Advertise Here

Be a Little Green with Red Worms

April 19, 2009 By

One of my favorite posts for this internship was one about worms!   Urbanwormgirl came up with a new kind of at-home party that turned out to be a big hit with moms.   Instead of Mary Kay or Pampered Chef,  moms talked worms, vermiculture, castings, and how much leftover food a tray of  indoor worms could consume.  Worms, it turns out, consume a great deal:  crushed eggshells, coffee grounds, tea bags, bread, oatmeal, watermelon, apples, small amounts of wet cardboard, and even clean Kleenex.

For those moms who don’t want to compost outdoors, indoor worms are easy to feed and maintain.  And, red worms are the new green:  since food waste contributes to a big portion of what goes into landfills (the third largest source of garbage), having a little worm habitat in your home can reduce how much you and your family throw away.   Think how much food a  mass of worms could eat with the leftovers from a school cafeteria!   Worms are vegetarian, of course, and don’t eat meat or dairy products.

 To learn more,  here are resources for all things worm-y.  According to this article, worms are much easier to keep than bees. . .or pretty much any kind of critter.   What they give in return is priceless for your plants and garden and doing something a little green for the environment.

Two popular books to get you started on indoor or outdoor composting are the aptly titled The Worm Book, a favorite of gardeners and those wanting to understand how to start composting indoors or out, and what kinds of worms work best.  

Cascade The Worm Factory 3-Tray Worm Composter - Black   A beautiful, easy to maintain worm condo.

 

Worms Eat My Garbage: How to Set Up and Maintain a Worm Composting System

 

 A second popular book:  Worms Eat My Garbage explains how to set up and maintain a composting system from A to Z.

 

  A stylish and sporty hoodie, once you are really into worms.

Filed Under: Green Living

Paper and Kid Clutter – Help from The Household Helper

April 18, 2009 By

I love clutterSome moms are natural organizers, but the rest of us need help and advice in how to sort through big stacks of books, files, and paper.  You know, the papers that you’ve been hanging onto from years ago, before cell phones were small enough to fit in a purse?   And then there’s kids’ art projects and school treasures.   How long are you supposed to hang on to those?   The Household Helper’s sage advice on getting control of paper clutter. 

How do you file paperwork?   I have a mishmash of paperwork and files ranging from my first job out of college to thick files full of research on old projects I’ll probably never look at again.  The same goes for school and art papers I’ve saved for my kids.  All these files are ridiculously thick, so what’s a good way to simplify paperwork? 

Ahh, the never ending battle with paperwork. It’s a daily struggle with every family no matter how organized you may be.
  • First and foremost, just get rid of the old stuff.  If you say “I’ll probably never even look at again” then what are you hanging onto it for?  Keep the important items like diplomas, final research papers and thesis, etc.  But the rest can be shredded. If you have any books to get rid of, donate them to the library.
  • Now as far as kids’ school papers, this is tough. We get so emotionally attached to these treasures our kids have created.  Being that my son is just a toddler in pre-school, I don’t have an overwhelming amount of school papers to keep, but I have set a plan in place to keep on top of it.
  • I created a “gallery” to display current art work and worksheets he brings home. Create a gallery to show off children’s masterpieces. This can be your fridge, or someplace else. I hung cork-tiles on my coat closet door. Each time he comes home from school, we empty his backpack, hang his current papers on the gallery, take down old stuff and put everything away right in the closet.
  • Inside my coat closet I have a box to hold the older pieces of paper. It’s just a large shirt box from the department store that I covered with wrapping paper and labelled “School Work”. Every so often, the box gets full. So I take a few minutes to reminesce the items in there and purge a few old things to make room for the new.
  • If you have older children, make them a part of this process.  They could have a gallery in their bedroom where they hang their favorite things, and keep a storage box to contain older things in their closet or under their bed. Teach them early on that they don’t have to hang on to everything. Every so often, sit with them to purge all the items.

Creative Commons License photo credit: sindesign

Filed Under: Home

Smiley Saturday Meme

April 18, 2009 By

 

smiley-saturday-2thumbnail

 

I picked the Smiley Saturday meme.   Things I am smiling about today: 

I got to use the new, small tractor to shovel and unload dirt today.  This is way more fun than housework.  I can’t believe how satisfying it is to scoop up a big load of dirt, lift up the bucket, put the tractor in reverse, then head down the dirt driveway and unload the dirt.  The gear things are so much fun to work!   My husband didn’t think I’d ever get on a tractor.  Yeah, right!  It’s a blast. 

My beautiful, redhaired daughter with her long naturally curly hair told me she wants to get her hair straightened and dyed black.  I told her that she could get a black highlight in her hair, but no to the other things.  She was okay with it!

Equestrians are riding the trails behind our house–both Western and English–and people are out walking their dogs too.  This always makes me smile.  

My son walked and ran with the dog.  And now they both smell like fresh air and Spring.

What makes you smile today?

Filed Under: Entertainment

Buzz a Mom Talks to Leslie Truex

April 18, 2009 By

buzz-a-mom3For our second week of April, we talked to Leslie Truex.  She has been running Work at Home Success since 1998 and is the author of  the definitive tome  on working at home:  The Work-at-Home Success Bible. 

According to your website, you’ve been online with Work at Home Success since 1998.  How has your website evolved over time?

The website always included information about telecommuting, work-at-home jobs and avoiding scams.  But over the years the number of jobs I’ve been able to find and share has grown significantly.  I used to share one a month.  Now I post 25 jobs during the week on my blog and 20 in my weekly newsletter.  The tools and resources for making money online have also grown and evolved.  Information I added throughout the years include the cost of work information, international telework resources, and the blog.

What kind of feedback do you get from moms as to types of jobs they land and what works and what doesn’t  work?

Most people who are struggling are either looking for the wrong types of work  in the wrong places, or are experiencing the frustrations that go along with finding a work-at-home job.  The competition for jobs is fierce and  I don’t think many people understand just how important it is to apply regularly with a top notch resume.  Even so,  most companies don’t respond to submissions, so it can be difficult to not know if or when they’ll hear back, or why they don’t hear back at all.

The work they get ranges depending on the skills.  I’ve had feedback that visitors have found work in writing and customer service through the site.

Can you share some tips from your new book for aspiring WAHMs?

Take time to learn about working from home.  The Work-at-Home Success Bible is a good text book for that.  The more you know, the easier it will be to find the right opportunity for you and avoid scams.  Focus on the skills, experiences and interests you have to find or create a work-at-home situation.  It’s faster and easier to used what  you’ve got than to do something completely new.  Make a plan and work the plan.  The fastest way to get somewhere is to map it out.  Never quit.  Don’t let the failures, nay-sayers, and other obstacles stop you. 

Can you tell us about your family and offline interests?

I don’t seem to be offline very much, but I do like to read fiction and non-fiction.  One of my goals is to write a mystery series.  I’m 30,000 words into the first story.  I enjoy spending time with my family.  We play games (board and Wii) and when the weather is nice go to the lake or river near us.

I’ve read that our country’s workforce is increasingly becoming one of independent contractors.  Do you agree with this?  

I think it is a growing segment because:  1) employers can save money with contractors over employees and 2) contractors can get paid more per hour in contract work than as an employee.

Are you seeing women experience success in pursuing their work at home dreams?

I think more and more women are successfully creating incomes from home, but many still struggle.  The women who research and are able to make the leap from an employee mentality to one that has the focus and discipline to work independently do the best.

Filed Under: Health & Wellness

Food Network Magazine: Fun Recipes, Not Always Kid Friendly

April 16, 2009 By

Food Network Magazine (1-year)The new Food Network Magazine is packed with 133 new recipes from top chefs on the Food Network and from the Food Network Kitchen.  The premiere issue is loaded with 133 recipes, several of which I’ve already tried.   

What were the hits?  Bobby Flay’s vegetable meatloaf with balsamic glaze.  Everyone in the family loved it.  In the like category:  Paula Deen’s white bean chili (but my sixth and eighth graders and husband wouldn’t eat the wilted collard greens), Cat Cora’s “baked” chicken(husband thought the crushed cornflakes added a not-so-great sweetness to the coating),  and Micheal Chiarello’s quick bolognese.  Although easy-to-follow photos showed the steps needed to make Chiarello’s homemade pasta, I chose not to.  Everyone also liked the London Broil with herb butter, but not Anne Burrell’s orecchiette with broccoli rabe pesto. 

Next up recipe?  A Greek moussaka casserole.  If I can’t find the kefalotiri–salty Greek cheese–the magazine says I can substitute parmesan mixed with feta.

The magazine has beautiful photos and instructions for cooking, stirring and preparing sophisticated new foods.  It’s fun to try the new recipes and not-so-common ingredients, but be prepared for surprised comments from your family as they taste bok choy or pine nuts for the first time.

Filed Under: Food & Drink
« Older Posts
Newer Posts »

Come Get To Know Us :)

We're Very Social!