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 SOLUTION OF THE MONTHNext time you stop for gas, instead of watching the dollars tick on by, use that 5 minutes to clean out your car. It may seem like a simple concept for the smart mom, but it’s amazing how collecting the toys, wrappers and empty juice boxes can actually affect your state of mind. Keep window and interior cleaners in the trunk, along with some paper towels. And put a plastic bin in the back seat to store items that tend to slip and slide around inside, as well as favorite books and games for longer road trips. If you’re really motivated, zip over to the vacuum found at most stations. What a great way to check off one of the weekend “to do’s.” And maybe you’ll even find some spare change to help pay for that next latte!For great car organizers, check out cargogear.com. CREATIVITY ON DEMAND!Are you asking yourself what to do with all your holiday pictures? Visit the HP Photo Center located in your neighborhood Longs Drugs to preserve your holiday memories. In just minutes, the HP Photo Center at Longs allows you to easily turn your photos into creations, such as calendars, hard-cover albums, collage posters, cards and photo booklets. Just bring your photos on a digital-camera memory card or CD into a participating Longs Drugs and use the easy HP touchscreen. Your creations will be made while you shop.Visit hp.com/go/retailphotoservices to find a HP Photo Center near you. LOOKING/FEELING YOUR BESTJanuary is a time to start anew and freshen up everything, from your wardrobe to your makeup. So, if you’re still wearing that blue mascara from high school, do yourself a favor and trash it.Keep in mind that nothing in your wardrobe – or your makeup bag – should cause you to reminisce about the prom. Here’s a helpful reminder of the general guidelines to keep your beauty items up-to-date: > Lipstick: 1 year > Lipliner: 2 years > Lip gloss: 18-24 months > Oil-free foundation: 1 year > Cream or compact foundation: 18 months > Concealer: 18 months > Powder: 2 years > Blush and bronzer: 2 years > Cream blush: 12-18 months > Eye shadow (powder): 2 years (cream): 12-18 months > Eyeliner: 6 months > Mascara: 3 months > Nail polish: 1-2 years PRECIOUS MOMS CELEBRATE THE GIFT OF LIFELife is filled with precious moments – and no one understands that more deeply than mothers. Our children bless us with endless joy and a fresh curiosity for everything life has to offer. Precious Moments, the company behind the beloved figurines, has created a website to help mothers celebrate these blessings. The site, preciousmoms.com, offers celebration-planning tools, inspirational messages and practical advice from real-world moms with great ideas about how moms can integrate spirituality into the everyday lives of their families. Visitors can explore articles, podcasts, videos and blogs from experts, as well as receive e-newsletters. Take a moment to check it out and celebrate how precious life really is.HEALTH ADD RESISTANCE TO YOUR LIFESo, the New Year has you motivated to spice up your fitness routine, right? Maybe add some strength training to your cardio? With all the classes and machines at the gym, and the proliferation of exercise balls and ab crunchers on the market, it can be hard to figure out how to integrate something new. It’s important to consider what kind of equipment is right for you and your lifestyle, and which will actually work and not end up as a drying rack or relegated to the attic. Fortunately, some of the groundwork has already been done. Here’s the inside scoop on one mighty piece of equipment you’ll want to try out this year: Resistance bands! At the end of 2007, Prevention Magazine tested 5 ways to get the most effective body-sculpting workout – weights, resistance balls and bands, Pilates, yoga and body- weight moves, like push-ups and crunches. The winner may surprise you: exercise bands! Eighteen sedentary women participated in the test for 12 weeks and those “in the band” took 30% more inches off their bellies, hips, arms and thighs, averaging a total loss of 15 inches. They also dropped 18% more weight than the other groups – averaging 6 pounds each – while 1 of them built enough shapely muscle to rev up her metabolism by about 120 calories a day. While this study is inspiring, you may still feel a little skeptical. So what did those in the resistance-band group really do differently than the others? They exercised more! Resistance bands were found to be convenient, easy to use, and effective – and these are the qualities that can take an activity from an exercise routine to part of your lifestyle. If you still need more convincing to give resistance bands a try, here are some of the benefits that will certainly make a lot of sense…momsense, that is: Key benefits of resistance bands: > They’re convenient. Unlike clumsy weights, these bands are perfect to use just about anywhere. So while your kids are eating breakfast or doing their homework, you can exercise and supervise at the same time. Also, you can easily pack them in your suitcase and do exercises in your hotel room. > They pack a punch. Because there’s tension throughout the exercises, you have to stabilize your body. This helps with coordination and balance, and it also involves more muscle groups. With just 1 band, you can work virtually every major muscle group in your body just by switching positions, rather than jumping from machine to machine. > They add variety. With weights, you’re often limited as to how many exercises you can do and which parts of the body you can work, which causes BOREDOM! But the resistance band allows you to change your positioning in multiple ways, changing how your body works and how an exercise feels. > They’re budget-friendly. Bands range anywhere from $6 to $20, depending on how many you get and where you buy them. At that price, buy several and store 1 in every room where you spend a significant amount of time. > They’re great for all fitness levels. Bands can be great for beginners working on basic moves, as well as for more intricate exercises. You can upgrade to a higher resistance level as you progress. GOALTENDERSmake it happen this yearWith just the flip of the calendar, we’ve been granted a clean slate, ripe for making resolutions and revving up our engines full speed ahead into the new year. For many moms, perhaps it’s the feeling of victory once we’ve completed the 4th-quarter triathlon from Halloween to Thanksgiving and through the holidays that gets us pumped to tackle the world. Whatever the catalyst, it’s a great time to think about ourselves for a change, take stock of our goals and start building the road map to reach them. Whether we want to keep our current job, or get a different one, save for the future, travel, take a vacation, or remodel the kitchen, the key is creating a plan. Top achievers know how to design goals that create success. Here are important steps to do that: [1.] Reachable goals are SPECIFIC. To reach your goals, the brain must know exactly, precisely, what you are trying to accomplish. Never word a goal with vague terms like “some” or “a little bit” or “more.” If you want to lose 8 pounds, specify those exact numbers. Your brain can help you accomplish almost anything if it knows precisely what you are aiming for. [2.] Reachable goals are SIMPLE. Many people describe their goals in complex terms of retiring on the beach in Hawaii, with nice cars and lots of money, and...the list goes on and on. Any ONE of those things is a great goal, but the combination becomes overwhelming and it confuses the brain. If you want to retire in Hawaii, just say so. If you want to increase your sales by 10% this month, say so. Keep goals simple, clear and focused. [3.] Reachable goals are STRATEGIC. High achievers know that the best goals accomplish many great outcomes, all at one time. Running a 10K race will almost certainly feel great, help you lose weight, lower your cholesterol level, strengthen your heart, lower your risk of heart disease, increase your energy and stamina, and improve your outlook. Design goals to impact as many areas of your life as possible. [4.] Reachable goals are MEASURABLE. Without a measurable outcome they’re just pipe dreams. You can’t achieve a pound of “happiness” or 6 inches of “self-esteem,” but you CAN get a new job. You CAN run a 10K. Someone wisely observed, “What gets measured, gets done.” Define your goals in terms of height, weight, dollars, inches or hours. Then measure your progress. [5.] Reachable goals are RATIONAL. You’ll need a plan, a path and a vehicle for getting there. Your goals must make sense. When you explain them to friends and family, your goals should create excitement, and draw support and encouragement. Your goals should be just out of reach, but not out of sight. You want to stretch to be your best, not strain after impossible dreams. [6.] Reachable goals are WRITTEN. Writing down your goals vastly increases your chance of success. Write it down. Then, keep your notes where you can see and read them every day. [7.] Reachable goals are SHARED. We’re more likely to stick to our plan and reach our goals if we know our friends and family support us. Being part of a team increases our determination, stamina and courage. |
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