Days until Christmas: Three (3)
Word of the Day: caliginous(kuh\LIG\uh\nuhs); misty; dim; dark
Weight: 206 pounds
Goal: lose 100 pounds in one year duration
Pounds to lose: 74 pounds
Rowing Duration: two hours. one second
Image via WikipediaCan you believe that we're already at the middle of the week, never mind that, why don't you wrap yourself up with the knowledge that Christmas Day is now just three (3) days away, and that you only have two (2), two little days left to complete your Christmas Shopping! If you have not started your Xmas shopping yet, all I can say is good luck and DUCK!
Me, MOI!, you want to know about me. Well, today I'm terminating my shopping after I have gone out on a shopping expedition with Dina Spring, (Biff's mother-in-law, my friend,) and my sister-in-law, Louise, I know we'll have a good time.
They tell me that the early bird catches the worm, how about, better late than never. I'm really not late, its just I was really the early bird, and it was during the month of September when I first suggested that all of you start your Christmas shopping, remember?
Today, I'm regiving that advice, and that is to aid all of the people who have started their shopping late and who now might be in somewhat of a frenzy. Once again, in the future, get out there as early as you possibly can, and this is not a cliché when it comes to holiday shopping. The earlier you start setting aside money, for whatever kind of shopping, establishing a budget and researching gift ideas, the more prepared you'll be to make reasonable purchases. Make a list and check it twice. Gather your coupons, too. It's time to start shopping, and get out of my way, please.
It is never too early to get ideas. The earlier you start organizing your shopping, the better decisions you'll make when you're at the stores. You'll also beat holiday traffic. You won't spark as much suspicion if you are asking questions well before the holidays. You'll be empowered to make wise, thoughtful purchases, or you may shop like I do, and get things that people will definetly shake their heads to when they open it up.
Establish a budget that also leaves you with money in the bank. Being completely honest with you, I never follow a budget, I try to and it is a good idea, I just wanted to be completely on the level with you. You never know when you'll find the perfect gift at the last minute, and you want to allow for some impulse buys to reward yourself during the holidays.
Take a list that includes each person for whom you want to buy and a gift idea for each. Limit one gift per person and set a dollar amount for each. (I can't believe words that come out of my very own mouth.) Be reasonable. Jot down notes about each person. Include ideas you have, stores people like and any coupons you have that can apply to a gift for each person.
Bring a snack. Or at the very least\, bring a drink with you so that you can stay hydrated. You'll save money if you avoid eating and drinking whilst out during your holiday shopping sprees!
Wrap gifts at home. (Unless, you are absolutely a wreck at wrapping, such as I.) You're shopping in advance so there is no need to rush the wrapping process. Try to avoid extra spending on gift wrapping!
Time for a change of subject. You may recall that Zac, Winter and I were scheduled to take care of Raphael and Jessie yesterday, we did, and as usual, the time flew by much too quickly. It has been at least thirty years since I last bowled at ten-pin bowling, and I now know that ten-pin bowling is something else I can no longer do, at least, on my own, and by bowling under my own steam.
Some bowling venues have an aid that will hold your ball up for you, and if this aid is in fact available, then, I can make a feeble attempt at the bowling. I think I actually prefer that the aid is unavailable, then, I have a good excuse why I can't bowl, otherwise, I'm screwed and I have to give it my best shot, pun very much intended.
Since Zac had some personal errands to do, he skipped out on the bowling, which was okay as I was there to bowl with the children, but in order to even things out, later, after lunch at the Steak N Shake, I stayed home to take care of Winter, whilst Zac got to go to the show with Jessie and Raphael to see the New Narnia Movie. You guessed it, I really wanted to see this film, and I hope I don't have to wait until its release on digital video device (dvd.)
As many of you know, I love movies and lately I have been watching quite a few of them, especially while I'm rowing on CC. A couple of my favourites that I've watched recently are: Love, Actually, which is always pleasant to pass a couple of hours by, A Touch of Class, and the movie really is classy, Shirley Valentine (I absolutely love this movie,) and Sister Act, which is alot of fun.
If you haven't seen any of these movies, please put them on your list to view, you'll thank me for it.
Since we are now ensconced in the season of Winter, I thought I would bring you something very timely and that relates to getting colds. According to a recent study involving more than seven hundred (700) participants between the ages of twelve (12) and eighty (80) who were experiencing early signs of a cold, the popular herbal remedy echinacea does not speed recovery or reduce the severity of symptoms like runny nose, sore throat, and cough. Though participants who were given echinacea for five () days reported slightly less severe symptoms, and slightly shorter colds than those who did not receive the supplement, the difference was not statistically significant, meaning it could have occurred by chance.
So, do you got the sniffles? For most people suffering from a cold, the potential to get relief a few hours sooner probably isn't worth the trouble and cost of taking the supplement, researchers said.
With no cure for the common cold, Americans and Canadians spend billions on over-the-counter pills, drops, sprays and other concoctions to battle their runny noses, scratchy throats and nagging coughs. Some turn to echinacea (ECK-in-AY'-shuh, as aforementioned,) a top seller marketed as a product that helps the immune system fight infections.
In the past, some studies found it did nothing to prevent or treat colds; others showed modest benefit. Research on echinacea, also known as purple coneflower, is hard to compare because there's more than one kind of plant, and different parts of it are used.
With government funding, Dr. Bruce Barrett and colleagues at the University of Wisconsin tackled the question again, using newspaper ads and posters to find volunteers with colds in the Madison, Wis., area.
The participants were randomly assigned to get echinacea tablets, a dummy pill or no treatment at all. Those who got the herb took the equivalent of ten (10) grams of dried echinacea root the first day and five (5) grams the next four (4) days.
Twice a day, they graded their symptoms until their cold was gone. From those scores, the researchers saw a trend toward shorter and slightly less severe colds for those taking echinacea compared to those who didn't. However, the results did not reach statistical significance, meaning they could have occurred by chance. There were no apparent side effects from the echinacea.
Barrett and other experts said the findings would probably be viewed as positive by echinacea supporters but as the "nail in the coffin" by critics. "It's not a compelling result in either direction," said Mark Blumenthal, executive director of the American Botanical Council, which follows research on herbal products. He said Barrett is on the group's advisory board.
Blumenthal said the study was well designed, used a good quality product at a reasonable dosage and tested echinacea in a real-world setting, rather than giving colds to research volunteers. The study's findings were released Monday by the Annals of Internal Medicine. The authors include the co-founder of the Australian company that provided the echinacea for the study, but he was not involved in the research.
It was funded by the National Center of Complementary and Alternative Medicine, part of the National Institutes of Health. The center, set up to test herbs and other alternative health remedies, has spent $6.8 million testing echinacea since 2002.
The center's director, Dr. Josephine Briggs, said there are no plans to support more human research on echinacea. "I think what we're seeing is pretty clear. If there's a benefit of echinacea, it's very modest, Briggs said.
So what's a cold sufferer to do? "There's nothing that's going to make it go away," said Dr. Ronald Turner, of the University of Virginia School of Medicine. He led another government-funded study of echinacea that had negative results.
Some over-the-counter medications ease the symptoms a bit, he said. Americans and Canadians spent $5.3 billion on cold and cough remedies at major U.S. stores in the year ending Nov. 27, according to The Nielsen Co. (Cold and cough medicines are no longer recommended for children under 4.) And don't go running to the doctor for antibiotics, said Dr. Ann Falsey of the University of Rochester Medical Center. Antibiotics don't work against cold viruses and can have side effects.
Rest, fluids, pain relievers and over-the-counter medications to relieve symptoms are generally recommended.
On Saturday, Kyle Cummings stood bewildered before a sea of products that filled an aisle at a drug store in New York's Pennsylvania Station. The 21-year-old New Yorker had a sore throat and stuffy nose. "I don't know what to get," said Cummings, who blamed his cold on hunting for a second job without a winter coat.
He couldn't take anything that would make him drowsy while at work in customer service at a bank. He settled on a Robitussin product. Minutes later, two sniffling 16-year-old classmates, Kelly Malico and Sietske Ruijgh from New York's Long Island, stopped for cough drops. "There's nothing you can really do," shrugged Kelly, who blamed her friend for sharing her cold.
What do the pros do?
I'm pretty old-fashioned. I put a warm sock around my throat, and I use honey and tea and lemon," said the government's Briggs. Blumenthal of the Botanical Council takes echinacea and other herbs as well. "I hedge my bets," he said. And Wisconsin's Barrett? "I use ginger tea. It hasn't ever been proven in anyway whatsoever. But I like it."
There you go people, I doubt I've uncovered anything new to offer you in the way of treating a cold, but I hope you at least found it interesting.
Dress appropriately whilst you're out there today, and as always, be careful and be safe in everything that you do. And have a good day.
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