The Busy Wife http://thebusywife.com from a wife, mother, career woman trying to do it all... Fri, 27 Apr 2012 18:47:24 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 Kid Internet Safety–for free! http://thebusywife.com/?p=26 http://thebusywife.com/?p=26#comments Sun, 22 Apr 2012 00:20:15 +0000 busywife http://thebusywife.com/?p=26 Now that my kids are older, they all want or need to use a computer.  I sacrificed the computer in my craft room and declared it the official “kid” computer.  The web is like the wild wild West and you don’t want your kids stumbling onto something they shouldn’t see.  For the most part, search engines like Bing offer protection.  By default, Bing’s SafeSearch is set to Moderate which filter’s adult images and videos but not text from your search results.  You can choose to set it to Strict which will then filter adult text, images, and videos from search results. 

Microsoft’s Family Safety
Being a Windows desktop user, I’m partial to Microsoft and of course, anything that is free.  I signed up for Windows Live Family Safety.  The program is basically a website where you can specify how and when your children can use your computer.  Parents can specify what hours children can log on and which sites are safe to visit.   You can also limit their ability to download and install software.  I find this particularly useful since some of these downloads can be malicious.  Its best to limit installs to trusted publishers. 

My kids have gotten used to Family Safety.  If a website hasn’t been allowed on their safe list, they can request permission.  I’ll receive an email where I can update the safe list or I can walk over to their desktop, sign-in and allow the site right there on the spot.  It also prevents them from using the computer during certain hours.  I will warn you that it just locks the desktop so if they are playing a loud game at 8:00 pm and it locks, you’ll end up having to logon with your own account to shut the program down.   Each child can have their own account so you can modify settings based on their age and needs.

Windows Live Family Safety has many more features.  You can read about and download it here.  Its great and it’s FREE!  You can’t beat FREE.

]]> http://thebusywife.com/?feed=rss2&p=26 0 Low Carb Cooking in 2012 http://thebusywife.com/?p=22 http://thebusywife.com/?p=22#comments Thu, 12 Apr 2012 00:51:31 +0000 busywife http://thebusywife.com/?p=22 Low carb cooking helped me lose 10 pounds in 2011.  I’m determined to stick with it.  I love rice and potatoes and can have them occasionally but when I eat them consistently, my weight starts to creep back up.  So I’ve found some really satisfying recipes that make you forget carbs.  My favorite so far is George Stella’s Cheesecake.  I make at least one a month and my youngest daughter loves it.  In fact, I switched to a recipe by the Barefoot Contessa and my little one declared that I made it wrong!   Thanks George!

Low Carb New York Ricotta Cheesecake

]]> http://thebusywife.com/?feed=rss2&p=22 0 Goodbye 2011 http://thebusywife.com/?p=13 http://thebusywife.com/?p=13#comments Thu, 29 Dec 2011 16:18:00 +0000 busywife http://thebusywife.com/?p=13 Every year I find myself checking the long list of notable people who have died during the year.  It’s a little bit morbid but it does remind you how precious life is.  Not everyone makes it to New Years Day.  I know the lists of deaths is long but here is my own list of people that I will remember beyond 2011.

Osama Bin Laden – by far this should be the biggest news of the year.

Kim Jong Il – I don’t think anyone will miss him but its big news.

Steve Jobs – I just finished his biography.  He was a major a-hole but certainly changed the world.

Joe Frazier

Nick Ashford – This one brought back memories.  My mother took me to an Ashford and Simpson concert when I was young.

Clarence Clemons

Andy Rooney – he announced his retirement and the next month, he was dead.

Amy Winehouse – Not a surprise but certainly a loss

Gil Scott Heron – The revolution will not be televised!

Phoebe Snow – Remember the Poetry Man?  I didn’t hear any news of her death until I saw her name on the year end list.  RIP Phoebe.

Geraldine Ferraro – The first woman on a major party presidential ticket!  She died at 75.

Elizabeth Taylor

]]> http://thebusywife.com/?feed=rss2&p=13 4 My Busy Life http://thebusywife.com/?p=8 http://thebusywife.com/?p=8#comments Mon, 05 Dec 2011 01:47:33 +0000 busywife http://thebusywife.com/?p=8 Let me first start off by saying that I absolutely hate it when people say they are “too busy.”  The statement often comes a singleton with one job and maybe one pet.  Upon hearing the statement I just nod and say “I know what you mean.”  Honestly I don’t.  When I was younger I remember feeling busy and inundated but these days I just can’t remember what could have been so important that it took up all of my time.  Those were the days when I had time for PC gaming, music (listening and playing), reading for pleasure (not just technical books) and cooking (not because I needed to but because it was fun). These days I try to keep up with my hobbies, gaming went out the window (although we have five xboxes in our home) and cooking is purely a necessity.  I honestly can say that with or without a career, my time would be completely consumed.  Somehow I’m crazy enough to have a husband, three young children, hobbies and a fulltime career.  What the heck is wrong with me?

So from time to time I’m going to explain what’s going on.  I know there are many women that are in the same boat.  The funny thing is that as much as we complain, none of us would change one thing.  We’re trying to have it all…and why not? :-)

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