Confronting Reality By Reading Fantasy Author Lev Grossman says C.S. Lewis taught him that in fiction, stepping into magical realms means encountering earthly concerns in transfigured form. By Heart is a series in which authors share and discuss their all-time favorite passages in literature. See entries from Claire Messud, Jonathan Franzen, Amy Tan, Khaled Hosseini, and more. “If you were in a room full of books,” Lev Grossman writes in his latest novel, The Magician’s Land, “you were at least halfway home.” For Grossman, no books feel more like home than C. The Magician’s Land concludes Grossman’s acclaimed and best-selling trilogy, which has been praised in magazines like The New Republic and The New Yorker for being a darker, grown-up, and more complex Harry Potter. Lev Grossman is a book critic and senior technology writer for Time magazine. Lev Grossman: I can’t say with total accuracy when I first read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. So the Narnia books had a special place for my mom.
Kitchen Month – Family Dinner Favorites – FREE Printables Menu planning is a really hot concept right now. I would guess that either you are totally on board or don’t have time for it – am I right? The beauty of menu planning is that it ultimately saves you time, effort, calories, and money, but it can be really hard to implement in an already busy life. If you are up for trying your own menu planning, I have a couple ideas for you this week to get you started. First up? Family Dinner Favorites – aqua + lime Family Dinner Favorites – black + gray Family Dinner Favorites – brights Need some recipe ideas for Menu Planning? Click here to see all the posts in this series. I also have Menu Planning Kits in my shop, sure to give your menu planning a boost: {brights} {aqua + lime} {editable menu planning kit} also in the shop: Editable Recipe Pages Editable Favorite Recipe Page
free printables Looking for the perfect cleaning resource? Check out my book, The Organically Clean Home! Clean Mama everyday life. simplified. free printables Below you’ll find FREE printables for your personal use – I hope you enjoy them! Every month I give away a FREE cleaning and organizing calendar – get February’s calendar here. Want to try your hand at Make-Ahead Menu Planning? Want to jot down all those cleaning recipes? Looking for a cuter way to track your homekeeping? 4 FREE Seasonal Cleaning Checklists Company coming and house a mess? Curious what all those laundry symbols mean? Need to drink more water? 2 Cleaning Checklists for Kids Cleaning With Natural Cleaners Round-Up – 55 Recipes! Looming project? How Long Should I Keep It For (paperwork reminder sheet) File It….paperwork brainstorming page 5 FREE Checkbook Registers Kids’ Routines Checklists Quick Clean Ups Homemade Cleaning Recipes Printable DIY Homemade Cleaning Recipes – Labels 3 To Do Lists to Jumpstart Your Productivity Medical Exam Tracker
United States Citizenship Test — Citizenship Test Civics Writing Exercises This citizenship writing exercise is designed to help you prepare and pass the written part of the US Citizenship test. The vocabulary that is used comes from the 2011 USCIS vocabulary list for the writing part of the Naturalization Exam. Although we do not know the exact sentence that you will be given during the interview, every effort was made to use all the vocabulary to create meaningful sentences. The USCIS writing vocabulary for the Naturalization test is divided into people, civics, places, months, holidays, verbs and other words consisting of a total of 75 words. All of these words are used in this writing practice. A sample of those words are: Washington and Lincoln (people), Father of Our Country and President (civics), Washington D.C. and United States (places), November and July (months), Independence Day and Thanksgiving (holidays) is/was and lives (verbs), and fifty and first (other).
The first 100 days at a new job Starting a new job can be overwhelming. Between meeting new colleagues, mastering new skills, and tackling new responsibilities, your first three months might leave you feeling exhausted and burned out. To help alleviate some of that stress, we’ve put together a First 100 Days plan that will help you avoid rookie mistakes, impress your boss, and endear yourself to your colleagues. So print out the plan below, set up some auto-reminders, and hit the ground running! Before you start Review all of the research you did on the organization when you applied. Day 1 Today is all about absorbing as much information as you can, so stick to a 90/10 rule. The First Week Ask your manager to set up getting-to-know-you meetings with people who know your work area well or have specific institutional knowledge to share. The First Month Study up on your new home away from home. The Second Month The Third Month Improve a process. Go back to our resources. Share on Pinterest There are no images.
How to Budget Your Money: The 50/20/30 Guideline When it comes to money, there’s certainly no shortage of ways for us to spend it—food, rent, retirement accounts, a down payment on a house, gym memberships, gifts … you get the picture. In fact, it’s why LearnVest Planners are often asked one key question: “So where should my money be going?” When it really comes down to it, the answer is different for everyone. You may be in a hurry to pay off debt, so you’re willing to spend less on eating out in the meantime. So what’s a budget-perplexed person to do? Whether you’re a parent with two kids or a recent college grad working your first job, this 50/20/30 guideline can help you not only figure out how much you may want to allocate to each area every month; it can also help you determine the order in which your money can be allocated. 50/20/30 Broken Down The 50/20/30 guideline can be easy to follow because instead of telling you how to break down your budget across 20 or more different categories (who could possibly keep track of that?) 1.
25 Things Everyone Should Experience In Virginia At Least Once Old Rag is a challenging climb, but it rewards hikers with some of the best views for hundreds of miles. Virginia was the site of the first permanent English settlement in North America more than 400 years ago, but would not officially become a state until June 25, 1788. To celebrate more than two centuries of statehood, we have compiled a Virginia “bucket list” full of Old Dominion activities that area residents should try to experience at least once. (Of course, if you prefer the Free State, we posted a Maryland bucket list earlier this year.) If the Capital Beltway and I-66 represent some of the worst driving conditions that this area has to offer, then Skyline Drive surely represents the best. Luray Caverns is an undeniably beautiful attraction — and quite a contrast to the green areas surrounding it. If the great outdoors aren't your thing, a trip into the renowned Luray Caverns represents something of a departure. Of course, we couldn't list everything there is to enjoy in Virginia.
Nikon D3200 Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm NIKKOR VR Lens - Black Take your photos and videos to the next level. Unrivaled 24.2 megapixel DX-format CMOS sensor for truly dazzling photos and Full HD 1080p movies in any light. Innovative Guide Mode to help you master the camera. HD-SLR power; point-and-shoot ease. Don't let the D3200's compact size and price fool you—packed inside this easy to use HD-SLR is serious Nikon power: a 24.2 MP DX-format CMOS sensor that excels in any light, EXPEED 3 image-processing for fast operation and creative in-camera effects, Full HD (1080p) movie recording, in-camera tutorials and much more. What does this mean for you? Take your photos and videos to the next level 24.2 MP DX-format CMOS sensor and EXPEED 3 Why do photos and videos shot with a Nikon HD-SLR look so good? Master the camera simply by using it Guide Mode ensures success It’s never been easier to create HD-SLR quality photos, thanks to the D3200’s Guide Mode. Capture the best of every scene Six Scene Modes and Scene Auto Selector Create cinema-quality HD videos
Quick Check, Slow Read - Jon Martin Photo Almost all of the camera equipment I have ever owned was purchased used. While this isn’t something to be proud of, I do like to think I know a thing or two about cameras and lenses. I have run into the occasional problems with lenses, but I made sure I had the option to return them if they had issues. Camera Check There’s not much that can go wrong with a DSLR camera that you can’t check in just a few minutes other than maybe a future shutter failure. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. Lens Check 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. Most of all, know what you’re buying before you buy it.
A Guide to Buying Used DSLR Gear This article is the second part of the previous article titled “Pro Camera Gear on a Student Budget“, and contains some advice for what you should do once you find a good deal and have arranged a meeting with the seller. I personally consider purchasing used gear on craigslist to be a much better route than other services (i.e. eBay), since you can check out the gear personally and walk away from the deal if anything doesn’t seem right. Here are the tips: Know What to Look Out For Just as you need to know a good price on a piece of gear from a bad one, you need to be able to distinguish something that looks and works like it should from something that doesn’t. Check the Camera’s Sensor The sensor on a DSLR is what captures the image you photograph. Ask How Many Actuations the Camera Has Cameras are like cars, and mileage matters. How to Tell if A Camera is More Used than the Owner Claims Other areas you can check for wear are the external flash hot shoe and the LCD screen. In Conclusion
Pro Camera Gear on a Student Budget My first DSLR camera was a Canon 20D that my parents purchased for me as a graduation present back in August of 2005. We went to the store expecting to purchase the camera for $1,599, but found that it was selling for only $1,299. Boy was I excited. Looking back, I consider purchasing that 20D the worst photo-related decision I’ve ever made. When other photographers see some of the lenses I own (i.e. 24-70mm, 16-35mm), they often wonder how I can afford such expensive gear. First of all, something I’ve found very useful over the past years is keeping a detailed log of equipment transactions, since it helps me to keep track of how much I’ve spent on this serious hobby of mine. Here’s the current state of my equipment log: The columns I add entries to are “equipment”, “purchase price”, and “sell price”. In the log above, you can see that I’ve spent a net of $3,584 on all the camera equipment I currently have. So what have I learned? Know the Street Value of Camera Gear Buy Low, Sell High
Piled Higher and Deeper Movie - Site ladybusiness | Don't Be a Dick (Or 15 Great Sounding SFF Novels Available in 2014) Dude makes a list of 13 books that demonstrate why 2014 is going to be a banner year for fantasy novels. List contains 12 books by men and a book by a lady which has been pushed back to 2015. Okay then. Rather than re-hash arguments about why creating public SFF recs lists that largely feature male authors is kind of dickish, I decided to fight books with books. Here's a list of 15 SFF books1 by women that I'm excited to see published in 2014. Token guys need not apply. "Lagoon" — Nnedi Okorafor When a massive object crashes into the ocean off the coast of Lagos, Nigeria’s most populous and legendary city, three people wandering along Bar Beach (Adaora, the marine biologist- Anthony, the rapper famous throughout Africa- Agu, the troubled soldier) find themselves running a race against time to save the country they love and the world itself… from itself. "Bird, Boy, Snow" — Helen Oyeyemi "Poisoned Apples" — Christine Hepperman "The Mirror Empire" — Kameron Hurley "Dirty Wings — Sarah McCarry
Fear of Nail Trimming Trimming nails is an important part of routine care for your dog. Although not all dogs need their nails trimmed because they wear them down naturally, almost all dogs need their dewclaws trimmed. Some dogs are reluctant to have their feet touched at all, while other dogs seem comfortable with touching but not with nail trimming. Your dog may suffer from a more generalized fear of handling, which includes a fear of having his feet touched. If this is the case, you might need to resolve your dog’s anxiety related to other kinds of touching in addition to following the treatment plan described below. This article only relates to fear of nail trimming, but you can find more information about other handling problems in our article, Dogs Who Are Sensitive to Handling. Dogs often develop a fear of nail trimming after they’ve had a painful experience—like getting a nail cut too short. Many people prefer to have their dog’s nails trimmed by a veterinarian. Do not manhandle your dog.