With fall just around the corner and cooler days upon us, it’s a good time to start thinking about how to lower our heating costs.  Heating your home is the largest user of energy and with that said can be a biggest saving when you follow tips to use less.  Here are ten no and low cost simple tips on how to reduce the cost of your bill this winter.

1. Change the filters on your units.
2. Turn it down. You can save 1-3% of your bill for each degree you turn it down.  Going from 70 degrees to 68 degrees could save you as much as 6% per month.
3. Make sure you keep closet doors, pantries and rooms that aren’t used much closed.  There is no need to heat spaces you don’t use.
4. Open blinds and curtains on the south side of your home during the day to let in solar heat and close them at night to keep it from escaping
5. Put an extra blanket on everyone’s bed and dial down the thermostat a bit at night.
6. Reverse your ceiling fans and keep them on lower to circulate heat more evenly in your home. 
7. After cooking meals in the oven, turn off the oven but keep the oven door ajar to heat the kitchen.
8. Turn off cooking fans or bathroom fans as soon as they are not needed as they will push your hot air out of your home.
9. Keep throws in your family room to keep you warm and cozy.
10. Use electrical outlet sealers to reduce heat loss on outside interior walls. Find them at Lowe’s.

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The American Cancer Society has recently updated its instructions for monthly breast self-exams to reflect new scientific data.

Follow these steps to perform your own breast self-exam:

Lie down to perform the exam. When you’re lying on your back, the breast tissue spreads evenly over the chest wall and becomes as thin as possible. This makes it easier to feel all of the breast.

Move across the breast in an up-and-down pattern. There’s evidence that this is the most effective technique for covering the entire breast.

Use different levels of pressure; light to examine breast tissue closest to your skin, medium to feel a little deeper, and firm to reach the tissue closest to your rib. A firm ridge in the lower curve of each breast is normal.

Sit or stand and slightly raise your arm to probe the underarm area. Go deep into the armpit.

Check your breasts at the same time every month to increase your chances of finding any lump that shouldn’t be there.

A great resource for breast cancer questions and answers is http://www.komen.org.

The earlier breast cancer is detected, the better chance we have of beating it.

Please feel free to leave a comment or discuss this on our message board.

I know, I know, it’s not quite Fall yet and I’m talking about the holidays. But do you remember last year? How about the year before? Picture it: Christmas is a week
away and you’re still gift shopping. Or how about the DAY BEFORE and you still haven’t found the new toy that Suzie or Tom just has to have. Then there are the relatives. You bounce from one house to the next in constant chaos. Someone isn’t getting their present because you were in such a rush you left it at home and you don’t have time to go back because you were suppose to bring the dessert and you forgot so you have to swing by the grocery store to pick up a bakery pie or cake or cookies. Christmas morning comes and your dreams of smiles and happy faces and a restful day turn into exhaustion from staying up all night trying to FIND all of the presents you purchased. The kids tear open the presents and then proceed to whine because it wasn’t exactly what they wanted. Your neat tears because once again Christmas has flown by and you haven’t spent any quality time with your kids and your husband because you’re always behind. And the traditions that you wanted to start with your family have once again fallen by the wayside because you were just ‘too busy’. It makes me want to cry just thinking about it, because I have been that mom year after year.

Well, no more. The best way to create peaceful, loving holidays is in the planning. The best way to do that is with a Holiday Planner.

You’ll need: a three ring binder, dividers, looseleaf notebook paper,pen,envelope,and a calender.Feel free to decorate your notebook however you want!

Devise a plan. Write down what makes the holiday special to you. Ask your husband and kids the same and write it down.

Start planning your kids Halloween costume now. That gives you plenty of time to look for what they want and not just whats left over the week before Halloween.

Make a list of all those that you need gifts for. Don’t forget teachers! If you want to make gifts for anyone write it down beside their name.

Now whip out the calender and write down all of the obligations that you know you have. Sports practice, dance practice, school functions, family parties, etc. When that is done I want you to pencil in gift shopping time, if you’re making gifts determine how long each will take and write in ‘appointments’ with yourself to work on them. Also look at what type of traditions you want to do and write them in.

Other sections in your planner should include: meal planning, recipes, budget, decorating, entertaining, and holiday cards. Others could be: cookie/baking recipes, craft instructions, websites, cleaning for company, music, stories, movies. You can have sections for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, or any other holidays you celebrate.
The holidays should be a time to celebrate and spend time with our families. If we plan ahead then things can go a lot smoother.

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Need a nap?

Whether you are a stay at home mom, work at home mom, or work outside of the home mom, we can all use a nap occasionally, right? I know I could! Besides being a busy mom of two teenage girls, having my own home based business, I also work full time outside of the home, so I can’t just take a nap in the middle of the afternoon. I don’t think my boss would appreciate that! Anyway, while I was driving into work this morning, I heard the DJ’s talking about a company in New York City that offers 20-40 minutes naps, at a cost of $12-24.

I just had to do some investigating on this one! I can’t tell you how many times late in the afternoon, I’ll get so sleepy! Especially if I’ve had a big lunch. I’ve tried all the regular remedies… drinking caffeine, getting up and walking around my office, stand by a window with bright light, turn the temperature down, eating a snack, and even splashing cold water on my face! But sometimes, you just need that nap.

So, I did some checking and I found the company that offers the naps. They are located in Manhattan and they are called Yelo. They offer reflexology treatments and power nap sleep therapy. Of course, a power nap is not going to be a long-term substitute for proper nutrition and good sleep habits, but it can leave you refreshed in the middle of a hectic or stressful day.

So how does it work? You enter your private YeloCab (short for cabin) and recline in a special chair that elevates your legs above your heart. The chair comes with 500-thread count linens and a soft cashmere blanket, making it very comfortable. The YeloCab itself is personalized, based on your preferences for light and sound, your preference (or not) for aromatherapy, and the duration you’ve selected for your nap. Naps run 20-40 minutes in length (in five minute increments). Less than 20 minutes and you won’t get enough rest; more than 20 minutes encourages deep REM sleep that will leave you groggy.

So, who’s ready for a nap?

Please feel free to leave a comment or discuss this on our message board.

Doesn’t it drive you mad when your kids get gum in their hair!?  Yesterday I was watching a show where they took several “tips” on how to remove gum from hair.  We had the old school ice cubes, nah didn’t work and people werent too peachy about using it.  Then came the peanut butter, which worked wonderfully and I have used that many of times and will use it again if needed.  However, the thing that worked the best and is preferred, was cooking oil!  Of course you have to let it sit for about 20 minutes or so, but that gum just slid right off.  So whatever your preference is, at least you know, you don’t have to freeze your fingers anymore with ice!