by Melanie Hoekstra
Source: YNPN Chicago Blog
ynpnchicagoblog.wordpress.com
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Can it be done? Can you eat more than Ramen noodles for the next decade and still work at the non-profit job you love while paying back your hefty student loans? YES. Enter the College Cost Reduction and Access Act (CCRAA). Under the CCRAA, you can: (1) pay your federal loans at a much lower monthly amount under the Income-Based repayment plan, and (2) have those federal loans forgiven after 120 payments under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program for people who work for 501(c)(3)s and government agencies (10 full-time years, not necessarily consecutively) . Seriously, this two-step process is an incredible option for anyone working in the non-profit world or for the government. (more…)

by: Guest Blogger
Source: elance.com

For freelancers, the time-honored tradition of making New Year’s resolutions should involve thoughtfully reflecting upon the events of the past year—both successes and shortfalls—and then using the resulting insights to chart a bold new course for the future. Although statistics show that many personal resolutions are broken by Valentine’s Day (mostly due to a lack of willpower), framing your professional goals in the context of a small-business strategy may help you stick with things.

“Many institutions do an end-of-the-year strategic analysis, where they take stock before going forward into the new year,” Temple University psychologist Frank Farley tells USA Today. What works for large organizations can work for your small operations, too. Here are six tips, or freelance resolutions, for staying as committed to your 2012 freelancing goals as you are to those of your clients.

1. Treat yourself the way you treat clients. Think of this resolution as an inverse Golden Rule: Do unto yourself as you would have them do unto you. (more…)

Source: Huffpost Healthy Living

Name: Mark D. Rucker
Age: 43
Height: 6’2″
Before Weight: 365 pounds. I was probably heavier than that, but I stopped weighing myself.

How I Gained It: I’ve been overweight most of my life. I gradually put on more after I graduated from law school, until maxing out in February of 2011. I was not engaged in any form of physical activity and I ate anything I felt like eating, at pretty much any time. I drank a lot of soda and ate fast food frequently. I loved pizza, wings, cheeseburgers and beer.

Breaking Point: I had high blood pressure, sleep apnea and was borderline diabetic; I woke up the day after the Super Bowl in February 2011 and realized that I needed to change my life. (more…)

Conquer the Elements in the Latest Garments
– By Rebecca Pratt, Staff Writer

Source: Sparkpeople.com
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You’ve made the commitment. You’re not going to hibernate this year just because it’s winter. But you’re cold when it’s 75 degrees and sunny! Just the thought of going outdoors right now makes you shiver.

Take heart—you can keep warm while braving the elements. Innovative materials and tried-and-true methods will allow you to warm up during your cold-weather workout. Whether you’re conquering the elements for your morning walk, or spending the weekend on skis, here are some tips to keep you toasty. (more…)

You want sleep. You need sleep. You never get enough sleep. But once you find what sleep — and the lack of sleep — does to your body, you’ll want to get the most out of one of the best things you can do between the sheets

By Emily Laber-Warren
Source: MSN Health
Article

As we struggle to allot enough time to the job, kids, family, friends, and Joaquin Phoenix message boards, sleep stands out as a suspiciously long block of idle hours. We set the alarm early, stay up late, and order a tall whatever-we-want to help us get by on the minimum. But the fact is: When you lose sleep, you lose your health. (more…)

A coworker’s words recently led me to an unnerving discovery: I have a anxiety addiction. Here’s what I–by God’s grace–did about it.

Source: Kyria.com
Article

by Ashley Moore

I’ve always been a little on the anxious side. As a child, I used to ask Jesus into my heart every single day, because I was afraid that I hadn’t actually done so—that I’d imagined it or dreamed it—the day before. I would sit on the dining room floor, cross-legged, picturing my four-year-old soul barreling toward hell, and in fear, I’d beg Jesus, once again, to come into my heart. I know, I know. Alert Freud. (more…)

Source: UpWords with Max Lucado
Friday, January 27, 2012

Are you hoping that a change in circumstances will bring a change in your attitude? If so, you are in prison, and you need to learn a secret of traveling light. What you have in your Shepherd is greater than what you don’t have in life. (more…)

By Alina Tugend
Source: Secondact.com
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We all know people like them, people who seem to know everyone. They’re always able to help — or if they can’t, they know someone who can. You meet them for the first time and in 15 minutes, you’re talking with them like you’re childhood friends. They’re successful, smart and funny, with a likable touch of self-deprecation. And they’re interested in everything.

Who are they? Connectors. (more…)

Enough Said! — SER Staff

by: Leslie Baldacci
Source: aarp.org
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Regina Fraser and Pat Johnson, two erudite 60-somethings, turned their passion for world cultures and knack for reinvention into a new gig: hosting Grannies on Safari, their own travel show. They even sold their fur coats to raise seed money to launch the project.

The third season of their Grannies on Safari kicks off Sunday with travels to India (two shows), Peru (two shows), South Africa (Western Cape) and Zanzibar. The series airs on PBS stations nationwide and in 117 countries via UK Travel Channel. AARP is the exclusive sponsor, and selected the grannies to be the faces of AARP’s 2011 “What’s Next” campaign. (more…)