10 Surprising Pilgrim Names

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When I was writing the thousands of sentences in my iOS game, Grammar Pop, I wanted to include as many different names as possible, so I looked at old names, new names, spelling bee winner names, lists of popular names in as many countries as I could think of—and one short list I ended up finding was a list of all the American pilgrims’ names. And I was struck by how unusual, symbolic, and hopeful many of the names were.

1. Remember

Remember Allerton was a little girl of about five when the Mayflower set sail. "Remember"…that’s such an interesting name.

2. Humility

Humility Cooper—Humility— was a passenger on the Mayflower who came with her aunt and uncle when she was just 1 year old.

3. Desire

Desire Minter was a young woman who came over on the Mayflower; she was probably younger than 19. Both Desire and Humility later returned to England, which wasn’t common.

4. Degory

Degory Priest was an adult hatter, about 40 years old, who came alone on the Mayflower, planning to bring his family over later. Unfortunately, he died the first winter at Plymouth. About 40 percent of the passengers died that first, hard winter.

5. Oceanus

Oceanus Hopkins was a baby boy born while the Mayflower was at sea, and his name isn’t much of a mystery. He was born at sea, and his name comes from the Latin word for "ocean."

6. Demaris

Demaris Hopkins was Oceanus’ 2-year-old older sister. Historians believe the Demaris who was on the Mayflower died, but then the parents had another daughter and named her Demaris too.

7 & 8. Resolved and Peregrine

Resolved White and Peregrine White were two young brothers on the Mayflower. Resolved was 5 at the time of the voyage, and like Oceanus, Peregrine was born on the ship. He was born while the Mayflower was anchored in Cape Cod Harbor. His name comes from the Latin word for “pilgrim.”

Finally, it’s hard to choose, but I think these are my two favorites.

9 & 10. Wrestling and Love

Wrestling Brewster and Love Brewster were two young brothers from Leiden, Holland, who came over with their parents. (About 40 percent of the pilgrims on the Mayflower were religious separatists who had moved from England to Leiden, hoping to find a better life, but it wasn’t working out. So they decided to make the dangerous journey to America.) 

Wrestling was 6 years old when the Mayflower set sail, and Love was 9. Wrestling likely died, but Love lived long enough to serve in a militia under Myles Standish, marry, and have four children, one of whom he named Wrestling after his brother. The poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who wrote “Paul Revere’s Ride” and "The Song of Hiawatha," is one of Love Brewster’s many descendants.

I didn’t use most of these names in Grammar Pop because names like Wrestling and Love would have been confusing in sentences because they’re words and don’t sound like names to us anymore, but I thought it was fascinating that the pilgrims seemed to give their children such symbolic and mostly hopeful names.

Most of this information came from MayflowerHistory.com. 

Rediscovering Acadian Cooking

Who were the Acadians? Where did they come from? What is Acadian cooking and how does it differ from Canadian cooking? What are “foodways” and why are they so important in culture? These questions led food writer Simon Thibault's exploration of his Acadian roots and family recipes in his book Pantry and Palate: Remembering and Rediscovering Acadian Food.

As Simon writes in the book, “Cooking from many of these old recipes wasn’t always easy. The majority of the recipes only had a basic list of ingredients, and they rarely included directions, let alone detailed ones. So not only did I have to decipher what to do and in what order, but I also had to figure out how to record that information. It was like having a stilted conversation that was decades long: You need this much of this, and that much of that. You know what to do. I was determined to gather the same strength of character and ease in the kitchen that these women had, if only in the smallest of doses. Reading through these impeccably scripted notebooks, I found myself wondering about these recipes: How hot did this oven need to be to bake this cake? (350 F, apparently.) Was it a coincidence that the blood pudding/sausage recipe was written on the same page as one for doughnuts? (Fresh pig’s blood also means fresh pig’s fat, enough for deep-frying those wonderful treats.)”

Tune in to listen to Simon's insights and tips for Acadian cooking!

Simon Thibault quote excerpted from Pantry and Palate by Simon Thibault © 2017, Text by Simon Thibault. All rights reserved. Published by Nimbus Publishing

 

 

 

Changing Careers? 5 Ways to Be Financially Prepared

Quitting your job to pursue a new career, start your own business, go back to school, or take a sabbatical is both exciting and risky. Before you follow your heart and make a leap, it’s wise to make sure that your finances will support you.  

I interviewed Mike Lewis, Founder and CEO of When to Jump, a global community of people who left one path to pursue a very different one. Mike launched the platform in 2016 based on his experience leaving his job as an investor at Bain Capital Ventures to chase a dream of playing professional squash.

Goldman Sachs named Mike one of the 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs of 2017. And in January 2018, his first book When to Jump: If the Job You Have Isn’t the Life You Want will release worldwide.

We discuss what financial steps you should take before leaving a comfortable work situation to follow your passion. Some topics we cover include:

• Common trends among people who have made successful jumps.
• How to create a budget and "pitch deck" that prepares you for a jump.
• Whether you should tell other people about your desire to jump.
• How to let yourself be lucky after doing the right amount of preparation.
• Stradling the line between being pragmatic and taking enough risk.

I had the job and lifestyle I had thought I wanted, yet I secretly held out hope—for a knock on the door, for some-one to enter my tiny office, walk up to my desk, and give me permission to leave: 'Mike, it’s July 1, time to go chase your dream, remember?' - Mike Lewis, Founder and CEO of When to Jump

[Listen to the interview using the embedded audio player or on Apple Podcasts, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Spotify]

The following tips were contributed by Mike Lewis.

Financing a Jump: 5 Steps to Prepare Before Chasing Your Passion

For just about everyone, the idea of taking a risk to chase a dream starts with tackling one big hurdle: cash. A lack of funds can be the best excuse not to jump.

“Welp, I need $X and I only have ½ of $X, no jump for me.” Or, “I can’t jump without A, B, and C figured out, and they’ll never be figured out. So, I’ll stay here at my cubicle and scroll Tumblr instead.” Sound familiar?

Sadly, I can’t give you a one-size-fits-all solution or a get-rich-quick scheme to guarantee success. But from the research I’ve done and the stories and content shared across our global When to Jump community, these 5 steps can help you prepare for a successful jump:

1. Save a set amount each month.

Choose a dollar amount to save from each paycheck. It could be as little as $100, but try to save as much as you possibly can in a dedicated savings account. Call it “Jump Fund” and promise yourself not to touch it until you jump.  

2. Budget for the bad.

Imagine your jump going poorly and create a worst-case scenario budget. Consider expenses for the following:

• Staying alive—includes necessities such as paying for rent, food, and health insurance.
• Working capital—for a new business, such as hiring employees.
• Kitchen sink costs—include everything else, such as travel and entertainment.

Then add up these costs, multiply by 1.5, and you’ll have the total amount you need to save,

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3. Buy what you need for less.

Identify what purchases you’ll need to make before you jump. Put on your detective hat and track down the most cost-effective solution.

Scout websites and wholesalers for products, use Craigslist for part-time labor, check the classifieds for deals on equipment. The sooner you start, the more likely you’ll be to stumble on great deals before you jump.

4. Beg, borrow, and barter.

Play the classic bootstrap game by never paying full price or paying for anything until you absolutely need to. Tap into any connections you have, such as fourth cousins, a neighbors’ friends’ sister, and an old boss. Anyone who may help you get off the ground.

Expertise, an extra hand, a friendly legal review—they all add up if you find the right people who believe in what you’re doing. And when possible, barter to avoid using your precious cash right off the bat.

5. Prepare and then let yourself be lucky.

Have a clear, simple, but real-world view of how you’ll financially survive your jump. While you can’t plan every aspect of a major career or life change, you need a general idea of how you’ll support yourself during this jump.

While you can’t plan every aspect of major career or life change, you need a general idea of how you’ll support yourself during this jump.

Don’t pull the classic millennial, “My app will be bought by Google,” or “My music will go viral,” or “I’ll just move to Bali and it will work out.” It typically doesn’t.

Talk to people who know the career or business you want to jump into. Take them for coffee (yes, you should use that precious cash here!) and pick their brains. Ask for five other folks they think you should talk to.

Finally, it’s time to J-U-M-P! You won’t have it all figured out, financially or otherwise. But if you followed these five steps, you’ll have some cash and thoughtful considerations under your belt and typically meet luck on the other side.

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5 Ways to Save Yourself from Overeating this Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a time to gather with friends and family, be grateful for all we have, and stuff ourselves silly. I'm not that concerned about the long term consequences of this. As I've said before, a single day of excess isn't going to make you gain weight any more than a one-day juice fast is going to make you lose weight.

Nonetheless, it's no fun to push yourself away from the table and realize - too late! - that you've eaten to the point of discomfort. 

Here are 5 strategies that can help you enjoy this year's feast without regrets:

Sponsor: This episode is brought to you by NatureBox. Discover smarter snacking with a new NatureBox each month. Get your first box FREE when you go to NatureBox.com/qdt.

 

Thanksgiving Tip #1: Keep the Appetizers Light

The traditional Thanksgiving menu features a lot of heavy, rich dishes - lots of starches, creamy casseroles, and everything is dripping with butter and gravy. It's not a light meal. Unfortunately, the pre-dinner snacks tend to be just as heavy and rich as the main event! All too often people sit down to dinner already half-full from the snacks they've been nibbling all afternoon while dinner is prepared. 

See also: 3 Tips on How to Eat Less Without Feeling Hungry

 

Rather than filling up on calorie-dense appetizers like cheese and crackers, clam dip, nuts, and bacon-wrapped pineapple chunks, keep the pre-dinner snacks light: crisp radishes and snow peas with a yogurt based dip, kale chips, and steamed edamame, for example. Clearing away all the snacks about an hour before dinner will also help ensure that people sit down to the table with an appetite. 

Thanksgiving Tip #2: Use Smaller Plates

Research shows that when we use smaller plates, we serve ourselves smaller portions, consume fewer calories, but feel just as satisfied as we do after eating more calories off of larger plates. Now consider that the average size of dinner plates has gone from 9 to 13 inches over the last 30 years and our rising rates of obesity don't seem that surprising.

See also: Why We Overeat

 

Do yourself and your guests a favor by setting the table with smaller plates. Grandma's china is probably a lot smaller than your modern dinnerware. Alternatively, the salad or sandwich plates from your oversized set might be perfect.  The same holds true for things like wine glasses and forks: They larger they are, the more we consume. Downsizing your serving ware will not only help you eat a bit less without even noticing, It'll also make your table less crowded.

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Thanksgiving Tip #3: Serve the Vegetables First

If you start by filling your plate with stuffing, mashed potatoes, and candied yams, you're likely to be out of room by the time you get to the string beans, Brussels sprouts, and carrots. Reverse the trend by helping yourself to turkey and all the vegetables first, leaving less room on the plate for the starchy fillers. 

See also: How to Get More Vegetables into Your Diet

 

If you're in charge of all or part of the menu this year, try to ensure that there are at least as many vegetables as starches - and resist the temptation to smother them all in cheese, cream of mushroom soup, and/or fried onions. Some crisp and colorful vegetables, lightly steamed and topped with a bright squeeze of lemon juice or fresh herbs, provide a welcome contrast to all the other dense and heavy dishes. 

Some of my favorite vegetables sides for Thanksgiving include steamed carrots lightly glazed in ginger and a bit of butter, tender-crisp green beans tossed with cilantro and garlic, and a very lightly-dressed coleslaw or pickled vegetables.

Thanksgiving Tip #4: Choose Your Starch

One of the things that makes Thanksgiving dinner so devastating is all the redundant starches.  During the rest of the year, a dinner menu might feature a protein, a starch, and a vegetable. Or, at my house, we often skip the starch altogether and have a second (or third) vegetable instead.

But the traditional Thanksgiving menu includes a bird stuffed with bread, at least one or two types of potatoes, rolls - and often several other starches as well. And research shows that we eat more when we have a greater variety than we do when our choices are more limited. 

If you are cooking this year, consider reigning in the madness a bit. Stuffing and potatoes might be non-negotiable, but would anyone really miss the rolls? Is it really necessary to serve mashed potatoes, roasted potatoes, and scalloped potatoes?  Even if you have no control over the menu, you can also choose to eat only one of the many starch dishes this year instead of all of them.

Thanksgiving Tip #5: You Don't Have to Sample Everything

When we go to a restaurant, we don't feel that we have to order every single thing on the menu just because the chef has prepared them. We choose our favorite item, and feel no sense of loss or deprivation. But somehow when faced with a Thanksgiving buffet of 20 different dishes, we feel duty-bound to sample every single one. 

By all means, marvel over the beautiful array of colors and aromas and compliment the chef(s) on the amazing spread. Then, just as you would when handed a menu full of delicious options, choose what you'd like to enjoy that evening...and enjoy the heck out of it. Likewise, when it comes to dessert, it is not necessary to have a "small" piece of all 5 desserts any more than you'd order every item on a dessert menu. 

There's a sort of madness that sets in at Thanksgiving, as if this will be the last pumpkin pie we will ever see. But Thanksgiving actually comes every year - and the menu doesn't change all that much! Barring catastrophe, your life is likely to include many more pumpkin pies, all of which will taste very similar to the dozens of pumpkin pies you've had before.  When I remind myself of that, it seems to put things back into perspective, allowing me to make my decision based on how much room I actually have left in my stomach and which dessert looks particularly appealing or unusual. 

See also: Recipe: Pumpkin Avocado Pie

 

What are some ways that you make sure not to overeat during the holidays? She your ideas with us in Comments below or on the Nutrition Diva Facebook page. And now, enjoy the holiday - and remember to eat something good for me!

The Top 8 Must-Know Principles of Productivity

This is my 10th anniversary article, and we thought it would be fun to recap some of what I’ve learned about productivity in the ten years I’ve been hosting The Get-it-Done Guy’s Quick and Dirty Tips to Work Less and Do More.

My day job when all this started was executive coaching and public speaking. Productivity was a personal interest, and something clients needed in order to make time to follow up on the coaching work we would do together. The podcast was just a fun, creative outlet. As it grew, I actually had to stop, reflect, and understand productivity in more depth. Here are some of my reflections from ten years of productivity.

Get-It-Done Guy's 8 Principles of Productivity

1. Technology is a seductive siren, not a solution.
2. It isn’t always personal.
3. Downtime is valuable.
4. Productivity isn’t visible.
5. Why matters.
6. Optimizing the wrong thing doesn’t matter.
7. Tools are toys.
8. Tech tools make your work more fragile.

1. Technology is a seductive siren, not a solution.

I believe for many of us, the biggest obstacle to personal productivity is now technology. This wasn’t always true. But Silicon Valley has discovered that addicting users is a far better business than serving users. They’re making toys, not tools. 

The new iPhone X can unlock my phone with my face. Great. Typing a six-digit passcode was really the #1 source of productivity loss in my life. Plus, it can take beautiful selfies more easily. But I’m not a narcissist, I don’t care. I just want to delete my completed reminders. Or search for a street name and have it find that street in the city my GPS says I’m in, rather than in Bangladesh. They aren’t even pretending to develop anything useful any more. 

And we pay the cost. Our conversation is dumbed down. Our creativity time is replaced with interruptions and cat pictures...Cat pictures! I just love cat pictures! (Especially tabby cats.) Oh, where was I. Distraction. Right. And the very nature of multitasking tools is that they provide a single context for very different activities, muddying those together in our brains, and making it hard to focus on any one thing for long enough to get into flow.

2. It isn’t always personal.

While we talk about productivity, it isn’t always personal. Personal productivity is all about the things you can do better, stronger, and faster on your own. How you can be your own personal Superman, Superwoman, Supertransman, Supertranswoman, Superintersex, or Superperson when you step out of your Clark-or-Clarissa Kent secret identity. 

But remember, the Clark-or-Clarissa Kents of the world have a day job, working with other people. That’s organizational productivity. You need things, you need to coordinate handing off those things, and you give things to others. Smoothing those handoffs, and redistributing work to flow gracefully, is all about organizational productivity. 

When things aren’t getting done, don’t assume it’s always you. Look at how work is spread around and handed off. Sometimes everyone’s doing the best they can, and it’s the organization causing the problems. You may be an individual pearl, but if you’re on a necklace being worn by a swine, you’ll still get muddy. 

3. Downtime is valuable.

There is a natural ebb and flow to work. If there are no natural pauses in your work, it means you’re probably doing redundant work or you’re doing multiple jobs. It also means you’re getting no time to think, reflect, learn, or get better. When you have downtime, rather than filling it with activity, grab a piece of paper and pencil—stay off your computer or smartphone—and doodle while daydreaming. Yes, daydreaming. That’s when your brain is most creative. Set it free! That will also make it much more tender when it’s requisitioned by the Generals during the zombie apocalypse. 

4. Productivity isn’t visible

When you see someone at their desk, feet up, binge-reading the entire series of Wonder Woman comics (I’m still trying to get on her calendar), you think, “What a lazy bum. We’re clearly not giving them enough work! Triple their workload. They’re underutilized.”

What you don’t think is, “How productive! They’re so productive that they got their work done in two hours. They should get to go home early.”

That’s because productivity and laziness look exactly the same from the outside. In one case, because the work is done. In the other case, because the work hasn’t been started. If you’re going to become productive, do the social engineering necessary so you’re perceived that way. Which, of course, is more work to fill up some of your Wonder Woman reading time. 

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5. The 'Why' matters.

Humans are weird. We decide we want to reach a goal. So we start working towards that goal. We optimize everything we do to go faster and faster...and then we often forget the goal, and end up spinning off in a different direction. Efficiently.

Every now and then, stop and ask, “Why am I doing this?” Make sure you’re headed for a “why” that matters. Why are you reading email? Why are you writing that report? Why are you taking inventory? We assume all these tasks are valuable. But maybe they aren’t. Make sure you know. It’s far better to do the right thing inefficiently than the wrong thing very productively.

6. Optimizing the wrong thing doesn’t matter.

When you do decide to optimize something, think hard about what. We optimize what we’re most aware of, whether on not it’s the problem. Dealing with email overload? An artificial-intelligence autofolder category label sorting system that’s Siri-compatible might be the wrong answer, even though it was just included in your latest laptop. Maybe the real problem is that your role and boundaries need to be clearer to people who want to contact you.

Silicon Valley is now making toys, not tools.

If you have a desk job that involves a lot of computer work, probably the two biggest optimizations you can do is learn to speed read a screen and touch type. Those activities make up 90% of most screen time. A ten percent boost in typing speed will carry over into everything.

And stop text messaging. Learn to make a 30-second phone call. You’ll quintuple your efficiency. 

7. Tools are toys.

Many productivity tools aren’t developed by people who understand you or your workflow, but by engineers who have a hypothetical reason why their cool tool will help you do better. I used to be one of those engineers. A smartphone-controlled turnip twaddler? Life was heaven working on such awesome-sounding, world-changing, disruptive technologies! In retrospect, I had no clue what real-life turnip twaddlers actually needed. But building the tool was surely great fun!

When you find a tool that works for you, great, use it. But make sure it’s providing value by measuring. Just the cost of switching systems can eat up any productivity gains of the new, better tool.

8. Tech tools make your work more fragile.

Every tool you incorporate into your workflow makes you dependent on that tool. Imagine you have a business that depends on a careful interlinking of nineteen different websites, all managed from a cell phone app. If any one of those websites goes out of business, or has a server crash, your entire business might get screwed.

My cell phone is the center of my digital life. It broke. I could get nothing done for two days until I got it replaced. My zombie army generals were going crazy without the ability to send me text messages (they’re not that great at decision-making on their own). I couldn’t even log into web sites because I couldn’t receive the login-verification text messages. 

When a tool works, it’s great, but consider the time and effort it takes to keep the tool working, as well as the costs if the tool breaks. 

Productivity is a double-edged sword. If you do it right, you’ll personally be more productive and have time left over to read Wonder Woman. Just be thoughtful. Make sure it’s getting you where you’re going, and make sure that your tools themselves really deliver on their promise. If you can also tackle the organizational productivity problems that get in your way, you’ll be able to turbocharge the results you get in your life. When the zombie apocalypse comes, you’ll surely be spared, because you’ll be much too valuable to be lunch.

I’m Stever Robbins. Follow GetItDoneGuy on Twitter and Facebook. Want great keynote speeches on productivity, Living an Extraordinary Life, or entrepreneurship? Hire me! Find me at http://ift.tt/1l2uWN6. 

Image of productive, skyrocketing man © Shutterstock

How Well Do Ancestry DNA Tests Actually Work?

It’s Thanksgiving week in the US which for many means gathering together with family. If you’re sitting around the holiday dinner table and wondering, "Can I really be related to these people?," you might be tempted to take one of the increasingly popular mail-in genetics tests. Companies like AncestryDNA and 23andme offer you a look at how your genetic ancestry breaks down in terms of percentages of your lineage coming from different regions around the globe. They also offer the possibility of connecting with potential relatives based on matches in your DNA to other users in their database.

23andme further offers a report on your genetic health risks, including whether you have genetic mutations for diseases like cystic fibrosis that may affect any future children and how likely you are to develop Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s. It is this disease risk assessment that got the company into some trouble with the FDA back in 2013. At the time, the Food and Drug Administration required that 23andme discontinue the disease prediction portion of their service until they could offer more proof of the accuracy of their tests as well as evidence that their customers understood their results. However, as of April 2017, the FDA has restored authorization to 23andme to provide the information on genetic disease markers based on evidence from peer-reviewed scientific studies directly linking those diseases with the genetic mutations the company tests for.

What are the benefits of exploring your ancestry via your DNA?

One of the main benefits of genetic DNA testing is that it’s easy. All of our cells contain complete copies of our DNA, so, as we know from watching crime scene investigation shows, our DNA can be tested from almost anywhere including our hair or skin without the need for a blood test. In the case of most genetic testing companies, you mail in a vial of your saliva.

Once it arrives at the lab, your spit is typically subjected to what is known as admixture testing. The specifics of your DNA are compared to a library of other DNA samples from around the world to determine from where the best matches arise. You are then provided a breakdown of your lineage into percentages associated with each of 20-35 geographic regions.

This level of information—possible ancestral connections quantified by probabilities—can be very helpful when tied to related, non-DNA-based investigations into family history. Perhaps family lore suggests you once had distant relatives in Scandinavia, but you have not been able to find any photographic or otherwise more concrete evidence. A DNA-based link to Scandinavia could help bolster those family stories.

Alternatively, perhaps you have little to no information on your lineage and so any clues, even if not 100% certain (or even 50% certain), is valuable.

What are the limits of DNA tests of your ancestry and disease markers?

If you choose to submit your DNA in search of a peek into your possible lineage, here are a few caveats to keep in mind:

1. There is no such thing as a complete database of human DNA samples, or even a sufficiently globally-representative one. When a database of existing samples with known lineage is searched for matches to your DNA, the quality of that match depends on the size of the comparative samples. Each company has its own database so you may get different results from different companies. In April 2017, AncestryDNA reported that a database of more than 4 million people is used in its searches and 23andme claims possible comparisons to over 2 million people. These numbers are significantly larger than even a few years ago and quickly increasing.

2. If you’re not a white European over the age of 30, you will not get the most thorough match possible. The size of the database of possible DNA matches—known as reference populations—is not all the matters. Variety plays a role too. So far, the matches produced for non-white customers, and anyone with lineage traced outside of Europe, are typically far less accurate because they draw from a much smaller subset of DNA samples available for comparison. For those customers, doing some investigating into the make up of the databases used by different companies is key.

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3. While it can be obvious when DNA samples are not a match, definitively linking your DNA to that of your ancestors through similarities is not always so black and white. Assuming with each descendent, half of someone’s DNA is passed on to the next generation, you’re unique contribution is already down to below 1% after only ~7 generations. If I want to know if I’m related to Galileo, it will thus be challenging to link specific aspects of our respective DNA samples that aren’t also shared with just about everyone else. We do have mitochondrial DNA which is passed on only by our mothers and DNA linked to Y-chromosones which is passed on only by our fathers. These types of DNA can serve as more direct links to distant ancestors, but those ancestors only make up a small percentage of our lineage.

4. Interpreting your DNA ancestry results requires understanding confidence intervals. Most companies lay out your results in terms of how confidently you can trust them in terms of probability. Some even allow you to change those confidence interval settings to see the range in your results. For example, my results may tell me that I am 2% Japanese at a 75% confidence interval but that probability of Japanese lineage may increase if I’m willing to look at less confident results. These confidence intervals also mean that any results presented as accurate to the decimal point are probably less certain than they appear to be.

5. Understanding the limitations of percentages and probabilities is especially important in the interpretation of any findings-related disease mutations linked to genetic diseases. For example, having a particular gene variant known as N370S means you are three times more likely to develop Parkinson’s, which can sound intimidating. But the normal risk is only around 0.3% so a tripling of that risk brings you to still less than 1%. Not to mention much of the risk in developing Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s is thought to be nongenetic or from genes that aren’t tested by companies like 23andme. Also, consider how it will affect you to know that you have a 5% chance of colorectal cancer, for example. 5% is still fairly low but worrying about such a result could be a source of stress.

Results require generalizations about genetics of large populations of people throughout time and across the globe.

6. Testing your DNA for disease markers should never replace seeking or continuing any form of treatment. The most thorough analysis of your genetics is best done through a face-to-face appointment with a genetic counselor who can personalize (and thus improve the accuracy of) your results by, for example, incorporating your family history of disease.

Do ancestry DNA tests work?

The answer is both yes and no. Direct-to-consumer DNA tests typically work as promised in the fine print—they offer a look at which regions of the world are home to people with DNA signatures most similar to yours. For many, that is enough.

However, those results require generalizations about genetics of large populations of people throughout time and across the globe. Will they be able to tell you that you are for sure related to Cleopatra? No. For those answers you’ll have more success digging through your family history. Our ethnicity is also not entirely dictated by our genetics. We each have a collection of lived experiences and cultural ties that also help play an important role in who we are.  

Until next time, this is Sabrina Stierwalt with Everyday Einstein’s Quick and Dirty Tips for helping you make sense of science. You can become a fan of Everyday Einstein on Facebook or follow me on Twitter, where I’m @QDTeinstein. If you have a question that you’d like to see on a future episode, send me an email at everydayeinstein@quickanddirtytips.com.

Image of double helix © Shutterstock.

7 Tips For a Stress-Free Holiday Season

One of my all-time favorite quotes is from Mother Teresa—“If you want to change the world, go home and love your family.” It made such an impression on me that I printed it and had it made into a plaque that I hang in our kitchen. I love the message because I really do believe that we as parents can make the biggest impact on our kids' lives.

With Thanksgiving upon us, it also reminds me why I like to have such a big celebration each year—to give thanks for the gift of my family. Across the country, millions of people will be preparing a Thanksgiving feast for their friends and families. As lovely as this sounds, those of us that are busy—stuffing and roasting the turkey, rolling out pie crusts, polishing the silver (does anyone still do that!?), not to mention shopping for all that food and then going into a cleaning frenzy before our guests arrive—know that the holidays are wonderful but they sure are a lot of work!

This year you can change the way you approach Thanksgiving and the entire holiday season by choosing to stress less and enjoy the process more. Mighty Mommy shares seven tips to take the hectic out of your holidays so you can enjoy more time with your family.

Tips For a Stress-Free Holiday Season

1. Tip #1: Include Your Family
2. Tip #2: Split Your Shopping Trips
3. Tip #3: Keep It Simple
4. Tip #4: Maintain Daily Rituals
5. Tip #5: Practice Holiday Meditations
6. Tip #6: Keep Track of Holiday Hacks
7. Tip #7: Count Your Blessings

Let’s look at each one a bit closer.

Tip #1: Include Your Family

When I have a big project at work, our team gathers in advance to set our goals and assign individual tasks. Planning and prepping for a big family holiday such as Thanksgiving is no different. Set a time when your family can get together to discuss the menu as well as brainstorm other aspects of the day such as shopping, decorations, activities, etc.

See also: 6 Ways to Improve Family Communication

In our family, I used to be the designated holiday planner but now one of my daughters (a recent grad as a graphic designer) has gladly taken on this position because she enjoys putting her artistic touch on everything from the menu to the tablescape. 

Half of my eight kids participate in our Thanksgiving planning meeting. Believe me, not all of them are jumping up and down to sign up for jobs like peeling potatoes or helping to clean bathrooms before company arrives, so I try to make sure they all have input in picking tasks they enjoy doing as well as fit what they're capable of contributing. By including my family in the planning process, we are all on the same page as far as what expectations are for tasks and responsibilities, we stay organized, and I don’t have to shoulder the entire holiday by myself. In addition, it teaches my kids how to participate in a big family gathering and it’s a chance to work together as a team.

Tip # 2: Split Your Shopping Trips

One of the most daunting parts of hosting a huge meal like Thanksgiving is the shopping. A way to keep this more manageable is to split your shopping list into two trips. The first trip, which ideally would be done a week before Thanksgiving (when grocery stores get mobbed), is for nonperishables—canned goods, baking items such as flour and sugar, spices, paper goods, anything that doesn't need to be fresh. (But do plan ahead on your turkey!) Then make a second smaller and easier trip the week of Thanksgiving to grab things like fruit, salad fixings, cream, etc. Breaking the shopping down can ease your burden and help to keep things in your kitchen streamlined.

Tip #3: Keep It Simple

I am a complete Food Network junkie. I love lounging on a rainy Saturday afternoon in front of the TV to watch all the latest cooking shows where I can grab ideas so that I can surprise my family with new recipes and baked goodies. When it comes to parties and holidays I tend to want to pull out all the stops with an impressive spread that will keep my family talking for weeks. That’s great if you have lots of time, energy, and money, but it can also raise your anxiety levels when you have the added pressure of trying to pull off a showstopper of a meal. Instead, try to keep it simple. You can still serve a tasty feast even if you eliminate some of the bells and whistles.

Stick with recipes that have fewer ingredients and fewer steps to make. If you have go-to recipes that you know your family loves, you can even modify these with a hint of fresh herbs or real whipped cream on a dessert to make it a little more special without adding too much extra fuss.

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Tip #4: Maintain Daily Rituals

Most of us try to squeeze an extra hour or two out of our days throughout the year, but when holiday time is in full swing we try and double that. That's a recipe for burnout.

Instead, be sure to hold onto your daily rituals during this busy time of year. If you like to read for half an hour before bed, or go to the gym right before dinner, don’t give it up in favor of yet another holiday chore. Our everyday practices help calm and center us and this sets a good example for our children.

Tip #5: Practice Holiday Meditations

The holidays are a time of celebration and gathering with family and friends, a time to remember and appreciate our many blessings. But unfortunately sometimes our schedules are so jam-packed that we completely miss the point of why we celebrate to begin with. This year you can add a fresh, healthy twist to your holidays by meditating—you can do it alone, but I highly recommend you include your entire family. Meditation is a great way to enhance your sense of joy and peace, so this holiday season make time to take a deep breath, go inward, and refuel.  You can do this as a family right after breakfast with holiday music playing softly in the background.

Get into the habit of appreciating and sharing with your kids the things that make our lives so much easier on a daily basis—especially the gift of good health and a loving family.

You can also introduce your family to a guided meditation which brings a visual component to a very simple deep breathing exercise. Trying this wonderful gratitude meditation for Thanksgiving.

Tip #6: Keep Track of Holiday Hacks

Even before I had eight kids, I have always been a list person. Not only do I thrive by keeping a to-do list on hand at all times, I also find it helpful to record any tips and tricks that went over especially well for big events like birthday parties, traveling for vacation, and even celebrating the holidays. 

Try keeping a notebook from year to year, detailing your own secrets for a sacred, successful, and stress-free celebration. Not only will this be helpful, but you may find it quite entertaining as well when you re-read it throughout the years.

One thing I have taken advantage of for the past few years are all the holiday hack tips that you can find online. Some of my favorite for the holidays are:

• Use a cooler as an extra fridge. With all the extra jars of olives, bottles of wine etc., you store them in a cooler in the garage filled with ice packs.
• The night before Thanksgiving, pull out all your plates and platters, and put post-it notes with the names of the dishes that will be served on each of the plates. It saves you from second guessing when crunch time comes.
• Bake stuffing in a muffin tin. It shortens the cooking time and ensures the stuffing is crispy outside and moist within.

Tip #7: Count Your Blessings

There's nothing wrong with kids being grateful for material objects, as long as that doesn't supersede gratitude for the love and support of the people in their lives. My kids will be the first to tell you that I will comment, out of the blue, about the blessings we all have. When I’m up to my eyebrows in laundry, I’ll say something like, “Thank goodness for my washer and dryer, I don’t know how my ancestors washed little boy’s pants over a rock in a stream!”  

It's like when we lose power due to a storm, that's when we start to realize how blessed we are to have electricity every day. But why wait for the storm? Get into the habit of appreciating and sharing with your kids the things that make our lives so much easier on a daily basis—especially the gift of good health and a loving family.

How do you keep your holiday stressors under control? Share your thoughts in the comments section at http://ift.tt/1zMEe2L, post your ideas on the Mighty Mommy Facebook page. or email me at mommy@quickanddirtytips.com. Visit my family-friendly boards at http://ift.tt/1wyJKr5

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