Black Friday

Posted on November 25, 2011 by Coco

If you are reading this you probably are not braving the crowds for Black Friday shopping. Or maybe you are reading this on a smartphone while you wait in a checkout line. Or maybe you took advantage of the new trend and did your shopping at midnight last night. 

 Crowds arrived early on Black Friday last year at Braintree’s South Shore Plaza, which is among a number of area malls planning to open tomorrow at 4 a.m.

(source)

I don’t usually shop on Black Friday. I am too exhausted from spending Thanksgiving day in the kitchen and the stress of our family gatherings. I try to sleep in, clear my head and burn off some pie with a run, and relax.

Black Friday has a different meaning for me. It is a moment of truth for the holiday season. Will it mark the beginning of the end of healthy eating, starting a long slide through family birthdays, Christmas parties, and the New Year? Or will I put the brakes on indulgent eating and let my son finish off the pecan pie?

(source)

Even diet “experts” say that Thanksgiving is “just one day.” If you go overboard at dinner, pile on the mashed potatoes, drown your plate with gravy, slather your rolls with butter, and bury your pie under whipped cream, that one meal won’t put too much of a dent in your weight loss efforts. (Not that any one writing reading this would have done that.)

But my problem is that Thanksgiving is not “just one day” and Thanksgiving dinner is not “just one meal.” Many churches, offices and schools host Thanksgiving potlucks in the days before the actual holiday, doubling or tripling the opportunity to indulge.  Even if I dodge those bullets, I am faced with leftovers. I try to send some home with our guests, but it is hard to part with my favorites–especially my Mom’s cranberry relish and the apple pie.

I usually don’t want to cook for a few days after Thanksgiving, so we end up reheating the leftover turkey and trimmings for a few days. This scaled down meal isn’t as heavy as our big holiday dinner, but it probably has several hundred more calories than a meal we usually would have.

(source)

So on Black Friday, I have to decide. Will I have apple pie for breakfast, or will I satisfy my taste buds with a spoonful of cranberry relish on my whole wheat toast?

Caramel Apple Pie

Will I fix a dinner plate with turkey, mashed potatoes and stuffing, or will I load up my plate with leftover Brussels sprouts salad? 


Making the healthier choice isn’t easy, but it can keep Black Friday from casting a long shadow over the rest of the holiday season.

What are your favorite Thanksgiving leftovers?

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Posted on November 24, 2011 by Coco

 

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.
~ Psalm 107

 

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The Light At The End Of The Tunnel

Posted on November 23, 2011 by Coco

I don’t try to hide my affection for Starbucks. I actually didn’t used to like Starbucks coffee, but then I got hooked on their bold varieties–and I do mean hooked! I usually make my coffee at home, using Starbucks coffee in my coffee maker. Once in a while I get Starbucks at work, but I really earn stars on my Starbucks card when I am traveling.

Starbucks is my go-to place for a snack at the airport. One of their protein shakes, sandwiches or “Bistro Boxes” will hit the spot with far fewer calories and much more nutritional value than anything I could find in the food court.

Starbucks also is my go-to place for breakfast on the road. I can get a grande bold coffee and either their “Perfect Oatmeal” or their turkey bacon/cheese/egg sandwich for about $5–much less than any hotel breakfast.

And, just in case there is no Starbucks to be found, I always pack a few packets of Starbucks Via instant coffee to start my day–it beats hotel coffee hands down.

Last week, when I checked into my hotel at 11:30 pm after a long day at work and an even longer trek to upstate New York (including two planes and a long cab ride) I was glad to see this light at the end of the tunnel of my hotel lobby:

I was doubly glad in the morning when I confirmed that it was a fully operational store!

What makes your time away from home bearable?

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Flying Machines

Posted on November 22, 2011 by Coco

I recently went to the National Archives to see the “What’s Cooking Uncle Sam” exhibit (more on that later). As I was browsing in the gift shop, this postcard caught my eye.

As a patent attorney, I immediately knew what it was. Whenever someone files a patent application, the inventors have to sign an “oath or declaraiton” attesting that they believe themselves to be the “original and first” inventor. This postcard is a copy of the oath that the Wright Brothers signed for their patent applicaiton on a “Flying Machine.” Somehow our form has grown to 2-3 pages since this one that was used in 1903, but the basic langauge is very similar.

I thought about the Wright Brothers when I boarded this plane last week.

If I think about the phenomenon of flying too much, I get freaked out. I know that forces called “lift” and “drag” come into play, but I find it really hard to beleive that the difference in air flow above and below a curved wing can really keep a huge, heavy plane in flight for hours. I majored in chemistry, not physics! Thank goodness the Wright brothers had the knowledge and vision to get their flying machine off the ground.

Is there a technology that stumps you?

Do you mind flying on small planes?

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Monday Motivation

Posted on November 21, 2011 by Coco

When I travel, I almost always start my day at the hotel gym, so I appreciate corporate encouragement from time to time.

Do you start your day with endorphins?

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