Search Results for: blog plan to avoid burn out

My Five Favorite Tips to Avoid Burnout

I did not listen to advice telling me to sleep when the baby sleeps. Instead I cleaned. I did not listen to the advice to take time for myself. Instead I planned more lessons and tried to squeeze in some work. I did not listen to advice telling me to not worry about the little messes. Rome wasn’t cleaned in a day. Instead I drove myself to the brink trying to get my overflowing “to-do” list done in one day. Then one day I found myself burned out. I was unable to move. Things that were once a joy were … Continue reading →

Christmas Allergy and Asthma Triggers to Avoid

The holiday season may not be “the most wonderful time of the year” for children who have asthma, or environmental allergies. There are a lot of allergens in the air, and in your home, due to the way we celebrate Christmas. Parents who are aware of these allergy and asthma triggers might be able to prevent their child from having a severe reaction. Oh, Christmas tree! How lovely are your branches. How abundant are the allergens you put into air! The Christmas tree that is sitting inside your living room might be the source of your child’s allergy or asthma … Continue reading →

Plants That Flower In the Winter

Winter brings thoughts of snow, rain, and sleet. It might bring thoughts of giant branches crashing down, storms that knock the power out, and general mayhem in the garden and in your home. While winter is lovely and full of that white powder for skiing and other snow sports, you may not consider it to be lovely in the garden. But winter can be lovely in the garden, and it can be full of fragrance and small splashes of color. While it might seem odd that some plants flower in the winter, they do indeed, and I’m trying to invite … Continue reading →

Before You Burn the Burgers

We’ve had the most incredible stretch of gorgeous weather this week: Picture perfect days with wall-to-wall sunshine and highs in the low 80s. Honestly, you can’t ask for more in early September when you live in Northern Wisconsin. In fact, you may have seen our glorious weather featured on national TV a few days ago. The Today show and NBC Sports were in town for the NFL kickoff party which featured live entertainment by Maroon 5, Kid Rock and Lady Antebellum. Oh, and there was some football match-up too pitting the reigning Super Bowl Champs, the Green Bay Packers against … Continue reading →

Working Out Outside

Why sweat it out in a crowded stinky gym when you can burn calories in the great outdoors this summer? This is the season when many fitness fanatics modify their workouts to take advantage of the sunshine and warm temperatures. If you are suffering from gym-phobia, then consider taking your workout regime outside and turning a local playground into your own personal health club. Here’s how: *Warm-up by jogging around the perimeter of the park *Do tricep dips on a rock wall or a park bench *Do chin ups on the monkey bars *Find a shady area and do several … Continue reading →

Avoiding Fitness Mistakes

Besides neglecting to include a warm-up and cool-down in your workout there are a host of other mistakes beginners and experienced fitness fiends make from time to time. To get the most of the time you spend burning calories it is important to recognize, and then eliminate these blunders from your fitness routine. Making fitness mistakes a regular part of your routine can lead to loss of interest or more serious injuries. Take a look at these fitness mistakes and ask yourself if they have become a regular part of your fitness regime: Unrealistic Expectations Despite what you may see … Continue reading →

Pledging to Exercise More When you Pig Out

I do it all the time. Promise to run extra miles so I can dive into a second piece of pie. Or pledge to take the stairs instead of the elevator so I can eat an extra donut. I know I’m not alone. How many of you try to offset extra calories by extending your workout? It’s a fine method if you keep your promise… and the amount of time you are adding to your exercise routine actually compensates for the number of fat and calories consumed. But in most cases that’s not quite how the cookie crumbles. Generally, we … Continue reading →

3 Easy Ways to Salvage a Ruined Dinner Without Ordering Pizza!

It doesn’t happen to me often, but every once in awhile I ‘ruin’ dinner. I should clarify that if you’ve completely burnt dinner to a crisp, or baked the roast with the plastic still on it, then just go ahead and start dialing the pizza place now. But sometimes, I ruin dinner enough that while it won’t make a whole dinner. . .it might survive some type of make over that will spare us from forking over the cash for pizza. Case in point: last night I tried to cook a roast that wasn’t fully thawed. Yes, I know–that’s not … Continue reading →

How To Get Faux Burnt Edging For Your Scrapbook Layouts and Embellishments

Learning new techniques is one of my favorite things to do. When that new technique is something that is as versatile as creating a burnt edge look, I go a bit crazy. I have used the technique on dozens of layouts lately. I’d like to show you how to create your own faux burnt edge look. To get started you will need the piece that you plan to add the burnt edge to. I used a tag in my example, but you could use a mat or a other type of embellishment. The look will even work on photographs. You … Continue reading →

Homeschooling Burn-out

Being that it’s the beginning of a new school year, there will be several new homeschooling families joining the ranks. Congratulations! One sad fact that comes along with this is some of you will not be homeschooling next year, or even later this year. While the excuses will vary, the most common reason behind all of them will be burn-out. Many new homeschoolers will have never heard of burn-out, but even the most experienced homeschooler can go through it once in a while. What exactly is burn-out? The definition is fatigue, frustration, or apathy resulting from prolonged stress, overwork, or … Continue reading →