Domain to Expire- What Will Happen to This Blog?

I'm just putting this here in case all goes south when the expiration happens. I've had nlfamily.net registered as a domain for perhaps 5 years {maybe 4; the blog's been here 6 years} but I'm going to let it lapse this year. The original address for this blog is northlaurelhome.blogspot.com It is my hope that it will simply go back to that and the blog itself will remain.

I'm not tech savvy and so I don't know the ins and outs of these things.

I am considering moving my posts from here to either my weebly site or my wix site. The links, whether I move the posts or not, will all be broken that direct to nlfamily.net

The expiration date is August 16, 2015. We'll see what happens. 

Just for Fun...Where Have You Been?

Here's a bit of fun for a Sunday evening. Where in the US have you been? Over at Reviews & Reflections, Heidi put where she's visited so I thought it would be fun to see "in lights" (haha, or at least color) where I've been. 

When I look at this I'm surprised how many states I've been to! Now, honestly most of these I've only driven through and at least stopped for fuel while on the way to another state/location. But I'm including it anyway! I can recall every state....uh, with the exception of Mississippi. I visited there when I was very little and have no recollection of it. I'm sure we went through Tennessee but I didn't include it...maybe I should have... oh well :)

Oh and to play along with the others (sometimes I play well...other times not so well!), tell some of the favorite places and a little bit about them:

1. Custer State Park, Black Hills, South Dakota-
Love, love, love this area! I am from Oregon and will always be 'from' Oregon but South Dakota rivals it as my second favorite state for beauty. We've gone a few times camping (ahem, cabining- it's not 'camping' if your not in a tent my kids say...) and I can't wait to go again and again.

2. Xenia, Dayton, & Middletown, Ohio-
Although these places might not be very pretty they hold a special place in my heart because I spent a lot of my younger years between them. And the trees....love the different types of deciduous trees.

3. OREGON-
Although this is #3, it's really #1 for me :) Anywhere in Oregon is great for me!! Washington is nice as well ;) But I really love Southern Oregon (Medford, Central Point, Grants Pass area) and hope to someday move there to stay.

Want to make your own map of where you've been? Check out epgSoft Visited States Map. They also have Canada and Mexico maps :) Hmm maybe I'll make a goal to get to every state :) ...someday.

Sharing Great Blogs and Posts by Others

There really isn't a theme for this 'list' but I think I will make it a bit easier on you by dividing them up into subject areas :) Enjoy!

Homesteading:

Country Living in a Cariboo Valley. 

How to get started on the path to providing for your family. Great information from someone who has been there, done that. Check out the rest of her great blog.

LinderCroft's

Ever wonder how to do a disbudding on a kid goat? Here is a good post that will get you going in the right direction, I think. She talks about goats, gardening and homesteading throughout her blog.

Cabin in the Woods

More than just homesteading, she is a homeschooler as well. You can read about the compost bin that they made for a science project. They like chickens at Cabin in the Woods :)

The Simple Life

Here you can find a lot of posts about Nubian, Lamancha and cross bred dairy goats, chickens and rabbits. Here's her post on why they drink Goat's Milk.

Spiritual/Religion:

Petra School

This morning Pebblekeeper :) shared a wonderful youtube video of Josh Garrels' "Words Remain" with her blog followers (I'm one!). It is a wonderful mix of instruments and talented individuals coming together to make music to the Lord.

Mom of Many Trades

Here you will find God Time posts that are insightful and often get me to thinking. Today she posted "Rootless Religion..." that you may find interesting. 

A House Upon A Rock

If you are Catholic then you may benefit from the meme going on called 40 Days of Seeking Him (this one wouldn't load for me today to link it for you but if you keep trying, I think you'll enjoy this blog as well). I enjoy this blog although I am not Catholic.

A Multitude of Mercies

What Do You Love More? "We can't let love for another, a close friendship, beautiful words, someone's loss or pain or tragic experience dull us to the truth of God's Word." Enough said. Her blog is truly inspirational and she takes wonderful photos!

Homeschooling:

Chatter, Clatter, and Things That Matter

This post about free medical science DVDs was a great find for me. I am not a science loving individual but my kids do at least like it...I had a look-see and am glad that the post was put out for all to see! The resources are more for high school/college level. And here was a post that took me a bit to decipher ;) Perhaps you'll get the meanin' ;)

Fisher Academy International Teaching Home 

A Charlotte Mason style homeschooler using Ambleside Online much more heartily than we do in our school, Amy is one of my fav bloggers. If you are interested in music appreciation, artist study, nature study, how-to on Charlotte Mason method, Ambleside Online or just enjoy awesome photos and often funny posts, you'll enjoy this blog. This term (January through March) AO is studying Vivaldi. Here is a quick post by Amy on that...

Keeping It Simple

Sometimes in life, not just for those who homeschool, things do not always go smoothly. What do homeschoolers do then? Here is a post with some good advice for times such as those.

And now dinner is ready so I must be going :) Have a wonderful night!

Is it just my generation? I'm afraid not...

Today while catching up with blogs I follow I came across one that just got my blood boiling (actually I didn't get mad but felt so horrible for her). There was an exchange posted between a prospective company and a prospective reviewer.


Lee was reading over my shoulder and she couldn't quite figure out what was wrong with the exchange. I'm not going to recap the post because it's not mine. But to put it bluntly the person who owns the business that was sending emails was unprofessional and in my opinion rude. 

I checked out the website for the product that she was offering to review and clicked the bio of this person. Apparently this man is almost exactly one year younger than I am. Perhaps that has something to do with his behavior and lack of respect for others. 

Is it just my generation? It seems that those who are in my age group tend to have a couldn't-care-less attitude about others. It just struck me. Would he talk to people like this in person? What kind of person is he, anyway?


Unfortunately, I do not see this as being something that is exclusive to those in the 25-35 age range (I think that would be 'my' generation...). It's widespread from the littles to the elders. It's sad.

You would think that people would think it through a little bit better. In one of my college distance education classes (where absolutely everything is electronic), my instructor warned us all to write as if the entire world would read it. And it is true, isn't it? Eventually everything we write in an electronic form can reach around the world.

What an affect that could have on this person's business... 

*edited to eliminate the appearance that I was picking exclusively on this one individual because that was not my intention. However, it was this particular person/incidence that got me thinking about this in the first place. And I also edited it because this can get around the world ;)

Weekend Plans

I'm guessing I won't be 'here' this weekend because I am going to be busy. Nothing major. Just usual.

The following paragraph I wrote before this one but it doesn't mean that those things are more important than what I am going to write in this paragraph but I admit I feel a wee bit guilty for writing it second. I hope to be able to spend some just relaxing time with the kids and dear hubby this weekend. I feel that perhaps we are all feeling the blahs? maybe. Lee is almost always down on the weekends because she has no friends to visit here in town. Fox found out he cannot go to his friends either this weekend. Dh is a little down in the dumps lately but for other reasons. And I have my 'weekend' headache. It hasn't been around for awhile but it seems that it always hit me on Friday or Saturday. It might be a melancholy weekend but I hope not.

In addition to having general every day life to deal with I have a 3+ page paper to get done by tomorrow night (oops, did I forget about it?!), have some Spanish to study, have kids' school schedules to get figured out (only going with one week at a time from now on), would like to cook some stuff for the freezer, and of course will have church on Sunday (I hope we can make ourselves go to both morning and evening). I also need to make sure that I have all of my handouts for my creative writing class ready for the first class of co-op on Monday.

And there are those other things that need to be done but honestly I don't care if I get to ;) Like the downstairs bathroom or mopping the kitchen floor. Nope. Don't care. I would like the sink to fixed finally. My job didn't work so I had to pass it off to dh. Fortunately, the dishwasher soap I bought not long ago (and on sale woohoo!) works great and smells good. So the sink really isn't that big of a priority either.

Mostly, I am going to try to focus on my family. My lovely little family. 

Hope all have a great weekend.

And here is a photo from Christmas that my mother in law took while we were in Klamath Falls, Oregon. I like it :) 

Organization...what's that?!

What do you use to keep yourself organized? I'm to the point that I think I might just go through my entire house and alphabetize everything. Okay, that might be a  bit extreme... But am I the only one that starts the year (and by 'year' that can be the beginning of whenever I feel that "now is when I get organized!") with everything in its place and by oh, I don't know, a few months later, its all in shambles?

I'm a list maker, but not a list follower. I'm a perfectionist, but also a procrastinator. I'm also a pack-rat. There is no counter for that one- it is what it is! I'm thrifty but buy a lot of 'inexpensive' things. I buy many things after careful deliberation but then fail to use them. And of course, that goes back to the pack-rat bit. Do you see the pattern here?

I have been putting together my creative writing lesson plans for co-op and I know I already have tons of great resources. I know I do. I have to- after all I have a page with websites that is organized by subject (and some are even referenced by grade/ages). I even have a few spots on a few bookshelves that are dedicated to writing books and such. But wouldn't you know, when I went looking for these resources, I often cannot find them or I find something else that I think is so great (but come to find out later I already have it). Something that is absolutely amusing to me is when I have a document or website open in front of me and it has what I need, right there, but I go looking somewhere else and forget about what I already have.

Organization is obviously not my best character trait (yea, I won't be putting that down on my resume). I would love to have a program on my computer (since I pretty much am always on it) that catalogs all my magazines, DVDs, CDs, files, documents, books, resources, etc. into a database that will allow me to search by subject or topic, or simply random words to find where it can be found in my already owned items. Do they make such a thing?

And of course, I understand that in order to have all those things cataloged I would have to input the information first. Did I mention I am a list maker? Another thing I love to do is fill out forms and input data into fields. Lol it's using the information afterward that I have such a problem with.

So, what do you use to keep yourself organized? 

Dear Insomnia

Dear Insomnia,

Well hello! It's been a while since you've been around. Since you've been gone I've been able to accomplish some things I have been wanting to. Like what, you ask? Like sleeping for 8 hours a night and waking up without a raging headache. Interestingly, with you gone I've also gotten an entire week of schooling done with the kids (oh those few days/subjects we've missed don't count...) with only the slightest lack of motivation on my part. I've also been happier. I put my makeup on and fix my hair. I'm sure it's because of the full nights sleep I have gotten when you are gone. Oh, and how could I forget to tell you: I've been saying my prayers each morning and night before sleeping. I'm sure this is because I am thinking clearly and am not so tired that it all jumbles together.

So you see, I've been doing well without you. But I can see that you miss me. That is why you've visited me tonight. And it was nice- tonight- because you helped me submit a school assignment and take a quiz. I appreciate the thoughtfulness. I have also come across some very good blog posts. Perhaps you were checking up on me, making sure I am hanging in there okay. Yes, I was doing well.

Sometimes, a visit isn't so bad, I suppose. But, Insomnia, I must admit, it's nicer when you do not come around. Life goes smoother. I do not have to fight with who to spend my time with: husband, kids...sleep. I manage my time much better.

So, I appreciate your visit tonight but, please, do not come back any time soon. Sometimes it is better to just move on.

Yours truly,

~Hoping tomorrow I sleep all night~

Enthusiatic