What does dinner look like at your house?

Amanda over at following an unknown path is asking for our input! A group of Taiwanese students is doing a senior thesis on what dinnertime looks like in America. The students would like some input from us, so they are asking for everyone (all those in the United States, that is) to take a survey about how you "do dinner" in your house. It only takes about 10 minutes, and I encourage you to take it yourself and spread the word on your blogs! The deadline is April 29th, so don't dawdle!

To find out more about this, read Amanda's blog here.

So I've been meaning to highlight some of the sites that I especially like that are on our sidebar. These are rather recent websites and blogs I've come across, and I am eager to share them!

DesignTalk: Home Design Help
I came across this website/blog when I was looking for help with my living room, and I really like it! They answer questions about home design and have a lot of great ideas. They are clear, easy to understand, and illustrate their ideas with pictures which is nice for visual people like me.

PDF Online
Do you have a file that you need converted to a PDF, but don't have Adobe Acrobat Pro? Well this site is a great resource for you! It's fast, easy, and best of all - free. They do a variety of documents (including Microsoft Word), and there's no registration necessary. I used this service especially when I was searching for a job two years ago.

DivShare
Since I work in the printing industry, I am often having to transfer really large files to and from clients. When something is too big to email, I recommend DivShare to them. No complaints yet!

What the Font?!
With a clever name, this site has been very useful to me as a designer! I can upload an image with the font I want to identify, and they come back with their options. If you don't have an image, check out Identifont for a similar service.

ChiliTried
For those who are familiar with ChiliHead, she now has a new site with product reviews! I especially enjoyed her review of a just-for-redheads makeup brand. :-) I can imagine this site will be a valuable resource as I continue to learn about how to be a homemaker.

Number Gossip
Okay, this site is just for fun. :-) You type in a number, and it tells you all the cool things about that number. You might appreciate this more if you are a math lover.

Finding Contentment in the Suburbs
Started by Lindsey from Enjoy the Journey fame, a blog about avoiding the common pitfall of always wanting more-more-more money. This site comes at a perfect time for me, as my husband and I are approaching (albeit slowly!) that same quandary. It's not about get-rich-quick, but about being content with what God's given you.

Frugal Living Journal
While we're on the subject of finances, I have enjoyed this website which gives practical tips of living frugally. Being a good steward of God's resources and being content with what He's given to you go hand-in-hand.

Happy Tails
Animal lover that I am, I was excited to see that Mrs. B has a blog devoted just to animals! She already has posted some great advice about dogs, and I look forward to future posts. It makes me want to start a blog about my own pets...

Living in Peru
Okay, I'm not sure if ANY of our readers will find this interesting, but here is a site all about living in Peru - AND it's in English! As most of you know, I grew up as a missionary kid in Peru so I always enjoy finding resources like this. :-) You can read my 10 Things About Peru here to learn more about this beautiful country.

That's all for now! Happy reading. :-) And if you have a site you recommend, let us know!

So most of you are probably already aware of the Ultimate Blog Party hosted by 5 Minutes For Mom. Beth and I have decided to join in the fun! Look forward to seeing some new posts from us next week to celebrate with the best of 'em!

For those who haven't heard of the Party before now, it's a week-long bash where people get out, meet new people through their blogs, post fun things, and be eligible for a huge prize give-away on Friday, March 9th! You can read more about it on the website.

I'd love to decorate for the party if I can get my act together and change the template!! :-) Stay tuned for that, as well as some fun posts from both Beth and I. (Yes, Beth has promised to post! She has been conspicuously absent from this blog, but I assure you it's just because she's been extremely busy lately. But you should leave comments telling her how much you miss her so she'll come back sooner!)

Now, hurry over to 5 Minutes For Mom so you can join in the craziness too!!

This week's Carnival of Beauty is on the Beauty of Isaiah. Please be sure to check out all the lovely posts on this topic.

• Barbara over at Fuel talks about an experience and a revelation she had of the truth of God's Word at a ladies retreat a few years ago. It was a transformational moment, and something that brings peace to her life. It is also a truth she intends to pass on to her children so they don't need to carry the baggage she carried along for so much of her life. Read more about "Can It Really Be True?"
  

• Jennifer at Wonderful Pages writes about the comfort of salvation that Isaiah promises her. Read more about "The Beauty of Isaiah".

• Keziah at A Woman Who Fears the Lord reflects on Isaiah 58 and the need for true godliness in our lives. Read more about "Beauty of Isaiah: A Day Acceptable to the Lord".

• And finally, Ashley wrote about her experiences running track and how she clung to Isaiah 40 for the strength and encouragement she needed to pursue to the end. Read more about "The Extra Push".

Thank you everyone for submitting your pieces! We hope everyone has a chance to reflect on the Beauty of Isaiah this week. Be sure to join the Carnival next week for the Beauty of Red!

For those who might not have seen, Keziah has done a series of posts about her trip as a medical missionary to Peru - complete with pictures! It's pretty cool, so I'd recommend that everyone go check it out. :-)

Declare His Glory Among the Nations: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6

Thanks so much for posting this, Keziah!
If you have posted about a missions trip experience recently, let me know and I'll add your links to the list. I love reading about this. :-)

Nominations for the Hidden Treasure Blog Award at Everyday Mommy are now open! There are eight categories:

• Children & Family
• Faith
• Marriage
• Motherhood
• Homemaking
• Humor
• Current Events
• Life

Be sure to submit your nominations for your favorite posts over at Everyday Mommy. Voting will begin on February 8th. And if you should find any posts from Onward & Upward that you think should be nominated, then please feel free to do that. ;-)

A few snippets from blog readings today...

Shannon at "Rocks in My Dryer" needs your help! She is trying to collect 675 comments on her blog of people letting her know where they live. Shannon and her boys will then mark the locations on a map. (This is their pass-the-time-while-icebound game. :-)) As of now, she has over 400 comments so head over there and add your input! (Besides, it's fun to see where everyone is from!)

Jules at "Everyday Mommy" is hosting the First Annual Hidden Treasure Blog Awards. Head over there to read the rules and then begin your own treasure hunt. :-)

Kelli at "Living in Grace" responded to BooMama's fundraising drive here. Almost $8800 was raised to help Kelli and her kidney transplant!

Lizzie at "A Dusty Frame" has a thought-provoking post about loving those who hurt you. I discovered her blog recently, and am challenged by her openness and honesty. She's going through some difficult times, but God is teaching her so much and I admire that she's willing to share it with the rest of us.

Joanna at "Keeping Feet" wrote some interesting things about statistics regarding marriage and our society today.

What are some posts you have read and enjoyed recently?

I just wanted to encourage everyone to head over to Susan's blog and check out her post about the importance of motherhood. An excerpt:

Women are not specially suited for higher mathematics, though many are gifted in this area, myself included, so the need seemed contrived to me. But women are specially suited for another vocation: motherhood. As my professor told me of the great "need" for women in higher mathematics, I could not help but think, but we need mothers far more!