Come Join The Fun And Boost Your Blog in 100 Days

*This post contains affiliate links. Please see my Disclosure Page for details.

Welcome to Boost Your Blog in 100 Days! I am really excited to be a part of this fun challenge. One of my goals this year was to attend a blog conference, but some due to some financial issues and only having one vehicle it is not going to be possible. So when I heard about this 100 day challenge which would help me with sprucing up my blog and improving my usage and understanding of Social Media I jumped at the chance. I hope you can join in the fun! This blogger event is going to include 10 challenges spread out over 10 days each so they are easier to fit into a busy schedules and can be done from the comfort of your own home. There will be topics such as Twitter, SEO, Blog Post Topics, Pinterest, and getting more blog traffic! Are you ready to Spring clean your blog and boost traffic in 2014? Are you ready to make some new blogging friends? Then come join the fun!

Why Thaleia choose 100 Days? Well, to be honest I am a very, very busy mom of 4 children 11 years and under. I do not have extra time to spend laboring over by blog and Social Media. I want results and habits that can transform the limited time I have into something incredible. Spreading out 10 challenges over 10 days each just sounds better to me. Spending just 10-15 minutes a day versus an hour or two makes more sense to me. Easing into each new challenge should help create a habit a little easier. This will also give you a better understanding of why a particular challenge should be done daily or weekly and how it has helped you.

Quick clarification- anyone with a blog CAN participate. I did seek out an initial 100 bloggers to help promote this series in exchange I am using their blogs to direct people to during the 10 days of Comments Challenge. Hope I have not confused anyone. You may do one or all 10 challenges at your own pace or join in daily.

Meet the Hostesses:

Honey Rowland blogs at Honeys Life about homeschooling, family life and green living. With a passion for self sufficiency and natural, special needs parenting you'll learn about everything from natural, local foods to essential oils and homeopathy to gardening and farm life. Honey has also turned the constant 'talks too much' report card comments into a home business. She runs social media while obtaining new sponsors and advertisers for herself and other bloggers. So whether you're curious about chickens or children, ask...'cause she's dabbled and babbled in just about everything.

Michelle Marine blogs at Simplify, Live, Love where she shares down to earth tips for the thoughtful mama. Michelle. along with her husband, 4 kids and a bunch of animals, lives sustainably in barn on 5 acres in rural Eastern Iowa. Michelle is an avid gardener and from-scratch cook of real food; she cans produce, homeschools, and teaches community college classes in addition to blogging. Her husband is building their forever home to the German Passive House standards and they plan to live off grid yet still enjoy modern conveniences. Simplify, Live, Love chronicles their attempts to live sustainably and strives to remind people to live simply and frugally yet still enjoy life.

Martiel Beatty from Amazing Success Academy specializes in helping artists build online businesses and blogs. She is a fiber artist, expert blogger, author of Blog Notes, and GIMP Wizard. She is also the founder of Sewmantra and started the Academy because she couldn’t find an affordable, knowledgeable and effective program that supported handmade, indie-artists. Find out how she can help you build your business today. Learn More Now!

Lisa Nelson from The Squishable Baby focuses on creating positive learning experiences through everyday life. I believe that learning about – and respecting diversity, different religions, other cultures, charity, and our environment – through play, through crafts, through lessons, through giving – will not only produce more empathetic children and adults – but will put a child on a path to a love of lifelong learning.

Thaleia Maher blogs at Something 2 Offer where she is generous in giving advice and helping others find free resources that meet their needs; be it for homeschool or life! She is a BIG researcher who wants to encourage families on their homeschool journey. Wife to high school sweetheart. Mother of four (including 2 little reds!), Sister, Daughter, Christ-Follower, Talkative, Creative. Hoping to figure this whole life, blogger, social media thing out! So be sure to keep tabs on her journey of life.

Days 1-10: Leave 100 Comments with Thaleia begins Feb 15.

Days 11-20: Grammar Mistakes Bloggers Make with Michelle

Days 21-30: Using Twitter with Honey

Days 31-40: Topics for 100 Blog Posts with Martiel

Will reveal more soon! So stay tuned! Want an email reminder when a new Boost Your Blog challenge goes live ? Sign-up!

We will work together over 100 days to improve our blogs and social media. We will learn from all sorts of experienced bloggers who are making blogging work! I'm super excited how about you?

Don't just sit there: tell your friends, tweet about it, share on Facebook, pin this post, add it to your !

An InLinkz Link-up

Make It Monday Link Up

*This post contains affiliate links. Please see my Disclosure Page for details.

If you have a creation to share

please link up at the bottom of this post!

Feel free to copy this button to share

somewhere on your blog.

Hello and welcome to my new link up Make It Monday! If you or your children made something awesome recently link it up. It can be a Lego creation, a beautiful masterpiece, a creative craft or a delicious recipe...you get the point! If it is something you made and created with your own two hands you can link it up.

I don't have a personal project or family project to show you this week but each of the kids have something that they made which they posted on their blogs. They are the first two blogs linked up!

Link up: Make It Monday with Kathy's Cluttered Mind.

ADD Blog Yup That's Me - Please Vote

*This post contains affiliate links. Please see my Disclosure Page for details.

I was so blessed to be nominated for BEST HOMESCHOOL VARIETY BLOG in the Annual HSBA Post Blog Awards. However I now need your HELP. From now until November 18th you can vote once PER DAY (in ALL categories) per device or computer. 

I would greatly appreciate a vote or two or three from you! Click here (or click the photo below) to vote for Kathys Cluttered Mind. Just select the bubble next to my blog name and then hit vote at the bottom

This blogger is one that could fit in any of these categories …but they just can’t be pinned down in ONE. This type of blogger is the ADD hyper-focused type…always moving on from one thing to the next… and always keeping you interested in coming back for more!

Sverve - A Fun, New Way For Bloggers To Markert - Plus 2 Giveaways

*This post contains affiliate links. Please see my Disclosure Page for details.

To my blogging readers, have you heard about Sverve? They are celebrating their 1 year anniversary in December (#SverveTurns1) and want to spread the word about their awesome website that helps connect female social media influences and businesses.

Join today and be entered to win an awesome cash giveaway. Two $50 cash prizes are reserved for those who are new to the community. To enter, simply join Sverve between now and 11/15. Winners will be randomly selected by Sverve and prize will be provided by Sverve. (Keep reading I have another giveaway for you below)

I have been on Sverve for about 2 months now and the opportunities are fabulous. Not only can you get connected with fantastic companies to review products but you can also share your blog posts, endorse your friends and make money too!

The Sverve website is really easy to navigate and it's super easy to sign up too. Plus it's FREE! When you first visit the website simply select I'm a Blogger. Then follow all the on screen directions. After your account is set up browse the amazing list of campaigns and sign up for the ones that interest.

So what are you waiting for? Join Sverve today, it's FREE and you have nothing to lose and lots to gain.

Now for the 2nd giveaway. Click here to tweet and you will be entered in a drawing to win a copy of Time To Create!

2nd Giveaway Rules: 

I will randomly choose (using random.org) one Twitter winner (who uses the click to tweet).Winner will be chosen on November 15th. This giveaway is not affiliated with Facebook in any way. The winner will be emailed and must reply within 24 hrs with their contact information or another winner will be chosen. Prize will be mailed via USPS by me. 

Endorse me on Sverve by clicking below. Also feel free to follow me I will follow back and give you some endorsing love!

Prizes, Praises, Packing, Painting, Preparing and Please God Help Me

*This post contains affiliate links. Please see my Disclosure Page for details.

Well July is here. Where is this year going?

I can tell you July is going to fly back for us as we begin packing for our move into a rental house. I am very excited about getting out of an apartment and into a house that sits on a cul-de-sac (where the kids are very excited about riding their bikes) and has a nice wooded backyard (where the kids are excited about exploring nature). However I must say that even though I am excited about the house I am not so excited about the packing and moving part. This will be our 7th move in 13 years. Oh and I will be painting some furniture too this month. The kids will finally have their own rooms (they have been sharing for the last 4 years)...so that means some furniture will be getting a makeover and some fun crafty projects (look another P word) will be taking place. So if you don't see me blogging or on social media very much this is why.

Even though I will not be having much fun, it doesn't mean you can't. I will be offering several great giveaways on my blog this month so be sure to check back frequently so you can win some great prizes. You can easily check for any new giveaways by clicking my giveaway tab.

I will also have lots of great reviews for you this month (I am trying to get caught up before we start a new school year).  I love praising great homeschool companies and field trip destinations and I hope you enjoy reading about them. I am not sure if you noticed, but many times when I right a review post I try to always share some amazing freebies that the company offers (printables, articles, etc) as well as additional resources we used along side the item we were reviewing. All our reviews can easily be viewed by clicking my review tab.

And if all this isn't enough, painting, packing, writing praises and setting up prizes I am also in the process of preparing for next school year.

Please God help me! Prayers (another P word) are appreciated!

Special Thanks To My Wonderful Sponsors For June

*This post contains affiliate links. Please see my Disclosure Page for details.

I would like to thank my amazing sponsors for June. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor or purchasing advertising please contact me. It is my goal to help you reach the homeschool community with your valuable product information! As someone who was in the retail/sales industry for 15+ years I understand the limited advertising budgets companies have, as a result I offer very affordable rates. 

Founders Academy offers live online classes through CurrClick for children of all ages. Read our review here. Classes range in price and start at $7. 

Right now Founders Academy has several great Summer classes available including Fathers Day 2013,  Flag Day, Inside Washington D.C and more! Check out this veteran homeschool mom and see what she has to offer...you won't be disappointed.

A+ TutorSoft is an amazing Multi-Sensory math program perfect for all learning styles. If you are not familiar with  A+ TutorSoft be sure to read our review. There are some great freebies and supplements on the A+ TutorSoft website including FREE 30 day trial.

And right now you can get 20% off any A+ Interactive Math curriculum with coupon code: KUBSAVE!!!! This coupon can be used on top of any specials!

I'd also like to let you know about the A+ TutorSoft Twitter Party happening next week. I hope you will join us...there will be TONS of great prizes + a FREEBIE for all attendees. Be sure to follow @aplustutorsoft and RSVP. The party can be easily followed using the hashtag #APlusMath.

This month I have a NEW sponsor Daria Music. Daria is an internationally known folksinger who has traveled the globe, learning, sharing and making music while building communities and encouraging a new view of hope and peace for all the world’s children. Each month she has a great feature on her Monthly Song Page with a giveaway, free song, instrument craft and more. Be sure to read our review about one of her fabulous CD's.

L Is For Little Blogger

*This post contains affiliate links. Please see my Disclosure Page for details.

Today I would like to introduce you to my little blogger. Several weeks ago my daughter (age 7) asked to start her own blog.....and she didn't didn't stop asking. So this week we created her blog. Adventures Of A Homeschool Cowgirl. She doesn't have any posts up yet, but she has some great ideas and is working on a few. She is very passionate about Save The Horses, the horse farm we volunteer at. So she will definitely be sharing a lot about the rescue and hopes to raise donations for the rescue through her blog.

I hope you will stop by occasionally and read her blog. I will be adding a tab on my blog linking directly to her blog.

Blog Remodel

Well on April 29th I had my 2 year blogiversary! So I decided it was time for a little blog remodel. Please excuse my wacky layout for a few more days until everything gets back in order!

I hope you like the new design. I will have a better organized menu bar with drop downs, social media follow buttons and a pretty new header...as well as some other updates.

Delighted To Meet You - Ultimate Blog Party 2013

I saw some homeschool blogging friends were participating in the 2013 Ultimate Blog Party and decided to join in. The ultimate blog party is simply an online party where you can make new friends without leaving the comfort of your sofa. 

D is for delighted to meet you....

Let me introduce myself for those that don't already know me. My name is Kathy and Kathys Cluttered Mind is our family's homeschool blog. Here we share all about our homeschool journey both the ups and downs. We also share homeschool product reviews, fun fieldtrip adventures, crafty projects, free homeschool resources and more. April 29th will mark my 2 year blogging anniversary!

I am very happily married to my wonderful husband who I married on my 19th birthday in 2000! We have two children who are 17 months apart. Gwyndolyn is our compassionate, artistic, animal loving daughter. Rowyn is our silly, rambunctiousness, Lego and Star Wars loving son. We live North of the hustling and bustling city of Atlanta, GA.

Gwyndolyn 7 years old.

Rowyn almost 6 years old.

We began our homeschool journey in 2011 (prior to that I worked outside the home full-time). I have to admit homeschooling is the hardest job I have ever had. We have had many rough days. Days when I just want to give up. But there have also been amazing days. Days when I know we have made the right choice in homeschooling our children. My heart melted when I heard my daughter read a book all by herself for the first time. And when my son wrote his name for the first time I had tears in my eyes. 

We are very eclectic, delight-directed homeschoolers. We are always on the search for a new adventure. We love the outdoors and you can often find us on a nature walk writing and drawing in nature journals or on the search of another Geocache. 

10 Things You May Not Know About Me:

1) I love to blog. Yes blogging is a hobby for me. When I was in Junior High I wanted to be a journalist until a teacher told me I couldn't write. Well I guess my dream to write is coming true thanks to this blog.

2) I enjoy scrapbooking...even though I haven't had much time to do it lately.

3) I love watching movies. Want to know what my husband did just about every night when we were dating? Actually what we still do just about every night? We watch movies. We love watching flicks of any kind: drama, action, suspense, horror, girly, animated...you name it we have probably seen it.

4) I manage social media for A+ TutorSoft a homeschool math company.

5) I love traveling and there was a point in my life that I wanted to be a flight attendant or work on a cruise ship.

6) My husband is the first man I ever dated and we only dated 6 months before getting married.

7) I had surgery at the age of 20 to fix a birth defect called Malrotation of the Small Intestine (basically my small intestine is in the wrong place). I had to be operated on by a pediatric surgeon at Hershey Medical Hospital. It was very odd that I had no intestinal issues as a child and had no effects of the defect until I reached 19 years of age.

8) Prior to becoming a stay at home mom I worked as a retail manager for 10+ years and an administrative assistant at a real estate school. I actually have my real estate license though it is currently inactive. 

9) My favorite flower is the sunflower. And my favorite color is blue. 

10) I have a strong Type A personality and also deal with OCD.

I also oversee a couple Facebook groups: Homeschool Math and GA Homeschool Fieldtrips. And several Google + communities: Homeschool Math, Homeschool Giveaways, Homeschool FreeBEEs, Homeschool Product Reviews and Wildlife Wednesday.

Each month myself and a couple of blogging friends have two great link ups where fellow bloggers can share their amazing posts - Wildlife Wednesday and FreeBEE Fridays.

You can follow Kathys Cluttered Mind on Facebook, Google+, Twitter, and Pinterest. There is also an Android App for Kathys Cluttered Mind.

Thanks for visiting our blog we are delighted to have you, we hope you stay a little longer and take a look around. Also be sure to visit the other bloggers participating in this party!

Linking up with: Top Ten Tuesday, Ben and Me, Ultimate Blog Party

Happy New Year - Top 10 Posts For 2012

I hope everyone's New Year is off to a good start. I had hoped to have this post up two days ago but I started the New Year off with the flu and due to my intestinal issues it always hits me very hard and often takes a few days to fully recover. On the plus side though I closed my very first real estate transaction yesterday. This was a huge financial blessing for our family because it means I can now purchase a new (well used) car that doesn't have over 250,000 miles on it. I have one more closing to finalize and then I have made the decision to put my real estate license back to inactive status. Real Estate is not a very family friendly business especially when you are trying to homeschool two kids and have issues dealing with stress. But I do have a couple of pretty awesome things in the works that will help bring in some extra income, which I hope to share with you soon.

2013 Ahead:
If you want to call them resolutions you can, but I prefer to just call them goals. I created a list last week of things I needed to accomplish and get caught up on while we are on our 2 week homeschool break (we plan to start back Monday). So far I am about half way through the list, YAY. As for the rest of the year my biggest focus and my word for 2013 is ORGANIZATION! I want to be organized with everything from household - homeschool. I am also continuing to focus on my word from last year which was TONE.

Homeschool:
In our homeschool I am in the process of revamping some things like our schedule. Gwyn has requested a little more structure (she is very Type A with a little bit of OCD).  She wanted to go back to workboxes but umm they didn't really work for mommy. I am hoping to have our homeschool revamp completed this weekend and will share some of those changes with you hopefully next week. Last week I did manage to get the homeschool room reorganized (I had to make room for the books, games and science kits the kids got for Christmas).

Household:
A few of the household changes we are putting into place which are helping accomplish more organization as well as routine are...We have made a simple chore list with paid allowance each week ($1 for 10 stars). This helps me out tremendously and teaches the kids about working to earn money. We had tried the chore list thing once before but we slacked off and it failed. But now that the kids are a little older and actually interested in and understand money it has been going much better. We have also given the kids the responsibility of getting up and making their own breakfast. They have a list of what they can eat and I pre-make pancakes and eggs for them over the weekend. This is going extremely well so far. 

Blogging:
I don't blog as often as I would like because quite frankly there are not enough hours in the day to accomplish everything I'd like. But I think I am finding my niche in the blogging world and appreciate each and every person that reads our blog. Next year you can expect review posts (I am on the TOS Crew again), FreeBEEs posts, deal posts and of course more posts about our homeschool journey.

Top posts for 2012:

1) Dr. Seuss and the Lorax Are Taking Over Our Homeshool In March

2) FreeBEE Fridays Free LEGO Learning Resources

3) Going Crazy With Dr Seuss

4) Time4Learning Review

5) Homeschool Days For The Southeast 2012-2013

6) Family Time Fitness Review and Giveaway

7) FeeBEE Fridays - 2012 Olympic Learning Fun

8) FreeBEE Fridays - Printable, Electronic and Android App Homeschool Planners

9) Georgia Free Learning Resources
10) National Craft Month With RoseArt

Don't forget the NEW FreeBEE Friday launches tomorrow. Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss the amazing FreeBEEs Jen and I have in store for you in 2013.

*Don't miss a single FreeBEE... Subscribe to Kathys Cluttered Mind*

*Disclaimer - Many of the links found on my side bars and in my blog posts are affiliate links. Please note that prices indicated in the post are subject to change. As a result, I might get paid money and I will most likely spend the money on homeschool supplies.

Linking up with: Top Ten Tuesday

Ornament Swap - Another Snowman For My Collection

Cook Family Chronicles hosted a fun ornament swap that I decided would be fun to participate in.  I don't know about you but I just love getting packages in the mail. My swap partner was Jen from Forever, For Always, No Matter What. She is an amazing homeschool blogger with 6 adorable adopted children. Be sure to check out her blog.

So here is the ornament my new online friend got me. I had mentioned I LOVE snowmen. My husband has been getting me a snowman every Christmas since we have been married.

I wanted to share what I got my swap partner as well. We visited the Coca-Cola Museum for the first time last week (we've been in GA 12 years). It was a fabulous field trip and while we were there I decided to get my swap partners ornament so I could send her a little piece of GA history. Here is the ornament the kids helped me pick out.

*Disclaimer - Many of the links found on my side bars and in my blog posts are affiliate links. Please note that prices indicated in the post are subject to change. As a result, I might get paid money and I will most likely spend the money on homeschool supplies.

Homeschool Blog Awards

This year I was nominated for 2 categories in The Homeschool Post Blog Awards. I am so honored and would love it if you voted for me. I don't think I will win as I am up against some big time bloggers but it's worth a shot right?

Blog Awards:
Best Homeschool Variety Blog - Yup totally explains me, "this type of blogger is the ADD hyper-focused type"
Best Nitty Gritty Homeschool Blog - Ha, Ha, Ha, "BLOW YOU AWAY with their enthusiasm" ummm yeah we definitely have our bad days and there are NO "SUPER-HOMESCHOOLER’s" here. But thanks for thinking there is.

There are 20 award categories in all so take some time to browse through the other GREAT bloggers and vote.

You can vote once per day, per device from now through November 16th. Just select the bubble and click vote at the bottom of the page. Click on the blog title to view the blog nominee.

Thanks for nominating me!!!

I Now Also Blog For......

Since starting this blog a little over a year ago I have had so many wonderful new doors open up. This blog was originally started to be a journal for our homeschool journey but it has become so much more for our family. My affiliate accounts (located on the left side bar) and the review products/fieldtrips we receive have greatly helped our one income family.

I would like to tell you a about a few NEW endeavors for me and hope that you will support me on these blogging journeys.

I am now a contributing writer for Expedition Mom. The Expedition Mom website provides you with "The Know Before You Go" for adventures in GA. Here are a few posts I have written so far: Elachee Nature Science Center: A Nature Lovers Paradise, "The Little Mermaid Pirate" at The Center For Puppetry Arts, HIGH Museum of Art. You can also follow Expedition Mom on Facebook and Twitter.

I am now a review blogger for The TOS Crew. I have already received several items to review and those will be posted in July and August. I am very excited about this opportunity and cannot wait to share some amazing product reviews with you. You can also follow The TOS Crew on Facebook and Twitter.

Rose Art is revamping their website and it should be done any day now. The new website will feature a blog and guess what? I will be writing posts for their blog. I will still share fun Rose Art crafts and product reviews here on my blog too. You can also follow Rose Art on Facebook and Twitter.

The Homeschool Lounge has a review team that I am very excited to be a part of. I cannot wait to see what cool products we will get to review. You can also follow The Homeschool Lounge on Facebook and Twitter.

Well after almost a year of participating in every single Master Books Twitter party I am happy to announce that I am now a Mom of Master Books!!! I hope to see you at the upcoming party!

And if you don't already PLEASE follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google +. You can also make sure you get notified about new posts by signing up for Email or RSS Feed. 
And lastly thank you my blog would not be what it is today if it weren't for my wonderful readers. 

March 3 in 30 Goals - Week 1

Alright well that wonderful little virus going around hit us so not much progress this week.

February Goals:

1. Get reviews that need to be done written and scheduled - A little bit of progress but not as much as I would like.

2. Remember to visit and thank those that have linked up at FreeBEE Fridays - Slowly making my way through the posts from this week.

3. Spring clean and organize -  Nope no organizing done.

Any encouraging words or suggestions are always appreciated!

Thank You and Further Information

First off I would like to thank each and every one of you for reading my blog, following me on Twitter, liking me on Facebook, subscribing to my emails or RSS feed, etc. It means so much to me. I started this blog April 2011 as a journal for our homeschool journey but it has become so much more than that and my family has been so blessed.

If you don't follow me yet there are many ways to do so. I highly recommend my Kathys Cluttered Mind Facebook Page because every time a new post goes up it shows up there and I share lots of great info like FreeBEES, field trip ideas, etc. You can also follow me via GFC, Email, RSS Feed, Twitter, Pinterest, Google +, Klout and a new way Linky Followers.

With regards to Pinterest there has been some posts from people who feel it is infringing on copyright laws. Please note anything I post on my blog may be pinned. I wouldn't put it up there if I didn't want it shared with others. Please give me FREE advertising and Pin, Share, Tweet, Forward my posts to friends.

You may have noticed the list of affiliates on the left side of my blog. I have slowly been earning money from them which is awesome because it helps us with groceries and homeschool supplies/field trips. I appreciate everyone who has been ordering from my links and hope you will continue to do so. Dropping down to one income was not easy on us financially but being home is totally worth the financial struggles.

As you may have noticed I changed my blog button so if you are using this on your blog or website would you please update it this one is much prettier.

<center><a href="http://www.kathysclutteredmind.com" target=”_blank”><img src="http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h453/kbalman/KathysBlogButton.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" /></a></center>

I also have a couple of link ups I am doing right now. FreeBEE Fridays is on going and Seussy Saturdays is only for this month. Also this month I am doing a National Craft Month with Rose Art link up with but there is no button for that. I would love it if you join in the fun and link up your posts. Rules are simple share a post that goes along with the link up and if you can please post the button either in the post or on your sidebar.


<center><a href="http://www.gricefullyhomeschooling.com/search/label/FreeBee%20Friday"><img border="0" src=" http://i1127.photobucket.com/albums/l637/Gricefully5/Blog%20Graphics/FFButton.jpg "/></a></center>


<center><a href="http://www.kathysclutteredmind.com/search/label/Dr%20Seuss" target=”_blank”><img src="http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h453/kbalman/seussysaturday-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" /></a></center>
I hope you will take a look around my blog sidebars I have added a few new things like a Google Map that shows our field trip journeys (right side), Shelfari where I will share the books we highly recommend (left side still working on this), Amazon store (left side doesn't always show in all browsers but you should still see a text link) and easier navigation for what we are learning and current giveaways (top right)
Thanks again for being a faithful follower I appreciate the support. 

March 3 in 30 Goals

Okay I totally slacked last month on my goals and posts. And I didn't get ANY of them fully done. We were super busy last month and we will be again this month especially since I will be attending two homeschool conventions. I sometimes think we need to take the home out of homeschool because I feel like we re never home, lol. So I am carrying over some of my February goals and going to try again. At first you don't succeed try, try, try again, right?

February Goals:

1. Get reviews that need to be done written and scheduled - I still have a stack of things I need to review. I plan to take tomorrow to actually get caught up on some of these. 

2. Remember to visit and thank those that have linked up at FreeBEE Fridays - If you haven't seen my new link up with Gricefully Homeschooling check it out. If you have an educational FreeBEE you can link up every Friday to share it with others. 

3. Spring clean and organize -  I know that sounds very broad but the apartment has been taken over by clutter and there are spots that need some serious organizing. I also need to do a really good cleaning, which I hate doing.

Any encouraging words or suggestions are always appreciated!

January 3 in 30 Goals, New Years Resolutions and Word for 2012

Welcome 2012!!!!

I didn't have time to write an update for December because well I was too busy getting caught up on my to do list. But December went very well and I completed all 3 goals.

I am changing things up a bit this year in our home and homeschool. I am going to be doing more of a gentle /guided learning approach with the kids. I am going to plan each week of homeschol a week in advance rather than trying to plan stuff the night before and many times the same day. I am going to start cooking and baking more from scratch to save money. I am going to limit my online time by only getting on social media during breakfast and lunch time, in the afternoon before dinner and just for a little bit after the kids go to bed (unless there is a Twitter or FB party). I am going to not stress about keeping up with all of the different blog link ups, memes, etc. When I started to blog early last year (sounds funny to say last year) I wanted it to be a personal journal and a place for homeschoolers to learn more about homeschooling and the resources/products that are available for homeschoolers. Have you seen my NEW resource page (it is still under construction)? But I started getting sucked into the blog-o-sphere and was spending too much time fiddling with my blog and trying to write posts for every link up and meme. I don't know how some bloggers post everyday (have you ever noticed my posts are almost always on Friday, Saturday and Sunday)? I just don't have enough time in the day and get overwhelmed with dividing my time between the kids, husband, myself, household chores, etc. With that being said I am going to be focusing on my weekly wrap ups, FREE resources available for homeschoolers, 3 in 30, one book club or challenge a month, reviews/giveaways and marketing my affiliate links. My children, husband, myself and house come first!!! I am going to go out on more dates with my husband, mom only outings and more one on one mommy dates with each kid (if extra funds are available). And I am going to focus on building my friendships and making more hopefully. I have always had a hard time making friends and for over 11 yrs I haven't had a close girlfriend. You know someone you can confide in, share mommy stories with, go out with, hug, text/talk on the phone, cry with. Well last year I met 4 women who live somewhat close to me that I can now call my friends. And there you have it these are my New Years Resolutions.

My word for 2012 is TONE! No I am not planning to workout! I am talking about this TONE: a particular quality, way of sounding, modulation, or intonation of the voice as expressive of some meaning, feeling, spirit, etc.: a tone of command.The character of voice expressing an emotion. I will be focusing on the tone I set for the day and the tone I use with the kids.

Now for my January goals. I thought of about 5 goals and after much thought narrowed them down these three.

January Goals:

1. Complete these two activities - 31 Days to Pray for Your Spouse and How To Have A HEART For Your Kids - I am very excited to be joining both of these. And look forward to growing as a wife and mother. Its not too late to join in the fun if you are reading this and not participating read my post here to find out how.  

2.  Scrapbook - complete at least two pages a week - I am so far behind on scrapbooking about 5 yrs on the kids albums and even longer on my childhood albums. I am setting my goal low and hope I accomplish more than two pages but with kids,  

3.  Get my email inbox under control - Right now there are over 2,000 emails in my inbox. My goal is to get that down to at least 100 by the end of the month.

Any encouraging words or suggestions are always appreciated! And if your a friend on Twitter or Facebook and see me on there too much during the day please feel free to give me a virtual smack!

The Versatile Blogger Award

I was recently given my first blog award The Versatile Blogger award by Amy at ByHisDesign5.  Thanks Amy!

Here are the rules:

1.  Thank the person who gave you the award & link back to them

2.  Give this award to 15 recently discovered bloggers. 

3.  Contact those bloggers & let them in on the news.

4.  Tell your readers 7 things about yourself

7 things about myself:

1.  This is our first year homeschooling.

2.  I enjoy scrapbooking and photography (even though I am very far behind on scrapbooking mostly because I take way too many photographs).

3.  I love geocaching.

4.  I have my real estate and appraisal license, but I am not practicing either right now.

5.  I only dated my husband 6 months and then we got married. He is also the 1st guy I dated.

6.  I love to eat and my favorite meal is steak, baked potatoes and corn on the cob or anything Mexican.

7.  I love to travel and I have been to Australia, New Zealand, England, Ireland and Wales.

15 Bloggers that I have recently started reading:
-Adventures in Home Education
-Chestnut Grove Academy
-Cows Don't Moo
-Daze of Adventure
-Gricefully Homeschooling
-Growing Up Homeschooled
-Holy Spirited-Led Homeschooling
-Mom's Mustard Seeds
-Our Life's Adventures
-Sack Family Adventures
-Sams Noggin
-Starts at Eight
-The Pelsers
-The Homespun Life
-Three Thinking Mothers

Thank you again for the award. And thank you to all the bloggers listed above, I enjoy spending time reading your blogs each day!