I can’t believe this year is almost over. It’s not many days until the new year, and I guess people will be making New Year’s resolutions. I imagine a lot of people will have on their list of resolutions to lose the weight they may have gained during the holidays. I know that will be on my list. Some will be taking bodybuilding supplements, and some will be exercising more, and some will be dieting. I plan to try to eat healthy and exercise more!

Family traditions mean so much, especially during the holidays. I can think back to my childhood and visualize our Christmas tree with our family around it. I can remember being with relatives at my grandparents small, two bedroom home, all of us crowded in there having the best time telling stories of long ago and laughing and eating the most delicious food. One of our food traditions that we have now during holidays is a simplified version of a strawberries & jello dessert. When our daughter was little, she didn’t like the sour cream in it, so my mother made a special version with just strawberries, strawberry jello, & Cool Whip. We still make it 20 years later, and I think of my mother nearly every time we make it. She passed away several years ago, so that simple recipe is a special family tradition. When Baby J is older, I wouldn’t be surprised if he likes “Mema’s Strawberry Dessert.”

Jude has some good thoughts about family traditions. Click here to read more.

Have you ever been on a trip and found yourself in a scary situation? When I was growing up, my family went on vacation and was traveling at night when it started raining really hard. Before we knew it , our car stalled in the water on the highway. Another car passed us and we could see that it drove out of the water a little further on. Finally, our car started and we drove out of the water. The car that had passed us was waiting for us. A man got out of the car and came up to our car to see if we were OK, only it turned out he wanted to rob us. Our dog, who had been sleeping, could sense the man’s tone of voice changed when he said he wanted our money. Our dog jumped up and scared the man who took off running. I don’t know what we would have done if our dog hadn’t been there. In situations like that, it helps to have self defense products. You never know what might happen.