Archive for the ‘Information for Moms’ Category
Refrigerator Energy Saving Tips
You can cut down on your electricity bills through the following tips:
- A tight door seal is necessary because it sets the motor to automatically turn on or off in relation to the temperature.
- Cleaning the inside of your ref weekly helps.
- If you have a full freezer and a full refrigerator, lower the freezer settings but increase the refrigerator settings for maximum efficiency.
- Lessen the time you spend with the ref’s door wide open. Make sure to enforce the in-and-out habit at all times.
Organizing the drawers
I am planning to organize all my drawers. I’ve been stuffing things inside each one haphazardly and now it’s overflowing with so many things that I am already losing a lot. I keep putting things in drawers and forgetting it as soon as I shut the drawer which is really bad!
So now I want to tell myself “great job” but only after I organize my four drawers!
Grocery bills
Are you getting concerned over the amount of money you spend on your grocery bills? Here are 3 ways to trim your grocery bill…
1. Take small steps. In order to rein in any expense, it’s best to do it gradually. Meaning, don’t do drastic cuts to your budget. Do it little by little. Say, cut down 200 bucks on your monthly bill. Double it by next month. And so on.
2. Enforce limits. Put a spending cap and actually put that amount of cash in an envelope or in your purse and spend no more than that.
3. Plan, plan, plan. Plan your meals for the week or two. Know your grocery items. Learn to use coupons.
And the number one effective way to cut down on grocery bill? There better be a good reason for cutting down in the first place! If you are just copying it from a friend or a neighbor, it might not stick.
Slimming Breakfast Meals
I am not much of a breakfast person. Coffee is s staple for me in the morning. But I don’t really take in anything other than that most of the time. Whenever I do get to eat breakfast, I eat rice.
If you are a breakfast eater and you want something with lower calories to consume in the morning, I found these 3 slimming morning meals from Yahoo! Shine.
Banana Split Oatmeal
Cook 1/2 c dry old-fashioned oats with water (to desired consistency) and top with 1/4 c microwave frozen strawberries, 1/4 c sliced banana 1 Tbsp semisweet chocolate chips, and 2 tbsp almonds (total calories=359)
Vanilla Fruit-and-Nut Parfait
Mix 11/2 cup whole grain puffed cereal with 6 oz fat-free vanilla yogurt, 1c blueberries, and 2 tbsp almonds (total calories=354)
Apple Pie Smoothie
Blend 1/2 cup fat-free or soy milk; 6 oz fat-free vanilla yogurt; 1 tsp apple pie spice; I medium apple, peeled, cored, and chopped; 2 tbsp cashew butter; and a handful of ice. Transfer to a glass and eat with a spoon (total calories=390)
Let’s eat!
Ways to get happy!
Happiness is a choice. That what I always say. There are ways we can make ourselves happy. All we need to do is to follow these 9 ways to get happy in the next 30 minutes…
1. Raise your activity level to pump up your energy. Instead of sending out an email or calling a co-worker, walk to his/her office or cubicle. Take a brisk walk even going to the bathroom or to take a coffee break. Or better yet…
2. Take a walk outside. Light improves mood and to make things better, get your sunlight first thing in the morning. See if it doesn’t improve your happiness level.
3. Reach out. Act friendly so that others will act that way towards you.
4. Rid yourself of a nagging task. Do it now! Don’t postpone to later a task you wanted to do now.
5. Create a more serene environment. Organize your desk and see an improvement in your mood after you finished.
6. Do a good deed. It need not be grand. A good deed can be as simple as passing along a useful information to someone. Or giving someone praise.
7. Save someone’s life.
8. Act happy. Fake it ’til you feel it. I am telling you that happiness is a choice. You can choose to be happy until you can finally feel it!
9. Learn something new. Even how to operate the photocopier can bring you happiness, you know.
How many have you done in the past 30 minutes? Do you feel your mood have improved?
6 Things we can all live without!
I have been a huge fan of Oprah. In fact, I watch her shows, even re-runs, daily on cable TV. I am also subscribed to her web site newsletter and have been getting regular updates in my inbox. I thought, since I love the information I get from her site, I might as well share it with you here. For the benefit of those who don’t get Oprah.com updates in their inbox, of course.
One such update contained this article about the 6 things we can all live without from author and political commentator Donna Brazile.
1. The words “in my humble opinion.” According to Ms. Brazile, these words are never humble and never delivered as an opinion.
I don’t use this phrase. I also veer away from using “in my opinion”. I read somewhere that this is a redundant phrase because what comes out of your mouth is already understood as your opinion, unless you say that “according to so and so…”
2. Energy sucks (a.k.a Negative Nancies, Debbie Downers, and Sad Sids). These are people around you who spread negative energy around. They are “the people who find the cloud around every silver lining”, according to Ms. Brazile.
Even before I read this article, I already know this and practices this. I stay away as much as possible from people who suck the energy out of everyone around them. I don’t like hearing anything negative because we can live without that. We can turn any negative thing to a positive one if only we make an effort to do so. That’s what I’ve been doing for the past couple of years. It’s not easy being a source of positive energy but it is doable.
3. Another person to make us complete. The Jerry Maguire syndrome. You complete me.
I know for a fact that single men and women can live a happy and fulfilling life just the same as those who are married or in a state of committed relationship. Being single doesn’t equate to being incomplete and lonely. Sometimes, even those in the best of relationships can still feel quite all alone and lonely. We complete ourselves. We don’t find it in others.
4. Bad wine. According to Ms. Brazile, “life is too short, and good wine too cheap.” I won’t argue with her on that!
5. Magnifying mirrors.
All of us have flaws. We can do something to change it and make it an asset to us. Or we can simply make an effort to ignore it and live with it. We don’t need to magnify every minor flaw we have.
6. A half-caf no-whip double-shot mocha latte.
I am all for indulging once in a while. We all deserve it, especially those of us who are working doubly hard than others. What we should avoid is living luxuriously when we know some of the things we spend for we can actually forgo. Like a double-shot mocha latte daily! We can brew our own coffee and donate that money you would have spent on a branded coffee to a local charity. Sometimes, we need to be sensitive to what’s happening around us. There are so many families that are going hungry around the world. Giving up that mocha latte and donating the money to charity instead is a big deal already.
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There you go! 6 things we can all live without. Do you agree?
