New Year’s Resolutions

According to goalsguy.com, the top two New Year’s resolutions are to lose weight and stick to your budget. Every year on New Year’s Day millions of people make New Year’s resolutions but very few are able to stick to them for more than two weeks. If you are like most people, then you have made a New Year’s resolution at one time. But you probably are not familiar with the history of New Year’s resolutions. Where did they originate from? What are some global New Year’s traditions? Read on and find out more.
New Year’s resolutions date all the way back to 153 B.C. when Janus, the mythical king of Rome was placed at the beginning of the Roman calendar. Janus became the symbol for resolutions. People looked to him for forgiveness from enemies. They also had a gift exchange before the beginning of each New Year.
The tradition of exchanging gifts on New Year’s Eve was begun by the Romans. They gave each other branches from scared trees for good luck. Later nuts or coins became common gifts.
Many countries have their own traditions for good luck in the New Year. In the U.S, we watch a ball drop and kiss their significant other. In Spain, the Spanish eat twelve grapes one for every clock toll for good luck in the coming year. Peru takes the Spanish tradition one step further. Thirteen grapes are eaten including one for good luck. In Norway, they make rice pudding and hide a whole almond in the pudding. Wealth is guaranteed to the person who eats the almond.
Well, that is the history of New Year’s resolutions in a nutshell. You also learned about some cool global traditions. For more information, visit
http://ezinearticles.com/?The-History-of-New-Years-Resolutions&id=245213
And
http://www.goalsguy.com/events/n_top-ten-resolutions.html
Until next time, Happy Resolution making!

The Story of Christmas

What do you think of when you hear the word Christmas? My mind immediately fills with images of Christmas trees lit up with pretty lights, presents, family and holiday treats. But what does Christmas mean? Why do we celebrate it? Today we examine the official story behind Christmas.
Christmas is celebrated on December 25 to mark the birth of Jesus. Legend has it he was born to the Virgin Mary. She was engaged to be married to Joseph who was a Jewish carpenter. One day, Mary became pregnant by the Holy Spirit. This upset Joseph and his first reaction was to break their engagement. But he had a dream that getting married to Mary was God’s will. The angel in the dream told him that she was not unfaithful and baby came from the Holy Spirit.
Mary and Joseph were required to travel to Bethlehem to be counted in the census. The inn was very crowded and Mary ended up giving birth in a crude stable surrounded by farm animals. She wrapped baby Jesus in clothes and put him in a manger. Soon after the birth, an angel appeared to announce that the savior was born. Shepherds and Magi (astrologers) came to see Jesus bringing gifts such as gold. They found him by following the Star of Bethlehem. Jesus was known as the King of the Jews.
Another important point is that we do not know Jesus’ exacted birthdates so December 25 was selected to represent nine months after Jesus was conceived. For more information, please visit:
http://christianity.about.com/od/biblestorysummaries/p/christmasstory.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Can Holiday Treats be Hazardous to Your Health?

Pecan pie, sugar cookies, frosted cakes and chocolate are just a sample of the variety of delicious treats that are staples of the holiday season. These treats have one thing in common. They are loaded with simple sugars. It’s pretty obvious that simple sugars can cause you to gain weight but did you know they can affect your overall health? Read on to find out about the dangers of too many holiday treats!!
According to healingdaily.com, the average American eats 2-3 lbs of sugar per week! When you eat foods that contain a large amount of sugar, your pancreas secrete insulin to help drop your blood sugar levels. An elevated insulin level suppresses your immune system and therefore prevents your body from fighting diseases. Too much sugar can also worsen medical conditions such as asthma, cause diabetes and arthritis.
What can a person do to prevent simple sugar from causing weight gain and other problems? Well you can consume simple sugars in moderation. This can be pretty challenging with delicious treats. It’s hard to stop at just one. This can also create a bad habit causing you to crave them all of the time. It’s important to avoid skipping meals. This tends to create binging later on in the day due to excessive hunger. Be sure to eat healthy snacks such as fruit or nuts to keep hunger levels in check. You also want to read labels (if they are available) to help you find hidden sugars in processed foods.
For more information, visit http://www.caloriesperhour.com/tutorial_sugar.php and healingdaily.com. Until next time enjoy your sugary treats, in moderation!!!

Paying for Holiday Gifts: The Benefits of Plastic

By now, you have probably adjusted to being bombarded with holiday commercials, decorations and plans for gathering. You might just be thinking about holiday gifts that you want to purchase for yourself and other family members. But there is also the question of how you will be able to pay for them. Credit cards are always an option. They tend to be even better during the holidays since the card companies tend to offer some special deals. Read on to find out more.
Department stores such as Belks and JC Pennys always give you the option to sign up for a credit card and receive an additional 15 to 20% off your purchase if you are approved. This is a good way to save some extra money but be aware of high interest rates. It’s a good idea to pay off your credit cards right away so you don’t end up paying more than the original discount.
Citibank is offering customers with a Dividend credit card the opportunity to earn 5% cash back at all department, clothing and electronic stores. Cash back is limited to $300 per year.
Citicard offers 0% APR on balance transfers for up to 24 months.
Discover card offers the same deal as Citibank but you can also earn rewards from restaurants as well.
The Chase Freedom credit card is offering 5 percent cash back on up to $1,500 spent at department stores, grocery stores and movie theaters through Dec. 31.
Discover has a 5 percent to 20 percent cash-back bonus through retailers in its Shop Discover program. There is also the opportunity to earn 10 percent cash back when you shop online.
This is just the beginning. There are lots of great deals out there. You just need to look. Start with http://www.bankrate.com/financing/credit-cards/cashing-in-on-credit-card-holiday-shopping-deals/.
Happy Fun Spending!!

Avoid the “Seasonal Seven”: Ten Tips to Avoid Holiday Weight Gain

The holiday season is a great time to relax and spend time with your family and friends. But it’s also a time when we are surrounded by high calorie foods that put our willpower to the ultimate test. Most of us will indulge in some holiday treats but too much of a good thing can contribute to weight gain. According to centralhome.com, the average adult will gain seven pounds during the holiday season. To avoid this holiday weight gain, you might find some of these tips helpful. Read on and find out how to save yourself from buying a new wardrobe in January!
1. Create a plan- If you have a holiday survival plan, then you will be indulge in a few holiday treats and still be slim. Daily exercise, healthy foods and reducing temptation are three key components of the plan.
2. Daily fitness- Exercise every day. If you exercise each day for 45 minutes, then you can increase that to an hour. Taking a morning walk or always using the stairs are good examples of how you can fit exercise into your busy lifestyle.
3. Seven servings- Eat seven servings of fruits and vegetables each day. This will help you to feel fuller and be less tempted to eat holiday treats.
4. Never go to a Party Hungry- Make sure that you have a healthy snack before you go to a party. This will help to prevent you from binging on unhealthy treats.
5. Make Socializing a Top Priority- The holidays are supposed to be about talking to people and making up for lost time. So stand around with your friends not at the food table.
6. Limit Yourself to One a Day- Cookies, candy and other high fat treats can be hard to resist. If you limit yourself to one a day, then you will not feel deprived and can exercise more to burn off the extra calories.
Well, I hope these tips will help prevent you from unwanted holiday weight gain. Be sure to check out, http://my.clevelandclinic.org/heart/prevention/nutrition/holidayeating12_01.aspx
http://www.centralhome.com/how_to_avoid_holiday_weight_gain.htm
Happy Holiday Eating!!

Free Stuff on Your Birthday

Thanksgiving marks the start of the holiday season. After that, it’s all about Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. Lots of food, drink and gathering with families and friends. But there are other special occasions during this time of year like birthdays. Although birthdays are celebrated year-round, I thought this would be a nice time to take a break from the holidays and look at stuff you can get for your birthday. There is a lot of free stuff out there available that people might not think to take advantage of. Read on to find out about some birthday freebies.
Free Meals/ Desserts/Beverages
Everyone likes the opportunity to get a free meal. Did you know that there are a lot of opportunities out there to eat for free on your birthday? Well let’s take a look at some of these offers.
1. Denny’s- On your birthday, Denny’s offers a free grand slam breakfast. Enjoy a combination of four items such as bacon, buttermilk biscuits, pancakes, hash browns, egg whites, or chicken sausage. This meal is so big that you might need a to-go box!!
2. Ruby Tuesday- If you like red meat, then head on over to Ruby Tuesday where you can get a free handcrafted hamburger on your birthday! Need I say more!
3. Dunkin Donuts and Barnies- If you just want a free coffee or hot chocolate, head on over to Barnies or Dunkin Donuts where you can enjoy a free beverage.
4. Baskin Robbins and Coldstone creamery- For those of you who want dessert, be sure to join the Birthday club at Baskin Robbins and the Coldstone creamery. Baskin Robbins offers you a free scoop of ice-cream and the Coldstone gives you a free special ice-cream dish.
More Free Stuff
Well that is just the tip of the iceberg. Most stores such as Victoria’s Secret and Macys have special offers for their card holders. Victoria Secret offers $10 off for your birthday to angel card members and Macys does free shipping.
For more information on free stuff on your birthday, visit http://www.freebirthdaystuff.com/news.php
Enjoy your special day and all of the great stuff out there!

Hanukkah: Eight Days of Traditions

Retailers and the media spend a great deal of time advertising Christmas. During the holiday season, commercials and programs often feature Christmas themes. When you go shopping, rarely will you find a store without some type of Christmas decoration. What about Hanukkah? Over time Hanukkah has became more like Christmas. Read on to find out about the 8 days of lights!
Hanukkah is celebrated sometime in the period during late November and late December based on the Jewish calendar. Parents try to make Hanukkah extra special so their children will not feel left out because of all the Christmas stuff going on around them. Hanukkah lasts eight nights. Each night people light the hankukkiyah. The hankukkiyah lighting represents the miracle of oil. According to history, once Jewish revolutionaries took the temple from the Syrians they wanted to rededicate it to God. They lit the hanukkiyah but only had enough oil for one night but surprisingly it lasted for eight nights.
Another Hanukkah tradition is spinning the dredel. It has four sides with a Hebrew letter on each side. If you put the Hebrew letters together, it means a great miracle happened in Israel. This refers to the oil. Children usually spin the dredel for chocolate coins, candy, raisins or nuts.
Last but not least, there is lots of great Hanukkah food. Hanukkah celebrates the miracle of oil so it makes sense that there are a lot of fried foods for this holiday. Traditional Hanukkah foods include latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiyot ( jelly filled donuts which are covered with confectioner’s sugar).
Well, I hope you learned a little bit about Hanukkah. If you want more information, visit http://judaism.about.com/od/holidays/a/hanukkah.htm. Hanukkah has some great traditions. My favorite so far is the sutganiyot!
Happy Hanukkah!