Source : http://www.babble.com/mom/14-quotes-about-love-and-marriage/#a-true-friend

14 Quotes About Love and Marriage
Source : http://www.babble.com/mom/14-quotes-about-love-and-marriage/#a-true-friend

2013, The Year of the Snake!: Should Expecting Parents Be Worried?
This Sunday marks the end of the Year of the Dragon on the Chinese
calendar, which can only mean one thing: ladies and gentlemen, say hello
to the Year of the Snake!
Now, that might not mean a whole lot to some of us here in the
western part of the planet. But make no mistake about it, for billions
of other Earthlings, especially for folks planning to be parents, there
is quite a bit of thinking going on in regards to the serpent year.
See, in the tradition of the Chinese New Year, it is believed that
people born under each of the twelve different individual animal signs
(with subspecies chosen each year — this year it’s Water Snake) will
ultimately carry certain traits that define the animal.
And so naturally, when you’re dealing with this kind of natural
variety: Rat, Cow, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey,
Chicken, Dog, Pig … you’re going to have some that are perennial
favorites and some that are not so much.
An article in the New Strait Times explains
that last year, being born under the sign of the Dragon was extremely
coveted by legions of planning parents-to-be. In fact, it was so
important to be born under that sign which is said to bring
more luck and success other signs, that “the rush for a Dragon baby was
so real that hospitals and maternity wards were reportedly full, even in
Malaysia.”
But what about the poor old Snake?
Isn’t he as good, or even almost as good as the Dragon is?
Will babies born in this new Chinese year have a tougher time of things? After all, as an ABC.com story
points out, the last two Year of the Snakes brought about some pretty
bad events; 1989′s Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing and 2001′s 9/11
tragedy in New York.
But does that really mean much?
Not according to New Strait Times, which claims that “the
Snake’s inherent element is fire, thus Snake children tend to be polite,
active, energetic, humble, respectful, intuitive, smart and patient.
They can also be demanding and cunning.”
A USA Today article out today claims, “People born in the year of the snake are believed to be good at business.”
And when ABC.com talked to Taiwanese astrologer Tsai Shang-chi, he
told them he believes that even though “snakes were often associated
with monsters…(and) some political turbulence can be expected,” he also
thinks babies born under the sign of the Snake will be “self-motivated
and agile.”
Only time will tell.
Image: flickr.com/photos/ballena

Disney World Vacations on a Budget
Here’s what we learned — we didn’t allow for everything. Shortly after we made all of the major purchases required for a trip of this magnitude I lost my biggest account at work, roughly 65% of our household income. It was, obviously, unexpected. Did I mention that the major purchases we made were non-refundable?
We had airline tickets, park tickets, and a hotel room bought and paid for, all without a paycheck in sight. The money that we had saved toward the trip now had to go toward bills. Suddenly, our air of anticipation was replaced with the foreboding of fear. For the record, the anticipation was a lot more fun.
Luckily, we had already taken some steps to ensure that our trip was relatively sound, financially speaking. Relative being that we were planning a cross-country family vacation for four to the Walt Disney World Resort, quite possibly a once in a lifetime trip, and some corners couldn’t be cut.
Here’s how we did it:
The Flight
We were flying from Seattle, which, if you don’t have access to a map, is far from Florida. The average price for most airlines was, generally speaking, very expensive. We saved money on the flight by choosing an overnight (aka “red eye”) option for our trip to Orlando. It actually worked out quite well.
The night of the flight we boarded our plane at 10 p.m. our time, the boys were asleep within the hour and when they woke it was 7 a.m. in Orlando. They never knew what hit them.
Total cost for our family of four to fly round-trip across the country: $1,575 (including taxes, fees, and a travel insurance add-on of $16 per ticket). Could we have flown cheaper? Probably, but not by much, and doing so would undoubtedly have involved stops along the way, which are nice to avoid when traveling with children. Or ever, really.
We also saved money by packing light. We knew that our hotel room had a washer and dryer in it, so we only took a carry-on bag for each of us, and that was it—toothbrushes and swimsuits for all the family! Not having to check bags saved us at least fifty dollars per flight, and that is money better spent elsewhere.
As an added bonus, Disney offers free transportation to and from the airport for guests that are staying at one of the Walt Disney World Resorts (just one of the perks to staying on property). Anyone that has taken a 45 minute shuttle ride from an airport knows how expensive ground transportation can be, both ways, and using Disney’s Magical Express literally saved hundreds of dollars for our family of four.
Here’s the thing about buying park tickets at Walt Disney World: The more days you buy the cheaper they are. Yes, the price seems staggering at first glance. Also, at second glance. However, when you factor in what you’re getting for the buck — admission, shows, parades, rides and attractions, not to mention the characters and magic of Disney, well, I’ve paid more for less.
There are many options to consider when purchasing tickets. How many days will you be visiting the parks? Do you want to add on a Disney Dining Plan? Do you want to visit more than one park per day? What about the water parks?
We didn’t care to visit the water parks (the pool in our resort was sufficient for our young children) and we didn’t opt for a meal plan for reasons that I’ll outline later, so we chose the 9-day tickets with the Park Hopper for two adults and two children (that’s ages 3 – 9 by Disney standards, under 3 are free). The hopper part meant that we could go in and out of all four parks (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios, respectively) on any given day, which we never did. However, we did hit at least two parks every day and the hopper was a good decision for us.
The total cost for four 9-day tickets with Park Hopper (which we bought online): $1,173 (this was in 2010, so prices will vary). We had planned on spending our tenth day at a non-Disney park, but a last minute change in our itinerary kept us at Disney World, and it actually saved us money. We added a tenth day to our ticket plan for an additional $12 and some change. That’s $12 total for the four of us. Yes, as I said earlier, the more days you buy the cheaper it is, and adding another day meant that we each received a one day hopper pass for about $3 per person (retail value of an adult one day hopper pass at WDW at that time was $136).
Some of you might think 10 days at WDW sounds crazy, but we were never at a loss for things to do and we left with a huge list of things that we never had time to experience. Also, when you do the math, one big Disney vacation (including travel) is cheaper than two smaller trips. See, reasonable!
We are members of the Disney Vacation Club (DVC). Basically, it’s a timeshare (but Disney doesn’t use that term), and it is brilliant. My wife and I first purchased our DVC membership about 10 years ago (the day after I proposed to her). We added on to our membership just a few years later. Even before we took our trip to WDW the membership(s) had more than paid for themselves (more on that in a future post).
We stayed at the Boardwalk Inn and Villas, which is within walking (or boating) distance from Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios (also, if you have the hopper pass you can take a nice stroll through Epcot to catch the monorail). A one-bedroom suite (sleeps four comfortably) with a full kitchen would have cost over $5,000 at that time (according to my own research), but thanks to to DVC we booked the room for no money out of pocket.
I mentioned earlier that we did not choose to utilize a meal plan on our Disney vacation. Since we had a full kitchen (refrigerator, oven, stove, microwave) in our room we decided to use it. The first thing I did upon arrival at our hotel was take a cab to a nearby grocery store where I bought $200 worth of staple food items. I didn’t get anything fancy, but I got food that the kids would eat like sandwich supplies, macaroni and cheese, cereal, juice, and so forth and so on. I also bought some beer and wine, because hey, vacation!
I didn’t buy any treats because those were something we would get in the parks, and everyone knows that churros only taste good straight from the cart. Also, we made a point of eating one meal per day (usually breakfast or lunch as they are generally cheaper, relatively speaking) in the parks so as not to miss any of great dining options that Disney provides (and there are many).
The math on this is a bit blurry, but we have concluded that spending $200 on food and drinks to enjoy in our room saved us about $1,000 had we dined exclusively in the parks. Saving $1,000 makes macaroni and cheese taste fantastic.
_____________________
And that is how we did Walt Disney World on a budget while loving every minute of it. If you have any tips on making a Disney vacation easier on the wallet please share them in the comment section below.The entire cost of this trip, and everything outlined above, was paid by us (the Honeas). We did not receive any compensation from Disney. Please note that all prices mentioned are from 2010 and will vary at the time of your trip. Check linked sites for current prices and information.
Source : http://www.babble.com/dad/disney-world-vacations-on-a-budget/

8 Ways to Add Spark (and Sex!) to Your Marriage After Kids
February is the month for romance and the ideal excuse to turn the
spotlight on your marriage. Once you implement these 8 steps, your
intimacy will be the envy of the playground!
1. Synchronize Your Schedules
Sure it’s tempting to send email late into the night while he falls asleep in front of the TV, but if this sounds familiar, you need to change this pattern. If you crawl into bed at the same time as your spouse each night, sex is an option. If you don’t, it is completely off the table. Your goal is warm bodies cuddling every night.
2. Make Your Husband Your Gay Best Friend
Sure it’s tempting to send email late into the night while he falls asleep in front of the TV, but if this sounds familiar, you need to change this pattern. If you crawl into bed at the same time as your spouse each night, sex is an option. If you don’t, it is completely off the table. Your goal is warm bodies cuddling every night.
2. Make Your Husband Your Gay Best Friend
In the best marriages, spouses are best friends. Your husband should
have the most intel on your life. Do you have good news? Tell him first.
Bad news? Tell him first. Leaning on your husband leads to greater
connection and intimacy.
3. Do Bite-sized Check Ins
Over a glass of wine or a cup of tea, make time to have a 20 minute
check in each day – morning or night. Keep it to 20 minutes or your
partner is less likely to want to do it tomorrow. The daily check-in
results in intimacy because it literally holds your life together and
insures you are on the same path.
4. Have a Weekly Date Night
Set up a weekly sitter so that date night becomes as much a part of
your schedule as work or school. And remember that date night is not for
problem solving. If you are doing your bite-size dailies, there is no
need to use date nights for anything but fun. Trade off the planning
responsibilities and enjoy.
5. Create Your Dreamables
Remember when you first met and the two of you giddily talked about
your vision for the future? Just as a growing company periodically
rethinks their plan, at least once a year you want to dream with your
partner. Look 3-5 years ahead, look 10 years ahead. Think about
careers, kids, travel, health, and money. Dreaming together is a great
reminder that you are a team. Dream achievable – set a vision that you
can aim for and get to.
6. Settle on a Sex Quota
Every couple is different and you need to do what works for both of
you. Talk to your spouse about how much you each want to be having sex,
meet in the middle and aim to achieve it! Getting in touch with each
other’s desires will help you meet one another’s needs.
7. Fly Solo
The two of you need to do a couple’s trip without kids at least once a
year. Even two days at a local hotel will rejuvenate your marriage. And
go guilt-free because taking some time to intensely connect will
benefit the whole family upon your return. It is hard to be an unhappy
kid with two happy parents.
8. Be United
As parents you are faced with hundreds of decisions on a weekly basis
and if you don’t discuss issues as they arise, they can create wedges
between you. The more you communicate about your philosophies and styles
when the kids are not listening, the better a team you will be when
they are. Getting on the same page will erase a lot of the natural
tension that comes with parenting. Support one another and your marriage
will thrive.
Find inspiration in these happily married parents who recently enjoyed date nights:
[ Source: Http://http://www.babble.com/babble-voices/working-moms-lifestyle-samantha-ettus/2013/02/08/8-ways-to-add-spark-and-sex-to-your-marriage-after-kids ]

Duck! Close Shave with an Asteroid Coming
If you’re the type to worry, don’t click here —
especially if the type of worrying you do is about things that sound
really, really scary and that you have absolutely no control over.
Clicking on that site you really shouldn’t click on will take you to a
page on NASA’s Near-Earth
Object Program website, which lists every comet or asteroid of any size
at all that will be passing through Earth’s orbital neighborhood in the
upcoming days, months and years. The fact is, there are a whole lot
more of them than you likely know: from Feb. 5 to May 5 of this year, no
fewer than 77 space rocks that could, in theory have Earth’s name on
them, will be whizzing by. On March 20 alone, when you may have been
planning to celebrate the first day of spring, there will be seven.
Errant space rocks, of course, can do a lot of damage. Our moon is
believed to have been created when a Mars-size planetesimal sideswiped
the Earth 4.5 billion years ago. The dinosaurs were all but certainly
wiped out by a direct hit by a far smaller projectile 65 million years
ago. As recently as June 30, 1908, an asteroid measuring up to 330 ft.
(100 m) across famously exploded in the skies over the Tunguska region
in Siberia, unleashing a blast with the equivalent of 30 megatons of TNT
and destroying 770 sq. mi. (2,000 sq km) of forest.
What has a lot of cosmic worriers glancing skyward this month is the
announcement that on Feb. 15, a 148-ft.-long (45 m) asteroid known as
2012 DA 14 will pass just 17,200 miles (27,7000 km) above the Earth. And
if 17,200 miles sounds like a lot, consider that it’s only
one-thirteenth of the distance to the moon and actually below
the 22,000 miles (35,800 km) altitude at which some of our satellites
orbit. That leaves awfully little margin for error in NASA’s cosmic
calculations. So there’s plenty of reason to worry, yes? Well, no,
actually. But making that call for any one object — knowing which space
bullets are likely to hit us and which ones we’re likely to dodge — can
be a complicated business.
Near-Earth objects (NEOs) are very particular things. They’re bodies
that at some point in their orbit through the solar system dip within
1.3 AUs (astronomical units) from the sun.
A single AU is the sun-Earth distance, or 93 million miles (150 million
km), so 1.3 AU would be 121 million miles. There are untold thousands
of NEOs at large — 9,668 of which have so far been counted and cataloged
by NASA and other space agencies and observatories around the world.
Most are comparatively small, but 861 have a diameter of at least 1 km
(.62 miles), which could pack quite a wallop.
Still, just being within 1.3 AUs is only part of the danger equation.
Some NEOs circle the sun either entirely within Earth’s orbit or
entirely outside it, and while they may pass close by, they pose little
hazard, since a collision is likely only when the orbits of two bodies
cross. Others do cross Earth’s orbit with varying degrees of proximity.
Of all the known objects, 1,376 are classified Potentially Hazardous
Asteroids, based both on their size and on an approach distance that
brings them within .05 AU, or 4.65 million miles (7.5 million km), of
us.
The amount of damage an asteroid could do if it clobbered us is
determined largely by its mass. Anything that’s up to 40 m (131 ft.)
across or, as NASA puts it on its website, “smaller than a modest office
building,” would be incinerated by the atmosphere before it hit the
ground. At most, its remains would produce a blast equivalent to three
megatons — very bad news for anyone in the vicinity but not the kind of
Earth-cracking disaster they make bad action movies out of. Asteroids
from 40 m to 1 km could do “tremendous damage on a local scale,” NASA
says. A hit by a 2-km or larger asteroid would cause a million-megaton
blast and “produce severe environmental damage on a global scale. The
probable consequence would be an ‘impact winter’ with loss of crops
worldwide and subsequent starvation and disease.”
The overall risk any one asteroid poses is calculated on what’s known
as the Torino Scale, a grid with the probability of impact — from
effectively zero to effectively 100% — on its x axis and the size of the object on the y.
After objects are given a Torino score, they are ranked on a five-color
chart — think of the department of Homeland Security’s now defunct
terrorism-threat level — going from white (no hazard) through yellow
(“meeting attention of astronomers”) to red (certain collision, capable
of causing at least regional devastation of a kind seen only once every
10,000 to 100,000 years). And what is the Torino rating for 2012 DA 14,
which will whiz by on Feb. 15? A reassuring white — or no hazard at all.
(MORE: The Great, Wet Cosmic Rock)
None of this means that the bright red rocks aren’t out there, and
the world’s space agencies have a lot of smart minds working on ways to
deflect or destroy them. Advanced tracking and trajectory-modeling
computers allow us to know sometimes centuries in advance just where any
object will be at any time. And NASA has already proved itself adept at
rendezvousing with asteroids: the Dawn probe is in the midst of a
multiyear asteroid pas de deux, having orbited Vesta — the second
largest object in our solar system’s asteroid belt — from 2011 to 2012,
then peeled off to visit Ceres, the largest, with an arrival date set
for 2015. In 2001, the NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft actually touched down
on the asteroid Eros.
There will be no such attention paid to 2012 DA 14 when it passes,
though stargazers with telescopes in Australia, Eastern Europe, Asia and
especially Indonesia will be able to see it, moving south to north at
an apparent speed of 1 degree per minute. The little sky show belies the
dangers 2012 DA 14’s bigger, deadlier cousins pose, something that
keeps NASA scientists lying awake at night — partly so that you don’t
have to.
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