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blogging planner review

Written by Joy
6 Comments
blogging planner review

Now that I am blogging more and even doing more reviews for homeschooling curriculum, books and other products, I found that I needed a better way of keeping track of the reviews and when they were due. Since I am also now a member of Mosaic Reviews, our first review was of a blogging planner. It couldn’t have come at a better time! I have looked at a lot of different blogging planners over the last several months.  Ones that you can purchase and also ones that are free.  However, there was one blogging planner that I just kept coming back to.  The blogging planner that Mama Jenn designed. I was so excited that it was on the list of planners to choose from.

picture of Mama Jenn’s blogging planner is from http://www.mamajennblogs.com/2012/12/my-2013-blogging-planner-free-printable.html

There were several reasons that I chose Mama Jenn’s 50+ plus page blogging planner.   First off, it is a 12 month planner.  I wanted a blogging planner that I could plan for the whole year long.  Each month, she has several different pages grouped together.  The first page is a monthly calendar page.  It has plenty of space to write the title of the post on each date and then has little boxes at the bottom of each day to check off when you have shared it on Facebook, Google Plus, Twitter and Pinterest.

The next page that is in the month section is the monthly blog planning.  You can write down your major posts that you do every month.  There is also a column to keep track of your to-do lists and goals.  She also includes several pages that I can  keep track of giveaways and reviews.  Mama Jenn even included pages for you to keep note and write recommendations down.

Mama Jenn went above and beyond in creating this blogging planner.  She has extra bonus pages that include a full year calendar, a page to help you keep track of your blog stats, a page to write down extra ideas for posts and several blank pages for  you to use any way you need to.

I was extremely impressed with everything that she included in this blogging planner.  I mean, she thought about everything that a blogger does when they sit down to write a post.  Best of all?  This blogging planner is free!

So far, the blogging planner is working really well for me.  It has helped me stay on track and has made it a lot easier for me to plan ahead so that I do not over plan.  Now that I have my blogging organized, time to find a planner to help me organize my homeschooling and house!

How do you stay organized?  Do you use a paper blogging planner or do you use one online?

2013, blogging, review, , , ,

The Family Illustrated Bible – review

Written by Joy
4 Comments
The Family Illustrated Bible – review


When I saw the Family Illustrated Bible, I was excited to review it.  The Family Illustrated Bible is written by Sally Tagholm and published by New Leaf Publishing Group.  The book is hardcover and is 8.5×11 inches in size.  The illustrations in the book are beautiful, being in detail and in very bright and vibrant colors.  It is written in a storybook formation with the stories written in 1-3 pages.

You will find that the major stories of the bible are in here, like Adam and Eve, Moses, Noah and birth of Jesus.  You will also find stories from the bible that you normally wouldn’t see in a child’s bible story book, like Sodom and Gomorrah and Rahab and the spies.

The overall appearance and stories found in the bible are very nice.  However, I did find a few things that concerned me.   First off, they include The Gospel of Thomas in the New Testament section.  This book is not included in the Bible.  Some statements in a few of those stories also showed that God was worried.  Which is definitely not true.   Some of the stories just had inaccurate information, like when they Red Sea was parted.  It says the ground was muddy and the Bible clearly states that they walked on dry ground.

Overall, it is a nice book, but I don’t think I would recommend it to families.  To me, there is more wrong with the book than there is right.

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from New Leaf Publishing Group. No other compensation was received. The fact that I received this book does not guarantee a favorable review.

2013, homeschooling, review, , , , , ,

Origami Owl necklace review and giveaway!!

Written by Joy
30 Comments
Origami Owl necklace review and giveaway!!

**UPDATE** Winner of a medium silver locket is Aurie G!!

After my first two children, I was given a necklace with two little charms on it with my children’s birthstones on it. I loved it and wore it all the time. However, when I had my last two children, I stopped wearing it because I couldn’t find the charms with the birthstones that matched my other two. After that, I just never looked for 4 similar charms that represented my 4 children.

That was until I heard about Origami Owl Custom Jewelry.  Origami Owl was started by a 14 year old girl, who started the business to try and save up enough money to buy a car.  Now, 2 years later,  she has built a successful company that helps for families to tell stories through jewelry.

My friend, LaRessie, started selling this jewelry back in October.  She is an amazing person and loves to help people tell their stories through this jewelry.  She made me a deal that I just couldn’t resist.  I was finally able to get a necklace with all four of my children represented.  The necklace came in a small blue box (I failed to get a picture) with a small little case inside to store the necklace.  My choice was a silver medium locket, with 2 small boys and 2 small girls in my children’s birthstones.  It is absolutely beautiful!

My Origami Owl necklace with my children’s birthstones.

There are so many categories with a lot of choices to build your legacy locket.  You can make one with your favorite hobbies or you can even build one for grandma’s.  The choices are unlimited!

LaRessie has offered to give a free charm with a purchase of a locket.  You will need to make this order by contacting her through Facebook or e-mail her at laressie@gmail.com with A Journey of Joy-sale in the subject line.

Now for the giveaway!  LaRessie is also offering a medium silver locket to one of my readers!  How does that sound?  I think it is amazing and I can’t wait to choose who it will be!

I am going to leave this giveaway open until Tuesday night at 10:00 pm.  Just fill out the rafflecopter below!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

2012, review, , ,

An Amish Kitchen ~ book review

Written by Joy
An Amish Kitchen ~ book review

An Amish Kitchen is a book with three stories, written by Beth Wiseman, Amy Clipston and Kelly Long.  All three stories are set in a small Amish community in Pennsylvania.

The first story, written by Kelly Long is “A Test of Faith”.  It is about this young lady named Fern who is learning the healing arts of herbs from her Grandmother.

The second story, written by Amy Clipston is “A Spoonful of Love”.  It is a story about a young lady, named Hannah, who is running the Bed and Breakfast that is owned by her parents.

The third story, written by Beth Wiseman is “A Recipe for Hope”.  This is a story of a daughter named Eve, whose family has to stay with her parents.  Eve and her mom have always had a strained relationship.

All three of these stories really are an enjoyable short read.  They all center around the kitchen, which I feel is the heart of a home.  It is where most women, young or old spend most of the time.  All three authors do a great job bringing heartache to joy, through the stories.  While the Amish are people who live simple and keep to themselves, it shows that they have issues just like everyone else.   I also love how the stories show that they help one another through the hard times.

Since this book is centered around an Amish kitchen, the authors also include recipes that they have tried themselves.  I can’t wait to try out some of the recipes that they have included.

Overall, I enjoyed all three of these books and would recommend them to anyone who is looking for a good short story to read.  I don’t think you will be disappointed.

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

2012, review, , , , ,

The Big Book of History ~ book review

Written by Joy
6 Comments
The Big Book of History ~ book review

The Big Book of History is written by Laura Welch and published by New Leaf Publishing Group.

 The Big Book of History is a 15 foot fold out time-line.  You can use it like a book and flip through the pages, or you can fold it completely out.  It is a time-line that covers from Creation to the time that it was published.  It as 4 different lines and each line represent 4 different events.  You have Biblical events, inventions, world events and civilizations and empires.

This time-line book isn’t just a bunch of dates on a line.  It has pictures and little comments through out the book to help explain the dates that are mentioned.  The biblical events listed are some of the major events that happened in the bible.  It also lists the major inventions, world events and civilizations/empires that have made a huge impact on our world.

The Big Book of History is colorful and very easy to follow.  You can keep it compact in a book shape or you can fold it out completely and hang on the wall.

Overall, the kids and I really liked the Big Book of History.  It has a lot of information that led to some great conversations.  The kids enjoyed folding out the book and comparing when events happened.   I see us using this often on our homeschool.  It is definitely a conversation piece with my children and I.

*I was sent this book from New Leaf Publishing Group, in return for an honest review.  All opinions expressed are my own.

 

2012, homeschooling, review, , , , ,