✚Helpful Hints #10

HEALTH and WELLNESS

THE KEY TO BEING HAPPIER AT WORK!

Pop a B-complex vitamin every day, and within a month, you should feel 20% less work-related tension, anxiety and strain, suggests a study out of Australia's Swinburne University of Technology.  B vitamins are critical for helping the brain produce certain neurotransmitters needed to feel calm, explains lead study author con Stough, Ph.D.

SMOKELESS TOBACCO SAVES LIVES!
Just can't seem to quit smoking?  While you're working on it, you can greatly reduce your risk of disease by opting for electronic cigarettes or new spit-free smokeless tobacco, reveals recent researcy by Brad Rodu, D.D.S., an expert on tobacco harm reduction at the University of Louisville James Graham Brown Cancer Center.  Both, he says, are 98% safer than cigarettes because they deliver nicotine without the smoke; it's the chemicals in smoke - not nicotine - that are most harmful.

BEAUTY and FITNESS

WOMEN - SLIM YOUR CALVES IN AN INSTANT!

If you want thinner-looking legs in a snap, put on a pair of pointy-toed shoes!  Even if you choose flats instead of heels, the elongated vamp of the shoe will make your legs appear smaller!

MEN - SOCKS TIPS 101
Match Your Socks with Your Pants and not Your Shoes!
Wearing a dark blue pants? Try to wear dark blue socks.  The reason it’s important to match socks with your pants is that when you have to take your shoes off or sit down and your socks are exposed, socks that coordinate with your pants make your outfit appear more fluid. On the other hand, socks that don’t match your pants will break up an otherwise awesome ensemble.

Dress Shoes Require Dress Socks
If you’re going to wear dress shoes, you can’t wear athletic socks -- no matter what their color. For example, it’s simply not enough that your socks be black. The reason for this rule is the following: Athletic socks are often bulkier than dress socks since they’re usually made of heavier cotton or other materials, so they tend to bunch out over dress shoes. Plus, athletic socks are frequently ribbed and the contrast of cheap, ribbed socks against smooth, high-quality dress shoes looks odd. Instead, wear dress socks with dress shoes. They’ll be easier to slip in to your shoes and the finer, thinner material will mean that any attention focused on your foot area will remain centered on your swish shoes instead of your socks.


White Socks Are Only For Sports
Apart from activities where you’re going to generate a lot of sweat, white socks are a big no-no. Black socks should even be worn with jeans, so section off your sock drawer and keep your white socks close to your workout clothes and well away from your dress-up wardrobe.

Avoid Socks with Sandals
Everyone who's anyone knows that socks should be worn with shoes, and only barefeet should be slipped into sandals. Yet, in our jet-powered Digital Age of Information and Free Junk lying everywhere, there are still those few, backwards wackjobs who insist on going through the extra trouble of rummaging through their sock drawer to find their most unsightly plaid socks or thick, white ones, put on those socks, and then put on their sandals!

HOME and AUTO
BREAKING-IN YOUR NEW CAR? BE PATIENT!
You’ve bought your dream car and now you want to make it last at long as possible in top condition. Here are some things to remember as you pull it out of the dealer’s lot:

• During the break-in period, typically the first 1,000 miles (1,600 km), keep your speed under 55 mph (88 kpm) or to the speed recommended by your car’s manufacturer.
• Avoid heavy loads on the drive train, such as towing trailers, and loading the roof rack or trunk with heavy construction materials.
• Do not allow your new car to idle for long periods — this is good advice for the life of your car, but especially during breakin. The oil pressure generated by doing so may not be sending oil to every part of your engine.
• Use only light to medium acceleration, keeping the engine rpms below 3,000 for the first few hours of driving.

HOME SAFETY TRICK:  KEEP CAR KEYS NEXT TO YOUR BED WHILE YOU SLEEP!

If you hear a suspicious noise and suspect that someone is trying to break in, press the Panic button on your key ring. The car alarm will sound, and the burglar will have no choice but to flee the scene.

SEX and RELATIONSHIPS
MEN - DON'T WEAR YOUR SOCKS IN BED!
Not only is it a turn-off to most women, but it is an ugly site to behold.  Women love the skin-to-skin contact and don't want to feel some sweaty, fuzzy thing between their toes! 


FIND YOUR PERFECT LOVE MATCH FASTER!
Looking for Mr. Right?  Try signing up for a job-related networking event or taking an adult education class.  In studies that looked at how 11,000 people met their spouses, work or school nabbed the top spot with 36%, followed by through a friend or family member (26%); dating websites (17%); bars, clugs and social events (11%) and places of worship (4%).

BONUS VIDEO!

11 USEFUL TIPS...

Resource(s):
askmen.com/, Reader's Digest magazine, rd.com/, Consumer Reports magazine, tips.become.com/, The Oprah magazine, Womans World magazine, Men's Health magazine, Quirkology.com, Best Health magazine, homesafe.com, Money magazine, Macleans magazine, Better Homes and Garden magazine, beauty-tips.net/