Why Practice?

A class of high school basketball players with similar skills was divided into three groups to conduct an experiment.

Group one was told not to practice shooting free throws for one month. Group two was told to practice shooting free throws an hour a day for a month. Group three was told to practice shooting free throws an hour a day for a month – but only in their imaginations.

At the end of the month, all three groups were tested. The group that didn’t practice slipped slightly in its percentage of free throw successes. The group that practiced an hour a day also slipped slightly. But the third group, which practiced only in their minds, increased its success rate by two percentage points.

How could actual practice, such as that done by the second group, fail to improve performances as much as practicing in the mind?

The explanation is that in your mind, you never miss a shot.

What are you practicing in your mind?

How To Grow A Great Garden

The trees are budding, the grass is growing, and you’re thinking of all those wonderful garden plans you never got around to last year. This year, get a head start on the season with some tips to help save time and avoid disappointment. And don’t forget to involve the kids – this is one of the few times you can give them permission to play in the dirt!

• If your only winter crop was couch potatoes, be careful. Don’t strain those underworked winter muscles. Bend at the knees and lift with your legs, not your back.


• Check your garden chemicals and dispose of last season’s leftovers appropriately. Don’t buy more chemicals than you can use in a season – the smaller the bottle, the better.


• Avoid using insecticides by planting marigolds, basil, mint, chives, onions, and chrysanthemums near or in your garden. Secretions from these and many other plants act as a natural insect repellent.


• If cleaning out the fireplace is on your schedule, great! Save the ashes – your flower beds love them.


• Starting seedlings in vermiculite to get a jump on the season? Be sure to transplant them as soon as the second pair of true leaves form, or they’ll starve.


• Your soil is ready for planting when you grab a handful and it crumbles. If it forms a ball, it’s still too wet to start gardening.


• Mulches can keep the soil from warming up, so wait to apply mulches until plants are three to four inches tall and the soil is warm.


• Use leaves, grass clippings, coffee grounds, and tea bags to form a compost pile, and use it to enrich your soil. For best results, chop elements into small pieces before adding them to the pile.


• Many of last year’s plants will multiply. If you’re going to thin them out, pack up a few as gifts for your neighbors (this is a great job for kids).
  
  And don’t forget to sit back and enjoy your handiwork! – Adapted from homemadesimple.com

Delicious Spinach Salad

You will need the following:

2 green onions, chopped
¼ lb. bacon, fried, drained well, & crumbled
2 hard cooked eggs, chopped
spinach – 1 lb.
salt, pepper, garlic salt or powder
olive oil
Wishbone Russian Salad Dressing (dark)

Lightly mix spinach, bacon, eggs, and green onions. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic. Moisten slightly with olive oil. Add enough Russian dressing to moisten to your taste. (Some chopped pecans can also be added if you like them.) This is a quick and delicious salad that is also fancy enough for company. Serves 4 to 6.

Money Matters

Here are some suggestions from the Academy of Matrimonial Attorneys to keep your finances – and your relationship – on track:

No matter who makes the most money, divide the household responsibilities fairly.

Set short- and long-term goals together, and stick to them unless you both agree to change them.

Each partner should have access to money they can spend any way they want. No one should ever have to ask his or her spouse for money.

Set a budget and stick to it for at least a year. If necessary, consult a financial counselor to help keep your finances in order.

What Can We Change?

We cannot change our past. We cannot change the fact that people act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have. And that is our attitude. – Charles R. Swindoll

Help Your Child Get A Good Night’s Sleep

Does your child suffer from sleep problems? If so, he or she is more likely to have trouble falling asleep than staying asleep. Here are some tips to help your children sleep better from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine:

• Follow a consistent bedtime routine. Set aside 10 to 30 minutes to get your child ready to go to sleep.


• Establish a relaxing setting at bedtime.


• Interact with your child at bedtime. Don’t let the television, computer or video games take your place.


• Keep your children from TV programs, movies and video games that are not appropriate for their age.


• Don’t let your child fall asleep while being held, rocked, nursed, or fed a bottle.


• At bedtime, don’t allow your child to have foods or drinks that contain caffeine, and try not to give him or her any medicine that has a stimulant.


• Don’t let your child fall asleep while being held, rocked, nursed, or fed a bottle.


• At bedtime, don’t allow your child to have foods or drinks that contain caffeine, and try not to give him or her any medicine that has a stimulant.

A “Head Rest” Heads-Up

Do you have a feature in your car that you refer to as a “head rest”?

It’s actually a head restraint, and it’s not there so you can “rest” your head. Head restraints are installed in vehicles for safety purposes and are as essential a safety feature as seat belts and air bags. Why? Because effective head restraints reduce the rearward motion of your head in a rear-end crash, decreasing the likelihood of whiplash injuries which cause painful, permanent damage to hundreds of thousands of people every year.

The key word here is effective, and head restraints are effective only if positioned properly – something many of us don’t know how to do. This takes only a few minutes, and may prevent a lifetime of disability:

1. Sitting in your normal driving (or riding) posture, adjust the head restraint up or down until the center of the head restraint at least meets the center of the back of your head, or higher.


2. If the head restraint adjusts forward and backward, position it as close to the back of the head as possible, ideally within three inches. This adjustment is called the “backset.”


3. Each time you get into your car, check to be sure your head restraint and those of your passengers are positioned correctly.


4. If you’re unable to adjust your head restraint correctly, consider purchasing an aftermarket head restraint add-on.


5. When you’re researching a car purchase, check out the head restraint design along with other safety features. Web sites such as www.iihs.org (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) offer head restraint information and ratings.
   
   While head restraints will never make the list of a vehicle’s “sexy” options, this important safety technology can save you from a chronic, life-changing injury.

Give That Customer What He Wants!

A store manager accidentally overheard one of his salesmen talking to a customer. “No, sir,” the salesman said. “We haven’t had any for a long time and it doesn’t look like we’ll be getting any very soon, either.”

The manager, appalled at the discouraging news his salesman had delivered, called after the departing customer, “You come back in a week or so, and we’ll have whatever you want!” Then the manager turned tohe salesman and yelled, “Never, ever tell a customer we’re out of something and can’t get it for him! Tell them we’ll have it for them as soon as possible! What in the world did that customer want anyway?”

“Rain,” answered the salesman.