 |
Try
praising your children instead
of chastising them –
there’s always a positive
action that can replace a
negative reaction. |
|
Put
an “I love you”
card on your spouse or partner’s
windshield. |
|
Even
better, if you pack cut lunches
for the family, take a bit
out of a sandwich and replace
the bite with an “I
love you” note and a
smiley face. |
|
Go
for an evening walk with the
family. |
|
Call
someone and tell them you’ve
been thinking of them and
wanted to hear their voice. |
|
Send
someone a thank-you card.
There is always something
to be thankful for. |
|
Listen
to your partner or children
instead of doing something
else while they talk. |
|
Pull
weeds, get some dirt under
your nails and breathe some
fresh air. |
|
Find
a quiet place and listen to
and watch the sounds and sights
of nature. |
|
Start
the day with a smile and answer
the “How are you?”
phone question with “I’m
great!” Pass on that
positivity. |
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of Page
HAVE
A LAUGH
 | Laughing
is good for the soul. It releases
endorphin and eases stress. What
could be better? I’m not one
for remembering jokes, but I have
a couple of favourites that aren’t
original, but I think they are funny,
so I’ll share them with you. |
Bugging
the insect: I needed a
cheap pet and didn’t have
much money, so the man in the pet
shop suggested a centipede.
“A centipede?” I laughed,
“You’ve got to be joking!”
“They make great pets,”
explained the pet shop owner, “they’re
cheap to feed and they love doing
housework.”
I was sold. I bought a centipede
home and called him Charlie.
“The first thing I would like
you to do is to clean the house
through, dust and vacuum and wash
the floor,” I instructed Charlie.
“No worries mate!” answered
Charlie cheerfully (he was an Australian
centipede).
I took a nap, and an hour later
on waking, the house was spotless
with fresh flowers in the vase.
“Looks very good,” I
commented, “would you like
to go to the corner store and buy
me a newspaper?”
“No worries mate,” replied
Charlie cheerfully, “do you
want the Sun or the Daily News?”
“Get me the Sun please,”
I instructed, and he hurried out
of the back door.
After half an hour, he wasn’t
back, and I started to feel guilty.
I had been hard on the little critter.
I couldn’t see him coming
down the road. I started to worry.
I looked out of the back door, and
there was Charlie.
“Where have you been?”
I snapped, “What is taking
so long?”
“I’m hurrying, I’m
hurrying!” said Charlie, somewhat
hurt. “I just have to finish
putting on my shoes!”
The
excellent engineer: An
engineer was turned away from heaven
by mistake and ended up in hell.
It was too hot and lacked some basic
amenities, so he spoke to Satan
and designed an air-conditioning
system, running water and flush
toilets. Satan was thrilled! Meanwhile,
God called Satan to explain the
mistake and asked that the engineer
be returned to heaven.
“No way!” said Satan.
“He’s a great guy and
he’s doing wonders for us.”
“But he belongs here,”
said God. “Send him back or
I’ll sue you!”
Satan replied smugly, “And
where are you going to get a good
lawyer from?”
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RECIPES
ON THE RUN
 |
Cut out the fat and shovel in the
fruit, vegetables and protein. Yes,
we all know we should, but who has
time to always eat healthily? Here’s
a few suggestions for quick, healthy
meals to help you achieve that goal.
If you have a favourite healthy
recipe, send it to us and we’ll
share it around. |
Breakfast
on the run
•
Fibre
Up high fibre cereal with grapefruit
•
One
slice of wholewheat toast, lightly
buttered
•
Microwave
an egg, put onto toast with slices
of tomato, salt and pepper
•
Keep
a fresh fruit salad in the fridge
for variety.
Lunch
in a flash (keep an assortment
of these products on hand and
make healthy pitas)
•
Wholewheat
soft tortillas or pita bread,
8" size
•
Light
cream cheese
•
Low-fat,
light mayonnaise
•
Cans
of salmon and tuna
•
Turkey
or chicken breast slices from
the deli
•
Lettuce,
tomato, alfalfa sprouts
•
Healthy
Bake frozen fish pieces (they
microwave and make a good sandwich)
•
Low-fat
cheese (use sparingly)
•
Leftover
soup from the recipes below
•
Quiche
from the recipe below.
Dinner
quick as a flash
• Cream
of Cauliflower soup (about 40-45
minutes): Cut up and
throw half a large cauliflower,
a large onion, two carrots, two
celery sticks, one or two potatoes,
salt, pepper and two envelopes
of chicken stock into a pot. Barely
cover with water and simmer until
vegetables are cooked. Puree the
vegetables in blender with stock
until thick. Empty out any excess
stock and return pureed vegetables
to the pot. Add three tablespoons
of Parmesan cheese, one to two
cups of 2 percent milk (keep consistency
fairly thick), salt, extra chicken
stock and pepper to taste. Heat
but do not boil. Serve with wholewheat
buns.
•
Wholewheat
pizzas (15 minutes):
When the family wants Friday night
pizza, make your own version with
fewer calories. Take a wholewheat
pita bread, smother with Ragu
spaghetti sauce, load up with
deli chicken slices or ham, add
chopped mushrooms, green peppers
and olives. Sprinkle sparingly
with grated cheese and cook in
the middle of the oven at 325
degrees for five to eight minutes.
Great with cauliflower soup or
a Greek salad.
• Chicken
Noodle Soup (45-50 minutes):
Take a large pot and throw in
two cups of cooked chicken (two
chicken breasts), one diced onion,
three diced carrots, two celery
sticks cut up into small pieces,
one can of cream corn and one
can of sweet corn, one cup of
frozen beans. Cover with water
until the water is an inch or
so over the contents. Add salt,
pepper, two to three envelopes
of chicken stock, and one-third
of a jar of Ragu spaghetti sauce.
When boiling, simmer for ten minutes
and add one cup of small pasta,
such as egg noodles, small shells
or spaghetti broken into small
pieces. Simmer for twenty minutes,
add water if needed and season
to taste. Serve with a wholewheat
bun. It’s a meal in a pan.
• My
Favourite One-Pan Chicken Stir-Fry
Meal: (About 45 minutes):
Slice two chicken breasts into
1/4" slices. Marinate in
1/4 cup light soya sauce, one
tablespoon of cooking sherry and
two teaspoons of cornstarch. In
a wok, lightly brown a sliced
onion and two cloves of garlic.
Put into a large bowl. In a little
oil, stir-fry an assortment of
vegetables, for example a sliced
green or red pepper, two cups
of cauliflower and/or broccoli,
two sticks of celery, a couple
of carrots and a can of baby sweet
corn cobs. Put into the bowl.
•
Add
a tablespoon of oil to wok and
cook the chicken breast without
the marinade for three to four
minutes. Put into a bowl. Add
two cups of water to the wok,
boil then add a cup of small pasta,
such as small shells and cook
ten minutes. Add all the other
cooked ingredients, the marinade,
a tablespoon or two of teriyaki,
cooking sherry or light soya sauce
to taste. Heat through thoroughly.
Add a 1/4 cup of cashews and enjoy.
• Quick
and Healthy Vegetarian Quiche:
Take a store-bought deep-dish
pie crust. Beat four eggs, add
salt and pepper, finely chop four
ounces of feta cheese, two ounces
of grated aged cheddar, one can
drained spinach or one packet
defrosted spinach, one tablespoon
dried onion flakes and four tablespoons
of 2 percent milk. Mix well, pour
into pie crust. Cook 15 minutes
at 400 degrees then half an hour
at 350 degrees.
• Seafood
Quiche: Use same recipe
as above, but substitute four
ounces of fresh shrimp and two
slices of diced ham for the spinach,
substitute four ounces of aged
grated cheddar for the feta, and
add one chopped spring onion.
They freeze well and make great
lunch snacks, or dinner with a
bowl of healthy soup.
Snacks for the midnight munchers
and nervous nibblers
We
all get those cravings to munch
at odd times of the day or night.
Here’s some lower calorie
“munchies” that are
healthier than normal cookies
or chips. Like all food, the more
you eat the more calories you
have to live with.
•
Dried
apricots (about 10 calories)
• Cashews or almonds (10
calories)
•
Low-cal
pretzel thins (3 calories)
• Light popcorn (3 cups
65-85 calories)
•
Cheese
Nip crackers (5 calories)
• Baby carrots (very low-cal)
•
Low-cal
cookies (30 calories)
• Melba toast (22 calories).
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of Page
FUN WITH
MY FAMILY
Here’s
some photos of some of my family,
our 13-year-old daughter Katrina,
my mom, who is a wonderful nearly-94,
and my Quarter horse Champ. The
family also includes a border collie
cross dog, Lewis, two cats, a hamster,
assorted fish, a Shetland-Welsh
10 hand-high pony, Sparkle –
with a Clydesdale attitude, and
a chinchilla, Misty, who we rescued
from my daughter’s school
(she was a neglected class pet).
Becoming a Canadian in July 2002
after living here twenty years was
a very special moment in my life.
Look who I got to celebrate it with!
(Click
on image to enlarge)
Champ
and I, he's one
of my Stressbusters! |
(Click
on image to enlarge)
This is my
'Grandma',
my 93 1/2 - year old
mom with my Quarter
horse, Champ |
(Click
on image to enlarge)
My
beautiful 13-year old daughter
and I in summer 2002, just
having FUN!
|
(Click
on image to enlarge)
A
proud day - becoming Canadian
after 21 years.
It was worth it to spend time
with these handsome young
men. |
Top
of Page BUILD
YOUR BODY, BUILD YOUR BUSINESS
By
Frances McGuckin
You
may well ask, “Why is
a business management consultant
writing about fitness? Shouldn’t
she be advising us on keeping
our businesses healthy, not
our bodies?” Well, I
discovered recently –
rather late in life –
that the two go hand-in-hand. |
 |
The
usual cry of business owners
seems to be, “I’m
too busy! There’s no
time for me, too much to do
and I’m so stressed!”
Have you uttered these words
lately?
Coupled
with the everyday stress of
being self-employed is a relatively
new enemy, one which had not
been factored into our lives
before – fear. North
American businesses are still
suffering from the effects
of 9/11. It appears that no
one has escaped unharmed.
Retail trade is still slow
in some sectors and attitudes
now tainted with the acceptance
that the world is a different
– and obviously not
better place to do business
in.
Succeeding
in this unusual economic climate
is tough, taking much ingenuity,
creativity and hard work to
survive. Now is the time to
assess your business weaknesses
and strive to improve customer
service. Take care of the
customers you have. Can you
better service them? When
was the last time you called
and touched base with your
existing customers?
“Oh
I should do that,” you
think, “but I am so
busy.” Yes – life
in the new millennium spins
too fast, with days becoming
shorter and more demands on
one’s time. After all,
there are only twenty-four
hours in the day. There’s
certainly not enough time
for you – right? Wrong!
Now more than ever is the
time to focus on taking care
of you. You need to be physically
and mentally fit to positively
tackle life and your business.
Just
over two years ago, I was
a classic example of the overworked
entrepreneur, stressed, unhealthy
and unfit. I don’t think
that turning twenty-nine (ha
ha) and bursting out of my
clothes had anything to do
with this, but in desperation,
I hired a personal trainer,
who taught me to make time
for myself, change my eating
habits, and exercise for half
an hour at least five days
a week.
The
end result, with careful eating
and regular exercise was a
27-pound weight loss, a 16
percent reduction in body
fat, muscles (yes –
muscles!), and renewed energy.
More important, this exercise
time has become a necessary
stress reliever. And I don’t
mind being the slimmest and
fittest that I can remember
and love having to shop because
my clothes are – get
this – too baggy! Roll
out the size fours on sale.
Many
of us have experienced “entrepreneurial
burnout,” constantly
immersed in our day-to-day
business operations and trying
to cope with the sixty different
jobs an entrepreneur is responsible
for. No wonder we burn out.
Learning
to work smarter, not harder
is the key to a successful
business. However, you won’t
grow your business or make
time for yourself if you don’t
first consider yourself a
priority. Therefore you need
to stop trying to cope with
the responsibility of those
sixty jobs, so the first step
is to list all the jobs that
running your business entails.
Highlight
the time-wasters and ones
you hate doing. Can you delegate
some of them by hiring someone
for a few hours a week, allowing
you to work on growing your
business and penciling in
some time for yourself?
A
stressed, burnt-out mind will
not help you operate your
business effectively. What
you once did with passion,
you may now be resenting.
Many promising and viable
businesses never reach their
full potential due to “owner
burnout”. If twenty-four
hours a day is not enough
time, split the day into 48
half-hours. Can you plan to
allocate one-fiftieth of a
day for yourself? If you can’t,
then you do have a serious
problem.
Start
exercising by taking a short
power walk at least every
other day, perhaps at lunchtime,
increasing your distance as
you increase your fitness
level. Exercise releases endorphin,
increases energy levels, gives
you time for yourself to think
and sets those creative juices
flowing as you whittle off
the pounds.
Make
healthier meal choices. Try
a wholewheat pita stuffed
with tuna and salad with some
fruit instead of a greasy
hamburger and fries, or a
high-fibre bran cereal, grapefruit
and eggs for breakfast instead
of toast or waffles. Through
the lips and onto the hips.
Put protein and power into
the work machine; don’t
feed it empty calories.
Walking
and eating healthier isn’t
the complete solution. You
must build muscle to maintain
fitness. A personal trainer
or your local gym can show
you an easy weight and body
routine that builds all-over
body strength. These programs
can be done in the home at
your leisure.
Don’t
become depressed and unhealthy
by hibernating in your business,
running to flab. Stand out
in the crowd with your positive,
confident attitude and fit
body. Reaching business goals
is only a small part of life.
You also need to maintain
a balance with a healthy body
and mind. Remember, we
work to live – not live
to work.
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of Page
