Momma Stuff

Slow-flying airplanes called ultralights are now being used by some Australian ranchers for roundups on their vast cattle and sheep stations, reports The Sunday Mail newspaper of Brisbane, Australia. One Queensland rancher says that his ultralight saved him two weeks’ wages for several men every time he rounded up his sheep. “The motorcycle took over from the horse, and now the ultralight is taking over from the motorcycle,” he said. That eliminates the use of motorcycle jacks, righ?

The lightweight planes are fitted with powerful tape players that broadcast recordings of dogs barking. On hearing this, “startled cattle and sheep break into a gallop and head for the nearest yards,” states the article.

Popularity: 10% [?]

1. Keep money in its place.
2. Cultivate a generous disposition.
3. Forgive freely.
4. Comply with God’s standards.
5. Show unselfish love.
6. Be conscious of your spiritual need.

Additional Precepts That Promote Success
1. Have a wholesome fear of God.
2. Choose friends wisely.
3. Avoid excesses.
4. Do not seek vengeance.
5. Work hard.
6. Apply the Golden Rule. “All things…that you want men to do to you, you also must likewise do to them.”
7. Control your tongue.

Popularity: 10% [?]

Smoking costs money. How much? According to the University of California Berkeley Wellness Letter, in the long run, it could amount to $230,000 or $400,000—depending on whether you smoke one or two packs of cigarettes a day. “Say you are young and start smoking today and continue for 50 years, assuming it doesn’t kill you first,” says the Wellness Letter. “At a pack a day at $2.50 (to keep things simple, let’s leave out increases in price), that would add up to more than $900 a year, or $45,000 over 50 years.

Put that money in the bank each year at 5% interest, and the total could easily quadruple.” Adding in extra life insurance rates costs and extra cleaning expenses (for home, clothes, and teeth) brings the totals up to those mentioned above. The letter adds: “And that doesn’t count the smoking-related medical expenses you’ll face if your health insurance doesn’t cover everything.”

Popularity: 19% [?]

The “golden twenties” ought to be “the ideal time for a happy, relaxed life,” says the German newspaper Gießener Allgemeine. “Puberty is over with, and a mid-life crisis is still far off.” But instead of being happy and relaxed, a growing number of 20-somethings are facing what specialists call a quarter-life crisis. The term “stands for the identity crisis young people suffer when they are about to finish their education and have to decide what to do with the rest of their life,” says the paper. Mannheim psychologist Christiane Papastefanou explains that social developments in recent years contribute to anxiety about the future. Additionally, given the large number of job possibilities and life-style options available today, some young people fear making the wrong choice. However, Papastefanou, quoted in the German paper, believes that decisions are not irrevocable and that it is not wrong to make “a few detours on the road through life.”

Popularity: 15% [?]

I was looking over the net for some online degree that my husband can take. He is a graduate of BS Computer Science and I was searching for something related. I stumbled upon an online offering of MS in Information Security.

It is offered by Lewis University. We browsed through the program and we liked the scope. It explores the theory and practice of IT security on a global scale. The program is dynamic though online and provides students with technological and managerial tools to ensure information security through innovation. What we liked the most is the concentration on innovative and creative problem solving skills that the program upholds.

It is also very convenient for a working professional as the courses are online and flexible. There are generous financial aid programs to assure its affordability. I think this is something really worth looking into to further my husband’s learning and be abreast with all IT advancements.

Popularity: 16% [?]

“Most people spend about five years of their lives standing in lines and six months sitting at stoplights,” says a report in The Express newspaper of Easton, Pennsylvania. According to the report, studies done by the consulting firm Priority Management also show that “the average person spends one year searching for misplaced objects, . . . eight months opening junk mail, . . . and two years trying to return telephone calls to people who never seem to be in.” How can the time be saved and stress reduced? Among the suggestions given are: Plan travel times and routes in order to avoid delays; have reading material and other projects on hand for use when waiting; have a set place for all items, especially those used often; and make a list at the end of each day of the most important things to be done the next day. On the other hand, the study noted that ‘the average married couple spends four minutes a day in meaningful conversation, and the working couple spends 30 seconds a day talking with their children.’ Says the firm’s president, Michael Fortino: “Most people say their families are important, but they don’t live that way.”

Popularity: 22% [?]

Spa, massage, relaxing music and scented candles are my ultimate indulgence. If I can afford it, I will have it once a week to de-stress. I just love the aroma therapy and I always get a good night sleep after.

Hubby is telling me that I don’t need to go spa every time as he is volunteering to massage me whenever I am tired. I can have it all in the comforts of our home. Anyway, hubby’s loving hands is better than any trained masseuse. He’s even interested to try out seminars on different massage techniques. I’m all out in support.

Popularity: 22% [?]

Why take this step? Children need love and wither without it. In the 1950’s, anthropologist M. F. Ashley Montagu wrote: “What the human organism requires most for its development is a nutriment of love; the source of virtually all health is in the experience of love, especially within the first six years of life.” Modern researchers echo Montagu’s conclusion that “children suffer serious crippling effects when exposed to an inadequate diet of love.”

The challenge: Living in this loveless, selfish world strains family bonds. Married couples may find that the financial and emotional demands of raising children make existing marital problems escalate. For example, differences in opinion between a married couple on how to discipline and reward the children may increase tension between two people who already find it difficult to communicate.

The solution: Plan regular time together as a family. Married couples also need to plan time alone together. Make wise use of the time after the children have gone to bed. Do not allow TV to rob you of these valuable moments. Keep the romance in your marriage by regularly expressing affection for each other. Rather than constantly “finding fault,” look for ways each day to praise your spouse.

Tell your children that you love them. Jehovah God set the example for parents by openly expressing affection for his Son, Jesus. (Matthew 3:17; 17:5) Fleck, a father who lives in Austria, says: “I have found that children are a bit like some flowers. Just as these little plants turn toward the sun to receive light and warmth, children look to their parents for love and for reassurance that they are valued members of the family.”

Popularity: 20% [?]

I am cherishing every moment spent with our little boy. At this point, he prefers mommy over dad. I think this is but normal. He clings to me whenever I am home and follows me wherever I go. At times I wanted some quiet time but I can’t have it when he’s around.

I take comfort that years will pass by quickly and he won’t prefer my company anymore. He will be more interested in his friends and boys stuff like basketball, xbox 360, bikes, outdoors and girls. He will surely prefer his dad over me and I will be alone to mind my own business.

For now, I will cherish that little voice calling my attention every time I’m home. Those warm embraces that we share and puts him to sleep. Soon, it will be over.

Popularity: 20% [?]

People today live longer. Even this otherwise positive development has added stress to marriage. Today, divorce ends many marriages that death would have ended in times past. Consider an odd marriage ailment that is afflicting longtime married women in Japan. According to The Washington Post, experts label it “RHS,” or “retired husband syndrome.” Recalling her husband’s retirement, one wife, who had been married for 40 years, said that at the time she thought: “I am going to have to divorce him now. It was bad enough that I had to wait on him when he came home from work. But having him around the house all the time was more than I could possibly bear.”

This rings a bell of truth for long time married couples i know. It is sad though as I believe that marriage should be sweeter as years go by. But then again, maybe not for some.

Popularity: 22% [?]