"All our words are but crumbs that fall down from the feast of the mind."
Khalil Gibran

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

BooksApp2-Organize your home or class library







 
Today I discovered a cell phone Application that I am really excited about!

The APP is called BooksApp2

As many of you know, I am a Homeschooling Parent, but this App would be good for Homeschoolers, Book Lovers, Parents of small children, or for those Organizational Gurus that like to organize their lives wherever possible!

I cannot count the number of times that I've either:
  • Forgotten who I've lent my books to and never gotten them back.
  • Wondered if I had a book already (or an extra one to give away...because I do that.)   You know, that moment when you are at the store, looking at a book, and wondering if you've bought it already.
  • Can't remember if I've read a book.  Oh, you know how it goes....you buy lots of books thinking you'll read them all right away.  Some of them you do, and some of them....well.....they may sit a while.  Especially if I really like a particular Author, I sometimes get confused regarding which books I've read and which I bought but haven't read yet.

The good news is that this App can fix all these issues for me!  

Here is the Description from Google Play's website regarding this App:

Description

BooksApp helps you organize your home library effortlessly. Scan the barcode of a book and all its information is downloaded from the web and saved to your phone automatically¹. You can then easily keep track of your books.
To lend a book to someone, scan it (or open it from the list), press "Lend book" and select your friend. When a month has passed, you will get a notification to remind you where the book is. If you have a book you want to recommend to a friend, you can do that over SMS, e-mail or Facebook etc.

You can organize your books into collections, e.g. "Favorites", "Reading now" or whatever tickles your fancy.

Finding more books is trivial. You can search for books by the same author or publisher, or books dealing with the same subject, all without typing a single character. Saving any of the matches to your phone is just one tap away.

You can export books in two ways, either as a spreadsheet—which you can send to anyone—or to Google Docs². The spreadsheet is a CSV (Comma-separated values) file that you can open in any spreadsheet program. You can also send the file to other BooksApp users, both Android and iPhone users.

Importing books is done by opening a CSV file from an e-mail or from the file manager.
BooksApp exists for iPhone as well, see www.books-app.com for more information.
Happy book organization! :-)

BooksApp is open source and released under the Apache 2.0 License https://github.com/jonasb/BooksApp


¹) Should the book not exist amongst Google Books vast amounts of books, you can always enter it manually.

²) Google Docs export requires Android 2.1 or later.



Here are 2 links to the FREE App:


For Android Phones (FREE)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wigwamlabs.booksapp&hl=en

For iPhone (FREE)
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/booksapp-2/id369366304?mt=8


I hope that this is as exciting to you as it was to me.  If you have kids that are old enough that you trust them with your smart phone, I bet you can recruit them to scan your books!  It is sort of fun and they can play 'Book Store'. 

Here are some Screen Shots (copied from the Google Play webpage)


*POSSIBLE ISSUE & WORK AROUND*

I use AT&T as my cell phone provider and today when I went on my phone to 'Google Play' and searched BooksApp2, nothing came up.  My work around was to go to Google Play on my home computer, plug my cell phone into my computer via the USB plug, and I downloaded it from the computer directly to the cell phone.  It took just a couple minutes and works perfect!

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Join Mind Crumbs on Facebook!



Do you have a Facebook account?  




Do you use it several times a week (or all day) like many people around the world?  If so, you are in luck!  We do too!


We want you to join us!  


I am on Facebook daily and post all sorts of homeschool, craft, food, and family ideas and instructions.  I would love to get to know you better and hear from you!


You can find us by clicking on one of the links in the post or by going directly to:








  
Be sure to click the 'LIKE' button and Subscribe so you don't miss any posts! 





Thank you in advance, and when you come over...write on our wall and let us know you're there.  I love getting feedback and would enjoy hearing what YOU would like me to post about!


God Bless,


JessicA




Tuesday, February 19, 2013

I Have Lupus, Now What?

I have SLE, which stands for Systemic lupus erythematosus.  It is a long-term autoimmune disorder that may affect the skin, joints, kidneys, brain, and other organs.  Each person experiences it a little differently, but one thing is the same for all of us, as of today, there is no cure.



I don't normally post this sort of subject matter on this blog.  I have another Faith Based Blog called  Remnant Postings where I've talked more about my health challenges. However, I decided to post this particular blog here on Mind Crumbs because I have had many people ask me about my Lupus over the past couple months, and I don't want my Faith to be an obstacle in the sharing of my information and encouragement with someone who might need it just because they may not share my religious beliefs. 

Recently, I was in a forum on a Lupus website and there was a woman who said that she had just been diagnosed with Lupus and she wanted people to share information with her regarding what worked for them when coping with the symptoms/diagnosis of Lupus.  She wondered if there were any natural remedies that help with symptoms.  Her question was basically, "I have Lupus, now what?"



My hope is that someone will find this to be informational and/or helpful.  I want to encourage people to see that it is not all out of our control.  And if you are a friend or loved one of a person with Lupus, try to be patient, understanding, and compassionate.  Spend a little time researching Lupus (not too much...it can be scary), and just remember that you don't have to FIX IT (you can't anyway), but just BE THERE.  You can't always see our illness because our own body is attacking itself from the inside out.  But just because we look like you, doesn't mean we feel the same.  


A great website that I referred my family to when I was first diagnosed, was http://www.butyoudontlooksick.com/. Read the article 'THE SPOON THEORY'.  If you have Lupus or a similar disease, copy and paste it and send it to your friends and family!  It will help them to understand why you can't do the same things that you used to.  My husband still talks to me in terms of 'how many spoons do you have left today?'.  (That will make more sense after you read it)

Finally, after all of that, here is my letter to the woman I referred to at the beginning of this post:



-------------------------------------------

Dear (name left blank on purpose),



I am very sorry to hear of your diagnosis, but I would like to encourage you that although your life will change with Lupus, it is still possible to live a good life.    You have to be careful what you listen to however, because when I was first diagnosed, several people told me that they knew someone or knew OF someone who had died from Lupus.  That was very scary and disheartening to me, not to mention NOT HELPFUL!  People just don’t always think before they speak and sometimes they just don’t know what to say and/or perhaps don't fully know what they are talking about.  But the more I know, and the longer I live with Lupus, I have discovered that the majority of people LIVE with Lupus...not the other way around.  That is encouraging.  For me, I have family members who also have Lupus, but even so....I still did not understand much about it until after I was diagnosed.

Lupus has forced me to slow down and to constantly be aware of eliminating as much stress from my life as possible (it is an ongoing process).  Of course every person with Lupus experiences it a bit differently, but one thing that seems to touch most people is stress.  Stress seems to be a huge trigger for flare ups for most people living with Lupus.  

I've been diagnosed for 9 years now.  I take medicine but some of the simplest and most helpful tips are lifestyle changes.  They are invaluable when you realize how important they are to how you feel.

IMPORTANT CHANGES YOU CAN MAKE ARE:

* Getting sleep!  If I am overtired or struggling with insomnia, my symptoms are DRASTICALLY worse.  And I am not exaggerating, lack of sleep can really make my pain much worse.  Guard your sleep as if it was as valuable as Gold.

* Reduce Stress!  Weed out dramatic people in your life. I'm going to say that again....remove toxic people from your day to day life!  When they are family, limit your interactions (especially when in a flare up).  Take time for yourself to relax (it's best if you can do this daily, even if it is just for 15 min's), let your world stop...put on relaxing music, take a bath, meditate, etc.  I am a Christian so I will read my Bible, but do something that allows you to 'fill the tank' so to speak.  This step is SO important!  I also had to stop volunteering to do so many things, I had to limit my time out with friends and readjust things a bit.  I began having friends over more than going out, or talking on the phone instead of meeting in person.  We meet at coffee shops instead of longs days out.  (Don't get me wrong, you don't have to stop doing everything fun, but you will learn your limits.)

* Listen to your body!  It will tell you a lot if you pay attention.  I find that I must pay attention before I've gotten to the place where I've done too much (like being at the point where I'm tired or my body hurts). I've discovered that I can overdo it and not even realize it until the next day.  I might be having a garage sale, going shopping, or just standing on my feet a long time and I feel fine while doing it, but the next day I can wake up feeling awful and dealing with serious pain, inflammation, and fatigue.  Pay attention as you live day to day and figure out what activities makes things harder for you or how long you can do certain activities without suffering later (this is a trial and error process but you'll get there).

* Eat Well!  I have found that eliminating processed foods helps.  Eat whole foods (foods that are about the same as when they get picked or harvested).  Eat organic when you can (I notice benefits from reducing the chemicals I'm ingesting).  Farmers markets are great.  Many local farmers may not be certified organic but they use as few chemicals as possible and produce great food that had not been processed for traveling thousands of miles via trucks, etc.  The farmers are usually happy to tell you their farming practices.  Buy meat from local farmers if you can (split a beef with a friend or two if you eat meat)...find someone who lets their cattle graze and eat a natural diet with minimal use of antibiotics.  Better yet....eat Venison, Elk, or Wild fish (be careful, some lakes and other locations can be stocked with farm raised fish).  I didn't change my eating overnight...its been a process stretching many years, but each change is progress.  When faced with a food choice, try the best option available.  And remember, eating fresh fruits and vegetables isn't just a better option; they provide much needed nutrients for your body. 

* Surround yourself with good people!  There is an old saying that says 'We are a product of our environment'.  While I don't totally support that saying, there is some truth to the idea that if we are surrounded with negative people...we tend to see things as worse off and it causes more stress (obviously a bad byproduct) and is unlikely to help you.  But if you surround yourself with people who encourage you, lift your spirits, make you laugh, love on you, and who support you...you are likely to be less stressed and you will enjoy your life much more!

The good news is that all of these things ARE within your control!  There is so much that is unknown about Lupus and varying ideas of how to treat the symptoms.  I encourage you to take control of your life, be informed and don't just expect that a Dr. will give you everything you need.  They just can't and I find that often they are just making educated guesses regarding what will help you.  Never be afraid to ask questions or tell them the details of how you're feeling or what hurts.  Be your own health advocate.  And getting a second opinion regarding new treatment is something you might want to consider as well if it is financially feasible

None of these things seem like rocket science, and they are all sort of common sense things that most people know....BUT don't be fooled into thinking that they are not important.  Even though we know these things, you may find it is much harder to put into practice than you think.  And as time goes by, we discover the true benefits of having these things in place.  You can take all the medicines that a Dr. can prescribe, but if these other areas of your life are out of order, you will still struggle.  I know this from experience.

I know this is a very long response.  These are just things I wish someone would have shared with me when I first found out I had Lupus.  I know it may seem overwhelming, but remember these are things to do over a period of time.  You don't have to change everything today.  I would like to also share with you that because I have Lupus and have made these changes over the years, my life is better.  I have way less stress, I am surrounded by friends who love me and encourage me, I value the things more that really matter in life, I don't take as much for granted and I focus on stopping to smell the roses (so to speak).  I'm far from perfect, but I am much better than I used to be!

One thing my Dr of many years shared with me the day I was diagnosed was this, "Jessica, you can do this!  Don't allow this to beat you or ruin your life."  I personally had a long story of medical issues before my Lupus diagnosis, and I had just gotten through 3 back surgeries and a spinal implant to help with permanent nerve damage in my leg when I was told I had Lupus....so I was very distraught when I was told I had Lupus because I thought I was finally feeling better after 3 of the worst years of my life.  I didn't want to hear that I had another thing to battle.  But my Doctor was right...I am surviving with Lupus.  I have good days and not so good days, but it is possible to manage it!

Be encouraged.....and know that some people with Lupus have infrequent flare ups.  And I've heard of many people who have adjusted the things I mentioned above and DRASTICALLY reduced their flare ups.  When I can manage my stress and environment well....I do SO MUCH better!

I hope that this helps and isn't just completely overwhelming. 


Best Wishes,

Jessica

-------------------------------------------
 

LUPUS TRIVIA 


The following celebrities suffer from Lupus:
  • Tony Braxton (Singer)
  • Seal (Singer) - A Lupus rash was the cause of his facial scarring.
  • Terri Seymour ("Extra" Correspondent and former girlfriend of Simon Cowell)
  • Nick Cannon (Actor, Host, Comedian, & Musician)
  • Tim Raines (Athlete/Baseball)
  • Portia de Rossi (Actress, Wife of Ellen Degeneres)
  • Barbara & George Bush's Dog Millie (Yes, that seriously made the 'celebrity' list.  Ha!)
  • Kelly Stone (Sister of Actress Sharon Stone, the two started Planet Hope)
  • Mary McDonough (Actress best known for her role as "Erin" on "The Waltons"
  • Michael Jackson (Singer)

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Valentines Day: Love Note Pillow

I found a great instructional blog post from Days of Chalk and Chocolate that shows how to make this super cute and easy Love Note Pillow!






Check out the step by step instructions at the following address:
http://daysofchalkandchocolate.blogspot.com/2012/01/love-note-pillows-and-question.html

Happy Crafting and HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

JessicA