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New parents are always looking for information. It seems that raising children is one of the hardest things a person can do, and when it comes time, many feel woefully unprepared. There is nothing like a wiggling, tiny thing nestled in your arms to make you feel completely and utterly helpless. It’s a great responsibility, and one that often comes with the need to look for advice. Luckily, there is a great publication called Parents Magazine.

Parents Magazine was one of the first magazines I turned to after inheriting a child. I didn’t give birth, but after a death, an infant came into my care. While I was thinking of having my own children at the time, I was completely caught off guard. Being the information junkie that I am, I immediately decided that I needed help, and I need help fast. Parents Magazine was the logical choice, and I was never disappointed. There are other good magazines out there that I quite often read, but I am partial to Parents. You may want to check out many different magazines, as you may find you like another one better. It’s really a matter of personal preference.

I have found the Parents Magazine often take a practical look at parenting. There isn’t a lot of useless information. Most magazines I look through might have one article I find useful. Not so with Parents Magazine, as I usually read from cover to cover. Even if the material is something that is not useful to me at the present time, it is something I am going to need in the future. The editors at Parents Magazine seem to have a knack for knowing exactly what pieces will be useful, because so many of them always are.

As your children grow, publications like Parents Magazine may end up feeling like old friends to you. Your mom, your friends, and your neighbors always have great advice, but sometimes, you need to get advice from a source that is far removed from yourself. This sort of advice is practical, and there is no hidden agenda. No matter how well meaning your mom is, just remember that she wants you to raise your children like she raised you, and her advice might be a little biased. Go ahead and give Parents Magazine a try, just for another opinion if nothing else. You can find it on the newsstand, or you can get a subscription for a great price.

If you are going to pop the question soon, you are probably thinking about ways to do it. Some people like the traditional on bended knee type of proposal, and many women think that is the perfect way to do so. If you want something different, there are many marriage proposal ideas out there to make it something neither of you will ever forget. You may have seen unique proposals on television and you want to do this for the woman (or man) you love. With a little thought, you can come up with something meant just for the two of you.

When thinking of marriage proposal ideas, just think about what you have in common. What are your favorite activities? Where do you like to go? What are some of the inside jokes you share? Thinking of these things will help you come up with unique marriage proposal ideas. Don’t stress too hard if something does not pop into your mind right away. Sometimes, you just have to put it into your mind, and a great idea will pop out at you when you least expect it. I know a lot of ideas for just about anything pop into my mind just before I fall asleep. Keep a pen and notepad by you bed just incase this happens to you.

Still stumped? If nothing is coming to you out of the blue, you may have to put a little more thought into marriage proposal ideas. Ask friends for ideas, as long as you trust them to keep your impending proposal a secret from your intended. They may come up with something perfect and save you a lot of trouble. If you have thought to ask her dad’s permission, he may have some ideas for you. Her parents know her better than anyone, and they may be able to share a special memory from when she grew up. There may be a place that is special to her that you are not aware of, and this might be the perfect place to pop the question.

Brainstorming always works great for me when I need ideas. I sit and just write down everything that pops into my mind. This might work very well with marriage proposal ideas as well. Just start writing. You may find that something pops out at you as you go, or you can combine two things you never thought would go together. The most important thing in dreaming up marriage proposal ideas is to keep your personalities in mind. Proposing to her at a football game won’t work well if neither of you go to games. You’ll find something perfect, just don’t stress too much.

Cartoons and animated films are my favorite means of entertainment. I grew up watching Disney movies and I’d rush home from school to see my favorite animation character on TV. Animation is much more sophisticated now of course, and painstaking hand drawing has given way to computer aided images. I like everything, from the lush colors of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves to the latest state of the art Pixar creation. The important thing for me is the creative invention of the animation character. It has to be presented well but with good characterization and story.

The shows that gripped my imagination when I was young were Top Cat, Yogi Bear, Popeye and Tom and Jerry. I especially liked the animation character of Top Cat, or TC, as he was known to his friends. He ruled over his alleyway, was the king of his gang and rang rings round the local cops. He was my introduction to anarchy! My mother hoped that my devotion to Popeye would lead to a love of spinach, but it never happened. Tom and Jerry still plays today and is probably the most enduring of the old cartoons. The slapstick translates into any language and adults seem to like this sort of animation character as much as the kids do.

I also loved the Pink Panther series. He was such a cool dude, and I liked the jazz score that played. I guess I warmed to the type of animation character that went against authority, the rebel or anti-hero. They were a contrast to the goody two shoes that usually filled a Disney film. Of course, Disney had great villains too, such as the wonderful Cruella da Ville from 101 Dalmatians. She has got to be the greatest baddie animation character of all time and was really scary for small children.

Today, there are some great TV animated series around. The Simpsons is an amazing success story, remarkable for its high standard maintained over many years. I like it for its cultural and political references and I think adults get more out of it than kids. Some animation character shows are openly aimed at an adult audience, such as Family Guy and King of the Hill. All these shows have a lot to say about American society. You can do a lot of satire with an animation character and make them say things that real people wouldn’t dare to.

With the unpopularity of the current US war effort, the flaws and injustices of Marine Corps recruiting are exposed on a daily basis.  Marine Corps recruiters will do everything and anything possible, including lying, to get your kid to join up while they’re still in high school and too young and stupid to know what is best for them.  They only have one goal: to get your kid to sign up for the Marines.  Ethics do not matter to them.  Honesty does not matter to them.  As a parent, you had best beware.

Of course, if Marine Corps recruiters are bad, Marine Corps drill instructors are awful.  You have to remember that in any army, basic training is one third physical conditioning and two thirds brainwashing.  This is especially true in an elite branch of the Army such as the Marine Corps.  Marine Corps drill instructors are there to break you down and then build you back up.  They will humiliate you, abuse you, work you to the point of physical exhaustion, and do anything that they can to strip your old personality away.  They do this with the goal of  ‘making you into a Marine’.  What this really means is destroying the person who was there before, and putting a slavishly obedient and violent killing machine in its place.  They rarely succeed in doing this completely, but it is certainly the goal.

I’m not saying that a Marine Corps drill instructor is necessarily an evil person.  Many Marine Corps drill instructors are nice in their personal lives.  It is just that they serve an institution whose goal is to make you into a violent fighting machine.  Marine Corps drill instructors, and the Marines in general, do not need you to be able to think.  They do not need you to be able to morally question and decide what is right for yourself.  All that they need you to be able to do is to obey and to kill.  This is a Marine Corps drill instructors job: to turn you into a soldier who is good at obeying, and good at killing.

Of course, every branch of the Army is like this to some degree.  The problem is that the Marines are the most elite fighting force.  They are sent in first, so they need to have the best instincts and the least reservation about killing.  This is why Marine Corps drill instructors are more brutal and more vicious than most drill instructors.  They have to be.

Choosing the right vehicle can be a headache. The truth is we typically want more than one. Who can’t name five vehicles that they currently desire? Heck, I can think of a dozen. On the other hand, we all have to choose a vehicle that’s suitable for our needs. What size is right for your family? What price range would you prefer? What kind of gas mileage do you need? These are all important aspect of buying a new car. Then there is the motorcycle side of the spectrum. Are you harboring a passion for a two-wheeler? Hey, this is nothing to be ashamed of. Lots of folks crave the excitement of motorcycles at some point in their lives. Just don’t forget to do some shopping around before purchasing one. What you first need to be concerned with are the latest motorcycle reviews. It’s time to get the scoop.

I have been around motorcycles my entire life. I have three brothers and two step-brothers. All of which owned motorcycles. While my step-brothers enjoyed the off-road two-wheelers, my direct siblings had a thing for the street bikes. That equals two dirt bikes, two Harleys and a Ninja. Man, to this day, I still hate the noise that Harleys make. They’re just too darn loud. Have you read any motorcycle reviews on these “American bikes” lately? If not, you may want to get the low-down. Especially if you plan on purchasing one in the near future. As it turns out, Harleys are not as American as they lead on to be. I was reading some recent motorcycle reviews that claimed Harleys were constructed from Japanese parts. HUH? What’s the deal with this? I thought they were supposed to be American. Or maybe they’re simply put together by Americans. Either way, I’m sure this is disappointing for some.

To be honest, I can’t really support motorcycles. Sure, you can read endless motorcycle reviews on how well they save gas, and how much quicker you can maneuver through L.A. traffic, but, in the end I just don’t find them safe. Two of my brothers have been in motorcycle accidents that scared our family to death. There’s no protection on a motorcycle. It’s just your body hitting the asphalt or oncoming vehicle. Now that’s a frightening thought.

My favorite time of the year is Christmas time. I love everything about the season. I live in Minnesota so this is the time of year when we begin to have snow on the ground and ice on the lakes. It is a beautiful time to begin with, then as people begin adding outdoor Christmas decorations the neighborhoods become magical. I love to take walks at dusk and watch the lights come on creating a winter wonderland before my eyes.

Although I love Christmas I am very particular about outdoor Christmas decorations. My favorite decorations are the use of lights in trees and bushes in the yards. I am not a fan of the huge blow up snowmen and Santa’s or the cartoon characters that are dressed to look like Santa Claus. When I was growing up the neighbor across the road from us had a huge pine tree. Each year he would use extension ladders to place the strands of large colored bulbs in the tree. The project would take him and his sons several hours to complete and the end result was a lit tree that could be seen a half mile away. He did not believe in leaving the outdoor Christmas decorations on the tree over the summer. He would put them on the day after Thanksgiving and remove them a few days after the beginning of the New Year. This was a great deal of work, compared to plugging in a ten foot snowman, but the lit tree was awesome for others to enjoy. It was very touching to everyone the year that the neighbor’s wife died. He placed all blue lights on the tree that year to let us know he would be having a blue Christmas. He told my mother that it was helpful to him and a remembrance to his wife.

One of my neighbors knows that I dislike the gaudy outdoor Christmas decorations. He is always looking for practical jokes to play. Last year when he knew that my husband and I were going to be gone for the day he decorated our yard with several lit Christmas lawn ornaments. He had purchased several old outdoor Christmas decorations throughout the summer at garage sales. He had extension cords running from one end of our yard to the other to get all the decorations lit. There was a full scene of the peanut characters, several Disney characters and a huge lit palm tree with lit pink flamingoes with Christmas leis around their necks. We could see the display a block before we arrived at our yard. Several neighbors were gathering in front of our house to look at the elaborate display. My neighbor sat at his living room window watching the scene. My husband and I are now plotting how we are going to out do his practical joke. The neighbor has a second home in Florida so we are trying to coordinate getting the outdoor Christmas decorations sent there. His brother-in-law has agreed to set them up in the yard.

Policy and procedure manuals are a staple for just about every business. Employees usually receive this information upon getting hired by the organization. However, many fail to read the policy and procedure manuals unless a situation occurs where there are a specific concern. While we like the idea of having routine and order we tend to avoid taking these things into consideration.

For example, an associate of mine lost her job because she was ill. Her illness was not the reason that she was let go. It was the simple fact that she did not call to report that she was taking a sick day. The policy and procedure manuals that the company distributed to each and every employee clearly stated a no-call no-show termination policy that was in force across the board.

In this case, the employee called off on the first sick day but she slept through the second day that she missed. Since she did not make that second call she lost her job. Many of us at the office were astounded that the company would do such a thing but the policy and procedure manuals stated that each day off required a phone call.

This firing did cause quite a stir around the office. Many of us thought that this person should have a second chance. However, the policy and procedure manuals clearly stated that the no call no show employees are not eligible for rehire in the future. This also caused a stir as well.

It was time that the company reconsiders its policy and procedure manuals. The staff really lost a great coworker because of a rule that seemed to be written in stone. There was little room for logical explanation or unique situations, either. The young woman even lost her unemployment claim because of the policy and procedure manual.

Basically, she failed to follow the written rules. The facts were quite clear and she was actually able to call. She just figured that she should sleep and after all, we all knew that she was really sick. The cut and dry case really wasn’t cut and dry at all.

Of course, the policy and procedure manuals did offer examples of situations that allowed for a no-call no-show. If the person was in an accident or had a dire emergency, the absence would be excused. Sleeping through an entire day was not one of those situations.

If you listen to music, you probably watch music videos as well. These have come a long way, and believe it or not, they were around before MTV. If you grew up with MTV like I did, you began to see these videos has mini movies, they often reflect the feeling of the moment. Films come and go, and they can most certainly reflect life at the time they were filmed, but music videos can do this like nothing else. If you want to know what life was like in a certain year, you just have to watch a video made at that time.

When music videos first appeared on MTV, they were most defiantly kooky. They served their purpose, but the art form was far from what it is now. They began to spiral in cost. What it cost to shoot one music video in the late 80s was the equivalent of what some of us make in a year. Some bands or singers put three or four of them out in a year, sometimes more. They are small expensive slices of life, but don’t forget their main purpose. The music video is there to get you to buy the album.

I don’t spend much time watching MTV any longer. I guess I am way past the target audience, and that is fine. Though when I was a teenager, I couldn’t imagine a time when I wouldn’t watch. Funny how time changes everything. All the same, the music they feature is definitely not on my play list. It does, however, give you a feeling of what they younger generation is thinking and feeling. Some is just smut, designed to sell albums, and yet others may give you a message you don’t even know you are getting.

You can find music videos online, and you can download some of them for free. They are advertisements for the artist, and by allowing you to download or view for free they are trying to get you to buy. I don’t watch many online, but if I see a band I like, I will watch just to see what they are up to. The quality of newer music videos astounds me, and I can’t believe how far they have come since the birth of MTV. If you want to watch some of the older videos to see what I’m talking about, you should tune into VH1. My husband watches on occasion, and we can’t help but laugh at ourselves, as we see our youth in those moving images.

We all search for job opportunities at some point. It’s just one of those things we can’t avoid. That inevitable employment at some company or business. Sure, there are self-employment options as well, but they typically don’t come early on. Most of us are stuck at some random restaurant, movie theater, grocery store, car wash, or hotel. I personally have dealt with a number of odd jobs before and during college. Yeah, those were good times. You want to know what the most draining one was? It was a hotel bartender position. I have to admit, when I initially pondered hotel job opportunities, I never considered the fact that they’re never closed. This aspect of the lodging business settled in rather quickly once I started.

Don’t get me wrong! Not all hotel job opportunities are bad. I am just ragging on mine. I have no problem saying that it was at the Marriott. Now, let me say this; the Marriott has wonderful benefits for their employees. Or at least they did when I was there in 2001. Furthermore, the salary I acquired as a bartender was excellent, and the fellow employees were totally cool people. However, it was the hours that were utterly dreadful. I was always scheduled to work four days a week. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Doesn’t sound like much, huh? Considering the fact that most people work five days a week. BUT, and notice how that’s a very big BUT; my shifts were insane. On Wednesday and Thursday I worked from 12pm to 1am. And on Fridays and Saturdays I worked from 11am to 2am. That’s ridiculous! Now what do you think of hotel job opportunities? I would wake up in the middle of the night with horrible cramps and leg pains. Needless to say, I only lasted about 5 months at this job. Then it was on to brighter and less strenuous pastures.

So, maybe you’re currently considering hotel job opportunities. This is totally cool. But, don’t forget what I said regarding the hours. They can get hairy. On the other hand, if you take a job as a desk clerk, room service waiter/waitress, or cook, they could be totally different. Just don’t forget that the bar is open the longest.

I didn’t really realize until after I was married, that most men seem to be drawn to the Godfather movies. I’m not sure if it is a macho thing or just something that men seem to be obsessed with. I’ve sat down to watch a Godfather video before and I did enjoy it. However, I don’t think I enjoyed it to the degree of needing to memorize certain scenes or watch it a hundred times. It must just be a guy thing.

My husband, on the other hand, can watch the same Godfather video two or three times in one day, and still get a thrill out of it. Of course, for days afterwards he walks around talking like they do and spewing out quotes that he seems to think are the greatest thing ever. He thinks he’s so clever. I tend to just roll my eyes. He seems to have a passion for mafia movies. Maybe he secretly wishes that he was a member of the mob, who knows. After noticing that he has every one of the Godfather videos, but not on DVD, I figured a great Christmas present would be to get him the Godfather trilogy. With that thought in mind, I set out Christmas shopping last November in search of the trilogy.

Apparently, everyone else had the same goal as I did, because the two stores that I headed too were sold out. I was absolutely amazed. Both stores did offer to order them for me but I wasn’t in the mood to have to come back to the malls closer to the actual holiday. I can’t stand crowds and fighting for parking spots. So, I checked online and found it on several sites. To save myself time and energy of having to go shopping again, I spent the few extra dollars for shipping and ordered the Godfather trilogy. The site guaranteed that the precious Godfather trilogy would be delivered within a week.

When it did arrive, I hid it in the back of my closet until it would be time to wrap it and put it under the tree. We always put our tree up the first weekend of December. That very day, I was wrapping presents in the living room while my husband was in the basement watching a Godfather video. I knew that on Christmas morning, I’d be his hero.

I was his hero after he opened it. He acted like a little kid who just found a pony or puppy under their tree. His eyes lit up and he danced around the living room like a clown. “This calls for a Godfather marathon” he screamed. I was afraid of that.