Bing in the Classroom & Microsoft Educator Network #WindowsChampions

While in Seattle for the Champions Summit in April I was introduced to Bing the the Classroom. I was quick to let the other teachers at my school know about this awesome resource!


Here are some facts on what Bing in the Classroom is all about...

Part of Microsoft’s continued focus on promoting digital literacy in education, Bing in the Classroom is an ongoing program focused on helping kids use technology to inspire and satisfy their curiosity. It provides ad-free, safer, more private search in schools, daily lesson plans that inspire critical thinking, and a rewards program that community members can use to earn tablets for their schools. More information can be found at http://www.bing.com/classroom, and you can track the progress of specific schools at http://www.bing.com/findyourschool.

• Ad-free, safer, more private search. Bing in the Classroom removes all advertisements from Bing search results, filters adult content, disables the use of searches to send personalized ads, and adds specialized learning features to enhance digital literacy. {Program excludes Bing apps.} Over 4.5 million students in more than 5,000 schools are covered by our enhanced search, with over 35 million ad-free queries served to date.
• Daily lesson plans. Bing is well known for having a big, beautiful homepage image that changes daily and inspires visitors to explore their world. With Bing in the Classroom, we’ve used that homepage inspiration to create free daily lesson plans that help students learn how to search the Web effectively while inspiring their curiosity.
• Earn Surfaces with Bing Rewards. The Bing in the Classroom tablet program is an extension of an existing Bing program, Bing Rewards. With Bing Rewards, you can earn credits just by searching the Web on Bing from your browser or phone and for trying out new Bing features. And now, with Bing in the Classroom, you can donate those credits to the school of your choice; Microsoft will pool them with other supporters of that school and, as soon as your school meets the credit minimum, send it a Microsoft Surface tablet with Type Cover. About 60 people using Bing Rewards can earn a tablet for a school in a month.
• Keep track of your school. Bing in the Classroom offers a page for every school in the U.S. that tells you not only if it is receiving ad-free, safer search but also how many Rewards credits have been donated, by how many people, and how many Surface tablets schools have earned.

I used some of the daily lesson plans with my students last year and they really enjoyed the activities. I love that the lessons require students to use critical thinking to search for their answers.

The Microsoft Educator Network is another resource that I love as a teacher. All of the tools listed on this website are free for teachers to use. Resources include apps, tutorials & guides, Office plug-ins, and more. My favorite guide is OneNote Toolkit for Teachers. OneNote is now free on all devices and can be synced across your devices when you sign in with your Microsoft account. I use OneNote for planning - both at home and at school. I plan out meals/recipes, vacations, to-do lists, etc. at home and plan lessons, projects, collaborate with other teachers, etc. at school. I absolutely love it.

Disclosure: I am a Windows Champions blogger and I received loan of a laptop and tablet, and may receive other equipment from Microsoft to assist me in evaluating Microsoft products and services for my blogging activity.    

Technology in Education with Microsoft & Parade Magazine #WindowsChampions

Last Tuesday I had the amazing opportunity to sit on a panel at a local Microsoft event with Parade Magazine to chat about technology in education. I absolutely love my career and couldn't imagine doing anything else - blogging and running my small businesses are added perks in my life. Ever since my dad bought our first family PC in 1997, I've been fascinated with technology. It amazes me to see the huge changes that have come in tech just in my lifetime thus far. From overhead projectors to SmartBoards to tablets and TVs - technology has made teaching even better.

But with all of these rapid changes in technology, is tech in education a good thing or a burden? This was the biggest question we faced during our event in Salt Lake City last week. Maggie Murphy, editor-in-chief of Parade Magazine, was the facilitator of our panel conversation. In our hour together, a lot was discussed, pondered, and learned.

One of the biggest issues being faced in education - as determined through our conversation, through my communication with other teachers, and seen in schools by tech specialists - is not knowing what to do with the devices schools buy for classroom use. As technology advances, schools are upgrading and just handing over the new devices to teachers and telling them to figure it out. Realistically, the issue here is that the devices that we're provided with are school owned. Therefore they can only be used for educational purposes, which is great, but without direction on how to use these devices, teachers don't know what to do with them. Microsoft Stores have tech teachers that will visit schools and teach teachers how to use the devices their school is using.

Another issue being faced by teachers is obtaining the technology they need in their classroom. Sure, schools are beginning to provide more and more tech like laptops and tablets in classrooms, but some teachers need listening centers {which can be created from an old smartphone or MP3 player} or eReaders for literacy centers. {These things can be donated to classrooms as a tax write-off.} Microsoft has a free way to earn Surface tablets for your school by using Bing search rewards. Every 500 points you earn can be donated to the school of your choice to earn them a Surface.

Overall, we can all agree that technology in education - both at school and at home - is something that can be a great resource, if we know how to utilize it to it's full potential. Tomorrow I'll be back with another post on Bing in the Classroom and Office - with tips on how to use these amazing resources!

Disclosure: I am a Windows Champions blogger and I received loan of a laptop and tablet, and may receive other equipment from Microsoft to assist me in evaluating Microsoft products and services for my blogging activity.    

Microsoft Champions Summit Spring 2014 - Day 3 #WindowsChampions #ChampionsSummit

On Tuesday we had a few more informational sessions in the morning before heading out for some fun sightseeing!

I learned a lot in the session on OneNote collaboration. We used our Windows Phones that we were given on Sunday to complete a scavenger hunt in the Ballard neighborhood. We were given a list of items/places to go search for and take a photo of and place in our shared OneNote notebook. It was pretty cool to work with others on the same notebook and instantly see the changes pop up before me on my phone every time they'd add a picture.

Our afternoon consisted of a Brewery Tour around the Ballard neighborhood with Road Dogs Tours. Only half attended this, while the others went to a waterfall. We had an absolute blast and were able to visit 4 different breweries in the area.

Dinner at Bastille was delicious and the perfect last meal together.

Those of us that didn't have to get up super early for a flight went to King's Hardware to play skee-ball until the wee hours of the morning.

What a trip with amazing memories and new friends made!

Thank you to Microsoft and the Windows Champions/Office Champions teams for making all of this possible.

Disclosure: I am a Windows Champions blogger and I received loan of a laptop and tablet, and may receive other equipment from Microsoft to assist me in evaluating Microsoft products and services for my blogging activity. I was sent to Seattle to attend the Champions Summit and received products while attending the summit. All opinions expressed are my own.

Microsoft Champions Summit Spring 2014 - Day 2 #WindowsChampions #ChampionsSummit

On Monday we traveled to Redmond to visit the Microsoft Campus. I was completely blown away by how beautiful it is.

First we visited Building 99 - Microsoft Research.

We learned about virtual assistants located in the research building. This directions robot uses Microsoft Kinect technology to recognize when someone steps up to him to ask for directions. You could ask for directions to a specific room or give a person's name who works there. If you were looking for someone specific, he would let them know that you were on your way to them. It was pretty neat.

Next we met Michael Cohen, creator of Gigapixel ArtZoom. He explained his project to us and gave us a demo of how it works. Basically, they took high quality photos as a 360 panorama of Seattle. You can zoom in to see areas of Seattle up close {from very far away} and view the area as if it were right in front of you. There are "hidden" performers, acrobats, and artists throughout the panorama. When you find them, you can click on them and view a short clip about their work. It's a pretty amazing concept. Since launching the website, they've been approached by other cities around the world to create a Gigapixel ArtZoom. Check it out!

We headed to a space called The Garage on the Microsoft Campus next for lunch and informational sessions. We had 6 hours of sessions, so I'm just going to sum up my favorites for you.

My favorite session was about Bing internet search. First of all - did you know that you can earn credits for Bing Rewards just by searching? You can use those credits for a variety of items. I used my first redemption to get 100 GB of extra storage in my OneDrive account. Now I'm saving up for a Surface tablet for my school. But what was most informative for me was about Bing in the Classroom. Here's the facts on what Bing in the Classroom is all about...

Part of Microsoft’s continued focus on promoting digital literacy in education, Bing in the Classroom is an ongoing program focused on helping kids use technology to inspire and satisfy their curiosity. It provides ad-free, safer, more private search in schools, daily lesson plans that inspire critical thinking, and a rewards program that community members can use to earn tablets for their schools. More information can be found at http://www.bing.com/classroom, and you can track the progress of specific schools at http://www.bing.com/findyourschool.

• Ad-free, safer, more private search. Bing in the Classroom removes all advertisements from Bing search results, filters adult content, disables the use of searches to send personalized ads, and adds specialized learning features to enhance digital literacy. {Program excludes Bing apps.} Over 4.5 million students in more than 5,000 schools are covered by our enhanced search, with over 35 million ad-free queries served to date.
• Daily lesson plans. Bing is well known for having a big, beautiful homepage image that changes daily and inspires visitors to explore their world. With Bing in the Classroom, we’ve used that homepage inspiration to create free daily lesson plans that help students learn how to search the Web effectively while inspiring their curiosity.
• Earn Surfaces with Bing Rewards. The Bing in the Classroom tablet program is an extension of an existing Bing program, Bing Rewards. With Bing Rewards, you can earn credits just by searching the Web on Bing from your browser or phone and for trying out new Bing features. And now, with Bing in the Classroom, you can donate those credits to the school of your choice; Microsoft will pool them with other supporters of that school and, as soon as your school meets the credit minimum, send it a Microsoft Surface tablet with Type Cover. About 60 people using Bing Rewards can earn a tablet for a school in a month.
• Keep track of your school. Bing in the Classroom offers a page for every school in the U.S. that tells you not only if it is receiving ad-free, safer search but also how many Rewards credits have been donated, by how many people, and how many Surface tablets schools have earned.

The next session was on Skype. On April 28 Skype made group video calling free for all! That was the big announcement of that session, and I was given a sneak peak of some upcoming features that will be released soon. But my lips are sealed! :)

The session on Digital Spring Cleaning was awesome. I learned a lot about how Outlook.com makes email easy to deal with. Some awesome features that Outlook has are sweep, an unsubscribe link at the bottom of every newsletter email {that way you can for sure unsubscribe in case the company just happens to not include a link in the email}, rules, flags, floating icons to delete/flag/mark as unread. {I'll write a special post on Outlook later to explain all of this in more detail.}

I also learned how OneNote can make your life so much easier by creating a place to catch all of your notes, recipes, to-dos, travel plans, etc. Did you know that OneNote is now free for everyone to download and use? It's available for Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Phone, Mac, iPad, iPhone, & Android. The best part is that it syncs across all of your devices. Planning a home renovation project? Use OneNote to create a plan with pictures, notes, URLs, etc. on your computer and then access it from your phone or tablet while shopping for supplies. Very handy!

The image below {click to view larger size} sums up everything I learned in the Digital Spring Cleaning session. The facts are actually a pretty interesting read.

{click image to view larger size}

Come back tomorrow for the final post to see what I did on my last {full} day in Seattle!

Disclosure: I am a Windows Champions blogger and I received loan of a laptop and tablet, and may receive other equipment from Microsoft to assist me in evaluating Microsoft products and services for my blogging activity. I was sent to Seattle to attend the Champions Summit and received products while attending the summit. All opinions expressed are my own.

Microsoft Champions Summit Spring 2014 - Day 1 #WindowsChampions #ChampionsSummit

As you may know, I'm a Windows Champion and work with Microsoft to bring you the latest and greatest information from Microsoft regarding Windows 8 and other Microsoft products. I've been working with Microsoft for the last year and a half and absolutely love this program that I'm so lucky to be a part of. I was invited to Seattle at the end of April to visit the Microsoft Campus and learn more about the company, while experiencing the state of Washington for the first time.

On Sunday when I arrived, I was picked up by a chauffeur {I felt so fancy} at the airport and taken to the gorgeous Hotel Ballard where I was greeted by my fabulous Windows Champions contact, Madison. It was so nice to finally put a face to a name.

I was given an amazing welcome package that included a new Windows Phone {Nokia Lumia 928}. I spent my afternoon playing around with the phone and getting to know other bloggers as they arrived.

After lunch, a few of us decided to go to Golden Gardens Park to see Seattle's beach. It was absolutely beautiful, but very windy.

Back at Hotel Ballard, cocktail hour and dinner were fabulous. We were introduced to some more familiar names and I got to meet and mingle with more bloggers.

Come back tomorrow for day 2 to see what I learned at the Microsoft Campus. I attended some very informative sessions, so I have a lot to share!

Disclosure: I am a Windows Champions blogger and I received loan of a laptop and tablet, and may receive other equipment from Microsoft to assist me in evaluating Microsoft products and services for my blogging activity. I was sent to Seattle to attend the Champions Summit and received products while attending the summit. All opinions expressed are my own.

Tech Tuesday: Spring Clean Your PC #WindowsChampions

 

Just like spring cleaning your home is a necessity, so is spring cleaning your PC. Here are some quick tips to keep your PC running smoothly!

• Setup a backup schedule - Auto back up with OneDrive if you have a Windows 8 PC or manually back up your PC {both are links to previous posts}
• Uninstall programs/apps you don't use - Computers tend to come with "bloatware" installed or we install software that we end up no longer using...uninstall it. Unused software takes up valuable space that allows your computer to run faster.
• Run the Windows Disk Cleanup tool - You can use this tool to reduce the number of unnecessary files on your drives, which can help your PC run faster. It can delete temporary files and system files, empty the Recycle Bin, and remove a variety of other items that you might no longer need. For more details on this process and how to access the tool with your version of Windows, visit this Microsoft article.
• Software tools to recover performance - Using a tool like CCleaner or System Mechanic can help keep your computer in tip-top shape with the click of a button. I use both tools on my computer. CCleaner is great for a quick clean up, while System Mechanic does a really great thorough job of cleaning up all sorts of junk.
• Frequently run Windows updates - It's smart to keep your PC updated with Windows updates. Most computers are set to automatically update, unless your settings are tweaked to manual updates. For more details on how to check your Windows updates settings with your version of Windows, visit this Microsoft article.
• Anti-virus software - Make sure you have a quality anti-virus software program installed on your PC. I use Norton 360 Premier and love it. Norton used to be a big system hog and make computers run slow, but a few years ago they upped their game and fixed the issues. The license that I purchased for my subscription allows me to install the software on up to 3 PCs. Looking for a free anti-virus software program? Avast is highly rated and recommended by CNET.

Tech Tuesday: Windows Apps for Finance Management #WindowsChampions

Are finances on top of your mind this month? With taxes due April 15^th, there’s no better time to catch the budget bug!

Whether you’re interested in maximizing your refund or streamlining your finances for the year ahead, apps from Windows and Windows Phone have your back.

1.       Check Your Status

Everyone has the same question as they’re filing their taxes – what’s my refund going to be?! Apps on Windows and Windows Phone remove the guesswork. Try TaxCaster on Windows Phone, utilizing the same calculator found in TurboTax, to quickly enter some basic information and watch your refund amount add up. Once you’ve filed, MyTaxRefund on Windows will allow you to quickly check the status of your return and give you an immediate estimate of when you can expect your refund.

2.       Make the Most of Your Refund

Sure, you’ve probably already made plans for how you want to spend some of your refund once you get it. What about the rest? Invest and maximize your refund with Bing Finance on Windows Phone and Windows, which helps you stay on top of fast-changing market conditions so you can make the most informed financial decisions. Keep an eye on all of your investments with SigFig, and sync all of your accounts in one place to track all of your stocks, funds, 401ks and IRAs in real time, available on Windows and Windows Phone.

3.       Budget Tips

Get in the mood to save more money for next tax season. On both Windows and Windows Phone, Mint helps you understand where you’re spending your money with helpful charts and graphs that make saving easy. Use Billminder on your Windows Phone or laptop to keep an eye on all of your monthly bills so you never miss a payment (and know how much you have left to spend!). Save for the next step of your life with MoBu Financial Management on Windows Phone and Windows. MoBu allows you to view your current financial assets as well as the opportunity to simulate your future savings with how much you can save in 5, 10, or 20 years!

Disclosure: I am a Windows Champions blogger and I received loan of a laptop and tablet, and may receive other equipment from Microsoft to assist me in evaluating Microsoft products and services for my blogging activity.

Giveaway: Windows 8 PC & Fresh Paint App #WindowsChampions #Sponsored

Being a teacher, I like to be creative. I enjoy my job so much and really wouldn't trade it for anything. One of the subjects I get to teach my students is art. I taught at an arts-focused school for two years and loved everything about it. Now that I'm at an entrepreneurial-focused school, I have to get creative with my art lessons since I purchase all of the art supplies myself.

I love paint, but don't have any at home, where I do most of my planning. Since receiving my Microsoft Windows 8 Surface last year, I've been playing with the Fresh Paint app a lot to try out art projects without getting messy. While there's no true comparison to actually using real paint, Fresh Paint is an awesome way for me to try out different techniques quickly {and cleanly}.

I was sent a Nomad FLeX digital paintbrush to try out with the Fresh Paint app. It feels just like a regular paintbrush and magically works on any touchscreen device in the same way. I was able to easily transform an art project I found on Pinterest into my own creation, right in the comfort of my home - while sitting on my light tan couch, watching TV. Nothing to worry about, just stress releasing technological painting.

While experimenting with the digital paintbrush, I realized what an amazing app Fresh Paint is. How cool is it that you could easily take a Windows 8 phone or tablet with you for your kids to sit and paint in the car or at the doctor's office? They can use their fingers or a digital paintbrush. The app has templates that look like coloring pages for kids to use, too. Some are free, and others cost a few dollars.

My actual artwork - the texture is hard to see here since I had to shrink it for the post, but it looks great.

One of the coolest features in the Fresh Paint app is the ability to take a photograph and turn it into "wet paint". I was able to take a picture of a flower that I took while in Pennsylvania last month and turn it into a painting by simply using the digital paintbrush to "wet" the colors. Kids could really have a lot of fun with this, turning pictures of a family pet into a painted masterpiece.

Here's my wet paint flower...

Prize: ASUS VivoTab RT Windows 8 PC and Nomad FLeX Digital Paintbrush {$630 value}

Number of Winners: one

To Enter: You must use the Rafflecopter widget below. It's really easy to use and makes giveaways a lot easier for me to manage. The widget will tell you what your commenting topic is! (mandatory)

Giveaway Ends: Tuesday, August 27 @ 12:00 a.m. (Mountain Time). One winner will be chosen using the Rafflecopter widget. The winner will be announced on the widget and will be emailed to claim their prize. The winner has 48 hours to respond to my email to claim their prize.

a Rafflecopter giveaway Giveaway Rules & Disclosure:

• You must be a follower (through Twitter, FB, GFC, or RSS/email) of The Nest Effect to win.
• The winners will be chosen by rafflecopter.com.
• This giveaway is open to readers in the USA.
• Please make sure your email is either linked in your profile or on your blog OR that you include it in your comment. If I can't find your email address, I can't contact you as the winner.
• You must comment as your first, mandatory entry. All entries will be verified when the winner is chosen.
• This giveaway is sponsored by Microsoft. 

Disclosure: I am a Windows Champions blogger and I received loan of a laptop and may receive other equipment from Microsoft to assist me in evaluating Microsoft products and services for my blogging activity. I received one digital paintbrush to facilitate this review.

Microsoft Store at City Creek Center #MicrosoftUT #WindowsChampions

I was invited to the blogger preview for the new Microsoft Store at City Creek Center in Salt Lake City last Wednesday. The store is beautiful. Being a faithful "PC", I was super excited to hear that they were opening a Microsoft Store here. I had never been to one before. The store is located across from the food court on level one, on the East end of the mall.

The store features hands-on displays of Microsoft computers, tablets, phones, XBOX 360s, and more. Free hands-on workshops are available on a daily basis as well, to teach you more about Microsoft products such as Office 2013, Windows 8, Internet Family Safety, and XBOX Entertainment. {You can view the schedule for the City Creek Center store here.}

Below are pictures I took at the preview event.

Microsoft is all about giving back to the local community that their stores are located in. Check out the pictures below for local opportunity available at Microsoft Stores.

photo credit: Microsoft

If you live in Salt Lake City, be sure to check out all of the awesome deals and free workshops at the Microsoft Store at City Creek Center!

Disclosure: I am a Windows Champions blogger and I received loan of a laptop and may receive other equipment from Microsoft to assist me in evaluating Microsoft products and services for my blogging activity.

Get Organized with Microsoft OneNote #WindowsChampions

Microsoft OneNote is a program I've been using on my computer for years. I used it in college to take notes in my classes. I use it now to organize information I may need when online or away from home, but want to keep secure. I keep some of my notebooks locked with a password for security.

The possibilities for organizing with OneNote are limitless! As the image above shows, you can easily plan travel within a notebook. For a free, travel notebook template, click here. With the new 2013 edition, sharing with others and syncing with your Skydrive account couldn't be easier. Everything can be done right in the program.

Planning a wedding? There's a template for that. Need a DIY home renovation notebook? There's a template for that, too!

The Send to OneNote Tool makes it easy to clip information from the web and paste it into any of your notebooks. Think - recipes, pictures, maps, directions, an article to save for later reference, and much more!

If you have a Windows 8 touch-screen PC or tablet with OneNote 2013, you can easily hand write notes or draw pictures into notebooks.

Microsoft Office 2013 is now available online for purchase. It is only compatible with Windows 7 & 8. I upgraded before becoming a Windows Champion because I'm one of those people who always has to have the latest Microsoft Office version. Usually I wonder why I do it, because it seems like not much changes. This time, I was so glad I did. I really, truly love the 2013 version. Everything runs easily and my documents look amazing.

Office 365 Home Premium is also now available. Try a one month trial for free. Students can try Office 365 free for 3 months. The OneNote app for Windows 8 or RT is available here.

Do you use Microsoft OneNote for organizing information on your computer?

Disclosure: I am a Windows Champions blogger and I received loan of a laptop and may receive other equipment from Microsoft to assist me in evaluating Microsoft products and services for my blogging activity. 

Windows 8 & Microsoft Love #WindowsChampions

I have been using my Microsoft Surface for a few months now and absolutely love it. The Surface runs Windows RT {which is a mobile version of Windows 8}.

To log in to my Surface, I need a Microsoft account. This account syncs across all of my Windows/Microsoft products and devices. I have a Zune music subscription and I can access my subscription on both my laptop through the software and on the Surface through the music app. It's pretty awesome.

The picture above is my Start screen - which is the "home" screen I view when I log in. The Surface has a touch screen, so everything is easy to navigate with the new Windows 8 app menu. Honestly, I'm not sure that I'd be crazy about Windows 8 without the touch capabilities. Being able to navigate the Start screen on a Windows 8 PC via touch is just so incredibly user friendly.

Windows 8 definitely takes some time to get use to. Knowing some tips ahead of time definitely helps...

• Windows lets you personalize your content. The lock screen acts as your entry into the OS.
• Picture password allows you to personalize your story and you can touch on various areas of the photo to unlock your screen.
• The Start screen allows you to organize apps and content by category. You can create your own unique personalized experience through the lock screen, picture password and the start screen. 
• Search: You can easily search Windows via the Search charm. 
• Apps/Windows Store: Pepperplate app is a really easy way to stay organized in the kitchen and create your own cookbook. When you purchase an app, you can use that app on up to 5 devices. The AllRecipes app is also a great cooking app. 
• Snap: Snap lets you multitask on your Windows 8 device. You can get more done when you snap a second app to the left or right side of your screen.
• SkyDrive: You can store you music, photos, video etc.

Last week Office 2013 was released. I use Microsoft PowerPoint to create all of my files - for my classroom, Etsy, etc. - so I was quick to purchase the new version. So far I am absolutely loving it. More on that in a later post. View all of the free templates available for Microsoft Office.

If you’re a college or University student, check out this awesome deal on Windows 8.

• College and university students with a valid email address can upgrade to Windows 8 Pro online for just $69.99 USD via the Microsoft Store. For more information, check out Microsoft News Center or the Windows blog.

For more Windows 8 info from Microsoft, check out the Windows Experience Blog.

I am a Windows Champions blogger and I received loan of a laptop and may receive other equipment from Microsoft to assist me in evaluating Microsoft products and services for my blogging activity. 

January 2013 Challenge {Meal Planning: Week 2}

I think meal planning can be challenging. Without any resources to streamline the process, it can be a headache - resorting to the same recipes over and over every week {making meals boring}. The internet is an amazing resource for meal planning. Today I'm going to share my favorite resources. {All of the resources mentioned in this post I have personally used and I have had positive experiences with.}

eMeals
eMeals is a sponsor here at The Nest Effect. {I do choose my sponsors carefully and only accept partnership with those that I am able to try out myself to ensure it's a good fit.} I have a one year membership to eMeals {which I received as compensation for being part of their blogging network}. We're looking to cut food costs in 2013 so we can start tackling our student loan debt. A meal plan definitely helps accomplish this. While I've been meal planning for years, eMeals automatically chooses meals for me that match with the weekly sales at my grocery store - saving me money each week. I was able to select that our family size is just two, so the meal sizes are smaller {less waste}. We're using the classic meal style right now - but I may later switch to the low fat plan. The recipes are quick and simple to make - which is a must for me with my busy schedule. Even Chris has no problem whipping up dinner with the simplicity of each recipe. Save 15% on an eMeals subscription with coupon code newyear.

Pinterest
I love Pinterest for so many reasons - one is meal planning. I have boards set up for meals. I print the recipes I find on Pinterest after trying them - if we like it - then delete the recipe off my board. I like this process because it allows me to find new recipes to try and see them visually, rather than bookmarking and going through them all to find something I want.

Recipe Blogs & Websites

• Allrecipes
• Betty Crocker 
• Chef in Training
• Eat Yourself Skinny
• Epicurious
• Skinnytaste

Recipe Apps

• Allrecipes {Android, Apple, Kindle, Windows}
• Betty Crocker Cookbook {Android, Apple}
• Big Oven {Android, Apple, Kindle}
• Cocktail Flow {Android, Apple, Kindle, Windows} 
• Cookbook by Slow Sense {Windows}
• Epicurious {Android, Apple, Kindle, Windows}
• Everyday Food {Windows}
• Jamie Oliver {Android, Apple, Kindle}
• Pepperplate {Android, Apple, Kindle, Windows}
• What's For Dinner? {Android, Apple, Kindle}

Magazines

• Betty Crocker Recipes {print}
• Cooking Light {print, Android, Apple, Kindle}
• Every Day with Rachael Ray {print, Android, Kindle}
• Food Network Magazine {print, Android, Apple, Kindle}
• Taste of Home {print, Android, Apple, Kindle}

Templates & Resources

• Microsoft Office {search "food" or "meal plan"}
• Grocery & Meal Planning Set {my editable/fillable set in my Etsy store}
• Meal Planning Resources {things I've pinned on Pinterest}
• Meal Planners {from Money Saving Mom}

Your challenge for today is to find a new meal planning resource that you like and subscribe {websites, blogs, or magazines}, download {magazines, apps, or templates}, or search {Pinterest or templates}. Look for something that will be easy for you to work with when meal planning.

It Has Arrived... The Surface

Maybe you've heard, maybe not.

I was asked to blog for Microsoft as a Windows Champion for the next year for the Windows 8 launch. How could I resist? After all, I am truly a PC to the core. {I only have an iPad because my school gave each teacher one to use in the classroom}. I'm loyal to all things Microsoft and Android, naturally. =]

I was sent a Microsoft Surface PC/tablet to test out Windows 8. I received it on Wednesday, and I'm absolutely loving it. My students were amazed by it yesterday at school. They've all seen the commercials on TV and were so excited that they were seeing it in person. It was so funny.

More to come on my new toy! I can tell already this is going to make creating printables so much easier via touch!

More information {provided by Microsoft} on the Surface:

Surface with Windows RT has a widescreen HD display that provides a larger view of your TV shows and movies. It feels great in your hands and when you want to put it down, Surface’s integrated kickstand is there when you need it, and disappears and doesn’t get in the way when you don’t. When you want to get something done, simply click in either Touch Cover—a unique and innovative pressure-sensitive keyboard that’s 3mm thin and doubles as a cover that protects your screen, and is available in a variety of colors so people can express their personal style— or Type Cover, which adds moving keys for a more traditional typing feel that’s only 2mm more. Surface also comes with a full-size USB, enabling connectivity with literally hundreds of millions of devices, as well as a microSD card slot for adding almost limitless storage.
Price: Starting at $499.00

And if you're looking to upgrade, Windows 8 is also currently available via electronic download for $39.99 on windows.com!

For more Windows 8 info from Microsoft, check out the Windows Experience Blog.

I am a Windows Champions blogger and I received loan of a laptop and may receive other equipment from Microsoft to assist me in evaluating Microsoft products and services for my blogging activity.