It seems there’s always a new, must-have toy or gadget released for Christmas. In the past 10 years we’ve crazed over TiVo, the iPod and even toys as comical as Furbie and Tickle-Me-Elmo. Here’s a further look back at our Christmas obsessions. 1902: Inspired by President Theodore Roosevelt’s conservation efforts, the Teddy Bear came into […]

The conventional wisdom is that if you don’t set a goal, you won’t get where you want to go. You might be   receptionist who has the goal of one day becoming a novelist or a construction worker who wants to own your own company. You dream about it and have confidence that you can do […]

If you want to reduce your waist size, it could be as simple as buying the right whole grain cereal or bread. In a recent Penn State study, researchers found that people who were counseled in healthy eating and exercise lost weight, but those who were advised to get their grain servings from whole grains […]

  If you think it’s no big deal that your child has a soda at school, you might ponder this, says the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP): Each 12 ounce serving of a carbonated, sweetened soft drink contains the equivalent of 10 teaspoons of sugar and 150 calories.  Would you give your child permission to […]

It is said that if you like pumpkin pie you are a funny and independent person. Similarly if you like apple pie, you are independent, but also realistic and compassionate. Any pecan pie lovers? Well, you are thoughtful and analytical.  And, you guessed it, chocolate pie lovers are said to be romantic. November 2008 Newsletter

Don’t let your Thanksgiving feast become a holiday hazard for your dog. Control the situation with these guidelines:   *Never give a dog a cooked bone—especially poultry bones. These can splinter and harm your pet’s throat or even cause internal injuries.   *Don’t serve your dog leftovers. What’s good to us may seem tasty to […]

Turkey is the main course at Thanksgiving meals in 90 percent of U.S. households.   *The average weight of the bird when purchased is 15 pounds.     *The largest turkey raised so far was 86 pounds. But the biggest turkey feather–bearing fowl is Sesame Street’s Big Bird, cloaked in about 4,000 large feathers all […]

According to the National Retail Association, more than 130 million shoppers will be out for the bargains the day after Thanksgiving. They will spend about 10% of their allotted Christmas money. Here are some tips on how to get the most:   *Get up early, as in very early. If you want the best deals, […]

One day a new monk arrived at a monastery and was assigned the task of helping his fellow monks make copies of ancient texts by hand. After working a while, the novice monk caught himself nearly making a mistake. He looked around at the other monks and realized that all of them were merely making […]

Two of the biggest days this November will be Election Day on the 4th and Thanksgiving on the 27th. Test your knowledge on some these useful and memorable facts about Thanksgiving and how presidents got to the White House.   1.  How many presidential candidates have won the popular vote but lost the election?   […]