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March, 2010 – Astrology at Work

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March, 2010 – Astrology at Work

ASTROLOGY AT WORK IN YOUR LIFE

 

March, 2010Karola Crawford

 

By Karola Crawford

 

Editor’s Note: Karola is taking the month of April off and will return in May.

 

    The start of a new cycle brings birthday greetings to Aries, the Ram as it starts the spring equinox.  You are always apt to get noticed in a group as you are the most gregarious and talkative in the crowd.  Your high spirit is contagious and your laughter brings even the most serious to a lighter note.  You are inspirational, courageous, enthusiastic, original and independent at your best, but you can also exhibit signs of impatience, selfish and impulsive behavior, and at times can be downright headstrong.  Aries is the point of all beginning.  All the energies are self-centered and self-directed, which can make it difficult to form a partnership unless the person has a good sense of responsibility.  You tend to start many projects but require a pat on the head to continue as you can suddenly lose interest in it if the progress is too slow or things have become too complicated.  You have a gift for waking up the environment where you find yourself and don’t sit quietly in a corner waiting for someone to speak to you.  You are not subtle.  If you want something, you go after it.  You enjoy people, and in love you are passionate.  Usually you enjoy good health because you move around enough to exercise your body.  As parents, you tend to push your children extremely hard, but even so, you make good parents.  The three things that an Aries should learn are:  patience, conservation of energy, and completion.  Wherever you find the sign of Aries in your chart indicates where you need to be independent, and are a self-starter.

 

   This month starts a cycle of responsibility which will continue for several months, though you may wish to throw caution to the wind.  Plan for leaner days now.

 

   Taurus – Careful that you don’t get fooled by a smooth talker.  See circumstances for what they truly are, not what you wish they should be.

 

   Gemini – Move forward with momentum and don’t look back.  You are truly on a roll.  Your endless charm will prove to be a big hit.

 

   Cancer – Go with the punches and move forward.  The past is over and only the present is what counts at this point.

 

   Leo – You may need a bit of rest after exerting so much energy this past month.  Get that long awaited massage and get pampered.

 

   Virgo – Things are going to get a bit more emotional this month and you may regret the unconventional ways of dealing with the past.  Be original and creative now.

 

   Libra – Stick with the old and tried and leave the new plans for another time.  A father figure may prove to be the wisest.

 

   Scorpio – You prove to be the authority figure that others look to this month, but don’t take advantage of your sense of power.  A sense of humility will keep everyone happy.

 

   Sagittarius – A very sensitive time can spur you into creativity this month.  Make sure that what you feel are truly your own feelings.  Meditation is good.

 

   Capricorn – You are gathering forces and becoming larger on the forefront.  Keep everyone’s best interest at heart.

 

   Aquarius – Fishing is very appealing, then again, so is the beach.  Water activities of any sort are highly recommended.

 

   Pisces – Work with your hands and create beauty all around.  You have special talents that want to be brought out now in a serving way.

 

Karola Crawford, MAFA, has been a certified Astrologer for 22 years. She has cast charts for clients all over the world and also practices Holistic medicine, Yoga, Shiatsu, Reiki, Auricular Acupucture and is an accomplished artist. Where does she get all of her energy? A grand trine in fire, of course. Karola can be reached at 561-615-1591 or by visiting the web site at www.karolacrawford.com.

March, 2010 – Five Ways to Celebrate Earth Day

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March, 2010 – Five Ways to Celebrate Earth Day

Living GreenChristine Smith

Five Ways to Celebrate Earth Day 2010

By Christine Powell Smith

The official day for Earth Day is April 22nd and it is celebrated worldwide.  Most celebrations will be the weekend before to allow more people to participate.

What is Earth Day? Earth Day aims to inspire awareness of, and appreciation for, earth’s environment. It is currently observed in more than 140 countries around the world. Here are five ways that you and your family can participate and enjoy Earth Day!

1) Make a reusable shopping bag

Stop using plastic.  Do you know that about 100 billion plastic bags are used each year in the U.S. alone?   Add to that… the huge economies and populations of India, China, Europe, and other parts of the world, and the number of bags used worldwide is quite staggering. The problem is further exacerbated when developed countries ship off their plastic waste to developing countries like India.  You can purchase reusable shopping bags almost anywhere, but why not try to make your own?  For ideas click here.

 2) Have a scavenger hunt

Scavenger hunts are fun, and they are also great ice breakers.  I remember one time I went to a business function and I didn’t know anyone there.  There was a scavenger hunt planned where you got paired-up in groups.  We got to know each other quickly and had a phenomenal time.  Here’s an idea… invite some friends and/or family over, pair them up with people they don’t know, and give them the list of items that they have to find.  Don’t sweat being a host… have everyone bring a dish (of course in a reusable container).   A gathering and celebration of Earth Day all in one!

3) Plant a tree

Easy, simple, and you can do this in your own backyard or around your community.  If you don’t have much of a green thumb, visit Your Tree and they can do it for you.

4) Recycle toys and games

By giving their old toys and games to younger children who could make use of them, older children learn two lessons: one is the joy of giving, and the second is the sensibility of reusing and recycling instead of throwing things away. Hey, this isn’t just reserved for the kids… you too can do this with your clothes, books and more.

5) Get involved in your community

Check your local newspaper or Television station to see if your school, your street, your local neighborhood is having an environmental fair… and don’t simply attend – get involved!  Things to have at the fair include demonstrations of environmentally-friendly products, children’s artwork, healthy/locally grown foods to eat, animal care demonstrations (including wildlife rescue), games for the children made of recycled products, musicians and actors performing environmental music and skits, stalls which are recycling unwanted treasures and books, local environmental organizations presenting their issues and wares. Money raised can go towards a local environmental restoration project or to an environmental group agreed upon by all the participants running the fair.

 

Christine Smith is a Principal, as well as the Director of Marketing for Fine Lions, Inc. Fine Lions specializes in a proprietary Eco-friendly wood graining process that is applied to non wood products to give them the appearance of natural wood. This earth conscious application may be done on exterior and interior doors, garage doors, kitchen and bath cabinets, as well as other surfaces.  To learn more, visit  http://www.finelions.com.

March, 2010 – Glass Dismissed

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March, 2010 – Glass Dismissed

As I Was SayingAlan Williamson

 

Glass Dismissed

 

By Alan Williamson

 

            Peek inside the kitchen cabinets in our home and you’ll come face to face with a disturbing secret my wife and I have kept quiet for decades: we keep our socks and underwear in with our plates and dishes. Okay, not really. That’s a disgusting lie designed to get your attention, but if you really did open our kitchen cabinets, you would see something almost as jarring: a massive stash of drinking glasses that has spiraled way out of control and continues to expand against all rhyme or reason.

          Spooked by the seemingly bizarre imbalance, I recently sat down and did the math: 2 people divided by 124 glasses = 62 glasses per person per day. And that doesn’t even factor in the countless glasses squirreled away in china cabinets, the living room wall bar, and boxes under beds, in closets and stacked out in the garage.

          Our “glasses of mass consumption” surplus started innocently enough. When my wife and I first joined forces, I possessed a certain number of assorted drinking glasses (8) and Sherry had a certain, somewhat higher number (58). As time went on, my glasses – which mostly consisted of 16 oz. plastic tumblers commemorating an outdoor event that I consumed a cold beer at – were weeded out to make room for more respectable, stylish glasses that came in sets, had elegant stems, and illuminated alluringly when the light hit them.

          Now, as best as I can figure it, here’s where things started to get out of hand. During occasions when our “good glasses” played a prominent role in a social gathering at the house, we became quietly and irrevocably identified by well-intentioned friends and family as “appreciators of nice glasses.” This led to our receiving sets of glasses as gifts on a regular basis. Red wine glasses. White wine glasses. Red and white wine glasses. Crystal dinner glasses. Smoked dinner glasses. Every day dinner glasses. Indoor/outdoor glasses. Fancy coffee drink glasses. Holiday-themed coffee mugs. Coffee mugs from the White Castle Hamburger collection that, in spite of their blatant promotional purpose, are sturdy, first-rate mugs worth reaching around the more “respectable” mugs in the cabinet to get to.

          On any given day, in fact, my choice of glasses follows a conspicuously narrow and predictable pattern.

          Morning: I’ll reach for a White Castle coffee mug or a mug that says “The Grand Village: Branson, Missouri.” (I’ve never been to Branson, Missouri, but the mug evokes an odd sentimentality in me fueled by visions of an ancient Andy Williams singing The Hawaiian Wedding Song while I eat roasted chicken and mash potatoes at a dinner theater with busloads of tourists.)

          Noon: I’ll reach for a 12 oz. plastic tumbler that says “Promenade in the Park: The Family, Food and Fun Festival” or a 16 oz. plastic tumbler that says “It’s 5 o’ clock at the Quarter Deck Lounge.”

          Night: I’ll reach for a tinted German wine glass with a green spiral stem or a goblet-style wine glass with grapes hand-painted on it by our friend Jane while she skillfully drank wine from another glass.

          According to my meticulous calculations, that leaves about 56 glasses allotted for my daily use that are severely underemployed and deserve to hear the words “glass dismissed” any day now. Even if I quadrupled my daily fluid intake, I’m reasonably confident that I could still get by with less than 10 glasses, even if it meant resorting to more or less unlimited refills of the multipurpose “Promenade in the Park: The Family, Food and Fun Festival” mug.   

          One consolation in all this is that during candid conversations with intensely private couples who prefer to remain nameless (Uncle Al and Aunt Jean), I’ve discovered that others have a similar baffling surplus. While the consensus is that it’s nice to have extra glasses around for when you have company, Sherry and I don’t throw the kind of get-togethers where 124 glasses are needed on standby to be called into active service.

Actually, Sherry and I don’t throw the kind of get-togethers where 24 glasses would be needed. That being said, you never know when the national tour bus of a philharmonic orchestra might break down in front of your home and serving refreshments in paper cups would reflect poorly on your reputation for exceptional class and cultural sophistication.

In the meantime, please excuse me while I refill my “It’s 5 o’clock at the Quarter Deck Lounge” mug. It’s not the most attractive glass in the house, but it holds a hardy 16 ounces and when I accidentally knock it over lunging for the last chicken wing I can pick it right up, wipe it right off, and start all over again.

Alan Williamson is an award-winning writer with 27 years in the field of true fiction (advertising). A practical man who knows that writing for a living is risky going, he has taken steps to pursue a second, more stable career as a leggy super model. Alan can be reached at alwilly@bellsouth.net.

March, 2010 – Love & Money

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By the Numbers

 

Love & Money: 25 Financial Tips for Couples

By Kathleen Gurney, Ph.D, and Ginita Wall, CPA, CFP

Excerpted from:
Love & Money: 150 Financial Tips for Couples
This booklet is for sale in the WIFE bookstore: order info

The way we earn, spend, and save money is a practical expression of our most fundamental beliefs. When our priorities are out of sync, money can become the great divide in an otherwise harmonious relationship. 

By working together toward financial freedom, money can cease being a source of conflict and become a way to express our highest values, while providing comfort and security to those we love most. 

Here are ways that you, as a couple, can improve your relationship with money.

While dating

  1. Learn to have fun without a lot of money. A bike ride, walk in the park, home-cooked meal, free concert, or ice cream cone are just a few of the opportunities available to enjoy time with your lover without spending a lot of money.
  2. Pay attention to your partner’s financial habits. Just because your beloved is a lot of fun and a good kisser does not mean that she is fiscally responsible. Before you commit yourself, learn how your partner handles the big issues of real life, including financial matters.
  3. Discuss your dreams and goals with your partner. Almost everything you will do during your lives together will cost money. Make sure your partner’s goals are compatible with yours.

Living Together

  1. Don’t move in by degrees. Some people leave their toothbrush one night, then a few changes of clothes, and before they know it, they’ve moved in. Have a discussion with your partner about leases, household expenses, and other important matters before you make your decision.
  2. Create a written living-together agreement. Clarifying your intentions in writing will help you to avoid misunderstandings and costly disagreements later. In most cases, your agreement will be enforceable in court.
  3. Plan carefully before you borrow with your beloved. Determine in advance who will be responsible for debts incurred during the relationship. In the absence of an agreement, each partner is generally responsible for debts for which she has signed, often without recourse to the other partner for repayment.

For Newlyweds 

  1. Time your marriage to minimize taxes. If both you and your beloved are employed, the “marriage penalty” may force you to pay more taxes as a married couple than you would if you were single, so marry the following January rather than December. However, if one spouse earns most of the money, you’ll enjoy a “marriage bonus,” paying less tax as a married couple than you would as two single people, so a December wedding might be wise.
  2. If you are paying for your own wedding, pay cash instead of going into debt. Have the courage to care more for the reality of your joint finances than the symbolic ritual of a lavish party. Consider having a small get-together to memorialize your love, and then throw a larger party when you can afford it.
  3. If you receive monetary gifts on your wedding day, don’t spend them all. Set aside as much as you can to invest for shared dreams, such as a house, business, or children.
  4. Review your investments. Determine if you need to change your investment allocations to meet your joint goals. Your partner’s assets can provide you with some investment flexibility that you could not achieve while single.

Joining Your Financial Lives

  1. Create a workable structure for your financial lives. Who will be responsible for paying bills, filing invoices, balancing the checkbook, and researching large purchases? Establish a division of labor that suits your talents and needs.
  2. Celebrate your differences. If one of you is a saver and the other a spender, create a budget that allows for both. If your partner is a bargain-hunter, put him in charge of the spending part of the budget, while you invest the savings.
  3. Confide in your partner. Keeping financial problems to yourself is destructive to the openness and stability of your relationship. Discuss your worries with your mate and ask her for practical suggestions and support.
  4. Rank your financial priorities. Where your individual goals coincide, make a list of the steps it will take to accomplish those goals. Where they collide, figure out which you can live without and how to combine the rest with your partner’s plans.

Starting a Family

  1. If one partner will stay at home while the other works full-time, discuss the model you will use for your finances. Will you pay the homemaker a salary for her services? Have a spending limit for purchases, like a corporate buyer? Create an arrangement that shows respect for the most important job on Earth: raising a wonderful human being.
  2. If you haven’t already, now is the perfect time to prepare your will. You don’t want guardianship issues to be settled in court if anything happens to you. Ask a friend or relative if he would be willing to be the legal and/or financial guardian for your children after you’re gone. Then, follow through by updating and signing your will.
  3. If you stay home, keep up your career skills. Work part-time to maintain your skills and contacts, or go to school part-time to improve your financial prospects. Maintain your skills so you can ease your transition to the workplace.
  4. Contribute to your child’s Roth IRA. Children, like many other taxpayers, can contribute up to $2,000 of their earnings to an IRA. If your children have part-time jobs, encourage them to save the money in a Roth IRA, perhaps by “matching” the funds they contribute. Roth IRA contributions can be withdrawn tax- and penalty-free and used for college expenses. Earnings can be withdrawn as well after the IRA has been open for five years, but they are subject to tax.

Relationship Skills for Financial Success

  1. Organize regular “money meetings” to discuss your financial situation, dreams, and goals. Use this time to brainstorm creative solutions to problems and generate ideas to improve your future.
  2. Work with your mate’s personality, instead of against it. One of you makes financial decisions instantly, while the other one deliberates for days. One of you hates paperwork, while the other has anxiety if every blank is not filled out completely and perfectly. Focus on a positive outcome, not the method of traveling.
  3. Don’t ignore your partner’s needs. It may not be important to you, but if it’s important to your partner, it’s important to your partnership. Treat your partner as a business associate, not a dumping ground. Hear what your partner is saying, consider it, and respond.
  4. Join an investment club, or form one for your family. Investment clubs are social gatherings where the members can learn about finances together. It’s a great opportunity to share good times and learn how to invest at the same time.

Remarriage

  1. Talk about the money differences you had with your prior spouse. That way, your new mate will learn more about you and will know where you are coming from when differences arise in this relationship.
  2. Be polite to your partner’s ex-spouse. He or she is the lion at the gate guarding your partner’s relationship with his children. Don’t indulge in vengeful or petty actions that may keep you from your larger goal of a happy stepfamily.
  3. Don’t let the children come between you. It takes special vigilance to keep children from prior marriages from fueling disagreements. Discuss in advance how you will share responsibility for children who live with you and how their expenses will be handled.

Excerpted from:
Love & Money: 150 Financial Tips for Couples
This booklet is for sale in the WIFE bookstore: order info

Thanks to www.wife.org for this advice.

March, 2010 – With the Sun…

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March, 2010 – With the Sun…

Lighten Up with Lisa

Lightworker Lisa
Lightworker Lisa

 

 

With the sun comes a time for congratulations, not condolences

 

By Lisa Dawn Wax

 

When the night has been too lonely and the road has been too long-
When you think that love (or life) is only for the lucky and the strong-
Just remember in the winter far beneath the bitter snows
lies the seed that with the sun’s love in the spring becomes the rose.

                                    The Rose  lyrics by Amanda McBloom and sung by Bette Midler

 

 

Spring is upon us. Time to take a deep breath, put a spring in your step and spring into action.  Yes I know it has been a long period of harvest. The winter was long and cold and I’m not just referring to the weather.  I have spoken to many friends and neighbors who have struggled and suffered and continue to do so. I, myself, am not immune to the current economic hardships.  However, we must remember it’s always darkest before the dawn and that which first appears to be our darkest time might actually be a blessing, an opportunity for forthcoming salvation via rebirth, renewal or resurrection. 

 

According to the song, the sun’s love yields the bloom of the rose. The sun is essential to all life on earth, without it our planet would die. It not only gives us life but direction and assists with the cycles that are inherent to life. According to the book of Genesis, it was the first thing created as God said, “Let there be light”.  Twice a year, once in Spring (March 20/21) and once in Fall (September 22/23), the sun is directly vertical above the equator and the tilt of the Earth’s axis is inclined neither away from nor towards the sun; we call this an equinox. Last year while the sun was illuminating above at the time of the Fall equinox I wrote my September 2009 column, opening with John Donne’s quote “No man is an island,” and focused on the theme of solidarity.  Six months later, again with the illumination of the sun directly overhead during the vernal equinox, let’s revisit the idea of solidarity as well as celebrate the blessings of new opportunities for growth.

 

Aside from the vernal equinox, key indicators of springtime are the holidays of Easter and Passover (Pesach in Hebrew). Unlike the equinox, which usually falls on the same day, exact dates for the holidays vary from year to year. Nonetheless, these holidays initiate springtime and exemplify the profound message of rebirth.  The Christian gospel story of Easter epitomizes rebirth with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Easter also celebrates rebirth with the highly symbolic representation of the Easter Egg.   The egg is also used at Passover on the Passover Seder plate as a representation of rebirth and we see resurrection of the Hebrews as they left Egypt as slaves, passed through the desert with a newfound freedom, and entered into the promised land of Israel as the chosen people.  In his essay Pesach – Birth and Rebirth Rabbi Stolper writes, “With the advent of spring, human hope is reborn. Pesach, the holiday of birth and renewal…celebrates the birth of a new mechanism for human salvation… the foundation of which is no longer the individual operating alone, but the family.”  I absolutely love this passage.  While salvation and rebirth is critical on the individual level, I love the idea of expanding it to a familial level, community level, global level, universal level, to remind us of the importance of holism. The principle of holism, best summarized by the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle with his famous quote, “The whole is more than the sum of its parts,” echoes the magnitude of solidarity and importance of working together.   Wikipedia defines Holism as “the idea that all the properties of a given system (physical, biological, chemical, social, economic, mental, etc.) cannot be determined or explained by its component parts alone. Instead, the system as a whole determines in an important way how the parts behave.”  As we enter into this season of rebirth and renewal and struggle to see the promising opportunities that hopefully light our way, let us consider to walk not just as one but as a whole. It is not just a pilgrimage for our own salvation, but the salvation of us all, as we are so much more than the “sum of our parts”.  

 

This year when you celebrate these holidays I urge you to try to focus on what they represent. Whether you worship with your congregation, your family or even alone; you can find the light inside you and let it guide you to a new place, physically or spiritually.  Use it first to heal yourself so that you feel more capable to reach out and help others. Make the most of this important time; benefit from this renewal period and apply it to all areas of your life. The snow is melting and the flowers are about to bloom.

 

Just as the Hebrews’ exodus led them to their newfound freedoms, as we cross the symbolic desert into new territory of an unexplored land, be it a new job, a new relationship, a new home, a new town, let us rejoice in the possibilities that lie ahead. Let’s take advantage of this seasonal alignment of the sun to shed much needed light upon our lives and our direction. So, is this a time for condolences? Perhaps for some, and with every ounce of empathy and compassion inside me, I humbly and genuinely offer you my loving prayers.  However, I’m hoping that it is a time when most of you, those who seek an inner strength to strive for the light at the end of the tunnel and remain standing, greatly deserve a firm pat on the back. To you, I offer praise and congratulations with every ounce of inspiration I can muster.

 

Until next time, may your days be brighter and your lives be lighter.

 

Lisa Dawn Wax, aka Lightworker Lisa, has been certified in Massage Therapy, Fitness Training and Reiki Healing for over 15 years. In addition to being a born Lightworker she is a certified Angel Healing Practitioner and Reiki Master; all of which basically confirm her intuitive abilities and commitment to help, heal and teach. Using Reiki, divine messages and intuitive readings, she has helped many people to identify the source of their pain, clarify current life situations, and successfully redirect their focus into positive channels.  If you’d like to share comments about this article or if you are in need of affordable healing and/or life coaching with immediate results, please call her at 561-594-3948 or visit her new website . All rights reserved.

March, 2010 – Laments of a Senior Stud Wannabe

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March, 2010 – Laments of a Senior Stud Wannabe

Cantankerously YoursWendell Abern

 

Laments of a Senior Stud Wannabe

 

By Wendell Abern

Dear Internet Investigators,

          I have several friends who have signed up on Internet dating sites, and I confess to a growing curiosity as to how these work.

          I call my kids in Chicago to tell them I am about to browse around a couple of popular websites.

          My daughter Beth:  “Oh no!  Whatever you do, don’t tell them you have kids!  Last time you went into cyberspace, I received e-mails for six months from fourteen different chocolatiers!”

          My son Steven:  “Oh, Lord.”

          My kids never take me seriously.   I plow ahead.

          I check out a site called plentyoffish.com.  I scan for a while and fill out a form that asks me to describe myself.  I write a pithy and, I think, intriguing description, and e-mail it to Beth to see what she thinks.  She phones me two minutes later.

          “DA-ad!”

          We all know we are in disfavor with our offspring when they make a two-syllable word out of “mom” or “dad.”  I call it, “Denouncing While Pronouncing.”

          “What?”

          “Dad, you can’t do this!  You are five foot five, 77 years old and exist on Social Security!  You can’t say you’re a 53-year old millionaire who is six-foot four!”

          “Why?  Who will know?  Do they have someone who monitors the descriptions?  Do I need approvals?”

          “The woman you meet will know!  As soon as she sees you, she’ll walk out on you!”

          “Good.  Then I’ll know she doesn’t have a sense of humor.”

          “DA-ad!”

“Okay, okay.”

          I take a break and eat a salami sandwich.  Since I know I’ll also be sending my next effort to my daughter, I eat two salami sandwiches.

I go back to my computer and find a site called “Dating for Seniors.”  They ask for a picture of myself.  I balk, on grounds of computer ineptitude:  I’ve never been able to figure out how to scan pictures into websites.  I type what I believe is a suitable explanation and e-mail it to Beth.  She calls two minutes after she arrives home.

“DA-ad!”

          “Now what?”

          “In the first place you should include a photo of yourself.  If you don’t know how to scan it in, get help from a friend.  And In the second place, if you don’t include a picture, you can’t say your photo might cause confusion because you are frequently mistaken for George Clooney!”

“Should I have put Johnny Depp?”

“DA-ad!”

Back to “Dating for Seniors” again.  I notice a section I’d overlooked earlier:  “Search our senior membership by category.”  Women are listed as

“Senior girls,” “Senior chicks,” “Senior babes,” and other oxymoronic descriptions.

I look over the categories for men, find one that describes me perfectly and e-mail it to Beth. 

She calls two minutes later.  From work.

“DA-a-ad!”

Three syllables.  Bad omen.

“This confirms it.  Now I know for sure I was adopted.  I’m going in for DNA testing tomorrow.”

“Now what?”

“First of all, you cannot call yourself a ‘Senior stud!’”

“Why not?  If a woman can call herself a ‘Senior girl,’ why can’t I call myself a ‘Senior stud?’”

“Okay, I’ll give you that.  But you cannot say you were the inspiration for the country and western hit, ‘I May Be a Real Good man, but I Am Also a Real Bad Boy!’”

“Why not?”

“Because you weren’t, Sam Stud!  And those cannot be your genes I’m walking around with!  DNA testing.  Tomorrow.”          

I’ve had enough of Bossy Beth, and decide to bounce my next effort off my son.  First thing the next morning, I go back to  “Dating for Seniors,” read a bit, then take a different tack:  rather than write about myself, I write what I am looking for in a companion, and e-mail it to Steven.    He calls one minute later.”

           “DA-ad! 

Another one.

 “What?” I ask wearily.

 “What?  What!  You write, ‘I am looking for an attractive woman who is interested in a meaningless relationship,’ and you ask me, ‘What?’”

          “I was going to add that I want to unleash her inner slut.”

          “DA-ad!”

“But I would like to meet such a woman!”

“Listen, Stud” (evidence that Beth and Steven have been talking about me, no doubt disparagingly) … if you met such a woman, the first thing you’d ask her is if she plays bridge.”

My kids know me too well.

Another visit to Dating for Seniors.

All of the profiles begin with a headline.  The site posts examples from a few guys:  “Is that Special Lady Out There?”  “Handsome and Classy,” and “Loving, Athletic and Passionate.”

Headlines!  Piece of cake!  Been doing that my whole life!

I sit down, decide on the best way to present myself with a provocative headline, and e-mail the effort to my son.  Steven phones me two minutes later.

“Okay, who are you and what have you done with my father?”

“Why do I anticipate a lecture?” I ask.

“You can’t do this, dad!”

“What?  I’m marketing myself.  I thought, I’m more upbeat and content than most guys my age, and I know I have more hair than guys my age, so I thought I’d lead with that.”

“So lead with it!  But not with a headline that says, ‘Happy, Hairy and Horny!’  They won’t post it on the site, and if they do, I will never admit to being your son.”

Wonderful.  Raise a few kids and they turn out to be critics.  

The next morning, I receive a surprise.  Even though I have not actually joined any of the dating services, I had browsed through several and registered my name.  That was enough, I guess, to receive profiles.

From fourteen different women.

Including “Funloving Intellect” from Canton, Ohio, and “Sugarplums” from Wellington, New Zealand.

Enough.  So I’m not a senior stud.  I’ll take my chances without internet dating, white lies and reprimands from my progeny.

That night, I settle in with a book by one of my favorite authors.  I am just turning the first page, when Steven calls me.  He has been talking to Beth.  They have an appointment with some lab tomorrow for DNA testing.

Cantankerously Yours,

Wendell Abern

Wendell Abern can be reached at dendyabern@comcast.net.

March, 2010 – Organized Desk, Clear Mind

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March, 2010 – Organized Desk, Clear Mind

Ultimate Productivity

Organized Desk, Clear Mind

 

By Claudine MottoClaudine Motto

 

Many people see an organized desk as a luxury, as something they can get around to doing when and if they have time.  Yet a clean, streamlined desk is part of achieving a clean, streamlined mind.  You may be able to function working on a desk that’s covered with piles of paper and other “stuff,” but be certain you’re not functioning at 100% capacity.

 

A sure path to an organized desk (an organized anything, actually) is to simplify, and to think function before beauty (although many times you can combine both).  Here are several key things you can do to create an effective workspace.

 

  • Forget what “should” go on a desk.  If you don’t use a stapler or scotch tape daily, move them out of your way.  Identify your everyday necessities and keep only those on your desk.

 

  • Pay attention to what you get up for.  You may have arranged
    Clutter, Be Gone! Illustration by Rollin McGrail. Visit RollinMcGrail.com.
    Clutter, Be Gone! Illustration by Rollin McGrail. Visit RollinMcGrail.com.

    your office so that it looks nice, but if you have to get up to reach for a particular item every day, it’s more important to move it closer to you so that you don’t break your focus every time you have to use it.

 

  • Access your “now/current” work and files without rummaging through piles.  A step sorter works well to keep active and pending files in view, and organized.

 

  • Get future work and projects off your valuable “now” workspace.  A tickler file (43 folders labeled January-December and 1-31 for the days of the month) can hold future work or items that you don’t yet need to deal with or have access to.  Current project files are best kept close, but off your desk, either in a drawer, or in a portable project box.

 

  • Use your walls.  Especially in small spaces, using your vertical space is key.  Shelves can store everything from electronics like your router to magazine holders and manuals.  And attractive boxes can hold loose receipts and extra printer paper.

 

  • Don’t hoard office supplies.  Assign an easily accessible desk drawer for the supplies you use daily, and keep only what you need.  Store the rest elsewhere.

 

  • Get equipment that multi-tasks.  Replace outdated or faulty equipment with multi-purpose equipment, such as a printer/fax machine.  It will take up less space and most of these newer models consume less energy.

 

  • Investigate your sticky notes (and other random pieces of paper) – gather them all and put them into piles according to what they are: reminders, to do’s, phone messages, etc.  These are the items that need a central home. 

 

Electronic is the only way to go for reminders for things that you must do on a specific day and time, since you can’t set an alarm on paper and sticky notes.  Any method where you can set an alarm can work well (like Outlook). 

 

Although electronic is usually more efficient (you can back it up, search, cut and paste instead of rewriting) for to-do’s, phone messages, and even client notes, paper and pen can work if that’s what you prefer.  Designate a notebook as your “Phone Log” (which can hold both messages you need to return and client notes) and a planner for your daily task list and to do’s that come up throughout the day.

 

  • Reassess your workspace as a whole to see what no longer fits.  You may have set up your office to support meeting with clients, when perhaps you’re now working virtually only. So take away that business card holder and put that extra chair somewhere else.

 

Or perhaps your drawers are full of organizing tools, paper planners, and other “attempts” at getting organized, because you think you might want to use them some day.  Stop holding on to them, clear out those drawers, and make room based on how you work now. 

 

Make it a priority to organize your desk in a way that supports how you work – an environment that looks and feels “in control” is the foundation for helping you create the same in your workday.

 

2010 Claudine Motto, All Rights Reserved. 

Productivity Coach and Professional Organizer Claudine Motto helps home office geniuses, entrepreneurs, and independent professionals get organized and in control of their workload so they can reach their goals with less struggle and less stress. She offers one-on-one coaching and group training programs – please visit http://www.vistalnorte.com or call 561-641-9500 for more information, to sign up for her monthly newsletter, or to schedule a complimentary 20-minute consultation.

March, 2010 – It’s Weird…It’s Austin!

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March, 2010 – It’s Weird…It’s Austin!

Travel with TerriTerri Farris

 

It’s Weird – It’s Austin!

 

By Terri Farris

 

Famous for its live music scene, Austin, Texas is the gateway to the Texas Hill Country and provides visitors with a unique travel experience.  Where else can you find an abundance of live music, a bridge full of bats, a rich history in government, a top tier university with historical landmarks and some of the strangest shops around?

 

Let’s start with the music! Austin’s 6th Street downtown is the center of Austin’s vibrant music scene. Whatever your music preference, you are guaranteed to find it in one of Austin’s nearly 200 music venues ranging from bars, clubs and restaurants to performing arts centers. For my visit I ducked into Nunos on 6th Street.  Anywhere else this dark bar with an eclectic mix of patrons would be considered a “dive,” but in Austin it comes alive with the Blues. You never know who may stop in for a jam session. Ain’t nothing like the Blues! www.nunosonsixth.com

 

Austin's Sixth Street. Photo: Gregory Holder.
Austin's Sixth Street. Photo: Austin CVB.

Just outside the downtown area is South Congress Avenue.  This funky section of town is home to the Continental Club. Touted as the “granddaddy of all local music venues,” the Continental Club has been the premier club for live music in Austin since 1957.  In the 1960’s it became the first burlesque club in Austin with dancers like Candy Barr and Bubbles Cash dancing onstage!  In the 1970’s the Continental Club booked an incredible lineup of musicians including Stevie Ray Vaughn.  www.continentalclub.com

 

South Congress is also home to some of the funkiest shops you will find anywhere!  Lucy in Disguise with Diamonds and Electric Ladyland (yes, that is the full name of the shop!) is rumored to be the place Bob Dylan has shopped for retro outfits. There are costume shops, retro clothing shops, retro furniture shops and just about anything weird you want to find.  In fact, the local motto is “Keep Austin Weird” and South Congress Avenue certainly does its part!

 

 

If you happen to work up an appetite while shopping in the land of weirdness, Guero’s Taco Bar located at 1412 South Congress can take care of that hunger!  Reminiscent of the old cantinas in Mexico, Guero’s serves delicious Tex Mex cuisine and offers hand-shaken margaritas made with fresh-squeezed lime juice.  There’s nothing weird about that!  www.guerostacobar.com

 

For late night eats, check out the Magnolia Café whose mottos is “Everybody knows- everybody goes!”  Breakfast is served 24 hours or choose from a menu of soups, sandwiches, burgers and other entrees. Good food – available all day and night with a sign outside that reads “Sorry, we’re open.” www.themagnoliacafe.com

 

The “Keep Austin Weird” motto seems very appropriate when you consider that Austin is home to an estimated 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats.  The bats quietly roost under the Congress Avenue Bridge over Lady Bird Lake from April through October.  Thousands of locals and visitors flock to the bridge at sunset each day to watch the bats make their exodus into the nighttime sky!  The bats consume an estimated 10,000 to 30,000 pounds of insects nightly saving Austin thousands of dollars in pest control!

 

 

 

Bat Statue on Congress Avenue during warm sunset in Austin, Texa
Bat Statue on Congress Avenue. Photo: Austin CVB.

 

University of Texas Clock Tower
University of Texas Clock Tower. Photo: Austin CVB.

 

The University of Texas also calls Austin home. Encompassing 350 acres in downtown Austin, UT boasts one of the country’s largest student populations and is consistently recognized as one of the nation’s top university.  In 1966, the 307-foot clock tower on the campus of the University of Texas was the sight of a mass killing when Charles Joseph Whitman opened fire from the observation deck killing 14 people and injuring 32.  It was the worst massacre at a university until the 2007 killing spree at Virginia Tech.  Today access to the clock tower observation deck is under tight security. Visitors can arrange for a tour by contacting the Texas Union at 877-475-6633.

 

Austin is not only the live music capital, the capital of weird and the capital for the bats – it’s also the capital of Texas and no visit to

Texas Capital. Photo: Gregory Holder.
Texas Capital. Photo: Gregory Holder.

Austin would be complete without a tour of the Texas State Capital.   This spectacular National Historic Landmark is made of Texas “Sunset Red” granite.  At the time of its completion in 1888, it was considered to be the seventh largest building in the word.  Today it stands 14 feet taller than the U.S. Capital. One of the most impressive features of the building is the magnificent dome at its center.  Another impressive feature is the use of the Texas star!  From the top of the dome to the door handles, to the flags and the chairs, the star is there to remind you that you are in Texas – just in case you forget!  www.tspb.state.tx.us

 

For more information on the activities and sights of Austin – weird and not so weird – visit http://www.austintexas.org/

 

 

Terri is a freelance writer with regular columns on travel, chocolate and bar reviews.  She is busy each month visiting new places to bring unique travel destinations and events to you.  Yes, it is a sacrifice – but she is willing to do that for her readers!  You can see more of Terri’s writing at www.examiner.com where she is the National Chocolate Examiner and at www.barzz.net.  You can contact Terri at tfarris60@hotmail.com.

March, 2010 – Palm Beach Bike Week Sponsorship

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March, 2010 – Palm Beach Bike Week Sponsorship

Become a Sponsor for Palm Beach Bike Week

 

palm-beach-bike-weekPalm Beach Bike Week is going to take place in October 2010 in several cities throughout the 

county (Jupiter, West Palm Beach, Delray Beach and maybe Wellington too).

We are currently offering a website sponsorship package for local businesses.  

It’s a great deal for your business to get in front of the man people visiting our site..  We will be creating more sponsorship opportunities for on-site marketing, co-op marketing, and booth displays.

You can also become a fan of ours on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Palm-Beach-Bike-Week/190570598699

 

Please contact me with any questions.  

 

LP

 

Lee Pagan

www.PalmBeachBikeWeek.com

Direct: (561) 309-2472

Fax: (561) 828-2729

Email: leepagan@yahoo.com

March, 2010 – Lake Worth Playhouse Concert Series

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March, 2010 – Lake Worth Playhouse Concert Series

Look what’s happening this month in music

at the Lake Worth Playhouse!

lwplayhouse-concert-series-march-2010

Lake Worth Playhouse CONCERT SERIES TICKET PRICES


Rear Orchestra – $25


Front Orchestra – $29

 

Lake Worth Playhouse
713 Lake Avenue
Lake Worth, Florida 33460

 

Map It

 

Box Office Hours

Mon – Sat 10am – 4pm

and during all performances

 

Box Office Contact

Phone:  (561) 586-6410

E-Mail:   boxoffice@lakeworthplayhouse.org

Street Address :   713 Lake Avenue, Lake Worth, FL 33460  (1st Floor)

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