Albert Lea Public Library

Did You Get Your 8 Hours?

Sleep can be a fleeting thing. Some common problems to interrupt with sleep are aches and pains, insomnia and poor stress management.

To get you counting zzz's again, you might try:

• Relax Your Neck, Liberate Your Shoulders: The Ultimate Exercise Program for Tension Relief by Eric Franklin
• Sleep Deep: Simple Techniques for Beating Insomnia by Karen Williamson
• The Insomnia Solution: The Natural, Drug-free Way to a Good Night's Sleep by Michael Krugman

And, if it's weird dreams interrupting your sleep, maybe you might try searching for a dream interpretation book in the 154.6 section of the Information Library.

Calorie-Burning Chores

Looking for an easy way to burn calories?  Just pick up the pace on your regular household chores and it counts as exercise. 

According to RealAge.com  30 minutes of these activities will help you burn:
225 calories- moving furniture
189 calories- scrubbing floors
171 calories- raking leaves
162 calories- gardening
153 calories- washing the windows
84 calories- vacuuming
72 calories- laundry

Still need encouragement?  One of these books will help make housecleaning a little easier.
Too Busy to Clean? 500 Tips and Techniques by Patti Barrett 
How to Cheat at Cleaning by Jeff Bredenberg
Real SImple Cleaning by Kathleen Squires  

NATIONAL LOSE WEIGHT, FEEL GREAT WEEK, JANUARY 05-09

Losing weight is one of the most popular New Year's resolutions, and is made not only on January 01 but repeatedly during the year.  Changing your eating habits for a lifetime is the basic for staying trim and healthy, and there are many programs and books ready to help you do that.  The newest diet is called Flat Belly Diet: a flat belly is about food and attitude, period (not a single crunch required) by Liz Vaccariello and Cynthia Sass, editors of Prevention magazine.  From Amazon: "For women over 40, belly fat is incredibly stealth and incredibly stubborn. It's also the most deadly, contributing to a higher risk of heart disease, diabetes, and chronic illness than any other type of fat on your body. Finally, science has helped uncover a key dietary weapon in the fight against belly fat. Monounsaturated fatty acids, or MUFAs, help dieters lose more weight--in their bellies specifically--and keep it off longer. Flat Belly Diet! will lead you step by step, day by day, meal by meal toward a flatter belly...and a longer, healthier life."  Check it out at your Albert Lea Public Library.

FOR THE "TASTE OF HOME" FAN CLUB

Many people enjoy the Taste of Home magazine, but do you know they also publish wonderful cookbooks?  Several are published annually with the recipes for that year from the monthly magazines.  The Albert Lea Public Library has many of their cookbooks, some of which are listed below:

Taste of Home Annual Recipes
Taste of Home Contest Winning Annual Recipes
Taste of Home Light and Tasty Annual Recipes
Taste of Home Quick Cooking Annual Recipes
Taste of Home Annual Holiday and Celebrations
Taste of Home Grandma's Favorites
Taste of Home Guilt Free Cooking
Taste of Home Favorite Casseroles
Taste of Home Family Collection
Taste of Home Market Fresh Cookbook
Taste of Home Fast Fixes with Mixes