Our Break Room

County Fairs are the highlight of the summer here in Wisconsin.  Complete with creme puffs, cotton candy, pony rides, ferris wheels, music and family fun times.

4-H kids put a lot of time and effort into getting their projects ready for the fair. Why not show your support and check them out.

For a list of County Fairs around the state of Wisconsin, check out this link: Link

It’s that time of year again.  Gardening has begun and although it is a lot of work it can be fun and rewarding.  Following some of  the tips at “How to Keep Chickens” you will be the envy of the neighborhood with the fall harvest.  Click here for the top 10 Organic  Gardening Tips according to “How to Keep Chickens”

Everyone celebrates Valentine’s Day, make your office special and keep the excitement flowing.

Celebrate these upcoming events in the next week.  Click here for more ideas on how to celebrate [Link]

February 15

* National Gumdrop Day
* Do A Grouch A Favor Day
* Galileo Galilei’s Birthday
* Susan B. Anthony’s Birthday

February 16

* National Almond Day
* First Check Written
* 1st Commercial Helicopter Flew

February 17

* First Canned Sardines Packaged
* Michael Jordan’s Birthday
* Championship Crab Races Day

February 18

* National Crab Stuffed Flounder Day
* Pluto Discovered

February 19

* Mr Roger’s Neighborhood Debuted

February 20

* Mardi Gras Day
* National Cherry Pie Day
* John Glenn Orbited the Earth
* Toothpick Patented

1. Most of Santa’s reindeer have male-sounding names, such as Blitzer, Comet, and Cupid. However, male reindeers shed their antlers around Christmas, so the reindeer pulling Santa’s sleigh are likely not male, but female or castrati.
2. Norwegian scientists have hypothesized that Rudolph’s red nose is probably the result of a parasitic infection of his respiratory system.
3. The Germans made the first artificial Christmas trees out of dyed goose feathers.
4. Each year more than 3 billion Christmas cards are sent in the U.S. alone.
5. All the gifts in the Twelve Days of Christmas would equal 364 gifts.
6. The “true love” mentioned in the song “Twelve Days of Christmas” does not refer to a romantic couple, but the Catholic Church’s code for God. The person who receives the gifts represents someone who has accepted that code. For example, the “partridge in a pear tree” represents Christ. The “two turtledoves” represent the Old and New Testaments.
7. In A.D. 320, Pope Julius I, bishop of Rome, proclaimed December 25 the official celebration date for the birthday of Christ.
8. According to the Guinness world records, the tallest Christmas tree ever cut was a 221-foot Douglas fir that was displayed in 1950 at the Northgate Shopping Center in Seattle, Washington.
9. The traditional three colors of Christmas are green, red, and gold. Green has long been a symbol of life and rebirth; red symbolizes the blood of Christ, and gold represents light as well as wealth and royalty.
10. According to data analyzed from Facebook posts, two weeks before Christmas is one of the two most popular times for couples to break up. However, Christmas Day is the least favorite day for breakups.

To read the other 40 click here: Link

Do you have a tendency to doodle while talking on the phone with patients or waiting on hold for the insurance company?  Have you ever wondered what all that doodling means?

Well now you can have Doodle Expert Sunni Brown analyze your doodle.  For more information visit: Sharpie Uncapped Doodle Analyzer.

In March 2009, on a flight from Tampa to Houston, I sat next to this amazing woman, Maureen Dunkel.   During flight, she shared bits and pieces of her life with me as I did with her.  Little did I know how much of an impression she would leave with me until I returned home and read more about her and her works on the internet.

Recently she was interviewed by Chicke Fitzgerald.    Listen to the interview here: My Decade with Diana

House dust mites are linked to asthma and according to the BBC News, UK  it may be healthier to leave your bed a mess in the morning. Won’t that make the kids happy?

Read about it here: Untidy beds may keep us healthy

I don’t know about you, but for me and many others, January and the New Year always brings a sense of having to re-organize our lives, our time and our space. Not necessarily a New Year’s Resolution but a New Year’s Re-Organization.

Having recently helped my sister and her husband pack up thirty years of “stuff” to move from Wisconsin to South Dakota, and now facing the task of packing up seventy+ years of mom’s “stuff”. I feel an increased need to take a look at my own “stuff” and get it organized now.

The same is true for office space. Is your work space efficient the way it is currently organized? Is there “a place for everything and everything in it’s place”?

Whether you feel the need to organize or not, cleaning out the clutter and changing things up in the office can give you a fresh look and attitude towards your work day. Often times patients will even notice the change and enjoy the fresh “makeover”.

Here are some tips to help you get started today: Link

Clinical psychologist Wendy Walsh spoke to Harry Smith about successful resolutions in the new year and gave some tips on how to stick to a changing lifestyle.

Watch CBS News Videos Online

The Chinese use the lunar calendar for celebratory events which includes the New Year. This falls somewhere between late January and early February. The cycle of twelve animal signs originates from Chinese tradition as a way of naming the years. The animals follow one another in an established order and are replicated every twelve years. The rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig are the twelve animal signs. Every animal has particular characteristics and people born in a specific year are believed to take on these characteristics. According to the Chinese Zodiac, the Year of 2010 is the Year of the Tiger, which commences on February 14, 2010 and ends on February 2, 2011.
Read the rest of the story:http://www.yearofthetiger.net/