Life Tips Daily

If you’re the family cook, you may have already figured this one out. Instead of defrosting and cooking meat twice, why not cook double the amount and store half for later? This way you’re ahead of the game when it comes to preparing the next meal.

Your friend is dating a new guy, and has been for a few months. You have met him and thought he seemed nice from this first meeting.

However, you were recently out of town and while you were out of town you saw him making out with another woman. You are 100% sure that it was him. You are also certain that he did not see you.

Some questions:

1. Would you tell your friend?
2. Would you let him know that you saw him and tell him to confess to your friend?
3. If you decided to tell your friend, how would you deal with a friend who is adamant that it was not her boyfriend, that you’re seeing things and trying to ruin her relationship out of jealously?

Let’s hear what you have to say!

If you’re curious about my answers, they’re below:
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A reader, Shannon, left a comment on this entry where she said she cancelled her magazine subscriptions because she can get a lot of the same information online. While this is true, let’s say the most exciting articles in your favourite magazine aren’t posted online. How can you get your hands on them?

Check your local (or not so local library)
I hope you’re lucky enough to live in a city with a good library because it is one resource that I don’t think I could live without: not only do libraries carry the latest books and cds, but it is also a great place to go to get away from it all. My local library has slackened its rules but one thing that hasn’t changed is the fact that it’s still a quiet place to go to (just stay away from the children’s floor if you’re seeking tranquility!).

Most libraries have a lounging area, and near this area is the latest issue of most magazines. If you have a couple of hours to spare, get thee to the library and flip through some helpful magazines, pen and notepad in hand if needed. If you’re not interested in the very latest issues of magazines, older issues can be signed out.

Ask someone
Just because you’ve cancelled your subscription doesn’t mean your friend or coworker has! Tell them what magazines you’re interested in and ask if they would mind passing the magazine on to you when they are finished (either permanently or as a loan). Even if they don’t subscribe to the magazines you desiret, maybe they know somebody who does.

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Cold season has arrived here in the northerm hemisphere and while it it too late for me to avoid catching a cold and general ickiness, here are some tips for those of you who are still in good health or who have recently been bitten by the bug:

Wash your hands constantly
Whether you’re sick or well, this is a tip that will never serve you wrong. Having clean hands ensures you don’t pass anything along while exchanging handshakes and hugs. Clean hands will also minimize the chance of you passing on impurities from God knows where to your face, if you are acne-prone. The only problem with constant handwashing is how drying it can be on the skin. That’s where the hand cream comes in!

Guard your spray
When you cough, do so into the crook of your elbow, or into your hand (if you can go and wash it immediately after). Try to be aware of where (and on whom) your bodily fluids might land and guard against spreading germs through sneezes, coughs and sniffles.

Two more tips are:
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I recently started reading Real Simple Magazine and if you are looking for a publication that promises to make life easier by providing tips on:

• decluttering your home or office
• time management
• dealing with things that plague your mind such as fears or difficult people in your life

in addition to tips on beauty and fashion, and recipes, then this magazine is for you.

Real Simple magazines are consistently thick, and there is something about the photography that graces the front cover that makes you want to renovate your home, or go shopping immediately.

My only complaint is one that I’m seeing in more and more magainzes: too many pages of advertising!

Does anybody else spend far too much time worrying, and not enough time enjoying or just plain dealing with that they are faced with?

As the eldest of four children, with parents in their late 50s who seem to have a new health complaint every year, I worry most about my them. I just want a guarantee that they will be around forever, healthy and whole. Surely that’s not too much to ask? I’m not unselfish though: I worry that my single state will be a permanent condition; that I will die alone and bitter. Both of these worries cause me stress: my heartbeat becomes accelerated and my blood pressure rises, I am uneasy, my sleep is unrestful and I’m plagued with negative thoughts.

I’ve especially found that as I age, my tendency to worry has increased enormously. If this is one of the perks that come with adulthood, it’s no wonder I continue to act like a child in many ways. I simply am not ready to accept that worrying has to be a part of my life. At the same time, letting go of worries is something that has proven very difficult for me.

So today I am asking you what you do to minimize your worrying. I have some good ideas but so far, I’ve been too worried to try them out!

• prayer
• meditation, focusing on breathing in and out to physically calm yourself down
• doing something positive to help the situation, no matter how small, even if it’s just something like making a doctor’s appointment, or reading up about the cause for concern
• talking to a close friend or someone about the problems (let a friend be your shoulder to lean on!)
• asking for help to deal with the situation
• talking to the person that you are worried about, and listening to what they have to say

How do you keep worries at bay?

If giving yourself a manicure or pedicure involves searching for the nail file, nail clippers, nail polish remover and nail polish each and every time, why not get yourself a pretty box or makeup bag that stores all these items in one place. It’ll save you time and frustration!

There is a person in your life that you see regularly. He or she is a great person but has a little problem that you don’t think they are aware of since they have never mentioned it to you, or shown any signs of being self-conscious about it. They always look impeccably groomed; you have no reason to believe they are not aware of all the basic sanitary practices.

Despite it all, they stink.

It’s not bad breath, which could be dealt with with constant proffering of gum, mints or breathstrips, or recommending a good toothbrush (innocently, of course) but body odour. Having smelled my fair share of armpit-induced body odour, I have reason to believe this odour isn’t coming from that part of the anatomy.

How does one mention to a friend that they smell bad? Should it be mentioned at all, or simply tolerated?

There is no place more than the dating field, where clichéd phrases are heard. Much like the pick up lines that make you roll your eyes, some dating profiles are so unimaginatively dull that you wonder if the profile owner truly expects to get results from it!

If you want to avoid writing a profile full of clichés, avoid the following phrases:

“Looking for…”

• …Love - unless the dating site is for non-romantic encounters, this is redundant
• …My prince/princess - you can truly be looking for it, but putting it in a profile makes people think of fairytales and life is no fairytale!
• …My knight in shining armour - see above
• …My queen - see above

One of the biggest problems with the above is
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Today’s topic is: Injecting your personality into your profile

Online dating is tough enough without pretending to be somebody you aren’t. Here are some ways you can write your profile so that people get the idea that it’s a unique person on the other side:

• Write the way you speak: perhaps you have a tendency to be serious, witty, self deprecating (hopefully not too much!). Share that aspect of who you are by the way you write your profile.
• If you have a sense of humour or style of wit, don’t be afraid to share it! Sure, you may turn some people off but the people who find it appealing will likely be the sort of person you’re looking for.
• Share a short anecdote about an experience you had that put you out of your element. Looking back, these stories are often funny and provide additional insight into the type of person you are. Perhaps you, super casual by nature, went to your first formal event and had not yet mastered heels. What happened next?

Basically, in order to stand out from all the other people putting their profiles online, you need to do all you can to come across as a real person, and by no means typical. After all, you’re looking for someone special for you, not someone who could be with anyone! And this is why you should avoid clichéd phrases. I’ll share some phrases that are overdone in the online dating world tomorrow.

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This is the fourth part of this series. Please see the following parts for more information:

Part I
Part II
Part III

Today, we’re going to look at being honest about who you are and what you want online. As mentioned before, a good (written) first impression is key: sure you have your unbelievably irresistible picture on display, but many people want some substance with their looks so you should be prepared to stun “on paper” too.

Although the enormous degree of annonymity possible on the internet might be tempting for some, if you’re looking for a lasting relationship, do your part and be honest. There is a difference between being honest and making your life into an open book; it’s possible to be honest without telling every last detail of your life. If you are asked something that you do not want to divulge, you can honestly say “I’m sorry but I’m not comfortable sharing that with you now/ever.” A general rule is if you think your answer will affect the person’s opinion or impression of you in an important way, it’s best to share it.

If you’re being honest, you should expect the same from people you deal with. One way to ensure you get what you want is to be clear about what you are looking for: if you are looking for a short term physical (only) relationship, do not advertise that you’re looking for something longterm, and vice versa. If you do, you’re responsible for the sorts of responses you get! If things change, that is fine, but don’t lead someone to think they are getting together with somebody who wants the same things they do, if in fact that isn’t the case.

One way that the internet is a lot easier on our egos than reality is you can scan dozens of profiles and reject them without being seen by the person, which is so much nicer than being in a club and seeing someone’s eyes scan over you and move quickly on to the next person.

So, be honest about who you are and what you value, and write a profile that gets across who you are and what you want accurately. Tomorrow we’ll look at the importance of injecting your profile with some personality.

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This is the third part of this series. Please see the following parts for more information:

Part I
Part II

If you would like to do something good for somebody else today, can I encourage you to visit Boho Girl’s site? Today she wrote about the son of a family friend, Grayson, who is dealing with severe ulcerative colitis. It’s so sad to read of someone going through all that Boho Girl has described on her blog.

If you would like to donate to help the family, I’m sure you can, but all that is being asked for you is to visit his care page and leave a positive message for him and his family. To get there, visit Care Pages (username: blogfamily, password: grayrocks) and head to the message board.

Please read this entry for all the details, and to see pictures of Grayson and his family and more about this amazing boy.

Thank you

It is the birthday of a friend of yours. This person is not your closest friend but a friend who merits receiving a birthday gift from you. Just as you’re trying to figure out what to buy that falls within your budget range for the event, you receive an email from a closer friend of the birthday girl or boy’s, asking you to contribute a certain amount towards a large supergift for the celebrant. The amount you’re being asked to contribute is 1/3 more than what you had planned to contribute.

What do you do? Do you go along with it? Contribute the amount you had intended to spend toward it? Go with another gift entirely? Or do something completely different?

Yesterday, I promised to go into detail about what makes an online dating profile stand out. We’ll look at the first two today:

• Using proper grammar and English (or language that you are communicating in)
• Using spell check

Using proper grammar and English (or language that you are communicating in)
I hate to say this but it is my experience that women are far more likely to judge someone based on their grammar and their command of the English language than men. If I am wrong, please direct me to this one male paragon and I will marry him immediately. I’ll even do dishes and clean the toilets too! If he has an accent too, all the better!

Just as body language can lead you to “say” something other than what is coming out of your mouth, the quality of your writing is important too. It gives the reader clues to the type of person you are in areas such as your attention to detail, and an indication of your education level or intelligence.

Here are some grammatical errors that should be avoided:
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First I tell you what kinds of pictures to post. Then I tell you what kind of information to disclose. On day 3 of this online dating focus, we will look at your online dating profile.

You’ve chosen a couple of pictures of yourself: one is a full body shot of you looking your natural, everyday best, one is of you dressed up, if you wish. Any other pictures you add help to show off your character (and hopefully do not give “is a psycho” vibes)-perhaps a picture of you doing a sport or activity you enjoy, hanging out with friends, having fun. All pictures you’re sharing are less than a year old, and do not depict a version of you that differs significantly with respect to hair length/distribution on your head, or your body weight. Perfect.

Along with the visual impression you’re giving your captive audience, you want them to get a better pictures of who you are (because you’re so much more than a pretty face, right?). How can you establish this? Some of the topics I will be discussing tomorrow are:

• Using proper grammar and English (or language that you are communicating in)
• Using spell check
• Being honest about who you are and what you want
• Injecting your personality into your profile
• Not relying too much on clichéd phrases