Perk #1

* Let your creativity loose on a pumpkin.  Get out a knife and get carving.  It doesn’t matter what face you choose, the act of carving a pumpkin stimulates the creative right side of your brain, which is responsible for feelings of playfulness.

Need inspiration for carving ideas?

Go to ThePumpkinFarm.com

Perk #2

Dressing up for Halloween is not just for the kids.  You can release tension by wearing a costume yourself.  Dressing up for Halloween  has been proven to help adults de-stress by letting them reveal other sides of themselves that are normally stifled.  What a great way to be a superhero or a vampire, for a day, without worrying about looking silly.

Perk #3

You can rekindle romance with a horror flick.  Watching scary movies with your loved one revs up the relationship even more than watching a romantic movie.  Getting scared together pumps up the adrenaline and triggers the same brain chemicals that are released when you first fall in love, thus renewing your passion.

Tag along with Kate as she makes an attempt at being cool, hip and trendy.

Oxygen bars are all the rage these days among the young trendy yuppie types. While I’ll be the first to admit that I am neither young or trendy, I do occasionally try to be hip. My latest attempt at “hipness” involved putting pink plastic tubes up my nose and breathing  the scent of an orange grove, all while trying to relax and not look ridiculous.

Now in case you are reading this and thinking, “What in the sam hill is an oxygen bar?” here’s the Wiki definition:

“An oxygen bar is an establishment, or part of one, that sells oxygen for recreational use. Individual flavored scents may be added to enhance the experience. The flavors in an oxygen bar come from bubbling oxygen through bottles containing aromatic solutions before it reaches the nostrils.” ~Wikipedia

So my thinking is, ‘Why would someone pay good money to breath in scented oxygen?’ I mean, I can plug in an air freshener and breath all the scented air I want…for free. But never one  to be a party pooper, I tagged along with my daughter, her boyfriend and my husband. We made the trip because the boyfriend got injured in a wrestling match  and was having some trouble with his lungs. My husband (who always tries to be among the hip and trendy) heard about the injury and went straight into Dr. mode, telling boyfriend that the oxygen bar would help him heal more quickly.

We went to a salon called Solace. (You can typically find oxygen bars in salons, health clubs,tanning salons,resorts and on practically every corner in Las Vegas.)

First up at the oxygen bar, my daughter and her bf.

My daughter is looking at me with her “I can’t believe you are about to take a picture of me with plastic tubes up my nose” look, while the boyfriend is looking at me with his “Look how cool and trendy I am” look.

While they got their fill of oxygen, my husband and I got 15 wonderful, luxurious minutes in high tech full body massage chairs, each placed in a darkened quiet room. It was 15 minutes of pure heaven. In fact, I”m sincerely hoping that in heaven we each get our own personal full body massage chairs.

My 15 minutes were up much too quickly, as they pulled back my curtain and I was jolted out of my reverie. I mean really, you can’t put a busy mom of 7 kids in a dark quiet room for 15 minutes and think she’s going to leave willingly.

So off to the oxygen bar I headed. I sat on a stool and put the pastel pink oxygen tubes up my nostrils. They felt hard and plastic-y. Thinking I must have them in upside down, I took them out, turned them over and tried it again. Even more hard and plastic-y. Then as instructed, I put the tubes around my ears to hold it in place.  The right side, however kept slipping off. I now am thinking maybe my ears are lopsided?!

Anyway, I decided to push forward and attempt to relax and enjoy, first with the scent of lavender.  Not bad. A quick re-adjustment of  the tubes which were digging into my nasal passages and then on to the eucalyptus. Too medicine-y and hospital-like for my taste. ( With the twist of a switch we were able to control the scent of our oxygen.) Next scent, and my favorite by far, the orange groves.

I tried to relax, breath deeply and feel the oxygen flowing into my body, truly I did.  But I just could not get past the hard plastic up my nose enough to relax. However, my husband seemed to have no trouble in that department, as he appeared to be practically asleep on his stool. In fact, I thought he might just doze off and fall to the floor.

Here are the claimed benefits of breathing oxygen at an oxygen bar:

-Heightens concentration, alertness and memory

-Oxygen gives you energy!

-Oxygen is vital to your immune system, memory, thinking and sight

-Promotes healing and counters aging

-Strengthens your heart, reducing the risk of heart attacks

-Calms your mind and stabilizes your nervous system

-Speeds up the body’s recovery after physical exertion

-Provides a natural remedy for headaches, migraines and hangovers

-Relieves temporary altitude discomfort

-Improves digestion and cell metabolism

-Relieves muscle stiffness, support pre-athletic performance

-Lessens chronic fatigue syndrome and gives you better sleep patterns

Our verdicts:

The boyfriend: loved it. Thought the oxygen made it much easier to breath for the rest of the day.

The daughter: liked it, but not as much as the boyfriend. She was concerned about looking silly. But she said it made her feel good.

The husband: swears by it. Says he would go every week if he could. He says it helps him when he over-exerts himself.

Kate: ummm…maybe I’m just not cut out to be cool, hip and trendy.

Want to learn more about oxygen bars? Check out All About Oxygen.

I also found this…

“Scientific data says that purified oxygen does very little, as our blood is already saturated with 99% oxygen. Any effect that may occur would dissipate within a few minutes, as the blood re-circulates.

Although oxygen bars offer a respite from the many air pollutants found in large cities, many believe that it’s the same as stepping into any building or car with an air filtration system.

To quote an expert, “If your lungs are healthy, and you have no breathing difficulties, your body has all the oxygen it needs,” says George Boyer, MD, chief of pulmonary and critical care at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore. “Taking in more is like going to the gas station and trying to fill a tank that’s already filled.”

The Truth About Oxygen Bars

Check out Kate’s other Adventures…

Kate Goes on an Adventure: with New Moon’s Laurent and Caius

Kate Goes on an Adventure: The Quest for a New Moon Mall Tour Wristband

Kate Goes on an Adventure: Demolition Derby

Kate Goes on an Adventure: Hot Air Ballooning

Kate Goes on an Adventure: Bonneville Salt Flats Speed Week

Related articles

• Increases Your Supply of Oxygen to Rejuvenate You at the Cellular Level (smarthome.com)
• 14 Interesting Facts About Oxygen (femaleimagination.wordpress.com)
• Beauty Byte: OGO Oxygenated Water (fabsugar.com)
• Oxygen discovered surrounding Saturn’s icy moon Dione (slashgear.com)

dyeing your hair recharges your batteries.

In addition to making you look younger, coloring your hair makes you feel more energized. British researchers who measured how women felt before and after a dye job (even just to cover a few stray grays) discovered that 100% of the women experienced a surge in energy and confidence!

Changing your hair is the easiest way to transform yourself and replenish your zest for life, says Charla Krupp, author os How Not to Look Old.

~Woman’s World Magazine

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So what’s a “Cheater” recipe?  It’s a way to end up with a delicious home cooked meal, side dish or dessert without spending lots of  time to get there.

This recipe was sent to us by Coffee Break reader, Susan Stephens. I (Kate) decided to give the Cheater Chicken Parmesan recipe a try this week to see if the family would like it.  I took some pics to show you just how yummy it looked.

Cheater Chicken Parmesan

28-oz. jar spaghetti sauce

1/4 cup red or white wine or water

4 to 6 Tyson fully cooked frozen breaded chicken patties

4 to 6 slices provolone cheese

2 to 4 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray a 13×9 pan with cooking spray.  Spread the spaghetti sauce in the pan.  Pour the wine or water over the sauce and stir.  Arrange the frozen chicken patties on top.  Place a slice of provolone on top of each patty; sprinkle with the Parmesan.  Cover the pan with foil and bake for 20 minutes.  Uncover and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.  Serve over cooked spaghetti.

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The Verdict: Everyone LOVED it!!!

A big Coffee Break thanks to reader, Susan Stephens, who submitted this great recipe. If you have a cheater recipe you’d like to share with us and our readers, please send it to lizandkate@live.com.

this tip for reversing winter weight gain. Soak up some sun to curb cravings.  Without enough sunlight, your body’s production of the feel-good hormone serotonin dips dramatically. That may trigger cravings for chips, cookies, ice cream and other refined carbs, which have the power to raise serotonin levels, too, but for a price: calories. But sitting in the sun (or even a brightly lit room) for at least 10 – 15 minutes a day can do the same thing.

~Woman’s World

*Leave a comment on this, or any, post and be automatically entered in this week’s giveaway.

Anywho, this week, I wanted to bring you super simple project to adorn the Thanksgiving table. Not sure what else to call them, so we’ll just call them Veggie Candles.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Desired number of candles

• Green beans (about a half-pound per candle)

• One bunch asparagus (that will do one candle, as well)
• Rubber bands
• Ribbon of choice

Making the candles:

• Wrap rubber band around candle
• Slip the veggies under the band. You can cut the veggies to same height for uniformity if you want.
• Tie with ribbon

And we’re done. Talk about an easy way to bring the harvest to the table! Not to mention a sure fire way to serve waxed green beans I’m JOKING!

Kate and I hope you enjoy this project – and that your creative juices are starting to flow. Because next Friday, our 2nd Annual Craftdown to Christmas returns! And it’s not too early to send us your favorite crafts, recipes and homemade gift ideas! Just leave your ideas as a comment or email lizandkate@live.com!! We’d love to see the photos, too! We’ll be waiting…

Enter exhibit A. The coupon drawer. (You know you have one, too. Admit it. It will make you feel better.)

Oh, sure, I’ve tried those little pouches with a slot for all the dairy and all the frozen and all the meats and all the beverages. But the fact of the matter is, I still had no clue what coupons I possessed. Just because all dairy was in one slot, that cute little coupon organizer wasn’t helping my cause at all. And nine times out of 10, by the time I found that coupon that had been hiding from me, it was expired. Trust me. It’s easy to develop a hate-hate relationship with coupons.

Well, people, I’ve outdone myself on this one. I’ve come up with the B.E.S.T possible way to organize (one of the) biggest messes in my kitchen. A three-ring binder with clear business card or baseball card sheet protectors! (For those of you who’ve been utilizing this method for years, is it too much to ask you to give me a little moment in the sun, here?!?)

Time to check out my masterpiece! Can you stand it? Each little coupon gets its own spot, and is placed into a broad category:

• Produce
• Dairy
• Canned and packaged goods
• Meats
• Snacks
• Drinks
• Dairy
• Bakery
• Deli
• Cleaning products
• Personal hygiene
• Paper products
• Office supplies

This brainchild actually came from my friend Summer, so credit where credit is due. But I decided to take it to a whole new level. I’ve also inserted some full-sheet size protectors in the back to house take-out menus, and another protector to keep rebate offers, sales receipts and UPC codes.

But wait! There’s more! (This is where I wish we had a video blog here on Coffee Break…) You know those little pockets on the inside of the binder? Guess what goes in there? That’s right! Your SHOPPING LIST!

I am a genius I tell you. (Whatever. It’s Monday. Let’s just roll with it.) Total cost? $4.80 – $3.88 for the sheet protectors and .92 cents for the el-cheapo binder (find ‘em everywhere that offers a wide selection of school supplies – better yet, use an empty binder you already have on hand). Cost to regain my shopping sanity? Priceless, of course.

And while we’re on a roll, I thought I’d also give you my Coupon Commandments. Do with them as you will.

• If you see a coupon for a product you don’t like, don’t bother clipping it. Saving money on it will probably not make you like it anymore than you did before.
• If a coupon is for an item you usually don’t purchase, think long and hard before clipping and allowing it to take up space.
• Instead of clipping every coupon, refer to your new binder for coupons you already have. That way you won’t be stuck with seven coupons for bleach that all expire at the same time.
• If a coupon for toothpaste expires in a month and you just bought a case of toothpaste, chances are you aren’t going to use that coupon before it expires. So why waste time and space?
• Pay attention to out-dates on existing coupons as you clip. While you may want more than one coupon for certain products, if you can’t use more than one by the time it expires, don’t bother with it.
• If you use generic brands, and have a coupon for the name brand, make sure the coupon will actually save you more money versus buying the generic you always use.

Whew! Who can stand all this fun mixed in with a little bit of common sense? Now all I have to do is figure out how to put a cute little cover on this white binder! But that’s another post, entirely.

-Liz Follow @lizrants

Well, not the real beginning, where you go through everything you’ve owned, closely examining each item and assigning it value a scale of 1-10 – one being something you’ve never used or haven’t used in many years, 10 being something you use daily or attach such sentimental value that you wouldn’t get rid of it even if there was no food on the table (okay, so maybe you would under those circumstances. I’m just saying…). Then you assign the items a monetary value – one acceptable, or at least one that can be bargained with, in the world of all things yard sale. And the real beginning is also the point at which you question your sanity, wondering what ever possessed you to have a yard sale.

Nope, I’m not starting there. I’m starting at Saturday morning, 6:15 a.m. Bert said they’d be here by 6 a.m., Summer said it would be 7, so I split the difference, exiting the back door by 6:30, with the morning’s first cup o’ joe in hand. As it turned out, they’d gone with Bert’s arrival time (and I’m sure it was all his idea) and were already in the garage, working like crazy people. I was still half-asleep.

Our start time was advertised at 8 a.m., but we all know how that goes – 8 a.m.means they show up at 6 – 6 a.m. means they show up at 4, and so forth. I’d have put a high noon start on things, personally. But what do I know? Anywho, in true yard sale fashion, the customers were rolling in well before 8 a.m. One lady in particular already had her barter hat on. Not that she was necessarily offering a win-win deal. Oh, no. She was low-balling, in effort to make a steal as far as I’m concerned.

Summer had two nice wooden bar stools – virtually new, lacking any wear and tear – marked at $5 each.

“I’ll give you $5 for both of them,” the lady said.

“No, sorry. I can’t do that,” Summer responded.

So the lady continued her way around all our junk – er, treasures – as her low-ball tactics continued. But she was convinced she’d talk Summer down on those blasted bar stools. I was walking back into the house at this point – we were gonna need a lot more coffee. I wondered if I could take the sound of one-sided bargaining all day long, and whether or not it was too late to call off the whole thing.

And do you know that lady wouldn’t give up? Again, she made her offer to Summer, acting as if she’d surely be the only customer we’d have all day. Which is about the time Summer’s patience cracked.

“We haven’t even opened yet! In fact, we don’t actually open until 8 a.m.,” she said, although I can guarantee you that wasn’t all Summer was thinking. I think barter lady got the hint, though, by the tone in Summer’s voice. To tell you the truth, I don’t even remember if the lady and her husband bought anything, causing me to wonder if they were really interested in buying.I maintain they were plants, paid for by someone who has nothing better to do than send totally annoying people to other people’s yard sales for the sole purpose of… well… annoying the h-e-double-hockey-sticks out of them. In fact, in many ways, that lady set the tone for the day. As the hours ticked away, though, other customers added to the mayhem, ultimately giving me enough for a list of what not to do next time you grace a yard sale:

Yard Sale Etiquette:

• Do not make absurd offers before the yard sale even begins – even if you’re an antique dealer or flea market booth-holder. Exception: if you can offer a fair deal for everything out there, take it away the same day and pay cash, maybe we can talk. Anything to make the yard sale madness stop…
• Please read the price tags. Oh, I understand that other people may not price their things, but we aren’t other people – and we did a fine job of making sure things were clearly marked.
• Please don’t act like you’re doing us a favor by showing up at our sale. We’re a friendly little bunch, Summer, Bert and I, and the least you can do is answer when we say, “Hi! How are you?” in our friendliest of friendly voices.
• Please don’t try to pay with a hundred dollar bill at 8:15. Nothing like trying to wipe out all the yard sale holder’s small bills first thing in the morning.
• If a book is marked 50 cents, please think twice before asking if we’d take 30 cents. No. 1, we priced everything in quarter multiples. Anything over a dollar was an even amount – i.e. $1 or $5 or whatever, not $4.88. We aren’t WalMart. If you really can’t spare that 20 cents, at least offer a quarter, because we aren’t going to have nickels or dimes to make your change. Moreover, is it really that hard to fork over 50 cents for a book in good condition? Seriously?? And if you say the book is old, doesn’t that make it an antique, meaning we could theoretically charge much, much more?
• If an area is blocked off, as in, if furniture is strategically places so as to restrict your access, chances are good that everything behind said area is not for sale.
• No, we don’t take personal checks.
• No, we don’t have any Beatles albums, and no way are you getting The Monkees vinyls, either.

I’m just sayin…

-Liz

Sometimes, I wonder why I put myself through it. Because, quite frankly, there is no perfect planner out there.

Oh, sure, I’m a big fan of Franklin Covey, but at the beginning of every year, no matter how many planners I look at, I still come away somehow unsatisfied.

I know I’m not alone, based on the number of customers in the store, in the same aisle, staring at the same planners, and reacting as I was:

Pick one up, look through it. Put it down, pick up another one.

And so it continued. Not only at one office supply store, but at every one I visited over the course of a week or so. I suspect I wasn’t the only one who left empty-handed. OK – so I watched everyone else, and know I wasn’t the only one.

I think the main problem with these yearly planners is that we secretly count on them to do much more than keep track of our appointments and to-do lists.

We tend to look at these planners as a cure-all.

We wonder which planner will make our lives better. Which one will actually improve our quality of life.

We wonder which one will represent total transformation – turning the unorganized into the organized, or the less-than-successful into the total successes.

We ponder what format serves us best – daily? weekly? monthly? Daily on one side with the month on the other side of the page? Weekly on one page (with great big squares for each day, so every second of the day can be planned) with another page of blank space for everything that didn’t fit into the little weekly square? Or maybe a giant notebook would work best, sans calendar or any form of dates, filled with grocery lists, store errands, hockey practice and Operation Athlete info?

I think it was at store 7, where I turned to look at one of the guys who’d been in that aisle before I arrived. I asked him his opinion:

“Why is this so difficult?” Nothing like a rhetorical question. Especially when the questionee drew a blank equal to that of the  questioner.

“I don’t know,” he’d said. “All I know is I have 15 minutes to make this decision, and wish I had all day.”

It occurred to me that perhaps I should employ his technique and put a time limit on my decision.

I came back to my senses in relatively short order, though. Because somewhere out there are planning pages with my name on them. And when I find them, this year, I may take things one step further and actually write on them.

-Liz

how to ice proof your car windows. Expecting frost overnight? Just fill a spray bottle with three parts vinegar to one part water and spray on your car windows at night. In the morning, they should be clear of the icy mess.  How does it work? Vinegar contains acetic acid, which raises the melting point of water – preventing water from freezing. What to do if you wake up to an already frozen car? Just spray the mixture on your window and watch it melt.

Betcha didn’t know…

how to prevent your car doors from freezing shut using cooking spray.  Spray cooking spray on the rubber seals around car doors and rub it in with a paper towel, “Doors freeze when snow melts into the seals during the day, and then freezes at night,” says Robert Sinclair Jr. of AAA, The oils in the cooking spray prevent water from melting into the rubber in the first place.

Betcha didn’t know…

this trick for de-icing your frozen car door lock. Just put some hand sanitizer gel on the key and the lock to solve the problem.  Why does this work?  Because hand sanitizers contain alcohol, the main ingredient in most commercial de-icers.  Just make sure to use a hand sanitizer that’s 60% alcohol.  Sanitizers with less alcohol than that won’t work. (And guess what…with less than 60% alcohol they won’t sanitize your hands, either!)

Related articles

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