Who You Gonna Call? Stress Busters!

As we approach the next fifty plus days and begin the mad dash to Thanksgiving and Christmas, let's focus on maintaining some sanity in our lives and keeping the stress to a minimum.  Easier said than done, right?  Personally, I'm not sure why everyone is so worked up when entertaining during the holidays.  It's generally family only and if you can't be comfortable with your family, who can you be comfortable with?  Well, perhaps for some a trip to the dentist for a root canal might be more comfortable than spending the day with family, but you get the drift.

Whatever your schedule, it's just that - a schedule.  So mark it on your calendars.  I have found that I have always bitten off more than I could chew, but if you can visualize everything you need to do or places you have to go, you can see right away that there aren't enough hours in the day to do everything right and you must choose what's most important and learn to say no to a few invitations.

Learn to organize when you're hosting the meal.  I write out everything that needs to be done from the biggest task such as moving furniture or having the carpets cleaned to the most minute task of making ice.  Once the list is made, I then make a timeline of when each item needs to be accomplished.  This way, you don't wake up on the day of the party and realize there's a stain in the middle of your one and only tablecloth.

Keep it simple.  Attempt recipes that don't require Martha Stewart to be at your side.  I've learned to not panic.  At my bridal shower, I remember the ladies who made the dessert and when the desserts came out of the oven they hadn't quite set up and sort of crumbled on the plates.  They just scooped it up and added some ice cream and it was a sort of instant cobbler.  No one was the wiser and the dessert was a hit. 

Worse case scenario, learn to laugh.  My mother never lived down the time when, as a new bride, she accidentally coated the chicken in powdered sugar instead of flour.  It made for a great family story that was told for years.

Work in some time for yourself.  A half hour with your favorite book, a mid-afternoon nap, a bubble bath at the end of the evening with some candles before the day of the big event.  You are going to be the hostess.  Your guests, not your meal, not your decorations, not everything being perfect, are what is most important.  Only Norman Rockwell had the perfect Thanksgiving and that's because he painted it. 

Your guests should feel comfortable.  Don't force them to eat the appetisers and then yell when they've eaten too many and won't have room for the dinner.  If they're comfortable sitting after dinner and not helping with the dishes, well, you can sit at their house when the dishes are being washed at the next holiday.  If they are the type who want to do your dishes, but you're tired and would just prefer to sit and enjoy your company, go sit with your company and let them wash.  Don't feel guilty.

If you always host a particular holiday and are beginning to feel like you're being taken advantage of, get creative with doling out the duties.  A friend of mine has a job jar and all the kids had to draw a task from it.  It might be setting the table, filling the water glasses, helping with the dishes, etc.  At the beginning, they all grumbled, but over the years it became a way to lighten the load for the hostess plus a bonding experience as everyone worked side by side.

So let's summarize:

1. Learn to say no
2. Make a schedule
3. Organize
4. Keep it simple
5. Laugh
6. Make time for yourself
7. Get creative
8. Enjoy!

You've worked hard for many days and deserve to enjoy this moment. Isn't that why we gather together in the first place?

Hey, I Want Credit for That!

How do inventors get their ideas? Many were happy accidents. Remember when teachers made students stand at the blackboard for chewing gum? It was probably that kid who was the inventor of the Post-it Note, which was invented from a glue no one could find a use for. What else is he going to think about while he's staring at sticky substances for long periods of time?

Food items were created out of mistakes. Cheese, for instance, was invented by an Arab who put milk into a pouch made from a sheep's stomach. Apparently the heat from the sun transformed chemicals from the sheep's stomach so when he opened the pouch during the journey, he found cheese. I can just picture that vacation. "Dad, are we there yet? I'm thirsty." "Abdul, I'm not telling you again. Get the milk out of the sheep's stomach." "Aw dad, can't you get it for me?" "Look Abdul, if I have to pull the camel over, you're in big trouble."

Now I think my family should get credit for some inventions. I was always looking for ways to save time. I hated plucking my eyebrows so I thought, "why not use dad's razor?" Now here's a tip; don't use a razor that's about an inch wide to shave an area only a half inch wide. My mom freaked out during dinner that night when she looked over and saw both tips of my eyebrows shaved off. I'm sure this incident made someone come up with the idea to wax or thread instead.

My mom also had great ideas to use what was readily available to do tasks. There was the evening my dad needed his coat washed before going to work the next day. It was getting late and he was worried it wouldn't be done in time. My mom is like, "dont' worry, it'll get done." Well, down coats need to be fluffed during the drying cycle. She had heard if you put tennis balls in the dryer they would bounce around and fluff the coat. Not having any tennis balls, she decided apples were the same size and weight, so why not use those? I'm not sure why she didn't realize she wasn't hearing the thump, thump, thump of the apples any more, but when she finally went to get the coat out it had a shiny cast to it. She couldn't figure out what happened until she went to retrieve the apples only to find they weren't there. They had exploded and basically the coat's sheen was from baked on applesauce. We want our percentage for the dryer ball invention.

When I was in junior high, sanitary pads were attached to a belt. Not only was it awkward, I was sure everyone could see the outline of the belt through my pants. So I used safety pins and pinned it to my panties. Great idea until the pin opened up. Hmm, maybe the Post-it Note guy put my concept with his glue and came up with the adhesive sanitary products.

I haven't seen any royalty checks arrive at my door yet, so until then I won't quit my day job and keep on thinking of new ideas.