How to Keep Your Pets Safe During the Holidays

Most of us like to include our pets in our holidays and let them enjoy some of the same things we humans do. Unfortunately, some of us find out the hard way that our pets can’t tolerate all the things we can.

The first thing to remember is that pets tend to get anxious when things aren’t normal – which holidays rarely are. This anxiety can cause your pets to behave in ways you wouldn’t expect. For example, pets may want to inspect the new items guests bring into your house, such as suitcases, food, plants, etc. These items can prove fatal.

Human medications behave very differently in dogs and cats than they do in humans. Medications left where pets can get to them may be ingested. This is true for over-the-counter as well as prescription meds. Even something as ‘safe’ as ibuprofen or acetaminophen can cause irreparable harm to dogs and cats. It doesn’t need to be ingested in quantity, either, one tablet is all it takes.

Holiday treats can cause problems, too. We humans do love our chocolate, but it contains theobromine which can cause heart, kidney and central nervous system problems. Onions and garlic in large amounts can cause red blood cell damage. Sugar substitutes can cause rapid blood sugar decreases and seizures. Grapes and raisins can cause renal failure. Macadamia nuts can cause paralysis. Unbaked bread dough can expand rapidly and cause ethanol poisoning. In short, pet foods for the pets is the safest bet. Keep in mind, though, that any drastic change in diet can cause gastric problems that you may be cleaning up for days afterward.

Plants are another problem, especially with cats. However, if your dogs are as curious as mine, this applies to them as well. Mistletoe and holly are poisonous as are some exposed plant bulbs. Lillies, any part of the plant, are especially bad for cats.

Pets, being pets, are likely to surprise you. Just when you think you’ve covered everything, they eat something they are not supposed to and then what do you do? Don’t wait. Try calling your vet’s emergency number first, or another animal emergency hospital. You can also call the ASPCA national animal poison control center (888-426-4435). They charge a veterinary consultation fee, but free information about toxins is at their web site.

How to Survive Christmas on a Budget

Many people have already started the dreaded annual event – Christmas Shopping! No other two words appearing together strike more fear in our bank accounts than those. ‘Tis the season to overspend, then regret it all year. But, take heart! There is help!

Since the government is finally admitting that we are in a recession, something that millions of Americans already new, it is time to be smart with our Christmas spending. Here is some sound advice.

• Make a budget and spend within it.  Figure out how much you can spend on Christmas without letting vital bills go past due.  Make a list of those on your Christmas list and prioritize those you want to spend more on, i.e. children.
• Leave the credit cards at home.  Credit card companies are raising rates for no reason at all.  Even if you have a perfect payment history with them, you may find your rates doubling or tripling.  This can make differences in payments from tens to hundreds of dollars a month.  So, the less you can put on a credit card, the better off you will be.
• Be smart with electronics.  Instead of buying new, consider purchasing factory refurbished products.  They often have the same warranty as new, but can save you sometimes as much as 50%, but usually around 20-25%.  For example, Dell* has an outlet (see links at the bottom of this article) that sells computers that have been ordered and canceled, or returned for some reason.  They are checked out before they are shipped.  We bought our son a refurbished X-Box* last Christmas and it has not had a problem.  We could not have purchased it new, so this was a good compromise.
• Consider home-made gifts.  Bake some cookies, make some candy, knit a sweater.  Most of us have a talent we can use for someone.  Use your computer to create some ‘coupons’ good for yardwork or housework and give to mom and dad or grandma and grandpa.  They will love it.

Christmas is about giving, but it does not need to be about expensive gifts.  Giving yourself can go a long way.

* I am not endorsing any products in this article.  Dell outlet is at www.dell.com/outlet

For more tips on making extra money, see the Online Business Guide.

How to Eat Healthy and Lose Weight

With the holidays upon us, we don’t need to be reminded that all the dinners, goodies and sweet treats are waiting there to undermine our weight-loss efforts. But, if you keep your head about you, you can not only enjoy what the season has to offer, but maintain your current weight and even lose a few pounds.

The first thing to remember is that you didn’t gain a lot of weight in one day, so it stands to reason that you will not lose a lot of weight in one day, which would be downright dangerous. Losing weight the healthy and safe way requires that you eat healthy and exercise througout the week. That, of course, is no secret. However, I will share with you my secret of weight loss success.

Taking the attitude that I did not get overweight overnight, I began to look at how I was eating and what I was eating and when I was eating. I found that I was eating quickly, I was eating prepared and packaged food and I was eating all day up to near bedtime. Add that to the fact that I wasn’t exercising very much and it didn’t take Sherlock Holmes to determine where the problem was. My weight was up, my blood pressure was beginning to concern my doctor, and I had stomach problems.

For the record, I hate diets. They are boring and very hard to stick to. But, I had to do something. First of all, those prepared and packaged foods I was eating contained lots and lots of sodium. Most doctors you consult will tell you that the maximum daily intake of sodium for a healthy adult should be around 2400mg. A 2 ounce bag of Frito Chili Cheese corn chips (which I dearly love) has a whopping 530 milligrams, almost 1/4 of the daily allowance of sodium, not to mention 320 calories that you have to walk about 3 miles to burn off.

So, that was what I started with. I began to watch my sodium intake and eat lower sodium foods. This pretty much cut out the Fritos and other packaged or prepared foods. But, when I work, I simply must have something to munch, so now I munch on baby carrots, celery, and even a bowl of dry low-sodium generic Cheerios or low-sodium popcorn. This has several benefits: my blood pressure is now managed at healthy levels without medication; I lost several pounds very quickly just from water loss (sodium makes your body hold more water); My calorie intake was lower.

Portion control is also a big part of any plan. Some experts tell you that eating six smaller meals is better than eating 3 larger meals. This may be so, at least in the beginning. If you begin to eat smaller meals and your stomach is used to larger meals, then you will get hungry between the traditional breakfast, lunch and supper. Smaller meals or light snacks can fill in and keep you from feeling so hungry, which is a downfall of many a diet. But, you will find that it only takes your stomach a few days to learn not to expect so much and have you feeling full on less.

I exercise during the week and take weekends off. I started out just walking on the treadmill for 30 minutes per day at about 3 miles per hour. Now, I’ve added some weight training to go along with it. This helps your body burn off calories, helps your cholesterol levels (lower bad, raise good), and with the weight training, continues to burn calories after the exercise is complete. If you haven’t exercised in a while, it is a good idea to visit your doctor and get his or her recommendations for beginning again. In any case, it is a good idea to start slowly and gradually work yourself up as your body is able. Generally, I’m at the fitness center about an hour per day, so it is not a huge drain on time.

Now, as I said, I HATE dieting, so I had to find some way to make it more bearable. This goes to the philosophy that I did not gain it all in one day. I picked a day out of the week, mine is Friday, that is my free day. My free day allows me to eat pretty much what I want. The good thing is that by using portion control all week long, my stomach will feel full on much less food, even on my free day. Be flexible, however, so that you can move your free day for the Christmas party, or Thanksgiving dinner, etc.

I find that dieting is easier when I can look forward to a day each week that I can eat yummy stuff without worrying. I didn’t get overweight in one day, and I certainly won’t gain it all back in one day.

If you’ve tried everything and still can’t seem to lose weight, a very good program that uses a slightly different approach to weight loss is Fat Loss 4 Idiots.

Remember, please consult with your physician before beginning any kind of diet or exercise regimen.