Professional chefs have sous chefs to do all the hard work and to see that meals get to the table in a timely manner. While I wouldn't characterize myself as a chef, I do have a home kitchen assistant, and quite frankly I just don't know what I'd do without her.

The 2024 World Happiness Report, which is a collaboration with Gallup, the Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre, the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network and the World Happiness Report Editorial Board, found that young Americans under 30 are much more displeased with their lives than adults over 60. The startling fact about this finding for many was that so many U.S. young adults are unhappy that our country dropped out of the top 20 for the happiest nations and currently sits at 23rd, down eight spots from last year. U.S. senior citizens in this study ranked America as the 10th happiest place on earth, but young adults ranked it 63rd, which shows a huge gap in evaluations of contentment.

Face it. Living below your means and staying out of debt, especially in the inflationary times in which America finds itself, requires a good bit of creativity. We have to get pretty clever to stretch a buck.

Dear Readers: Many of you wrote in with tips on encouraging children to focus less on material items. Thank you for sharing these terrific suggestions. Here are some of my favorite letters: Dear Annie: I just read your letter from 'Caught in the Middle,' the parent whose daughter is being spoiled by her grandparents and is looking for a polite way to call off the gifts. The letter writer should follow your advice and encourage her mother to start giving memories instead of presents. She should get on the floor with her granddaughter and play with her. Whether it's having a tea party or building a fort or going to the zoo, those are the things her granddaughter will remember. She won't remember the gifts after a week or two, but memories of play dates and special times with her grandma? She'll remember those always.

Matthew 5:17 “Do not think that I came to abolish the law or the prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.” When you are called to follow Jesus, you will most likely be faced with the decision of legalism or license. It seems the majority of churches today discount the Old Testament because it testifies of the law and the failure of Gods’ people to do what the law says. The prophets confirm the people could not or would not go by the law through their prophecy. They failed in legalism.

Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt's misleading defense raises concerns following an audit released by the Kansas Attorney General, concluding that the state is losing more than $20 million a year because its Insurance Department is lax in overseeing one of its programs. The department said the audit is flawed and should be 'discounted nearly in its entirety.' While Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt's office attempts to downplay the severity of the findings revealed in the recent audit of Kansas' Insurance Department, their response raised significant concerns about transparency and accountability within the state's governance.

My husband and I have never bought a home we didn't tinker with. And by 'tinker,' I don't mean a coat of fresh paint and new shelving. I mean the knock out a wall, rip up the flooring and till the backyard for a new garden kind of tinkering. Real doit- yourselfers. This is why when the kitchen cabinet recently fell off the wall -- literally while putting away dishes -- we didn't stress too much. We were planning to remodel the kitchen anyway. I simply set up wire shelving for the dishes that hadn't broken, and then we strolled through Lowe's hand in hand.

Joe Biden. Donald Trump.

TV You will have to forgive a piece that is not at all about politics and the current cultural contretemps of modern American society. Instead, I want to use these words to recommend as forcefully as possible a television show that you should be watching.

Former President Donald Trump’s statement that the attack on Israel by Iran “would not have happened if we were in office,” has drawn derision, including from his former National Security Adviser John Bolton.