1. I will not bark each time I see or hear a dog on TV.
2. I will not steal underwear belonging to my mistress and then dance all over the back yard with it.
3. I will not chew red crayons or pens, because my master will think that I am hemorrhaging.
4. I will not roll my toys behind the fridge.
5. I must shake the rainwater out of my coat BEFORE I enter the house.
“Another fresh new year is here .
. .
Another year to live!
To banish worry, doubt, and fear,
To love and laugh and give!This bright new year is given me
To live each day with zest . . .
To daily grow and try to be
My highest and my best!I have the opportunity
Once more to right some wrongs,
To pray for peace, to plant a tree,
And sing more joyful songs!”
– William Arthur Ward
Purple Waffle
As you know, plants are good for your home and office because they absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen. A new University of Georgia study shows that they actually do more than previously thought. Plants can filter out harmful, indoor volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Emitted by paints, cleaners and air fresheners, these pollutants may cause headaches, respiratory problems and even cancer.
The best picks : English ivy, purple waffle, purple heart varieties, which were shown to remove the VOCs.
1. Avoid triggers such as spicy food, chocolate, alcohol, caffeinated drinks and citrus fruits. A diet high in fat can also contribute to heartburn. So, keep greasy foods to a minimum.
2. Drink before and after meals instead of during.
A mixture of large volumes of fluid and food will expand your stomach considerably, aggravating heartburn.
3. Sleep with your head elevated to about 15 cm off your bed to keep gastric juices from where they belong – in your stomach.
4. Chew sugarless gum to stimulate saliva production Saliva can neutralize the acid in your esophagus, keeping irritation to a minimum.
Are you trying to shed a few extra pounds? Don’t worry that you will have to starve yourself or do grueling workouts. Studies show these efforts may help shave off the pounds quickly. The best way to take off weight is by making small adjustments in the way you eat and live.
Here are 5 simple strategies that can help melt away your fat:
1. Stop Skipping Meals
Skipping one meal per day from your menu seems like a logical way to shed off a few pounds. For instance, if you stop eating breakfast (typically 500 calories), you will cut 3500 calories in seven days, roughly the amount needed to burn off one pound.
The problem is, what you miss at one meal often more than make up for at the next. Obesity specialist, Dr C. Wayne Callaway says skipping any meal can lower metabolism, which normally speeds up to help digest food. Let’s say your body at rest burns 1600 calories daily. If you skip breakfast, you use up 80 fewer calories per day. But if you eat breakfast, your sluggish metabolism revs up to burn those 80 calories. After about 15 months, you could burn an extra 35,000 calories, the equivalent of ten pounds.
2. The One-to-One Rule
A lot of fat-free and reduced fat foods have a high calorie count. The solution is to employ the one-to-one substitution rule. That is, when you replace a regular brownie with a fat-free one, eat the same portion – not a bigger piece. If you cut back each day from fat-free sandwich cookies (200 calories) to two (100 calories), you can lose ten pounds in 10 or 12 months.
3. Go Vegetarian Twice a Week
You do not need to become a vegetarian to lose weight. Start by replacing meat in two meals per week. Two meatless meals a week could save you 500 or more calories per week – ten pound in 16 months.
4. Beware of Finger Foods
It is Monday and you have already had breakfast. But how much difference can two mini-doughnuts (120 calories) at the office make? On Tuesday you filch a few cream sandwiches cookies (160 calories) before supper. And it goes on, all week long.
You might not think twice about eating these snacks but snitching just 100 extra calories a day can make you gain ten pounds in a year.If you can’t give up on finger foods, why not replace high-calorie items with low-calorie ones? Some options are baby carrots (4 calories each), celery (6 calories per stalk) and air-popped popcorn (30 calories a cup).
If you eat 75 fewer calories a day, you can lose ten pounds in about 12 months.
5. Skip Late-Night Munchies
A key obstacle to dropping extra pounds is after-dinner snacking. If you can’t distract yourself from eating, try noshing on a low-calorie snack like a piece of fresh fruit.
Cutting a few fistfuls of potato chips (300 calories) or a candy bar (250 calories) could save you close to 600 calories per week. In six weeks, you will have lost one pound, in 15 months you will have lost ten.
By Marie Willsey
Pets bring love and companionship to families. However, more than 155,000 children in the U.S. are bitten by pets each year, and most bites occur at home with familiar pets Every pet has the potential to bite, especially if he or she feels scared, threatened or overly excited.
Here’s how you can help keep children safe around your family’s furry friends.
• Choose a pet that suits your family’s lifestyle. Learn how much space and exercise a breed needs, and make sure you are committed to meeting those needs. An active terrier may need long walks and a yard to play in, while another breed’s needs for exercise and space are minimal. Some breeds are great with families, while others are devoted to a single master.
• Never leave your child alone with a pet.
• Spay or neuter your pet to help decrease aggression.
• Do not play rough games, wrestle or try to hug your dog.
• Teach children not to approach Fido when he is eating.
• Never try to take a toy, bone or treat away from a pet.
• Warn your child to stay away from an animal who is caring for its young, growling or showing its teeth, or acting strangely.
Teach your children these simple rules about how to behave around an unfamiliar pet:
• Ask permission before you approach and touch someone else’s pet
• If the owner says it’s OK, allow the animal to sniff your closed hand
• Stand quietly and back away if you see warning signs such as growling, bared teeth, ears thrown back or staring.
A 6-year-old’s imaginary musical friends 🙂
A poodle and a collie are walking together when the poodle suddenly unloads on his friend. “My life is a mess,” he says. “My owner is mean, my girlfriend ran away with a Schnauzer, and I’m as jittery as a cat.” “Why don’t you go see a psychiatrist?”, suggested the collie. “I can’t,” says the poodle. “I’m not allowed on the couch.” ~ L. B.Weinstein
A man while walking in a graveyard hears the Third Symphony being played backwards. When it’s over, the Second Symphony starts playing, also backwards, and then the First. “What’s going on?”, he asks a cemetery worker. “It’s Beethoven,” says the worker. “He’s decomposing.” ~ Jeremy Hone
Every ten years, monks in a monastery are allowed to break their vow of silence to speak two words. Ten years go by and it’s one monk’s first chance. He thinks for a second before saying, “Food bad.” Ten years later, he says, “Bed hard.” It’s the big day, a decade later. He gives the head monk a long stare and says, “I quit.” “I’m not surprised,” says the head monk. “You’ve been complaining ever since you got here.” ~ Alan Lynch
“Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.
Life is beauty, admire it.
Life is a dream, realize it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.
Life is a tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is luck, make it.
Life is too precious, do not destroy it.
Life is life, fight for it.” ― Mother Teresa
Remember the five simple rules to be happy:
1. Free your heart from hatred – Forgive.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply and appreciate what you have.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.
