Good Bye to my 6 Square Foot Wireless Router.

So we have this mammoth desktop computer.  You know the kind, I know you do.  The ones before laptops!  Not only is there a big hard drive, but there is this huge monitor.  I am talking anciently huge.  It covers 2/3 of the counter's width.  Not one of those thin flat screens.  Too frugal here to upgrade between the desktop generation and the laptop generation.  The only use it has been getting is we plug the wireless router into it.  Really!!!  Six square feet of valuable counter space has been occupied by what you could call "our wireless router."  Ridiculous.  But it has been my "procrastination project" this month. 
Yep, it has taken a month to do the following. 
Back up all the files I want onto my external hard drive that is smaller than my wallet.  (Actually took me less than 1/2 hour.)
Convince hubby to wipe the hard drive. That took some reminding.   Then it took some, "How long is it going to take?"  Then he walked over to the beast and started the process.
It did its job while we worked on other things.
Finally, tonight I looked online at Goodwill Industries.
Hubby sent me an email a month or two before this project was started.  The email informed us that Goodwill accepts Computers, etc. 
Hence my motivation to start this project.
But hubby questioned my memory.  Since I had deleted the email, I need to get online and research. 
Less than 5 minutes later, I had searched and located our area's Goodwill websites and found my answer.
Not only that, I discovered this page.  It is a Value Guide for items being donated.  I knew there was something out there.  But I have always done a guestimate.  LOoking at the values, I think I have been under-valueing our belongings.  Good to know for the future. 
And tomorrow...I hope we make a trip to Goodwill. 
Then I can say, MISSION COMPLETED.

So I settled in for a re-read of my dear friend, Wendy's email.  I knew what she was writing was good, but with all the distractions and interruptions around here I have been unable to soak in the words and really get more than a quick cursory read.  So I had exactly 2 minutes without interruptions.  Just long enough for me to read it, and exclaim in my heart and mind with a WOW!  Good stuff.  I truly mean 2 minutes, because since I finished reading it and decided it must be blogged, I have had 3 commercial breaks courtesy of my children.  All which must be focused upon and addressed.  But this is good stuff.  Stuff I have chatted in part with various family members over the last couple of days. Then I went to Amazon.  I found the Kindle addition for 1.99.  I have the Kindle app on my ITouch.   Now, to find the time to read it, like I said early, 2 minutes is sometimes all I get.  Frankly, that is rarity in of itself.  Cause the only time they seem to not come looking for me is when I am working on chores.  Then I have to go find them.  Funny how that works. 

Her email.

Happy New Years. I have been reading "Just Walk Across the Room - Simple Steps Pointing People to Faith" by Bill Hybels. This is an easy read. In a recent chapter, it reminds me again the role that I am suppose to play.
"Don't we often think that we are supposed to get a seeker to cross the finish line, seal the deal, and check the salvation box? Isn't the whole goal here to see people, come to faith in Christ? ... I believe many people begin their spiritual quest at a negative ten and that my role is to facilitate their movement to a negative eight....Two points on the spectrum, and a result that is still in negative territory It used to discourage me, but at some point I began to accept the fact that the role I am supposed to play is ... well, the role I'm supposed to play. ... I have a hoe, and I'm suppose to break up some really hard soil in someone's heart so that the next person to come along might have some influence in planning a seed or two along those rows. We can't ordain the role we get to play, and we certainly can't predict the time frame of someone coming to faith. It's easy to get cynical when sowing seed, but if you will just persevere, the potential is colossal."



Thank you Wendy for sharing!

New Year and a New Calendar

I like calendars. The pretty pictures. The memories. Over the past ?? years our calendars have been lovingly created by my mom. A couple of the years, there was a deal I couldn't pass up online, so I made one that way. But every Novemberish mom asks me to make a cd of all the pictures that year. Not an easy feat for me. As the number of pictures I have taken have declined and it would seem some years all the photos would be one or two or maybe 3 children. A couple would be left hanging out there? ? ? I really do love them all. There are just seasons. Like the girl who just is too embarrassed to ever have her picture taken any more.

But the past few years, these calendars have been more for wall art than functional for us. With seven schedules and lives to keep up with, the calendar gets crowded. I have searched and tried a lot of systems. I normally would find one that would work for a season and then I would start searching and praying again. The paper clutter always being such a burden.

Over a year ago, my Fun Mom and I went to Ireland. When we returned, she still had left over spending money! ! Imagine that. She had enough to get an Apple Itouch. Affectionately, renamed Me-touch! I watched her with her toy for a year. Pretty cool little gadget. Talked with a friend, learned a little more about aps. Started thinking....

Then this delightful friend sent me this link. All about using Google calendars for homeschooling. I didn't want a smart phone. Too thrifty to spend the money every month for internet access. However, I was really wanting to empty my hands and not have my bulky calendar. Using an Itouch for a calendar, that convinced me. So my back to school shopping including a very expensive calendar. Over Thanksgiving break I lost my school binder. The one with transcripts, grades and records. UGH ! ! Got me motivated in researching and learning how to use Google calendars for school. In the course of this research I discovered I could save their school records in Google documents! Imagine that. I back up records, but sometimes there is a gap.... Still playing with this idea. Still need to tweak this a bit here and there. But I am learning to not be afraid of all this technology and find a way to make it work for me and my family.

I fell in love with this new techno calendar concept. Enough now, my kids can access their school assignments and schedule on their devices. They can't change anything! They can look ! Of course, they love their "toys" and don't want to lose them. Not like a piece of paper called an assignment sheet. Really like this idea. But it gets better.

Different colors for different kids. Dad's schedule, mom's schedule. I can select which calendars I want to look at. I can choose which calendars to share with each child. But I also created a couple of special calendars. Can't remember where I read this idea but it stuck and I am loving it. I now have a calendar of possibilities. When I find out about something fun to do and don't know if we will. I put on the "Possibilities" calendar. I can hide it if it is cluttering up my screen. But I don't have to hold onto all those extra papers! Then I was collecting a list of prayer requests. Some I was having difficulty to remember because they were for a surgery date in a month, or a meeting in 2 weeks. Then I thought, a "Prayer Request" calendar. I can have repeat for as long as I need to. Plus, whenever I glance at my calendar, I am reminded to pray.

Assignment sheets that can't be lost. Calendars that can be accessed anywhere there is internet service. Reduced paper clutter. Plus, entertainment on the go for Flutter Nutter. He loves to play Angry Birds and Xs and Os (Tic Tac Toe).

It worked!

Grandma's Stories are on my IPOD! !
Takes 1 hour to put each cassette onto my computer.... 2 down, ? ? to go !
But they will be saved.
Can't wait to suprise the kids.
First Sleep!