HOLIDAY CHILL

If you only have time for one instant “Holiday makeover”…

Clean off the refrigerator door! That’s right. Pull it down. Throw away the old. Pack away the
the keepers and you’ll be amazed at the transformation!
Without the “clutter,” you’ll feel like you have a whole new kitchen. And if you’re feeling really
ambitious, “edit” your countertops, too!

Even if you wait till Christmas Eve to decorate your tree, it’s not too early to get all of your Christmas lights ready now. Test them and keep them handy. For lights that have outlived their usefulness, consider replacing with led lighting – safer and lower energy consumption. And, you can also save money LED Lighting http://www.ledlighting.com will recycle your old light and give you 15% off of the purchase of their LED lights.

If you truly want to have a simple and thoughtful Holiday Season pick up a copy of SIMPLIFY YOUR CHRISTMAS by Elaine St. James. Read a few pages each morning and evening and enjoy 100 ways to reduce the stress and recapture the joy of the Holidays. St. James’ will keep you on the straight and narrow with her brief easy-to-read essays that will help you with seasonal overload.

There is nothing that can replace a little pre-planning. I find the most difficult task is planning what food to eat during the festive days.

Everyone wakes up wondering what’s for breakfast only to want to know what’s for dinner.

I never mind cooking if I know WHAT to cook. So my recommendation is to plan at least 4 menus to serve as main meals.

There will be left overs and you can “re-purpose” with some fresh pasta or biscuits and a simple new dessert. Everyone will think it’s a banquet!

YOUR NOT TO DO LIST!!! The best from Our Lady of Weight, she who is in favor of ‘lightening up’ in all ways!

People often ask me, “How do you do it all?” To which I respond, “What makes you think I do it all? I don’t. I can’t remember the last time I cleaned, for goodness sake.”

Here’s how to clear your calendar! Draw a line down the center of a piece of paper. On one side of the paper write ‘to do’ list, and then on the other side of the page write ‘not to do.’ Now, write out all you have to do on the to do side of the page. We really do have ridiculously long ‘to do’ lists, don’t we?

Here comes the fun part! Take a good look at your ‘to do’ list and take anything on it that someone else could do for you and move it to your ‘not to do’ list. For instance, take the laundry. Either find someone else in the house who is capable of tossing it into the washer and drier to do the laundry or send it out. Is food shopping taking up too much of your precious time? Order on-line or call-in a standing delivery to your neighborhood grocery store. Cleaning? Forgetaboutit. I’m lucky. My husband has a much lower tolerance to mess than I do. I can count on him to clean up!

Lighten Your Load. Write out your Not to Do List today and get ‘busy.’

Keep a 1.75 liter of spiced rum on hand. That will get you through anything. (goes well with nog, too)

[...] for the holidays for me is CLEANING OUT. So this weekend? I started with the ‘fridge. I read Marsha’s post on cleaning off the front surface for an instant kitchen makeover. It’s FABULOUS instant [...]

Yes, yes, yes, I know I need to clean out that refrigerator….This weekend for sure. As I begin to “prepare” in my own mind for the “brood” that will land on my doorstep between next Wednesday and Thursday, all I can think of is “where is everything going”….bodies included.

I do love this holiday (Thanksgiving) because it is only a weekend. Unlike other “holidays” like the 4th of July, it tends to be a long weekend for most. Anybody can do anything for a weekend, right! Even sleep on the couch! Oh, but it is fun. Turkey is really easy, and with the tryptophan that makes everyone go to sleep afterward – there are no arguments….just sleep, blissful sleep! Just hope and pray for nice weather and all will be well! Turkey, gravy, potatoes, green beans, squash, pies, pies and more pies, oh, and don’t forget the stuffing…Need I say more???