Anastasia

Tuesday's Positive Thought - How to Improve a Bad Morning

Getting up on the wrong side of the bed doesn't necessarily mean that your whole day will go disastrously wrong. My grandma used to say that there was something good in every day. Here are a few easy ways on how to improve a bad morning and eventually turn it into a great day to remember.

1. Ok, when the alarm went off, you threw it away and went back to sleep. To your horror, you woke up at 9:00 am and you were still in your pyjamas while you had to be at work. So what? Don't panic! Don't curse your bad luck! Don't be moody!  Make a phone call at work to say that you will arrive late because your alarm had been playing up. Then take a shower singing "Que Sera Sera", do not skip breakfast and go to work. Everyone , including your boss, will appreciate your honesty AND good mood! And you will feel a lot more productive, which is something positive.

2. Unless something life-changing has happened - e.g. the loss of a loved one or your other half has been fired - laugh at your misfortunes and if someone tells you how terrible you look, take it with a pinch of salt, smile at that person and say: "We all have bad days but it's up to us to improve them" Laughter is the best cure and it's contagious!

3. Instead of thinking of all the terrible things that happened to you on a bad day, think of all the positive things you've already had in your day and look forward to a very relaxing evening at home.

4. The ancient Greeks said : "Ouden Kakon Amiges Kalou"  meaning there's something positive in something negative. Every Cloud has a silver lining, doesn't it?

You are the architect of your own future! 

Sunday's Greek Savoir-Vivre - Formal Dinners

 

 

 

Saint Valentine's Dinner 2008

 

1. The first and important thing to know is that  the table cutlery in formal dinners has a specific order. The ones that are away, that is, away from the plate, are the ones that we have to use first. And then we will continue with the rest following the same order. The forks are located to the left and the knives to the right. The spoons are also located to the right if there is soup in the menu. The cutlery for dessert is located in a horizontal position at the top of our plate. If there's a salad, the salad spoon is the first to use without a knife.
2. When it comes to the glasses, there are three types in general. They are located from left to right in the following order: water, white wine, red wine. According to the occasion, we could find a champagne glass that will be the fourth and last glass.
3. At the dinner table, we don't lean on the table or use our hands to support our head.We never fill up our plate!  We can have a second serving later.
4. We never pick up food with a piece of bread, dip  the bread in the soup or use it to mop up sauces!
5. If we need condiments or some more bread, we don't stand up nor do we stretch across the table crossing other guests to reach the item. We kindly ask the person sitting nearer to pass it to us.
6. Once seated, we unfold the napkin and place it on our knees. When we finish we place it tidily to the right side of our plate.
7. We should not be the first or the last to finish.
8. The host and hostess may wish to make a toast. In this case, we raise our glass slightly. In formal dinner parties we don't clink glasses.
9. We should not place our handbag  on the table. In a restaurant we hang it on the chair or place it on the floor next to our chair. If the dinner takes place at somebody's home, we leave it on our seat in the living-room.
10. Unless we need to use the bathroom, we don't leave the table before the host and hostess do so.
11. If the food presented to us is not to our liking, it is polite to at least make an effort to eat a small amount of it. Or at the very least, cut it up a little, and move it around the plate! In all cases, we never criticise the food or the service in a restaurant. If we feel unable to pay a compliment to the host and hostess, it's wise to remain silent.
12. It's all right to leave some food in our plate if we think we have eaten enough. On the other hand, we should not clean our plate as if we haven't eaten in days!
13. We never forget to thank the host and hostess before leaving. It's also good manners to send a handwritten thank-you note the following day.

You are very welcome to add any tips on Formal Dinner Etiquette in your country.

Sunday's Greek Savoir-Vivre - Accepting or Refusing an Invitation

 Dictionary. Com defines savoir-vivre as the knowledge of the world and the ways or usages of polite society. This etiquette or set of rules, if you like, may vary from country to country.  I hope that on Sundays , you will enjoy this new series of posts on the Greek savoir-vivre. You are most welcome to share your own.

Photo Credit

 How to accept or refuse an invitation

If you  have been invited to lunch or dinner at a friend’s house, it is important to respond as soon as you get the invitation, especially if RSVP is included in the invitation – often in small fonts. RSVP, from the French Répondre  S’il Vous Plaît , means Please Respond.

If you are going to refuse an invitation, make sure you find a simple and plausible excuse.

The etiquette dictates to respond in writing to a written invitation. Today, however, this is considered obsolete and is maintained only at extremely formal occasions, such as an invitation from the president of the republic.     

If you answer positively, you must attend and you should definitely not call for a last-minute cancellation unless there is a really serious reason to do so. 

You should not go empty-handed  except for business events. A small gift for your friends, some flowers, a bottle of wine, a box of chocolates are always very welcome.

As soon as you accept the invitation,  you should mention if you are allergic to certain foods, if you are on diet, if you are vegetarian or if you are fasting. Do not wait to mention this when you sit at the table! It is very rude and embarrassing for your hosts – even if these are your best friends.

You should always respect the dress code ( if there is one) indicated on the invitation in order not to embarrass your hosts.   

How to Pack Efficiently by Louis Vuitton

The Art of Packing by Louis Vuitton Shows You How to Pack Efficiently

Melanie Pinola

Packing efficiently may well be considered an art. This interactive guide to packing from Louis Vuitton can teach you a few tips and tricks for maximizing your suitcase space and folding your clothes to reduce wrinkles.

 

You'll find step-by-step guides to packing clothes and accessories for both men and women, and can choose between a trunk, rolling suitcase, or carry-on bag (all LV luggage examples, naturally, but you can adapt the tips to any kind of luggage). The webapp highlights which pieces to pack first (e.g., heavy toiletries) and shows you the best way to fold clothes. For example, click on the shirt to button it up, turn it over, fold in the sleeves, and unfold the collar to make it ready for packing.

While we've featured lots of other tips for packing perfectly for a trip before, this is a fun visual guide that covers a range of items.

via lifehacker.com

Such a great guide!

Eleven Things You Should Never Put In A Dishwasher

You don’t know what you got until it’s gone, right? Once you get used to the convenience of a dishwasher, your life is total chaos without it. Here are some helpful tips to keep your dishwasher working well by avoiding loading it with the wrong stuff.

You have a great working dishwasher and you want to keep it that way. After it is installed and you’ve read your instructions manual, be on the alert for hazards that you should avoid putting into the dishwasher. This will keep your dishwasher – and your stuff – working well and safe.

1. Wood

This includes salad bowls, chopsticks, wooden spoons, and cutting boards. Wood will crack and swell in your dishwasher, making it difficult to use.

2. Cast-Iron Skillets

These items rust and the iron chips in the dishwasher. Leave these to be washed separately in the sink and avoid using harsh chemicals on them. This is one dishwasher mistake you want to avoid.

3. Formal Dishes

Your expensive china will get worn with repeated washings. You also don’t want to take a chance on chipping it, either. The dishwasher is no place for fine china and your best dishware.

4. Copper Pots and Pans

Copper dents in the dishwasher and should be cleaned elsewhere. To keep your copper looking it’s best, hand-wash with a soft cloth.

5. Knives

Harsh detergent can cause scratches and nicks on the blades of knives. This not only damages them, but dulls them as well. By avoiding this mistake, you will keep your dishwasher working well.

6. Crystal Glasses

Crystal is especially vulnerable in the dishwasher. Food particles can etch them and heat can lead to cracking. It’s better to hand-wash these items and dry them off with a soft, lint-free cloth.

7. Insulated Mugs and Containers

Buyer beware! These items have a vacuum seal which will be destroyed if water seeps in. Avoid this action if you want to keep them working well.

8. Brass Items

Brass should never be put in the dishwasher. The hot water will remove the natural protective layer that forms on brass and leave them dull and wore.

9. Delicate Glasses

Thin, delicate glassware should not be put in the dishwasher. The water pressure alone is enough to shatter them. Reserve these for sink washing.

10. Nonstick or Anodized Aluminum

The coating on this bakeware will wear out and break down with dishwasher use. Basically, it will no longer be non-stick. Avoid this mishap and soak these in the sink.

11. Enameled Cookware

This bakeware is especially prone to chipping. Keep these clean by hand-washing, avoiding harsh scrubbing, and always dry with a soft cloth. This will keep your dishwasher working well.

via www.steadyhealth.com

I wish I had come across this website a few years ago. I wouldn't have destroyed my set of expensive steak knives or my crystal glasses which cracked. The ones which survived cracking and etching have lost forever their sparkling shine. Ah well, we live and learn!

Changing Lifestyles: A Healthy Eating Pattern

Insight every fat girl

There's a thin girl trying to get out

Sweet and sad and slinky

That nobody even knows about

(Fran Lanesman)

Interlaken, Switzerland - July 1978

In my early twenties, as a student in Switzerland, I was really fat. I could have been even fatter but I walked a lot and went horseriding 3 times a week. I didn't know how to cook, so I indulged in junk food such as burgers and pizza, sweets, chocolate, crisps and fizzy drinks - not to mention raclette or cheese fondue! Within a year, I had forgotten all about my mum's healthy cooking based on the Mediterranean Diet . Consuming so many fatty and unhealthy foods for a long time took its toll and I had to have my gallbladder removed at the age of 25.

my favourite sweets

Since then, I've decided to adopt a healthier eating pattern. At the beginning, healthy eating made me feel depressed and unhappy. It was as if I were permanently on diet. I also gave up fizzy drinks - cola in particular - and replaced them with fruit juices and water. However, I've never been deprived of my favourite sweets, chocolate or pizza, but these were exceptions occurring only occasionally. After all, variety is the spice of life.

greek salad

Before I knew it, I started to feel healthier, stronger, happier and lighter! Adopting a healthier eating pattern and sticking to it involves changing lifestyles, and I was determined to change mine. So I took up regular exercise as well. It might sound hard to accomplish but, in actual fact, it doesn't really take a lot of effort - just an effort of will. To begin with, I did not starve to death or go on diet, neither did I ban fatty foods from my life. I just chnaged my methods of cooking.

grilled chicken burgers

fresh lemon juice

....and occasionally some french fries

In order to reduce my calorie intake, grilling or roasting my food - especially meat - was the answer. I've also replaced fatty sauces with fresh lemon juice or a little mustard. Steaming is a particularly healthy way of cooking fish and veggies while baking fish in the oven with onions, fresh tomatoes, a few drops of olive oil and lots of oregano is a delicious alternative. As for cooking potatoes, well, I know you can't beat roasting them or frying them There was a time when I had french fries with every meal. Naturally, I still eat chips but only once in a while. I usually boil or dry roast my potatoes using just a little olive oil and lots of spices and lemon juice. Stir-frying, especially vegetables, is another healthy way of cooking that appeals to me. This helps food retain both its taste and nutrients.

stir-frying vegetables

Judging from my experience, the bottom line is: a healthy diet cannot be imposed on anyone - it's the individual's choice.

Do you follow a healthy eating pattern in your daily diet? Did you ever have to change lifestyles in any way?

You might also wish to filll in the blank:

Healthy eating makes me feel _________________ .

Folders, Subfolders and Other Organisational Issues

It seems that my biological clock hasn't been set to summer-break-time yet, so I got up at 6:00 this morning, as I always do on Saturdays when I work. After a hearty breakfast taken on the veranda with Alkis, Alkis went to work and I was left to decide what to do with the rest of the day.

I decided to spend the day at the beach, but I suddenly remembered my long-forgotten "Things-to-Organise" list in My Documents. I opened the file and here's what I found:

THINGS TO ORGANISE  BEFORE SEPTEMBER 2011

• My Pictures
• My Documents
• File Manager on TypePad
• Categories on TypePad
• My Videos
• My Bookcase – dvds and books
• Kitchen cupboards
• Wardrobe(s) and Shoes
• Drawers in my study
• The wires in my study
• Drawers in general
• Store  Buttons and sewing stuff in ONE box
• My printed photos (must get a new paper photo album)
• My paper-oriented electronic diary
• Store shoe polish in ONE drawer
• Store keys in a box.
• Organise my beauty stuff in categories – eye shadows / eye pencils / nail polish etc

However good I am at organisational issues at the workplace, I'm rather negligent, in this respect, when it comes to organising my home computer and the house in general. I'm not trying to make excuses, but this happens because of the bulk of work during the school year. At work, everything is in the right place and I never have to hunt for it. If you could see my computer at the office, you would be impressed by my organisational skills in file management. Often one click is enough to find in a flash specific documents, students' files, homework assignments, absentee lists, teaching material, audio and video files, test / exam results and many more - all updated without delay. I've never taken up computer lessons - I sometimes wish I had - but learned the basics by clicking on Help or by asking questions online.

I am well aware that we should never postpone for tomorrow what we can do today. So I finally abandoned my plans for the beach today, printed my list and got down to work. To begin with, I set myself the task of organising My Pictures. I have more than 10,000 photos on my computer and, although I created a folder per upload, I came up with more than 150 folders. More often than not, it took me ages to locate a certain photo - I often forgot where I had put it! Today, it took me only 2 hours to create folders and subfolders in such a way that I can now locate a photo...by the pricking of my thumbs!

Next task: My Documents. I partly organised my documents as you can see in the photo below, but I know I can do better! Any ideas are more than welcome.

Then I moved on to the File Manager on TypePad. It is in such a terrible mess that it will take me days to organise it properly. I guess most of you know perfectly well how to organise your File Manager, but assuming that some others might be new on TypePad or computer illiterate like myself, here's how to organise your File Manager efficiently as explained in TypePad for Dummies by Melanie Nelson and Shannon Lowe. This is by no means a sponsored post as I have purchased their book and found it extremely helpful.

A. To Create a Folder

• Go to the File Manager (in Library)
• Click in the textbox under Create a New Folder (in the right sidebar)
• Click the Create button.

B. To Create a Subfolder

• Click the folder you'd like to open.
• Click in the textbox under create a new folder.
• Type the name of the new folder.
• Click the Create button and you are done.

Having finished with the computer, I noticed that many of my books and dvds were lying all over the room. I had a coffee break, took a deep breath and ..tidied up the shelves of my bookcase.

Carrying my precious list, I went into the kitchen to organise my cupboards. As you can see, the cupboard with the glasses looks neat and tidy, but I made a mental note to re-arrange the glasses according to utility - a kind of ..."folders" and "subfolders" . For instance: wine glasses / red wine glasses / white wine glasses, then water glasses / juice glasses / soft drinks glasses and so on. See what I mean? I do hope I won't break any in the process!

Finally, I organised my wardrobe and one of the two places where I store my shoes. I put sandals and summer shoes on the lower shelf, so that I can reach them more easily and winter shoes on the upper shelf. But , to be honest, I envy my friend Bing's immaculate organisation of her wardrobe as described in her post Mission Organization and Surprise No2 . It was this post that reminded me of my "Things-to-Organise" list!

Most of the items of my "Things-to-Organise" list still remain unchecked. But I hope to check them all by the end of August - such as the drawers in my study  and the kitchen cupboard where I am supposed to keep pans, cake tins and various pots and dishes. I guess I'll need some kind of "folders" and "subfolders" in this area as well.

WARNING! THE FOLLOWING PHOTOS MIGHT CAUSE SEVERE SHOCK TO WELL-ORGANISED PEOPLE.

Are you organised or disorganised? Do you know where everything is in your house or do you need to hunt for it in order to locate it?

If you are in doubt take the following quiz and find out!

Are You Organized or Disorganized?

 

P.S ~  It's not like me to write such long posts. Hope you enjoyed it, anyway!

Healthy Eating Habits For Children

I came across a very interesting post the other day at Ayala's Herbal Water in which she suggests some useful tips on how to get children to eat fruit and vegetables. I think she has a point when she says that children copy adults, so it is as clear as daylight that children won't eat F&V if the parents are meat lovers, like most parents in my country, or if they give in to their children's wishes to have pizza or a MacDonald's meal every other day.

In Cyprus, a very serious effort has been made recently to include fresh fruit and vegetables as alternative snacks to chocolate, ice cream, crisps, cheese pies or doughnuts during school recesses. Unfortunately, children ignore the fruit and veggies and would rather give their pocket money for a packet of crisps instead of a banana or cola instead of fruit juice! On the other hand, I was very happy to hear that most playschools provide the parents with a list of snacks for their children to bring to school, such as apples, bananas, oranges and brown bread sandwiches with tomato, cucumber and low-fat cheese and ham. You may smile but I think that a child needs to get used to healthy eating habits at a young age.

Despite these efforts, there are still a lot of obese children in Cyprus aged 8-12. To me, an obese child will almost invariably grow into an obese adult although once in their teens, things seem to change. Many teenagers - especially girls- go on extreme diets in an effort to look like Beyonce and, as a result, they become victims of various eating disorders.

Depriving children of their favourite foods is also wrong. Once a week , they can have their favourite junk food , their favourite sweet, their favourite ice cream. But getting used to eating F&V at a very young age - as young as the age of three - children will grow into happy, healthy adults who will never have to go on diet simply because they eat a little bit of everything.