Health care solution for seniors

The following cartoon is not only funny, but reinforces the sad statement of our times:  The criminals in America get better treatment from the government that is responsible for looking out for its senior citizens.  Extremely disappointing, but true!

Thanks to BFF Josie and her friend, Rollie, for passing along.



Healthy seasonings

Condiments and seasonings have become fixtures of our eating experience.  More often than not, these products add flavor to even the most ordinary meal.  Not all sauces and seasonings are good for you so check it out!

Another very informative health tip from Rollie passed on by BFF Josie.  Thank you both for providing us yet another reason to celebrate healthy eating!

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CHOOSE HEALTHY SAUCES AND SEASONINGS

Do you like to add seasonings to your food? Do you have the urge to drown your chicken in a pool of gravy sauce or add spoonfuls of Thousand Island dressing to your salad? If so, you’d better watch out.

Knowing which foods to eat is only half the battle won. The other half is about choosing healthier sauces to dip your food into. Let’s check out the best seasonings for you.

Top healthy seasonings

Tomato sauce and ketchup. Topping the list are tomato products like tomato sauce and ketchup. A study shows that eating tomato sauce leads to a longer life span for men with prostate cancer. In order to release its lycopene, tomatoes should be cooked with a little olive oil. Ideally, we should consume at least 10 tablespoons of tomato sauce a week or approximately 150ml a week.

Vinegar. A daily intake of white vinegar or apple cider vinegar may help control blood glucose levels. In a study published in Diabetes Care, Dr. Carol Johnston from the Department of Nutrition at Arizona State University shows that vinegar slows down the usual rise of blood sugar after a meal. According to Dr. Johnston, “The acetic acid in vinegar may inhibit enzymes that digest starch so that carbohydrate molecules aren’t available for absorption and are eliminated as fecal matter.”

The late Vermont country doctor, Dr. D. C. Jarvis, maintained that an overweight person could lose weight gradually by taking two teaspoons of vinegar in a glass of water (with a little honey for taste) before each meal. Just a warning: Don’t take too much if you’re hyperacidic. The safest way to consume vinegar is to incorporate it in your diet, such as vinaigrette dressing for salads, and as a seasoning with fish and rice.

Calamansi or lemon. These citrus fruits are rich in vitamin C, which are known to help our immune system in fighting infections. Just be careful that you don’t take it on an empty stomach because it’s acidic. Mix it with food or water. In fact, some studies show that lemon juice may help relieve symptoms of asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, and sore throat.

Curry and turmeric. Turmeric and yellow curry are seasonings that may help fight inflammation and prevent cancer. Curry contains a compound called curcumin which, preliminary studies show, may help prevent Alzheimer’s disease and memory loss. In the laboratory, these seasonings enhance the effect of chemotherapy and also reduce tumor growth.

Ginger. Ginger root has long been used in Chinese Medicine to treat nausea, vomiting, cough, colds, headache, stomach ache, and arthritis. Its secret ingredient comes from gingerols. Aside from these benefits, ginger helps reduce inflammation and helps retard the creation of new blood vessels used by cancer cells.

Garlic, onions, and leeks. According to cancer expert Dr. David Servan-Schreiber, garlic and leeks contain ally sulfides, which may help in cancers of the colon, breast, lung, and prostate. To best release its anticancer ingredients, the garlic clove should be crushed and gently fried with a little olive oil. Garlic can also be eaten raw or added to salads.

Use these seasonings in moderation

Salt, soy sauce, and fish sauce. For healthy individuals, there’s no problem in consuming these condiments in moderation. However, for people with a variety of conditions, particularly high blood pressure, heart disease, kidney disease, diabetes, heart failure, and leg swelling, these seasonings should be taken in limited amounts. Some cancer experts warn against taking too much of these salty seasoning as they might trigger the formation of cancer cells in the body.



Shrimp paste (bagoong). Just like soy sauce and fish sauce, shrimp paste is very salty. And it doesn’t matter even if you mix it with lots of rice. For as long as you consume the salt in these seasonings, it will still retain water in the body, thereby potentially increasing one’s blood pressure. For those with heart and kidney disease, I would advise you not to place added seasonings on your food anymore. Just take your food as it is.

Hot sauce and chili. For susceptible individuals, hot sauce and chili can lead to ulcers and hemorrhoids. The ingredients in hot sauce are actually irritating to the blood vessels in the rectum (anus) and can aggravate hemorrhoids. Too much spicy foods will also be released through our sweat pores, causing body odor.

Mayonnaise or Thousand Island dressing. The concern with mayonnaise-based dressings is their very high fat content. A teaspoonful of mayonnaise packs a whole lot of calories. As an alternative, you may choose vinegar-based sauces for your salads.

Rich gravy sauce and butter-based sauces. Some gravy sauces are made with the fat and oil drippings of pork and beef. These kinds of grave sauces are not friendly to your heart and blood vessels. Don’t risk it. However, there are some gravy preparations that are less rich and less fatty. You can actually tell by the not-so-buttery smell and taste of it. If you crave gravy, just add a little dab on your food. As mentioned, ketchup for fried chicken is much healthier than gravy sauce.

Finally, let me remind our readers that although the healthy seasonings listed here have some benefits, you must not overdo it, either. These preferred seasonings should not be used as a substitute for medical treatment but only to assist you in eating better.

As always, the key word is moderation. Just take a bit more of the healthy sauces and less of the salty and fatty ones. Good luck!

Reasons for eating less rice

This news will likely bring long faces to folks who were raised in cultures where rice is the staple food.  I used to not be able to go through a day with a riceless meal, but I have, thankfully, changed my eating habits.  Believe me, you will survive!

Thanks to Rollie (BFF Josie's friend) for sharing this information. 

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Eat Less Rice? Why? 

(One Bowl of Rice = 10 Teaspoons of Sugar, No Fibre)‏

photo credit:  riceimportexport.com

The human body was never meant to consume rice!  You see, our genes have hardly changed in more than 30,000 years.  However, our food choices and lifestyle have changed dramatically.  The caveman would hardly recognize our food or way of life.

Caveman food was never cooked as fire was not yet tamed.  Thus, he ate only those foods that you can eat without treatment with or by fire.  He ate fruits, vegetables, fish (sushi anyone?), eggs, nuts and meat.  Yes, even meat!  You can even eat meat raw if you were starving in the forest.  You have the necessary enzymes to digest meat.

However, rice, like wheat and corn, cannot be eaten raw.  It must be cooked.  Even if you were starving in the desert, you cannot eat rice in the raw form.  This is because we do not have the system of enzymes to break rice down.  You were never meant to eat rice.  To make matters worse, you not only eat rice, but also make it the bulk of your food.

In some parts of Asia, rice forms up to 85% of the plate.  Even if you take rice, keep it to a minimum.  Remember, it is only for your tongue - not your body. Actually, rice and other grains like wheat and corn are actually worse than sugar.  There are many reasons:

Rice becomes sugar- Lots of it!
This is a fact that no nutritionist can deny: rice is chemically no different from sugar.  One bowl of cooked rice is the caloric equal of 10 teaspoons of sugar.  This does not matter whether it is white, brown or herbal rice.  Brown rice is richer in fibre, some B vitamins and minerals but it is still the caloric equal of 10 teaspoons of sugar.  To get the same 10 teaspoons of sugar, you need to consume lots of kangkong-10 bowls of it. 

Rice is digested to become sugar. 
Rice cannot be digested before it is thoroughly cooked.  However, when thoroughly cooked, it becomes sugar and spikes circulating blood sugar within half an hour-almost as quickly as it would if you took a sugar candy. Rice is very low in the 'rainbow of anti-oxidants.

This complete anti-oxidant rainbow is necessary for the effective and safe utilization of sugar.. Fruits come with a sugar called fructose. However, they are not empty calories as the fruit is packed with a whole host of other nutrients that help its proper assimilation and digestion. 

Rice has no fibre. 
The fibre of the kangkong fills you up long before your blood sugar spikes. This is because the fibre bulks and fills up your stomach. Since white rice has no fibre, you end up eating lots of 'calorie dense' food before you get filled up. Brown rice has more fibre but still the same amount of sugar. 

Rice is tasteless-sugar is sweet. 
There is only so much that you can eat at one sitting. How many teaspoons of sugar can you eat before you feel like throwing up? Could you imagine eating 10 teaspoons of sugar in one seating? 

Rice is always the main part of the meal. 
While sugar may fill your dessert or sweeten your coffee, it will never be the main part of any meal. You could eat maybe two to three teaspoons of sugar at one meal. However, you could easily eat the equal value of two to three bowls (20-30 teaspoons) of sugar in one meal. I am always amused when I see someone eat sometimes five bowls of rice (equals 50 teaspoons of sugar) and then asks for tea tarik kurang manis! 

There is no real 'built in' mechanism for us to prevent overeating of rice: 
How much kangkong can you eat?
How much fried chicken can you eat?
How much steamed fish can you eat?
Think about that! 

In one seating, you cannot take lots of chicken, fish or cucumber, but you can take lots of rice. Eating rice causes you to eat more salt. As rice is tasteless, you tend to consume more salt-another villain when it comes to high blood pressure. You tend to take more curry that has salt to help flavor rice. We also tend to consume more ketchup and soy sauce which are also rich in salt. 



Eating rice causes you to drink less water. The more rice you eat, the less water you will drink as there is no mechanism to prevent the overeating of rice. Rice, wheat and corn come hidden in our daily food. As rice is tasteless, it tends to end up in other foods that substitute rice like rice flour, noodles and bread. We tend to eat the hidden forms which still get digested into sugar. 

Rice, even when cooked, is difficult to digest...
Can't eat raw rice? Try eating rice half cooked. Contrary to popular belief, rice is very difficult to digest. It is 'heavy stuff'. If you have problems with digestion, try skipping Rice prevents the absorption of several vitamins and minerals.  Rice when taken in bulk will reduce the absorption of vital nutrients like zinc, iron and the B vitamins. 

Are you a rice addict? Going rice-less may not be easy but you can go rice-less. Eating less rice could be lot easier than you think. Here are some strategies that you can pursue in your quest to eat less rice: 

Eat less rice-cut your rice by half. 
Barry Sears, author of the Zone Diet, advises 'eating rice like spice'.  Instead, increase your fruits and vegetables.  Take more lean meats and fish.  You can even take more eggs and nuts.


photo credit:  23rf.com



Have 'riceless' meals. 

Take no rice or wheat at say, breakfast.  Go for eggs instead. 

Go on 'riceless' days. 
Go 'western' once a week for example or whatever that you feel like eating, Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Malay or whatsoever, just don't take the rice.

Take no rice and breads for one day every week. 
That can't be too difficult.  Appreciate the richness of your food. Go for taste, colours and smells.  Make eating a culinary delight. Enjoy your food in the original flavours. 

Avoid the salt shaker or ketchup. 
You will automatically eat less rice. 

Eat your fruit dessert before (Yes! No printing error) your meals. 
The fibre rich fruits will 'bulk up' in your stomach.  Thus, you will eat less rice and more fruits. And most importantly, your digestive system will digest the Fruits 1st, and absorb the Good stuff before your main course.

It's your life. Decide what you want to eat! But eat less rice!

Remembering the Brave

Memorial Day is a day for feeling immense gratitude.

My first reason is personal because today is a corporate holiday in my workplace and I get to take the day off! 

Second, and the more important reason, is that Americans have the opportunity to pause from their work grind and feel thankful for all the courageous men and women who fought for and died serving our country.  Those who went to war and came back in whatever shape and form must be feeling tremendous relief for the good fortune of stepping foot on familiar land and shores.  The unlucky ones who perished, or worse, came home with physical, mental and emotional disabilities deserve human compassion, endless gratitude and continuous prayers.

I know a woman whose husband went to battle in Vietnam.  They were both young when they got married.  When he came back from the war, he showed serious signs of mental disorder, obviously caused by the stress and trauma of the horrendous sights and sounds of the war zone.  Every Memorial Day when she catches the holiday coverage on television, she cannot help but shed tears.

Americans should be proud of the men and women who made personal sacrifices to keep our nation perpetually safe and secure.  Our national freedom is not only an invaluable right, it is a precious privilege.  Compare our situation to countries still embracing the limited opportunities of communism and we will feel absolutely blessed! 

We should find it in our hearts to support the many veteran charities that hold our disabled soldiers together.  The wounds of war do not heal quickly.  It takes a great deal of courage to confront the ugly consequences of war.

On this day the least we can do is to honor the memories of those who made it possible for Americans to be where they are today.

A million thanks, Brave Soldiers!

Lessons on leadership

Whether you are a natural born leader, a wannabe or a leader-in-the-making, the following piece that arrived in my cyber mailbox should provide enlightenment and inspiration.  Enjoy! 

Chairman of Brian Tracy International, Mr. Tracy is a renowned self-help author and motivational speaker.  His company specializes in human resource and has affiliates in 31 countries and all over the United States.

photo credit:  getmotivated.com

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Leaders Are Made, Not Born
By: Brian Tracy

The Key Leadership Abilities

Your ability to negotiate, communicate, influence, and persuade others to do things is absolutely indispensable to everything you accomplish in life. The most effective men and women in every area are those who can quite competently organize the cooperation and assistance of other people toward the accomplishment of important goals and objectives.

Everyone is Different

Of course, everyone you meet has different values, opinions, attitudes, beliefs, cultural values, work habits, goals, ambitions, and dreams.  Because of this incredible diversity of human resources, it has never been more difficult and yet more necessary for diplomatic leaders to emerge and form these people into high-performing teams.

Do What Other Leaders Do
Fortunately, leaders are made, not born. You learn to become a leader by doing what other excellent leaders have done before you. You become proficient in your job or skill, and then you become proficient at understanding the motivations and behaviors of other people. As a leader, you combine your personal competencies with the competencies of a variety of others into a smoothly functioning team that can out-play and out-perform all its competitors. When you become a team leader, even if your team only consists of one other person, you must immediately develop a whole new set of leadership skills.

Focus On What's Right vs. Who's Right
Whenever you have problems, misunderstandings, or difficulties within the team, you reexamine your values, your goals, your activities, your assignments, and your responsibilities. You are more concerned with what's right than with who's right. Leaders are more concerned with winning than with not losing. High-Performing teams run by excellent leaders, are determined to perform in an excellent fashion. All members
know that their ability to work together in harmony and cooperation is the key to the success of every one of them.

Aim at a Common Goal
The wonderful thing about becoming a leader in your work and personal life is that you can practice the skills of influencing and persuading others toward a common objective. You can promote the principles of excellent teamwork by establishing your values and goals, determining your activities, and then leading the action. And you can improve
yourself by continually evaluating your performance against your standards.

Only Compare Yourself With Yourself
One of the marks of excellent people is that they never compare themselves with others. They only compare themselves with themselves and with their past accomplishments and future potential. You can become an even more excellent person by constantly setting higher and higher standards for yourself and then by doing everything possible to live up to those standards.

The more proficient you become at getting the results for which you were hired, the more opportunities you will have to get results through others. And your ability to put together a team and then to lead that team to high performance will enable you to accelerate your career and fulfill your goals faster than ever before.

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do to put these ideas into action:

First, think about specific things you can do to work more effectively with the different people on your team.

Second, set high standards for yourself and for each person and then dedicate yourself to achieving those standards.

 

Health wisdom... from Dr. Oz

Yesterday we learned when the right time is to eat fruit.  Today we learn what can cause cancer and another symptom of heart attack. My thanks to BFF Josie for passing on this precious information.

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Drinking Cold water after a meal = Cancer!

Can you believe this? For those who like to drink cold water, this applies to you. It's nice to have a cold drink after a meal, however, the cold water will solidify the oily stuff that you've just consumed, which slows digestion. Once this 'sludge' reacts with the acid, it will break down and be absorbed by the intestine faster than the solid food. It will line the intestine. Very soon, this will turn into fats and lead to cancer. It is best to drink hot soup or warm water after a meal.

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HEART ATTACK PROCEDURE

Women should know that not every heart attack symptom is going to be the left arm hurting. Be aware of intense pain in the jaw. You may never have the first chest pain during the course of a heart attack. Nausea and intense sweating are also common symptoms. Sixty percent of people who have a heart attack while they're asleep do not wake up. Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound sleep. Be careful, and be aware. The more we know, the better our chance to survive.

A cardiologist said if everyone who gets this mail sends it to 10 people, you can be sure that we'll save at least one life.

It can even be your life!

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Thanks, Dr. Mehmet Oz!

photo credit:  doctoroz.com



Dr. Oz on how to eat fruit

Josie, my BFF, shared the following invaluable piece.  I never realized that there was a wrong time to eat fruit... until this informative material showed up in my cyber mailbox.  Thank you, amiga!

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We all think eating fruit means just buying fruit, cutting it up and popping it into our mouths. It's not that easy. It's important to know how and when to eat fruit.

What's the correct way to eat fruit?

IT MEANS NOT EATING FRUIT AFTER A MEAL! FRUIT SHOULD BE EATEN ON AN EMPTY STOMACH.

Eating fruit like that plays a major role in detoxifying your system, supplying you with a great deal of energy for weight loss and other life activities.

FRUIT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT FOOD.

Let's say you eat two slices of bread, then a slice of fruit. The slice of  fruit is ready to go straight through the stomach into the intestines, but it's prevented from doing so.

In the meantime, the whole meal rots and ferments, and turns to acid. The minute the fruit comes into contact with the food in the stomach, and digestive juices, the entire mass of food begins to spoil.

Eat your fruit on an empty stomach, or before your meal! You've heard people complain: Every time I eat watermelon I burp, when I eat durian my stomach bloats, when I eat a banana I feel like running to the toilet, etc. This will not happen if you eat the fruit on an empty stomach. Fruit mixes with the putrefying other food and produces gas. Hence, you bloat!

There's no such thing as some fruits, like orange and lemon are acidic, because all fruit becomes alkaline in our body, according to Dr. Herbert Shelton who did research on this matter. If you have mastered the correct way of eating fruit, you have the Secret of Beauty, Longevity, Health, Energy, Happiness and normal weight.

When you need to drink fruit juice drink only fresh fruit juice, NOT the  concentrated juice from the cans. Don't drink juice that has been heated.  Don't eat cooked fruit; you don't get the nutrients at all.  You get only the taste. Cooking destroys all of the vitamins.

Eating a whole fruit is better than drinking the juice. If you should drink the juice, drink it mouthful by mouthful slowly, because you must let it mix with your saliva before swallowing it. You can go on a 3-day fruit-fast to cleanse your body. Eat fruit and drink fruit juice for just 3 days, and you will be surprised when your friends say how radiant you look!

photo credit:  nutritiousfruit.com

KIWI: Tiny but mighty, and a good source of potassium, magnesium, vitamin E and fiber.  Its vitamin C content is twice that of an orange!

photo credit:  fatburningfurnace.com



AN APPLE a day keeps the doctor away? Although an apple has a low vitamin C content, it has antioxidants and flavonoids which enhances the activity of vitamin C, thereby helping to lower the risk of colon cancer, heart attack and stroke.

photo credit:  strawberriesweb.com

STRAWBERRY: Protective Fruit. Strawberries have the highest total antioxidant power among major fruits and protect the body from cancer-causing, blood vessel-clogging free radicals.

photo credit:  the dailygreen.com

EATING 2 - 4 ORANGES a day may help keep colds away, lower cholesterol, prevent and dissolve kidney stones, and reduce the risk of colon cancer.

photo credit:  watermelon.org

WATERMELON: Coolest thirst quencher. Composed of 92% water, it is also packed with a giant dose of glutathione, which helps boost our immune system. Also a key source of lycopene, the cancer-fighting oxidant. Also found in watermelon: Vitamin C and Potassium.

Healing miracle for burns

Thank you, Josie (my BFF) for sharing this invaluable information forwarded to her by friend Rollie (thanks!).

BURNS

A young man sprinkling his lawn and bushes with pesticides wanted to check the contents of the barrel to see just how much pesticide remained in it.  He raised the cover and lit his lighter; the vapors ignited and engulfed him. He jumped from his truck, screaming.  His neighbor came out of her house with a dozen eggs and a bowl yelling: "bring me some more eggs!"

She broke them, separating the whites from  the yolks. The neighbor woman helped her to apply the whites onto the young man's face. When the ambulance arrived and the EMTs saw the young man, they asked who had done this.  Everyone pointed to the lady in charge.

They congratulated her and said, "You have saved his face."

By the end of the summer, the young man brought the lady a bouquet of roses to thank her.  His face was like a baby's skin.

A Healing Miracle for Burns

Keep in mind this treatment of burns is being included in teaching beginner fireman.

First Aid consists of first spraying cold water on the affected area until the heat is reduced which stops the continued burning of all layers of the skin. Then, spread the egg whites onto the affected area.

One woman burned a large part of her hand with boiling water. In spite of the pain, she ran cold faucet water on her hand, separated 2 egg whites from the yolks, beat them slightly and dipped her hand in the solution. The whites then dried and formed a protective layer.

She later learned that the egg white is a natural collagen and continued during at least one hour to apply layer upon layer of beaten egg white. By afternoon she no longer felt any pain and the next day there was hardly a trace of the burn.

Ten days later, no trace was left at all and her skin had regained its normal color. The burned area was totally regenerated thanks to the collagen in the egg whites, a placenta full of vitamins.

Please pass this on as it may help others.



Medical tests... NOT!

Thanks to Kenneth in the Gold Coast for forwarding the following material which, hopefully, will give you a break from the seriousness of life and bring a smile to your face.  Enjoy!

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IMPORTANT - Medical Tests!‏

How to tell if your feet stink. Keep on scrolling down.

Because I want you to get checked out to make sure you're healthy and will be around longer....

MEDICAL TEST:

STARE INTO THE CAT'S EYES FOR 10 SECONDS ....Then Scroll Down

NOW STARE IN THE PUPPY'S EYES FOR 10 SECONDS....

Scroll Down

Your CAT SCAN
and LAB TESTS
are now complete

 couldn't resist...just wanted to be sure you're ok...
Do you feel like working today?

Me neither!
I just want to dance and celebrate that I lived another day!!! I set a new record today == I'm the oldest I've ever been!

You..

....have a GREAT Day!!! And Enjoy Your Daily Blessings!!!

LIFE IS SHORT! FORGIVE QUICKLY!

LOVE TRULY - LAUGH UNCONTROLLABLY - AND, LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE BRIGHTLY FOR ALL THE WORLD TO SEE!!!!

Painful goodbyes

A while back, my bus mate Bonnie shared the sad news of her friend's unexpected passing.  The man worked with her in the same office and days before his death, they had an awful war of words.  Fortunately, before his cardiac arrest, Bonnie picked up the telephone to say "I'm sorry," and both of them had the chance to express their  "I love you's."

Bonnie found out about the sad news when she arrived at work to see everyone in tears.  My immediate reaction after Bonnie shared the news was:  "Aren't you glad you called him?  If not, you'll be very devastated that you didn't make up before he died!"

This brings to mind the importance of not drastically upsetting the applecart or picking a fight with someone in our life.  There is no telling when it might be that person's final day on earth... someone we know, someone who was dear and near until an ugly spat broke us apart. 

Imperfect as humans are, we can try our best to not upset the people in our lives.  Physical pain can be cured with time, but hurtful words that cause emotional damage can take a long time to heal.  Some people never recover from that kind of trauma!  Emotional pain can have permanent or long-lasting effect as it has the ability to tear the soul.  If we make it a habit to not write or speak when we feel extremely upset, we just might avoid being the cause of someone's heartache.  Let us never forget that life is too short to spend moments breaking someone's heart. 

Below is a thought I expressed last year about human mortality.  When we least expect it is when we just might lose someone.  For as long as we breathe, let us strive to be nice to one another! 

Browsing the future

How do you get to heaven?

From my mailbox came this funny tale...

Spelling To Get Into Heaven  

A woman arrived at the Gates of Heaven. While she was waiting for Saint Peter to greet her, she peeked through the gates. 

She saw a beautiful banquet table. Sitting all around were her parents and all the other people she had loved and who had died before her. They saw her and began calling greetings to her "Hello - How are you! We've been waiting for you! Good to see you."

When Saint Peter came by, the woman said to him, "This is such a wonderful place! How do I get in?" 

"You have to spell a word," Saint Peter told her.

"Which word?" the woman asked.

Saint Peter Replied, "Love."

The woman correctly spelled "Love" and Saint Peter welcomed her into Heaven.

About a year later, Saint Peter came to the woman and asked her to watch the Gates of Heaven for him that day.

While the woman was guarding the Gates of Heaven, her husband arrived. "I'm surprised to see you," the woman said. "How have you been?"

"Oh, I've been doing pretty well since you died," her husband told her. "I married the beautiful young nurse who took care of you while you were ill. And then I won the multi-state lottery. I sold the little house you and I lived in and bought a huge mansion. I retired and my wife and I traveled all around the world. We were on vacation in Cancun and I went water skiing today.  I fell and hit my head, and here I am.  What a bummer!  How do I get in?”  

"You have to spell a word," the woman told him.

"Which word?" her husband asked.

"Czechoslovakia"

Moral of the story:  Never make a woman angry... 

There will be Hell to pay later!

Hanging in there

photo credit:  upsetter42

Like most Baby Boomers, my BFF Josie and I would rather be doing our thing mid-life than putting up with a must-do-it-because-we-have-to-work weekly grind.

Josie (bless her heart!) has been planning her retirement for quite a while now.  It will be her second retirement, mind you.  She imagines her post-work life going back to school and learning a third and fourth language (American Sign and conversational Spanish).  Once proficient in the sign language, she could volunteer in interpreting the liturgical services to the hearing and speech impaired in her parish church.  I think that’s awesome, specially since she is very close to seeing her plans become solid reality. 

Even if I would love to quit tomorrow, my two previous layoffs (the first one, in particular, because I served my employer almost 15 years) have put a damper on my future, pushing me further back from a life of retirement.  But, honestly, since I am a get-up-and-go kind of gal, it does not bother me much.  I could end up working in my 70's and will certainly find joyful reasons to do it.  The only problem is that Josie and I (with her sister Wilma) have plans to travel and I would love to do that without having to worry about a job that I need to go back to.

Not too long ago, working people were able to retire in their late 50's and early 60’s.  Sadly, today that is not most people’s fate anymore, thanks to the drastically unstable and disappointing U.S economy.

A former boss of mine retired in his early 50’s.  He is one of the lucky ones.  He invested well when the Stock Market was at its bull-est and paid off his mortgage early.  Of course, he has his role models (his parents who are now happily retired in the Golden People's haven in another country) to thank for setting a good example and showing him the way to early retirement. 

Since we hold our financial destiny in our hands, my advice to younger people or those just starting out in the workplace is to handle your money well.  Live within (or under) your means.  Find joy in the simple everyday things.  Do not drive a car you cannot really afford.  Venture not to exotic vacations if it will mean many years of paying off your credit card.  Save before you spend!  That plastic can give you a great deal of purchasing power, but it can wave a lifetime of financial distress.  Be smart with your money!

Planning your financial future as young as you can will reap peace of mind and tremendous joy in later years.  I wish I had that precious epiphany when I was younger.  If I did, I would not have wasted my hard-earned money on undeserving causes and fruitless undertakings. 

For right now, just like most of humanity, I am hanging in there.  On the positive side, I see it happening to make me re-evaluate my priorities.  Acts of kindness may be good for the soul, but in our material world, taking good care of ourself should be on top of our list.

Fun fact for each U.S. state

If you are a trivia fanatic, you will enjoy the following tidbits on the US of A shared by my BFF Josie.  Thank you, chica!

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Fun Fact for Each State

  

ALABAMA....  Was the first place to have 9-1-1, started in 1968.

ALASKA....  One out of every 64 people has a pilot's license.

ARIZONA....  Is the only state in the continental U.S. that  doesn't follow Daylight Savings Time.

ARKANSAS....  Has the only active diamond mine in the U.S.

CALIFORNIA....  Its economy is so large that if it were a country, it would rank seventh in the entire world.

COLORADO....  In 1976 it became the only state to turn down the Olympics.

CONNECTICUT....  The Frisbee was invented here at Yale University.

DELAWARE....  Has more scientists and engineers than any other state.

FLORIDA....  At 759 square miles, Jacksonville is the U.S.'s largest city.

GEORGIA....  It was here, in 1886, that pharmacist John Pemberton made the first vat of Coca-Cola.

HAWAII....  Hawaiians live, on average, five years longer than residents in any other state.

IDAHO....  TV was invented in Rigby, Idaho, in 1922.

ILLINOIS....  The Chicago River is dyed green every St.Patrick's Day

INDIANA.....  Home to Santa Claus, Indiana gets a half million letters to Santa every year.

IOWA....  Winnebagos get their name from Winnebago County.  Also, it is the only state that begins with two vowels.

KANSAS....  Liberal, Kansas, has an exact replica of the house in The Wizard of Oz.

KENTUCKY....  Has more than $6 billion in gold underneath Fort Knox.

LOUISIANA....  Has parishes instead of counties because they were originally Spanish church units.

MAINE.... It's so big, it covers as many square miles as the other five New England states combined.  Plus Maine is the center of the Universe, so if you weren't born here you could be a little off center, lol... 

MARYLAND....  The Ouija board was created in Baltimore in 1892.

MASSACHUSETTS....  The Fig Newton is named after Newton, Massachusetts.

MICHIGAN....  Fremont, home to Gerber, is the baby food capital of the world.

MINNESOTA....  Bloomington's Mall of America is so big, if you spent 10 minutes in each store, you'd be there nearly four days.

MISSISSIPPI....  President Teddy Roosevelt refused to shoot a bear here...  that's how the teddy bear got its name.

MISSOURI....  Is the birthplace of the ice cream cone.

MONTANA....  A sapphire from Montana is in the Crown Jewels of England.

NEBRASKA....  More triplets are born here than in any other state.

NEW HAMPSHIRE...  Birthplace of Tupperware, invented in 1938 by Earl Tupper.

NEW JERSEY....  Has the most shopping malls in one area in the world.

NEW MEXICO....  Smokey the Bear was rescued from 1950 forest fire here.

NEW YORK....  Is home to the nation's oldest cattle ranch, started in 1747 in Montauk.

NORTH CAROLINA....  Home of the first Krispy Kreme doughnut.

NORTH DAKOTA....  Rigby, North Dakota, is the exact geographic center of North America.

OHIO....  The hot dog was invented here in 1900.  OH !!!!

OKLAHOMA....  The grounds of the state capital are covered by operating oil wells.

OREGON....  Has the most ghost towns in the country.

PENNSYLVANIA....  The smiley, :) was first used in 1980 by computer scientists at Carnegie Mellon University.

RHODE ISLAND....  The nation's oldest bar, the White Horse Tavern, opened here in 1673.     

SOUTH CAROLINA....  Sumter County is home to the world's largest gingko farm.

SOUTH DAKOTA....  Is the only state that's never had an earthquake.

TENNESSEE....  Nashville's Grand Ole Opry is the longest running live radio show in the world.

TEXAS....  Dr.  Pepper was invented in Waco back in 1885.

UTAH....  The first Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant opened here in 1952.

VERMONT....  Montpelier is the only state capital without a McDonald's.

VIRGINIA....  Home of the world's largest office building.... the Pentagon.

WASHINGTON....  Seattle has twice as many college graduates as any other state.

WASHINGTON D.C....  Was the first planned capital in the world.

WEST VIRGINIA....  Had the world's first brick paved street, Summers Street, laid in Charleston in 1870.

WISCONSIN....  The ice cream sundae was invented here in 1881 to get around Blue Laws prohibiting ice cream from being sold on Sundays.

WYOMING....  Was the first state to allow women to vote.

I hope you enjoyed this. 

I found it interesting.

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