+Choosing the right backpack for your hiking adventures is crucial. Here are some top picks for 2024 based on expert reviews and user feedback:

1. REI Flash 55 Men’s / Women’s ($199): This backpack offers a great balance of weight, durability, and organizational features. It’s an excellent all-around choice for backpacking adventures¹.
2. Hyperlite Mountain Gear Unbound 40 ($369): If you’re looking for an ultralight option, this pack is a standout. It’s designed for weight-conscious hikers who want to minimize their load¹.
3. Osprey Atmos AG 65 – Men’s / Aura AG 65 – Women’s ($340): For carrying heavier loads (35+ lbs), the Atmos AG 65 and Aura AG 65 provide excellent support and comfort¹.
4. Osprey Exos 58 – Men’s / Eja 58 – Women’s ($260): Known for its ventilation, this lightweight backpack is perfect for warm-weather hikes¹.
5. Gossamer Gear Mariposa 60 ($285): If you’re an ultralight enthusiast, the Mariposa 60 is both comfortable and spacious¹.
6. Gregory Focal 48 – Men’s / Facet 45 – Women’s ($230): This affordable pack combines lightweight design with a supportive frame¹.
7. Hyperlite Mountain Gear Southwest 55 ($379): Offering a great blend of weight and durability, this pack is ideal for long-distance treks¹.
8. ULA Circuit ($299): Known for its durability, the ULA Circuit is a supportive and durable ultralight backpack¹.
9. Gregory Paragon 58 – Men’s / Maven 55 – Women’s ($260): An affordable and supportive midweight option for backpackers¹.
10. Osprey Aether Plus 70 – Men’s / Ariel Plus 70 – Women’s ($410): If you need a large capacity backpack with a built-in daypack, the Aether Plus and Ariel Plus are excellent choices¹.

Remember that the best backpack for you depends on your personal preferences, hiking style, and the specific features you prioritize. Happy trails! ????????¹²³.

And you can watch Jimmy on Relationships on YouTube. Many of his videos are very direct and if you are open to the effect will force a deep reflection of your own attitudes and behaviors. He satirizes how men typically view maintaining a healthy relationship and humorously helps his many characters to get a grip.

Let me tell you I cried when I watched this video on what women want, specifically what wives want from their husbands, and several other of his reels and full length videos on YouTube. It was like he had been watching my relationship and seeing the thoughts in my head from a distance. Does this mean Jimmy is a perfect husband or the most amazing man ever? No, he is still imperfect – he still screws up and admits it. That’s just it though, instead of doing all the toxic, relationship killing things he used to do he has learned and put into practice things that promote peace, communication, understanding and compassion. Sometimes that means walking away but with the promise to return when he’s calmed down.

Does this mean that women have nothing to learn? Nope, ladies, we aren’t free from responsibility; women can also be narcissistic, selfish, rude, demeaning and abusive. Men and women both need to recognize and take responsibility for their part in the state of the relationship, they must desire to want to learn to change it and they should diligently apply the tools they’ve gained in the process to help heal their relationship.

For relationship healing to work, truly work, the effort must come from both sides of the equation. That’s what a relationship is – an equal partnership. If either side feels misunderstood, unappreciated, neglected, overwhelmed, burdened, abused or abandoned they will feel the scales have tipped and not in their favor. What’s interesting is that your mate may be feeling the same way, but without healthy, honest, calm communication neither side can ask for help or find a solution. In as much as men need to learn what women want, we women need to be open to what men want in a healthy partnership as well.

So, lets see what Jimmy On Relationships says about What Does My Wife WANT from Me?!

There is so much anger, hatred and strife in the world today that it can be difficult to find a safe haven from negative news. What is nice about social media (sometimes) is that you can choose who’s news and updates you want to see. The problem is that not everyone who is pleasant in person is positive to be around online.

For instance, many of my Facebook friends are bilingual. Often they will post updates about family, friends and work in Spanish first and then in English to accommodate all of their friends and acquaintances. More than once a mutual “friend” posted intolerant, almost racist comments in response to their posts. Frankly, it was because they were too unobservant to realize that the English translation was underneath – not to mention Facebook would have translated for them. Then they started posting comments demanding, not asking, who the people in the pictures shared were because “they don’t like to be left out”. Toxic much?

What tipped the scales for me was when the comments turned judgmental. Rarely do I post the chain letter type posts, but the friend who had posted it I had known since I was a young girl so I thought it would be nice to play along. Honestly, if I don’t think I have the time to comment, share and repost I won’t even react to the post since I’m not willing to participate in the chain. So I posted my picture comment, shared the post and edited the OPs original text. It was a bit on the negative side saying people are incapable of following directions SO I basically said I had more faith in my friends and posted. The scathing, critical comment that came within minutes of posting a more positive version of the chain post made my blood boil. I would have preferred being ignored to being put down. The irritating, condescending, racist and intolerant comments had finally been enough. I didn’t respond. I just blocked.

Facebook is notorious for negativity stuffing the content we see and trying to stir up controversy. The last thing I need is for someone who I thought to be a kind, thoughtful, loving person to use the platform to berate and insult others. Not only did I not want this person to be my online friend I did not want to see the negative comments they posted on my actual friends’ feeds. I couldn’t just unfriend; I had to block.

1 Corinthians 15:33, “Do not be misled. Bad associations spoil useful habits,” even online.

Welcome to the IQAir HealthPro Plus Air Purifier Giveaway!

1 Winner ~ $900 RV!

This giveaway is part of our Holiday Gift Guide – Stop by to see all the giveaways and great products.

HOST IS:

DELICIOUSLY SAVVY

My co-hosts for this giveaway are

My co-hosts for this giveaway are Michigan Savings and More, The Stuff of Success, Gifts for all seasons, Versatileer, Home Jobs by Mom & Golden Goose Giveaways

Below is a list of all the bloggers involved in the gift guide.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This giveaway’s Sponsor is:

WEBSITE ~ FACEBOOK ~ TWITTER ~ YOU TUBE

Available on Amazon

~~~

1 Lucky Winner will win an IQAir HealthPro Plus Air Purifier Valued At $900!

This is an amazing prize.  Having clean air is something we too often take for granted, but so many things like dust, mold, smoke, bacteria and viruses fly around us every day.  We live in a home that has no basement and the crawlspace isn’t very deep.  No matter how hard we try we still have places in the house where moisture is a problem and causes mustiness. An air purifier of this caliber would make keeping the air fresh and healthful much easier.

The IQAir HealthPro Plus is the unit for you as it filters 99.5% of particles, including ultrafine particles down the 0.003 microns (small enough to remove viruses!) and it even filters gases and odors via its HyperHEPA Filtration system! The unit comes with a 10 year warranty, covers up to 1125 square feet and is the #1 choice for asthma and allergy sufferers because no other air purifier works as well as the HealthPro Plus series from IQAir. In fact, no other air purifier has received more recognition for its ability to reduce allergens than the HealthPro Plus. Among many other awards, the HealthPro Plus has received the prestigious Seal of Approval fro PTPA (Parent Tested/Parent Approved) for those with serious allergy and asthma problems.

Take a look at my review

~~~~~~

THE GIVEAWAY

This giveaway/sweepstakes is in no way endorsed, affiliated, or associated with Facebook, Twitter or any other Social Media Networking Site. This Giveaway is valid to continental United States residents only, Entrants must be 18+ years of age to enter. This giveaway event will end at 11:59 PM (EST) 01/07/2022. The winner will have 48 hours to email their information back to mcushing7 at hotmail dot com or a new winner will be drawn, you may want to put this email address as safe as it could go to spam. The giveaway is not valid where prohibited! By entering you are authorizing us to collect the information on the form below, this information is used only to contact the winner! No purchase necessary, Void where prohibited by law, and the number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Winners are chosen randomly by the Giveaway Tools program. The sponsors are each responsible for shipping of the above prizes. No blog associated with this contest are responsible for prize fulfillment. If you would like to be a sponsor in a giveaway like this please email Melissa Cushing at mcushing7 (at)hotmail (dot) com. If you take an entry you must stay following for the entire contest or you will be disqualified.

If you are a blogger interested in our gift guides sign up here or more information is HERE.

Get blogger opps just like this by signing up to receive blogger emails HERE.

Sponsors interested in joining our gift guides can see the information HERE.

Welcome to the Groove Life Ultimate Stocking Stuffers Giveaway!

2 Winners

This giveaway is part of our Holiday Gift Guide – Stop by to see all the giveaways and great products.

HOST IS:

DELICIOUSLY SAVVY

My co-hosts for this giveaway are

My co-hosts for this giveaway are Michigan Savings and More, The Stuff of Success, Gifts for all seasons, Versatileer, Home Jobs by Mom & Golden Goose Giveaways

Below is a list of all the bloggers involved in the gift guide.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This giveaway’s Sponsor is:

WEBSITE ~ FACEBOOK ~ TWITTER ~ INSTAGRAM ~ YOU TUBE

Belt Available on Amazon & Stackable Rings Available on Amazon

~~~

2 Lucky Winner Will Win With Groove Life! 1 Winner Will Win A Marvel Groove Belt of their choice & Another Winner will win 2 Sets of Stackable Groove Life Rings ~ Winners Choice! TRV $125!

Take a look at my review HERE

Take a look at my review HERE

~~~~~~

THE GIVEAWAY

This giveaway/sweepstakes is in no way endorsed, affiliated, or associated with Facebook, Twitter or any other Social Media Networking Site. This Giveaway is valid to continental United States residents only, Entrants must be 18+ years of age to enter. This giveaway event will end at 11:59 PM (EST) 12/25/2021. The winners will have 48 hours to email their information back to mcushing7 at hotmail dot com or a new winner will be drawn, you may want to put this email address as safe as it could go to spam. The giveaway is not valid where prohibited! By entering you are authorizing us to collect the information on the form below, this information is used only to contact the winner! No purchase necessary, Void where prohibited by law, and the number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Winners are chosen randomly by the Giveaway Tools program. The sponsors are each responsible for shipping of the above prizes. No blog associated with this contest are responsible for prize fulfillment. If you would like to be a sponsor in a giveaway like this please email Melissa Cushing at mcushing7 (at)hotmail (dot) com. If you take an entry you must stay following for the entire contest or you will be disqualified.

If you are a blogger interested in our gift guides sign up here or more information is HERE.

Get blogger opps just like this by signing up to receive blogger emails HERE.

Sponsors interested in joining our gift guides can see the information HERE.

Sourdough Starter/Mother Feeding

• Method 1: 7th Day Baking Method

  • EVERY DAY feed the mother 3/8 cup flour and 1/4 cup filtered water morning and night. At the end of the week your starter will be pretty sour.
  • On the 7th Day Bake! Use the majority of the starter by making a sourdough batter bread, sourdough waffles or pancakes or something similar until you have only 3/8 cup of starter left.
  • Start feeding the remaining starter right away.
  • To slow the activity of the starter, but still keep it fed you can put it in the refrigerator and feed it the prescribed amount 2/week until you reach the 7th day levels.

• Method 2: Daily Discard

  • 1 part starter, 1 part water, and 2 parts flour
  • Example – 1/2 cup starter + 1/2 cup water + 1 cup flour
  • Discard all but 1/2 cup starter each day either by baking with the discarded portion, adding the excess sourdough starter to your compost, or freezing it. Reserving some frozen starter can help revive or restore spoiled or neglected starter.

• Method 3: Refrigerator Mother

  • This starter is kept in the refrigerator all the time until needed for baking. This requires a little more planning as you need to bring it to room temperature and make sure it’s well fed and active before attempting to bake with it.
  • Feed the same as the “Daily Discard” method but only every 5-7 days. Stir it thoroughly, cap it tightly and return it to the refrigerator.
  • Allow the refrigerated starter to come to room temperature and feed it at least three times before using it to bake to make sure it is fully active and happy. Follow the discard method above for dealing with the excess.

There are numerous recipes online for using up your sourdough discard. Think of it as a volume of flour and water that you can add to any recipe if you do the proper calculations to adjust for the moisture and flour to be removed. One cup of starter will be 1/3 cup water and 2/3 cup flour more or less. Choose your recipes carefully, because the starter will impart a sour flavor to the recipe.  If you don’t believe the final product would benefit from the sour flavor you might want to consider another recipe.

Then one day I saw an add on Facebook for a beginner’s sourdough workshop from Sourdough Schoolhouse.  Master baker Shannon Peckford from British Columbia, Canada runs a three hour long Zoom meeting where she showcases how she makes a no-knead or low-knead sourdough bread.  I know THREE HOURS LONG – that seems like an eternity in the middle of the day BUT it was so worth it.  Participants got to ask questions via chat, share experiences, knowledge and all while watching exactly how Shannon makes her sourdough Pain Au Belle.  There is some elbow grease needed to produce the loaves of sourdough, but not anything like what I had gotten used to (and tired of).

A key piece of information that I learned is that I can use gluten free flours to dust my loaves and counter top for shaping so that I don’t add in unfermented gluten into the finished loaves.  Another bit I enjoyed is learning how to fit the making of sourdough into my life without feeling like it’s a burden.  Long fermentation in cold storage – clean out a shelf in your fridge y’all – leads to beautifully slow risen loaves with a much milder flavor and better crust.  I tried it. It works amazingly.

Getting ready to put this in the fridge for a 6 hour cold ferment after one hour rise at room temperature.

The key aspect of choosing to participate in this class is the promise to #bakeitforward.  My first loaf I gave to some friends of ours who do not like to be identified online.  We knew they would appreciate it though I would not be able to share a picture of them with Ms. Peckford.  Unfortunately, about the time I was making my second batch of sourdough batard loaves another friend of ours lost her husband.  It would be difficult to share in her family’s grief in person so after our midweek meeting via Zoom my husband took me over to her house so I could drop off a small loaf of bread for her and one for her daughter-in-law.  They weren’t perfect, but were an expression of love and brotherhood that my family could share with hers.  So often we tend to inundate those grieving with to much food.  The sentiment is generous and well-intentioned but overwhelming nonetheless.  My hope was to share something manageable that she could use right away or freeze if she needed.

Somehow sourdough is bringing me out of my lonely shell.  Sharing starter and finished loaves with my friends and family brings me joy.  It has made me think of other ways I can be generous and industrious to benefit my family and others.  Bread may feed the body, but love feeds the soul.

I highly recommend checking out Sourdough Schoolhouse.  There are limited spaces in her class and as far as I know her last one is July 31, 2020 at 12PM EDT (9 AM PST).  The link to register for her live class is still up so sign up if you can.  I’ll be there again, asking questions and gleaning knowledge from Ms. Peckford and all the other sourdough enthusiasts and newbies.

By the way, something you should know about Ms. Peckford is she loves giving things away so get ready to pay attention to her live lesson and her social media feeds.

Disclaimer: This post was not sponsored by Sourdough Schoolhouse, I just like the way Shannon Peckford teaches.

Today I’m selling a little red briefcase binder, planner from Franklin Covey. As the premier name in planning and organization for business and personal use, the Franklin planners have been known the world over as the highest quality and best design. This planner case has business written all over it, figuratively.

The brick red zippered valise is made of simulated leather inside and out with lovely cream colored contrast stitching. The expanding outer pocket features a magnetic snap closure that holds rather securely and catches every time you close it. On either side of the main compartment are retractable handles for easy carrying. In front of each of those handles are slit pockets for easy storage and access to papers on the go.

There are two almost imperceptible imperfections – not quite scratches – on the back that make the material there slightly lighter. There is also a small scuff on the front bottom right on the main binder.  Zipper zips in only one direction.

Interior has a zippered pocket, expandable open pocket and slide pocket behind a placket of card holder pockets on the left side of the binder. On the right side of the binder is an elastic holder for a pen or pencil and a slit pocket to hold a paper pad.  A partial FC writing pad is included.  The binder mechanism is a 7-ring x 1.25″ that is secure, well-aligned and works either one or two handed. It holds the Franklin Covey Classic 5.5″x8.5″ 7 hole pages. Avery also makes pages, bookmarks and pockets in the same size and hole pattern (not included). Check out their full selection of these Avery planner inserts on Amazon (so far the best priced ones I’ve found).

It is very pretty and I wanted to keep it for myself, but with the pockets and features it didn’t seem like I would be doing it justice keeping it as a desk planner.  I know there is someone out there who can put this beauty to good use in a business environment – or even as a purse if the fancy so strikes. Stay organized and on top of things in style.

Check out my eBay auction listing here.

bairli1 / Pixabay

When children had to be taught in small, one-room, school houses across the nation it was typical for everyone from kindergarten to 8th grade to be in the same room.  My mother-in-law remembered how the older students would often help out the younger kids with their school work in between receiving lessons from the teacher.  Little did they realize that teaching others was helping to solidify the skills and processes they had previously learned.

With the advent of larger public schools this tradition of older students helping the younger ones almost completely went away.  The focus became heavily on homework, studying for the test and just passing the grade.  There was no pride in learning something new, no incentive to pass it on.  Thankfully, it seems anyway, that education is starting to circle back to students taking ownership of their education and becoming teachers in the way they learn their craft.  One such example of this is the Cornell School District of Coraopolis, Pennsylvania

and their high school broadcasting program.

niekverlaan / Pixabay

The following press release is courtesy of PR Newswire –

Kriss Hupp and Patricia Dahmen are educators at the Cornell School District who created an extracurricular live broadcast journalism program for students. Students produce a daily news program for other students, faculty, and staff in the community called “TheCornellCHSTV”. The show is entirely developed and produced by the students. The curriculum teaches students how to operate and construct their own broadcasts “in the doing”. Students learn a broad range of skills including presentation, camera angles, lighting and communication. Through the program, students become masters of their own education. “The students who join CHSTV are looking to learn more about broadcast journalism, and some of them have become “experts” in their job positions. This enables them to become teachers,” says Dahmen.

Hupp and Dahmen believe technology is a powerful tool that should be used to enable students to create and collaborate with their peers around the world. “As technology evolves, so does our student experiences,” says Dahmen.

Read the full article here

Kris Hupp is the 21st Century Teaching and Learning Coach at the Cornell School District. Patricia Dahmen is an English and Journalism Teacher at the Cornell School District. Kris and Tricia are CHS-TV sponsors.

CMRubinWorld’s award-winning series, The Global Search for Education, brings together distinguished thought leaders in education and innovation from around the world to explore the key learning issues faced by most nations. The series has become a highly visible platform for global discourse on 21st century learning, offering a diverse range of innovative ideas which are presented by the series founder, C. M. Rubin, together with the world’s leading thinkers.

For more information on CMRubinWorld

Follow @CMRubinWorld on Twitter

Contact Information:

David Wine

David(at)cmrubinworld(dot)com

Disney is one of the most iconic brands of all time, creating beloved family films like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Toy Story, and Frozen. While you may be sick of watching movies on repeat and are ready to “let it go,” kids love watching and re-watching Disney shows.

So, Reviews.org wanted to make it worth your while and pay one family $1,000 to watch 30 Disney movies in 30 days on the new Disney+ streaming service. Not enough honey in the pot? We’ll also pay for a whole year of Disney+ and send along a movie-watching kit to prepare our chosen applicant for their grand adventure. It sounds like a dreamy gig for the whole family, right?

You can find additional details about the job by subscribing to our YouTube channel or by visiting our website here.

Why are we doing this? As Mary Poppins put it, “In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun.” We want to know what Disney+ is like and how it stacks up to other streaming services? Are there ads? How’s the original content? What about streaming quality? Also, watching movies with your family is always fun, so why not make a little extra money doing it?

Our ideal applicant is mad, bonkers, off-their-head and has already started to figure out how many Disneyland tickets they could buy. If you or your audience’s ideal job is getting paid to watch Disney with their family, then you’re in luck (or maybe you wished upon a star).

The application deadline is November 7, so you don’t have time to be timid. You must be bold and daring.