What Steven Cousley Does

Easy Hot Cross Bun Recipe.
This is my latest effort on Squidoo. With Easter approaching I thought the time was right to post a Hot Cross Bun recipe. You’ll have plenty of time to make a few practice batches before April. This is actually my second Hot Cross Bun recipe. The first was a batter type recipe for anybody who wants to avoid kneading. My new page is a more traditional type of bread dough, but only about 10 minutes of kneading is actually required (I almost said “needed), so it doesn’t take a lot of effort. Take a look at Easy Hot Cross Bun Recipe and leave me some feedback.

When it comes to health and fitness – the public is mostly
focused on carbs, protein and fat. But there are other
important elements of your daily diet that need to be
managed for optimal health and fitness.

One of these elements, sodium (salt), should get more
special attention. We do that here in this simple Q & A
discussion:

QUESTION: “I always hear that eating foods with too much
salt is not good for my health and fitness levels, but is
it also possible to suffer from not getting enough salt in
my daily diet?”

ANSWER: “Absolutely. For your body to function optimally,
you need at least 500 milligrams of sodium/salt per day.
It’s required by the body for transmitting nerve impulses,
helping muscles (including the heart) contract properly and
sustaining the body’s pH and fluid balance (both inside the
cells and outside) at ideal levels.

However, considering you can get that much sodium from just
1/4 teaspoon of salt, it’s not surprising that a low salt
intake is definitely not a problem in the U.S. Considering,
the estimated average sodium intake for Americans is about
4,000 to 6,000 milligrams a day – there is a higher
prevalence of too much sodium intake.

Authorities currently recommend a limit zone of under two
thousand four hundred (2400) milligrams a day to reduce the
risk of high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.
Some experts think it should be even lower.

So, what might we do?

It appears that some people are more likely to be affected
by sodium intake than others, and since we don’t know
exactly who they are, keeping sodium in check, in general,
is a good thing to do for your health and long term fitness.

An interesting note; There is new found interest in
sodium’s negative effect on bone health, adding another
reason to keep salt intake levels at reasonable
amounts(especially in women).

But, too little sodium?

Let’s face it… that’s likely not an issue for any
American.

Here’s what most fitness experts do. First and foremost -
if we add salt to any of our dishes – it’s Sea Salt – not
regular table salt.

Second – We generally buy foods that have no added salt or
- they have lower levels added – and we are even finding
healthy packaged foods that use Sea Salt instead of regular
salt.

Third – and very important – because we are active people,
our sodium intake has much less ill effect on us than it
would a sedentary, couch potato type person. We sweat more
and we use up salt as part of our electrolytes – so we
don’t give them a chance to build up in our bodies.

So, if you are an active person, who eats well, hydrates
sensibly and exercises regularly – you should not have
anything to worry about in terms of your sodium intake.

Special cases, such as family history (genetics) will have
some influence on your sensitivity to salt intake. And, for
women, your sensitivity to salt intake may vary throughout
your cycle.

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‘The Womens’ Trainer’ – Joey Atlas, Exercise Physiologist,
is the pro behind the Top Butt, Hip and Thigh Toning Home
Exercise Program for Women at:
http://www.ButtHipandThighMakeover.com

What’s Your Creative Habit?
Want to write a memoir or novel but can’t seem to get
started? Want to create a memorable painting or performance
but you’re too busy to work on it? It can be frustrating
when your creative fire just never seems to get lit.

Fire Up with Creative Habits

To ignite a daily fire in the fireplace requires that you
bring in the wood and place it in the hearth, then strike a
match to set it ablaze. In the same way, to ignite your
creative fire you must have certain habits and rituals that
will fire up your enthusiasm and energy, allowing you to
plunge into the joys and mess of creating an artistic work.

In her book The Creative Habit, the famed choreographer
Twyla Tharp says emphatically that creativity has much less
to do with talent or genius than with hard work. Tharp, who
is in her late sixties, illustrates by saying she gets up
every day at 5:30 a.m. and heads to the gym for a two-hour
workout with her trainer. She says that, because of this
kind of dedicated habit associated with her creative work,
she is able to feel confident when she has just five weeks
to create a new dance for a major performance venue. She
has prepared her body and her mind well, beginning with a
daily ritual.

It’s the ritual of calling the cab that actually gets her
in motion, she says. The well-established routine of making
the call gets her past the resistance that might arise
about being too tired or otherwise reluctant to put herself
through the hard routine at the gym.

Set Up Habits and Rituals That Inspire You

So, what are the daily or frequent habits and rituals that
activate your creative productivity? Here are five examples
of habits you can borrow from successful artists, along
with rituals to set the stage for each habit:

Habit #1: Be observant and make a record of what you
observe.

Ritual: Carry a notebook and pen or pencil with you
everywhere you go to do a quick sketch, jot observations,
or make a note of dialogue you overhear.

Habit #2: Study the work of artists you admire.

Ritual: Keep a set of books by your reading table or
bedside and spend 15 minutes or more reading before going
to bed. Or check out the arts calendar each Sunday and
select a show to attend.

Habit #3: Practice, practice, practice what you want to get
better at.

Ritual: Set a specific time to practice each day or on
certain days. If you begin with a specific activity such as
sitting in a certain place or turning on a certain light,
you set up the habit to take on a life of its own.

Habit #4: Take time for solitude to give your muse a chance
to play and have its say.

Ritual: Have a pen by your bedside and pick it up as soon
as you wake, using it to record your creative ideas before
you engage with other people (even before your coffee).
Your muse will soon get in the habit of showing up for the
appointed time. Or plan a weekend a month when you retreat
to your bedroom or a quiet getaway place, and always start
the weekend with a set activity such as lighting a candle.

Habit #5: Celebrate your successes. You may need
encouraging memories to offset the many disappointing times
you may experience.

Ritual: Create a screensaver of an art piece of yours that
you’re happy with, or display a testimonial quote from an
admirer.

Being creative is most satisfying when it moves from an
idea in the mind into the actual creation of an artistic
work. That happens more easily and more often if you have
habits and rituals that light your creative fire. When
starting or renewing a creative habit, build in a ritual to
start you off each time you do the activity. Be sure to do
the ritual every day for at least 30 days to make it stick.
That ritual, faithfully practiced, will become like a book
of matches you can count on set off that creative spark.

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Learn about free teleseminars by Pat Samples on inspired
living, body wisdom, and creative aging at
http://www.patsamples.com . Her new book, The Secret Wisdom
of a Woman’s Body: Freeing Yourself To Live Passionately
and Age Fearlessly, has been called by AARP’s magazine
“what our generation wants to read.”