Monday, September 29, 2008

The 67th Homesteading Carnival and Aesop

The 67th Homesteading Carnival has caused us to pause and think of the different ways that dedicated homemakers prepare for the winter months and care for their families. In doing this, a fable came to mind.... read more

Next week Jennifer at Quiverfull family will be hosting. If you would like to participate in next Monday’s edition of The Homesteading Carnival (THC), Submissions can be made on Blog Carnival.

Blessings!

Labels: ,



Saturday, September 27, 2008

Submission Reminder!

Just wanted to remind you to send in your carnival submissions before tomorrow night at 9pm EST!

Have a wonderful Lord's day!

Blessings!

Labels:



Friday, September 26, 2008

Low Immune System?

YoungMommy i'm sick... can you believe that? why must i get sick right before vacation? hope i'm better by saturday

Miss Jocelyn aww dear, how are you sick?

YoungMommy i seem to get sick before big trips... you know, stress lowers your immune system? i'll be fine, tho, it's just a cold.

Miss Jocelyn oh ok You need to take some raw honey, by spoonful or in something. :) VERY good for you. READ HERE: http://www.growingingraceonline.com/2008/05/making-home-spoonful-of-honey.html

YoungMommy does it have to be "raw" honey? where do i get it?

Miss Jocelyn it should be raw so none vitamins are gone, and you can get it at health store or if anyone has organic stuff they might have it. we get ours from a small, local market type place in town. wal-mart doesn't carry raw honey

YoungMommy calling hubby now to ask him to stop and get me raw honey... thanks!

Labels: ,



Monday, September 22, 2008

Happy Birthday Edition!

Erica Burgan posted a wonderful The Homesteading Carnival #66 - Happy Birthday Edition in honour of her children! Stop by and check it out.

Don't forget to submit your articles for next weeks' edition hosted by Howtome.com

Blessings!

Labels: , ,



Saturday, September 20, 2008

Reminder!

I just wanted to remind you all to send in your submissions before tomorrow night at 9pm EST. I also wanted to let you know I am hosting the Carnival of Homeschooling on Monday if you care to submit anything to that.

I have really wanted to keep this blog more up to date with different homesteading posts and definitely recipes because everyone can use those! lol But I not only manage this blog but several others. I will just give you a list of the most recent posts I've done on various blogs around the "world".
Decoding The P31W Graphics via A Pondering Heart
Our Great God via A Pondering Heart
Homeschool Memoirs: #5 My Favourite Things - Er - Sites! via The Homeschool Post
Making The Home: KP #2 via GGMagazine
Mother's Memo via GGMagazine
Senior - Miss Nastya via Homeschool Seniors
Miss Serenity via Feelin' Feminine
US Constitution Week Projects via States Exploration
As you can see I do a lot with writing and managing blogs on a regular basis (in one week!). I am also putting the September GGM into PDF magazine version, which has already taken two days to do half, and I am getting all my articles done for the next issue. Let's not forget school and housework... oh and goats - Wilbur is still in the house, btw, but I think he is getting stronger (vocally too! ;-/).

Yes, dolphin lady I'm really only 17. LOL!

There are two things you can all do to make this easier for everyone.... submit an article each week and sign up for the feedburner! I am ready to ditch the manual updates. :P

I hope you have a lovely day. I must leave you now and go fix Wilbur's box.

Blessings!

Labels: , , , , , , ,



Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Willllburrrr’s Carnival

I do apologize for not announcing this sooner, but as you will see by reading the carnival much of my time as well as the other Dixon's have been taking care of our preemie goat-kid, "Wilby" and making sure he is getting all the nutrition he needs. You can read more about that (and see his "hospital room") over at Mother Dear's blog as she hosted the The Homesteading Carnival #65 :Willllburrrr’s Carnival. Haha!

I hope you enjoy the carnival, and make sure to get your entry in to the BlogCarnival so that it may be posted next week at The Sojourner.

Blessings!

Labels: , ,



Friday, September 12, 2008

Change of... Hosts

GrandmaRosie will not be able to host the carnival this next week, and I ask that you pray for her and her family. Her granddaughter, 11, is having some problems and could really use prayers.

Jacque Dixon @ Walking Therein will be hosting the carnival instead. I hope you will consider joining us! I've changed the blogcarnival page so you can go ahead and submit your articles.

Blessings!

Labels: ,



notebook . . . easy to make . . . easy to use

You must check out this simply adorable personalized notebook that my dear friend, Emily Rose, made. She posted what you need and how to do it, with photos. Oh so cute! And can be made for either a boy or a girl, just depends on the paper you use.




I am going to have to try this myself. I got to see her's live and in person yesterday and she did a fabulous job!

Blessings!



Labels: , , , ,



Wednesday, September 10, 2008

HonCin Face Scrub

Since June I have been using a new face scrub that works wonderfully and is safe and all natural for your skin. I make it myself and the ingredients are very simple. You use cinnamon and raw honey, and that’s all. Honey contains many, many vitamins that are good for your body inside and out. A Spoonful Of Honey keeps the ailments down, but add cinnamon to the mix and you’ve got some powerful stuff.

CinHon Face Scrub:

1 tablespoon of cinnamon

2 tablespoons of honey

Now you can make the face scrub right when you’re going to use it or before and preserve it by sticking it into the refrigerator. I haven’t been able to do it yet, but I’d like to make some and put it in an old mask tube or face pump that way when I need it I can just squirt it out.

Because honey is naturally runny the scrub may run if you choose to leave it on for a while working like a mask, especially if it’s hot out. I prefer doing this over just washing my face with it because it is able to work on my skin longer. The info from where I originally got this recipe says to leave it on overnight but I have yet to figure out how this is done, especially because I do toss and turn during the night. If you use this scrub continually for two weeks, and especially leaving it on for at least half and hour, it is proven to remove zits from the roots.

The cinnamon is actually pretty grainy so when you go to wash it off go in a circular motion to scrub any dirt or dead skin off.

The first time I used this I was desperate to get rid of a nasty zit on my forehead and when I had applied it and rinsed it off half and hour later my zit had gone down a considerable amount. My face also felt SO soft and smelled like honey too!

I really enjoy using this and it takes nothing to make. Yes, the honey may be expensive but it’s natural and not anymore, if less, that what you’d have to pay for some good organic face wash. Go on and try it! You’ll feel the results instantly!

Blessings!

Labels: , , ,



Monday, September 8, 2008

Proverbs 31 Edition

Amanda hosted the carnival this week, and did the theme as the Proverbs 31 Woman. I don't think we often realize what an absolutely wonderful homestead she was, but Amanda gave us a bit of an idea... The Homesteading Carnival #64: The Proverbs 31 Woman Edition.

Next week's host is Grandma Rosie's Texas Home, please make sure you get your submission sent in - blogcarnival form. It was a pleasure reading the submissions from this week!

Labels: ,



Friday, September 5, 2008

Flip-Flop Cake

My sister, Lady Rachel, was looking at bettycrocker.com the other day for recipes, and stumbled onto some really neat cake ideas. Ideas for, not only birthday cakes, but for any occasion. There were quite a few designs I liked, but I think my favourite was the Flip-Flop one, though I'm not a flip-flop type of girl. They have the recipe and supplies you need on the site, and a tutorial video too.



How to make a flip flops birthday cake

Flip-Flops CakeFlip-flopping on what to serve for dessert? Create the talk of the dessert table with delicious colorful "sandals." Print out this template and use it as a guide to cutting and assembling your flip-flops.

Prep Time:45 min
Start to Finish:2 hr 30 min
Makes:15 servings
Get recipe

This cake idea could be used for a birthday, a girl's night, a or a summer get together. Very cute idea, and you can add whatever candies or frost it whatever colour you want!

I also enjoyed learning a few tips on how to decorate a birthday cake and get the "dome" off the top after it's done baking. I really enjoyed looking at the bettycrocker site, and though they tell you to use boxed-cake mixes it's a pretty resourceful site.

Labels: , , , ,



Tuesday, September 2, 2008

McCain's VP Choice: Sarah Palin

I'm not sure how involved you all are in politics, but I think it's something, as American citizens, should all be involved in. I don't have time to do the run down, but wasn't happy with McCain's choice for VP... the HSBA is having some interesting discussion about Sarah Palin and her choice to "homeschool" if you wanted to check it out.

Sarah Palin Plans to Homeschool
Written by Spunky Homeschool on August 30, 2008 – 11:26 am

Also Sisterlisa wrote a wonderful post on homeschooling and making it a heritage. I would encourage you to read it.

Homeschooling Heritage
Written by Sisterlisa on September 1, 2008 – 10:20 pm

With the new school season starting there is so much to do and so much to glean. HSBA also set up a weekly meme, run by me, to bring together the homeschooling community and to have fun in the process. I am also entering my senior year of homeschooling and have set up the 2008-09 Homeschool Seniors site. If you know of any Seniors who'd be interested in this, please let them or me know!

And last, but definitely not least, is the announcement of the September 2008 issue of Growing In Grace Magazine. There are so many wonderful articles in this issue... from Godly-character, to education, health, and history. Oh did I mention the three really neat giveaways? Go see...




Labels: , , , , ,



What IS A Carnival Exactly?

A lot of people are confused about a blog carnival and what it's supposed to do for the blogging community. When I first heard about the Carnival of Homeschool I was also quite confused and didn't understand it, but that was over a year ago and since then I have been participating myself in several and even started one, The Homesteading Carnival (THC), which, of course, I would all like you to participate in if you can.

Now, that I'm a designer/HTML guru I get a lot of questions regarding all aspects of blogging, including "what's a carnival?" so I thought I would share with you in case you were wondering and you're welcome pass this along to anyone else.

1. Carnivals To Join
The Homesteading Carnival (THC)
Carnival of Homeschooling (COH)
Carnival of Education
Learning in the Great Outdoors
Music Education Blog Carnival
The Charlotte Mason Carnival
Bookworms Carnival
Smile for the Camera
Being Dad
A Carnival Of Everything Home
Carnival of the Recipes
Make it from Scratch!
Carnival of Christian Women
Carnival of Family Life
Beauty Carnival
A Carnival of Country Living

These are not all, not even close, but ones that I have participated in. My friend Christa Taylor just started the Carnival of Modesty at her blog: Modesty Carnival (I made the banners and icons). If you click on any of the links above it will take you to a site called BLOGCARNIVAL.com where simply everyone lists their carnival in the directory. You're able to read what the carnival description, when it's posted, and how to submit an article. Very easy.

2. What "Carnival"?
Though I have never had an official word on it, I believe people call them carnivals because like going to a carnival where they have many different booths, all on the same topic, but with different information. The only thing that differs from a blog carnival and a real carnival is you don't have to pay an admission fee, it's not just for pointless amusement, and you can visit at anytime of the day.

3. What's The Purpose?
A carnival is designed to bring people together from all over, all from different viewpoints, writing about the same topic (ie: homesteading, homeschooling, education, etc) to educate you or to inspire. A carnival enables you to share your ideas and to learn from others... ideas, tips, thoughts, and experiences. It's also very convenient because all the links on this one subject are all in one place. You can use this carnival to visit many in a short amount of time, and you'll know exactly when as all Carnivals have a "day of the week" they publish.

3. Participating
Now, that you got an idea about what a carnival is you may find one you want to participate in. The easiest way to submit an article is using the blogcarnival form. You add your link into the URL box and the page will then reload with all the information from that post. After that all you do is add your name and email and push send. BlogCarnival will then send your entry to the host for that week, and the host will have your email to let you know when the carnival is posted.

4. Why?
One very good reason to participate in a carnival is to get exposure and meet people who have a common interest. When you give out your blog links, free of charge no doubt, people will then come to your blog to read it. I have had a lot off good blog exposure through carnivals, and it's always nice to meet new people.
5. Promoting
It is kind and polite to announce and promote the carnivals you participate in on your blog and spread the word. This will get more people reading your posts and more joining the carnival, which will also give you more exposure. A lot of times carnivals have an icon to place on your sidebar as icons are more likely to catch someone's attention than a text-link will - this also helps remind you to submit something.

5. Hosting
The first rule of hosting is you must participate in the carnival. It's unfair for you to host a carnival, especially a popular one, if you have not helped it by contributing for at least a month. When you're a "weekly attendee" you may be asked or offer to host a carnival, which is very simple. Just be participating in carnivals you get the idea of how it's put together. A lot of times people are creative and do the carnival in "editions. I just posted THC's edition called "The Carnival Can Help" and focused on how the carnival can better your life. As host you're welcome to do the carnival in whatever fashion or theme you please - adding photos, quotes, etc. Depending on the popularity of the carnival will depend on how long it takes you to put it together. Some carnivals get 50-100 submissions weekly while others only get 15-25. When you're done with the carnival usually late the night before it's supposed to be posted you publish it and then email everyone who submitted something with the link to it and ask them to announce it on their blogs. You should also always include a link to the blogcarnival form (for that carnival) and a link to the next week's host (or the carnival's home blog).

I hope this has enlightened and inspired you to participate in a carnival. I know there is a carnival for every one of you so come on and join the fun!

Labels: ,



Book Giveway!

I'm having a book giveaway over at my personal blog if any of you would like to check it out, which I would encourage!




Labels: , ,