Allergy-Reducing Home Decoration Ideas
If anyone in your family suffers from allergies, you may feel overwhelmed at all the allergens around. Don’t stress! You can reduce the number and prevalence of allergens in your home by doing some strategic redecorating. Use these simple decor ideas to reduce the allergens in your home: Take Up the Carpet The wall-to-wall carpet […]
Green Home Improvement Tips for Your Bathroom
The bathroom is a practical place to start in the “greening” of your home. It’s where much water is used and often wasted, and everyone spends a lot of cumulative time in the “loo.” Use these home improvement tips to make your bathroom a bit greener. 1. Install low-flow aerators on your faucets. You can […]
15 Quick and Simple Green Tips for Every Day
Many people just want to know what they can do to live green. And when it comes down to it, what people do every day is what makes a cumulative difference. Here are fifteen easy-to-implement tips on green living for every day. 1. When you wash dishes, don’t leave the water running while you scrub […]
Winter Energy-Saving Tips
Winter can be an energy-intensive season. It’s understandable to want to cut your energy use as the temperature drops. Thankfully, many energy-saving strategies are simple and easy to do. Here are some tips on how to keep the heat in this winter. 1. Programmable Thermostats Don’t let the concept of fiddling with your home’s wiring […]
The Best Gift I Ever Gave
What’s the greatest gift I’ve ever given? We’ll get to that… first I wanted to talk about what, to me, defines a “great” gift… It seems simple, but what greater gift could we possibly give, than the greatest gift given to us? In a nutshell- ourselves: Our time, patience, knowledge, concern, empathy, compassion, and support […]
Rural Mom’s 10 Tips for Smarter Holiday Shopping and Gifting
‘Tis the season for holiday shopping. Last year, according to CBS News article, American consumers spent over $10 billion dollars on goods on the day after Thanksgiving sales—a day many know by the name of “Black Friday.” Though the sales on Black Friday are often tempting, there are other ways consumers can rack up on […]
Halloween Baby Names
Would you name your baby boy “Dragon”? No? What about giving your baby girl a name that means “to suffer”? Would you believe that both of these names made it onto Social Security’s list of the Top 1000 Halloween baby names for 2009? Drake, which was number 230 on the list of the Top 1000, […]
10 Ideas for Incorporating Fun and Play into Your Child’s Daily Activities
It’s easy to get caught up in the doldrums of chores and every day tasks. Leaving little time for fun, though, can add too much stress to your life, and often to your child’s. And it’s no mystery that stress can detract from your overall health and well-being. Use the following ideas to incorporate a little fun into […]
5 Key Phrases to Keep Love Alive
Rural Mom welcomes guest Laurie Puhn, J.D., author of Fight Less, Love More: 5-Minute Conversations to Change Your Relationship without Blowing Up or Giving In Today’s busy multi-tasking couples have little time to invest in their relationship. In my couples mediation practice it’s no surprise that many people reveal they have lost that loving feeling […]
Our Search for the Best Blackberry Wine
Rural hubby has a new hobby of late, which I can only pin on myself for starting as I’ve begun to drag him from winery to winery in Kentucky- a quest for the “best” Blackberry Wine. Hubby grew up eating wild blackberries (and for those of you who are city folk, there’s a substantial difference […]
10 Activities You Can Do With Your Teen Daughter for the Holidays
I’m pleased to offer you this insightful article from Janine Sherman, OB/GYN nurse practitioner and co-author of Start Talking: A Girl’s Guide for You & Your Mom: As a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner and mother, I understand how difficult it can be to get quality time with your teen daughter. With all of the demands […]
Frugal Snack: Homemade Chewy Pumpkin Seed Granola Bars
Hands-down fresh granola bars are a wicked-cool, yummy fall treat… and a great way to use up extra pumpkin seeds. After whipping up this super easy recipe, you can store the bars in an air-tight container for 1 week. Chewy Pumpkin Seed Granola Bars INGREDIENTS 2 cups rolled oats 1 cup quick-cooking oats 1/4 cup […]