Monday, November 22, 2010

"Take time to reflect on what has gone right with your life"

Tough Times May Make Us More Thankful This Season

Like Americans during the Great Depression, strife may bring us closer together

Sara Huffman

ConsumerAffairs.com

November 20, 2010
Tough economic times may make people more thankful this Thanksgiving, says Samuel T. Gladding, professor of counseling at Wake Forest University and an expert on families.

"I think many families will be staying home this holiday seasonâ€”some with anxiety, others with hope, but the majority with gratitude for what they have. We are not so different in 2010 from 1930 during the Great Depression," Gladding says.

Despite the changes in family structure -- more single parent and blended families -- and the fact many of us live far from our relatives, Gladding said we're similar to the Americans living 80 years ago in that we're "grateful for the essentials."

Gratitude is a key to positive mental health, he says.

Many people may have a hard time focusing on the positive this season, especially if they became one of the many American workers to lose their jobs.

But Gladding says financial distress can actually help people be more thankful for relationships, people, and non-material things.

"While many are struggling financially, it is heartwarming to focus on what we value more, which is human relationships and moments that don't have a monetary value," says Gladding, who is the author of several books on family counseling.

Sandwiched between Halloween and Christmas, Thanksgiving has, for the most part, avoided the consumerism of other holidays. Instead of centering on gifts, it is a time set aside for family, friends and the shared experience of making and eating a meal.

Gladding offers several suggestions for how to foster gratitude and build family connections at Thanksgiving:

Take time to reflect on what has gone right with your life.
Tell stories. Whether you are a religious or non-religious person, tell stories that reflect the good in people.
Strengthen generational ties by asking older members of the family to describe how they got through hard times. Experience with resilience can be educational and inspirational to younger people.
Encourage conversations with kids about what they are most thankful for other than their possessions.
Continue a ritual or start a new one.
Try to avoid cynicism and anger even if you have lost a job or are facing financial uncertainty.
Give your time and talents to others by reaching out and including them or helping them in some non-material way.

How NOT to fry a turkey!!

Don't Let Your Fried Turkey (or House) Go Up in Flames

Tips on staying safe when frying or roasting your holiday bird

Sara Huffman
ConsumerAffairs.com

November 20, 2010
Aficionados agree that deep frying a turkey is the best way to produce the most flavorful and moist version of the traditional centerpiece of the Thanksgiving meal.

However, if you choose to go the deep-frying route, you have to be careful that the bird is the not the only thing that gets fried on Thanksgiving Day.

In the United States, more than 141 serious fires and hot-oil burns have been reported from the use of turkey fryers over the last decade, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

"If a turkey fryer is used the way it's supposed to be used by people who are not impaired by alcohol or drugs, I think they're fine," said Dr. Thomas Esposito, chief of the Division of Trauma, Surgical Critical Care and Burns in the Department of Surgery, Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine in Maywood, Ill.

"Injuries from turkey fryers are rare, but when they happen to you or a family member, that doesn't matter - they are very devastating."

If you're planning to use a turkey fryer, Esposito said safety tips to heed include:

Keep the fryer in full view while the burner is on.
Keep children and pets away from the cooking area.
Place the fryer in an open area away from all walls, fences or other structures.
Never use in, on, or under a garage, breezeway, carport, porch, deck or any other structure that can catch fire.
Slowly raise and lower the turkey to reduce splatter and avoid burns.
Never cook in short sleeves, shorts, or bare feet. Cover all bare skin when adding or removing bird.
Protect your eyes with goggles or glasses.
Immediately turn off fryer if the oil begins to smoke.
Make sure the turkey is completely thawed and be careful with marinades. Oil and water don't mix and water can cause oil to spill over, creating a fire or even an explosion.
Don't overfill fryer with oil. Turkey fryers can ignite in seconds after oil hits the burner.
Keep a fire extinguisher appropriate for oil fires close at hand and be familiar with how to operate it.
Do not use a hose in attempts to douse a turkey fryer fire.
If you are burned, seek immediate medical attention.

Hope to avoid catastrophe by cooking your turkey in the oven, the old fashioned way? Experts say fires and serious burns can occur that way, too.

According to the National Fire Protection Association, Thanksgiving Day is the leading day for cooking fires, with three times as many as an average day.

"It doesn't matter if it is a turkey fryer or a conventional oven, you should always take great care when using appliances, vehicles and any other device that has the potential to cause great harm to yourself and others if used in a careless, irresponsible manner," Esposito said.