You don’t even feel anything until the second cup. This should be obvious, yet somehow it’s become commonplace for people to move on to the second cup of coffee without wondering why they don’t feel anything. The average cup of coffee has about 112 mg of caffeine in it. If you’re not feeling that, something’s wrong.

You drink more coffee than water. First of all, most people don’t drink enough water, period. Secondly, coffee dehydrates you, so you need to drink even more water. If you’re slugging coffee and not hydrating you’re paving the way for some major headaches and health problems.

You think you can skip a meal with coffee. Powering through a lunch meeting with just coffee? You have a dangerous addiction. Your body needs many vitamins and minerals that coffee doesn’t even get close to substituting.

You drink coffee at night. Caffeine severely affects your sleep/wake cycles, so if you’re consuming it within a few hours of going to sleep you’re not going to get your proper REM that night. And that means fatigue, crankiness and more coffee the next day.

You let your kids drink coffee. This one’s just a no-brainer. Children, especially ones prone to hyperactivity, should never consume caffeine, as it affects their nervous systems, personalities and can even lead to obesity. The fact that you’re letting your kid drink coffee is a sign that you’re dangerously addicted to it.

These are the warning signs of a dangerous coffee addiction. If you match this profile, it’s probably a good idea to cut back your caffeine intake on a daily basis. Start by exercising in the morning, drinking lots of water, and eating nutritional meals throughout the day.

       Make it a safe celebration and make plans for a driver it you are tired, or have had too much to drink, or need to text or read texts. You could kill or mame yourself or others. Yes it could happen to you.

      This next year should be very interesting and I hope everyone can start it out the right and responsible way. Happy New Years!

     The other day I walked into the kitchen and boom! My feet went out from under me and I couldn’t catch my balance. I  twissted my left knee and heard cracks like a rachet wrench.

          I wasn’t alone but had to lay there a few minutes to ready myself to see what damage I’d done. I did not go to the doctor, I just stayed in bed and can only make it to the bathroom.

     Now it’s still sore but I’m moving alot better. That will teach me to laugh, huh?

      You can kill two birds with one stone by drinking a full glass of water about twenty minutes before you eat something.If it’s time for a meal after the twenty minutes is done and you still feel hungry by all means eat your meal. If not, wait a while.

         The second thing is that by drinking the water you might feel fuller and not eat as much. Remember, it takes about twenty minutes for your brain to realize that you are full or not. It may help you to eat less than you usually would otherwise.

The three main reasons that people choose not to exercise are lack of motivation, lack of accessibility, and lack of time. While those first two can definitely pose challenges, depending on your circumstances, there are plenty of ways to manage your time, fulfill your work and family obligations, and get some exercise. Not only will it make you healthier, but if you’re truly so busy that it’s hard to find free time, you could probably use a stress reducer as well.

For those of us with busy work schedules, finding time to exercise is all about planning ahead and being consistent. Don’t tell yourself that you’ll exercise whenever you have an opening in your schedule. Rather, you want to make exercise a cornerstone of that schedule – an activity that you do regularly, at the same time each day.
On that note, ask yourself: what time during the day should I set aside solely for exercise? Should it be in the mornings, before work? In the evenings, before bed? Or in the middle of the day, during my lunch hour?

The timing decision should be based on your specific needs and obligations, such as those to your family and to your employer. But even the busiest of us should be able to find some period of time that we can workout. If this means losing 30 minutes of sleep several times a week, it’s probably still in your best long-term interest.

And if you’re really struggling to find time, consider turning your daily commute into a run or a bike ride. Sure, it requires living a certain distance from work and possibly having a shower at your place of employment. But if it’s logistically feasible, then you can put yourself into the enviable position of turning one of your obligations into an activity that benefits your mind and your body. Good luck.

     I think stress is measured by the person who is carrying it. Some people in my view are just worried about what gifts they are giving and getting and what to serve or bring to holiday parties. For them it’s real stress. For others , it’s worrying about paying rent or morgage and being hungry or homeless. Clearly there is a big difference and for all our sakes I hope we can all see the differences and put things in the right perspective.

     Believe me, things could always be worse than they usually are.

     I decided long ago the best way for me to look at it was to understand that the abusive mean behavior was the drug and not the person. Of course I hold the person responsible for doing the drug but the only way to handle it is to fight the drug as if the person was possessed.

     I did remove myself this year for a couple of months to let this person hit bottom so they could learn to help themselves. It did help and I returned to support their efforts to get straight. The problem is that a lot of this persons so called friends who tell them to get off the drug are the same people that are selling it and giving it to them. That I don’t understand and I hate them for it.

     I know that the evenings they use they are quiet and even caring and a little paranoid. They can’t do enough for me and serve me as if I were royalty. In the morning next, however it’s hell for me and whoever else happens to be around.

     At his/her worst, I am blamed for everything short of the war in the middle east. I am called very foul names, get spit in the face, and kicked and punched in the head and shoulders. I still have a five inch long bruise from where I was kicked in the shin. The bruise was from my knee to my toes.

      I have my reasons for putting up with this and enduring the abuse.

     However, when I moved to the suburbs I discovered that it was worse for different reasons. Even though I no longer had to worry about drive by bullets going through my walls and windows, I now had a bigger problem. Functioning addicts, I’m calling them. I’m in my third apartment in the suburbs and with each one am meeting more and more neighbors who are addicts.

      I’m calling them functioning addicts because many of them , most of them work to maintain their addictions. They are store clerks, servers, and some even have gigs and freelance jobs like lawn care and cleaning services. I’m not saying they are the brightest bulbs, but they are lit, in one way or another.

      I think reality shows, show us the homeless addicts and the ones that can’t function at all. The functioning addicts are’nt better or worse, just different. More on this later.

     It would be great if they could have visitors all year long but the truth once again is that a great many don’t. It’s hard for some people to find time away from their own families and work on top of that to visit the elderly. It’s also difficult for some elderly to understand that since many moms did not have to work when they were young.

     However if you can spare time don’t forget about them. If you listen you’ll find they have have great stories to pass on to the next generation and they would appreciate the visit more than you know.

     So if you can find a spare hour in your busy schedule for a visit or better yet to take them out for a nice dinner or something it would behove you to do so. If you don’t know any elderly just go and find out from staff who doesn’t get many visitors. Maybe you’ll make a new friend.