Volume 6 December 2006

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Welcome to TAKE-A-MOMENT!

The Take-A-Moment newsletters strive to provide quick-to-read content to improve and enhance the quality of life at home and in the work place...for when you can "take-a-moment" from your hectic schedule. Take-a-Moment is provided by the Louisville Area Cooperative Extension Agents. When you have "more-than-a-moment" visit our web site for expanded articles, article archives, sign-up and contact information, and links to other web sites of interest.

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Did You Know...?

C O N T E N T S

Stain Removal -- Tree Sap
Financial Fitness -- Credit
Family Life -- Holiday Peace
Nutrition & What's Cooking -- Holiday Survival Guide
Home Tips -- Carbon Monoxide Alarms
Ways to Wellness -- Getting Ahead of the Rat Race ...Simplify
Kids Korner -- Is A Vitamin Supplement Necessary?
In The Work Place -- Ways of Preventing Distress and Depression (2)

STAIN REMOVAL
TREE SAP
stainremoval@take-a-moment.com

There are a variety of commercial products on the market that can be used to remove tree sap. Most of these contain similar chemicals to those used in dry-cleaning solvents. If the stained item is to be laundered, use a clean dry cloth to lightly sponge the area with a dry-cleaning solvent. Continue to rotate cloth and sponge until stain is removed. Apply a small amount of liquid detergent directly to the stained area and launder in the hottest water appropriate to the fabric.

FINANCIAL FITNESS
CREDIT
finances@take-a-moment.com

While credit is a very important part of your financial well-being, it can be an ugly and complicated thing. While you might know what a credit score is, do you really know what is included in it? Your credit score is broken into 5 parts.

Payment History

-35% of your credit score is calculated from your payment history.
-This category of your report will show several things including…

• Account payment information on several different accounts including credit cards, retail accounts, installment loans, and your mortgage.

• Any negative accounts or actions taken against you such as bankruptcy, judgments, liens, collections items, and past due accounts.

• Severity of past due items, how long have you missed payments.

• Amount due on past due items or collection items.

• Number of past due items.

• Number of accounts in good standing.

Amounts Owed

-30% of your credit score is based off of the amounts owed on your accounts.
-Accounts owed category includes information such as…

• Amount owed on accounts.

• Lack of a specific type of balance.

• Number of accounts with balances.

• Portion of credit balances compared to total credit available.

• Amounts still owed on installment loans

Length of Credit History

-15% of your credit score is derived from the length of credit history.
-Length of credit history has only two key points.

• Time since accounts have been opened.

• Time since accounts have been active.

New Credit

-10% of your credit score is calculated based on your new credit.
-New credit has several different factors.

• Number of credit inquires (how many people have looked at your report)

• Time since inquires have been made.

• Number of recently opened accounts.

• Time since new accounts have been opened.

• Re-establishment of credit after poor payments problems.

Types of Credit Used

-10% of your credit score is based off of the types of credit you use.
Types of credit used lists factors such as...

• Number of different types of accounts used
  ~Credit Cards
  ~Retail Accounts
  ~Installment Loans
  ~Mortgage
  ~Consumer Finance Accounts

Please take time to look at your credit report and see what information is on there. You are entitled a free credit report once a year. You can get this from www.annualcreditreport.com.

FAMILY LIFE
HOLIDAY PEACE
familylife@take-a-moment.com

Over scheduling, overeating, hurrying here and there, jangled nerves, family tensions, shoulder-to-shoulder crowds peppered with unhappy faces, major credit debts for gifts we often do not even need or appreciate . . . Ho, ho, ho, 'tis the season to be jolly.

Is there something wrong with this picture? What ever happened to the spirit of peace that traditionally has been the hallmark of this long holiday season?

Take heart. That wellspring of peace is still within us and around us. For many of us, though, it is buried beneath our restless minds, hurried lifestyles, and exaggerated desires. The good news is that we can replace holiday stress with holiday peace.

First, drawing upon your own personal experience, jot down brief answers to these three items.

1. Looking back over past holidays, what is one cause of
   seasonal stress you would like to eliminate or reduce this year?

2. What would you really enjoy adding to this year's celebrations?

3. Name one reasonable thing you could do daily during this season that would bring more peace into your life.

Discuss your answers with family members or friends, and invite them to respond to the questions also. Encourage one another in finding simple, positive ways to put your answers into action.

One of the best ways to combat holiday stress is to take your attention away from it and focus on its opposite--peace. Peace is an inner state of alert calmness and vibrant tranquility. It is harmony with people and one's environment. True peace is not dependent on outward circumstances, the behavior of others, or the absence of illness. It is the ability to accept with composure whatever challenges come our way. Inner peace carries with it a quiet feeling of power and energy. It bears no kin to passivity or laziness.

To feel even a touch of this kind of peace is a healing and renewing experience. And sharing its fruit with others is a two-way blessing. Here are a few suggestions for cultivating a spirit of peace during the holidays:

• Examine what helps you feel peaceful. Maybe it's having fun with a good friend, listening to uplifting music, praying, meditating, enjoying a good massage, or gazing at the stars. Whatever works for you, build more of those experiences into your daily life.

• If you find yourself rushing all the time, you'll have to break that habit if you're serious about living in abiding peace. Build more free space into your life. Kindly say no. Keep life simple. Let go of non-essentials. Do less and enjoy it more.

• Reach out to ease the way for others. Scattering kindness, lending a helping hand, and spreading cheerfulness are good medicine for all concerned. Breathe with a soft belly. Feel the easy, natural, sensuous rhythm of your in-breath and out-breath. Doing this is a quick, effective way for regaining or deepening your calmness.

• Cultivate the companionship of calm, happy, peaceful people. Gradually, and in subtle ways, you'll find it easier to bring that sense of peace into all your relationships.

• Spend time in nature with your eyes and ears and heart wide open. Even brief moments here and there can make a big difference.

• Say no to worrying about the past and fretting about the future. Live fully in the here and now. Look with awe into the beautiful eyes of the person in front of you. Take time to hear the song of the wind in the pine trees. Embrace the wonder of each moment.

• Avoid dividing your attention. With peace as your companion, do one thing at a time. Give full concentration to the task at hand, striving to perform all actions with even-mindedness.

• Make a game of it: See if you can remain unruffled even in the face of challenging situations. Little by little, your skills as a peacemaker will increase.

• Keep in mind that sometimes a lack of peace is an inner call for forgiveness, a change in lifestyle, or the healing of a relationship. If this is the case you'll know it, as long as you sensitively listen to the signals of your body, mind and spirit.

• Perhaps most important of all, use your creativity to schedule in some relaxed periods for being quiet and having some solitude. In that stillness feel the spirit of peace within you and around you; and listen carefully and respectfully to the whisperings of your heart.

During this rich season of holiday gift giving, remember the words of authors Gerald Jampolsky and Diane Cirincione: "Our inner peace is one of the biggest gifts we can give to another and to the world."

Prepared by Sam Quick, Ph.D., Human Development & Family Relations Specialist

NUTRITION & WHAT'S COOKING
HOLIDAY SURVIVAL GUIDE
whatscooking@take-a-moment.com

The holidays are approaching which includes lots of shopping, parties, decorating and cooking. To add to the scenario, did you know that an average American gains 0.4-1.8 pounds each year during their adult life and most of that is gained between Thanksgiving and Christmas. To help survive, try the following tips:

• -enlist the help of a buddy to help keep you on track with exercise habits during the holidays
• -enjoy the outdoors as much as possible-bundle up and go for a walk or at the mall
• -join an exercise class for fun and socialization
• -limit holiday baking to just one or two favorites and make those in small quantities
• -eat a high-fiber, low-fat breakfast each day. Whole grain cereal, skim milk is a good start
• -choose a low-fat healthful lunch-soups, salads, and low fat pasta are all good choices
• -keep fruit with you for snacking
• -limit alcohol consumption
• -eat a nutritious meal or snack before you attend events or parties
• -bring a nutritious dish to parties

To help accommodate the rush have foods on hand to help have speedy nutritious dishes in a hurry:

• -stock up on a variety of healthful foods like potatoes, rice, pasta, low-fat pasta sauces, salad fixings, stir fry veggies, chicken and fish.
• -make a big salad that will last for more than a day. Leave the dressing off and keep covered in the refrigerator
• -stock up on fruit-it makes a healthful grab and go snack
• -whenever you cook, make an extra amount and freeze for busy days

HOME TIPS
CARBON MONOXIDE ALARMS
hometips@take-a-moment.com

Every home should have properly installed and maintained carbon monoxide (CO) alarms. CO alarms can help detect CO, a colorless, odorless gas produced by burning any fuel. Exposure to high levels of CO can cause death. The initial symptoms of CO poisoning are similar to the flu and include dizziness, fatigue, headache, nausea, and irregular breathing.

Install battery-operated CO alarms or plug-in CO alarms with battery back-up in your home, according to the manufacturer’s installation instructions. Test and maintain your CO alarms according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

It is especially important to have a CO alarm near sleeping areas. Because of the risk of CO poisoning, never operate un-vented fuel-burning appliances in any closed room or where people are sleeping. CO poisoning from fuel-burning appliances kills people in the United States each year.

CO can leak from faulty furnaces or fuel-fired heaters or can be trapped inside a home by a blocked chimney or flue. Burning charcoal inside a home produces CO. Running an automobile engine in an attached garage can cause CO to enter your home. Running a portable generator near a window, door or vent, even if it is outdoors, can also cause CO to enter a home.

Never use gas appliances such as ranges, ovens or clothes dryers for heating your home. Portable generators can produce high levels of CO very quickly. Never use a portable generator in an enclosed or partially enclosed space, including in your home basement, crawl space or other partially enclosed areas, even if you provide ventilation. Generators should be located outdoors and away from doors, windows, and vents that could allow CO to enter the home.

WAYS TO WELLNESS
GETTING AHEAD OF THE RAT RACE...SIMPLIFY
wellness@take-a-moment.com

S - Slow down
I - Imagine doing less
M - Make time for loved ones
P - Practice patience
L - Learn to gently say no
I - Increase your quiet time
F - Follow your heart
Y - Yield to life - yield to peace - yield to joy

Try simplifying your work and/or home life with these techniques:

• Set realistic goals; simplify your expectations
• Mark one day off your calendar a month to "catch up"
• Give yourself permission to play; schedule "Joy Breaks" - fun in small doses. Get as good at planning fun as you are now at scheduling work.
• Blend rewarding work with time for personal refreshment.
• Plan a day to work at home once in a while.
• Schedule a breather. If you live by a calendar, schedule one hour a day to allow some breathing space. "Take Five" minutes for yourself to improve your productivity.
• Schedule time to work on specific projects.
• De-clutter. Try handling things only once.
• Delegate. Stop trying to do everything yourself. Let your spouse and children help with family responsibilities.
• Rid yourself of old commitments and goals.

Everyone needs to renew, recharge, and relax. Break the chains of busyness this holiday season to experience the real joy and peace of the holidays.

"Give yourself permission to play . . . . Get as good at preplanning fun as you are now at scheduling work."

Source of this information is "Family Tapestries" fact sheet from Ohio State University Extension

KIDS KORNER
IS A VITAMIN SUPPLEMENT NECESSARY?
kidskorner@take-a-moment.com

Many parents are concerned that their child may not be eating well and wonder if a vitamin supplement is necessary. According to child nutrition experts, it probably is not.

If the child is being provided a nutritionally adequate diet, he or she will not need to take vitamin-mineral supplements. The parent or care provider's role is to provide nutritious food for the child at meals and snack times. The child determines how much of the food he or she will eat. The seemingly small amount of food a child eats probably supplies adequate nutrition. If you are concerned about your child's diet, talk with your health care provider.

Source: Colorado Extension

IN THE WORK PLACE
WAYS OF PREVENTING DISTRESS AND DEPRESSION (2)
workplace@take-a-moment.com

At home or work, dealing with stress is difficult. Listed are a few suggestions that may help you plan how to manage the stressors in your life.

• Seek support when needed. You are not going to be able to accomplish everything you want by yourself. Talk to a trusted family member or friend when you find yourself overwhelmed and irritable.
• Address interpersonal problems head on. Worrying about interpersonal problems tends to make them appear to be a bigger deal than they really are. It also uses lots of energy that can be put to better use. Talk to the person(s) involved and decide on how you can address the issue(s) together.
• Maintain a spiritual connection. This means different things for different people. Some folks achieve fulfillment by going to church, reading devotionals, saying prayers, or practicing meditation. Other people may find spiritual fulfillment by walking in the woods, enjoying a sunset, reflecting quietly, remembering people and events, gardening, talking with people, or a host of other activities.
• Have some fun. Take time to do things that you enjoy. This may be a solitary activity or something you like doing with other people.