Weekly Buggles

Now that spring has arrived, it’s time to start thinking about your backyard. Clearing the dead leaves off your garden art, getting the sprinkler system up and running, trimming and pruning the bushes. There are a few things you can do to make sure your lawn greens up nicely, here are a few tips.

Aerate – Having your lawn aerated in the spring is a good way to break up the soil a bit, let the moisture seep down and give your grass room to grow. Depending on your area you can have a professional do your lawn for around $35.00 or you can rent an aeration machine at your local Home Depot or Lowes. They can be a bit tricky to operate and watch out for the sprinkler heads. If you are having a pro do it, put yard stakes next to your sprinklers so they don’t hit them.

Fertilize – Every lawn can benefit from a little fertilizer in the spring. Pick a fertilizer that is formulated for spring and follow the directions carefully. If you over fertilize it may burn your lawn, which can result in unsightly spots. Water the fertilizer in thoroughly.

Before you know it, your lawn will be the greenest on the block and you will be sitting on your patio enjoying a drink and listening to your solar wind chimes clink in the wind.

There was a time, not so long ago, that kids didn’t need encouragement from their parents to go outside and play. But that was before video game consoles and hundreds of cable television channels. Today’s parents need to be extremely proactive in getting their children away from the screen and outside exercising.

One terrific way of getting children exercising is by installing a basketball backboard above your garage door. It won’t cost much, it’s easy to install, and the whole family can get involved in the game.

basketball hoops can be found at almost any sporting goods store or big box store like Target or Wal-Mart. A really good backboard, hoop and net set up usually costs $50-$150.

If a traditional backboard won’t work in your driveway, consider getting portable basketball goals. These hoop require some assembly, but can be easily moved to any hard surface including the street or driveway. A portable basketball hoop set up will run close to $200. Not every municipality allows these hoops to be set up in the street, so check before you make your purchase.

Setting up your own basketball court can really encourage your kids to get involved in healthy, outside activities.

Invitations not only carry the details about an event or occasion but also set up the mood for the party as guests get ready to attend the event. Party could be anything; a birthday party, graduation party, wedding anniversary, Christmas or a bridal shower. With people becoming more and more innovative these days, parties are no longer simple affairs. All the parties are theme based nowadays. Deciding on a theme for the party is the most important part of planning. The birthday invitations or any other invitations should compliment the theme of the party.

Using some creativity, birthday invitations can even be created at home. Whether the party is for a one year old or a 50 year old, birthday invites for all age groups are available even online. You can get cute kids birthday invitations for your tiny tots’ birthday also. All the invitation cards come with their matching envelopes. Some creative mothers can even design their own birthday invitation cards at home and print it. The personalized, home made invites will be different from all others and will stand out. On the internet, one can get many innovative ideas to create theme based invitation cards at home.

My oldest son’s birthday is just around the corner. He is officially going to be a teenager, and my wife and I were debating on what to get him. He’s really picky (just like me) so after a few weeks of trying to come up with something we decided to get him his favorite wall decals so he could decorate his room.

Some close friends of ours gave us some suggestions on where to find good ones, and we also did our own shopping around. We finally chose fatheads because we liked their selection and prices. We picked out three of his favorite sports idols and then my wife came up with a great idea. She wanted to surprise him and put them up on the walls for him.

On the night of my son’s birthday we took him out to his favorite restaurant. Some of his friends came along and we got him a bunch of other little gifts and he had a great time. Then when we arrived at home he walked into his room and saw what his main present was. He totally loved all of his birthday gifts, but we could tell that his favorite was his new wall art stickers.

Most kitchens have storage spaces such as counters and cabinets that are located both at eye level and below the waist that way you can maximize the space in your kitchen. Given that the kitchen is usually the smallest room in the house next to the bathroom you probably want to take advantage of every storage area that you can. This can be difficult to do however if you cannot see the objects in the back of the cabinet which leads you to ignore its usefulness, unless of course you happen to have under cabinet lighting that will illuminate the space.

If you often choose to ignore the benefits that lower shelves can offer you when it comes to storage you may want to think about adding some under counter lighting so that you can see all the way back into the cabinets or the storage areas. By lighting up the area you will have no problem peaking back into them reviving their practicality and allowing you to truly get the most out of your kitchen even if it is a small area. Imagine having a flashlight in your cabinet that you could turn on at a moment’s notice and that is the same thing you will get once you add in the convenient lighting fixture.