Home Life

Posts about home life.

Tips on wrapping presents

Posted on by Sheri Dean Parmelee

Hello everyone:

With the Christmas season upon us, it seemed like a nice idea to offer some tips on wrapping presents.

First, make sure you have scissors, scotch tape (sorry fellows, this is not the place for your beloved duct tape, no matter how tempting that seems!), gift tags (you can buy them in bulk in the Christmas section of most food stores), wrapping paper, and your gift list. Note: If you are trying to keep things financially even between your children, make a list of who is getting what, how much it cost, and if it is tree-ready. Keep the list hidden from your kids, but don’t forget where you put it. Keep your receipts with the list, in case you need to return something. Also note: I keep receipts for all presents because you never know when something will need to go back.

Wrap your presents on an ironing board that  has been set up or on a high counter. This way, you will not hurt your back by leaning over a table or by sitting on the floor to wrap large presents. To avoid stress, do not wait until Christmas eve to wrap your gifts. Write out the gift tag before you wrap the gift, so that you don’t have to unwrap the gift when you are finished because you got distracted and now you can’t remember what is inside.

Wrap big presents first, so that you are sure that you have enough wrapping paper to cover the box. Save the small leftover pieces to wrap smaller gifts and stocking stuffers. Here goes!

Take the sheet of wrapping paper while it is still on the tube, pull some paper out, and place the gift on it, face down. You need to make sure that you have enough paper to go halfway up on each end, so that you can wrap the ends of the present. Tape the paper to one side of the gift. Pull the paper to meet this edge (with a couple of inches of overlap) and carefully cut the paper to fit. Tape this edge over top of the first edge. Fold the sides of the remaining edges up and tape them securely. Flip the present over and add the gift tag and a bow. (Note: If you are traveling, add the bows to the presents when you arrive at your destination or they will be crushed in transit.)

Since you will usually have leftover paper that you don’t want to have unroll, I secure the leftover paper with a rubber band and store the paper for the next time I wrap presents.  If you do this in several sessions, you will find it more enjoyable and less tiring. If you are giving gift cards, it is still nice to put them in a small wrapped box with a bow on top. Baby steps, fellas! Let me know if you have any questions!

Best,

Dr. Sheri

Writing the dreaded Christmas card letter

Posted on by Sheri Dean Parmelee

Hello everyone:

Welcome to December and the month in which we write our lovely annual letter to folks we care about and want to remember at this time of year. Today’s blog is about what to write- or not write- as you compose these weighty tomes.

Please tell me how you and the family are doing. We want to know what you have been doing since we last met.

Please do not tell me the intimate details of your recent surgery. I do not want to know about the cyst or tumor that you had lanced and how the doctor used this great big needle to drain all the pus that was encapsulated therein. Nope, dear friend, this is TMI.

Please do tell me how your kids are doing in school, if they have specific accomplishments.

Please do not tell me that your kids are the smartest, most wonderful, and incredible kids on the face of the earth (this applies to grandchildren, as well).  Yours aren’t. Mine are.

Please tell me what’s on your mind as you go through life, what your hopes and dreams are.

Please do not tell me about the recent political dealings and how you think the country is going to pot (literally) or how the current occupier of the White House is a crook. He may very well be, or not, but let’s set that aside for now. BTW, since you may not know who I voted for, you may insult me or otherwise offend my choice of candidates. You never know.

Please tell me how you grew this past year, and how you are working to make your corner of the world a better place. Share with me how you made Christmas cookies with the kids (or their kids) and got a bath in flour when the bag dropped on the floor. Tell me how you shared your faith with your little ones and how they responded by turning their lives over to Christ.

Please do not tell me about various grumblings regarding unimportant incidents in your life or start moaning and groaning about the guy who cut you off on the beltway or how Black Friday shopping irritated you.

Please tell me how I can pray for you in the coming year. Let me have the blessing of knowing how to prayerfully support you in the coming days.

Please do not sweat the small stuff. It’s all small stuff.

Best,

Dr. Sheri

News from your blogger

Posted on by Sheri Dean Parmelee

Hello everyone:

Today’s blog is about following your dreams. Perhaps this does not seem to fit the category of being practical, but I would argue that it does.

Folks sometimes spend a great deal of time and money being trained for a job that they quickly decide they detest. This is very sad; as the old saying goes, “Find a job you love and you will never work a day in your life.”

I know a young man who went to school to become a computer developer, only to discover when he got into the job market that he really hated development. He took a leap of faith one day and started his own user-experience company, which he loves. He works very long hours but has a creative job that gives him financial and emotional rewards.

Likewise, I felt the call to become a college instructor 10 years ago, and never looked back in spite of long hours, sometimes-disruptive students, no benefits, and low pay. I love it. Earlier this year, I felt the need to write a book which I eventually called “Suddenly Single: A Practical Guide to Maintaining Your Household When Your Spouse is NLA” (No Longer Available). It was a labor of love which may be paying off. I just got an email from a highly-respected literary agent who believes in the book (and me) and wants to represent me.

Would I have guessed that my future held this? Nope, not even last year. But, by following my dreams, it looks like my dream to be a published author through  Suddenly Single is one step closer!

Best,

Dr. Sheri

Decorating your Christmas tree from a former interior decorator

Posted on by Sheri Dean Parmelee

Hi Everyone:

Today’s blog is just for fun. Since many folks will start decorating their tree in the coming weeks, I wanted to jump in with ideas for making your tree look superb.

First, don’t decorate your tree like the stores do theirs. Keep in mind that they want to sell ornaments (or trees or both) and they will therefore put the ornaments on the outside limbs of the tree.

For a more detailed look that is absolutely super, hang your decorations on each limb, starting near the tree’s trunk. Work your way out on each limb, hanging more than one decoration on each limb. I find that the trunk is a great place to hang dear ol’ Aunt Gertie’s favorite ball that you somehow ended up with and any less-than-perfect decorations that you hate to throw away.

By placing ornaments in a variety of depths, you will create a whole new masterpiece that will catch the light (especially if, like me, you like sparkly ornaments) and offer a lot more to see than a bunch of ornaments hung on the outside limbs.

Stay tuned for more Christmas decorating ideas as the season draws near!

Best,

Dr. Sheri

Preparing for a hurricane/evacuation

Posted on by Sheri Dean Parmelee

Hello everyone:

With Hurricane Matthew bearing down on the state of Florida even as I type this, it seems appropriate to talk about hurricanes and evacuations. Suddenly Single discusses the need to have nonperishable food and plenty of water on hand, but one thing it does not mention is the need to take food with you, should the need to evacuate arise.

You always plan to take your clothing and personal hygiene items with you to the hotel where you will stay, but do not assume that restaurants will be open. My family just evacuated to Kissimmee yesterday, only to find that the governor had ordered all the restaurants to close, leaving folks without a place to find sustenance. The one food mart in the resort where they stayed was jammed with hungry folks (1,000 people had checked in that afternoon; 150 of them were in front of them in the check-in line). They managed to get some peanut butter, Cheerios, and turkey and cheese before they gave up and went back to their room, but do not assume that food will be abundant. It might not be.

Also, since the gas stations and other bathroom break places might also be closed as you travel, (not wishing to be too indelicate here) you might want to take a jar with you and a towel to shield yourself from the other people in the car. If the roads are packed, you will not want to stop the car and get out to do your necessary work. Just sayin’.

Best,

Sheri

Homeschooling to public schooling

Posted on by Sheri Dean Parmelee

Hello everyone:

Today’s blog is on making the transition from home education to public school education. There can be a variety of reasons to make this move, but whatever your desire to make this change, here are some ideas for making the transition go more smoothly. [Please note that I was a homeschooling mom for many years and my son did not go back into the classroom setup during his high school days, but we did have a transition between home schooling and college.]

When making the decision to place your child in a traditional school, the first thing you need to do is to make sure that your student is up-to-date on all immunizations. You will probably need to show proof that the child has “been jabbed,” as they say in England. Get the records from your doctor’s office so that your lack of proof will not hold things up.

Next, make sure that your child’s education is up to par. Yes, many home schoolers are way ahead of their peers in the public school sector, but your student may have some weak areas in his or her education and you don’t want the child to be embarrassed by a glaring problem in one subject or another.

Try to go see the teacher or teachers your child will have ahead of time, so that your student will already know who will be instructing him or her during the school day. For younger children, try to arrange some play dates beforehand with the other kids in his or her future class.

Within the constraints of your personal wardrobe preferences, check out your child’s clothing and try to help the child blend in with what the other children will be wearing. Some mothers of daughters insist on a “praise and raise” test with their daughter’s clothing, making sure that the outfits are stylish yet modest at the same time. As a college professor, there is nothing more distracting than seeing a well-endowed young woman walk into my class with her breasts almost totally exposed. What message do you want your child to be sending?

Finally, if your child is transitioning into a high school setting, make sure he or she recognizes that there will be class changes and that there is a need to know the way around the school. If possible, make some practice runs ahead of time so that this is one less thing to worry about when the first day of school arrives. I actually made maps with directions for where to walk when I returned to college after many years’ break. It helped me tremendously to have a written guide of where to go, especially with limited amounts of time between classes.

Good luck with this new phase of life!

Sheri

Doing Laundry: Is it necessary to separate darks from lights?

Posted on by Sheri Dean Parmelee

Hi everyone:

Some folks wonder if it really is necessary to separate dark clothing from light when washing them. I would still answer “yes” to that question, unless you want to have grey underwear and socks.

There is a product available in the grocery store that will help if you accidentally put that fushia towel you picked up for $10 in Florida last year  in the washing machine with your brand new white shirt. The product is called “Color Catchers.” I have not used it but I have friends who swear by it.

Be sure to follow the label directions as you use it in the washer and do not dry your bleeding-red towel with your light clothes after you try the product. The idea here is that you have to re-wash the clothes but the dye that deluged your light clothes should come out.

Think of this as the “morning after pill” for washing machines.

Good luck!

Sheri

Cooking tips

Posted on by Sheri Dean Parmelee

Hello everyone:

Ovens and stoves are wonderful, but do not ever leave something cooking and walk away. You will forget it and it will burn. Our neighbors in Tennessee were frying onion rings and got distracted by something that took them out of the kitchen for a minute…..or two….or ten….Their whole kitchen burned down. While this may seem like a good way to clean out the kitchen and start over, it is not. It did not do wonders for their relationship with their landlord, either.

When using measuring spoons, there is a huge difference between a teaspoon and a tablespoon. The spoons are marked as to which one they are, so take a moment to get your reading glasses out and check out what the side of the spoon says it is.

There is also a huge difference between sugar and salt. One tastes good in pies and the other will gag you. (Don’t ask!) There is also a difference between ketchup and tomato sauce. One is great on hamburgers and the other….not so much. Do not refill your ketchup bottle with tomato sauce – or worse,  tomato paste! Your guests and family will notice. I promise.

Best,

Sheri

Clean as you cook

Posted on by Sheri Dean Parmelee

Hi everyone:

One way to keep your kitchen clean is to clean while you cook. Take everything that you will need for a recipe out of the cabinet before you begin to cook and then put things away as you use them. This way, you will not forget to put something in a recipe and you won’t accidentally put it in the food twice.

As you use an ingredient, don’t put it down, put it away! When the counter is empty of everything except the dish you are preparing, you will know that the food item is ready to be cooked. While it is in the oven. wash the preparation dishes and wipe down the counter. Your kitchen will be clean while you wait for the dish to cook.

BTW, if you notice that you are getting low on any ingredient, put it on your shopping list now. That way, you will remember to buy it at the store and you won’t run out of anything.

Best,

Sheri

Candle Safety

Posted on by Sheri Dean Parmelee

Hello everyone:

Today’s blog is on candle safety. As a former Home Interiors and Gifts displayer, we were frequently given tips on how to handle candles safely and I want to share those ideas with you.

When using an open-flame candle, make sure you never leave the candle unattended. Keep the wicks trimmed to 1/4 inch; do not keep them burning more hours than their width in diameter. That is, if you have a candle that is three inches in diameter, it should not remain lit for more than three hours.

A candle can cover up the smell of  a burned dinner. My hubby used to say that he could tell what type of dinner I would be serving by the size of the candle that was burning when he got home. If it was a big candle, he would take me out to dinner.

Have a great day!

Sheri