Coffee Ranch

Business SpotlightQ. Laura, Tell us more about you.I have lived in Borger my entire life and I really like it here. I love the people and the small town atmosphere. I am married to Jason Arrington, and have an English Bulldog, Louie. I am very close to my family, and they are so important to me. I go to First Bap-tist Church. Q. What motivated you to move towards the food industry? I actually waited tables at JTs all through high school and part of college, and also at a restaurant in Amarillo, I loved waiting tables! I wanted a restaurant, but never thought....and even though The Coffee Ranch isn’t a “full blown” restaurant, it is keeping me busy! Q. What are some struggles that you had to overcome to open?I never thought I would be a boss, so that has been the most challenging aspect of the job. Management is much harder than I anticipated. But I have a great crew right now, and I want to tell them Thanks so much! They are really a blessing. I did not start out with a lot of money, I had almost all household appliances, and used equipment. The only way I made it was because of Jesus, because I did not really know anything about coffee, and I’m still learning.Q. What type of Service Does Coffee Ranch provide?We offer a lot more than coffee! That is one thing I want to stress. Even if you don’t like coffee, don’t let that stop you from coming in to The Coffee Ranch! We have cinnamon rolls, scones, and bagels, cookies, pies...all kinds of coffees, espresso drinks, smoothies, frozen coffees, soft drinks....sandwiches, salads, soups... gifts and gift cards :)And a lot more! Almost everything is homemade, too. All the drinks are made with reverse osmosis filtered water for the best quality, and we only use Boar’s Head meats and cheeses for the sandwiches. The Coffee Ranch is available for after hours rental for birthdays, anniversaries, meetings, etc. And we are always open late on Friday nights, until 10:00pm....so it is fun to go to the movies and them stop by for a coffee or dessert! Q. What do you recommend ordering and what are some of the most popular?My favorite hot drink is the Chai Tea....a black tea with honey and spices made into a latte with milk. But the most popular is the caramel macchiatto...it is a latte with caramel, vanilla, and whipped cream, and it is sweet! Macchiatto actually means “marked with espresso”. For the cold drinks I love the house tea. And we sell a lot. But frappe lappes (frozen coffees) sell the best, and they are delicious! I like the turkey on a sun dried tomato bagel for lunch. But my mom’s pie “takes the cake”. The buttermilk coconut is THE BEST! Q. Do you have any Goals set for yourself in the new year?Hmm....goals. :) I’m thinking about changing the lunch menu a little, and we are plan-ning on having live music on some Friday nights, so watch for that! I would love to open a “full blown” restaurant, but the timing isn’t right just yet, maybe someday!?! Thanks so much to all the very loyal customers, we just can’t thank you enough. Please let us know what else we can do to serve you

2

Happy New Year! Christmas in Borger was Great. 2008 was a year filled with excitement, happiness, sadness, and hope. I am looking forward to this 2009

year. I have made, for myself, my Resolu-tions and THIS YEAR, I will keep them.

HutchCo Living has some New Year’s resolutions of its own. We want to continue to bring you resources from businesses and retailers around our area, and engage you with stories and articles that are not only a joy to read,

but are helpful and informative. As for the future and our goals, we want

to hear more from you. We want your ideas, thoughts and suggestions. Tell us about a family or person of interest, maybe a suggestion for an article. Keep us up to date about your town or neighborhood. So, email us, call us, or send it to us old school letter mail. We want to hear from you.

P.O. Box 3382Borger 79008editor@hutchcoliving.com886.1896

3

Borger Economic Development Corporation

Want to Start a Business?

We Can Help

Dan Redd(806) 677-1704

Unfortunately, tough times can bring out the worst in some people. That’s especially true of scam artists who prey on those who are down

on their luck or who can be easily intimidated. Scam artists are anything but artists. They’re criminals who use a variety of

tools, including the U.S. mail, telemarketing and the Internet to part you from your hard-earned money. Believe it or not, some are so good at what they “sell,” they’ve persuaded people to mortgage or refinance their homes in or-der to participate in phony sweepstakes, pyramid schemes, investment offers and other scams. In fact, there’s even a breed of scam artists who specialize in “helping” people recover money they’ve lost to other scammers.

Scams and fraudulent activity take on many shapes and forms. Some of the most common scams involve offers of working from home, free travel or gifts, sweepstakes and contests, avoiding a foreclosure, getting out of debt, investing in real estate and chain letters, just to name a few. Unfortunately, common myth holds that only low-income, unsophisticated, blue-collar workers and the elderly are victims of scams. Not true. Highly educated and wealthy individuals have been scammed for millions from seemingly trust-worthy business executives.

Federal and state laws prohibit unfair or deceptive trade acts or practices, according to FindLaw.com, the world’s leading online source for legal infor-mation. If you think you’ve been cheated, you should immediately contact local law enforcement authorities, the city or county prosecutor, or the state Attorney General’s office. Your state may also offer a consumer protection agency that can provide advice. The more agencies you notify, the more likely someone will take notice of your complaint and act on it.

In addition to contacting local government authorities, FindLaw.com rec-ommends contacting the National Fraud Information Center (www.fraud.org), which is maintained by the National Consumers League. The NFIC provides assistance in filing a complaint with appropriate federal agencies and offers recorded information on current or popular scams and frauds, as well as tips on how to avoid becoming the victim of one. Victims of identity theft should contact a special hotline created by the Federal Trade Commission at (877) ID-THEFT (877-438-4338).

If law enforcement agencies take legal action, they will try to recover your money, but it’s not always possible. If you paid with a credit card or the money was debited from your bank account, you may be able to dispute the charges or debit. Contact your credit card issuer or bank immediately. If the charge was on your telephone bill, contact the company that sent you the bill to find out how you can dispute the charge.

Also consider contacting an action line provided by local newspapers, radio stations, or TV stations. In larger metropolitan areas, some media orga-nizations enlist volunteers who will pursue consumer complaints.

Another way to attempt to get your money back is to bring a lawsuit against the scammer. However, this may not be feasible unless the seller is a local resident and all but impossible if you’re the victim of an international identity theft scam, which have become all too common these days. If you plan to sue, first send a demand letter explaining the problem and asking for your money back. Many states require such a letter before you sue.

The best weapon in the war on scams is to avoid becoming a victim in the first place. Here are 10 tips from FindLaw.com to help you avoid becoming the victim of a scam:

1. Use common sense. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Or, if it looks like a scam and smells like a scam, it probably is a scam.

2. Screen your phone calls. If you see phone calls coming from a number you do not recognize, or you see “anonymous” or “unknown caller” come up on your telephone, do not answer and allow the call to go to voicemail. Like telemarketers, scammers rarely leave messages. Better yet, sign up for the national “Do Not Call” list. It’s easy: call (888) 382-1222.

3. Beware of any Web sites, mailings, etc., which seek personal informa-tion. Avoid giving out your credit card, checking account or social security number.

4. Walk away from salespersons that use high-pressure sales tactics and in-sist on an immediate decision. Never deal with any salesperson who attempts to scare you into purchasing something.

5. Avoid being placed on “sucker” lists. Avoid filling out contest entry forms at fairs and malls or on the Internet. Especially avoid contests where

you need to go to another location to see a sales presentation to “earn” your prize. Avoid solicitations in which you have already been specially selected or awarded a prize, but you haven’t entered a contest.

6. Know with whom you’re dealing. If it’s an unfamiliar company or charity, check it out with your state or local consumer protection agency and the Better Business Bureau.

7. The common thread that runs through most telemarketing, mail and Internet scams is the demand for payment upfront. Never consent to a request for a direct bank deposit or a certified check – or offers to send a courier to your home to pick up your check.

8. Avoid pyramid schemes that often take the form of chain letters, gifting clubs, or multi-level or network marketing. Pyramid schemes de-pend on people recruiting other people to join the scheme, with the hope that one day, you will reach the top of the pyramid. That rarely happens because eventually the scheme runs out of people, and then the people who start these schemes walk away with everyone’s money.

9. Beware of work-at-home schemes, such as being paid to take sur-veys, mystery shopping, or network marketing (recruiting friends to sell a company’s products). These are often set with the trap of paying upfront for “product samples.” If you need to buy something to participate, run, don’t walk away.

10. If you receive an item in the mail that you never ordered or paid for, it’s considered a gift. If you get bills or collection letters from a seller who sent you something you never ordered, write to the seller stating your intention to treat the item as a gift. If the bills continue, insist that the seller send you proof of your order. If this doesn’t stop the bills, no-tify the state consumer protection agency in the state where the merchant is located. You can also complain about mail fraud to your local U.S. Attorney’s office, and the local postal inspector.

To learn more about your legal rights in the event that you think you’ve been scammed, or to explore other legal questions, visit www.findlaw.com.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

Avoiding Financial Scams

4

There’s still time to get your resolutions rolling... The first of the year gave you a blank piece of paper on which to write the next

year of your life. New Year’s resolutions anyone? The holidays may have widened your hips or piled on the credit card

debt. That’s why people say things like, “This year I’m definitely going to get back into my skinny jeans.” Or, “I’m going to get rid of my debt and start saving once and for all.” These declarations may give you an initial boost of inspiration, but most of them will soon disappear. In fact, studies show that most people’s New Year’s resolutions have dropped away by February.

So what can you do to beat the odds? How can you really make your New Year’s resolutions happen? These 7 steps work to accomplish a resolution or any goal. Apply them this year, starting today, and make your resolutions come true!

1. Ask yourself: “What do I want to accomplish this year?” As you look toward the year in front of you, what do you really want

to accomplish? If you actually made your New Year’s resolutions hap-pen, what would you gain? Look to key areas of your life for inspira-tion—career, family, health/fitness, money or romantic relationships. As I stated in the How to Set Goals That Stick Special Report, “Imagine that you’ve already completed the coming year with satisfaction and ease. What are you most proud of? What thrilled you the most?” (http://www.ignitepress.com) From there, come up with ideas for your yearly goals.

If you’re drawing a blank, think about what you dislike in your life. On the career front, do your work hours stretch into the evening? Do you want to stop missing out on family dinners and outings? From a health/fitness point of view, are you tired of feeling low energy every day? Are the daily trips to the office vending machine taking their toll? Frustration and dissatisfaction can be great motivators for change.

By viewing what you want to move toward, or sorting through what you want to move away from, come up with several possible goals. Then narrow down your list and pick one to three final goals. Make them important. If you could only achieve three things this year, what would they be?

2. Ask why? Why did you pick these goals? What’s behind them? Connect to

what’s really driving you. As I said in my Special Report, “Set meaning-ful goals, not just any old goals.” What goals would be meaningful to you this year? Be as specific as possible.

For example, if you want to save money, go beyond saying, “I want to save money because it would be great to have some extra cash.” Wanting more money for the sole sake of having more money isn’t meaningful enough to keep most people going. Connect to something deeper. What’s behind your desire for more money? Here’s one possibil-ity: “I’ve always wanted to own a home. It’s time to take action toward that dream. I’m tired of renting and I want to lay down roots for my family. I also want to move to a nicer area that is safe and close to good schools for my children. I will use the money I save this year toward a down payment. I can definitely cut back on spending to buy a house!” When you clarify the “why” behind what you want you’ll feel much more driven and connected to your goal.

If you have no idea why you want something, dig deeper. Ask, “Why is this important to me? What would I get out of that? What would my family/friends/coworkers get out of that?” You can also ask another person or coach for insight. If you keep coming up with nothing, maybe you need to reconsider whether you want that particular goal at all. Create a goal that has some passion behind it. Give yourself reasons to strive toward your aspirations.

3. Follow the “do what by when” formula. Most New Year’s resolutions fail because they remain vague or wish-

ful. Goals such as “I want to lose weight” aren’t tangible and will be difficult to make happen. If weight loss is a goal of yours (and you al-ready know why you want to weigh less), make it specific. For example,

New Year’s Resolutions Anyone?

5

“I want to lose 20 pounds by May 30, 2008.” Using the “do what by when” formula clarifies exactly what you in-tend to do (lose 20 pounds) by a specific month, day and year (May 30, 2008). Then you can measure your success every time you jump on the scale.

Speaking of measuring, make sure you can count, measure or touch your progress. The above weight goal, for example, can be measured in pounds—20 to be exact. How will you know when you’ve met your goal? Define it in a measurable way. Do you want a promotion of 10% or 20% this year? Do you want to save $1,000 or $10,000? How much money do you need to earn each month to pay your bills? Without ways to measure your goals, they remain wishes.

Financial advisor and founder of Insideout Investing, Anna Choi, says, “You can manifest your goals bet-ter when they are specific, measurable, time-bound and achievable.” To do that, apply the “do what by when” formula to quantify your goals. Then, to make those goals achievable, do the “rubber band” test.

4. Do the “rubber band” test. The trick is to set ambitious goals that will stretch

you without making you “snap.” In the November 2007 article, ‘’Top 3 Must-Do’s Before the New Year,” I said, “Like a rubber band stretched between two fingers, the goal should have the right mix of tension and flexibility. Put enough stretch in your goal to make it enticing yet with a touch of slack to make it doable.” Setting a chal-lenging goal will encourage you to try harder and to go for it.

Anna Choi agrees, “It’s important to set a goal you believe can happen. But it also has to be a stretch goal, versus a goal so ridiculously huge you feel deflated even looking at it.” Peak performance comes from doing some-thing tough but possible given your time frame.

A common New Year’s resolution is to learn a new language. But unless they are multi-lingual or languages come easily, most people won’t achieve this in a year. Try something more doable, such as “to attend Spanish 1 and Spanish 2 at the local community college by December 31, 2008.” You’ll still be working toward your long-term goal of being fluent by allowing yourself to get started. Overly lofty goals will have you giving up at the starting line. Ambitious goals will give you a challenge but allow you to get going right away.

5. Put your goals in writing. Have you written down your goals for the New Year?

If you haven’t, you’re not alone. Research shows that in the U.S. less than 1% of people write down their goals. Why is this important? A noted 1953 study at Harvard University evaluated how many graduates had clear, spe-cific goals in writing and supported with an action plan. Although the classmates being assessed were obviously bright, very few of them set goals. In fact, only 3% of graduates put their goals in writing.

What happened to this 3%? When questioned 20 years later, it turned out that this small group had had greater success than the rest. Those 3% of graduates who had put their goals in writing had built greater fortunes than the entire remaining 97% of alumni.

Taking a moment to put your goals in writing is worth it. Try it yourself. Put pen to paper (or fingers to key pad). The act of writing will cement your goals in your mind. It can also help you clarify your goals, think about them in a new light and direct your energy toward ways to make them happen. Display your written goals somewhere visible and review them daily. Post them on the corner of your computer desktop and put them on your refrigerator.

Keep them alive and create a plan around each one. 6. Create a plan. You know what your goals are. They’re clearly writ-

ten with deadlines. Now go beyond wishes and hope to put meat on each of your goals with a solid plan. Your plan answers the question: “How will I make this happen?” For example, if your goal is to save $10,000 by October 31, 2008, set a plan for saving $1,000 per month. What systems will you put in place to achieve this? Will you have the money automatically deducted from your paycheck and deposited into your retirement account? Will you cut back on buying clothing or eat-ing out to reserve cash for savings?

Create milestones for each month. What’s the main thing you want to accomplish toward your goal in January? in February? in March? Then break each month down further. Underneath those milestones define specific actions needed to achieve them. Map out exact steps that are time-bound within the month. Put them in your schedule.

Celebrate small achievements along the way. If you’ve saved $2,000 by February (and have never saved money before), bravo! Take time to toast your progress. Let yourself know that you’re on track and let that progress motivate you to keep going. Getting even one dollar closer to your goal is better than add-ing one more dollar to your debt.

7. Take action… right away. The most important thing is to begin. Never leave a

planning or goal-setting session without taking at least one tangible action. Without action, your goals can’t take flight.

You’ve selected your top one to three goals for the year. You know why they are important in your heart of hearts. You’ve committed them to writing, and you have a plan. Way to go! Now keep going. Take that final step—action.

Start right away with at least one action you can take toward your goal today. Consider the goal “to lose 20 pounds by May 30, 2008.” What small step can you take today toward that goal? For example, you sched-ule your first appointment with a trainer. Or you go to the gym for 30 minutes. Or you take a brisk 20-minute walk. Pick something so easy it would be almost im-possible to fail. Stand up and take that single action.

Use your plan to plug action into your yearly, monthly, weekly and daily schedule. Look for con-sistent blocks of time when you can work toward your goal. It takes discipline. Life will get in the way. But staying the course will let you reap the rewards. Successful people know this. That’s why they make it a priority to focus and act on their goals regularly. You can do it too. When you arrive at your destination you’ll feel a great sense of satisfaction in your focused effort to make your goal happen.

The rest of the year is still before you. Use these 7 steps to make your New Year’s resolutions happen. Get focused and ready to go by picking your top one to three goals. Ask yourself why you picked these goals to tap into the strong desire behind them. Then define your goals further by plugging them into the “do what by when” formula. From there, write down your goals, support them with solid plans and remember to take action. Go forth and accomplish great things this year that contribute to your life and to those around you. Here’s to your success! Make it a great year!

Sue Brenner6

Most parents want to be good parents. Yet parenting is one of those things that does not have hard and fast rules. So how do we know what to do? How do we know what will support

our children in being all they can be? One of the most important things for parents to do is to learn to trust their

own intuition. Your feelings tell you when you are on course or off course in your behavior with your children. When things feel right inside, then you know that you are being a truly loving parent, and when they feel wrong inside, you know you are out of alignment with what is in your highest good and your children’s highest good.

I remember my mother telling me that she used to put her fist in her mouth to stop herself from crying and from picking me up when I was an infant and cried. She had read in Dr. Spock that babies should not be picked up when they cry, that it is good for their lungs to cry, and that she would spoil me if she picked me up. But her insides were telling her the opposite - that babies cry when they need food, changing, or love. It is so sad that she followed Dr. Spock instead of her own inner knowing.

Now research has proven that babies who are not picked up when they cry become more dependent and insecure than babies who are kept with their mothers. In other countries, babies sleep with their parents until they no longer want to, feeling safe all night. In our country, most babies are alone at night, some crying themselves to sleep. This is not only sad, it is not healthy for the baby.

So the first thing your child needs from you is to trust your inner knowing rather than any book you read.

Your child needs your loving presence - not your busy preoccupied pres-ence. For your children to feel important to you, they need to feel you fully

Becoming a Better Parent

8

present with them - reading to them daily, playing with them, holding and comforting them, and listening to them.

Your children need for you to create a healthy environment for them by feeding them healthy food, restricting screen time - TV, computer, video games - and making sure they play outdoors and get enough exercise. They need your encouragement to develop their hobbies and interests. They need you to try natural remedies before resorting to drugs for illness, so that you don’t set them up for more illness with the side effects of drugs.

They need for you to be a good role model of self-care. Children need to see their parents taking full responsibility for their own feelings in-stead of being victims and blaming others. With this role modeling, they will also learn to take full responsibility for their own feelings. Learning and practicing the Inner Bonding process that we teach will support you in becoming this loving role model for your children.

Children also need you to be a role model for care of the environment. My daughter told me that my 3-1/2 year-old grandson got very upset with the checker at the market for using a plastic bag. “No, no plastic bags! It’s bad for the environment!” he told the checker. By role model-ing caring for our planet, we can raise children who are much more conscious of taking care of our environment.

Your children need to see you being connected with a spiritual Source of love, peace and wisdom in order to naturally connect with their own higher power. By developing your spiritual connection, they can learn to have their own.

What do your children really need from you? They need you to learn to be all you can be so they have the role modeling and permission to be all they can be.

Becoming a Better Parent

Margaret Paul, Ph.D.

9

It was the decade of decadence. It was about glitz and glamour as well as baubles, bangles, and beads.

Everyone loved Luke and Laura in the afternoon. Lady Diane became the People’s Princess when she married Prince Charles. Nighttime soaps like Dallas and Dynasty ruled the airwaves. President Ronald Reagan ruled the United States. Tom Cruise felt the need for speed. Michael Milliken was the Junk Bond King. Gordon Gekko taught Wall Street whiz kids that greed was good. Material Girl Madonna made her musical debut. Here are twenty-one ways for you to verify that you belong to (or belong in) the 1980’s.

1. Breakdancing on the sidewalk looked like fun. Now it just looks like you might break something. 2. You can still recite dialogue from any movie starring Molly Ringwald. 3. “Cell phones” meant the telephone people used when they got their “one phone call” in jail. 4. You had at least one of the following: a Cabbage Patch Kid, He-Man action figures, a Rubik’s Cube, or something with a Pac-Man logo on it. 5. You remember a lot of headlines about the Human Genome Project, which was a complete mapping of human DNA. You also remember how this was supposed to lead to the eradication of disease. 6. You remember the day that thousands of radio stations across the world played “We Are The World” at the exact same time. (Now, you’re singing it!) 7. Your first album was a vinyl 33 and you laughed at your parents be-cause they wanted to play 45’s and 8-track tapes. 8. You know who Oliver North is and why he was in the news. 9. Someone on your street or neighborhood sent his or her life savings to a later discredited televangelist. 10. You hung out with your friends at the mall, especially in the video arcade where you exchanged those hard-earned quarters for tokens. 11. You know that “glasnost” means openness or transparency and “per-estroika” means economic restructuring. 12. You and your friends made fun of the “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” lady. (The fictional woman was named Mrs. Fletcher and the product was the LifeCall emergency service.) 13. You inserted “like” liberally and unnecessarily throughout your sentences. Like so, “Like, that was, like, the hardest test we ever had. So after class, I was all like asking the teacher and she was like it wouldn’t have been hard if you had studied. Then I was like is that like wicked rude or what?” 14. You know there was only one way Dorothy on the Golden Girls could make Sophia behave. She simply said, “Shady Pines, Ma, Shady Pines.” 15. You’ve actually tasted New Coke. Extra points if you wrote to Coca-Cola and insisted they bring back the original formula. 16. You remember when there was no such thing as CNN, E!, or MTV. 17. Your parents were afraid you’d cut yourself putting on a snap bracelet. 18. You were inspired by Sandra Day O’Connor, the first female Supreme Court Judge, Sally Ride, the first female astronaut and Geraldine Ferraro, the first (and as of this writing only) female Vice Presidential candidate. 19. Renting horror movie sequels about Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger, and Michael Myers took up a lot of your time. 20. You loved the opposite sketches and green slime on You Can’t Do That On Television. 21. You played Atari, Intellivision, Sega, Nintendo, and Coleco until your hands went numb.

remembering The 80’s

Matthew W. Grant

10

11

With his crystal clear blue eyes, that always sparkled, his never fading smile and his contagious giggle, Stuart Shuman never met a stranger and was always

a great friend. Stuart was the kind of person you loved to know. He had the gift of never ending encouragement and fierce loyalty. Always a loving and caring face, he often went far and wide out of his way to help others. I have heard many people say how much they enjoyed seeing Stuart walking into the grocery store, the post office or seeing him around town and just and chatting with him, it brightened their day and left them in better spirits. Stuart Shuman left this world for his home in heaven on Thanksgiving Day. He will be dearly missed by his long line of family and freinds. Stuart worked at Quinn’s Care Center on Main Street and was also one of our editors here at HutchCo Living.

Honoring a Friend

12

True, we’re all living more cost-consciously these days -- we’re din-ing out less, forgoing luxuries like vacations and new wardrobes,

and we’re spending less on furniture, too. The January 2008 issue of “Furniture Today” projected a mere 0.4 per-

cent increase in furniture sales over the course of the year. The good news is that it doesn’t take much to turn your current decor into something com-pletely fresh and different. There are plenty of easy, cost-effective ways to change your surroundings for the better.

“Sometimes the smallest changes can make a big difference in the look of your home. One of the first things I recommend is visiting a nearby professional custom framer and updating an existing piece of art with new matboards,” says Barbara Schmidt, a nationally recognized interior style consultant whose work has appeared in O at Home, This Old House and Renovation Style, and numerous television shows.

“Look for a new color to add focus to your art pieces,” says Schmidt. “And when choosing matboard for your artwork, make sure it’s made from high quality materials, like Crescent’s cotton RagMat matboards. RagMat is guaranteed safe next to any artwork for a lifetime.”

Schmidt offers four additional tips for freshening up any room in your home using inexpensive items, as well as preexisting pieces.

“Choose one new color for your room and pull it into slipcovers, rugs and tablecloths to create newness and cohesiveness,” Schmidt suggests. “Try spray-painting a lampshade as an inexpensive way to tie it all to-gether.”

Dress up a wall by adding a tight grouping of your favorite pictures. “Pull your chosen color into the matting and frames, but vary the width and style of the frames to add variety,” she says. “This is definitely a grow-ing design trend -- and it’s a great way to make use of family photos and other images you’ve always wanted to display.” Your local professional custom framer can help you create this look.

“You’d be surprised at how easy it is to make pillow covers on your own,” says Schmidt. “Or you can opt to buy them pre-made at fabric stores for a lot less than you’ll find at a big-box retailer. It’s possible to find beautiful colors and patterns at bargain prices. You just need to do your research.”

“Choose one wall in a room, and repaint it to change the color scheme,” says Schmidt. “Painting is one of the most inexpensive things you can do, and I guarantee the entire room will look brand new.”

Beyond making unnecessarily large purchases, our shift in financial priorities is having a more lasting impression on the way homes are deco-rated. Consumers are moving away from the “ready to wear” mentality that became popular with the recent rash of design-centered reality shows in favor of more permanent pieces.

“More than ever before, my clients want pieces and themes that are go-ing to last,” says Schmidt. “When it comes to big ticket items like tables and sofas, I advise them to choose timeless looks with clean, sleek shapes. That way, when they do want a change in the look and feel of a particular room, they can just make small tweaks to turn it all around.”

Courtesy of ARAcontent

Freshen up your home

13

“I thought I would live with back pain for the rest of my life. Now without drugs or surgery, I’m pain-free and a believer!”

II BBECAMEECAME A BA BELIEVERELIEVER ..COMCOM

call for your FREE consultation:call for your FREE consultation:call for your FREE consultation: 806806806---367367367---8480 8480 8480

DrDrDr. . . Darrell West, D.C. Dr. Aaron West, D.C.Darrell West, D.C. Dr. Aaron West, D.C.Darrell West, D.C. Dr. Aaron West, D.C.

See my story at: - Tracy Huffman

14

Jim HolstonHospice Professional • Hospice Patient

Hospice Volunteer

“Proud to be Local”

“I thought I would live with back pain for the rest of my life. Now without drugs or surgery, I’m pain-free and a believer!”

II BBECAMEECAME A BA BELIEVERELIEVER ..COMCOM

call for your FREE consultation:call for your FREE consultation:call for your FREE consultation: 806806806---367367367---8480 8480 8480

DrDrDr. . . Darrell West, D.C. Dr. Aaron West, D.C.Darrell West, D.C. Dr. Aaron West, D.C.Darrell West, D.C. Dr. Aaron West, D.C.

See my story at: - Tracy Huffman

There are many ways that your child can learn about science. A lot of children do not like science because they think it is

boring. Science doesn’t have to be boring. Here are 5 ways to make science fun.

The 1st way of making science fun is to get everyone in your family involved. One day when it is nice weather take the whole family for a hike. Along the way point out different things and ask your family questions. Then go home and research things you saw on your hike. Find out the science behind what your family saw along their hike. For instance if they saw red rocks or something like that find out what causes rocks to be red rocks. Try to incorporate things into science that you know will spark an interest in your family.

The 2nd way of making science fun is to show an interest in it. Set up a science project night to show your children you are interested in learning more about science. If your family sees that you are not inter-ested in science they are not going to show much interest. But if you act like you want to learn more about the earth or the stars or whatever it is. Your family will have a better chance of wanting to learn more. Just make sure that you show interest. This will help your family be more excited about science and what it has to offer. The reason your family will be more excited about science is because they can relate with you about what they are doing in science and will know that you are interested and want to hear what they have to say.

The 3rd way of making science fun is to figure out different ways of doing something. For example say you want to learn more about fish. Don’t just get on the internet or get a book. Take your family to the aquarium and look at all of the fish then go and do some research and figure out why certain fish are the way they are. This will help make science fun because you and your family are actually getting into it

and finding out more.The 4th way of making science fun is to do hands on experiments and

science projects. For example, say your family wants to learn about the wind and how it affects things. Get a kite and get your family out and fly it. Fly the kite in different kinds of winds and then do some research. This will help you and your family relates things to science that you are learning by actually taking the time to do it. This is a way to make science fun.

The 5th way of making science fun is to discuss science while doing science projects, before an outing, after seeing science in action, etc. If you discuss with your children what they are learning they will have more fun. Discuss the outcomes of science projects that you do togeth-er. If you take the time to discuss science it will be more fun because your children will be more excited about what they are learning.

There are many ways to make science fun. You just have to get out there and find them. You know what your family is interested in and what they have fun doing. So incorporate science ideas into your family activities. Your family won’t even know that you are teaching them about science because they are having fun. They will just think that you planned a family activity. Make sure to keep it light and fun and not stressful and boring. It is very important that your children learn as much as they can about science. Learning as much as they can, when it comes to science will help them in their daily lives. Science helps with problem solving and other skills that your children will need. So make science as fun as you can.

Making Science Fun

Chick Lunsford

15