Blog Posts

Tips for Preventing Holiday Stress

Even under normal circumstances, the holiday season and all its demands - cooking a grand homemade holiday dinner, shopping for the perfect gifts for everyone on your list, baking Pinterest-worthy cookies from scratch, etc. - brings a lot of stress. Add to that the stresses of the COVID-19 pandemic and you’ve got one doozy of a 2020 holiday season. Not only are the holidays during the pandemic especially stressful, many the ways with which we would normally cope – meeting friends for a drink, spending time with family, traveling for a getaway – are not options this year. With some practical tips, you can minimize or even prevent the stress that accompanies the holidays and hopefully end up enjoying the season more than you might’ve thought you would. Tips to prevent holiday stress: 1. Acknowledge your feelings. We have this unrealistic expectation that the holiday season is supposed to be this magical time when everyone is holly and jolly and the world is a better place. If it’s hard to get in the holiday spirit this year, know that it’s ok to feel that way! You can't force yourself to be happy just because the holidays are here. Acknowledge that it’s ok to feel sad or anxious during the holiday season. 2. Create new traditions. Traditions are important, and not being able to uphold some of those traditions this year can be incredibly difficult. Choose a few to hold on to and be open to creating new ones. For example, if your adult children or other relatives can't come to your home, find new ways to celebrate together, such meeting virtually on a video call . Host a game of online bingo, have a virtual scavenger hunt, or even take your ugly sweater party online this year. Apps like WhatsApp, Skype, Facebook Messenger and more make it easy to connect groups, even when you can’t be together physically. Even though your holiday plans may look different this year, you can still find ways to celebrate. 3. Take the Stress Out of Gift-Giving. Let go of the idea that you need to give the perfect gift or that you need to go into debt to show people how much you care. Here are some tips to take the stress out of gift-giving this year: Before you do your gift and food shopping, decide how much money you can afford to spend, then stick to your budget! Use an app to help you keep track of everyone on your list, your budget for those people, and the gifts you purchase. Give homemade gifts in place of store-bought gifts. They’re more meaningful, anyway! Gift the chef in your family their very own handmade recipe box . Give the friend who could use some pampering a snowball bath bomb . Give someone whose nostalgic for the 90s a koosh ball pillow ! If you usually buy for everyone in your family or friends group, suggest implementing a Secret Santa gift exchange to make it easier for everyone. Donate to a charity in a friend or family member’s name. One with a cause that you know is important to them. 4. Plan ahead. Set aside specific days for shopping, baking, connecting with friends and other activities. Consider whether you can shop online for any of your items. Plan your menus and then make your shopping list, which will help prevent last-minute scrambling to buy forgotten ingredients. 5. Learn to say no. Saying yes when you should say no can leave you feeling resentful and overwhelmed. Friends and colleagues will understand if you can't participate in every project or activity. If it's not possible to say no when your boss asks you to work overtime, try to remove something else from your agenda to make up for the lost time. Just make sure to make at least a little time for connecting with friends and your community. 6. Don't abandon healthy habits. Don't let the holidays become a free-for-all. Overindulgence only adds to your stress and guilt. Try these suggestions: Have a healthy snack before holiday meals so that you don't go overboard on sweets, cheese or drinks. Get plenty of sleep . Include regular physical activity in your daily routine. Try deep-breathing exercises, meditation or yoga. Avoid excessive tobacco, alcohol and drug use. Be aware of how the information culture can produce undue stress and adjust the time you spend reading news and social media as you see fit. 7. Find Ways to Give Back . Volunteering your time or doing something to help others also is a good way to lift your spirits and broaden your friendships. Give blood, participate in a food drive, or just drop off dinner to a friend or family member one night. 8. Seek professional help if you need it. Mental health issues such as depression and anxiety are serious concerns. If you are seriously worried about your mental health, contact a health care professional immediately. Take control of the holidays Don't let the holidays become something you dread. Instead, take steps to prevent the stress they can bring. Learn to recognize your holiday triggers, such as financial pressures or too many demands on your time, so you can combat them and can find peace and joy during the holidays.

Tips for Making Your First Thanksgiving Dinner

With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, many of us are choosing to stay home this holiday season. If you’re used to being a guest instead of a host on Thanksgiving day, this might be your very first time tackling a Thanksgiving dinner all on your own! Cooking this great American meal is a big milestone for a cook, but it can also be very nerve-wracking and anxiety-inducing. If cooking Thanksgiving dinner for the very first time seems daunting, you’re not alone! To help try to ease your nerves and set you up for success, we’ve compiled a list of seven great tips for taking the stress out of Thanksgiving, so you can stay organized and calm and make this a special and memorable Thanksgiving. Don’t try out new recipes. Thanksgiving is all about the classics, so stick with the tried-and-true as much as possible. You’ll want to be able to devote as much of your brainpower as possible to your first-ever turkey! Plus, this is the biggest, most important meal of the year for most people, so why risk ruining it with a disastrous recipe that doesn’t turn out the way you’d hoped? Plan out your menu. Keeping #1 in mind, plan out your menu from drinks to desserts. From that list, create a grocery list and organize that list by aisle/store location so you can get in and out quickly and efficiently without risking having to go back for anything you’ve forgotten. Clean out your refrigerator. November 15 th is National Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day , and for good reason. You’ll want to make room for all those extra ingredients and eventual leftovers. Plus, you can use this opportunity to check the expiration dates and take a proper inventory of everything you do have so you know exactly what you’ll need from the store. Make as much ahead as possible. When you’re planning your menu, look for dishes that can be made ahead and get those crossed off as early as possible. Outside of the turkey itself, try to minimize the amount of actual cooking you need to do on Thanksgiving morning. Give the turkey an extra day to thaw. The rule of thumb is that it takes about 24 hours of thawing time for every 4 pounds of turkey. So, if you have a 15-pound turkey, you need at least 4 days of fridge time. But, do yourself a favor and allow yourself at least one extra day of thawing time. If it thaws completely a day or two before you need to cook it, that’s fine! Make a schedule of when everything will happen. Even if you’ve most of the cooking ahead, you still need to have a plan for when everything gets cooked, re-heated, or finished off . Write it all down with pen and paper or set alarms and reminders on your phone for when things need to go into the oven or come out. To make it easy, work backwards from the time you want to eat dinner, keeping in mind that the turkey should come out of the oven an hour before dinner starts. What will you need to pop in the oven to re-heat or bake during this hour? Give yourself grace. If the day doesn’t go exactly as planned, the rolls get a little burnt or the turkey is a little dry, be gentle with yourself. Relax, enjoy the experience, and remember the spirit of the holiday by trying to find moments of gratitude. Are you preparing Thanksgiving dinner on your own for the first time this year? If you’re a seasoned turkey day chef, do you have any other tips and tricks for first-timers? Let us know in the comments!

10 "Haunted" Spots in Maryland

The man in black, the goat man, the lady in blue and more! There’s no shortage of spooky legends and old haunted buildings in Maryland. Here are 10 of the most terrifying Maryland tales that will keep you awake at night. Read on if you dare… Hager House, Hagerstown Jonathan Hager House Museum / Facebook This house built in 1739 is said to be haunted by two families . Dare to take a ghost tour of this historic home to experience the dark eerie quiet surrounding the home for yourself! The Hager House has legendary secrets that are only shared at night during this spooky time of year. Maybe you’ll even spot the man in black , who is known to roam the grounds of City Park. Jericho Covered Bridge, Kingsville Sean Praglowski / Facebook Constructed in 1865 and one of Maryland’s last remaining covered bridges, this bridge is surrounded by tales of hauntings. People driving across Jericho Covered Bridge have claimed that their car mysterious stopped working , only to look up and see feet dangling above them! One local legend claims a young couple was told they couldn't be together, so they hung themselves from the bridge’s rafters. Antietam Battlefield, Sharpsburg Antietam National Battlefield / Facebook Antietam Battlefield was where the bloodiest Civil War battle took place . Just over 23,000 men were wounded, missing, or killed. Visitors have reported smelling gunpowder, hearing gunfire, and even spotting soldiers in confederate uniforms . Take a ghost tour of Sharpsburg and you might even encounter the woman in black . Fletchertown Road, Bowie Washingtonian An urban legend tells the tale of a mad scientist whose experiments on goats backfired when he was mutated into an evil half-man, half-goat. Said to be six feet tall, hairy and walking upright on its hind legs, the goat man has been reported to be seen attacking cars along Fletchertown Road with an ax, and has even been blamed by one local family for the decapitation of their family pet. Fort McHenry, Baltimore Fort McHenry National Monument & Historic Shrine / Facebook Fort McHenry was used as a prison for Confederate soldiers during the Civil War, and as a hospital for wounded soldiers during World War I. Visitors often report spectral sightings, like the woman who reportedly saw feet hovering off the ground at a site where there had once been gallows. Some even claim that you can feel a warm spot if you run your hand along the wall of the fort’s old jail. The visitor center, Star Fort and restroom are currently closed due to COVID-19, but the grounds are open 9am-5pm. Spook Hill, Burkittsville fauxto_digit / Flickr Also known as Gravity Hill, cars in neutral on this hill appear to roll backwards uphill . There’s another reason to visit the spooky town of Burkittsville – it’s also the setting of The Blair Witch Project ! Maryland State House, Annapolis Rebecca McGilvray / Facebook The Maryland State House is said to be filled with spirits. The most notable is the ghost of a man who fell from the building’s dome while trying to make repairs. He is reported to flash the lights on and off, open and close doors and more . Union Hotel Restaurant, Port Deposit Union Hotel Restaurant / Facebook Built in the 1700s, there is a tale here of a ghostly lady in blue who has been spotted by customers and employees. Antiques appear to move on their own, broken clocks are heard chiming, and phantom footsteps can be heard throughout. Point Lookout Lighthouse, Scotland Point Lookout Lighthouse Preservation Society (PLLPS), Inc. / Facebook What used to be a hospital for wounded Union soldiers then became a prison for the Confederates. 24 different voices have been recorded in the building. From spectral soldiers captured on film, to a woman in a blue dress, there have been many spooky eyewitness ghost sightings at Point Lookout State Park and Lighthouse. Be sure to check them out here for a scare! Hampton House, Towson Hampton National Historic Site / Facebook This mansion, completed in 1790, was once home to the wealthy Ridgely family and their large staff of indentured servants. Several ghosts are said to haunt the house, including that of Priscilla Ridgely , one of the original owners. Chains beating off the walls, doors opening on their own at midnight, and other strange phenomena have all been reported at this haunted mansion. Whether you believe the legends or not, these stories of supposedly haunted spots in Maryland are sure to give you a chill! Have you been to any of these ghoulish locations? Are there any spooky Maryland spots we left off the list? Let us know in the comments!

Tips for Avoiding Work-From-Home Burnout

Before the start of the pandemic, only 25 percent of Americans were working from home . That statistic has increased to 62% since March . While working from home certainly has its benefits under normal circumstances, working from home during a pandemic is not the same as working from home otherwise. On top of the constant access to work and children or others at home as well, there’s the anxiety-inducing 24-hour news cycle, uncertainty about what the future holds and everything else that comes with living during a public health crisis. With all of this, it can be common for those who suddenly found themselves working from home since March to be experiencing burnout. Burnout from work is characterized by the following, among others: Irritability with co-workers, clients and customers Lack of energy Lack of satisfaction from achievements Disillusionment regarding your job Unexplained headaches, stomach problems etc. To help you combat burnout and make working from home a success, we’ve gathered a few tips: 1. Define Your Work Hours Without the physical act of getting in a car and driving home at the end of the day at the office; however, it’s easier than ever to just keep going, allowing our work time to infringe upon our family time. Even if you’ve taken advantage of flex hours and an alternative work schedule, write your new schedule down and stick to it. Maybe your day now ends at 6:30 instead of 5:00 to allow you time during the day to assist your children with remote learning. Whenever your day ends, pretend you have a commute home, and shut it down for the day. 2. Take Breaks Wouldn’t it be nice if we could all just tell ourselves to ignore household chores? Easier said than done, especially since things are becoming untidier fast now that we are home 24/7. Try the Pomodoro Technique to find time for things like the dishes, laundry, social media and playing with children: Work for 25 minutes, then take a 5-minute break. Every four “pomodoros,” take a 20-minute break. Just remember to make sure some of those breaks are actual breaks – breaks during which you take time to rest and refuel your own mind and creativity. 3. Minimize Distractions Numerous studies have shown that humans can’t really multitask , and that trying to do so actually leads to a decrease in productivity. Turn the TV off, leave your phone in another room, and carve out specific time during each day for checking emails – like the beginning and end of each day. Minimizing distractions will also help you stick to the Pomodoro Technique and vice versa, if you know there is time coming up for each of the things that might distract you from your work otherwise. 4. Reward Yourself Always have something to look forward to, and make sure it is on your calendar for one of your Pomodoro breaks. Take a walk, listen to a podcast, facetime a friend…whatever it is that feels rewarding. Taking these breaks to reward yourself for productivity actually energizes you for the rest of your day , so don’t think of it as taking time away from your work, or “stealing time”. 5. Take Care of Your Physical Health Getting regular exercise and adhering to a healthy diet has never been more important . Schedule time in every day for some exercise, even if it’s just a walk around the block. If you can take your exercise outside, all the better, as fresh air can help relieve stress and boost your spirit. . Make sure you’re getting enough sleep, as well. Getting enough sleep makes us happier, healthier and more productive . Not enough sleep is a direct cause of feelings of stress, which will inevitably lead to burnout, under any circumstances. So, make sleep a priority: go to bed at the same time each night and wake up at the same time each morning. Keep your bedroom dark and cool, and turn off the TV and other screens at least 30 minutes before bed . 6. Try Meditation You don’t need anything special to meditate, although there are plenty of apps if you need a little extra guidance. Just sit quietly in a comfortable position and concentrate on your breathing. Meditating just five minutes can help calm your mind and reduce negative emotions. 7. Stay Connected Make it a point to connect with friends and family, and not just on social media. Whenever possible find a socially-distant activity that allows you to get together in person: a picnic, a walk, etc. If you’re less inclined to go out or are feeling sick and want to be safe, use apps like Houseparty to connect virtually, so you can still see their faces and hear their voices. The work-from-home routine is likely going to be with us for quite a while. Many employees have reported desiring to continue working from home , even post-pandemic. Use these strategies to prevent WFH burnout and create a routine that truly works for you.

Tips for Living with a Roommate

Having a roommate can be a very rewarding and pleasant experience. Outside of the obvious cost-saving benefits, there’s someone with whom to share the chores, someone from whom to learn new recipes, someone to introduce you to a new circle of friends… But, like with all relationships, it takes work to make it successful. Here are a few tips to make your roommate relationship as enjoyable and supportive as possible: Set Expectations Up Front As roommates, you'll be sharing a small space for a long time, and you'll need to respect each other's needs and preferences. Don't assume that your roommate will just figure out your preferences and expectations; that could lead to a lot of conflict. What are the rules for guests? How are you going to split the chores? Can they help themselves to your milk if they’ve run out? Make sure you and your roommate have a clear understanding of how living together will work so you don’t get on each other’s nerves the entire time. Don’t Keep It In Even with great communication, problems can still arise. If your roommate is doing something that's bothering you, address the issue as soon as you notice it so you can do so in a calm and friendly manner. Maybe your roommate isn’t even aware there’s a problem. The longer you let it go, the more habitual their behavior will become, and the angrier you will get. Not nipping issues in the bud will almost certainly lead to an argument, not to mention, unnecessary stress and anxiety for you. Be Conscious of Your Own Habits What side of the over-vs-under toilet paper argument are you on? As silly as it sounds, getting used to someone else’s habits can be challenging and even infuriating. Do what you can to be a good roommate – try not to leave dishes in the sink, put things back where they belong when you’re done with them and just be mindful that sharing a living space can be a struggle and takes constant work from everyone involved. When you’re inviting people over, give your roommate the courtesy of letting them know ahead of time. Maybe they’ve had a particularly hard day and would rather have a quiet night. Or, perhaps, they need to study and will plan on going to the library instead of coming home to allow you the opportunity to entertain your friends. And when you do have guests, make sure they are respectful of your roommate’s space and expectations, as well. Keep an Open Mind Your roommate can have a background that’s very different from yours or even come from a different culture. He or she may have an entirely different lifestyle, ideology, and perspective than yours. Keep an open mind and respect the differences between you. You might even find the diversity this experience brings to be very rewarding. What tips do you have for making the roommate relationship work? Let us know in the comments.

How to Remove Pet Hair from Your Home

Our furry friends bring us a lot of joy and are part of the family, but they can sure leave a lot of hair all over everything – our couch, our curtains, our clothes, our floors! Cleaning up all that hair can oftentimes be frustrating and unproductive, so we’ve rounded up some of the best tips and hacks to save you time, energy and sanity. How to Remove Pet Hair from Furniture Remove pet hair from upholstery and fabric with a dampened rubber glove by running your hand over the surface to attract hair. Rinse off the glove when it’s covered with hair and repeat as needed. If you don’t have rubber gloves handy, try a slightly wet sponge instead. Alternatively, lightly spray a mix of water and fabric softener onto your upholstered furniture, then wipe off. To remove pet hair from wooden furniture, use a soft cloth and furniture polish or anti-static dusting spray . The spray will eliminate the electric charge, making removal easier and lessening the likelihood that the hair will re-stick. How to Clean Pet Hair Off Floors For heavily-matted carpet, scrape a pumice stone gently along the surface. Any hair will gather right up. When vacuuming your carpet, go over areas twice and alternate directions to loosen stubborn hairs. If pet hair is a problem for you, it’s worth investing in a specialty pet vacuum , like the Dyson Ball Animal 2 Total Clean , which has powerful suction and a tangle-free turbine tool to remove dirt and hair from carpets and upholstery. Vacuums tend to blow hair around versus corral it in one spot, plus they can damage your floors. So, on hardwood, laminate or other bare floors, use an electrostatic or microfiber dry mop , or a lightweight vacuum made specifically for non-carpeted floors. How to Remove Pet Hair From Clothes All pet owners should keep a lint roller right beside their door, for a quick hair removal session before leaving to meet friends, go to work, etc. It’s also a good idea to keep one in your car and at work, so you’re never without one if you notice any lingering hairs! For larger quantities of hair, first remove as much pet hair as you can by hand (pro tip: the wet rubber glove trick for upholstery also works well on clothes). Once you’ve removed as much as you can, give the clothing or bedding a good shake. Then, try throwing your clothes in the dryer , along with a dryer sheet for 10 minutes with no heat. Or, use a spikey dryer ball for a chemical free solution. The movement and softener loosens hair, which winds up in the lint trap. Then, shake the clothes again to get as many pet hairs out as possible before tossing them in the wash. How to Control Pet Hair on Your Pets Themselves While you cannot stop a healthy pet from normal shedding, you can reduce the amount of hair in your home by doing things like brushing your pet regularly, keeping him hydrated and feeding him a nutritious diet, and preventing fleas . Regular baths also encourage loose hair to fall out in the tub (or outside) instead of on your furniture. Also remember that excessive shedding can be the result of stress, poor nutrition or a medical problem , so if you are concerned about the amount of hair your pet is losing, make sure to consult your pet’s veterinarian, who can best determine if hair loss is part of the normal shedding process or is a symptom of an underlying issue.