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Gardening Styles :: The Butterfly Garden
How to Attract Butterflies to Your Garden: Butterflies are synonymous with wonder and delight. Their whimsical flight traced through the air with my ever-gazing eyes makes me recall childhood memories. These delicately winged creatures capture the merriment of life through their constant fluttering. Bringing butterflies into your garden can be equaled to the simplest pleasures of youth. To properly welcome butterflies and make them feel at home, several key steps and their preferred flora are required. It is important to plant your garden in full sun. Think of butterflies as sun loving divas basking on the beach; they definitely do not desire shade or cold. Butterflies are exothermic…
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Health: How Do We Improve Immunity at the Beginning of Spring?
Ask the Doctor: Question: How do we improve immunity at the beginning of Spring? This is a great question and one that I like to write about. Being proactive in your health and your families health will have a profound impact on keeping healthy and bouncing back quickly from any illness. A little reminder though, it is always best to check in with your family physician if you are sick. Teamwork is key to good health. Here are my top 4 supplements plus the basics: 1. Vitamin C This is why : Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that regulates immune function and increases white blood cell activity. Source…
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Recipes: Easy English Trifle
Trifle has been around for centuries and is a classic English dessert. It consists of layers of cake, usually soaked with alcohol such as sherry (you may also use fruit juice for the family-friendly version), fruit, custard and cream. There are many variations, but here is our family’s passed down to me by my own English mum. It would make an easy spring-time dessert when you don’t feel like turning on the oven. It would also make a beautiful addition to your Easter buffet. We’ve always used ladyfingers for the cake component (the soft ones found in the bakery aisle – not the dry ones for tiramisu, but I’m…
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Crafts: Last Minute Ideas for St. Patrick’s Day
With St. Patrick’s Day coming up we have some last-minute ideas to help celebrate this fun day! Coming from FamilyFun Magazine, these are some ideas you can whip up pretty quickly. I just might do the food rainbow one tonight when my daughter goes to bed and tell her that a leprechaun must have made it for her overnight and that he probably wants her to eat some of those vegetables. But instead of guacamole, I will use hummus instead. Oh, the art of getting my kid to eat more vegetables! A tale I think many parents are challenged with! Anyhow, do have fun and send in pictures of…
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Money: Saving with Groupon.com
Saving Money with Groupon.com Groupon.com is a free subscription service that offers a cornucopia of items at discounted prices. There are deals on restaurants, household goods, toys, clothing, make-up, even vacations. When you sign up you give the site your location and your email address. Your location allows Groupon to show you ads targeted for your area. These ads are most often for restaurants and services near where you live. Your email address allows Groupon to alert you hot deals. We are all trying to save money, so a site that can offer a way to do that can be a big benefit. I want to caution…
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Parenting: Ashoka’s Start Empathy Program
Over the past few years, we have heard more and more about the damage and even life-threatening effects that bullying has had on our youth. I think most of us experienced some form of bullying as a kid – but the difference today is the ability for bullying to reach much farther and in some situations more intensely via the Internet. That is why programs like the Ashoka’s Start Empathy initiative are so important to help parents and educators teach children the importance of empathy. I had a chance to speak to the organization about the program and what parents can do to help teach empathy. Tell us about Start Empathy and what its…
