My Child - The Subcontractor

 
We are always harping on the kids to clean their rooms, but a few months ago, my son came up with a win-win-win solution:  he paid his sister to do it.  She, who will clean any room BUT her own, was thrilled.  She is the best organizer in the house and takes great pride in her skills.  She's meticulous and will spend hours getting a room just-so.  She's also motivated by money.

Junior, in a stroke of genius, channeled her skills and desire for compensation and offered her the grand sum of $1 to take over the much-dreaded chore.  Diva spent three hours one weekend, organizing his closet, putting his laundry away, making his bed, and taking care of the display of his many sports trophies.  She then took great satisfaction in showing off the finished product not only to Junior, but to Mom and Dad.  After realizing how much work she'd put into the room, we convinced him to up the ante to $2.

Again, the result was multitude:

- The Boy got a clean room and his parents off his back.
- Diva was kept busy for several hours doing something constructive.
- She earned money, on her own.
- Her self-esteem was boosted when she displayed the wonderful result.

He used this technique during the Winter to get his little sister to shovel snow, vacuum, and help tame the mess in the garage.  I want to be upset by his laziness, but am too proud of his ingenuity to make an issue of it.  The other element that keeps me quiet is the fact that Diva benefits from this arrangement so much.  The only problem is that he underpays her, so I wind up acting as the "union" and arguing on her behalf, for a decent wage.

The ability to think outside the box is an important one.  A few years ago, my son started his own dog walking business and did quite well.  He also earns a salary umpiring for Little League in my town.  I see the makings of a real businessman.  And to think, his first employee was his little sister!

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Thanks for reading!  Please tune back in tomorrow when I'll post again. 

My 8 Favorite Smartphone Apps

I haven't done any reviews here in a while and it's high time! 

This has nothing to do with this article.  I just like the photo. 

My current cellphone is a Samsung Confuse...I mean Infuse.  I chose it a few years ago because of it's very large screen (4.5 inches!) and although it's been an okay phone, I've always found it somewhat confusing; thus my nickname for it.  Anyway, until I get a new one (any suggestions, people?), I am still living in the Infuse and thought I'd share my eight favorite apps with you.  All are were free, although I'm not sure if they still are, and were found via the Google Play Store.  They are not listed in order of preference; I think they're all good.  Again, these opinions are purely mine; investigate on your own to see if they might suit you. 

1.  Cozi Family Calendar - I've had an account for this calendar (the website is http://www.cozi.com/live-simply?redir=home) for a few years but never used it until recently.  I now LOVE it!  I can post stuff on there, even though I still write it down in my paper calendar, and my husband gets updates on his phone.  I set it to send weekly email reminders to family members so that even my son, who does not have smartphone, can get the schedule for the week.  No more "Mom!  You didn't tell me..." conversations.  No more missed appointments!  No more "I didn't know I had a game" arguments!  The app also contains ToDo lists, a grocery list, and has a Journal feature so you can "jot down a quick story" and/or add a picture.  Do I rely on it?  Nope.  Don't believe in getting even more dependent on electronics than I already am.  But it IS a pretty nifty and fun app.

2.  AP Mobile - Since we don't get a daily newspaper delivery anymore (too expensive and wasteful) I rely on this app for delivering my news.  You can get Top Headlines, Entertainment, Oddities ("18 Foot-Long Sea Creature Found Off CA Coast"), Technology, Business, Lifestyle, Travel, and Health & Science Headlines. 

3.  Beat The Traffic - My buddy, Ann, introduced me to this app this past summer.  When I play hookey down the Shore, this app helps insure I make it back in time to pick up my daughter from school.  It shows current traffic hotspots I should avoid or those I will inevitably hit which is great because my local radio station doesn't always have updated info.   It also lets me create a route and save the places I use the most.  It does have other features which, I guess, would allow me to set up traffic alerts and access webcameras, but you have to upgrade to get those.  Since I don't want to spend the money, I just use it for traffic info. 

4.  My Personal Memory Trainer - Memory exercises have been proven to improve your memory and now that I'm menopausal this, combined with a a cup of Salada Brain Boost Green Tea (it contains Gingko and Ginseng), is helping me stay on my game.  The app works on improving spatial and working memory, focus, chunking, and your concentration skills.  It also charts your progress.  A fun app that works the grey matter. 

5.  UVocab - This is another fun app that helps me learn.  Truth be told, I am a wordgame-a-holic and I love learning new words.  This app not only gives me new words to learn, but it tests my vocabulary and shows me the words I failed on.  I can then learn them and take them off my Failed list.  I'm having a blast with it and my daughter gets a kick out of the fact that while she has her vocabulary list to learn, so Mom has one, too. 

6.  TeslaLED - A simple, yet very bright light I've used in hotel rooms to check for bedbugs, during power outages, and just in the dark to find my way and not wake up a sleeping husband. 

7.  Newshog - Yes, AP Mobile is where I get my news, but Newshog gives me Lifehacker updates.  In case you don't know about Lifehacker (see the list of Sites I Like to the right of this post), it's an incredible site that has "Tips And Downloads For Getting Things Done."  I've learned a lot from it and LOVE reading it.

8.  Weather Channel - Every day, my kids ask me about the weather and every day I check this sucker.  It lists the weather for the next 9 days and I can see hourly predictions as well.  Is it always accurate?  No, but it's probably up there with anything I hear on the radio. 

So why am I listing only 8 apps I love and not a nice round number like 10?  Because that would be a lie!  There are apps that came on my phone which I don't use and can't get off the damn screen and that really ticks me off.  The eight above are the ones I use all the time; they, along with my clock and camera, are the ones I depend on every day. 

Have a great day!  Thanks for reading!