Is Your "WHY" Crystal Clear?
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For those of us trying to watch our weight, the holidays can be tough. We find ourselves surrounded by snacks and sweets, and though we know we should  eat only in moderation, emotions associated with the holiday season can blow all self-discipline out the window. If we’re sad, stressed, or frustrated, it’s easy to think, “I deserve this,” or simply, “Who cares?”
Jillian Michaels has written a great — and short — article on “4 Ways to Make Yourself Feel Better Other Than Eating. You’ll learn some ideas to help yourself soothe those emotions in ways that don’t involve food and won’t make you hate yourself the next time you look in the mirror
(you shouldn’t be hating yourself, anyway, but that’s another blog post). We all need a little TLC once in a while, and I think she’s got some ideas worth reading.
I will add one other outlet for your pent-up emotional energy that Jillian didn’t mention: exercise. I know — weird that Jillian Michaels didn’t mention exercise, but she’s so well-known now that perhaps that’s just a given. 
Nonetheless — get out there and do something when those emotions have got you down (or ready to scream). I went for a run with my daughter yesterday, and boy, I felt good afterward. I felt like I’d given it my all, but actually had some energy post-running. A little while later, we drove to the mall, and the mellowness kicked in on the way there. Not a blah, depressed mellowness, but a good, peaceful feeling. It occurred to me later that it was from running. (My daughter even said, “What’s wrong with you?” I had to convince her I really was fine — just mellow!)
Read more about the benefits and basics of running here.
Yes, I know the holidays are almost over, but New Year’s Eve is still on the docket, as is New Year’s Day. If you have more get-togethers planned, take a look at Jillian’s article and remember there are other ways to soothe a sad or cranky soul than by eating.
Happy New Year!
©2009 Sally Dinius
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Sally Dinius is writer-in-chief here at CrazyBusyMama.com, a blog created to inspire and motivate busy mamas everywhere to feel healthy, fit, and in control of their lives. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/sdinius, and become a member of the CrazyBusy Mama Facebook fan page by clicking here.
Don’t you just love gifts you aren’t expecting? My teenaged daughter, Erica, worked her tail off yesterday and got our decidedly unwelcoming family room looking very Christmas-y. She cleaned the room, put a lighted garland over the door, placed a few snowmen in various locations around the room, and even gave my stuffed Santa and Mrs. Claus a place of prominence on top of a book case.
She then tossed some Christmas pillows and a red and green blanket on the sectional, “lit” a yule log on the TV (you can find it on Comcast OnDemand), and set the most important decoration of all — our nativity set — on top of the piano. Last but not least were the soothing tones of Michael Buble’s Christmas album, “Let it Snow,” wafting from the stereo. (I’ve always liked that word…wafting….)
I helped a little by placing a Christmas tablecloth on our dining table (which is in the family room…it’s a big room), but she did everything else. She gave us a great gift yesterday, not just in the decor of the room, but she also helped us find the Christmas spirit that seemed to be so lacking around here in recent days.
Thank you, Erica. 
In turn, I would like to “pay it forward” and hopefully spread a little of that Christmas spirit your way. Everything below is free. Enjoy!
Free MP3 Downloads of Christmas Songs and Carols at Feels Like Christmas. If you don’t have an iPod or other MP3 player, you can play these directly from your computer while you’re working (or playing).
Get a letter from Santa! The Santa Claus Museum in Santa Claus, Indiana, has been sending letters from the jolly old elf to children everywhere since 1914. Every letter received by December 14 will receive a reply. It’s free, but please consider making a donation to help cover the cost of postage. There’s also an option to just print a letter from Santa yourself. No waiting!
Cartoon Cottage has some free animated Christmas clip art you can add to your blog or web site. They’re really pretty cute. They also have some fun Snowman clip art.
I love this next one! If you’re a lover of all things vintage and find the idea of an old-fashioned Christmas especially endearing, you’ll love these free vintage holiday images. Add them to your blog, tuck them in an email, make your own Christmas cards or labels on homemade goodies. You can also choose to use one as your holiday profile picture on Facebook, or even as your background on Twitter. The possibilities are endless!
Want more clip art? Snogirl offers some high-quality (and fun) Christmas graphics. She really did a great job with these! Look around her site and have fun.
Finally, check out the Christmas page at The Holiday Spot. There’s so much to enthrall you at this site that I’m not even going to start telling you what they’ve got. Just grab a cup of hot chocolate, start up some of the Christmas music you downloaded from above, and have fun!
I hope you’re enjoying the Christmas season so far. We’re getting our tree tonight (hopefully), so pictures will follow. Have a great day!
©2009 Sally Dinius
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Sally Dinius is writer-in-chief here at CrazyBusyMama.com, a blog created to inspire and motivate busy mamas everywhere to feel healthy, fit, and in control of their lives. Follow her on Twitter at Twitter.com/SDinius, and become a member of the CrazyBusy Mama Facebook fan page by clicking here.
It’s easy to get a romanticized notion of the holidays. Everything – from greeting cards to novels to holiday movies – tells us how wonderful and perfect the Christmas season should be. For many people, however, it’s far from being wonderful and perfect. Problems like financial stress or the loss of a loved one can put a severe damper on what should be a joyful time.
If you’ve experienced Christmases like this but want this year to be different, here are some things you can do to bring back the joy.
• Give of yourself. If you’re down, this is the last thing you’ll feel like doing, but nothing can pull you out of the doldrums like giving to others. You know what skills you have; how can you use them to benefit someone less fortunate? Maybe you’re short on time (and skills, perhaps). If so, you can donate money to your favorite charities, give non-perishable food to your local food bank, or give clothes your kids have outgrown to local foster groups. Look beyond your town — and even your country — and consider sponsoring a child through Compassion International.
• Throw a Christmas caroling party. Invite some friends and family over for snacks, hot cider, and a musical walk through the neighborhood. It’ll be a lot of fun – not only for your group, but for your neighbors, as well.
• Put up outdoor Christmas lights. It’s a peaceful, beautiful, and sometimes humorous way to spread cheer to those driving by.
• Spend time with your family just playing games, talking, or watching holiday TV shows. Find out when the old Christmas specials are on and watch them together.
• Bundle up the family, toss ‘em in the car, and drive around to look at Christmas lights. Some neighborhoods have contests to see who can decorate the best for Christmas – these are the ones you’ll want to tour. Don’t forget to play Christmas music while driving, and have some hot cider (or cocoa) when you get home.
• Send out Christmas cards. Drink hot chocolate and play Christmas music while signing the cards and addressing the envelopes.
• Bake cookies – lots of them. Take extras to your neighbors or any shut-ins that you know.
• Eat as healthy as possible. Maybe it’s not the best timing for this one — right after the “bake cookies” suggestion — but please take it to heart. When we’re down, most of us want to eat, and women, more than men, tend to reach for  sweets. Sugar may make us feel comforted and even happy at first, but the “crash” soon follows, and we end up feeling worse than before.
• Go see a current holiday movie or catch a local theater group’s rendition of “A Christmas Carol” (or the new Disney 3-D animated version starring Jim Carrey).
• Attend a musical Christmas production at a local church. It could also be a great way to make some new friends.
• Remember the real reason for the season: Jesus Christ, who humbled Himself and came to us as a baby to save us from our sins. Read the Christmas story in Luke 1-2:39 aloud to your family…or just to yourself. Thank Him for His gift of salvation.
If you’re lacking joy this Christmas season, I hope these suggestions bring back the glimmer of hope and happiness for you. Merry Christmas!
©2009 Sally Dinius
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Sally Dinius is writer-in-chief for CrazyBusy Mama.com, a blog created to inspire and motivate busy mamas everywhere to feel healthy, fit, and in control of their lives.
Does this ever happen to you?
The holidays go by in a crinkly blur, and you’re left standing in the middle of wadded-up wrapping paper and worn-out decorations, scratching your head and asking:
 “What in the heck just happened?”
Most of us, I think, go into the holiday season that way — we just let it happen. I’ve found, though, that the holidays I’ve enjoyed the most have been the ones I’ve taken time to plan. When I write down my Thanksgiving menu and the ingredients I need, meal prep is easier and the day is more enjoyable. Sending out Christmas cards isn’t so difficult if I make a list beforehand of who we’ll be sending them to. Having the cards, envelopes, pictures and stamps together in one box or basket that I can carry around with me (to fill them out wherever and whenever the mood strikes) is helpful, too.
Another wise practice is to keep all of your Christmas decorations in one place. My family and I broke that cardinal rule this year. I found two plastic totes in our utility room full of Christmas things (mostly my snowman collection), and various other things were in what I call our “Christmas Trunk.” It’s an old steamer trunk at the foot of our bed. Most years, it’s no big deal getting into the trunk: just flip the latches and lift the lid. But earlier this year, it was forced into double duty as a TV stand. The TV is an older one that is too heavy for me to lift on my own, so my sons helped with that.
After the totes and trunk had been gone through, along with a cupboard in our laundry/utility room, I found out why being unorganized can bite you in the rear: Our Advent wreath is missing. And because Sunday was the first Sunday of the Advent season, we weren’t able to begin our celebration, which includes candle lighting, the singing of carols or hymns, and reading Bible verses and a Christmas story or two.
The search for the wreath will continue tomorrow. Hopefully it won’t culminate with me buying a new one, because that’s when I’ll find the one that’s missing (it always works that way). And then I’ll have two.
If you’re like me and tend to let the holidays happen to you rather than the other way around, here are a few links to help you reign in some otherwise crazy days:
1. If you’re hosting a Christmas party or family get-together, Party411’s Christmas Party Planning Guide will give you lots of ideas and help you feel at least a little bit sane. It’s a fun site to go through, so be ready to print out ideas you like — or at least have a notepad ready to write them down.
2. The interior decorating channel at About.com has a fantastic, short and simple article on how to plan for Christmas. I’m not going to recommend any other “get organized” list to you. This one’s pretty much perfect. Why? It’s the KISS principle: Keep it Simple, Sweetheart (or as I learned it years ago: Keep it Simple, Stupid…which isn’t very nice). This article tells you a few great ways to simplify without getting too complicated. I don’t know about you, but if I have too many things on my list, my brain shuts down and I start playing games on my computer. Yes, I did just admit that.
3. Once you’ve decided what you need to plan for, write it down.
There are many ways to keep track of your list (or lists) electronically (such as in a note to yourself on your iPhone, et al), but I really like the good, old-fashioned write-it-down method, and I prefer to do that in a planner. The Busy Body Book is my all-time favorite planner. Each week is broken into five columns, which gives you five boxes to write in for each day. These columns can be used for anything: different family members (good for seeing what each child has going on that week at one glance), or use them to organize household tasks, work-related activities, or even…yes…the holidays. It’s very inexpensive and I think you’ll love it as much as I do.
So, if you haven’t already figured it out, the best holiday stress-reliever is…planning. Delegating follows at a very close second — please don’t think you have to do it all yourself.
Do you plan or delegate to lessen the stress of the holidays? I’d love to hear your strategies!
©2009 Sally Dinius
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Sally Dinius is writer-in-chief for CrazyBusyMama.com, a blog created to inspire and motivate busy mamas everywhere to feel healthy, fit, and in control of their lives.
 Here’s a little something fun my dad sent to me by email. From my family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving! May you find much to be grateful for today! Among all the blessings of my life, I am also thankful for you, my wonderful readers.
‘Twas the Night of Thanksgiving
‘Twas the night of Thanksgiving,
But I just couldn’t sleep.
I tried counting backwards,
I tried counting sheep.
The leftovers beckoned –
The dark meat and white.
But I fought the temptation
With all of my might.
Tossing and turning with anticipation,
The thought of a snack became infatuation.
So I raced to the kitchen, flung open the door,
And gazed at the fridge, full of goodies galore.
I gobbled up turkey and buttered potatoes,
The pickles and carrots, the beans and tomatoes.
I felt myself swelling so plump and so round,
When all of a sudden I rose off the ground!
I crashed through the ceiling, floating into the sky
With a mouth full of pudding and a handful of pie.
But I managed to yell as I soared past the trees,
“Happy eating to all! Pass the cranberries, please!”
So may your stuffing be tasty,
May your turkey be plump.
May your potatoes ‘n gravy have nary a lump.
May your yams be delicious,
May your pies take the prize,
AND MAY YOUR THANKSGIVING DINNER STAY OFF OF YOUR THIGHS!!
Take a minute to enjoy this fun e-card from me to you, then pass it on:
Happy Thanksgiving!
Enjoy your day!
Every once in a while, we need to invest in our relationships with our kids. Not only does it strengthen your bond, but it can be a lot of fun. On Saturday, my daughter Erica and I went to a concert at a nearby church. It was easily one of the best concerts we’d ever been to. (Many thanks to my dear husband, who bought the tickets for us!)
That evening, Erica and I shared ham sandwiches (hastily made before the concert, then eaten in the car), a traffic jam on the highway (on a Saturday, no less) and…a bad cold. She’d come down with it the week before, and while sitting at the concert, I started feeling the first pains of a sore throat. I knew I was in for it, but wouldn’t you know it — my sweet daughter gave me the only lozenge she’d brought with her. It got me through the rest of the concert.
She feels bad, of course, for sharing the virus with me — and now with both of her brothers — but I told her she shouldn’t. After all, someone else shared it with her first.
In this same spirit of “sharing” (well, not exactly the same…no viruses included), I’m posting some great links for you to peruse. My favorite link is the one that will take you to the Better Homes and Gardens site…I could stay there all day.
This week promises to be a crazybusy one for most people, so while you’ve got a few minutes, just click through these and enjoy!
- For all things Turkey Day-related, check out this page at Better Homes and Gardens. Don’t forget to enter their Daily Giveaway, which you’ll see on the right side of their page.
- Need to find some last-minute recipes but don’t want to drag out your cookbooks? Find what you need quickly at All Recipes. I use this site often.
- Want to gain fame in your family for making the most unusual stuffing? Surprise them with Snyder’s Pretzel Stuffing. Sounds strange, but you never know…could be good.
- Need to quickly put together a centerpiece for your table? About.com has a list of centerpieces you can make yourself.
- Country Living’s Holiday Recipes are absolutely mouthwatering. Stay there and click around awhile — there’s almost no end to the inspiration you’ll find.
Regarding the recipes you may find at the above-mentioned sites, just be mindful of the ingredients and make healthy substitutes whenever you can. Transforming a dish into low-sugar and/or low-fat doesn’t have to mean you’ll lose flavor. If you have a recipe you want to make healthier but aren’t sure how, post it in the comment box and I’ll be happy to help.
I hope you’ve enjoyed these links and gotten some fun (and delicious) ideas you can use. Enjoy your Thanksgiving week!
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Right now, you can get a 1 year subscription to Country Living, one of my all-time favorite magazines, for just $10. |
©2009 Sally Dinius
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If you’ve read my post on the ExerciseTV blog about my hard-to-believe holiday plans, you know those plans include making healthy versions of the “usual” holiday dishes, starting with Thanksgiving. I’m talking about marshmallow-covered sweet potato casserole, peanut butter fudge, mashed potatoes and gravy, homemade cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, and pumpkin pie. Each and every one will be getting a makeover.
 Also, as you’ll see in the post I mentioned above, my daughter and I are following a health challenge to maintain our weight and gain not even one pound during the holiday season. Yikes, right? More on that in a later post!
Following is a list of each dish as it used to be (a torpedo of fat aimed straight for the hips), and what it will become (delicious and nutritious):
Sweet potato casserole, previously made with eggs, spices, brown sugar, and topped with marshmallows and canned pineapple, will now be sweetened with turbinado sugar (”sugar in the raw”), with a crispy streusel topping.
Mashed potatoes will no longer be made from baking potatoes (or, as was the case on some Thanksgivings, from a box). This year, my “mashed potatoes” will actually be made from red potatoes, cauliflower (that’s right), and roasted garlic.
As far as the gravy is concerned, I used to make it by whisking together turkey broth, water, and a couple of MSG-laden packets of turkey gravy. No monosodium glutamate on our turkey day table this year! We’ll have gravy, but it’ll be made in a more nutritious way.
Our usual homemade whole berry cranberry sauce will be sweetened with turbinado sugar this year instead of white sugar (hint: the addition of frozen blueberries makes it even sweeter).
Green bean casserole…now that will be a tough one. I’ll either use the low-fat version of cream of mushroom soup in it, or may just replace the casserole with a healthier veggie dish. I’ll let you know.
Peanut butter fudge is also stumping me, I’ll admit. I’ve made it for years from a stick or two of real butter, what seemed to be a ton of sugar, peanut butter (of course), and a jar of marshmallow cream. You know — and I know — that for someone who’s trying to get and/or stay healthy, that’s a dangerous thing to have sitting around. I’ll either make a healthier version (perhaps with turbinado sugar) or I’ll just make less, considering how my 17 year-old son begged me not to ditch the fudge this year.
 And, last but never least: Pumpkin pie. I’m really pretty excited about this one. While shopping in the natural foods section of my favorite store last week, I found a can of organic pumpkin pie filling! Who’da thunk it? Organic pumpkin pie filling? I grinned from ear to ear when I held that can for the first time. It contains nothing but pumpkin, organic cane juice, and spices. I just have to add eggs and a crust. I bought a second can today because I’d love to try making some pumpkin pie biscotti with it.
The turkey, as usual, will be roasted inside a Reynolds Oven Bag. I’ve cooked it in one of those for the past 10 years (at least), and it’s been perfect every time.
 I am really excited about the changes I’ll be making to our Thanksgiving menu! I plan on posting recipes all next week for you to try, so you can have a healthy (but tasty) Thanksgiving, too.
©2009 Sally Dinius
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 Weeks ago, my three year-old informed me that she wanted to be Snow White for Halloween. I found a great little Snow White costume in a catalog that I planned to order for her…then promptly forgot to. Turns out that was a good thing, as this week I found out that who she really wants to be on Saturday night is Cinderella.
 When she told me that — and I realized I only had days to get a costume — my heart rate immediately began pounding. I remembered the stress of years past, rummaging through the “leftovers” at the party store the day before Halloween, wondering if one of my kids would mind being something like Bugs Bunny instead of Spiderman (no one would be able to see them inside the costume, anyway, I reasoned).
And so, I decided two days ago that I would “grin and bear it” and make the trek to the party store. I pictured a stress-filled day as we traveled to each location of this store in our area, trying to find a Cinderella costume that wasn’t four sizes too big or missing one glove (I’m thinking my three year-old is a little young to be doing a Michael Jackson tribute…).
Thankfully, I remembered before we left the house that I could try the local consignment shop. It was fairly new, but the old (and now closed) kids’ consignment store in the area always had costumes at this time of year. Long story short, I stopped by this new store (”The Treasure Box” in Maple Valley, WA, if you’re in the area), and was shown a “Belle” gown by the owner…but no Cinderella dress. The Belle gown was my daughter’s size and only $4.99, so I ended up buying it, anyway. Then the heavens parted: The store’s owner told me she might be able to sell her daughter’s Cinderella dress if she no longer wants it, and she would call me that night to let me know for sure.
I picked it up yesterday…for just $9.99. (The hem needs a little bit of repairing, but for something that will be worn to a few neighbors’ houses and then be tossed in the “dress up” bin, I’m not complaining.)
That, of course, is the perfect lead-in to my quick, frugal, and fun Halloween ideas…
Skip the big party stores when buying costumes for your kids. Consignment shops and thrift stores abound…you’re bound to find something that will work great as a costume, and you’ll be spending just a fraction of what you would have buying new. If you need a last-minute costume and want to make it yourself, Moolonomy.com has a list of 25 Frugal Halloween Costume ideas. I particularly like “gum on a shoe.”
In the weeks before Halloween (remember this for next year), start clipping coupons for candy, or buy it early when it’s on sale. Stores notoriously raise prices on candy right before Halloween. If you’re stuck buying candy at the last minute, buy an off-brand, as they’re usually cheaper.
Throwing a last minute party? Now I definitely recommend hitting the stores (party or otherwise). But go the day before Halloween, or on the day itself: This is when you’ll begin finding some, if not all, of their Halloween decorations and goodies on sale. If you don’t mind being unprepared until the day of the party, this is the way to go. For more money-saving party ideas, read Tawra Kellam’s list at Recipestoday.com.
To Keep the Rest of the Holiday Season a Frugal One, I Recommend:
©2009 Sally Dinius
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 It’s that time of year again! The leaves are turning, there’s a nip in the air, Starbuck’s is serving their Pumpkin Spice lattes, and the stores will be bringing in their Christmas decorations and merchandise before Halloween even has a chance to be a spooky memory. And, in many locations around the world, children from kneecap height through age 14 are anxiously awaiting the arrival of shoeboxes.
Shoeboxes??
Absolutely! Every year, Operation Christmas Child, a ministry of Samaritan’s Purse (headed by Franklin Graham), delivers shoebox gifts to children in impoverished or disaster-stricken areas around the world. Hundreds of  thousands of people — just like you and me — wrap these shoeboxes (lid and box separately) in Christmas paper, fill them with appropriate gifts (see How to Pack a Shoebox), slip a rubber band around each box (with lid on), and take them to a local OCC drop-off site.
What’s the best part for me and my kids? Trying to imagine just who will be getting our boxes, praying for those children, and hoping the gifts will be a really bright spot in the midst of their troubles. On a personal level, I enjoy knowing that many of these kids and their families will really hear about Jesus for the first time through this ministry of Samaritan’s Purse.
You’ve probably heard of Operation Christmas Child, but if not, take a look at their site. Better yet, take part with your family, get a group of your friends involved, or take it to the next level and get your church or neighborhood in on this. Have fun with it — put together a shoebox gift, or two (or three…or twenty).
Shoeboxes will be collected at the drop-off locations November 16-23 this year, so now’s a great time to start putting them together!
It’s one of the best hands-on opportunities out there to teach your kids how to give. And in doing so, they’ll be taking the first step to living a life of showing compassion to others.
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Click here to read about recording artist Matthew West’s experience giving shoebox gifts to some really great kids in Columbia.
Check out some of Matthew’s music here. |
©2009 Sally Dinius (except pictures)
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