Archive for October, 2009
A couple’s first dance at a wedding can be a beautiful thing. Unfortunately, many of the songs are standard and, honestly, a bit boring. Check out these indie rock songs to spice things up.
Every part of a wedding takes careful planning. From the ceremony, to the women’s rings to the men’s ring to the flowers to the appetizers you serve before dinner, everything has to be thought out to the smallest detail months before the ceremony begins. But what about the first dance? Isn’t that important to? While many couples might go for the standard slow R&B or soft rock 80’s song, some might want to “hip it up” a bit and dance to something a bit more contemporary. There are a lot of great songs are there in the indie rock universe, why limit yourself? Here are a few interesting songs to consider when trying to pick that perfect song.
“I Will Follow You into the Dark”- Death Cab For Cutie
Sure, it’s a song about death. On the surface that doesn’t sound like an ideal first dance song. But if you listen to the lyrics it’s also one of the deepest songs about love and commitment to come around in quiet a long time. It’s a song about loving someone so much that you want to spend eternity with them. What is more romantic then that? P.S. It’s also an easy song to dance to.
“P.S. You Rock My World” (Live Country Version)- The Eels
Like most of The Eels songs, “P.S. You Rock My World” is a song rooted in tragedy. Then again, it’s also a song about hope following a bad time in one’s life. Regardless, it’s an absolutely beautiful song would fit well into a first dance. If you can get your hands on it, there is a live version of this song that features a country-ish vibe complete with slide guitar. It might work a little better in a dance then the acoustic tinged album version.
“Crown of Love” -The Arcade Fire
Great song- probably the most “danceable” song in the Arcade Fire repertoire. The problem is, it’s kinda of a downer lyrically. There are cover bands that have done instrumental versions of “Crown of Love”, so if you can track it down it might be worth it.
“Gymnast High Above the Ground” – The Decemberists
The Decemberists are one of the most theatrically-sounding bands in the indie-rock universe. Yet “Gymnast High Above The Ground” is done with an acoustic guitar. It’s also beautiful and dance worthy- if you don’t mind your first song being a dance to a tale about a gymnast.
The Swell Season- “Falling Slowly”
A great piano and guitar love song. It’s an Oscar-winning song about falling in love. Perfect “first dance” bait if you ask me. May be a little hard to dance to, but with some practice it will be perfect.
Author Kimberly Green: Picking the song is as fun as picking the womens and mens rings
Finding a franchise opportunity that works takes research and risk. By just using some common sense you can find the perfect franchise for any economic climate.
With so many kids franchise opportunities out there, which do you choose to invest your money on? What type of franchises are so called “recession proof” and which ones are ticking time bombs waiting to explode.
Let’s back up a bit. Chances are, if you’re looking to invest right now you have a little extra money sitting around. You earned this money, so the key to finding the right investment is taking your time and looking at what kids need and not so much what they want. When wallets tighten the first thing that goes is so called “luxury” items.
With that in mind, it may not be the smartest bet to invest in a Chuck-E-Cheese’s type “food and play” center. Not that we all don’t love pizza and video games, but would you be willing to pay for them if money was tight? Most families would limit or even eliminate extra expenditures like these.
How about parent financed stores such as Hot Topic or Claires? Kids love the newest style of t-shirts and accessories. Parents are usually willing to spend some money to keep their kids current and kids love specialties stores that help make the trends as well as follow them. At the same time, though, chain stores like Target and Wal Mart have started selling new lines that keep pace with the newest trends (Wal Mart has the new Miley Cyrus line). This might be a tossup, but because big chain stores are becoming more prevalent, and powerful, it might be best to skip over this.
So what do kids always need? Or better yet, what do children need that parents aren’t willing to either do themselves or skimp on quality. Obviously medical services are something that parents would never skimp on… but that is left best to the professionals.
How about hair? Every child needs a haircut. Sure, parents might consider or, more accurately, threaten to cut their child’s hair, but realistically most parents will leave the cutting to a professional. Parents are looking for a quality haircut at a reasonable price, as well as a place where kids will feel comfortable so they don’t get any resistance when the time to comes for the next one. This is why, if run properly, a child’s salon will always see business even when the economy is down. Sure, it’s not a sure thing or easy money, but it is something that should see a steady line of clients.
There are several child-centric salons which are currently offering franchises. Take a look and see if it is something you would be interested in. Remember, the best kids franchise is one that you fully believe in. With that in mind, take your time, follow your heart, and you’ll make the right decision.
Author Kimberly Green has invested in a kids franchise and has had great success.
What child has a clean and organized room? I would say that the percentage is relatively low on that one! So, it is once again up to the mom to keep the room clean with a few tips to help…
1. First of all you want to get on your knees and see the room from your child’s perspective. You want to make sure that you get furniture for a child. For example, bookshelves and child size hangers instead of adult wire hangers that are accessible to your child. They cannot clean up their messes if they cannot reach where it should be stored.
2. Put the least used toys and more decorative toys on the high shelves since they do not play with it anyways.
3. Teach with your child organizational skills. Do not just scream at them to clean their room and keep it clean. You have to teach them how to be organized. And make sure that you teach your child to clean up one mess before they take out and make another.
4. Clean it out and throw things away. You have to get rid of all that clutter. Donate or put away all the out of season kids clothing. Take toys that they child has outgrown and donate them to kids that will actually play with them again.
5. Get small storage bins to put away loose items like legos, and blocks. Try to color coordinate it not only for this child but it is a lot nicer to look at rather than the regular white or clear containers.
6. Get some of those hanging cubes and hanging shoe racks. It helps to get the things off the floor and then the kids have a place to put them rather than just throwing them in the closet or under the bed.
7. Keep things out of sight but close at hand. Your child needs that school bag on a regular basis but you don’t want to look at it all day – get a hook for behind the bedroom door to store it there.
8. Get an under bed trundle to store sheets, sweaters or even more toys rather than just throwing things under the bed. This way you can pull the trundle out when you need things rather than crawling under the bed.
9. Set that routine. Make sure that the kids clothes are put away and FOLDED in their drawers and the papers are put away in the desk and not sprawled all over the desk. Set aside 10 minutes a night to put things in their place.
10. Make a day of it with your child. Make it fun and enjoyable and make sure that they have some input on where they would like their stuff!
Author Kimberly Green has her kids in a great routine now, from putting kids toys and kids clothing away where they belong to keeping everything organized!
Raising a child is hard. Raising a child is also simple. The answer to some of the hardest questions about raising a child can be found by just taking a look inside yourself.
No matter where they live every parent will agree with one simple fact: raising a child is hard work. Sure, there is nothing more rewarding then watching a child grow up and reach their potential, but man, if it isn’t hard work to get to that point. And if you think that your parenting duties end when they turn 18 let’s be serious: no parent is going to stop caring about their kid once they get into college. Nope, your in it for the long haul, and while family help books can be there to give you some guidance, for the most part you have to use your own love and common sense to raise your child the best way you can.
Your main goal, as a parent, is to teach your child. Since kids will begin learning at a very early age (you’d be surprised what they can pick up even right out of the womb), most parents will agree that it is important to begin to teach your children basic values and family structure at a very early age. Sure, no child needs to know the deep interworks of relationships before they learn to spell, but like it or not, a child is going to begin to form his or her basic ideas of right and wrong much earlier than you think.
Teaching your kids basic right and wrong is not one of those things you do in one sit down conversation. Think about when you were a child. Did you learn all about the idea of right and wrong at one time? Chances are, while specific events helped you find your way, the basic ideas of right and wrong were instead slowly learned through the years.
I know it sounds complex, but don’t worry, in a way it’s not. There is no need to panic and think “Oh my gosh, how the heck am I going to teach my kid these life altering lessons?!?” Teaching these lessons are much easier than you would think. First, take a look at yourself. Since most kids are going to learn lessons from you gradually ask yourself this: how well do you grasp the idea of wrong versus right? Do you think of yourself as a good person who you would want your child to look up to? Like it or not, your child is going to emulate you. For the formative years you are your child’s role model and they want nothing more than to be like mommy and daddy.
These are just a few things to sit back and think about. Strangely parenting can be both harder than you think, yet more basic then you could ever imagine. The best policy is to follow your gut. Chances are you know a lot more then you might think you know on how to raise a child. Never hesitate to learn more through the use of family help books as well.
Author Kimberly Green has utilized several family help books while raising her children.
Picking lighting for your home might seem like a mundane activity. Surprisingly, though, it may be the one of the most important and interesting architectural decisions you’ll make.
To the casual observer, picking home lighting may seem like a hopelessly boring endeavor. I mean, c’mon, it’s just lighting. All lighting does is serve as a way for you and your family to see what you’re doing when it dark, right? How different and exciting can that really be?
Strangely, picking the correct lighting can be a lot more exciting and creative then you might think. All light is not created equal, just as all lighting fixtures are not cut from the same cloth. Besides a wide variety of wattage and bulb designs, there is style and elegance to decide, as even the type of light switches you have can change the way your room feels. There is a big difference between what dimmer and traditional switches can do for your living room or bedroom.
When considering lighting for your house, there is one simple question you must ask yourself first: what are you looking to get out of your lights? Are you merely looking for a way to light your place, or is this about giving your room a certain feeling or mood? Some people might look towards simple lamps for their tables so that they can read when the sun goes down, or maybe some larger floor lighting fixtures to light up the room. Others might be thinking a little bigger with hanging light fixtures on the ceiling, or even bringing in someone to install new lighting into their ceiling. That kind of thing can change the entire feeling of a room.
Another key thing to think about when considering what kind of lighting to bring to your home is finding a fixture that will match your surrounding design and themes. For example, most people wouldn’t put a giant brown light fixture into an all white room, or old style Victorian lamp into an ultra modern designed room. Same goes for installing lights into a ceiling as both design and wattage can redefine your room. Shadow’s can either appear or disappear quickly thanks to the angles at which these lights are installed. Installing a dimmer switch could turn your living room from a dimly lit romance den for date night, into a bright and accessible area for a Monday Night football party the next.
Regardless of your wants and needs, picking home lighting designs and fixtures are a much more personal endeavor then one might originally think. The key is to just to take it slow and to think through it. Don’t be afraid to try designs and bulbs out and be willing to change it if needed. That way you’ll be happy with your final product.
Author Kimberly Green has experience with interior decorating and specializes in residential home lighting
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