Yardsales and Nutrition

So during my podcast spree today here are the tips I learned about how to really do garage sales. They're good tips and make sense, but I don't usually see them when I go garage sale shopping.

1) Deliver notices at least 2 weeks before the sale to notify your neighbors about the date and categories of what you'll sell

2) Have a pre-sale.

3) Collaborate with neighbors

4) Make good signs - big, bold, sturdy and graphically designed - rope off areas where you don't want people to park

5) Advertise off and online - date, time, address, and categories

6) Use long tables - try not to put stuff on the ground - price items beforehand and group things by categories

7) Play music

8) Use a belt pack to make change quickly

9) Talk to people - be a salesperson

And nutrition:

1) Cheat day false. It's all about how you eat on most of your days. If having one day a week helps you stick to healthy food the rest of the week, go for it. But purposefully binging on junk food one day a week is not going to help you loose weight no matter what celebrities do.

2) Water-that-does-more: don't improve upon water. It's not going to do what they claim. Use them as hydration! Learn to be okay with unflavored and unsweetened drinks

3) Grains need balance. They aren't essential to a healthy diet, but it is better to eat whole grains.

4) Eat homemade and home grown. Move away from food processors, but don't take up all of your time trying to make homemade stuff excessively (homemade powdered sugar etc.)

I've decided that nutrition is a lot simpler than they make it out to be. Drink lots of water, make stuff from home, eat your fruits and veggies, and do something active everyday. I don't think you really need a strict workout diet or a food diet. All you need to do is do the simple logical stuff. *oohm oohm as I eat a brownie ;) *

Fit Tips

Haven't tried any of them yet, but honestly I'm going to try them. I just subscribed to another podcast (that's what I do when my brain craves the stimulation school gives without the homework stress) called  Get-Fit Guy. I looked at it because the newest podcast was called "What If I'm Too Stressed To Exercise?". Which is basically my whole excuse for not exercising. So I wanted to know what he'd say.  He had some pretty good tips, and I've linked to the podcast at the end. Basically here's what I learned.





1) Exercise does help with stress (but the same feel-good chemicals that are boosted in exercise can increase stress in high amounts). So score 1 for Kenzie and score 1 for all of my exercise conscious friends. We both win.

2) Do a 10 minute stretch in the morning. Doesn't take long, helps start the day out right, and will make you want to exercise later.

3) Just breath right. Take a few seconds to get your breathing regular when you're stressed. I'm going to call this mini-meditation. Since I just love the concept of meditation. ; p

4) Tell yourself you'll only do the exercise for a super short very specific amount of time. I'll take a 5 minute walk or do 20 sit-ups. Maybe you'll end up going longer, but either way you've done something.

He's got a lot of other podcasts that look helpful too. Well here's to planning New Year goals!

Here's the podcast.

A Message of Peace

So I subscribe to TED talks (in truth because I've found some good ones to use in class) and today I watched this one. I think you'll like it. I'm calling it "A Message of Peace" but its real title is "Israel and Iran: A Love Story?". Take a minute, if you have one, and listen to this guy. He's just a graphic designer who posted a picture on Facebook that started a movement. I love what he has to say. Sometimes war is inevitable, but why not try and avoid it with words first?

Here's the link.

The Science of Christmas: Poem

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

We were surfing the internet, by clicking our mouse;

We found lots of articles posted on there,

About the star of Christmas, St. Nick, and his reindeer;

 

Some scientists think the new star had gone supernova,

While others said comets must have flown over,

Some scientists believe ‘twas a conjunction most propitious,

While others claim it was simply fictitious,

 

As for that sleigh driver known as St. Nick,

To visit every house on earth must be quite a trick.

If we start with the houses in just the U.S.,

We can do some quick estimates and make a best guess.

 

There were 115 million homes on the census last year,

And in each of these houses St. Nick must appear.

If we assume that for just five minutes in and out he does hop,

That’s over 1,000 years of deliveries non-stop.

 

Perhaps by stopping time he can get out of his plight,

Maybe the answer is to travel at the speed of light.

Or perhaps he tunnels through space-time like a mole,

Using a tesseract, hyperspace, or even a wormhole.

 

"Now, DASHER! now, DANCER! now, PRANCER and VIXEN!

On, COMET! on CUPID! on, DONNER and BLITZEN!”

We’ve heard that in winter a male’s antlers do fall,

So are those pulling the sleigh, females one and all?

 

While some males lose antlers in winter it’s true,

Other factors like age, health, and stress determine which do.

So while females likely make up most of the crew,

There are probably some young bucks mixed in with them too.

 

Now finally what about that Rudolph’s red nose?

Could there be science behind the way that it glows?

There are plenty of things that bioluminesce,

But a glow in the dark nose must be quite a mess.

 

There are glowing bacteria, beetles, and fish,

And all of them glow through bioluminescence.

These creatures light up the night thanks to luciferase,

An enzyme that has nothing to do with the devil’s sly ways.

 

It oxidizes the luciferin molecule, charging it up keen,

Which then give off energy, as light that’s blue-green.

But what about red glows, do such things exist?

Can red light be found coming from bugs or from fish?

 

Yes! There are fish and beetles that can glow bright red,

The color depends on the structure of luciferase, it’s said.

Scientists can even make new things that glow,

Something that won them a Nobel prize for their show.

 

So maybe it’s not hard to believe in a nose that shone,

Maybe Santa’s reindeer are all engineered clones?

Could it all be true, perhaps it just might,

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

~Poem from Everyday Einstein (a podcast I'm trying out) 

Christmas Scent

So for this Christmas I tried out something I found on Pinterest: homemade pot potpourri. I call this one "Christmas Scent". In fact, I liked it so much I gave it away as gifts in a jar this year.

Photo from the original website listed at the end of this post.

So basically it's just orange slices or peels (I've done both and both work fine), cinnamon sticks (or powder), and cloves. I've also added cranberries, bay leaf, and vanilla. Both combinations work great, but I've found that the simpler one seems to last longer.

All you have to do is combine everything in a pot, fill it with water, and let it simmer. It makes the house smell fantastic, and if you keep refilling the water it can last for days.

This lady also has a couple other combinations I can't wait to try: lemon, rosemary, vanilla; lime, thyme, mint, vanilla; orange, ginger, almond; and pine, bay, nutmeg. I'll post if those ones work out too.

Here's her page

Merry Christmas!

Just a short post to say Merry Christmas! I know I haven't posted in a while and maybe I'll get better with that in this new year. Check out my collection of fun stuff to do in the winter: Kenzie's Winter Board