avatar by on January 29, 2012   •   5 Comments Links

Weekend Links

For today’s weekend links, I thought I’d showcase some of my favorite finds on Pinterest from the week:

And the winners of the one year subscription to Plan to Eat are Jocelyn, Melissa Jones, Amanda, Erin, and Alaina. Congrats! Look for an email soon.

“Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.” -Benjamin Franklin

avatar by on January 28, 2012   •   Giveaways

Weekend Giveaway: Plan to Eat

Today’s giveaway comes from loyal monthly sponsor Plan to Eat, a genius little online program that pretty much does everything for you but actually cook your meals.

This is a simple tool that allows you to store your favorite recipes (and import them from around the Internet!), create menu plans using those recipes, and even provide grocery lists based on those same recipes.

My favorite feature? How simple it is. Its clean interface allows for intuitive interaction — it took me mere seconds to get my account up and running, and I had my weekly menu plan created in minutes.

This is a great tool for busy families with hungry kids.

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avatar by on January 27, 2012   •   76 Comments Personal Growth You

Living a good story means living outside yourself

My word for 2012 is story, but honestly, it kinda ended up being my word for 2011, too. At least, that’s what I see when I look back. See, my family and I, for the first time in a long while, lived in the States for more than a few months, and we did normal things like buy couches off Craigslist and find the best deals in town for ground beef. Tate went to school for kindergarten, we joined a homeschool co-op for first grade, and we finally caught up through season 5 on 30 Rock.

In many ways, these daily liturgies were things I dreamed of when we lived overseas. I grew to love our cross-cultural life, but I’d be lying if there weren’t many days that I longed to completely understand the language spoken around me in coffee shops, for my blonde children to not be stared at, to not be the foreigner. I’d read about my friends’ playdates on Facebook, and I’d yearn for Everyday American Life.

2010 was a blur, because we lived in a waiting room for most of that year. Are we living here? Are we living there? What are we doing for work? And who are you again? But once we knew we’d be stateside for awhile, it felt insanely good to just settle in. Toss the cardboard boxes, and let the kids hang things on the wall. We had complete peace that God was leading us clearly, so we followed excitedly.

We still are. We moved to a brand new town 2,000 miles away, knowing not a soul, and we jumped in with both feet. It was actually easier than we anticipated; I guess because we’d done the same thing four and a half years ago, but in a new culture with a different language. Moving to Oregon was a piece of cake compared to that—we just needed to stock up on polar fleece vests and remember that it’s pronounced Will-AM-ette.

But now that we’re here, living in our passport country, I get the itch. I miss being foreign. I miss everything being interesting. I miss all the good things of other cultures, and wish I could brush away all the bad things about American culture.

More than anything, however, I miss living an adventure.
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avatar by on January 25, 2012   •   71 Comments Work You

5 ways to pull back the curtain on your home business

Written by contributor Heather Allard of The Mogul Mom.

“Where’s Mommy?” my son asked. “Where do you think she is, Brendan? She’s at the computer,” my husband replied in an annoyed tone.

I overheard this exchange between my son and husband two years ago (when my son was three) and had a huge realization.

While I was working on the computer—writing new posts, planning my editorial calendar, invoicing advertisers, responding to email and social media—my family had no idea what I was doing.

To them, it looked like I was just farting around on Facebook, or worse; neglecting them.

But I wasn’t. I was working. Hard, too.

Earning a great income. Making a difference in the lives and businesses of other mom entrepreneurs. Building a solid career for myself. Why couldn’t they see that?
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avatar by on January 23, 2012   •   224 Comments Money Management You

My $.02 on credit cards and the credit game

On Friday, Crystal guest posted about a topic that in the four years of writing Simple Mom, I haven’t dared touch with a ten-foot pole: credit cards.

But she was willing, and I love and share most of her sentiments, so I’m honored that she tackled the somewhat eggshell-walking topic. And after reading the many comments, it sounds like it is indeed a tricky subject.

Those of you who shun credit cards do so vehemently, and sincerely want others to see your perspective. Those who do use credit cards—and pay them off in full each month—might feel the need to justify their perspective. And those who feel up to their ears in credit card debt probably feel uncomfortable saying anything. So they stay silent.

So I thought I’d tiptoe around my opinion on the matter, without going in to too many details.
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