One Last Month to Make it Count!

Can you believe it, summer is almost over. Did you get to accomplish everything you planned? Did life sneak up on you, such as unexpected bills, a loss of a job or did your situation change? Well, the busiest 2 months of summer are over, with literally weeks until school starts up again. There's a lot of juggling finances as you finish off your summer trips, buy school clothes and rush to the store to buy up all the school supplies you can get your hands on. For the kids the hustle and bustle has just begun, but for the single parent this is just a normal month. How often do we have a busy month like this and we don't think twice about it. It's a regular routine for us, we work, we buy, and we're broke. There's no "ifs", "ands" or "buts" about it. We work hard, play less and fall into an eternal cycle of Single Parenting. Half the time we don't know which end is up, just as long as those kids are fed, the bills are paid and we can get to work on time.

Now, stop for a minute and consider something here. In the last month and a half, how many hours did you actually spend doing something that was enriching your mind? By that, I mean doing something in your life that allows you to gain more knowledge, more insight in your life or meditate on the surroundings in which you dwell. This summer I had a very interesting class through the University of Phoenix online. It was more stimulating than anything and it allowed me to sit back in my own life and see how things are run. Although suggesting school for everyone is not feasible, there are many different ways to enrich your mind while taking care of the kids and maintaining your busy life. Here are a few that I came up with that may be fun to try!

If you are web savvy at all, do some research on a subject that you've always had an interest in but never found time to go to the library to investigate. With the internet so friendly these days, log onto www.google.com and type your subject and within seconds the world is at your disposal. Even if you spend 15 minutes a night searching for something that you wouldn't normally search for, you are opening your mind to something new.

Check out a movie that may be out of the ordinary for you to see. So it's not the usual sappy romance movie, or the typical action thriller. If you go check out a movie with some type of a theme that you wouldn't normally see, it may lead your mind in a direction you never thought of going. You never know, "Legally Blonde" movie might open up an interest you've always had in politics...

Start a simple website about a hobby that you enjoy. Even if your main purpose is to get information out there to others, you might surprise yourself when you run into information pertaining to your favorite pastime that you never knew about.

Read an interesting book. Even a fiction book that is made up, may have a subject that you might be interested in. Many people get stimulated by books that have a more fictional story line. You can learn new and interesting facts from even the silliest books now a days.

There are so many different things one can do to increase your brainpower. I encourage you to seek out fun and exciting ways of enhancing your intellect while maintaining your Single Parent way of life.

About The Author

Marta Dodd is a Single mom and Webmaster of www.navygirl.com and www.onemilitaryparent.com. She has been a single mom for 12 years and is also serving in the United States Naval Reserve. Balancing Single Parenthood and the military is a challenging task which she shares with the world. Stop by her website and see what this ambitious lady is up to!

In The News:

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Boston Globe
Atoning for Week 3 debacle vs. Miami should be ample motivation
Boston Herald, United States - 6 hours ago
If the Pats need any more motivation than that, they don’t deserve to make the playoffs. The Pats were flat out humiliated from top to bottom. ...
Patriots Out for Revenge in Miami Sports Network
Miami mouth runs; Patriots pass Boston Globe (registration)
Joey Porter on Pats: 'We don't like them, they don't like us' USA Today
Palm Beach Postall 419 news articles

Bleacher Report
Cal still has plenty of motivation
San Francisco Chronicle,  USA - Nov 22, 2008
Cal's preseason goals of winning the Pac-10 title and playing in the Rose Bowl are no longer attainable, so senior defensive end Rulon Davis called a ...
The Big Game will be a big game for Stanford Arizona Daily Star
Cal players motivated to get Axe back San Jose Mercury News
Cal still smarts from '07 defeat Contra Costa Times
Daily Californian - San Francisco Chronicleall 356 news articles

Lowell's Grubbe draws motivation from teammates in football semistate
Munster Times, IN - 3 hours ago
Grubbe said he received motivation from Lowell senior running back Cody Midgett, who ran for a 44-yard touchdown earlier in the third quarter. ...
Saints seek to avenge loss to Devils Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
all 6 news articles

Washington Post
UA/OSU notebook: Motivation present
Tucson Citizen, AZ - 18 hours ago
“He is very confident and very motivational too us. He is an emotional person. We all feed off that,� UA offensive guard Joe Longacre said. ...
Rivalries spice up Pac-10's final weeks Arizona Republic
Oregon State at Arizona Football Odds Locksmith Sports Picks
Gimino: OSU's Rodgers the perfect little guy Tucson Citizen
all 474 news articles

Bombing suspect's ex-wife questioned his marriage motivation
Canada.com, Canada - 7 hours ago
OTTAWA - The American ex-wife of a man accused in one of Europe's most shocking terrorist incidents suspected their marriage may have been a ploy to get an ...

Army football preview: Mooney has plenty of motivation
Times Herald-Record, NY - Nov 21, 2008
But personal achievements aren't Mooney's motivation when he takes the field at Rutgers Saturday. "It's really for the program right now as far setting them ...

Seattle Post Intelligencer
Michigan has plenty motivation to beat Buckeyes
Chicago Tribune, United States - Nov 18, 2008
"Our current players have not gotten a win over Ohio State, so that's probably the motivation for us, particularly our seniors. ...
Rich Rodriguez coached by many on OSU-Michigan tradition Detroit Free Press
OSU-UM Rivalry Up Close: Antwerp's Bryan Gray in his senior season ... Defiance Crescent News
OSU chasing Big Ten title Independent Collegian (subscription)
Toledo Blade - OSU - The Lanternall 1,592 news articles

Bleacher Report
Oakland Raiders: 41-14 Will be the Motivation for Sunday's Rematch
Bleacher Report, CA - Nov 21, 2008
by greg pitsch (Columnist) When the season was just getting started, the Raider Nation was in full force to deter the haters that always seem to find us, ...

Oklahoma's Stoops: This game is motivation enough
Dallas Morning News, TX - Nov 17, 2008
"We've got all the motivation you need without having to bring up the fact they beat us a year ago," Stoops said. "It's all about this year and what the ...
Sooners looking for victory, not revenge RedRaiders.com
Oklahoma’s win earns lots of BCS style points Muskogee Daily Phoenix
Texas Tech vs. Oklahoma Football Betting Odds & Spread BetFirms
OnlineSportsHandicapping.com - Fort Worth Star Telegramall 1,220 news articles

Pitt State running back cites mother as motivation
Pittsburg Morning Sun, KS - Nov 20, 2008
His mother’s motivation does not take away the love he has for his son, who lives in San Jose, Calif. “I always think about him,� Brandon said. ...

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