Mix It Up Monday – How to Detonate and Sabotage Your Relationship

You may think this is an odd topic to cover here, but it’s important to recognize the things you may say or do that could sabotage your relationship and your marriage. Too often, we got caught up in our own personal dramas and trials and we forget how we want to and should treat other people, especially our spouses. So here are some guaranteed ways your behavior can affect your relationships and your marriage in a negative fashion: Abandoning the use of common courtesy with your spouse and treating the bank teller better than you would your spouse — it’s … Continue reading

My Day on the World Stage

In 1993 the opportunity arrived for me to shut up or put up. There was a woman by the name, or rather using the name, of Deborah Laake. She’d written a book called “Secret Ceremonies: Diary of a Mormon Wife” – a work of pure and sad delusion. This poor woman, if she told the complete truth, was at the mercy of a father who took unrighteous dominion to new levels. Whatever the perceived truth, she became extremely disenchanted with the church and proceeded to betray every covenant she’d half-heartedly made with the Lord. Where do I come in? Well, … Continue reading

Koshik the Talking Elephant

Could our next best friend be an elephant?  Maybe not for most of us here stateside, where we’re not exactly equipped to properly look after pachyderms.  But the news out of a zoo in South Korea, reported by BBC News, shows that an elephant has entered the next stage of the human-animal bond: talking. Before now, the only animals we could conceive of really being able to replicate our speech were parrots.  Now elephants are joining the list.  Koshik is a 12-year-old Asian elephant that lives at a zoo in South Korea.  When he started making sounds that his keepers thought … Continue reading

Does Elizabeth Warren Really Have Cherokee Ancestry?

The ancestry of Democrat Elizabeth Warren is still a topic that is raising questions. A few months ago, a genealogist determined that Warren did, really, have Cherokee ancestry. Shortly after that, there were blogs that stated that there wasn’t any credible evidence that this was so. Now, another genealogist says that Elizabeth Warren really doesn’t have Cherokee ancestry. In Massachusetts, the current Senator is Scott Brown, who is a Republican. Elizabeth Warren, who is a Democrat, is running against him for the Senate seat he currently holds. The winner will be decided in the 2012 election. It has become common … Continue reading

Getting Answers from Insurers is Difficult

My attempt to find out what my health insurance actually covers came to a stand still. The booklet mentioned something about “preventative care” being covered. However, it never described exactly what the insurer considered to be “preventative care”. A call to my insurer was enlightening. I almost feel sorry for the phone representative that ended up getting me when I called my health insurer for information today. I don’t think they get many callers who are as informed about health insurance as I am. There is an advantage to writing about insurance topics every day for over a year. The … Continue reading

Should You Go Into Business Alone or With Others?

One of the choices that a person must make when becoming a home-based professional is whether to create your own business, buy into a business opportunity offered by someone else, or find a home-based job. If you decide to create your own home-based business, you may be wondering whether you should create a business run solely by you or whether you should involve other people in your venture. I must warn you that I am highly opinionated on this topic, so please be aware that this post is solely my opinion on the matter and should in no way discourage … Continue reading

The Hidden Magic of Walt Disney World

Can you see the hidden Mickey in the ceiling of this Epcot store? The last of my books about Disney World, “The Hidden Magic of Walt Disney World,” is for the park’s devotees. Its subtitle is, “Over 600 secrets of the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom,” and author Susan Veness makes good on that promise. If you’re a fan of Disney World, not just of its rides but of its whole experience, this is the book for you. If you’ve been to the park so many times that now you’re starting to notice all of its … Continue reading

Parenting Special Needs Magazine Celebrates Third Anniversary

Have you looked at this online magazine yet? Parenting Special Needs Magazine, or (PSN), has officially been around for three years now. The entire magazine is available for parents to read for free right from their website. In general, parenting magazines are designed to give advice, tips, and inspiration to parents of infants, young children, tweens, and teens. Unfortunately, the majority of these types of magazines focus on ideas that are not exactly relevant to parents of children who have special needs. That is why it is especially nice to find a parenting magazine that is actually dedicated to issues … Continue reading

Beware the Green Eyed Monster: How Jealousy Can Impact Your Blended Family

I tiptoed up to the topic, believing that most of us are pretty sensitive about it: “Sometimes step parents feel…I don’t want to call it jealousy, but…” at which point Kelly, eight years into her step mom experience, interrupted, “Oh, you can call it jealous! I was definitely jealous!—of a six year old, no less!” We were talking about what can often become a defining dynamic between children and step parents, and consequently, a divisive issue for a biological parent and their spouse. It’s not an emotion many of us are willing to cop to, especially if the trigger is … Continue reading

How My Ancestors Came to America

The other day, as I was taking a walk with my dad and my son, we talked a little bit about family history. I forget exactly how we arrived at the topic, but as we were talking, I found out a little bit about his parents and his grandparents. As a novice genealogy researcher, I realized that although I was interested in obtaining information about my ancestors from my dad, I was not interested in totally grilling him about everything under the sun regarding our heritage. With this in mind, I only talked about it for a little while before … Continue reading