Holiday Reports

Just about holiday info

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Healthy Vegetarian Meals For the Holidays No problem

One of reasons people start getting serious about their health come January 1st is not only to have a New Years resolution but to start setting goals to change their diet, get in shape or lose some weight. Usually people tend to eat more than normal during the holidays in the months of November and December. And if you are like most people.maybe some of the food choices are less than healthy after all, how can you resist your moms baking? Between the feasting and drinking, it takes a toll on our bodies. And so goes the resolution.

Dont feel as though you have to continue down this path. You can start a vegetarian lifestyle right now. Healthy vegetarian meals can help with this change and it is a perfect idea to help yourself or those you love. Finding ways to enjoy the holidays AND include vegetarian dinner recipes to your menu does not need to be stressful. The traditional holiday menus that we all love can be sprinkled with healthy choices.
Most people wait all year for enriching holiday moments and special celebrations with their families and friends. Don’t let diet strain relationships and ruin holiday cheer. Here are some tips to become a master at creating familiar dishes that are sure to fit within your family’s culture and traditions and will appeal to all taste buds.

It is very easy to find vegetarian recipes for Thanksgiving for example as vegetables are mainstays in many parts of this meal.

Instead of your traditional turkey, you can enhance your guests with a herb roasted soy vegan chicken, served with your traditional vegetable side dishes

For those that normally serve “beef” at your turkey dinner, try something like a Vegan Beef Wellington with a traditional salad to entice their taste buds

Want to be warm and cozy, serve something like a Vegan Chicken Pot Pie, warm cranberry sauce and some mashed potatoes with a vegan gravy (yummy)

A traditional chef prepared Meatloaf, ala vegan style, that would food the Queen of England

People want to be healthy, but they dont want to give up the taste of traditional fare of meat at their holiday meals. Once you realize how easy it is to find vegetarian dinner recipes, you will feel joy in making and eating such healthy fare. You can show people they dont have to give up anything; You will bring delight to the table and health to those you care for.

You can give the gift of health in the next few weeks and months to people who otherwise are engaging in un-healthy diets by sharing your healthy vegetarian meals with everyone at your next holiday! If you do not feel comfortable preparing vegetarian dinners or making vegan meal plans; no worries, you can order them online!

The Norfolk Broads by Norfolk Holiday Guide

The Norfolk Broads is an area consisting of many rivers and lakes situated close to the East coast of the county. In conjunction with the neighbouring Suffolk Broads it is the largest protected wetland and third largest inland waterway in Britain. Its status is equivalent to that of a national park, although it has not been designated as oneyet. The Broads Authority, set up in 1989, is responsible for conservation, planning, recreation and waterways.

The Broads, as it is commonly referred to, has an area of 303 square kilometers (for those who, like me, are struggling to come to terms with metrication that is 117 square miles). In its entirety it is made up of seven rivers, namely the Ant, Thurne, Bure, Chet, Yare, Waveney and Wensum, together with sixty three broads. Of these broads only thirteen are for the most part navigable, with three more having only channels which can be navigated. The total navigable waterways amount to 200 kilometers (125 miles) and provide some spectacular night-time scenery.

Intensive peat digging during medieval times is believed to have culminated in the creation of the broads. The result is an area which has, quite fittingly, been described as Britains Magical Waterland. It is home to a diverse range of plants, insects, birds and animals, many of which are the rarest in the UK and some of which are unique to this area. Our most beautiful insect, the Swallowtail butterfly, has made its home here and the delightful British Otter is making a welcome comeback here thanks to the landscape and the water quality.

The Norfolk Broads can be explored along the numerous footpaths and cycle tracks running parallel to the rivers, with bicycle hire available around the county. However, the best way to take in the beautiful landscape and its wildlife is to rent a boat and cruise the waterways at your leisure or to take a guided boat tour. There are many businesses throughout the area offering tours or boats of all shapes and sizes for hire. You can live on board or there is plenty of accommodation available in close proximity to moorings if you want to hire boats by the day.

The Norfolk Holiday Guide is managed by Wentworth Leisure Ltd, a family run company with a love of travel. We are committed to promoting the tourist trade in Norfolk and are doing everything we can to encourage visitors to choose Norfolk as their holiday destination. We are totally independent and are not connected in any way with the Norfolk Tourist Board or any other organisation in Norfolk.

The website is a contemporary, easy to use online guide for holidays within the county of Norfolk. We hope you will find all the information you require for visiting this popular tourist destination. This online guide will help you to choose the Norfolk holiday accommodation that best suits your needs. We have specially designed the Norfolk Holiday Guide website to offer you a quick and easy way to search for your tourist destination or service, with no commission paid to ourselves, as all bookings take place directly with the service you are looking for.

Consolidate Maxed Out Credit Cards Using Your Home – Post-Holiday Spending Tips

During the holiday season many families will turn to credit cards to finance Christmas expenses. This makes it less stressful to make ends meet, especially during the holidays. Sometimes we don’t even realize how much damage is done until the credit card bills start to arrive in January.

Credit cards are very convenient but have their pitfalls. Credit cards bear very high interest rates, often more than 20% interest and in the case of department store cards up to 30%. Interest is calculated monthly so if you get caught up in a pattern of only making minimum monthly payments, they can take years to pay off. Credit cards that have balances more than 75% of their limits will damage your credit rating/credit score.

The last thing you want to do is go into the next holiday season with credit cards that have balances from the spending you did the past holiday season. The best thing to do if you have accumulated balances on credit cards from holiday spending is to consolidate maxed out credit cards using your home.

There are many reasons why it is a great idea to consolidate maxed out credit cards using your home. Here are just a few:

1.Using your home to consolidate maxed out credit cards will enable you to start the New Year on a fresh foot and with a single monthly payment.

2.Using your home to consolidate maxed out credit cards will increase cash flow because a home equity loan or line of credit will bear a much lesser payment than what you are paying to your credit cards on a monthly basis.

3.Using your home to consolidate maxed out credit cards will reduce the overall interest that you are paying to loans and credit cards. Home equity loan and home equity line of credit interest rates are much less than what you are paying to your individual credit cards.

4.Using your home to consolidate debt will improve your credit because all of your credit card balances will be reduced to zero and the less debt reporting to your credit report, the higher your credit score will be. Also, as we mentioned when credit card balances exceed 75% of your limits, it reduces your credit score and will trigger a message to appear on your credit report that indicates that your credit card balances are too high in proportion to your credit limits.

It is important that if you consolidate your maxed out credit cards using your home equity that you don’t continue to use your credit cards. Put them away and only use a single card and make sure to use the card in denominations that you can afford to pay off in full each month. This will ensure that you don’t find yourself in the future with a new payment on a consolidation loan and paying credit card balances.

Start your New Year off with your finances in order and without the stress of having to pay a windfall of credit bills.

Keeping the Happy in the Holidays

Keeping the “Happy” in the Holidays

By Lezlie Cebulski , ND , EFT-ADV

With the season of peace and joy upon us, we busy ourselves with holiday activities such as shopping, cooking, decorating and socializing. While it is an enjoyable time of year for many, extra demands are made of our time, energy and financial resources which can leave us feeling depleted. When we pause to restore balance to our body, mind and spirit, we are able to give abundantly to others without resentment. The following are suggestions to help you feel your best during this holiday season.

1. Limit the holiday goodies. Avoid or reduce simple carbohydrates such as white flour breads, cookies, candy and sugar that can cause mood swings and fatigue. If you find that you are unable to resist sweets, see a holistic practitioner which can investigate the possibility of Candida Albicans, hormone deficiencies or food addictions through lab tests or applied kinesiology.

2. Exercise for a healthier mind, body and stress reduction. If you are medically cleared, plan to do at least 30 minutes of exercise daily.

3. Get adequate sleep each night. If you are sleep deprived, mood swings can easily set in. With holiday preparations, you may feel the urge to work past your usual bedtime. Resist this urge. Get enough sleep and enjoy your family and friends. Note: studies have shown that sleep deprivation is linked with weight gain.

4. Supplement your diet with Vitamin D3. D3 has been found to enhance mood in healthy people during the winter. This is particularly important for residents of Michigan as our winter days are often cloudy without much exposure to direct sunlight. In other studies, D3 was also shown to reduce carbohydrate cravings and the excessive desire to sleep in the winter. Other nutritional supplements should be recommended by a qualified practitioner.

5. Pray daily and connect with God. Take time to celebrate life and give gratitude to God for all things big and small! Appreciating blessings puts the small hassles of life into perspective. Gratitude to God gives us joy and peace. Staying connected to God gives us strength to fulfill our life purpose.

6. Avoid debt. Set a realistic budget for holiday spending and stick to it. Post-holiday credit card debt can fuel anxiety and depression. Make connection, not commerce your goal this season. If you have difficulty controlling your spending, consider a practitioner who can use Emotional Freedom Technique to clear negative emotions associated with money, debt and over-spending.

7. Volunteer. Consider joining a charity work organization. Giving your talent & services to others in need will be as much a blessing to you as it is to them.

8. Avoid, reduce alcohol. While holiday social drinking creates temporary euphoria, alcohol is a depressant of the central nervous system. Excessive alcohol consumption creates mood swings, fatigue, weight gain, skin disorders, liver impairment to name a few. If you are drinking excessively, an Emotional Freedom Technique practitioner can help you release negative emotions underlying the urge to drink. A naturopath or holistic practitioner can recommend a nutritional and detoxification program to repair the body and restore function.

9. Keep holiday plans simple and realistic. Communicate needs and expectations. Share chores. Ask for help. Offer to help. Understand that others may be grieving or lonely.

10. Be flexible. Fond memories are recalled by holiday rituals for many people. This is often why they are treasured, such as a pie or casserole recipe. However, there may be holidays in which the family rituals should be changed or temporarily dropped if there is a recent death in the family or divorce. Last year, my beloved father-in-law died suddenly a week before Christmas. We minimized the Christmas decorations and, for a drastic change, we had Chinese food for Christmas dinner. We were able to enjoy our time together that Christmas day, without triggering memories of Christmas past. It was a few hours of grief reprieve. Flexibility was needed and appreciated by all.

11. Resolve inner emotional conflicts. For some people family holiday gatherings bring old conflicts to the emotional surface. Traumatic memories, disappointments, shame, anger and anxiety can be more intense during the holidays. If you find these emotions are decreasing your energy and joy in life or you suspect that they may be behind a physical illness, seek a skilled, intuitive Emotional Freedom Technique practitioner which can help you release negative emotions energetically and provide counseling.

Using the above strategies will help you stay in balance and enjoy this holiday season.

Grand Canyon National Park – Helicopter Specials Throughout Memorial Day Holiday

The Memorial Day holiday is right around the corner. Bookings for air tours on Grand Canyon helicopters are skyrocketing.

Memorial Day falls on Monday, May 26th this year. Since it is a three-day weekend, many people head for the Grand Canyon. So don’t wait until the last minute to book your trip. It is always a good idea to book your hotel and Grand Canyon tour at least one or two weeks ahead of time.

Tours of the canyon originate in Las Vegas, Sedona, Phoenix, Flagstaff, Scottsdale, and Williams.

Las Vegas Tours To The West Rim

First, it’s important to know that choppers flying from Vegas only do the West Rim. The South Rim is just too far for them.

However, that is certainly no problem, because the West Rim is a lot of fun. You can fly to the floor of the canyon at the West Rim, and that is the only place it is permitted in the National Park. The descent is a thrilling experience.

Las Vegas tours come in two types, one is air-only and the other lands at the canyon. Both of these tour types give you aerial views of Lake Mead, Hoover Dam, the Skywalk, and the Grand Canyon. The landing tours, though, also touch down at the top or at the bottom of the gorge (the latter is way more popular). Once the canyon floor, you can enjoy a relaxing lunch or add on a boat ride along the smooth waters of the Colorado River.

The Vegas chopper tours depart from an airfield in Boulder City, Nevada or from the Vegas Strip.

Strip flights are better for several reasons. It is certainly more convenient to your hotel and the tours even pick you up at your hotel and take you back. If you take a tour out of Boulder City, you will ride a van shuttle to the airfield. If you depart from the Strip instead, the tour operator picks you up in a limo. How cool is that? You also get to see the Strip as part of the tour.

South Rim Flights

South Rim helicopter tours are ideal when you depart from a city in Arizona. Just keep in mind, none of those tours can land at the bottom of the canyon.

The South Rim has its own claim to fame though, and that is its natural beauty because of the wilderness area it encompasses.

There are two tours available here too, one of them is thirty minutes long and the other one lasts fifty minutes. The longer tour is best because it flies you over about 3/4 of the entire National Park area.

Combo tours are also available at this Rim. Right now, the two most popular combo trips are the ones that include a ride on a Harley-Davidson motorcycle and the ones that include a sunset Jeep ride (it’s not overly rough).

Look for a deluxe option when you book your flight. Why do that? These tours use the EcoStar 130 choppers and they offer an exceptional experience. These helicopters have huge windshields that wrap around the cabin so you have great views, plus you have lots of personal space and stadium-style seating for unobstructed sightseeing. EcoStars are really the only way to go.

To Summarize

The Grand Canyon will be much busier than normal during Memorial Day weekend. The date is fast approaching, so book your tour as soon as possible. If you plan to depart from Vegas, choose a tour that takes off from the Strip. Both rims offer tours on EcoStar choppers, so try to snag a seat on one of them for the best flight possible.