As I was thinking about blogging for "J", I was having a hard time thinking of something until all of a sudden it dawned on me to blog about the best "J" of all. Jesus. I thought I would blog through the alphabet about Jesus.
A-Alpha
B-Blessed and Only Potentate
C-Creator
D-Day Star
E-Emmanuel
F-Faithful and True
G-Gift of God
H-Holy One
I-I Am
J-Just
K-King of Kings
L-Lord of Lords
M-Master
N-Never Sinned
O-Omega
P-Prince of Peace
Q-Quickening Spirit
R-Redeemer
S-Savior
T-Trustworthy
U-Umpire (modern word for daysman)
V-Vine
W-Worthy to be Praised
Y-Yeshua
"Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. " Revelation 5:12
Lift up His name. He IS worthy!
(I skipped X and Z but please make a suggestion for those if you have any!)
Visit Marcy at the Ben and Me blog and join us by blogging through the alphabet.
For years, I didn't think I could knit. I did try in the winter of 2009 and even though I thought it was fun, it was SO slow going and I just wasn't that good at it. Sadie was born in the fall of 2009 and I completely set is aside until last fall when I decided to try again (read the background here).
I started out by knitting dishcloth after dishcloth...then scarves and then I learned to knit hats in the round on circular needles and I was in LOVE with knitting. I made a lot of hats....so easy just knit, knit, knit and then decrease and you're done. I found that I really don't like knitting on straight needles and knit everything using circular needles. I just love them.
a cowl scarf I knit
one of many dishcloths I made
I think this might be the last thing I knit on straight needles.
For Christmas, my parents got me two knitting classes from Craftsy.com. I had asked for a gift certificate to get a Craftsy class. Right after my mother ordered it they came out with a buy one get one free deal and they let her add a course to her order so I got two knitting classes. I got Knit Lab and Knit Lab: Hats Four Ways. Both courses are taught by Stefanie Japel and I think they are fantastic. In the Knit Lab, course I learned many of the basics of knitting and did my first lace project which was a keyhole scarf which I just love. I have made several of them now. I also made a long scarf with a variety of stitches mostly different basket weave patterns. I wore this scarf so much this winter and I am so glad that I made this one too.
2 of the keyhole scarves I made. Love this pattern!
This scarf pattern is called Cambridge.
A feather and fan lace dishcloth.
Taking this course helped me so much. I really became confident in my knitting and learned so much by making these scarves. (The dishcloth wasn't part of the course but I did get a link to the pattern through the course. I think it is on Ravelry though.)
Here is a course overview where Stefanie Japel tells about the course and how the courses work at Craftsy.
With the Craftsy courses you get patterns and course materials to download (they are pdf documents). Access to the courses never expire. You also can ask question in a message board format and get answers from the teacher and/or from others taking the course. It's really a lot of fun. You can also post pictures of your projects (in progress or finished.) You can go here to see sample previews and a break down of what is included in the course.
After I finished the Knit Lab course it was getting closer to the end of winter so I didn't really want to make any more hats. So I haven't knit the hats in the Hats Four Ways class yet but I have watched the whole course. Stefanie is a lot of fun to learn from. :)
I get the Craftsy newsletter in my email and one week Laura Nelkin's Mastering Lace Shawls class was on sale so I bought that. I L.O.V.E knitting lace. Here is the shawl I made in just 3 weeks while taking the Mastering Lace Shawls class.
The shawl being blocked
Me wearing the shawl
The back of the shawl.
You can get this pattern by taking Mastering Lace Shawls (watch the previews and see what is included too) or you can just purchase this pattern from Laura Nelkin. (The name of it is Skywalker.) I am definitely going to make another one of these in a lace weight yarn. I love it.
I am currently working on the second lace shawl in this course called Clarus. I am enjoying making this as well. One thing I have learned in taking this course is that I love to knit with a charted pattern rather than one that is written out. At first I didn't think I would like it but now I just think it is so much easier to read a chart than try to keep track of stitches that are written out. Laura is a great teacher and it's great to be able to interact with her through the Craftsy platform.
I am signed up for her new course, Knitting with Beads. I haven't made anything from it yet but I have watched it. I will start on the projects in that class either when I finish Clarus or when I get supplies for it. I like to have more than one project going at a time anyway. (I'm working on a worsted weight shawl that is very simple and I can work on it in the car or on the go without have to think about it.)
This is a quick preview of the course:
Craftsy.com has all kinds of craft classes....crochet, knit, quilting, sewing, baking and more. Check them all out here. I would recommend signing up for the newsletter and watching for a sale. I've never paid more than $30 for a course. If you'd like to see what the classes are like you can sign up for the Block a Month course which is free right now.
What? How can "i" be for Apple? I guess we all know that products made by Apple start with "i". I am late joining in but have decided to blog through the alphabet with Marcy from Ben and Me.
Late last year, my husband's friend gave him his used 2nd generation iPod touch. My husband already had a 4th generation iPod touch so I was fortunate enough to get the used one. As soon as I started using it, I was hooked, but since it was a 2nd generation I couldn't get all the apps I wanted. For my 44th birthday last month, my husband got me a 4th generation iPod Touch. I just love it!
I thought I would share some of my favorite apps with you:
Bible Apps:
YouVersion: free I love this Bible app that is loaded with multiple Bible versions including audio and loads of reading plans and devotionals. I used it to read the Bible in 90 days and I'm currently reading the Essential Jesus plan as well as the Chronological Bible.
Touch Bible: free Another Bible app that I like to use especially when I am not at home with wi-fi.
Bible.is: free I only just recently downloaded this one. It has Bible, audio and video as well.
Pocket Sword: free This Bible app has Bible, commentary, dictionary and devotionals.
Granny's Bible Dojo: $1.99 This app is sort of for kids but I like it too. It teaches the Bible books in order. you can try a demo here. (This is one of the apps that I couldn't get for my 2nd gen.)
Calendars and Social Media:
CalenGoo $6.99 This one is a little expensive but I LOVE it. I can use it offline and I have switched over from a paper calendar in my pocketbook to just using my iPod touch. I was already dependent on my Google calendar so this just made sense for me. It took me a long time to decide to get this but I'm very happy with it.
G-Whizz$2.99 This is my main app for G-mail, Facebook, Twitter, News and reading blogs through my RSS feed. There is a free version available as well that I used for a while before buying it. This one did not work very good with my 2nd generation iPod but works great on the new one. I really love this app.
Other handy apps I love
iBooksfree This one is great for reading your pdf documents. I haven't used it for downloading e-books yet but I know you can do that too.
Evernotefree If you don't know about Evernote you can read about it here. I have used this for taking notes at meetings and even sermon notes. It's a very handy app for saving all kinds of information.
TOS magazinefree When I first heard that The Old Schoolhouse Magazine was going digital I think I probably groaned. I disliked reading on my computer. I still dislike reading on my computer but I love reading TOS on my iPod. I have read more in the digital magazine than I ever made time for when I was getting the paper version.
My FitnessPalfree This app keeps track of calories, water, exercise and just helps you if you're tracking any of that. Very handy.
Games for the Kids (and Mom)
Stack the States$.99 Fun game for learning about the states. There is a free "lite" version too. (Also look for Stack the Countries.)
Presidents Vs. Aliens$.99 Fun game for learning about the presidents. (Also available in a free "lite" version.)
Word Bingo $.99 and Math Bingo $.99 are fun, educational games for younger kids. My kids like these.
Scramble with Friends $.99 My current favorite word game. I LOVE to play this. It's a fast paced word game like Boggle. (A free version is available.) I also like Words with Friends.
Chicktionaryfree Another fun word game where you make as many words as you can with the letters provided.
I have other apps that I like too but I think I've shared enough for now. Do you have something you love that you want to share? Please do. I love to try new apps.
I am going to be reviewing a Bible curriculum soon and needed some notebooking pages. I couldn't find what I wanted online so I made these up for our use and thought others might want to use them too. This is what they look like:
In the real file there is no dark line on the bottom of this.
I just added these to Google documents. Use this link to download them. https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B6K66QlnNYxaNFd0U3lOTEFUTTQ They are free for your personal use. If you have trouble with the link you can send me an e-mail kgouvin@hotmail.com and I will forward these to you in pdf format.
So during my blogging absence (explained here) I got away from meal planning and posting about my weight loss journey. If you read my explanation you know that I was pregnant for part of this year. Essentially I have only lost 1 pound since the beginning of the year. On the one hand it is good. I am keeping off the 63 lbs I lost and my summer clothes from last year are not falling off so I don't have to buy new ones. On the other hand....my summer clothes from last year are not falling off and I really wish they were. I wish I could find some new motivation but I just sit here stuck at a LONG plateau and I don't want to cut back more or exercise. I used to be so strict with myself and not "cheat" at all. Over time I have allowed myself a bite of this or that and I really need to not do that. It just gets frustrating to stay the same even when being good.
(I weighed myself today and I am down a tad more...almost to 64 lbs. At least it's something.)
I thought I'd share a before and current (not "after" because I am NOT done) picture. The first picture was taken after I'd already lost several pounds...maybe 15?? The other one was taken just recently.
Christmas 2010
(I hate looking at this picture still.)
Here I am wearing my new shawl. April 2012
I must keep going!!!!!
So this brings me to the second subject of this post. Cooking, menu planning, crock-pots. During the illnesses of 2012, I had to stay home from church 3 weeks in a row with sick children. I was able to have a nice hot meal prepared when the rest of the family returned from church and it was REALLY nice. So, I have been thinking that I need to plan ahead and have crock pot meals on Sundays so that we come home to something nice on Sunday. However, I do not have a good stash of slow cooker recipes that are low in calories (or even have a calorie count provided) and don't take 8 hours to cook (about 4 hours would be ideal...6 could be managed too). So, I am on a quest for new recipes for Sunday dinner. If you have any favorites I would love for you to share. Hopefully, I will be back to Menu Plan Monday soon with some great weight loss recipes for the crock-pot.
Don't you just love when something educational is fun too? I was recently give a copy of Amazing Science Volume I on DVD. This set has 2 DVDs that teach fundamental principles of science including electricity, magnetism, heat, temperature, pressure, surface tension, buoyancy, and more.
Disk 1
Disk 2
1) Color Changing Milk
13) Floating Eggs
2) Egg in a Bottle
14) Keep Paper Dry Underwater
3) Exploring Air Pressure
15) Dry Ice Bubbles
4) Build a Lemon Battery
16) Balloon in a Candle Flame
5) Inverted Cup of Water
17) Ocean in a Bottle
6) Candle Suction Power
18) Build a Motor with Lights
7) Amazing Magnetic Force
19) Simple Lava Lamp
8) Lift an Ice Cube with String
20) Invisible Ink
9) Unburnable Money
21) Density Tower
10) Matchstick Speedboat
22) Soda Can Fizz
11) Reversing an Image with Water
23) Build a Motor #2
Watch this quick overview: (30 seconds long)
Many of the experiments are performed using household ingredients and supplies. It's great to be able to say, "Yes, we can try that!" because we already have everything. At the start of each video a supply list pops up on the screen and he also tells you what you need. I think it would have been helpful if a supply list was made available either inside the case or as a pdf document on the DVD but it's not that difficult to note what you need as you watch. (update: Ami from Walking by the Way has put together a supply list. You can find it here. Yay!!)
The experiments grabbed my kids' attention right from the start. The experiments really are amazing. My kids love to watch these videos and want to do the experiments. These are the kind of demonstrations that really make you say, "Wow! How does that work?" The creator of these videos, Jason Gibson, does a fantastic job of showing you how to do the experiment and then explains the science behind it. I can't speak highly enough about them. These would be a great addition to any home with children of all ages! In my house, our entire family was glued to the set.
Can we make an egg float by adding salt to the water?
We set the laptop right on the island so we could do the
experiment while we watched. (normally we watch on the TV though)
It worked!
Emma's idea was to add the salt water to the fresh to see how much it would take to get it to float.
I love when the kids think of things to try themselves.
another experiment using blueberry juice and baking soda to write invisible messages
(this lesson is on acids and bases)
Here is a clip of a whole experiment from the video: (one of my favorites)
There are a few others you can watch here. If you like these, I think you will really love Amazing Science Volume 1.
The mission of ScienceAndMath.com is simple -
to kindle your love of Science, Math, and the world around you!
Amazing Science is available for immediate download to your computer for $17.99 or order the DVD for $19.95 plus shipping. Scienceandmath.com also has Math, Chemistry and Physics courses on DVD. (very reasonable prices too!) Also, you can sign up for the free e-newsletter to get free science and math videos.
Read what others are saying about Amazing Science on the TOS crew blog.
disclaimer:I received a free copy of Amazing Science in exchange for an honest review.
