Destressing Christmas, Part 1 - Think Through Your Expectations

Christmas already? Did you know that it is 97 days until Christmas? If we really want to destress Christmas, it might be wise to start thinking about it now. Last year I did a series on Destressing Christmas. I think I'll repeat one part of the series each week just to help us get started. Here's the first one: Thinking Through Your Expectations

As you anticipate the holidays, think through your expectations. Talk with your family members or those with whom you will be spending the holiday season. Ask what is important to them to celebrate at Christmas - activities, traditions, food, spiritual emphasis, giving, service opportunities, etc. This is the time to determine what is important to emphasize.

Make a list of all your traditions, from decorating to Christmas caroling. Keep the ones you love (forget about impressing other people), and cross off the ones you don't. Without realizing it, I tend to feel a need to incorporate all we had ever done, which becomes unwieldy, and it's rediculous if no one wants to do it!

Be flexible when things don't fit your expectations. Christmas Day doesn't have to happen on December 25th, for example. When we lived in Kenya, we worked with an expatriot medical team who gave their staff Christmas Day off. So we celebrated Christmas as a team on other days.

My husband and I are going to my parents' home for Thanksgiving, but have to fly on Thanksgiving. So we are celebrating on Friday instead of Thanksgiving. Our children won't be with us for Christmas, but we'll adjust.

Enjoy the moment rather than compare it to memories or expectations. Be present and relish what is happening. And if it's not the greatest, do what you can to make it pleasant. Be other-centered rather than self-centered.

Keep a sense of humor. I like things to match and I appreciate beauty. However, my son-in-law secretly placed a very ugly decoration on the tree one year. I did manage to resist my urge to snatch it off the tree, and we left it on the tree for giggles. It has now become a tradition.

Be realistic!!! Know what you can handle and what you cannot. Be kind to yourself and live within your limits. Each year is different. One year we were moving right after Christmas and our holiday preparations for that year were very few. Other years I decided to have a theme - stars, hearts, trees, etc. But after a few years, the number of decorations were getting out of hand so I stopped that tradition. Don't hesitate to limit activities so you can enjoy the season!!

Planning Interesting Lunches

Making lunches was never my favorite thing in the world to do. But when I did some planning, it made it a lot more interesting for me and for my girls!

I made a list of different options (so I would only have to think once!) and would try to provide variety and nutrition, so lunch would not be boring and would be eaten. Here are some of the things I came up with:

- peanut butter and banana sandwiches (the bananas would usually stay nice until lunch)

- peanut butter (in a container) with an apple or banana

- fluffy nutter sandwich (yes - I even did this occasionally - peanut butter with marshmallow creme)

- a bagel with cream cheese or peanut butter

- yogurt

- string cheese and crackers

- sliced cheddar, monterrey jack, or colby and crackers

- deli meat sandwiches on bagels, english muffins or bread

- cream cheese and olive sandwiches

- boiled eggs

- pistacchio nuts

- trail mix

- fresh fruit

- fresh veggies

I tried to be creative and put unusual things in their lunches that they liked - mangoes, kiwis, etc. Making interesting lunches was a little work, but it told my girls I loved them. And I wrote notes on their napkins, even through high school! (They said they liked it and all their friends wished they had similar lunches. If they had been embarrassed, I would have stopped!)

These days, green experts are saying to use foil and reusable containers for food and drinks - another thing to consider.

What do you put in your lunch or your kids' lunches?

Prioritizing Fall Projects

Fall is a wonderful time to do some of those home improvement projects, especially if you are wanting to put your house on the market in the spring. For many who wanted to sell this year, take advantage of the fall to prepare your home for sale next year! Hopefully the market will be more receptive.

It's amazing how just a few little touches can improve your curb appeal! Our house was built in the 1920's (I think) and had a black wrought iron hand railing along the steps going up to the front door. I decided to give it a little punch and painted it red. It seemed like a small project, but scraping and sanding and painting five coats of red was hardly a small project! But I loved the result - well worth it. Neighbors would walk by on all those evenings I was painting, and comment on how they liked it. :-)

We also got a new front door and storm door (all glass), so I painted the door light yellow, and it really looked nice with the red railing. And I painted wooden address numbers the same light yellow and put them above the door. They are very easy to see, and look friendly (if you can say that about numbers!) Just those few things made our home so much more inviting! And along with the flowers I mentioned yesterday, we added a lot of color to our brick home.

Indoor painting is another great fall project. You can open the windows and reduce the fumes. My father-in-law had a system in which he painted one room a year. So, at any time, his painting was pretty current. I have never known anyone so organized with painting! When my in-laws decided to move into a retirement community, they were able to put their home on the market in two weeks!! Amazing!

Whether you're putting your home on the market or not, doing a few projects is invigorating. Make a list of projects you want to do and prioritize them. Then decide how much time you want to spend each week/month. Start with #1, and see what you can accomplish! You're a step ahead for Christmas and spring cleaning, not to mention having created a more pleasant environment for yourself and those you love!
What fall projects are on your list?


Related Posts: Chopping Big Chores down into Bite-Sized Chunks, How to Clean the House

Fall Organizing for your Spring Garden

Plan ahead now to get that wonderful garden and lawn in the spring! Especially, if you're planning to put your house on the market next spring, this will give you a head start on your curb appeal.

My husband just put Scott's Turf Builder Winterguard on our lawn to beef up the grass over the winter. It comes in varieties that get rid of weeds and other pesky problems. For some reason crab grass has become very obnoxious this year in our lawn.

Another suggestion from Scott's: don't bother raking your leaves. Go over them two or three times with the mower until they are dime-sized. Next, feed your lawn. And the nitrogen and microbes will take care of the recycling. Sounds good to me!

Scott's website has helpful information, including a schedule for lawn care according to your zip code.

This is also the time of year to plant those tulips, narcissus, and other bulbs that look so inviting in the spring. A couple of years ago, we dug up our entire front garden, mapped it out, and planted perennials so we would have blooms the entire spring and summer.

One of those perennials, however, took over a lot of the garden and I'm not happy with the color, either. And not enough tulips and narcissus came up. So we're going to redo it again. I'm not so sure I would be motivated to do it again so soon, but we are having to have the drainage system redug because it is leaking into our basement. So if we are going to have to dig up the garden anyway, we may as well be intentional about it.

By now, I know what I like in the garden and what I don't want to see again. I've also learned what grows well here and what doesn't. A lot of it is trial and error, isn't it? I had the idea that once we mapped it all out, it would all grow just as we planned and I would love it. But some didn't come up and some grew too much and some I'm tired of. It's a lot of work, but it sure pays off when flowers pop up each year and it makes our house look so cute!

What do you do in the fall to prepare your lawn and garden for spring?


Related Posts: Using Your Snow Shovel Year Round - Another Gardening Tip, Winterizing your garden

National Preparedness Month - I'm Overwhelmed!

I don't know about you, but I'm a bit overwhelmed by all the National Preparedness Month lists! I was tempted to take a break from it, but felt I should probably plow through the whole thing. However, when my daughter said that she was overwhelmed, too, she convinced me that maybe we should take a breather. We'll start again next week. If you're feeling the need to have closure, go to National Preparedness Month. I'm going to use the break to get caught up on all those lists.

National Preparedness Month - Emergency Kit #7 - Medications and Medical Supplies

It's easy to put off getting perscriptions filled until the last minute. As I've been researching National Preparedness Month, however, I've seen the importance of having at least a week's supply of medications (both over the counter and perscriptions) on hand at all times. We never know when we might encounter an emergency, and we want to be preapred!

Think about all who are evacuating for Hurricane Ike in Texas. The last thing they need is to have to stop by the pharmacy to get their perscriptions filled! Imagine the lines!

Homeland Security also suggests:

- Making a list of prescription medicines including dosage, treatment and allergy information, and putting that list in your emergency kit.

- Talking to your pharmacist or doctor about what else you need to prepare. I would recommend writing it down and keeping it in your emergency kit.

- Talking to your care providers if you undergo routine treatments administered by a clinic or hospital or if you receive regular services such as home health care, treatment or transportation. Find out what their emergency plans entail. And obtain a list of back-up service providers and incorporate them into your personal support network. (We'll talk more about your personal support network in a few days.)

- Making sure you have extra batteries for hearing aids and wheelchairs in your emergency kit.

I would add eyeglasses, hearing aids, walkers, wheelchairs, oxygen and any other medical devices you (or family memebers) use to your emergency list of things to grab (those things you use each day and can't keep in your emergency kit).

Isn't it amazing to think about all the details we need to get together for an emergency? It shows that we don't want to do it at the last-minute!

Do you have medical items in your emergency kit that I haven't mentioned?


Related Posts: National Preparedness Month - Making a Plan, National Preparedness Month - Determining Potential Emergencies, National Preparedness Month - Emergency Kit #1: NOAA Radio, National Preparedness Month - Emergency Kit #2: Landline Phone, National Preparedness Month - Emergency Kit #3 - Water, National Preparedness Month - Emergency Kit #4 - First Aid Kit, National Preparedness Month - Emergency Kit #5 - Additional Supplies, National Preparedness Month - Emergency Kit #6 - Food

Source: National Preparedness Month

National Preparedness Month - Emergency Kit #6 - Food

Here’s what Homeland Security suggests for your food supply for your emergency kit:
"Store at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food.

- Select foods that require no refrigeration, preparation or cooking and little or no water.
- Pack a manual can opener and eating utensils.
- Avoid salty foods, as they will make you thirsty.
- Choose foods your family will eat.
- Ready-to-eat canned meats, fruits and vegetables
- Protein or fruit bars
- Dry cereal or granola
- Peanut butter
- Dried fruit
- Nuts
- Crackers
- Canned juices
- Non-perishable pasteurized milk
- High energy foods
- Vitamins
- Food for infants
- Comfort/stress foods."

As I’ve said before, our designated shelter is in a closet in our basement. I’m storing my food in dishpans on shelves: easy to pull out and easy to transport, if necessary.

The food I included in my emergency kit: granola bars, cans of ready-to-eat soup, tuna, peanut butter, crackers, beef jerky (even though it’s salty), canned fruit, canned veggies, canned drinks, juice boxes, cookies, and water.

What foods do you have in your emergency kit?

Related Posts: National Preparedness Month - Making a Plan, National Preparedness Month - Determining Potential Emergencies, National Preparedness Month - Emergency Kit #1: NOAA Radio, National Preparedness Month - Emergency Kit #2: Landline Phone, National Preparedness Month - Emergency Kit #3 - Water, National Preparedness Month - Emergency Kit #4 - First Aid Kit, National Preparedness Month - Emergency Kit #5 - Additional Supplies

Source: National Preparedness Month

My Guest Blog at Working Moms Against Guilt

I'm a guest blogger at Working Moms Against Guilt on the topic of Cheating Time. They're also offering my book, Three Steps to Time Management for the Working Mom as a giveaway. Drop by for a visit!

Celebration Giveaway Winners!

Thanks so much for those who entered my Celebration Giveaways! Here are the winners, chosen randomly by number by my foster daughters. :-)

Celebration Giveaway #1 - Three Steps to Organizing Your Child's Room - Sandy
Celebration Giveaway #2 - Three Steps to Organizing Your Kitchen - Janne
Celebration Giveaway #3 - Hassle Free Dinners - Parker Family
Celebration Giveaway #4 - Three Steps to Organizing Your Office - Dolls123
Celebration Giveaway #5 - Three Steps to Time Management for the Stay-at-Home Mom - Shannon
Celebration Giveaway #6 - Three Steps to Clever Cleaning - A Happy Heart at Home
Celebration Giveaway #7 - Three Steps to Time Management at the Office - Chi
Celebration Giveaway #8 - Three Steps to Decluttering - Nicol

Hope you had fun - I sure did!

Please let me know if you'd like to review one of my books or if you'd like me to offer one as a giveaway for your contests/giveaways!

National Preparedness Month - Emergency Kit #5 - Additional Supplies

So we have our NOAA Radio and SAME list, our landline phone, water, and a first aid kit in our emergency kit. Here are some other items Homeland Security recommends for our emergency supply kit:

· Flashlight and extra batteries (I put mine in my emergency drawer)
· Whistle to signal for help
· Dust mask to help filter contaminated air
· Plastic sheeting and duct tape to shelter-in-place
· Moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties for personal sanitation
· Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities
· Local maps
· Sleeping bag or warm blanket for each person. Consider additional bedding if you live in a cold-weather climate.
· Complete change of clothing including a long sleeved shirt, long pants and sturdy shoes. Consider additional clothing if you live in a cold-weather climate.
· Matches in a waterproof container
· Mess kits, paper cups, plates and plastic utensils, paper towels
· Feminine supplies and personal hygiene items
· Paper and pencil
· Books, games, puzzles or other activities for children.

I found a flashlight, dust masks, plastic sheeting, duct tape, and towelettes at my local dollar store.

These are the things I suggest you add to your list of things to grab if an emergency is eminent:

· Emergency reference material such as a first aid book or information from www.ready.gov
· Prescription medications and glasses
· Infant formula and diapers
· Pet food and extra water for your pet
· Cash or traveler's checks and change
· Fire Extinguisher
· Cell phone.

These items are ones you will be using daily or are located in other places in your home. By having a list, you will be able to grab important items without having to think.

We'll talk about food tomorrow.


Related Posts: National Preparedness Month - Making a Plan, National Preparedness Month - Determining Potential Emergencies, National Preparedness Month - Emergency Kit #1: NOAA Radio, National Preparedness Month - Emergency Kit #2: Landline Phone, National Preparedness Month - Emergency Kit #3 - Water, National Preparedness Month - Emergency Kit #4 - First Aid Kit

National Preparedness Month - Emergency Kit #4 - First Aid Kit

Being foster parents, we are required to have a first aid kit in each car and one in our house. However, Homeland Security suggests we have one in our emergency kit, which makes sense. Should we have an emergency and we shelter in our basement closet, we may not be able to get to the first floor where our first aid kit is located.

If you’re like me, you have extras in your medicine cabinets. I decided to clean out the cabinet that houses my meds, vitamins, and first aid supplies. I was able to put several duplicates into my emergency kit.

These are the items Homeland Security advises us to have in our first aid kits.

- two pairs of Latex (I put in more), or other sterile gloves (if you are allergic to Latex)
- sterile dressings to stop bleeding
- cleansing agent/soap and antibiotic towelettes to disinfect
- antibiotic ointment to prevent infection
- burn ointment to prevent infection
- adhesive bandages in a variety of sizes
- eye wash solution to flush the eyes or as a general decontaminant
- a thermometer
- scissors
- tweezers
- petroleum jelly or other lubricant
- aspirin or nonaspirin pain reliever
- anti-diarrhea medication
- antacid
- laxative
- prescription drugs you take every day such as insulin, heart medicine and asthma inhalers. They suggest periodically rotating medicines to keep expiration dates current. (I, however, have started a list of things to grab in case of an emergency, with medicine included. I’m going to keep my list in my drawer with my landline phone and radio info.)
- prescribed medical supplies such as glucose and blood pressure monitoring equipment and supplies.

With these basic supplies you can prevent loss of blood or infection and care for burns or cuts. I was able to find a lot of the above at the dollar store.

As foster parents, we are also required to take first aid and CPR classes. If you haven’t taken either of these, you might consider contacting your local Red Cross to do so. They are usually around four hours long, and if you pass the test, you get your very own card saying you’ve received that training.

In either case, I would suggest having a First Aid book on hand. I’m adding that to my list of things to grab out of my first floor medicine cabinet.

I gathered a couple of those tins that you get cookies or candies in at Christmas and am using them for my first aid kit. They are waterproof and somewhat sturdy.

There are more items we’ll want to add to our emergency kit, but we’ll cover those in the next couple of days so as to not overwhelm you.

Anything else you have in your first aid kit?


Related Posts: National Preparedness Month - Making a Plan, National Preparedness Month - Determining Potential Emergencies, National Preparedness Month - Emergency Kit #1: NOAA Radio, National Preparedness Month - Emergency Kit #2: Landline Phone, National Preparedness Month - Emergency Kit #3 - Water

Celebration Giveaway #8 - Last One!

In celebration of #17 of my 1-2-3...Get Organized series, I'm hosting a week of giveaways from September 2-9. #17 is a manual called Three Step to Becoming a Downsizing Professional - a blueprint for people who want to help people downsize to a smaller residence. It tells you all you need to know to start your own business, market it, and how to do the nuts and bolts of downsizing. There are several bonus items in the package, as well.

Today is the last giveaway - all entries need to be made by midnight tonight, eastern time: Three Steps to Decluttering. Just leave a comment below to enter. Make sure you leave your email address so I can notify you if you win.

Don't forget that if you blog, tweet, etc. about my giveaway, you get another entry by coming back and commenting that you did so. See Celebration Giveaways September 2-9, 2008 for more ways to win.

Related posts: Celebration Giveaways September 2-9, 2008!, Celebration Giveaway #1 and More Giveaways!, Celebration Giveaway #2 and Another Giveaway!, Celebration Giveaway #3, Celebration Giveaway #4, Celebration Giveaway #5, Celebration Giveaway #6, Celebration Giveaway #7

Celebration Giveaway #7

In celebration of #17 of my 1-2-3...Get Organized series, I'm hosting a week of giveaways from September 2-9. #17 is a manual called Three Step to Becoming a Downsizing Professional - a blueprint for people who want to help people downsize to a smaller residence. It tells you all you need to know to start your own business, market it, and how to do the nuts and bolts of downsizing. There are several bonus items in the package, as well.

Today's giveaway: Three Steps to Time Management at the Office. Just leave a comment below to enter. Make sure you leave your email address so I can notify you if you win.

Don't forget that if you blog, tweet, etc. about my giveaway, you get another entry by coming back and commenting that you did so. See Celebration Giveaways September 2-9, 2008 for more ways to win.

Related posts: Celebration Giveaways September 2-9, 2008!, Celebration Giveaway #1 and More Giveaways!, Celebration Giveaway #2 and Another Giveaway!, Celebration Giveaway #3, Celebration Giveaway #4, Celebration Giveaway #5, Celebration Giveaway #6

National Preparedness Month - Emergency Kit #3 - Water

How are you doing on your emergengy kit? I'm really feeling good doing this - feeling like a responsible mom! I've got my NOAA radio on and my SAME list stored in a drawer with my landline phone. Most of the other things we'll talk about are stored on shelves in the closet where we'll take shelter.

One key element you’ll want to have in your emergency kit is water. Homeland Security is recommending one gallon of water per person per day, for drinking and sanitation purposes. They urge a minimum of a three-day supply per person.

Extra water is suggested for children, nursing mothers, and those who are ill. And if you live in a warm area, more water is advised as well.

Homeland Security’s counsel is to store water in clean plastic containers – soft drink bottles, for example. I have been filling 2-litre soft drink bottles as well as individual water and soft drink bottles for sanitation purposes. I also have new individual water bottles stored for drinking.

If you are wanting to make your emergency kit portable, you will not be able to store all your water in it, obviously. If you think you might need to transport your emergency kit, fill your crate, box, or whatever you're using for your emergency kit with the other items we’ll talk about, and bring the water separately.

Household chlorine bleach and a medicine dropper are also recommended for your emergency kit. Chlorine bleach (unscented – not color safe or with added cleaners) treats water when 16 drops of bleach is added to a gallon of water.

If you mix one part of bleach to nine parts of water, the mixture can be used as a disinfectant.

We'll talk about more items to include in our emergency kits for the next couple of days.

What container are you using for your emergency kit?


Resource: National Preparedness Month

Related Posts: National Preparedness Month - Making a Plan, National Preparedness Month - Determining Potential Emergencies, National Preparedness Month - Emergency Kit #1: NOAA Radio, National Preparedness Month - Emergency Kit #2: Landline Phone

Celebration Giveaway #6

In celebration of #17 of my 1-2-3...Get Organized series, I'm hosting a week of giveaways from September 2-9. #17 is a manual called Three Step to Becoming a Downsizing Professional - a blueprint for people who want to help people downsize to a smaller residence. It tells you all you need to know to start your own business, market it, and how to do the nuts and bolts of downsizing. There are several bonus items in the package, as well.

Today's giveaway: Clever Clearning. Just leave a comment below to enter. Make sure you leave your email address so I can notify you if you win.

Don't forget that if you blog, tweet, etc. about my giveaway, you get another entry by coming back and commenting that you did so. See Celebration Giveaways September 2-9, 2008 for more ways to win.

Related posts: Celebration Giveaways September 2-9, 2008!, Celebration Giveaway #1 and More Giveaways!, Celebration Giveaway #2 and Another Giveaway!, Celebration Giveaway #3, Celebration Giveaway #4, Celebration Giveaway #5