Choosing a Table Lamp

Lighting is essential to the task. It plays a key role in the feel, mood and overall effect of the room. Here are some tips to help you select the appropriate table lamp for your space.

• Make sure the total height of the table lamp and the table equal 54-62 inches. This ensures the light is the right height for your eyes and not below the “reading level”.


• Consider a 3 way bulb to change up the light as the lighting needs dictate. Select a lamp that is proportionate to your furniture.


• Note that table lamps are normally 28-34 inches high. Buffet lamps are higher and skinnier.


• Lamp shades should not be more than 2/3rd of the diameter or width of the table to create the right proportion.

How much do fake breasts cost?

Someone close to me got breast implants recently. This spurred a lot of conversation as you can imagine. Like did you know that breast implants cost around $5,000-$10,000? Most people spend between $7-10,000. That made me think about how much things cost. Let's see what else you can buy for $7,000:

28,000 quarter slots games
8,750 candy bars
350 private music lessons
280+ Kiva loans
140 tanks of gas at $50 per tank
70 weeks of groceries at $100 per week
10 basic laptop computers
7-10 pure bred dogs
7-10 (44 inch) flat screen TVs
3 cruises for two to an exotic location with airfare
A high-end racing bike

At the end of the day, we spend our money on what we want, but it is interesting to think about the value we place on things in our society.

Duct Tape Use It On Everything

My daughters love duct tape, especially, the brightly colored duct tape. One day Ally used Duct tape to make a wallet using a discarded Starbucks card and two colors of duct tape. I was thoroughly impressed with her ability to craft. Duct tape has so many uses. Most recently I was made aware of yet one more use on a trip to my daughter’s pediatrician.

Warts can be stubborn. One of our daughters got a wart on the bottom of her foot and we used the over the counter medicines to attempt to cure it. No such luck. We had it burnt off and it came back. We tried more medication, but again, the wart persisted. So, we turned to duct tape as recommended by our pediatrician, Dr. Mary. According to our doctor, a little mediplast (a Band-Aid with 40% salicylic acid), covered by duct tape is the best medicine for a wart. We have been using this method for several weeks now and slowly the wart is diminishing. So, the next time you are contemplating the many uses of duct tape, include wart killer on your list.

Kiva - Loan Money to People Improving Their World

Sometimes I think about how tough life is for people in other parts of the world. Often from where we lie in our comfortable beds with pillowtop mattresses and 300 thread count sheets, it’s hard to feel the hardness of the ground that some people sleep on and think about how we can help them. My sister-in-law, Amy, aided in bringing this notion home for us when she decided to give a unique Christmas present to the whole family. Each of us received a gift certificate to Kiva, a non-profit organization that connects people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty. This gift truly is a gift that will continue to give to others.

After setting up my account and “cashing in” our gift certificates, we poured through the pictures and stories of many families. Their lives are so different from ours. They are all trying to do some type of business endeavor that will improve their financial situation. Being a business owner myself, I realized their struggles are on a whole different level than mine. They make pennies or dollars a day while doing a start-up such as a “store” that sells beverages and a few non-perishable items. I am in love with the idea of Kiva and what it does for others. We have loaned out our money and now get to watch updates of how that money is helping others.

It only takes about $25 to make a difference. If you spend more, then you can truly help these individuals have a better life. Check it out today and share it with others. http://www.kiva.org/

Fashion show for Teenagers

Looking for a new activity to engage your teenaged-girls? Why not hold a fashion show? Have your favorite teenager help plan the event. Some suggestions on how to pull it all together:

• Plan a fun party, with some type of run-way and have the kids bring their favorite fashions.



• The kids can spend time making each other over, doing hair and nails and deciding what each girl will wear.



• Create an audience of parents, or friends to watch the event at a posted time.



• Be sure to have some great music in the background to make the show more energized.



• Consider a vintage fashion show with clothing from different decades.



• For more fun, have the girls find a cause to support. They can promote their fashion show and charge a donation or small fee to give to their charitable organization. What a great way to have fun and help others at the same time. If they cannot come up with an organization, consider Kiva. http://www.kiva.org/
  
  Be sure to take photos and videos of the event so they can “relive” the exciting moments later.

It’s that time of year now, back-to-school. You can help ease your child’s transition by hosting a neighborhood rise-n-shine breakfast. Pick a day during the week to hold your party and have your child get involved in the planning. You can have everyone show up in their PJ’s . I recommend keeping it simple with bagels or donuts, with juice for kids and coffee for parents. Another option is to serve breakfast outside a half hour before the kids have to leave or get on the bus. Let everyone know the date and time so they can be sure to show up early. If mornings won’t work out, try holding a “we survived the first week of school” party. Hanging out with their friends can help children get over their ‘starting school jitters’ and get into their routine.

Resistance

My daughter recently got upset with me because she said I ask her opinion and then do the opposite. Obviously, it was her perspective on the situation, so I thought about it. Not being sure if this was true, or to what degree, I decided that the next time I asked for her opinion, I would go with her opinion no matter what. I don’t ask her opinion on life altering events, so this seemed like a sane plan. And of course, I could ultimately better gauge my resistance by doing this.

It happened at a nail salon. She asked me what color I thought she should choose for her nail polish and then I asked her the same. She picked a flamingo pink color, which I had a hard time cherishing on my feet. But then I remembered my promise to myself and thought, it’s only nail polish and by making a different choice, I can show her that I value her opinion. I had my toes painted flamingo pink. I don’t expect simple acts like this one to immediately change a pattern of behavior, but I feel it is important to try new behaviors out in life. What I did realize is that resistance was getting in the way in this situation. With this new perspective on my part, I’m hoping that I can make more choices that will eventually influence my daughter toward a more positive feeling about the value of her opinion.

Sometimes resistance is good, like when we have a budget to live within and someone is trying to sell us something that we know we shouldn’t buy. But other times, resistance is not helpful to our relationships or for us. For today, think about your resistance to good ideas, different ideas, people, people’s behaviors and events that could ultimately provide you some unseen greater good, you’ve yet to experience.

Color Makes a Difference

Did you know that there are scientific studies that have proved that color affects your mood and physical reaction? It's true. A blindfolded person will experience physiological reactions to different colors of light. While the Egyptians knew about this many years ago when building their healing temples of light, some of us are just now understanding the importance of color and light in our environments. Some quick color facts to consider:

• Pink is used in many jail cells to "weaken or calm" inmates. Often the opposing team's locker room is painted pink for football teams.


• Blue is an appetite suppressant. Some weight loss plans suggest using a blue plate to eat your food. Consider putting a blue light in your refrigerator and watch the munchies disappear.


• Research dollars are spent determining what colors your medications should be. The colors are coordinated to match the intended outcome or the taste of the medication.


• Taste tests reveal that the color of beverages affects our sensory perception of the taste. In one study, a drink tasted sweeter to participants when it was red, and the response got increasingly sweeter, the older the tester. Color also determines the acceptability of tasting a beverage, because it implies a taste. Check out this website for more information http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/coltaste.html.


• Pure bright lemon yellow is the most fatiguing color and it is the first color the eye notices.


• Color describes usability and function. Often buttons are red to indicate, stop, don't or proceed with caution. Green is used for go, yes, enter, etc. Look at your appliances and remote controls to see examples of this.

So, next time you are picking a color, take some time to think about how it will affect your mood. While all this is wonderful to know, it didn't stop my kids from enjoying green eggs, pancakes, ham and green milk I made one day for breakfast!

Electronic Calendar for the Family

Tired of missing those important appointments and events within your family? There is good news today for families who want to stay connected. Electronic calendars are all the rage to keep you connected online, and also using mobile devices. Calendar web tools have been around for a while, but today's tools will even send a text message to your son that he has to be home by 3:30 for his practice. Or, you can keep a family journal complete with photos and all members' comments. What a great way to start a keepsake. We just started using one that also allows you to upload your Microsoft Outlook calendar into the family calendar to make maintenace simple. It even uses different colors to differentiate family members' schedules. Check out Cozi and start making your life simpler. http://cozicentral.cozi.com/homepage/.

Organizing a Laundry Room

We have four daughters. The laundry piles up quickly. I often contemplate how a sweatshirt can end up in the chute on a 95 degree day or why girls need to change their outfits so many times. With that in mind, I have created some solutions to our laundry situation that get the kids involved and help minimize the work. Maybe some of these tips will be helpful to you.

Note: My girls are 10-14, but I've been using these solutions for several years now. Children can be very capable when we give them the chance to take responsiblity.
Hang a double hook for each person in the laundry room. This hook can serve multiple purposes. Use it for bookbags or coats and use it for sorting laundry. As the laundry comes out of the wash, hang it on the hook for that person. You can even let each child pick a photo of herself to frame and put over the hook. Another option is to paint the name of each person above their hook. Have family members take their own laundry up to their closets daily. Also, to keep the cycle going, have them bring the dirty clothes to the sorting baskets and hang up empty hangers in the laundry area. It is part of our children's daily ritual now to do these things, but with any new change, you can expect a training period and maybe some grumbles.

Use baskets to sort clothing. My kids started sorting colors in baskets as a game at a very early age. Use different baskets for whites, lights, darks, and "special items" that mom or dad handles. Each person sorts their own laundry, preferrably daily, keeping anything requiring special care, or which is brand new, in the special item basket.


Create written instructions on how to use the washer and dryer. At our house, the older kids help with washing. I wrote step-by-step instructions on 3 x 5 cards that tell how to use the washing machine. It helps them to remember what to do and helps prevent mistakes. Be sure to explain the temperature to use, what buttons to push, where the detergent goes, etc. Keep in mind, if kids are doing laundry, your standards may have to change! You can even include instructions on what to hang and what to fold. Of course they can help sort clothes on the right hook too!

Hang a bar over the dryer for hangers and other clothing. Make sure it is high enough that the clothing doesn't touch the dryer before you hang it. This is a great place to keep your empty hangers and you can easily batch items on the bar for ironing later.

Hopefully, these tips will make laundry go more smoothly for you and your family.

Should My Child Toot her Horn?

If you are a parent, you've likely been faced with the idea of having your child learn a musical instrument. With four girls, we've had our share of music lessons. Our oldest daughter started out sweetly playing the flute for three years. Then at age 13, she suddenly asked to get a drum set. It took a while to warm up to the idea, and now we have two girls drumming. We only had second thoughts the day our neighbor, a policeman, showed up to ask us to quiet down. Apparently the sound insulation we added to our basement wasn't doing the trick. If your child hasn't started playing an instrument, you may be wondering if it makes sense to spend money on an instrument and lessons. Here are some reasons you may want to consider:

Playing a musical instrument makes you smarter. Many studies have shown that parts of the brain develop in people who play instruments and not in non-instrument playing minds. Children who start playing before the age of seven have striking brain development. It enhances coordination, concentration and memory and even improves eyesight and hearing. Some believe it crucial for total brain development.

It teaches discipline. Anytime you learn to master something, you have to set aside time to practice. This creates the process of discipline.

It creates a sense of accomplishment. Of couse at first, some instruments can be hard to learn to play, even frustrating. Over time, however, there is an amazing sense of accomplishment and self esteem for the child or adult who learns to conquer a song or a new lesson.

Playing an instrument relieves stress. Music is very relaxing, especially soft and soothing music. It is also a great activity for a child or teen to go to when they need to "be alone".

It is fun. When you play an instrument you have endless opportunties to join groups during your life where others like playing music. You can also perform at weddings or parties. Music is often part of any event that has a celebration.

Feed Your Mind and Feed the World

Did you know you don't have to have a lot of money to give charitably? Here is a simple way to give to others daily, even if only a little at a time. By playing a vocab game called freerice.com, you earn rice grains, which are in turn given to people who need them. After only a few successful tries you will start stacking up the grains, and growing your vocabulary. Soon, you can help feed hungry people in need. It's easy to play while sitting at your desk at lunch. Or get your kids to play every night before they get free computer time. www.freerice.com