It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year for Thrift Store Bargains 2

As you wonder what to do with all of your leftovers, take advantage of other people’s leftovers, too…leftover stuff, that is. This is the best time of year to get wonderful merchandise for pennies on the dollar at your local thrift store. If you missed the first part of this topic posted earlier today, click here. You should also find a lot of toys, as parents, overwhelmed with all of the gifts, either donate brand new items in an effort to bring the gift giving under control, or donated older toys to make way for the new ones. I found … Continue reading

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

Stages of Grief-Bargaining

Over the past few days I have presented two other stages of grief; Denial and Anger. At some point both children and adults will come to the realization that their anger over the death of a person or pending divorce is just not netting any positive results. When the pain of reality becomes too much to bear, often people will attempt to bargain their way through a situation. Children are especially vulnerable during this stage as they plead with mommy or daddy to not get divorced. They make promises such as, “I will take out the garbage every day, and … Continue reading

Three Common Breastfeeding Myths Explained

Part of getting yourself ready for the day when you welcome your new baby into the world involves thinking about how you plan to feed your baby. As is the case with many of the decisions that you will make regarding your baby, the best way to prepare yourself is with information. The more you know about infant feeding and nutrition in advance, the better prepared you will be to navigate the ins and outs of feeding your baby once he or she is born. One helpful type of information to have at the ready if you plan to breastfeed … Continue reading

Downtown Disney to Expand into Disney Springs

A few years after it announced and then scrapped plans to reformat Pleasure Island, the official Disney Parks blog has revealed that Downtown Disney is getting an upgrade.  A years-long project will transform Downtown Disney into Disney Springs, an even larger shopping and entertainment district. Downtown Disney is so popular with Florida residents and Disney World guests alike that it was time to expand.  Don’t worry about suddenly needing a ticket to get into the area: just like before, Disney Springs will be open to the public (though individual entertainment venues still might require tickets for entrance). Tom Staggs, the … Continue reading

Benefits of Bartering

My 8-year-old cries poor like the Pentagon before commencing a $10 billion nuclear weapon upgrade. Granted, she doesn’t get a regular allowance, but with grandparents like these, she wants for very little. Actually, she wants a lot, but as the only granddaughter, she typically gets it all, which is why I don’t give her an allowance. This, of course, has led to many heated discussions on money, spending habits and budgeting.  However, thanks to a recently covered Social Studies unit on our country’s earliest settlers, we’ve added a new topic to our financial discussions:  bartering. Bartering is the exchange of … Continue reading

Free Websites that Teach Your Kids about Money

Teaching kids about money, where it comes from, how to make it grow and how to use it responsibly is one of those things that many of us mean to get around to doing, but don’t often seem to complete. In fact, money lessons should never really come to an end. As society, the economy and technology changes, it is important for us all to keep up, and pass on the skills, knowledge and advice to our children. Fortunately, we don’t have to do this alone. There are a few really good websites out there that will help us teach … Continue reading

Need A Spiritual Boost?

I have spoken before about my experience attending Time Out for Women a few years ago. It is a great way to re-charge spiritually and get that extra boost you need to continue on your way at being a better mom, wife, and daughter of God. I loved the talks, and treasure the notes I took during them. I read them every once in a while to remember the spiritual thoughts I had during those talks. I especially loved hearing Hillary Weeks. One of my favorite LDS artists. But, we can’t always make it to TOFW can we? Well, I … Continue reading

The Parent Precipice

My period was a day late this month. I know that shouldn’t be a big deal at all, but I’m prone to worrying about the littlest things, so yeah, even though the rational part of my brain knew I was overreacting – it was only a day – I couldn’t help but fret. I’d sort of asked for it; a small part in the back of my brain wanted something to go wrong with my pills, so the decision of whether or not to have kids yet would be taken out of my hands. In the first two years or … 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