I met Anna Kononova of Russia two summers ago. She and a friend were working in North Platte for the summer as a way for Anna to develop her English-speaking skills.
I was coming out of my doctor's office one afternoon and two young ladies were walking by. They stopped to ask me for directions to the library. Of course I HAD to ask them where they were from originally. When they said Russia, I was quite interested in their story.
It happened that a reporter from the newspaper was arriving for her appointment at the same time as I was talking to Anna and her friend, so I introduced them and suggested to the reporter this might make an interesting story for the paper.
The story was eventually written, then the TV station did a segment on Anna and her friend. From all that, people opened their homes to the two young women, taking them sightseeing, feeding them and making them feel welcome.
Anna has now posted a photo in a contest and she has asked me to help her get some votes. I believe she told me the photo she entered was taken in North Platte, but I'm not sure about it.
All you have to do is click on this link:
http://konkurs.gidoskol.ru/vesna
Anna's photo is No. 46. Click on the blue button in that box. Once you have voted a small box will pop up with a message. It's in Russian so I have no idea what it says, but Anna explained it's a message similar to saying your vote has been accepted.
You do not have to register and voting is free. You can vote daily until the end of the contest, which is the first part of March.
Thank you for doing this for Anna.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Make It Fun and the Family Will Help
Make It Fun and the Family Will Help
As sidetracked people, we are put off by anything that sounds like mundane housework. We are a fun-loving people. Why do we have to be stuck doing jobs we think will take us forever, when others are out having great time?
I have heard you many times as well as my own voice. We have a challenge every day to muster up enough gumption to get us moving. This is why I have tried to make it fun.
Timers have added an extra bit of fun and challenge to a project, but they also keep us on track. We all need to be reminded from time to time on what task we are doing. We can stay focused if all we have to do is 15 minutes. Children love timers, too.
Housework is such an ugly word. This is why I have tried to help you realize that you are not working when you are blessing your family!
We have been raised to believe that house cleaning is an all-day affair. No one needs to spend that kind of time maintaining your home. When you establish your routines and start dancing through your day with every move blessing your family, it is not like work at all.
We have been raised to believe that house cleaning is an all-day affair. No one needs to spend that kind of time maintaining your home. When you establish your routines and start dancing through your day with every move blessing your family, it is not like work at all.
I have always hated to dust. My mother made us remove everything from the tables, then dust and put everything back. It took what seemed like hours.
Now all I do is pull out my magic feather-dusting wand and buzz around my home while I am on the phone. Before I know it, our whole home -- every surface -- has been dusted. No mess or fuss! It has been done and I felt like a fairy princess gliding and dancing around my home. When was the last time you had that much fun dusting? If you take 2 minutes and feather dust every day, you will never have to see dusty finger streaks on your furniture. You know, the ones where someone in the family writes, "DUST ME!" In fact, you may never see dirt and dust again.
A real feather duster is a fun tool and mine even has some purple feathers in it. I feel so special when I use it. Just let me warn you, they can be addictive. When your family sees how much fun you are having, they will want to do it for you. This is kind of like Tom Sawyer whitewashing the fence.
Children love the feather dusters too. It’s a tool that becomes a toy and does a job in the hands of your babies. Of course, you have to set the example and teach them how to use it.
Children love the feather dusters too. It’s a tool that becomes a toy and does a job in the hands of your babies. Of course, you have to set the example and teach them how to use it.
Have you ever wondered how to get your children excited about keeping their rooms clean? I have a friend who figured it out many years ago and now she is making it available to everyone. Her creativity has children cleaning their rooms all over the world. Pam Young created the persona of the House Fairy. Go check out this other great tool for our children at http://www.housefairy.org/. Your children will run to clean their rooms.
Housework doesn't have to be dreaded. It can become a fun family game with everyone pitching in to help. You just need to make it enjoyable.
For more help getting rid of your CHAOS, check out her Web site and join her free mentoring group at www.FlyLady.net. Or get her books, “Sink Reflections,” published by Bantam and her New York Times best-selling book, “Body Clutter,” published by Fireside. Copyright 2010 Marla Cilley. Used by permission in this publication.
Hope
All hope had been lost for any Haitians still missing after the Jan. 12 earthquake that left thousands dead. The rescue mission had many days ago been declared to be a recovery mission.
No one could still be alive after this length of time. That's what the authorities said.
However, today - Feb. 9 - a 28-year-old man was pulled from the rubble, emaciated but ALIVE!
What a strong message that sends to all of us -- NEVER give up hope. Even when all the odds seem stacked against us, we must have hope.
So many people in the world today seem to live without hope in their lives. Children in abusive homes. Battered spouses. Countries at war. Patients with terminal illnesses. Families living in poverty. The list is endless.
If I could give a gift to everyone, I would give hope. Hope believes in a better future, a better family, a better spouse, a better careeer. As long as there is hope, there is the promise of change for the better.
Authorities believe the young man who was pulled from the rubble in Haiti today will recover. Think of the rejoicing of not only his family and friends, but people around the world, for his miraculous recovery has given many others hope for today.
No one could still be alive after this length of time. That's what the authorities said.
However, today - Feb. 9 - a 28-year-old man was pulled from the rubble, emaciated but ALIVE!
What a strong message that sends to all of us -- NEVER give up hope. Even when all the odds seem stacked against us, we must have hope.
So many people in the world today seem to live without hope in their lives. Children in abusive homes. Battered spouses. Countries at war. Patients with terminal illnesses. Families living in poverty. The list is endless.
If I could give a gift to everyone, I would give hope. Hope believes in a better future, a better family, a better spouse, a better careeer. As long as there is hope, there is the promise of change for the better.
Authorities believe the young man who was pulled from the rubble in Haiti today will recover. Think of the rejoicing of not only his family and friends, but people around the world, for his miraculous recovery has given many others hope for today.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Questionable inventions
Do you ever see a new product and wonder why on earth it was needed?
That's what I think about the new soap dispenser that automatically shoots out some antibacterial soap when you slip your hand under the nozzle. The reasoning for the new product is because on the regular hand pumps in liquid soap dispensers you have to press down on the pump to get the soap. Who knows what you may have been doing that required you to need to wash your hands. Cleaned the cat's litter box? Cut up fresh chicken? Changed the baby's diaper?
Obviously germs are going to land on top of that pump when you press it to get soap to wash your hands.
So, OK, if you have an automatic dispenser then your hands won't ever have to touch the bottle.
But, wait a minute. Let's walk through this process. Your hands are dirty and laden with germs. You walk up to the liquid soap dispenser and use one of your dirty hands to push down on the pump to get some soap so you can wash your dirty hands.
You lather up the soap with very warm water and rinse thoroughly. So.... are you going to touch the top of the soap dispenser again with your clean hands? If you answer that with a yes, please tell me WHY.
When I've washed my hands, I don't go back and touch the soapy dispensers or containers.
Maybe I'm missing something here, but it does seem this was an invention that might not have been needed.
On the other hand, maybe the novelty of it will encourage youngsters to use more soap and water and wash their hands more often. That would indeed be a good thing.
That's what I think about the new soap dispenser that automatically shoots out some antibacterial soap when you slip your hand under the nozzle. The reasoning for the new product is because on the regular hand pumps in liquid soap dispensers you have to press down on the pump to get the soap. Who knows what you may have been doing that required you to need to wash your hands. Cleaned the cat's litter box? Cut up fresh chicken? Changed the baby's diaper?
Obviously germs are going to land on top of that pump when you press it to get soap to wash your hands.
So, OK, if you have an automatic dispenser then your hands won't ever have to touch the bottle.
But, wait a minute. Let's walk through this process. Your hands are dirty and laden with germs. You walk up to the liquid soap dispenser and use one of your dirty hands to push down on the pump to get some soap so you can wash your dirty hands.
You lather up the soap with very warm water and rinse thoroughly. So.... are you going to touch the top of the soap dispenser again with your clean hands? If you answer that with a yes, please tell me WHY.
When I've washed my hands, I don't go back and touch the soapy dispensers or containers.
Maybe I'm missing something here, but it does seem this was an invention that might not have been needed.
On the other hand, maybe the novelty of it will encourage youngsters to use more soap and water and wash their hands more often. That would indeed be a good thing.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Shingles
I've not been as faithful about posting to the blog as I had planned to be in this new year. I was doing pretty well until I ended up with some suspicious-looking patches. After a visit to the doctor -- who said if it looks like shingles and acts like shingles, you've got shingles -- I spent about two weeks in the house.
Now, since I was at home, you might ask why I didn't get anything written. Fair question. While I had a mild case of shingles, my body was still fighting an illness and I just was "blah."
More about shingles later.
Now, since I was at home, you might ask why I didn't get anything written. Fair question. While I had a mild case of shingles, my body was still fighting an illness and I just was "blah."
More about shingles later.
The Fly Lady Feb. 3
How to Save Your Saturdays
by the FlyLady, Marla Cilley
Our whole lives we have played "Catch Up on the Weekends"!
This put a sense of dread into our daily life. We no longer looked forward to a wonderful weekend filled with fun with our friends and family.
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This all started when we were children. It is how our mothers did it! We would have to spend all day Saturday cleaning house or we were banished to our rooms for the evening. I truly believe this is why we despise cleaning house. It has always been a punishment for us.
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I want you to have a reward for your Home Blessing Efforts. A Saturday to play is a great gift for you.
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The solution to saving your Saturdays is very simple. Let's think about how many hours you spend frantically cleaning to catch up from a whole week tossing your routines out into the street. Between our piling and procrastination, our homes look like a bomb went off.
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You can look at a room and see evidence of the things that were done this week. You know, the package that had to be wrapped for a birthday party or the whole week's worth of mail piled on the kitchen counter that is about to fall into the floor.
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On Saturday you don't wake up all excited about cleaning all day. You sleep in a bit, then drag around in your pajamas for a couple of hours with a pot of coffee to get you moving in the right direction. By the time you get started it is already noon. The next six hours are spent cleaning like a banshee so you don't feel terrible. All the while you are yelling out orders for everyone in the family to get in gear.
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I get sick just thinking about what we have done to us and our family, all because we lie to ourselves with these words: "I DON'T HAVE TIME"! The truth is that what you don't have are ROUTINES.
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You have the time, you just choose not to do anything because you don't think you have six hours to do it right. Well, you don't have six hours to clean like a banshee -- but you do have 15 minutes. Implementing just five minutes in the morning, when you come home from work and before bed will give you back your Saturdays.
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Maybe we can call this our 5-Minute Room Saturday Rescue. The secret is to pick up after yourself and get the family to do it right along with you. It can become a fun game. Set your timer three times a day -- mornings, when you get home from work or school, and just before bed. Everyone has to put away the things that belong to them. It is up to you to remember to do it. When you forget you only make it harder to do the next time.
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This does not mean you can leave the dishes in the sink and on the table. This is part of cleaning up after dinner and shining your sink. If you do this all week long then on Saturday you can do your Weekly Home Blessing Hour. With your piles put away and hot spots extinguished, your Weekly Home Blessing Hour is a breeze. Then you are off to have some fun.
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For more help getting rid of your CHAOS, check out the FLYlady's Web site and join her free mentoring group at http://www.flylady.net/, or get her book, "Sink Reflections," published by Bantam. Also look for her New York Times Best Selling book, "Body Clutter," published by Fireside. Copyright 2010 Marla Cilley Used by permission in this publication.
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