Take care of yourself before the holiday – you’ll look and feel better if you pamper yourself just a bit.
Soften your skin * Use a dry skin brush before you shower, or a lathered up scrubbie or a body scrub in the shower. Then after your shower, while you’re still a little damp, slather on the moisturizer.
Take care of your hands * Since they’ll be busy this week, warm them up before bed in a sink of warm water, then work almond or olive oil into the cuticles. Cover them in moisturizer, and then put on some white cotton gloves and go to bed that way.
Home manicure and pedicure * If you can’t get an appointment at a salon, no worries. Just give yourself a manicure and pedicure. They don’t have to be perfect. Just use a good top coat, to keep them from chipping.
Facial mask * Treat yourself to a mask before bed. They only take about 15 minutes, but your skin will love the attention. (If you don’t wash your hair every morning, be sure to do the mask the night before you will be washing your hair – to ensure all the mask is gone from your hairline.) There are masks and scrubs for every skin type and price range, but if you want a simple one, just use an egg white on a clean face. Let it dry, then rinse it off.
Marilu’s oldest son, Nick, recently starred in his high school production of City of Angels. Marilu’s friends report that his comedic timing was exact, and his acting and singing were wonderful.
Marilu supported the cast by doing hair and makeup for the shows. Way to go, Mom!
Nothing says “Thanksgiving dinner” like turkey and dressing. Here’s a traditional dressing recipe that will please everyone (well, everyone who eats turkey).
To make this vegan, just leave out the turkey sausage, and add in 6 oz (2 packages) of shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, cleaned, and sliced at the same point in the recipe. Bake outside the turkey, following the directions at the end of the recipe.
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Henner Holiday Dressing
from Healthy Holidays, by Marilu Henner makes enough for a 20 pound turkey
8 ounces soy margarine (preferably Earth Balance)
2 bunches of celery, cut in 1/2″ to 1″ chunks
2 large onions, chopped
2 pounds turkey sausage (such as Shelton Farms Breakfast sausage)
2 loaves whole grain bread, torn into 1 inch pieces
2 packages seasoned croutons
1 packet poultry seasoning, or 1 teaspoon each of parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme
2 cups rice milk (Rice Dream) to taste
Preheat the oven to 350F. In a large skillet over medium high heat, add the margarine, celery, and onions and cook for about 5 to 7 minutes, until the onions are translucent. Add the turkey sausage to the mixture and continue cooking for 15 minutes, or until the sausage is cooked.
In a large bowl, combine the bread, croutons, and seasoning. Add the sausage mixture to moisten the dry ingredients. Stir in 1/2 cup of the rice milk at a time, until the dressing reaches the desired moistness. Stuff the inside cavity of the turkey. Place the extra dressing in a greased casserole dish, cover with foil, and bake alongside the turkey for 1-1/2 hours.
Not everyone eats turkey at Thanksgiving. If you prefer to celebrate by saving a turkey, consider Farm Sanctuary‘s Adopt-A-Turkey Project which offers a compassionate alternative for Thanksgiving.
Since 1986, Farm Sanctuary has rescued more than 1,000 turkeys, placed hundreds into loving homes through our annual Turkey Express adoption event, educated millions of people about their plight, and provided resources for a cruelty-free holiday. For a one-time $25 donation, anyone can sponsor turkeys residing at Farm Sanctuary.
The family. We were a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another’s desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together.
We love bragging up our members. Kecia moderates our “Get Moving” forum, and is a real energizer bunny. She shares a couple of her favorite (and very easy) toning moves.
This [song below] is one of my favorite songs to do my wall pushups to – they go by fast and before you know it 180 wall pushups have come and gone.
Also, heel lifts have become a daily exercise. They’re easy to do, and you can do them anywhere. I stand with my feet in ballet style and lift up and down 100 times. This keeps my ankles strong and my calves toned.
Yes, the UVB rays (the ones that burn – B for burn, if you’re like us and need a memory trick) are weaker. But the glare from snow, buildings, and pavement makes them more intense.
The UVA rays (the ones that cause wrinkling and skin cancer – A is for aging) remain constant. The risk is never reduced, no matter the season.
So use sunscreen every single day. A broad-spectrum (that’s UVA and UVB) SPF 30 is recommended by most dermatologists. Make sure it’s on your face, neck, and hands, even if the rest of you is covered up.
We’re big fans of bringing your own bags to the grocery store, and every other store you can.
We’re also big fans of keeping those bags clean. One of our members pointed out that dirty bags are not healthy. Not for you, not for your produce, and not for store employees, either.
If you have wet or leaky grocery items, put them in plastic (hey, that’s one way to get an extra use from the plastic bag you took last week…).
If your canvas bags are stained, toss them in the wash with a load of kitchen towels.
If you use plastic-coated tote bags, wipe them with a damp dishcloth and let them air dry.
Keep your (clean!) bags on the front seat of your car and they’ll always be ready for a trip to the store.
Don’t let Thanksgiving focus only on the food. Plan some physical activity for the whole gang.
Touch football can be a lot of fun, even with a mixed age and mixed ability group. Divide into two evenly matched teams. Have one person “hike” the ball to someone who can throw it to another team member. The defending team tries to catch the ball, or tags the receiver to end the play. It’s not very complicated, but it moves fast – and that’s the point!
Play some old-fashioned neighborhood games, like Tag (in any of its variations), Capture the Flag, Red Rover, or Kickball. Pre-video-era family members will have even more ideas.
Even a few frisbees will get everyone outside and moving.
At the very least, plan a walk around the neighborhood after dinner. You’ll all feel better and maybe even have room for dessert.
One of the best ideas we’ve ever heard for a holiday table is the signed tablecloth.
Purchase a solid white or off-white tablecloth for your dining table. Wash and dry it (or have it cleaned) as directed.
Purchase a few fine-point permanent fabric pens.
After dinner, when the dishes have been cleared, have everyone sign and date the tablecloth. You could even have people write a short message, or provide a word about what they’re grateful for (Thanksgiving or Hanukkah), or their favorite gift (birthday or Christmas), or a resolution (New Year’s). Take time to read previous entries, and to tell stories about the people who have signed the tablecloth.
It’s a precious record of first signatures of the children, as well as possibly the last signatures of older family members.
For a more permanent result, use embroidery floss to backstitch over each signature. You can use one color for each event, or one color for each person, or one color for each year.
Use the same tablecloth over and over, creating a special family history.
, by Marilu Henner
