Cool Woman's Day Article About Improving Mood

Maybe I post links here to frequently, but when I find something I like, I want to share! :o)

With that said, lately I've been feeling low on energy and short on smiles. Not that I have anything at all to be down about, but I think all of us (especially women) go through spells of feeling less than our ideal.

There are several things I know I'm supposed to do when I'm feeling lethargic or down... like for instance catching some sunshine is helpful, taking a walk (taking a walk in the sunshine... now that's a definite winner), going out with a friend for coffee, getting a haircut (helps me sometimes), eating a banana, taking vitamins (so they say), and drinking more water.

Today I found a list of 18 ways to improve mood, many of which I wouldn't have thought of to suggest to someone else, some of which I already do. ;) If you're looking for some quick pick-me-ups (most of which are FREE), visit this Women's Day article: "18 Ways to Get Out of a Bad Mood".

My favorite? I love the recommendations for blogging and for surrounding yourself with flowers (believe me that works!), but my favorite is the recommendation to give. Whether it be your time, your talents, or well... your money, nothing feels better than to reach out to a friend or even a stranger who is in need of something... anything at all. Maybe they just need a smile? Perhaps they need bus fair, lunch, or a greeting card? Whatever their need might be, you'll never feel better than after you've shared a bit of your heart with another.

Ok... so I have some work to do. I'm going to try and cover about 5 of the 18 listed on this list and see how I feel later. lol Let's put this list to the test and see how we feel a week from today? Shall we? You'll all need that energy and happy glow when you crack open the text books for another school year! Do I hear an Amen sister out there?

Extra Outdoor Storage Through Garden Sheds

I absolutely love the garden sheds at Tigersheds.com! Seriously, they're stunning for a shed and how often have you heard the words stunning and shed in the same sentence? lol Additionally they're affordable. If you're an avid gardener or just have a lot of outdoor tools and supplies to store outside your home, this is a great option that will only add beauty to your property.

We have a real need for additional outdoor storage for our lawn care supplies. I think most homeowners are faced with storage shortages, especially those of us who do our own lawn work. If you're looking to buy garden sheds, and you're in the UK, be sure to take a look at what's available from Tiger Sheds. They have a variety of sizes and models to chose from all with a nice warm colored finish that actually matches our deck work.

I also love the log cabin style storage sheds, many of which offer larger windows and windowed doors. So, depending on what you're looking for, the log cabins might be a better fit for you. A couple of the log cabins would even make fun play houses for children. They are that nice! Who would have guessed that a storage unit could look so good?

By the way, gardening is an excellent homeschooling activity. Providing lessons in life sciences as well as the discipline and work required in producing a successful garden. Then there are the rewards that are produced from all the hard work in the form of fresh vegetables and/or flowers or shrubs... whatever you might be growing. I know many of my readers participate in gardening ventures with their kids. If you're one of those plant growing families, how do you deal with storage issues and how would one of these garden sheds or cabins solve a need you may have?

Homeschool Family Video

Just in case you haven't seen this yet... I've shared it before, but it's been awhile. :o) Enjoy!

Musical Instruments and Homeschooling

Do you incorporate music lessons into your homeschooling curriculum? If you're a musician yourself, it's probably a giant YES! If not, perhaps your children take music lessons outside the home? Either way, music is a very important educational element that will help your children flourish. There is even some evidence that music lessons improve a child's ability to achieve greater success in math!

Reverb is currently offering musicians in all shapes and sizes with great savings on high quality musical instruments. I'm currently taking a look at their musical instrument shop and thinking about my own children. My husband is a drummer and we currently have 3 drums sets in our basement. Fortunately only one is assembled! lol Our children are definitely interested in music, but we're in those early stages of knowing where to focus their attention. They currently seem equally interested in drums and guitar, so which way to go is the current question at hand.

If they opt for a guitar, there's a good chance they'll eventually want to buy electric guitar's as that's what they've been exposed to, but who knows! My daughter has also expressed an interest in learning keyboard, which would be my choice too, if I were so inclined.

This exciting online instrument shop is currently offering a Summer sale with savings up to 50% on select items. Just to clarify, this isn't a children's music store... it offers something for everyone. If you're a professional musician, you'll find great prices on essentials and those not so essential items that you've been dreaming of purchasing. What if that must have item is on sale? Maybe you should look!

Virtual Art Gallery

Visiting an art gallery makes for a wonderful field trip. I've always loved art, in a variety of mediums... I just love to see how people express feelings and share stories through tubes of paint and a handful of brushes.

Art is history, it's emotion, it's culture and opinion. It expresses the human condition and conveys hopes and fears and tells a story in a way the human voice cannot.

If you're looking for a virtual tour of European painting and sculpture, without traveling across Europe to do so, or purchasing an expensive art book, visit Web Gallery of Art and gain access to over 22,000 images for you to share with your children.

From this website, you're provided a convenient search tool, allowing you to find artists alphabetically. The search results display the artist's name, year of birth/death, school attended, and artistic period. Click on the artist and you'll have access to their work, click on an image and you'll view that image full screen. Trust me, it's fun!

Additionally, you're able to send picture postcards electronically via email to friends and family. A great way to share a favorite painting or sculpture with someone you love!

Protecting Yourself from Identity Theft

I've personally heard more than a few disturbing stories of identity theft. The situation is this... we live in a wonderful day and age of convenience when it comes to our ability to pay bills and make purchases online. We work hard to pay our bills on time and act responsibly with what we spend, insuring our financial future is secure. Through modern day technology we can pretty much acquire anything we might need on credit through the use of the Internet. Additionally, we can apply for credit with just a few clicks of a mouse... finance a dream, plan a vacation, start a new business venture, or even just subscribe to a magazine.

As wonderful as it all seems, there are cracks in the system... cracks that identity thieves know all too well. With that said, are you diligent about checking your credit rating on a regular basis? Do you even know how? Callcredit Check provides protection against identity fraud by notifying you via email anytime your credit report changes. All unusual activity will be brought to your immediate attention, allowing you ample time to act before all chances for recourse on your behalf have expired.

Visiting Callcredit Check today and viewing your online credit report is the first step to a more secure tomorrow. If you haven't examined your credit report recently, you should. Sometimes identity theft goes undetected for years before the victim is made aware there is a problem. I believe in taking a pro-active approach to everything, including protecting our credit standing. You may have learned about defensive driving when you first learned to drive a car... why not practice defensive finance? Keep yourself aware of what is going on with your credit by acquiring the services of an email alert system to do the detective work for you.

I hope you'll never be the victim of identity theft, but if you are... best case scenario would be to catch it the moment it happens!

An Update on My Family!

I’m loving the Summer, much more than I thought I would and at the risk of repeating my story to those who’ve heard it over and over again, I’ll make this super short and then promise to add it to my sidebar within the next few days! Lol
We were homeschooling, but upon a diagnosis of Aspergers (high functioning autism) in my 8 year old son, and many challenges that went unresolved, we made the difficult decision of placing both our kiddos in the local public school system in January. They did awesome! It was their first and only schooling experience outside of the home.

My conclusions are that we have an amazing school and that it stands out as one of the better school districts in the nation. This based on my own observations and the actual rankings of our district as compared to others across the country. At the same time, I have noticed some subtle changes in my children, not all of which are positive. I especially have noticed this in my 6 year old daughter who just completed Kindergarten.

Our Summer has been rich with outings (first Summer we’ve had a car), but it’s also been emotional… a lot of fighting between my kids, a lot more anger in my daughter… a lot of “it’s not fair!” and “I’m bored”. Things I never used to hear. I think that homeschooling had a pace that generally fit being home, while public school with all its structure, stimulation and activity somehow rewired their little brains! Lol Now they almost expect mom to have something planned every moment of the day and when I don’t, well… “I’m bored!” is inevitable.

As for the “it’s not fair”, I think that is something the school instilled in them as well. They are all so much about fairness these days that no one can loose a game or have their feelings hurt in any way whatsoever. Did you know that on field day, they no longer give out ribbons? There are no winners or losers, just games to play and then you walk away to the next game. Where’s the challenge? I guess they don’t believe in that. Lol

Anyhoo, I’m getting off subject here, but basically wanted to report that yes we’ve had to deal with a few changes in how are kids respond to things, including life at home, but generally speaking all else is good. My son made friends for the first time in his life, which is a huge deal for an Aspie. My daughter was much the social butterfly at school and I suspect her boredom is more a reflection of her loneliness that mom is inept at fixing to her liking.

We’re busy these days visiting the movies, usually once a week, a local farm open to the community, and meeting up at our church for play while mom goes to her Bible Study. It’s honestly been too hot to take them outside all that much, with a heat index of 110, it’s just not going to happen!

Well… more to come!

Unbeatable Prices on Household Products and Pest Control

Unbeatable because if you find the same item priced lower elsewhere Hygiene Supplies Direct (hsdonline) will match it! I'd never visited the UK's leading online retailer until today and I have to tell you... I really enjoyed navigating the site. I've never found so many options for kettles, beverage heaters, hand wash heaters, water filter kettles and even water coolers.

The water heaters are prevalent on the site... in a wide variety of models and all come with a 30 day money back guarantee. This site provides a very useful tool next to each product giving you a quick overview of where the unit featured is best suitable. For example, is the unit wall mounted or free standing? You'll know at a single glance of the blue checked boxes indicating which features to expect from the unit you're considering.

Then there's the pest control department which I'm particularly interested in. My kids have been coming home from Summer activities covered in bug bites. I can't always control what happens to them when they're not under my wing, but those itchy insect bites only serve as reminder to the fact that mom hasn't found a pest control solution at home. hsdonline has everything from fly swatters to a bed bug spray. Thankfully we don't have a need to control bed bugs in our home, but did you know such a product was even available? I didn't.

Our big issue is mosquitoes and the diseases they can carry is nothing to mess around with. This online retailer sells a variety of products specifically designed to repel and destroy these nasty insects. I'm also looking at the insect repellent which is advertised as the best to be found. Sounds good to me!

Hsdonline offers pest control for anything and everything you might find lurking in your garden, in your kitchen and as mentioned before, even under your mattress! I also wanted to mention their humane animal traps. My neighbor used to own one of those special cages to trap rabbits who wished to dine on his flower garden and shrubs. He was a good guy who believed in relocating these cute little critters to another side of town rather than sentencing them to a senseless death. I love rabbits... can you tell? : ) This despite the fact that they've been eating the leaves from my rose bush!