The Marble Jar Channel

Hi, everyone!  This is Lara Hammock from the Marble Jar channel and in today’s video, I’ll share the sure fire method I use to remember to respond to text messages.  I have a foolproof way to remember to respond to and follow up on emails.  You can watch my video on that if you are interested. The problem is that more and more people are using text messaging to ask questions, make plans, and otherwise communicate things that require responses and follow up from me.  This is a problem because of the way that the text messaging app has been designed. Since I have an iPhone and iPad, like most people I use the iMessage app provided by default from Apple. Here are three of the problems I have with it.  Can’t save texts  - With email, there is a way to save important emails somewhere else, so you can delete emails out of your inbox. I get my inbox to zero once daily.  I get rid of all emails I’ve dealt with and leave emails in my inbox that i still...

Hi, everyone!  This is Lara Hammock from the Marble Jar channel and in today’s video, I’ll share my system for regulating my weight using the myfitnesspal app.  I’m a little hesitant to do this video. I know that lots of people struggle with losing weight and I have a lot of compassion for that situation. I have been there as well. Right now, I’m at a healthy weight — I’m lucky to have pretty good genes, a wide ranging palate, and a schedule and ability level that permits exercise. That said, I tend to overindulge during certain times of the year, so I need a surefire system to get back on track.  This is a system for those who are within striking distance of their goal weight and are looking for ways to maintain that.  This system is adapted from observing a skinny person in my life. My husband has a different weight profile that I do. Whereas I have always been generally a normal weight for my height with some unhealthy yo-yoing around my college years, he...

Hi, everyone!  This is Lara Hammock from the Marble Jar channel and in today’s video, I’ll show you how to sync your email on your phone, tablet, and computer — even if you don’t want to change your email address.  Most people have their emails all synced up between devices since most providers offer IMAP mail service now. But some still only offer POP3 and that means that when you read and delete a message on your phone, you still have to go and do the same thing on your computer. And again if you have a third device like a tablet.  It’s hard to keep up with it and you end up with out of control inboxes and no idea what has been dealt with and what hasn’t. In addition, if you save an email on one device, you can only retrieve if from that device. It’s annoying. The problem is that a lot of people have had their email address for 10+ years. It would be a big pain in the rear to have to change their email address with all of their contacts and vendors.  So, her...

Hi, everybody!  This is Lara Hammock from the Marble Jar channel in and today’s video, I tell you about my annual Academy Awards challenge project.  Every year for the past four years, I have watched every movie nominated in the category of  Best Picture for the Academy Awards.  I know that this is terribly indulgent.  What is strange is that I’m actually someone who doesn’t go to movies frequently throughout the year, but for a 6 week stretch in January and February, I go to the movies A LOT.   The Oscars are like my Super Bowl. Somehow, by elevating this to a project or a challenge, it takes on extra significance in my mind. I am single-minded about accomplishing the goal of seeing all best picture nominees.  I also try to see any other movies that are nominated for a significant number of awards as well as many nominated documentaries and animated features as I can.  Of course, I have to sandwich all of this into whatever free time I h...

Hi, everyone!  This is Lara Hammock from the Marble Jar channel and in today’s video, I’ll talk about how I deal with mundane household chores.  I'm someone who enjoys a good project, but I’m not great at routine maintenance tasks.  Unfortunately, life is FULL of mundane maintenance tasks that need to be done, but aren’t very exciting.  When I started staying at home with my kids, I gave up all of my interesting projects at work and was faced with the grinding monotony of a mountain of household chores.  Laundry that needed to be done, folded, and put away on a daily basis in a never-ending cycle was honestly enough to make me want to run screaming.  I once worked on a temporarily basis at a large government Library.  This is a job I thought I would love — after all, I love libraries. However, I would no sooner get back from shelving a cart of heavy Dewey decimal ordered books, when there would be no fewer than FIVE more carts to shelve — they...