Helpful tips for October . . .

Some are short . . . some are lengthy, but all have a little merit to a lot or a lot of merit to a few. Enjoy the tips and stop by again. More will be posted.

Financial learning starts early:

*The road to fiscal grooming begins by setting the household standard. If certain chores must be completed by the child, or certain grades are expected on report cards, then be specific. Communicate those expectations. The choice to pay an allowance for these household requirements is every family’s personal decision. But it is important for parents to contemplate ‘bonus’ payments. Surpassing normal expectations may feel wonderful, but getting rewarded for those outstanding successes is doubly sweet. Consider payment for honor roll acceptance, dean’s list recognition, district band or choir accolades, completing merit badges or serving the community. Parents should take this idea and individualize it to the child. The actual size of the monetary bonus is of less importance than the parental recognition of the accomplishment. Striving for personal excellence is a life’s goal. Getting paid for it is simply the bonus.

Great Shoe shopping deals:

Go to: Zappos for some of the best shoes deals on-line. Affordable prices for trendy shoes . . . and best bit of news – this on-line store has a great return policy. Always be sure to check the fine print before buying, but loads have bought several pairs, made their final selections, and then returned the unworn – still brand-new – pairs.

For athletic shoes, try:

Go to Eastbay. Loads of friends have used this site to buy athletic footwear at a true discount price. They carry hard to find sizes at the same price. A total bonus if you’re fitting a large foot.

Looking for Shoes at The Mall:

Check your local mall to see if they boasts The Shoe Department. This particular chain buys the overstocks from major retailers then lines their shelves with the great buys. They carry up to a men’s size 15 in dress and athletic style shoes – and there’s quite a selection as well.

Need a fast Halloween costume: (Beware – sitting is tough in this outfit)

Two boxes one large (3 foot square) and one small (1 ½ feet to 2 feet square), aluminum foil, construction paper, a gray long sleeve shirt and solid pants – that’s it, the total remedy for an emergency Halloween costume. Seal one end of each of the boxes. Leave the other end open, and cut away the excess flaps. Cover both boxes solidly in aluminum foil. On the smaller box, pick a front side then cut two openings for eyes. On the larger box (opposite sides) cut two openings for arms to fit through. Then in that sealed end of the larger box, cut a hole large enough for the head to fit through easily. Use construction paper circles, squares or rectangles to decorate the outside of ‘Robot Man’ or ‘Robot Woman’. Slide the box body of the robot in place, followed by the head box and that’s it. Recommendation: wear a turtle neck shirt (or sweater depending on how cold it is in your piece of the world) so the box opening won’t rub against the wearer’s neck. Also, to keep the head in place, consider stapling elastic or even ribbon that can be tightened under the chin once the head piece is on. This tip will allow the wearer to turn their head without fear of the costume rotating off.

Excess wine remedy:

*Martha Stewart says if there’s excess wine left, fill ice trays and freeze for adding to soups and stews at a later time.
*My favorite Maxine, says, ‘What’s excess wine?’
*While I’m totally on board with Maxine’s take, it is always possible to have little too much wine left over.
*My remedy: Pour that wine in the ice tray, but stick a Popsicle stick in there as well. I’ve discovered sweating through kid’s soccer games and that long walk home from ‘fun in the park’ is always more enjoyable with a little something on a stick.

Alright, so there’s one for the kids . . . one for shopping and one for . . . well, the good stuff in life. Being a writer, there must be one to appease the grammarian in me.
Grammar:

*Beside – means next to (Jane walked beside Jack up the hill.)
*Besides – means in addition to (Besides Jack, who could have fallen down the hill so quickly?)

Re-gifting:

*My last tip is important with the holidays looming around the corner, and that’s the subject of re-gifting. Everyone does it. Okay, some folks just bury those elephants in the back of the closet and hope they never get a wild hair to clean, but for the rest of us, re-gifting is a way of life.
*Make sure to keep attached the birthday/anniversary/Christmas card or tag to the particular gift that you can’t wait to re-gift. Why? Because when names are drawn out of the hat for the Christmas exchange, it’s just plain tacky (however much of poetic justice it would be) to give back the re-gift to the original gifter. If for no other reason than to avoid why you hated the gift in the first place, make sure the re-gift finds a new home.

Thanks for stopping by my back porch. Weather's cool . . . if the rain ever stops. Here in Texas we complain if it rains and we complain if it doesn't. However, if you hear hammering in my front yard, you'll know I've gone back to work on my ark. Hey, I was a Girl Scout, after all, and we take that 'Be Prepared' motto seriously.
Do drop by again.
Until then,
~Sandra