16 Things I Am Learning About This Week

I enjoy reading great posts and learning from what other people have written online. Here is a collection of some of my favorite posts from this week. Hopefully, some of these posts will inspire you in some way.

 How to Tell Whether you Can Afford to Retire early. At least once a year, I use  a retirement calculator to see how we are doing with our savings and if we are on track for an early retirement. I just used the calculator mentioned in this article and found out it’s still not going to happen. What a bummer.

3 Tax Deductions that Could Lead to an Audit I think it is important to know which deductions can potentially trigger a tax audit. Make sure you aren’t putting yourself at risk.

What’s In your Deodorant? I follow the blog 100 days of Real Food. I learned from that blog that there are some things in my deodorant which might be dangerous for my body. Maybe I should try the “pit paste” mentioned in the article.

 17 Parenting Comics that are your life These are funny and so true. If you are offended easily, don’t look at the comics.  #1 has happened in our house on a few occasions. I have quietly snuck toys out of the house. One time, I even snuck the toys outside and passed a bag to someone sitting in a car who was waiting to pay for them. I probably looked like I was selling drugs. #5 is what happens in my house on a daily basis. The bathroom sink will start off clean, but by night’s end, there is toothpaste everywhere. I am not doing these comics justice with my description. Go check it out. You will probably appreciate them if you are a parent.

“Helicopter” Parenting May Backfire at Doctor’s Office I have been reading several books on the topic of “helicopter” parenting. I think this article is a good example of why one shouldn’t engage in this kind of parenting. We need to raise kids who can grow up to be adults without needing our help for every decision. The doctor’s office is a safe place for a teen to practice taking “ownership” of their health. The article states that only 10% of teens could fill out the medical history form independently. Even though my daughter is not yet a teenager, I am going to have her be more involved the next time she goes to the doctor’s office. If you want to read a great book on the topic of “helicopter” parenting and why we shouldn’t engage in this practice, read How to Raise an Adult: Break Free of the Overparenting Trap and Prepare Your Kid for Success.

See the first ultra-high resolution, 3D scan of the entire human brain. This is a fascinating project. It seems like science-fiction, but it’s real.

Infographic: Fascinating Facts about Eye Color: I learned that the brown color of my eyes was the original eye color. I also learned that blue eyes are the newest eye color and are becoming rarer in the U.S. This infographic is detailed and easy to understand. And, the facts are fun. Check it out.

5 Lessons From My Grandfather’s Love Letters. There are great lessons to be learned in these letters. The author, Deb Besinger, does a great job pulling the letters together to create one overriding lesson about love. I wonder if there are any letters written by my grandparents to each other. I would love to read them.

71 Free Online Courses and Tutorials You Haven’t Tried Before. I wish I hadn’t found this link. I am a sucker for these free online courses which affects my overall productivity. I wish there was time to take almost every course on here.

Using LEGO to Build Math Concepts I have a daughter struggling with fractions and who happens to love Legos. Guess what we will be doing over Christmas break?

How do you balance supporting your childs interests while also achieving the academic goals you believe they need? I struggle with this issue. Both of my daughters are involved in a preprofessional ballet company which takes up almost every second when they are not in school. I want to support their interests, but I think school and academics are just as important– if not more important. It’s very difficult maintaining a healthy balance.

Yogurt could be the key to happiness: The surprising link between your gut and your mental health You mean, I can quit reading all these books on how to live a happy and meaningful life? All I need to do is eat some yogurt? Seriously, I am going to eat more yogurt.

The 5 Habits that will make you happy, according to science. This is a great article about instilling the habits of happiness into your life. For me, sleep is the habit that most affects my happiness. If I don’t get enough sleep, it’s best to stay away from me. I have been making more  of an effort lately to get at least 6 hours of sleep.

Sharpen Your Less-Expensive Knives with Sandpaper. I learned that I could make my cheap knives sharper again. There is a video tutorial included. If you use this technique to sharpen your knives, be careful!

The Best Way to Make Easy to Peel Eggs: Steam, Don’t Boil Them.  An entertaining video on Lifehacker explains the science behind why a steamed egg dropped in ice water is easier to peel. My family eats a lot of hard-boiled eggs. A couple of years ago, my father bought us an Egg Genie, which steams your eggs. I never though I would use an “As Seen as on TV” product, but this gadget actually works. I use it all the time and I can peel a brand new batch of eggs easily. You can buy it on Amazon.

More than 20 seriously cool snowflake patterns to make with your kids, or just to blow their minds CoolMomPicks curated a great post of snowflake patterns you can make. You can make pop culture snowflakes including superheroes, video game figures, and even Star Wars snowflakes.