Fitness guru’s across the trainer hierarchy gasped and swooned over this proclamation. Some flat out blasted this thought process, and there seemed to be a storm of opinions regarding her statement plastered all over the web. Yet, she stood behind her theory, and has become one of the most revered of the DVD fitness divas to date.

But, it has left many of us wondering what the correct information is in the end. Is this really up for debate? I mean shouldn’t their be a consensus by now over what a woman should be lifting as she follows the instructor du jour in the latest must have DVD?

Personally, having switched to another popular workout goddesses’ DVD collection, I often wonder. The current instructor I am worshipping alternates between “light” weights and “heavier” weights. However, she never states the amount of either. This has left me, and undoubtedly numerous other’s who workout at home trying to pause the video at different intervals to try and focus in on what the people in it are using.

To be frank, this has left me yearning for the days of Jane Fonda VHS tapes, and Lifetime Television’s various workout programs where they always told us what was up, and nobody questioned its validity.

Certainly, if only one person in a partnership is handling the selection of decorations it will be natural for them to lean towards their own style. And some will argue, if the other person is not participating in the act of selecting the family couch, or household carpet, then they should not have a voice in the matter. But, this can lead to unhappiness, on both sides, as one displeased member of a pair will undoubtedly impact the other.

The answer is to strive for a something more gender neutral. While I am also familiar with the scenario in my own life where a spouse says they want to have nothing to do with the choices regarding the furnishings or decorations in our abode, I also am familiar enough with his likes and dislikes to know how to insert his vote by proxy. Doing so is in everyone’s best interest, and makes the best sense in the long run. And though I still long to impulsively buy what I want so desperately, and then deal with the consequences upon its arrival, I acknowledge it is not all about me, it’s about us.

In my experience, one of each of these will be adequate for most home tasks. Fixed joint pliers make it possible for the user to grip and lock, which allows the tool to exert the pressure. Slip joint pliers can be adjusted to many different widths, making them extremely versatile. Both will enable a homeowner to tackle numerous home improvement projects.

Beyond these, you may find that you would benefit from linemen’s pliers, needle nose pliers, or bolt cutters. These tools are very specific in nature, and will be less useful for average DIY projects. However, I find them all to be fascinating in their own right, and must admit to wanting to buy more than I actually truly need.

This is what you will find if you take out a utensil divider out of the kitchen and apply it in a home office, or the drawer you keep your office supplies. It makes an awesome holder for pens, pencils, rubber bands, erasers, staples, paper clips etc. They are made to insert into drawers, so the fit is often perfect, and are not so deep that things fall out of view, and out of mind. Without this discovery, I would probably still have all of my writing implements rolling around in a place I would refer to as a “junk” drawer. What an inexpensive way to reorganise a work space for good.

Alas, no not me, I see this more as the home stretch, and a time to kick things up a notch. I have turned to the Physique 57 DVDs for this fitness sprint. These classes only require things that most of us already have in our workout kits, these include a yoga mat, light weights, heavier weights, a towel, a chair, and a playground ball. There is a Facebook page that has a section where the creators of this workout provide a monthly challenge which is intense, but that is what I am looking for afterall. This will have me doing my training for five days a week, and with that I expect to see real results. According to the posts from other students on the Facebook page I should get what I am seeking in eight weeks. Perfect timing I’d say.

Things got underway last month, and the contractor indicated to us that it would take a week to put a roof on. I am sure having said that, you are already anticipating what came next. Yes, it took the workmen two weeks and two days to do the project. As I had planned to work from home to be on site during this renovation of one week, it came to take its toll on me when it continued to be pushed day after day.

Needless to say, the one thing that kept me sane was my online searches for new outdoor furniture for this space. Thankfully, I could escape the repetitive sound of the nail gun, and the electric sander, and who knows what that incessant buzzing was from by dreaming up different layouts for loungers, end tables, decorative rugs and pillows.

Then we start moving in and well, there is enough space even if most of the wardrobes and cupboards are almost full, but we can live with that. Then the unexpected happens, someone moves in with us or there is a huge sale of must-have items and, before we know it, all that space is gone and we are wondering why we ever thought there would be enough of it for all of our possessions.

Here are a few clever storage tips to help you free up a bit more space!

Tired of chunky shoe racks that leave you scrabbling around never being able to find anything? Why not place a plastic, detachable towel rail onto the bottom of your wardrobe? Not only will this provide the perfect place to pop your shoes in a neat order you also have storage space under for bags and other accessorise!

The bed might be every girl’s favourite place but who else is tired of scrabbling around under it looking for boxes or stretching out finger tips for boxes just out of reach? This is, of course, if you are lucky enough to have under bed storage in the first place, you may have a double divan bed which will obviously have no space under it. Why not replace your bed frame with something like an ottoman bed frame? This nifty bed allows you to store items under the mattress so there’s no more trying to squeeze yourself under the bed to get to your favourite shoes. Not only do these come in great styles, allowing you to update the look of your bedroom, they are also the perfect answer to any storage issues you may have.

Who would have thought it; there are even photo frames that double as storage! Perfect for keeping jewellery in, or even make up, they have a small box behind the picture to keep everything out of sight and nice and tidy too. To see some beds perfect for storage head over to dreams.co.uk today

Alas, when the contractor arrived this morning, he informed us that the major beam that supports the entire overhead configuration may not be strong enough to support a full tile roof’s weight. This was the first we had heard of this from him, and found the timing of his disclosure to be absurd, and foreseeably majorly problematic.

In sum, he stated that over time we might want to keep an eye on that beam, and maybe test its height to confirm that it has not begun to sag. Then he had the gall to tell us that it is only natural for this to take place. This left my head reeling, as I could not understand if he meant natural for wood to bend under too much weight, or natural for this to take place and for people to remain calm and unprotected against it.

As for solutions, he came up with the wait and see approach, this was clearly his preference. Otherwise we could insert additional wooden strips of beams onto the outside of the already existing beam to provide more support. However, he was quick to point out that this might not even help. On top of it al, my husband is not one to handle split decision making in a dignified manner, and pushed the responsibility of making a decision onto me. Oh and this was followed by an instruction that it needed to be decided now. Urrrgggghhhh! Such is the world of home repairs.

Aside from that, without labelling these items we surely will never recall exactly when it was they were placed in the freezer, much less when they should be used up by. Knowing all this, we must question why we do not simply take a second to label them. But alas, we commonly do not. Therefore, maybe what we are in need of is a little prompting. There are some very cute clip art label templates available for printing right off the internet. The best of the bunch are the ones that have a spot for you to circle the month and day that they were ushered into the freezer, along with a space right on top to indicate what in the world exists inside.

Once you have found the template you like just print them on to adhesive backed paper and print away. Then be sure to leave a bunch of them extremely close to the freezer, and if possible within view, thus making it ridiculously easy to apply.

To begin with, when we walk we arouse certain parts of our brain, parts that are inactive when we are sitting around. Obviously being creatures that walk up right for mobility, this means this activity is how we work best. However, there are some things we can do to optimise our walks. These include wearing comfortable, unrestrictive clothing and focusing on the activity pace instead of whatever it is you have going on the ipod. The walk should be a form of exercise for both the body and a form of stimulation for the mind when done properly.