TOP 10 THINGS TO DO RECOVERING FROM SURGERY

TOP TEN THINGS TO DO WHILE RECOVERING FROM A SURGERY

Hubby is bored out of his mind and is driving himself crazzzzzy. He has a lot of time on his hands and it needed to be filled. Here’s a list to help make the most of your down time after surgery.

1.    Clean off your desk and sort out the pile of mail, bills, catalogues etc., that has been piling up on kitchen counter since before your surgery.

2.    Go sit out on your deck or porch for awhile each day and get some fresh air, pray, meditate and animal watch while enjoying a beverage

3.    Download music & movies(legally) from the Internet; have more music & Movies than you could ever utilize in 2 lifetimes.

4.    Read all the magazines and books that are piling up for than rainy day.  The rainy days are here.

5.    Play classic board games with your friends and family – Monopoly, Scrabble, Clue, Risk…  Or Play Independent games-Solitaire Angry Birds, Cube World, Owl Boy, Ibb and Obb, Mega Run, Mega Jump…

6.    Watch Old movies from the 40’s – 60’s.  These movies are said to be more uncomplicated and leisurely to watch.  Especially great if you are on several medications.

7.    Pare down your list of friends on Facebook.  Psychologists suggests taking a look at your friends and "defriending" those you only consider acquaintances or those who stalk your wall and rarely make comments or likes.  Then write on the walls of all those that are left.

8.    Enjoy some games you already have from Xbox or Nintendo, Gameboy, Sony PSP, or Wii.

9.    Put your financials in order with a working budget and some goals to work towards.
10.Set a progressive workout goal (e.g. go for 2 minutes longer each day) that is OK'd by your doctor. Chart your progress. 

Top 10 For A better Nights Sleep ZzzzZZZzzzzz

Top 10 Tricks for Getting Better Sleep

From Lifehacker.com

For something we spend half our life doing, a lot of us are pretty awful at sleeping. Here are our top 10 tips for falling asleep faster, getting quality rest, and waking up easier in the morning.

10. Prepare a Worthy Bed

While your bed probably isn't the primary cause of insomnia, snoring, or other sleep problems, it can certainly contribute to your comfort at night. Make sure you're using the right pillow based on your sleep type, and when it comes time to buy a new mattress, make sure you shop smart (and don't get fleeced). Once you know it isn't your bed, you can start getting to the bottom of your sleep issues. Photo by Daehyun Park.

9. Eat Better

What you eat can greatly affect how you sleep, even during the early half of the day.Eat breakfast first thing in the morning to sleep better at night, and make sure it's a big one. After eating well throughout the day,avoid eating spicy or junk foods at night, and instead choose something that will help you drift off. And remember: no booze! Not onlywill it not help you get to sleep, it'll cause you to snore all night, too. Photo by D Sharon Pruitt.

8. Wake Up Pleasantly, Not Roughly

The days of the ever-annoying *bzzt*-*bzzt*-*bzzt* alarms are over. Instead of being jerked awake by an old clock, consider getting a smart alarm app for your phone, like our favorites for iPhone and Android. Then, try waking yourself up more comfortably. If you need a bit more of a push, of course, we've got more methods for manipulating yourself to wake up. And, whenever possible, do it without stimulants—caffeine can wreak havoc with your brain and body. Photo by Lars Plougmann.

7. Exercise in the Morning

Exercising in the morning or afternoon—not at night—can help deepen your sleep and make sure you fall asleep quicker, according to a study by the National Sleep Foundation. If you aren't much of an exerciser, there's no better time than now to upgrade your health and fitness routine than now. Photo by lu-lu.

6. Fix Your Sleeping Position

You may not realize it over the course of the night, but your sleeping position could not be great for your body—or the quality of shuteye you get. Find out which sleeping style is best for you, and make a conscious effort to fix it when you go to bed, and you'll wake up feeling more refreshed in the morning.

5. Cool Yourself Off at Night

Cooling down your body temperature makes a huge difference in how easy it is to fall asleep, but that can be hard to do when it's hot outside (or when your significant other has body temperature nearing the surface of the sun). From DIY air conditioners to cooling pillows to more extreme methods,we've got the lowdown on staying cool while you sleep. Just make sure you don't wake up freezing in the morning—that's never a fun way to start the day. Photo by Rob.

4. Get the Perfect Amount of Sleep

Not everyone needs the same exact amount of sleep, but with a little trial and error, you should find your sweet spot pretty easily.Count back 7.5 hours from when you need to wake up, and make sure you get to bed at that time—then adjust accordingly. Of course, you could also try a webapp like Sleepyti.me to help you calculate the perfect number of hours, too.

3. Learn to Nap Like a Pro

If you feel yourself getting drowsy during the day, you might be tempted to nap—but that can be disastrous for your sleep schedule if done incorrectly. Learn to master the power nap, then calculate the best time to nap and crank one out then (if you have a hammock, all the better). And, if you really want tomake the most of your naps, try a caffeine nap to reboot your brain in the middle of the day. Photo by Dion Hinchcliffe.

2. Cultivate the Perfect Evening Routine

As the end of the day rolls around, you should be winding yourself down for bed to get the best sleep possible. If you really want to fall asleep easily, take some time tocultivate the perfect evening routine—some light reading, a nice bubble bath, andsomething that doesn't involve a backlit screen—to fall asleep quickly and keep your energy up the next day. Photo by Chelsea Oakes.

1. Get Some Help From Technology

If your sleep cycle seems beyond repair, you might need to get some outside help...from our favorite therapist, technology. From cheap methods like sleep tracking apps to full-on sleep tracking gadgets like theWakemate, we've tested a number of technological sleep aids and found them to be rather helpful. If you're really motivated, you can reboot your entire sleep cycle and get the rest you deserve, and your midday self will thank you for it.

Top 10 Unusual St. Patrick’s Day Facts

Top 10 Unusual St. Patrick’s Day Facts (t)

An Irish blessing: “May you always have...
Walls for the winds, A roof for the rain 
Tea beside the fire, Laughter to cheer you
, Those you love near you, 
And all your heart might desire.”

An Irish toast : “May your blessings outnumber, the shamrocks that grow,
And may trouble avoid you wherever you go.”

       1. According to his writing, a voice - which he believed to be God's - spoke to him in a dream, telling him it was time to leave Ireland. After travelling for more than 200 miles by foot, he was eventually given passage on a boat travelling across the Irish Sea. His first destination was Britain. Patrick also reported that he experienced a second revelation - an angel in a dream tells him to return to Ireland as a missionary.

       2. Patrick and his 24 followers were invited to Tara by the King of Laoghaire. While he was there he plucked a shamrock from the ground and tried to explain the to the druids and the King that the shamrock had three leaves just like God had three personas - The Father, The Son and the Holy Ghost. This was called the Trinity. Before the Christian era it was a sacred plant of the Druids of Ireland because its leaves formed a triad.

      3.  While not the first to bring Christianity to Ireland, it is Patrick who is said to have encountered the Druids at Tara and abolished their pagan rites. The story holds that he converted the warrior chiefs and princes, baptizing them and thousands of their subjects in the "Holy Wells" that still bear this name.

      4.  The St. Patrick's Day custom came to America in 1737.  What's good luck on Saint Patrick's Day?: Finding a four-leaf clover (that's double the good luck it usually is). Wearing green. (School children started this tradition of their own -- they used to pinch classmates who don't wear green on this holiday). Kissing the blarney stone.

      5.  Turning the Chicago river green has been a unique to Chicago for the past 50+ years. A modern day miracle occurs each year as part of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade celebration when the Chicago River turns an incredible shade of Irish green. This spectacular transformation is a sight to see. 

    6.   People dress in green clothing and eat food, which is either naturally or dyed green, on St Patrick’s Day. Some people go as far as holding green dinner parties where the guests are expected to wear green and eat exclusively green food.

      7.  36 Million number of U.S. residents who claim Irish ancestry. This number is almost nine times the population of Ireland itself (slightly more than 4 million). Irish is the nation's second most frequently reported ancestry, trailing only German.

      8.   Seattle and other cities paint the traffic stripe of their parade routes green. Chicago dyes its river green and has done so since 1962 when sewer workers used green dye to check for sewer discharges and had the idea to turn the river green for Saint Patrick's Day. Originally 100 pounds of vegetable dye was used to turn the river green for a whole week but now only forty pounds of dye is used and the colour only lasts for several hours. The dye starts out looking orange.  It hits the water looking yellow.  And then the magic begins.{See Picture} [24] Indianapolis also dyes its main canal green.

      9.  The number three in Ireland is consider lucky, hence; the shamrock and its three leaves. The Shamrock was also known as the Seamrog, which means; summer plant which comes from the Irish word trefoil, meaning three-leafed. It symbolizes the Trinity of the Father, Son & Holy Spirit; faith, hope and charity; or past, present and future. The number three was utilized in many ways in the Irish culture and ancient Celtic Druid cultures believed that the plant had magical powers such as, the leaves stood straight up to predict approaching storms. Even Irish storytelling is done in the rhythm of triple repetitions.

       10.  In the United States and Canada, consumption of corned beef is often associated with Saint Patrick's Day.[10] Corned beef is not considered an Irish national dish, and the connection with Saint Patrick's Day specifically originates as part of Irish-American culture, and is often part of their celebrations in North America.[11]Corned beef and cabbage became popular in the United States after Irish immigrants in the northeast used corned beef instead of pork in the dish. This substitution was likely due to the low cost of corned beef in the U.S.  More traditional in Ireland is Irish Stew and Soda Bread.

Top 10 + 2 Subjects for my "HOW TO" Assignment

Top 10 + 2 Subjects for my "HOW TO" Assignment 

Recently a friend of mine had to write a "HOW TO" for her college class.  If I had to do that now, I would pick subjects that I have a mastery in, witnessed, a practical understanding in , or have been called upon for my expertise. These are in no particular order of Skillfulness or lack there of.

1. How to Replace a Toilet Paper Roll 
2. How to Remove Chewing Gum from Hair
3. How to Entertain on a Teensy-Weensey Budget
4. How to Stay Motivated When Slenderizing
5. How to Survive Scary Movies
6. How to Get Ready For A Half Marathon
7. How to Arrive Places On Time
8. How to Cheat at Clue or Monopoly
9. How to Have a Conversations with Animals
10. How to Clean Out the Fridge & Freezer
11. How to Cook for a Picky Eater
12. How to Paint a Fence/Plant a Garden in 100*F

Valentin'e Grocery List.

Going to the Grocery Store to get some things and food for my Valentine's Dinner with my hubby at home.  All to often I end up going to the grocery store without my list and coupons.  That's right coupons.  I can't help myself.  A friend of my Husband's Jennifer got us into couponing.  I really didn't think you could save that much money doing it.  We do not have any stores that triple our coupons like in the Extreme Couponing Show.  However we do have one that doubles.  This is sometimes a good buy but other times they are high in price even after doubling the coupon.  Plus they have rule after rule after rule about what you can't do.  How d

Any Whoo...  Here's my wonderful list for today.   How do most people arrange their grocery List?  I try to do it by aisle.  Lots on it because my daughter moved back in and she's encouraging more veggies. I just have to remember to take it with.  In my purse it goes.

Happy Valentin'es Day.  My fiend of this blog gave me yummy treats and a card.  She's so sweet.

It's a day to celebrate the doughnut.  This is the day when you forget about your diet and eat mountains of donuts (paczki) and all the other things fat, greasy, sweet, full of cholesterol, generally unhealthy, and mmmmm.... Delicious.  I am so lucky to be of Polish decent.  I am making Paczki or Pounchki and then perhaps some  Chrusciki (Chruschiki).