Happy New Year

Hello and Happy New Year! 2012 is almost gone and of course we are all supposed to reflect back and decide on our biggest and our smallest moments. Radio stations, magazines, and even Facebook are doing the same and in the case of the latter, inviting you to do so as well.

Resolutions are made at this time with steadfast determination that will probably fizz out three months from now...again. Why do we do it? Why do we put ourselves through the frustration of failure yet again? We know we won't stick with it. Science has shown that we tend to take up to thirteen tries before something becomes a routine--and that is consecutive tries, screw up once and you start over. We don't respond well to ultimatums as a rule and a resolution is somewhat of one. We lay it on the line for our psyches but we don't really mean it. If we did, it would be something that we adopted as a life style choice rather than an imposition or punishment. It is also a rather negative thing isn't it? We acknowledge our regrets and vow to do better. We dig up the things we didn't exactly perform well at and structure a goal around its improvement. I say, make New Years Goals instead of resolutions. Acknowledge what went right for you, what was a wonderful experience and vow to repeat it. Set a goal that you know you can do and set another one once you do. Never mind what you failed at--we will never run out of those moments to dwell upon the rest of the year. Right now, it's all good.

This set of articles throws some help to you for meal, drink and entertaining needs and I give you a few ideas for curing the hangover some of you will have tomorrow. Over indulging is inevitable tonight but I do urge you to be responsible, for your own sake and others. Please don't drink and drive.

Have a great evening and a fantastic time tonight, whatever your plans. I hope that 2013 is a better year for everyone than 2012 and that you be happy, be safe and be well.

Michelle


Go to:
Holiday Entertaining: Feeding your Celebration Guests
How to Get the Kids Involved
Curing the Hangover Blues
Massaging the Blues Away

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How to Get the Kids Involved

If you are hosting a family get together with or  without a meal, it is a great idea to include the children in making the party arrangements and during the get together as well. They can help out in a number of ways but to make it interesting and fun for them and get some cheap labour for you I've outlined a few ideas that they can do.

One of the most common things to do in a new year is to bury a time capsule. This can vary from an individuals contribution to a whole cities' endeavour. The kids can gather containers that are suitable such as  coffee cans or cookie tins. They can use metal paint to decorate the tins or simply fill it with their items as is. It's a fun idea for the whole family to get into including making a small ceremony for the burying.

Noisemakers are de rigueur for a New Year's celebration and the kids can make their own. Simply decorate a can( a bean or tomato sauce can is good) with paint, stickers and other embellishments. Fill the can with beads and bells and then seal the can with a pie plate and tape. Top with bows and ribbons. It is absolutely okay to go over the top with this one!

Your kids can make a personalized calendar with your help, from artwork they have created and you scanned into the computer or a picture from your hard drive and edited with photoshop. Simply attach the photo to a cardboard backing and add on pages taken from another calendar. We all get calendars this time of the year so just remove the photos that came with it from the rest of the calendar and recycle or reuse them in another way.

Your kids can also help out with hosting duties. Have your children greet guests at the door, take their coats and show them where to put their boots. If this is to be a dinner party, they can escort the older guests to the table; boys escorting the ladies, girls helping the gentlemen. Being treated as an adult and being able to act as an adult does, helps to make the moment more special.

If there are other children present then they can introduce the children to each other and show them the activities planned for them. Have a room separate from the adults with snacks and drinks just for them. Plan games that mix it up with active fun and sit-still brain games. Have some fun and inexpensive little gifts to give out as prizes. See if you can either hire a babysitter for the night or rope in an older sibling or relative to keep an eye on the room, depending on the ages of the children present.

Above all, keep the night fun and exciting for the kids and not only will things go relatively smoothly for you but it will be a memory they can take with them forever.

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Curing the Hangover Blues

No matter where you look online and in lifestyle magazines right now, you will find a multitude of 'cures' offered for the inevitable New Year's hangover. Unfortunately, not all 'cures' actually do anything or anything good for you. Of course there is the obvious way to avoid a hangover = by drinking lightly or not at all. But not all of us will do that when it comes to celebrating the ringing in of the New Year.

If you do end up drinking too much, the resulting effects can vary from person to person but generally you have a headache, body ache and a queasy stomach. 

Some people swear by eating a greasy breakfast the next day or for myself, eating one before going out (crazy I know). Others stick to something light and easy to digest the next day. I suggest some honey toast or some instant oatmeal as your body needs some carbs right away and your queasy stomach may not be able to handle anything more difficult to digest. Of course, let's give our livers a break and stay away from anything high in fat.

Taking a multi-vitamin to replace some of the lost nutrients from your overindulgence is a good idea. So is drinking plenty of water or even something like gatorade which replaces lost electrolytes. Ensure or Boost or other meal replacement drink is an option but avoid the caffeine based sports drinks. You are dehydrated already so having a diuretic is not a good idea.

The old remedy of Alka-seltzer is a good one for some but for others the addition of other ingredients in it may upset the stomach even further.

Ultimately the best cure is bed rest and lots of it. If you can get away with sleeping the day away and maybe indulging in a bit of personal time with a partner, I highly recommend it.

Soothing the Savage Belly

If you are needing a pick me up and something to sooth the overindulged belly, here are a few teas you may want to have on hand.

Chamomile for a calming aid to digestion.
Ginger tea to help you digest a large meal and to help with taming a rebellious stomach.
Anise tea for some indigestion difficulties. 
Peppermint tea to soothe and help with digestion.

Cheers and Bon Nuit!

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Massaging the Blues Away

Or How to Have Fun with Two Hands and a Hangover...

There you are feeling like you've been hit by a transport...twice...your tongue grew a fur coat overnight and the floor is now your best friend. What could be better at this point,(with the exception of a time machine you can take to redo the whole evening over again), than a lovely, slow and thorough massage?

Here are a few tips you can use on your partner or have them use on you to make some of the ick go away.

Sit up and relax
To get rid of some tension in your partners neck you can do what is called the shoulder press. Standing behind her seated form, rest your forearms on her shoulders and press down alternately then firmly down together as she lifts her shoulders against the pressure while inhaling. Maintain the pressure as she exhales and relaxes. She should roll her head in a slow and gentle circle while she relaxes.

Another tension easing massage to try is rubbing the back of the neck in circles. Press your finger pads into muscles alongside your partner's spine. Make circular motions from the base of the skull to the nape of the neck where it meets the shoulders. Repeat this three times. Hold her forehead and grip the back of her neck. Using your thumb and fingers, gently rub back and forth over the muscles. Increase the pressure as the muscles loosen. Repeat this three times.

A scalp scrub is a wonderfully relaxing way to ease a headache or just stress in general. Using both hands slowly scrub deeply starting from the base of the skull and working your way around her entire head.

Lay down and rest
All you need for these few massages are a firm, comfortable surface to lie on, some massage oil and a pair of willing hands.

Place some oil in your hands to warm up then apply to your partners back by gliding gently up the thick muscles on either side of the spine. As the oil is distributed, gradually increase the pressure by pressing in with your fingertips. Glide up her lower back, following the muscles all the way up to her neck; keeping your fingertips together.

At her lower back, place your thumbs to either side of her spine and press. Make circles with your thumbs and work your way up to her neck. Use your fingertips on the muscles around the neck and across her shoulders.

Music and Other Fun Stuff

Beethoven's Piano Sonata #29 in Bflat, Op. 106 is a lovely tune to relax to and so are a lot of other classical works. However, yours or your partners favourite music is probably the best to choose when trying to release some pain and tension. Some need peace and quiet along with absolute darkness so having a sleeping mask handy is a good idea, either that or some blackout curtains/blinds.

Aromatherapy is also great for relaxing so have a few candles or oil burners on hand and lit to aid in the de-stressing. Incense is all right but some people can be sensitive or even allergic to the smoke so play it safe and ask or better yet, avoid it altogether.

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Dreaming of a White Christmas

Well, here we are again after an interesting two weeks. The weather down here has not cooperated, almost as if someone hit reset and we missed winter. Ah well, there are a few days left for some snow to fall. 

I took off last Sunday to visit my parents in Carleton Place, Ontario for a pre-Christmas get together. Since they have moved, I have tried to visit at least twice a year but for the last two years it has just been myself going up to see them. It makes for a long drive by myself but that just means it's thinking time. I don't know about you but I do my best thinking in two places--one is behind the wheel and I'll let you guess when the other is...Bah-dum-dum.

Carleton Place Nursery

 While I was up there, freezing rain fell and covered everything with a fine layer of ice. It looked fabulous but was a bear to drive on. We paid a visit to Carleton Place Nursery in my uncle's quest to find a fibre optic tree...Yeah, you guessed right, he's a snowbird on his way to Florida. The nursery has a lovely Christmas shop and whoever decorated did a wonderful job. Each tree was a part of a theme and I loved them all. That is a problem I have every year--which theme to use country or glittery or all blue or silver...you get the point. In case you're wondering, my tree is all silver this year with turquoise and lime green accents dotting the rooms. They also had quite the collection of kitchen gadgetry and gifts that are sure to please. I picked up something for family there but I resisted buying for myself or I would have been there all day trying to decide.

I found myself a new stocking! I was chuckling to myself at the thought "Now, that gives new meaning to Ho Ho Ho Merry Christmas" that I couldn't take an in focus shot of the thing!

We also paid a visit to the local butcher shop where I picked up the most delicious sausage! It's all handmade in the shop with attention given to unique and tasty combinations. I chose Leek and Feta pork sausages but the chicken and blueberry caught my eye. Maybe next time. The ones I took home with me were a big hit and I'll have to get my parents to get me some more and send them along.

Check out my new BBQ, isn't she a beauty? Found this on display outside of the butchershop. They had a few models of wood pellet burning BBQ's but this one's my favourite. One day I'll move up from charcoal to wood pellet but as of now, I'll have to stick with my wee charcoal grill.

There's just something reassuring about a blatant no bones about it, unabashed display of carnivorous behaviour.

Seriously though, why not slave over a hot grill with a bit of style and humour?

It certainly would be a party conversation starter, wouldn't it?

I love the attention to detail!

Well, that's it for this batch of posts. Hopefully time will allow me to post more before Christmas but if not I want to wish each and everyone out there a Merry Holiday, Happy Christmas, Joyful New Year, Cheerful Solstice, Yummy Kwanzaa, Fruitful Ramadan and anyone I may have missed. Yeah, a bit of facetiousness as I find the whole concept of being offended by well-wishing a mite ridiculous.

Whatever you want to call it, however you celebrate at this time of year, I hope you have a wonderful time.

Be safe, be happy, be well.

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