Trying to drop weight

Son has gained a lot of weight working for McDonald's. I don't blame McDonald's, though, I blame his food choices. After all, it really is all about the choices we make. For instance, I rarely eat the fries there or any meat. I choose to eat meatless salads and fruit and yogurt parfaits. As a result, I've lost weight in the past year.

Weight loss takes time and sometimes our bodies lock in the fat cells, making it seem like a good diet isn't working. Maybe then we turn to a natural weight loss product to help boost the metabolism a bit and get the weight loss started again.

For myself, I really love to drink the designer coffees McDonald's has. But, too many of them will add calories that I want to avoid. So, I take my own organically grown mints and make myself hot tea with them. I use a sugar replacement in the tea. It boosts the flavor without boosting the calories. A few days of the tea, home made granola, and avoiding fat and sugar calories usually puts me back on course again and actually helps to energize me.

What are your personal tips for losing weight?

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Part time income

Stay at home moms can usually find some safe ways to bring income into the home. Ways that don't take them away from their children for long hours and which can be worked into a normal schedule. Younger Daughter, for instance, sells a cosmetic line that she fell in love with awhile back. She still works her regular job (she doesn't have a family yet) and earns a little extra income on the side with these cosmetics.

The line she sells isn't just makeup. It's all kinds of skin treatments from the best acne treatment to items that simply help you relax at the end of a long day. Because she is a licensed esthetician, she can also use the appliances that aide these cosmetics in their beneficial work. I especially love the foot treatments she sells. Being on my feet all day means my tired dogs need some pampering!

The primary thing is to find a product you really believe in. The product Daughter sells was founded by a Christian and has high values associated with it. The products really work and though they seem expensive at the start, they last a long time because they aren't watered down or full of useless fillers. This means they wind up being very economical to use.

Technorati Tags: cosmetics,skin

Work is good for you

I am beginning to really think that working full time is actually good for my health. I don't have as many sick days or aches and pains as I used to when I stayed home all the time.

Don't get me wrong! I still plan on getting to the point where I don't have to go to a regular job and can totally work from home. Even then, though, I will work a garden and stay as active as possible. I realize that the older I get, the more I'll probably need rheumatoid arthritis paid relief, but staying active should help reduce the need for it.

Considering the fact that I turned 58 today, and people guess my age to be 10 years younger, I must be doing something right.

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Slow laptop

Ok. I'm going to have to break down and get a new laptop. Mine's still working just fine, but it's so slow now that I think I've got it bogged down with too much junk. I'm thinking that if I get a new one and dedicate it to just working online, it will stay running faster, longer. I can keep my current laptop for strictly personal use.

I might also look at online backup to make sure I don't lose anything on this laptop if it were to crash. Son's laptop crashed a few months ago. He has a new one now, but he went for quite awhile without one and he lost everything he'd stored on the old one.

Since mine is about three years old now, and I can write off the purchase of a new one on my next year's taxes, I'm going to be shopping in earnest for one in the next couple of months.

Technorati Tags: laptop,computer

Dropping a dress size

I confess. I probably eat too much. However, I am cutting back and getting control of my serving sizes better. I also dance. I don't mean "dance" in the sense that I'm a great dancer. When I get home from work, instead of just vegging, I turn up my music and dance around the house for 20 to 30 minutes. I'm not that great, but I am moving!

I suppose I could look for generic adipex to help me lose weight, but what I am doing now has dropped enough off of me that I'm down one size in clothing. Good for me, because I'm on the right track. Bad for me, because now I have to buy smaller clothes!

I think I'll wait until I drop another size or two before I actually go shopping, though. I can still make my clothes work for now, and by the time I'm really ready for smaller clothes, I will feel less guilty about spending money on them.

Technorati Tags: shopping,weight loss

Work your passions

If I have learned nothing else, it's that a person should work at whatever feeds their passion. Otherwise, you wind up very unhappy and will not stay with the job you are in. In fact, you may go through a number of jobs before you settle on one.

You do have to determine what you love yourself, though. No one else can make that choice for you, although they can give you an objective view of your talents, gifts, and passions - things you may not even realize yourself.

My "job" is my career right now because I am good at it, because I can teach others while I'm at work, and because it pays pretty well. See, it doesn't matter if you love to do research for medications or things like acnezine, or if you love to teach others, or if you love to build things, find work that involves what you love and you'll be more likely to make a long commitment to doing that job.

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More freezing weather

Wednesday

We have been hit again with unusually frigid temperatures accompanied by sleet. It's already accumulating on my front porch which means it's also on the roads. I had figured to go into town Thursday early enough to finish getting my truck road legal, but if this keeps up over night, I'll be stuck at home. Oh, to be on the warm sands of punta cana and far away from all this cold weather!

Either my son-in-law or a friend was going to take me to Big Town to get it assessed and pay the property tax on it. However, neither will want to venture far from their homes if this keeps up.

Well, at least my water is thawed again and it's running. A hot shower felt wonderful after having a frozen pipe for two days. It was frozen at the well house so the heat lamp son-in-law put in did the trick. There doesn't seem to be a leak in any of the pipes. However, I came home today to a flooded bathroom floor.

See, the tub drain was also frozen so when the water started flowing again, it overflowed into the floor before I got back from town. I got it all dried up in the bathroom and set a fan in the hall to dry that floor. It doesn't seem to have gone much further than that, thankfully. However, I used all my dirty laundry plus some sheets from the closet to sop it all up, so now I have lot of heavy, wet clothes to deal with!

Update (Monday): I did get to go to Big Town and got my truck all road legal now! Yay!

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Healthcare proposals

When you are in business for yourself, either part-time or full-time, you probably try to bite the bullet when it comes to certain expenses. Things like health insurance and life insurance may take a back seat to what seems to be more pressing expenses, such as the day-to-day operating costs of running a business.

With national health care reform at the front of everyone's mind these days, some of us are sitting up and really paying attention now.

• Will these reforms actually generate an increase in health care costs?
• Will the mandatory nature of these reforms bring an undue burden on those with low to medium incomes?
• Are the penalties involved in not participating excessive?
• Can the Mom and Pop, home-based businesses expect to be able to afford the cost of health care on their own?

There are a lot of questions on people minds right now, and the bill is so large and so extensive that it's difficult for the ordinary citizen to understand all the details and how it may affect him or her. I'm waiting for someone to explain it all to me in layman's terms!

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