So, I’ve been hinting at move. A blog move, that is. With the help of my most excellent designer, Amy Bayliss, I will be moving from Blogger to Wordpress. It has been in the works for some time.
Been given much prayer. A thing like this . . . is time consuming.
There are a lot of reasons. I could bore you with the details. But the biggest justification is that I strongly feel that God has pushed me in that direction. Please email me personally (thegranolamom4god at gmail dot com) if you wish for me to provide a more thorough answer.
If you want to go through a similar process, I highly recommend you join the DIY Ministry.
In lieu of time, though, I am moving on to a new vote.
You blessed me with your opinion once before. It was a tie. Sooo . . . I picked my favorite combination out of the two winners and here is the result.
Will you vote again? I need an image. Something that represents me . . . my blog . . . your experience here. What would you like to see. Let me provide some ideas. What image has Granola Mom 4 God written all over it (not literally folks)?
Now, my first pick . . . would have trees in it. But two of my favorite blogs use trees . . . and I need my “brand” to be unique.
#1 . . . my favorite flower and color . . .
#2 . . . I love the colors and how nurturing this image is . . .
#3 . . . well, this nails our family and the blog . . . but is it warm enough?
#4 . . . so sweet . . .
#5 . . . capturing our mission minded heart and the reason for my blog
#6 . . . teaching “my peeps” . . .
#7 . . . Do I count Ruth as the 5th bird?
#8 . . . warm . . . inviting . . . giving . . .
#9 . . .I like the colors and the healthy food choices . . .
#10 . . . in image that sticks in your brain. (Asher questions the reasoning on this one . . . though he does like it.)
10 choices.
Which is your favorite? (All images come from istockphoto.com)
There are some nice sprouts growing in my greenhouse.
More will be added this week, so as to keep on schedule with our Square Foot Gardening guide. I am so thankful to be a robot in my greenhouse.
I’m hoping that by following the step-by-step instructions this year, it will result in a green thumb come spring.
(No, I’m not a bad photographer. My little sprouts are incubating behind the warming plastic.)
And a steady supply of produce mid-June . . . and into the fall. Perhaps we won’t have a $64 Tomato this season.
Just once . . . I really want to have some Mason Jars lining the shelves of my basement cabinets. My grandma did and my aunt does this simple task so well . . . I wanna be that homesteader (that lives in a subdivision).
Let’s see . . . this week we will be planting cabbage (one week late due to my seeds just arriving) and chives. I can’t wait to harvest ALL of my kimchi ingredients!
I invite you to get a head start and create a safe place to incubate your future food.
Enter to win a greenhouse ($40 value)
Mandatory: See a picture of what you could win, click here! Come back and tell me what you saw.
Extra Entries (leave a separate comment for each entry)
Read my blog post regarding last year’s greenhouse and leave a comment about what you learned or observed.
Share this blog post on Facebook or Twitter. I can help you in regards to Twitter. Click on the Tweet This!
IF you live outside of the US and you want to enter this giveaway . . . let me know you live outside of the US and you can win your very own copy of the Gardening Made Simple bundle.
BUT you need to tell me what color you would be! Find your color HERE.
Winner will be chosen by random.org. Contest ends March 11, 2011 at midnight. The greenhouse is for US residents and the Planting by Color is for international residents.
It was an easy win. The completion wasn’t stiff. Not amazed by my Joseph Joseph Rocker? Sigh. It really is cool.
And the winner . . . .
Jenn L. (who happened to be comment #1 . . .that sure made it easy for me.) Jenn . . . you have 48 hours to respond to the email I sent you.
Stay tuned for the next giveaway. And don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter!
And for those of you who know me in real life . . . you can sign up too. You can even try and win things. I use Random.org . . . he plays favorites, not me.
Just because our Sharpen Your Pencil Day was yesterday . . . doesn’t mean you can’t host such an event in your home . . . on your blog . . . or with your child’s school friends.
Quite frankly, amongst a cozy group of people you can declare any day to be what you want it to be.
We frequently have “Stay in Your Pajama Day.” (Did I just write that? Blast – now you know!)
While at the teacher store yesterday, I informed the clerk that it was National Sharpen Your Pencil Day. He looked at me with this rather incredulous look on his face.
“Seriously?”
I euphorically shared the details with him regarding this unique day.
He wasn’t as enthralled with the idea as me. In fact, if I wasn’t riding so high on sawdust fumes I might have been dismayed by his dull reply.
“Well, to each his own. Seems like people will make up any excuse to celebrate something. Can’t see that sharpening your pencil is very exciting. Whatever.”
He just didn’t get it. Youth these days. (Just kidding.)
I didn’t allow him to break my lead and gave him my typical response. “It’s on my blog. You should read about it. Google it. It is a fun day.” And I bundled my new smelly pencils and Dr. Seuss clad graphite sticks.
He reminded me of Scrooge.
The boys are still waiting for more photos. You can upload them to Flikr, if you don’t have a blog. They really want to vote for the best picture. They don’t want mom to win. And someone needs to give Leigh a run for her money.
There is still time to enter the giveaway for either a manual or an electric pencil sharpener on the original Sharpen Your Pencil Day post. Anyone can enter to win . . . just try and count . . . one pencil. It can be mechanical.
Welcome to the first and maybe only National Sharpen Your Pencil Day! I, and a few other crafty women, have been preparing for your arrival.
National Sharpen Your Pencil Day has become more than just an indulgence in my children’s silliness creativity.
I’m excited. No -- giddy. I can’t wait for them to see the activities that await them at the breakfast table, thanks to Spell Out Loud and Two Teaching Mommies.
I have been engaging. I mean . . . like talking with my children. Giggling with them. Making up stories. Creating games. Removing my eyes and fingers from this here computer . . . and creating a day that demonstrates mommy’s love written all over their hearts . . . and God displaying their names on His hand.
Asher and Ezra are quite certain that the whole world is participating tomorrow.
They have been acting like it is Christmas Eve . . . wondering how all of your children are even sleeping – knowing that National Sharpen Your Pencil Day is approaching . . . literally here as I type this.
Pictures will be arriving from you . . . like Christmas cards or Valentines. Perhaps they will accompany our breakfast, lunch, or dinner. {hint hint}
I really don’t want to let them down. Won’t you join us? After all, we are giving away a pencil sharpener!
How many pencils will be represented today?
Have you gathered your pencils? (My mom has, in some very unusual places I might add!))
Get those pencils ready to finish the Spring semester. End the frustrating moments throughout your week, sharpen those pencils!!!
I don’t know which I love more, Leigh’s pencils or the fabric under her pencils!
To add to your children’s fun . . . some dear IRL bloggy friends of mine have graciously helped me out.
You see . . . I am illiterate when it comes to making a “printable.” To my knowledge, I don’t have the software. Even if I did, I would have no idea how to create something cute.
Thankfully my friends do.
Maureen, from Spell Out Loud, has designed these nifty Robot Pencil Toppers . . . so easy. Print on cardstock and allow your child to color one or all. If possible, give those sticky fingers some scissors to chop cut their topper. If you are like me, try and find the tape dispenser before you start . . . (if the tape isn’t all used up), and tape your robot to the top of the sharpened pencils. Have a puppet show while you are at it.
And some precious gals, that were discovered at the Allume (Relevant) Conference last year, have whipped up this fantastic Pencil Pack . . . for you!!!! (They even wrote a little ditty!) Thanks Madonna and Amber (BTW you are on my reading list too!)
Since we love Granola Mom 4 God, we’ve decided to help her and her readers celebrate “National Sharpen Your Pencil Day” by putting together this little unit! So, check out our BRAND NEW PENCIL MINI UNIT!
All our printables are in one easy download. Just click the image above to download a single zip file of all the printables. (Can’t unzip it. Try Hamster Free Zip Archiver approved by Amber’s husband. Remember to download carefully.)
You will need to be able to view pop-ups to download the unit, as it will appear in a pop up window from this site!
Have fun sharpening the mind!
Please do not sell or host these files anywhere else. You MAY link people here. When leading others to these printables, please link to THIS page, not to the file page. Thanks! (See TOU)
If you want to continue your Pencil Day activities, here are some suggestions:
roll a pencil in play dough (aka play dough stamping)
have your child drop a pencil through a funnel or paper towel holder into a milk jug (it will make a delightful and smashing noise!) How many pencils can fit into the jug?
consider working on correct pencil grip and allow your little’s to watch this video from Handwriting Without Tears . . .
sort the pencils according to size, color, even sharpness
bundle them in groups 2, 5 or 10 to practice skip counting
use a pencil to trace another pencil
make a chart/graph . . . perhaps your data could include how long it takes to sharpen each pencil
hide pencils all over the house and play “find the pencil”
Warning All Pencils in School It’s not fair, It’s not fair, ALL PENCILS BEWARE! Pencil sharpeners Are in there, Biting teeth Beyond compare, Teachers sticking Us in hair, Erasers hiding Everywhere, Kids who do not Really care, Lots of work And tests to bear! It’s not fair, It’s not fair, ALL PENCILS BEWARE!
If you are joining us for National Pencil Day and you have a blog, please link up with us, which counts as an entry into the giveaway below.
If you have a photo to share, but not a blog, place your photo in our Flickr group. (You guessed it – another entry . . . leave a separate comment).
If you counted your pencils . . . please leave a comment telling us how many are in your house. I’m shooting for 100,000 pencils to be represented.
Enter the giveaway for a new pencil sharpener. Which one would you like? Tell me!
a manual pencil sharpener . . . one that ALWAYS gets the job done . . .
or an electric pencil sharpener . . . which is what is in our school room.
And be kind! Share about this giveaway on Facebook and Twitter! (These count as entries in the giveaway.)
The celebration will continue until next Thursday, March 8, 2012. Open only to US residents . . . since this is coming out of my pocketbook.
Much of what I write is inspired by God. He gave me the idea and allows me to be a steward of it. Please respect my authorship and stewardship of all content on this blog. Do not copy pictures for yourself without permission from me or use the written text as your own. And always . . . link back to me should you refer to an idea you saw on Granola Mom 4 God.
