Starting out as a married couple often means going through some tight times. In this case, it may be a good idea to create a good budget that works. It is actually very simple to do, even simpler if you have a joint bank account.
In fact, if you sit down to make a budget before the actual marriage preparations begin, you will likely succeed in lowering your wedding cost. More importantly, you will establish good communication with your spouse along with a realistic money management plan.
Creating a budget is actually very simple:
1. Gather all your records of expenditures (checkbook, credit card statement, etc).
2. Open a spreadsheet or graph and assign a category to each column.
3. Record each expense under its corresponding column.
4. Calculate and record a total for each column.
5. Add all the column totals.
6. Compare that number with your income.
7. Revise your expenses and prioritize them.
8. Eliminate those expenditures that are low on the priority list.
9. Don’t forget to budget 10 percent of your income for savings.
You see, it’s not all that scary. More importantly, if you create a budget together, you will eventually see your money grow, especially if you transfer a portion of your income into a savings account.

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Christmas memories are never dependent on the amount of money spent or the popularity of the toy. Memories are made up of amount of heart invested and given. This year, let your children invest their time and hearts in making Christmas memories for your family.
1. Buy white or red place mats and let your children create their own artwork with fabric crayons. A placemat can be made for each guest at Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. Your children will feel an important part of the festivities.
2. Make paper angels and have your children write short messages to each family member stating the things about that person for which they are thankful. Your children will have an opportunity to think beyond the commercialism of the day to appreciate the blessings they already have.
3. Start a cookie exchange among the neighborhood children. Your children can make a dozen cookies for each family in the neighborhood and deliver them wrapped in a colored tin. They can then sit back and weight to see the kind of cookie surprises come to their door!
4. Allow your children to make this year’s Christmas cards. Simply buy blank cards at your favorite office supply store and let your children loose with magic markers. They can even compose a poem and message for each recipient.
5. Have your children come up with small tasks they can easily do - like taking out the trash. They can then write those tasks on plain paper angels they make themselves. Have them deliver the angels to elderly neighbors as a gift of sharing for the holiday season. Learning to give the gift of themselves can be the most valuable memory of the season!
Let your children become a vital part of the planning of the holiday season and not simply receivers of gifts. It will help them understand that giving can be as much fun (and more rewarding!) as receiving. And their memories of this holiday season may set a lifelong pattern - which may be the best holiday present of all!

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Perhaps you are a newly married couple doing some family planning, or you may have just discovered that you have a little “surprise” coming your way. Whether you are barely trying to get the hang of marriage and money management, or if you’re simply looking ahead to a future with a baby in it, a little financial planning will go a long way once your bundle of jubilation comes along.
The US Department of Agriculture estimates that a middle income family will spend a bare minimum of $250,000 to raise a child. Yikes! Don’t worry! Time is on your side. College won’t be for another 18 years, at the very least. But that doesn’t mean that you can slack off on saving, either.
A financial advisor can help you to realistically assess your income and your debts. More importantly a professional can help you set a realistic budget. Doing this will help you set sensible goals each month. You will find that, rather than go with your impulse to buy that “gotta have it” item, you will hold off on it a little longer, only to find that something of a much higher priority will come along.
That’s the whole idea of saving… saying “no” now so that you can say “yes” to the important things, later.

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Basic Composition
Now that you are beginning to understand how your camera works you can begin to understand basic composition. I know that many people that I’ve talked to think that photography is just pointing your camera and taking a photo but it’s more than that. After you understand how your equipment works you can begin to get into the real art of photography and that art is called composition.
Basic principles:
1. Use all of your available space. Fill the image with the image. If the reason that your taking the photo is your daughter’s beautiful face then get closer. If you’re taking an image of the breathtaking valley before you. Fill the frame with the valley. Keep distractions out of the frame. They’re called distractions for a reason.
2. Look at the forms in your image. You almost have to look at the people or the landscape before you in their simplistic geographic forms. A good way to learn form is to practice taking photos of still life objects, that you can arrange into pleasing forms. A good photo is always a beautiful arrangement of form. Whether it’s the beauty of a woman’s face, her features being forms, or a wonderful landscape, trees, rocks, and hills being forms.
3. Line or direction, motion. The direction of the forms in your photos is very important. Never have action or motion moving outside of your image. It will direct the eye away from your image. Diagonal motion lines are good, curves and “s” curves are better. The last two is probably way landscape photography is so popular nature is full of curves. Also never put a horizon line in the center of your frame.
4. Contrast, the difference between black and white. Now it is possible to have a beautiful photo with little contrast if that is your intention, this works best with color. But a lot of shots, some really beautiful shots have a nice balance of black, white, and grays. This can be manipulated for artistic purpose of course, but in the beginning you want to focus on trying to take shots with equal amounts of black, white, and shades of gray. (Shoot a roll of BandW film to really learn this principle.)
5. Color, you may have to familiarize yourself with the color wheel. (See my article Graphic Design Using Color for more information it’s for graphic design but the first couple of paragraphs talk about basic color theory) Whether you’re shooting nature or setting up your own shots in a studio you need to know what colors go together and why. Many of us have an instinct as to what looks good. When in doubt follow your instincts. Start out by taking shots of things that you think have pretty or beautiful colors. Show the photos to others and see if they agree. Photographers learn not only what they think is beautiful but what is universally beautiful as well.
Now the hard part practice all these principles at the same time. It’s not easy! Now you really know why photographers take years to really learn their craft.
This week’s assignment: Let’s break this down into four assignments. You’ll need four rolls of film. Roll one, fill your available space. Shoot pictures of whatever you like, but get closer. Eliminate distractions from your image. Keep the focus of your image on whatever it was that made you want to take that photo. Roll two, forms. Here’s an old stand by that I did in college. Get out an assortment of vegtables and fruit from your kitchen. Put a sheet down on your table, no distractions, shoot an entire roll of the veggies and fruit making sure that your rearrange with each shot. Make sure you study your results and see which forms looked best. Roll three, Contrast, you can do this in BandW film if you want to. Take a shot of the flower in your garden in the early morning, afternoon, and sunset. Shoot some portraits at the same times, by candlelight too. When you see the results you will be surprised. Roll four, color. Use the vegtables again, this time paying attention to the colors. If you can tell me why a red tomato looks best on a green bed of lettuce or the orange sunset with the purple clouds is so captivating then you’ve figured out some of color theory.
If you have some specific questions please visit my Photography Forum at: http://kellypaalphotography.com/v-web/bulletin/bb/index.php and post your question there.

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More than ever before, people are looking for a special and unique way to express themselves when it comes to gift giving. With the internet putting the world at our fingertips, people are finding that they are able to give more personalized gifts than ever before. Let’s take a look at tow of the most popular personalized gift-giving ideas: having a tree planted, and naming a star.
Memorial Trees
To start off, let’s explore the idea of planting a tree. Giving a tree makes a marvelous, long-lasting gift for anyone. You can now have a young tree planted to honor a special person, pet, or occasion.
It’s a unique way to show you care in a special, creative way. It’s a living gift that gives lasting recognition to the person and involves them in a partnership of renewing the forests in their state or province.
Memorial trees are one of the most meaningful ways to express your sympathy (see http://www.give-a-tree.com). While flowers fade, the thought of a young tree being planted for someone will last a lifetime. A memorial planting is a remembrance of the past and at the same time a renewing of life. The customized package consisting of a Sympathy Letter, Sympathy Card, and Certificate of Planting sent on your behalf is a very personal way of recognizing the deceased.
You may have a tree planted in honor of any person, pet, or occasion. Some of the special times often honored with tree plantings include: Valentine’s Day, Engagements, Weddings, Birthdays, Anniversaries, Earth Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Grandparent’s Day, Christmas, Graduations, or anytime you would like to say “thank you”, “get well soon”, “congratulations”, or send any special message of your choice!
Naming A Star
Naming a star also makes a marvelous, eternal gift for anyone. From parents to spouses to top employees; everyone appreciates the unique present of their very own star to look to in the night sky. Here are some of the benefits of naming a star:
- The perfect gift for a loved one
- An eternal home for your name in the night sky
- Officially recorded by your registrar
- Beautiful certificate and gift package
Typically a star naming package will allow you to choose which constellation you would like your star to reside in. For example, you can name a star in any of fifteen constellations: choose from all twelve zodiac signs, plus the Big Dipper, Little Dipper, and Orion (see http://www.name-your-star.com).
Whether planting a tree, naming a star, or exploring any of the numerous personal gifts available on the web, please exercise caution before making any purchase. I hope you’ve found these ideas inspirational, and I wish you the best in your gift giving experiences.

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When bought personal DVD player, the very next thing to do is purchasing an important DVDs collection with your favourite movies, documentaries, shows, cartoons. Here are few hints before buying.
Have you just bought a portable personal DVD player and no clues about what DVD shows can you enjoy? Well, net is abounding in all kind of tops. In order to pick up what you wish before your escape into vacation, take a glance on these ones. These following pass for significant classifications. According to bestdvd.co.uk:
Top 20 DVD’s

Title Total %

1. American Beauty 6%
2. Fight Club 96%
3. Se7en 95%
4. Halloween (Ltd Edition) 94%
5. American History X 93%
6. The Matrix 93%
7. Terminator 2 93%
8. Shrek 93%
9. The Abyss 93%
10. Fellowship of the Ring 92%
11. Gladiator 92%
12. The Holy Grail 92%
13. Jurassic Park 92%
14. Tarzan 92%
15. The Sixth Sense 91%
16. Independance Day 91%
17. Three Kings 91%
18. Blade II 90%
19. Silence Of the Lambs SE 90%
20. The Green Mile 90%

Best DVD’s of 2003
According to amazon.com, these are:

The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King (Widescreen Edition) DVD
Finding Nemo (Collector’s Edition) DVD
City of God DVD
Seabiscuit (Widescreen Edition) DVD
Master and Commander - The Far Side of the World (Widescreen Special Two-Disc Set) DVD
The Last Samurai (Widescreen Edition) DVD
Kill Bill, Volume 1 DVD
Pirates of the Caribbean - The Curse of the Black Pearl DVD
X2 - X-Men United (Widescreen Edition) DVD
Mystic River (3 Disc Deluxe Edition) DVD

Top 10 Films of 2004, So Far - Independent Film
This top is realized by worldfilmabout.com:

The Trilogy, together, Lucas Belvaux’ “On the Run,” “An Amazing Couple,” and “After the Life”
Before Sunset
Dogville
Festival Express
Maria Full of Grace
The Five Obstructions
The Dreamers
Bon Voyage
Control Room
Coffee and Cigarettes For the RZA

DMC Awards
According to dvdmoviecentral.com, DMC Awards let us know which are:

the best overall DVD

THE TWO TOWERS: SE
Finding Nemo
Black Hawk Down: Deluxe Ed.
Pirates of the Caribbean
Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Best children and family DVD

THE LION KING
Finding Nemo
Sleeping Beauty
Harry Potter/Chamber
The Love Bug

best documentary feature

CASABLANCA (Bacall on Bogart)
The Great Dictator (The Tramp and the Dictator)
The Two Towers: SE (Gollum)
Black Hawk Down: Deluxe Ed.
Tokyo Story

best video quality (color)

STAR TREK: NEMESIS
Finding Nemo
Identity
Blue Crush
Sleeping Beauty

best video quality (blackandwhite)

THE GREAT DICTATOR
Coup de Grace
Umberto D
Wings of Desire
In Cold Blood

best restoration (pre-1970):

ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST
The Great Dictator
Metropolis
The Love Bug
Sleeping Beauty

Even those who are in love with classic movies should be satisfied. Movies such as “Sunset Boulevard” (1950) Special
Collector’s Edition DVD or “Roman Holiday” (1953) Special Collector’s Edition DVD have been released recently. The picture and sound are as good as on any contemporary film.

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As a newly wed couple, you may not always agree on things; however, when it comes to financial survival, the both of you will need to put your heads together and make some decisions with regard to money management.
For this reason, it is always wise for a married couple to seek financial marriage advice. A financial planner can help with matters such as whether or not to get a prenuptial agreement, and what percentage of your income to put into a joint bank account, and some wise investments to start out with.
Other decisions are best made between the two of you. What are your spending habits? Who will balance the checkbook? Who will pay the bills? What investments do you wish to make? What are your financial goals and what is your plan to reach them?
Another aspect of marriage that may require planning is your wedding budget. That would include everything from the price of engagement rings all the way to the actual wedding cost.
Planning your financial future together is crucial for a healthy marriage. If the both of you choose to undergo premarital counseling, take a few sessions to communicate about your financial issues. Get started early, and continue with couple counseling after tying the knot, as well.

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Card making is a popular craft that anyone can enjoy without spending alot of money. Most of the supplies needed for card making can be found around in your home. Look in your childrens’ rooms or schoolbags and you should be able to gather the basic tools and materials.
Listed below are some basic card making supplies that you need to make your first card.

A4 size white cardstock
double sided foam tape
a pair of scissors
color pencils, watercolors, or crayons
steel ruler
cutter
rubber stamp
black inkpad
black writing pen

First, cut the white cardstock into 2 pieces. Fold one piece of cardstock into half at the centre to make a single fold 4″ x 6″ greeting card and put it aside. Then ink your rubber stamp with the black inkpad and stamp on the other piece of white cardstock. Color the stamped image and trim around the black outline. Now attach the colored image onto the front of the single fold card with double sided foam tape. Place it in the middle of the top portion of the card. And finally, write a greeting below the stamped image. And voila … your first handmade greeting card.
Now make more of these and send them to your friends. Let them know how much you love and treasure them and their friendship.

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Planning a wedding is one of the most exciting, and yet one of the most nerve wracking, times in any person’s life. There are many things that must be done in order to successfully host a wedding and the reception.
It is important to start planning as early as possible to make sure your big day is even more special than you have always imagined.
== The Rings ==
Of course, choosing the ring is a vital part of any wedding planning. After all, the exchange of rings is what seals the ceremony and makes the couple man and wife.
Most couples will want to shop for their wedding bands together, so that they can agree on a style and setting. With so many different metals and finishes available, this process may take longer than you think. Be sure to leave plenty of time for this important part of your wedding.
== The invitations ==
The happy couple will of course want to include as many family members and friends in their celebration as possible, and this means ordering and mailing perhaps hundreds of invitations for a large wedding.
No matter how many guests you are expecting, it is important to allow plenty of time for your guests to RSVP. Having an accurate count of the number of guests will make other parts of planning your wedding, such as ordering the food and renting the reception hall, much easier.
== Food ==
Speaking of food, you will need to make sure you have plenty of it on hand for your guests to enjoy. Finding a caterer who has experience planning wedding receptions is important, as these caterers may be more sensitive to your specific time frame and needs.
== The Reception ==
The party afterward is a big part of any wedding celebration, and you will want to make sure you rent a hall with plenty of space, elegance and style.
Having an accurate count of how many guests will attend the reception will help you greatly in your planning. As with other aspects of wedding planning, it is important to start looking for a place to hold the reception as early as possible.
== The Cake ==
A wedding cake is no ordinary pastry - it is the centerpiece of your celebration and a work of art.
It is vital to find a cake decorator who is skillful and artistic, as well as a first class baker. Again, planning early and getting references is important.
== The Dress ==
Last but certainly not least is the wedding dress itself. A wedding dress is probably the most important piece of clothing a woman will ever own, and choosing just the right wedding dress is a vital part of planning any wedding.
Shopping around and scouring your favorite bridal magazines for ideas, is a great way to make sure you find the wedding dress of your dreams.

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Potty training can be a stressful experience for you and your child. It’s best to start potty training when your child has an established daily routine and is not dealing with any additional stress. Potty training should be the only major change in your child’s life.
If your child is showing signs of potty training readiness, ask yourself if any of the following situations exist:
New baby - Although the thought of double diaper duty may be overwhelming, your child needs time to adapt to the new baby before you begin potty training.
Divorce or Separation - Divorce or separation is always stressful for children. Your child may be living in two different homes or under two separate sets of rules. When things calm down, share your potty training plan so that you are both aware of the other person’s plan and can work together for the benefit of your child.
New daycare/baby sitter - If your child has recently switched day cares or baby-sitters, wait a couple of weeks/months (depending on how your child adapts) before you start potty training.
New bedroom or bed - Small changes, like a new bedroom or bed, can have a big impact on your child. Wait until your child has adapted to his new bed before you begin potty training.

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