by Alison Moore Smith | Aug 20, 2011 | for Mind, for Money
I am a big believer in calculating return on investment. In accounting parlance: ROI = (gain from investment – cost of investment)/cost of investment But in layman's terms it means calculating the efficiency of an investment. It's the ratio of money gained (or...
by Darcee Yates | Aug 12, 2011 | for Love
A comment on another article got me stirred up this morning. I raised my kids before the advent of the playdate, (or maybe I was just finishing up at the birth of the playdate). I never had to deal with the social undertones that go on there. But, I recall visit...
by Alison Moore Smith | Aug 11, 2011 | for Home
Designing your own home is an incredible adventure. It's exhilarating, stressful, time-consuming, exciting, and exhausting…all at once. When we began the process (for the second time), there were many things on our “must have” list: Bedroom for each person...
by Alison Moore Smith | Aug 11, 2011 | for Home
A couple of weeks ago, I took my daughter to a party. I had the address and I had a GPS in my car, but once I got to the approximate location, I couldn't tell which house it was! None of the four houses nearby had address numbers posted on the house or the curb. And...
by Alison Moore Smith | Aug 9, 2011 | for Home
People were, and still are, shocked that we don't have a single inch of installed carpet in our home. Yes, I love soft squishiness under my feet. Yes, I love to lie on a bed of shag. But carpet is on the floor. Where people walk. With their shoes. That have been...
by Darcee Yates | Aug 7, 2011 | for Spirit
A recent discussion in Sunday School has turned my thoughts lately to puzzling about cultural differences and how those differences relate to (how each of us perceives) the gospel plan. Every day we become more and more a worldwide church. I don't have all the...
by Alison Moore Smith | Aug 3, 2011 | for Home
When we built the house in Eagle Mountain, we intentionally left most of the basement unfinished. We finished the laundry room, my office, and the homeschool room (except the cement floors, which we intended to stain, eventually). But the theater, guest room, guest...
by Alison Moore Smith | Jul 31, 2011 | for Good
Being an adoptee, I've often realized that one of the greatest gifts I have ever been given is that of life and a home. My birth mother chose to have me and my adoptive parents gave me a loving, stable home. In our culture, most people take these things for...
by Alison Moore Smith | Jul 31, 2011 | for Money
This post brought to you by Straight Talk. All opinions are 100% mine. Having purchased our first Macs in 1985—just days after returning form our honeymoon—we have been Apple fans for a quarter of a century. As you might guess, that means we are an iPhone family as...
by Alison Moore Smith | Jul 30, 2011 | for Fun, for Money
I love Dave Ramsey. He's a great inspiration for those who've made bad financial decisions and are overwhelmed with debt. But his “beans and rice, rice and beans” mantra sounds so boring and unattractive! If you want to have a life that includes an...
