Yoga Positions for Early Labor

The other day my doula visited our home to show us some techniques we’ll use for pain management during early labor.  Our goal is to do as much of the labor at home as possible – we’re more comfortable at home, and thus more likely to be relaxed here – and so these are some moves and positions Jon and I can do to help me get through the pain. If you get a book like The Birth Partner or other books about/that have sections on natural childbirth, these positions might be familiar to you.  I don’t know exactly what they’re … Continue reading

Mastering the Fine Art of Delayed Gratification

My 8-year-old has the patience of… well, an 8-year-old. Actually, on many days her ability to wait without whining or complaining is more on par with a 4-year-old. She’d kill me if she knew I was comparing her to a preschooler.  Then again, I’ll probably die first from having to tolerate her incessant bellyaching each time she is asked to keep her composure while waiting for whatever it is she wants right NOW! And by now, she means the millisecond her request leaves her lips. During my daughter’s last well child check-up I discussed the issue of delayed gratification with … Continue reading

What Are Your Favorite Genealogy Websites?

Genealogists can easily set up their very own genealogy blog. The hard part is figuring out what to put in it. Sometimes, it is best to go with what you know. Write about your favorite genealogy websites. You use them all the time, so it won’t be difficult to discuss them in your genealogy blog. Your genealogy blog can be whatever you want it to be. Some genealogists focus on blogging only about their research techniques, and the results of each effort. Others like to include mostly photos with a few sentences that describe the ancestors who are in the … Continue reading

Professional Education From The Comfort of Your Home

Today, I had the good fortune of being able to attend a teleseminar. While this may not seem like a noteworthy event, it was for me because it enabled me to fulfill one of my continuing education requirements that are a part of keeping my law license active. The fact that I can earn at least some of the required credits through participation in “live” events like teleseminars and webinars where participants can ask questions during and after the presentation is certainly a good thing for a home-based professional like me. I have participated in in-person conferences and webinars as … Continue reading

Scrapping Grad Shots

High school and college commencement season is winding down in my neck of the woods. The UW system held its graduation ceremonies a couple of weeks ago. Meanwhile, the majority of our city’s public and parochial high schools will complete their commencement exercises tomorrow night. If your student already received his diploma, you might be in stage two of the scrapbooking process. Once you’ve captured all the pomp and circumstance with your digital camera, it’s time to move on to the tedious task of reviewing and editing the shots, and then selecting the best of the best to feature in … Continue reading

Cleaning by Touch

My mother is legally blind, and so was her mother, (my grandmother). Both could see a little, but not nearly as well as most people can. Their limited vision meant that they were unable to see the dirt on a table or countertop. Instead, they would clean “by touch”. There are many different methods one can use to clean a flat surface. Most people who have no vision problems decide when something needs to be cleaned based on how much dirt or dust they can see on a table, shelf, or countertop. I learned the cleaning by touch method from … Continue reading

Hawaiian Location for Fourth “Pirates” Film

My second and final Hawaii week installment has Disney promising a swashbuckling adventure in Hawaii’s tropical paradise. Executives at Disney have announced that the fourth “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie will be filmed in Hawaii. “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” will begin filming this summer on Oahu and Kauai. It’s slated for release in 2011, likely in the summer. Few details are known yet for “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.” The movie is a confirmed adaptation, in places, of the 1988 historical fantasy novel “On Stranger Tides” by Tim Powers. The main plot point in the … Continue reading

Frugal Living Month in Review: June 2008

What a happy month is June, filled with the renewal of spring and the promise of summer. In the last month, we have shared so many ideas for frugal living and saving money. This past month has seen some pretty big increases in food, gas and other items (look for an upcoming post about strawberries increasing more than 100 percent). Now more than ever, it is important to save money where we can. This is why I decided to do a month in review. June 2nd Frugal Living Review: May 26th Through June 1st Garage sale shopping has got to … Continue reading

What is Faithbooking?

Enter into a whole new world of scrapbooking. It gives you hope, it helps you have faith and it gives you a new perspective on life and how you choose to live it. It’s called Faithbooking and it has brought people who have never scrapbooked before into the world of cute embellishments and papers. What is Faithbooking? Faithbooking is a method of scrapbooking that provides you a visible reminder of your faith, why God loves you, what blessings your family holds because of Him and a whole new perspective and reminder of His love and grace. There have been dozens … Continue reading

Technique Tuesday: Hidden Message Card

One of the greatest parts of paper crafts, is the ability to use your scrapbooking supplies and paper in new ways to create one of a kind projects. A favorite way to use up your scraps and enjoy the art of paper crafting is to create cards. This has taken on a whole new craft of its own. Today I wanted to take a moment to teach you how to create a Hidden Message card. They have become quite popular in the paper crafts arena, and are so incredibly easy to make and very versatile. You can use them for … Continue reading