Sift as Wheat: Internet Protection for our Families

Two weeks ago Nan, Pat and I piled in the Prius and headed to Sky Mountain Ranch outside Victor Idaho, the site of the former Bennion Boys Ranch. There, as guests of the incomparable Dick and Sue Jacobsen, we cooked, studied, painted, hiked, ran, talked, learned, yoga-ed, prayed, wood-worked and sang with other LDS mothers of teens. It was a sweet experience to share with my sisters on a stunningly beautiful late summer weekend. Nan and I shared a loft bedroom with a view of the Tetons.

Fellow mother of teens (and a baby!) Sally Linford gave a shortened version of her presentation on web safety to us. Here are a couple of quick fixes that you can do in minutes to protect your family, if they have not been done yet:

1. To protect from viewing offensive material on youtube, check into your account, or create a youtube account. Then scroll to the bottom of the page, and it will say "safety mode off" or "safety mode on". If off, then click on the link and turn it on, then lock it on and save.

2. To protect against unwanted google search results, either in photos or text, google "google SafeSearch", look for and click on the link for "search preferences page", scroll down to "SafeSearch filtering," and select "Use strict filtering." Then click the link to "Lock SafeSearch." You may need to create a google account if you don't already have one, but you probably do.

Note, these measures must be done in EACH brower used by your family, so for example in Firefox, Safari and Chrome.

If you or your children would like tips on improving filtering on your smart phones or other devices, look for:

AT&T's Smart Limits
T-Mobile's Web Guard
Verizon's Chaperone and Content Filtering
Sprint Nextel's Restricted/Unrestricted Web Access
Alltel's Axcess Web

Take Five

It's a busy time of year, soon to be very busy for most of us, with finals, travels, moving, babies, Thanksgiving and Christmas. We need to learn to take five! This is something some of us are better at than others. I'm still learning. The "Mo Times," as it is affectionately called at 1246, printed an article on this subject today.

To me "take five" means to grab just five minutes once in a while from whatever is demanding our attention, and doing something small that matters. Taking five helps to recharge our batteries, bring us back to a little joy, and get a few of the smaller never-get-to-it things done. Then faster than two shakes of a lamb's tail we can get back on the Big Task.

Here are some of my favorite take ideas with a few from the Mo Times:

• Walk to the end of the block and back
• Water your plants
• Read a poem
• Listen to a favorite piece of music or song
• Match socks
• Make a quick blog post!
• Walk up and down the stairs to get the blood going
  
• Start the laundry
• Call your Dearie
• Watch a youtube video
• Delete photos from your camera or computer
• Have a snack
• Watch the sunset
• Read a story
  
• Clear off the top of your dresser
• Or file cabinet
• Or bedroom floor
• Write a note
• Work on a creative project
  
• Say a prayer
• Sit and count your blessings

I love this way of celebrating moments, even under pressure. Think of it as a coffee break without the coffee. I know that sometimes we feel we are just too busy even for a five minute break, but most times they add more than they distract, and recharge us for going the distance with a bigger focus. What do you think? What are you favorite take five ideas?

Cooking Whine III

Here are my thoughts about cooking with wine and etc.:
1. Food tastes really good cooked in wine.
2. Wine and other such beverages are against the Word of Wisdom.
3. Some people say the alcohol cooks out.
4. Some people say it doesn't.
5. Whether it does or doesn't I don't know if it is still keeping the spirit and the law of the commandment to use it, and I always feel a little uncomfortable doing it.
6. So I am not going to cook with it any more, but I will not have a problem eating what the other chefs in my home prepare for me, even if cooking wine is included!
7. Check out this website for substitutes: gourmetsleuth.com/alcoholsubstitutes.htm
8. I love you and I love food!

A Quote to Live By

"The key to success is to raise your own energy; when you do, people will naturally be attracted to you. And when they show up, bill 'em!"
-Stuart Wilde

I thought this quote was appropriate in light of the economic downturn, and it's always good to have fresh ideas about saving money!

Freecycle

Hi Snookies,

I just learned today about "Freecycle." Ever heard of it? It's a Craig's List for freebies, both to give and receive. Just google your city and freecycle, and you should get a link. It's a yahoo-sponsored group which you have to join, but that's pretty easy. Then post what you want to give away, or what you are looking for. DD Hilke has been using it a lot lately to give away items she doesn't want to use.

Lean and Green

Hi Girlsies: Here are a few more ideas to build on Ariel's Lean and Green Living ideas: re-use plastic bags, even sturdy baggies, if they are in good condition. Just rinse or wash out and hang over the faucet until dry. Use 1/2 dryer sheets and 1/2 paper towels. Use cloth napkins. Buy in bulk. Buy on sale. Don't waste food odds and ends. Make smoothies, salads, soups or omelettes with the remnants of fruits and veggies. Dad's good at getting his shoes re-soled--be like him, and try to repair what you can.

By the way--we had a yummy omelette this morning. I sauteed some chopped onion in olive oil, added fresh chopped mushrooms, then fresh spinach, and some chopped fresh basil, and seasoned all with salt and pepper. None of that takes very long. Then I transferred that mixture to a plate, and added to our oven-proof frying pan a little more oil and the eggs beaten with some water (1/3 c about), salt and pepper. When they were half solid, I added back in the spinach mixture, stirred it around a little, then turned off the heat and topped it all with a little grated cheese, then a goodly amount of chopped fresh tomatoes. That went under one of the cooler broiler settings just until the top was hot and bubbly, and the eggs nicely finished--not much time. Then I added a little dry red pepper flakes and some fresh chopped basil for garnish. We really liked it! This is how we get teenagers out of bed :) That might technically be a frittata. I'm not sure.

Finally, please remember that the whole family is working to make the planet a kinder, gentler place. To honor Dad's efforts in this regard, please see the photo of Laurel's presentation of a polar bear--one of the lucky ones! PS Dad has been caught recyling recently.

Go Green! Even in Provo!

Hi Family!
So, I found this cool blog called "Sustainable Living in Provo." Way to go, Jolyn. Way to plant a garden, do co-oping, and recycle, even in Provo.
It was on that blog that I found this site where you can take a short test to find out how many "earths" we would need if everyone lived like you. It's kind of interesting. I do believe that there is "enough and to spare," but we might still have to give up a few things and share a bit more.
Lately I have been thinking about how important it is to take care of the earth, however we can in our own little sphere. For a while I have tried to be conscious about little things- how many paper towels I use when I wash my hands in a public restroom, not putting the shower on full power, not cutting across the grass, and more recently, using my re-useable shopping bags. I'm always impressed at how Mom is always thinking about ways to be conscious of her "ecological footprint," by avoiding plastic wrap, and other things.
What else do you do, Mom?
What do YOU do, Laurel, Hannah, Micah, Rachel, Dad, Andrew and whoever else might be reading this blog?
While waiting in the temple this week, I read a few great scriptures on our responsibility to this beautiful earth.

D&C 59:16-20 Verily I say, that inasmuch as ye do this, the fulness of the earth is yours, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and that which climbeth upon the trees and walketh upon the earth; Yea, and the herb, and the good things which come of the earth, whether for food or for raiment, or for houses, or for barns, or for orchards, or for gardens, or for vineyards; Yea, all things which come of the earth, in the season thereof, are made for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and to gladden the heart; Yea, for food and for raiment, for taste and for smell, to strengthen the body and to enliven the soul. And it pleaseth God that he hath given all these things unto man; for unto this end were they made to be used, with judgment, not to excess, neither by extortion.

The other scripture I especially liked was D&C 104:11-14.

So, I hear that Dad is currently writing a paper about this sort of thing. Dad, how about you post about your paper? I'm thinking of doing a post about this on the andrewandariel blog, too, and I'm sure we'd all love to know more about your paper. Maybe you could just post the abstract so we can read the synopsis.

Anyway, until then... EARTH POWER!

How to Pinch your Penny

Rae-rae and I just had a lovely talk on the phone tonight. Among other things, we talked about ways to be thrifty. I thought I'd post a few, and I hope other people will post what they've learned, or add a comment to this post.
Let the Money-Saving-Forum start!
-Buy in bulk. (especially things that won't go bad- good shampoo sale? Buy tons)
-Use bar soap (way cheaper, but it does dry out your hands)
-Shop dollar store. You'd be surprised what you can find there- shampoo, soup, cleaning supplies, etc etc. I got five toothbrushes for 1$ there!
-Sign up for . Then if you ever shop online, go to the websites through fatwallet.com, and they often give you cash rebates (sometimes up to 10% of the original cost). They also show the deals going on around the Internet.
-There are tons of websites that will come up when you search "cheap healthy meals." Just make sure you're getting your greens!
-Know what foods are cheap and what foods are expensive by comparison.
-Compare prices. There are lots of websites like that will aid you in that. They can help you compare the prices of online goods, but there are also some sites that will help compare grocery prices in your neighborhood. All grocery store prices are not created equal. Sites like this can be a big help
-I guess this only applies to me right now, but go to consignment stores for kids clothes. You can often find nice stuff, and kids grow so fast that you can often find stuff that hasn't been worn much and is still in style. I also found out that at ShopKo you can take in any clothes that you have bought there that your child has worn out but still fits, and they'll replace it for free. Pretty cool. I'll bet you could do that, Rae, if you shop in the kids department there :)
-Never buy drinks. You guys probably don't anyway.
-Ask stores when their best sales are.
-Sell old textbooks on Amazon (better prices than other textbook-selling websites)(Soon! Before they become more outdated!)
-For costs that you can anticipate (like birthdays and Christmas), start setting money aside earlier in the year, and set a limit.
-Give homemade gifts.
-Eat oatmeal instead of cold cereal. BIG price difference (and healthier).
-Other cheap foods are rice, potatoes, hotdogs :)
-Meat and cheese can add up fast, so use them sparingly
-Rent DVDs from the library
-Invite yourselves over to rich people's houses to eat.
-Keep closets and pantries, etc closed so you're not paying to heat them
-Keep lights off that you're not using (but it's not worth sitting in the dark!)
-Steal flowers from someone's garden instead of buying them
-Walk and bike as much as possible to avoid transportation costs (including wear on your car)
Well, that's all I can think of off the top of my head! Any other ideas?