Instructions:
With a hand mixer, blend softened sherbet and soda in a big punch bowl. Serve immediately or chill in the fridge until party time.

Working at a computer for eight or more hours a day can wreck havoc on your eyes. You’re staring at a screen which may or may not be at the proper height, there may be glare all over the screen, and you may simply spend too much time working without taking breaks. All of these, and more, will cause your eyes to become stressed. Use one or more of these exercises to relieve stressed eyes.

1. Palming will teach you to relax the muscles around your eyes. Begin by warming your hands up by rubbing them together. Then cup your warm hands over your closed eyes, with fingertips touching the middle of your forehead, but don’t touch your eyelids. Sit with your hands over your eyes for a couple of minutes. The darkness you “see” with your eyes closed will become darker.

2. Near-far focus is an exercise where you increase the flexibility of your eyes. Begin by holding your thumb about six inches in front of you, level with your nose. Focus on your thumb for a moment and then take in a deep breath. Exhale slowly and move your focus to something about 10 feet away. Take another breath, exhale, and then re-focus on your thumb. Repeat this 15 times for the most benefit.

3. Hydrotherapy can do wonders to relieve stress in the eyes. Place two bowls of water on the table. One will be hot, but not hot enough to burn you. The other will be ice cold. Put a washcloth in each and wring them out. Place the hot cloth against your closed eyes for 30 seconds, and then replace it with the cold one for 30 seconds. Alternate every 30 seconds for about two minutes. Using a dry towel, gently massage your closed eyes to finish.

4. Head rolls can reduce stress in the neck, which can also affect your eyes. Take a deep breath and then gently close your eyes. As you exhale, drop your chin to your chest. Resist the temptation to force this, simply and slowly move the head forward. You should feel the muscles stretch in your neck, but be sure to keep your shoulders and neck relaxed.

Inhale deeply and slowly roll your head to one shoulder and then back to center. Exhale and move your head to the opposite side. Repeat this two or three times on each side ensuring you move slowly and carefully, and keep your shoulders and neck as relaxed as possible.

There are many things which can cause stress in the eyes, but working at a computer or other video display terminal is often the culprit. Begin using these exercises to relieve stressed eyes. Your eyes will thank you.

Let’s face it, spring cleaning isn’t a one-person job. If you share a house with family members, you want them to pitch in, too. Using these tips to get everyone involved, this may be your chance to get your house cleaned up.

* Make a plan. Start by deciding when your family will do spring cleaning. This will give everyone fair warning to clear their calendar for the time you’ll be busy and let them know you expect them to help. How quickly everyone can do other activities will depend upon how quickly everyone works.

* Decide how much spring cleaning needs to be done. This may mean going through each room in your house and making a list of everything you think needs attention. Post the list of items to be done and the person responsible for each one, on a wall in the room. Create instructions of how each task is to be completed and a place to mark off each one as it’s done.

* Divide the chores up into activities which are in line with their abilities. There’s no sense in asking a 4-year-old to move furniture, but they can wash baseboards which are at their level. Plan for smaller children to work in 20 to 30 minute intervals; older children can work for longer periods of time.

* Put together a cleaning kit for each room. This will ensure there’s no dilly-dallying because someone can’t find cleansers, rags, or towels which are needed. This also means everything that’s needed will be where it’s needed, which could make the process that much quicker.

* Have all of your organizing supplies available. If you know you’ll be putting up most of the winter clothes for the season, have plastic totes, boxes, or other storage containers ready.

* Sort and purge as you go along. Set aside particular boxes or areas in your home to place items which are no longer used, wanted, or needed. Box them up and put the boxes into the car so you can take them to a location which accepts charity.

* Make it fun. Even though cleaning is not a favorite activity, it has to be done. Play favorite music to give people energy while they’re working. Instead of using spray bottles to clean with, use squirt guns to clean windows. Not only will the children have fun, but they may not mind helping you clean so much after all. The less like work you can make the process for the children (and some adults) in the family, the more likely they’ll be willing to help.

Get everyone started on cleaning day with a healthy, hearty breakfast. You’ll know the family is well-fed and should have the required energy to accomplish the day’s tasks. However, you may also want to plan breaks with snacks throughout the day to replenish their energy.

When you’re wondering how to get the whole family involved in spring cleaning the house, you may want to use some of the ideas above. Will these ideas guarantee your family will help with a good attitude? No. However, it may make the process easier and the job less painful for all.

If you’ve been in Chicago around March 17, you may have seen the Chicago River dyed green. You know you’ll see people in that springtime color, as well. When it comes to St. Patrick’s Day dessert ideas, do they all have to be green, too?

Actually, there is more to St. Patrick’s Day than the color green, although you may not be able to tell it from a cursory look around you. Since people expect to see rainbows during the holiday, because of the leprechaun’s pot o’ gold at the end of the rainbow, you can use any color for desserts. These ideas of St. Patrick’s Day desserts may help you find desserts everyone will love without fear of their teeth turning green!

Cupcakes are normally a hit for dessert. Make regular cupcakes but add some St. Patrick’s Day fun. Stir in candy shamrocks and bake. Frost with orange or yellow frosting. You can also make shamrock-shaped cupcakes by placing small balls of aluminum foil between the side of the baking dish and baking cup before pouring batter into the cup. When the cupcakes are finished, they will come out with the shape of a shamrock if you placed the aluminum balls correctly.

Nearly everyone loves home-made cookies. Find cookie cutters in the shape of shamrocks, leprechaun hats, pots of gold, Celtic crosses, or any other Irish icon. Let the children join the fun making the cookies and then decorating them. You can also make cookies and then fill them with green icing.

Adults often have a sweet tooth, too, so why not try this Toffee Shortbread cookie bar? You’ll need the following ingredients for the shortbread:

* 3/4 cup softened butter
* 3/4 cup sugar
* 2 cups all-purpose flour

For the toffee, you’ll need:

* 1/2 cup butter
* 1/2 cup brown sugar
* 1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
* 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the topping, you’ll need the following:

* 1 6-ounce bag of chocolate chips
* Chopped nuts (optional)

Begin with the shortbread by preheating the oven to 350 degrees. Cream together the butter and sugar in a bowl. Stir in the flour until it is mixed well and then press that into a 9-inch square pan. Bake this for 25-30 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Allow the cookie to cool.

For the toffee, melt the butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the remaining ingredients except vanilla and bring this to a boil. Continue cooking this for 5 minutes, stirring constantly, to ensure the mixture doesn’t burn. Remove from the heat and then add the vanilla. Pour the toffee mixture over the cookie which is still in the pan. Allow this to cool completely.

The topping is made by melting the chocolate chips in the microwave or in a double boiler. Stir the chocolate until smooth, then add chopped nuts if desired, and pour it over the cooled toffee and cookie.

These are but a few St. Patrick’s Day dessert ideas you can choose from. If your family enjoys a particular dessert but you don’t consider it Irish enough, add green food coloring and it’ll work just fine!

Ingredients:
1 lb spaghetti
2 cups spinach
1 cup vegetable broth
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup butter
½ cup milk

Instructions:
Cook the spaghetti according to package instructions.

In the meantime, steam the spinach briefly until just wilted. In a small pan, heat the vegetable broth. Transfer spinach and broth into a blender. Add milk and Parmesan cheese and blend thoroughly until smooth.

Place the cooked spaghetti in a big serving dish and toss with the butter. Add the spinach sauce and combine.

Serve immediately!

* Think ergonomics. Set your computer up to avoid straining your arms, back, and eyes. Adjust the chair so you’re not reaching up to the keyboard but have your elbows about level with it. Using these methods, you’ll strain less.

* Think comfort. Use a computer chair that is well-padded but also has good back support. Your chair should be comfortable enough that you don’t mind sitting in it for hours at a time while working. If you can, get padded arm rests to aid with comfort.

* Think lighting. Place and adjust the monitor so you don’t have glare from surrounding lights. You can also use a light over the right corner of the monitor which illuminates your desk top. This will help you see any text on documents you’re reading.

* Think posture. Sitting up straight in your chair, rather than slouching, will help you maintain proper posture. This will also reduce the amount of strain you feel in your back. If your back gets tired from sitting up, get up and take a break. Walk around and you’ll feel refreshed as well as ready to return to work.

* Think sleep. Your body heals itself while you’re sleeping. If you don’t get the sleep you need, your body won’t heal itself. This is particularly important if you are under stress either at home or at work.

* Think exercise. If you take care of your body, your body will take care of you. Getting regular exercise will enable you to build strong muscles which greatly affect your general well-being and can reduce computer strain injuries. It is also helpful to take time to stretch when you’ve worked for quite a while.

* Think doctors. Don’t let computer stress injuries go untreated. If you notice a problem with your fingers or hand going numb after long hours of typing, you may be developing a strain injury. Let your doctor know of any symptoms you may be experiencing so they can keep track of any progression in symptoms and pain. Then they will be able to treat you appropriately.

Use some of these ideas of how to avoid computer strain injuries. When you do, you’ll be able to work smarter. You also won’t have to be concerned about stressing your body while working. In the end, you can work without fear of injury, and avoid costly medical bills as well.

So many people use email these days. It is for this reason the Postal Service claims they’re struggling and will have to make changes to the services they offer. When anyone uses email, they’ll want to understand that tone can come across differently than it may have been meant. This is especially important for children to understand. The potential for misunderstanding is something to consider. Here are some useful tips to help avoid this problem.

1. Ensure your child is sending the message to the person they intended to sent it to. This is a problem for adults, so it’s easy to understand how a child might send an email to the wrong person. How do you keep this from happening? Confirm the spelling of the contact person or address, make certain they save email addresses when they receive a message, and check the screen name to verify it’s the right person.

2. Update email addresses from time to time. There are occasions where people will change their internet provider so their email address may change. If an address is changed, be careful to change it in your address book.

3. Instruct your children to avoid sending spam or junk email. Some jokes, urban legends, or chain letters have been making their way around the World Wide Web for years. There’s no reason to keep them moving along. Teach your child that if they’re sending an email, it should have information they would tell someone in person. If they wouldn’t share it face-to-face, they probably don’t want to send it through email.

4. Explain the importance of not sending attachments. If there is something your child would like to forward to a friend as an attachment, they would do well to send an email first asking if it would be alright to send. They can also use the text of the document to include the photo, or cut and paste a document. If they must send an attachment, suggest they name the document something specific rather than ‘document.’

5. If your child is writing on forums or social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, help your child realize the wisdom of keeping religious, political, or racial opinions to themselves. This is important particularly when there could be people from other cultures participating.

6. Help your child understand that whatever is said on the internet can be there for the whole world to see. If they would be embarrassed for something to be repeated at school, they probably don’t want to broadcast it all over the internet.

7. Expect your child to apologize immediately if they have said something inappropriate or insensitive. This will ease any problems that may have been caused. The same holds true if someone has hurt them; ask your child to politely explain why they were hurt by what was said. Most people will apologize and make things right.

When thinking about how to teach children internet etiquette, you want to remember that the way they intend something isn’t necessarily the way someone reads it. If they follow the tips given above, they are more likely to avoid problems and enjoy their experience online.

Ingredients:
4 cups cooked, cubed chicken breast meat
1 cup onion, chopped
2/3 cup mushrooms, sliced
1 ½ cups carrots, chopped
6 cups chicken stock
1 tsp dried sage
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp garlic salt
1 (10 ounce) package frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
3 cups cooked red potatoes, diced
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1/8 cup all-purpose flour
Handful of fresh parsley, chopped

Instructions:
In a frying pan, sauté chopped onion until soft and translucent.

In a large saucepan combine chicken, mushrooms, sautéed onion, carrots and chicken stock. Over medium heat, simmer for about 10 minutes or until the carrots are cooked.

Add the herbs, garlic salt and mixed vegetables, potatoes and celery and cook for a further few minutes until heated through. Stir in the flour und heat for a minute until sauce begins to thicken. Sprinkle with fresh parsley and serve immediately.

I was born and raised in Michigan and then I moved to Alaska for a long time, only to move back to Michigan. So, yes, anyone who would do that must like the snow and cold.

I don’t mind shoveling. I just look at it as time to listen to my iPod. I do NOT like driving in snow, though.

The snow is very magical in December… Now that we are smack dab in the middle of February, the snow is getting a bit mundane.  I’ve been there and done that.

But I’m trying to live “in the moment” and enjoy the winter weather while it’s here. After all, making hot chocolate seems pretty silly in July….

And speaking of that, here’s my recipe for homemade hot chocolate

Crissy’s Special Homemade Hot Chocolate Recipe (I always put “Crissy’s Special” in front of everything I make…)

• Take the mug you are going to be drinking from and fill it with whole milk, then pour that milk into a pan
• Turn your stove onto a medium low heat
• Throw a dash of cinnamon and vanilla, a few pinches of brown sugar (or more to taste) and a squirt of honey into the milk
• Break up half of a large dark chocolate bar (the size found in the baking aisle) and put it into the milk, stirring constantly until chocolate is melted

Notes: You can use skim milk if you want, but using whole milk will taste better and give your hot chocolate a creamier texture. If possible, I recommend using Green and Black’s chocolate. It is a bit more expensive, but the recipe turns out much better when you use it (I grab it when it goes on sale). If that’s not an option, you can use Ghirardelli or another brand.

Now you know how to make homemade hot chocolate!

Many women, whether working outside of the home or inside of it, have a tendency to put everyone else above themselves. They give and give until they burn out. Well Sister, it’s time about time you took care of yourself! Why not try some of these frugal day spa ideas you can do right in the comfort of your own home?

* Set aside some time where you can be by yourself. Send the children off to grandma and grandpas or get a babysitter. Turn the telephone and cell phone off. Don’t turn on the television; in fact the only thing electronic you might want going is soothing music playing in the background.

* Place scented candles around your bathroom to create a relaxing ambiance. If you have bubble bath, bath salts, or essential oil in the same fragrance, that would be even better. You would be surrounded by a scent you love.

* While you’re soaking in the bathtub, use a facial mask which you can make from items found in your kitchen. Mix together 2 tablespoons of ground oatmeal, 2 tablespoons plain yogurt, and 5 drops liquid honey in a bowl. Apply to your face and allow it to sit for at least 10 minutes. Finish off by rinsing with warm water followed by a moisturizer.

* Give yourself a manicure and pedicure while your finger and toe nails are pliable. Rub moisturizer into your cuticles and trim them. When you’re ready to exit the tub, don’t forget to slather peppermint food cream on your feet. They’ll feel energized and smell great!

What are some other things you can do while you’re treating yourself to a frugal spa day at home? You can also take time to stretch or exercise which will invigorate your mind and give you energy to spare. Meditating can also be relaxing and rejuvenating.

Spend a little bit of your spa day journaling. Nothing makes us feel better about our lives than thinking about the good things. What are you thankful for? Who makes your day brighter by being in it? Think about things and people who make you smile.

Use any of these tips to create a professional spa atmosphere to help you relax. Taking time regularly is important, not only for physical reasons but also for peace of mind. You deserve to take time out for yourself, so what are you waiting for?