Live As If You Were To Die Tomorrow

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. 

Learn as if you were to live forever.”   ― Mahatma Gandhi

It's human nature to think there will be always be more time.

You'll have time when the kids go to school.  You'll have time when the kids grow up, go off to college and move out. You'll find time when things aren't so busy. There will be time when you have more money and don't have to work so much.

If you keep going at that rate you'll never find time. You need to MAKE time.

Have you always wanted to learn to play the guitar? What about write a book? Sell some of your photos? Start your own business? Dream of traveling to far off places?

How long have you been waiting to start living your dream life? Do you even know what that is? Do you even know what your dream life looks like?

You aren't getting any younger! Start today. Start now!

No one is guaranteed tomorrow. Make this a life of no regrets.

Make each day count!


Check out some of these websites. They could help you start living your dream life.
DaveRamsey.com
If you're short on cash and high in debt - start here. Don't wait to start your dream life until your are completely debt free. Find a way to start now.
Openculture.com/freeonlinecourses
Great foreign language classes, music, history, religion, biology, and more.
Open2Study.com
Writing, photography, early childhood education, and tons more.
Udemy.com
Entrepreneurship - From Idea to Launch, A Mini-Course on Achieving Your Dreams, Basic Life Support, a Mini Course on Better Reading and even a How to Draw Cartoons for Kids class.
Alison.com
Take a course on how to start your own business, grow your own organic food, yoga exercises or music theory plus more.
PlainandNotSoPlain.com
A years worth of Home Economics lesson plans - in case you're interested in brushing up your homemaking skills.
TillyAndTheButtons.com
Learn the absolute basics of sewing. This is a great site.
Craftsy.com
Lots of online courses to teach you a wide variety of crafts. They even offer projects and patterns.
Justinguitar.com
Over 980 free guitar lessons. If you need a guitar check local pawn shops or thrift shops.
PianoNanny.com
Want to learn how to play the piano. This site offers lessons from Beginner to Advanced.

If these don't help just go to your favorite search engine and type in "learn X online for free". Filling in the X with the topic of your choice, of course.

18 Tips and Tricks for Using Google Search

Everyone has heard of Google, but did you know all the really cool things it can do? Here are 18 helpful and fun tips and tricks for using the popular search engine that you may not know.

1.  Exclude from Search ResultsType "-X" replacing X with your word or phrase to exclude those results from your search results. For example, say you want to search for printables by not those on Pinterest.com type in  "-Pinterest"

2.  Definitions
To find the meaning of a word type "definition of X" replacing X with your work or phrase.

3.  Use Images to Search
Go to Google.com then click on Images without putting anything in the search area. Once on the images pages you will see a small camera near the search field. Click it. It will allow you to select an image from a website or you can upload one from your computer.

4.  Timer
Use Google as a timer. Enter "set timer to X" replacing the X with a number of hours or minutes. An example "set timer to 1 minute" or "set timer to 3 minutes 11 seconds".

5.  Holidays/Festivities
Find the day and date of holidays or festivities by typing in the name. For example, "Thanksgiving" will produce "Thursday, November 26 - Thanksgiving Day 2015".

6. Calculator
Don't have a calculator handy simply enter your math problem into the search results to get the answer.

7.  Tip Calculator
Out to eat at your favorite restaurant and need to figure out how much tip to leave. Just type in "tip calculator" which will let you enter the total bill before tip and select a percentage.

8.  Translate
Need to translate from one language to another. Perhaps there is a sign you need to understand but it's in another language - enter the words and it will show you the translation.

9.  Check the Weather
Wondering what the weather is in your hometown. Enter your city, state or city, country and forecast to get the weather for today and the next seven days.

10.  Movies
Find movies playing in your area. Enter "movies" and your zip code. You will see a visual image of the movies available. Just click on one and it will show you when and where it's being shown.

11.  Conversions
Do you need to convert feet to inches? What about Euros to Dollars? Type X "to" X for your results.

12.  Track a Package
If you're waiting for a package to arrive, enter the tracking number into the search bar and press enter to receive the status of your package.

13.  Tilt Screen
Type "tilt" in the search area and press enter to see your screen tilt at an angle.

14.  Barrel Roll
Type "do a barrel roll" to see your entire screen flip like a cartwheel.

15.  Atari Breakout
Play a game of Breakout on google by searching "Atari Breakout" without the quotation marks in Google Images. Trick is to keep the mouse within the playing area while moving it back and forth.

16.  Flip A Coin
Type "Flip a Coin" in the search field and a coin will rotate landing on either heads or tails.

17.  Roll a Six-Sided Die
Enter "roll a dice" into the search bar and press enter. Similar to flip a coin it will give you the results.

18.  Where Are You?
If you type in "Where Am I" it will bring up a map of your current location. Creepy and cool at the same time.

Some of these are useful and some are just for fun. Have fun and enjoy!

Locks of Love

This morning my oldest decided it was time she got her hair cut. It was getting a bit long and hard to manage.

We made our way to the mall which was really crowded on Christmas Eve. We went into Cartoon Cuts which is really a kid's hair salon, but they offer Locks of Love.

Locks of Love is a non-profit organization that provides hair pieces for children under 21 who have long term medical hair loss. Get more information about Locks of Love here.

She ended up donating 10" of hair and this is the second time she's done it. We are very proud of her and am glad she found her own way to help others.

By the way, she is still getting used to having such sort hair.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Lego Minifigure Holiday Postcards

Here's a fun, free postcard your kids will enjoy creating. Make your family in Lego Minifigures.

My kids helped create themselves in minifigures and loved it. The pic above is of our whole family.

The people are fully customizable. You can choose from a variety of faces, colors, and clothes. There is also an option to add names.

You can download the finished product or share in directly from Lego's site. I plan to print it out and save it as a holiday decoration.

What will you do with yours?


Create Your Own Postcard Here

Having Fun Exploring Cooks.com

I've gotten lost today. I was searching online for some old fashion recipes. See I'm really big into historical romance novels. Mostly stories from the late 1800 and early 1900 when the middle of the country was being settled.

While searching I came across www.cooks.com. How come I've never noticed this site before?

There are a million really good recipes here!!  I'm don't claim to be a great cook who experiments with spices and stuff, but I can follow a recipe.

Like I said earlier I was looking for historical recipes and found some really cool ones that I plan to try out.  Here are two I can't wait to try:   Old Virginia Angel Biscuits and Old Fashion Corn Bread.

The only thing I don't like about Cooks.com is the fact there there aren't photos of the finished recipe.

There is even a drink mixer manual where you can learn how to make almost any mixed drink.

If you are looking for a great recipe to take to your next get together or picnic browse their site. You are sure to find something you like.

* None of the links in this post are affiliate links. I am not compensated in any way if you decide to visit the site above or for posting about it. I'm simply sharing my opinions and experiences in hope of helping others. Enjoy!

Apps I Can't Live Without

Today I would like to share a couple apps that I just can't live without. I'm on them all the time and find them either fun or useful.

Contacts
This one comes standard on almost all phones. Besides keeping your family and friend's address, phone numbers and birthdays, some apps let you add a photo. On my iPhone this app allows you to add a note at the bottom of the person's contact page. In the note section, I put my contact's kids' names, anniversary date, and gift ideas. For my hubby, I put all his current medications and doses in that section.  This way I always have the info with me in case of an emergency room visit. Let me tell you some of those medications have long names.

Storm Shield Weather Radio App
Love this! It notifies you when there is a weather event in your area. Tornado, severe thunderstorm, flooding, etc. You get a text or message on your phone - no matter where you are in the United States. That way if your power is out in your home you can still know what's going on outside and keep your family safe. Let's face it, the weather has been pretty crazy throughout the U.S. lately and this app can help.

Facebook
I'm on this one everyday. It's how I connect with family and friends. We share photos and stuff happening in our lives.  It's a nice way to send a message to friends, distant family and acquaintances. There are also games you can play with friends, famous people you can follow, causes you can donate/help and lots more. Find me on Facebook: "Kimberly Butler-Shavatt"

Instagram
This one is really fun. I really enjoy taking photos and here is an app that lets me share them with others. Great for someone wanting to improve their photography skills. Practice makes perfect (or better at least). This is an app for beginners to expert photographers or anyone who is just goofing around with a camera like me. Follow me on Instagram at "shavattk"

Pinterest
This one is quite addictive. You are able to add pictures from all over the web to "boards" you create.  Almost anything you want. Some ideas include: DIY/Crafts, My Dream Home, Vacations I Plan to Take, and My Style. Plus you can follow other people's boards and re-pin their items to your boards. It's a great way to collect ideas. Follow me on Pinterest at username "shavattk".

Skee-Ball 2
This one is just a fun game. I've love skee-ball since I was a little girl. I even have an actual skee-ball game at home and now I have one on my phone to play anywhere I wish. This one lets you earn tickets and purchase little prizes. You can even tilt your phone to make the ball move different directions.

Solitaire
A classic card game that never gets old. It keeps your brain sharp. You are able to play with one card at a time or three at a time. It's fun because you can even customize the back of the cards with a photo from your camera roll.

All these app are available on the iTunes app store and are possibly available on other phones as well. Everyone of these apps are fr*ee except the Storm Shield which was $4.99 as of this morning.

4 Fun Science Experiments for Kids

Over the weekend I was searching the web for fun science activities to do with my kids when they start their summer break next week. Here are 5 of my favorites.

Source

1. Sparkly Explosion by Preschool Powol Packets. This is a really easy experiment that is fun for all ages. Using the same ingredients as a baking soda volcano, but more colorful and less time consuming (no volcano).

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2. Solar S'mores by Butter With A Side of Bread.  This is fun and delicious. They offer a easy to follow tutorial with lots of pictures - which always helps.

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3. Newspaper Chair by PBSKids.org. The challenge is to make a chair that someone could actually sit in from only newspaper and some tape. 

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4. Egg Sucked into a Bottle by Kids Science Experiments.net. This one definitely need adult supervision because it involves matches, but it's really neat.

I chose these experiments because I have kids finishing up grades 3, 5 and 7 and these appeal to all three of them. Some of the experiments may not be appropriate for younger kids. As always use your best judgment as a parent.

If you decide to try these, feel free to share your results by leaving a comment below.

Totally Random Stuff

Today is a miscellany type day. I've included a couple interesting sites I've found over the past couple days. Totally random stuff. Enjoy!

Chip It by Sherwin-Williams

I think this is a really neat site. You upload a photo and it will tell you what colors of paint you would need to match the photo. The photo above is one I took of my daughter's room and the colors that the site said would match. This site makes a nice tool for any home improvement or craft project.

World's Biggest Lego Set
My little guy still loves his Legos and when we saw this online I had to share. It's huge! With the announcement that they will be making more Star Wars movies I guess Lego went all out and made a life size (or bigger) model.  Have fun visiting the link and searching through all their Lego Star Wars creations.

Roof Top Storage that Doubles as a Boat
This looked really cool and handy if you are a prepper. It's a roof-top storage container that doubles as a dingy. It's really pricey at $1500 or so, but helpful if you live in flood prone areas. Just a neat idea. Great invention.

So those were my random picks for today. Have a great day and see you tomorrow!

Homeschooling for Moms

Homeschooling isn't just for kids.  There are plenty of ways for moms and dads to learn from home as well.  Show your kids that learning is a life long activity.

Here is a selection of sites that offers courses online.

Course - Free
http://oedb.org/open/  Offering 10,000 free online classes. They offer audio lectures, video lectures and full courses from the top schools in the US including MIT, Stafford, and Duke University.

GCFLearnFree.org  This sites courses cover more basic, everyday life subjects such as computer and math basics along with computer software courses.

http://www.openculture.com This website offers 700 free courses from top universities in a variety of subjects. They also offer a nice selection of courses that provide a certificate of completion when finished.

Courses - Paid/Fee
Ed2Go.com  This site works in conjunction with local colleges or on it's own. There is a fee for courses and set course dates. Variety of courses from Accounting, Law, Health Care and Teaching in addition to College Readiness and Personal Enrichment courses.


Whether you want to brush up on skills already learned long ago or learn something new. Never stop learning!

Random Stuff I Found Online - April 30, 2013

Today I thought I would share a couple really fun things I discovered this week. Kinda random, but that's okay. Enjoy!

Write On Watches
My middle schooler loves these. They are watches, but you can draw and erase on the watch band. Pretty neat. You can write notes to yourself or doodle.  They are also waterproof and tear resistant. Plus they are only $5 plus s/h.


I just thought this was really cute!

Source: 29.media.tumblr.com via Joanna on Pinterest

* None of the links in this post are affiliate links. I am not compensated in any way for mentioning these sites. I just thought they were really neat. :)

When Queens Ride By - A Fave Ebook

I'm writing today to share with you a wonderful ebook. It's one of my faves and I read it a couple times a year.

It's called "When Queens Ride By" by Agnes Sligh Turnbull. It was written in 1926 but it could just as easily been written yesterday.

The topic of the story is a woman's role in a marriage. Whether it's better for the marriage for the wife to work side by side her husband as an equal or she takes care of the home and family and acts as an encourager. I myself have felt like the main character many times and find this ebook very motivational.

Being a stay at home wife and mom with all 3 kids in full time school - I frequently feel like the main character. Torn between working outside the home to help my family financially and stay home for my family to help raise and care for my children (avoiding day care/summer camps).

The ebook is offered by one of my favorite websites: Living on a Dime.com.  The owners of the site are a lovely mother/daughter team, Jill Cooper and Tawra Kellam. They offer lots and I mean lots of really common sense advice on how to live frugally. Love, love, love their site and have been reading their work for years.

So here's the book - enjoy!

"When Queens Ride By"
Click Here to Download

Love, Love Freecycle.org

Okay I know I've mentioned this site before but I really do love freecycle!

Look what I picked up this morning.

See my oldest was really needing a place to do her homework and we just don't have the funds right now, so I asked on my local freecycle. To my surprise I received 4 offers. WOW!!!

This one is a nice size and I can refinish it to make it fit her very bright and colorful style. It's also made quite well - all good quality wood.

BUT freecycle isn't just about getting free stuff. I donate clothes my kiddos have outgrown, toys they no longer play with and even household items we no longer use.  It's a great way to keep clutter from your home. Pass on things you no longer use to people who really want them.

This cute desk will get many years of use left in my home, but the previous owner didn't have a use for it anymore. Win-win. They get it out of their home where it was taking up space and we get a neat desk for the kids to do their homework. (Look for the desk's updated look in a post soon.)

Feel free to visit their website and find a chapter near you.

PicMonkey My New Fave Website

I LOVE this site!

PicMonkey.com is such a fun site. It lets you upload a photo and edit it, add text, create collages, and even add special effects.

I don't know about you but I can't afford PhotoShop, Adobe or any of those really cool, but expensive programs. This one is online and free. Which means it doesn't take up room on my computer and it won't empty my checkbook either.

Just check out these cool before and after photos I created on PicMonkey.com

 

 

They offer an upgrade to get more features, but there are loads of free ones. These photos were don't without any upgrades.

This site is fun for personal or professional use. If you have a blog or business you can copyright your photos. It is also useful for scrapbooking or journaling as well.

* I did not receive any compensation for mentioning or promoting this site. I just thought it was a great site and wanted to share it with others.

Fun Ways to Learn Online

Today I'm sharing a couple of my family's favorite educational sites. My kiddos use these sites to help them with their schoolwork. I love that they have fun learning and it doesn't cost me a dime.

Kids today have become so technologically advanced. Even babies and toddlers are using computers. Because of this, teachers and parents are working hard to use technology to making learning fun by turning it into a game. Kids learn and have fun at the same time. Win Win!

Math-Play.com
This is an amazing site. It is organized by grades 1-8 and by type of math game. I love that this site offers games for older kids as well, not just addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. It also offers fractions, equations, integers as well. There are even a couple versions of Jeopardy to play in teams.

"Free Money Game" has really helped my daughter learn how to count money. She also uses the "Time Matching Game". These are fun ways for her to practice the skills she is learning in school.


SheppardSoftware.com
What an awesome site! We especially love the Fruit Shoot Addition game. There are lots of really fun games that are appropriate for all ages, even high school and college. That makes this site even more valuable. Not many offer education games for older students. 

My oldest child uses their World Geography and US Geography games and tutorials to help with her homework. We also routinely play the US capitals game. Be sure to check out their chemistry section and science section - great for older students.

FunBrain.com
This site is geared toward elementary and middle school aged students. It is organized by grade level and is more like an arcade than the previous two sites.

FunBrain.com offers lots of games, but they also offer a couple books for kids to read online including a special version of "Diary of a Wimpy Kid".  My youngest really enjoys doing the Mad Libs Jr games.

These three sites are some of my family's favorites. I feel good letting my kids play video games so long as they are learning at the same time. These sites offer a wide variety of games so they have plenty to choose from and don't get bored.

* I have not received any compensation for my mentioning of these sites. These are my own personal opinions and just really enjoy the sites and hope you will to.

Still Can't Afford Weight Watchers or Nutrisystem

I did a post a while back about not being able to afford Weight Watchers or Nutrisystem. Read it here.

I just want to say that back in 2010 I broke down and actually signed up for Weight Watchers.com.  I followed their online version faithfully for almost a year. I actually did very well and lost almost 60lb by following their recommended point values. Then with only 5 lbs to go they changed their system to points plus and didn't want to learn a whole new diet plan. The old one worked so well for me. The new plan just didn't work for me so I quit. Not to mention I couldn't keep paying every month for the rest of my life.

I've since got an iPhone and found a wonderful app called "Lose It". It is a f*re-e app and has a lot of the same features as Weight Watchers Online. I love it. I can log my food each day and it even deducts calories burned through exercise. The really neat feature is if the food isn't listed in their database you can scan the bar code and all the info is automatically entered. It's great.

It also works on the iPod touch and iPad. It's available on the iTunes site for download or you can access site online at www.LoseIt.com. They have a basic no charge version and a paid version that offers more features.

I still believe that Sparkpeople is a great site. They also have an app for the iPhone but it costs $3.99. They offer lots of great resources on their website at no charge or monthly fees. Their site has more interaction between other users than LoseIt's free version does.

The holidays are fast approaching and so is New Years in case you are considering weight loss as a Resolution this year.

Please feel free to share your experiences with these sites.

Easy Ways to Organize Your Photos

If you love taking photos half as much as me than you probably have a ton of photos. The problem is how to store all those photos and how to access them when you want them.


Folders
On your computer it is really easy to create a new folder for each month. I recommend naming them "201X-XX". Put the year first followed by the two digit month. For example October 2012 would be 2012-10. This will make all your months show up in order as opposed to alphabetically where August will always come before February. This also keeps entire years together.

This system works best for those people taking basic everyday family photos. If you need a outside summertime photo for a scrapbook page simply look in June, July or August's folder.

Flash Drives
Flash drives or thumb drives work great for people who take a lot of photos at one time. For example if you are taking photos of a special event such as a wedding just load all those photos onto one flash drive.

Another way to use these devices is to put all the photos for a month, quarter or year on one flash drive - depending on how many photos you take and how much the device will hold.

Photo Box
 If you are the type of person to get every photo developed than a photo box is the system for you. Separate the photos by month, quarter, year or even by subject or project. An example would be all Christmas photos in one box or all photos of little Susie in another box.

On a side note if you use a digital camera I highly recommend only printing out the photos you will actually use. Making sure you will be using them in a scrapbook, picture frame or other craft project in the near future. Wasting less ink and paper.

Online
There are three really great sites online that will host all your photos for you. There are lots of sites out there, but these are the ones I've tried and would recommend.

Flickr.com
This is easy to use. There is a 300MB bandwidth limit each month with the fre*e account. You can upgrade to PRO for $1.87 a month. It's pretty inexpensive. My only issue is you need to set each photo to copyrighted otherwise it can be used by anyone under the Creative Commons License. I also recommend setting each photo's privacy settings so it can only be seen by certain people such as Friends or Family.

http://photobucket.com/
This is another easy to use site. There is a unlimited photo uploads and 500 video limit for the free account. There appears to be a 10GB monthly bandwidth limit. The copyright settings appear to be about the same as Flickr.com's. One feature I really enjoy is you can mark all photos so they cannot be copied or shared - you don't have to mark each individual one.

http://www.shuttercal.com/
I love this site. Perfect for your 365 Photo Project. Simply upload a photo onto each day on the calendar. They even give you the option to order a printed daily calendar (month at a time or whole year). Lots of fun!

The main thing is to find one organization system that works for you and your photo storage needs.

Earn Money for Christmas with Swagbucks

Today I'm going to mention one of my favorite sites.  Swagbucks!

I really do love this site. This is one of the many ways I pay for Christmas presents each year.

I simply use the Swagbucks search engine just like Google and earn bucks.  Trade your Swagbucks in for gift cards or other prizes. I always trade mine in for Amazon.com gift cards because they never expire and can be used to buy almost anything. You can even use them for Kindle downloads.

There are other ways to earn bucks such as filling out surveys, completing offers, completing the daily poll, and finding special codes on their blog. The best part is there is no fee to join.

Every time I earn enough Swagbucks to purchase an Amazon gift card I do so. Then I apply it to my Amazon account where I save them up for Christmas.

Swagbucks.com

Amazing Christmas Budget Helper

Christmas is only 13 weeks away. Oh my gosh, that can't be right! Can it?

If your family is like most of the county (USA) including mine you're probably living on a tight budget. We actually save up for all Christmas purchases.

However, saving can be really hard for some families. Luckily there is an easy answer. Consider using Kmart's Layaway Program.  I've done this for years and it saves me so much time and hassles.  No fighting the crowds, no trying to save up large amounts of money, and best of all I get all the things my family wants.

It's simple. You shop around the store getting everything on your list than head over to the Layaway Dept. They ring everything up and you pay $15 or 10% whichever is greater as a down payment. Then you make smaller payments every 2 weeks. 8 or 12 weeks later, you pick up your stuff, wrap and your done.

I like the fact that I don't have to hide the present for long because they are still at the store. Save and sound on hold for me. It works great when you have limited storage space or kids who like to snoop.

 I also love the fact that you can make payments online or at any Kmart cash register throughout the store.

Okay now here's the really cool part. They are holding a giveaway. There is 1 winner every week at EVERY store. That person will get the balance of their layaway paid in full. Which means possibly a free Christmas for you or me. Really cool!

Get all the details here.

* I am not affiliated with Kmart and am not compensated in any way if you choose to shop there.

Summers Almost Here - Need Kids Activities?

Well summer is almost here and you know what that means. Kids will be home on summer vacation. Then you'll hear those dreaded words "Mom, I'm bored" or "There's nothing to do."

It's all about planning ahead. Make a list of all the things you want to do this summer and then plug them into a calendar. For example: visit a different playground each week on Thursday or go watch a free kids movie on Wednesday morning.

If you don't have time to plan or just don't have the patience then I can help. I've just started another blog called "12 Weeks of Summer Fun" at http://www.12WeeksofSummerFun.com. This site is a day-by-day journal covering 12 weeks of activities that I'm doing with my kids. It includes printables, crafts, sites to visit, activities and more.  I've done all the work for you, so feel free to follow along and use some or all the activities with your kids. 

Have a great, fun, adventurous summer. Thanks for reading  :)

Mommytime Monday - Cool Uses for Plastic Bags

What do you do with all those plastic grocery and shopping bags? Do you reuse them? What about recycle them?  Why not make something out of them?

Here's a fun craft project!

Photo Provided by Etsy.com

Learn how to make a really cool recycled bag. Here is one really incredible tutorial on Etsy.com

http://etsylabs.blogspot.com/2007/05/long-overdue-fusing-plastic-bag.html


Here's another great tutorial using plastic bags from an amazing blogger. She shows you how to make iron-on decals for t-shirts, bags, etc. all from plastic bags. The possibilities are endless. 
http://www.filthwizardry.com/2010/03/iron-on-decals-from-plastic-shopping.html

There are lots of ways to use this project. Here are just a few ideas:
* Mother's Day
* Party favors (goody bags or t-shirts)
* Green Recycled shopping bag
* Cute decals for everyday clothes
* Decorations for curtains in children's rooms or for the holidays