Summer is here, which means the sky is the brightest blue, the flowers are in full bloom, and each of your kids (not to mention yourself) has the sun kissed glow we long for come winter. Summer also means it’s the perfect time for the much anticipated family portrait. We planned our family portrait a few weeks in advance and I spoke with my Salt Lake family portraits specialist about some tips and tricks to make this year’s family portrait one we’ll all love.
- Wear solid colors so as not to distract from the faces
- If you’re going to coordinate outfits, try not to make it too matchy matchy as that can sometimes come off as corny
- Choose a natural setting, preferably outdoors, to bring faces to life
- Remember, dark colors tend to minimize body size, while light colors tend to emphasize body size
- While we all love the summer glow, the summer burn is not so attractive. Limit your sun exposure for the few days before your portrait session
- If you’re planning on photographing kids, plan for mid-morning and make sure they are well rested. Kids are happiest in the morning
- Don’t let the family portrait stress you out because it will show in your face. Relax and have fun.
Clothing your family can get incredibly expensive–especially in our current economic slump. But there is still a way to let your children have great, fashionable clothing without having to take a personal loan. Wholesale clothing is a great way to do just that. Not only do a lot of wholesale companies have great clothing, their prices are unbeatable.
As I am looking at the next ten years of my life and the many financial expenses that are looming just around the corner (living expenses, my husband’s dental school, kids, a home) it’s a little overwhelming to think just how we’re going to financially squeeze by. My husband and I were talking the other night about budgeting and our finances and we came up with a list of must-do’s for the next phase in our life in order to help us save money and make the best of our financial situation.
- Come up with a budget and stick to it. Decide what your monthly income is and allocate the money wisely, always making sure a good portion is going into savings.
- It’s inevitable for most that advanced schooling will require taking out loans. Once out of school, begin paying those loans back immediately. Relieving that debt as soon as possible will lift great burdens off your shoulders.
- Spend less than you make. Even though it seems like a simple thing to say, many people spend money they don’t have on things they don’t need.
- Buying a home is definitely in our future plans and as we’ve been looking at our many options, we came across a Money Merge Account system that can help us pay off our home mortgage in a fraction of the time. This software helps you reposition your regular income and your unused “stagnant” money you would normally leave sitting in your regular checking and/or savings account in order to lower your principal balance each month, helping you repay your mortgage years ahead of your standard mortgage schedule.
- Be creative with ways to have fun without spending money. Spending time with the one you love doesn’t have to cost a bundle, but is crucial in order to get through the hard times that often go hand-in-hand with financial struggles.
photo via http://www.saltlakespeaks.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/money_20house.jpg
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention released a study this past Tuesday that states an estimated one in four teenage girls in the United States has at least one sexually transmitted diseases.
Not only is this information incredibly disturbing, but it is frightening. It is a small glimpse of where this country is headed and it certainly illustrates the areas where parents are failing. Education, especially sex education, begins in the home. No matter what your stance may be on teenage sex (abstinence versus safe sex), it is imperative that you teach your children safe and responsible practices. Teenagers often do not have the cognitive ability to understand the how severe or lasting the consequences of their actions may be and they certainly won’t if you do not inform them.
For resources to help you talk to your kids about sex education, visit the Parents Sex Ed Center, provided by AdvocatesForYouth.org.
Successful businesses have great principles that can be applied to home life. You just have to get creative. One, of course, is the strategy of organization. Every successful business and home needs a system of organizing. Without it, life will be chaos. But that principle is pretty basic. So let’s move onto something a little more challenging. And that is the ideal of enterprise risk management. Enterprise risk management can be a complicated thing to learn about, but here are the four basics:
1. Avoidance of those practices that have an increasing risk.
2. Reducing the impact of those risks.
3. Sharing a portion of the risk in order to reduce the impact.
4. Accept the outcome.
Now is the time to brainstorm. How do you think you can apply these principles to a successful home life?
OK. Sorry. I just couldn’t resist.
This time of year is always so hectic. You’d think with all the parties that it would be easy to relax but parties just mean more baking and cleaning than usual. It feels unacceptable to spend a night at home without inviting friends over for games or something.
But one of the things I always love is the way that families feel so much more like a family during the holidays. For once my brothers actually think it’s a good idea to hang out with the family instead of hiding in their rooms reading and playing video games.
This year we decided to start a new family tradition of getting our family portrait taken by a local Utah photographer. Then after we’re going to do the customary drive around the city and see all the beautiful lights. And along with that comes the routine jokes from my brother who likes to point out how beautiful all the street lamps are when the rest of us are oohing and ahhing at animatronic reindeer.
Maybe next year we’ll actually convince my dad to dress up like Santa in our family picture.
When my niece shattered a piece of my Grandmother’s china I was convinced that she was going to be written out of the will. My Grandmother has had this set for years and she normally keeps it hidden away in a dark cupboard, but seeing as it’s the holidays she decided to break it out one night for hot cocoa. My poor niece felt so bad that she gathered up the pieces and carried them with her for days after, saying that she’d ask Santa to bring a new tea cup for Christmas.
Luckily I realized that we didn’t have to rely on Santa because I found a great place for china replacement. I found the cup online easily and now my niece has wrapped it up to give to my Grandmother on Christmas morning. She so excited about it, each day she sneaks back to its hiding place and checks that it’s still ok. She’s even had to re-wrap it three times now because she keeps opening it to check that it’s still safe.
What she doesn’t know is that I also ordered a few extra tea cups just in case Grandma decides to invite us over for hot chocolate again.
Is it just me, or do movies seem to be getting more risque? After seeing The Heartbreak Kid, Good Luck Chuck, and the Hostel Part 2 other movies seemed to pair in comparison. The nudity of both males and females, as well as the frequency, intensity, and length of sex scenes seem to be getting longer and more grotesque.
My mom, always worried about swear words and inappropriate movies, recommended that I visit Kids In Mind. It details and rates the level of every swear word, violence, nudity, drugs, sexual reference, and anything that someone may take offense to.
It was here where I learned which movies have more profanity than Scarface.
Check it out before you go see a movie to see how it rates. This site is helpful when searching for appropriate kid movies, and for those adults looking to find a somewhat clean flix these days.
With a few months to go before my brother’s wedding, things are getting a little hectic because some of the planning is off schedule. With the bride working 30 hours per work and going to school full-time, it doesn’t leave much time for the timely tasks that wedding planning requires.
As a result, I’ve done some research and gone to plenty of places with my brother’s fiancee to help her choose and complete some of her wedding tasks.
I researched several Utah photographers and was impressed, as was she, with a particular SLC wedding photographer that had a beautiful variety of portrait photos in color and black and white with beautiful lighting and backdrops. They also did touch-up work on a computer so all the bridals looked flawless without looking too altered, just what every bride wants.
I’m excited to see all the beautiful pictures of the bride and groom, and hope I won’t come out looking too bad either in the family wedding portraits.
If you’re looking for the perfect present for your picky family member or friend, try being creative this year. Here are some presents to consider.
-Pets/Children: A Christmas dress or dog purse for your Chihuahua or little dog.
-Grandparents/Adults: For the adults, you can give a membership to LifeBio.com, which provides individuals and families to create a life story and share memories. It’s a great way to bring the family together this holiday season.
-The Trucking man: Get him a product like ShurTrax, which helps him safely add weight and fill up his truck during the winter weather.
-Athletes: Buy him or her a membership to a gym, a few personal training lessons, or a subscription to a health/fitness magazine. Or check in at your local health store for other great gifts.
-Everyone: Look up a niche item online to surprise and please everyone on your list.