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Failure: The Best Option

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Failure. A painful word. Something we try desperately to avoid. A potentiality that accompanies all great risks and all great successes. There is something to be envied in those who do not fear failure. There is something great about those who fear nothing and proceed with great ideas regardless of the risk ahead. I often think that it is this fearlessness that leads to success. My greatest successes came from situations where I didn’t gauge the risk at all, or gauged it incorrectly. Sometimes I simply didn’t care. I was motivated by something far greater than failure could ever threaten. … Continue reading →

“Toddler Adoption, The Weaver’s Craft.” by: Mary Hopkins-Best

When a child is adopted as a toddler things are very different then adopting an infant or older child. There are very few resources for families adopting toddlers but this book is a must have. Mary Hopkins-Best, a child development expert and mother of a child adopted as a toddler wrote Toddler Adoption, The Weaver’s Craft as a guidebook for those considering toddler adoption or those already dealing with some of the special challenges of adopting a toddler. Hopkins-Best discusses some of the strategies of dealing with the issues like a grieving toddler as well as some of the attachment … Continue reading →

Would You Lease A Pet?

If you’re thinking about getting a pet but aren’t sure you can handle the responsibility, you still have a few options.  Consider volunteering for a shelter, pet-sitting for a friend, or fostering a pet; there are even some short-term fostering situations.  If none of these appeal to you, or if you have a little extra money to spend on your pet, you now have another option: lease a pet.  MSN has the details. A company called Hannah’s Pet Society has started a new business: leasing pets.  Here’s how it works: interested parties go to one of the company’s two stores … Continue reading →

Learn How to Make Decisions, and You Can Save Money for Life

I used to have a terrible time making decisions in life. It all came to head one week when I had three different job offers and no clue which one to take. I resorted to putting the names of the companies in a hat, flipping a coin, calling every good friend I knew for advice and more. The deadline to make a decision was fast approaching. How did I solve it? A blown-out-tire forced me to choose the job that was the closest and easiest to place to make the commute. Pathetic, no? I vowed after that to work on … Continue reading →

Pros and Cons of Paying Down Debt

I know what you are asking: “How can there be any cons related to paying down debt?” If you are not careful, there are several ways you can dig yourself deeper into debt trying to pay loans and other bills. In a previous blog I addressed the option of cashing in retirement accounts and other investments to pay down debt. While there are a number of benefits to doing this, there are also quite a few downsides as well. In fact, the Department of Labor went public recently warning Americans that making permanent withdrawals from their retirement accounts is not … Continue reading →

Cost of Care Announces Contest Winners

We have all heard frightening stories about how someone’s trip to the hospital led to a large medical bill, or to other insurance related problems. A group called Cost of Care did a contest where they asked people to share their stories. They recently announced the winners. Cost of Care is a non-profit organization that believes that doctors should understand how the decisions they make impacts what patients end up being required to pay. They are backed by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts and by the Harvard Pilgrim Health Plan. They want doctors to have the information about the … Continue reading →

Accepting Drafts

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One of the things I wrote about last time was accepting failure. I wrote that you should be willing to accept risk and fall flat on your face in a very public way (if necessary) in order to get you to not only do some of the great work you’re capable of, but also to get you to start working in the first place. If you follow that advice (as I’ve painfully taught myself to) you’ll find that you still don’t get amazing drafts right out of the gate. Sure, you put in the hard work and fail your face … Continue reading →

Daddy and Me Layout Ideas

T-minus eight days until Father’s Day. Fortunately, now that school’s out for the summer you shouldn’t have any problem finding extra hands to help craft the perfect Father’s Day gift—a Daddy and Me scrapbook. If you are short on time and talent, then consider purchasing a Dad-themed scrapbook kit which you can fill with personalized photos and sentimental journaling blocks. If you have older children, then consider creating a memory album from scratch. When you make your own scrapbook you can customize it to fit your dad’s personality and you’ll end up with a one-of-a-kind keepsake. Your personalized Daddy and … Continue reading →

Estate Planning and the Step Family

For too many of us, estate planning is the thing we’re always going to get to but often don’t. It’s like flossing, but with exponentially greater potential for harm. I understand why we procrastinate, believe me I do, but a failure to act in this department can have a devastating effect on your family. Our financial planner had been after us to create an estate plan for a year; as we began preparations for an extended trip through Mexico, it seemed irresponsible not to have something in place. We contacted an attorney who came highly recommended, and blithely scheduled an … Continue reading →

Learning about Education

There is no doubt about it: Education has changed. I’m currently in my 20th year of schooling and the differences between a Ph.D. program and kindergarten are astonishing. Long gone are the days of tactile exploration with toys and lessons about being kind. No one reads stories to me anymore and none of the books have pictures. The most shocking changes of all, of course, are a direct result of my ever increasing age (and hopefully wisdom). I now play the diametrically opposed role of teacher and student at the same time. I’ve observed a great deal about learning and … Continue reading →