Mornings 5 a.m.-10 a.m.

We should never have to say this

ejaffe@litemiami.com (Ellen Jaffe) — Wed, 22 May 2013 11:02:50 GMT

... but we do. Be careful with your donations for tornado-relief. I wish it never had to be said, but every time there's a need for help, there are always those who will view it as an opportunity to prey on people who are kind, generous and trusting. So if you're planning to make a donation to help the victims of the Oklahoma tornado, here are some ways to be sure your money goes to its intended destination. 1. Make donations only to established organizations: The Red Cross United Way of Central Oklahoma Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami Greater Miami Jewish Federation Salvation Army 2. Research any organization you don't already know. A couple of websites that keep track of legitimate charities: Guidestar.org CharityNavigator.org. 3. Don't trust online viral stories from supposed victims. It's one thing to 'like' a Facebook post to help a couple of kids get a ...

Like your job again

ejaffe@litemiami.com (Ellen Jaffe) — Tue, 14 May 2013 13:50:20 GMT

Is it getting harder to get up and go to work every day? Do you watch the clock when you're there, just waiting for the day to be over so you can leave? You might be experiencing job burnout. It's not so uncommon. With heavier workloads impinging on time spent with family & friends - taking away a major support system - a lot of people are finding themselves disillusioned about work, and feeling like they're stuck on a never-ending treadmill. The good thing is that you don't have to be stuck. Experts at The Mayo Clinic recommend a number of strategies to rediscover the joy in your job - or find it elsewhere - ranging from discussing the situation with your supervisor to getting exercise. Their guide to job burnout covers everything from hot to recognize it, what causes it, and how to fix it. Here's the link. And ...

New holidays for the under-appreciated

ejaffe@litemiami.com (Ellen Jaffe) — Mon, 13 May 2013 12:16:18 GMT

Now that Mother's Day has passed, we'll start planning for Father's Day. Then will come Grandparent's Day. We've had Teacher Appreciation Week, Nurse Appreciation Week and Administrative Professionals Week. There's even a Boss's Day. No doubt, many of us don't fit into any of those categories. So I propose we create some new recognition days for the 'rest of us'. For starters, we need a day for all the "Adult Women Who Don't Have Children, But Still Work Their Butts Off Every Day"! And to be fair to the guys who aren't dads, how about a day for the "Adult Men Who Contribute to the Household Chores and Do the Grocery Shopping Occasionally". IRS Workers never get any appreciation. They're people, too. Animal Rescue Workers. Yeah, the ones who have to change litter boxes & wash out cages every hour. How about the School Principal's Secretary? Has to deal with ...

Museum sleep-over

ejaffe@litemiami.com (Ellen Jaffe) — Wed, 08 May 2013 13:18:13 GMT

It surely won't be as dangerous as Ben Stiller's 'Night at the Museum', but you'll definitely have as much fun. As part of Miami Museum Month, the Greater Miami Convention & Visitor's Bureau is giving you the chance to win your own 'Night at the Museum' - a sleep-over for you and 9 friends at History Miami (it's a Smithsonian affiliate!). They're including a dinner party, Bacardi Bar and pajama prize pack, along with - of course - a screening of 'Night at the Museum'. You can sign up here. Miami Museum Month also gives you the opportunity to visit two dozen different museums in Miami at a discount - 'Buy One, Get One Free' admissions at participating museums. If it's been a while since you 'saw Miami like a tourist', this is the perfect month to see some of our most interesting and beautiful places, like the Miami Beach ...

Diet help, technologically speaking

ejaffe@litemiami.com (Ellen Jaffe) — Thu, 02 May 2013 13:50:43 GMT

We've come a long way from the standard manual pedometer that counts every step we take (and maybe counts bumping into things, leaning over or any kid of jostling as additional steps - reliable, huh?). Technology has brought the multi-function sportwatch that replaces the pedometer, counting steps, distance traveled and pace, plus measures our heart rate and tells us when to walk and when to run. And who hasn't seen the BodyBugg that they use on 'The Biggest Loser'. Now there's the HAPIfork. This cool creation helps you monitor and track your eating habits electonically. It tells you how long it took to eat your meal, the amount of "fork servings" taken per minute and the intervals between "fork servings. But the monitoring isn't just passive. The HAPIfork will actually vibrate if you're eating too fast, a behavior that's been associated with eating too much (since it takes our body about 20 minutes ...

5 things to do this week

ejaffe@litemiami.com (Ellen Jaffe) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 13:27:09 GMT

1. Job Fair Looking for work? Or just looking for work you like better than what you're doing now? National Career Fairs is holding a job fair from 11am - 2pm today at the Sheraton Fort Lauderdale Airport Hotel. Register in advance to see what companies will be hiring, and get tips on how to get the most from the event. 2. Vote Early Early voting is underway now through May 12th in Miami-Dade County on the referendum about adding a hotel bed tax to help fund renovations to SunLife Stadium. For a list of early voting locations and a sample ballot, visit the Miami-Dade County Government Portal. 3. Train in Concert This is not a 'Drive By'. It's 'come and set awhie' at Sunfest, the annual waterfront music festival in downtown West Palm Beach, running Wednesday, May 1st through Sunday, May 5th. Train headlines on Thursday evening. Other scheduled ...

Compliment your Admin Professional

ejaffe@litemiami.com (Ellen Jaffe) — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 12:25:27 GMT

Tomorrow is Administrative Professionals Day, a chance to give credit to that person who really keeps everything together in the office. After a morning of acknowledging some of the most common pet-peeves among co-workers (wearing headphones & singing; wearing an earphone & talking out loud; leaving a mess behind in the kitchen / break area; stealing other people's food; gossiping; complaining; not taking responsibility; taking credit when it's not due, to name just a few!), tomorrow we want to help you share the love for your co-workers! E-mail me (ejaffe@Litemiami.com) or Jeff (jeff.martin@lincolnfinancialmedia.com) and let us know where you work, the name of your Administrative Professional, and what he or she does that makes them such an asset to the company. We'll surprise them tomorrow morning with high praise on the radio for all of South Florida to hear (as many as we can fit in). Of course, ...

Simple steps to save the planet

ejaffe@litemiami.com (Ellen Jaffe) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 13:57:38 GMT

Today is the 43rd Annual Earth Day. Kids born today won't know there was ever a time when we weren't urged to 'Go Green'. But there really was a time when you couldn't see the sky in Los Angeles because of the haze of pollution, and when cars got 10 miles to a gallon of gasoline. And while most of us have adjusted to recycling our paper and plastic, there are still more things we can do to conserve energy and reduce our impact on the environment. Here are a few changes you can make that don't even require very much effort! 1. Carry reusable bags in your trunk to use for groceries (be sure to wash them periodically so they don't carry bacteria from food). 2. Don't carry lots of other stuff in your trunk. Added weight in your car reduces gas efficiency. Keep your tires properly inflated to ...

At least something's free on Tax Day

ejaffe@litemiami.com (Ellen Jaffe) — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 13:03:52 GMT

April 15th has become a national day of bonding for Americans. Whether we approve of income taxes or not, most of us have learned that, after Mother Nature, it's not nice to fool the IRS. A new tradition has developed in the last few years - companies offering freebies to take away some of the sting of seeing how much of your salary you didn't get to keep. Here are highlights of a few delights: Cinnabon - get two free mini treats per person between 6 & 8 pm today at participating locations. Arby's - a free Value Curly fries or Small Potato Cakes today. Coupon here. AMC Theaters - free small popcorn today. Coupon. Great American Cookies - free birthday cake cookie for each customer today. Other places offering freebies (some for longer than just today) include Chili's, Subway, Boston Market, and a vital non-food item: Office Depot will ...

Ditching the old PC PC'ly

ejaffe@litemiami.com (Ellen Jaffe) — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 14:04:50 GMT

In a way, the personal computer was thousands of years in the making, and even then not everyone was convinced that anyone would want one in their home. Thirty some-odd years later, it turns out that not only do we want computers in our home, we want them on our phone, in our pockets, and eventually I expect we'll wear them on our wrist (or at least in our glasses, thanks to Google). The technology improves so quickly now, it seems like we've just learned how to use something new when something newer comes along. Meanwhile, what to do with the old computers, cell phones, corded-wired telephones, cd players and vhs recorders? Handing them 'down' isn't a great option anymore, since our kids, nieces & nephews all seem to have even more current technology than we do! And we're always being warned not to throw tech equipment in the garbage. ...