Ever since I was a little kid, as Heather P.  can attest to, I’ve loved to make to-do lists for all kinds of reasons -  organizing my day, my week, or even just a particular project.  I just have the type of personality where checking things off a list as done helps me feel focused and accomplished.  As my web design business has grown tremendously these past few months and it’s gotten harder and harder to prioritize and keep track of all the details of every project, I’ve sought for a productivity tool that will help me organize my work in a similar fashion.

There are a lot of project management tools and software packages out there, but almost all of them are intended for teams of workers to collaborate together on a project toward a given completion goal.  This was always far too bloated and complicated for me. So it finally occurred to me to just see if I could find a to-do list solution.

My main requirements were that it allowed unlimited lists organizable by projects, and since I do occasionally have other programmers and designers work on a site with me, the lists had to be shareable.  It also had to be accessible via the Internet, since I do my work in all kinds of places now with my new laptop.  It had to be simple and allow me to make notes on each to-do item, and of course, it had to be free.

I test-drove at least half a dozen different solutions, but I finally settled on Voo2Do.com because it has exactly all the features I need for now. It has helped my productivity tremendously already.

However, I can already see that I’m going to outgrow this.  It’s almost too simple. For starters, it has no file-sharing at all, and doesn’t allow sub-categories of projects (sometimes I do more than one project for a client).  In fact, there is no way to keep track of accounts or anything, simply projects. So I’m thinking that when I have the time, I will install and host ProjectPier instead. Even though that seems significantly more complicated, it doesn’t seem overwhelming like other project management scripts look, and it certainly seems a lot more scalable than Voo2Do.

In the meantime, I’m very happy I’m able to check things off of my to-do lists in all aspects of life again!

That awful flu Shorty battled 2 weeks ago not only didn’t go away, but it has come back with a vengeance. He has been so sick, throwing up, crying, lethargic, etc. all weekend and couldn’t even finish judo last week. Turns out, today, that he has a raging, worst-case-scenario ear infection that has been causing him both tremendous pain and vertigo. Of course, he didn’t think to tell me. Asperger’s kids often just don’t communicate when something is wrong. I asked and asked what was wrong, but he would just cry some more and yell at me. I finally tried logic (“I’m going to keep bugging you until you tell me so you might as well tell me now!”) and he kept gesturing to his ear and making faces. The next morning the doctor confirmed an ear infection, and tests have since shown it’s REALLY bad.

The problem is, of course, that he’s allergic to a lot of antibiotics, so they have him on a combination of drugs now, and if it’s not better by next week, he might need surgery and/or hospitalization. So I won’t be around awhile. If you pray, though, I’d appreciate it if you sent one up for my Shorty right now.

It’s been a week since I got it, and I am so in love with my little Asus Eee. It’s so fast and so cute. This distribution of Linux that comes with it is incredibly easy to use. Even my 10-year-old can navigate it fairly well already. This computer is absolutely perfect for homeschoolers on a limited income that still want Internet connectivity. In fact, it’s pretty much perfect in general.

The only thing I can’t do (yet) is install programs, but I think once I figure out how to do that on Linux – that is, as soon as I find a Linux for Dummies… for Dummies kind of book – I think it may actually replace my desktop for almost everything, because then I can install an FTP client for editing my clients’ scripts and stuff like that. I might also check out the (free) Linux answer to Photoshop, GIMP. I’m hardly doing original design these days anyway, just a lot of template-editing of templates my clients pre-selected and purchased, so it’s not like I need a hi-res desktop for graphics either. If I can set this baby up so that I can upload and download files from web servers, and also finally get around to importing my QuickBooks accounting into some kind of online format, I will not need my desktop PC for almost anything.

I love that it comes pre-installed with Firefox, Skype, Pidgen (which is way better than Trillian, my old AIM client),OpenOffice and direct links to Gmail and GoogleDocs and like 50 other things right on the cute little desktop, all of which I find useful, but it also comes with things I don’t need, like games, a typing tutor and several other programs. I’m sure once I get the hang of it, though, I will totally pwn this computer.

It is the total envy of everyone at my kid’s judo class. Two parents have already bought one (well, one guy bought the 8G one at BestBuy that comes with WindowsXP instead, the wuss!), now that we’ve all figured out the whole building is WiFi enabled. Shorty wants his own – I think I might get him one next year for fifth grade where he’ll be writing a lot more. It’s so cheap and easy to use and STURDY that apparently these guys have gotten a contract with the US Department of Education and they’ll be distributing it to public school kids all over the country in the next year or so. Prices are expected to drop in a couple of months when they introduce their newer 900 model with 20G of storage space and an 8.9″ screen. I might just buy that one for myself and let Shorty have this one.

As I wrote before, my 81yo grandmother is dying to get on the Internet. She watches a lot of TV and she is aware that there is a veritable cornucopia of wonders online and she just wants to be online soooo bad. Shorty takes the Eee to her apartment next door when he visits. Last time, she was all OMG HOW DOES HE GET ON THE INTERNET HERE WITH NO WIRES? I explained that I set up my wireless home network to extend to her place next door, so that any computer that had wireless capabilities could surf the net at her apartment, too. Her eyes got SO BIG.

She was all “You mean I have THE INTERNET already at my house, I just need a computer?” Then she was trying to be slick and contain her excitement, and asked “So… just out of curiosity… how much does one of those little blue computers cost?” I said, “It comes in six different colors, actually, including pink [her favorite color]” and she was all “O RLY… But I bet it’s expensive…” So I said, “Not at all. Mine cost $300.” Which is not a lot for a laptop, but her face totally fell, seeing as that’s a little less than 1/3 her fixed retirement income and she totally can’t afford to buy one. She turned bright green with envy when Shorty showed her how the whole system turns into Spanish with one setting change.

She turns 82 on June 9. Guess what we’re getting her.

To date, between Shorty and I, we have checked out over 200 books from the Miami-Dade Public Library system for homeschooling and personal purposes.  However, it took me three years to really start putting my library card to work, and I wish I hadn’t been so overwhelmed by the prospect before, because it has saved me literally hundreds of dollars. It would be possible, if I so chose, to homeschool my son entirely for free using only resources from MDPLS. In fact, using my public library, purchasing a used Instructor’s Guide and taking advantage of Amazon’s 4-for-3 sale that it has a few times a month, I was able to put together WinterPromise’s American Story 1 curriculum for one-third of WinterPromise’s listed purchase price.  I was pretty proud of myself for that.

My public library system is pretty amazing.  It has dozens of branches, many within driving distance of my house.  One branch is technically within walking distance – eight blocks away, though we have walked those blocks in the middle of summer and it’s pretty exhausting to walk that much in unrelenting heat, but when the weather is nice, it’s no problem.  Better still, using the web site and my library card number, I am able to search for books I want using the ENTIRE Miami-Dade public library system – over one million books – and, when I find them, voila! – the books (or DVDs, or whatever) get delivered to the nearest branch within a day or two. This is very convenient and has helped me beef up our curriculum tremendously this year. So we literally have the entire MDPLS catalogue at our fingertips. Considering they allow us to renew online up to six times, and have a one-month limit per renewal, that means that unless someone requests them, we can keep books and other library resources up to six months.

Not only that, but there are tons of study guides, research manuals, classical music libraries, language resources and even e-books available for use for any cardholder in the Miami-Dade county for free. I have heard of some library systems who have even more available – online courses and access to Rosetta Stone and other educational software as well.

Not all library systems are this good or this robust, but if you homeschool or just love books and want to make them an integral part of your family life, I really recommend checking out what resources are available through your library system. More and more library systems are getting online and expanding their services for their users that way. Just make sure that in all your enthusiasm, you don’t defeat the purpose and rack up a ton of overdue fees. Not that *cough* I speak from experience or anything…

I came across this interesting and detailed article about the burgeoning homeschooling movement in Kenya and found it quite fascinating. It’s an extremely positive and well-informed article – one of the best articles on emerging homeschooling movements I’ve ever read. Homeschooling is relatively new and considered fairly radical in many areas of the world; here in the US where it’s (comparatively) old hat, it’s easy to take our liberties (both social and legal) for granted. From what I read, Kenya’s homeschoolers rely on the strides that American and Canadian homeschoolers have made in developing curriculae and social support infrastructure for homeschoolers, and use those as models to create their own unique takes on education for their children. It’s neat to think of the homeschooling community as being not just local or national, but international.

Also, a fun bonus: one of the homeschooling Kenyan parents featured in the article is – tada! – a single mom.

I am in the market for a new laptop. I want something small, simple, and very portable. I am looking to write more for Associated Content - my goal is to be write 5 articles per day, 5 days a week by June 1. At an average of $4 per article, this works out to something like $400 extra per month, which will go toward my nearly-attained goal of becoming debt-free and my other long-term goal of saving up for my new car. In the long run, I am hoping the articles will pay for my car payment and car insurance.

Since I already juggle three full-time jobs – single parenthood, full-time homeschooling and running my various online businesses – I am ever in search of increasing my productivity and time-management efficiency. Thus, I have realized that I spend up to five hours per week sitting at my son’s judo class staring off into space or making filler chit-chat with the other parents, i.e., wasting my time. After having seen another equally bored parent typing away with his ginormous Gateway laptop at the judo class, a lightbulb went off in my head – I needed to bring a laptop with me so that I could write my articles while Shorty is in judo.

Once every two weeks, we have an additional 2-hour Cub Scout meeting which has even fewer parents present and where I have even less to do; I could probably write the whole time there, too. I already have the equipment at home for a wireless network, so if my laptop came with wireless Internet capabilities, I’d just upload my article whenever I got home. Since I can crank out about five articles per hour, that means if I had a small, simple laptop on to which I could write my articles, I could be earning $400-plus more monthly during Shorty’s judo class and Cub Scouts. Amazing how much that $75/month judo class is actually costing me, right?

Now, I have a laptop already, but it’s falling apart. It’s an old, large, heavy Compaq that I got for free off Craigslist about eight months ago. The laptop came with a slightly shorted-out keyboard that I tried to replace myself, keyphrase being TRIED. I ended up ripping something out of the welding. Oops. It has a lot of other little bugs, too, like a nearly dead battery. It would cost over $300, if not more, to fix and replace everything that needs fixing with that thing, and it would still be a falling-apart, old machine.

My financial situation today is much better than it was eight months ago, to say the least, but while I CAN afford to buy a new laptop now, I just don’t want to spend that kind of money. I would rather keep on the path toward my goals. But I still need a way to write portably and could still use a wireless solution for Internet connectivity, so I’ve decided to buy this here Asus Eee 4G laptop from TigerDirect.com.

I buy all my electronics lately from TigerDirect, just because their deals and selection are even better than BestBuy’s. This baby is only $350 with free in-store pick-up, and it comes loaded with wifi internet networking, OpenOffice, Firefox, Thunderbird – all the stuff I already use – and a great Linux installation that looks even prettier than Windows XP. It connects remotely to my new HP scanner/printer and my desktop and while I won’t be able to do any graphics editing for now, I will be able to run an HTML editor and an FTP client, so there is VERY little in terms of productivity that this thing won’t be able to do for me – for under $400!

Best of all, it has the same kind of RAM as my current laptop, meaning I can immediately upgrade it (though all its reviews say it runs blazingly fast!). In the long run, I’ll need to get a memory card if I ever need more storage, or perhaps one of those gadgets that turns my laptop’s internal hard drive into an external one; perhaps an external DVD-ROM drive for loading new programs on it easily, and a nice case. Those are all non-essentials right now, though; if all goes according to plan with my articles, this thing will pay for itself in under a month! I’m psyched; I plan to buy it this weekend, and I’ll definitely post a review of it once I get going with it. Wish me luck!

Do you have a laptop or better recommendations for a portable productivity/ word processing solution? Or better yet- have you had experience with the Asus Eee? I’d be happy to hear from any readers out there with comments or suggestions!

I basically have three full-time jobs: I homeschool, I run my own business, and I run my household all by myself. Like most people who lead very busy lives, I often find myself very short on time and energy and must learn to prioritize the things to which I’m able to devote my time and attention. Unfortunately, environmental conservation falls pretty low on that list most days (along with exercising and keeping up with current events and myriad other “non-essentials.”)

However, with Earth Day coming up, I have decided to see what “baby steps” we can take to help out the environment – things that won’t a) cost a fortune to implement; b) require too much extra time out of my day and c) require radical changes of lifestyle. Here is what I have come up with so far, little by little:

1. I am saving up to buy a fuel-efficient car this fall. Specifically, I’m looking at the Toyota Yaris. In Pacific Blue. Do I have the entire car along with all its bells and whistles all picked out and planned? Oh, yes. My aim is to buy it no later than October 2008, God willing.
2. I’m keeping my current car, a gas-guzzling ‘93 Ford Explorer, properly maintained, with proper tire pressure, alignment, etc. which also saves on fuel and emissions.
3. We live in an apartment complex where the owner doesn’t provide us with containers for recycling even though it’s mandated by the city. I don’t think he’s refusing to do so (which would be illegal!), so much as none of the other residents in our apartment cluster have shown any interest and he just hasn’t optioned any kind of recycling program. They are all Cuban senior citizens and just aren’t aware of how to recycle or why it’s important. So far, I have been collecting plastics and paper/cardboard in bins on my own and taking them to the local recycling plants, but that’s a hassle and wastes gas anyway. My 81-year-old grandmother, who lives next door, has now gotten into the act inspired by our efforts and started setting aside her papers and plastics, too. She also stopped the garbage collector the other day and asked about how to get them to pick up our recycling, and the guy gave her the number to call – apparently, it’s as easy as calling the company and asking them to send along the recycling containers. Score! I plan to educate our other 4 neighboring households in our building about it once we get it going. It’s amazing how little we throw out when we set aside plastics, cardboards and paper.
4. I went to the dollar store and I bought 10 reusable tote bags for a buck apiece that we are keeping at all times in the back seat of the car. No more plastic bags for us when we do groceries. I know people who take these to the mall and to every shopping trip they make and NEVER bring home a plastic bag from a store. I’m not sure I’ll be that extreme about it, but it will definitely cut down on the 30 or so plastic bags I bring home from the grocery store each weekly trip. That’s 120 PER MONTH! Craziness.
5. I’m carefully menu planning so that I get everything I need at the grocery store with one trip per week.
6. We are getting window fans this summer and seeing how that works out. I’m not making any promises here – Miami summers can get to over 100 degrees, but maybe just having the fan on during cooler nights might be doable.
7. I’ve bought halogen light bulbs for the lamp I keep on all night (I don’t see well, and if I have to get up in the middle of the night in total darkness, injuries and broken things abound!) and for the living room ceiling lamp. The kitchen light has always had a halogen bulb. We’ve lived here 2 years and have yet to need to change it.
8. I’m buying only recycled paper goods – paper towels, paper napkins and toilet paper. They cost the same as the non-recycled kind (actually, the TP is cheaper!) and they work just as well, so why not?
9. We are using only unbleached paper in our schoolwork, keeping chemicals out of our water supply. We like the way it feels and writes, even though, admittedly, it is a tiny bit flimsier than regular paper.
10. We also recycle any and all paper scraps from all our arts and crafts. Those used to go in the trash, but no more.
11. We’ve made changes in the way we eat. We’re making an effort to eat more fruits and vegetables, more organic, free-range, “cruelty-free” meats and dairy products (I do realize it’s questionable how free from cruelty you can be when you’re still eating the animal, but vegetarianism is just not an option for us with Shorty’s many many texture/ food issues due to his sensory integration problems – all grains such as beans and rice actually physically trigger his gag reflex, so we need meat for protein). We’re also eating more locally grown and produced foods. This helps in many ways, including reducing paper waste and gas pollution in food transport, as well as just plain being healthier. We haven’t eaten any fast food in weeks and we both feel great. Shorty has been putting on weight, his under-eye circles are gone and both our eczema issues have gone the way of the dodo, so there are immediate health benefits to our bodies as well as to the environment.

Future plans include a possible compost heap for food scraps – this may not be feasible even in our small courtyard garden, but definitely in the distant future when I have my own space and garden; a small plot of vegetable gardening; finding ways to recycle metals/cans in addition to paper and plastic; replacing ALL lightbulbs in the house with halogen bulbs, and once my Sam’s-Club-ginormous sizes run out, I intend to purchase “green” chemical-free household cleaners and laundry detergents as well.

Little by little, we’ve made some easy, cheap, minor changes that we hope will have a positive overall effect long-term.

Here’s a great, green deal I found on one of my homeschooling forums:

EarthBound Farms which is an organic farm from which we regularly buy salads and veggies, is offering a free reusable grocery tote for people who take their 10-question conservation quiz. It’s completely free, with no shipping or handling, so it’s a great, free way to get started using totebags instead of plastic bags. All you have to do is go to their site, and complete a short quiz based on conservation topics. They’re very easy. The quiz can be taken as many times as you need to, and it can be found here. (Please note: the quiz software does NOT work on Firefox.) Enjoy!

Today I went with Shorty and my Mom to the Dade County Youth Fair, which I’ve been attending for the last 20 years.

We did what we do every year, which is, namely, spend too much money and have a crazy good time.   This year, we decided to not buy everyone the unlimited rides bracelet because Shorty mostly likes the games of skill, which aren’t included in the unlimited rides, but I’m not sure we saved very much money, because Shorty decided he was going to be “brave” and, for the first time in his life, ride a rollercoaster.

That would be, from right to left: Me, Shorty, and a woman who brought the LOLz once I saw this picture. We’re on the CrazyMouse – not the world’s biggest rollercoaster, by a mile, but still. It was a BIG deal for Shorty, who has been working little by little to overcome his fear of heights. He says he had fun; it’s hard to tell. Sometimes he says he likes something just to get me to shut up about it.

One thing I like to look at is the exhibits of the work that kids did all around the county. The exhibit hall for this is MASSIVE.  This is a “county fair,” but the county it services is Miami-Dade, which has millions of people in it, so the fair is an enormous monstrosity of a corporate affair that lasts for weeks.  Still, it was nice to see all the hard work that so many thousands of kids had put into their exhibits.

While there, Shorty was looking at some mosaics done by elementary school children with my mother, standing side-by-side a young girl and her father. Shorty exclaimed excitedly, “Look! Someone did one of Mickey  Mouse!” Apparently the young girl next to him eye-rolled, “Uh, yeah, DUH” and, according to my mom, made some kind of gesture indicating to her dad that she thought Shorty was stupid for being as old as he is and getting excited over Mickey Mouse.   At that moment, my dad called my mom, and she started loudly telling him about the stupid, rude child and her uncouth father who allowed her to “make fun of a child with problems,” making sure she was loud enough for the child and her dad to hear.  I was off getting a drink; I didn’t witness any of this, but my mom relayed this to me later quite proudly, thinking she had “stood up” for her special needs grandkid.

I personally don’t think there’s anything wrong with being a 10-year-old who likes Mickey Mouse. I’m 33 and I get excited when I see Mickey Mouse. I think it’s a Pavlovian response inherent to being Floridian.  Mickey = happiness. LOL Even just seeing the mouse ear silhouette provides a little Zen moment! Seriously,  I don’t think his exclamation had anything to do with the fact that Shorty has Asperger’s.  He just likes Mickey. Big deal.  The young girl (about 12 or 13 – she should’ve known better, for sure) must be a very joyless child if she thought ridiculing another child’s enjoyment was an appropriate way to get attention from her father. I was embarrassed by my mother going on and on about this.  I told her: why on earth would I care what that kid’s opinion was of my child?  I have more blessings than I know what to do with; certainly more than I deserve. I like my life; I like my lifestyle. What strangers think of it mean absolutely nothing to me. And just the other day, I asked Shorty if he was happy, and he said, “You know what, Mom? I am. I have a lot to be happy about!” I concur!

“The discretion of a man defers his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression.” – Proverbs 19:11

I find I’m not at all affected by negative people or naysayers anymore. I just don’t pay too much mind to people’s negative attitudes, in the sense that they’re not contagious to me anymore. It sounds like cynicism when I try to explain it to people, but to me, it’s just contentment and acceptance.  There are things in this world I can’t change. What’s in other people’s hearts is one of those things.  Later, my mom admitted her feelings had been hurt by that child thinking she was better than her grandson somehow. I said, very gently, that that was pride talking, and allowing some sullen 12-year-old one doesn’t even know to wound one’s pride is just plain silly. Fortunately, this was a mere blip in a really great, if exhausting and expensive day.

Today, as we’ve done for the past year or so, we went to the Home Depot Kids Workshop.  Taking place on the first Saturday of every month from 9AM to 12PM, it’s a free workshop in safety and woodworking that all Home Depot stores give for children ages 5 to 12 (though I have seen much younger there – the local ones down here don’t turn any child away).  Everything is free. They get a certificate of participation, and the little build-it-yourself projects are free as well. They provide the children with all the tools, as well as safety goggles. I have been keeping the certificates tucked away in his portfolio.

Shorty didn’t like it at first because he has fine motor delays and kept smacking himself in the thumb with the hammer. He also (understandably) gets frustrated at seeing children half his age easily master something he himself struggles with.  However, my mom and I have kept at it, and have kept taking him each month, and he has progressed and gotten much better at hammering and putting things together, to the point where he built this lovely flower box without a single iota of help from me today.

He was very proud of himself and so was I.  We then wandered over to the Garden center, where we purchased two cactus and one jade plant to put into it. We’re studying Desert Habitats in our Animals And Their World curriculum, and he’s found cactii a very fascinating subject. I figure, at least they’ll be hard to kill!

Charlotte Mason advocated teaching children a subject called “handiwork,” meaning, useful skills in doing things with your hands, whether it be knitting and crocheting, or embroidery, or carpentry, or cooking, or car repair (well, that’s one that is particular to our times, but you get the idea) or other life skills, which are especially important for the special needs child, for whom these skills may not be acquired intuitively, and who may need extra practice, but for whom these practical skills are at least as important.  Miss Mason derided useless “arts and crafts” that were pointless in their end and that the child couldn’t put to real-life use when done with them, but merely went in the trash. She felt it was disrespectful of a child’s time to make him do useless busywork and instead advocated that children work on useful, real-life projects.

I don’t really have the time to teach this as a separate subject, but between the Home Depot Kids Workshops and the stuff he learns at Cub Scouts, I feel like we’ve got it covered anyway.

It’s been nearly 4 months to the day since I updated this blog and this site. I’ve been swamped with web site design work, which definitely has way more pros than cons – I am slowly getting out of debt and saving for a new car in the fall as well as (God willing) a new house in a couple of years, and we are living much more comfortably than I was six months ago.  I get the vast majority of my business through either word-of-mouth or local projects that get posted on my local Craigslist, which I recommend to any freelancer trying to build up their portfolio. It has really been a godsend. I have an abundance of steady business now.  However, between that and homeschooling, this has left me with very little “me-time,” and I’ve let many side projects fall by the wayside.  One of them was this blog, but I plan to make a fabulous comeback!

I am actually working on several projects about which I am very excited. One of them is, of course, my book, The Single Parent Homeschool, which is going slower than I wish it would, but is still slowly coming together. I intend to publish it as a very low cost e-book, and also self-publish a hard copy on Lulu/ Amazon. My goal is to have it finished by June.

Another is a one-year curriculum for studying Shakespeare in the homeschool, intended for families with elementary-aged children.  I intend to either develop a separate, smaller web site for this project, or (more likely, at least at first) have it as a subsection here on this site.  Again, I intend to have it available as a low-cost downloadable PDF file and a hard-copy version.  If there’s a lot of demand, I might write another volume or two.

A third is one about which I am very VERY excited, which is a MySpace-like social networking site for homeschoolers and their supporters. I have the domain name ready; I have the layout ready to go, etc. It just needs a little more work and it’ll be ready for guinea pigs beta testing!  I intend for it to be free with paid upgrades for greater file storage, and available both to individuals and families, so that people could actually use their accounts as multimedia homeschool portfolios for their kids. I’m psyched.

Finally, I’ve gotten a little bit back into arts and crafts. I’ve set up an Etsy store and I’m slowly putting together some inventory to put on there, mostly jewelry, beadwork and crochet for now. I’m also doing a little work for the New England Craft Company, a legitimate assemble-crafts-at-home company.  I know quite a few ladies who are making some nice paychecks from this. I don’t expect to become rich off it or anything, but I do expect to save up faster for the car this way

And that’s what I’ve been up to. I just spent a couple of hours upgrading WordPress and all my plugins, and I changed the layout here, because I wanted something cheerier now that spring is here.  I’m not sure if the rooster’s the way to go yet (insert your own pun about how homeschoolers can get very cocky here) but it’ll do for now!