Foo Thoughts

Good Housekeeping

Optimist — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 02:00:52 +0000

A family needs to have good housekeeping skills and not everyone is able to do it. Here, Good Housekeeping helps you with the tips on recipes, house, diet, health, family and more.

Notable Reads

Do It All Cleaning Guide - From cleaning collectibles to glasses and acrylic.
Clean Alcoholic stains
Clean Coffee stains
Clean Baby Formula
52 Ways to Beat Stress - Make ginger tea, pamper your feet, homemade facial and more.
No Knife Eye Lift
Easy Fixes for Your Age Giveaway Zones
Make Your Manicure Last
Spa-Like Manicure at Home
5 Perfect No-Fuss Outfits
How to Survive a Recession
25 Days of Saving
Make the Most of Credit Card Rewards

What are your best housekeeping skills? Share.

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Get Your Writing Done!

Optimist — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 02:00:31 +0000

If there’s a book you really want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it. ~ Toni Morrison ~ [Source]

Writing onto a blank piece of paper can be daunting when you have nothing in your head. You tried using prompts, taking a walk in the park, eating some brain empowering food all to no avail. Sometimes, reading books help to get the brain juices flowing.

photo credit: Capra Royale

Make use of any of these 31 ways to get your writing inspiration and you may just start writing that novel you have been meaning to write. Another way is to try out Forty Chapters for a 30-day trial and see if you have what it takes to publish your first book.

One of the things about writing a book is the research needed to get the writing done. Spending time to research while writing at the same time isn’t working if you have planned for the book to be completed at a date that you have set. Obsession with editing and writing at the same time also impedes the number of words you have set out to achieve.

To help yourself, why not create a morning ritual so that you do get your writing done? Humans need a little routine to get things going. We are a contradicting species that crave for routine and variety.

What have you done to get your writing juices flowing?

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Write to Done

Optimist — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 02:00:12 +0000

Writers need help at times as they hit the writer’s block. It’s a horrible monster eating away at your creative muse and you can’t fight that monster alone. Attempts such as talking a walk in the park, spending time with your family and exercising are just some of the ways to kill the writer’s block monster. Here, Write to Done shows more tips to getting your writing completed.

Notable Reads

What have you achieved after reading Write to Done?

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I See Your True Colours: Do You Know Who Are Your Real Friends?

Optimist — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 02:00:40 +0000

A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked. ~ Bernard Meltzer ~ [Source]

photo credit: parusnik

In life, we start making friends along the way starting from the time we attend school till the time we start working. Celebrating birthdays with friends are supposed to be happy occasions, right? Wrong. Imagine thinking that attending school would be some normal routines with some pranks thrown along the way. However, you end up being tied up to the poles and taunted in public.

Some of the differences between real and simple friends:

A simple friend brings a bottle of wine to your party.
A real friend comes early to help you cook and stays late to help you clean.

A simple friend hates it when you call after she has gone to bed.
A real friend asks you why you took so long to call.

A simple friend seeks to talk with you about your problems.
A real friend seeks to help you with your problems.

True friends will make the time for you when you need a drink. They won’t ask you questions and will wait until you decide to tell them. You don’t have to worry about keeping anything from them as they won’t be critical of you.

Do you know who your real friends are?

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The Happiness Project

Optimist — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 02:00:37 +0000

The Happiness Project is by Gretchen Rubin who is working on a book that will be released in late 2009. Although she has experience in law, her main love is in writing and after making the switch, she has since published four books.

photo credit: AprilHollyhood

Notable Reads

Ten Tips for Being Happier
What Do You Find Fun?
Tips For Getting Your Sweetheart to Do Chores Without Nagging - Now, that is what we all wished for, right?
5 Happiness Boosters That Do More Harm Than Good
How Do You Bring People Together?
A Simple and Radical way to Cut Calories Out of Your Diet
Tips For Staying Motivated to Exercise
How Do You Think Big?
Taking a Huge Project is A Source of Happiness

Do you have any tips on your own happiness project?

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Memory Boosting Methods

Optimist — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 02:00:02 +0000

I’ve never tried to block out the memories of the past, even though some are painful. I don’t understand people who hide from their past. Everything you live through helps to make you the person you are now. ~ Sophia Loren ~ [Source]

photo credit: SeniorArt

Humans are humans. We have memories; good and bad. None of us wants to remember the time when we stole that pen because we were poor and couldn’t afford it because we needed a new pen for school. It is even more horrible when we could have said something for Mary because she was accused of not calling an important customer when Joe was the one who was undermining her efforts because he wanted to get that promotion.

There comes a time when our memory starts failing. The disease is called dementia and it affects mostly elderlies. Some of the causes of dementia:

Diseases that cause degeneration or loss of nerve cells in the brain such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s.
Diseases that affect blood vessels, such as stroke, which can cause a disorder known as multi-infarct dementia.
Infections that affect the brain and spinal cord, such as AIDS dementia complex and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
Certain types of hydrocephalus, an accumulation of fluid in the brain that can result from developmental abnormalities, infections, injury, or brain tumors.
Head injury — either a single severe head injury or longer term smaller injuries, like in boxers.

While the above-mentioned sounds severe, we can do something for boosting our memories. Take the time to write down your thoughts or things that you have planned for the day. Students needing to memorise the information can try the methods from Text Transformer.

photo credit: raptortheangel

Memory is a part of our health and we want to keep them there as long as we can.

Books About Memory Boosters

What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Alzheimer’s Disease by Gayatri Devi, Deborah R. Mitchell
The Everything Memory Booster Puzzles Book: Unforgettable Puzzles to Boost Your Memory by Charles Timmerman
Natural Highs by Hyla Cass, Patrick Holford
Memory Booster Workout by Jo Liddon, Huw Williams
Green Remedies: Healing Power of Herbs by S.Suresh Babu, S.Suresh Babu M. Madhavi, M. Madhavi
Brain Candy by Ted Lidsky, Theodore I. Lidsky, Theodore Lidksy, Jay S. Schneider

What have you done to help boost your memory powers?

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Compassion Coach

Optimist — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 02:00:36 +0000

Image by Mr Malique via Flickr

Compassion Coach is managed by Denis Hay who is a professional counsellor for 16 years. He helps with anger management. Anger is something we face at any time of the day. When anger gets the better of us, we tend to make mistakes on the spur of the moment.

Notable Reads

Male Friendly Counselling Service

Emotional Regulation Skills

How to and When to Use “I” Statements

How to Relax

Stress & More Ways to Relax

Managing and Regulating Your Anger and Why It is Good to Your Health

Have you managed your anger?

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Don’t Tell Anyone I Told You

Optimist — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 02:00:04 +0000

Nothing is secret once you tell anyone. If you want to keep it quiet - don’t tell a soul. ~ Richard Chamberlain ~ [Source]

Everyone has secrets in their special closets. Nobody will tell you that they have 10 million dollars in the bank and the moonlighting job has paid off so well that they don’t even want to declare. Nobody will tell you that they have a fetish for bedroom fantasies that they always wanted to be fulfilled.

photo credit: (cup)cake_eater

When one is retrenched during the recession or even during good economic times, one can be depressed and even feel useless. At times like this one keeps the job lost as a secret and doesn’t tell anyone, not even the loved ones.

During a recession, one may start looking at recession-proof jobs. It seems that being retrenched is a bad thing because others will think that you are useless hence, you have been kicked out unceremoniously. During such a low period, one feels the pressure and sometimes, look for someone to trust and release the pressure.

For some, Post Secret is the place for sad and mostly brutal truths. It has since released 3 books chock-full of postcards that are creatively made containing fears, lost loves, lost opportunities and suicidal thoughts. It is a torture to keep something deep inside you when all you feel is utter despair that nobody is able to help you even if you have told them.

Do you have a secret that keeps you awake every night?

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Brazen Careerist by Penelope Trunk

Optimist — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 02:00:47 +0000

With the recession, everyone is worried about their rice bowls. One will want to consider working from home or taking up a second job to supplement just in case the current one doesn’t work out. It is for one’s own protection as one can be retrenched at any time without warning.

Penelope Trunk at Brazen Careerist provides some insight on how to be a value-added person while having a career.

Notable Reads

Do you have anything to share on how to improve your work life?

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Recession Proof Jobs

Optimist — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 02:00:34 +0000

I think the person who takes a job in order to live - that is to say, for the money - has turned himself into a slave. ~ Joseph Campbell ~ [Source]

A recession is imminent and it’s a cycle that occurs at different decade. Sometimes, it’s long while other times it’s short. The usual recovery period takes about 2 to 3 years for the economy to regain itself and the inflation to stabilise.

photo credit: heureuy

The most memorable recession was called The Great Depression where millions were out of jobs and homeless. It taught the world that no matter how rich or poor you were, everyone will be affected by the financial economy.

From this, some jobs proved that they were recession-proof. Money is needed to buy anything. Barter trade was no longer seen as a balanced way to get the goods for use. During such tough times, jobs that not everyone can take up would be nursing, marketeer, software and design developer, accounting executive, network and systems administration and administrative assistant.

photo credit: freelenz

When times are tough, companies looking for staff replacements have tightened their criteria for candidates too. The replacements may be expected to complete the tasks with in the job scope and sometimes, ad-hoc tasks too.

In this case, what do freelancers have to do during such tough times and clients are not asking for someone to do the projects? Some take the time to spend some time with the family. Others may vamp up their business with better or new marketing strategies.

As freelancers, one is able to diversify more easily than those in huge companies. As a freelancer, what do you do to help yourself during this recession?

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