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Behind the scenes in Hollywood

15. May, 2012 0 Comments

The beer and cigarettes were fake, the music non-existent and all the guests were dressed for summer, although the temperature was chilly. For Anna Nabors, a senior at Oak Mountain High School, it was the party of a lifetime.

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Poster boy

15. May, 2012 0 Comments

Like the Dr. Seuss character who could do anything with his big ball of string, Patrick Mayton can do anything with some paint and a squeegee, a board and a screen.

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Light the fire

15. May, 2012 0 Comments

In mid-March, University of Montevallo professors, students and volunteers from across the state gathered on campus to fire Fat Bastard – an anagama kiln.

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Reading Room: Frances Smith

15. May, 2012 0 Comments

Chicago native Frances Smith is the youth services librarian at the Albert L. Scott Public Library in Alabaster, where she has worked since 2004.

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Best in show

15. May, 2012 0 Comments

Sandy Moody stood nervously in the Shelby County Exhibition Center in Columbiana on a Friday morning in May.

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Older Entries

The Simple Life

Powerful pockets of time

By Lisa Phillips

Those “lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer” are here along with high humidity, no school bus traffic and endless hours of sunshine. When you heap all of that together, you get long hours that need our energy in many places other than behind a desk or dishwasher. We yearn to be outside pulling weeds, pulling for the home team, or pulling skiers during an afternoon on the water. Family members demand and deserve more of our head, heart, and wallet, so it is important for you to get a grip on what can be done in “powerful pockets of time.” Here are a few ways to simplify your daily routines. Although they may sound very simple, ask yourself how many of these things did you did today.

Grocery list:

: Keep an on-going list where all family members can add to it.

Cleanup:

Load the dishes in the dishwasher as soon as you are done cooking and eating.

Laundry:

Fold each piece as it comes out of the dryer. This one tip can save you a ton on time versus heaping clean clothes in a pile to be dealt with later. Have a basket for each person and put the folded clothes in there for one trip to be put away.

Never go empty-handed:

Take something with you on your trips to the basement or up the stairs. Unload a car the same way.

Buy a Ninja:

This one appliance does everything from kneading pizza dough to making soft serve ice cream. (The infomercial is amazing!)

Mail:

Open the mail in the same spot every day, preferably over a trash can or shredder. Think iRAFT. Make a decision on each piece of paper: Deal with it Immediately (within five minutes), have a place for things you need to Read, Action (bills, RSVPs, etc.), File and Toss.

Email:

Check and respond three times a day. You will process it faster than checking it every time a message appears.

“Do it now, later is already booked.” What a great concept to remember when you are feeling like “I’ll do it later.” Work in the moment. When you take the time to do it now, you will have used those “powerful pockets of time” that you didn’t even know you had. It’s that simple.

Lisa Phillips in the owner of SimpleWorks. She can be reached at lisa_phillips@bellsouth.net or 981-7733.

Behind the scenes in Hollywood

Poster boy

Light the fire

Reading Room: Frances Smith

Best in show

Shelby Living magazine

The Simple Life