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Grammar Police Unite! You're gonna love this!
“Weird Al” Yankovic has released a music video for his song “Word Crimes”, a parody of the song “Blurred Lines” by Robin Thicke. The video skewers terrible grammar while obviously spoofing Thicke’s video.
The song is off Yankovic’s new album, Mandatory Fun, which released today. The album is currently available via Amazon.
And it’s not even that you’ll have to pay anything. It’s just all the forms you have to fill out. And it seems like they're getting more and more complicated every year. But we all have to do the best we can because if we don’t, well, we could end up with the IRS knocking on our door.
So I just want to give you a heads up, or at least a head start, on some of the forms you should have by now. They could’ve been sent either through snail mail or your email.
Yes, I said snail mail. As in the US Postal Service. Many companies and government entities still send these documents via snail mail. And it’s really easy to not know what they are so you might have just thought they were junk mail and threw them in the trash.
If you think you may have done that, don’t worry, don’t panic. You can always call the appropriate company or agency right away and get a copy resent. It’s really that easy to take care of.
The other thing is that some companies are just slow. So your call would be a nice friendly reminder for them to get their acts together.
Lastly, know that I’m not a tax person, accountant, or financial advisor. I’m just a person who’s been filing tax returns since 1976, yikes! While I’m familiar with these more common forms, this is not the end-all, complete list of possibilities. Please talk to a certified tax accountant to get the full list of forms that apply to you and your situation.
There could be more or less but just take a quick look and see what sounds familiar. As I said, I just want to give you a heads up, or at least a head start on what to look for.
I've been reading a lot of posts on social media lately where men and women alike are complaining about their other halves. Some of their arguments are pretty ugly regarding really bad behaviors. I'm not an expert on fixing people or relationships, but lately, I've been helping a lot of people learn how to make better choices before jumping right into the next one.
Let's begin with this first aha moment:
Anyone who's gone through a devastating break-up has got to know that being in love with someone doesn’t necessarily mean you can or should live with them.
So if we all know this, why do we keep falling in love with the wrong kind of person?
...we all get so caught up with the chemistry of the connection, that we completely blow off any use of our brains and logic. Sounds crazy, doesn’t it?
But if you’re really honest with yourself, I’ll bet you can remember at least one time in your life, (or a maybe gazillion times) that you've done this. Am I right?
You learn how to rely on your heart and your head. And the best way to do that is to make a checklist.
And you stick to it!
After all, if you don’t, you'll always get what you settle for. Which you already know, makes you miserable over and over again.
Yes, I know a “list” sounds so cold and impersonal. But wouldn’t it be nice if you could remember to avoid the annoying person that’s always loud and obnoxious for instance?
So! I’ve done all the work for you with this very cool worksheet that'll really get you thinking.
It doesn't focus on rainbows and unicorns or even your favorite colors and hobbies. But it does contain eleven categories of characteristics and behaviors that you should include in your checklist when you're dreaming up the perfect mate; the one you want to spend the rest of your life with.
And it contains a sample completed list that I created for myself. (Some things were private so I left them out, but you'll get the idea.)
This is the list that saved my life!
After going through three divorces with abusive men, I finally figured out I needed to do something different. Yes, some people would call me a slow learner, hahaha! But at least I finally got it right. And you can too! My fourth husband and I have been happily married since 2003 - Yay!
I sincerely wish you luck and happier days ahead!
Warmest regards,
Click this button to read the original article.
When we fall in love we all believe that "Love can conquer all." And that may be true when it comes to a lot of emotional situations and probably many of life's challenges.
HOWEVER...when it comes to finances, love always take a back seat to state laws governing marriage and divorce.
This article describes one woman's crazy experience in Florida. Where things get tricky for those of us who fall out of love occassionally, is every state has different laws regarding who gets what when it comes to dividing up property and money. So who's to say if this woman would be better off in say, Michigan or Texas? I don't know. Maybe you do...?
Read on...
My husband and I have been together for 28-plus years, and married for three. We have lived in Florida for seven years. He now wants a divorce. I stayed home with our kids for six years, and the other years I held positions in retail while our kids were in school. We never lived near family so this was our agreement to make life work. I made around $30,000 a year during that time.
We got married three years ago when my husband was having health issues. He was concerned I may have problems accessing his pension, 401(k), Social Security, etc. Well, he is going to be fine. He’s feeling so fine that he now wants a divorce. He says I’m not entitled to any of his retirement, alimony, properties or assets because we have only been married for three years.
A lot of situations may not cross your mind when you're just out of high school or college. Trust me, odds are good that you'll live a lot longer than that (into your 40's and 50's or probably longer) so you'll end up facing all kinds of things you never even dreamed of. That's when you'll get to see how different people and financial situations can change your way of thinking in heartbeat.
Sounds kind of scary and overwhelming, doesn't it? Just get prepared though, and you'll be fine. Your knowledge is your super power!
Click here to learn about some more of these critical Business of Life Skills.
Over my 40-year career, I’ve attended and facilitated many meetings, and none went more smoothly than the ones that were organized with an agenda and three key roles that I learned from my last employer. Here are some tips to make sure your meetings are as productive as possible:
An effective agenda should include the following information:
Here are a couple of agenda item examples:
The meeting facilitator or the person requesting the meeting should create the agenda. Ideally, both people would create it so that the topics can be prioritized by at least two of the meeting’s leaders.
Who creates the agenda is not critical so long as there is one and it is sent to all participants a few days before the meeting. This way, all participants have some time to prepare information that might be required of them for the meeting. In the very least, it will give everyone time to think of information they might be able to contribute to the discussion. Nothing wastes more time than someone showing up unprepared and then everyone having to sit around waiting for them to get their act together.
1. The Facilitator
This is the person who begins each meeting by reviewing the agenda and asking if there are any other topics that need to be discussed (if time permits).
He or she will then introduce each topic, the time allowed for each topic, the expected outcome, and then share any pertinent information that will get the discussion moving.
This is also the same person who keeps the discussion on topic. We’ve all been in meetings where someone makes a comment about a subject and it triggers a whole other side discussion between one or two people. This can very disruptive, and it’s a waste of everyone else’s time. The facilitator will be the one to stop the meeting and ask if this is another topic that needs to be added to the next meeting’s agenda, or possibly critical enough to be discussed here and now. In that case, he will decide if there is time to do so by rescheduling one of the other agenda items into the next meeting.
2. Time keeper
This person keeps things moving. He or she refers to a printed out copy of the agenda to watch the clock and then lets everyone know when they are running out of time for said topic. The timekeeper will work very closely with the facilitator in this role. He or she might need to say, “We have one minute left for this topic, would you like to continue this discussion, which might not leave us room for the last item on the agenda, or table it for the next meeting? (I’ve seen some timekeepers set alarms on their smartphones.)
3. Note taker
This person not only takes general notes on each topic discussion, but he or she keeps track of action items that come up, who they are assigned to, and the expected completion dates. At the end of the meeting, these notes should be typed up and emailed to each meeting participant. That way, everyone knows what is expected of them as a result of the meeting.
For those who were invited but couldn’t attend the meeting for whatever reason, the notes need to be emailed to them. That way, each person is aware of what happened while they were gone, and if a task was assigned to them, they have time to get it done. If the absent person expects to be out of commission for longer than anticipated by the team, they will also have the opportunity to let the meeting facilitator know, and then the task can be reassigned.
Sometimes, a meeting might not have enough attendees for each roll to be assigned to a different person. In that case, there should still always be a facilitator; and I’ve seen many facilitators perform all three roles. In my experience, when these roles were in place, every single meeting ran efficiently, decisions were made, tasks were assigned, and things got done — every single time. There was no wasting time on side subjects because the facilitators and timekeepers didn’t allow it. The people attending the meetings appreciated this structure, because they all knew it would not be another typical meeting where one person dominated the whole thing and everyone else lost interest.
Here’s hoping this information makes a difference for your next meeting.