12.02.2008

Welcome to the first issue of the newsletter that Phyllis and I are doing together. ~Toni

Now for Phyllis...

Hi everyone! I'm Phyllis and you might know me from my Cool Picks and Healthy Living columns. I'm very pleased to be joining Toni in the TwoFriendsnewsletter! I thought I'd tell you a little about myself in this issue. I'm a 47 year old Christian mom, happily in love with my best friend Dave. I've lived in Maryland most of my life. I enjoy reading, working out at Curves and penpalling. Well, its hard to talk about myself so lets just keep this intro short and sweet! But I do hope you all will consider sending in an introduction too. I'd love to get to know you all a bit!


Cool Picks by Phyllis
Do you ever feel nostalgic for "the good old days" when you were a teenager? Then http://www.retroland.com/ is a site you might like! Retroland is a great place to look back on the things you remember from the past, and it can also jog your memory about things you have forgotten about. Its fun to reminisce about the fashion, music and fads from days gone by. There is a message board where you can share your own memories or read those of other members. Create your own profile and post pictures in your "MyRetroland" photo album. So the next time you're in the mood for a trip down Memory Lane, log on to Retroland!

As a bonus this week, I'm giving you two Cool Picks. Hope you enjoy them both.

This weeks bonus Cool Pick site is
http://www.whatsfordinner.net/index.html
This is a great site for busy people. They suggest different, tasty meals for each day of the week, with easy to follow recipes and a shopping list for all the ingredients you need. You can even choose the serving sizes, which is great if you don't like having leftovers. (On the flip side, its also great if you DO like to have leftovers!) In addition to recipes, the site has a feature called Table Topics, which offers subjects for conversation starters and brain games which you can play with your family while eating the meals you've cooked! The purpose of WhatsForDinner is to "Make dinner time, family time". So check it out, and don't forget to sign up for their free weekly newsletter. Bon Appetit!
___________________
Healthy Living
Most of us know the basics of how to lose weight. The problem isn't in the knowing, its in carrying it out! Sometimes its just so hard to stick to a healthy diet that we end up giving in and giving up. Here are a few strategies that will hopefully help you stay on track.
1. Get a diet buddy if you can. If you team up with a friend who is also on a diet, not only can you encourage each other, but it will help you be accountable.
2. Plan ahead. When grocery shopping, carry a list and stick to it instead of just wandering the store and being tempted by all the goodies. Never shop on an empty stomach. And when dining out, check out the restaurants website ahead of time to review the menu to help you decide what you want to eat before you go there. Most restaurants websites will give you nutritional info on their entrees, including calorie counts. And remember, you can always ask for a doggie bag so you can take half of your entree home for another meal.
3. Get rid of temptations in your home. Go through your cabinets and refrigerator and get rid of the unhealthy, fattening foods that tempt you. If its not there, you can't eat it! For me, this means buying things like coconut cookies. My son loves them, but I don't, so they don't tempt me at all.
4. Keep a food diary, as I mentioned in a previous column. In addition to helping you to see what you're eating and what your eating triggers are, it can also show you how much progress you've made.
5. Don't keep it a secret. You don't need to talk about being on a diet 24/7, but do let people know what you're doing. That way they won't try to tempt you with food you shouldn't have, and they can also encourage you along the way.
6. Don't weigh yourself too often. Your weight fluctuates a lot from day to day. Your best bet is to weigh yourself once a month, wearing the same type of clothing. If you want to weigh more often, try not to do it more than once a week or you may get discouraged.
7. When you feel hungry, drink water. Sometimes our bodies confuse thirst for hunger. Try drinking water if you think you're hungry, and then wait ten minutes. You might be surprised to see that the hunger has gone away. If not, allow yourself a small, healthy snack.

I hope these tips will help you stay on track with your diet. And if they don't, remember this...

8. Don't beat yourself up too much if you eat something you shouldn't have. One mistake doesn't mean you have totally blown your diet. Get right back on track with your next meal. You can't expect yourself to be perfect all the time. Do your very best, and take it one day at a time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here's a link to a free online advent calendar to count down til Christmas

http://www.boowakwala.com/calendar/online-advent-calendar.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Please remember our troops at this time of year. Here is a link for sending them cards. The deadline is December 10 so time is running short.
http://www.redcross.org/email/saf/

___________________________

Now for Toni...

Let's go ahead and start off with our next state, which is...Deleware!

Delaware was the first state to ratify the United States constitution. It did so on December 7, 1787.

Delaware shares a semi-circular border with Pennsylvania. The border was drawn at the time of the original land grants to William Penn from King Charles II and the Duke of York.

Delmar is popularized as the little town too big for one state. The community has the distinction of being located partly in Delaware and partly in Maryland.

Tradition holds the first time Betsy Ross's famous flag was flown was at the Battle of Cooch's Bridge. This historic site is located on route 4 in Newark.

Eleven years after the landing of the English pilgrims the first white settlement was made on Delaware soil.

In total area Delaware ranks 49th in the nation. It contains 1,982 square miles. It is 96 miles long and varies from 9 to 35 miles in width.

Ebright Road in New Castle County is the highest state elevation at 442 feet above sea level. The lowest elevation is along the coast at sea level.

Thomas Garret lost his entire fortune in his battle against slavery. He was sued by a Maryland slave owner and fined for aiding a black family in flight. Over his lifetime, Garrett reportedly helped more than 2,000 fugitive slaves move through Delaware, an important stop on the

Underground Railroad.

The 87-foot Fenwick Island Lighthouse was painted in 1880 for a total cost of about $5.00.

The American holly is the official state tree. The tree can reach a maximum of 60 feet in height and a trunk diameter of 20 inches.

The peach blossom is Delaware's official state flower and has prompted Delaware's nickname as the peach state.

Thousand Acre Marsh is the largest freshwater tidal wetland in northern Delaware. The Chesapeake and Delaware Canals border the marsh.

Barratt's Chapel is known as the Cradle of Methodism. It was built in 1780 and is the oldest surviving church built by and for Methodists in the United States.

The Maryland/Delaware boundary and the Mason-Dixon Line divide Delmar. A double crown stone marker was erected in 1768 as the southern end of the only North-South portion of the Mason-Dixon line.

The Du Pont Laboratories first produced nylon at its plant in Seaford. This earned the town the distinction of being the Nylon Capital of the World.

Delaware was named for Lord de la Warr. He was the first governor of Virginia.

Quaker merchant Thomas Garret is thought to be the model for a Quaker farmer in the novel, "Uncle Tom's Cabin." Garret and famed abolitionist Harriett Tubman worked closely with Delaware's anti-slavery forces.
*********************************

Ann sent in this helpful hint:

Washing your dryer lint screen once in a while with just warm water and dish liquid helps the lint come off easier and lets your dryer work more efficiently. Be sure to dry thouroughly before putting back in the dryer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Free toothpaste samplehttp://www.tryarmandhammer.com/
____________________________

~Marie's Laughter~

Is your new horse well-behaved Charles?? Oh, yes Phil, when we come to a fence, he stops and lets me go over first.

____________________________

I don't really think this would be something up my alley but I did think it was an interesting idea, and so I'm posting it because it might be up your alley:

Bet your fat away. Here's how:
Sign up for a free account.
Record your weight daily or as often as you like at Fatbet.net.
Start a Fatbet.
Set your weight-loss goal, enter dates, and create a Fatbet wager.
Send people you know a Fatbet challenge.
Track your personal and Fatbet group progress.
When the Fatbet ends, all who reach their weight-loss goals win. Those who don't pay the Fatbet wager.
http://www.fatbet.net/home.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fbets.aspx

_______________________________

At http://www.umbrellatoday.com/ type in a ZIP code and find out immediately whether you'll need an umbrella today. You can also sign up for an automatic text message that will alert you on days when your umbrella will be needed.
--------------------------------

At http://www.copypastecharacter.com/ find symbols, arrows, smiley faces, etc. that you can cut and paste into word-processing documents.
---------------------------------

~Handyman John~

John is on day 8 of working 10 straight 12-hour shifts, so considering that job pays better than writing a column here, I have given him the week off. Hopefully he'll be back with us soon.

-----------------------

Sue sent in an article about Blenko Glass that she thought we might be interested in. Here is their website http://www.blenkoglass.com/ . Now to share Sue's article:

Collectors are beginning to realize that Blenko glass has had an important influence on glass design in America.
The Eureka Art Glass Co. (later renamed Blenko Class Co) opened in Milton WV in 1921. William Blenko, Eureka's founder, had tried glassmaking before but had failed.
He soon introduced some manufacturing improvements. He invented a process for making large sheets of antique-looking glass and developed a ruby glass that didn't change color when reheated. The company made a good product, and Blenko's son Bill was a successful salesman.
The glassworks sold colored glass for stained-glass windows, but the Depression destroyed that market. So the company started to make tablewares. Blenko hired two trained Swedish glassblowers who made classically shaped glass in many colors.
They also made reproductions of old glass, as well as modern designs. By the mid-1940s, after the war, unusual forms of colorful glass were sold. Blenko glass became a favorite in gift stores and an ideal decoration in a '50s room.
Chartreuse-colored glass was a hit, abstract designs sold well and very tall colored vases were designer favorites. The glass was considered important enough to be included in museum exhibits right next to the best Swedish and Italian pieces. Blenko is still working today.

------------------------------

Remember when we were kids and we'd cut cool designs out of paper to make snowflakes? Well, here's the online version. As Terrie and I can tell you, it's very addictive here. We've both been making flakes here for, I think, this is the 3rd year. The neat thing here is all the flakes you make are stored. I've make 250+ myself and if you'd want to see my artistic abilities--lol--you can do a search for them. Just click search and then put in Toni and West Virginia. You need to spell out West Virginia instead of using the abbreviation.

http://www.popularfront.com/snowdays/
------------------------------

Sue sent this joke in to share:

Morris and his wife Esther went to the state fair every year, and every year Morris would say, "Esther, I'd like to ride in that helicopter," Esther always replied, "I know Morris, but that helicopter ride is fifty dollars and fifty dollars is fifty dollars." One year Esther and Morris went to the fair and Morris said, "Esther I am 85 years old. If I don't ride that helicopter, I might never get another chance." To this, Esther replied, "Morris that helicopter ride is fifty dollars, and fifty dollars is fifty dollars." The pilot overheard the couple and said, "Folks I'll make you a deal. I'll take the both of you for a ride. If you can stay quiet for the entire ride and not say a word, I won't charge you! But if you say one word, it's fifty dollars." Morris and Esther agreed and up they went. The pilot did all kinds of fancy maneuvers, but not a word was heard. He did his daredevil tricks over and over again, but still not a word. When they landed, the pilot turned to Morris and said, "By golly, I did everything I could to get you to yell out, but you didn't. I'm impressed!" Morris replied, "Well to tell you the truth, I almost said something when Esther fell out, but you know, fifty dollars is fifty dollars."

-----------------------------------------

Cheryl sent in this Civics quiz. It is a real eye opener as to what we know about this wonderful country of ours:

http://americancivicliteracy.org/

-----------------------------------------

I was recently reading a story about a Christmas pageant that contained some interesting facts about camels that I enjoyed reading, so I wanted to share them with you:

One hump or two? Dromedary camels have one; Bactrians have two. Their humps actually store fat, not water, and droop as the fat is burned for energy. Camels carried merchants, goods and spices along the Silk Road from Europe to Persia to China for more than a millennium. In 1855 the U.S. Army brought camels to the Southwest for transportation. The program was abandoned in the 1860s when the Army vacated their post to fight in the Civil War. Many were sold, while some escaped into the desert, with sightings into the 1900s. Camels have quite a vocal repertoire, but one sound, a low growl, inspired the voice of Chewbacca in Star Wars. The phrase "The straw that broke the camel's back" came from an Arab proverb, and was popularized in Dicken's Dombey and Son.

If you had a bank that credited your account each morning with $86,400, that carried over no balance from day to day, and allowed you to keep no cash in your account, and every evening canceled whatever part of the amount you had failed to use during the day, what would you do? Draw out every cent of course!Well, you do have such a bank, and it's name is "time." Every morning it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it rules off, as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to good purpose.If you fail to use the day's deposits the loss is yours. - - - Anonymous