All Summer long, swine flu has made it into the headlines on a weekly, if not a daily, basis. This flu was quickly declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization, not because of the number of deaths due to this strain of the virus, but because it spread worldwide with speed. A blogger over at Newsweek wants to add a little perspective to the media coverage of H1N1. Here is some history: In Read more

The scanner gun is unholstered and a store full of kitchen delights spreads out in front of you. But before you pull that trigger, have you done your research? While wedding registries may seem like a green light to sign up for every dish, appliance, and throw pillow of your dreams, making smart list choices will help ensure that your generous guests buy the items you can really use . . . and Read more

If you're not using your dishwasher efficiently, you're wasting money, energy, and water. Business Insider shares the right ways for you to use the dishwasher. In leaner times, plenty of households boycotted energy-sucking appliances like dishwashers and went back to basics: manual scrubbers, a bottle of detergent, and a lot of elbow grease. But is all that extra effort really helping us save in Read more

Introducing baby to books is a big moment for most mamas, who realize early that their lil ones are naturally attracted to books' bright colors, fun pictures, and chewing potential! Eliminate the drool and bite marks by adding these five soft books (great for travel!) to your collection. Your baby will love the textures, page-flipping potential, and cool extras (teethers!) of each. Clockwise Read more

If you have an iPhone 4S and need an armband, you can always make your own, or you can check out the Incase Sports Armband Deluxe ($45). Stylish and sleek, the Incase iPhone 4S armband offers everything you'd want in a fitness accessory: it's easy to use, comfortable, durable, and Iightweight. It also pairs perfectly with the Incase Capsule headphones ($50). My favorite feature is that the Read more

Yesterday, surrealist artist Andrew Baines staged an art installation consisting of eight clotheslines accompanied by eight "moms" hanging the wash on Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia. The project was meant to highlight the loss of backyard space that many families experience due to high-density living — but for me, it also highlighted the need to review some tips for air drying our laundry. Read more

When it comes to resolutions and changes, you can either jump right in or take growth one step at a time. When it comes to health and fitness you have to take a leap and maintain daily, and career and finance goals are the very same way. I've given you a short list of goals you can implement immediately, but do take a little time each day and week to ensure you are keeping up with your goals. Read more

With New Year's in sight, it is suddenly the time of year we all start thinking about our goals and resolutions. Maybe your aims are high, like saving more money than you did in 2009 or enrolling in a certification course that will help advance your career, but don't forget you can reap big rewards from small change. Even budget alterations that seem minor, like picking brand names instead of Read more