Tag Archives: Story

My New Mom Obsession – Old Children’s Books

I’ve got a confession to make – I am thoroughly obsessed with old children’s books. When I read to my boys at bedtime, we choose from a varied selection of books that we borrow from the library and books that we own. Some of the books I like, others not so much. Then there are a few that are just amazing, and those tend to be the ones that were written and published years before I was even born. I am unsure why those older books are so captivating, but they are. Dylan seems to enjoy them too, and for … Continue reading →

Making Paper Doll Friends

Making Friends is a website that offers free paper dolls that you can print out and your preschooler can play with. There are tons of different clothing and hair options for these dolls, with new varieties added from time to time. These paper dolls are also great for story telling, and imaginative play. To start, go to MakingFriends.com and look for the links to the paper doll bodies. You can print two dolls out on just one piece of paper. Each doll is wearing underwear, has outstretched arms, and a round, bald head. The dolls are gender neutral, waiting to … Continue reading →

The Magic of “No” Part V: The Moral

This little tale I’ve stylized in the previous installments has occurred over and over again. Time after time this series of events happens to people who can’t find a way to say “no” to something they shouldn’t have said “yes” to in the first place. I’ve seen it so often that I’ve practically become a consultant for this type of situation (or at least I’m often asked to function in that capacity). Part of the reason I’m asked to take this role is that I learned the hard way to say “no.” Now I say “no” quite frequently. Part of … Continue reading →

The Magic of “No” Part IV: Honesty

If you haven’t caught up with Parts one, two, and/or three you should do that now. Today is the conclusion to our little story. Onto the telling… The WOMAN woke up that morning and peered into the room housing her cans. She saw the gleaming little eyes of the rats who had taken up permanent residence in her waterlogged little room. She clutched her robe closer to her body; now there was a draft. She thought about going to get one of those cans. She thought about defending herself from the rats with a pushbroom. She thought about carefully avoiding … Continue reading →

The Magic of “No” Part III: The Woman Who Couldn’t

If you missed the beginning of this story you should visit this link to catch yourself up. Today we’ll be looking at the Woman’s perspective in a little story called “The Woman Who Couldn’t.” The WOMAN kept calling the VOLUNTEER but she couldn’t ever actually get the VOLUNTEER into her house to help her move the cans out of the leaky room. While the VOLUNTEER would keep making promises he never kept them. He always had good reasons though… and she could understand. But time went on… and on… and on. Every day the VOLUNTEER had “something come up” and … Continue reading →

The Magic of “No” Part II: The Volunteer Who Couldn’t

Last week I talked about the mystical powers of the word “no.” I talked about the dangers of “yes” (despite the movies to tell you otherwise) and suggested analyzing what really needs to be said “yes” to and what you might want to cut out, truncate, decapitate, or reevaluate to a new position of non-importance and a default response of “no.” I’m going to share a story that I hope will demonstrate the importance of this word from both sides of a story. Today I’m going to explore one perspective in a story called “The Volunteer Who Couldn’t.” There once … Continue reading →

Tell Your Story

Your business is your own and it has a life, reputation and culture all of its own as well. One of the challenges of marketing a small business is to find a way to stand out amidst many—some of those others will be much larger and much better known. It can be tempting to try to imitate or try to make our little business seem like everyone else or at least like the “big guys.” It is important, however, to tell your OWN business story—your business has a personality and it is up to you to share it with your … Continue reading →

My Frugal Confession

It seems that I should have written this blog a long time ago, to dispel any myths or confusion about my frugal life. I love frugal living, and I love finding ways to save money and reuse things. Do I do it all the time? Let’s find out. My confession for all of you, is that I am not the most frugal person. In fact, my articles probably make me sound like a totally frugal person, but there are plenty of things I am not frugal on. Yes, I use coupons. Do I ever forget to bring them and purchase … Continue reading →

A Story for Thanksgiving, Part II

continued… Ellen could hardly believe it. She didn’t think things like this happened in her community. Everybody seemed to be pretty comfortable. It scared Ellen a little, and it also made her sad. “What’s your name?” she asked, in a much friendlier tone. “Susan.” “I’m Ellen. Do you want to sit with me? I’ll share my lunch with you.” Susan was too embarrassed and she didn’t want Ellen’s friends to laugh at her. “Just leave me alone.” As she started to walk away, Ellen’s friend Tommy walked over to them. “Please, wait.” He had been listening to the whole thing, … Continue reading →

A Story for Thanksgiving, Part I

Once there was a little girl who had most everything a child could want. Her family wasn’t rich, but she had a nice home, nice clothes, lots of games and stuff to play with, and plenty of good food to eat. She didn’t always get everything she wanted, but she never had to do without things she needed. One year, around Thanksgiving her mother was busier than usual gathering items for Thanksgiving baskets for poor families. She wondered why her mom made such a big deal out of it, and she was even a little bit upset that her mother … Continue reading →