Money Smart Moms

Leisure Time

I’ll be away for close to 2 weeks and just wanted to explain my absense. I’ll be back before you know it! Vacation time has come.

Weather Wise Wednesday, Hypothermia

This week’s Weather Wise Wednesday, I’m going to discuss hypothermia, which is a condition that can set in due to the drop in body temperature. In future postings, I hope to highlight both actual weather properties as well as things that relate to the weather. And now…Hypothermia.

When your body temperature drops below a certain level, hypothermia can set in. As the temperature drops, the body starts to shiver and your hands may become numb. This is considered stage 1, and is the mildest form of hypothermia. At this stage, your body temperature has dropped 1-3 degrees.

The second stage of hypothermia is when the body temperature drops between 4-7 degrees below it’s normal temperature. Stage 2 can cause confusion and clumbsiness. While the subject’s skin may have a pale color, their lips and ears may have a bluest cast to it.

In the third stage, hypothermia presents itself with with much more severe symptoms. Subjects may lose the ability to think clearly, and may be unable to use their limbs. The bluest cast is more present and the skin may become swollen in appearance. At this point, the body temperature has dropped a full 8 degrees below it’s normal range of 98.6. Death can occur at this stage of hypothermia. 

If you’d like more information about how to handle hypothermia, you can go to hypothermia.org and learn about treatment hypothermia on land or in water.  

Self-Portrait Sunday: Leaving on Vacation Thursday

I know it’s early, and this is supposed to be for my Self-Portrait Sunday, but I leave on vacation Thursday morning! I snapped this before heading to the spa today. If one of you think of it, you can snag the permalink on Sunday and toss it in on DigiCass. If not, you got a quick peek at me in scrubs!

Ang’s Chicken Coop

Have I mentioned Angie? Angie is the owner of Ang’s Chicken Coop. Angie is a stay at home mom with a brood of children, as well as some chickens, ducks, cats, a horse…and the list goes on! You have to check out the great news, there may be some babies on the way…

Ang is just one of those people you can’t help liking. She isn’t loud, and won’t shout for you to hear her, but when you take the time to listen, she has wonderful things to say. She also has an adorable smile and bright, playful eyes. Take a moment to say hello to Angie, you’ll be glad you did.

Updated Logo!

Once again Hayes Roberts has made me the perfect match for a logo! I asked for a weather related idea, and wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, so I told him to run with it and see what felt right! I love the final results, and my new logo for Weather Wise Wednesday! Let’s look at the difference…

New Logo:

verus the old logo: (my sad attempt!)

Hayes has done it once again, with the adorable fish creation! If you’d like to see more of Hayes Roberts work, you can go to BlueBison.net! Help him quit his day job, and get yourself some art!

Technically Speaking

I’m a gal who loves new gadgets and new tech information. My problem is that some tech blogs and news speaks directly to technically speaking people. Great, great, or not so great….I can’t understand what they are saying half the time. It’s vitally important that when you write something, you aren’t writing above people’s understanding. You can have a fantastic article, but if you’re aiming for the average person’s understanding, you haven’t hit it out of the ballpark if they can’t understand what the heck you’re explaining. That’s why I like tech blogs that break things down so that my son, my grandmom or I can understand what their talking about. I had a professor one time that said something that stuck with me: “Write for an audience of people from ages 7-70. Don’t write at them, write for them.” It was some of the best advice I ever got.

If you’re looking for some technical blogs that make sense, I’ve got 4 of them to share with you. Not only are they technically savvy, but they are fun and creative as well- a perfect combination! Check out these creative names: Tech Boyardee, Geeky Speaky, Tech it Like a Man, and Utterly Geek. These are the kind of tech blogs you’ve been looking for all along! Check them out and finally understand what you’re reading.

Self Portrait Sunday, Our Hands Meet

My husband is 6′2…while I’m 5′4. This is my hand against his hand. I love to hold his hand while we’re walking. He’s my best friend, and I wanted to share a small piece of him.

I’m taking part in Self Portrait Sunday at DigiCass. You can participate too. Simply take a self-portrait and put your link in the comments section of today’s SPS on DigiCass.com

It’s All About Exposure

FuelMyBlog.com is a great way to give your blog exposure. They have a screen full of squares and each square represents one blog. Are you being seen? This is a great way to get some exposure for your blog! Check them out today.

Spotlight on: The Wiener Dog Magnet

If you’re looking for a great new book for the kids, I’ve found one you’ll just love! It’s called “The Wiener Dog Magnet” and is fun, original and offers a colorful look at the world of Kiki Marie. The illustrations will grab you right away! I just adore the work of Hayes Roberts and wanted to showcase this book to show you the great talent of this fun artist! Hayes is actually the one who is helping me with my new upcoming logo for “Weather Wise Wednesday”, by making me something special! I can’t wait to see the results. I was more than thrilled with my porcupine over on SurvivingNJ’s blog for “Untamed Tuesday”.

If you’d like to buy this adorable book for your kids, you can find it at LuLu. Just follow the link and grab one today! If you’d like to check out more great illustrations, head to BlueBison.net.

Weather Wise Wednesday: Blizzards

Welcome to “Weather Wise Wednesday”! Today I’m going to highlight blizzards. Many people associate a blizzard with a lot of snow, which is partially the case, but a blizzard also includes strong winds and a high pressure system that meets up with a low pressure system.

Limited visbility is another aspect of a blizzard, and this is one of the factors that separates it from merely being snow. The storm must have lasted for 3 or more hours to classify as a blizzard. Gusty winds of more than 35 miles per hour in the US, and 25 mph in Canada is another indicator of a blizzard.

One interesting fact found over at USSARTF.org mentions that heavy snowfall doesn’t have to be present, and it can be all ready fallen snow that is blown around with incredible force causing low visibility to be considered a blizzard. Remember these conditions must remain for more than 3 hours to be classified.

Thanks for joining us for Weather Wise Wednesday, as we learn about the weather and weather issues!