By Amy Nielsen

I am a woman in my mid-forties. I am raising two young girls who are of the age to start to explore what they want to be when they grow up. I also have a stepson who is starting the journey of choosing a college, or not, for his chosen career path. It is an interesting time to be a parent for sure.

If you asked me what I wanted to do for a career when I was a kid, I can say I would have not been able to answer. I had no idea. To some degree, I still don’t. Because, what I am good at isn’t really career or field specific.

Military families are also often dedicated volunteers, sometimes to several organizations.

Tax return time is a chance to recoup some of the money we spend to help our communities.

Sure you get a warm and fuzzy feeling for helping out. You make new friends. You learn new skills. And, if you keep your records correctly, you can use the money you spend to volunteer as a deduction on your annual tax form.

By Jenna Moede

A month has passed since people made new goals for the new year.  When I discussed resolutions with my friends, more than one put going to college on their list. 

So now, after a month has passed, I’ve talked to those same friends who said they wanted to go back to college. I’ve heard a laundry list of reasons why they have decided not to.

I want to examine a couple of the main reasons I’ve heard that cause spouses to hesitate before taking the leap to attend college.

By Amy Nielsen

I have some very interesting friends in my life. Many with deep passions for things well beyond my comprehension. Lately, I have had to make some hard decisions about what I really believe and what behavior I allow to continue in my circle of friends.

This recent political climate has reawakened a personal, and I believe, national understanding of self-esteem that is giving a voice to deeply held passions. The generalized indignation of the nation is setting free the voices of the people. Some of those voices speak unbelievable things.