As everyone knows, January is the month in which people make New Year’s resolutions. I don’t have numbers (and am too lazy to look them up), but the majority of people fail after a short attempt at trying to make changes: that’s why the health clubs are packed to the gills from the first of January until about February fifteenth. On February sixteenth, all of us gym rats get the place to ourselves again, like clockwork. If you have a resolution to work on your fitness this year, I’ve got some suggestions for you. 1. Make small goals. If you’re starting a brand-new exercise program, it would be silly and…
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The Wells Fargo Community: Making College Financial Planning A Little Less Scary
For most parents, the thought of planning for their kids’ years in college is extremely daunting. It doesn’t have the feel of “just another milestone” in our children’s lives, perhaps because there are major bucks attached to the decision. The cost of college can be right up there with the cost of purchasing a house, and even if the parents and the student share the expense and there are scholarships involved, a bit of trepidation is totally normal. The cost of full-time enrollment at college ranges widely, from a couple thousand dollars per year at a community college to–are you sitting down?–SIXTY THOUSAND DOLLARS per year* (includes room and board)…
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Displaying Artwork For Geniuses
When the boys were little, the amount of papers and artwork they used to bring home from school (not to mention what they produced at home) was ridiculous. I bought a plastic storage container for each of them and put select items in them to save for posterity. Every now and then, I’d come across something that I didn’t want to put in a time capsule. Of course, I didn’t want it laying around the house, either. I needed a place where I could look at it whenever I wanted to, but it was out of the way at all other times. Enter my kitchen cabinets. The insides of the…
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From The Archives, Because It’s THAT Time Of Year
With the calendar being flipped to December again (that always seems to happen this time of year!), I thought I’d republish this post from last year, because I’m sure it will be useful…again. This was originally posted here on December 6, 2011. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, or something else? I have written about this topic twice before, but alas, it’s that time of year once again, and I always get questions. (Plus, one of my better posts on the topic was a whole three years ago, and many of you weren’t readers back then, so…time for a refresher.) Let me start out with my disclaimer: though I naturally think that…
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Plate Prop Demo, Or “Evidence of My Crazy”: You Pick.
I learned this week that Fiestaware knives, when combined with dinner plates that are completely flat (rather than having a deeper part in the middle), don’t cut it (see what I did there?) when it comes to propping my Thanksgiving plate adequately enough so that the gravy stays on the turkey where it belongs. I had to use a spoon instead, bottom-side-up. Backstory here.