Creating the Perfect Parenting Plan

An effective parenting plan is one that allows parents to raise their children with the least amount of disagreement and contention. As you consider what should go in your plan, you must remember that everything in the plan needs to be made in the best interest of your children. The reason you are making a parenting plan is for your children so it needs to be created with their best interests and needs. As you think about the needs and interests of your children, you can create a plan that is built on a successful foundation. Any plan has many common components that need to be or should be included. Those components are:

A parenting time schedule. This is a schedule that shows when the children spend time with each parent. This should also include separate schedules for holidays, special events, school breaks and vacation times. Information about providing care. This outlines how the parents will provide necessary medical, dental and other health care for the children as well as information about educational needs, religious beliefs, etc. Provisions or rules. There should be rules and provisions that provide guidelines for the parents. This may include right of first refusal, that parents do not speak negatively about each other around the children, that parents do not engage in smoking or drinking alcohol in front of the children and any other rules that will help the parents work together in raising their children. Information about child support and expenses. This information details which parent provides child support payments, how much and how often it is paid and also outlines how expenses outside of child support are paid. Those expenses may include fees for school activities, health insurance premiums and other out-of-pocket expenses related to the children's care and well-being. Extra information. This includes any extra details the parents feel will help the custody and parenting situation. This could be information about how emergencies are handled, how changes will be made to the parenting plan or how parental disputes will be resolved.

Each section of a parenting plan is designed to help make shared parenting easier. It may not be the funnest or happiest way to live and raise your children, but it can work if you let it. Using a plan is a great way to make your custody and visitation situation work more effectively. Create a happier life for your children by working together and staying positive.

I Bet They Play Whiffle Ball Now In Heaven

After the death of my grandfather, a few years passed and I began to hear about a friend of mine who was having quite a health challenge.

Juan Chesson was probably the nicest guy you would ever meet. He was a year older than me. I was in several classes with his younger brother, Harold. Their father was a teacher and coached high school football and baseball. Consequently, Juan participated in sports and grew up playing whiffle ball, basketball and football with his brother and friends in their backyard. When he got older, Juan played high school football and baseball. Of course, he received all of the sportsmanship awards.

An avid runner, Juan stayed in better shape than any of us once we graduated high school. During the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, many of us would get together and play basketball full-court. Several of the players had been all-conference and all-state athletes. Yet no one wanted to guard Juan, because he was always in such great shape!

A good student, he graduated from North Carolina State University with a degree in Mathematics. He eventually became a high school teacher and baseball coach in Asheville, North Carolina. He had a happy and satisfying career and was making a difference in the lives of his young students.

Then he found out he had leukemia.

Juan went through the traditional medical treatments, using chemotherapy. After a lengthy battle, the leukemia went into remission. When we heard the news, we all let out a sigh of relief. After all, Juan was one of the good guys. But he was not yet out of the woods.

Eventually the leukemia came back again, this time stronger than ever. Juan fought the good fight, but this time the disease won. Shelton Juan Chesson, Jr. passed away in the fall of 1999. He was just thirty-two years old. He left behind a wife who was eight months pregnant.

Juan's death made me think long and hard about a few things. I realized that I could take nothing for granted in life, especially my health. If it could happen to Juan, it could happen to anybody.

Every once in awhile, I find myself wondering about my friend. I bet they play whiffle ball now in heaven. All because of Juan.

Help Yourself to a Better Future

There are very many methods for achieving improvement to our personal confidence and self esteem, far too many to investigate in depth in a short information file. So on this page, we will have a look at the most popular and, for most people, the most effective.

Self Acceptance

Motivation & Goal Setting

Self hypnosis

Coaching/therapy

Self Acceptance

Self acceptance is one of the most important aspects of personal confidence and also for self esteem. The trick is to work out what you can change and set about doing so - and this page has a good few hints how you can go about that - and accept that which you cannot change.

We all have aspects of our personality and 'way of being' that we feel uncomfortable about; maybe we see ourselves as selfish, dim on occasions, over-emotional, under-responsive, or any one of a whole variety of pretty standard human behaviour patterns. The trouble is that when anybody mentions any of those things, our personal confidence is dented and self esteem sags. Yet accept those things as just part of what goes to make the whole of you and that overall, you are no worse and no better than the next human being and you can start to enjoy being you and all that being you means.

For example...

A child's school reports consistently commented on his talkativeness:"Billy is very intelligent," the teacher would say, "But he's a chatterbox - he never stops talking.". His parents laughed and showed others who also laughed. The child didn't understand why talking was such a bad thing though nonetheless tried to do less of it... but all that happened was that his fascination and enthusiasm for some new discovery would suddenly burst out of him in a torrent of excited chatter. One day, when he was a young adult, somebody said: "My God, do you never stop talking?" That hit hard at the sore spot that had been created over the years and he suddenly started to stutter.

Then people laughed even more. Social gatherings, parties, dinners, holidays, even family get-togethers all quickly became no-go areas. He became introverted and timid and eventually found himself with a therapist, recounting those early experiences of people laughing because he was a 'chatterbox'.

"Tell me again about that teacher," the therapist said.

"She said I never stopped talking," Billy replied.

"That's funny," the therapist said. "I though you told me she said you were intelligent."

"I don't think I noticed that bit..." Billy said wonderingly.

The Ugly Duckling

From that moment on, it was like the Ugly Duckling story all over again. There was an almost instant acceptance that he was a natural talker, a communicator of ideas and concepts. Time passed. Billy talked A LOT and if anybody said anything at all about it, he would simply smile and agree with them. "I've always been talkative," he would say, "Thank goodness. I love to share all my ideas." No comments could hit any target now and there was no longer a sore spot; he knew that his talkativeness was a measure of his intelligence and his entire joy of living.

Acceptance is a wonderful thing. Accept the way you are and embrace it - warts and all - and you will become instantly more comfortable with yourself and others. When you accept those facets of self which you thought were negative, no matter what they are, nobody can push your buttons any more because you won't be trying to hide them. More importantly, perhaps, you will discover that many others actually like those facets of self that you tried so hard to conceal!

Motivation

One of the prime necessities to achieve good motivation in life or career is to have a clear goal - if you don't have, then it's extremely unlikely that you will achieve much. Yet set a goal and set it well, know exactly why you want it and how your life will improve when you get it and you're almost home and dry!

When setting your goals, it is important that you recognise the four rules that apply to any goal, if you are to have any chance of getting what you want:

- The goal must be plausible, possible and realistic

- It must be suitable for your personality type

- You must have a clear idea of what you are seeking

- Positive orientation

Plausible and Realistic

Anything that can be done, you can do. Anything that could never be done, you will not achieve, either. We are not conducting magic but simply using natural resources to achieve natural goals. If you are 65 years old, for instance, you will not become an Olympic standard athlete. It simply is not realistic. If you have only one leg, you cannot attempt to climb Mount Everest for exactly the same reason.

Suitable for Your Personality

For a goal to have a chance of success it should reflect your natural personality; always select a goal that you feel would not surprise others - although they may well be surprised at how easily you achieve it!

A Clear Idea

You have to know EXACTLY what it is that you want. It sounds obvious but an awful lot of people simply have never worked it out! Somebody might say: "I want to make something of myself." Well, good... but make what exactly? The subconscious - and that is the part of you which will achieve success or otherwise - only works with uncomplicated and positive statements with no ambiguity or implication. After all, if you made a failure of yourself, that would comply with the above goal, wouldn't it? 'Make a success' is not much better, either. One person's success simply doesn't 'work' for another. "I want to have my own business selling music CDs on the internet," is a clear goal. So is: "I want to make xxxxxxxx money a year from my music website," as long as you state a figure that you know can be achieved. Make your goal specific and you have a far higher chance of success.

Self hypnosis

There are very many methods of improving self worth and confidence. The most important thing to recognise, probably, is that precisely nothing will happen if you don't put some input into the plan. You can read the best self help books in the world and nothing will happen unless you have an action plan. You can listen to self help and personal development CDs until you know them off by heart, but the result will be a big fat nothing if that is all you do.

If you want to get anywhere, you have to accept that it is YOU who must make the change - nobody, absolutely nobody, can do it for you. Nothing changes if nothing changes...

Self hypnosis can be remarkably effective for the reduction of stress and improvement in life generally. It is a specific skill and one which can easily be learned via one of the many books on the subject or via one of the many free self hypnosis courses available on the internet.

Though some people are wary of hypnosis and self hypnosis until they discover more about it, it's used on a daily basis by sportsmen and musicians, business people and artists, housewives, policemen, engineers, shop assistants... in fact it's used by millions of people from all walks of life all over the globe!

Let's dispel a few of the anxieties that some visitors might have... the following 'rules' are applicable to all types of hypnosis:

- You cannot 'get stuck' - this is quite impossible

- You do not become unconscious or go to sleep

- You know what's happening at all times

- You can exit the state whenever you wish to

- You cannot 'lose your mind'

- It is not connected in any shape or form with the occult

- There is no such thing as a 'hypnotised feeling'

- It is actually a totally natural state which we all go into several times a day

- It is very similar to meditation or relaxation techniques

- IT IS COMPLETELY SAFE!

Getting into a state of self-hypnosis is a specific skill and as with all skills, some people are better at it than others. It is fair to say, though, that almost everybody can benefit from learning how to use it. Among other things, you can help yourself to:

- Combat Stress - use it with the routines above for a real power session!

- Lose weight

- Quit smoking

- Improve sporting and other performance

- Increase concentration and recall

- Improve confidence and self-confidence

- Work effectively with motivation issues

As mentioned earlier, there are very many books on the subject of self hypnosis as well as free courses - but do be sure to get one that is written by a professional in the field.

Motivational therapy, and personal confidence

Finally, an excellent way of developing your life in the way you want it is to visit a motivational coach, hypnotherapist or NLP practitioner. Huge numbers of sporting personalities, stars of stage and screen, wildly successful business leaders and 'executive climbers', amongst others, have achieved their success via this route. Hypnotherapy and/or NLP can provide somewhat faster and more long-lasting results than coaching and often with fewer sessions.

If you decide to investigate this route, your local Yellow Pages is a good starting point; initial consultations are often at no charge, though you should make clear exactly why you are consulting.

Learn About Alan Turing - A Biography Book Review

Alan Turing, a British Mathematician, was the Grandfather of Artificial Intelligence and the Father of Computer Science. His legacy in that regard may live on forever. During his time, and you may know this already, he was one of the folks that cracked the enigma code. The German U-boat Enigma cipher in World War II, that the Germans believed could not be broken, and it changed the course of the war and human history.

Now let me recommend a couple of books, biographies of historical significance of about this great mind, both are very good and if you are into philosophy, computer science or mathematics, then you should have these on your shelf at home or work:

"The Man Who Knew Too Much: Alan Turing and the Invention of the Computer" by David Leavitt; Atlas Publishing (2006); ISBN: 978-0393329094

"Alan Turing: The Enigma" by Andrew Hodges, with Introduction by Douglas Hofstadter; Walker & Company; UK (2000). ISBN: 978-0802775801

Alan Turing is also famous for his "Turing test" for machine intelligence, later called Artificial Intelligence. He is a very interesting figure, an Enigma in himself. He had a Princeton Ph.D. and became famous for his war work and a decade after the war he was arrested for homosexuality, striped of security clearances, and in 1954 he committed suicide by taking cyanide.

His mathematical based philosophy was truly incredible. His problem solving methods were indeed revolutionary, and his achievements intense, especially how he reasoned and considered how he would go about creating an unbreakable code, then working that concept backwards for clues to the code. The mind of the mathematician trying to find unsolvable problems and then solving them is one that Alan Turing is noted for.

He reasoned and questioned; can a problem be solved by computation; is it decidable, using math, or not? Many problems are not solvable by math, but a super mathematician would often argue that "almost all problems are solvable by math." You must know of this great mind, and you'll surely rank him up with Einstein. I hope you will enjoy these books.

Conference Calling Services Revealed

We live in a world of opportunity and there are more businesses than ever before. Everyone is always looking for that new way to save a buck, or get ahead. Conference calling services is fast becoming a popular way to conduct business. With all the technology that is available today, it is mind boggling all the gadgets that are on the market. You can now make phone calls from your vehicle and also take pictures with it. Who would have thought. This article will talk about what conference calling services are and what they can offer.

Our lives are very busy and getting something done is sometimes impossible. In order for a business to grow you have to hold business meetings. Conference calling services can make that happen. You need to be able to discuss what is taking place in the business. Such things as, ideas that could help the business grow, problem areas, or even going over facts and figures needs to be discussed, but with everyone's busy schedules, it doesn't happen as often as it should. Conference calling services allows all parties involved to be able to conduct a business meeting by phone from wherever they are at.

Conference calling services can organize your business conference calls for you. You can tell them when you want to have the meeting take place, the time and the date and they can set up a phone number in which all parties call into at the same time. You can then conduct your conference from anywhere you might be in the world. How amazing is that. Conference calling services have many features they can offer your business, so you may have to do some research to find a company that offers conference calling services, and then determine which plan you would like to be on.

If you are having trouble scheduling business meetings, then conference calling services can help you out. Don't let your business suffer because you can't seem to get everyone together for a conference. Let your business grow with conference calling services and hold your meetings by phone from anywhere.

Timber Garden Offices - Facts About Timber Garden Offices You Really Ought to Know

These days, more and more folk are ordering timber garden offices for their homes. Except for the fact this sudden surge of orders implies the increase in numbers of home run entrepreneurs, these ready-to-ship office models also mark the public's desire to select green products.

As you could know, ready-to-ship timber garden offices are pre-constructed structures that are primarily made out of timber (plywood planks) and glass panels. Most models can be expediently used as fast as the structure is raised and the electrical wires are hooked up.

If you are looking into varied models for timber garden offices, these are some facts you ought to consider.

One. Needless to say, if you're ordering in any pre-constructed structure, you've got to deal with the hefty ticket also. Timber offices nowadays can cost you a pretty penny. There are some people who order in relatively less expensive models and then spend a few more dollars having these customised according to their taste or to the demands of their business. This is a very general practice now, particularly because the costs of doing so are apparently considerably less than having a contractor create a garden office from scratch.

One way of saving money though is to patronize the nearest merchants in your vicinity.

Two. You can choose the office models that can be ingenuously energy efficient too. Timber comes in all colours of brown. If you live in really sunny areas, you should get timber offices that are gently colored or painted with light colors. At the same time, darker wood panels or timber offices painted in darker colors have a tendency to soak up heat. This is ideal if your location is prone to really wet or very cold seasons, and that you use heaters to make rooms more at ease. In any case, such timber offices will help you keep your utility bills down.

The Leader In You Is Ready To Lead

Having attended every leadership school the United States Air Force had to offer me as a military officer, I know a thing or two about leadership. I'm not writing this article to brag or boost, but to point out the fact you have good leadership skills as well.

Case in point, leadership like many other things have more than one definition. Webster's Dictionary defines leadership as something that leads and in essence this is leadership in its most organic definition.

The fact of the matter is, we are all leaders in our own right because we lead our life. Leading our personal life is the foundation for leadership and with training and experience we give our self a chance to develop our leadership skills and abilities.

Sadly some people do not think they are leaders. Why? The primary reason some people do not think they are leaders is because they don't think they are enough, in other words some people do not believe in themselves, have low self-esteem and or have never really learned what being a leader is all about.

One thing I can tell leadership is not is this, leadership is not a title. Leadership is an individual who is willing to work hard making a difference for an organization and or for him or her self. Leadership entails service above self, the greater good and oftentimes sacrificing his or her personal life so others can benefit.

I can tell you from personal experience during my 20 year career from second lieutenant to lieutenant colonel in the United States Air Force, I worked for some good leaders and some, not so good leaders. So the question is, what is the difference between a good leader and a bad leader?

What a great question and I'm glad you asked what is the difference between a good and bad leader. In my experience, the primary difference between a good and bad leader is a lack of respect for the institution of leadership. For example, a leader never puts him or her self before the mission and or vision of the organization.

The organization and its mission, value and most importantly the people they serve come first. A good leader embraces the mission and values of their organization and make it better by giving subordinates and or employees and opportunity to be the best at what they do.

On the other hand, a bad leader will stifle the expertise and opportunities of their employees or subordinates, thus going against the grain developing a strong and cohesive organization. As I stated before, there is a marked difference between a good leader and a bad leader and we have likely all experienced and or seen both in our career.

So how do we crack the code to become the best leader we can be? I subscribe to everyone to be leaders of influence and the reason why is as a leader you must lead by example.

We we lead by example, we sacrifice the ego to gain trust. Keep the organizations missions and values front and center, train and allow your employees and subordinates to develop their leadership skills, and lastly repeat the process with succeeding leaders and new employees.

In other words, the more qualified and experienced leaders you have in an organization, the stronger the organization will become and this is where you want to be. Remember, we are all leaders whether we identify with it or not, we all lead our lives and have the ability to lead others as well.

Keep this important point in mind, we are enough and sufficient to be the best leaders we can possibly be. Start your journey today because the leader in you is ready to lead.

Heavenly Lift Tickets - Tips For Discount Heavenly Lift Tickets For Skiing and Snowboarding

When it comes to variety of terrain, views, scenic beauty and vibe, Heavenly Resort in Nevada and Northern California is pretty tough to beat. Located on the south shore of Lake Tahoe, Heavenly is the region's largest ski resort, featuring the highest elevation and longest vertical drop. This resort straddles the border of Nevada and California which makes skiing in two states before lunch time possible! Though resort is family friendly, and the amenities are often times affordable, it can sometimes be difficult to find discount Heavenly lift tickets. Here you can read about the resort and find tips and tricks for scoring cheap ski tickets for Heavenly.

Heavenly Resort Bio: Season dates: November 21, 2008 - April 20, 2009 (Weather Permitting) Hours of operation: (Weekdays 9a.m. to 4 p.m.) and (8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends) Acres of Terrain: 4,800 total skiable acres Lifts: 30 Runs: 95 Average Snowfall: 380 inches Difficulty of Terrain: Beginner 20%, Intermediate 45%, Advanced 35%

Location: Lake Tahoe is located 200 miles northeast of San Francisco, CA and 58 miles southwest of Reno, NV in the Sierra Mountain Range.

Here are some tips for finding discount lift tickets for Heavenly Resort.

1) Book Online In Advance For those eager skiers who plan there ski trips in advance, you are definitely on to something. Often times the best way to get discount lift tickets for Heavenly resort is to book your tickets in advance. This serves many purposes. First, you can dodge the peak season time period where lodging, lift tickets, airfare and all other vacation components are not so wallet friendly. Pick your times, take time and explore your options for when ski vacation amenities are at their cheapest. Below is a general guideline for peak season and off season for Heavenly Resort in California.

General Off-Peak Seasons: Mid November - Mid December Mid January - Beginning of March April - Close

General Peak Seasons: Mid December - Beginning of January (Holiday Season) Middle of February (Presidents Weekend) Mid March (Spring Break)

2) Book Multi Day Lift Tickets Ticket dealers often times bundle multi day ski passes. The theory "Buy in Bulk" allows you to save 10% - 30% depending on the season. That's a lot of savings if you have a family of 4 skiing for 5 days.

3) Groups of 20 or More Some ski vacation enthusiasts gather all their friends and family and before they know it, they have a 20+ group heading to the mountains. This can work out great for memories, magical moments and definitely saving money. Often times, resorts will give special prices for groups of 20 or more. Depending on the resort, this can save lots of money because the group can buy tickets in bulk.

4) Combine Lift Tickets with Lodging One of the best ways to save on lift tickets is also to save on lodging. If you book your lodging in tandem with your ski tickets you can often times ski for FREE. Heavenly and other similar resorts like to offer stay free - ski free packages that promote lodging and lift ticket bundles. It doesn't necessarily mean that your entire ski trip will come with free lift tickets. It typically means that if you purchase 3 or more nights of lodging and lift tickets, you can sometimes get a free night and a free day of skiing. This package deal scenario is typically seasonal at most resorts and not valid during the high season.

5) US Military Ski Lift Ticket Discounts Those of you who serve our country are often greeted with great savings at many resorts throughout the country. Heavenly resorts often times have special arrangements with active duty military, reservists, National Guard and dependents. This allows for great deals for those serving our country. Contact the resort directly for more information on Heavenly military discount deals.

Free Radon Test Kit

We all love the comfort of low-ground living areas. Some of us convert our basements into movie theatres or recreational rooms. However, many keep falling victim to radon poisoning. It's possible to have fun in your basement without being worried of this radioactive gas, all you need to do is take a decisive step of asking your local authorities for a free radon test kit. This kit will help you learn of the radon levels in your house.

As much as the kit is free, it's designed under close monitoring by the Governments health department and you shouldn't doubt or underestimate it's features. In fact, they're a part of the national program of preventing lung cancer that may be triggered by radon. Nevertheless, not all the times the free radon test kit will be offered fully for no fees, sometimes you may purchase the kit while the mailing and laboratory analysis will be free of charge.

The obvious places to test is the basement. This is because radon normally enters our houses in two main ways i.e through the soil, mostly through cracks on the floors and walls in the low ground areas and basements and the second way is through the water that we use. Which ever the case, we should use the free radon test kit around the areas that have direct contact with the ground.

Experts recommend that we carry out the test every season and all year round. Nevertheless, the possibility of radon is quite higher in winter than in summer. Basically what happens is that unlike in summer, during winter we keep our doors closed and thus the possibility of accumulation is much higher. The only solution to prevent this gas is sealing the cracks etc.