Search Results for: blog how far can you really stretch before you break

More Ways to Save on Travel

The Internet is home to a myriad of travel aggregator sites, which allow you to comparison shop and hopefully walk away with a decent price on airfare, car rentals or accommodations. However, there is a lot more to finding the best price available than following the prompts on one of these mass-marketed sites. If you really want to save a bundle on travel expenses, you should follow the advice of people in the know. Travel experts often share valuable money-saving tips in an effort to help fellow vacationers stretch their dollars. Some of the best travel-related tips I’ve received and … Continue reading →

Standardized Testing and Special Needs

Posted on by

We are now in the portion of the school year when students across the country will be expected to take standardized tests. The scores they receive on those tests will be used to determine everything from which schools get funding to which teachers will lose their jobs. In some states, kids who are in special education are allowed to have more time to take those tests. Is this really a good idea? I have yet to meet a student or an educator that looks forward to the weeks when their school will be doing standardized testing. The results of these … Continue reading →

Reducing Computer Strain

When you work at a computer for most of the day as I do, you take certain things for granted, such as your eyes being tired or your back aching. But you know what? You don’t have to live with those discomforts. Instead, take some steps to reduce the strain of working with a computer. Check Your Vision Before you do anything else, you should have your vision checked. If you were glasses at all when you are working on the computer then you might want to consider having an anti-glare coating applied to your glasses (this also helps with … Continue reading →

Travel Deals to Europe (Minus the Worries Related to the Weak State of the Dollar)

I’ve discussed the weak state of the U.S. dollar (against the euro) in several previous blogs and if any (or all) of them has deterred you from traveling abroad, perhaps this posting will change that. The good news is that there are many ways to stretch your dollar in Europe–as long as you know where to go. A number of countries have yet to enter the European Union or adopt its currency, and you might be surprised at just how affordable they are, even after the exchange rate. So, if you are looking to save some dough on your next … Continue reading →

We are Both Teachers and Learners

I have mentioned before that I have no idea what I would be like as a person if I hadn’t become a parent, and, especially, spent so many years as a single parent. I think my experiences are integral to the person I have become. Single parenthood has been an amazing gift and one of the lessons I’ve learned is that while I have been called to take on the responsibility of being my children’s parent, and I am in the role of guide or teacher, I am as much a student of this “family life” process as they are! … Continue reading →

Relax! It WILL Alter Your Perspective

Tension headaches, tense muscles, poor sleep—the stress that often comes with life as a single parent can take its toll on our bodies—and on the way we see the world. I know it might seem incredibly simplistic, but learning how to relax can actually alter our perspectives and change the way the world looks. Stress and tension are not the sole proprietorship of the single parent, but I think that since there is only one of us, we can get locked into a certain “stressed out” perspective. Have you ever noticed how the world just looks different when you are … Continue reading →

How Far Can You Really Stretch, Before You Break?

I get tired, exhausted, crabby, and overwhelmed–let’s just get that out on the table right now. Despite the fact that I have been a single parent for years, I love my kids and my life, and I feel pretty confident in my ability to handle all the things that come flying my way–I only have so much capacity. I can only stretch so far before I snap… We single parents have a tendency to expect a lot of ourselves, and it also feels like life expects a lot of us too–regardless of whether we chose single parenthood or had it … Continue reading →

Celebrating Year 12: You and Me, So Happy Wii Be

Yesterday Wayne and I celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary. Hard to believe that twelve years ago, in a little church in Denver, we exchanged I Dos. In some respects it feels like just yesterday, in others it seems so much longer than that. (But in a good way.) Like many little girls, I had always dreamed of being married. I had never dreamed of a church wedding, though. I had never really dreamt about the ceremony at all, save for wearing a beautiful gown and standing at an altar with my groom looking dreamily into each other’s eyes. (Goes back … Continue reading →

Your Computer versus Your Fitness

I work from home, I may have mentioned this on many occasions. Over the last 12 years or so, I’ve worked in some fashion or another in front of a computer. Sometimes I work for five or six hours at a stretch without getting up other than to use the rest room or grab a drink. In the past, when I was in corporate America, I worked a lot longer than that, going so far to just eat my lunch at my desk so I could get my work done. p The Internet and the computer are fantastic gifts. They … Continue reading →