The "Aging Needs" of our parents

     Our lives have become increasingly hectic and in many cases fraught with stress so we can easily lose site of our parents and what might be called their ‘aging needs’. On top of the everyday 'work' of caring for your own growing family and your business it is easy to overlook what might be occurring with our senior parents. And then you wake up one morning and to your surprise you have suddenly 'become' the parent to your parents!  You realize that the upcoming years are going to be challenging and it dawns on you that neither you nor your parents have had "that discussion." 

     What should you do next...well, first, don't panic!  Soon your own children will be saying the same about you!  So, with that said, it just might be time to get to "that discussion" with your parents and your own children.  Secondly, realize that you are not alone in this dilemma, so there are many resources popping up all over that will help set you on the best path for your circumstances!   And thirdly, thanks to the huge population of baby boomers there is a flourishing senior care industry! 

     Know that all of us at Home Instead Senior Care will be available to assist you whenever you may need ‘direction’ and ‘support’.

Sara-Lynn Reynolds - Community Liaison
Home Instead Senior Care
508-222-0800 office
774-254-3413 cell

http://www.homeinstead.com/590/
http://www.homeinstead590.wordpress.com

Proofreading: Feel the Pain

      If you are a business owner, you write every day. Emails, notes, newsletters, articles, blog posts, Facebook updates, you name it, you’ve gotta write it. And as far as writing correctly, you either chew your nails over “its” versus “it’s”, or you don’t—you write what you think is right and hope the reader will forgive you if it isn’t. You might think that it’s easy as an editor to proof my own stuff, but no. It’s even more painful, because I check everything I write thoroughly and still make mistakes. I’m here to tell you, though, how important it is to make sure everything you write is as accurate as possible, because it all reflects on you as a business person.
     I have seen much in my years of editing for businesses. Believe it or not, I have seen people misspell their own company name, which to an editor is like fingernails on a chalkboard! So here’s my advice.
Don’t trust that computer program. Forget spell check and grammar check; you won’t like it when they turn “publick” into “pubic” after you’ve sent out that nasty letter to your local library. Do the work. Use Merriam Webster for spelling and a free online writing guide like Paradigm if you need to.
     Check for more than spelling and grammar. Check font for consistent size; check headings (a typical place for errors); check your phone number, email address and company name. Proof also for clarity and tone.
Read it over. Don’t ever, ever, ever send anything out without reading it carefully first. The simplest email can turn off a customer if it’s full of errors, an attachment is missing, or you sound angry when you really aren’t.
     Let it sit. The best thing you can do, if you have 24 hours, is to let it sit and read it again tomorrow. Pretend it’s wine and let it ferment (all right, a really cheap wine). You won’t believe what you find if you read it with fresh eyes.
     Get help. If you aren’t good at writing, get help—have a trusted friend proof it, or pay someone to do it for you. We’re fast, we’re reasonable, and we’ll help you look marvelous. Good luck!

Fran Fahey
Fran’s Fine Editing

Home Offices are for Wimps—Not!

Ah, the joys of a home-based business. Not having to change out of your jammies to begin writing. Being able to just leave to do an errand whenever you want. Roz Chast’s cartoon in the 12/6/10 New Yorker, called “The Freelance Life”, uses the punch line “Honey, I’m STILL HOME!” Great life, huh . . . oh, really?

I’ve worked from a home office for over 20 years. It’s not for the faint-hearted. Witness the bored cat who takes a leisurely stroll over your computer keys; the unfinished projects lying around the house that call out faintly to be completed; the realization that you’ve just spent the last seven hours tapping away without a break. It’s a challenge even for the most self-disciplined among us to work at home successfully.

So, I offer a few tips for those of you who are in my situation and haven’t been doing this for your whole lives yet.

Change out of your jammies. Pretend you are really going to work. I’ve found that if I don’t put on at least my lined jeans, a corduroy shirt, and regular shoes, I just don’t take it seriously enough and give it my all. Establish a clear boundary between your leisure time and your work day.

Find a good schedule and stick to it. Decide when you are most productive during the day, set up a schedule and try to work those hours each day. Schedule lunch, breaks, and close of business, so that you don’t forget to eat, go to the bathroom regularly, and stop working. Resist the temptation to log in again after work hours. Don’t let working at home interfere with your physical or mental health.

Treat your home office like it’s really an office. Even if you don’t have a separate room for an office, use a desk and file cabinet, not a corner of your kitchen table. Not that my own office is perfect, but I can find everything I need right away and my invoices are always up to date. I go to my office to work, and I leave when I’m done; the physical separation between work and play allows me to have the energy to enjoy and succeed at both.

If you have the additional challenge of providing child care while working at home, please share your ideas on how you run your home office. I wish all of you the best in managing your home-based businesses and achieving your dreams.

©2010, Fran Fahey

Fran’s Fine Editing

Dipping Your Toe Into Social Media

Brrr…it’s cold!
First you just get your feet wet. Soon you find the water around your ankles. The next thing you know your rolled up pant legs are soaked…and you’re having a blast.
That’s the same with social media. You have already started to get wet and you don’t even realize it. You use email, get e-newsletters, search websites and hey, you are reading this blog! These are all pieces of social media.
I’d like you all to consider other forms of social media. I know it may be scary. I also know the potential is exciting.  Why get involved in social media? It’s what’s coming. It’s the new way to communicate. Heck, it can be fun.
You don’t have to jump in and be an expert.
You wouldn’t dive into the freezing water, right? So why would you think you should know how to navigate different social media. Pick one venue and learn about it. Test it out. See how you like it. Then move in a little deeper.
Pick a form of social media you feel most comfortable with. Do you like to write? Start a blog (really, it only takes a couple minutes to set up, ask my sister). Do you love videos? Try out Viddler or You Tube. Do you like audio and music? Learn to make a podcast. Like to hang out with friends? Try Facebook or another social network.
Use our group as a resource. 
There are tons of people who are willing to help you understand a bit more about the social media platform you chose.  Don’t be afraid to ask for help.  It will save you tons of time in the long run.
All in all it’s about trying it out bit by bit. Learn what you like and what you don’t like. Just like a day back from the beach, you will feel refreshed. Learning something new always has that effect.  If you have set up some social media sites (blogs, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.) and want to really learn how to engage with them, join me for our Browser to Buyer 5 part teleseries.  WBN Members save 30%
So where are you going to start?


Jen
Jen Vondenbrink

Life Simplified
http://www.yourlifesimplified.com/
Life Enrichment and Leadership Training
781-864-1782

Interior Designer is also your project manager

Dotty Wyman, Interior Designer is also your project manager

I wanted to provide some specific information about what types of services an interior designer can provide to you.  Most people hire an interior designer with the understanding that the designer is able to design an interior space.  They will select the fabrics, furniture, design the layout, paint colors, etc...  This is all true, but we also offer the important service of project management for creating your new room.  This is an essential part of designing and executing any interior design plan.

The project management aspect of designing a room starts right at the beginning of the project.  The designer has resources available to identify trades people who do excellent work, are reliable and are conscientious.  In many cases the interior designer has worked with them or has a strong recommendation from a colleague.  These resources are extremely valuable to the success of your design project.  Once a project is underway, the designer will coordinate the trades people through each phase of the project.  This includes scheduling, follow up calls and review of the work being done.  These responsibilities are critical to having a successful design.  A client who does not have much time to spend researching trades people will rely heavily on the designer for their their project management skills.

Currently, I am working with a client remodeling her kitchen.  Both she and her husband work and are not able to spend much time getting into all the details of the project.  They are relying on me to coordinate with the granite fabricator, tile showroom and tile installer to get all the work completed in their new kitchen.  This particular client had already lined up the hardwood floor construction, so it is my responsibility to coordinate the tile and granite installation with the floor installation.  The designer can also work with trades people a client may have worked with in the past.

Using a designer does not necessarily increase the cost of creating a custom designed interior space.  A designer's expertise can put our clients in contact with the right trades people, select a design that is functional and well thought out and keep a project on track.  Saving the client from selection mistakes, timing delays and providing product information.  A job well done by a designer includes the desired interior space, which is completed on budget and timely. 

Dotty

Dotty Wyman Designs 
508-219-4739
www.DottyWymanDesigns.com

Inner Light Bodyworks
Massage, Energy Healing and Facelift Massage

Science Shows:
Massage Benefits Are More Than Skin Deep

According to a recent New York Times article, clinical research shows that massage caused biological changes in test subjects. Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles recruited 53 healthy adults, fitted them with intravenous catheters so blood samples could be taken immediately before the massage and up to an hour afterward.

To their surprise, the researchers, sponsored by the

National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, a division of the National Institutes of Health, found that a single session of massage caused biological changes.

Volunteers who received Swedish massage experienced significant decreases in levels of the stress hormone cortisol in blood and saliva, and in arginine vasopressin, a hormone that can lead to increases in cortisol. They also had increases in the number of lymphocytes, white blood cells that are part of the immune system.
Volunteers who had a light massage experienced greater increases in oxytocin, a hormone associated with contentment, and bigger decreases in adrenal corticotropin hormone, which stimulates the adrenal glands to release cortisol. Bottom line, massage is a medically-proven stress buster!

Good Massage Does More Than Relax Your Muscles...

Click Here to read more of this month's Inner Light Newsletter

Contact Debra Bloom:

508-261-9535

InnerLightBodyworks@verizon.net

Autumn Organizing

 
       The leaves and temperatures are falling, and before you know it the gift giving season will be upon us.  Before that happens why not take the opportunity to organize two areas in which autumn is the perfect time to work, your attic and garage.  The temperatures, now, are just right for tackling these two areas, and once you're finished you'll be ready for packages, gift bags, and bows.
       Your attic and garage are the typical storage areas in your home and are usually filled with a variety of items.  Therefore, when it's time to organize them, you are faced with making decisions about items that you don't want, but aren't sure how to get rid of, and on items that you think  you should save, just in case.  I'd like to offer some solutions.  
      First of all, getting rid of items safely can be time consuming and troublesome, but with a bit of effort you can make it happen. 
 Click here for a list of my solutions.


Click Here for more helpful autumn organizing tips.

To contact Janine Cavanaugh, Personal Organizer

(508) 699-6652

www.helpfulorganizer.com