An excellent article about keeping finances in order, (*which is especially good for "mental" health, you know?)

If you let your debt get greater than your salary, you may find suddenly the credit card companies JACK UP your interest rate simply because they KNOW you are stuck financially and cannot pay them off. 

A guy on the news a couple years ago told how he.....

• never missed a payment,
• ALWAYS paid on time,
• ALWAYS paid more than their "minimum"

yet suddenly found himself at 24% interest on a card! 
That level threatened to send him into total bankruptcy!

So, to read a good article on finances CLICK HERE

(*or go to http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2014/03/28/uh-oh-my-debt-is-bigger-than-my-salary/?intcmp=obnetwork if the link isn't working.)

I've recently been in charge of "dinners" for anywhere from 10 to 70 people!  (*Thankfully we had the 70 at a wonderful Chinese restaurant!)

In dealing with such a wide variety of people, I've learned you can never go wrong with a beautiful bowl of FRESH FRUIT! 

Seriously - so many are intimidated at throwing a dinner party yet I've found the simplest foods are often the best! 

Take a mixture of fruits - melon chunks, apples diced large, strawberries cut into halves or fourths, whole grapes, even a few segments of clementines - and you've got a beautiful dish!


At one of the last big dinners, I heard the guests vying for the last bit of mango!

I just smiled and thought,
"Successful dinner? Yes!" 

I like weekends to be slow and unscheduled so I can catch up on anything my heart has longed for all week - sleep, reading, baking.

Yesterday was like that and it lulled me into a much needed mental "rest" but...as always…..riding home from church, my calm was shattered when I realized our son has a "required" make-up baseball practice!

Yikes! I was so immersed in the show “Seven Signs of the Apocalypse” on the History Channel yesterday (*scary stuff, folks!) that I didn’t think ahead for dinner AT ALL. 

I started plundering in the freezer, thinking, “What on earth can I throw together that fast?”.  

• Boneless, skinless chicken breasts – check!
• Balsamic vinaigrette –check!

Put them together and you’ve got “AWESOME CHICKEN, MOM!”, as our son said!

The "How to" is super easy!  I took a skillet – mine was a cast iron flat griddle. Added the chicken breast, covered it with vinaigrette, and let it cook, flipping it occasionally until they were thawed enough to cut into slices.

Once sliced, I simply allowed the vinaigrette to “cook down” into a thick sauce.

Who says you have to be a good cook to create something "awesome"! These slices would be great over a spring mix salad or piled high in a sandwich! 

 

 

 

If you want to know more about "who" we are, check out this article about us in Lake Murray magazine!  (*Great job, LM - thanks!!!)

Read it HERE (*or at http://www.scribd.com/doc/62856055/Lake-Murray-Magazine-September-2011).

It's a little slow to download because it's a whole magazine!

A 30 year Harvard study tracked 119,000 women and men. 

Those who ate peanuts, pistachios, almonds, walnuts, and other tree nuts daily had less risk of dying from heart disease and cancer.  Previous studies showed lower risks of diabetes and colon cancer, too.  (*Long as you're not ALLERGIC to them, you know?)

The belief that eating more nuts would make you fat from their high caloric content didn't show up in their studies.  In fact, they found the opposite.

Some, like the heart association, recommend unsalted, unoiled, but the Harvard study didn't define how they were prepared. 

Read more about it HERE (*Or at http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/11/21/study-says-nut-eaters-have-lower-cancer-heart-disease-risk/?intcmp=latestnews)

Funny phone call! 

A dear friend called and blurted out that she ran out of the vitamins we carry, didn’t have time to get it from me so since she was in the health store anyway, she picked up some “whole food” supplements there.

She reasoned, “ They’re on sale so a good price, organic, reputable company – has to be similar to the GNLD Cindy has so this is good.”

With a sudden burst of energy, she dramatically exclaimed, “They’re good….but I’m still TIRED….and THIS IS RIDICULOUS, CINDY!   I don’t have TIME to be TIRED!  I don’t know what GNLD puts in their vitamins that other companies don’t but there’s something missing in these!!! I can’t AFFORD to be tired all the time….I’ve got way too much to do for this to be happening!  Can I PLEASE get some more of the ProVitality boxes and I’ll take a Super B while you’re at it!” “ 

What a great way to start a Friday! 

Nice to know we’re making a DIFFERENCE in one busy mom’s life!

Check out our new webpage HERE (*or at www.NeoLifeClub.com/favorites)!                                                                                                  

I LOVE cats.... 

Always have, but there was a time when I let the negativity of those around me - (ahem!) - stifle my desire to own another until......

Our daughter called, saying, "Mom....guess what I've got in  my car?  A box of abandoned kittens!"

Eyes barely open, they were dirty, starving. 

They needed full-time care - bottle feeding constantly - and the smallest, little Sophie, came very close to dying due to being so under-nourished. 

(*She's now so healthy and strong that she's trying to sit on my HEAD as I type tonight! ha!)

Our little grey dog became their mom, and eventually all thrived!    

 
Consider giving a cat a good home!  Ours repay me DAILY with more love than I could have imagined the day that box came through our front door! 

I loved these photos below of an island where cats are welcomed and roam free! (*Bet there's not a mouse problem there! Ours keep our home fairly "bug" free, too! ha!)
Beautiful colors - enjoy this "visual" vacation HERE.
Be sure to click the arrow to see the entire slideshow!

(* or at http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2013/11/22/cat-heaven-island-draws-tourists-and-more-cats/)