Articles written by Kim Hausknecht

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About me - Kim Hausknecht

I'm a 30-something former college computer science teacher and Java programmer who is now raising my 6 year old twins full time. My husband, son and daughter and I currently live in a suburb of Chicago, but we love the mountains so we travel West as often

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Politics, News & Issues > Environmental Awareness Easy ways your family can "go green": 17 of 319
In today's world, it's not always easy being green. We live in a disposable, hyper-consuming society. We buy too much, throw it out when we're done, and then buy more. This cycle is not only wasteful in terms of dwindling resources and tons of garbage that end up in landfills, it is also very expensive. We can break this cycl... More..
Entertainment > Music Genres, Trends & Scenes How the power ballad destroyed metal music in the late '80s: 3 of 47
When heavy metal was spawned from the twisted minds of Ozzy and Black Sabbath in the seventies, a completely new and different sound was born. Metal's gut-wrenching, head-thrashing angst flew in the face of the soft rock and disco staples of the 70s. True heavy metal represented everything anti-establishment, a "we're not goi... More..
Entertainment > Music Genres, Trends & Scenes Top albums of the 90s: 2 of 20
The 90s. Seattle spewed grunge and coffee in equal amounts, Mark Wahlberg had a Funky Bunch, and "alternative rock" became so popular that we no longer even had an alternative. Unless you counted Sarah McLachlan. Or the the boy band, the spawn of an era when record labels chose band members instead of the other way around. Th... More..
Personal Finance > Real Estate Given the threat of wildfires, should people buy houses on the edge of government lands?: 1 of 10
Wildfires are a natural, and sometimes necessary, part of the cycle of rebirth and renewal of our national forests and parks. Yellowstone looked as if it was decimated by the wildfires that ravaged it two decades ago; today thousands of young saplings are sprouting up amongst their charred ancestors. It is an incredible sight... More..
Parenting & Pregnancy > After School Should parents raise their children without television?: 72 of 304
Should parents raise their children without television?No.Do I think, as a parent of two preschoolers, that kids today watch too much TV?Probably.Does that mean that ANY television is bad for your kids?Of course not.The problem with answering the question "Should parents raise their kids without television" with a negative is... More..
Health & Fitness > Healthy Living & Wellness How to eat healthy every day: 2 of 7
In our fast-paced, grab-and-go world, it seems as if we have to make a conscious effort to eat healthy. We have no time sit down to dinner, much less cook it, so we do the drive-thru and nuke the frozen meal and wonder where those 10 extra pounds came from. Eating take-out and Hot Pockets are fine in a pinch, and sometimes yo... More..
Parenting & Pregnancy > Baby Accessories Baby fashion: How to save money on brand-name baby clothes: 5 of 15
One of the joys of having adorable children is dressing them in adorable clothes. It helps if those adorable clothes last longer than a week and don't make us bankrupt. Brands like Gymboree and Ralph Lauren are made from quality material and hold up after multiple washings, but they also come with a hefty price tag. I don't s... More..
Entertainment > Music Genres, Trends & Scenes Music genre reviews: Hair metal: 2 of 3
Big hair. Hairspray by the gallon. Lip gloss (the sparkly kind). Eyeshadow (again, the sparkly kind). Ah, the late 1980s. When men had mullets, women wore shoulder pads and every other rock band had an umlaut in its name. The perfectly-coiffed monsters of glam rock made metal accessible to the masses in an era when Metallica ... More..