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There is something that I realized when it comes to holiday food, it’s good. That said, where is the fiber!?

Meal after meal filling your tummy often before Thanksgiving rolls around and lasting until those leftovers finally leave your fridge deep into January. Also, for those of us with Holiday birthdays, add one more meal. Meats, cheeses, some fruits, rolls, pies, dessert, some veggies (albeit fatty-fied), and on and on. A lot of stuff that will sit in your stomach and gladly rest itself as some weight on some part of your body but not push anything through your system. Processed treats, meats, and sweets are going to be your worst chance of ingesting some fiber. So while you indulge and we near the end of this glutenous period, search out those whole grains. The last thing you want is a little bit of constipation to ruin your New Years Eve party.

Quick and easy sources of fiber:

-Whole grains (bran has the highest fiber content); this includes breads and cereals, whole-grain pastas, and brown rice
-Nuts and seeds
-Legumes (such as dried peas, beans, lentils)
-Fruits
-Vegetables
-A dietary supplement of fiber products such as Citrucel or Metamucil, which are mixed with water and provide about 4 to 6 grams of fiber in each 8-ounce glass

Tips from ehealthMD

You need a variety of fiber, so vary your intake.

I hope the holidays pass through easily!

You may have other issues to figure out this holiday season, but we all have one issue in common, gifts.

Tis’ the season of giving, but it often isn’t as simple as that.

It’s down to the wire. Christmas is right around the corner and you can’t figure out the perfect gift. Do you have to? There is a default option that has been around for a while, gift cards (or gift certificates). But isn’t it the cop-out gift? The gift you give someone if you don’t really know what to get them? Well, yes and no. You have to approach it right.

Frankly, the option is hip now. You can’t grant someone the individuality that our society rewards easily without a gift card. I often find myself more drawn to the design on a gift card than any gift I walk out of a store with. Plus, places like Starbucks are now allowing you to customize the look of the gift card itself. So has the plastic become personal? It always had the option to be but now people are capitalizing on it.

The one rule of giving the gift of store-specific cash is simple, keep it specific stupid. Turn the gift of supporting individualism into something special:

1) Think of where the money can be spent. Choosing which store can show that you understand their lifestyle and goals. A generic spend-it-anywhere-card sounds fun. But unless you actually don’t know the person, take time to show them that you do.

2) Focus the spending of the money towards what you would like them to spend it on. Print out a picture or remind them in a message of what this can go towards. Places like Amazon.com have thousands of choices, so help them towards your intended goal through a message alongside the card you send them. This is great especially if you waited too long to be able to select a particular gift to arrive on time.

3) Specialize the money giving through a nice message or a clever design/packaging. Starbucks wants to snag four bucks for this action but you can dig up your own creative bug. A new wallet with some cheap gift cards in it or a coupon to make a trip of it with them can be some cute ways of turning the impersonal into something thoughtful.

4) Care about what they spend it on. Follow up, take time to appreciate their decision in a item that you helped them get. This also is important for another reason, msnbc reports “10 percent of the value of all of the gift cards given this year will not be used, leaving about $8 billion unspent this year, while about half the adults surveyed about their holiday shopping patterns by Consumer Reports said they received gift cards last year, but 19 percent — about 23.3 million Americans — said they had not yet used them.”

Time is running out, so lace up your boots and strut your stuff at the mall. No time for the catwalk? Amazon.com will deliver gift cards/gift-e-cards by email, on time.

It’s too late for most online purchases and shipped packages to arrive on time. So think of that last person on your list and go get them/send them something special soon.

A classic that doesn’t bode well on sexual rights. Think twice the next time you hear that “it’s cold outside.”
The dash (-) represents the split of conversation in the song.

“Baby It’s Cold Outside” lyrics:

I really can’t stay - Baby it’s cold outside
I’ve got to go away - Baby it’s cold outside
This evening has been - Been hoping that you’d drop in
So very nice - I’ll hold your hands, they’re just like ice
My mother will start to worry - Beautiful, what’s your hurry
My father will be pacing the floor - Listen to the fireplace roar
So really I’d better scurry - Beautiful, please don’t hurry
well Maybe just a half a drink more - Put some music on while I pour

The neighbors might think - Baby, it’s bad out there
Say, what’s in this drink - No cabs to be had out there
I wish I knew how - Your eyes are like starlight now
To break this spell - I’ll take your hat, your hair looks swell
I ought to say no, no, no, sir - Mind if I move a little closer
At least I’m gonna say that I tried - What’s the sense in hurting my pride
I really can’t stay - Baby don’t hold out
Ahh, but it’s cold outside

C’mon baby

I simply must go - Baby, it’s cold outside
The answer is no - Ooh baby, it’s cold outside
This welcome has been - I’m lucky that you dropped in
So nice and warm — Look out the window at that storm
My sister will be suspicious - Man, your lips look so delicious
My brother will be there at the door - Waves upon a tropical shore
My maiden aunt’s mind is vicious - Gosh your lips look delicious
Well maybe just a half a drink more - Never such a blizzard before

I’ve got to go home - Oh, baby, you’ll freeze out there
Say, lend me your comb - It’s up to your knees out there
You’ve really been grand - Your eyes are like starlight now
But don’t you see - How can you do this thing to me
There’s bound to be talk tomorrow - Making my life long sorrow
At least there will be plenty implied - If you caught pneumonia and died
I really can’t stay - Get over that old out
Ahh, but it’s cold outside

Baby it’s cold outside

Brr its cold….
It’s cold out there
Cant you stay awhile longer baby
Well…..I really shouldn’t…alright

Make it worth your while baby
Ahh, do that again….

(see: video in a previous entry)

From the same show:

Aimee Mann/Grant-Lee Phillips- You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch
Aimee Mann/Paul F. Tompkins-Baby, It’s Cold Outside

It was a birthday gift and I loved it. If you enjoy a mellow almost “non-Christmas” type of celebration, then this is for you. You missed the Ann Arbor, MI performance, but her others can be found here. The classic lyrics and volume of Aimee Mann have brought songs such as “One,” where it can indeed be the loneliest number. Not a song she sang at the show but the majority of the songs, were not of the Christmas type. They were about the humble tone that Christmas, and the holidays, can often bring. High on quirky guest performances and a not quite polished variety show, Aimee Mann and friends shine. I laughed hard, loved the culties, newbies, and felt satisfied realizing that you can be and feel big even in a time when tradition can bring upon so much change.

So, get ready for the new year. Things are going to be crazy all over again.

Good luck shopping!

What is different this year come the holidays? (see: The weather outside is frightful…)

and the new tree we got over the weekend is so delightful and ominous. And since there’s no place to go, let it precipitate, let it precipitate, let it precipitate.

Snow fell and then rain slushified it, much like Michigan should, except this year it’s not exciting me as much as it normally does. I’ll admit that it looked nice on Ypsilanti’s streets as it seemed to give them reason to be empty. Yet, this year feels extremely different. Christmas music playing on the radio before Thanksgiving isn’t new but it is a constant reminder that something is new. This will be my first independent Christmas, the first time that my celebration will be divided between families and our own. The songs seem to hit a note that doesn’t convey cheer this year, but possibly fear.

I’ve been alone for the holiday season before, namely when I was on study abroad. Even then, because China didn’t celebrate it, we created our own version (thanks to goods sent from home) but could mostly ignored it. It was easy to because there wasn’t any type of build up surrounding me. Otherwise, I’ve been home for the holidays. We missed family Thanksgiving celebration this year because we were in China, a necessary holiday build-up. Now I sit looking at our beautiful new tree, decorated and purchased ourselves. Of course we will travel to our respective families’ houses for the festivities.

Each Christmas song is a reminder of my independence. Instead of being frustrated and depressed at my family’s home, I’m happily away. Yet, more than ever, this is the season in which I want to feel dependent on my old residence.

In what ways are you struggling with independence? Wasn’t the dream of independence a sweeter goal when it was proving something to your parents?