Tips for Starting Conversations

The two situations I wrote about yesterday started me thinking and I suspect I’ve also been guilty in the past of shutting people down with my answers. So, here are a couple of guidelines for initiating conversations 1. Don’t ask people – ‘What do you do?’ Even though experts say this is a good question, I disagree. It sounds to me too much like pigeonholing and tacking a label on. This question was one that used to make me run for cover when I was a stay-at-home Mom. It made me feel in the eyes of professional men and women … Continue reading

“The Good Wife’s Guide”

Back at the start of February my friend Christy (of saved the puppy fame) forwarded an email entitled “The Care and Feeding of a Husband.” It was one I had seen before, and one which has become both laughable and notorious. Why? Well, in case you haven’t seen it, the article’s title is “The Good Wife’s Guide” and it suggests several specific ways to be a good wife. Below are a few of them: • Have dinner ready. Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal ready, on time for his return. This is a way of … Continue reading

What Homeschoolers Should Know About the Universal PK Agenda

If you don’t know it, Universal PK is a push towards creating free, publicly funded preschools. In other words it’s public school for preschool aged kids. Doesn’t sound too bad right? The NEA loves to tout research on how kids who go to a good preschool tend to earn about $2000 more per year than kids who didn’t and all of these other benefits that kids who don’t go to preschool miss out on. But behind the Universal PK agenda, is a push towards lowering compulsory attendance laws. Fundamentally, the message to parents is: ‘You can’t do this. You’re not … Continue reading

How To Eliminate Waiting in Long Lines For Lady Liberty

Maybe great minds think alike. Or, perhaps imitation really is the sincerest form of flattery. Either way it seems there’s a growing trend among top tourist attractions—the use of technology to cut down on wait times to get in. Just yesterday I told blogged about the Colosseum’s efforts to shorten the time tourists have to stand in line to experience one of the new Seven Wonders of the World. The ancient Roman arena has catapulted itself into the 21st Century by allowing visitors to purchase tickets in advance and bypass the mile-long lines that can form during the height of … Continue reading

Disorder of the Day (1)

Illnesses such as depression, ADHD, and anxiety and behavioral disorders are being diagnosed in increasing numbers throughout First-World countries. While there is little doubt that people are being more up-front about mental illness, is this trend a true reflection of what is really happening in the lives of everyday people? A concerning aspect in this upswing in the use of medication to “solve” these conditions, is the accompanying upswing in the profits of the pharmaceutical industry. While most people have always traditionally wanted a “magic bullet” to solve their health problems, in the area of mental health, the pharmaceutical industry … Continue reading