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Recreation and Entertainment in Indianapolis!!!!

2010-11-09T21:36:00.000-08:00

Believe it or Not, there are fun things to do in Indianapolis.

I must first tell you a little about myself....well, my mom refers to me as "cultural". As a child, my most favorite music to listen to was classical. I love operas, ballets, and orchestra concerts - all forms of musical expressions. Expressions as poetry, art (drawings, photographs, and anything unique), dancing, and music I am passionate about. I also like being out in nature. In general, I dislike conflict but will address it and don't like being around loud people or loud noises. I will have a discussion with you but I will not argue with you. :-) I like some gospel music as long as it is not too loud... :-) Obviously, I am very romantic as I am sentimental and expressive. So here are just a few things in Indy that suite me and maybe you might like them too. :-)

Museums, Etc.

1. Museum of Art http://www.imamuseum.org/

2. Children's Museum http://childrensmuseum.org/

3. State Museum - http://www.indianamuseum.org/visit/exhibit/ ( Has an Imax where there is a large screen with 3-D movies)

4. Zoo http://www.indyzoo.com/SitePages/home.aspx

5. Indianapolis 500 Museum http://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/history/35204-Museum/

6. Conner's Prairie (Truly takes you back to the days of the pioneers, etc)
http://www.connerprairie.org/

Dinner Theaters and Other Eating Places with Entertainment

1. Beef and Boards http://beefandboards.com/ ( Dinner and a live performance show on the big stage). They also have children exclusive shows, check the website.

Through Nov. 21st: White Christmas
Nov. 26th-Dec. 23rd: Christmas
Dec. 4th-21st: A Christmas Carol
Dec. 29th - Jan. 30th: Spelling Bee
Feb. 3rd-March 27th: Hair Spray

2. Rick's Boatyard http://www.rickscafeboatyard.com/Indianapolis/home.html (Great food, relaxing atmosphere, and at times light jazz. A great place for a date. :-)

3. Piano Bar http://www.howlatthemoon.com/the-show (For the mature crowd, must be over 21 years of age) I've never been here but it sounds like a place I might try once.

4. Jazz Kitchen (Great place to eat, low lighting -romantic or cozy- great food with live jazz).
http://www.thejazzkitchen.com/

Theaters/Plays/Concerts

1. Murat Theater http://www.livenation.com/Murat-Theatre-at-Old-National-Centre-tickets-Indianapolis/venue/41109

2. Marian College Civic Theater http://www.civictheater.org/

Nov. 4-14th: The Belle of Amherst
Dec. 10th - Jan. 1st: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat
Jan.21st-Feb. 5th: The Last Night of Ballyhoo
March 11-26th: Cabaret

3. Butler Clowes Hall http://www.cloweshall.org/

Nov. 11th: John Mellencamp
Nov. 12th-14th: Blue Man Group
Nov. 16th: Butler's Jazz Ensemble
Nov. 26th-28th: Cats
Dec. 2nd - 5th: Butler's Ballet (The Nutcracker)

4. Jazz at University of Indianapolis http://arts.uindy.edu/

All concerts are fee and begin at 7:30 P.M. in the Christell DeHann Fine Art's Center's Ruth Lilly Performance Hall
Tuesday, Nov. 30th: (Student Concerts) Jazz Combo
Tuesday, Dec. 7th: (Student Concerts) Jazz Ensemble
Monday, Feb. 2nd: (Faculty Artist) Bosa Rio Sextet
Saturday, Feb. 19th: (Student Concerts) High School Jazz Festival
Tuesday Feb. 22: (Student Concerts) Jazz Ensemble
Tuesday, March 29: (Student Concerts) Jazz Combo
Tuesday, April 12: (Student Concerts) Jazz Ensemble

4. The Center for Performing Arts (Presented by St. Vincent Health) - Has phenomenal performers!!
http://www.thecenterfortheperformingarts.org/

Other Great Websites for current things to do in Indy

http://eventful.com/indianapolis/events

http://www.aroundindy.com/

http://www.indy.gov/eGov/City/DPR/Parks/Pages/Indianapolis%20Attractions.aspx (Indianapolis Attractions)

http://webcal.indygov.org/webevent/scripts/webevent.plx (Events Calender)

How to Have Fun and Peaceful Holidays!!!

2010-10-24T17:36:00.000-07:00

The holidays are suppose to be peaceful and are suppose to be about family and friends getting together. Here are some simple suggestions to make the holidays fun and take the stress out of some of the major upcoming holidays.

Christmas Party Games Ideas

Search multiple engines for christmas party games ideas

www.webcrawler.com

Delicious Recipes

Find Thousands of Recipes and Menu Ideas - Visit KitchenDaily Now!

KitchenDaily.com

1. First and foremost, turkey or tofuturkey does not to be eaten at Thanksgiving and Christmas, besides not everyone likes traditional foods. You may want to try for one of the holidays which we have tried and it was a hit was to do a theme or cultural meal, such as:

Mexican Fiesta
Italian Dinner
Carribean Feast
Etc.

2. Make your dinner a potluck.

Ask what each adult or family/couple is able to bring and tell them how many to prepare for so the main person can enjoy the holiday as well. :-)
Important to ask what a person is able to bring because everyone's finances are different.
If someone is unable to bring anything, let them know they are still more than welcome to come.

3. Plan fun activities.

Interactive games as charades
Going in the community and assisting with organizations that help the less fortunate.

4. With gift giving, exchange names and set a general price range for gifts.

Have children exchange children's names with other children and adults with adults and/or teens
Teach children how to say thank you for what is given by adults being an example. (Nothing tees me off more than people who are ungrateful).:-(

5. Have a family/friend session where each member shares what they are thankful for:

Builds comraderie and intimacy within the group

6. Parents beneficial to set a monetary limit for your child (and/or others) and maybe get them one thing that they want and the other is up to your finances.

Beneficial to teach them to get something for someone else as well, great if it could be from their allowance so they will understand the value and the nature of giving.
Adults tend to overbuy for their children to see their expressions on Christmas Day but often by the next week, the child is normally playing back with their old toys....the thrill is gone unless it is a new gaming system. :-)
If you expect your child to expect a lot of Christmas, you will teach them to be disappointed when tough time comes. Besides, ask yourself, what is the true meaning of any of the holidays?

Hope these were helpful! Feel free to comment. :-)

Yours Truly! The lady who thinks deeply and loves life and others with much compassion.

Durable Medical Equipment - Tips to Find Deals

2010-10-02T23:40:00.000-07:00

Medical Equipment can be expensive and Medicare kind of goes by these guidelines. Most other insurances follow Medicare:

Equipment like a power w/c, cane, walker, crutches, etc. are only paid for every 5 years. So if you need some equipment, let the insurance pay for the most expensive and you pay out of pocket for the least expensive. For example, let's say you need a power chair but still can walk a few steps with the use of the walker....you pay the $100 dollars and let the insurance pay $15,000 for the power chair.
Insurance companies only pay for what is used in the bathroom, like a bedside commode, but not often a shower chair. When you buy something, like walk-in to a medical supply store and buy it, you are likely to pay two to three times as much as purchasing online. An order from an M.D. for uncovered items, just wipes away the sales tax on the item.
http://www.ebay.com// is a great site to find medical equipment and I have used it often. Other sites are fine but try to set up a paypal account http://www.paypal.com/ to pay for it to make sure someone shady is not receiving your money. However you pay, make sure when entering personal information, the website indicates https. which indicates it is a secure site.
Try an online search like, like in the link above (you can enter a search through this link), for medical equipment you are looking for.
Good luck, and remember, you can find brand new and reasonable durable equipment as I have for so many of my family members for 1/2 to 1/3 the price. :-)

How to Date Your Mate (For Married and Singles)

2010-10-02T20:46:00.000-07:00

Dating Your Spouse or Significant Other

All things in life worth having, takes hard work and I believe relationships take work. If you are not ready for the task, then you may not be ready for love and the benefits of being in a great relationship. :-) Just think, how did you get to be successful in your job, did it just magically happen? Hmm.

Besides have you ever wondered why statistics show that married men live longer and are happier than single men? God knew and knows what he was doing when He said, "it is not good for man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him". Gen. 2:18 However, if you choose to remain single, make the best out of living a life of giving and loving others.:-)

So on with the tips:

1. Remember, it is not all about you, think about the other to ward off selfishness. Selfishness I believe is a root of a lot of issues.

Don't always be on the receiving end, do things for your significant other without the need for hints, etc., because you love him or her and you want him/her to be happy.

2. Make time to communicate. Even though I know folks need "me time" or "cave time", make time to communicate with the man or woman you love. Remember, women like to communicate, it is how we bond by expression. Express disagreements quickly and pray for resolve, don't let stuff brew. Please don't talk to another male or female (someone of your opposite sex), unless they are a blood close relative, to console you or give you advice when you are going through stuff with your significant other. Don't be naive as you will develop emotional intimacy, even if you are a Christian, when you open up yourself to another man or woman you are undermining your relationship.

It is ok to have "me time" but express to your spouse gently that you need time to think, etc, and give him/her reassurance he or she has not done anything but it is necessary for you. :-)
Seek to understand before being understood which means using the two ears God gave you more than using the one mouth you were also blessed with. Have you noted how sometimes folks have disagreements due to misunderstandings because you were not truly listening to what a person said?

3. Do fun activities that you enjoy together, not just on special dates, but during the week. Schedule time together if you must. Try something new.

With busy schedules, and having kids, still plan to date your significant other and spend some quality time together, away from the kids.

4. Don't take your significant other for granted. Continue to say thank you for the small stuff. I am still amazed that after 50 years, my grandfather still thanks my grandma for making his meals. I'm thinking now how many meals has she made, like 50 years * (365 days in a year * 3 meals a day)? Remember, you can never say thank you enough :-)

5. Pray together as you know that no situation is too big to overcome and you will grow deeper spiritually and closer.

6. Keep your appearance up. Don't feel like since you are in a relationship, you can let yourself go and think, "accept me just as I am". We all know it is what's on the inside that counts but something on the outside also attracted your significant other to you. Besides keeping yourself up, tells others how you feel about yourself on the inside.

7. Discover your significant other's love language. We all have ways of showing love but different ways of expressing. For me, cooking my man a meal might be my way of expressing love to him while he doesn't feel my love until I verbalize it or show physical expressions of love. We generally show love to the world how we want to be loved.

Check out this free quiz to discover you and your significant other's love language http://www.5lovelanguages.com/assessments/love/ by Dr. Gary Chapman

8. Go often and regularly through the steps that help to develop true intimacy as indicated in James Dobson's book, "Life on the Edge, A Young Adult's Guide to a Meaningful Future".

Eye to Body: Noticing the other.
Eye to Eye: Looking directly at each other, looking into each other's eyes.
Voice to Voice: Conversation
Hand to Hand: Excitement of holding hands demonstrates a familiarity or a commitment.
Hand to Shoulder: A buddy relationship or a friendship.
Hand to Waist: More romantic and often indicates an embrace.
Face to Face: Gazing into another's eyes, hugging, and possibly kissing. Often indicating desire and romantic feelings.
Hand to Head: Touching a person's hair can be romantic.
The next three steps are progressive- go here for more details http://www.lns.cornell.edu/~sjr/bonding.html - and are recommended only for the married and will leave that to your imagination. However, if you go there before then, know this person has no true commitment with you yet and may not choose to in the future and it could be a short-lived relationship that develops into a "soul-tie" that could be difficult to break. :-) Unhealthy soul ties make it difficult to move on from another who may be not right for you because you have developed a "connection" and he or she can't get out of your mind and it may be hard, but not impossible, to move onto something better.

Visit these steps regularly (singles and married as applicable), especially if you are married (don't just try to be in the marriage stages all the time but regularly visit earlier stages frequently) and you will likely continue to develop true intimacy.

Simple Suggestions on Gift-Giving

2010-09-26T20:21:00.000-07:00

Some Thoughts on Gift-Giving

1. Remember, it is not so much what you give for a gift as it is the thought behind the gift.

2. Think about the person you are buying for, what do they like? What are their passions? What are their favorite colors? Do they have a favorite sport? Or a team they follow? Answers to these questions will give you insight into what a person would appreciate.

3. When they give gifts, what type of gifts do they give? Normally people do what they wish others would do for them?

4. How much you spend on a gift may mean different things to people....some people are sentimental while others are into price and the bling. Know the person you are buying for.

If it is a new relationship, best to go simple, practical, and reasonable enough to say I care but not to scare them away if they haven't expressed an interest in you.
If you are engaged or married, sentimental and quality is the way to go. Let the person truly know that you know what they need....keep the gift personal like don't buy a household item for your "sweetie" unless they told you they want that item as a gift.
Most men who are significant in your life like electronics, etc. but feelings need to be mutual as most electronics are costly.

5. You may want to try shopping online to save time from going to multiple stores. However, check to see if shipping cost can be waived...it often is waived with a minimal purchase amount.

Think in advance who you might want to shop for by asking yourself, how many people do you want to buy birthday gifts for in the next few months and try to buy them together if you can.
Remember only to put your personal information for purchase on sites that have secure paysites indicated by https at check out. You may want to open up a paypal account to use for purchases from all sites to know you have a secure site to make purchases as you might not trust the publishers of the website. https://www.paypal.com/. If you don't know what to get, old fashioned money or a gift card to a place that the person enjoys always works and saves time. You can gift cards at places like:
Qdoba https://qdoba.com/Secure/QCash.aspx
McDonald's http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/services/arch_card.html
Cheesecake Factory (You can also order online frozen cheesecake to be shipped to that person) http://shop.thecheesecakefactory.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Home_-1_10251_10001
Applebee's http://www.applebees.com/GiftCardLanding.aspx
Champs https://champps.com/Gifts.aspx
And most restaurants

7. If the person is stressed and and needs a little TLC, paying for a massage or a manicure/pedicure by giving a gift certificate is fine.

8. Some folks just like you to spend some quality time with them and doing something that they enjoy. Remember this day is not about you, it is about him/her. :-) If necessary, just ask what they would like for their birthday.

I love celebrating birthdays because it is the only day that I truly get to celebrate another. I love celebrating holidays because it's about family and friends being together and being thankful for each other.

Some Great Online Safe Sites to Check Out

http://www.amazon.com/

http://www.ebay.com/
http://www.kohls.com/

http://www.walmart.com/

http://www.sears.com/
http://www.target.com/
http://www.1800flowers.com/ Floral arrangements and other gifts
https://www.ediblearrangements.ae/ Delicious fruit baskets and gift baskets

Saving Money and Buying with Coupons in a Struggling Economy

2010-09-26T20:19:00.000-07:00

Saving Money with Coupons

Using coupons, by the way, is not old-fashion....it saves money. I came across a dear friend who is a middle age man who uses coupons that take a few minutes to gather but he saves hundreds a year. Sound good? :-) So where do you get coupons from:

1. You could order the local paper and get the Sunday and Thursday specials which is relatively inexpensive, especially if you don't like excessive daily papers.

2. Monthly mailings that come to your house.

Best to browse them within a week of going through them and cut out the ones you are likely to use and discard the stuff you know you won't use...no need for extra paper, i.e..junk. :-)
Keep them in a bag or something unique in your car so when you go out somewhere, like the grocery store or Steak and Shake, you have them and you are saving money.
Quarterly go through your coupons (3-4 times a year) and throw away outdated ones are ones that you just don't or haven't used because no one needs to collect junk. :-)

3. Other ways to get coupons on the net include, doing a search for coupons, a few good sites I have come across include:

Food Items, etc.

http://www.grocerycoupons4u.com/go-cpns.php

http://print.coupons.com/couponweb/Offers.aspx?pid=13374&zid=lg03&nid=10&bid=alk1001141024cf7a787ab21912

Social Events:

http://partners.livingsocial.com/cities/17-indianapolis?do_not_redirect=1&gwo_id=0433631901&hdnv=true&ref=msadcen_IND&ver=313

Shopping/Repairs, etc.

http://www.mycoupons.com/

http://www.offers.com/sears

* If you don't see what you like, think of a place you want to shop from and list the name of the place and the word "coupon" in the search engine above and see what comes up? You never know until you look."

Six Simple Steps to Get out of Debt

2010-09-26T12:03:00.000-07:00

Debts can be a burden emotionally,physically, and spiritually!

1. Buy a calender and a notebook as you will write in these a plan to get out of debt.

2. Write down all your bills in the notebook including pay-off balances, APRs, and monthly recurring fees. Example:.
Bill APR Balance Due Monthly

Wells Fargo 6.9% $1,200 $100
Walmart 19.9% $2,500 $60

Figure out the bills that need to be paid off right away due to high APRs and low balances.
Try to pay off small bills first.
Pay a little extra every month to the bill you want to pay off, then once it is paid off, pay off another bill.
Try to avoid getting into more debt, avoid charging during this time.

4. Put all recurring bills on a calender (monthly) so you know when and what bills are due for the month - writing the specific bill and how much is due on its due date. This practice will help to avoid late fees.

5. On another page in your notebook, write the specific dates you get paid during the month. Say I get paid on the 7th and the 21st of the month. Therefore, I write out the bills that I need to pay from looking at my calender that indicates due dates of bills and I figure my strategy to pay them before they are due. I sometimes may need to look to the following month to ensure my strategy will work.

For example, bills that are due by the 7th are:
Wells Fargo (due the 5th)                      $100
Food Expenses                                    $ 100
Sears                                                  $ 30

Due by the 21st:
Walmart                    $ 60
Food Expenses          $100

Remember to put all expenses on your calender/notebook including groceries, gas, spending money, etc.

* Now You Can See If You Have Extra Funds to Pay on a Selected Bill to Pay Off.*

5. Save a little each check for yourself, even if it is only $ 5.00 so if you should have an emergency, etc., you have money, and don't have to borrow it.

6. Get in a habit of giving 10% of your income to a local church or in giving to others as the habit of giving reaps mental, physical, and spiritual rewards.

Other Great Resources:

Student Debt http://finance.yahoo.com/college-education/article/110724/digging-out-of-student-debt
Financial Guide for Students http://www.finaid.org/loans/
Practical Steps to Get out of Debt in a Bad Economy http://www.central-florida-magazine.com/practical-steps-to-get-out-of-debt-even-in-a-bad-economy/
Smart Savers http://www.pinoysmartsavers.com/guide006.html
3 Simple Ways to Get Out of Debt http://www.articlesbase.com/debt-consolidation-articles/3-simple-practical-steps-to-get-out-of-debt-2979064.html
Financial Advice for Couples http://marriage.about.com/od/finances/p/financialadvice.htm