Tag: Family

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Natural Latex and Organic Cotton Mattresses

It seems that more people in my immediate family are experiencing some type of sleep issues. My one sister was just diagnosed with Narcolepsy and is no longer able to drive for fear of falling asleep while being behind the wheel. This has made a huge impact on her and her family that they are trying to adjust to upon hearing the news. My other sister has never been able to sleep at night so she has always been a night person that has no problem sleeping during the day light hours. I haven’t had a good night sleep since the day that I became a mother!

Our mother has recently been experiencing problems sleeping and has decided to shop for an organic mattress boston style that she found online at an organic mattress store. I myself had never heard of an organic mattress but I’ve been reading up on the subject and I’m liking what I’m hearing.

When we finally get all of our paperwork together here at the house (hopefully by the end of the month) we are going to get our taxes done. I’m sure that we will be getting a good amount of money back again this year and on the top of my list is going to be an organic mattress. Check out what thecleanbedroom.com has to say about these Natural Latex and Organic Cotton Mattresses, you might just learn something.

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RV Covers

My mom and dad have a great RV that is basically a Toyota truck cab and engine and a short stack camper in the back. The camper has a queen size bed, small table and bench seat (that folds out to another bed), tiny kitchen and a full bathroom with shower. This camper is about half the size of the Airstream camper that we used to take on the road when I was a kid, so we call it “The Mini.”

My folks don’t travel as much as they used, so “The Mini” has been parked in the back yard of their summer place for several months, next to the Airstream. I decided that buying RV Covers would be a good anniversary gift for them. The covers are easy to put on and will keep them clean. Their anniversary is next month, so I will check out the covers on Camping World’s web site and see if they have the right fit for the two campers.

I was thinking about doing this for Christmas, but came up with a different idea for that holiday, leaving it an option to fall back on for the other numerous gift giving occasions that come up through out the year.

 

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Keeping Up With Kids

Even though a lot of people don’t like rap music, the reality is that this is the music that kids everywhere are listening to. If you want to know what’s going on inside the heads of your kids, you need to be in tune with what they are seeing and hearing.

There are a lot of different kinds of rap music, including hip hop and gangsta rap. As a parent, I feel it is important to at least give rap music a listen and to keep myself informed of the top rap artists. You can keep up the latest in rap by going to this website: www.rapartists.com

This site has info on all the popular rappers, with information on their albums, their biography, pictures and a link to the artist’s homepage.

The site also has a rap forum, where people ask questions and make comments. If you have a question, you can post it there and you might be surprised at the support and help you can get from the other forum participants.

I try and listen to a variety of music, exposing my kids to a variety of music along the way. I don’t like a lot of the rap that is so popular but I don’t give my kids a hard time about listening to it. I remember my parents giving me a hard time about the music that I listened to and that made me want to listening to it more as well as turning up the volume!

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Waterproof Binoculars

With my Dad’s birthday coming up next month I am already starting to stress about what I can buy for him for his birthday present. Buying gifts for either of my parents is a tough assignment, as they are well off and have just about anything they need or want as well as it being right after Christmas. So finding a present they will like and appreciate becomes a bigger challenge on every gift giving occasion.

My Dad is healthy and active, and loves to be out on the water, so I think that getting something nautical would be nice. He keeps a small skiff at a marina near his condo in Cape Coral, Florida, and also has the sailboat up on the Chesapeake. I went back to some old bookmarks and ended up on the www.opticsplanet.net web site. That’s where I got the great idea to get my Dad some Bushnell binoculars for his birthday. The web site has a huge selection of binoculars, so you can find the right pair to meet your needs. After all, you don’t want the same pair of binoculars on a hunting trip that you want to take to a Titans game or out on your boat. Everything that goes on a boat has to be waterproof and corrosion resistant.

Bushnell has several models of waterproof binoculars, with varying zooms and other features that span several different price points. Reading the reviews and buying guides on the www.opticsplanet.net will help me make the right decision and get my Dad the perfect birthday present.

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Elton John in Vegas

My folks are leaving next Wednesday for Las Vegas to attend the big annual convention for my dad’s company. They always have the convention in Las Vegas and wives are encouraged to go, as they host events that couples can attend and they also leave large blocks of time for networking or spending time on the Strip. Dad wants to surprise my mom with tickets to a show that she thinks he does not want to see. He told me that the truth is he would like to see the Elton John show, but he wants her to think otherwise so he can surprise her. They are going to be in Vegas for the convention until Sunday, but my dad decided to stay an extra night and have some fun. So they have several nights there to fill with entertainment.

Since they go to this convention every year, they have already seen a lot of the big shows. The Elton John show is new and only there for a short time, so he wasn’t sure he could even get tickets. I told him about the web site that I used last time I was in Vegas, www.BestofVegas.com and that if he wants tickets, this is the best site for buying them. All the top shows in Vegas are listed on the site and you can read show reviews, see clips of the different performances, and buy your tickets online. Elton John is one of the biggest Las Vegas Shows booked this year, and my folks are lucky that the convention coincides with Elton John’s appearances. My mom has been a huge fan of Elton John since she was a kid. Her favorite song is “Candle in the Wind.” When she hears that on the radio it makes her think of Princess Diana’s accidental death and it makes her cry. I think any song that can make you cry is a great testament to the strength of the song.

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The “Aha Moment”

Sometimes a new concept comes up in conversation and it really strikes you as an “aha moment.” When your brain wakes up to something new and worthwhile. During the family Christmas dinner, one of the things that we talked about – and we talked about a lot of things and someone mentioned how much stress they are feeling in their everyday life. I was thinking that although I don’t feel a lot of stress, that I do have this unsettled feeling that gets bothersome and I could use a little re-assurance or motivation. Then someone else at the party mentioned a TV show about finding balance between work and your home life.

In fact, there is a new network dedicated to this subject and I read about it this morning on MindfulLivingTV.com. This website is my “aha moment” because their philosophy is to embrace the life you are living and experience it for the moments you have. They have full transformation episodes that can inspire you to face your fears, get advice from experts on medical and spiritual issues, and find your passion. I have sent the link to this wonderful website to everyone that was at the dinner table, most of them will delete it but maybe at least one of them will take a moment to check out what they have to say and have their own “aha moment.”

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Fundraising Is A Fact Of Life

Gone are the days in most cities and towns across America when kids were sent knocking on people’s doors trying to sell folks items for a fundraiser.  Let’s face it, schools, churches, sports and all the other non-profit groups, they all desperately need money and fundraising can be a lucrative way to get it.

Unfortunately in today’s world it isn’t necessarily safe for our children to go around the neighborhoods anymore.  Most fundraisers specifically request that the kids do not go door to door anymore, they tell you to have family, co-workers and close family friends help in supporting the organization.

With having two kids I have done my fair share of fundraising and I certainly will still participate when I can.  It was a lot easier when members of my immediate family were all living pretty close to each other, now a days everyone is spread out all over the darn country so that puts a damper on using them as a resource, for the most part.

I ran across a really cool fundraising program on the Web called Schoolpop.com and I am going to contact our elementary school and see if they would be interested in participating in this non-traditional school fundraiser opportunity.

By using Schoolpop, you can pay down your tuition and any extracurricular activity costs, it can assist in paying back student loans for college and help your school earn monies, all year round by shopping at the several hundred listed of name -brand merchants and service providers whether it be online, in stores, catalogs purchases, even with gift cards or with the Schoolpop Visa credit card.

You can apply for the Schoolpop Visa credit card right on line!  Every purchase that you make for your groceries, gas, clothing, movies, restaurants  – it contributes 1% to the student’s school.

It sounds like Schoolpop may be a way to raise money that would/should be embraced by our school and the families, we shall see when I call them this week.  I’ll also call my sister who has a son in a very nice private school and see if she would be interested in learning a cool and easy way to raise money for private schools along with us in the public school system.

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My Memories Of A Mantel Clock

howard miller grant mantel clock
howard miller grant mantel clock

I’ve always wanted one of the mantel clocks much like the one in my grandparents house that sat on the side board in their dining room. They brought it over from England when they came over in the 1920’s and it was one of their most cherished possessions. After they both passed away it broke my heart that I wasn’t given the mantel clock that I so loved and remembered, but at least a cousin got it and it will stay in the family, for better or worse.  Every now and then I look around online and see if I can find one similar to my grandparents one that I could purchase and keep on my side board as well. I always check in on one of the more popular blogs that I read concerning clocks that I have book marked on my laptop.

There is a lot going on in the world of clocks that I find fascinating and try to keep up on as much as possible. It’s amazing what sites have good quality blogs to read that are actually fun and interesting to read, you gotta love that.  I know a lot of us don’t even use watches and/or clocks these days. Our cell phones, black berries and computers have become a much more convenient way for us to watch the time, but I’m still stuck back in time as far as that is concerned.

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Driving Miss Daisy

Being a working mother makes it difficult to be able to watch an entire movie. If the phone rings or someone rings the doorbell it is me that gets up to tend to it and I’m always jumping up to get someone something to drink or eat or to switch the laundry to the dryer, etc……

Anyway, I could have sworn that I watched the entire movie “Driving Miss Daisy” years ago, but when I was flipping channels last night and found that this movie was the only thing on, I realized that I had missed most of the movie. Either that or my memory is worse than I though and I just don’t remember the darn thing. I’m glad that I watched it last night, it was a great movie.