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You’ve Been Sentenced Still a Winner

Posted by Admin on November 17th, 2011 filed in Family
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Remember this fun game? My kids are still loving it and it’s been a year since we’ve been playing it.

An update: You’ve Been Sentenced is now the proud winner of 17 national awards to recognize its high quality. Not only that, this year you can buy it at Barnes & Noble, Kohl’s and Toys R Us! How cool is that?!?

If you don’t remember my original post, here are the highlights:

311XNWQVrjL._SL500_AA300_We are game lovers in my family. Since we try to avoid television to some extent and look for alternative ways to spend time together, board games are one thing we spend a lot of time doing. As soon as children become readers in our household, they quickly move up to active game-players, participating with everyone else in rousing games during the evenings.

I was recently happy to receive a game to review. The game is called:

You’ve Been Sentenced!

This game combines several key aspects of a successful game, in my opinion. Not only is it exciting and enjoyable, it is educational as well. I love it when my kids can learn while they have fun.

Recently, we sat down to see what this game had in store for us.

Each player receives ten cards and then must build a grammatically correct sentence using as many cards as possible. The first player who finishes building a sentence starts a sand-timer and then the remaining players have until the sand runs out to finish their own sentences. After the sentences are finished, the judging portion of the game begins. Players can “object” to other players’ sentences on the grounds that the sentences do not make sense or are not grammatically correct. If a player’s sentence is challenged, he or she must then defend it. After each sentence is judged, it’s time to score — some words are worth more points than others.

Play additional rounds and the first player to reach 200 points is the winner.

I have children in a wide range of ages so playing some games can be a challenge. This game was fun for us because we buddied up with some of the younger children and I think everyone learned something.

I expect this game to be a favorite this winter as we while away the chilly evenings.


LEED for Green

Posted by Admin on November 17th, 2011 filed in General Abundance
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The economy is such a bust right now. How about something encouraging!

Ever heard of LEED? LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. This is a special building certification program for constructing green buildings. Any commercial or residential building can be made using green construction, using an comprehensive rating system.

Sound interesting? I know! Well then, perhaps you could take a course for LEED online and become a LEED® Accredited Professional. Anyone in the real estate or construction business should really think seriously about doing this to make themselves more marketable in the industry. Even if you don’t work in the industry, if you’re just passionate about all things green, give this some consideration!

I’m talking about CleanEdison’s LEED® Green Associate program where you take a course and then take an exam for accreditation into the LEED program. If you take the crash course, you can prepare for the exam in only a day! You’ll learn about the credit rating system, review general guidelines for that system and you’ll even get some tips and tricks for passing the test!

This could be just what you need to get your career in the green industry started!


Charleston Real Estate

Posted by Admin on November 17th, 2011 filed in General Abundance
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One part of the country I have not explored much is the deep south. I’ve always had an interest and fascination with the southern states and I would love the opportunity to visit this area — especially in the spring.

Maybe if I visited, I wouldn’t want to return to this cold tundra where I live!

Anyway, I’m sure that the Charleston homes are a sight to see. With the antebellum architecture and old southern style, I can’t help but assume that the beauty of the homes would be enough to make me look for a realtor to help me buy!

Of course, I’d have to contact Online Charleston Real Estate for help. This residential real estate company offers both listings and tools for helping someone search the Charleston area via the internet. Very useful!

This company also staffs knowledgeable and experienced brokers and salespeople who can help with the house hunting and purchasing process.

Of course, this is probably just a pipe dream for me, but maybe someone else can make their dream come true. If relocating to Charleston, make sure you use a real estate company who can make the transition easy.


Happy Healthy Thanksgiving

Posted by Admin on November 14th, 2011 filed in Holidays
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Happy-thanksgiving-Banner1I love Thanksgiving! Combining family, tradition and food into one big day couldn’t be a better combination, in my opinion.

I tend to gravitate toward healthy, whole cooking and eating. Thanksgiving is also wonderful because the foods are old-fashioned and usually whole foods. Turkey, potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, carrots, corn, stuffing, cranberries, pies…everything on this list is easily prepared with healthy, whole methods.

I use whole wheat bread in my stuffing. I make sweet potatoes using maple syrup and unusual spices. I make mashed potatoes using organic potatoes, raw cream and butter made from raw cream. My vegetables are organic, my cranberries are honey-sweetened and my pies…well…they’re a meal all their own. I usually make four or five different ones and each one is sweetened naturally.

We’re expecting 20 this year and I absolutely cannot wait! With our growing family, we may add new ones every year from here on out!


Twisted Fish for Twisted Fun — Redux

Posted by Admin on November 13th, 2011 filed in Family
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Last year around this time, I was happy to tell you all about the Twisted Fish game that my family received from Brighter Minds, Inc.

Don’t remember it? Well, here’s a quick recap:

leftimg_twistedfishBlogging has it’s perks. I have found an awesome company that really appeals to me as a home educator. One of the most important things to me as I teach my children is to help them develop a love for learning. The best way to do this? Show them that learning is fun. To this end, I have found a company who’s philosophy and purpose is to create fun games and products “designed to help create brighter minds.”

About a month ago, we reviewed “You’ve Been Sentenced,” a word game where players take turns making sentences. We now have all of the add-on decks that make this game even more enjoyable. This game is perfect for family game nights.

Now, I am so excited to tell you about the newest game we received called “Twisted Fish.” My kids are really loving this game. You know the old “Go Fish” game, right? Well, here’s the newest version with an engaging twist. In fact, since you probably already know how to play Go Fish, you’ll learn Twisted Fish in only a moment or two. Get ready for hilarious memory-building fun!

Go check out the engaging games available from McNeill Designs for Brighter Minds so you can see what I mean. I promise you won’t regret it!

It’s now been over a year, and these games are still at the top of our gaming list!

I would encourage you to add these games to your shopping list this year. You can find them at:

Wonderful games!


Carting Away the Junk

Posted by Admin on November 10th, 2011 filed in Home
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We have a neighbor who seems to have a problem with…erm…collecting. Although I have never been inside their house, so I cannot say for sure, I get the feeling that these people are literally overflowing. I get the feeling that they have filled up their house and they are now overflowing their STUFF outside into their yard. It’s really rather ugly if you spend too much time looking at it. So…I don’t!

I’m not sure what we have available up north where we live, but down in the Fort Worth area, they can call Grapevine Junk Removal to help them clear out the junk!

These are the people to call when you need to get rid of appliances, tires, furniture, carpeting and electronics. They will come to your home, load it up and take it away.

Our city used to have what we used to call “Big Trash Day” every spring. This was the day in May when the city would come around and pick up all the big items that you cannot throw away in the regular trash pick up. Unfortunately, last spring was the last such day as they have now discontinued this service.

Hopefully our yard doesn’t start looking like our neighbors’ yard does!


Linen Cabinet Storage

Posted by Admin on November 7th, 2011 filed in Home
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I love custom furniture. The old style of finely crafted pieces is so beautiful and simple that it speaks for itself. I wish I had room for one of these linen cabinets in my upstairs hallway. I would put sheets and other linens in it, filling the pretty shelves with a variety of different linens that our family uses.

I love the glass cabinet on top with the drawers underneath. There’s something so timeless about that style. I also love the dark espresso wood finish. Not only are the cabinets elegant, but they provide much needed storage to any bedroom or bathroom area. The shelves can hold the pretty items that you want to display and the drawers can hold toiletries that don’t need to be on display for everyone to see. The cabinets are made of solid wood, too.

What would you do with a linen cabinet like this? I could even see getting a little creative with it and thinking outside the box. You don’t HAVE to use it for linen storage! As a homeschooler, I see other possibilities for storage, such as crafting supplies and school items. As a seamstress and quilter, I could also see this as storage for fabric.


Swimming Pool Safety

Posted by Admin on November 6th, 2011 filed in Home
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The safety of swimming pools is one of the biggest reasons I do not ever plan to own one. I know that they make effective swimming pool safety fences that encircle the entire pool with a secure fence, but fences can fail. I’ve also seen fences with special alarms that sound if the fence is opened or disrupted. This is getting better, but I still doubt that I would have any peace of mind with a pool and small children.


Finding the Right Flooring

Posted by Admin on November 6th, 2011 filed in Uncategorized
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I am wondering what kind of hardwood flooring would be a suitable choice for a house with a busy bunch of kids running around on it all day long. I would like to replace our kitchen and utility room floors, but I don’t want to choose the wrong kind of floor. How would alloc laminate flooring hold up under busy kid traffic? Any tips or suggestions for me?


Pool Maintenance

Posted by Admin on November 3rd, 2011 filed in Uncategorized
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It’s November — so unless you live near the Equator, chances are you’re not really thinking about swimming pool liners or other swimming pool maintenance items. But…before you know it, the winter will begin to ease off and spring will approach again. Then when your thoughts turn to the new items you need to purchase for your swimming pool, like pool covers and what not — you’ll have to hurry to find everything you need for the upcoming season. This is the time you’ll be paying premium prices for the things you need, too.

Instead, why not think about these things over the longer winter and find just the items you need at prices you can afford? It’s always cheaper to purchase equipment and tools like this in the off season, right? Maintaining a pool can be expensive, so I can imagine you’d like to save money in whatever ways you can.

Anyway, make sure you’re maintaining your pool attractively and effectively, keeping it safe and clean for your family. This means purchasing high-quality items that will last for a long time and serve your family well.


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