Finances

Know Your Benefits. Change Your Future.

If you are not taking full advantage of the benefit package your employer offers you, you could be leaving money behind. And it could have detrimental effects on your future.  You owe it to yourself to know what is offered and seek to understand those offerings. The benefits offered are part of your salary – take advantage of the gift.  Benefit packages differ between employers. Offerings are dependent on size of the employer, your length of employment and possibly the ‘wait’ period before available to you as the employee.      Not meant to be all inclusive, here are the […]

Food, For the Love of Family

Nourishing Your Family Economically

During my ‘real job’ days before becoming an entrepreneur, I worked with several nutritionists.  These collegues provided much insight as well as opportunities to learn about the science of nutrition. Every year, these professionals observed National Nutrition Month, which is celebrated in March. This year, the theme is Fuel for the Future, focusing on eating for every phase of  life while protecting the environment. A beautifully and idealistic theme, yet when facing an ‘inflation crisis’ with rising food prices, how do we meet this mission? Embracing the need to feed my family well AND keep within a set food budget […]

Family, Finances, For the Love of Family

Showing Love and Appreciation for Valentine’s Day

February. The month we celebrate Valentine’s Day and the month we get to celcbrate love and show appreciation for the people in our lives. Admittedly, this is my favorite holiday. For me, it isn’t an overly assumptive romantic holiday, but a holiday to celebrate others by showing love and appreciation. Here are my top ideas for budget-friendly Valentine’s celebration: For your spouse or special friend: Cook their favorite dinner at home. Light some candles. Play favorite memory tunes. Write a love letter. Spray perfume on the envelope. Write a message on the mirror (use lipstick or dry-erase markers) Using kid-friendly […]

Family, Finances

The Beauty of Rhythm and Routine

  What if the rhythm of our life and routines created were all we needed to move forward towards our desired outcomes? Honestly, in my past, this would have been a boring proposition. After all, doesn’t a meaningful life include taking risks and being adventurous? Yet, life has taught me that my desired outcomes for this week, next month or in 2023 and beyond must be pursued with intentionality; and that intentionality includes my daily, weekly and monthly routines and/or habits which reflect the natural rhythms of life. Our world has natural rhythms: sunlight turns to dark which leads to […]

For the Love of Family, Raw Footage

The Art of Pause

Throughout my life I have always worked towards being productive and efficient; yet never able to reach my ideal of productivity and efficiency.  Nothing wrong with these strivings, unless my strivings caused unknown or unnecessary sacrifices. As I have grown older, reflected and sought wisdom from others, I have realized that practicing the art of pause is much needed, not just for me, but for everyone. P A U S E a temporary stop or rest in speech or action; a cessation of activity; a momentary hesitation Simply stated, pause is momentarily stopping. Simple, yet hard to implement. What do I […]

Family, Food, For the Love of Family

My Quick, Easy, Healthy Breakfast Ideas

Breakfast is important. It is important for overall health, brain power and focus. Beyond nourishing, including breakfast in your family’s morning routine offers many secondary benefits including: Beginning your day together as family Conversing with your family We do life together, encouraging each other for our day’s activities Study after study reveals the benefits of breakfast. Make breakfast work for you and your family. If you have a picture of an ideal setting – erase it. It may be messy, it may be somewhat chaotic, yet the benefits can and will outweigh your less than perfect.  In our family, we […]