Tricia's Musings

Random Thoughts about life in general, living in the big city of Toronto



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Holiday Cheer: Fun Ways to Spread that Holiday Cheer Around Your Neighborhood

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The holidays are supposed to be filled with fun and cheer, and a great way to ensure that everyone in your neighborhood is enjoying the holiday spirit, you need to make sure that you are spreading holiday cheer, and the following are fun ways to do so.

Pass out homemade cookies.

Spend a day whipping up some of your favorite holiday cookies, then put them on a nice holiday plate (but one you don’t want to get back) and start leaving them on the doorsteps of your neighbors (with a nice note of course). You’ll also want to be sure that you drop some off at local businesses, especially your police and fire stations, as this will surely get more people in the holiday mood.

Have a holiday party.

Get all of your neighbors together and invite them over for a fun holiday soiree. They’ll be super excited to enjoy each other’s company, and it can help put any Scrooges into a festive mood. Plus, this gives you a chance to see everyone now that it’s colder out and not much time is being spent outside.

Go caroling.

Grab a group of friends who are willing to sing in public and go door to door belting out your favorite holiday tunes. You may get a door or two slammed in your face, but you will also come across people who think that your caroling is truly amazing, and they will feel a sense of holiday cheer just because of you.

Donate.

The holidays are about giving, and it’s very important to use this time to teach others about the importance of giving. Make sure that you always have change on you so that you can donate it to the red buckets and any other charity that is out there. You should also use this time to go through your home and your closets to find old clothes, shoes, appliances and toys that you no longer need and donate them to a charity to help those in need. If you do this with your family, it’s a great way to teach children about the importance of giving.

Decorate your house.

You may not be Clark Griswold, but you can still put up some pretty decorations and bring cheer to those in your neighborhood. Spend a day putting lights up all over your house, both inside and out. Your decorations may just inspire one of your neighbors to do the same, and you may end up with a block of neighbors with decorated houses.

Volunteer.

There are plenty of charities and non profit organizations that are in need of volunteers, such as homeless shelters, and this is a great way to spread cheer. Not only will they be thankful at your generosity, but you will also feel better about yourself. Plus, you may inspire others to volunteer too, and this can spread more cheer around the neighborhood.

Caroline Jones is a freelance writer.  She enjoys writing about exciting family activities and recently wrote about fun gifts and activities for the holiday season.





Top Things That Will Make Your 21st Live Up to the Hype

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From an individual standpoint, birthdays are the biggest and most special celebrations we have each year. While Christmas is a big day, this is a day we share with everyone else and that has little personal residence, whereas a birthday is a day that’s entirely devoted to us and that ensures we get all of that attention.

While birthdays are very special and a great excuse to celebrate with friends/ receive lots of lavish gifts though, some birthdays are even more special than others – and the 21st birthday is perhaps the most important of them all marking the point at which you truly become an adult and start living your life.

This is your big day, and it’s a big day that you will only get once in your life, and as such you’ve probably been building it up in your mind rather. Making the most of it then so that you aren’t let down and so that you don’t squander the opportunity is very important . Here are some ways to ensure your 21st is everything it’s meant to be.

Have a Huge Party

The best and most effective way to mark this special occasion is with a huge blowout that you can enjoy with all your friends and family that tops every other birthday party you’ve had up until this point. Some other things can add an edge to your 21st party too – for instance this is a great opportunity to hire a limousine, and you should order some good champagne too. And of course your parents should be willing to help you fund all this…

Make sure you make an extensive guest list, make sure that everyone is in great spirits, organize some games, find a good DJ, and make sure you look at the very best 21st birthday venues that will be big enough to house all the chaos.

Do Something Exciting

To mark your 21st birthday you should look at doing something unique and exciting that you wouldn’t normally. This doesn’t necessarily have to be on the day, as you should aim to make the whole year ‘big’ rather than just that one day, but it does need to be big enough to last in your memory whether that means going bungee jumping or going on an amazing holiday. Chances are that most of your friends will turn 21 this year too, so why don’t you all go somewhere amazing together?

Ask for Something Special

For your 21st birthday party people are likely going to be willing to spend a little more money on you than they normally might. You should make the most of this by asking for meaningful gifts that will stand the test of time rather than things you ‘need’ or impersonal gadgets. This might mean for instance asking for a nice watch, a nice piece of jewellery, keys to the house (though in this day and age you probably got your first set when you were four), a photo album or your first car/money toward it. This way you’ll have something that really marks your transition into adulthood and that will remind you of your big day for years to come.

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Henry Washington is one of the most reputed and highly sought after party planner. He also owns a blogging site where he post tips, advice and ideas for arranging an entertaining party.

What Not To Eat During The Holidays

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The holidays are all about family, friends and food. Whether you prefer the appetizers, main course or desserts, there are plenty of temptations to go around during holiday parties. Rather than avoiding certain dishes that you think are bad, here are some of the worst holiday food offenders and why you should stay away from them.

Eggnog

Before you add any liquor, eggnog is still one of the worst holiday drinks you can consume. With the primary ingredients consisting of milk, cream and eggs, it’s no wonder this holiday drink can help add on some serious pounds. Instead of drinking eggnog, look for the traditional hot chocolate. With about one third of the calories, hot chocolate is definitely the better option if you’re looking for a hot winter drink.

Crab cakes

Appetizers can be found all months of the year, but you’re the most vulnerable to consuming more than you should during the winter months. Crab cakes are one of those appetizers that are difficult to resist, regardless of the season. In the case of the crab cake, you’ll find imitation crab meat bound in mayo, rolled in breadcrumbs and dropped into a pot of boiling fat. This results in a fatty ball of calories that equals more than three dozen shrimp. That’s right, more than 36 shrimp. With that said, you might want to swap out those crab cakes for some shrimp cocktail. With fewer calories, you can eat more of them and be more satisfied.

Cocktails

You can’t get through the holidays without having a few nights where you overdo it with the holiday cocktails. Truth be told, some cocktails you can get away with drinking if they’re diet or low in sugar. The classic gin and tonic, however, is not an exception. Tonic water actually contains more than 20 grams of sugar per eight ounce serving, which puts it on the same level as any other lemon-lime soda. If you’re still looking for the bubbles and alcohol content, drink some champagne. It contains one fourth of the sugar and it makes you look way classier.

Beers

Not into liquor? That’s fine, because holiday parties are stocked with beer as well. The problem with beers in the winter is that they’re generally darker brews and heavier, such as porters. While these beers might warm you up, they’ll also make you heavier. When you can, opt for the lighter beer. It generally has fewer calories and still tastes great.

Meat

It’s finally time for the entree and you have your choice of chicken, turkey, or beef. Which one are you going to choose? Maybe if you knew that prime rib packed up to 750 calories, your decision would be a little bit easier. That’s right, the prime rib that you’ve loved for years comes from one of the fattiest parts of the cow. If beef is what you want, opt for the beef tenderloin. It will save you at least 50 to 100 calories and is just as tasty as the prime rib.

Dessert

Ahh, the desserts of the holidays. Impossible to avoid and too good to resist. Holiday pies dominate most dessert tables, and it’s for good reason. They’re full of sugar and fat with just a touch of butter and fruit. While there are a lot of bad pies, the worst one you can consume would have to be the pecan pie. Sticky with corn syrup and sugar, the pecan pie is the worst offender on the dessert table for sure. If you still want dessert but would prefer to avoid the pecan pie, look for the chocolate fondue or angel food cake. Either of these options are much better for you and you’ll save tons of calories swapping out for them.

The holidays are among the worst times of the year to be dieting, especially because there’s always the temptation of amazing food that you really don’t have the opportunity to eat at any other time throughout the year. Instead of giving up everything you love, if you just make some very basic changes to your diet and swap one thing out for another, you’ll be able to focus less on what you’re eating and more on the people you’re spending your holidays with.

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Ann Michaels is a freelance writer who loves the holidays. When she’s not busy putting up her outdoor nativity scenes with her children, she enjoys cooking and baking for family and friends who come up every winter to spend the holidays with her family.

The Secret of Throwing a Great Dinner Party

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Cooking Housewife -- Lisa's Dinner party 7-30-09 3

We’ve all seen shows like “Come Dine with Me”, and we all like the idea of holding court in our own homes and entertaining all our guests. But it’s one thing to cook a meal for yourself or your family, and another to cook for a room full of people.

Once you up the numbers there are a lot of new issues you need to consider. Fortunately, with these simple tips you make the whole evening run much more smoothly.

Plan Ahead

The last thing you want to happen on the night is for your guests to turn up, expecting to be fed and entertained, just as you’re beginning to chop the vegetables.  Work out in advance what you’re going to cook, and which ingredients you can prepare the previous day. On the day of the dinner, prepare a salad in the morning and have it waiting, ready, in the fridge. Ideally when it comes to the actual cooking you should have all your ingredients ready to be thrown together and stuck in the oven.

Make Your Meals Scalable

Often you don’t know who’s actually going to turn up to dinner until the last minute, you never know who’s going to drop out and who’s going to turn up at the last minute. For this reason it’s a good idea to make meals that can be easily adjusted just by adding more or less ingredients. Chillies  curries, pasta dishes, there are all sorts of dishes that can be scaled up or down as you need them. And making a pasta dish for 10 people is about the same amount of work as making the same dish for four people.

Write Your Plan Down

Having things written down helps. When you’re preparing a dinner party for a lot of people the fact is that often you’ll have six things happening at the same time and you’re in charge of sorting all of them. It’s easy to get lost. It’s a good idea to have everything that needs doing, and when it needs doing, written down before you start. Yes, life is what happens while you’re making other plans and not everything is going to happen exactly how you envision it, but having everything written down will at least give you an idea of what should be happening.

Booze and Nibbles: A Host’s Best Friend

A soon as your guests arrive start plying them with wine and easy to prepare starters such as carrot sticks, nachos and dips or crackers and cheese. This is a great way to stop everyone from getting too hungry before the main course is served, or bored while they wait for it, and having a bit of booze flowing is a great way to break the ice.

Don’t Do It Alone

I know, I’m the same as well. When it comes to cooking my inner dictator comes out and everyone has to do exactly what I say or get out of the way, and when people do exactly what I say they’re probably doing it wrong.

But the fact is when you’re preparing a large meal, as much as you might want to, you can’t do everything yourself. Get flatmates or family members to help preparing ingredients or side dishes, or simply keeping the guests occupied and the booze flowing.

If you live alone, then go to stage two and start exploiting your friends. If they’re here they’ll probably be happy to muck in with some of the small jobs like setting (or possibly clearing) the table. You can always reward them with more of that booze.

This is Not the Time to Experiment

Yes, we all like trying new things out in the kitchen. But the time to do this is for a flatmate or loved one who knows your cooking well and isn’t afraid to tell you when your food looks and tastes, well, horrible.

If you’re cooking for a large group of people, you want to bring your tried and tested favourite healthy recipes. Something where you know exactly how the dish is going to turn out, how long it will take you, and what unwelcome surprises can happen during cooking. Experiment at your peril.

Chris Farnell is a freelance writer who also puts on a great spread when required.

Glad this busy Saturday is over!

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I’m coming to the end of yet another thoroughly busy day. I started out this morning by doing a little bit of house cleaning. Actually, it was more than a little bit of house cleaning as I was tackling the basement which I like to call our storage area.

I think it’s just about time for us to have a yard sale. Unfortunately I don’t think our yard is big enough! We have a lot of stuff we could get rid of, and believe me, I wouldn’t miss any of it.

I have a few boxes in the basement that I really haven’t unpacked from when we moved from our apartment ten years ago! I even found items that I used to use when I was a jeweler, I hung on to some of the tools because some of them could be used in the house, but items like my jewelery scale that I used for weighing gold that only weighed up to 300 grams or my old micrometers for measuring pieces of gold or metal, and of course my old ring sizing mandrel – what would I need any of those things for now? My sister is still in the jewelery trade I suppose I can give her some of my tools if she wants them and then sell the rest. Who can’t use extra money?

We also store extra or spare furniture in the basement. I was going to refinish a few of the pieces, but I don’t think I’m going to use them now so I’d be perfectly happy to let them go in a yard sale.

The basement is a big job so I only put the morning into it for now, then in the afternoon I went out shopping with my husband. We were about to go to the Toronto Humane Society to look at dogs that are up for adoption when we were done shopping but it was too late in the day. We’ll got tomorrow or Monday. Like I said in my last post I’ve been thinking of getting a second dog for quite a while now and because of recent events I want a true guard dog. Ha!

Then, an old friend came over for dinner. An old Russian friend from back in the days when I worked in the jewelery trade. It seems like everyone was corrupt in the business in those days except my sister, myself and a few other people and by corrupt I mean doing other things other than jewelery. Anyway these friends of mine have always had my back so they’re going to keep an eye on this situation too.

Now I’m ready to just relax!

How ’bout you? Did you have a busy Saturday too?

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