Don't Make Fast and Furious Food Changes

OK, moms and dads out there, we hear you when you say, my children won't eat healthy foods. If we even say the word, they tune out and already decide they don't like it. Well, my first response to this is "who is running the house, you or the kids". If you say the kids, you have more problems than I can help you with. Put your foot down, you and your husband, spouse, significant other, (fill in the blank) are the ones making the living and doing the providing. I fully realize that children don't like the concept of healthy foods.

However, most children don't realize that many of the foods they do like are healthy for them. Most kids I know love peanut butter, well that is a good food for them. So try some peanut butter on that apple or celery they refuse to eat. Or try some low fat or fat free cheese sauce on the cauliflower or broccoli they turn their nose up at.

One of the biggest mistakes parents make it to try to implement changes all at once. This is a certain recipe for rebellion. Try to make changes gradually. You know those smoothies they love so much. Rather than the milkshake try some yogurt and fruit instead. All kids love French fries (even many adults I know do). Rather than fries try substituting tortilla chips and salsa instead.

I have a friend who decided that her family was going to eat healthy and she threw out all the snacks foods and junk foods in the house. Well needless to say her spouse and the kids went ballistic. So make it a gradual change. Start by making some changes to the snacks around the house and then work up to the meals. In the long run you will be glad you did and so will your children.

How to Stop Telemarketing Calls for Good

You come home from work after a long day, sink into the tub for a moment of reprieve and just as your muscles begin to relax ... the phone rings. You dash out and grab it on the last ring only to be greeted by a telemarketer who mispronounces your last name.

Surely most every American has had their bath, dinner, favorite movie moment or (you fill in the blank) interrupted by a telemarketing call, and if you're like most Americans it's an everyday occurrence.

While you may not give in to telemarketing sales pitches, many do. In 2002, the telemarketing industry brought in over $11 billion in revenue, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. This is a huge profit by any standard, but when you consider that it comes from only 3,245 U.S. telemarketing bureaus it becomes clear just how massive an industry telemarketing calls have become.

Every year, telemarketers make some 8 billion calls, which worked out to about 100 per household in 2002. They do have some restrictions-Federal law prohibits telephone solicitations before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m., and when they do call telemarketers must provide their name, the company for which they work and a phone number.

As though sales calls aren't bad enough at home, complaints of telemarketers targeting cell phones are increasing-and in this case it's not just a waste of your time because you're the one paying for the air time. Though federal law does prohibit telemarketing calls using an automated dialing service to cell phones, it doesn't prohibit direct calls and many do get through.

If you want to dramatically reduce the number of telemarketing calls you receive, there are several actions you can take.

1. The National Do Not Call Registry

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) created a national registry of phone numbers that are blocked from non-exempt telemarketers. Over 60 million phone numbers have been added to the Do Not Call Registry since its launch.

The Registry is one of your best bets to reducing telemarketing calls: 92 percent of people who used the Registry said they are receiving "fewer calls" and 78 percent said they're getting "far fewer calls" or none at all, according to a Harris Interactive poll,

There are two ways to add your number to the list:

1. Online at http://www.DONOTCALL.gov

2. By calling 1-888-382-1222 (TTY 1-866-290-4236) from the number you want to register

Note: Certain telemarketers are exempt and may still call numbers on the Registry. These include charities, politicians, telephone surveyors and businesses that have a prior relationship with the person they're calling (banks, airlines, phone-service providers, etc.). Businesses that you've given permission to call are also exempt.

How to File Complaints

If your number has been on the Registry for at least three months and you receive a call from a non-exempt telemarketer you can file a complaint with the FTC. To do so visit http://www.DONOTCALL.gov or call 1-888-382-1222 (TTY1-866-290-4236) and have the date of the call and the phone number or name of the company who called you ready.

2. Ask Telemarketers to Take Your Name off Their List

When a telemarketer does call, ask them to remove your name and number from their list. They are required to add your number to their own "do-not-call" list and keep it there for 10 years. If your number has been on the Do Not Call Registry for over three months and the company is not exempt, you may also want to file a complaint (see above) with the FTC.

3. Keep Your Phone Number Unlisted

There is typically a monthly fee to keep your telephone number unlisted, which means it won't be listed in the local telephone directory nor will it be available through Directory Assitance (411) or telephone operators (0).

This will cut back on the number of people and companies that have access to your number, however, according to the Federal Communications Commission, there are no laws against the collection of unlisted telephone numbers, and in some cases unlisted numbers can still be obtained from a directory assistance operator. They may also be sold to other organizations or people with whom you have done business in the past.

In fact, industry experts say that one way marketers gain access to unlisted numbers is from the customers giving out their numbers themselves, via surveys, product registration cards and credit card applications. The numbers are also gathered from public records like property data.

Florentine-Style

I owe my history teachers an apology.. You tried your best to ignite even a glimmer of emotion in me for your subject, but I stymied you at every turn. Well into adulthood now, I'm reduced to making muttered comments that history is not my strong suit, when in fact, I made certain it was preordained.

Now, at this advanced age in my life, I'm looking into some ancient Italian recipes, and my research is taking me to some fascinating places I probably should have known about all along. For example, I've known-seemingly forever-that it was Caterina de' Medici who taught the French to eat with a fork. But I recently stumbled onto some information about her other culinary contributions that I've found to be enlightening.

For readers who may also have been in the back of the classroom reading "Mad" magazine during the Renaissance, Caterina de' Medici was one of those Medicis. You know; the ones from Florence. The same Medicis who had a second story built onto the Ponte Vecchio so they could cross the Arno river without mingling with the hoi-paloi, even if they had to climb a set of stairs at each end.

Sometime around 1533, Caterina's uncle, Pope Clement VII, arranged for her to marry one of King Francis' kids, Henri, a.k.a. Henri of Orleans; later, Henri II, King of France. She was fourteen at the time.

It must have been tough going for a young lady who was, by-and-large ignored by the Royal Court. But it left Ms. de' Medici with some time on her hands, and she seemed to use it productively. (Of course there was that tawdry business about the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre, but that was later in life). When she wasn't engaged in eating, say, a "ragoût of cockscombs, kidneys, and artichoke hearts," she apparently spent a lot of time thinking about food. It goes without saying, that this qualifies her as my kind of Regent.