12-17-2008
Clean Air Day
Maple Syrup Day
Cookie Cutter Day
The ancient Roman holiday of Saturnalia was traditionally celebrated on this date. Ancient Roman god of agriculture.
The Simpsons premiered, 1989.
Anniversary of the first Wright Brothers plane flight –the first successful man-powered airplane flight– Dec 17, 1903 at Kitty Hawk, NC, at precisely 10:35 am.
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A Do or a Don’t: Regifting I know that many people are scaling down holiday celebrations this year, including shopping, which is probably why 64 percent of Glamour magazine readers admitted to regifting. It might not be the most PC thing to do, but if you’re going to do it, I’d say this is the year to do so. Is it ok? Another poll found these results!
71% see it as a do
29% for them it’s a don’t.
Here’s a great article from MSN Money, with some do’s and don’ts on regifting!
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Tips For Minimizing Holiday Weight Gain from the DesMoines Register.
Did you know that most Americans gain 5 to 7 pounds between Thanksgiving and Christmas? Here are some tips for avoiding holiday weight gain.
1. Don’t save your favorite treats for only at the end of the year. If you know you’ll have it again within a year, you won’t feel the need to overindulge.
2. Offer more healthful hors d’oeuvres. Enjoy cheese-filled celery sticks and veggies with dip rather than meat and cheese trays and shrimp or bacon-wrapped chicken livers. Many crackers come in a reduced-fat version as well.
3. Don’t overload meals with starch. If you are serving stuffing with turkey, cut back on the potato or corn dishes. Serve more vegetables, and if serving bread, consider breadsticks instead of rolls to reduce the amount of starch consumed.
4. Don’t fill your plate to the max. Take something of everything you like, but in moderation. Once your plate is empty, take seconds only of your most favorite foods.
5. Don’t hurry through the meal. Social interaction is an important part of celebration. It’s a shame when preparing a meal can take five hours to make and 10 minutes to eat. Take a moment for meaningful discussion.
6. Take care with alcohol. Use diet soda or reduced-sugar juice as a mixer to lower calorie intake.
7. Don’t gorge out of guilt. If Grandma thinks you don’t love her if you don’t eat her food, tell her you plan on eating more later.
8. Drink water during meals. It helps fill you up without adding calories from wine or eggnog.
9. Don’t get sucked into snacking. If certain snacks, such as mixed nuts or peanut brittle, keep drawing you back, don’t eat any. Instead choose a less-addicting alternative, hopefully more healthful.
10. Eat at home before the party. Eat a healthy snack a few hours before the party, and you’ll be less ravenous at mealtime.
11. Choose desserts with fewer calories. Pick pumpkin custard over pumpkin pie; fruit and pumpkin bread instead of cake and ice cream, etc. Try using wheat flour in some of your holiday desserts to add more fiber. Numerous low-fat and reduced sugar options are available in most stores that can be incorporated into your holiday recipes.
12. Schedule time for physical activity. Involve the whole family for sledding or ice skating. If group activity isn’t possible, steal some time to go for a walk or to walk the dog. If you have eaten extra calories, you may want to go for a walk twice a day.
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The Christmas Star, is it real? YES!!! But in June! Here’s the story.
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