Here's What Happened When I Became a Minimalist Mom

Parents will try anything to find that magic, trendy solution that works. During the 25-plus years that I've been a mom, I've experienced a handful of parenting trends. I dabbled with various parenting styles and learned that helicopter, free-range, and snow-plow parenting weren't for me. Next, I enjoyed the eco-friendly movement and then embraced mindful parenting. And I now have a whole new appreciation for homeschooling parents. (Uh, thanks, 2020. You're provided some real "learning experiences.")

As the mom of eight, I've been open to experimenting with anything that might benefit my family. I think I've found something that clicks—a minimalist approach.

Don't be frightened by this concept of focusing on the essentials!

Don't be frightened by this concept of focusing on the essentials! There are many ways you can approach minimalism so that it works for your family. Here are five ways minimalism can take you from overwhelmed to peaceful and save you money at the same time.

What is a minimalist lifestyle?

When I first heard the term "minimalist," I shook my head and said, "No way!" I imagined my large family sleeping on the floor, giving up cell phones and the Internet, and painting our rooms stark white.

Wow, was I ever wrong! 

After more investigation, I found hundreds of websites, YouTube channels, articles, and podcasts that promote minimalism. My favorite definition of minimalism comes from Joshua Becker, founder of BecomingMinimalist.com.

At its core, being a minimalist means intentionally promoting the things we most value and removing everything that distracts us from it.

It is a life that forces intentionality upon us. As a result, it causes improvements in almost all aspects of your life.

Joshua Becker

With that, I was on board. I believed my family could benefit from intentionally living with only the things we really needed and eliminating any clutter that might distract us from what matters most.

What can minimalism do for your family?

The minimalist approach might just be the right one for your family, too. So, let's take a closer look at what minimalism looks like in action.

Having less stuff allows more time to enjoy your family

Raising eight kids means not only caring for them but managing all their stuff, too....

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20 Amazing Animals Discovered in the Last 20 Years

Twenty years ago, the first-ever issue of Mental Floss hit newsstands. Over those two decades, scores of creatures that were once unknown to mainstream science finally came to light. From purring monkeys to the “wandering leg sausage,” here are 20 amazing animals the wider world has been introduced to in the last two decades.

1. The Olinguito (Bassaricyon neblina)

Mark Gurney, Wikimedia Commons // CC BY 3.0

Dogs, cats, seals, and raccoons all belong to the mammal order Carnivora. When biologists first identified the olinguito, an orange-brown raccoon relative, in 2013, it became the first new member of that group to be discovered in the Americas since 1978. Olinguito specimens had actually been lying around museums for decades before someone identified them as a distinct species. Native to the cloud forests of Ecuador and Columbia, the olinguito weighs about two pounds and has an omnivorous diet.

2. Six-Gill Sawsharks (Pliotrema kajae and Pliotrema annae)

Sawsharks are named for their long snouts adorned with a comb-like set of teeth. Researchers collected two new species from the Indian Ocean in 2020: Pliotrema kajae and Pliotrema annae. Unlike most sawsharks, which have five gills per side, both species have six gills on both sides of their bodies.

3. The Bald Parrot (Pionopsitta aurantiocephala)

...

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This Is Your Brain On Gratitude

I realized the other day that I haven’t watched Jimmy Fallon’s Thank You Notes segment in a long time. In this Friday bit, he writes quick thank-you cards to random things like the Zoom cat lawyer, curbside pickup, Airpods, and open-back hospital gowns. It’s hilarious!

And you know what? Jimmy might be doing this as a joke, but there’s actually a lot of neuroscience and psychology research saying that you should do it, too.

I know these days it can be hard to find things to be grateful for. It seems that when crises and tragedies happen, they pile on in never-ending layers. When it rains, it pours. (Or when it snows, it incapacitates much of the southern U.S.) Between extreme winter storms, vaccine anxieties, COVID-parenting, employment uncertainties, not to mention ongoing, entrenched systematic racism showing its cards everywhere, many of us are feeling down and exhausted.

But today, I want to take a leaf from Jimmy Fallon’s book—it’s time to write some thank-you notes!

Let's put gratitude in writing

Yes, I do mean literally sitting down and putting some grateful statements in writing instead of waiting for a grateful feeling to arrive. That’s because, when your brain is busy putting out fires all day, gratitude doesn’t always get the attention it deserves. During stressful times, your mental space can look like a big dreary landscape even though there are good things under the surface just waiting to be recognized.

Gratitude is not just a feeling that happens to us; it’s an activity in the brain.

So, let’s do put some gratitude in writing together for just a moment. Fill in the blank: Thank you, [insert thing], for being wonderful.

You can fill that blank with anything, however big or small. You might be grateful for a loved one’s health, the roof over your head, the coffee brewing in the pot, your dog’s sweet puppy eyes, a never-ending supply of fascinating podcasts, or the coworker who complimented your DIY haircut during your Zoom meeting last week.

Now, take a slow breath, and then read the gratitude statement. Really let yourself feel the gratefulness.

Guess what? This little moment of gratitude might have just given your brain a bit of positive fuel. That’s because gratitude is not just a feeling that happens to us; it’s an activity in the brain.

How does gratitude help you?

Need more convincing that...

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What Does It Mean to ‘Put the Kibosh’ on Something?

Have you ever heard someone say they were going to “put the kibosh” on something? Did you ever wonder what they meant, or what a “kibosh” is? 

Believe it or not, this has been a long-standing mystery of the English language. Multiple theories have been proposed, but none could be proven. Recently, however, three scholars seem to have gotten to the bottom of it. (2)

Here’s the story.

‘To Put the Kibosh’ on Means to Shut Something Down

First of all, to “put the kibosh” on something means you’re shutting it down. You’re putting the lid on a plan before it can take off. Or you’re stopping an activity that’s already underway.  

For example, parents might “put the kibosh” on their teenager’s plan to throw a wild party. Or a librarian might “put the kibosh” on patrons who are munching on burgers and fries while they’re handling books. 

This word first showed up in print in 1826, in a London newspaper. And not too long after, etymologists started speculating about where it came from.  

5 (Probably Debunked) Theories on the Origin of ‘Kibosh’

Theory number one was that “kibosh” was of Yiddish origin; that it was related to the Hebrew word “kāḇaš,” meaning to subject, subdue, or tread down. (9)

Theory two was that it was related to the Turkish word “bosh,” meaning “empty or worthless.” That word came into fashion around the same time that “kibosh” did, in the 1830s. It appeared in a popular romance titled “Ayesha, Maid of Kars,” that told of the intrigues of female life in Turkey. (7,8,9)

To see this connection, you can image a stodgy English gentleman saying “Bosh! Stuff and nonsense!” about the butler’s plan to serve bread and butter with tea, instead of cake. And the gentleman saying he would “put the kibosh” on that plan straightaway. 

Theory three is that “kibosh” comes from the Gaelic “caidhp bháis,” meaning “coif of death.” This referred to various things: the hood an executioner wore when he mounted the scaffold; the head covering a judge wore when pronouncing the death sentence; or the cap put on a body before it was buried. 

It was also connected to a gruesome form of torture known as a “pitch-cap,” in which a hat filled with boiling tar was placed on someone’s head. This cruel technique was used by the English military during the Irish rebellion of 1798. Game of Thrones fans will see an analogy...

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Sidekicks: Does Your Watson or Robin Meet Expectations?

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. Batman and Robin. Xena the Warrior Princess and Gabrielle. Buffy, Willow, and Xander. The squad behind Avatar: the Last Airbender — Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph. When we think of famous characters in the media, they usually don’t come alone. No superhero can go without their trusty sidekicks (or their favorite team-ups). While everyone can follow a protagonist’s journey, often, that trek isn’t as meaningful without their best friends, their family, and even their rivals joining in. 

What is a sidekick?

A sidekick is a character who acts as a combination of ally, helper, and foil to the protagonist. Historically, sidekicks have been unfairly reduced to a minor role: think about how Dr. Watson primarily records the tales of the extraordinary Sherlock, or the talented fighter Kato served as the driver to The Green Hornet. Today’s sidekick characters may not have the same skill set that your protagonist has; on the other hand, modern sidekicks are equally as capable. For example, while Queen Elsa from Disney’s “Frozen” may be the one with the magical powers, her sister Anna has the cheerful determination and big heart to help Elsa overcome her inner demons. Likewise, if your protagonist has a best friend, a partner in crime, or a wingman, make sure their talents and abilities complement each other.

Side characters have served multiple purposes as literary devices. The first use of side characters as literary devices can be traced to ancient Greek drama, which always contained a protagonist, an antagonist, and a chorus. The Greek chorus is an early iteration of a protagonist’s sidekick; the chorus acts a commentator on the protagonist’s actions; an echo of the larger thematic elements of the play; and can even become a stand-in for the playwright’s perspective.

Over time, the use of side characters as literary devices has changed when accommodating other genres. For example, in superhero fiction, sidekicks reflect the superhero’s inner thoughts and help prompt the plot’s action by helping the hero on their mission; this is why in early superhero fiction, sidekicks usually didn’t have a lot to their backstory outside of their origins alongside the superhero. 

Another common use of sidekicks as a literary device in fiction is the “newcomer” character, who acts as the reader insert: a tool to introduce the story’s worldbuilding or character relationships. 

Sidekicks in detective fiction

In detective fiction the sidekick asks the questions the reader may have in solving a mystery. 

Sidekicks in horror stories

In horror...

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38 DIY Storage Hacks for a Tidier Home

Get organized anywhere

Shoe-in for all-purpose storage

Those over-the-door hanging shoe organizers aren’t just for shoes! Keep them all over the house—their handy cubicles will hold anything, from accessories to toiletries to spices to remote controls and video games. In kids rooms, the easy-to-reach pockets make toy cleanup a cinch.

A basket beyond the kitchen

A hanging fruit basket can hold much more than fruit. Try using it in the bathroom to keep washcloths and bath toys handy—you can hang it right over the shower bar. Or put it to work storing old rags in the garage or basement. Fill it with balls of yarn in an area where you knit or crochet. Have it hold hats and gloves near an entryway.

An attractive solution

Magnetic knife strips are a handy kitchen idea, but they can stretch a lot farther. They’ll grab keys near the door, matchbox cars in the playroom, nail clippers and bobby pins in the bathroom, and all kinds of tools in the garage. We’re positive you’ll find all sorts of uses!

Make removable labels

Not ready to commit to sticky labels? Just use plastic wrap! You can write right on the wrap secured around the item.

Gift wrap contained

Have an old hamper you no longer need? Repurpose it as a place to store gift wrap! Rolls of wrapping paper fit perfectly inside, and you can hang door hooks over the edges for rolls of ribbon and gift bags.

Create a dropbox

There’s one place in every household that gathers clutter like a magnet: gloves, scarves, and hats in the wintertime; sunglasses, sunscreen, and baseball caps in the summertime; house keys, gum, iPods, and cell phones all the time. Maybe it’s your entryway or the bottom of your stairs? Make a plan to contain it all! Place a small galvanized tub or other container in that hot spot, and divide it into compartments using strips of cardboard or foam core. Each family member gets a compartment to stick go-to on-the-go items inside.

Soap dish key holder

Tired of searching for your house keys every time you’re getting ready to step out the door? Install a mountable soap dish on a wall near the entryway, and stick your keys in the dish when you enter the house. Problem solved!

Stock up on toolboxes! Toolboxes are perfect for all-around storage—we use one to store craft supplies, another for extra school supplies, and yet another to actually hold our tools. As a bonus, they’re super portable, so you can use them for any activity that requires you to travel.

Clean closets and drawers

Shoebox dividers

Keep bureau drawers under control by using shoeboxes to separate underwear, socks, tights, and whatever else gets quickly stuffed in there when...

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How Much Debt Is Too Much? 8 Warning Signs

Debt is a powerful tool that can boost your success or cause your financial life to crash and burn. The trick to using debt wisely is knowing the difference between good and bad debt and the right amounts based on your income and goals.

Today, I'll cover tips to use debt strategically, so it helps not hurts you. Plus, you'll learn eight ways to know if you have too much debt and action steps to protect your finances.

Debt is a complex topic because people have different opinions about it. Some insist that no amount of debt is acceptable, not even a home mortgage. Others acknowledge that some debts, such as a mortgage or student loans, are OK but using a credit card or taking out a car loan is a mistake. There's a camp that believes using debt to purchase anything is acceptable as long as you can afford the payments. 

My recommendation is that you should consider going into debt when:

• You're confident that it will give you a financial return. 
• You have a steady income or ample savings to repay it on time.
• You qualify for a competitive interest rate and terms.

As you pay down the principal balance and/or your home value appreciates, you build wealth. That's why financing a home is generally considered good debt.

For example, if you buy an affordable home with a low-rate mortgage, you can build equity over time. As you pay down the principal balance and/or your home value appreciates, you build wealth. That's why financing a home is generally considered good debt.  

Additionally, mortgage interest rates are at historic lows. They also come with an interest tax deduction, making home loans cost even less on an after-tax basis. Depending on where you live, buying a home may be less expensive than renting a similar property, especially outside of large cities.

Another example of good debt is a reasonable amount of student loans. Interest rates vary depending on whether you have a federal or private loan; however, they typically have relatively low interest rates.

Plus, some amount of interest paid on education debt is tax-deductible, which further reduces the cost. And best of all, getting an education gives you the ability to earn more over your lifetime.

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Null Results: Why 'Nothing' Matters in Nutrition Research

Most nutrition research studies are designed to see what will happen if we change something. 

• What happens to muscle synthesis if we add more protein to the diet?
• What happens to cholesterol levels if we increase vitamin E intake?
• What happens to blood sugar levels if we decrease carbohydrate intake?
• What happens to immune function if we add more vitamin D?

Sometimes, of course, nothing happens. We often refer to that as a null result. And it’s easy to see a null result as a failed experiment. But actually, it’s not.

Joining me today to talk about null results is Greg Lopez. Greg is the lead scientific editor at examine.com, where he and his team collect, assess, and summarize a staggering amount of nutrition research. Below are some highlights from our conversation but please click on the audio player to hear all the juicy details.

Monica Reinagel: Examine.com is one of my go-to resources for nutrition research. Not long ago, you added a new section to the Nutrition Examination Research Digest (affectionately known as NERD), dedicated to reporting null results—or research where nothing happens. Why did you feel that this was important to shine a light on?

If there are strong null results, then people can avoid wasting their time and money on ineffective nutrition and supplementation.

Greg Lopez: People are turning to us in order to find out what works and what doesn't. And if there are strong null results, then people can avoid wasting their time and money on ineffective nutrition and supplementation.

MR: You mention the value that this might have for consumers who are trying to decide whether or not to try something. But I would think that for researchers, it would also be important to know about null results that have already been found so that they can focus their research attention more effectively.

GL:  Exactly. It's a big deal for researchers for a few reasons. When you have a whole bunch of small studies, you may see some null results because the studies are too small to catch small-size effects. But if you put all these results together into a meta-analysis, you can see more subtle effects. But if only positive results are published, then you're getting a biased snapshot of what the literature is actually saying.  So meta-analysis conclusions won’t be as reliable as they would be if more null results were published.

Ruling out ideas is how science works. If you already knew what the result was going to be, then you wouldn't need to do the experiment!

Plus, there's a lot...

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40 of the Best Weekend Jobs for Earning Extra Cash

With the pandemic, more and more people have difficulty making ends meet, but that does not mean you have to sit there and struggle. While not everyone can just go out and get a better job, there are plenty of ways that you can still supplement your income with a part-time weekend job.

Weekend jobs are an excellent way to make a little more (or a lot more) money depending on what you can do and how much time you have available. To help you figure out which job opportunities are right for you, which ones are available, and how to find the perfect weekend job, we breakdown this often overlooked form of employment.

What is a weekend job?

While the name might seem kind of obvious, not everyone has the usual schedule of working Monday through Friday with weekends off. Your weekend could be Tuesday and Wednesday, which actually may offer more options for a great part-time job. While most people may think of a weekend job as one done on Saturday and Sunday, it generally refers to a particular type of part-time employment.

Keep in mind that while a weekend job is often a part-time job, a part-time job is not always a weekend job – much in the same way that a square is always a rectangle, but a rectangle is not always a square. A part-time job is any job where you are classified as an employee or contractor and work less than 30-hours a week (for most fields).

While most people may think of a weekend job as one done on Saturday and Sunday, it generally refers to a particular type of part-time employment.

However, a weekend job tends to require less than 30 hours a week and may actually be used to supplement one or more other part-time jobs. In this way, a weekend job is probably better understood as a job where you work less than 24 hours a week, generally for three days or less.

That said, there is no legal definition of “weekend work” the same way there is for part-time and full-time jobs, so the answer will differ depending on who you ask. Still, if you work four to five shifts a week for four or more days, you are likely not working in what most people would consider a “weekend job.”

Types of weekend job schedules

Generally, weekend jobs come in two primary forms: traditional jobs and part-time gigs you work in the morning, evening, or any other time you have spare time. A traditional job is when you are a full-time employee and are accountable to the employer while working.

A gig rarely labels the people who work for them as employees and tends to label them as independent contractors.

On the other hand, a gig rarely labels the people who work for them as employees and tends to label them as...

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Why Consistency Is Fitness Magic (and It's Easier Than You Think)

You have likely heard me mention how, when it comes to overall and general fitness, being consistent with your daily movement (and workouts) is more important than how intensely your work out. But I haven’t spent as much time explaining why that is or how you can use that information. So when I saw a friend of mine posted an image that read “We can’t have long-term success if we keep investing in short-term solutions,” I knew I needed to have him as a guest on the Get-Fit Guy podcast.

My guest on this episode is Dean Dwyer, author of the book, Make Shift Happen, creator of the Extraordinary Willpower course, and the host of The Mindset Show. He is a former educator who now spends his time teaching others how they can be successful in their own lives to change how they look, work and live. 

Here's the quick version of why I invited Dean on the podcast to talk about consistency. On July 19, 2019, Dean was 53-years-old and very unhappy with the state of his body and health. He was overweight, not able to do the things he wanted to be able to do, and could feel age creeping up on him. After some amount of wallowing (this is me speaking as his friend), he really turned things around.

Fast forward to now. Dean is 55-years-old and it's not an exaggeration to say that he looks like a new man. But, and this is even more important, he doesn't just look different—he can do things with his body that he couldn’t do when he was younger. Which, as he will mention later, is something that somewhat flies in the face of conventional wisdom. I mean don’t we all fall apart after we hit 40? (I say that with my tongue firmly planted in my cheek.)

So, as I always say when I have a guest on the podcast, please consider listening to the audio version of this episode by pressing the play button at the top of this page. But if you can't listen or prefer to read, here's a transcript of what Dean had to share.

Dean Dwyer on consistency

Hey, how you doing? My name is Dean...

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5 Reasons Your Career Is Stalled and How to Get Unstuck

There are moments in our professional lives that give us those delightful shocks of bliss: landing the job, proposing the winning idea, getting the promotion, being publicly recognized ... the list goes on.

Those are the moments that deliver endorphins, that keep us going and growing.

But what happens when you look around one day and realize it’s been a hot minute since you’ve been graced with such a moment? Work has been fine; you’ve heard no complaints. But every day is starting to feel the same.

There are moments in our professional lives that give us delightful shocks of bliss. But what happens when you look around one day and realize it’s been a hot minute since you’ve been graced with such a moment?

What do you do if you realize your career may be stalled? And how can you put yourself back on the path to something more?

Before you assume your best days are behind you and it’s all downhill from here, let’s talk about what might be causing this stall. Then, we can figure out how you might break on through to the other side.

1. It’s time to move sideways, not up

When I first entered the workforce, I remember getting advice from people ahead of me on how to climb that corporate ladder. It was up or out.

But a few years into my career, I stumbled onto the idea of a career lattice. Imagine a shape more like a snowflake than a ladder. It represents the idea that careers could—and in many cases should—move in all directions.

When the time to climb arrives, you'll be carrying more tools in your professional toolbox.

At different seasons in our lives, we may need different things. Sometimes explosive upward growth is it. But sometimes it’s about taking a left or a right and learning new and valuable things, instead. It's about expanding our knowledge before we take the next step up. Then, when the time to climb arrives, we'll be carrying more tools in our professional toolbox.

When I worked full-time in human resources, there were essentially two brands of HR professionals. The specialists managed programs. Think talent management, leadership development, and even company-wide compensation. The generalists partnered with and advised individual business units.

My climb had always been up the specialist ladder. I knew that world was a better fit for me. But I came to a point in my career whee I realized that if I was going to keep climbing, I needed some generalist experience. Spending time advising business leaders would only help me design...

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End Your Child's Bedtime Battles with These 6 Steps

If you've ever cheerfully awakened after a good night's sleep—and hopefully you have!—then you know the power a restful night has to make you feel renewed and invigorated. But what if bedtime struggles with your child are preventing your family from getting that sweet (and essential) slumber? These six strategies can help end bedtime battles for good.

How much sleep does your child need?

In 2015, the National Sleep Foundation gathered a panel of 18 experts to update its sleep duration recommendations. They offered some guidelines for how many hours of sleep children and adults in different age groups generally need. For "healthy individuals with normal sleep," here's what they suggested:

• Newborns: 14-17 hours
• Infants: 12-15 hours
• Toddlers: 11-14 hours
• Preschoolers: 10-13 hours
• Elementary-school-aged: 9-11 hours
• Teenagers: 8-10 hours
• Young adults: 7-9 hours
• Older adults: 7-8 hours

We'd all like our family members to benefit from the right amount of healthy sleep. But busy parents know this isn't always easy to accomplish. Worse, suppose your sweet cherub hassles you each night about going to bed? In that case, hiding under the covers might seem more appealing than summoning the energy to take on a nightly battle.

Don't fall into the nightly bedtime woes. Instead, try these tips to help your entire family get peaceful rest more often.

1. Prepare a solid bedtime routine

One of my favorite parenting words (other than nap) is routine! Without question, my sanity and my family's overall well-being would not be as strong if not for creating structure in our busy lives. A solid bedtime routine helps your children wind down and also lays the foundation for a positive start the next morning. In 6 Steps to a Successful Bedtime Routine, I shared tips to help you craft a nightly ritual specific to your family's needs. 

• Start by deciding what time your child will hit the hay and work backward. If 9 p.m. is bedtime and prep takes 30 minutes, then make sure you kick off the bedtime routine at 9:30 p.m. every night.
• Less is more! A short routine works better than letting bedtime prep drag on.
• ...

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Am I Having a Panic Attack? Why It Happens and What to Do

Your heart pounds. Your vision blurs. You hear the blood rushing in your ears as everything becomes way too bright and and way too hot. You wonder if you’re going to faint or totally lose your senses. What’s going on?

Almost a quarter of Americans have had a panic attack. ABC News correspondent Dan Harris—poor guy!—even had a panic attack on Good Morning America in front of 5 million viewers. He described the experience like this:

I was overtaken by a massive, irresistible blast of fear. It felt like the world was ending. My heart was thumping. I was gasping for air. I had pretty much lost the ability to speak.

That sounds terrifying! Anyone who’s had a panic attack can probably relate to just how sudden, scary, and desperate it feels when you’re in the middle of one.

My experience with panic attacks

I’ve had only a handful of panic attacks in my life. The most intense one happened when I was pregnant and touring a daycare for the first time. Out of nowhere, my whole body got hot and tingly, a sense of dread began to well up, and my vision went bright white to the point where I almost couldn’t see.

Out of nowhere, my whole body got hot and tingly, a sense of dread began to well up, and my vision went bright white to the point where I almost couldn’t see.

But nobody else, including my husband and the multiple adults I was actively conversing with, even noticed that I was having a panic attack until a few minutes into it. And then, it was only because I told them. If you watch Dan Harris's ABC News footage, you’ll similarly notice a lack of drama. He’s not screaming, hyperventilating, or writhing around. There is some bewilderment in his eyes, and he looks a little sheepish, but the outside clearly doesn’t match the inside.

So let’s bust one common myth about panic attacks right off the bat. Panic attacks are not the same thing as “losing it” because you just realized their car was stolen or “freaking out” because you have a big project due tomorrow that you haven’t started. It’s not a hair-pulling, crying, hyperventilating, pacing frantically kind of experience.

A panic attack is an internal wave of extremely intense feelings...

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How Coining a Phrase Can Lead to an Inigo Montoya Moment

Have you ever coined a phrase? How you answer that question depends on what you think it means to coin a phrase. However, what you think it means might not be what someone else thinks it means, even though both of you are correct in what you think it means. Confused? So was I. 

To coin a phrase: the invention

I always thought that “to coin a phrase” meant to create or invent a new saying. One example would be when Thomas Kuhn, in his book from 1962, “The Structure of Scientific Revolutions,” coined the phrase “paradigm shift” that since has become part of our everyday vocabulary. Another example comes from perhaps the most prolific phrase coiner of all: William Shakespeare. The Bard coined, or popularized, many new sayings in his time, such as “send him packing” and it’ll “make your hair stand on end,” and those have been repeated so much they are now considered clichés. 

To coin a phrase: the announcement

So I was confused when reading a book in which an author wrote, “It is — to coin a phrase — the greatest story ever told,” so confused that I blurted out “Dude, you didn’t coin that phrase!” Did he actually think he was the first to use “the greatest story ever told” saying? Did he write that in jest, and I just didn’t get the joke? Or did he actually not know what “to coin a phrase” meant? I felt a little embarrassed for him. 

Then, a few days later I was reading an essay by a different author who wrote, “And that’s just the tip of the iceberg, to coin a phrase.” What? This guy, too? I suddenly felt like Inigo Montoya from “The Princess Bride” needing to say to both of those writers that “I do not think it means what you think it means.” Then it hit me like a ton of bricks, to coin a phrase. They used “to coin a phrase” to do what I just did: announce that I knew I used a cliché. 

How both can be correct

Turns out that my understanding and their usage of the “to coin a phrase” saying, though contradicting each other, are both correct. How can that be?  To help us answer that question and reconcile the disparity, consider what Anne Curzan (a member of the American Heritage Dictionary Usage Panel) said in her “What makes a word ‘real’?” TED Talk. She explained that when the...

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Here's Why It's Wrong to Say You Have a Shortage of Dosages

Many of us have recently gotten the COVID-19 vaccine or are waiting to get it. With that in mind, one of our listeners wrote in to ask whether you should say you're getting a “dose” of the vaccine or a “dosage” of the vaccine. She mentioned that Governor Cuomo of New York often refers to the shortage of “dosages” for his state, and she wondered if that usage was correct.

To get a precise answer, we turned to the American Medical Association Manual of Style. Here’s its take: 

Dose

A “dose” refers to the quantity of medicine that is administered at one time. So you could say you are getting a “dose” of the COVID vaccine or that there’s been a shortage of “doses.”  

Dosage

“Dosage,” in contrast, implies a regimen of medicine given over hours or days. It’s usually expressed as a quantity per unit of time. Here are some examples.

Examples

Let’s say you injured your knee. Your doctor might prescribe an 800 mg/day dosage of ibuprofen. That means you’d take one 200 mg dose four times per day. 

Or let’s say you had a puppy with heartworm. Your vet might prescribe a 20 mg/day dosage of doxycycline, and you’d give her one 10 mg dose in the morning and one at night. (Hopefully, you’d hide it in a treat so she’d actually swallowed it!)

Origin

By the way, the word “dose” comes from the medieval Latin “dosis.” That comes from the ancient Greek word “dósis,” meaning “a portion prescribed”— literally, “a giving.” And “dósis” can be traced all the way back to the earliest days of the English language, to what we call Proto-Indo-European.  There’s a root word in that language which is “do-,” meaning “to give.” 

We see that root in other words related to the act of giving, such as “donor,” “donate,” “pardon,” “dowry,” and “endow.” 

Bottom Line

Use “dose” when you’re referring to one quantity of medicine you take at one time. Use “dosage” when referring a course of medicine you take over time.

Image courtesy of Shutterstock.

 

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Video: Get Strong Biceps with Full- and Half-Bicep Curls

No matter how you like to do them, bicep curls are a mainstay. The three-part bicep workout I demonstrate in this video is challenging. But if you do it right, you only have to do one set. The catch is, that one set is long!

The three parts are:

1. Full Bicep Curls
2. Bottom-Half Bicep Curls
3. Top-Half Bicep Curls

And REPEAT!

Why do half?

By breaking the up movement this way you really work all the muscle fibers in your biceps. And if you truly keep going (to failure) you can build some serious strength, size, and definition using this technique. 

The idea is that your biceps are forced to dig deeper and recruit muscle fibers that may otherwise be just going along for the ride.

The idea is that each half of the movement fatigues the different bands of muscle in the bicep. So, as the long set progresses, your biceps are forced to dig deeper and recruit muscle fibers that may otherwise be just going along for the ride. In essence, by repeating these three curl movements, you wind up cumulatively recruiting more and more of what can be thought of as your reserve muscle fibers, the ones that only join in the party once the main fibers have been exhausted. This is similar to why Drop-Sets (one of my faves) are so effective. 

Why do Bicep Curls?

While I am not generally a fan of single muscle group exercises, specifically training your biceps (especial using various grips and ranges of motion) can provide you with some extra oomph in an otherwise well-rounded training program. Look at it this way, if your biceps are not able to specifically handle some decent amounts of isometric (static) and eccentric (lowering) weight, your arms could be prone to injury and limited capacities in other movements like a pulling motion.

I know I am generally a "functional fitness guy" but I am also human.

Plus, let's face it, biceps look cool. I know I am generally a "functional fitness guy" (focusing on fitness as a lifestyle, not just for vanity) but I am also human and I feel good when a t-shirt hugs my arms, comme ça.

Of course, one of the reasons I filmed this video in the great outdoors, using a log and not a barbell, was to show you that, unlike a true bodybuilder, I throw in my "vanity exercises" while I am doing other things like going out for a walk, finishing off a stationary bike...

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Everything You Need to Know About Snapchat

Many of you have probably heard of Snapchat. The tool has been around since 2011, though it was originally named "Pictaboo," and was created to send pictures or videos that disappear. I first heard of it when my little cousin was told she couldn’t have a Facebook, so she said “That’s OK. I have Snapchat instead!” In 2020, it was the seventh most downloaded app in the world. 

Snapchat has technically been around since 2011, it didn’t start gaining momentum until 2013. Today I’m just going to give you the basics of how it works and why it’s used. If you're a parent, your kids are likely using Snapchat, and it’s imperative that you understand it and how it works.

How does Snapchat work?

Let's say I have Snapchat on my phone. Through the app, I take a picture or video of my cat snoozing on my bed. I then have two options. I can either share that picture with “my story,” which is kind of like a newsfeed where my followers can view it for up to 24 hours.

The other option is I can send it to individual people so that I only share the picture of my cat with, for example, my wife and a few of my best friends. If I send them a picture or video individually though, they can only view it once. (Though there are some hacks to replay a video, like the feature allowing you to replay one snapchat a day!)

Something that makes Snapchat fun are the filters. When you think filter, you usually think of black and white, sepia, lo-fi, or those other common ones in photo editing apps. Snapchat filters are a whole other ball game, though. If I take a video of me singing Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas” through Snapchat, I can add a filter that makes it slow motion, double speed, or rewind (plays the video backward). There are also Geolocation filters that put an image over the picture that will show your town or wherever you are located. Geolocation uses your phone's location in order to determine what filters are available to you. This is fun when traveling, or if there is a sponsored filter somewhere.

By far the most fun filters are the ones that use face detection technology. There are a ton of different filters, but some of the most popular are ones that morph the image of your face...

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What’s the Difference Between a Traditional and Roth 401(k)?

If you work for a company that offers a retirement plan, such as a 401(k) or 403(b), you probably have the option of making "traditional" or "Roth" contributions to your account. While having more investment options is a good thing, it might leave you feeling overwhelmed or confused about the benefits of each. 

Today, I'll review critical points about the differences between a traditional and Roth retirement plan at work. You'll learn who qualifies to participate, how much you can contribute, and how they affect your retirement and taxes.

What is a 401(k) retirement plan?

Only employers can offer a traditional or Roth 401(k) or 403(b) to eligible workers. You may have to reach a certain age, such as 21, or be employed for a period, such as one or six months, to qualify. 

Employers can customize certain features of their retirement plans; however, they must comply with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). It's a federal law that sets minimum standards for most workplace retirement plans, which protects participants. Your employer should provide a Summary Plan Description every year, which explains your retirement plan's features and your rights.

There aren't many ways to save for retirement that guarantee a 100% return before you even factor in investment returns!

When you enroll in a 401(k), you authorize your employer to automatically deduct elected contributions from your paycheck and send them to your retirement account. If your company offers matching funds, they contribute additional money for free. 

An example of a typical 401(k) match is 2% or 3% of your compensation. For instance, if your salary is $40,000 a year, 2% is $800. If you contribute that much, so will your employer, giving you a total contribution of $1,600 ($800 from your paycheck plus $800 from your company). And if you can only contribute $500, your employer contributes $500, for a total contribution of $1,000 for the year. There aren't many ways to save for retirement that guarantee a 100% return before you even factor in investment returns! So always be sure to participate in a workplace plan and max out matching funds when offered.

Some retirement plans come with a vesting schedule. It's a period you must remain employed to fully own your matching contributions or other employer-provided funds, such as profit...

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Do Produce-Saver Products Really Keep Food Fresh Longer?

Gary writes:

I've been seeing ads for products that things that claim to absorb ethylene, which allows produce to last longer. Do these products work? Would baking soda or activated charcoal do the same thing?

We've all had the disheartening experience of having to throw away expensive fruits and vegetables because we didn't use them quickly enough. No one likes to waste money, of course. But there's even more at stake with food waste. We throw away a shocking percentage of the food we produce. That's especially tragic when you consider how many people around the world experience hunger on a daily basis.

Hunger and food insecurity are not just issues faced by developing nations. Here in the United States, the richest nation in the world, more than 10% of households struggle to put food on the table. And that number has increased by 66% since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. Right now, 50 million people (including 17 million children) in the U.S. do not have enough to eat on a regular basis. No matter where you live, if you're fortunate enough (as I have been) to have weathered this year-long crisis without worrying about how you'll feed yourself and your family, perhaps you'll join me in donating to your local food bank or an organization like FeedingAmerica.org. If you or someone you know is experiencing hunger or food insecurity, you don't have to go it alone. If you are in the U.S., FeedingAmerica.org can help connect you with resources in your area.

Food waste is also a major player in climate change. Rotting food is responsible for almost 10% of greenhouse gas emissions globally. In fact, if food waste were a country, it would come in third after the United States and China in terms of impact on global warming. And fresh produce makes up about a third of all the food we throw away.

If food waste were a country, it would come in third after the United States and China in terms of impact on global warming.

All of which is to say: If a $10 product could keep us from throwing away so much food, it would be money well spent. And I'm happy to report that there is some solid science to support these products. But their usefulness may be a bit more targeted than the marketing sometimes suggests.  

What does ethylene do?

Ethylene is a harmless gas that is released or "exhaled" by fruits and vegetables. In general, ethylene production increases as fruits ripen and ethylene, in turn, accelerates the ripening process. 

When we put unripe fruit in a paper bag, the idea is to trap some of the ethylene the produce gives off to hasten the ripening process....

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15 Hidden Cognitive Biases That Cost You Big Money

You’re not rational. I’m not rational.

We’re emotional. Sometimes we’re annoyed. Sometimes we’re angry. Sometimes we’re just hangry.

We’re really no different than any other animals, except we can tell stories, and our decisions are affected by our emotions and part of that includes our biases.

Understanding these biases and how they affect our lives can be a game-changer.

Availability heuristic

What we know is given more weight than what we don’t.

The best example of this is the idea that something generally seen as bad for you (drinking, smoking, obesity, etc.) isn’t that bad because you know people who live long lives in spite of the condition. You know a person who routinely never wears a seatbelt and has never gotten hurt (yo, seatbelts save lives).

How does this cost you? 1. Wear a freaking seatbelt. 2. Do your homework, especially if all the information you have at the moment was provided by someone else.

You can be led astray and make poor financial choices because you don’t have enough information and have overvalued what you do have.

Anchoring

Anchoring is our tendency to overvalue the first piece of information we get when making any kind of decision. Once that anchor is established, all future decisions are made with a bias towards that initial anchor regardless of its accuracy.

How does this cost you? Have you ever met someone who has invested in actively managed mutual funds? The average expense ratio for an actively managed mutual fund is around 1.5%. Whether or not that sounds high to you depends on how much you know and many people’s first experience with mutual funds was in a 401(k) – where 1.5% is not expensive. It’s not cheap but it’s not ridiculous.

Actor-observer bias

The actor-observer bias is when you look at your actions and attribute them to external causes but look at someone else’s actions and attribute them to internal causes. It’s called the fundamental attribution error and it strongly affects how you interact with other people.

Sometimes there are external forces at work that you can’t control but often your choices are your own.

How does this cost you? This hurts you most when you attribute your own bad choices to environmental or other factors beyond your control. Sometimes there are external forces at work that you can’t control but often your choices are your own.

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Surviving the Charleston Church Massacre

After the shooting, the coroner’s office staff had taken care to return salvageable items found on the victims’ bodies and in the fellowship hall. One woman had found and cleaned Felicia’s purse. She was grateful for the woman’s efforts, but what Felicia really wanted back was her Bible.

“You don’t want it,” the woman had cautioned.

“Yes, I do want it.”

“We don’t think you want it ...”

“You can keep everything,” Felicia said. “I want my Bible.”

That Bible, however, had been tossed in the trash, thrown away with other things that seemed too damaged to return to victims’ families.

When police Lieutenant Jennie Antonio caught wind of that conversation, she didn’t dismiss Felicia’s request as impossible. A devoted Catholic, she understood what the Bible meant to the grieving mother. She also had been working with a national FBI rapid response team that flew in to help local police agencies and victim advocates handle mass casualty events. The team’s members had dealt with tragedies at places like Sandy Hook Elementary and brought with them critical lessons learned — including that many of the devastated parents had wanted their children’s personal effects, like backpacks and drawings, no matter how damaged. The FBI team also had discovered a Texas company that could salvage even the most blood-soaked items.

There sat a dark leather-bound Bible soaked in blood. A bullet had pierced its pages.

So, five days after the shooting, Antonio had called an FBI counterpart and soon drove to the first of two storage buildings that housed biohazards that cleaning crews at Emanuel had thrown away. There, they hauled out several big plastic bins that contained the life, and death, of nine people. In suffocating heat, with gloved hands, Antonio had rummaged through sticky papers that clung to what looked like a dark brownish-red bed sheet. She had peered beneath it. And there sat a dark leather-bound Bible soaked in blood. A bullet had pierced its pages.

She opened the cover, then plied apart pages. Stuck between two, a little torn-off piece of what might have been a receipt bore a name: Felicia Sanders.

Antonio had carefully wrapped it up and sent it to the company in Texas. Two months later, a box appeared in her mail.

Antonio soon drove down the winding road to Felicia’s home and knocked on the Sanderses’ front door. Felicia greeted her. Though her eyes were fogged with grief, Felicia managed to smile in welcome. Antonio sensed the tremendous effort it took for the survivor to greet the endless stream of people needing to talk with her for the investigation, random...

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Four Simple Criteria That Will Keep You Fit

Before I dive in, let me set the stage a little for you. 

If you've been following me for even a short time, you'll know that I'm a big fan of walking. I walk a lot! I even took a course on walking not that long ago to up my walking game and ensure that I will continue walking for many years to come. So given that, you probably won't be surprised when I say that if something gets in the way of my walking routine (like violently bad weather), I get a little agitated. And by that, I mean downright grumpy.

On this particularly blustery, cold, rainy, yucky evening, I had planned on getting out to do at least 5,000 more steps (not that I obsess over the number) but I had already had my day’s fill of wind and rain. So, I took a deep breath and turned that agitation into creativity. 

Home walking circuit

My home is not big, but I decided that I would see how many steps I could do around my living space before I got bored. I started my circuit in the kitchen. Then I looped the living room and around the dining table. Then up the stairs to the TV room, around the bedroom, back down the stairs to my office, through the “movement room” and back up to the kitchen. I was saddened to find that it was not quite 160 steps. Not great. But I decided I would still do a few more loops. After all, a few hundred steps are without a doubt better than no steps.  

I know I sound like a crazy person when I say that it was one of the most fun "walks" that I've had in a long time.

Then, things started to get interesting when I realized I was walking right under my pull-up bar with each lap. So, I decided to do five pull-ups each time I went under it. Then I noticed that the bedroom has a big empty piece of carpet between the bed and the door, which is perfect for some push-ups. So, you guessed it, I did 10 push-ups every time I hit that spot. 

Now I was cooking! I was inspired to find more ways to expand this circuit, so I opened up the door to the garage and added that to the loop. I also included a few extra steps by adding the bathroom to my circuit. Since the bathroom is small and wasn't adding much step-wise, I decided to do 10 bodyweight squats in there. 

I know I sound like a crazy person when I say that it was one of the most fun "walks" that I've had in a long time. I definitely hit my 5,000 step count, plus I did probably 50 pull-ups and at least 100 push-ups and squats. Talk about getting a great workout—in my home, in my regular...

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How to Coach Yourself to Success in 5 Steps

I started my business in 2015, knowing I’d need to channel confidence and optimism on the regular. Each time I attempted to do so, I seemed to summon self-doubt and presumptions of failure instead. I guess manifesting hope is not one of my natural talents.

If you’d asked me then what I needed I would have listed knowledge, templates for success, a dozen clients on a silver platter—you get the idea.

Coaching can move you forward, helping you jump over hurdles and achieve big things.

In hindsight, while those would have been awesome, what I needed most was some coaching. Not having access to a coach at that time, I went down the rabbit hole of books and podcasts on personal and professional development. I ended up—in a messy, ugly sort of way—accidentally coaching myself to the place I’m in now.

I wish I’d been more intentional about it, but at the time, I didn’t realize I’d become my own coach. I'm here to help you get into the self-coaching groove without the mess.

Why should you become your own coach?

Coaching can move you forward, helping you jump over hurdles and achieve big things. 

But a coach may not be accessible to everyone. It certainly wasn’t to me. Coaching takes time. A good coach also costs money. Both can be hard to come by.

So, if you’re wishing for some coaching but don’t have access right now, let’s talk about how you can show up for yourself by using some tricks of the coaching trade.

1. State a goal

A great coach can help you achieve outcomes in many domains of your life. But early focus is key to success.

In my business, I wanted it all on day one—press, clients, revenue, a quick understanding of marketing ... all those essential things.

But I took myself through an exercise. By answering some questions, I was able to identify and focus on what I needed most urgently. 

And through this exercise, I cut out the noise and determined that my nearest-term goal was to land my first client within 60 days. Boom. No press or marketing, no business development engine, just client number one. 

This clarity helped me direct all of my energy and focus toward this one outcome. I knew achieving it would help fuel my path to the next goal.

Now your turn. Are you looking for a promotion? Let’s get more specific than that. Your coach would start with some questions like

• What’s the right timeline? Is it ASAP? 6-12 months? When will you feel ready?
• Is it a specific role, or are you just looking to get to the next level?
• Will the new role necessarily be in your current company?
• Will you lead a team?

By...

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11 Smart Ways to Use Your Tax Refund

If you deducted more than was needed from your pay throughout the year, tax season can deliver one of the biggest annual “bonus checks” you might receive—even though it’s not technically a bonus since it’s your money you’re getting back in the first place.

Going through the actual process of filing your taxes can be tedious, but if you end up receiving a refund once it’s all said and done, it can be exciting to think about how to use the money. It’s easy to daydream about taking an exotic vacation, buying a new TV, or splurging at your favorite restaurants, but are those the best money moves you can make?

Planning ahead before you receive your tax refund can help you avoid the temptation to spend it completely frivolously.

Instead of splurging on something you want, consider putting your tax refund towards something you need—or better yet, toward something that can help improve your overall financial situation.

That’s not to say there isn’t room for a bit of both fun and responsibility—there are plenty of ways to incorporate both. But planning ahead before you receive your tax refund can help you avoid the temptation to spend it completely frivolously.

To help you decide on the best way to allocate your refund, here are 11 powerful moves to make with your tax return before that money starts burning a hole in your pocket.

1. Fund a retirement account

It’s impossible to know what the future holds, but one thing is certain—having money grow passively in the background for whenever you need it is probably a good idea. Getting into investing can be intimidating, but modern technology is making it easier to make this valuable financial move.

Stash is an investment tool known to be especially user-friendly for first-time investors. It’s easy to sign up, and you can add money to your account as little or often as you’d like in increments that make sense for you. With as little as $1, you can start investing and building your portfolio. You can even learn a thing or two about investing along the way.

Though all investments come with risk, when you start as early as possible and with whatever money you can, you’ll have more time on your side to potentially grow your portfolio. Using your tax refund to invest in your future could be a wise choice no matter how much it is. As we mentioned, even just $1 is enough.

2. Invest in real estate

...

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20 Grocery Shopping Tips to Save Your Family Big Bucks

If you feel like grocery shopping has become more expensive, you're not imagining things! According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, food prices rose 2.6% in 2020. That's the biggest increase in nearly 50 years.

Whether the pandemic is the reason you're spending more on food or you've just never taken the time to figure out a money-saving strategy for your grocery bill, now is the perfect time to turn that around. These smart grocery bill hacks will save you time and help you keep your hard-earned bucks in your wallet without the hassle of clipping coupons. 

Have a plan to save money on groceries

1. Don't wing it; plan it!

Hands down, the easiest way to save thousands of dollars each year on your grocery budget is to get on board with meal planning. No matter the size of your family, when you take time to plan your meals you'll always be ahead of the grocery game. Having a plan, and a shopping list to match, will not only save time, but you'll be less inclined to buy things you don't need. Bonus: You won't have to waste gas on extra trips because you forgot to pick up a key ingredient.

2. Get a meal planning app

A free meal planning app will eliminate the guesswork. Two of my favorites are Spoonacular, which syncs with your google calendar, and Yummly, where you can search for recipes based on meal course (such as entree or side), prep time, or fun new menu trends.

3. Keep your pantry stocked

You don't need to have tons of extra space in your home to have a well-stocked pantry. You know what your family loves to eat, so make sure you always have the basic ingredients (like pasta, rice, seasoning mixes, and more) on hand. If you always have the basics to whip a meal together, you'll be less likely to opt for pricey take-out. So, before you make your weekly grocery list, shop your shelves first. What do you have that you could use in your meal plan this week? What's running low?

Supercook is a time-saving app for doing a little planning based on what's in your pantry. Enter the ingredients you have on hand and it suggests dozens of yummy, cost-saving meals you can whip up in no time!

4. Stock up during sales

Take advantage of sales to stock up. My rule of thumb for sale items is to buy one to use now and two for later. Just make sure you...

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6 Punctuation Marks Hated by Famous Authors

Punctuation marks are not the most important tools in a writer's toolkit, but writers can develop some strong opinions about them. Here are six punctuation marks that famous authors grew to hate.

1. The Oxford comma

The Oxford comma, also known as the serial comma, inspires passionate emotions on both sides, but more frequently on the pro side. James Thurber, a writer for The New Yorker and author of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, made a case against the Oxford comma to his editor Harold Ross, in a discussion of the phrase “the red, white, and blue.” Thurber complained that “all those commas make the flag seemed rained on. They give it a furled look. Leave them out, and Old Glory is flung to the breeze, as it should be.”

2. The comma

Gertrude Stein had no use for the Oxford comma, or any kind of comma at all, finding the use of them “degrading.” In her Lectures in America, she said, “Commas are servile and they have no life of their own … A comma by helping you along and holding your coat for you and putting on your shoes keeps you from living your life as actively as you should lead it.”

3. The question mark

The comma wasn't the only piece of punctuation Stein took issue with; she also objected to the question mark [PDF], finding it “positively revolting” and of all the punctuation marks “the completely most uninteresting.” There was no reason for it since “a question is a question, anybody can know that a question is a question and so why add to it the question mark when it is already there when the question is already there in the writing.”

An exclamation point is like laughing at your own joke.

F. Scott Fitzgerald

4. The exclamation point

In Beloved Infidel, Sheilah Graham’s memoir of her time with F. Scott Fitzgerald in his later years, she describes the things she learned from...

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Is 'OK' Okay?

People often assume that it's tough to be my copy editor, but the truth is that I'm pretty easygoing. I almost always accept my copy editors' changes—except when they try to change "OK" to "okay." Then I become a raving maniac. My usual wishy-washy countenance turns to granite.

One of my favorite stories is the origin of "OK," and to me, "OK" is the purer form.

The origin of 'OK'

"OK" was born in America in the 1830s. (So as an aside, you wouldn’t want to use "OK" in a novel set before the 1830s. That would be an anachronism).

Much like the text messaging abbreviations of today, "OK" was an abbreviation for a funny misspelling of "all correct": "oll korrekt." Journalists of the time seemed to have loads of fun making up these off-kilter, insidery abbreviations. Boston journalists are credited with "OK," and according to the Oxford English Dictionary, the “okay” spelling didn’t appear until 1895 in an Australian publication based in Sydney called “The Bulletin.” (So again, if you are writing a novel, you shouldn’t use the "okay" spelling before at least 1895.)

And in case you want even more spelling options, in 1919, H.L. Mencken wrote about Woodrow Wilson using the spelling “okeh,” but that one didn’t stick. Thank goodness!

Journalists in the 1830s came up with other odd abbreviations with similar origins too. They had "OW" for "oll wright” (a misspelling of “all right”) and “NS” for “nuff said,” but “OK” stuck while the others fell into obscurity because president Martin Van Buren, whose nickname was Old Kinderhooks, because he was born in Kinderhook, NY, abbreviated “Old Kinderhooks” into “OK” and adopted the campaign slogan "Vote for OK.” He called his campaign supporters the "OK Club,” and all that campaign publicity established "OK" in the American lexicon. It stuck.

'OK' and 'okay' are both OK

Today, the two spellings peacefully coexist: the Associated Press recommends the "OK" spelling, and the Chicago Manual of Style recommends “okay.” My publisher follows Chicago style for my books, but to honor the word's origins, I insist on the "OK" spelling. And so far, they’ve been kind enough to indulge me.

'Okay' dominates in fiction, but 'OK' wins overall

Because "okay" is the form recommended by Chicago, though, and Chicago...

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Out of Emotional Bandwidth? How to Prevent Compassion Fatigue

I’ve been thinking a lot about essential workers, especially healthcare providers who have been on the frontlines of the COVID-19 crisis for a year. I can’t help but marvel at the amount of chronic stress, and even trauma, they must be going through. They're not only fighting for their patients’ lives, but also fighting against equipment shortage, staffing shortage, conspiracy theories, and new Covid strains. It’s no wonder that many are experiencing burnout.

What is compassion fatigue?

As a mental healthcare provider, I’m especially concerned about one specific type of burnout that happens to healthcare workers—compassion fatigue. This can happen when you have experienced so much empathy for and absorbed so much of others’ suffering that you yourself begin to have trauma reactions. Those reactions can include things like emotional numbing, physical illness, and feelings of hopelessness.

Ironically, one of the very traits that make a person good at being a nurse or therapist or just a good friend can become a liability.

Compassion fatigue was first described in emergency department nurses and oncology nurses. Nurses may constantly witness pain, decline, and death, often without being able to save patients no matter how much of themselves they put into their work. Compassion fatigue has also been documented in child protection workers and mental healthcare providers.

People who are highly empathic almost can’t help but feel others’ pain.

Compassion fatigue can even happen to people who don’t work in the helping professions. People who are highly empathic almost can’t help but feel others’ pain. 

How can we protect ourselves from compassion fatigue while continuing to care for others? The answer is not to become emotionally numb to others’ suffering, but rather, to build good boundaries, take care of ourselves, and better understand our role.

How to protect yourself from compassion fatigue

1. Know the signs of compassion fatigue

...

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The Minefield of Anachronisms

The historical novel attempts to take a reader into a different time, and sometimes, a different place too. For example, my historical mystery "Murder in Old Bombay" transports readers to nineteenth century Bombay, the center of colonial India during the British Raj. To be effective, a historical narrative must weave the facts and sounds of the time and place into the story, so that readers feel this story could not have occurred in any other time-frame. Anachronisms—the use of words, objects or phrases in a period when they did not exist—are the bane of the historical fiction writer’s life.

Why does this matter? A reader cracks open a new book with a sense of anticipation, expectations fed by the cover art and the book blurb, suspending disbelief as they begin. As they turn pages, every detail must align else the bubble bursts, the curtain falls, the illusion is gone. Imagine reading about ancient Rome, and one of the characters says “No deal!” In that micro-second, the scene is shot, that fragile tapestry torn down, and suspended disbelief comes crashing down with all the weight of disappointment. The author has broken that promise, announced first in the genre and then made explicit in the blurb, leaving an unhappy customer to toss the book aside, return it to the library or angrily report that terrible term, DNF—did not finish.

When the illusion holds, the story unfolds. The reader dives in, turning page after page, enjoying the place and time, experiencing it first-hand. When they are immersed, they feel the character’s difficulties and troubles, their quandaries, anticipate their plans and root for them; they weep at their failures as events trip up the protagonist, until the final unfolding, where both reader and character are surprised. If success is achieved, the reader feels it is hard won, as in real life. If it is not achieved, yet the protagonist has changed in other ways, then too the reader is satisfied. They may feel that, just as life does not always reward, so too does this book mirror the vagaries of fortune which don't always favor the brave—sometimes they die, leaving us sadder and wiser, but grateful for their efforts.

When the illusion holds, the story unfolds.

None of this will work if the details do not align. Anachronisms are anathema to the dream.

In a recent WIP (work-in-progress) I used the term “Let’s pump him for information.” Now my story is set in 1893. Did people speak like this? Which people? Where? Here’s how I look it up.

My protagonist, Diana Framji, is a gutsy immigrant educated in England, traveling around Chicago with a local sleuth, so I’m confident that at least in terms of location, I’m fairly safe. But...

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8 Ways to Get Rid of Canker Sores

Canker sores are a very common affliction and can arise from any cause, ranging from stress to hormones to vitamin deficiencies. But that doesn't make them any less painful to deal with. We've got eight home remedies to get rid of canker sores fast, plus one tip to prevent future sores.

Hydrogen peroxide

Hydrogen peroxide may help reduce and relieve canker sores. Simply mix one part peroxide with one part water, then dab on any affected areas several times a day or swish around in your mouth for as long as possible.

Chamomile

How to get rid of a canker sore fast: the same chamomile tea that soothes a sour stomach can also calm canker sores. Allow the tea to cool, and then swish it around your mouth for a minute. Chamomile contains chamazulene, a natural anti-inflammatory agent, which will help accelerate the healing process.

RELATED: What Is a Cold Sore?

Tea

Hold a damp tea bag over the area. Tea bags are filled with healthful tannins. Cool the bag for even more relief. 

Honey

Dabbing unpasteurized honey on canker or cold sores four times a day will help them disappear fast, thanks to the enzymes it contains.

RELATED: Nutrition Tips for Preventing Cold Sores

Slippery elm

Native Americans have been using slippery elm for centuries to treat mouth, throat, stomach, and digestive ailments. Today you can buy slippery elm lozenges, available at health-food stores, which will provide lasting relief for canker sore pain. They’re also effective for coughs and sore throats too!

Baking soda

...

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How to Help Dogs and Cats Manage Separation Anxiety When Their Humans Return to Work

When one of my co-workers found out about a tiny, orphaned kitten that needed a home a few months ago, he didn’t hesitate to adopt it. He says his new companion helped make the months of COVID-19 isolation at home much less stressful.

He is not alone. Animal shelters and breeders across the country have reported record numbers of dog and cat adoptions in recent months.

But after my co-worker returned to work, he says his adorable kitten started urinating on the kitchen counter while he was away.

Another friend is worried about how her dog will react when she returns to the office. Her big, goofy Labrador retriever follows her everywhere, even to the bathroom. When she leaves to run a quick errand, the dog sits by the back door and whines, awaiting her return.

What should these pet owners do?

Alleviating pet anxiety is about changing the owner’s behavior, too. Josh Hild/Unsplash,...

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Best Advice to Manage and Repay Your Student Loans

A typical email I receive is something like, "Help! I have student loans—what advice can you give me?" I certainly understand why many graduates feel buried under the weight of debt.

The burden of student loans causes many people to feel like they can't fully live their life.

According to Educationdata.org, student loan debt in the U.S. totals $1.68 trillion. It's held by 44.7 million borrowers, who owe an average of $37,584. Borrowers with federal loans owe slightly less—$36,520—and those with private student loans owe much more—$48,819.

The burden of student loans causes many people to feel like they can't fully live their life. You might delay getting married, starting a family, buying a home, or starting a business due to the financial burden.

Today, we'll review updates to COVID relief for student loan borrowers and I'll offer tips to help you manage your federal and private student loans. Knowing your options can help you find the best repayment strategy and relieve financial stress.

Updates to COVID student loan forbearance

When the pandemic's economic fallout began, it was clear that student loan borrowers would need assistance right away. So, in March 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act became law. It suspended payments, stopped collections on defaulted loans, and set the interest rate to 0% for loans owned by the U.S. Education Department through September 30, 2020.

Before the student loan forbearance period expired, it got extended through December 31, 2020. Then the measures got extended again to January 31, 2020, and finally to September 30, 2021.

Which student loans qualify for COVID relief?

The federal government must own a student loan to qualify for relief under the CARES Act. They include:

• Direct Loans that are unsubsidized or subsidized 
• Direct PLUS Loans 
• ...

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Is Sourdough Bread Better for You?

A listener writes with questions about sourdough.

I use homemade whole-grain sourdough daily. I am convinced it has exceptional health benefits but I can't find any nutritional info on it. It seems to me that it has to have probiotics, for instance.

With so many people stuck at home over the last year, bread baking in general, and sourdough in particular, have seen a big rise in popularity. And I think many people share this listener's conviction that sourdough must be somehow more nutritious than regular bread. But are these beliefs backed up by any science?

What is sourdough?

Sourdough is a traditional method of making bread that's a bit more time- and labor-intensive than modern methods. (Perhaps that's why we assume it must also be better for us.) A lot of bread these days is made with dried baking yeast, which is reanimated by combining it with warm water. When mixed with flour, the yeast start to digest the sugars in the flour, releasing carbon dioxide gas. This gas gets trapped in pockets in the dough and causes the dough to rise.  

Sourdough starter is a living, breathing colony that requires ongoing care.

Sourdough bread also uses micro-organisms to generate the gas that makes bread rise. But in this case, lactobacillus bacteria are doing the heavy lifting. These bacteria, along with some uncultivated (or "wild") yeasts, are naturally present in the flour as well as in the air. To make a sourdough starter, you combine flour and water and let it sit loosely covered for several days in a warm room and let nature do its thing. As the bacteria in the flour start to reproduce, they give off carbon dioxide and lactic acid. Eventually, you end up with a tangy, bubbly mixture with enough oomph to leaven a loaf of bread.  

Sourdough bakers will typically take a cup or two of starter out of the batch and then replace it with fresh flour and water. Unlike a packet of dried yeast, which you can store in the fridge for years before using, a sourdough starter is a living, breathing colony that requires ongoing care. If you don't periodically add more flour, the yeast will run out of food and die. (And this is how people end up hiring sourdough babysitters when they go on extended trips.)

What makes sourdough bread unique?

Bread made with sourdough, as opposed to baking yeast, has a characteristically sour or tangy taste that is one of its chief attractions. The texture of the bread is also usually a little denser, moister, and chewier than yeast-risen bread, which adds to its charms. The lactic acid also acts as a natural preservative, meaning that sourdough breads keep well without added preservatives. 

Because the specific micro-organisms...

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