Are You Still Busy during the "Shelter in Place" Order?

Every now and then I'll interact with someone who thinks I have a lot of free time on my hands now that we are "stuck inside" due to the shelter-in-place guidelines which are in place all over the country and the world. (We are actually NOT inside all the time; we are outside quite a bit because why move to 8 acres of land with a pond and stay inside in the springtime?)

At the beginning of this whole thing, I put a lot of things on hold to make sure I was checking up on the virus numbers and checking in on the press conferences by the governors on both sides of the state line, checking in on my own city's Facebook page and county's website. I realized some things were starting to suffer and it was taking its toll on me and how I lived my life and how I was steering the lives of my children.

4 Fun Things to Do While You Are Trapped Indoors

With a huge number of people around the world currently trapped indoors for their own good – and with this impromptu state of quarantine likely set to last for a while – boredom and cabin fever are very real possibilities.

Of course, just because you are stranded indoors for a while doesn’t mean that there aren’t still plenty of things you can do in order to have fun, stay entertained, and to turn this otherwise stressful and negative situation into something altogether much more positive.

So, without further ado, here are a few fun things to do while you are trapped indoors.

Spend some time coming up with goals that motivate and excite you, and begin the planning process

Even if you can’t currently go outside and engage with the world in the way you might want to, there is nothing to stop you from sitting down and spending some time coming up with goals that generally motivate and excite you, and from then beginning with the planning process in earnest.

On an everyday basis, it’s common for everyone to get a bit too caught up in their own personal dramas and the rapid pace of everyday life. One consequence of this is that it’s often easy to end up operating on autopilot, without paying much thought to whether or not you are actually pursuing goals that you find genuinely meaningful.

What to Include in a Disaster Preparedness Kit

Image by Ray Shrewsberry from Pixabay

                    It's difficult to think about a scenario in which you and your family are confined to your home or an emergency shelter. Nonetheless, it is important to be prepared in the event of a hurricane, tornado, pandemic or another worst-case scenario by assembling a disaster preparedness kit and storing it in a secure location. Make sure to include these items in your kit.

Bottled Water

It's impossible to survive for more than a few days without access to water. In order to anticipate both drinking and sanitation needs, your disaster preparedness kit should include one gallon of all-natural bottled water Tampa FL for each member of your family per day for a minimum of three days.

Food

Make sure to include nonperishable food that does not require heating, cooking or refrigeration. Peanut butter, crackers, canned fruits and vegetables and granola bars are all good options. Don't forget a few sets of utensils and a can opener in order to make sure that you can access and eat the food.

Flashlight and Extra Batteries

To prepare for the possibility of losing power, add a powerful flashlight and extra batteries to your kit. Whether you may be fortunate enough to remain in your home or you need to relocate to a shelter, having no way to see would be frightening and debilitating.

Entertainment

Remember, in an emergency situation, you could be confined to an area for days or weeks on end. A deck of cards, a board game or a book will help to pass the time and take everyone's minds off of the situation at hand.

Chances are, you will never need to use your kit. Still, just in case a disaster does strike, it doesn't hurt to be ready. Assembling supplies and storing them in a safe place is an important way to look out for yourself and your family.

               

Incredibly Simple Ways To Support Your Child's Education

As parents, we spend a long time looking for the right school environment for our children and for their needs. When you choose to home educate, you choose to ensure that your child has a rounded, open education that encompasses everything that they are interested in and more. The children have to learn, and as their teacher, you have a whole world to introduce them to. Children are daydreamers with big ideas about the world, and you are there to funnel that imagination and make something of it.

The least that you could do for your child is to support their imagination and their education in every way that you can. If we want the very best for our children, it starts by working with their wants. You are running the classroom, which means that the topics of education are all decided between you. You can support your child to push to their potential, and you get to choose the resources that will support the subjects you are following. For example, if you have a budding writer on your hands, you can click to learn more about how to publish their stories. As their teacher, you need all the support that you can get to help your child to achieve their dreams, and if you want to be a partner in your child’s education, let’s look at how you can better support their education.

Image Source: Pexels

• Give Your Time. Parent volunteers are generally welcome throughout the homeschool groups and clubs in most areas, so have a conversation with the local parents and offer to volunteer your time when they need helpers for an event. You could even just volunteer your time to help in other homeschool classrooms to learn about how to do it yourself before your kids have hit school age.
• Support The Teacher. You’re the teacher at home, but not at gymnastics, trampolining or the many sports clubs you could take your child through the day. While there are always going to be questions if you’re hearing that your child has been disruptive, it’s important to remember that your kid isn’t an angel from heaven. They WILL play up at some point. If you’ve been told this by their teacher, support them in their response and work with them. Don't immediately berate them for disciplining your kid - there is a chance they needed to do it.
• Work As A Team. Parents and club leaders must work side by side to ensure that a child has every ounce of encouragement and support possible. Stay in contact with them about your child’s learning, and have meetings together to discuss their progress and behavior. It’s how your child knows that they have you all on their side.
• Help With Resources. If you feel like you have ideas about their topics, or you want to suggest some student publishing initiatives and take an interest in writing, let your child know that you’ve found things that will be exciting to learn with. They’ll be happy to know you are actively trying for them!

Dads Can Write for Parenting Pubs, Too!

Recently a friend of mine told me how her husband is a good writer but doesn’t really know where to get started. I told her if he can write short essays about dad-hood, he can break into some local parenting pubs, who are often dying for quality content written by fathers. They seem to already have so much written by moms, and they like to have a variety of voices to choose from for their monthly spots that need filling. As long as he knuckles down and gets writing and does some research on how to sell your novel, he can be a really big success.

Check out my post over at The Published Parent for more on this topic and a great resource!

Relaxing Activities to do as a Family

Finding relaxing ways to spend time with your family can end up being pushed to one side in favor of outdoor activities of a weekend. Still, it’s essential to have some downtime occasionally when day-to-day life is chaotic. With children’s extracurricular activities and work, we barely find a lot of spare time. So it’s essential to have some quality time, quality conversation, and quality bonding experiences. But where do we start? And if you don’t already have a routine in place for this, then where can we find ideas? 

Photo by Kylo on Unsplash

Reading

Reading is a wonderful bonding experience, it’s recommended that you start reading to and ‘with’ your children pretty much from birth, it’s even been reported that babies in the womb react positively to their family reading to them. And of course, this will foster a level of books as well as bond with each other. Reading and sharing stories at a young age is essential, and also helps children learn early, and will benefit from this in many ways. Children who read from a young age are also likely to have beautiful imaginations as well. There are many stories with wonderful messages attached to them, that will help children understand right from wrong and all about friendship. There really isn’t a negative to spending time Reading together, and your children will thank you for these efforts as they grow.

Watching A Movie

Grabbing the popcorn and settling down to watch a film together with many families' ideas of a wonderful evening. Whether it’s Batman or Paddington, you’re going to enjoy spending time with no pressure and enjoying something together. Sometimes choosing the film in the first place can be difficult, TroyPoint can help expand your options with your TV and film access, this means that there should be something for everybody. If not, you can take it in turns to choose. Complete box sets and series of movies are available now at the touch of a button. So why not turn your living room into a cinema? And take advantage of this spare time together.

Making Music

Many families who grew up with music, continue to pass this down to their children, and many people are choosing to make music with The family during the spare time that they have, which is not only a relaxing endeavour, but being creative is great for everyone’s mental health, and mental dexterity. And that isn’t a bad thing. Music can also be used as therapy alone, so sitting down and creating something unusual with your family members, it’s definitely a great way to bond.

These are just a few ideas that people have come up with in the past, and every family is different, so finding what works for you and ways that will help you all relax after a busy week, is perfect. So whether you choose to sit and read a book, watch Aladdin or even get some art supplies out and create something while relaxing, know that it is not a waste of time, it is time that helps your family grow.

6 Ways To Document Your Memories

The older you get, the more things you have to remember and the more other memories start to fade. The big things that happen, often stay with you, but the little day to day things that make you smile are sometimes forgotten about. In the moment, you vow to remember it forever, but a few months later it might as well have never happened. There are ways that you can combat this and keep track of memories that you want to remember in the moment, so that you can look back at them in the future and give yourself something to smile at. You could even keep track of the exact age you were when certain events happened so you can reminisce about how far you have come. 

(Pexels)

Journaling

There is no correct way to journal. It is a collection of your thoughts, feelings and events of the day. You can even just write about whatever you want to at that time. You could decide that you are going to write in it at a specific time every day, or carry it around in your bag so that you can add to it whenever you feel like it. There are absolutely no rules! If you want it to look pretty, make it look pretty. If you want to scribble all over the pages, scribble all over the pages. Don’t worry about how everybody else's journal looks, because your journal is a way for you to relax and record things, it isn’t for anybody else to look at. 

If you don’t know how to start, you should aim to write one sentence a day or answer the same few questions and see how it develops from there. You can even set a reminder on your phone so that you remember to journal as it can be challenging to keep up with a habit when you first start to do something. There is no need, however, to feel guilty if you do forget or just don’t want to some days. 

Journaling and writing, in general, is an excellent way to remember things because you write about how you felt at the time, exactly what was going on, and what you could see, taste and smell. It can bring the memories flooding back to you in a way that just looking at a picture will not.

Journaling can not only be a great way to remember things about the everyday, but it can also have many benefits to you. It can help you slow down and take some dedicated me time. It can also help you to work out how you are actually feeling about things and give you time to work through issues and emotions that you need to. It may feel like just writing, but it can have a positive effect on your life. 

Blogging

Blogging is slightly different from journaling because you are posting whatever you write online where anybody can see it. Blogging started off as a sort of online diary that people post to, but has branched out into other things; you can now choose if you want to use your blog for business or keep it personal. You could blog about anything you want, or you could decide to keep it to specific subjects. Maybe you travel a lot and want to keep track by writing about each trip or perhaps you want to document your days out with your kids! 

With a blog, it is easy to include pictures relevant to what you are writing, so when you can look back through your posts, you can look at the photos as well as what you have written. 

If you want to start a blog about your life or your hobbies, it could help you to connect with people who have similar interests to you. It can also be an excellent way to share while doing something that you love.

(Pexels)

Scrapbooking

Scrapbooking is a great way to organise all your keepsakes and photos together into one place. In your scrapbook you can put tickets from shows, tickets from traveling to new places and other sentimental bits and pieces. Mixing these with photos from the same day or event will give you a clearer picture of what happened when you are flicking through. You can even write dates and information.

There is no right or wrong way to scrapbook. There are, however, a lot more things that you can buy to help and inspire you with scrapbooking. You can purchase scrapbook albums and a whole load of paper, tags, pocket and labels etc., to help you to come up with different ideas on how to display the items and photos in the book. It might be a good idea to walk around the scrapbooking section of a craft shop to inspire you. 

You can create scrapbooks of one-off special events, or it can be something that you continue to add to throughout the year. However you decide to scrapbook, it is nice to have something tangible that you can flick through to remind you of specific times and events. Photos get kept on our phones or in files on our computers to be forgotten about. By scrapbooking, we make sure that our memories are always to hand.

Posting photos online

This is a way that you can take all those photos that are sitting on your phone and use them. You can post them on websites like Facebook or Instagram or any other social media that you use with information about them. There are challenges that some people do, like posting a photo of their day for a whole year. Posting your photos can be something that you do privately for yourself to keep track of things that have happened, or publically with your friends. 

(Pexels)

Yearly Diary/Planner

Your yearly planner is not just something that can be used to keep track of upcoming appointments and events, but it can also be used as a way to jot down things that have happened during the day. 

If you want to get fit, planners can be a great way to document your fitness journey. When you make progress, you can look back at what you could do when you first started, and compare it to what you can do now and feel proud of yourself. If you have a child, you could write down all the new little things they have learned each day. Children grow up so fast, so it can be hard to remember precisely when they first smiled at you or when their first tooth cut through. You don’t need to go into much detail, but just seeing how much has happened over the year will amaze you. Diaries can come in week view and day view, so you can pick a design that you like with as much space as you think you will need. If you don’t fancy using a diary, you could do the same thing with a calendar.  

Record 1 second of your day

One second may not seem like a long time, but you can get a good feel of your day from that second. This could be a great option if you don’t really like to write or don’t like the thought of uploading photographs to the internet. There are apps that can help you to document the short video and put them into a longer, more manageable video, preventing you from being overloaded by one-second videos saved individually to your phone. Some apps even give you the space to write an entry about what was happening at the time, so you have the option to write a little bit if you want too. If you have children, this could be a great way to document how much they have changed over the course of the year!

Take the time to document your memories

You are continually evolving as a person, and writing something at the time that it happens will capture the most accurate representation of what happened and how you were feeling at that moment. We will never remember anything completely without prompting. Reading something that you wrote a few years ago can feel like you are reading something written by a completely different person. We can witness our growth and see how far we have come. When we have goals that we hit, we often don’t appreciate them enough before we move onto something else, but if you can see how much you wanted something and remember that you managed to achieve it, it can give you the chance to feel proud. 

There are so many ways that you can document your memories that there is sure to be one that works for you. You don’t have to stick to any guidelines, and you can choose who sees them and whether you write, take pictures, videos or save small items, or do a mixture of everything! However you decide to record your memories, one thing is for sure, you will be happy that you did when you come to look back through them in years to come. 

Boost Your Wellness with These Top 4 Tips

Being outdoors can be such a mood boost!

Everyone’s wellness could use a little boost once in a while, couldn’t it? Let these 4 tips help. 

1.    Take Care of Your Immune System and It’ll Take Care of You

Your wellness depends on a healthy mind and body, and you want your body to be in top form at all times – and this doesn’t just mean how it looks on the outside. Your immune system is vital in fighting off any attacks in the form of illnesses, and the practices to encourage a stronger immune system are the simplest as part of a healthy, balanced lifestyle. 

These include:

• Eating healthily
• Getting the right amount of nutrients
• Getting enough sleep and plenty of rest when needed
• Avoiding stress

Reset IV Miami offers the opportunity to give your immune system a boost when needed, especially during the colder months when you might be prone to more illnesses such as the cold and flu virus. 

2.    Prioritize “Me Time” (and No, It’s Not Selfish!)

Time for yourself can be spent however you want it to be spent, and make sure it’s personal to you. Do whatever makes you happy – even if that’s simply doing nothing for a change – and don’t feel guilty about doing so, either. Enjoying some private time every once in a while is essential in recharging your batteries and embracing your own positive mental health habits. 

Learn to say no to social occasions if you don’t feel up to it, and also learn that it’s okay to say no. If you want to spend an evening in alone after an arduous week, that’s perfectly acceptable. 

Be sure to use your ‘me time’ wisely for some self-care, whether it’s a relaxing bubble bath, meditation, watching your favorite film or even just getting an early night. 

3.    Get Outdoors and Enjoy Nature More

Nothing can really compete with nature when it comes to a natural remedy for improving your health and wellbeing. Beautiful, inspiring landscapes and settings are all around you, if you take the time to look and experience them. 

Especially if you have a hectic lifestyle which often sees you staring at a screen, chained to a desk or even just spending a lot of time indoors, breathing in fresh air and escaping to an idyllic natural retreat can have a huge boost on your positive thinking and health. Try out walking and hiking more to also improve your active lifestyle. 

4.    Appreciate the Little Things, and Concentrate on the Good

Your wellness depends on concentrating on the positive over the negative, and you have the power to do so. This could be in the simplest way, such as starting the day by making a small list of everything you’re grateful for, but even the smallest gestures could have the biggest impacts on your mental health. This is turn will make you feel more positive and motivated to care further for your wellbeing, such as feeling productive enough to exercise or cook a healthy meal. 

Don’t allow negativity to consume you and make you feel unmotivated and sluggish.

2019 Books Read and Plan to Read Kerrie McLoughlin (updated regularly)

Welcome to my online reading log! I love Scribd and you can check them out for two months for FREE to see which of these books might be on Scribd as an ebook or audiobook, just click on the word Scribd here in this post. I do find that most books I want to read or listen to can be found over there with only a few exceptions.

Please check back here regularly. I have eclectic tastes and I include what I'm reading to the kids as well (just click here to go to that post)! And yes, I do read more than one book at once! (disclaimer: I might get a few cents if you buy a book or ebook using the links in this post)

On my Scribd list of audiobooks to listen to next while I walk (I pay $8.99 for unlimited audiobooks and ebooks each month!):

Light Over London by Julia Kelly
The Hypnotist's Love Story by Liane Moriarty
Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman
The Mermaid by Christina Henry
Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult
The Home for Unwanted Girls by Joanna Goodman

Inside Out by Demi Moore finished in December and loved it! So many great insights I might just buy my own copy and mark it up.

Listened to this one on Scribd while I walked, put away laundry, made dinner, drove, etc. (Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine). I found it a little slow. (Finished August 12, 2019)

Reading this one in paperback by the pool (gift from my friend Jill); (Finished around August 20, 2019):


This one looks like a quick read I might do next:


Jill also gave me this one in paperback, and it will round out pool season nicely! (started 9/8/19 and still listening to on walks as of October 8, 2019)


Planning to start this one in September. Started this one August 12 on audiobook and was immediately drawn in (over half done as of August 27 and can't wait to see the movie); finished 9/8/19 and highly recommend:


I got a little distracted because some friends want to go see the Downton Abbey movie and it was a show I always wanted to start so I did. I watched before bed, while putting away laundry, doing dishes, cooking, etc. As of 10/8/19 I'm on the final season and excited to go see the movie with friends!


If I fall in love with Kristin Hannah, I'm heading to this one next, then I'll start posting more:


Then I'd like to check out this one:


And this one:


And this one:


I got this one free at church and keep it by my bed for reading a little at a time:


Suggested for everyone to read by Stephanie Williams on my Facebook fan page:

Stephanie Williams Read : A million Little Pieces, Piece of Cake and Vurt at least twice each.

What To Consider When Publishing A Book

Writing a book is one of the most challenging, hair pulling, but exciting things you will ever do in your life. If you have a creative mind and a world of stories in your head, translating them to page for others to enjoy is a privilege like no other. 

If you are looking to publish your book this year and share it with the world, there is a world of options to consider. Today though, we want to focus on self-publishing your story and gaining all of the royalties for your piece. There are plenty of factors that come into play when self-publishing a book, and here are some of the things you need to think about and jobs to do before you publish. 

1. Make sure it’s ready

The hardest thing you can do as a writer is to decide when a book is finished. After spending a long time creating a novel, making the decision to stop writing and start the publishing process can be a challenge. The best way to prepare your novel once you are finished writing is to proofread it a few times and ask a family member or friend to proofread it too. We can easily become clouded and biased as a creator, so asking someone else to read a piece of work will ensure that the story flows, the message makes sense, and the grammar is correct. 

2. How will you create the cover?

One of the most crucial decisions you need to make when you come to publish a book is the cover. A book cover is like a window into the soul of your creation. It is incredibly important that the cover conveys the tone of the novel and allows people to feel like they are within your world the moment they pick it up. Looking at some key examples:

•    Twilight Series – These book covers are black and red, usually depicted the film characters or objects that make the reader feel like they are in a fantasy world with vampires and werewolves. Most young adult books use this same design

•    Crossfire Series – These adult books depict romantic objects and sensual covers to make the reader feel relaxed and ready for a more adult reading experience

•    Harry Potter Series – Every book has a nostalgic, magical, and whimsical illustration which makes the reader feel immediately transported into the magical world. 

It is important that you look at similar books to your own and design a cover that helps the reader make an informed decision on purchasing your novel

3. Get your website ready

Every author should have a website. If you have other works and writing pieces to share with your audience, or you plan to share more in the future; a website will display this. Before you publish your book, set up a website with a countdown to release date, with a link to the book, and also with a small sample of pages to pique the interest of potential readers. You can also share a comment board where people can ask questions about the book, share their ideas, and even a forum where aspiring creators can spread inspiration and ideas. 

4. Check for copyright issues 

Although you have written every word of the novel yourself, it is important to hire lawyers that specialise in copyright, unlike the many Personal Injury Lawyers you see on TV, to check for issues and also protect your work against plagiarism. Be sure to protect your work and also make sure that any references you make are legal and sound.