Goal tending

Blogging goal

Posted on May 12, 2008 by kmello
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My last post was in March. As bad as that sounds, other people who keep blogs for our towns’ papers haven’t updated their blog for longer than that. So my newest goal is to blog more. I will be more likely to do so if I know people read it, however. So feel free to comment.

Emptying the ash try…for good

Posted on March 6, 2008 by kmello
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From what I hear, smoking might be the hardest habit to break. But with so many reasons to quit, it should be worth the effort. Here are a few perks to putting out that smoke:

Healthier hair, teeth and skin
Less likely to get lung cancer
You will stop polluting other people’s air
You can extend your life span

For a few tips on achieving your goal to quit, visit the American Cancer Society Web site.

Resolutions review

Posted on February 1, 2008 by kmello
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Editor’s note: This is a follow up to a previous blog post on New Year’s resolutions that was accidentally deleted.

It has been almost a month since we made our New Year’s resolutions. How have you done so far? Have you kept on track, or have you strayed? Just remember to stay positive and look to the desired results. Who knows what you’ll be able to accomplish.

Here’s a look at what our presidential candidates said about their own New Year’s resolutions.

Santa knows

Posted on December 21, 2007 by kmello
Filed Under Weight loss | Leave a Comment

Christmas is just a few days away. Chances are, you have already gotten into the holiday spirit by dipping into the holiday treats. So here are a few tips to stay off Santa’s naughty list when it comes to your diet:

1. Seek out healthy and tasty alternatives. In my previous post I gave you a few. And they don’t taste like diet foods. Other choices you can turn to include fruit (maybe even dipped into a little bit of chocolate), pretzels, nuts, 94% fat-free popcorn and sugar free fudgeicles.

2. Exercise! Sure, working out for a few minutes each day won’t completely wipe out that ice cream binge, but you’ll be better off than if you didn’t. Try working out at least 10 minutes for five days this week, or even every week, and you will notice a difference.

3. Hate exercising? Find an activity you enjoy. I own an elliptical, but using it all the time gets boring. So to shake things up I take my dog for a walk, do a few laps around the mall while getting my last minute Christmas shopping done and playing with my dog in the snow. There is more than one way to skin off some fat, so find one that works for you!

4. Find a buddy. When you have someone to support you through the holidays, sticking to your diet and exercise routine is easier. Raise each other’s confidence and you will make it!

4. My Weight Watcher’s instructor reminds us that “What you eat in private, shows in public.” Remember that. Because it’s true.

There is a little over a week until the New Year. So start off right by gaining momentum during the last few days of THIS year.

Seasonal HEALTHY dessert recipes

Posted on November 28, 2007 by kmello
Filed Under Weight loss | Leave a Comment

I meant to post these pre-Thanksgiving, but these tasty concoctions are just as good after Turkey Day. So here are links to a few dessert recipes I wrote up on helium.com.

Crustless Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin Muffins

And my favorite… Pineapple Thingymajig

Enjoy!

Getting started on the #1 New Years Resolution; weight loss

Posted on November 16, 2007 by kmello
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The holidays are quickly approaching, and you know what that means…lots and lots of food. And with the New Year right on our heels as well, a lot of us will feel the obligation to lose a few pounds by the time the holidays come full circle again. I’m one of these people.

I recently joined Weight Watchers and discovered that I weigh 10 pounds more than I thought I did, and that I should lose 35 pounds to be in the “healthy range”. I figured this would be a thing where I would stick to the diet for a week then go back to my old ways. However, it’s been six weeks and I’m sticking to it, more or less. I’ve lost 8.6 pounds. Though I’m not shedding the weight like the “Biggest Loser”, but this is something very new for me.

Why it works:

Weight Watchers is “A lifestyle; not a diet,” according to our group leader. It’s based on controlling your portions and making healthier choices. So I can have a piece of that chocolate cake that has been staring at me for the past half hour, but I’ll only have a tiny sliver of it, which will be enough to curb my craving.

I also joined Weight Watchers with someone from work. This makes losing weight easier for me for a few reasons.

1. We support each other.

2. We have fun swapping recipes.

3. I’m very competitive.

Ok, so the third reason isn’t very supportive, but it works. If I know she lost 2 pounds and I only lost one, I’m going to try that much harder for next week’s weigh-in. Sometimes competition pushes you forward.

Another important aspect that I found helpful is exercise. Last year I bought an elliptical that was only sparsely being used. Now I try to hop on it at least 10 minutes a day and I’m seeing results. My endurance has improved, I feel stronger, and, best of all, my clothes feel looser!

So here I am on the journey towards my next goal. Do you have any tips? Do you have any questions? Or do you just need support? It’s hard to do this alone, so, as cheesy as it sounds, let’s do it together.

Career changes

Posted on November 9, 2007 by kmello
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What many people face is that time in their lives when they realize they need a change. Your job is anything but fulfilling and there are other careers out there you would enjoy more. The downside to that is how you feel like you are starting from scratch. But are you really? Here is another interesting article I stumbled upon for your viewing pleasure.

Writer’s response

Posted on November 7, 2007 by kmello
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One reader asked, “How should I get started on my next pursuit?” The answer all depends on what that pursuit is, and not in what stage of life you are in. In this case, it is writing.

The first thing you must determine as a writer is what kind of material you enjoy writing. Is it fiction? Non-fiction? Journalism? From there you can choose your path.

For journalism, check out your local newspaper company. As I mentioned earlier, I got my foot in the door by taking a class at The Standard Times. If your local paper doesn’t have such a class, don’t fret. There might be other opportunities lurking about.

Many newspapers love getting help from outside sources. Perhaps they have an internship for you. You can also build a portfolio by doing freelance work. A call couldn’t hurt, right?

As for other publications, I’m no expert. The best I can tell you is to contact people affiliated with the type of publications you are interested in and see how they got their start. If you are just looking to get your feet wet, however, showcase your work on sites such as associatedcontent.com, helium.com, and dooyoo.com. There is also a list of freelance jobs on http://www.writersrow.com/.

For those of you looking to get a book published, I can offer the E-mail address of Alberta Sequeira, author of “A Healing Heart”. She might be able to shed a little more light on your publication needs seeing as how she holds workshops on just that. She can be reached at alberta@ahealingheart.net. In the meantime I will compile some information I gathered from her and post it in the near future.

Roseanne, one reader/writer who commented earlier, was on to something. Ask yourself: Why wait? Why not ask now? How do I get started?

Internet inquiries

Posted on October 30, 2007 by kmello
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There are a few things job seekers should know before sending their resume out to potential employers over the internet. This article I found covers the basics.

4 Internet Job Search Mistakes to Avoid

The Internet is easily the world’s most powerful employment tool. With the Web, you can access millions of job openings on thousands of sites. With E-mail, you can quickly contact employers and ask for interviews.

Yet, if used incorrectly, the Internet can actually prevent you from being as productive as possible in your search for work.

How? Why?

Here are four mistakes that commonly befall job seekers using the Internet. Avoid them, and get hired faster.

Don’t Email Your Resume Wrong I’ve written before on how to create a text version of your resume for E-mailing to employers. Because not everybody has Word or WordPerfect, the only way to be sure employers can read your resume is to E-mail them a version in plain old ASCII text.Make sure the resume you E-mail looks good upon arrival, with no funny line breaks or garbage in the text. How? Use yourself and at least two friends as guinea pigs.It’s easy. Practice formatting and E-mailing your resume to yourself and others. Open the E-mail. How does your resume look? Good? Good. Garbage? Reformat and repeat until your resume goes through cleanly every time.

Don’t Forget The Email Cover Letter When emailing your resume to employers, don’t dash off email cover letter as an afterthought or, worse, fail to include one. Treat E-mail as you would postal mail — always email a solid cover letter with your resume.Your cover letter has many functions. Chief among them are telling the reader what job you’re applying for, where you learned of the job, and your specific qualifications for doing it.And don’t get sloppy with tone or punctuation in email cover letters. You’re not banging out an instant text message to buddies. You’re writing a letter to the person you want to work for. There’s a difference.

Don’t Be Passive It’s easy to sit back and wait for postings to appear on the big job sites. But if you confine yourself to this passive technique, you’re missing out.That’s because most jobs are filled by employers before they’re ever advertised online or in the newspaper. By some accounts, this figure is as high as 80%. So it pays to be proactive — use the Internet to get into the heads of hiring managers before they pay for a job posting online.An easy way to do this is to use a networking Web site, such as Linkedin.com or Ryze.com. At Linkedin.com, for example, you can search profiles of 1,214,000 registered users (as of this writing) to find people who went to your school, have the same hobbies, live near you, etc. You can also find out where these people work — and this is critical.

Because, once you find and contact someone who shares an affinity with you, and works in the company or industry you want to work in, you can make valuable connections that lead to interviews and job offers.

Tip: never approach networking as a one-way street. You become road-kill and get ignored that way. Instead, give back to the people you meet, online or off, before expecting them to favor you with job leads. You must prime the pump before you get anything out.

Don’t Forget Who Really Hires Throughout history, there is no record of any person ever being hired by a computer. It’s people who hire people. Yet, some folks spend days or weeks searching for jobs online without ever meeting a hiring authority face to face.

This is a mistake that happens when you confuse process with results.

Using the Internet to find a job is a process. The results you want are a job. At some point, you have to get off the Internet, get off your duff, and go shake hands with live humans. Never lose sight of this.

That’s what it all boils down to, doesn’t it? To get hired, you have to meet and impress a living, breathing employer.

Go do it!

Job searching

Posted on October 29, 2007 by kmello
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With all the resources available, finding jobs that interest you shouldn’t be too difficult. Here are a few ideas on where to begin your search:

The internet: Let’s face it. We live in the computer age. So take advantage of different Web sites that could open the door for you. I applied for my job on craigslist. If it weren’t for my friend who linked me to it, I never would have thought to search for a job there. As for the other sites, be aware that you will have to dig through junk to get to the jobs that interest you.

www.monster.com

www.careerbuilder.com

www.jobfinder.com

www.craigslist.com

Local unemployment agencies: Though this might seem like a last resort in finding a job, you would be surprised at all the information you can find at these places. A lot of them have computers, newspapers, phones, and people that can help you find your a job.
University Career Resource Centers: When I went to school, I didn’t take advantage of all the resources UMass Dartmouth’s Career Resource Center had to offer. The people who work here can guide you to your calling. And if there are no jobs available, they might be able to hook you up with an internship. Internships = experience!
The newspaper: Old fashioned, maybe. Useful, definitely. It’s a quick way to glance at jobs that might be for you while you sip on your cup o’ joe.

If you have any other good places or Web sites to search for jobs, please feel free to list them here!

keep looking »