Last Saturday, I finally broke down and took my son, Landon, to the doctor. For about four weeks, he has suffered from a rattling cough, runny nose, and mild head (and ear) aches. Thinking it was only seasonal allergies, I had been faithfully giving him home remedies, like garlic and olive oil drops for his ears. I became more concerned when he seemed to be talking really loud and claiming that he was having trouble hearing us; he wasn’t answering when we called. The doctor basically said that he was fine-no ear infection, no signs of pneumonia-but offered a prescription of antibiotics “just in case.” Knowing that antibiotics should not be used willy nilly, I took the prescription, but had no intention of filling it. Instead, we will continue with our natural allergy remedies. You might find them helpful too.

What you don’t know can’t hurt you, right? Not!! Actually what you don’t know can deal a devastating blow to your health, career, and finances. In the Bible there is an insightful scripture which basically says: Wisdom is the principal thing, so seek wisdom and get understanding -Proverbs 4:7.

One of my favorite family members, Cousin Betty, recently reminded me of how a lack of understanding robbed our grandmother of her sight. My 93-year-old grandma lost her vision to glaucoma several decades ago. Prior to that, this very proud, independent woman struggled to raise eight children, largely on her own. When she first began to experience the symptoms of glaucoma, she kept it to herself. By the time she finally admitted her problem to a doctor and her adult children, it was too late. With early detection her glaucoma could have been treated and her eyesight saved, but she did not know and worse, she did not make her difficulties known to others so that she could gain an understanding of her condition. By the time she was completely blind, my witty and feisty Grandma continued to demand that her eyeglasses be placed in her hand so that she could wear them. She felt that everyone did not need to know that she was blind.

Last week I was involved in a car accident. Thank God, no one was hurt; only my pride. See the accident was my fault. Once I made sure the passengers in the other car were fine, we immediately pulled out paper and pens to exchange insurance information. The young lady commented, “I sure am glad you have insurance.”

“Yes, I have good insurance,” I replied. Or so I thought. Little did I know that my insurance was not “all that.” This experience taught me a valuable lesson; I need to fully understand the type of insurance we have and the details of the coverage provided. Long story short, we were not happy with the way our insurance company seemed to be trying to avoid paying a fair settlement to the other party. We try to always treat people the way we want to be treated, and we did not find their actions acceptable.

Does spring-fever have you itching to make some changes to your surroundings? I certainly have the itch. The first free weekend that I have, I plan to paint my front door. I would describe its current color as an awful poop-brown, but soon it will be vibrant orange, earthy green, or crisp white. Although I am having trouble deciding, I am not too worried about it because I know that even if I get the paint on the door and don’t like the color, I can easily repaint it. Paint is one of the least expensive and fastest ways to transform a room from boring to exciting. But wait, you do know that paint should not be limited to only the walls, right?? Here are a few new ways to use paint that you may not have yet considered.

Earlier today I had a wonderful lunch date with an inspiring woman who is a mother of two adult children. I was telling her how my three children and I went on a bike riding adventure that led us to discover interesting trails and new routes through our city. Before we knew it (about an hour and a half later), the children and I had traveled about six miles or so. A couple of my babies were getting kind of tired, so we stopped for a lunch break. By the time we were ready to hop back onto our bikes; my husband called and offered to come pick us up. “YES, please!” was my answer. He got there and we loaded all the bikes into the minivan and rode off.

“It’s more than just a dress,” the Diamonds and Pearls Project is offering young, under privileged girls, the concept of beauty that exudes inside as well as out.

Tiana Hall, along with seven other board members including her mother Angela Hall, Conchetta DeLeon, Winter Olaofe, Nina Mentzos , and Ashleigh Tillman, have set out to make sure prom is no longer a financial burden for the urban teen, but a time for them to enjoy being young. Hall and a few of her close friends set out to accomplish this goal last April when they decided to go forward with her idea of helping some of Minneapolis’ deserving teens. Thus, the Diamonds and Pearl Project was born.