Column

The new year stands before us, like a chapter in a book, waiting to be written. We can help write that storyby setting goals. ~ Melody Beattie

It is so hard to believe that we are in the final month of 2018. This month is typically the busiest month of the year filled with shopping, festive parties, family, friends, and loads of memorable moments. Before we know it, the gifts will all be unwrapped, the parties will be over, and we will be welcoming the New Year. The chance that many refer to as “Out with the Old and In with the New” – an opportunity to set goals, make resolutions, and improve specific areas of our lives.

Once the holiday craze is over, there is usually a lovely lull the week before New Year’s Eve. Typically, this week provides a calmer, quieter pace, both at home and at the office. Don’t wait for the calendar to change, use this week to geta jumpstart on setting your New Year goals and resolutions. Here are a few tipsto help get started.

The most popular New Year’s resolutions year over year include, health and fitness (exercising more, losing weight, and eating healthier), getting out of debt, and saving money. Set aside time to sit down, grab a notebook, and write down what you want to accomplish in 2019 and break the goals into categories: Health and fitness, financial, travel, career, and major purchases. Under each category set an annual goal and then break each goal into monthly goals.

For example, if your goal is to pay down debt. Grab your statements, tally your total debt, and determine the pay down amount. If your goal is to pay down $5,000,write $5,000 for the annual goal and $417 for the monthly goal. The same goes for building a savings account or saving for a major purchase. If your goal is to save $12,000, write the annual goal of $12,000 and the monthly goal of $1,000. If your goal is to lose weight, travel, or change careers, set a goal of when you want to achieve it and break it down to monthly steps. Breaking the goal into bite size chunks allows you to focus on smaller, more achievable steps to reach the overall goal.

Next, create a vision board with charts to track and monitor your monthly and annual progress; include photos of items you want to save for, purchase, or reward yourself with when you meet specific milestones. Vision boards should include short-term and long-term goals and dreams. There are loads of tips and ideas for creating a vision board on Pinterest and there are Apps available for creating vision boards on your mobile device.     

 Once January arrives, be sure to review your written plan and vision board weekly, update your progress, and adjust as needed. Having a written and visual plan and reviewing your progress weekly will provide the focus and momentum needed to more easily accomplish every goal you set in 2019.

Wishing you a joyous holiday season and a New Year filled with accomplishments both bigand small!

For more tips on setting andachieving financial goals in 2019, be sure to check out my new book Digging Out, available at jodeebrydges.com. It has everything you need to get your financial house in order and make 2019 your best financial year yet.

Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter for more financial tips.

My father, one of the best stock investors I have ever known, used to frequently remind me of what he called the “7 P’s.” This is how it went: “Proper Prior Planning Prevents P_ _ _ Poor Performance.” You can probably guess the 5th P. He found a way to hit me with that every chance he had. It applied to school, sports, work, and all elsewhere performance mattered. It matters a lot with respect to investing. So, over the last 34 years as a professional investment advisor, I have developed a simple and effective process to a successful investment plan.

Charles Kettering, a legendary American inventor said, “I expect to spend the rest of my life in the future. That is my reason for planning.”  As I noted inpart one, investment planning is a process. In part one, last month’s column, I elaborated on the first three steps of the six-step process: Learn About You (or know yourself if you’rea DIY’r), Set Investment Goals, and, Review Existing Assets. The remaining threesteps of the investment planning process are: Understanding Investment Selection and Allocation, Prudent Investment Decisions Making,and, last but not least, the ongoing step called Portfolio Monitoring.

Step 4:Understanding Investment Selection &Allocation

When considering investments, it is critical to thoroughly understand both the risks and rewards, and how to strategically use them to achieve your goals. Again, the process. The investment planning processoften involves an understanding of strategic investment concepts. Even a conservative investor seeking safety and income from high quality bonds is well advised to adopt effective bond portfolio management techniques. A laddered portfolio, for example, will minimize interest rate risk and maximize returns. There is a learning curve. Investment planning requires homework. I will never say it is easy—much like anything in life worthy of our time and money. Approach thetask as the steward of your estate while considering what is at stake. Once the concepts of the process are understood, then prudent investment selection can take place. That is the next step.

Step 5: Make Suitable Investments

As a Certified Financial Planner^® and aCertified Portfolio Manager^®, I rely on the blend of unique skill sets when working on Step 5 of the investment planning process. With the benefit of learning from the first three steps of the process, along with a careful analysis of a person’s current portfolio and an educational discussion of prudent alternatives; strategic, unemotional decisions are made. Two of my ten investment tenets are “Know Yourself” and “Go With What You Know.” I prescribe a healthy dose of both as they relate to this step of the investment planning process. “Invest-sense” is a term I use to imply the combination of intuitive common sense and a sound psychology necessary to enable an individual to be a successful investor. The simple awareness of what you trust, buy, use, and like can lead to a common-sense approach to investing. Only you know best your unique investment parameters and constraints. They will guide you in making the right investment choices.

Step 6: Monitor Your Plan

 Indeed, in and of itself, the investment planning process is a never-ending process. At the very least, it involves as one step the ongoing monitoring efforts of the investments held. To ensure you meet your goals, the on-going monitoring process will be comprised of the three “E’s”: Evaluate, Educate and Exchange. Through consistent review of your account’s positions and performance you will determine if any reallocation is necessary. All changes are made pragmatically, not emotionally. I am often asked, “How is the market doing?”  In response I like to ask perhaps a better question. That is, “How is your investment plan doing?” So long as your investment plan is on track, the investment markets matter less. Stocks, nor any other single investment class, should define our entire investment plan.

Throughout the investment planning process keep this investment tenet in mind:  Every seasoned investor knows two hard-learned lessons about risk and returns: If you focus on risks, the returns will eventually come to you. If you focus on returns, the risks will eventually come to you. Strive to minimize the risk inherent in all investments before chasing returns.

Happy & Heathy Holiday Wishes to All!

Q. Should I store my Hummingbird feeder for the winter? If not, how do I go about protecting it from the cold? Also, could I capture one and keep it as a pet?                                                      

A. Hummingbirds are active during the winter months as long as they have a source of food. Hummingbirds have the highest energy expenditure of any warm-blooded animal. A Hummingbird needs to intake more than its body weight in nectar each day, and that can be difficult during the winter. With little to no flowers for nectar, a liquid feeder is their only option, so I wouldn’t be inclined to take it down. I’d also replace my Hummingbird food with Kaytee Hummingbird ElectroNectar. Kaytee Hummingbird ElectroNectaris the first-ever, hydrating energy drink for Hummingbirds. This naturally clear nectar was developed to mimic flower nectar with added electrolytes and no added colors for overwintering hummingbirds. On those nights when the temperature is going to dip below thirty-two degrees, you have two options. You can bring the feeder inside at night and put it back out early in the morning. Hummingbirds need to start feeding early in the day after coming out of a torpor. The torpor stage is similar to hibernation, and it occurs when their metabolism slows down or when food is in short supply. Your other option is to insulate the feeder by wrapping the bottle in bubble wrap. Keeping a hummingbird as a pet is possible with the right size structure and food sources; however, it is illegal to do so. In the United States, capturing a hummingbird violates the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. This law makes it illegal to possess or capture any migratory bird, including hummingbirds. In addition to the prohibition of holding or capturing a hummingbird, the act also makes it illegal to keep a hummingbird nest, egg or baby. The penalties forbreaking this law include a steep fine.

Note:Hummingbird facts from a variety of sources:

A hummingbird can fly in any direction at speeds of thirty miles per hour or more and have a heart rate of over twelve hundred beats per minute. Hummingbirds are capable offlapping their wings at a staggering rate of eighty times per second and lick their food at a rate of about thirteen licks per second. They do not use their feet for walking or jumping, but only for perching. Hummingbirds have a lifespan of about four years and grow to about eight inches in length and weigh less than an ounce.  

Q. I’ve had poor luck growing garlic. The cloves are small while others never develop or rot away. What can I do to improve my success?

A. Garlic Sets, along with Onion Sets and Shallots are planted in the fall and winter months. You harvest those planted in mid-September through Thanksgiving in June with the late January through February plantings later in the summer. The key to successfully growing garlic is the soil preparation and planting Certified Seed Garlic and not those found at a supermarket. Seed Garlic is available at your favorite garden center. It looks just like the supermarket garlic, but it’s different. Supermarket garlic was grown for consumption, and not to be replanted. The variety may not be suitable for this area. When planted, the harvested cloves are under size, and the yield is inconsistent. Also, they’re sprayed with a retardant to reduce sprouting, which explains why some cloves never develop. Seed Garlic produces large, full-size cloves and is variety specific for our area. Garlic needs drainage to prevent the cloves from rotting so generously amend your soil with organic matter, or compost. The soil microbes then convert the organic matter into plant nutrients. I’d also add an organic vegetable food at planting and use a minimal amount of animal manure. Soak the cloves for five minutes in one part Clorox to ten parts water, to help with the rotting issues and remove any flower shoots. Garlic grows from individual cloves broken off from a garlic set or bulb. Plant the cloves with the root end facing down. Each clove will multiply in the ground, forming a new bulb that consists of five to ten cloves. The cloves are planted two inches deep, in rows, four to six inches apart, and you space the rows a foot apart. If it’s too muddy to plant, I’d then consider using containers.

Q. I was very successful in growing and forcing Paper White Narcissus into bloom in a shallow dish of water. They were very fragrant for Thanksgiving Day. What should I do with the bulbs? I’d like to store them and use them again next year.

A.  Paper White Narcissus or any other bulb that is grown in water and sand should be thrown away when the flowers are spent.Unlike those planted in soil, forced bulbs have no capability of rejuvenating themselves for the following year. A bulb is a storage chamber. Besides the food manufactured by the leaves, bulbs will store nutrients from the soil. Once this is completed, the bulb goes dormant. The foliage turns yellow/brown and easily separates from the bulb at ground level. Depending on the bulb type, you can let them naturalize in the soil or dig them up and store them for the following year.

Note: Flowering Tulips, Daffodils and other spring flowering bulbs growing in containers shouldalso be discarded. They are usually growing in sand and not soil. Sand has little nutrient value but does drain quickly. 

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is an illness characterized by extreme fatigue that lasts formore than six months. This fatigue cannot be explained by an underlying medical condition. The process for diagnosis usually begins with ruling out possible underlying diseases and chronic conditions, until the only choice left ischronic fatigue syndrome. Currently, over one million Americans suffer from this debilitating condition and women are more than twice as likely to be diagnosed with CFS than men.

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Inaddition to the profound fatigue experienced, other serious symptoms often accompany CFS, such as extreme exhaustion lasting more than 24 hours after physical or mental exercise; lack of deep or restful sleep; difficulty concentrating; memory or attention deficits; chronic muscle ache; chronic joint pain that moves from one spot to another; headaches of a new type, pattern, or strength; sore throat that is constant or goes away and comes back often; digestive disorders like irritable bowel syndrome or reflux;  mood swings, anxiety, panic attacks and depression.

Causes of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Sadly, research has yet to identify a root cause of CFS. Chronic fatigue often starts after a stressful life event like a divorce, loss of a loved one, injury or illness. It is my belief that CFS is a multifactorial syndrome because preliminary research findings show that viral and bacterial infections, toxicity, hormone imbalances, weakened immune system, chronic stress and nutritional deficiencies are all contributing factors.

Standard Treatment for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Conventional medical treatments address the symptoms rather than the underlying causes. Often individuals with chronic fatigue syndrome are prescribed anti-depressants and sleeping pills. In many cases, the side effects from these drugs are worse than the original symptoms and they do not heal the condition.

Steps To Heal Your Chronic Fatigue

 1. Add Celery Juice to Your Daily Routine. Celery is rich in trace minerals and helps to detoxify the body and repair your cellular energy. Drinking 16oz of celery juice on an empty stomach will have an additive effect on increasing your health and energy over time.

2. Remove Food Sensitivities and Allergens. Remove any foods or allergens that could be causing inflammation or reactions related to fatigue. Our office offers special allergy testing that can be performed with a simple finger stick test.

3. Repair Your Nutrient Deficiencies.Vitamin, mineral and amino acid deficiencies have been linked to suppressed immune function and contribute to chronic fatigue, inflammation, arthritis,cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and much more. Specialized blood testing can reveal what your body has absorbed from your food and/or supplements over the past six months and identify deficiencies. Micro-Nutrient Testing allows a person to know exactly what to eat and/or supplement in order to support their healing process. By correcting nutritional imbalances the body is given the building blocks it needs to heal from the inside out.

4.  Increase Magnesium and Potassium

Magnesium and potassium deficiencies lead to common CFS symptoms: fatigue, irritability, depression and muscle cramps. Eating a diet rich in magnesium and potassium can help to relieve these symptoms. Consider adding these magnesium and potassium–rich foods to your diet: spinach, chard, pumpkin seeds, almonds, sweet potatoes, black beans, avocados, figs, bananas, apricots and coconut water.

If you or someone you love is suffering from CFS you know that it is a stubborn, debilitating condition that drains the quality out of your life. Using both science and nature we can determine your unique metabolic profile then create a holistic protocol that will ignite the healing process and get your energy back.

Dr. Niele Maimone, DC is the owner of Align Healing Center in Danville, CA.  For more information or to set up a complimentary consult call 925.362.8283 or visit www.alignhealingcenter.com.

It’s that time of year when our downtown local boutique comes alive with excitement with the cutest lounge wear, spa products, cosmetics and gifts galore in every corner. To keep up with all the excitement we have put together some of the hottest gift ideas to help you find that perfect gift for your special someone. Nothing makes us happier than helping you make holiday dreams come true. Customer service is our passion! .

Merry Lounge Wear: Let the holidays be extra special and merry with some cozy lounge-wear. Give your special someone the coziest gift of pajamas, a plush robe, cute sweat sets or even a fuzzy cardigan she can wear all day.  It’s always merry to wrap yourself in coziness!   

Caudalie Gift Sets: With Caudalie being one of the finest organic skin care products on the planet, we are pleased to have, for a limited time, holiday gifts sets for the whole family to enjoy. Give everyone on your list beautiful skin for the holidays! 

Fleur Visage Eye Sparkletts: Glow like a super model this holiday season with a luminous, shimmering, sparkle eye color. Brighten up your eyes this season and make your eyes look decadent and more irresistible than ever for the holidays!

Cashmere Hand Warmers: Eight times warmer than wool and exceptionally soft and comfortable, cashmere is one of the world’s most coveted textiles. That’s why we are obsessed with our amazing cashmere handwarmers. They come in many different styles and lengths—perfect for the girl that has everything. 

Skin Drenching Face Masques: Girls will love to find our incredible skin-drenching anti-aging face masques in their holiday stockings—it’s all the craze this season.  We have a huge selection of skin masques for everyone on your holiday list, including hair masques, anti-aging eye masques, skin detoxifying, and age-defying, deep hydrating and firming masques.  

Ongrien Premier Eye Cream: With the hustle and bustle of the holidays and everyday life, getting a full night’s sleep can seem like a luxury. Our triple action eye cream decrease puffiness, reduces dark circles, minimizes fine lines, and restores hydration for youthful looking eyes. You’ll look all caught up on your Zs-even if you’re not.

Ongrien Sensitive Solutions, Replenishing Cream: Quenching a thirsty complexion takes a good dose of this nourishing treatment. Your skin will soak up the healthy Nuero-Peptide based nutrients, which refines the skin and gives the complexion a toned appearance. Our Replenishing Cream repairs sun damage, hydrates and visibly reduces wrinkles.  We love this fine sensitive anti-aging treatment, and you will too when you notice your skin is smoother and more beautiful than ever.

At The Rouge they carry only the finest cosmetics and skin care products with the highest quality and ingredients that is sure to please. Their lounge-wear and spa products are exceptional and fun, giving your loved ones the perfect gifts they will love and treasure.  Don’t know what to get your special some-one, we have holiday gift certificates and wish list available.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

 It’s the most wonderful time of the year. There’ll be much mistloeing and hearts will be glowing. Falala…Happy holiday’s friends!Christmas is right around the corner. Then comes New Year’s Eve. It’s a time of year when dressing up is par the course.

 You might be enjoying a Christmas dinner in the comfort of your own home where a typical night is jeans and a tee or sweats.The holidays are a chance to wear a fancy-shmancy something and it is a-okay to still be in the comfort of your own home—and let me just say, so much fun! Idon’t always have an event or occasion where something formal is needed. So,for a stay at home mama like me, this is the chance to get gussied up and wearsome glitz and glam. Or maybe you are a gal going to a holiday event where dressing up is required. I’d rock any of these looks for a holiday work party,trip to the theater for a show like the Nutcracker, or out on a holiday datewith your spouse or friends. This time of year offers so many reasons to break awayfrom the norm and enjoy getting gussied up!

 Whether you prefer to go with a more traditional feel or would like to take classic pieces and add some flare, there is a little holiday inspiration for everyone. Start by picking out the dress or pants and top. From there add heels, boots, or booties. Lastly, add a clutch and a pair of earrings.

With all four featured styling’s the center image is the outfit of choice. The left side of the outfit offers a more classic feel; while the right lends its hand towards some funky-flare. The fun part is the outfit stays the same. The pieces that change the overall vibe are the shoes and accessories. It’s kind of amazing how a simple change of shoes can completely change the feel.

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As for the accessories, I love a clutch when getting dressed up. It’s simple, small, and there are always super fun options to amp up your look. Choosing large, slouchy bags will dress down the outfit and distract from one that’s beautifully extravagant. For each outfit I chose simple stud like earrings. Personally, I love how the clutch is a subtle addition, allowing for the outfit and shoes to really shine!

December and January are perfect for rich fabrics, luxe accessories, and a little sparkle; things like velvet, suede, satin, bows, and sequins. These are not necessarily seen year round or all in one outfit, butfor the holidays it’s all about the luxe. It’s the most wonderful time of year, after all!

So, if you’re in the holiday spirit, regardless of whether it’s a theater show or Christmas eve dinner at your own home, take partin the fun of dressing up and enjoy the way these special pieces can add toyour confidence, joy, and cheer for this magical time of the year.

To achieve these holiday looks, let’s try something new. Start by taking inventory of the sparkly, festive pieces you already own, then set a budget and only purchase the pieces you truly need to create your holiday look. For more awesome information on this concept of wardrobe styling, stop by www.milliandmain.com. You can create amazing outfits by adding to the pieces you already own. Millie and Main will be featuring a complimentary holiday capsule—certainly, worth taking a peek.

You can also email me at maccarose11@gmail.com to receive styling guidance for your holiday events! I’d love to help you feel and look your best for all the fun festivities. Stop by maccarose.com for exact/similar pieces to achieve these holiday looks and be sure to let me know which one you’ll be rocking!

IMAGES ABOVE INCLUDE TEH FOLLOWING:

Look #1 (IMAGE)

Outfit: Midi floral crochet red dress

Classic: velvet nude heels and a sparkly clutch.

Funky-flare: leopard print booties and black clutch

Look #2 (IMAGE)

Outfit: Short green dress with velvet trim

Classic: Long sleeve green dress- velvet black mary jane’s

Funky-flare: suede mid-calf heeled boots and a leopard print clutch

Look #3 (IMAGE)

Oufit: Burgundy turtleneck and bowed velvet pants

Classic: Black suede pointy to heels and black chain clutch

Funky-flare: Velvet gold embroidered block heels and black clutch

Look #4 (IMAGE)

Oufit: Cream draping sweater and gold sequin midi skirt

Classic: Green suede pumps and a black tassle clutch

Funky-flare: Black suede ankle boots and a cranberry velvet clutch