So it’s 4:00 and you’re standing in the middle of your kitchen turning round and round. You have no idea what’s for dinner. The kids are running around screaming because their hungry. You’re hungry, so you scream at the kids. AND you know that your husband will be through the doors within the next hour or two.

Or how about the fact that school has started back along with football and/or cheerleading practice, or dance class or karate class or maybe all of the above. Now you don’t have anything made so you run through the drive through at least 4 nights a week and the other days you’re almost too tired to cook.

Do these things sound familiar? I am a mom of four and both of these scenarios have happened often to me. So I’ve discovered that with a little planning on my part I have less stress and more home cooked meals and my budget doesn’t have to be stretched quite so far.

Step 1: This is actually two fold. If your kids are involved in a lot of activities then write down your schedule for the week. What nights will you be home? What nights will you be out the entire time? Now make a list of dinners that your family likes. You don’t need more than 5 or 6. Plan on having one night for leftovers. (Keep in mind you may just have a little left over from each meal. Put it all out buffet style. Everyone can choose a little of this and that)
Make sure that you have some simple meals for the nights you’ll be gone. Maybe make your own sub sandwiches. Or even regular sandwiches with chips, or chopped veggies and dip or chopped fruit. You can also use your crockpot for these nights. Then use leftovers from the crockpot to create another meal later in the week. Example: make a roast in the crockpot, save the leftover meat and shred it as thin as possible. Later in the week reheat the meat in some enchilada sauce and serve up enchiladas and rice and beans.

Step 2: Check your pantry to determine what ingredients you will need to purchase to make the meals you’ve chosen. If you notice you have all the ingredients for a meal you didn’t list then perhaps substitute that meal for the other instead of buying more food.

Step 3: Make sure to take your list with you to the grocery store and only buy what’s on the list.

Step 4: Put your list of meals on the refrigerator or another place where you will see it. The night before, check your schedule for the next day and choose a meal. Do any prep work needed. If meat needs to be thawed out then put it in the fridge to thaw. If you’re going to put the crockpot on first thing then you could even put everything in the crockpot and put the ceramic part in the fridge, then the next morning you just put it on to cook and go.

Step 5: Spend a few minutes creating a menu for next week. Maybe this time you could check your pantry and your schedule and then you could save on your budget even more.

Try this for one week and you’ll find a peace you didn’t realize existed and perhaps some extra money at the end of the week. No more “Mom, I’m starving. What’s for dinner?” and you without a clue. And no more spending up to $80+ a week in takeout because it’s just easier when you’re on the road.

Please feel free to leave us comments on our message board.

Everyone has a biological and a chronological age. Unfortunately, through lifestyle choices, many people have a biological age that is older than their chronological age. With a few, simple lifestyle changes, anyone can decrease their biological age to the same or younger than their chronological age.

Be Happy

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., found that optimistic people had a 50% decreased risk of early death compared with those who leaned more toward pessimism. The results, published in the August 2002 issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings, make sense: Those with a positive outlook on life are probably less stressed, better equipped to deal with adversity and, consequently, healthier. Optimists also tend to have lower blood pressure than pessimists, which, again, is most likely related to how positive thinkers respond to stress.

Exercise

Maintaining aerobic fitness through middle age and beyond can delay biological aging by up to 12 years and prolong independence during old age, concludes an analysis published ahead of print in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

Aerobic exercise, such as jogging, improves the body’s oxygen consumption and its use in generating energy (metabolism).

Have More Sex

There’s decent evidence that sex helps keep us healthy, and thus increases longevity. But according to researchers, it’s not necessarily an actual biological response generated by sex that makes us live longer. What’s more likely is that having intimate sex means you are less stressed, happier and better rested–all factors that can lower blood pressure and protect against stroke and heart disease.

Eat Healthy

Five Healthful Tips (according to Dr.Michael Roizen on Oprah.com)

1. Use nine-inch plates: Eating on a smaller plate can add three years to your life.
2. Use paper coffee filters: Caffeine makes you younger. Drinking coffee every morning made with a paper filter—which raises good cholesterol and cuts down on bad—can add six months to your life.
3. Take aspirin every day: Check with your doctor first, but if it’s okay, taking an aspirin every day can make you two years younger. This simple addition decreases the age of your arteries and reduces the risk of breast, colon and prostate cancers.
4. Eat chocolate!: Only chocolate with real cocoa (dark chocolate) will do, but if you eat one ounce every day, you increase the level of healthy fat in your diet.
5. A little fat before dinner: Whether it’s nuts, dark chocolate or olive oil on a piece of bread, a little fat before you eat slows down your stomach and makes you feel full longer.

Please feel free to leave a comment or discuss this on our message board.

You know how we hear about miscommunication all the time?  Well let me tell ya!  It can be mind blowing when ONE single word can change things!  Recently there was some miscommunication between my husband and his father. Not anything argumentive but just mind blowing. 

While my husbands father was visiting about two weeks ago, the dreaded conversation of money comes up.  My father in law starts up with it again, just like every single time.  My husband oh so the wonderful man he is says, if I had $10,000 I would give them to you.  So the conversation changes through out the day and my father in law leaves.

 Days pass and my husband is not so himself and I asked him what was wrong?  He said, that his dad called and that my father in law and sister in law were talking that he was going to call my husband and take him up on that money.  My husband was floored!  I said WHAT! Rewind just a bit.  My father in law heard wrong!  He thought my husband was giving him $10,000 buckaroos! My husband replied, with dad I was saying “IF” I had that I would give it to you, I didn’t say that I “had” it. 

So one single word my friends can blow your socks off!  So lets listen carefully and speak clearly, we don’t want people thinking something else.

A couple of things to think about before getting a pet.

• Think about how much space you have in your home or yard.  If you don’t have a yard you must consider that you will have to walk your pet daily.
• How much time do you have to spend with a pet?
• How will you train your pet? Classes, books, dvd?
• Know that a dog or cat’s life is an average of 15 years.  Too many animals get homes because they are “cute” babies and then are “back on the market”  Don’t adopt a pet unless you plan to make a lifetime commitment.
• Do you have the money to cover medical costs.  You should also check out some different pet insurance companies.

If you are considering getting a family pet, I encourage you to check out www.petfinder.com  They are basically a data base for over 10,000 shelters in the USA, Canada, and Mexico. They don’t just have dogs or cats either.  They have listings for horses, pigs, birds, even reptiles.

Pet Finder also offers articles about pet behavior and training.  They also have message boards for pet owners with a wide variety of topics. 

Do you have any more tips? Leave a comment here or discuss it on our message board. 

Sometimes your hair just needs a change… whether you just want a temporary change, like parting your hair a different way or wearing it up instead of down, or a more permanent one, like a drastic cut, it’s up to you.

If you are searching for a whole new look, there are a few things you need to think about.

First of all, remember that even though you see a style that you like on someone else, it may not look as good on you. Everyone has a different face shape and features. Many times we look online or in magazines for a style that we think we’ll like, only to find out it won’t match our face shape.

What face shape are you?

There are five basic face shapes: Oval, Long, Round, Square and Heart shaped.

Oval face shapes can pull off almost any kind of style. They’re the lucky ones! Make sure your style suits your personality and facial feature strengths.

Long face shapes need bangs, layers, curls or waves to help balance off a long face with width. An average length cut is best because a too short or too long of a cut will make a long face seem even longer.

Round face shapes require tapered ends and sleek lines. If the style is too full, it will make a round face look fat. A pixie cut or a tousled style is best.

Square face shapes look good with curls or waves below the jaw line to help soften up the sharpness of an angular jaw. Sleek lines also will help. You’ll want to avoid chin-length or long straight hair.

Heart shape faces should try to accentuate your cheekbones. Bangs or fringes that end at your eyes or cheek bones will help balance out your pointy chin by concentrating on the top half of your face.

Whatever you feel is your favorite facial feature, that is where you want your bangs or layers to end. That will help accentuate that feature.

Also, make sure that your personality fits your cut. If you enjoy fussing with mousse or gels, or like to spend hours in front of the mirror, then you can go for longer lengths. But if you’re more of a tomboy and want to be able to wash and go, a shorter cut would be best. If you’re a little of both, stick to a length that reaches just past your shoulders so that it can be worn in a pony tail or you can style it when you want a classier look.

What is your face shape and what hair style looks best on you? Visit our message board and let us know.