What Is a Franchise?
A franchise represents the right granted by a famous company, known as the franchisor, to incorporate in your business its brand, operating methods, technology, services or products, in exchange for a fee. A franchise agreement is usually signed on a certain period. After the contract ends, it can be renewed. A franchise means that you are required to run your business according to the franchisor’s standards or methods.

Advantages
Mums have to divide their time between their family and the business. However, franchising is a rewarding home business from the following reasons:
• It is a secure business because it follows a successful model. You can also benefit from a popular brand and on-going support to create and maintain a profitable business.
• You have the chance to be the boss. It gives mums the opportunity to make a successful career that can be started and controlled from home. This is advantageous for many women due to the fact that they are able to control both the home and the work environment.
• Another advantage is that you do not have to go away from home on a daily basis. Thus, you are able to be involved in your children’s education and manage the daily chores without being forced to abandon your professional career.
• You benefit from excellent training courses. A franchise business has to respect the franchisor’s methods or quality standards. This is why you will be enrolled in training courses to ensure the proper implementation of the above mentioned methods and standards in your business.

The most popular franchise opportunities for mums are child-related and computer and Internet franchising. If you want to find out more on franchise opportunities then visit http://www.workingmums.co.uk today.

One issue I have with the Kindle Fire is the screen is very reflective. In fact it is nearly impossible to see the screen at some angles because of the reflection. After getting my iPad, I bought a screen protector for it and loved it so much that I thought I should buy one for the Fire, too. Why hadn’t I done this before? I’m not sure. I guess when it comes to shield screens, I have a love/hate relationship. I love that they protect my device but hate installing them. But I managed to get the shield on the iPad pretty painlessly – so I was confident that putting one on the Fire would be easy, too.

I bought the Invisible Shield for the Kindle Fire – the new improved one – whatever that means. But these are really easy to install. They come with a small bottle of solution you put on the shield and a squeegee to squeeze it out and help eliminate bubbles during installation. It was very easy to install and really works well. Very pleased with the result. I could not have taken this picture without the shield.

It turned out really nice and only took about five minutes. Now I am no longer afraid to install shield screens.

A few weeks ago, I noticed a display for Tide Pods trial pack. At 94 cents, it seemed like a bargain so I tossed it in the shopping cart. I really didn’t know about the product when I bought it. After reading the package, the Tide packets are pods that contain laundry detergent, stain fighter, and laundry boost(brighter clothes). What I didn’t realize until I open the trial pack was that the Tide pods were liquid. Apparently the laundry detergent is 2x stronger than Tide Liquid – there really isn’t a lot in that pod. There are small amounts of a stain remover and a laundry boost for whiter, brighter clothes.

Each packet dissolves completely in the wash – even in cold water. Place the pod in the washer drum before adding your clothes. Then wash the load. I have used two of the three pods and can attest that the did completely dissolve. The Tide Pods are an intriguing idea. Would I use them instead of my regular laundry detergent? Perhaps. It would clear up some space in my laundry room to have the pods. I would definitely consider using the pods if I had to travel to a laundry mat since it would be super easy to carry a couple of pods.

Tide Pods is supposed to be available this spring.

When the Army moved my family to Alaska, we were so scared. We are originally from Florida, and didn’t know how we would deal with the extreme cold. My husband tried to make the kids and I feel better, by telling us about all of the amazing outdoor activities we would be able to do in the summer, but we weren’t convinced. We were all anxious, and didn’t want to go. We were terrified of being so far away from everything familiar and warm. When we got there I felt lucky that the kids loved out new house right away. They had never lived in a house so big, and they were ready to take it over. It was a huge house and had a huge yard for them to play in. While they ran around and explored, my husband and I got to researching security systems anchorage so that we could get comfortable. Since we move so much because of the Army, we make sure to take care of safety first. Luckily the kids adjusted well, and now everyone is settled in nicely. I am still not quite as comfortable with the cold, but I’m starting to get used to it.

Excuse me? What? My husband is a planner? Since when? I was glad I was sitting down when he said that because you could have knocked me over with a feather. I was stunned. He doesn’t think I plan? How come there is food for him to eat at night and clean clothes for him to wear to work? That doesn’t happen from planning? It just struck a nerve because I do plan. He did throw me a bone by saying that I plan to pay bills but that was basically it. I plan all the time. I have several lists. In fact some plans I make he makes fun of! But no. He is rubbing off on me because I charged his tablet – a task he is always forgetting. Who has a dead cell phone at least twice a week? Not me since I plan to use my phone the next day so I put it on the charger when the battery is low.

Now I may not be the best planner or executioner of plans, but I wouldn’t say that his “planning skills” have rubbed off on me. His skills are pretty weak in that department. Anyway, maybe because I remember something of his to do that he now recognizes that I do plan. He sees the direct result – something of his that he loves – that benefited from my thinking ahead. That is probably more like it – I mean food and clean clothes are just a given at our house. No need to think any planning that place for that to happen.

I guess I have always thought of myself as a planner. In some areas it is really strong but apparently no so in others. My rant mode is now in check. It does feel good to get those feelings off your chest.

What I tackled so far

The Girl’s Room – Someone needs to say no to this child as she has more toys than Toys R Us. Seriously. What doesn’t she have? It’s just plain ridiculous and there is no room in her room for one third of what she has. So I have been storing a lot of her toys. If she doesn’t miss things in six months, then I will feel safe donating them. When she was younger, she remember all of her toys and would ask for ones even if they were put away. Now she is onto the new toy and does play with older toys but not like she once did. Fortunately she loves tiny toys. Those are awesome since they take up less room.

Besides moving toys out of her room, we moved a full size bed in there – leaving her with less space. Next in her room I plan to tackle her pile of stuffed animals. Now that she has a full-size bed, some of those can find a home there while the others can find a new home. She just isn’t into stuffed animals like she used to be.

Living Room – This room still needs some work but I moved around some furniture in hopes of a better layout. So far it is working. There are a few pieces that still need to be moved out and then we should have a nice, functional, sparse living room. I can’t believe how much that idea excites me. I definitely want a home where people feel comfortable and don’t have to shuffle around clutter just to find a spot to sit down. Soon the girl will have friends over so a clutter free home is what we all want.

There is still a lot to do. This weekend I plan to cull through our storage and donate a lot of items. Then I will get back to work in the house. There’s a long way to go but at least I can see real progress.

That is just a small example of what I put off. I put off answering email because – again – I don’t want to seem like I just wait for new email to arrive all day. Again, I’m worried what people will think if I respond too soon to something. When people respond fast to my emails, I do not think they are just constantly checking their email. I just think wow they are fast. So this is just silly, too.

I am also really bad at procrastinating when it comes to writing. Ugh. I love to blog and write, so why do I put it off? Sometimes I think I need a photo – so I will post when I have a photo. There are all sorts of reasons why I put off writing. But I shouldn’t. I should write when I’m inspired. This is something I am working on instead of waiting for the perfect storm that I just push forward and write.

Of course housework always gets pushed and pushed. I do plan on tackling clutter this winter. Still I need to do some small tasks each day to make life easier on all of us. Why put off small things like take the clothes to the laundry room? Really? You gonna let that go until tomorrow? Not anymore I say!

So I do need to adopt the attitude of if I can get to it today, then go ahead and do it. Weekends aren’t only meant for catching up, they are meant to relax and have fun. Of course I never put having fun off!

It’s going to be tough as I feel I may have hoarder tendencies. I do let trash go and broken items but do hang on to more than I should. We have a lot of cool things that we never touch simply because it’s in a box, so we forget we have it. Over the past few weeks, I have been thinking more about just letting go of stuff. So right now we need a plan – so here is my rough plan of attack -

Go through the house first – one room at a time. Each weekend I plan to tackle a different room. This way I don’t get overwhelmed with trying to do everything at once.

Make quick decisions. I expect some items to make it through round one – or as I call it the lightning round. Clothes that I do not wear are being donated. Purses I do not use are getting donated. So there are some easy things to put in a donation box. Some items will make it past this round but then I plan to come back and really evaluate the value of an item.

A simple plan but hopefully will be very effective. Already I have another three bags full of stuff to donate – that’s all from one make-shift closet. This weekend I will tackle our bedroom. My goal is to get rid of half what is in there this first round.

I love the Food Network and pretty much every show on it. I’m not a professional chef or anything but it’s been great learning some new tips and tricks every time I turn on the TV! My favorite is Bobby Flay and that’s a good thing because he’s on just about every show on the network like Throwdown and Boy Meets Grill and those types of series. I got cable comparison and chose satellite specifically so I could watch the Food Channel and the second I got it turned on they introduced their newest channel, the Cooking Network! It’s almost even better because there’s not as much time spent on things like competitions or reality shows and it’s just a lot more about the chefs doing what they’re good at which is cooking and teaching viewers how to do it too. I love learning new things and if you asked my family or friends I think they’d tell you they think I’m becoming quite the home chef! My husband would definitely say paying the satellite bill is worth it!

This January has been very pleasant. We slept with the air conditioner on two nights ago. When it’s bitterly cold, I don’t want to do anything but most days it is not extremely cold. So why wait for that crazy spring weather? Also when spring finally rolls around, we all have cabin fever. The last thing I want to do is spend time inside my house. I want to be in the sun even if it is just standing around – I don’t care. I want out of the house.

So since I’m trapped in the house for winter and the temperatures are still pleasant, why not clean? We are taking it room by room. I cleaned one of the bathrooms – removing all items from the sink that are not being used. It is very bare now with just a razor and toothbrushes but now you can actually use the space.

This weekend I plan to tackle the living room. Oy Vey. We will be rearranging our living space to hopefully make more room. By spring I should have a clean and organized house. What a wonderful feeling that will be.