Real Life Solutions

Digital Scrapbooking:  What’s It All About?
Scrapbooking is all the rage in the craft industry these days.  From being considered a trend to being given its own holiday, scrapbooking continues to excite crafters and draws more people to it each year.  What is digital scrapbooking?  And will it change the craft for the better?

For anyone who may be new to scrapbooking, here’s the basic idea.  You take photographs and mementos and save them in a book.  That’s the traditional use of a scrapbook.  However, the craft of scrapbooking includes using themed paper, stickers, journaling boxes, and more to make the page do more than display photos.  It also can tell a story.

Many people have digital cameras now rather than the kind that you have to have developed.  By having the photos in a digital format, they are much easier to manipulate and edit, and you don’t have to worry about ruining the photograph.  You can save changes made as a separate file, so you’ll always have the original version.

Another benefit of using digital cameras is that you can make multiples copies of the photographs that you can pass out to friends and family on CDs.  They may then choose to have the photos printed out, or they can use them as a screensaver on their own computer.  You have so many more options with digital photographs.

With digital scrapbooking, you can still incorporate your pictures into scrapbook pages, you’re just doing it all on your computer.  You may have to purchase a digital scrapbooking software program.  Head over to your favorite search engine and type in ‘digital scrapbooking software’ and you’re likely to find there are many.  Some of them are available for free.

Most digital scrapbooking software creates templates, or has templates you can use, that are already planned out and ready to put your photo into.  This is much easier than grabbing glue, paper, stickers, and other supplies to create a similar page.  With this type of software the possibilities are endless!

After you’ve completed your digital scrapbook pages, you can print them out in order to have a “hard” copy of your pages to put into traditional scrapbooks.  You can also frame them individually.  In addition, you can create CD copies of your digital scrapbook to share with loved ones who may live far away.

Besides software to create digital scrapbooks, you can also find a number of websites that are dedicated to sharing information about this type of craft.  You’ll find that others who are interested in scrapbooking, traditional or digital, are more than willing to share their knowledge with you.

If you’re thinking about starting to scrapbook, you may want to give digital scrapbooking a try.  Of course, you can try traditional scrapbooking first to see what the craft entails.  You may be surprised when you switch over, how much easier and how much cheaper digital scrapbooking is. 

Pamper Your Inner Soul
As wives and mothers, we often think about others well before we think about ourselves.  What we don’t realize is that if we don’t take care of ourselves, we can’t adequately take care of the ones we love.  Moms, it’s time to learn to pamper your inner soul!

Do you even know how to pamper your inner soul?  Here are some ideas of things you may want to try:

* Take a bubble bath.  Set aside an hour one evening or during the weekend.  Fill up your bathtub with your favorite bubble bath and soak.  Every woman knows that a long, hot bubble bath can soak away the cares of the day.  Why not set aside the time and take one soon?

* Go for a walk.  Exercise can clear your mind and nourish your inner soul.  It also does great things for your body.  Whether the air is crisp and cool or warm and breezy, going for a leisurely walk can make the difference in how you feel.

* Share the love.  Nothing pampers your soul like getting the love and attention of your children or spouse.  Bear hugs and sticky kisses can make even the worst day seem better.

* Splurge and head to a day spa.  Talk about being pampered.  Go for the full treatment – facial and massage.  Why not get the works?  Remember that you’re worth the time and money you’ll be spending.

* Listen to your favorite music.  It has been said that “music sooths the savaged soul.”  Pull out your favorite tunes and relax.  You may even want to sing or dance along.

* Hydrate yourself.  Be sure to drink plenty of water.  Dehydration can make you feel run down and inhibit clear thinking.  Take a few minutes to drink a cold glass of water and you’ll pamper your mind as well as your soul.

* Buy yourself a journal.  Let out some of the feelings you may have been keeping bottled up inside.  Don’t suppress tears if you feel them coming.  It’s been said that crying is good for the soul; it may be time to let the tears fall.

* While you have your journal out, list three things that you like about yourself.  Quite often we’re guilty of not thinking well of ourselves.  Take a few minutes and seriously think about things you admire about yourself and write them down.

* Reach out and touch someone.  Is there a friend you’ve lost touch with?  Now would be a great time to reconnect.  Talking with an old friend can be good for your soul.  Who have you been missing?

* Meditate or pray.  Meditation and prayer can both be rejuvenating.  It can also reach a part of your soul that nothing else will.

You want to be a better wife and mother so you may want to take the time to pamper your inner soul.  If you’re relaxed and at ease it will show through in the love you give, the time you spend, and how you make others feel.

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YAY!! Isaac passed his Recommended Black Belt test today with an overall grade of B!! Whoohoo – It was so exciting to watch him and his classmates perform.

He had to pass a written test a few weeks ago and the physical test today was very challenging. He was up bright and early today practicing along with YouTube LOL

He performed his pattern really well then had to use two foot techniques and one hand technique to break a board.

They move so darn fast and I wasn’t able to get many pics of him but I did get a vew vids

Now he can take the regular Recommended Black Belt classes as WELL as the Black Belt Preparation classes to be sure he is ready for his next promotion in late May.

Here are 2 short videos of the hightlights  

 Breaking The board

Being Awarded his new Belt

(If he continues on this path he will test for Recommended Black Belt In January and then Black Belt in May)

Let’s face it; many people have more than they need.  When we fail to get rid of items while adding more, we end up with clutter.  That’s when we may want to consider donating unused items that are cluttering our home rather than adding them to the already full landfills.  You can donate the mess and have a more comfortable home after the mess is gone.

The old saying goes, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”  Keep this in mind when you finally decide to get rid of some of the clutter in your home.  If you have items that you no longer want, love, or need, you may find giving them away is a perfect option.

No matter which state you’re from, most likely they have a FreeCycle group that you can find online.  Many counties in each state will have their own FreeCycle group and you can check it out at FreeCycle.org to see if there’s one near you.   There may also be FreeCycle groups in other areas of the world.  The great thing about these groups is that people offer items they have and someone else can ask for them.  No money changes hands because everything is given away without cost.

Check with your local Salvation Army, Good Will, battered women’s shelter, or United Way Agency for a list of places that would accept good, gently used items for donation.  Call each one and ask them if they are accepting donations and their procedure for doing so.  If you give them a little bit of advance notice, they may be willing to pick up items rather than you having to deliver them.

While you’re going through your mess, try to separate like-sized items and keep them together.  If you’re able to donate clothing, the charity will appreciate your efforts so they don’t have to.  It would also be helpful if you could label your boxes or bags as you’re going so they know what to expect when going through each one.

If you have too many books in your home, you may want to check with your local library to see if they would accept them.  If they won’t, you may want to check with Friends of the Library (www.folusa.org), daycares, churches, or synagogues in your area that would be glad to take them off your hands.  A group called “Books through Bars”, which provides books to prisoners, would also appreciate any books you may like to give them.

There are many worthwhile charities that would be glad to help you donate the excess you have at your house.  The good thing about most charities, and you’ll want to ask to verify, is that donations should be tax deductible if you itemize your taxes.  Not only will you lessen the load you have at your home, but you can feel good that your trash really can be someone else’s treasure.

People rushing around seemingly clueless as to where they are rushing off to. This is typical of major cities such as Manhattan. Tourist often wonder, “Where everyone is rushing off to?” “Why is everyone in such a hurry?” It’s all because of time. Someone’s late for lunch or getting back to work from lunch or going to miss the train or bus home or be late for dinner or for an appointment. Rarely does anyone ever stops to think about the amount of time wasted worrying about time. Proper planning is the key to saving time yet coming to the realization of this has somehow eluded us. These brief but important time management techniques when put to use can effectively yield positive results.

Prepare Ahead of Time
Make a daily list of things that need to be done, appointments that need to kept, and so on.

Prioritize Your List
When creating your daily to do list, start with the most important tasks first and ending with the least important task of the day.

Be Punctual
Plan ahead for traffic delays and phone call interruptions. Leave an hour or so earlier than your scheduled appointment time giving you plenty of time to arrive at your destination even if something unexpected should occur.

“Don’t sweat the small stuff.”
Perfectionism has no place in effective time management. Take for example, you have an important engagement, wedding or other function to attend; don’t spend time mulling over minor things, this will cause you to be late. Perhaps you are expecting company for the holidays don’t panic because your kitchen floor isn’t spotless. No one cares or will probably even notice but you. Your guests, be it friends or family are coming to your home to see you, not your kitchen floor.

It’s Okay to say, “I’m sorry, I can’t.”
You are a hard worker; you’re very efficient, and you’re always there when your boss needs you. So what happens when your boss asks you to stay an extra hour but you have a scheduled appointment say to go pick up your kids on this particular day, what do you do? You feel torn and fear upsetting your boss if you say you can’t. Stop! It’s time to think of you. Simply say, “I’m sorry, I can’t today.” If you’ve been a good worker and you are honest with your boss as to why you can’t stay there is no reason to feel guilty and he/she will hopefully admire your honesty and understand.

Don’t put off what you can do today till tomorrow.
Procrastination is a real time stealer. Know that if you have something scheduled for a particular time, do it. If you need a nudge set a reminder on your phone or an alarm clock that will tell you it’s time to do what you have scheduled.

Time is important to each and every one of us. It should not be wasted rather we should make the most of our time by being prepared for our daily routines, our work and our family responsibilities. It is a basic and important component in how we conduct our lives not only in regards to work but also in our personal free time.

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Seasons come and go.  Now it’s winter and before too long it’ll be spring.  You may be considering what to do with the items that you use during the winter months.  Why not box up the seasons, including the clothes that are no longer needed?

If you’re like a lot of people, you’ll have a special place where you store Christmas, Chanukah, or Kwanza decorations.  When the seasons change, you’ll probably be packing those decorations up and putting them back in storage.  What about the other things in your home that aren’t used all year long?

You may want to purchase some plastic totes, boxes, or other storage units in which to store off-season items if you don’t already have them.  There are so many things you can put away that could help you get more organized.

Holiday decorations are an obvious choice of things to put away until the following year.  If you’re currently using boxes, you may want to look into getting some plastic storage boxes for storing ornaments in.  These types of boxes will keep your ornaments, especially glass or fragile ones, safer than a regular cardboard box.  Since you won’t be storing them until after holidays, why not wait until the after-holiday sales before purchasing one.  You may be able to save as much as fifty percent or more off the regular cost if you’re willing to wait.

Out of season clothing is something else you could store away until needed.  Of course, before you store clothing away, you want to make sure it’s clean and in good repair.  It would be terrible to take clothing out of storage only to find it dirty and having split seams.

Wash all clothes that you intend to put up, but also check to make sure someone in your home is going to be able to use them next year.  If you have children that will be able to use the clothes, be sure to sort the clothes into sizes and clearly mark the outside of the box or tote with the size.  If no one is going to be able to use the clothes that have been outgrown, consider giving them to charity or to someone you know that could use them.

Salvation Army, Good Will, or a homeless shelter would be glad to take gently-used clothes off your hands.  And, if you itemize everything that’s being given away, you can also get a tax write-off for your taxes.  That’s a win-win situation – your house is minus some clutter and you have a tax deduction for the end of the year.

When you’re trying to clean up after the holidays, you may want to box up the seasons – including the clothes that your family has outgrown.  If they can’t be worn next year, be sure to pass anything that is usable to someone else.  Not only will you clean away some clutter, you’ll feel good about helping others in need.
 

It’s amazing how a small amount of clutter can be set aside to be dealt with at a later time and before you know it your desk is covered, the kitchen table hasn’t been seen in months, and you’re not sure what happened to your bills for this month.  You may have realized that clutter adds up quickly.   Now you want to figure out what to do with it.

We all know recycling is important so if you can reuse something you already have to cut the clutter, you avoid adding more to the already too full landfills.  By repurposing things you already have, you’re doing your part to care for the earth.  Here are some things to consider:

If your family eats cereal for breakfast, don’t throw out the boxes.  Wrap them in contact paper or wrapping paper, cut diagonally to remove one corner of the box, and then store magazines you’d like to keep in them.  You can do something similar with detergent boxes as long as you won’t mind having them smell spring fresh.

Baskets are another clutter buster if you know how to use them.  They can be painted and decorated to match your décor, then you can store current magazines and sales catalogs in them rather than leaving them spread out all over the house.  Small baskets can hold a pen and paper to be kept near the telephone so messages can be taken easily.  Use a basket to store your napkins, salt and pepper shakers, and other items that would otherwise stay on the dining room table during a meal when you’re not eating.

A calendar with large spaces is another great clutter buster.  Instead of having to leaf through stacks of papers to find out when your child’s field trip is, you can add the date and time to the calendar as soon as you get the note and then toss the paper.  If you do that with every appointment you and family members have, soon you’ll have a clean desk, won’t miss scheduled appointments, and have a much more organized family.

File cabinets are an obvious choice for helping to tame paper clutter.  However, they don’t do a whole lot of good if you don’t have a filing system in place and actually use the files to store your important papers.  Look at yard sales and going out of business sales to avoid having to shell out some serious money.  Besides keeping files in them, you can also store crafts supplies, children’s arts supplies, and other items.

Use 3-ring binders to help you file papers if you can’t afford a file cabinet.  You may have to use several of them to file everything you could fit in a file cabinet, but they’re easier to move and can be taken into a different area of the house if need be.

Clutter busters are all around you if you take the time to look for them.  Reuse items in your home for something other than their original purpose.  Take the time to de-clutter each day and before long your home will be clear of clutter.

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