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Sometimes in everyone’s life, it seems like nothing is going right.  When you’ve been dealing with problems for a long amount of time, it seems as if it’ll never end.  But, keeping a level head is an important thing to do at this time.  When you freak out and lose it, falling apart at the seams, it may help you get your anxiety out, but it really doesn’t help the overall outcome towards the better .

When things are going wrong, it’s important to re-evaluate your life and see what you need to do in order to change what’s happening in your life. I’ve mentioned keeping lists of goals, in previous posts.  But, at this time, you need to make up an immediate list of things that need to be accomplished, right now, to change things for the better and continue being proactive.

Making a jump towards these immediate goals takes courage, but you need to step it up, if you wish for things to change.  Because the worst thing you could do, would be to sit back and tell yourself- Well, I guess whatever’s meant to happen will happen.

Well, that may be true, but do we know what’s meant to happen?  No. So, we need to try our very best to hold it together, figure out what immediate action needs to be done right away, and go for it.  If you’ve already reached an all-time low, you shouldn’t chance sinking down any further, because I doubt that there is any further down that you can go, if you’ve already reached the bottom.

Just remember everyone goes through these rough patches during their lifetimes, and if you are going through a rough patch, you need to count on your friends and family to help support you through this and don’t forget to return the favor, once your rough patch has ended and they in turn are going through a rough patch.

Life is not smooth sailing all the time, there are quite a few storms in the sea.  So, be prepared for what’s to come ’round the bend and don’t fret when things aren’t going exactly as you would like them to.  Just keep working on changing things, and keep this thought at the back of your mind, at some point things have just got to get better.

If you’re an avid Oprah Winfrey watcher (talk show), you know that she often has a famous Dr. called Dr. Oz on her show.  He’s a prestigious cardiologist who has written several books about health issues.

He mentioned, not that long ago, that they recently did a study and in that study they fed several volunteers in a control group 11 pounds of fresh fruits, vegetables and nuts a day, along with plenty of water. These patients all had some degree of high blood pressure, cholesterol, and some were battling obesity.

After 10 days on this restrictive diet, the results were (on average):

• a 10 pound loss per patient
• a 25% reduction of cholesterol
• a 10% reduction of blood pressure
• better colon health (bowel movements came easier)
• and better overall health

So, if you’re looking to improve your weight, tell yourself that starving yourself has never been and never will be a proper option to lose the excess pounds or make yourself healthier.

The best bet is to exercise about 30 minutes to 1 hour, daily, drink 64 ounces of cold water a day (cold because it causes your body to burn calories in order to heat up the food to body temperature), and a healthy diet of fresh fruits, nuts and vegetables to keep everything running properly.  In no time you should see the results.

If you’re thinking that all that fresh produce in a day will wreak havoc on your pocket book, remember this- eating healthier now will help you to keep off medications and keep out of doctor’s offices due to illness.  The money you spend on the produce per month, would have just been diverted and spent in the future if you’re health were to decline.

Is it worth it? Absolutely~! So, give it a try!  You may have to modify your diet a little, depending on your own personal health issues, but if you try to keep as close to this diet as you can for optimum health.

When my son was first born, being a first time Mom, I wasn’t sure which diapers to use. So I decided to do some tests including trial and error, to find out which brands were the best for leak protection as well as affordability.

The diapers tested were:

• White Cloud
• Parent’s Choice
• Luvs
• Pampers
• Huggies
• Kirkland’s best

I was originally sent home from the hospital with Pamper’s brand diapers and was unimpressed with the price and decided to keep looking for a product that was better, and more economical. Neither the pricing or the performance, were up to par, in my opinion.

My favorite diaper was one of the cheapest, called White Cloud.  It was sold exclusively at Walmart, and the reason why I loved it so much was because it provided awesome protection, with thick adjustable accordion straps, and it was my favorite.  Unfortunately, ever since I became hooked on this product, Walmart discontinued it, to my dismay.

My next favorite choice was ParentsChoice, also sold in Walmart. It is Even cheaper than White Cloud, and doesn’t provide any bells or whistles, but works just as well.  Although the adjustable straps are a bit thinner than  White Cloud’s (super straps), and thus can be ripped off and cause problems somewhat easier.

I like the smell of the Luvs diaper, because they smell fresh as if they’re covered in baby powder.  But, they are very thin, and the straps aren’t accordion like, so they don’t stretch with every movement the child makes, which is one of the reasons I didn’t care for it very much.

Huggies was pretty similar to Luvs and Pampers in performance, it was  pratically identical (performance wise).

My least favorite of the bunch and the one I strongly suggest you stay away from is the Kirkland’s Best brand, found exclusively at Costco.  This brand of diaper is very thin, and although it has “2 walls of protection” to hold spills in, the outer wall doesn’t cling to the body and leaves a wide open gab between the diaper and the outter thighs.  Opening up room for leaks and spills. Infact, you shouldn’t even think that there are two walls of protection on this diaper because this diapers’ outter wall is a complete joke, and although the diaper is cute and playful- we are more interested in how it works,versus the looks that sell.

The outcome of my testing pushed my favorite diaper high above all the others. I highly recommend using the Parent’s choice diapers from Walmart, and I suggest you keep your eyes peeled for new things that come onto the market to see what else is out there, with good leak protection as well as cost.

But for the price, quality and leak protection currently available, I think Parent’s Choice is your best bet.

*We were not compinsated in anyway for the testing or promotion of these diapers*

Back in the old days, when there was no such thing as the internet, people used to go for hours on end, on a campus, to complete the tedious work involved in getting a college degree.

In fact, decades ago, even before that, it was a huge feat to have gotten a high school degree.  Then years later, a high school diploma alone was obsolete.

At that point, having an associates degree was something to strive for.  Then once enough people caught on and attained that goal, the bachelor’s degree became something that was highly sought after.

Since that time, the bachelor’s degree has been accomplished by many people, so now it is a common thing to have a bachelor’s degree, it’s no longer as important as it once was.

It seems like the tide is changing, yet again, and now the Master’s degree and Doctorate degree are something to strive for.

How easily we forget the past.  And all the experiences of generations long ago. But, with the coming of age, and the wave of the future, we must change with the times.

So, now that we’ve gone through all that, lets discuss what options we have.  Once you’ve decided what kind of degree you are planning on getting, how much you’re willing to spend, and how far from home you’re willing to travel, it’s time to decide HOW you wish to attain your degree.

Do you:

• wish to get your degree through traditional, on campus, methods?
• wish to be a self starter, and take online classes to achieve your degree and fit schooling into your busy schedule?
• or take classes called credit by exam (which usually involves prepping for the tests by studying clip notes, paying the minimal fee for the test, and going to a campus and taking it. If you pass, then you don’t have to take the actual class which would have required weeks of hard work and dedication.)

I personally have done the first two, but I intend on getting to the third option, shortly.

Going to college campus when I was fresh out of high school, was an awesome experience for me, I learned a lot about myself, came out of my shell, to some degree and felt all the better for it.

Once I had graduated with my degree, worked in the field for years and then decided to go back to school, I decided I wanted to go online.  I was working full time, taking care of the usual responsibilities, as well as attending an online college.  It worked perfectly for me, because I studied when I fit it into my schedule and found the time.

I plan on going back to college, as soon as I can. As for right now, I’m searching for colleges that offer accredited online college degrees, that are affordable, prestigious and offer the degree that suits me.

Mind you, it may be quite hard to juggle writing articles for this site, my family life, writing my novels, and the usual stuff on top of getting an education, but what are the alternatives?

Shall I sit by and watch as everyone else gets a better job, gets paid more, lives better, while I whine and complain that I never got around to advancing myself?

No, for me- learning is living. You don’t stop learning until you’re dead.  So, in order to advance myself and my family (along with me), I must continue to pursue my education, and you should too!

If you’re an American you are familiar with the term, “Keeping up with the Jones’”, if you’re from outside the USA, you’re probably not as familiar.  Well let me quickly catch you up to speed, the term refers to keeping up with your neighbors and in essence trying to beat them to the punch, so you’re always one step ahead.

Example- Your neighbor pulls into his/her driveway with a brand new vehicle, and you feel the green gills of envy come your way, do you:

• A) walk over and congratulate them on a great purchase
  
• B) run inside and tell your spouse about your neighbors recent purchase
• C) stand there and feel your blood pressure soar through the roof because YOU should have had the money to purchase something nice for yourself? Just then, you are struck with the thought that, “I’ll show them, I’ll purchase something nicer!”

Well, if you’re a nice person, you’d probably pick A, but all too often people tend to choose C.  What does that say about you? It is really a shame because people can’t seem to be happy for others anymore.  If you like something that someone else has you may tend to feel jealous or envious of it. Remember that if it’s that important to you, you just need to work hard for it and you can attain it too.

But, honestly- my husband and I must be from the minimal population of people who honestly don’t care what other people have.  Good for them.  Their life is their life.
Most people think that if they get the newest cell phone, ipod, gps system, computer, laptop, car, house, boat, jewelry, or whatever, they’ll be at a higher class level and will in turn be somewhat more important. But, NEWS FLASH, it’s a never ending cycle of chasing something to give yourself value.

Every person has value within themselves, they don’t need to do things to keep up with others in order to become complete and whole human beings.  They just need to decide what things are important to them, and work towards attaining those goals.

Because, there’s a really great proverb that I often remember, and translated it loses some of its power, but still it’s so good that I must state it or else I’ll burst.  It goes something like this, “A monkey with money, is nonetheless a monkey.” Basically stating that if you have money or don’t, you’re still a human being and how many things you own, or how much money is in the bank, or what type of status you hold in society, you’re still a human being that puts your clothes on one leg at a time (unless you choose to jump in with both feet, which I never really understood).

So, the next time you feel that you want something that someone else has, remember it may not be as life altering, as you may originally perceive it.

The things we take with us from this life is our kindness and love towards others, the family and friends we have left behind, and above all else no matter how successful we were,  or how much we attained during our lifetimes, the ultimate justice is that we will all eventually return to the earth from whence we came, with nothing.