Scentsational

   Taken from Woman’s Day magazine, “Could the key to a better new year be all in your…nose? Certain aromas may help you lose weight, look better & more. So, take a whiff whenever you need a boost. Will it work? Hey, it can’t hurt.”

   Here are their suggestions. The grapefruit trick is one I’ve heard over & over…

1)   MIXED FLORALS ~ Help you finish tasks quickly. Subjects finished cognitive tests 17% faster when sniffing the florals. Hey – we are all needing to find more time in our days!

2)  COFFEE ~ Makes fun time last. Volunteers who smelled coffee beans felt sixty seconds had lasted a minute thirty-five seconds. Next time I get a massage I want to smell coffee beans!

3)  JASMINE ~ Increases athletic ability. It is thought to reduce anxiety & increase mood – two factors that improve skilled behaviors.

4)  GRAPEFRUIT ~ Makes you look better. Wear it so others perceive you to be up to eight years younger!

5)  BANANA, PEPPERMINT & GREEN APPLE. Stimulates weight loss. In a study, a whiff helped subjects shed about 5 pounds a month – with no change to diet or their exercise routines. Woo hoo!

Enjoy these scentsational tips! When I find a nice grapefruit scent I will report it back to you!

Saving (Precious) Time

   Sometimes I truly believe at this age that time is more valuable than money. So I’ve been blogging about finding 10-30 minutes a day to exercise, about finding time to start daydreaming again, about listing your gratitudes daily on paper or in your mind. So I figured I needed to offer up some daily time savers so you can squeak out those extra minutes each day.

These first few revolve around time-saving, low cost meals:

~ Have breakfast for dinner one night & enjoy how simple this can be. Even if the family is on different schedules, that pancake batter can be ready to go at any time. If you have an electric griddle, then let your kids get into the action of making their own pancakes, French toast, eggs. When my Teenage Tester was twelve I told her that she was on her own for breakfast & lunch on the weekends. Yes, we now have an electric griddle, quesadilla maker, Belgian waffle maker and electric sandwich maker. She loved it & now is quite the baker & cook & is now old enough to use real appliances. A win, win!

~ Going with that theme, one night can be everyone for themselves night. I know sometimes I just want cereal or a few leftovers. Soups, leftover chili, peanut butter & jelly & yummy salads are great healthy options. Always have some protein rich hard-boiled eggs to grab & go.

~ Buy a rotisserie chicken and go to town with the ease it lends your recipes. They are not expensive & melt in your mouth…

~ Let everyone pack their own lunches. Relinquish control…

   The next suggestions involve the time sucker of all time suckers ~ cleaning the house! [If you are on your own, then realize that everything does not need to be perfect. Do the minimum over time. One day if you have Tigger energy then go to town!]

~ Everyone over the age of say 13 should be able to do a load of laundry or at least fold the laundry. So what if it’s not perfectly folded, it will get better with practice for everyone.

~ Everyone in the house needs to pick up one small extra chore that you usually do. This can be loading or emptying the dishwasher, that midweek run for milk & bread, dusting, vacuuming.

   I’m sure you can think of dozens of other ways that work for your life. Go for it. You deserve the time!

From A Tigger To A Pooh

     As time has marched on I’ve begun to realize something about myself. I once was a Tigger but now I’ve become mostly a Pooh. This is a very good thing, of course, as any fan of the A.A. Milne character can attest. Sure, I have a bit of Tigger’s bouncy, bouncy, bouncy in me for part of my day. Actually, I hate moving from thing to thing (multi-tasking too much is draining!) I am now embracing my inner Pooh…

    I have been a fan of the Winnie The Pooh book by A.A. Milne for many years. The Teenage Tester’s nursery was a Pooh theme. I believe she not so subliminally became a fan too. When answering a bridesmaid quiz question last year – if you could pick any Disney character, which would you be? She picked Tigger...... apple & tree and all that. The Milne book has characters with traits that you may recognize in your own self & friends. You have Rabbit the worrier – who should be bunny fluffy but looks old & haggard from worrying about bugs & such in his garden. You have sweet, tiny Piglet the scaredy-cat who never wants to take a risk. Then there’s Eeyore the lovable pessimist & Owl the older, wiser friend who sits back & watches, but allows them all to make their own mistakes. You have Kanga & Roo the maternal, loving mother/son pair. Tigger is the leap before you look, full of energy friend who knows the net of his friends is there to catch him when he mis-bounces. Then there is Pooh who knows simple things (like honey) and friends are what really matter in life. Overseeing them all is their young, human friend Christopher Robin who is smart & caring & loves them all for all their idiosyncrasies & embraces their uniqueness. Never a dull moment in the Hundred Acre Wood for these friends even on the seemingly simplest of days. Their friendships endure through each adventure & thrive each and every day. I’d like to think my life is rich with such warm, loving characters that together, we make a whole and life an adventure.

Check out some wise ‘ol Milne quotes at the link below:

http://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/1225592-winnie-the-pooh?page=2

Get Your Garden Ready For Spring!

   As Spring approaches, the itch starts to get outside & do anything. I can relate to that. Check out the tips from This Old House’s Roger Cook with the link below. Remember to tread lightly (or not at all if your ground is too soggy – Roger calls it the ‘squirt’ test, love it!). Compacting your soil by walking around on it will not help you in the long run. Check out the checklist: Skill Builder: Spring Yard Work at the bottom of the first page. He has very helpful information even for those ‘seasoned’ cleaner-uppers. There are also 12 Spring fix-up tips to save you money on the same website.

    Also, here are some tips I posted in last year’s Spring Cleanup blog:

    Now is the time to get outside & remove any remaining leaves nestled around your trees, shrubs & evergreen perennials. Cut down your remaining perennials that had gone to seed. Summer blooming shrubs like butterfly bush & beautyberry can be cut back by two-thirds. Weeding will seem easier if you wait for a good rain & the ground is soft (but not too wet). Begin to deadhead your daffodils & spring blooming bulbs as they are spent (but leave the greens be until you plant your annuals – these will feed the bulbs for next spring). Begin to edge your beds when the ground is nice & soft, don’t wait, your back will thank you! Don’t forget to clean out your birdfeeders. As always, don’t forget to take some time to take pictures. Things change from year to year & it’s a great (& beautiful) way to keep a record!

     Check out the This Old House link below for more tips. Get out there, have fun & get dirty!

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/photos/0,,20352366,00.html

FAST Get-Moving Moves!

    So as a follow-up to my last blog, I’d like to offer up some suggestions on taking time for yourself – to exercise or if that’s a bad word, get-moving moves! I’d saying finding time is the number one complaint holding one back from even beginning to bring exercise into their lives ~ permanently. If you think back, our parent’s generation did not make ‘exercise’ a priority. They did activities that interested them and if they had no interests they did nothing at all. We know better now. So here are some 10 minute blocks of fast get-moving moves you can incorporate into your schedule no matter how busy. Remember ~ you are important to yourself and to everyone you know!

    On my recent GWA, my girlfriend brought her 10 Minute Trainer videos. She is veeerrry busy with two jobs and a busy family. She believes if she can do this, anyone can. We watch & tried and believe me, you can work up a sweat in 10 minutes! The coordination and fluidity comes with practice, but you are in the privacy of your own home! So screw feeling uncoordinated. Below is the link to order. BTW, she is losing weight & looks & feels fab!

http://www.beachbody.com/product/fitness_programs/10_minute_trainer.do?t=tmt1c1&code=SEMB_GOOGLE_TMT&s_kwcid=TC|17312|10%20minute%20trainer||S|e|19637369653&gclid=CL-l4dWk4bUCFZCf4Aod7zcAIA

  

Family Circle magazine offers some suggestions to squeeze in thirty minutes of physical activity a day in 10 minute increments. These are free:

~ Take a walk alternating 20 paces of lunges with 40 strides for 10 minutes.

~ Jump rope for 1 minute. Stop & twirl rope in figure eight pattern for 1 minute. Alternate for 10 minutes.

~ Run or walk up stairs for 10 min. Work up to taking 2 at a time on the way up.

~ Turn up the music & dance for 10!

~ Jog/Jack – Jog for two minutes. Stop & do 10 jumping jacks. Alternate for 10 min.

     I hope these tips help. They will get you moving & are free. You can do everything to music too to really keep you moving & motivated! Most of all enjoy feeling your body moving!