Shop Small Business
What if you made every Saturday, small business Saturday? What if you shopped small, local, independent businesses every Saturday for a year? An American Express study in 2022 found that “ $0.68 of every dollar spent at a small business in the U.S. stays in the local community and that every dollar spent at small businesses creates an additional $0.48 in local business activity as a result of employees and local businesses purchasing local goods and services.” Small Business Saturday was started in 2010 to encourage shoppers to shop locally on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. It has since grown to #shopsmall which encourages people to shop small businesses year-round. Since I’ve become a small business, I greatly value supporting other small businesses, especially local ones. I also love it when a client gives me a teacher appreciation gift or gift card that’s from a local business! It’s a win-win for everyone! As you are shopping this month, shop local and shop small. Of course, I love the convenience of big box stores and the quick delivery of Amazon, but there’s something to be said about knowing a shop owner and giving back to the community. Drop into the comments below…
Finding Purpose in Midlife
Is the empty nest a syndrome? Guest post by Cindy Stumme of Back to You and Me, a blog for finding purpose in midlife. “What am I going to do with myself after all the kids have left the house?” This was the question that popped into my mind when I waved goodbye to my third child and only daughter as she began her freshman year of college. And then I googled “empty nest syndrome.” The internet is loaded with information about almost everything, and the empty nest is no exception. In fact, one of the most common myths floating around cyberspace is that there is some sort of syndrome associated with the empty nest. Did you know empty nest syndrome is not an actual psychological diagnosis? It’s just an expression, and I think that the addition of the word syndrome has created some negative expectations for what can be a really great stage in our lives. Yet, there is no denying that many of us struggle as our children leave the home. My own experiences led me to ask, “If the empty nest is not a syndrome, why is this so hard?” Here’s what I found: Midlife and the…
Product Review: LB Love Organics
How do you choose what type of hand lotion to buy? With so many “avoid these chemicals” messages it’s hard to find a good hand lotion, let alone a swoon-worthy hard lotion bar that smells nice and supports small businesses. So how do you know what organic small businesses you can support? If you are like me, word of mouth is the best advertisement for any business, big or small. When a friend tells me they love a product, it’s helpful, or that they know and trust the owner, I’m interested! Let me tell you about a product I am LOVING right now. Spice Cider Hard Lotion Bar by LB Love Organics. Not only does this company focus on sensitive skin products, but it uses simple and organic ingredients. The tagline is “sensitive skincare, simple ingredients.” Meredith of LB Love Organics grew her company out of her personal research for products for the dry and sensitive skin of her family members and her friends’ love of her creations. She did all the research AND created products so all we have to do is click the purchase button. As a bonus, my order came quickly and with a personal note and…
Get Detailed Steps To Start A Small Business
What is stopping you from starting the business you have been dreaming about? Are you afraid it is too much work to start a business or that you don’t know what to do to get started? I’ve got the solution. Got a friend who would be SO good at teaching lessons or coaching others but hasn’t made that leap yet? I’ve got a business course and a tutoring workshop. Ready to work for yourself but not exactly sure what line of business to choose? Consider private tutoring or coaching. I’ve got the steps to start a small business. Immediate Access to Course and Checklist Starting your own business IS a lot of work, but fortunately, many of those tasks and decisions can be made once and you will soon be on your way to working for yourself. In my course “Business Basics” I walk clients, just like you, through the main steps of setting up a small business including checklists and lots of little questions for you to consider and make notes about. I spent many hours researching and writing detailed notes about all the things I needed to do to start a business, build a website, get customers, and…
Midlife Blog Review: Back to You and Me
What stage of life is midlife? Most define midlife as when the kids are out of the house but you are not yet retired, so typically between ages 40-60. While life will not look exactly the same for us “new grays,” we do share many similarities and challenges in the midlife season including shifting priorities, relationships with adult children, and becoming a couple again. My cousin, Cindy Stumme, has recently started an informative and encouraging blog for those of us in midlife called Back to You and Me. This blog grew out of her experiences with an empty nest and midlife transition that became the focus of her recent master’s thesis. Just as many of you reached out to friends who had kids when you were just starting your parenting adventure, now you can get some advice and encouragement to thrive, not just survive, midlife. Cindy helps readers put purpose and meaning into this transitional season of life through resources, research, and building community. As a bonus, Cindy often adds free downloadable phone wallpaper for extra encouragement. Check out Cindy’s blog, Back to You and Me, for more information and encouragement for “thriving in midlife and the empty nest through…
Free Printable Agenda Page
How many late or missing assignments has your child had this week? How could a free printable agenda page help you? I’m a huge fan of agendas, but I also know that many kids struggle to use them. Recently I wrote a post about using Google calendars as digital agendas, but there are plenty of kids and families who just need a printable agenda page. I’ve got one for you! Whether you have a 5 subject day or 8, I’ve got a sheet for you. You can simply use the extra rows for notes, extracurricular activities, work, etc. Whether you are a parent, teacher, or tutor, this free printable agenda page is for you. Print this free printable agenda page and help your child get back on track. I suggest printing it on colored paper, but not so bright or dark that your child can’t write on it with a pencil. A nice fluorescent green, yellow, or orange helps kids find their printable agenda page in the folder crammed with worksheets, handouts, and missing homework. Take time at the start of the week to write in as many assignments as the teachers have posted online or are predictably due each…
World Mental Health Day
What would help you feel more prepared to support a friend who is struggling? Whether you are a parent, teacher, small business owner, coach, grandparent, world traveler or all of the above, life gets stressful. None of us are immune to mental health challenges, yet so many of us feel unprepared to offer or seek help. October 10 is World Mental Health Day. Here are some helpful tools and tips for encouraging mental health well-being in your sphere of influence. Have you considered what you can stock in your psychological first aid kit? Calmly listen to those in need. Learn about their struggles. Acknowledge their strengths. Connect them to resources. Sit with them in the silence. You do not need to be a trained counselor to be a friend to someone who is hurting. What about your mental health medicine cabinet? What healthy habits do you have in place to nurture your mental health? Learn to take breaks. Talk things out. Acknowledge that hard is not the same as bad. Write a list of resources should you want to seek help. Educate yourself. You take care of your physical health at the gym, grocery store, and medical appointments, so start…
Free Home Maintenance Checklist
How do you document your home maintenance? The best way to document home maintenance is to have a 3-ring house binder for all your warranties, product manuals, purchase receipts, and home maintenance checklist. Some people use a box or file system in the same way. To get started, first purchase a large 3-ring binder and some page protectors. Clear page protectors or pocket folders are good for storing and sorting the manuals in your house binder. At the top of the product manual, write the purchase date and/or attach the receipt. For online/digital manuals, you can set up a folder on your computer or a file on your email specifically for these. Next, create a document for home maintenance where you record when you change the air filters (and what size to buy), replace the batteries in the smoke detector, and check the fire extinguisher. Or you can simply put the date next to the task on the home maintenance checklist. When you sell or move, consider which manuals and documents you will leave for the next resident. Hint: just leave the current ones! If you have replaced the stove, just leave the current manual! Additionally, set task…
Product Review: Neso Tents
What type of beach shade do you use? After years of dragging the big heavy beach canopy bag down to the shore and hoping we could get it set up and down by ourselves if my husband wasn’t on the trip, I found a new easier beach shade, a Neso Tent, that weighs considerably less! Neso beach tents are a breeze to use and store. These lycra/nylon tents provide water resistant sunshade with different configurations depending on where you put the poles. There is a slight learning curve to setting them up on a windy day but tutorial videos helped. This Neso beach tent was great for our multigenerational beach trip so the great grandmas, the tired surfers, and the baby could have shade. We did have our tent blow down once but the winds were over 20 mph and changing directions. I was quite impressed with how well it did on other windy days and much less worried than usual about the umbrella flying down the beach or the whole canopy tent overturning and hurting someone. This beach tent can also be used in the backyard or sidelines. Instead of filling the bags with sand, you can use…
10 reading questions to ask your child
How can parents ask good questions without reading the book? Every parent wants to ask good reading questions to help their child stretch their reading comprehension but who has time to pre read all the books and come up with good questions? This list of 10 reading questions will help you support your child’s literacy development and start critical thinking discussions. Whenever I ask critical thinking reading comprehension questions of students, I always expect them to tell why they think that. Teach your child to answer the question and tell why. I reassure students that there may be more than one right answer and telling why or giving proof from the text will help their answer to be understood better. Here are 10 reading questions you can personalize and use to ask your child about what they are reading regardless of the book or their school grade level. Ask one or two of these at a time and give plenty of thinking time if needed. What made you select this book? What character are you most/least like? Would you be friends with the main character if they lived next door? What is the crisis in the story and how…