Coffee News Dear Born

As the countdown to Christmas day continues, most everyone is naturally all wrapped up in preparing for the big day (and the eve of the big day and the day after the big day…).

Whether it’s shopping, baking, or hosting holiday gatherings, you are probably engaged in time-consuming activities related to the season.
Although your dedication to these tasks is completely reasonable and most likely pre-planned, your ability to meet these demands and still have to write may not be as realistic.

In order to maintain your sanity through the holidays, you should not allow your writing time to totally disappear. You may find yourself feeling somewhat stressed out, as you try to tackle the gift buying and deal with the family get-togethers.

I honestly believe that if you make time to write during this hectic season, you may alleviate some of the inevitable anxiety associated with the holidays. Writing can be as relaxing to writers as watching television is to couch potatoes.

You should not overlook the value of a little me time (or break/rest time for you alone). Schedule some me time or free time into your busy day, and then actually TAKE IT!

During this break period (however small it may be), you may find that it will help you to write about your worries and/or aggravations. You could accomplish this goal by:

1. Recording the events of your day into a diary of sorts before you go to sleep each night.
2. Writing random thoughts or jotting down brief notes as they come to mind through out your day.
3. Carrying a journal with you to family gatherings, shopping expeditions, holiday celebrations and related events and then use it to write whatever you feel like writing about at any given time.

(For example, you may observe something that inspires a story idea or you may want to record actual images, scenes or conversations that occur during these seasonal festivities.)

Making lists of things associated with the holidays that you either know a lot about or want to learn more about – which in turn could serve as possible article ideas for next year at this time.

Chronicle your feelings about your child as you watch him experience his first Christmas and then continue to do this each year until he no longer believes in Santa Claus (or until you no longer see the look in his eyes expressing the natural awe of the season that only children have).

Compile your account of these yearly events into a memoir for yourself and/or as a gift to share with your child when he gets older. You could also use your chronicle as a stepping stone for a possible book about Christmas, children, holidays etc…

Whatever you write about or however you choose to use your writing time, your primary goal will be achieved, if you just TAKE TIME to write during this busy season!

Best of luck to you and Happy Holidays to you and your families.

The Holiday Season can be a wonderful time of the year with the lovely decorations, exchanging of gifts, visiting with friends and family as well as the lovely meals. For many of us, the Holiday Season can also be quite overwhelming with all the added activities of this time of year such as decorating our homes, selecting, buying, wrapping and exchanging gifts with those in our lives and hosting our friends and family while we prepare multi-course elaborate meals! The question is, “What can we do to Overcome Overwhelm during the Holidays?”

1. Simplify Your Life

Holidays that are full of complexity sounds neither fun nor comfortable. It can easily contribute to feeling overwhelmed. We can be invited to numerous events and want to host others ourselves. Although these activities can be very wonderful experiences, there can be too many for us to prepare for and attend to in a short period of time. There is also the gifts selecting, wrapping and delivery. And then there is the house decorating and potentially traveling to visit with friends and family across the country. Keeping the holidays simple with a manageable number of events to attend and/or host, can greatly contribute to Overcoming Overwhelm during the Holidays.

2. Practice Extreme Self Care

In our fast paced world, many times our physical bodies are the very last consideration in terms of priority. We drag our bodies around nonstop and we can be indifferent to signs of exhaustion. When we practice extreme self care, our mind, body and spirit are much more likely to assist us in our other efforts by providing strong support including energy, enthusiasm and presence. With extreme self care our energy is up, our confidence is up and we feel much more positive. Some examples of self-care activities include sufficient sleep, quiet time, exercise, healthy food, joyful recreation etc. Often during the holidays, some of our self-care activities can be put on hold with all the hustle and bustle of the season. Taking the best care of ourselves during the Holiday Season can contribute greatly to Overcoming Overwhelm during the Holidays.

3. Celebrate The Unique You

Sometimes there can be things on our to-do list that we feel that we “should” or “must” do that we really don’t enjoy doing or does not leverage our best skills. These things can end up being delayed or undone, or if taken on, can contribute to frustration or overwhelm. Instead, we can consider whether there is someone else who can take care of the item for us or determine if the activity really needs to be done at this time.

There are many events and activities that we can participate in during the holidays on top of regular life activities. If we don’t know what we really want during the Holiday Season, then it will be much harder to say no to invitations that are not in alignment with our desires. Defining clearly our preferences in writing is a great place to start. By sharing our desired Holiday Season with our life partner, asking them what their desired Holiday Season is and integrating these two collaboratively, you have a plan the two of you can action and support together for the Holiday Season. Celebrating the Unique You, by respecting and celebrating your desired Holiday Season, can greatly contribute to Overcoming Overwhelm and experiencing more power, serenity and joy during the Holiday Season.

Since the tragic and sudden death of Michael Jackson, fans have been paying tribute to the pop icon in various ways. With Halloween approaching, Michael Jackson costumes are guaranteed to be more popular than ever. Here are some tips on how to recreate several looks he made famous.

Michael Jackson’s video for “Thriller” was almost more like a movie than a music video. The video featured dancing zombies, and showed Michael transforming into a werewolf and a zombie. To get the look Michael donned in the video, apply pasty green or yellow makeup to your face. Take a red pleather jacket at make rips in it to make it appear as if zombies had attacked you. Pair with red or black leather pants and wear the jacket unzipped over a black shirt.

In the video, Michael is shown on a date with a young woman. This would be a terrific costume idea for couples. The female would simply wear denim jeans or Capri’s, and orange shirt worn with an unbuttoned denim jacket.

Another Michael Jackson costume could be created by using the music video for “Bad” as inspiration. Take a black Military style jacket and add large gold badges and gold shoulder straps. Wear the jacket unbuttoned over a black V Neck shirt with black pants.

Another great king of pop costume choice would be recreating his offstage looks. Wear tight fitting black pants that are short, or that can be rolled up to reveal white socks and black patent leather shoes. Layer a white shirt with a red button down shirt worn open. Top the look of with a black fedora with stands of hair coming out, and a pair of Aviator sunglasses. You could also wear the same outfit wearing a black shirt instead of red, and attach a wide white ribbon on the fedora.

Of course, no Michael Jackson costume would be complete without the King of Pop’s signature sequined glove. Take a white glove, and glue on silver or white sequins. Many of the items can be found at a reasonable price at thrift stores. Costume shops may have masks and costumes, but the prices can be expensive.