The Advantages of Participating in Institute Classes

This is the time of year to be thinking about enrolling in an institute class. Institute is a program that teaches religious classes on campuses throughout the United States. The institute program is also available for young adults who are not currently attending college. Many areas also offer institute classes to single adults. There may be women’s institute classes available in your area. Institute classes give you the opportunity to study a gospel topic in depth with a group of people. The class topics vary from studying the Book of Mormon, Old Testament, and New Testament, to learning about temples, … 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

Seven Things to Get at the Library for Free

If you haven’t visited your local library in a while, you might want to plan a visit sometime soon. The library is a very different place than it was just ten years ago, thanks in part to current technology. Plus, with the economy, there is a new need for additional services, all of which most community libraries are trying to provide. They are doing a very good job of it, too. So get that library card out (or sign up for one) and start saving. Here are seven things that you can get at the library for free. • Free … Continue reading

Family Tree University Has a Virtual Genealogy Conference

Typically, a genealogy conference will take place in a building, hotel, or conference center that is large enough to accommodate the crowds. If you cannot travel out to where it is taking place, then you will miss it. It’s nice that Family Tree University is having a Virtual Genealogy Conference. This could make it much easier for people to check it out. Family Tree University is not an accredited college. It is the name of the “learning center” (for lack of a better term) for Family Tree Magazine. It is a great resource for genealogists who want to learn more … Continue reading

Special Needs Podcast Roundup – Week of April 9, 2012

Once a week, the Special Needs Podcast Roundup brings you brand new episodes of podcasts that discuss issues and topics that are relevant to parents of children that have special needs. These episodes could range from autism, to allergies, from special education to health insurance issues that affect families that have a child who has special needs. The Parent’s Journal has an episode that was released on April 9, 2012. The episode topic is: “Books to Help Preschoolers Who Worry”. It features Jacqueline Golding, who is a psychologist, and the author of “Healing Stories”. Special Chronicles released episode 34 on … Continue reading

Exercise and Music

What kind of music do you listen to while you workout? A new study says the type of tunes that play on your iPod as you run (or participate in other cardio exercise) influences your physical endurance. The new research, which is set to appear in the Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, is part of a 20-year study highlighting motivational qualities of music in sport and exercise. The findings illustrate the benefits associated with exercising in time to music. In one part of the study 30 participants exercised on a treadmill while listening to songs by pop stars such … Continue reading

Tips for Toning Your Tummy

Who can forget the amazing abs Mark “Marky Mark” Wahlberg flashed while baring almost all for those incredible Calvin Klein ads? Wahlberg’s ripped abdomen had thousands of wannabes trying to tone their tummies in an effort to look half as good as the singer turned actor. But, alas the majority of men (and women) who spent mornings completing countless sit ups and crunches, quickly found out that they could spend an entire day targeting their stomach muscles, but no one would ever see the results unless they ramped up their cardio workouts to melt away the fat covering those fab … Continue reading

Big Apple Helping Fitness Fanatics Take a Bite Out of Healthier Living

If you travel around New York City via the subway you may have been pleasantly surprised to see expletive-free reading material posted in select cars this week. The new additions come courtesy of the city Health Department and while they may not make you as sick as the graffiti they help cover up, the posters still have some riders clutching their stomachs. After reading that your burrito lunch (complete with sour cream and guacamole) contained more than half the calories you should eat in a day, you should be feeling ill. The informative posters that now hang in about 1,000 … Continue reading

New Government Study Says You Aren’t Exercising Enough

How many minutes of exercise did you complete today? If you didn’t participate in at least 22 minutes of moderate physical activity then health experts say you didn’t do enough. The government is cracking down on couch potatoes by issuing new physical activity guidelines for Americans. In a report released today by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, experts say adults should be participating in at least 2.5 hours a week of moderate-intensity physical activity such as brisk walking or 1 hour and 15 minutes per week of a vigorous-intensity activity such as jogging or swimming laps in … Continue reading

Ways to go Wild with Your Family in Nature this Fall

It’s fall… which means most of us only have a few more weeks before Mother Nature’s bitter joke that is winter has us hibernating in our homes until spring. Don’t let autumn’s natural beauty pass you by. Dads, forget about football for one day, and moms, consider running errands during the week so you can use one of fall’s fleeting weekends to take the entire family outdoors for an adventure in nature. One idea: Head to your local wildlife refuge. Hundreds of wildlife refuges around the nation are using Halloween as a way to showcase creatures that are nocturnal or … Continue reading