Posts Tagged: "book"

Retirement Gifts with a Twist

Queen Darlene - September 3, 2015 - Retirement

Retirement is the next frontier for Baby Boomers! Did you know the Baby Boomer generation will be turning 65 at a rate of 8,000 per day? That’s a lot of retirement gifts to think about!

retirement-rhinestone-flashlight-thoughtful-gift-idea

Create a joyful card for Retirement!

Rocking chair gifts are out. Let’s get more creative than that.

Many Baby Boomers retire only to become bored and return to work part-time. Others start new businesses while some take trips and enjoy their hobbies of art, golf, fishing, or penning a novel.

HOBBY GIFTS

A retirement gift related to their hobby is perfect.

retirement-flashlight-thoughtful-gift-idea

Pair a flashlight with this card for a Play on Words gift idea.

If they like to paint, purchase several different size canvases with the message to “Paint Your Art Out.”

Golf balls are certainly prized gifts. Personalize them with the word “RETIRED!” Continue Reading

Regifting | How I Gave a Repurposed Gift in a Meaningful Way

Queen Darlene - July 2, 2015 - $20 or Less, Birthday, Christmas, Family, Get Well

Have you ever repurposed a gift? Yep, I have! Ever told the recipient that it was a repurposed gift? I recently did!

book-repurposed-birthday-thoughtful-gift-idea

click to enlarge

It was a book titled “Cationary Meaningful Portraits of Cats” by Sharon Montrose and purrrfect for my friend.

My husband and I have started talking about downsizing. Retirement is on the horizon, and we want to have more with less! More time to travel, less time working in the yard. More time for hobbies, less time cleaning the house.

More time for everything we want to do and less time doing the things we don’t want to do. You see a pattern? Continue Reading

Give A Book That Has Changed Your Life

Princess Diana - May 12, 2015 - Birthday, Christmas, Graduation

As an adult, one my biggest accomplishments is changing how I view money (realizing that acquiring more money just to buy more things does not lead to happiness) and how I manage my money (actively saving for retirement and future goals while remaining debt free).

Now I feel in control of my finances instead of ignoring my finances or feeling my finances are controlling me.

Two people have helped me get to this point in my life. My husband, Kevin Jaeger, and Trent Hamm, the brains behind the blog TheSimpleDollar.com.

If I’m ever in a conversation related to money or finances, I always bring up TheSimpleDollar.com so more people can benefit from the website’s advice. A lot of his stuff is not just great financial advice, it’s great advice for living life in general.

“Love You Forever” | The Perfect Book for Mothers

Princess Diana - April 21, 2015 - $20 or Less, Baby Shower, Mother's Day

I read a book in which the author recommended the book called Love You Forever by Robert Munsch.

The book “Love You Forever” makes a wonderful Mother’s Day gift.

When I read it for the first time, it made my cry three times. Each time I started to cry I put down the book to catch my breath only to continue crying once I started reading again. Let me mention, the book ONLY has 14 short pages of text!!

This timeless story of a mother’s constant and enduring love for her child puts into words the emotions that mothers feel.

I say it’s the perfect book for mothers because if I had read “Love You Forever” before I became a mother, I know I would not have reacted to it the same way.

7 Alternatives to Store Bought Christmas Presents for Children

Princess Diana - December 20, 2014 - Christmas, Kids

Children will naturally beg for the toys, games, electronics, and clothes they see advertised and sold in stores.

But parents and family members wishing to give more creative and unique Christmas presents will enjoy selecting from these alternatives to store-bought gifts.

RECORD YOUR OWN READ ALONG STORYBOOK

Pass on your favorite childhood books and stories to the next generation by recording yourself reading one of them out loud. Give a copy of the book and your recording as a gift. This gift idea can become an annual gift giving tradition.

THE MONEY BOX

The money box makes giving and receiving cash fun. Add a festive touch by decorating the box in Christmas wrapping paper.

Record Your Own Read-Along Story Book for Children

Princess Diana - December 2, 2014 - Baby Shower, Birthday, Christmas, Kids

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asUW89v7eRo&feature=youtu.be

One of my favorite books as a child was The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams. After reading it, I hugged my favorite stuffed animal even harder so that it too would become Real.

The Velveteen Rabbit book and a stuffed bunny

Pick your favorite childhood story, record yourself reading it, and give the book and the recording as a gift to a child. Pair it with a matching toy or stuffed animal if you can.

When threads on it started to come loose, I grew excited because I knew I was getting it even closer to the day the nursery magic Fairy would turn it into Real.

The Velveteen Rabbit is a timeless story about the power of love and the bond that forms between a child and his favorite toy. Now that I’m an adult, I’ve realized that it’s also a story about loving someone for who they are and not how they look and about being real to yourself and to others.

I bought a copy of The Velveteen Rabbit for each my sister’s three daughters, J’menii, Jeah and Jozlyn, so I could share this amazing story with them. On the inside page of each of their books, I wrote:

Always be real to yourself and to others because God made you one-of-a-kind. Continue Reading

Creative Date Ideas in Oklahoma

Princess Diana - May 22, 2014 - Experiences

Honey, let’s go out on a date this weekend.

That sounds fun! What should we do?

I’m not sure. Do you have any ideas?

I can’t think of anything right now. I guess I’m okay with going out to eat somewhere and then watching a movie.

We’ve all had conversations go like this at one point or another. Despite our best intentions, our plans for date night is dinner and a movie.

BORING. And not memorable in the least.

But it’s not because we’re boring people. We’re just uninspired and out of ideas.

Thankfully, a fellow blogger named Dennis Spielman has come to save us from ourselves! He published a book called Uncovering Oklahoma’s 2014 Date Idea Book that describes all sorts of memorable places in Oklahoma to eat, visit, and share unique experiences with your date.

*View the updated version of the book.

Life Lessons Learned From My Mother | Custom Book

Princess Diana - May 7, 2014 - Birthday, Christmas, Mother's Day

So much of who we are we owe to our parents. Through their words, through their actions, through their examples, they taught us life lessons both large and small that influenced us as children and still influence us as adults. Can I get an “Amen?”

I contacted all of my siblings and asked them to email me the things they learned from our mother growing up. I told them it could be anything as long as it made an impact on who they are today or how they live their lives.

I told them I would use their answers and mine to create a custom book titled “Life Lessons I Learned From My Mother” that we could give to our mother as a Mother’s Day present.

Collaborating with my brothers and sisters on what to include in the book made the present even better because we each came up with life lessons that the others totally agreed with but forgot about. Through teamwork, we really nailed it!

One Line A Day Journal | A Twitter-like Diary

Princess Diana - April 29, 2014 - Birthday, Christmas, Graduation

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiWcvVdHdYc&feature=youtu.be

I’ve loved scribbling about my thoughts, feelings and the highlights of my life into a personal journal every since I was a young girl. I’d write until my hands ached because it was important to me to capture every detail of whatever I was writing about so down the road I could recall the memory completely.

Many times I have laughed and cried from reading what I’ve written down. It really is a lot of fun to go back and read through your journal and be able to relive your thoughts and experiences from years ago.

Some people have never kept a personal journal. They might not like to write or they don’t feel like they have the time to write regularly. But think of the memories and important events they’ll forget because they didn’t write it down! Don’t let that happen.

I found a perfect solution to getting people to journal who haven’t done so before or who want to but can’t find the time – the One Line A Day Journal.

Graduation Gift Idea – 18 Things I Wish I Had Known at 18

Princess Diana - April 3, 2014 - Graduation, Kids

Goodbye childhood. Hello adulthood. This is what my oldest niece Shakira is experiencing as she gets ready to graduate from high school. She’s excited about adulthood because to her it means freedom to do whatever she wants. But like most 18-year olds, she hasn’t really thought about the responsibilities that come with that freedom.

As her aunt, I thought I would take the opportunity to impart some life lessons that I’ve personally found to be helpful in living a full and happy life. But Shakira doesn’t want to listen to a lecture from me. Blah. Blah. Blah. Even if she did listen, she could easily forget everything I told her the next day.

I needed to deliver my nuggets of wisdom in a fun and memorable way and something that would make a cool graduation gift.

I created a custom photo book called “18 Things I Wish I Had Known at 18.” I picked out a black and white template from Shutterfly.com that matched my niece’s sense of taste and style.

In the book I listed my top 18 life lessons and paired them with photos of Shakira, Shakira and me together, and group family photos. I arranged the photos in chronological older starting with her baby photos.

Here are the 18 life lessons or words of wisdom I put together: