SwapaDVD

Do you have some old DVDs that you no longer watch? Want to trade them for some others that you might like better? Try this service called SwapaDVD!

You post 10 DVDs (or more) that you're willing to trade for other DVDs. For posting your first ten you get one free credit. You cash in your credits for DVDs that you want.

We have been using this website for awhile now, and it works pretty well. We have received five DVDs and have credits for six more. Our Clifford and Bob the Builder DVDs were the first to go, so if you have DVDs your kids have outgrown, this might be a good way to dispose of them.

It costs about $1.85 to mail a DVD, which is often cheaper than renting a movie these days! The DVDs are used, but so far I've only had to request one credit refund because the DVD was smashed in transit. I got the credit immediately and got another DVD a few days later. It's not a perfect system, but it has allowed me to get some DVDs that I would never have purchased for full price.




There is also a similar service for books, which I also use. I have found that the books I want aren't as readily avaiable on this site as I'd like, though they have millions more than the DVD service. Also, the books I have to trade haven't been as popular as my DVDs either. Still, when we lost a library book this summer, I was able to find it at PaperbackSwap instead of having to pay the full new price. (Unfortunately, we found the library book two days after I got the replacement book, so now we have a copy of 101 Dalmations of our very own. Sigh.)




There is a CD swap site also, but I they charge a small fee for the CDs instead of making it a straight-across swap. I haven't used it and can't offer any feedback.

Cool Tool!

Just last month I came across one of the coolest tools I have ever seen! Are you ever reading something online and it gives a scripture reference and then you have to click on over to Blue Letter Bible or BibleGateway or actually go get your Bible and look it up? Well, never fear having to do that on my blog ever again! Of course, you could just take the author's word for what the scripture says, but that's not always wise as so often things are taken out of context, twisted to fit someone's agenda, etc. In Acts 17:11 we are given a good example of the Bereans who examined the scriptures to make sure what they were being taught was true.

So, go ahead and hover over the scripture reference...I'll wait. Go on, try it...just put your cursor over the reference.

Now tell me that isn't cool?! Just for fun, click over to my church's doctrinal statement to see this very cool tool in action on dozens of verses.

Did I mention it's free? And incredibly easy to use? If you want to add it to your own website or blog, just copy and paste the code provided by RefTagger. They currently only have several Bible versions, but they are working on expanding their selection. Enjoy!

Grammar 101

For some reason I can never keep the past tense of lay and lie straight in my mind. (Click here for help with other confusing words.)

Lay vs. Lie

                                  Present          Past         Participle

To recline                    lie, lying          lay           has/have/had lain

To put or place
(verb followed
by an object)              lay, laying       laid           has/have/had laid

To tell a falsehood       lie, lying          lied           has/have/had lied



Examples in the Present Tense:

I like to lie down for a nap at 2:00 p.m.
I am lying down for a nap today.
The hens lay eggs.
The hen is laying eggs.
I am tempted to lie about my age.
I am not lying about my age.


Examples in the Past Tense:

I lay down for a nap yesterday at 2:00 p.m.
The hen laid two eggs yesterday.
He lied on the witness stand.


Examples with a Participle (has, have):

I have lain down for a nap every day this week.
The hen has laid two eggs every day this week.
He has lied each day on the witness stand.

Fun Tool!

I maintain several Amazon Wish Lists: Mine, Ryan's, Abby's, and one for homeschooling. Hubby also has one or two. No one really uses them except hubby occasionally (Oh, and one time his boss purchased two items for me as a thank you for helping out during the Christmas Crisis!). Still, I like to have them to keep track of gift ideas for my kids and for things I might want to buy for homeschooling.

However, I often can't find certain things on Amazon (particularly Christian or homeschooling items) and have wished they had a way to add things from other sites. Well, they now have it, the Universal Wish List Button! Once you install it, you can add anything from any other site right to your Amazon Wish List. Pretty cool!

Punctuation 101-Lesson 2

Rule 5 under Apostrophes in the Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation says:

Do not use an apostrophe for the plural of a name.

Examples:
We visited the Sanchezes in Los Angeles.
The Changs have two cats and a dog.

Punctuation 101-Lesson 1

The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation says:

Periods and commas always (emphasis mine) go inside quotation marks, even inside single quotes.

Examples:
The sign changed from "Walk," to "Don't Walk," to "Walk" again within 30 seconds.
She said, "Hurry up."
She said, "He said, 'Hurry up.'"

Birthday Musings

Could it be possible that I turned 39 yesterday? I actually put my info into a life expectancy calculator yesterday and found out that I can expect to live to 98...or to 102 if I lose 50 pounds! That number just stunned me. 102! I've never really contemplated living that long, and it is sobering to think about. What will I do with the next 63 years, should God grant me that much time here on earth?

My prayer today has been that I will not waste the remaining years of my life, but that I will use them in the service of God, my family, and others God puts in my path. Since we never know if this might be the last day we will ever live or if we have decades left, it's so important to be who God has called us to be and do what He has called us to do.

"Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil." Ephesians 5:15-17