Say ‘I Love You’ With Lasagna

I love lasagna, as do all the members of my family. My children expect it as their special dinner on their birthdays, and when we want to celebrate just about anything, lasagna is the main dish of choice. We all know about this wonderful pasta dish, but really, do we know the true essence of Garfield’s obsession?

What I believe is truly great about lasagna is how easy it is to make it, and how many variations there are on the theme. Lasagna can truly be made as a reflection of the inner self. A more health conscious mom might add some green vegies like broccoli or zucchini. My personal favorite is spinach. It is possible to mix in meat, but not necessary if you are a vegetarian. You can use lots of yummy pasta sauce, homemade or from a jar, or you can make it less tomato-y and more cheese-y, if you aren’t too worried about counting the calories in this slightly “heavy on the fat” lactose-intolerant person’s nightmare. And if that does happen to be the case, you can use cottage cheese instead of ricotta, no parmesan cheese, and go easy on the mozzarella.  In short, lasagna is almost anything you want it to be. It is therefore truly you.

Perseids Perform Positively Perfectly

Did you see any shooting stars in the past few nights? If you did it was because the earth once again passed through the dust-tail of the comet Swift-Tuttle in its annual orbit of the sun, creating a wonderful show of meteors burning up high above our heads in the beautiful summer sky.

Don’t feel bad if you think you missed it, because the earth is actually in the dust of the comet for several weeks, and shooting stars, or meteors, will be  visible during the entire time, until about August 24th. Although the peak time for viewing is on Wednesday night until Friday morning, August 11-13, you can still enjoy a breathtaking sight by finding a dark spot with the minimal amount of light pollution, lying back on a blanket, and staring up at the night sky. With luck you should be able to see about 60-80 meteors/hour.


The reason this meteor shower is called the Perseid shower, is because the majority of meteors will appear to be originating in the constellation called Perseus. Percy Jackson fans, please take note.

Perseids Visible with No Moon in Sight

This year we are lucky that visibility for the annual Perseid meteor shower will be ‘stellar.’ That is because the shower, which always falls from the 11th to 13th of August, this year will not have a moon ruining the visibility, which can sometimes happen. Where will the moon be, perhaps you are asking. Well, the phases of the moon are well known by all; the fact that the moon starts out each month as a tiny crescent resembling the tip of a thumbnail and grows to be a bright, full circle two weeks later, and then shrinks again until the moon disappears altogether is noticed by all. But what many people do not pay attention to is that the moon rises and sets later and later each night. When the moon is small, at the beginning of the lunar month, the moon sets about the same time as the sun. About two weeks later the moon is full, and rises at about the same time as the sun sets, and sets at about the same time as the sun rises. That is why, when the moon is full we see it  the entire night.  At the end of the month you would need to wake up just before sunrise to witness the moonrise, and the only time the moon is in the sky is during the day, when it’s view is washed out by the brightness of the sun.

This year the Perseids happen to fall during the first few days of the lunar month, and the moon will have set shortly after the sun, and will no longer be visible in our nighttime sky. Watch for it this Thursday evening, August 12th, setting in the west an hour or two after the sun has set. It will just be a tiny crescent, but it will be there.

Giving Of Your Time

There is so much to learn when you are in college.  Of course, there is the academic side that you signed up for but there is also much in terms of life lessons.  One really needs to make the most of all the opportunities that are there for them.  One good thing to do – especially for those people who enjoy animals – is to volunteer with the elderly using an animal.  So often the elderly are incredibly lonely but it is difficult for strangers to just come and talk to them.  If you take a dog with you however, then you break the ice easily and you may enjoy the visit more too.  Sometimes it can even be advisable to take a more senior dog along with you; that way it won’t be so feisty and the elderly individual can feel an affinity with them.  A friendly, licking dog can really make an old person feel good.  There are no judgments, no questions, no “why don’t you do anything all day?”  All dogs want to do is give love.  And students have the opportunity and often the time to take these loving pets to the homes of the elderly in the community.  It’s just a great way to give back.

Staying Healthy While Feeding Your Furry Friend

While you love your dog or cat, you may not realize that your animal’s food may actually be causing health risks for your child.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention explain that salmonella bacteria in dried dog and cat food sparked an outbreak of salmonella infections between 2006 and 2008.

The CDC investigators, in their report in Pediatrics, explained that the connection did not come from children actually eating the pet food.  More likely, it came from bugs that spread by direct contact with the pets.  Infection, they found, was certainly more likely if pet bowls were kept in the kitchen.


Certainly, pet owners should wash their hands after feeding pets or handling pet food.  Move pet food out of the kitchen or clean your floors frequently.  Wash your hands after playing with your animal and avoid flea and tick-control products that have organophosphate pesticides in them.

Broaden Your Horizons Learning Meditation

College is a time of unparalleled opportunity.  You have perhaps more time to justifiably explore new things in life than maybe ever before. Soon you’ll be working around the clock trying to make mortgage payments, so use these precious years to discover something new that also might act as a good tool for you in later life. Something like meditation. The benefits of meditation are tremendous and include: a) reduction in anxiety and depression; b)  increase in capacity to concentrate; c) reduction in oxygen consumption; d) assists in relaxation; e) decreases pre-menstrual syndromes; f) can reduce blood pressure; g) increase blood flow to the heart and more. By learning meditative methods when you are not stressed or pushed for time (like in college), you can take the tools and apply them at a time when things are getting too much. As well, knowing how to meditate may later on lead to you not having to take drugs for anxiety or depression.  You will be able to deal with these trials through your meditative skills.