avatar by on May 18, 2011   •   114 Comments Kids: Developing Character Your Family

15 Good and (almost) Perfect Gifts for High School Graduates

Written by parenting teens contributor Robin Dance of Pensieve.

For some, gift giving is love language; they always know just what to give.  Their gifts compel Cheshire cat smiles, squeals of delight, or sometimes render the recipient speechless.

Gift giving is not my strong suit. I labor over choosing the “right” present for someone; not because I’m trying to impress them, nor out of obligation, but because if I’m in the position of wanting (or needing) to buy you a gift, it’s a reflection of my relationship with you, and it matters to me to give a gift that meaningfully expresses that. This is why personally, I deplore gifting money.

Because graduation season is here, I thought it might be helpful to share some specific gift ideas for the special teenagers in your life who’ll be celebrating this momentous milestone.  And fyi, I’m intentionally leaving off electronics here because of their lofty price tags.

Here are some of my favorite gifts to give a teenager when they graduate. [Read more...]

avatar by on May 16, 2011   •   59 Comments Work You

Want to work from home? Work smart, not just hard.

When I started Simple Mom in early 2008, I didn’t intend for it to become a full-fledged career path. I saw it more as a creative outlet with a possibly to fund my coffee habit. Never in a million years would I guess it would become my platform for writing and providing a sizable portion of our family’s income.

I consider it an enormous blessing, but also a humbling responsibility; one I hope I never take lightly. I feel like I’ve been entrusted with a delicate gift, for both my family, but also for the readers and the SLM contributors. I wake up elated to do what I do, but also with a dash of trembling.

Today’s post is the last in a series I’ve done this month about working from home. I’ve had a great time reminiscing, sharing behind the scenes, and thanking you for the privilege of calling this both work and a deep love.

I’m often asked what I “did” at the beginning to make Simple Mom successful. I get the sense that the motive behind this question is a search for an easily duplicated, ten-step process that will work for everyone, so I’m reticent to answer this in detail. But it’s a good question to ask because it’s healthy for me to evaluate often.

See, the reason I hold SLM with open, shaking hands is because for me to run it well, I have to hold the posture of a lifelong learner. I can never get too comfortable and run on autopilot, because in this shrinking world, and especially on the Internet, things change before we can blink. What made Simple Mom launch well in early 2008 will probably not work as well now. So in this post, I’ll tell you some things I did in the beginning, but this is more descriptive than prescriptive. 2011 is different.

Hopefully, it’ll shed some light (for you and for me!) on how we can apply some general principles to specific tasks before us now.

[Read more...]

avatar by on May 15, 2011   •   7 Comments Links

Weekend Links

The winners of the gift basket from Mineral Fusion are Kimberly, Gray, and Fernanda. And the winner of the Southwest Airlines tickets is Sandra — congrats to the both of you! Look for emails from me in your inbox soon.

“In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.” -Thomas Jefferson

avatar by on May 14, 2011   •   Giveaways

Weekend Giveaway: Mineral Fusion

This giveaway is now closed. Check here for the winner!

Today’s weekend giveaway comes from sponsor Mineral Fusion. I’ve seen this line of makeup and skincare at my local Whole Foods, so I’m thrilled to have them as a Simple Mom sponsor, and happy to tell you that one of you will win some of their products!

Mineral Fusion‘s collection of mineral skin care is designed to revitalize and repair your skin. Their products are naturally formulated, combining the revitalizing and protecting benefits of minerals and nature’s most soothing botanicals.
[Read more...]

avatar by on May 13, 2011   •   54 Comments Work You

Want to work from home? Find your routine.

Pepper, our new kitten, is figure-eighting around my ankles as I sit at my desk. Finn isn’t far away, exploring every nook and cranny of the floor. I’m also giving Tate a spelling test in a few minutes; she’s at her table behind me, practicing her list of words. I hear Reed somewhere in the distance: “Mom! Mom! Mom!” Kyle responds, “Reed, Mom is working. If you need something, ask me.”

My work tasks today are to draft this post you’re reading, button up some other posts, take a few photos and tweak them in Photoshop, set up a Skype chat with a potential advertiser, mail some paperwork for my upcoming trip to the Philippines, and process my email inbox (currently 97 unread emails — not too bad, honestly).

It’s just another day in the life. Lots of you are interested in the nitty-gritty, practical side of how I work. In this post, I’ll pull back the curtain and show you how. (And in advance, I apologize for the length of this post.)

[Read more...]