5 Cent Advice

Microblogging adventures while making sense of life, personal finance, and relationships.

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And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.

Anais Nin

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Its not stress that kills us, it is our reaction to it.

Hans Selye

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When someone shows you who they are believe them; the first time.

Maya Angelou

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People are going to fight you every step on the way. And the person who will fight you the hardest will be yourself.

David Chilton

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Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions.

Albert Einstein

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A book is proof that humans are capable of working magic

Carl Sagan

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Maker Monday - Easy DIY Boot storage

If you are like me, you own at least one pair of boots that are over ankle height.  These boots are great, but when it comes to storing them they can easily be ruined or misshapen because they flop over or start to get scrunched.

Enter life hackers and I discovered the easiest way to keep my boots from getting destroyed between seasons without having to try and store then laying down.

This DIY takes less than 5 minutes (once you have the supplies gathered)

All you need are: - Boots - A pool noodle - a sharpie, marker or pen (optional) - an exacto knife, or other serrated knife

Step 1: Fit the pool noodle into one of your boots. Depending on your boots, your size and the size of the pool noodle you have you may need to sculpt your pool noodle to fit in the ankle (do this carefully with your knife, like whittling wood) The pool noodle I got fit perfectly.

Step 2: Mark off where you need to cut your pool noodle.  If you don't want it to show above the boot you can mark the line a little lower.

Step 3: Use your knife to carefully cut through the pool noodle. *Repeat for the other boot

You now have two pieces of pool noodle cut to the height required. Yay!

Step 4: Place your new boot savers into your boots, zip up the zippers, tie up the laces and your boots are ready for storage in the closet, safe from being misshapen until you want to wear them next.

My boots are good to go, they stand nicely all on their own and will no longer take up space being stored flat and in the way in the closet.

The pool noodle I bought was long enough to make two sets of boot savers, which is pretty good for the $2-3 it cost me.  Considering my boots cost considerably more than $2, it was a worthwhile investment to keep them looking good longer.

Cheap and easy, what's not to love?  If you want to save your boots and your money, a $2 pool noodle is a way better investment than the $16-30 boot inserts I've come across in stores.

If you don't like the look of the pool noodles they could be easily covered in fabric, but that's a project for another day.  Today I am happy with my 5 minute fix to a problem that was taking up valuable closet space.

and that is my 5 cents worth!

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Our challenge isn’t so much to teach children about the natural world, but to find ways to nurture and sustain the instinctive connections they already carry.

Terry Krautwurst

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There's never a surefire good career move except doing good work.

Seth Green

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Life has no meaning. Each of us has meaning and we bring it to life. It is a waste to be asking the question when you are the answer.

Joseph Campbell

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There's no such thing as work-life balance. There are work-life choices, and you make them, and they have consequences.

Jack Welch

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Shared joy is a double joy; shared sorrow is half a sorrow

Swedish Proverb

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Curiosity about life in all of its aspects, I think, is still the secret of great creative people

Leo Burnett

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Maker Monday - Custom Card Box

When I asked a family member what I might be able to make as a Christmas gift for their son they told me that he had quite a lot of playing cards that needed some kind of storage container.

Since I know there are many people who collect cards such as Magic cards, or Yu-Gi-Oh I thought I would post a short DIY for you.

I found this perfectly sized box at Michael's crafts, its big enough that you could probably store about 3-4 decks of standard playing cards in it, lots of space for a small card collection.

It was completely plain, which of course meant I could customize it in any way.

Using some acrylic paints I decided to go with a black box with gold accenting.  Obviously you could customize it any way you want.  I painted the bottom half black and the top half gold, and then painted the lid black as well, when the lid it on only part of the gold shows.

The whole inside of the box I painted gold. I toyed with the idea of using ModPodge to add in some fun gold and black scrapbook paper on the bottom inside (and maybe the inside of the lid) but after I painted the whole thing gold I decided I really like the simplicity of it, so left it at just the paint.  You could easily ModPodge some beautifully designed paper into (or onto the outside) of a box like this, customize any way you like!

I gifted the box with a pack of Magic cards in it so that it's intended use was known - however, clearly he could use the box for anything.

I decided to add a monogram on the lid so that it was clearly made for the individual, again, you could put a full name, or a design, etc.  I just really liked the simplicity, and the fact that in the future, if he should outgrow playing cards, this box could be easily re-purposed to house other items or keepsakes.

To finish the whole thing off I coated with a layer of ModPodge to seal it and help increase its resistance to wear and tear. 

The finished product came out wonderfully, and was a well loved gift.

I really find it so much nicer to be able to give the people in my life something I have made special for them, instead of just going to the store and picking something out.  This was a fun and simple project that made a perfect gift.

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Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are.

Marilyn Monroe

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"Man’s heart away from nature becomes hard"

It's that wonderful time of year where the snow is gone (or almost gone) and Summer is just around the corner.  The sun has started to make its appearance earlier in the morning and it sticks around longer too and on top of that it's rays are so gloriously warm!

It is the perfect time of year to get outside for some much needed fresh air and sunshine, don't put off getting outside until Summer has arrived, get out there NOW.

I recently read several articles about green space, parks and nature and how spending time in those places greatly reduces stress levels.  If the sunshine itself wasn't motivation enough, spending time out in open, green spaces can cut your stress levels significantly (I feel like the articles quoted somewhere between a 10% and 30% reduction in those pesky stress causing hormones).

Who would turn down easy and free 'therapy' that reduces the toll of stress on their body and health? Not me! I'll be making sure to get as much time out of doors as I can now that the weather is warmer.  I've already completed a few outdoor projects around the house and I'm making it a priority to unplug from my technologies after work and spend more time outside.

I might go for a bike ride, or take the dog for an extra walk (win-win for both of us with that).  If I'm a little tired I might just pull out the lounge chair in the yard and sit out and read in the sun (sure, I may need a blanket if it's still a bit chilly, but that's as easy as grabbing one on the way out the door into the yard).  Maybe you like to garden, or jog, or take photos - whatever you're into, if you can do it outside go and do it outside.

Summer is coming, and with it are happier people, the Winter grumps are melting away.  If you haven't noticed the increase in smiles around you, take another look.  Just a little more evidence that spending time out doors reduces stress and increases happiness and well being.

Get out there and enjoy this beautiful weather, here in Canada it only lasts so long, enjoy it while you can!

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We are so accustomed to disguise ourselves to others that in the end we become disguised to ourselves.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld