Last week my husband and I received the sad news that one of our high school classmates had passed away at age 39. That kind of news really makes you stop and reevaluate your own life, how you’re living it, and what truly matters.

Oops. If your family has lived, or at least survived, by the 5-second rule, researchers at San Diego State University say you may be living on borrowed time. You know the rule: If food falls to the floor and you grab it back within 5 seconds, you can still eat it. Without, you know, dying.

Sometimes we hear someone being described as having a great personality. On other occasions, we might hear the same person described as having a good character. And though we often use the terms personality and character interchangeably, they are not the same thing at all.

While contemplating the lessons I have learned through a difficult time in my life, I started to wonder what lessons I have shown my children? I would like to think I have shown them that although doing what is best for yourself is not always the easiest path or decision to make, it is often necessary. I would like to think I have shown them that I respect myself and demand that respect from others – and that love does not negate that demand.

Need some quick and delicious dinner ideas that you can cook while you’re at work. Try these ideas.
SLOW-COOKER LASAGNA
6-8 servings

1 pound ground beef
1 onion, chopped
about 6 cups of your favorite pasta/marinara sauce
8-ounce package lasagna noodles, uncooked
2-4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1½ cups cottage cheese

Spray the interior of the cooker with nonstick [...]

What happens when you mix eggs and flour, sugar and vanilla, baby food and pudding, a microwave, a mug and two preschoolers? The answer is definitely a big mess, but also, surprisingly, a little cake. This downsized dessert is fun to make, easy to gulp down.

QUESTION: I’ve been dating a man for a little over a month. His second marriage was the result of his getting the girl he was seeing pregnant. It lasted five very turbulent years. Their child is now 6 — and she also has three older children by another man. My problem is that my boyfriend [...]

Family psychologist John Rosemond answers parents’ questions on his Web site at rosemond.com.
QUESTION: Our 34-month-old daughter is trying to control everyone else in the family, especially us. When things don’t go her way, the result is an instantaneous and fairly demonstrative meltdown. We either it ignore or tell her to sit on the steps until [...]

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day by making a Brigid’s cross, a craft honoring one of Ireland’s patron saints. Traditionally these crosses are made of rushes, which grow wild in marshy areas. We wove our cross from colored craft-store raffia.
First, moisten the raffia by wetting it with warm water and allowing it to sit for ten minutes. [...]

Potatoes are a popular food with families, but they are not a common crop in the home vegetable garden. Let’s change that.
March is a great time to plant potatoes. The gardener’s rule of thumb is to sow them anytime from six weeks to just before the last frost.
Potatoes like a sunny spot. Prepare a fertile [...]

Keep the Midlands Beautiful is seeking teams of young adults, ages 14-18, from Lexington and Richland counties to participate in a phone book sculpture contest on March 6. Teams of three to seven members must be sponsored by a school, faith-based organization or civic group and must collect and bring all telephone books needed for [...]

March 6-7 – “Museums on Us” free weekend – a Bank of America program that offers its card holders free admission to more than 70 museums nationwide. EdVenture Children’s Museum is the only museum in S.C. in this program.
March 6 – Carniball – EdVenture’ Children’s Museum’s annual adults-only party, will be a Lowcountry affair filled [...]