September Digest
Marilyn's Journal
Summer Leaves into the Fall…
With Labor Day past us, we “fall” into the start of football season; the US Open tennis tourney; the biennial Ryder Cup for golf; and of course, Major League Baseball’s World Series. For those who love their broadcast TV shows, we anxiously await the new season of TV. Although, we now can watch new shows year around with the advent of Netflix, Hulu, YouTube and Amazon among other producers of wonderful content. Isn’t technology grand?
Technology has impacted just about every phase of our daily lives at home and at work. Most of us are glued to our smartphones or some electronic device. Do you take time off from the daily madness from all sources? As you look at the picture above of Fall Leaves, do you yearn for some peace and quiet from all of the media noise around you?
Let’s commit to practicing a daily regimen of allowing ourselves a little peace without the digital madness that we call LIFE. Our brains and our bodies need time to reset and recover. One practice that we encourage is to work for 40-50 minutes on a specific project and then take 10-20 minutes away from the work, the screen, and the desk. Take time to walk outside and refresh yourself. You may find the next 40-50 minutes are so much more productive!
Enjoy the Upcoming Fall Season and Let’s Talk!
Best wishes,
Marilyn
Home or Away—Where Will You Retire?
Will, you stay home or move away once you retire? Some people prefer the home field advantage. They want to remain near friends and family in a region they know well. Others choose a new location, far away. Often, they’re attracted by adventure, better weather, grandchildren, a lower cost of living, or other concerns.
If you haven’t made up your mind yet, here are some factors you may want to include in your retirement equation:
Taxes. There is not much you can do about federal taxes, short of leaving the country and changing your citizenship. However, you can choose to live in a state that has retiree-friendly tax laws. According to Kiplingers.com, 36 states do not tax Social Security benefits, nine have no income tax, and five have no sales tax. The most tax-friendly states for retirees are Alaska, Nevada, and Wyoming. The least tax-friendly are Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
Lifestyle. They say it’s important to keep your brain young by learning new things. One way to do that is by joining the new senior class in a retirement community that is linked to a college or university (such as the University of Michigan, Stanford, Dartmouth, Notre Dame, or Oberlin). Community members can attend classes, enjoy rich culture and entertainment, and gain proximity to some world-class hospitals. Check with your alma mater or favorite school to see if they have a retirement community.
Living well on little. A powerful consideration when deciding where to retire is the cost of living. Last summer, AARP Magazine identified the best places to live on $100/day (or $36,500/year). So, where do you get the most for your money? AARP says you get it in Grand Junction, Colorado; Gainesville, Florida; Spokane, Washington; Las Cruces, New Mexico; Eau Claire, Wisconsin; Roanoke, Virginia; Morgantown, West Virginia; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; San Antonio, Texas; and Omaha, Nebraska.
If you’re still searching for your ‘best place to retire,’ surf the web, read travel books, and travel to candidate locations. You may find the perfect spot or discover it’s right where you are – at home!
Stuff It!
Stuffing has been a popular culinary treatment for a long time. A kitchen anthology that dates back to the Roman Empire included stuffing recipes for chicken, rabbit, pork, and dormouse! Here is a great recipe for stuffed pork chops:
Stuffed Pork Chops
1/2 pound Andouille sausage (casings removed)
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
1/4 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 teaspoons Cajun seasoning, divided
2 cups French bread cubes
1/2 cup chicken broth
6 pork loin chops, two inches thick, bone-in, center cut
2 tablespoons paprika
2 teaspoons pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
Fresh thyme as garnish
Preheat oven to 350°. Cook sausage in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring often, until sausage crumbles and is no longer pink. Remove sausage and drain on paper towels, reserving drippings in the skillet. Sauté onion, celery, green bell pepper, and garlic in the skillet until tender. Remove from heat. Stir in sausage and add 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning. Put bread cubes and chicken broth in a large bowl. Add the sausage mixture.
Cut a lengthwise slit in one side of each pork chop to form a pocket. Do not cut through to the opposite side. Sprinkle salt and pepper on the outside and rub it on the inside of each chop. Spoon the sausage mixture into each pocket. Stir the paprika, pepper, and remaining Cajun seasoning together and rub on the chops.
Heat olive oil in a fry pan. Cook pork chops over medium-high heat until golden on the outside. Put the seared chops in an oiled baking dish and bake them in the oven for 30-40 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
What Do You Know About Fuel Efficiency?
If you're like many Americans, the cost of gasoline probably comprises a significant part of your budget. See how savvy you are about managing that cost by taking this quiz.
- When driving on the highway, what speed optimizes fuel efficiency?
- 55 miles per hour
- 60 miles per hour
- 65 miles per hour
- 70 miles per hour
- When you use the air conditioner in your car, gas mileage decreases by:2% to 12%
- 4% to 10%
- 5% to 25%
- 6% to 8%
- Using the manufacturer’s recommended oil can improve fuel economy by up to:
- 2%
- 4%
- 6%
- Oil doesn’t affect fuel economy
- You should turn the engine off instead of letting it sit idle because an hour of idling may use as much as:
- One-eighth a gallon of fuel
- One-quarter a gallon of fuel
- One-half a gallon of fuel
- One gallon of fuel
Amazing and Wacky Inventions
Some inventions improve countless lives; others, well, not so much. On the plus side, we have antibiotics, motion pictures, refrigerators, and technology (smartphones, tablets, laptops, etc.). On the minus side, you might include subprime mortgages, hair in a can, Betamax, and pop-up ads. Which category do you think these new ideas will fall into?
- Water-purifying billboards. The University of Engineering and Technology in Lima, Peru, commissioned a billboard that converts humid air into drinking water. The secret is reverse osmosis. In just a few months of operation, it has generated thousands of gallons of potable water.
It may be true. There really is an app for everything. This one lets you use your smartphone to visually analyze urine. If
- uCheck. makes it to market, people may find it helpful in diagnosing various medical problems.
- The team that bought you the Segway is patenting a dietary gadget that sucks food right out of your stomach. That’s right! You have a valve implanted and you can rinse about 30 percent of the food you eat out of your stomach just 20 minutes after eating it.
- 4-D printing. If you haven’t yet wrapped your mind around the idea of a 3-D printer (one that prints three-dimensional shapes), you may not be ready for the 4-D printer. It prints a strand of multiple materials that can fold into various shapes depending on how the materials are placed. Someday skyscrapers may erect themselves!
If you would like to learn more about interesting gadgets and gizmos that are trying to find a place in the world, visit www.popsci.com and enter the search term “inventions.”
Quiz Answers:
- 55 miles per hour
- 5% to 25%
- 2%
- One-half a gallon of fuel
Quick Tip #4: Work
Emotional Intelligence, Your EQ,
Emotional intelligence, your EQ, is just as important as your IQ. Your ability to be self-aware, self-manage, be socially aware and manage relationships are key parts of using this critical skill. It does take practice with intent, and can be an important factor in your overall success, well- being and happiness as you traverse your own path on the “Yellow Brick Road.”
You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist.—Indira Gandhi
He who smiles rather than rages is always the stronger person. —Japanese proverb
Savvy Women - Blog
Hindsight is Always 20/20 and Can be a Hindrance!
The famous saying by Billy Wilder, the award-winning director, screenwriter, and producer, “Hindsight is always 20/20” is short and sweet. But, as we take our life’s journey on the path toward success, happiness, abundance and financial independence, we may find that looking back is not always helpful. And why do we say that, as experience does teach us lessons and can make us stronger? There are dozens of quotes from famous writers and successful people that encourage us to learn and grow from our experiences both negative and positive.
In today’s demanding world of 24 by 7 media, we have all become so attuned to “instant gratification and instant results”, that we don’t have time to reflect on our deepest desires, wishes, goals and lifestyle objectives. Our most recent mistakes, missteps may be “instantly” reflected back to us in our mirrors of self-judgment and perhaps criticism from family and friends.
When something negative happens, take time to think and feel the results and what could have been better and been different from your perspective. Could you have taken a different path or strategy and get a better result? However, may I suggest that looking back and digging deeper into the why’s and how’s could be a HINDRANCE? I am not saying to be dismissing the error or negative outcome, but to see it, feel it and process the event. Once you have felt that you understand why the result did not serve you or your situation, then, move forward.
How many times have we stewed over an event/a result and gone over it in our heads a million times? When in fact, we could have invested that same amount of energy into a new strategy and new set of actions to reach that specific goal or result we wanted in the first place. Beating ourselves up for an event that is done/over is a waste of time!
Jack Canfield, co-author of Chicken Soup for the Soul Series, and the co-author of The Success Principles has a simple formula for success and moving forward: E+R=O. In English, that is simply: your response to an event will shape the outcome you experience. The basic idea is that every outcome you experience in life whether positive or negative, wellness or illness, joys or frustrations, etc. Is the result of your response to an earlier event.
How does this work with Hindsight and it being a Hindrance possibly? We can look back on an event, but our response to that event/result will predict and shape how we move forward. Rather than blame, shame, ourselves or something else, for that result, can we change our mindset and reset our actions and move ahead with a positive mindset shedding our Hindsight?
If we are careful, to choose how we respond to an event; how we think about that result; and choose our course of new action, we may find ourselves with a totally different and more desirable outcome. So Hindsight is 20/20 but I believe that looking forward and taking fast action is the better response! We can control our destiny, our results with managing our mindset to take positive steps towards our goals.
Let’s get started!!
Sources:
http://realestate.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=13107720
http://www.kitchenproject.com/history/Stuffing/index.htm
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/andouille-stuffed-pork-chops-50400000120523/
http://www.cartalk.com/content/weird-true-facts-about-fuel-economy
http://www.popsci.com/category/tags/inventions
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/completelist/0,29569,1991915,00.html
http://www.edinformatics.com/inventions_inventors/
The above material was prepared by Peak Advisor Alliance. 1_148897