MAKE A NOTE!! -- May 1st, 2002
CIRCULATION - 24,384 (From Around the World! :-)
WEB SITE VISITORS - 46,645
A Free Twice Monthly (1st and 3d Wednesday of each month) Ezine with (Hopefully) Useful Info on a Wide Variety of Topics
NEXT ISSUE TO BE PUBLISHED ON/ABOUT MAY 15TH, 2002
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NOTE: Each entry has a suggested "POST IT..." location at the end. We recommend that you print out the ezine, cut out each entry, & post it in these locations to make it easier for you to find when you need it. And if you like what you read, be sure to pass it on to someone else who can use it.
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Traveling Overseas & Learning the Language
If you just want to get a taste of a foreign country, then contact your travel agent & find a good package deal with hotel & transportation included. But if you REALLY want to learn about a foreign country, then one of the best ways is to actually live in one place for several weeks. One way to do this for a reasonable price is to contact Foreign Language Schools in the countries you would like to visit. Most of these schools will have a variety of very affordable accommodations they can provide or help you with, even for large families or anyone else taking part in their language courses. Another plus is that you will usually get to meet a lot of people from many other countries taking the same courses you are. To find out about these schools and what they can offer, try your search engine (I used MSN) and enter in "language-schools-Spanish" (or whatever language you are interested in). Do a LOT of research on the schools, or even better ask for references from someone from your own country. And to get the most out of your travel experience, whether short or long, try to take some language courses before you go (I recommend "The Learnables" for home study), get a good phrase book & practice, and read up on the areas you will be visiting, try to find pen pals in the area, or maybe even try out some recipes. Another important thing to do is to check with your appropriate government agency (in the USA, the State Dept) to see if any travel warnings are in effect. Another good book for certain high risk countries is "Guide to the World's Most Dangerous Places". This last book might be especially helpful for military or other overseas workers in the particular countries in this book. But most of you will probably be looking at more stable areas.
POST IT...under "travel agents" in the yellow pages.
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Quotes and Where to Find Them
You know you've heard THAT quote somewhere before, but you just can't remember the source. You're giving a speech and need related quotes. You're doing a report on a particular person & want to find some quotes that aren't as well known. You're throwing a baby shower, bridal shower, or some other party and are looking for quotes on a theme to match to the speaker. This is the site that will make the job easy for you.
On this site you can look up quotes by author, topic, or do a search for a particular word. It is a lot of fun just to peruse. I will say that the only thing I don't like about it is the pop-up that comes with every quote, but there are ways to block these from your computer and some sites are still worth it.
POST IT...in your favorites file, and in the books you use for reports, essays, or speeches.
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Finding Roommates (Single, Divorced, Widowed)
You are a single person looking for a roommate to save some money or for safety reasons. Or maybe you are a college student who is tired of the craziness of dorm life. Perhaps you are widowed or divorced with children and are looking for someone in a similar situation to share expenses & responsibilities. And then there are military wives or families trying to save some money while their husbands are stationed in another country for a couple of years. In any of these cases, the search for a roommate should not be taken lightly. It will affect your life, and possibly the lives of your children. So where do you find the right roommates? Ever heard the old adage that the best place to find a spouse is in church? Well, the same probably goes for roommates. I'd venture to say that the number one reason that roommates do not work out (and marriages too for that matter) is a conflict in basic values; almost, if not every, reason for incompatibility, often comes down to what you truly believe is right & wrong. So look around your worship center and consider the roommate possibilities. If you need to expand your search ask your friends & family for possibilities, consider other churches in your denomination, religious clubs, or possibly general ads in selected publications. For moms with children you might consider the web site http://www.co-abode.com. If you don't know the person well, then consider doing a background check just to be safe. At the very least check sites like your state's sex offender registry (Sex Offender Registries - State Listings). Then after talking it over with your potential roommate, consider getting counseling from your pastor or their counterpart. How will the duties be divided, the living expenses, babysitting, do you take showers in the morning or evening, do you stay up late or go to bed early? If you still think you could do it, then try living together (by the way, I'm definitely not advocating opposite sex roommates here) for a couple of weeks. If it still looks like a go, then make sure you discuss it with all family members involved. If you have children, take into consideration opposite sex children who are or may become teenagers living in the same home. It might be better if only same sex children are living in an arrangement like this one. If it is a close friend that you are thinking of living with, consider the danger that if it doesn't work out that it could hurt your friendship (I speak from experience, although looking back, while we were all casual friends, we were very different). If you and your roommate(s) are all on the same path, then the caring, support, and financial savings of living together can truly be a blessing.
POST IT...under "real estate agents" in the yellow pages.
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Supporting Hospital Patients
It happens to all of us at one time or another, either we or someone we know ends up in the hospital. We've already covered some ideas for more organized support (see our September 19th, 2001 issue), but what about the basics of visiting or calling the patient. For the immediate family, it is always good to have at least one immediate family member with the patient at all times to act as an advocate for them. If you are sleeping in the same room, ask for a cot/extra bed (offer to purchase a cot if they will let you have one in the room & don't have one), or a chair that reclines. If they will not allow you to stay in the room, then have family members take turns, and if you are away from home, ask about lodging for families of patients that many hospitals make available for reasonable cost near the hospital. If finances are a problem & the hospital does not have lodging, contact a local church from your denomination & ask for assistance, you never know until you ask what might be available. For close friends and more extended family, consider daily visits, but if your presence is constant then it could be tiring to the patient & immediate family (often the patient feels like they have to "entertain"). For more casual friends, every other day will usually do. Remember to keep the visit short, the more ill the person is, the shorter, certainly no more than about an hour. Do NOT call the patient's room, and if you are the patient or their caregiver, consider turning the ringer off the phone. There will always be some people who will call at the wrong time, or wrong numbers. Along the same lines, have a sign to hang/tape on the door when the patient is sleeping. Do not bring rambunctious or very young children, they can often pass on illnesses that could be life-threatening to someone in a weakened state or disturb patients. Instead have the children draw a picture to pass on. On the other hand, emails, cards, balloons, flowers & other gifts should always be welcome. Ask if there are magazines, books, or other things you can bring to brighten their day. If they are on a normal diet, many hospitals have special fancy meals that can be ordered for an extra charge for the patient (think tablecloths, & real silverware). Another thing you can do for those on regular diets is bring some favorite food to the visit with you; one patient I visited hadn't been eating much, but enjoyed the milk shake I brought her so much that her family started bringing more in for her. Remember, these are only guidelines. The patient & their family should make their wishes clear. If the patient has a dear friend that they could see all day & still want more time, then let that friend know they are truly welcome anytime. If some visitors are wearing out their welcome, then be honest with them...tell them that the patient is getting tired & needs a rest & perhaps they can come back in a couple of days. If you don't feel comfortable being direct about it, consider asking a nurse's aide (the nurses are usually a little too busy for this) to come in & tell the visitors that it is time for the patient to rest. If the patient is sharing a room with someone who plays the TV loud, gets a lot of calls, or too many visitors, then ask the nurse's station if they can move the patient or possibly speak with the other patient's family about the problem. Visitors should be considerate of other patients & keep their voices down. Patients should also turn off TV's when visitors enter. Remember that visiting a patient is supposed to support the PATIENT. Sometimes that may mean not talking, but just sitting with them & holding a hand. While most visitors do genuinely care, there will always be those who are "checking the block" and don't want the inconvenience of returning later if the patient is sleeping. Having been on both sides of the visit, as a patient recovering from a serious emergency surgery and as a visitor, I offer these suggestions in the hope that patients will feel supported, but also get the rest they need to recover as soon as possible.
POST IT...in the yellow pages under "hospitals".
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Recipe: Chicken Elegant
Brown 1C sliced fresh mushrooms (or 8 oz can) in 2 tblsp butter or margarine. Add 1 can Cream of Shrimp soup (can also substitute Cream of Mushroom, Cream of Chicken, or other cream soups), 3 tblsp light cream (or milk in a pinch), 2C cubed cooked chicken, and 1 tsp dried parsley (1 Tblsp if freshly chopped). Heat through while stirring. Serve over pasta, rice, or in plain pastry shells. This is one of those easy meals that you can keep the ingredients on hand for, but it looks like you put a lot of time into it when served up nicely.
POST IT...on your shopping list & in your recipe box.
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Back Issue Treasure: June 1st, 1999 Issue (Vacation Bible School Publicity, Protecting Your Children, Bridal Shower Games, and More)
Getting to be that time of year again, Vacation Bible School is coming & you need publicity ideas. Check out this back issue for a publicity timetable for your program. The ideas would work with most other programs as well. Throwing a Bridal Shower for that June wedding & need some game ideas, check out the article on our shower games. A book that will help you protect your children, ideas for Father's Day games, and stop an overheating car by turning on the heat??? All this and more in our June 1st, 1999 back issue.
So, click HERE to retrieve all this wonderful info.
POST IT...by your computer.
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Final Words
JOKE (Actually a funny, but true quote)
"If you think you're too small to make a difference, you've obviously never been in bed with a mosquito."
--Michelle Walker
QUOTE
"One's integrity can give a person something to rely on when perspective seems to blur, when rules and principles seem to waver, and when faced with a hard choice of right and wrong. A clear conscience is one's only protection."
--Admiral James B. Stockdale, USN (Ret.), Medal of Honor recipient, and POW in Vietnam for eight years -- tortured 15 times, in leg irons for two years, and in solitary confinement for four years. For more about this amazing man's story and the faith & family love that pulled him through it all. Read "In Love and War" by Stockdale. Out of print now, but may be found at your local library.
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AT&T's Community Port
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