Get ready for the Holidays ….. stress!
The no. 1 cause of holiday stress is spending too much money! That’s the word from a recent FranklinCovey survey asking over 15,000 customers what causes them stress during the most wonderful time of the year. 87% admitted that holiday activities do cause stress, while 49% confessed to being relieved when it was all over. Here are the top 10 most stressful holiday activities in ranked order of most stressful to least stressful:
- Spending too much money
- Creating a specific holiday budget
- Deciding what gift to buy for whom
- Managing workload to take time off
- Not enough time to shop
- Not enough time for events
- Sending gifts and cards on time
- Taking care of physical well-being
- Relationships with family, friends and co-workers
- Decorating for or hosting a holiday party
“The key to avoiding stress during the holiday season is to create a manageable, written plan for the holidays that includes events, budgeting, shopping, traditions and quality time with friends and family. Make sure your plan allows you and your loved ones to enjoy the holiday season — your way,” said professional organizer Julie Morgenstern, author of “Organizing From the Inside Out.” “Without a plan, you can easily go over budget, waste time searching for the perfect gift, and abandon your own well-being. Be prepared before you take on the season.”
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THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
- Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin have agreed to co-host the next Academy Awards show.
- Thomas Dekker, the star of the now-defunct “Terminator” TV series “The Sarah Connor Chronicles,” has been charged with two DUI’s.
- Michael Irvin and “Iron Chef America” chairman were sent home this week on “Dancing with the Stars.”
- Carrie Underwood is pretty nutso over her hockey player boyfriend, Mike Fisher. Even wrote him a really mooshy love note in the pamphlet of her new CD.
- Now available: a Snuggy featuring the rock band Weezer. Can life get any better than that?
- Eat curry. It may well be the new wonder food. An extract that is found in the bright yellow curry spice turmeric actually kills cancer cells, The BBC News reports of a study from the Cork Cancer Research Centre in Ireland.
- Kirstie Alley in another reality show based on her weight challenges? A and E have signed her for a 10-episode thing next year.
- Supermodel and mommy-to-be Gisele Bundchen (Mrs. Tom Brady) has passed her written test for acquiring her helicopter license.
- Sesame Street starts it’s 40th season on November 10th.
- The coat rack reality star Ryan Jenkins used to hang himself earlier this year… was put on display at a Halloween party, where guests could take their picture with it. A little too macabre, don’t you think?
- Bill Clinton and George W. Bush will debate — I’m not kidding — in New York’s Radio City Music Hall February 25th of next year. Part of a speakers series being put on there.
- Brad Pitt is blaming the paparazzi for his recent motorcycle accident and is currently shopping for a new bike.
- An Atlanta stripper claims she had a one-night stand with Fergie’s husband, Josh Duhamel. But both Fergie and Josh are denying it. The stripper says she has text messages to back up her claims.
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WEIRD NEWS
Man Robs Same Bank Four Times?
There’s an old adage that says if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. In other words, if something’s working fine, don’t mess with it. That usually doesn’t apply to bank robberies but it seems to me the motto of one bank robber in Tamarac, Florida. Investigators are searching for the guy who has now robbed a BankAtlantic branch four times in the last year. It happens so often that on his last robbery one of the tellers was overheard saying, “He’s here again.” The suspect is described as heavyset and has dreadlocks. He wears different clothes each time. He always orders tellers to fill a plastic bag with cash, then casually walks out. Hey — after maybe say the first three times, do you think it might have been a good idea to have hired an armed guard to hang around during banking hours? (South Florida Sun Sentinel)
I Stole From a 9-Year-Old!
Shame, shame on 56-year-old Evelyn Border and her 35-year-old daughter Tina Griekspoor. They became willing victims of a modern day stockade after agreeing to stand outside the Bedford, Pennsylvania courthouse holding signs that read: I stole from a 9-year-old girl on her birthday! Don’t steal or this could happen to you!” The strange sentence was part of a plea-bargain to keep the mom and daughter duo out of jail. Instead they got probation. They apparently swiped a gift card that a 9-year-old girl set on a shelf while a Wal-Mart employee helped her. The girl’s mother planned to drive by the courthouse to teach her daughter the importance of obeying the law. And let’s be honest — probably so they could just laugh and laugh and laugh! I know I would! (AHN News)
No More Shout Outs to Prisoners!
Try not to end up at the Van Buren County Jail in Paw Paw, Michigan. One section of the jail is 100-years-old and has no air-conditioning. As a result, its barred windows are opened during warm weather. As the wing stands only a few feet from the sidewalk, separated by a tall chain-link fence crowned by spirals of razor wire, for years friends and loved ones of inmates have been known to stand outside the jail and shout out to them. Sometimes they hold entire conversations together. Not anymore. A new Paw Paw law (yeah that’s fun to say) makes giving your favorite inmate a shout out from the sidewalk illegal. Do it and you could be having lots of conversations with them — from inside the jail — for 90 days! myway.com)
Don’t Mess With Me and My Trusty Umbrella
A parking valet in Boston is being heralded a hero thanks to his bravery and his trusty umbrella. Just after he brought 61-year-old Barbara Pero her car, a knife-wielding purse snatcher came out of nowhere and attacked. The guy forced his way into the car and threatened to kill her. Ms. Pero jumped out and screamed. That’s when 23-year-old valet Felix Vega sprang into action. He grabbed a wood-handled umbrella from his manager’s office and began beating the suspect. The suspect, 48-year-old Richard Morse, fled but was arrested nearby with Ms. Pero’s purse. Turns out he had previous convictions for mayhem and armed robbery. Mayhem?? (Boston Globe)
Three Cat Limit!
If you just can’t have enough cats in your life, stay clear of Dudley, Massachusetts. Dudley is a small town about 60 miles southwest of Boston and just passed a new ordinance which says it is now illegal to live in Dudley and own more than three cats. That is unless you get a special license. And good luck getting that. Voters at a town meeting made it so in response to a neighborhood feud over the 15 cats owned by Mary Ellen Richards. A neighbor complained that Ms. Richard’s cats ruined his yard. Ms. Richards has put her home up for sale and says she plans to move to a “more cat-friendly community.” So there! (Telegram & Gazette)
Unfortunately Police Had the Wrong Teletubby!
Maybe the best headline we’ve seen this year. Halloween took a bizarre turn in London when late Halloween night, a man dressed as a Teletubby robbed a woman at gunpoint. The gun-toting Teletubby confronted the woman just after midnight and demanded cash. She gave him the money and then called police. They indeed stopped a man in the area who fit the description, but then realized they had the wrong Teletubby. The Teletubby who robbed the woman has described as between 6 foot 2 and 6 foot 4, 200 to 240 pounds and a muscular build, short, dark hair and was clean shaven. Apparently Teletubbies are still all the rage on Halloween in London. (Packet and Times)
Ouch! Right in the Wii!
Apparently Judge Marvin Garfinkle of Winnipeg doesn’t believe much in being scared straight. He’d rather hit trouble kids where it really hurts — right in the Wii! He just opted to grant a troublesome 12-year-old boy bail on condition that he surrenders his beloved Nintendo Wii to the court. Judge Garfinkle said, “He is pledging as a security, akin to a cash deposit, his Nintendo Wii. And if he doesn’t comply, he loses it.” By “comply,” the judge means “keeping the peace, appearing for court dates, living with his grandmother and participating in a bail management program.” Failure to uphold any of those duties will result in forfeiture of the console. The creative punishment is basically a last ditch effort to curb the boy’s bad behavior, which includes smashing windows at his elementary school, punching a classmate in the face, disobeying a court order to stay away from school, hitting another boy with a pool cue and attacking a teacher after a game of dodge ball. (Yahoo News)
But That Cat Is My Mommy!
46-year-old Peter Keonig is serving five-years for armed robberies in Whirl, Germany. And the Buddhist bank robber has been refused permission for his cat to visit him in jail– even though he says it’s the reincarnation of his mother. Buddhists believe that people come back as other animals after death and Pete went to court to demand the right for his cat Gisela to be allowed to visit him in jail “because she is my dead mom”. He added, “I need to see her like other prisoners see their wives and children.” But the court said forget it and issued a statement which read: “While we respect the religious freedom of individuals, the accused has not been able to furnish proof that his deceased mother has been reborn in a cat. Therefore, the request for visiting rights for the feline is rejected.” The court did say Peter would be allowed to write to the cat. (AHN News)