Our Virtual Holiday Greeting

This funky card is created by John Schaffer.
Create your own funky card at CardFunk.

Three more days!

Three more days to what? Three more days until I’m done with my corporate gig for the rest of the year.

This is going to be a great Christmas, even though it will get a little overwhelming during the next few weeks (In-Law Christmas #1, Other In-Law Christmas #2, Final In-law Christmas #3 all this weekend), this will be my kids’ first Christmas in our home.

While I love traveling (seriously, I do like to drive the countryside) and I love visiting the nostalgic places of my childhood, I’m happier than ever to be spending this Christmas with my 3 little ones and my wife, right here in our house.

Four Thanksgivings

…and two of them I’ve spent at home with a sick child. Wednesday was great. Ang made an awesome turkey and some great sides. My sis came over and all was well. Thursday, I spent the day at home with Jackinator and his stomach bug while Ang took the other kids to her family’s Thanksgiving. Even though I wasn’t able to spend the entire day with my family, the Dallas Cowboys had another convincing victory and I got some quality time with my eldest son. Friday was another day full of food and family, and Saturday, I spent the day at home with Mad Dog and her stomach bug that kept us both up all of Friday night. Yeah!!

Today, the ground is covered with a beautiful snow and the kids are having a blast digging through the Christmas decorations.

Happy Thanksgiving

As this year is quickly coming to a close, I thought I’d clean up this blog and prepare for a fresh start.

This Thanksgiving, we will celebrate 5 times. We started Sunday night, continued on Wednesday night, head out today, have an engagement tomorrow, and finally one last one on Saturday.

More on this later…

Simple Philosophy

Some lessons are just so obvious.

My daughter gave me a great life lesson tonight. Yes, even at 5 years old, she has much that she can teach the ol’ man.

A few weeks ago, we were at a discount store spending money on a whole lot of nothing. I think it was one of those days that we threw caution to the wind and let our money blow along with it. Everyone got something. Madeline wanted to get something for the baby for when they are born, so she found this cool little stuffed animal that has a soft glowing belly and plays a lullaby. She and Jack just adore this thing and are so proud of themselves for caring for it while the baby is still in mamma’s belly.

Tonight, Madeline and Jack were fiddling with it and Madeline said, “You gotta put love in it so that the baby can get love out of it.”

I looked at Angela and said, “That’s pretty much the story of life, huh?” Wow, what a moment to find out that my daughter is a first rate lil’ philosopher.

You gotta put love into it if you want love out of it.

Simple philosophy.

Honey and Cinnamon

PURE
RAW

Honey and Cinnamon

Bet the drug companies won’t like this one getting around.

Facts on honey and cinnamon: It is found that a mixture of honey and cinnamon
cures most diseases. Honey is produced in most of the countries of the world.
Scientists of today also accept honey as a “Ram Ban” (very effective)
medicine for all kinds of diseases. Honey can be used without any side effects
for any kind of diseases.

Today’s science says that even though honey is sweet, if taken in the right
dosage as a medicine, it does not harm diabetic patients. Weekly World News, a
magazine in Canada, in its issue dated 17 January, 1995 has given the following
list of diseases that can be cured by honey and cinnamon as researched by
western scientists:

HEART DISEASES:
Make a paste of honey and cinnamon powder, apply on bread, instead of jelly and
jam, and eat it regularly for breakfast. It reduces the cholesterol in the
arteries and saves the patient from heart attack. Also those who have already
had an attack, if they do this process daily, they are kept miles away from the
next attack. Regular use of the above process relieves loss of breath and
strengthens the heart beat. ; In America and Canada, various nursing homes have
treated patients successfully and have found that as you age, the arteries and
veins lose their flexibility and get clogged; honey and cinnamon revitalize the
arteries and veins.

ARTHRITIS:
Arthritis patients may take daily, morning, and night, one cup of hot water
with two spoons of honey and one small teaspoon of cinnamon powder. If taken
regularly even chronic arthritis can be cured. In a recent research conducted
at the Copenhagen University, it was found that when the doctors treated their
patients with a mixture of one tablespoon Honey and half teaspoon Cinnamon
powder before breakfast, they found that within a week, out of the 200 people
so treated, practically 73 patients were totally relieved of pain, and within a
month, mostly all the patients who could not walk or move around because of
arthritis started walking without pain.

BLADDER INFECTIONS:
Take two tablespoons of cinnamon powder and one teaspoon of honey in a glass of
lukewarm water and drink it. It destroys the germs in the bladder.

TOOTHACHE:
Make a paste of one teaspoon of cinnamon powder and five teaspoons of honey and
apply on the aching tooth. This may be applied three times a day until the
tooth stops aching.

CHOLESTEROL:
Two tablespoons of honey and three teaspoons of Cinnamon Powder mixed in 16
ounces of tea water, given to a cholesterol patient, was found to reduce the
level of cholesterol in the blood by 10 percent within two hours. As mentioned
for arthritic patients, if taken three times a day, any chronic cholesterol is
cure d. According to information received in the said journal, pure honey taken
with food daily relieves complaints of cholesterol.

COLDS:
Those suffering from common or severe colds should take one tablespoon lukewarm
honey with 1/4 spoon cinnamon powder daily for three days. This process will
cure most chronic cough, cold, and clear the sinuses.

UPSET STOMACH:
Honey taken with cinnamon powder cures stomach ache and also clears stomach
ulcers from the root.

GAS:
According to the studies done in India and Japan, it is revealed that if honey
is taken with cinnamon powder the stomach is relieved of gas.

IMMUNE SYSTEM:
Daily use of honey and cinnamon powder strengthens the immune system and
protects the body from bacteria and viral attacks. Scientists have found that
honey has various vitamins and iron in large amounts. Constant use of honey
strengthens the white blood corpuscles to fight bacteria and viral diseases.

INDIGESTION:
Cinnamon powder sprinkled on two tablespoons of honey taken before food
relieves acidity and digests the heaviest of meals.

INFLUENZA:
A scientist in Spain has proved that honey contains a natural
Ingredient which kills the influenza germs and saves the patient from flu.

LONGEVITY:
Tea made with honey and cinnamon powder, when taken regularly, arrests the
ravages of old age. Take four spoons of honey, one spoon of cinnamon powder and
three cups of water and boil to make like tea. Drink 1/4 cup, three to four
times a day. It keeps the skin fresh and soft and arrests old age. Life spans
also increases and even a 100 year old, starts performing the chores of a 20-year-old.

PIMPLES:
Three tablespoons of honey and one teaspoon of cinnamon powder paste. Apply
this paste on the pimples before sleeping and wash it next morning with warm
water. If done daily for two weeks, it removes pimples from the root.

SKIN INFECTIONS:
Applying honey and cinnamon powder in equal parts on the affected parts cures
eczema, ringworm and all types of skin infections.

WEIGHT LOSS:
Daily in the morning one half hour before breakfast on an empty stomach and at
night before sleeping, drink honey and cinnamon powder boiled in one cup of
water. If taken regularly, it reduces the weight of even the most obese person.
Also, drinking this mixture regularly does not allow the fat to accumulate in
the body even though the person may eat a high calorie diet.

CANCER:
Recent research in Japan and Australia has revealed that advanced cancer of the
stomach and bones have been cured successfully. Patients suffering from these
kinds of cancer should daily take one tablespoon of honey with one teaspoon of
cinnamon powder for one month three times a day.

FATIGUE:
Recent studies have shown that the sugar content of honey is more helpful
rather than being detrimental to the strength of the body.

Senior citizens, who take honey and cinnamon powder in equal parts, are more
alert and flexible. Dr. Milton, who has done research, says that a half
tablespoon of honey taken in a glass of water and sprinkled with cinnamon
powder, taken daily after brushing and in the afternoon at about 3:00 P.M. when
the vitality of the body starts to decrease, increases the vitality of the body
within a week.

BAD BREATH:
People of South America, first thing in the morning, gargle with one teaspoon
of honey and cinnamon powder mixed in hot water, so their breath stays fresh
throughout the day.

HEARING LOSS:
Daily morning and night honey and cinnamon powder, taken in equal parts restore
hearing.

Creating Life

It’s not often that I post, but I will try to do better. Now that I have a little more to write about these days, I should take the time to do so. I’m so happy that my wife takes the time to journal in separate little notebooks for each child we have. Now that number 3 is on the way, she will need another notebook.

I’ve written about the kids before, and I have a million thoughts that I’ve gathered over the last five years that I’ve been a father, but I seem to have trouble focusing on any one thing to write about. Both of my kids are the sweetest things. Angela has done an incredible job with them, and perhaps I deserve a small amount of credit too. Of course, I’m a little more deviant, as my son flashes gang signs and finishes my sentences, “What the…” says dad. “Hellll”, says Jack. My little deviant. This is the same kid that says, “May I please have (fill in blank), please.” Followed by a smile and a “thank you.”
.
Maddie is well on her way to becoming a teenager. She is such a little angel. We started her in Tae Kwon Do this year, and she decided to quit after about six weeks because, “I don’t want to learn to hurt people.” Of course, but when you turn pre-teen, and there are boys lining up at the door, may I?

So, the third child will be here in September. Bring on the gray hair baby!

God bless…

Study: Honey Works Better Than Cough Syrup

A Penn State study found that honey was more effective than
dextromathorphan for treating nighttime coughs in kids ages 2-11. The
dosages used in the test were equivalent to the cough syrup: half a
teaspoon for kids 2-5, a full teaspoon for kids 6-11.

Both parents and kids reported better sleep quality. Kids reported
they liked the bear-shaped bottle. Also, remember that episode of ER? Don’t give honey to a kid under 1yo.

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=healthNews&storyid=2007-12-03T215021Z_01_WRI378511_RTRUKOC_0_US-HONEY-EASES-NIGHTTIME-COUGH.xml

Powered by ScribeFire.

30 Different Code Words for Sugar

Read the label folks…

Brown-rice syrup
Corn sweetener
Corn syrup, or corn syrup solids
Cane Juice
Dehydrated cane juice
Dextrin
Dextrose
Fructose
Fruit juice concentrate
Glucose
High-fructose corn syrup
Honey
Invert sugar
Lactose
Maltodextrin
Malt syrup
Maltose
Mannitol
Maple syrup
Molasses
Raw sugar
Rice Syrup
Saccharose
Sorbitol
Sorghum or sorghum syrup
Sucrose
Syrup
Treacle
Turbinado Sugar
Xylose

Things ending in “ose” or “ol” are probably sugars.

Not all sugars are created equal, some of these are sugar alcohols
which are not absorbed as fully by the body as regular sugar. It all
depends on how an item falls on the glycemic index.

Powered by ScribeFire.

How to Store Your Food So It Lasts Longer

On average, American families trash 14% of the food they buy, often
because it spoils. But you can extend the life of groceries with these
easy storage tricks:

• Organize fruits and veggies: We often
  toss produce into crispers together, but apples and some other fruits
  give off gas called ethylene that speeds ripening in vegetables. So
  store them separate, so vegetables don’t ripen too fast
• Know which need room temperature: We tend to keep most of our
  fruits and vegetables in the refrigerator. But cold temperatures can
  actually damage some produce, like squash, tomatoes and oranges
• Use
  your own packaging: That flimsy package from the butcher won’t protect
  your meat from freezer burn. Put it in a vacuum sealed or sip lock bag
  with the air squeezed out
• Protect your dry goods: Dry kitchen products like flour,
  cornmeal and other grains can attract bugs that make them unusable.
  Instead, stash them in the refrigerator or the freezer where they will
  be safe from pests
• Chill your bananas: Most of us keep our
  bananas on the kitchen counter. But it seems like they spoil almost as
  soon as they ripen. Instead, store them in your refrigerator once they
  have ripened. The skin will turn brown but the inside lasts a lot longer
• Shield leftovers from the air: Many of us end up throwing out leftovers
  because they went bad. To prevent it, don’t just cover the top of the
  bowl with foil or plastic wrap. Instead, transfer your leftovers to an
  airtight food storage container to keep them fresh

So keep it fresh longer. Oxygen damages food, so air tight packaging will help keep things fresh.

Resource: http://www.gomestic.com/Cooking/How-to-Store-Your-Food-So-It-Lasts-Longer.44510

Powered by ScribeFire.