02.24.2009

Healthy Living

Here's a tip...season your food to help you lose weight! Researchers from the Endocrine Society assembled a group of overweight volunteers. They asked the volunteers to sprinkle an assortment of flavoring crystals ranging from savory to sweet onto neutral tasting food before eating it. Half of the participants were given crystals that were unflavored.

After a period of 6 months, the results were in...after checking each volunteers weight and BMI, it was reavealed that the ones who used the flavored crystals lost an average of almost 31 pounds! The group with the unflavored cyrstals averaged a drop of only 2 pounds.

What does this mean? Researchers have theorized that having flavorful food enhances our senses of smell and taste, helps us to eat a little less, to savor our meals (and eat them more slowly) and ultimately helps control our weight.

So season up! Just remember to go easy on the sodium!
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Did you know?...
If you wear a pedometer and walk 10,000 steps a day, you've walked approximately 5 miles!
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Just because your shower curtain gets "showered" every day doesn't mean its clean and germ free. It can get slimy, and slime is a perfect place to breed bacteria, like methylobacteria, which can contribute to respiratory problems. So wash your vinyl shower curtain regularly in your washing machine with a bleach alternative detergent.
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Dental care for Fido and Fluffy
Yes, your pet needs dental care, not only from your vet but at home too. Here are three steps recommended by the American Veterinary Dental Society.
1. Take your pet to the vet for a dental exam. Do it now if you suspect a problem, otherwise you can wait for your pets annual checkup.
2. Start a dental care regimen at home. One of the most convenient and effective ways to fight oral disease is to feed your pet specially formulated foods proven effective in combating plaque buildup. The "Seal of Acceptance" from the Veterinary Oral Health Council will appear on products that meet defined standards for plaque control in dogs and cats. (You can get more info on the VOHC at their website.... www.vohc.org )
3. Schedule regular veterinary checkups. This is important in helping your vet monitor the progress of your pets dental health routine.
For more information, visit www.petdental.com
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COOL PICK
Grocery prices are going up all the time, and you definately want to get your money's worth. Convenience foods are, well....convenient! But they don't come cheap. And its frustrating to try a new convenience food only to find its just not that good.. So before you shell out your money on a frozen meal or other convenience food that you've never tried before, why not go to
http://heateatreview.com/
There you will find reviews of pretty much any frozen meal or convenience food out there. Find out what others think of it, and see how many stars they give it, from 5 to zero. Happy dining!
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One thing that really annoys me is automated phone systems. Why can't I just talk to a real person? If you feel the same way, then check out "GetHuman", a database to help you actually talk to a live person!

http://gethuman.com/
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I haven't thoroughly checked this site out, but for those of you into genealogy, this might be one that you'll like;
http://www.geni.com/
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EASY CHICKEN AND BROCCOLI CASSEROLE

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 box frozen broccoli, broken apart
1 can reduced fat cream of mushroom soup
3 Tbsp fat free mayonaise
1 cup reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350.

Boil chicken breasts until done; drain. When cool enough to handle, cut into one inch pieces.
In a square casserole dish, mix mayonaise and soup. Add broccoli and chicken; mix well.
Sprinkle with cheese.

Bake uncovered until cheese is melted, about 20 minutes.

This casserole makes 4 servings, with only 275 calories per serving.

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Hi everybody! John and I spent today shoveling out from 8 inches of wet, heavy snow. I'm starting to get some real "shoveling muscles". lol I wish I had more to talk about but things have been pretty quiet around here. ~Toni
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Casimir Pulaski Day

On the first Monday in March, kids in Illinois get a day off from school in honor of a man who never set foot in the American Midwest.

Casimir Pulaski (1748?-1779) was a Polish native who became a war hero in two countries. In Poland, he was a leader in the effort to defend his nation against Russian forces in the 1760s and 1770s. When the defense ultimately failed to prevent the partition of Poland, Pulaski fled his country. He was eventually recruited by Benjamin Franklin to help fight against the British for American independence.

Pulaski's achievements during the American Revolution, as chief of cavalry and while heading an independent legion, are recognized in Illinois each year on the first Monday of March. Illinois is home to just under one tenth of the Polish-American population.
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~Tips from Cheryl~

Buying Nonstick Pans? Because they can scratch, they need extra care. When cooking, don't use metal utensils; instead a wood or plastic one will be better to save the surface. Never use abrasive cleaners, instead clean in hot soapy water and scrub with a nylon scrubber. The pans will last longer.

Pet Hair on Clothing, Furniture, Rugs? Remove it in a snap by wiping over the hairy areas with a damp sponge or tape wound around your hand (sticky side out). To get hair off furniture quickly, rub the areas with a clean sneaker with a ribbed sole.
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Americans will have more time to prepare for the the transition from analog to digital TV after Congress passed legislation delaying the Feb. 17 switch until June 12. Despite an extensive government advertising campaign, the Nielsen Company estimated last month that 6.5 million households were unprepared for the change--partly because the government ran out of $40 coupons intended to defray the cost of converter boxes. The President has pushed for more financing to continue the coupon program, including up to $650 million pending in the stimulus package.
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~Marie's Laughter~

A couple goes for a meal at a Chinese restaurant and order Chicken Surprise. The waiter brings the meal, served in a lidded, cast iron pot. Just as the wife is about to serve herself, the lid of the pot rises slightly and she briefly sees two beady little eyes looking around befoer the lid slams back down. "Good grief, did you see that?" she asks her husband. He didn't, so she asks him to look in the pot. He reaches for it and again the lid rises, and he sees two little eyes looking around before the lid slams down. Rather perturbed, he calls the waiter over, explains what is happening and demands an explanation. "Please sir", says the waiter, "what you order?" The husband replies, "Chicken Surprise".
"Ah! So sorry", says the waiter, "I bring you Peeking Duck!"
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Maryland

~The United States Naval Academy was founded on October 10, 1845 at Annapolis.
~In 1830 the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company built the first railroad station in Baltimore.
~Fort Meade near Laurel became a base because a train engineer delivering soldiers to Meade knew only one Meade, the one in Maryland. He was not aware of Fort Meade, Florida. The confusion happened so often a second base was built in Maryland in an attempt to avoid the confusion.
~Other Major League Ball player besides "The Babe" born in Maryland include Cal Ripken, Jr., Billy Ripken, Lefty Grove, Frank (Home Run) Baker, Harold Baines, Al Kaline, Denny Neagle, and Jimmie Foxx.
~America's national anthem was written by Francis Scott Key a Maryland lawyer. It is believed Key wrote the anthem on September 14, 1814 while watching the bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor.
~Since May 30th, 1949 the United States flag has flown continuously over the monument marking the site of Francis Scott Key's birthplace. The flag flies at Terra Rubra Farm, Carroll County, Keymar, Maryland as mandated by a Joint Resolution of Congress.
~The National Aquarium is located in Baltimore's Inner Harbor.
~Located in the Chesapeake Bay, Smith Island is Maryland's only inhabited off-shore island.
~The highest point in Maryland is 3,360 feet above sea level on Backbone Mountain in Garrett County. The absolute lowest point in Maryland is a depression, often called Bloody Point Hole, 174 feet below sea level. The area is located approximately 1 mile west-southwest of the southern tip of Kent Island in Queen Anne's County.
~On June 24,1784, in Baltimore, 13-year old Edward Warren went airborne in the first successful manned balloon launch in the United States.
~Samuel F.B. Morse reportedly received the first telegraph message in Bladensburg, in 1844, before his famous "What Hath God Wrought" message between Baltimore and Washington. His telegraph wire had been strung along the railroad right of way. Ezra Cornell, founder of Cornell University, lived in Bladensburg and is said to have invented the telegraph pole.
~The Concord Point Lighthouse in Havre de Grace is the oldest continuously operated lighthouse in the State of Maryland.
~Mount Airy is unique because two counties, Carroll and Frederick, divide it.
~On the morning of August 10, 1813 residents of Saint Michaels having been forewarned of a British attack hoisted lanterns to the masts of ships and in the tops of the trees. The height of light caused cannons to overshoot the town. This first known blackout was effective and only one house was struck and is now known as the "Cannonball House." The town has been known as the town that fooled the British since this historic event.
~Maryland gave up some of it's land to form Washington D.C.
~Sixteen of the 23 Maryland counties border on tidal water. The combined length of tidal shoreline, including islands, is 4,431 miles.
~Clara Barton National Historic Site commemorates the life of Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross. The house in Glen Echo served as her home and headquarters for the American Red Cross and a warehouse for disaster relief supplies.
~Annapolis was known as the Athens of America during the seventeenth century and once served as the capital of the United States.
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Do we need a new Internet?http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/15/weekinreview/15markoff.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1
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Unusual town names in Arizona

Bagdad
Boneyard
Bootlegger
Crossing
Bumble Bee
Carefree
Chloride
Floss
Goobertown
Goodyear
Many Farms
Nothing
Show Low
Strong
Surprise
Three Forks
Tuba City
Two Guns
Why
Winkleman
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For the sake of the cleanup, workers could only be thankful it wasn't a tanker truck that crashed. And sorry that they didn't bring marshmallows. An 18-wheeler carrying nearly 24 tons of cocoa powder crashed just outside of Elkview WV, spilling its contents onto the I-79 roadway and forcing a closure on the interstate's southbound lanes for 14 hours. The truck's driver escaped the crash with only minor injuries, but his payload of 47,000 pounds of cocoa was ruined, intermittently catching fire on the interstate as blowtorch-wielding rescue workers attempted to peel back the truck's roof.
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Is red your favorite color? Here's what the color means around the world:

~For the ancient Romans, a red flag was a signal for battle.
~Because of its visibility, stop signs, stoplights, brake lights, and fire equipment are all painted red.
~The ancient Egyptians considered themselves a red race and painted their bodies with red dye for emphasis.
~In Russia, red means beautiful. The Bolsheviks used a red flag as their symbol when they overthrew the tsar in 1917. That is how red became the color of communism.
~In India, red is the symbol for a soldier.
~In South Africa, red is the color of mourning.
~It's considered good luck to tie a red bow on a new car.
~In China, red is the color of good luck and is used as a holiday and wedding color. Chinese babies are given their names at a red-egg ceremony.
~Superstitious people think red frightens the devil.
~A “red-letter day” is one of special importance and good fortune.
~In Greece, eggs are dyed red for good luck at Easter time.
~To “paint the town red” is to celebrate.
~Red is the color most commonly found in national flags.
~In the English War of the Roses, red was the color of the House of Lancaster, which defeated the House of York, symbolized by the color white.
~The “Redshirts” were the soldiers of the Italian leader Garibaldi, who unified modern Italy in the nineteenth century.
~To “see red” is to be angry.
~A “red herring” is a distraction, something that takes attention away from the real issue.
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One cent book sale

This is NOT buy a book at regular price, get the second for a penny. This is a real sale, where the books are really only one cent each. Sale runs three day only, from Tuesday through Thursday, Feb. 24 - 26. Limit two one cent books per customer. Shipping is extra, but cheap. Book list only visible on sale dates.
http://www.bookcloseouts.com/default.asp?N=0&rid=dworsky
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Rain, sleet, snow: These are merely nuisances for Rockport, Mass. postal workers. Turkeys, on the other hand, are proving to be another story. The U.S. Postal Service was forced to stop delivery service to some homes on a local Rockport route when a flock of turkeys began aggressively pecking at one mail carrier. Rockport Post Office Delivery Manager Tim Russell said the flock of about 10 has been attacking postal workers and their trucks for about five months. In mid January, "people had to intervene so (the mail carrier) could get back to his truck," Russell told the Gloucester Daily Times. "He was trying to wave a bag full of mail at the turkeys as he ran when some folks pulled over to shoo the turkeys away." An official with the state Environmental Police has advised the post office to arm its postal workers with umbrellas to fend off the territorial turkeys, saying the large agressive males will interpret an opened umbrella as an even larger, even more agressive turkey.
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Miscellaneous trivia
Scarlett O' Hara, Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind lead character, was originally given the name Pansy.
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Find Your Cheapest Cellular Service Plan
http://cellphones.about.com/library/bl_pt_q1.htm?q=UPT-TAKEAGAIN
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Celebrity real names

Eddie Albert..........Edward Albert Heimberger
Jason Alexander..........Jay Scott Greenspan
Woody Allen..........Allen Konigsberg
Don Ameche..........Dominic Felix Amici
Julie Andrews..........Julia Elizabeth Wells
Beatrice Arthur..........Bernice Frankel
Fred Astaire..........Frederick Austerlitz
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