Monday, December 31, 2007

New Year's Resolutions: Deepen Faith, Live, Laugh More and Always Widen My Circle of Wonderful Friends

It's inevitable that every Christmas and New Year's, we are one year older; and hopefully more faithful to God, happier, wiser and a little more financially stable than last year. I'm always sad when Christmas day is over, but long ago when my Grandma lived with us, we also had a little celebration of Russian Christmas, so my tree and decorations stay up at least through then, even now. Everyone has their own traditions and that just happens to be one of ours. While we aren't celebrating Russian Christmas, it's still a special day to me because of my beloved Grandma.

Year end many of us take stock of all our experiences during the past year, good, bad and indifferent and wonder how our future can be even more worthwhile. It really seems simple to me that all that is necessary is to keep doing all the good things that have been accomplished, learn our faith more completely, live and deal with love for others, discover even more wonderful new friends than in the past and bring on the laughter.

Laughter is a great mood elevator and I'm making a little contribution with a you-tube Weird Al video this year. For those of you who know who enjoy his accomplished talents, you'll love this one, and if you've never heard of him, watch it, he'll grow on you.

Happy, Safe and Prosperous New Year to all!!








Saturday, December 29, 2007

Warning: Stomach Virus From Hell Leaving Many Very Ill

One of the worst stomach viruses to hit this winter is beginning its rounds. Symptoms are so severe that you could mistake it for the flu or food poisoning. Onset is pretty sudden. Friends have reported others who have been hospitalized. If the elderly catch this, it is probably a good idea for a trip to the ER and possibly hospitalization. You should not be alone if you catch this, it definitely won't have run through your system in two days, and causes extreme exhaustion. I am on day four of this virus and am still pretty much unable to get out of bed except for very short periods of time, but that is a definite improvement over almost not at all.

Sunday, December 9, 2007

Growing Up Poor

As my friend and I were leaving work, we walked together with another co-worker. We teased him about eating an apple on the way to get our rides home, 'only getting your lunch now?' we had asked. Our friend Sean told us that he found he had left this apple in his desk drawer and that if he didn't eat it today, it would not be edible for much longer.

You see, he explained, he had grown up poor, and even though he had a good job in another department where we worked, the habits he learned when poor were still with him. Nothing was wasted or thrown out. He bragged he still had a few shirts from 20 years ago that were in good condition, and just could not force himself to throw them out.

My friend and I agreed with him, neither of us had grown up in abundance either, but at least the consensus was that if he did part with them, they had to be given to someone else who could use them. We recycle, we reuse is nothing new, it's just the really correct thing to do now.

Sean thought he needed to change some of his longstanding habits, but we thought maybe he should teach some of those habits to others so they too could stay a little farther out of debt.

Thursday, December 6, 2007

Holiday Party Appetizers Are Easy To Make At Home

If the prices of pre-prepared heat and eat appetizers leave you cold, you don't have to experiment yourself and just hope yours turn out okay. Pillsbury has their own website and lots of help for you. I'll be making something from their recipes collection this weekend too. To sweeten the deal even further, coupons are offered when you register with them. That link is at
http://www.pillsbury.com/coupons-promotions - to search for recipes, look at the left side bar where you can search. Try the term "crescent" and you'll find a lot of party goodies you can make at home for less.

You can easily keep your appetizers hot after baking by putting them into an electric frypan on a warm setting. Now you can get out of the kitchen and join the party too.