How important is lighting in your home? Of course it goes without saying that we all use lights, and those of us living in climates with distinct seasons and shorter winter days, are even more grateful for the many lights in our homes. But lights are not just lights anymore. Lights set the mood and can be central to a room’s decor and theme.
Placing the perfect wall sconces in your newly remodeled bathroom, or on either side of the bed can tie the entire room together. A beautiful chandelier hanging in the foyer can make one’s entry to the home a grand one, indeed.
A light fixture combined with a ceiling fan can work wonders on hot summer days.
There is so much more to lighting, beyond decorating the house and creating a home. In recent years, people are becoming more energy conscious, and are trending toward greener options in lighting. LED lights have become very popular because they’re widely recognized as more energy efficient and longer lasting. The modern clean lines of Forecast lighting would fit perfectly into a contemporary modern design, acting as the finishing touches. Likewise Golden lighting, particularly the new Celesse lighting selections, are transitional to modern in style with polished chrome finish.
You can likely even find clearance lighting to fit within your budget, while still getting what you want in the way of energy, mood, and style. So no matter what your home’s decor is, I would bet you could help pull it all together with the perfect light fixtures.

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For a parent, owning a home is about more than comfort and stability; it is also about protecting your family. Having a place to call your own means that you can take steps to equip that place with all of the means necessary to keep you and your family (not to mention all of your possessions) as safe as possible. Unfortunately, the comfort provided by a permanent home often leads people to overlook a number of vital safety concerns. People become complacent in familiar environments, so it is important to remember that while you should be comfortable relaxing at home, you also need to maintain its protection at all times. Here are a few tips on how to maintain the safety and security of your home, and better protect your family.

- Firstly, you should make sure that any young children you may have in your family understand the basic safety offered to them by your home. Part of protecting your family is about your own security efforts, in addition to external safety precautions. Therefore it is necessary to make sure that your kids understand the ways in which they can use your home to stay safe – simple principles like not opening the door for strangers, knowing how to set the house alarm, and knowing how and when to call 911 can dramatically improve the safety of your loved ones.

- If it has been a while since you upgraded your security system, you may also want to pay a quick visit to a company website like Homesecuritysystem.com, where you can receive information on the latest in home security. Security companies these days offer extremely advanced tools, from touch pad control panels and wireless alarm systems to security cameras and motion detectors. Talking with a security professional about how to equip your home in the most efficient and protective manner can do a great deal to help keep your family safe.

- Finally, you should also follow all of the basic steps to make your home an unappealing target for criminals or unwelcome outsiders. This means trying to make it apparent that someone is home by leaving a car in the garage, or keeping a light on when away from home. It may also mean posting a sign in the yard indicating security protection. These sorts of warning signs deter a great deal of crime, and if your home is unappealing to criminals then you have already succeeded in keeping yourself and your loved ones safe from any sort of potential dangers.

* This guest editorial is brought to you by HomeSecuritySystem.com *

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Reading came pretty easy for me as a youngster. I remember sitting in first grade, following along with sounding out words, and feeling like I really got it! I understood. Reading, writing, and spelling all came pretty easy to me. In sixth grade, I was able to show off my spelling skills by participating in the school spelling bee, since I was the spelling winner in my class. I felt that my teacher was proud of me for doing so well! For weeks, I practiced and practiced. The long sheet filled with tons of words, many difficult and complex, I kept tucked in my pocket, whipping it out often, “Mom, ask me to spell anything!” My brain was crammed full of long difficult words…I felt SO ready to represent my class in the school spelling bee!
The day arrived. I sat on stage, staring at the sea of faces from my chair. The whole school was gazing up at the stage. I don’t remember how many of us were up on the stage, but it was likely around 20. Quiet settled across the school cafeteria, as the first participant was called to the microphone. I watched several kids go before me. My heart was racing. What was going to be my first word?
The announcer calls my name. It was my turn. I walked up to the microphone, my footsteps echoing, breaking the deafening silence. The announcer proceeds, “Your word is Field.”
Okay. I begin, “Field. F….” and suddenly I could not remember if I or E came next. Yes, I was taught the “I before E except after C” rule, but I thought there were exceptions beyond the “except after c” part? I just didn’t know if this was one of those exceptions…
I continued, “E…” Did I just hear a gasp from the audience? I quickly finished up, knowing whatever damage was done, it was too late, “I-L-D. Field.”
Yes, that was my answer. “Field. F-E-I-L-D. Field.”
My face was red hot. I felt it in my ears. I already knew what the announcer was going say, before she said it. “I’m sorry, that is incorrect.”
I left the stage, first one out. I couldn’t believe it. I knew all the hard words! I went to the bathroom, and just stood there, fighting my urge to cry. My teacher walked in, and approached me from behind. I felt her comforting hand on my shoulder, and she leaned in. I anticipated words of encouragement. She spoke, “It’s I before E, except after C. Remember?” I couldn’t hold my tears back any longer. They streamed down my face, as she hugged me.
Looking back on the experience, it’s hilarious. Here, I had worked so hard to make sure I could spell any difficult and complex word that could be thrown at me…and I’m the first one out, taken down by a word that could be spelled by the second grader in the third row. I shared the story (probably for the fifth time in 14 years) with my husband last night, laughing so hard at that little girl who now only lives in my memories. I thought I’d share it with my readers…for fun!
~ SupermomWannabe

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Yes, I think many of us can agree on that. You hear it here and you hear it there, “well…”, people say, “…times are tough out there.” Perhaps you’re one of the lucky ones who don’t feel it too much. For the small business owners, the hit has been brutal, seeming to continue slapping on long after the initial hit. The black eye starts to heal, only to be met with another one, on the other eye. Yes, the mighty fist of the economy-gone-mad has been a painful one for many.
I consider myself to be fairly resourceful and definitely creative, which has helped significantly in recent times. But making money from home can be a challenge which a great many will fail at. I have. I’ve tried quite a many different strategies and companies as well. I’m not new to the scene.
What I AM new to, however, is actually seeing daily money coming in to my account when I log in each morning. What do I do to earn it, you ask? Well, I place an ad each day for Zeekler, and I make sure to register that ad with them. While I can choose to place that ad on a social site or classified ad site, I simply place it on my sidebar right here on my website (which you can see by glancing to the side of my page here). What I’m actually doing is giving away bids for the Zeekler Penny Auction by placing those ads each day. It literally takes me about 30 seconds to register my ad each morning…and while I’m logged in, I check on my daily cash earned. Here’s what I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE about this program. Hello…EASY! Hello…Working! Oh and lastly…WINNING!
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My daughter, age 4, gets very excited to “do homework”. For her, it can be working on numbers, letters, colors, or anything related to school work and learning. So I am constantly on the look out for great lesson plans and worksheets, to engage her and help her learn, as well as prepare her for kindergarten. Scholastic, a known and trusted name in children’s books and learning material, offers Kinderga​rten Wor​ksheets​, as well as Preschool worksheets, and learning aids up to 8th grade level, covering a wide range of school subjects to support a complete curriculum.

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Woke up this morning to THIS.  I would have saved this photo for Wordless Wednesday but with spring “officially” one week away, I have but one word I must say about this.  WTF?

Spring Fever Runs Cold.

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My lil’ man is just a bit over 19 months old now and he started using the toilet already! Besides my normal to-be-expected excitement at this, it’s ultra special because you may or may not remember that Jackson was born with severe kidney and bladder injuries (which I wrote about shortly thereafter on my blog: Newborn Faces Fight for His Life. One potential affect of this injury would be that it could be a bit more difficult for him to learn to control his bladder and potty train. Being a boy, I wouldn’t expect him to begin toileting until later. My older son actually did most of his potty training around 3 years old (while my girls were approaching 2 years old when they quickly learned about toileting).

So how did it start? Well he set the pace and he showed the desire. A couple of times, my husband and I saw him “pushing tooties” in the corner of the room, so we got the little spongebob toilet seat out, sitting him on it and encouraging him to go in the toilet. While he did not do a doody, he quickly learned where the potty seat was stored, and began getting it out and bringing it to me. When I sit him on the potty, at his request, I ask if wants to push the potty out. And he does. Our cheers and smiles encourage him, as he smiles, laughs, and claps in response.

I don’t hold any expectations of him at this point, being so young still and being a boy, but I think it’s awesome that he’s leading the way already, and that he’s so excited about it. I’ll just continue letting him set the pace, asking him if he has to go potty periodically, and taking him as he requests it.  Bottom line is we are having serious success pushing tooties on the toilet over here.

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Birthdays are a funny thing. Most of us are taught early on that it’s a day for celebration, parties, and gifts. As we grow older, we aren’t so keen on our birthdays. They serve more of a reminder of how quickly time passes.
I saw an image and quote the other day, which showed a man jumping onto a bed mid-air, smiling…like a child. The quote underneath said, “How old would you be…if you didn’t know?” I loved it. I still feel young, and actually by many standards, I am still young, still being able to refer to my age as “mid-thirties”. The passing of time, and the way we measure it, is still so strange.
So it’s “my special day” on my birthday, for making my way into the world. But credit goes to my creator and my mother. Maybe my mother should receive the gifts on “my special day”. I remember when my husband and I first began dating, I actually did send his mother a bouquet of flowers with a card on her son’s birthday, telling her thank you, for bringing her wonderful son into the world.
Birthdays can serve a purpose of reflection and appreciation. It does call to mind my entry into the world, and all that’s happened over the last thirty-some years of my life. With reflection on my life, comes great appreciation for all that I’ve been blessed with. Birthdays now are about the priceless gifts. Gifts that cannot be wrapped. Gifts of the heart. And for all of this, you’re never too old for Happy Birthday. And these days, as long as you have a facebook account, and friends on facebook, you will be remembered on your birthday! No doubt about that! Here’s to another year younger!

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Pets can bring joy, love, and laughter to a home.  I have dogs and parrots.  Here is a just one example of my goofy animals.  Here my Bullmastiff, Bosco, is messing with my African Grey Parrot, Kiwi.  But Bosco looks a little more like a kangaroo than a dog!

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A couple of days ago, I came across a blog post about Pinterest’s sign up and use agreement.  The post was written by a photographer and lawyer.  While she is not giving people advice within her post, Why I Tearfully My Pinterest Inspiration Boards, she did reveal her take on what amounts to risky pinning.

The world wide web is loaded with material, from images and photography, to music, videos and text.  Most of them are owned by someone.  But, what if we give credit to the originating website or author when pinning?  Then it should be okay, right?  The answer is seemingly, not necessarily.  Often, there is no way to know for certain who owns what out there.  Bottom line is that Pinterest’s agreement outlines your risk as a user of their site – and that includes you agreeing to accept all risk for all your pins.  In her post, Kirsten disillusions us, outlining one line in particular, in Pinterest’s use agreement: “YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT, TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE ENTIRE RISK ARISING OUT OF YOUR ACCESS TO AND USE OF THE SITE, APPLICATION, SERVICES AND SITE CONTENT REMAINS WITH YOU.”

I understand that Pinterest is fun to use, and most people feel that it’s harmless.  Let me tell you why I feel a little differently, especially after these terms were brought to my attention.  I am not new to the world wide web.  I have created many websites over the years, for different ventures, ideas, and reasons.  A couple of years ago, I received a certified letter (certified mail itself is usually a cause for concern), which was a demand for nearly $10,000, OR face the threat of formal lawsuit…because they claimed that one little image on our website was copyrighted – and not by us.  This company, which sent us the letter, is in the business of protecting copyrighted images on behalf of owners.  It seems technology allows digital discovery of images throughout the web.  But the photo, we argued, was from one of our vendor’s websites, displaying their products, which we retail. How could we possibly be in any trouble for that?  Well, it turns out our vendor didn’t seem to have the right or permission to use the image either – though they also didn’t seem to know or realize this.  Who is who, and where it came from, and why, was all beside the point though, because they did not care, nor did they care that the image was promptly removed when brought to our attention.

So I had to wonder about this when I was first introduced to Pinterest, though people have a tendency to think that if everyone else is doing it, then it must be okay.  I hate to admit that I can be one of those people too, (perhaps the proper term would be sheeple).

While Pinterest may differ slightly from the above comparison, and while I’m not saying this could happen as a result of its use, the post was still enlightening for me, and still left me remembering my stressful battle about one little image long ago.  I am, in no way, recommending that anyone else do anything with this information.  I’m merely sharing my own thoughts about the topic.  I very recently discovered Pinterest, so I have not had an opportunity to develop much of an attachment to my boards, but I can understand how others may feel very differently.  I still love the site, and I may still browse through other’s boards because it’s still fun.  I can still be inspired there, because there is plenty of inspiring pins.  But I will think twice before pinning.

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