Managing and Storing Your Digital Files and Photos

Our digital data, which includes files and photos, is becoming so massive and important to most of us that we have to add in methods of managing it, organizing it and storing it.  Protecting our digital data is highly important if we wish to pass it down to generations after us, namely our children.  I wanted to show you all my recommendations of how to do this currently.  With technology ever-changing, we have to keep up with new ways of doing things to preserve our memories, but this is the best way that I have found for what is available to us today.

Just face the fact that you have to set aside a time in your schedule to manage your data.  You will need time to sort, organize, store and definitely backup your data.  If you don't, then you will risk losing your digital data upon the occasion that malware, ransomware, natural disaster or a thief captures your data.  Are you ok with losing everything?  Most of us aren't and it would be devastating, especially to lose our photos.  You can replace a lot of things that you lose or have stolen but you can't replace memories that were preserved in photos.  You must set aside a weekly, biweekly or at least monthly time to do your downloads, organizing and backing up to keep up with all your ever-growing data!

Most of us have our files and photos saved on our desktop or laptop computers and some only have them on a device, such as a tablet or phone.  I recommend that everything be on your computer as a first line of managing those files and also to organize them.  It is a lot easier, in my opinion, to use a keyboard and a mouse and a larger screen to manage the files, then it is to use a smaller screen with just your finger maneuvering through the process.  However, more importantly, is that your phone can easily be stolen and isn't a safe place to store your data.  I recommend you download your data, specifically photos, to your computer for the first step in backing it up.

Once your files are on your computer, how do you manage or organize them?  You create folders, just like you would in a physical filing cabinet.  Envisioning your digital files in comparison to physical ones in a filing cabinet will probably help you grasp how to manage the data.  Let's start with the main folder called "Pictures" - this would obviously be where most people store their photos - then, "Documents" would be where most people store their other files.  Under each of these, you would create folders with various categories and this is personal preference, but for example, I have mine organized as such: Google Backups; Extended Family; Weight Loss; Inspiration and Ideas; Graphics; Blog Pics; MISC, etc.  Inside each of these folders, I further break it down into categories.  For instance, for Google Backups, which is my downloaded copy of Google Photos, I prefer to go by folders of years and then months.  This makes it easy for me to find the pictures and videos I took during a certain year or month.  For Extended Family, I use categories such as: My Family and Husband's Family - and from those subfolders, I further break it down into Older, Old, and vacations or reunions.  I think this way of organizing pictures will help my children in future years find whatever they are looking for.

For documents, I use categories such as: Finances; Homeschool: Christian: Articles; eBooks; Manuals; Recipes: Songs, etc.  Again, these categories have subfolders to organize even further.  What if you have files that you just don't have time to sort?  Simply make a folder on your desktop called "Sort" and throw the files in there and set aside a time to go through each file and organize it where it goes.  Also, make sure you regularly keep up with clearing out your downloads folder in the same way.

Now, that we know how to manage, organize and have a first layer of storage of our data, let's talk about backups! 

Current Food Prices in Ohio #5


Below are current prices for some items we purchased in March.  Most have gone up continually and believe me, it has added up and we are spending the most we've ever spent on groceries in our lives!  I'm actually going to challenge myself soon to see if we can lower our budget because we've been eating pretty good the past few months and it got a little out of hand.  We were spending $600 a month on just groceries and even currently reached $800 for 4 weeks, yes, that's $200 a week for the 4 of us!  I know, I'm even shocked at myself but I've enjoyed it I must admit.

There are some things we will not budge on and that is that we only will buy organic milk, organic soymilk, organic grass-fed beef, uncured ham or turkey sandwich meat, non-GMO corn tortilla chips and certain natural products that don't have additives, preservatives or any other fake stuff.  My health dramatically improved years ago when I made these changes and you are what you eatYour body consists of what you ate in the past, you can't get around that.  Some pay medical bills or prescription drugs and eat cheaper than we do but we prefer to pay a little more and have less medical bills and be on no prescription drugs.  I got myself off a shoebox full of prescription meds and I don't EVER want to go back!  I'm in the best shape and health I've probably ever been in my life and I got here by eating healthy, reducing my pesticide exposure, not consuming growth-hormone-filled animals, getting fit and increasing my muscle mass.  You choose your path.

Countless people have told me, especially recently after losing weight, that I look 20 years younger than I am.  I have noticed that and people ask me what my secret is.  I assume it is God and living a life without alcohol, smoking, drugs or maybe it is the fact that I haven't worn makeup and don't put products on my face (besides simple face wash and lotion).  However, I know others that have done that all their life and they don't look like they haven't aged.  So, I did some research - outside of maybe it being just my genetics - It could be what I eat and have eaten for most of my life.  I consume a lot of nuts and beans!  Could those be the fountain of youth?  I came across a doctor who looks 20 years younger and whose physical health is also several decades younger than he is and he claims it is eating 5 foods that did delay aging: nuts, berries, cruciferous vegetables, olive oil and then drinking green tea.  I actually eat all the foods regularly and I used to drink green tea.  Interesting!  I do feel like it is a consolation prize from God from all I had to go through in life to look like I'm in my 20's.  Thank you God is all I know!  But in the meantime, maybe everyone should grab some cashews, peanut butter and eat your beans, broccoli and blueberries - just sayin'.

Podcast - God Help My American Mind

I felt impressed to do another podcast that I feel is pertinent for right now. We need prayers for God to help our American minds that have diluted our faith. Don't let distractions keep you unaware of what is coming but rather build up your faith now and be ready!


Podcast - Get Ahold of Faith

You can now find my podcast on Spotify and Anchor, and Google Podcasts; it is no longer on Podomatic.

Today I'm talking about how it is time to get ahold of faith.  I share my own personal story of my recent challenge to obtain more faith.  The church needs to get ahold of faith now and do what Jesus said we would do!




Links to find my podcast:

Utilizing Closet Floor Space

I recently downsized an enormous amount and that included clothing!  I dropped 7 dress sizes (20 to 6) and so I had very little new clothes that I had purchased this past September.  I finally went through all my clothes that I saved from my 20's - yes, I really saved them all this time!  Almost all of them fit but I realized that my style is not the same and I prefer right-below-the-knee skirts now, so I only kept 10% of my old clothes.  Here is what my closet looked like before I found a floor storage solution:



As you can see, I had some clothes folded off to the side and the rest in a bin.  However, I would forget what was in the bin and miss out on some awesome combinations for outfits.  I knew I didn't have room necessarily for a dresser in there and I didn't want to spend money on one right now, so I found a cheap solution that I actually think I like better!  I bought these plastic cubbies for $43 and I absolutely love them!  I didn't use them exactly how they're supposed to be used in a 4x3 because it would have been too tall, but I found a workaround, as you can see below.

You Either Have Faith or You Don't

If you don't have in faith in 2023, you need to get it now!  I realized after a test of my faith that it was something that I definitely needed to grow.  When security is all around you, you can get lax and think you have faith but the real test is when that security is removed.  Do you have faith then?  Do you have faith when all those around you are shaking their heads thinking you are crazy?  Do you have faith when there's no health insurance?  Do you have faith when you have no income on the horizon?  Do you have faith when the car breaks down and takes the money you needed for your child's medical appointment?

God has dealt with me a lot recently about not falling to unbelief and impatience and pushing my husband to get an Ishmael.  It takes faith and patience to get your Isaac!  It's not for the faint-hearted.  It's not for the weak.  It's for those that truly believe and trust God, that will come into their Isaac.  If you don't know what I'm talking about, look up the story of God's promise of a son to Abraham and how Sarah tried to make it happen another way because she grew impatient.  TO THIS DAY - they reap the pains of that impatience.


Hebrews 6:15  

And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. 


It is time to follow God's Word and be a homemaker women.  When are you going to let go of your Ishmael-making ways by working on that job disobeying God's instruction for women?  I guess when you want your Isaac. 

Podcast - To Him That Overcometh

Right now the internet is ablaze with a woman that has decided to come out against a lot of things that God Himself has created women for and the dress that they should wear and his New Testament law.  It's time to hear the truth of what God said and BEWARE of Satan's lies that are so rampant trying to steal women's souls.  I didn't mince any words here, so don't listen if you don't want the Bible truth.  Heaven will only be full of those that overcome God said!  Many are going to be apostate in these times we live in God tells us and they will not want to hear the truth.

2Ti 4:3  

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 
2Ti 4:4  

And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. 
Rev 3:5  

He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.


Podcast - Why Couldn't God?

Sometimes in life we don't understand why God just couldn't do certain things.  We have to realize that God sees all and knows all and He does what is best for us to help us reach our ultimate goal - that of overcoming and being with Him forever!  Don't lose faith in hard times but rather build up and speak faith!  God is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him!

Hebrews 11:6 

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.


Current Food Prices in Ohio #4

I last blogged about food prices from the end of March through June.  I decided that it's too much for me to go through 3 months of receipts to do those detailed posts.  I've decided to do a short list of things I've recently purchased to show the current prices instead.  

We are spending $440 a month on food in October for our family of 4 by shopping Aldi and Kroger.  For new readers that may wonder how we do that, you can look through past posts as I have a lot!  But the short answer is: we consume low amounts of meat (chicken/turkey/fish/kielbasa), lots of vegetables and fruits, lots of bread/pasta/oatmeal/rice, etc., lots of beans and dairy.  I make 1 lb. of meat stretch over a dinner meal and we eat meatless meals 2-3 times a week.  We only eat red meat 2-4 times a month and only eat organic, grass-fed beef when we do.  I stockpile a few times a year with things like oats, rice, beans, canned goods, condiments, etc.  I would like to do an updated post, if time permits, on how I'm working our meal planning and grocery shopping now.


Don't Mar the Master's Work


    A young girl growing up trying to find herself and be comfortable in her own skin is told that she needs to mask herself to really be acceptable. No, I’m not talking about a cloth mask that we all are familiar with as of late. I’m talking about being masked to hide who we really are because society has told us that we aren’t worthy without it. The mask I speak of is something that most women may not even realize that they have succumbed to. Women everywhere have adopted this mask to hide the very thing underneath that they have come to believe is too hideous to share.

    I will recount my own personal story and how I, later on, came to understand this mask to be a disguise of an underlying dissatisfaction. I was a beautiful, teenage girl and my mother told me one day that I shouldn’t be going out of the house anymore like that. How could the world even bear having to look at me unmasked any longer. Surely, no boy would even give me the time of day without this mask on. And just what was wrong with me that I didn’t want to mask up. I couldn't possibly think that I could remain unmasked forever. 

    So, I did what any young teenage girl does, I donned the mask.

New Email Subscription Newsletter!

I was able to move my email subscribers over to my new email newsletter!  If you are receiving this, then you are good to go and on the list.  If you didn't receive this by email and want to be subscribed to receive emails as to when I post, then sign up below.  This form will also be on the sidebar of my blog.  Blog subscribers' emails are never shared with anyone else.


.


*Check your spam and mark my newsletter updates as safe or add my email to your contact list, so you will get the email newsletters when I send them out.

Paycheck Allocation Worksheet - Free Printable

I made a worksheet to go along with my other budget printables.  This one helps you budget for each paycheck, as to what gets paid with that paycheck, etc.  I made it able to print duplex (front/back) for those wanting that feature.  I also added calendars up to January 2023 in the printables folder.


Podcast - Be Ready and Be Led by the Spirit!

Be ready for what may be coming!  Make sure you are dependent upon the Holy Spirit's leading for every aspect of your life.  Know God's Word and don't be deceived by Satan's ministers.


Free Pantry and Freezer Inventory Printables

I had made these a few months ago and thought I would share them with you all.  They are in color and if you print to "actual size" they will get cut off some, so best print is "fit".  You can also find them in my Homemaking printables folder.


Free Budgeting Printables

I've created a folder with the free printables so you can download them all or whichever one you want.  They are very simple, no frills and get the budgeting job done.  I also included a folder with calendars from July-Sept that I saved from Google if you need those.  

Here's what the monthly fixed expenses printable looks like:




*The "Monthly Household Management Expenses" one is for things like food, necessities, clothing, etc.

Podcast - My Thoughts on Current Events

From abortion to Christian cults to human suffering, we must remember what the Word of God says.  God has showed us time and time again that we must be about His purpose on earth to reach the lost, not to set up an earthly Christian kingdom.  We also must remember that there is not an excuse for those in cults because God has given us the Bible and His Spirit to discern false prophets and teachings.  Lastly, we must remember that suffering is universal, no one is exempt!  We must be patient in suffering and keep our hope, faith and trust in God no matter what comes our way. 


Current Food Prices in Ohio #3

I last blogged about food prices from the end of November through March and you can see that post by clicking here.  Below are prices from March 21st through June 3rd, and you can see the price increases in yellow and the price decreases in green.  You can definitely see that things have gone up overall.  Yet, we can still purchase good food for a reasonable price I believe.  My challenge is actually finding some foods, as we have had a lot of shortages and I will have to go to Kroger to find it, or even order from online for certain items.

I didn't include items from the last list that I didn't purchase March-June 3rd on this list.


Don't Lose Your Inheritance!


In the New Testament, God tells us that we will not inherit what we should have inherited - if we do certain things.  Clearly, you must have been a child of God to inherit it in the first place.  Sinners are going to hell simply because of unbelief in Jesus Christ (John 3:18), not just because of these things below, so this isn't talking to them obviously.  Besides, who would need to be warned to "be not deceived" that unbelievers who do these sins won't go to heaven?  It's the Christians who think they will go to Heaven doing them that need the warning "BE NOT DECEIVED"!  Christians who choose sin after being washed and refuse to repent, go to hell because they commit these things below, thereby losing their inheritance.  This was said many times and even a warning telling us not to be deceived!  Yet, we still have a lot of churches teaching false doctrine that Christians can live in unrepentant sin and still inherit the kingdom of God.

Let's look at these verses and just what unrepentant sins will not be in heaven:


1 Corinthians 6:9-11

Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,  Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.  And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

Galatians 5:19-21

Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,  Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,  Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. 


Do It God's Way - Podcast

When will it be enough for parents to wake up and realize that government schools aren't safe for their children?  How many more tragedies, perverted teachings or sexual assaults by staff do we need to show how dangerous these institutions truly are?  Do it God's way and train up your children in the way they should go!  Don't be ashamed, daughters, to obey God's plan for women in a society that glorifies rebelling against God's role for women.  Do it God's way and you will find true blessing and success for your life.


Tips to Protect Your Identity


There's just some things that you can no longer go without in these times of theft and scams, and the coming crisis.  You will not regret being prepared. I decided to share with you my best tips on protecting your identity. It will save you a LOT of trouble and we sure don't need any added weight of stress in times like these.

First of all, it doesn't matter if you don't use the internet.  Yes, I'm talking to Amish, Mennonites and others who think they are "safe" from digital theft by simply not using the technology.  They're not safe, actually they're more at risk of it!  All it takes is someone taking over your identity and creating accounts in your name, anywhere literally - which can be done online in many cases.  You may not even know this is happening if you don't have the proper safeguards in place and you will fall victim to months-to-years-long fight for clearing the mess up.


Here are some of my top tips to protect your identity:


1.  Buy Identity theft insurance!  - You simply can NOT go without this.  It is vital in these times and believe me, you don't want to go through the stress, the court process and all the calls and wait times to fight to get your identity back once stolen.  Not to mention the money you will spend doing so.  Paying a good company to do this for you and monitor your identity is going to pay returns in more ways than one and protections are about a $1 million per person in your family.

2.  Make sure your WiFi is security-enabled! - This one is something most people don't pay attention to but should be the first layer of protection for internet coming in through your home.  Get a good router and make sure have good security (WPA3 or even WPA2) AND a good password for your network.  You should have a password that is more than 14 characters because you just can't afford a hack of your WiFi.  Having a router that gives you a notification when someone gets on your network is crucial too.  Keep up with technology to try and stay further ahead of the thieves!