by Amanda Barnard | Feb 29, 2020 | Everything Else
What is in a leap year? February 29th! Another day added to our calendar, in essence to keep time and seasons in sync with the earths orbit around the sun.
FUN FACT #1
Did you know that people born on this day are called, “LEAPLINGS“? No? Don’t feel bad, I didn’t either.
FUN FACT #2
Technically a person born on leap day, can’t celebrate their birthdays except for once every four years, although many choose to celebrate on Feb 28th or March 1st for the other years.
FUN FACT #3
Even though, I think most girls want their guy to do the proposing, did you know that it is customary for it to be ok for a woman to propose to a man on Leap Day? No? Me either!
The Bible says there is a reason for everything, (Ecclesiastes 3) so obviously, HE wanted someone to implement a leap day. I love fun facts and there are several out there about so many things!
Are you doing anything memorable for your LEAP DAY?
by Amanda Barnard | Feb 13, 2019 | Everything Else, Family
Have you ever heard of the Marco Polo app? It is an app that records video and then you send it, like a conversation. Then your recipient (or recipients) can reply at their leisure.
I didn’t know anything about it until the other day. I have a group of ministry friends that we all text each other, pray for each other, cry together, laugh together (MOSTLY laugh together), and just basically share life. With some being on the east coast, others being on the west coast, and many in between, makes it difficult to spend time together. We have done well with texting and making time to get together when we can.
Our fearless leader encouraged everyone to download this app. There were several that stated they really didn’t like the app at all, but in light of us connecting, would give it another try.
1. Entertainment
So with the app in commission, the fun began!
Yes I say FUN, because it has been such a joy to be able to hear their voices and see their faces and to reply when I am able.
Let me tell you about the other fun……
I encouraged Brad and all of the kids to download the app! Yes I did and holy cannoli! As of this writing, we have had the app, barely over 24 hours when Brad downloaded it and there were 277 messages! It was hysterical!
I’m not going to just tell you the fun, though. I want to give you more specific details! Because what sounds like fun to me, may not be fun to you! So for the nitty-gritty (presuming you know what “nitty-gritty” means)……
2. Convenience
The app records your message. Then, unlike Snapchat, actually keeps the message. If you have a group chat, those that are online can see the live version. The real convenience is those that are not online can come back to view whenever they have time. Then the other person (or another person from the group) records their own message and it stays at the bottom in a rolling line.
You can delete a video, if you didn’t really like it or messed up while you are recording. But be aware, if someone is online and sees you live, well they saw it – so what. Delete it and go on, that’s what I did. But I didn’t realize people could see you live (*insert face palm).
Another convenient feature is the “2x” button, where it plays the video double time. This is really funny, but very convenient if you have 277 messages to get through, like Brad did. Brittany told us that the 2x button allowed her to get through 62 messages in 6 minutes.
3. Interpretation
How many of you have ever misconstrued a text message? (*raises hand high here) ME! Yep! Another great thing about the video message, you can see the person’s face and hear the message. This allows you to interpret the context much better. the While we all know it can still happen, It leaves much less room for a misunderstanding to take place.
I actually said on the messages today, how much I would have enjoyed an app like this when my mother was still alive, it would have been so much fun! Today, I am appreciating it with my family and friends.
I encourage all of you to try it! I hope you like it as much as I do!
by Amanda Barnard | Jan 18, 2019 | Everything Else, Financial
I got home a tad bit earlier today, than I do many days. For me, saying I got home early, usually means that I managed to get home before 8pm. If I say, “I’m working late.” it’s probably going to be 10pm or later. Today I was highly blessed that it was before 4pm!
Brad is in the middle of painting our back room for a rehab project. Which is also part of his quest on our family challenge. So I checked on his progress and decided a quick service meal was in order.
After I made it home, we sat down to eat and were talking money. Brad looked at me and said, “please don’t cuss!” I said, “We have to get on more strict of a budget, to get where we know that we want to go.”
He chuckled and said, “yep! I knew you were going to cuss! You said BUDGET.” We both giggled.
BUT how many of us think budget is a bad word? Yes I know it sucks because I personally don’t want to think about a budget. I want to just reach into the wallet, pull out the card, and swipey, swipey, without a second thought.
Without a map, we can’t blindly travel across country and get to our destination effectively. On the same token, without a budget, we won’t efficiently live out the life God intends for us to have.
So today I declare it to be a new day! I vow to do my part – Brad and I as a team – to get it right in our lives!
I’ll keep you posted as to how the story unfolds.
