Letter Writing Week

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By Diane Forrest

In this electronic age, there is something that has gotten pushed by the wayside - The art of letter writing.  Every now and then I will come across an article in the news mentioning a letter from someone famous that has been discovered.  These letters give us an insight to the people, time, and history that has taken place.   Many are very fascinating to read, and some are just like the letters you write to your Aunt Tilly.

My stepson started a job working out of town.  He is gone for normally 3 weeks at a time.  I encouraged him to write cards or letters to his wife and daughter while he was gone.  He informed me that with the internet, cell phones and such, there was no need to physically write a letter.  I tried to explain to him that while those were good methods of communication, nothing beats a handwritten letter.  It is something you can hold on to, read over and over again, and save as a memento of the personal touch.

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Many people save letters from old loves, or family members who were in battles overseas.  These memories are so precious to them, even more so if the writer never returned home.  It is like holding a piece of them in your hands and in your heart.

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Many children recently wrote letters to Santa Claus, letting him know what their wishes were for Christmas, and our local newspaper publishes them, and they are so cute and funny to read.  There are also a number of children who write to presidents of the United States.  Once such letter, to President Franklin Roosevelt is included below:

"My good friend Roosevelt," was the surprisingly informal salutation. "I am twelve years old. I am a boy but I think very much." Apparently one of the things he thought about was what he wanted from the U.S. President: "If you like, give me a ten dollars bill green American, in the letter, because never, I have not seen a ten dollars bill green American and I would like to have one of them." The letter was signed with a flourish: "Castro, Fidel Castro." At the time he wrote this letter, it was not known he would grow up to be a Cuban dictator, but if not for someone saving this letter, we would have never learned of his request.

This week is Letter Writing Week.  Letters are not just for children, but for everyone.  I save every letter I receive, and keep them in a box to pull them out every now and then.  If you have someone who is far away, or even down the street, send a letter to let them know you are thinking of them.  If you don't have someone to write to, consider writing someone in the military.  I had attempted to find an address for any serviceman or woman, however, I couldn’t find just an address, but you can check out www.anysoldier.com, soldiersangels.com or wounded warrier.com.  Don't let these skills die off in a text, pull out some pen and paper today, and write a nice letter to someone you know.

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National Stress Free Holiday Month

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By Diane Forrest

With Thanksgiving under our belts....literally, we are now staring right into the Christmas season.  Thanksgiving is a rather calm holiday, gathering at the table eating a huge meal and watching football, how hard is that?  No worries about decorating the house or buying presents...just relaxing with family and friends, and hearing the same old stories over and over.  This Thanksgiving was different though.  The retailers, in their infinite wisdom, decided to begin the shopping season on Thanksgiving Day - not only throwing chaos in a calm day, but ripping employees away from their family time.

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This year I did something that I have never done before.  I went to Wal-Mart during their "Black Friday" sale that started on Thursday night.  There was a good sale on vacuum cleaners, and I needed one, so I said…why not?  Big Mistake!  I didn’t know that my small town had that many people, and I think most of them were there!  The store was so crowded; you could not even walk down the aisle.  All the sale items were disguised, and located all over the store, so it was also more of a treasure hunt too.  There were people yelling and pushing and grabbing and fighting for bargains, activities that would make even the calmest person stressed. Luckily, a vacuum was not one of the coveted items…so I had little difficulty obtaining one and trying to work my way out of the store.

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My next mistake came when my mother encouraged me to go to the midnight opening at the mall.  Now I know why they call them "Door Busters"  there was such a crowd gathered at the door, that when they finally unlocked the door, I feared the doors were gonna break or at least fall off the hinges.  I had imagined that all the folks I had just seen at Wal-Mart had made their way to the mall, so once again, I found myself trapped in a sea of people and unable to move through the store.

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Thus the holiday stress had begun.  I did get a little shopping out of the way, but now I was faced with decorating the house, getting out Christmas Cards and baking delicious treats for family and friends.  Making lists and checking them twice, making sure I had remembered everything and everyone.

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The holidays can be a very stressful time, but it is also Stress Free Holiday Month, and below are some tips that will help you make it through the season with your sanity intact.  They include:

• Make a list
• Get plenty of rest
• Make a budget
• Ask for help, you don’t have to do it all by yourself
• Take a break, go for a walk, visit a friend, and watch a movie

Just remember its ok if you don't get it all done...chances are nobody will even notice if you forget to send that fruitcake! 

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Have a stress free month, and Happy Holidays!

Egg Nog Anyone?

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By Diane Forrest

Some of your big holidays have their own special menus.  New Year's Day has black eyed peas and turnip greens, Easter is ham and tater salad and deviled eggs. The 4th of July is for hamburgers, hot dogs and ribs while Thanksgiving is turkey, dressing and pumpkin pie. Then you have Christmas.  Some of the best treats of all are only found during the Christmas season.  Friends and neighbors are busy cooking up their special recipe to send to loved ones, there are cakes, pies, cookies and homemade candy everywhere.  Some of the things that can only be found at my house during the holidays are fruitcake, party mix (we call it trash) snowball cookies and fudge. But what can you wash it all down with?

My husband loved the start of the holidays because he knew there would be egg nog flowing soon.  As soon as he saw the first container in the milk case at the store he would grab some up and then drink it until there was no more left on the shelves.  Every year my family would gather around and drink a toast with egg nog out of special glasses that were only used for that toast.

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Egg nog is a traditional holiday drink made with milk or cream, sugar and eggs.  Alcohol such as rum or brandy may also be added along with a garnishment of cinnamon and nutmeg.  It is available in the stores begining around Thanksgiving and lasting til New Year's, but without the alcohol added. There are a few theories to how egg nog actually got its name. One theory is that egg nog was at first called "egg n' grog" which eventually got shortened to "egg nog." Another theory is that its name traces back to the old English word for strong ale, "nog." This theory suggests that the combination of the words "egg" and "nog" refers to any drink that contains both eggs and strong alcohol.

Eggnog is available in your grocery store, however if you like it during the year, you can make it yourself.  Below is a recipe from Alton Brown, if you want to make yourself during the year.  Whether you buy it or make it yourself, this Christmas Eve, drink a toast to your health, family, friends and all the blessings you have received during the year.  Merry Christmas!

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Eggnog

Ingredients:

4 egg yolks

1/3 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon

1 pint whole milk

1 cup heavy cream

3 ounces bourbon

1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

4 egg whites*

Directions:

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the egg yolks until they lighten in color. Gradually add the 1/3 cup sugar and continue to beat until it is completely dissolved. Add the milk, cream, bourbon and nutmeg and stir to combine.

Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat to soft peaks. With the mixer still running gradually add the 1 tablespoon of sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.

Whisk the egg whites into the mixture. Chill and serve.

Cook's Note: For cooked eggnog, follow procedure below.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the egg yolks until they lighten in color. Gradually add the 1/3 cup sugar and continue to beat until it is completely dissolved. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, over high heat, combine the milk, heavy cream and nutmeg and bring just to a boil, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and gradually temper the hot mixture into the egg and sugar mixture. Then return everything to the pot and cook until the mixture reaches 160 degrees F. Remove from the heat, stir in the bourbon, pour into a medium mixing bowl, and set in the refrigerator to chill.

In a medium mixing bowl, beat the egg whites to soft peaks. With the mixer running gradually add the 1 tablespoon of sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Whisk the egg whites into the chilled mixture.

Healthy Habits – Achieving your Goals

By Akindman,

As we are now into the Holiday Season with our focus on: celebrating; gift buying; doing holiday letters, cards and phone calls; attending/hosting parties; decorating our Christmas trees and homes; and the endless gatherings where we can eat until our little hearts are content; are all part of the joy of the season – I found a very interesting article on Tuesday to share with our readers.

Earlier this year, we post several articles on 13 Healthy Habits (February and March) and throughout this year other related articles.  As I have recently began my quest for getting the ole body back into shape, my weight under control and more importantly having a healthier body – the timing of this article is excellent.  In addition, it just might help your during this holiday season.

How to Achieve Your Goals with Healthy Habits

Written by Leo Babauta

(http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/reach-your-goals-through-daily-habits/)

We’ve all faced the disappointment and guilt that comes from setting a goal and giving up on it after a couple of weeks. Sustaining motivation for a long-term goal is hard to achieve, and yet the best goals can usually only be accomplished in a few months or even years.

Here’s the solution: Focus instead on creating a new habit that will lead to achieving your goal.

Want to run a marathon? First create the habit of running every day. Want to get out of debt and start saving? Create the habit of brown bagging it to work, or watching DVDs instead of going to the movies, or whatever change will lead to saving money for you.

By focusing not on what you have to achieve over the course of the next year, but instead on what you are doing each day, you are focusing on something achievable. That little daily change will add up to a huge change, over time … and you’ll be surprised at how far you’ve come in no time. Little grains of sand can add up to a mountain over time.

I used this philosophy of habit changes to run a marathon, to change my diet and lose weight, to write a novel, to quit smoking, to become organized and productive, to double my income, reduce my debt and start saving, and to begin training for an Olympic triathlon this year. It works, if you focus on changing habits.

Now, changing your habits isn’t easy — I won’t lie to you — but it’s achievable, especially if you start small. Don’t try to change the world with your first habit change … take baby steps at first. I started by just trying to run a mile — and by the end of the year, I could run more than 20 miles.

How do you change your habits? Focus on one habit at a time, and follow these steps:

Positive changes. If you’re trying to change a negative habit (quit smoking), replace it with a positive habit (running for stress relief, for example).

Take on a 30-day challenge. Tell yourself that you’re going to do this habit every day, at the same time every day, for 30 straight days without fail. Once you’re past that 30-day mark, the habit will become much easier. If you fail, do not beat yourself up. Start again on a new 30-day challenge. Practice until you succeed.

Commit yourself completely. Don’t just tell yourself that you might or should do this. Tell the world that DEFINITELY will do this. Put yourself into this 100 percent. Tell everyone you know. Email them. Put it on your blog. Post it up at your home and work place. This positive public pressure will help motivate you.

Set up rewards. It’s best to reward yourself often the first week, and then reward yourself every week for that first month. Make sure these are good rewards, that will help motivate you to stay on track.

Plan to beat your urges. It’s best to start out by monitoring your urges, so you become more aware of them. Track them for a couple days, putting a tally mark in a small notebook every time you get an urge. Write out a plan, before you get the urges, with strategies to beat them. We all have urges to quit — how will you overcome it? What helps me most are deep breathing and drinking water. You can get through an urge — it will pass.

Track and report your progress. Keep a log or journal or chart so that you can see your progress over time. I used a running log for my marathon training, and a quit meter when I quit smoking. It’s very motivating to see how far you’ve come. Also, if you can join an online group and report your progress each day, or email family and friends on your progress, that will help motivate you.

Most important of all: Always stay positive. I learned the habit of monitoring my thoughts, and if I saw any negative thoughts (“I want to stop!”) I would squash it like a little bug, and replace it with a positive thought (“I can do this!”). It works amazingly. This is the best tip ever. If you think negative thoughts, you will definitely fail. But if you always think positive, you will definitely succeed.

Once the holidays are over, most of us will be once again making our New Year’s Resolutions for the upcoming year – so why not start now planning ahead for those goals and begin looking at healthy habits to help you achieve your goals?

I started mine a couple weeks: researching apps for my smartphone to assist me in tracking items that my doctor, dietitian/nutritionists, podiatrists, wife, friends and I have agreed items to track and goals/measures for each.