Delicous Fall Aroma

I absolutely love this time of year! Fall brings a relief from the extreme summer heat, with crisper, cooler evenings that make it perfect for walking.  You just want to drink in the scenery of crimson, red, orange, yellow and green leaves.  Warm comfort foods replace outdoor grilling and the yummy spices make their way back into your recipes.

One of my favorite things to do on a weekend, is to take a medium size pot and fill it with three to four whole cinnamon sticks, 15-20 whole cloves and two oranges, sliced.  Fill the pot with water, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.  Refill with water every hour or so.  The delicious aroma fall aroma will waft through your home and make you feel like you've just stepped into a bakery filled with pumpkin and spiced pies.

 

Naps Versus Coffee

Is taking a catnap better than reaching for a cup of joe? Yes, Mednick says, because caffeine can decrease memory performance. So you may feel more wired, but you are also prone to making more mistakes.

"If I don't get my naps, I get cranky and unfocused by the end of a week of short nights," Wilde says. "For me, that nap helps bring back my energy level."

Napping Tips

Napping regularly may reduce stress and even decrease your risk of heart disease, according to research from the Harvard School of Public Health and University of Athens Medical School in Greece. To get the most out of a power nap, follow these quick tips from sleep expert Sara C. Mednick, PhD:

Be regular. Keep a regular nap schedule. Prime napping time
falls in the middle of the day, between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.

Make it quick. Set your cell phone alarm for 30 minutes or less if
you don't want to wake up groggy.

Go dark. Nap in a dark room or wear an eye mask. Blocking out light helps you fall asleep faster.

Stay warm. Stash a blanket nearby to put over you because your body temperature drops while you snooze. - Quoted from WebMD

Sometimes, The Yummy Stuff is Actually Good For You

There's sweet news about hot cocoa: Researchers at Cornell University have shown that the popular winter beverage contains more antioxidants per cup than a similar serving of red wine or tea and may be a healthier choice.

I say, that's fantastic news!  Hot chocolate seems like a delicious dessert to me.  The colder weather is moving in and even though we're missing the warmth of the sunshine, we're delighting in the crisper cooler air. Warm, sweet and aromatic drinks are so delicious this time of the year.

So, go ahead and indulge in a yummy cup of cocoa without any of the guilt.  It's good for you!

A "Time Out" to Tap Into Your Feelings

As funny as that sounds, tuning into our feelings can sometimes be harder than it seems.  We live in a fast paced society, always on the go, constantly plugged into the Internet, social networks and our work emails.  Our radio's, computer's and t.v.'s are usually turned on from the time we wake up until the time we go to sleep at night, which leaves little room for meditation of any kind.

When I find myself in a place that feels stressful, whether it be in a conversation that is not going well, pressure on the job,  or attending an event that is awkward, I try to take a "time out".   Time outs can be anywhere from five minutes to a few hours, depending upon the situation. I  excuse myself and disappear somewhere (it could be the restroom or a walk around the block).  It gives me some quiet time to disengage from the busy electronic world and tune into my heart by asking myself,  "what are you feeling right now?".

You'd be amazed at the answers that will come to you when you allow yourself to step away for even a minute.  Instead of thinking you're angry, you might realize that you're just afraid and then are better able to communicate that when you go back to resume that difficult conversation.  Sometimes you won't always have the luxury or the time to walk through a pretty park, yet sitting quietly by yourself, in the nearest restroom stall for even five to ten minutes, can do wonders to help find that calmness and clarity you'll need to continue on in a stressful moment.

Pick Your Battles Wisely With Your Teens - Pink Hair May Not Be So Bad After All

"Your Mother turned my hair grey and you kids made it fall out!"  That's what my Father used to tell us once we hit the teenage years.  One thing I did learn from him was to pick your battles wisely.  Afterall, how bad could pink hair on your child be compared to them getting hooked on drugs.

Teenagers are stuck in that awful world between being a kid and an adult.  They are trying to come into their own and can express this in ways that can will make you cringe.  I was always a very creative child.  I continued being creative as a teenager, yet expressed it in a odd way. 

It all started when I was out sick and home from school for five days with the Flu.  My best friend came to visit me the first day I was home, and to cheer me up took one of my crayons (I like to color even now when I don't feel well) and wrote a message on my wall.  I loved it! I encouraged the next few visitors that stopped by to do the same.  Soon, word had gotten around school that Sarah was turning her wall into a graffiti site.  A couple of scribblings turned into 100.

My Dad was unaware of this wonderful art that was being created and when he stopped in my room to see me, he took one look at the wall and about had a heart attack.  Once he calmed down (it took a few days) he not only accepted it, he began to appreciate it.  When we had to move back to the States, we had to pack and clean, etc... and paint the walls.  My Dad came into my room the day before we painted and took photos of my wall and seemed all nostalgic. 

I have tried over the years to incorporate that valuable lesson I learned from my Father into how I parented my own girls once they became teenagers.  You may not like how they dress or what color they dye their hair, yet if you can learn to put things in perspective, like them wearing goth style clothing and having spiked hair is far better than expressing themselves through drinking, drugs and sex, it will carry you a long way to keeping your sanity and letting them feel somewhat independent.  The teenage road is definitely a long and bumpy one, yet it can certainly have it's fun and amusing moments if you don't let it kill you.

One Day at a Time

I used to be a Type A personality, until I had some health problems that forced me to slow down.  At first, I resented not being able to run around like a chicken with my head cut off, but then not only did I enjoy the slower pace, I learned how to savor every day.

I do three things when I wake up every morning.  I name one stress (project, goal, deadline, bill, etc...) that is on my "to do" list and tackle it.  Next, I choose one person on my family and friends list who I will connect with in a meaningful way (like a lengthy email, phone call or meeting over lunch), rather than a quick text or an IM chat over the Internet.  Then to wrap it up, I pick one thing that I will do for myself so that I have something to look forward to. It can be as simple as having a new copy of People Magazine waiting for me to take that bubble bath at the end of a hard day, stopping by the cafe on the way to work for a latte or croissant or splurging for a massage.

By tackling a stress on my never ending to do list and not procrastinating on everything, i can feel better about myself at the end of the day.  Staying connected to loved ones and not getting so far behind that I dread having to make five calls at the end of the month, helps me feel supported and loved.  Learning how to pamper myself so that I don't get burned out and can recharge my batteries on a daily basis, has been a simple recipe for living that leaves me feeling less frazzled and more content.

Live Longer by Connecting with Friends

An Article on how enjoying a wide social circle can extend your life recently appeared in a September issue of Womans World Magazine.  A just-released Brigham Young University study shows that spending time with friends can slash your risk of serious illness in half! What's more, researchers say socializing has a greater impact on your health than exercising daily, quitting smoking, controlling high blood pressure or avoiding obesity!

So, don't give up the diets, the gym and all the other healthier ways of living, yet do call that friend you've been putting off, get on facebook and reconnect with an old high school buddy and have that girls night out once a month.  It's good for you!

Chicken Soup With Garlic and Lemon

Chicken soup.  Who doesn't love a nice hot bowl of homemade soup when you're feeling under the weather.  Growing up in the Middle East, I learned to use a lot of garlic and lemon in my recipes.  Both of which have many healing properties.  Raising kids as a single parent and having gone through some rough years with no health insurance, I quickly learned a lot of "natural" remedies that saved me from having to run to the doctor every time one of the children had a cold.  I'm going to share my favorite recipe that my grown kids still request when they don't feel well.  Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:
1 Whole Chicken
4 Lemons
4 Cloves of Garlic, Chopped
3 Sticks of Celery, Chopped
1 Whole Onion, Chopped
1 Cup of Rice
Salt and Pepper to Taste

DIRECTIONS:
Clean the whole chicken, inside and out...salt and pepper.  Place in large pot and cover with water.  Add the onion and celery, bring to a boil on high, then reduce to medium and let simmer for an hour and a half.  Occasionally check the water level and add more if needed.  Remove chicken onto plate (covered with tin foil for easy discarding) to cool.  Let cool for 30 minutes and turn chicken broth to low.  Peel skin away from chicken and add pieces back to the broth.  Add the rice, juice from the lemons and garlic  Bring broth back to a simmer for 20 minutes

The Fish Saved His Head and Later Provided a Meal

I'm going to share a personal story (with some humor thrown in), at the suggestion of a good friend of mine.  Growing up overseas in third world countries probably made my Mom become a nurse out of necessity, rather than by choice.  I believe I was seven years old and my Brother was three, and we were living in Yemen at the time. We did not have a television, so had to rely on other forms of activities for entertainment. 

One particular evening, we were playing the game spoons.  My Brother slipped and hit his head, cutting it open on the door hinge that had been left in place where there was no door.  As head wounds bleed a lot, he was quite a frightening sight to behold. My Parents quickly went into action mode, my Mother yelling for my Dad to grab some ice to place on the wound.  He ran to the freezer and yelled back that there was no ice.  My Mom then told him to just grab anything cold, probably thinking a bag of frozen peas would do.  He came back with a frozen fish and slapped it on my Brother's head and off they went to the hospital.

Getting to the hospital was a story all by itself, as hardly anyone owned cars at that time and many roads were not even paved.  People got around mainly by donkeys and on motorcycles.  My Dad owned a Yamaha and would drive, while my Mom would sit in the back and sandwich all three of us kids in between them. She would have rocks ready to throw to ward off the wild dogs that would roam the streets and chase the motorcycle.  It was definitely an adventure just leaving the house.  Needless to say, trying to transport a bloody kid to the hospital on a motorcycle was not the best solution, so they finally got a hold of a friend who did own a van.  Upon arriving at the so called hospital, there were more animals running around than people.  After herding some of the goats and other such animals out, someone came to attend to my Brother and almost fainted taking one look at his head.  The fish had thawed out by this time and it was all matted into his hair and it dawned on my Mom that the Doctor thought the fish was my Brother's brains.  Quickly reassuring him that it was not, my Mom removed the fish and placed it in a nearby sink.  The Doctor then stuck a long rusty needle into my Brother's head and walked off for awhile, only to later come back and admit  that he did not know how to stitch it up and sent my Parents off to the Red Chinese Cross Hospital.  They passed the sink on the way out, where the fish had disappeared.  Apparently, some poor soul had stolen it for his dinner.

I guess the moral of the story is, creativity in a crisis is a gift, and no matter how stressful things can get, it's nice when you can look back later and laugh instead of cry.  Of course, not all stories turn out funny or good in the end, so when it does, you have to count your blessings and be grateful you survived. My Mother certainly has this gift and we have many more stories in our family history of travels of where this one came from.  My Mother has been encouraged for years, by friends and family to compile all these happenings in a book, which she is currently working on.  I can't wait for it to be published, so that I can take a trip down memory lane and have some good chuckles.

Take Your Soul To Work

I once read a great book a friend loaned me, called "Take Your Soul To Work" by Tellis Helliwell.  It talks about how our souls affect our lives and well being.  Working a job that you are not passionate about will make you feel stressed and tired, and will ultimately feel like just a job, no matter how much you are getting paid.  Doing something you truly love will give you enormous amounts of energy and will help you feel fulfilled, regardless of your wages.  Of course, salary drives us all, as does paying the bills, and one can only be so lucky to "do what he or she loves" and get paid the big bucks, yet trying to find that balance is so important.  A good read that makes you question what you are doing if you haven't already found your passion.

“Insanity is hereditary. You can catch it from your kids.” - Erma Bombeck

This quote is from one of my all time favorite authors, Erma Bombeck! There's no question about it, being a parent, whether with the help of a partner or doing it all on your own, is not an easy job.  It can seem thankless at times, make you want to pull your hair out and question your own sanity, yet it can also be the most rewarding thing you've ever done.  Keeping a sense of humor, remembering to always stay the parent, more than the friend, learning how to have buckets of patience, maintaining open lines of communication and being flexible as your little chicks blossom into individuals with their own sense of style and purpose, are crucial.  If you ever want to have a good laugh, pick up a copy of Erma Bombeck's book, "If Life Is a Bowl of Cherries, What Am I Doing in the Pits"

Relationship Quote from John Gottman

"Well-known relationship researcher John Gottman, author of The Relationship Cure among other books, suggests that 69% of all relationship conflicts are irresolvable. The difference between couples who succeed and those who don’t is their ability to accept these differences without consistently butting heads."

Nice to know!  69% is a big majority of arguments.  To think most of them will never be completely resolved and will continue to be rehashed, is more than frustrating.  This is helpful and does give us a better insight into what is "normal", within most relationships, and will hopefully help us to "lighten up" and not place such a huge emphasis on those particular conflicts that are never ending.  Agree to disagree, compromise and re-connect to your enjoy your partner once again. 

Healing Baths Salts to the Rescue for Fibromyalgia Pain

I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia a little over ten years ago.  It took awhile for me to realize what was wrong.  My Mother and her Sister have both suffered with it for years.  There is still a lot of misunderstanding with this disease among doctors.  Usually it strikes women and for the most part, until diagnosed they are made to feel like it is all in their head and family members have a hard time empathizing.  From what I have learned, it never truly goes away, yet can be managed through healthy eating, exercise, getting a good night sleep on a regular basis and reducing stress.  I have experimented with many things to relieve the chronic pain and fatigue that this can bring on, especially during times of stress.  I am not the best with exercises, staying away from sweets or being strict on my diet, so that has gone up and down depending how disciplined I am being. The one relief that I have found to be a constant, though is Epsom Salts.  I use them religiously in my bath on a nightly basis.  I keep a big stash by the tub, empty two cupfuls into hot water and soak for at least 20 minutes.  Many Fibromyalgia sufferers have found to have a low supply of Magnesium in their bodies and Epsom Salts delivers this through the skin upon soaking in the water, which helps to relieve the ache that comes with this disease.  Once the ache and tension leave the body, you find your mind then relaxing enough to help get a good nights rest, which is so crucial to the healing process.  Adding things like Lavender oil also aids in the stress release process of the bath and makes it so pleasant.