When my three children were young, one of my most hated tasks was making lunches for each of them to take school. (Ironing clothes was another!) I made what I thought were healthy lunches that they would like. How wrong I was! They never seemed to like whatever I made.

I tired of the complaints and the uneaten foods. It became a battle each night when I tried to elicit what they would like in their lunch. They, of course, just wanted money so they could buy lunch (their choice was always pizza) at school. This was not an option based on our budget and on my desire to fuel them with more nutritious food than pizza every day.

I learned the hard way that pleasing kids with good brown bag lunches was a difficult task. Then I came up with a workable solution that took the lunch-making job away from me. In addition, my solution resulted in fewer complaints and less uneaten foods.

Continue reading "One Smart Mother!" »

Posted by Sandra Dalka-Prysby at 08:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Every once in a while I have a “brilliant” idea for a way of making extra money. This usually happens around the holidays or a few months before my annual kayaking trip with 15 friends. Extra money is good for both of these occasions. Over the years, however, my way of making extra money often becomes…well…a drudgery and, if truth be told, the extra money is hardly worth it. I’ve learned the hard way that it’s better to save all year long than to try to make a few extra bucks in some brilliant way.

My latest endeavor was to make mother-daughter felted purses. I made one set for my daughter and granddaughter and the purses are really cute. Friends and family members urged me to make more sets and to sell them. Wow! What a great idea for making extra holiday cash.

I took my set to a chi-chi children’s boutique in town to show the owner my creations. She loved the purses and said she’d be happy to make them available on consignment. She would sell them for $50 a set and take 25 percent. This sounded good. She wanted five sets by the following week. I could do this.

Continue reading "A Losing Proposition" »

Posted by Sandra Dalka-Prysby at 10:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

I have always been a Pollyanna. I wear rose-colored glasses and I always look at my cup as being half-full. I wake up everyday with a smile on my face even if the weather is less-than-perfect. I think that everyone and everything is good. At least I did. Then an accident led me to revise my thinking somewhat. I learned the hard way that while there is much good in this world, there are some areas that need improvement.

I was on my three-mile fitness walk one day—a beautiful, sunny day with the nip of fall in the air—when I tripped over a raised section of concrete sidewalk. I fell to the ground. An excruciating pain went through me and tears ran down my cheeks as my right knee slammed into the concrete. Immediately blood soaked my slacks and my knee swelled to four times its normal size. I knew I was in trouble as I lay on the ground holding my injured knee.

Continue reading "Less of a Pollyanna" »

Posted by Sandra Dalka-Prysby at 12:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)