Free Vacations for Teachers

  It’s said that teaching is among the most underpaid and underappreciated careers in the world.  The men and women who help shape our children’s futures are often overworked, and in a time when the economy is incredibly dismal, the idea of an educator spending precious cash on a luxury vacation is almost laughable. Well, if you are a creative leader in the classroom, who has always dreamed of traveling to the ends of the earth, get ready to smile. Thanks to Hilton HHonors, you can jet-off on a vacation to remember for FREE.  This year, the company is giving … Continue reading

Four Ways to Downsize the Gimmies

Don’t let the “Gimmies” take over your home. Use the following advise to downsize the constant requests for stuff from your kids. Limit Media Exposure The number of commercial ads that our kids are exposed to on a daily basis is staggering. All of those ads have just one purpose, to sell us stuff, our kids included. The more ads our children are exposed to, the more things they will believe that they have to have. These ads are very clever at manipulating our children into never being satisfied and always wanting more. Limiting the media exposure our children receive … Continue reading

How Breaking Your Budget is Bad for Your Health

Here is another reason to stay on your budget. Breaking it can actually be bad for your health. Agonizing about how you are going to afford a new purchase can stay with you, even after you solve the problem. Researchers now say that our brains don’t like being in debt. Having fears about money affect our health long term. Whether we realize it or not, debt causes stress, and stress causes poor health. Stress and pain seem to register much more strongly than does pleasure. So, the next time you feel ready to break your budget, keep this in mind. … Continue reading

Take Them Camping

Summer is almost officially over. Labor day is just around the corner. Are you doing anything fun? As a single mother money is always tight but I still like to take little trips with Hailey. Everyone needs to get away and one final weekend trip to end the summer is always welcome. When I first got divorced I was scared to go camping alone. I’m not sure what I was afraid of but I had to bite the bullet and do it, it was really the only thing I could afford to do. Taking kids camping is always fun as … Continue reading

The Family That Vacations Together…

According to a national survey, more than 500 million camping trips are taken during the summer months. That’s breaks down to roughly 15 percent of the U.S. population–or a whole lot of families– looking to spend at least part of their time off from school and work bonding in nature. The Outdoor Foundation survey also revealed that the younger a child is exposed to camping, the more likely he or she will be to embrace the idea of sleeping under the stars in a tent. Nearly half of those polled said they first went camping when they were 7 years … Continue reading

Are You Afraid of Summer?

It’s the end of June. For many people, school is ending. Whatever your pattern, it’s likely that if you’re involved in extracurricular activities or summer vacations at all, your patterns will change during the summer months. While this is lovely and can lead to restful times, exciting times at camps, and happy family days together, the summer can also bring stress. In recent years, I’ve realized that June is another early December. Many years ago, I started to clear out December. It had become a month of intensive family activity, and it didn’t need to be. Yes, Christmas is a … Continue reading

Can You Have Too Much Money?

What would you do with $500 million? I would freak out if I stumbled upon $500, and by $500 I mean $50. Heck, I’d probably shed a tear if someone randomly handed me 5 bucks. Needless to say, the idea of possessing half a billion dollars is mind-boggling to me. Yet, I’m not letting that stop me from trying to win the $500 million Mega Millions jackpot. Tomorrow night someone could become $500 million dollars richer if he or she is able to nab all five winning Mega Millions lottery numbers plus the all-important Mega Ball number. You have to … Continue reading

Putting it Together: Blogging Tips

A Baker’s Dozen of Blogging Tips, Part 1 Blogosphere has a Short Memory: Blogging must be done often to retain readers and increase traffic. Optimally you want to blog three to five times a week. Remember you can schedule your posts in advance to make this easier for you. While blog vacations are sometimes necessary you should have content scheduled or you may come back to a blog with less followers, readers, and traffic. It’s a Small Blogosphere After All: The sheer amount of blogs will make your head spin. Yet, the community is large enough that you may not … Continue reading

Don’t Be The Bad Guy

Do you use your child as a pawn in your divorce? I have tried so hard not to do that but I’m sure at times I have been guilty of it as well. We are all human and we all do things that in hindsight we realize we shouldn’t have done. I’m not talking about small slips, I’m talking about the people who do this as their main means of communicating and punishing their ex. I know many single parents, that really is a sad reflection on our society. It seems that I don’t know anyone who is in their … Continue reading

Scrap Your Winter Escape

Old Man Winter is alive and well here in the Upper Midwest. Judging by the Weather Channel, he is kicking up trouble from coast-to-coast, which is probably why so many people are looking to jet-off to tropical locales right about now. If you are one of the lucky ones and a trip to paradise is in your near future, don’t forget to document your fun in the sun. You’ll need those photos and mementos to create a beach-themed scrapbook when you return. Crafting eye-popping beach vacation layouts is always fun, especially since the theme is so casual. Unlike wedding or … Continue reading