Katy's Excellent Eight!

To add to the ‘be careful, this site may be addicting’ category of web-related references to share, here are my current “Excellent Eight”:If you haven’t already made the virtual acquaintance of the hugely successful blogger Ree Drummond, set a timer and then check out http://thepioneerwoman.com/ I absolutely adore her sense of humor and wish I had half her energy! Her blog is out of this world. Recipes, photography, hilarious stories from her life. She is just a crack up & feels like your new BFF in about 5 minutes.

If you are in despair about your digital photo organization (I once literally laid awake at night wondering how I could ever be SURE I had all my digital photos in the right place), try Picasa. http://picasa.google.com/mac/ (this is a link to the Mac version, but there is a PC version as well) It is AMAZING and…FREE! You’ve got to love those folks at Google.

If you are a digital scrapbooker with a big heart, you need to know about Songbird Avenue. Gorgeous products—all for a good cause! New kits monthly, reasonably prices at around $8. http://www.songbirdavenue.com/

If you are someone who is interested in digital scrapbooking but isn’t sure where to start, one of the best resources I’ve found is Jessica Sprague. She has amazing freebies and a wide variety of classes & tutorials on her website. Some are self-paced, which is wonderful for busy homemakers. Also of note: Sign up for her e-mail list and you will get info on “One-buck Wednesdays”—fun deals. http://www.jessicasprague.com/

Hopefully you’re already a fan of Carrie Rocha of Pocket Your Dollars. http://www.pocketyourdollars.com/ She has saved my family a LOT of $$$ in the last 9 months and is a local girl made good.

If you are interested in the subject of finances, one website I find consistently interesting is Get Rich Slowly. http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/ Thoughtful writing abounds. JD has recently finished a book which should be out soon.

And finally, I have two wonderful but different resources in the area of spiritual encouragement!
The first was shared with me by a fellow LifeKeys attendee (boy, that should get a recommendation too—LifeKeys is great!) and is a concise daily devotional that I’ve really enjoyed seeing in my inbox each morning! http://www.thewordfortoday.com.au/

My last share is a fun blog—that of Lysa TerKeurst, founder of Proverbs 31 Ministries. http://lysaterkeurst.blogspot.com/ I first heard of Lysa at a Hearts at Home conference and she is transparent, hilarious, inspiring, and about as humble as anyone you’re likely to meet. In other words, a fellow ‘Homemaker’

Thanks for this posting, Katy!