Monthly Archives: January 2023

Surviving a Job Loss

Posted in Business, Food/home improvement/business by

While a job loss has many ramifications, dealing with the range of emotions it causes-from anger to anxiety to depression can prove to be especially difficult. It is perfectly normal to experience these reactions, for being unemployed is inherently stressful and it can also involve a grief process.

There are four basic stages of this:

Shock-a disbelief that this has happened to you
Anger-a feeling that you have been wronged
Mourning-sadness over the loss of friends
Acceptance-the desire to get on with your life

  Stress isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It can, in fact, be a powerful motivator, but at too great a level it can get in the way of performance. It’s all a question of how you manage stress.

  Here are a few tips on how to deal with job stress:

1.    Keep a hopeful outlook. What are the good things in your life right now? (Good health, strong friendships, and your car and home are paid off). Listen to other people’s stories of how they emerged from this situation and not only survived, but in some cases, became more prosperous because of it.


2.    Recall the ways you have successfully handled past hardships and draw on these same skills to meet and overcome current challenges. You will become a much stronger person; To paraphrase an old saying, “What doesn’t break you, will make you”.


3.    Help yourself by helping others. Assist others in need by volunteering. When you are not going to work every day, your sense of being useful and helpful can suffer. You don’t have to do it full-time, but volunteer work will restore and maintain your self-esteem and self-concept. You may learn some useful new skills, you’ll look forward to getting out of the house, and most importantly, this will get you out of any depression (You’ll become so involved that you can look at your situation in a whole new way).


4.    Make connections. Don’t isolate yourself. Seek social support from your family, friends, and others. Spend time with those who offer genuine support and connection.


5.    Maintain a daily routine. Keep up a regular schedule, including household chores, job-search activities, and getting out of the house. This will also help stop any pending depression or just sitting around, feeling sorry for yourself.


6.    Take care of yourself. Make the time to properly exercise, eat, and rest. Schedule some time to do things you enjoy such as hobbies and social activities. You may feel the need to stay in survival mode when you’re job hunting, but this can lead to burnout. And besides, you still need some “down” time. Looking for a job IS a job and can be harder work than an ACTUAL job!
  
    Getting your finances in order is absolutely crucial now. One of the first things you should do is to see if you are eligible for unemployment compensation. If you are, sign up for them as soon as possible. I would also go over any savings you may have and figure out how much you can live on for as little as you can afford. Make sure you have enough for medical expenses and be very sure to keep paying for your rent or mortgage, heat, light, and food (You need these to survive). You will still need a telephone and a car (or public transportation) to find a job. If your money situation is extremely tight, make sure you pay for these first.

  If someone owes you money, ask for it. If you have a skill like baking, giving lessons or tutoring, decorating, or “babysitting” for pets or the elderly, put an ad in the newspaper or pass out homemade flyers advertising this to generate extra money. Sell off those items around the house that you no longer use that others need and will gladly pay for.

  Stop using your credit cards for now and start paying with cash. Create a weekly menu for all your meals. Start clipping and using discount coupons. Buy those store brands! (Did you know that we spend 14 percent of our total income on food? And almost half that amount is spent in restaurants, snack bars, vending machines, and fast-food places.) Eat at home or bring a brown bag lunch; it’s more nutritious and only a fifth the cost.

  Stay away from the malls. If you absolutely MUST go, bring a list of the things you truly need, with only enough cash to buy what’s on your list.

  Did you know that we often can spend more than $100 a month just on entertainment; movies, video rentals, cable television, hobbies, and other recreation?  Trim the entertainment.

  And don’t forget to turn off the lights and television when you’re not using them. Close the door. Put a full load in the washer and dryer. Set the thermostat to 68 degrees and put on a sweater. Use a fan (instead of air conditioning) when it’s hot. These simple actions will save you from higher utility bills, which you don’t need right now.

Sometimes a job loss can often turn out to be a greater opportunity than if you had continued with the company. By doing the abovementioned tips, you may find yourself being offered a better position or end up starting your own business.

Your Astrological Home Decor and Cleaning/Organizing Style-Part 2

Posted in Food/home improvement/business, Home Improvement/Interior Design by

Libra (Sept. 22-Oct. 22)-“Should I clean up this mess or not?” is your philosophy. While you don’t mind tidying up after a sports event or birthday party, you don’t like doing regular tasks, like cleaning up and organizing clutter. So you’ll tend to put it off. What you can do is listen to music on a headset or talk on the phone as you’re working to make the time fly by.

Your home has a simple, yet elegant design-straightforward with architecturally attractive lines. You enjoy having a yard or garden to balance or complement the home.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22)-You focus on what can be seen (believing that at least 80% of an orderly appearance can be done with just 20% of effort). You can deal with some very quick dusting, but you don’t want to handle a pile of clutter.

There’s a visual, unique element in your home’s architecture, placement, or interior design-or in all of these.

Color schemes can vary widely with you, but you lean primarily toward deep hues, blues, and dark reds. Metals, wood, and leather are also prominent in your dwelling.

Sagittarius (Nov.23-Dec.20)-You love having as many people as possible helping you! But you don’t like to be tied down to a schedule; you’ll work the cleaning up and clutter busting around your personal time. Your home may display red tints and purple shades in bold patterns or solids, with soft gray tones as the background.

Capricorn (Dec. 21-Jan. 19)-You don’t mind occasional cleaning help, as long as they do what you say (to you, there’s your way-and there’s the wrong way. Period!) The bottom line is, you don’t like a messy place.

Your ideal home décor is efficient and understated with simple and traditional designs. Your colors lean toward muted gold, silver, and dark blues ranging to almost black, and tan.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)-You’re totally into “green” (environmental products and living). And you always help others to keep their clutter under control. You’re also neat (for the most part). You’re all about recycling.

You may either redecorate an older home in a very unique way or buy a brand-new house with a standout architectural design.

Your home décor colors include deep shades of purple, blue or green. You tend to create your own blend of traditional and modern decor.

Pisces (Feb.19-Mar. 20)-Any cleaning up that involves bleach, suds, or bubbles and/or brushes, you’re so there, but first you have to feel like cleaning. And you don’t like to fuss over it either. You’re drawn to soft-lined, fairly ornate architecture and décor. Rich earth colors, darkening to black and light green, blue, and rose shades please you.

https://anchor.fm/pat-jacobs/subscribe

Your Astrological Home Decor and Cleaning/Organizing Style-Part 1

Posted in Food/home improvement/business, Home Improvement/Interior Design by

Aries (Mar. 21-April 20) A fast ‘run-through’ suits you just fine (you don’t clean every nook and cranny, and don’t want to). You don’t want to spend an entire weekend, days, or even hours cleaning. Clutter buster products are right up your alley!

The fiery aspects of Aries will most definitely come through in your home décor; the most unconventional furnishings are often found in the home or apartment, complete with flamboyant red tones. Yet you’ll also often have a ‘quiet room’ done in soothing blues or other soft colors, reflecting an inner self few people see. Many will often decorate totally in soft hues or shades.

Taurus (April 21-May 20)-You don’t mind cleaning up at all, but you’d rather not pick up after grown folks or people who are physically capable. Organizing the closet clutter isn’t a daunting task; it’s a good workout session!

You like traditional styles in furniture and subtle combinations (you’re drawn to greens and soft metallic hues). Many of you love antiques; your home often has beautiful objects that are both functional and decorative. Both males and females have a flair for interior decorating!

Gemini (May 21-June 20)-” If nobody sees the clutter, is it really clutter then?” That’s the mindset and motto you live by. You will clean up when it’s really needed (like when you run out of clean items!), but you’d rather not.

You have eclectic tastes in your home décor. You like bright, open rooms with lots of sun, big windows (looking out over traffic!) and clear yellows, whites and reds. Balance these colors with blues and pastels for calming nerves.

Cancer (June 21-July 20)-You don’t mind cleaning or organizing clutter if it has anything to do with the kitchen. If it’s centered near the oven, you’re a happy camper!

You’re very picky about your home décor, and will often completely remodel a home to be “just right”. You like silver, white, black and watery shades. And you like having everything in a precise, highly organized manner.

Leo (July 21-Aug. 21)-Cleaning up and organizing clutter should be done quickly, so the pain doesn’t linger! (But you’ll do it when you know someone else will also benefit; and if you can play some music and dance while you‘re cleaning!) If no one’s looking, you’d rather not worry about the mess.

Your home décor tastes lean to modern (even avant-garde) and deep shades of all colors. Even when sharing a home, your “spot” will always be known by your particular style.

Virgo (Aug. 22-Sept. 21)-You either live to clean up and organize clutter, or are a total slob! If it’s the former, you’re a master at this; teach others your clutter-buster techniques.

Your home is usually in the best of taste, with warm, understated earth tones accented with yellows and greens.

Assorted Kitchen Hacks

Posted in American food, Food/home improvement/business by

Cleaning

Wash hands before and during cooking (especially after touching raw meat and poultry). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommends at least 20 seconds to sing “Happy Birthday.”

After Kneading Sticky Dough:

  1. Standing over the sink, “wash” your hands with a handful of flour or cornmeal instead of soap and water.
  2. Rinse your hands with cold water (hot water causes the dough starches to gelatinize; more scrubbing!

Working with strong-smelling ingredients like onions, garlic, or fish has many cooks reaching for the standard lemon juice to wash away any lingering odors from their hands. But sometimes the smell’s more potent than the lemon. Try handwashing with a couple of tablespoons of mouthwash (any brand) instead.

For chemical-free and safer kitchen countertop cleaning, use a spray bottle filled with equal parts white vinegar and water.

Save those plastic shopping produce bags and use them to clean up kitchen scraps. You can spread a bag on the counter next to your cutting board or in one half of the sink and sweep the scraps onto as you prep. When you’re done just gather up the bag and throw it away. These plastic bags can also be used to throw away garbage in general.

You don’t need to rinse raw meat and poultry (it’s more likely to spread contaminants around the sink and possibly on any nearby food).

Ever try to open a new bag of flour without the cloud of white dust that pops up and goes down on the counter? To remedy this, try slapping the top of the bag a few times before opening it to settle the flour so that it stays inside.

To prevent splashes when pouring tomato sauce, soup, or stew from a pot or pan into a storage container, place the backside of a large wooden or metal spoon under the pouring streams to deflect the liquid into the container.

Forgot to cover a dish while microwaving? To clean out the splatters, just place a microwaveable bowl full of water in the oven and heat it on high for 10 minutes. The steam loosens dried food particles.

Organizing

An empty facial tissue box can store many bags and one at a time can be easily removed.

To loosen cakes or muffins from nonstick pans, use a plastic “takeout” knife (instead of a metal one that can scratch the nonstick surface).

Food Prep

To separate those packaged bacon strips:

  1. Roll the package lengthwise into a cylinder, then flatten it out again.
  2. Open the package and remove the desired number of strips, which are now less tightly packed.

Don’t have a vertical roaster? A 16-oz. beer can is a good substitute, but prefer a non-alcoholic one? Get your Bundt pan instead. Once the chicken’s been seasoned, slide it onto the center post of the pan, legs facing down, so the chicken stands upright.

The Basics

Stubborn jar lid? Get an old computer mouse pad. The rubber bottom creates a good grip.

A thin metal spoon is also a good option. Use the spoon as a lever and slide its tip between the lid and the jar-avoid the lid’s notches. Gently press down on the handle until the seal releases, or “burps.”

mise en place-Preparing and measuring the ingredients for a dish before you begin to cook. In other words, “food prep!”

Here’s a shortcut for cutting even slices of homemade bread for sandwiches: Let the loaf cool on its side on an oven rack. The rack’s bars will leave subtle vertical indentations that act as a template for evenly spaced slices.

When making the cross-hatch (is that what they call it?) on the tops of peanut butter cookies, most folks use a fork, which involves a two-step process. To cut the time in half, mark the cookies in one swipe with a perforated potato masher.

Mini muffin tins are usually fitted with a rim that is too tiny to hold with bulky oven mitts. Avoid this struggle by leaving one corner cup empty when you fill the tin. Now you have a place to insert your thumb, allowing you to remove the tin without getting burned or squishing any of the muffins.

Hold on to that jar of pickle juice after finishing the last pickle. You can add thin-sliced onions, bell pepper strips, diced or sliced tomatoes, or a combo to the juice, then marinate in the fridge for a few days. The new mixture can be used as a topping for hot dogs, burgers, or salads. Pickle juice can also be used for drinking “as is.”

The best way to keep a pound cake moist is to cut slices from the middle of the cake, not the end. The cake can then be sandwiched back together and wrapped in plastic wrap. With the cut sides insulated this way, the cake stays moist longer.

To add bacon flavor to anything without having to fry a slice of bacon every time you need it, save some leftover bacon drippings. You can pour the drippings into a bowl or container and refrigerate. Or once solid, the drippings can be scooped into teaspoon portions, and frozen (stored in a zipper-lock bag or something similar).

Source: “Cook’s Illustrated Kitchen Hacks: How Clever Cooks Get Things Done” by the editors of America’s Test Kitchen, 2015