Here are a few ideas for using the Internet to find the very best deals on those things you buy every day.

Using the Internet to Find the Best Service Providers

You can find referrals to quality service providers (and maybe even discover a special deal) by using Internet forums – or your social network on facebook and twitter – to ask for recommendations on every service provider from carpet cleaners to mortgage brokers to insurance agents.

We also recommend Angie’s List, a comprehensive and easy-to-navigate site that provides thousands of unbiased ratings and reviews of local service companies   Find reliable contractors, doctors and more when you join Angie’s List today -Momscape readers save 15% when you click this link and use the promo code LOCAL.

Using the Internet to Buy at Auction
If you’ve never been to or participated in an auction, read up on the information on eBay detailing how you can bid on products that you see up for sale. Knowing the nuances will help you strategically place your bid for the best chance of winning and at the price you need.

Many auctions start with a base price in mind. This is your reserve price. If a seller wants to specify one, the lowest price for the auctioned item will not go below that.

Items that you see in the store for $40 or $50 can be bought for a fraction of that in an eBay auction. And you can find just about anything there. Bidding and searching for items can be fun. If you already know what types of products you want to buy, then you can make short work of your search. EBay has forums as well so you can ask about certain sellers and see feedback from customers as to their reliability and product integrity.

Beyond eBay
EBay is not the only auction site on the Internet. If you are looking for jewelry, for instance, there are sites like Bidz, UBid and Overstock.com. EBay is one of the most well-known but it is not the only site to spend your money and get more for it. Specialty sites can offer a wider selection of items in the category and price range that you are looking for.

Coupon sites
It used to be that you could only find coupons in the Sunday circular but now, they are everywhere, even online. And, they are organized so that you can find what you want, fast.

Momscape has also partnered with Coupons.com to give you printable grocery coupons. After you register with coupons.com here (which is fast, easy, and free), you will be able to print just the grocery coupons you need using your home printer.

Here’s how it works:

First, click here and register. Then you’ll see the categories listed on the left of the screen along with how many coupons they are currently offering. These are coupons for national brands as well as ones specific to your local region. When you want to “clip” a coupon just click the box. Once you are done, you can print all of the coupons that you have selected at one time.

Using online coupon codes
Momscape publishes coupon codes for a mom’s favorite online stores, and our sister site Susies-Coupons.com features new coupon codes from the best online stores, updated daily on our blog, as well as our facebook and twitter feed.

Online coupon codes are similar to printable coupons but consist of a numbered and lettered code that can be entered at checkout for discounts that add up to big savings. Sometimes the coupon code is embedded directly in the link on the coupon site, so the discount appears automatically at checkout.  Redeeming coupons is easy. Just follow the instructions on the coupon site.

Sometimes a coupon code will be “stackable,” meaning that you can combine savings from multiple codes. Again, the details will be on the coupon code site or the merchant site.

If you make a habit of browsing your favorite coupon code sites, you can save hundreds of dollars on the things that you and your family needs each day – from shoes, to clothing, tools, books, school supplies, office supplies and more.

Using the Internet to Find the Best Gift Ideas and Product Reviews

Some online stores, such as Circuit City, Dell and Best Buy, essentially function as review sites. They offer customers the opportunity to write their own reviews of the products they have bought. You can also rate them according to different criteria: appearance, ease of use, value and performance for example.

Momscape.com has compiled a list of products that we love and recommend. We also have a number of articles on gift ideas for everyone on your list – from wine lovers to “cool guys” to scrapbookers.

Discount product sites
It used to be that you could buy health and beauty aids only in the actual store. Now, you can buy online. There are sites that are devoted to vitamins, beauty products, pet medications, vision products and other needs that you would normally visit a drug store for. One such site is Drugstore.com.

Drugstore.com updates coupon codes often and has regular offers for dollars off and free shipping, as well as generous free gift with purchase offers, so make sure to check for Drugstore coupons before you buy from the store.
Another place to find vitamins and supplements at a great price is Botanic Choice. Coupons for Botanic Choice are here.

Finding the Best Deals at Popular Brick-and-Mortar Store Websites
Many stores that have a brick building also has a website entity. The advantage here is shopping without leaving your home. You may not know this, but many of these stores run specials on their websites for products that they do not offer in their stores.

At some stores, such as Wal-Mart, you can use what they call the “site to store” option. Sometimes you can find a better deal online than in the actual store. The site also identifies which stores carry that particular item or participate in the “site to store” program. You can order online and then pick it up in the store, avoiding shipping costs. The cost savings go directly to you.

USING THE INTERNET FOR OFFLINE SAVINGS

Insurance quotes
There is one thing about insurance of all kinds: It is guaranteed to go up in price. When there were only local owners selling you the insurance your choices were limited. Online insurance providers and the ease of using online sites have changed the game a bit. You can compare quotes and tailor your plan to meet your needs.

Anyone who has seen the commercials for Progressive Insurance gets the idea of how typical this is. The hook at this company is that they will also do a comparison for you with similar plans at other insurance companies which eliminate the legwork. People have options and insurance companies are now competing for your business.

Many financial professionals recommend that you take a good look at your insurance coverage every 3 years. This includes life, car, home and medical – if you have the option. The Internet helps you to get the answers you need to make money-saving, intelligent decisions for you and your family without the runaround.

Here are some articles you might find helpful:

Auto Insurance FAQs
What you need to know, from nolo.com

Protecting Yourself When You Deal with Insurance Companies
Be prepared for the day when you will need to file a claim. A little know-how now could save you a lot of money later.

Saving on Travel
How often do you travel somewhere and go the same way each time? You probably didn’t think about whether it was the best way or the fastest way to make the trip. Now, you can change all that and save a few nickels.
Online map services such as MapQuest and Yahoo Maps can plot a travel route for you from your doorstep directly to your destination. These sites offer options such as “fastest route” or “most scenic.” They can also suggest points of interests along the way as well as restaurants according to pricing, hotels and gas stations. Your weekend trip may just get a little bit shorter and a little more economical.

You’ll also want to us online travel sites, which can help you save money by bundling services for your trip. Orbitz, Priceline and Travelocity can help you save when you book airfare, hotel and car rental all at one place. With Priceline, you can find deals on one or all at just about any time even for short notice trips. You can cut out the middleman and reap the savings right away.

Our sister site, Susies-Travel-Coupons.com publishes deals by destination as well as by travel provider.

Saving on Magazine Subscriptions
It is fun to read books and magazines, but they have gotten so expensive off the newsstand. Purchasing a subscription from the company saves you money but you can save even more still with sites on the Internet such as Magazines.com Find your favorite sports, cooking or gardening magazine for a fraction of the cost of your current subscription. Magazines.com offers frequent coupon codes here.

Want another option? How about a book reader? Amazon makes the Kindle and Barnes & Noble has the Nook. eReaders allow you to buy books and magazines for a fraction of the cost and store them all in one place. You can carry your entire library with you wherever you go. Our review of the Amazon Kindle is here.

At the time of this writing, Amazon had just launched a $139 wi-fi kindle.

SOCIAL MEDIA AND SAVING MONEY
Twitter and Facebook, in particular, can help you save money.

Facebook is free to join and each member has their own wall and a host of tools to get in touch with their social network of friends and business associates. You can use that social circle to share deals, sales and referrals for service providers.

Susies-Coupons posts a selection of its daily coupon codes on its Facebook page here as well as on Twitter here.

And please consider finding Momscape on Facebook and Twitter, too!

Momscape is now accepting original guest posts and article submissions.

As you know, the goal of this site is to share the best tips and ideas to help parents live a life that is easier, better, and more balanced.

If you have information, ideas, insights, tips, recipes – or anything that you think might make a mom’s life better, we’d love to hear from you. Keep in mind that, in addition to parenting tips,  we have special sections for  inspirational essays, family fun, romance, travel, health & fitness, and weight loss. We publish scrapbooking and crafting articles and project ideas. We also publish articles on entrepreneurship and home business ideas.

How to submit your original articles to Momscape

Please know that we are sent numerous submissions for review and we publish only a (very) small percentage.

Because of the volume of submissions, we are unable to provide comments on individual submissions.  Sorry

Writer’s Guidelines

Here are the basic requirements:

* The article you submit may not be published on any other sites, including your own website. All content submitted must be 100% original.

* By submitting the article to Momscape, you are granting Momscape the right to publish the article – on either the Momscape blog or the main Momscape site (at our discretion.) You are also agreeing to not submit the article elsewhere. You retain all copyrights and your name will accompany the article. Additionally, you will be permitted to submit a short bio with up to 2 links in your “About the Author” paragraph, immediately following your article.

* No affiliate links or advertising is permitted in the body of the article. Any articles that contain advertising, self-promotion or affiliate links will not be accepted for publication. If you would like to submit a product for review, email  editor@momscape.com with the subject line: Momscape Product Submission. Please note that we do not accept article submissions that are product reviews because it’s too difficult to ascertain neutrality. We like to have personal experience with products before writing and publishing reviews.

* Momscape reserves the right to edit your submission for grammar, punctuation and sentence structure. We also reserve the right to place links in the body of the article.

* An article will be more likely to be published if it is well-written (obviously),  more than 450 words featuring comprehensive information in an easy-to-read format. (We especially like the use of bulleted lists).

* If you are making any kind of medical claims, you need to link to an authoritative site or study that backs up your data.

* Please send a photo of yourself and a short bio, including no more than 2 links for your “about the author” box that will immediately follow your article.

* Pretty please do not email us for status reports on your article. Our kids think we spend too much time in front of the computer as it is.

We promise to let you know as soon as we possibly can whether we will be using your article, so you can place it elsewhere if necessary.

Please send article submissions, accompanied by photos and short bio box to: editor@momscape.com with the subject line: Momscape Article Submission

Car Games: 23 Games to Play in the Car (or Anywhere!)
Learn how to transform boring trips into magical memories with these 23 games to play in the car – no supplies required.

Summer Observations on Rest and Guidance
From Jennifer Louden, best-selling author of five books, including the classic The Woman’s Comfort Book and Comfort Secrets for Busy Women.

Budgeting Tips: Covering the Monthly Nut
Helpful and easy-to-implement tips for reducing your monthly expenditures – from Gary Foreman.

And some recipes:

How to Make Homemade Bread
Don’t be scared! Here are useful tips and recipes (including a favorite recipe for cinnamon bread. Yum!)

Quick BBQ Recipes
Got the grill fired up this summer? Here are five quick BBQ recipes your family is sure to love! (And a delicious BBQ dessert, too).

Diet Smoothie Recipes
Five good-for-you, delicious smoothie recipes. Includes Power Breakfast Smoothie, A Touch of Citrus Smoothie, Superhealthy Cranberry Smoothie, and Sweet and Tangy Banana Smoothie.

Healthy Smoothie Recipes
More good for you treats that are high in fiber and antioxidants. Kid friendly, too!

Sugar Scrub:

Make your own sugar scrub to exfoliate your elbows, knees, back, arms and legs. Just take one cup of brown sugar, one cup of raw oatmeal and one cup of olive oil. Mix the ingredients together in a jar and then apply to dry skin. Stand on a towel or plastic bag and massage slowly in circles. Step right into the shower and rinse off the scrub.

Refreshing foot scrub:

Combine two tablespoons of vegetable oil, two tablespoons of natural sea salt (or beach sand, which you can get at the craft store), three drops of rosemary oil and three drops of peppermint oil. Mix the ingredients into a paste and then massage the paste onto your feet.

Concentrate on rough areas, such as your heels or calluses. When you rinse off the mixture, your feet will be silky smooth.

Botanic Choice has inexpensive vials of essential oils. It’s nice to have a few vials of your favorite scents on hand for aromatherapy and spa treatments. If you’re just getting started with your essential oils collection, try Lavender, Rosemary, and Peppermint oils. We post current Botanic Choice Coupons here >

Pumpkin Facial Mask:

Pumpkin adds moisture to your skin, no matter what your skin type. Just use three tablespoons of pureed pumpkin from a can and one-half teaspoon of honey. If you have normal or oily skin, add one-quarter teaspoon of milk. If you have dry skin, add one-quarter teaspoon of buttermilk.

Once you’ve mixed together all of the ingredients, clean your face using your regular cleanser. Spread the mask over your skin and then leave it on for 15 minutes. Clean off the dried mask with warm water. You can follow it up with rose water (see below) and then apply your moisturizer.

Carrot Avocado Facial Mask:

Combine a mashed carrot, mashed avocado, and a beaten egg with a few tablespoons of honey. Stir well, apply, let sit for about 15 minutes, and then wash off with cool water.

After you’re washed and nourished your skin with the natural face mask above, use grated cucumber or diluted lemon juice as a toner to help tighten your skin and close up your pores. (Remember to keep all ingredients away from the eye area.)

Cuticle softener:

This treatment is simple to use and can prevent jagged nails. Combine a teaspoon of olive oil and a teaspoon of vitamin E oil. Mix them together in a bowl and then massage the oil into your cuticles. After letting the oil soak in for fifteen minutes, you can wash away the excess oil with soap and water.

Lemon softener:

The acid in lemons will work wonders on your rough elbows and rough knees. Cut a lemon in half and then rub it on your rough patches, then rinse it off in the shower. This treatments soften skins and can even lighten dark areas.

Rose Water:

Rose water is a well-known toner and astringent. It costs a lot when you buy it by the bottle, but you can easily make it yourself. Firmly pack rose petals into a cup and place it in a bowl. Pour two cups of boiling water over the top and cover.

Steep the roses until the liquid is cool and then strain out the petals. Refrigerate the water in a sterile glass jar between uses. Apply to the skin with a cotton ball to tone and tighten your skin.

Here are more recipes and ideas on Momscape:
Natural Beauty Recipes
Homemade Beauty Products
Pampering Recipes for Moms

By Melissa Stanton
www.lifesupportformoms.com

Here’s a sampling of the job postings that would be needed to cover all you do for the children—and significant other adult—in your household.

NANNY: Patient, loving woman who requires limited sleep and adult interaction needed to care for child(ren) up to 24/7/365. Other duties include all those listed following this ad, as well as many not described herewith.

HOUSEKEEPER: Responsibilities include cleaning and tidying a family home several times daily. Must be available nights, weekends and overtime, and be willing to clean and tidy the same areas over and over and over again.

CHAUFFEUR: Driver needed to transport child(ren) to all activities beyond the domicile, including but not limited to school, sports, medical appointments, therapies, entertainment venues. Applicant must be skilled in defensive driving tactics and able to operate a vehicle safely regardless of the behavior of her passengers. Having extra-long arms is useful in this position, but not essential.

CHEF: Passable cooking and meal preparation skills needed for short-order establishment serving three full meals and filling dozens of beverage and snack orders per day, for both sit-down and To Go diners. The chef is also responsible for procuring and restocking meal supplies, serving the meals, all dishwashing as well as the full cleaning of both the kitchen and multiple dining areas.

DOCTOR/NURSE: Health and first aid provider needed for pediatric and adult patients in a home-based environment. Responsibilities include making diagnosis, providing medical transportation, emergency care, administering treatments, medications and overall patient assistance, particularly as relates to bodily functions.

DENTAL HYGIENIST: Assistance needed in daily pediatric dental cleaning, teething-related pain management and occasional teeth-pulling.

TEACHER/COACH: Instructor wanted for child(ren) age newborn to adult for lessons related to academics, athletics and overall life skills. Position involves both one-on-one instruction and classes of mixed-age pupils.

PSYCHOLOGIST: Compassionate, wise and tolerant person needed to listen to the problems and concerns of young and aged household members.

WARDROBE MANAGER: Fashion- and bargain-savvy individual needed to acquire, alter, organize and maintain clothing and footwear for all members of a household, for all seasons.

DRESSER: Individual wanted to ensure that appropriate clothing is worn by all household members. Wrestling skills are useful, but can be developed.

Continue reading this article >

When our tee-ball team gets tired, they lose all focus. Some of them can’t muster the energy to stand so they sit smack down on the base. Some of them droop their torsos and let their arms hang long like butter noodles. Some get wild with laughter and have snorting contests. Some cry.

When you think about it, these tiny humans have been in preschool or kindergarten all day and by 6 or 7 in the evening, most of them just want their Capri Sun and cupcake from the Snack Mom and to curl up in the backseat with a blankie.

It was the last inning of the second game in my son’s first t-ball season. The sun was low enough that it made colors look surreal, and it cast a long shadow as one 5-year-old, whom I’ll never forget, loped up to the tee. He had spent the previous inning filling his baseball hat with dirt from center field and, at some point, he had begun to cry, so the red soil in his hat and hair now streaked down his face in pinkish streams.

I didn’t know this particular boy and I don’t recall him making contact with the ball on his previous batting attempts. Judging by his tears, he would have preferred to be somewhere else, but his dad was the coach, so there he was. He scanned the crowd and looked down again when he caught my eye. Something about the look on his wee little boy face made we want to go over and give him a cuddle and let him watch the game with me from the other side of the fence until it was all over.

His dad held out the batting helmet, which he slid on. It knocked his glasses crooked and didn’t quite fit right so it perched on top, and, with his small frame, he looked remarkably like a bobblehead.

He pushed the helmet down as far as could and took the bat from his dad, who was kneeling to give him some last minute instructions. The boy’s attention was focused exclusively on home plate, as he tried to cover it with dirt by kicking with his tiny cleats. That’s when a spectator from our team yelled out, “Heads up, team! This kid’s a real whacker!”

The little boy jerked up his head to find the source of the voice. It was a stranger. A stranger who expected that he would hit this ball hard. A stranger who expected that he would astonish everyone with his mighty swing. A stranger who thought him to be a genuine, bona fide athlete.

This was not a boy who had likely thought of himself in such a way before, and you could see it happen, even from behind: A shift took place. Where once he didn’t believe he could hit the ball, he now all of a sudden did.

Now I wish I could say that he swung that bat and slugged the ball right out of the park. (He didn’t). But he did stand a little taller and suddenly and maybe for the first time, thought of himself as a true ballwhacker indeed.
That man planted a seed in his mind. And the cool thing is that we have no way of knowing where that seed eventually ended up. All of a sudden, this awkward little kid starts to think of himself as a guy whom the crowd is watching; a guy whom the players on the other team had better be wary of.

Sometimes I think that’s the most important part of parenting: just planting seeds. You are smart. You are calm. You are peaceful. You are a beautiful. You are a risktaker. You can do this. You sure have a gift for music. My, my, what a whacker you are.

The seeds you plant have to be sincere – otherwise it’s manipulation, and the kids can tell and it’s no good. Also, you have to assume that many of the seeds will get washed down the gutter with the next rainstorm. Still, it takes so much of the pressure off to think only about scattering them and not about where they might someday end up.

Life is so messy, after all. There are all kinds of big and wonderful, bright and shiny moments where I am really at my best, but there are also a lot of moments raising kids that maybe I didn’t exactly make a good, conscious decision. I just went along. When I have so much to do, and it all gets overwhelming, I can think of it as just planting a few seeds, which comes naturally to me when my head’s on right, and I can do it right from where I am. If I plant enough, some of them, somewhere, are bound to stick. It is this thought alone that gets me through, some days.

Read more from this author by visiting her blog >

A journal is a place where you should feel the freedom to be who you really are and even to push your identity in new ways. A journal can be a playground for experimenting with different ways of seeing the world.

To get the most out of journaling, we don’t think, we just write. And when that happens, we can sometimes find ourselves writing things that we don’t even necessarily mean.

For those of us who keep a personal journal, there is a fear, perhaps, that someone will find and read our diary someday. Or there is a fear that, if something were to happen to us, the people we leave behind would find and read these deepest, darkest thoughts when we aren’t there to defend ourselves or to explain.

There is a profound vulnerability that comes with putting your deepest feelings in black and white.

Here are a few ways that fellow journal-writers have handled journal privacy. See if you can combine these ideas in a way that makes you feel comfortable keeping your own private personal journal.

- When you start a new journal, skip a page and then write a page that expresses your desire for the journal to not be read.

- Use shorthand and abbrevations. For example, if you are writing about something that’s really negative, use code words or first initials to portray the people or events.

- Try recording your thoughts in a file on your computer, instead of in a book. You can then password protect the file so no one else can access it.

- Make a habit of going through this file, or the year’s journal pages, at the end of a month or a year. Write down the insights or the quotes that you want to keep or remember and destroy the rest (either by deleting the file or shredding the pages.)

Of course, if you do this, you’ll miss out on the insights you could gain from reading your journal years down the road. This can be a really beneficial part of the journaling process because you can see how much you have grown and changed. That said, destroying your journals as you go is a process I don’t recommend, but if it is the only way you feel comfortable journaling, it might be worth it to you.

- Keep in mind that your journal is recording your emotional truth, just as it is at the time at which you are writing it. If something were to happen to you and your closest loved ones did read your journal, they would likely see a portrait of you.

It’s important to keep in mind that we all have these dark thoughts and dark times. If someone who loves you were to read it, it might create even a deeper intimacy between you.

Another thing to keep in mind: your journal may be much more positive than you think. Go back and read your journal as though through someone else’s eyes. How do you feel about the person whom your journal portrays? We often think that so much of our journal is negative when that is not the case.

- Use your fear about your journal being read to gain insight into where you might not be being completely honest in your relationships. If you are terrified that your best friend would someday read your journal, ask yourself if there is something about your relationship with her that isn’t being said. Could your relationship with her improve if you showed more of your true feelings?

Nothing makes the journaling process totally secure, but you want to make sure you are comfortable enough with your own level of privacy (and your own system for guaranteeing that privacy) that you continue to journal.

What do you do to ensure your journal’s privacy? Please share your thoughts.

You might also enjoy these Momscape articles
-Personal Journaling: A Tool for the Spirit
-Personal Journaling for Kids

Growing your own plants can not only save you lots of money on your grocery bill, but a nice landscape can improve the value of your home. If you’re creative, you can have a great garden with very little cost. Here are some of my favorite tips to get you started:

Tools:
Watch people who are moving. Ask if they are leaving their lawn equipment and if you can have it or buy it cheap.

Use an old mailbox out in the garden to store your clippers, plastic bags and gloves. (This is my most used item in my garden!) It is especially wonderful because the kids and Hubby don’t know where my tools are, so I don’t have to worry about them borrowing the tools!

Use wedding tulle found at fabric stores instead of shade cloth to shade plants from the sun or to keep the birds from eating your fruit. It’s much cheaper. Better yet, ask a just married bride if you can have the tulle from her wedding.

Cheap Plants:
If you see plants at a store that are in bad shape but not dead, talk to the manager. Ask him if he will give you a “deal” if you take them off his hands. Most of the time they will because the plants look bad and they don’t want to mess with them anymore.

Last year I was able to purchase over 50 large 1/2 gallon-gallon sized perennials for $50. (over $600 retail) All but about 5 of them lived and I was able to take those back and get my money back. Most home improvement and discount stores have a guarantee that if your plant dies within one year, you can bring the dead plant and the receipt and they will give you your money back or give you a new plant.

Buy seeds on sale at the end of the season. Put them in a brown paper bag in the refrigerator for better storage. Seeds usually last many years beyond the “past due” date on the packet.

Mulch:
Ask a tree trimming service to give you their wood chips for mulch if they are in the area.

Some cities also have a free mulch program where the city tree trimmers dump all the wood chips. Call your local County Extension and find out if there is one in your area.

If you just need a few bags, look for torn open bags at the home improvement store. Our local store has a pile where they dump all the torn open bags of mulch and rocks. They sell the bags for $1 each, saving you up to 75% off! Most just have a few chips missing.

Use shredded paper or newspaper under mulch. This way you can use fewer wood chips.

Keep a shower curtain or tarp in your car at all times. This way if you find a good deal on mulch or plants you can take advantage of the deal right away without messing up your car.

Containers:
Use deli trays with lids to start seeds. They are mini greenhouses!

Ask the cemetery if you can have the pots they throw away after Memorial Day. (You can dry the almost dead flowers for potpourri.) Look in dumpsters. Many garden centers at the discount stores throw away the dead plants, pots and all. Ask permission first.

Use Styrofoam peanuts in the bottom of pots for drainage. You can also use small plastic six inch pots, soda cans or plastic bottles in the bottom of larger pots so you don’t have to use so much soil and to make the pots lighter in weight.

Miscellaneous Cheap Gardening Tips

Use milk jugs as drip irrigation. Poke 2 or 3 small holes in the bottom of the jugs and place next to plants. Fill with water and they will slowly water you plants all day.

Use Christmas lights around fences to add sparkle in the middle of summer. Hang them in trees or line paths with them for extra effect.

Use vinegar in a spray bottle to kill weeds. ONLY spray the weed. It will kill any grass or plants you want to keep if you get it on them.

For Kids
Have kids water the plants after they swim in the kiddy pool. Have them take buckets of water from the pool and water the plants when the pool needs to be emptied.

Buy or ask for sandbags after heavy rains. Use the sand for paths or for the kid’s sandboxes. (Only use sand from clean floodwater situations.)

Save scraps of soap when they get too small to bathe with and put them in an old nylon stocking. Knot and hang the nylon on an outdoor faucet.

Homemade Tough Hand Cleaner

1/4 Cup grated Fels Naphtha soap ends

2 Tbsp. mason’s sand or pumice

1 Cup water

Place soap and water in a saucepan. Place over low heat; stir until soap is melted. After mixture cools, add mason’s sand or pumice. Store in a cottage cheese container or margarine tub. To use, dip fingers into soap mixture and lather hands. Rinse well. This works well on greasy tools, also. Be sure to rinse and dry tools thoroughly.

Tawra Kellam is the editor of http://www.LivingOnADime.com/
Tawra and her husband paid off $20,000 debt in 5 years on $22,000 a year income.

The Link Between Fulfillment and Life Purpose
By Lori Radun

Fifteen years into my business career, I began to feel unfulfilled.
Deep in my soul, I had a desire to make a difference in the lives of
other people.  Some people would argue that I was making a
difference.  I contributed to the success of an organization; I
managed people and helped them grow professionally.  The fact is
I was a successful businesswoman, but I wasn’t happy.  I was not
making a difference in the world in a way that was meaningful to
me.

Each of us is uniquely made by God.  We all have special strengths
and talents, and we are all passionate about different things.  We
were gifted with these talents and passions for a reason – to use
them to serve other people.  When you discover what makes you
special, and you tap into the desires of your heart, you are halfway
to fulfilling your life purpose.  When you begin using these gifts
and passions to positively impact other people, then you are living
a life of purpose.  The reward for you is an indescribable feeling of
fulfillment.

It’s not always easy discovering your life purpose.  It takes a lot of
honest self-reflection and a commitment to discovering who you
are and what’s important to you.  It can be a rather elusive
process, especially if soul searching is not something you’re
accustomed to doing.  In order to simplify the discovery, I have
identified three important questions to ask yourself.

What are your gifts and talents?
Take a look at all your strengths.  Some talents you have been
naturally blessed with.  You may be an excellent communicator or
perhaps you’re a gifted musician.  Some of us have the ability to
teach while others are really good at fixing things.  Not only do you
have inborn gifts and talents, but you’ve also developed skills over
the years.  While working for a small company in the business
world, I gained a tremendous amount of experience in how to run
a business.  This was not a skill I was born with; it was something
I learned.  In addition to your natural and learned skills and
talents, you have a set of personality characteristics that serve
you well.  Perhaps you’re caring or funny, persistent or objective.
All of these things make up your package of unique gifts and
talents.

What are you passionate about?
From the time I was 21 years old, I have been passionate about
personal growth.  As a matter of fact, when I look back on my Girl
Scout days, I was even passionate about growing as an individual
then.  I spent a great deal of time and energy filling up my sash
with Girl Scout badges.  It was fun for me to master a new skill.  I
have always loved learning and growing, so it’s not a surprise that
I help others do that today.  I recently met a woman that runs a
doggy day camp.  Her passion is dogs.  My mother’s passion is
beauty.  She loves to make spaces, meals, parties and people
beautiful.  What is your passion?  What can you get lost in for
hours?  What would you be willing to do for free?

What changes would you like to see take place in your family,
community, the nation or the world?
If it wasn’t for all the people using their gifts, talents and passions
to make changes, our world would be a very different place.
Mother Teresa wanted to help the poor.  Martin Luther King Jr.
wanted to see equality between the races.  Danielle Steele wants
women to believe in love.  There are a lot of people out there
making negative changes to our world because it’s done so out of
selfish desire.  What positive changes would you like to see take
place while you’re still alive?  How can you contribute to making
these changes?

Living a life of purpose is about making a positive difference in the
lives of other people.  It’s about using our gifts, talents and
passions to serve other people.  There is not fulfillment in serving
ourselves.  When we give unconditionally, we receive.  The gift we
receive is personal fulfillment.  All of us want to know that who we
are is needed by someone in a meaningful way.  This world needs
you to be you.

About the Author:
Lori Radun is a certified life coach for moms.  To receive her FREE
report “155 Things Moms Can Do to Raise Great Children”, visit her
website at www.momnificent.com

It’s a risk parents run particularly with a first child, an only child, a last child at home, a child in crisis, or a child with special needs: becoming so absorbed in, preoccupied by, and invested in that single child that they over parent to formative effect.

What is Over-Parenting?
Over parenting occurs when parents carry some concern or care-taking behavior to such an extreme degree that the child reacts with an extremely troublesome response. For example: parents who treat their child as especially fragile may raise a child who is unduly risk-averse.  What’s called for in this case, of course, is for parents to moderate their absorption and preoccupation so that the child learns to remain responsibly aware of her condition, but not so frightened by it that fear prevents safe and normal growth.

Common Examples of Over Parenting:
·       In response to over solicitous parents, a child can become extremely sensitive and easily upset. “I get treated so carefully by my parents that I get easily hurt when not treated with that degree of consideration by other people.”

·       In response to over critical parents, a child can become extremely judgmental and self-critical. “I can never do well enough to satisfy my parents, am really hard on myself and other people say that I am too hard on them.”

·       In response to over giving parents who keep setting their own self-interest aside for their son’s or daughter’s sake, a child can become extremely exploitive: “I expect other people to do more for me than I should do for them.”

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