Savannah
Don’t dump those damaged CDs!
The ideas on how to recycle damaged CDs, creating gifts and decorations with them, can go on forever.  Here are two more:

Bookmarker.  Cut a damaged CD into a heart, a flower or a butterfly.  Punch a small hole; (two for the butterfly); string colourful beads; tie a knot around the end beads so they don’t fall out.  Give this to someone who loves to read.

Photo “frame”.  Punch small holes in some damaged CDs.  String them together.  Paste photos on the writing side of the CDs – feel free to cover the holes in the middle of the CDs with your photos.  Hang in a window.   

Schools can use this to display children’s art…please pass on this idea to a teacher.

Next week: for the birds…
EARTH WOMAN.
The lights in your Christmas tree.
Before you light your tree tonight, gather the children around and tell them this story about the Christmas tree lights. 

In faraway Latvia, some time in the 1500’s, Martin Luther, the man who started the Protestant Church, went walking in the forest.  It was Christmas Eve night, and snow covered the land.  The scene that greeted him was beautiful.  The snow on the trees was shimmering with moonlight and starlight.

Martin Luther wanted to share this experience with his children.  He set up a little tree at home and decorated it with small candles, then lit them for the baby Jesus.

Today, Christmas trees around the world twinkle with electric bulbs.  Many people also drape fairy lights outdoors, leaving them on all night. 

As the sun rises, the lights still shine.  Maybe these individuals are not aware of this – the more electricity they burn, the more carbon they release into the atmosphere.  And of course, more carbon equals more pollution.

In fact, pollution is such a problem now, world leaders met recently in Copenhagen to discuss ways to clean up earth.  There, citizens lit the Christmas tree in the City Hall Square in an unusual way – by pedalling bicycles hooked up to the tree’s lights.  In other words, instead of using electricity, they used the energy they produced by pedalling.  The mayor, children and important international persons took part. 

What a great way to lighten up – lose weight and switch on!  In the meantime, while we wait for bicycle or solar power, please use electricity wisely.  Don’t burn it the entire night.  Switch off those fairy lights before you go to bed.  Santa will find you no matter what, especially if you’ve been good.

HOW TO…
…Take care of you this holiday season.
Fact: you, mother, make Christmas happen at home.  You are the cook, the cleaning lady and the dishwasher.  You go to all this trouble because you want to add that extra bit of joy in your children’s lives. 

But, how smart is it to do so much that you forget to take care of you?  Yes, you should take care of you.  You are important.  And consider this – what’s the point of getting so stressed, you are cross and you yell at the very people you’re trying to make happy?  It makes sense to do what’s right for you.

Get enough sleep.  It keeps you from being crotchety.  It also gives you the energy you need.  Try to sleep seven hours to eight every night; forget that one chore you must get done.  It’s not worth losing sleep over.

Try some early morning exercises.  This is another energy-booster.  It gets your blood pumping, sending oxygen to your muscles.

Delegate.  The children can help with some chores.  Explain to them how tired you can get.  Yes, “having discussions” with the children sounds crazy, but my friends who are parents who do this, promise that it works.  Give the children small tasks they can handle.  Realise their limits.

Cut down on the extra Christmas cleaning.  Maybe you’re doing too much.  Do you need to wash those curtains again?  Relax.  Your family prefers an unstressed mother to a super-clean home.

Potluck.  If relatives are coming, ask them to bring a dish.  And ask for help to clean up after.  The work is quickly done then everyone has fun together.

Drink lots of water.  Being dehydrated makes a body tired and cranky.  Water helps your blood flow to all the right places, giving you an extra boost.

BEAUTIFUL YOU…INSIDE & OUT. 
How stress affects your looks.
Stress happens.  It is a part of life.  Family troubles, money worries, work woes, health problems are major causes. 

But stress is not always bad.  It prepares us for “fight or flight” situations.  It helps us respond quickly to danger.  Here’s one example of how it works.  You are crossing the road.  Suddenly, a mini-bus rushes towards you.  It is not slowing down.  Your body pumps out stress hormones.  Your heart speeds up, blood rushes to your brain and muscles, you breathe faster, more oxygen is pumped to your muscles.  You run.  This is short-term stress, the good kind.

Long-term stress is the bad guy.  It pulls down your mouth; makes your eyes sad; you frown; you look haggard.  Some women twirl hair nervously, developing bald patches.  Some bite their nails, pick at them, damaging the growth plate of their nails.

I know women whose hair fall when they are worried, and women who get small rashes.  If I am frazzled, a pimple pops up.  Dermatologists say stress releases a hormone, cortisol; too much cortisol increases the oil production in the body…and tah dah…acne or pimples. 

Do you see then some of the reasons why we need to manage stress?  Check the How To section on this page for a few tips.Next week: what stress can do to you on the inside… 
Enjoy your holidays, ladies.  Be good to you, take care of you.