so that you can get on to enjoying the good things.

The benefits:
1) Accessibility
2) Lack of clutter (I am so all about that!) - no more paper!
3) Affordable (the tools are free. Mystie's ebook practically is)
4) Ease- once you learn the system it's a snap to update.

The downside:  it's all on-line. Back up your stuff! Secondly, it does take a while to learn the new apps if you are not familiar with them. I liked some of the features and will fore-go others. Again, that's part of the beauty of the system- you create something that works for you. For just $3.99 it just makes sense!  

Simplified Dinners is a simple ebook that will assist you in setting up a pantry that works for you, creating a stream-lined approach to shopping and give you awesome meal ideas. If you struggle in the area of creating healthy meals, shopping within a budget and eating out because you can't get on top of cooking at home,  this is the tool for you! This would also be a terrific component to a practical living skills unit for Jr. or Sr. High school students. $12.99

Simplified Dinners Gluten Free/Dairy Free. As you may know, we've gone gluten and dairy free, along with no soy, corn or tomatoes and as a result eating and cooking has taken on a life of it's own. This book was timely in that it helped me to think outside of the black bean, couscous, salad box get our shopping list back under control and believe that we could eat in a way that was healthy and delicious,and affordable. Even if you are not eating gluten and dairy free, this is a great resource!

DISCOUNT: Mystie is offering 30% off of her e-books as part of the this review from May 20th to June 3rd. Just use the code TOS 2013! Enjoy!

 

Senior Pictures

 

 

 

Our friends, L and Janell took and edited Feeche's Sr. pics.

Not bad, eh?

Clinging

For the past 3 1/2 years God has asked us to give up stuff and relationships- our house, the contents of our house, my sister, my father, and with the death of both of them, my family of origin for all intents and purposes, dreams for this acreage, and now, even more. I am heartbroken. I thought surviving the death of my father and the lost dreams, hopes and unanswered prayers might push me to the edge of faithlessness.Why? Because I had prayed faithfully and fervently for almost 3 decades and I took seriously the promise that "the prayers of a righteous man availeth much." The fact that my prayers availed little to nothing caused a paradox for me: either I was not righteous or God's promises aren't what they seem to be.
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I am not a girl of this generation that believes "God loves me and so do I." I am a girl of a generation that believes that God loves me and reached out His hand of mercy to lift me from the miry clay. Because I am a grateful survivor of pagan madness, understand what I was saved from and have a vague understanding of what it cost Him, I can't give up on God. While I fail at so very many things, I am a pit bull when it comes to something I am convinced of -I hang on and don't let go. And so, because God's promises have to be true, I have spent the past 2 1/2 years taking a searching and painful moral inventory with the intent of discovering areas of unrighteousness in my own life. I am ever in need of the Savior's Grace and Mercy- daily. I am just that much of a scr*w up.
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I can own that (further proving I am not a girl of this generation). I really have no big ego investment in proving that I am more or less righteous than anyone else, or get it right or know more. I am too busy working out my own faith with prayer and trembling. And I get that other people scr*w ups too. In my economy it's the human condition.
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Because we are all scr*w ups we can be mean. I get that people can be mean without meaning to be. I've been so myself. Like I said before, I believe it's part of the human condition (fallen and in need of salvation). But there is another kind of mean. That which is intentional, on-purpose and designed to wound. And frankly, right now,  I feel like I am hemorrhaging from the heart.
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I don't understand the point of this particular meanness. I am having a hard time understanding just how God wants me to respond. How I want to respond is with a commitment to put these people, and everyone condoning their actions, away. Away from my heart and my life- forever. But I can't and be honest. My 10 year old and I were having this same discussion last week as we cleared a field. She told me that she was going to consider these people dead. She is too hurt, too aggrieved and too confused to make sense of it all and I have no answers for her other than to let her cry more. And we talked about Wrinkle in Time and exthroi and unnaming. And I told her that as followers of the Living Christ, we are called to Name. Only followers of the evil one un-name. My own conviction holds me fast.
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But this morning I came un-done- why, why, why?! My 13 year old bear hugged me with every ounce of his gangly, scrawny self and reminded me that God loves me. That He loves me. That He loves me. And if I am going to respond to His love, I have to respond to His love in every area of my life. That is a hard word. And one I don't know if I am strong enough to live out. I wonder if God has forgotten that I am a jar of clay. 2 Cor. 4:7-12 has been my mantra and my song for over 2 years. I don't feel like life is at work in me. I feel like I am wasting away and with it my stuff, family, dreams, hopes, vision. I am afraid that those people and voices that have mocked and ridiculed us religiously for the past couple of decades might have been right all along. And frankly, that terrifies me because it means that God's will for my life cannot be truly known. And I need it to be. I need it to be.
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I don't know what else to do right now but cling. I cling to the word that says we do not lose heart. It's not a suggestion, it's a declaration.I am perplexed but not driven to despair. It's a declaration. And I am clinging to that. Because He is True and His Word bears witness to His Truth. 2 Corinthians 4:7-12; 16-18 (NIV)

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Feeding One's Soul

Spent the Day resting and listening to this, soaking in the smell of the lilacs that have finally bloomed and watching Les Miserables.

 

 We like this version better:

For one, we fast forwarded through several scenes in the newer version. The innkeeper is a cretin, already, we get that. And Prostitution is bad. Get that too. We seriously don't need it in living color in our living room. That said, Javert was far more approachable in the newer version. He makes more sense. And I loved how Jean Val Jean's faith was so up close and personal in the newer version. "Who am I." The priest named the man. The man remained true to the name. Claimed by God's redeeming grace. The True Story.

That being said, Cub still voted Focus on the Family Radio Theater as the big rendition winner. He has declared opera and musicals verboten and stated that subjecting him to 3 hours of operatic singing was even worse than sitting through Gone with the Wind. I have been officially declared a mean Momma. I am so over it already.

Share It Saturday

Teach Beside Me and The Sugar Aunts and I all team up to bring you Share It Saturdays- check out there blogs they are full of inspiration!

And now, here's the HOP:

Have a link back to this post if you are participating (on your blog or in your post)

If you link up, click on at least one other link for each one that you share.

You don't have to comment or follow, but I really do love both of those things! (A Lot!)

HAVE FUN! On to this week's link. Bring it on.....

 

High School Prep Genius -TOS Review

 

College Prep Genius has come out with High School Prep Genius. It has everything you need to plan for high school and beyond. There are 4 sections and several appendixes:

I: Introduction- this includes forms. I love forms.  Forms to use during high school, the summer, as you plan for post- high school, etc.
II:Foundation for Personal Success
III: Foundation for Academic Success
IV: Foundation for Future Success
Appendix A: How to Build a Transcript
Appendix B: Talent Searches
Appendix C: Great books to get you started
Appendix D: How to reduce Test Anxiety
Appendix E: Admissions Terminology

If you homeschool or alternative school through high school, you'll want to get a hold of this one. It tells you, in clear, step-by-step detail what to do when to successfully navigate high school and college acceptance.

Ds 13 and I read several sections and discussed them. He wasn't very interested in filling out detailed accounts about his personal development or areas of interest but then he's not a mull-er, he's a get-er doner.

He also was very frustrated by some of the rhetoric in Chapter 3: "Own Your Personal Beliefs." I. too, found this section to be troublesome in the way that it handled issues of worldview, values and "Truth." If you are reading this as a person of faith, you'll want to read it with your student, or amend it to reflect your and your families belief system.

This book advocates creating a notebook for each high school student. We already had a file system in place, but I did appreciate and include some of the forms found in the introduction.
If you have a student from 6th grade up, are unclear about how to navigate the high school years, add this to your list of must buys. It is an affordable, inclusive way of approaching high school and college admission!

College Prep Genius offers other products and services. Sign up for their free newsletter here.

High School Prep Genius an Academic Guide to Excellence is available for $29.95.

Content -excellent
Presentation -excellent
Organization -excellent

Spanish for You- TOS Review

 

Spanish for You! is a unique, fuss free curriculum designed to teach Spanish. It is based on "themed units" that build your language acquisition through vocabulary, pronunciation, syntax, conjugation and grammar. This is done through a combination of speaking, reading, and writing.  Each unit can be used as a stand-alone, or for quicker acquisition, done more than one at a time.

To date there are 2 units, Fiestas  (which we used) and Estaciones.

 

Fiestas teaches Spanish by gaining an understanding of the language used during certain celebrations. The festivals listed in this book include The Day of the Dead, Carnival, Holy Week in Spain, The April Fair. One of the aspects I really appreciate about this program is that it teaches within a context that makes sense to the student. Everyone loves a party, right, and the elements; food, theme, activities, purpose, etc. contextualize well vocabulary and grammar. Love that.

 

Debi Arnett, the creator of Spanish for You! designed the program to be fun, affordable and effective.  Which is exactly what we found it to be. And simple. Have I mentioned a time or two that I am all about simple? It's as simple as listening to the download, follow along as you listen to the audio and doing the worksheets as needed. It's straightforward enough that if you have older/responsible kids, they can do on their own, which is how we used it.

Each unit comes with the following products: 

• -paperback book or e-book
• -24-30 week lesson guide PDF download (24 weeks for Grades 5-6 and 7-8, and 30 weeks for Grades 3-4)
• -Self-checking PDF download worksheets
• -mp3 audio file downloads Flashcard/activity pictures PDF download

Spanish For You! is affordable.
Grades 3-8 - $64.95
Grades 3-4 - $39.95
Grades 5-6 - $39.95
Grades 7-8 - $39.95
Extra books - $12.95

One of the aspects of this program that I absolutely LOVE is that you can use it with multiple students and they can jump in whenever without finding themselves behind. In addition, while Debi recommends doing 3-4 classes a day, you can certainly go at a speed that works for you without losing what you've learned, Feeche cruised right through while Cub and Flower went at a more reasonable pace.  And it's always a thrill (for me, anyway) when you catch a student responding in Spanish, just for the sheer fun of it.

You know I'm all about memory work, and there is plenty of opportunity to create flashcards. The kids make their own, further reinforcing vocabulary learning. There are also ideas for games and activities, included within the lessons.

Want to check it out? Click the links for free samples:
Spanish For You! Fiestas
lesson guide
sample worksheets
mini lessons
 
Content - excellent
Presentation - good. We found the original downloads confusing but the author amended them even as we reviewed the program. This is one that is just going to get better and better.
Organization - Each area of the program was well organized and the ability to make sense of the pieces became better organized even while we used the program.