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Greetings!
As I write this month's newsletter, there is a crisp breeze
coming in the window, I hear the sounds of dry leaves blowing
around, and I am actually shivering! What a difference a month
makes! Fall is truly here, and with it all the fun activities the
changing seasons bring.
Halloween is my favorite holiday, no matter that my trick or
treating days are long behind me. My husband and I dress up to hand
out the candy, and the kids and parents are always thrilled to see
what theme we've come up with. (This year my husband says he wants
us to be gladiators!) Try it, it's great fun!
With our newsletter, it is our goal to provide useful information
and tips to help you keep your life in balance, and to be on call
for you when you need help. We'd love to hear what you would like to
see in upcoming issues.
With pumpkin wishes and cider dreams,
Ellen Lovelace, Owner
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4 Rosh Hashanah
The Jewish New Year, when Jewish Year 5766 begins. It's a
holiday of introspection, spent reviewing the mistakes of the
past year and planning for a better one this year. Apples
dipped in honey are eaten to bring in a "sweet" new year.
During synagogue services, the Shofar (ram's horn) is blown,
perhaps as a call to repentance.
4 First day of Ramadan
For more than a billion Muslims around the world -
including some 8 million in North America - Ramadan is a
"month of blessing" marked by prayer, fasting, and charity.
Muslims believe that during the month of Ramadan, Allah
revealed the first verses of the Qur'an, the holy book of
Islam. (source: www.infoplease.com)
10 Columbus Day
Today honors Christopher Columbus' first landing in the New
World on October 12, 1492. He actually landed in the
Caribbean, not on the US mainland. Despite all the controversy
of who "discovered" North America (Native Americans, Nordic
Explorers, etc), Columbus did in fact discover the New World
for the Europeans, who previously thought the world was flat
and ended in the Atlantic Ocean.
31 Halloween
Ghosties, ghoulies, monsters, and vampires. No stress, no
holiday overload, no inlaws. Just fun, kids, costumes, and
chocolate. What could be bad?! If you haven't done it in a
while, carve a real pumpkin this year. All that goopy mess
makes for a great time!
Have other dates this month that are important to you:
birthdays, anniversaries, etc.? Visit our Forget
Me Not page on our website to learn how QCS can make sure
no important date ever goes forgotten again.
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| October 24 is Take Back Your Time Day! |
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Take Back Your Time Day is an "initiative to challenge the
epidemic of overwork, over-scheduling and time famine that now
threatens our health, our families and relationships, our
communities and our environment," according to the organizers.
Are you working more now but enjoying it less? Does your
family's schedule feel like a road race? If so, you're not
alone. Millions of Americans are overworked, over- scheduled
and just plain stressed out.
- We're putting in longer hours on the job now than we did
in the 1950s, despite promises of a coming age of leisure
before the year 2000.
- In fact, we're working more than medieval peasants did,
and more than the citizens of any other industrial country.
- Mandatory overtime is at near record levels, in spite of
a recession.
- On average, we work nearly nine full weeks (350 hours)
LONGER per year than our peers in Western Europe do.
- Working Americans average a little over two weeks of
vacation per year, while Europeans average five to six
weeks. Many of us (including 37% of women earning less than
$40,000 per year) get no paid vacation at all.
- Contemporary Americans complain of unprecedented levels
of busyness in everyday life. They worry about frenetic
schedules, hurried children, couples with no time together,
families who rarely eat meals together, and an onslaught of
"hidden work" from proliferating emails, junk mail, and
telemarketing calls. The Girl Scouts recently introduced a
"Stress Free" merit badge for today's harried young girls.
The main goal of Take Back Your Time Day is to call
attention to the problem and begin the conversation about what
to do about it. So, how will you mark this day and make a
stand to take back YOUR time? Why not:
- Sleep late?
- Plant a tree?
- Visit an elderly relative?
- Cut out one activity from your child's schedule?
- Eliminate t.v. for the day?
- Cancel something?
- Say "no" to the next request that involves your free
time?
There's a reason the QCS slogan is, "Reclaim your leisure
time, rebalance your life." It's not just a slogan, it
reflects our beliefs. We understand the pressures of daily
work and home life, and we believe that by taking some of that
time back, you become a happier, healthier, more balanced
person. Call us and let us help you figure out ways to bring
balance and joy back to your life.
(Source for main content of article: www.timeday.org)
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| Fall Travel: Fewer People, Great Deals! |
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Summer vacations are over, the kids are back in school, and
holiday travel is still a couple of months away. Some of the
world's greatest travel destinations are rather empty during
this fourth quarter. This means there are some great deals to
be had!
Beaches: This is the slowest time of the year at
beach destinations in the Northern Hemisphere. In Hawaii,
average hotel rates are 14% lower in the Fall than the rest of
the year, and there are great package hotel/air deals
available.
Golfing: Fall golf weather can be the best of the
year--no heat, no humidity! Again, great packages are to be
found for such destinations as Arizona and San Diego.
Mountains: The summer crowds are gone, yet the
skiiers and boarders are still months away, and the foliage is
starting to peak. There are some outstanding deals all over
the west right now, and you're guaranteed spectacular scenery.
Cruising: Fall cruise promotions in the Caribbean
abound, with prices often as low as $100 per person per day.
Consider also the repositioning cruises, as the lines move
their ships from Europe to the Caribbean this month. Perfect
for the true ship lover!
Toying with taking a vacation but don't have the time to do
the in-depth research? Contact us! QCS will find the best
deals at the greatest locations, and have you on your way in
no time. We'll even find you the perfect new flip-flops to
pack!
(Some info from www.mercurynews.com)
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Mars Attacks! (OK, not really...) |
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As you read this, Earth is hurtling towards Mars at a speed
of over 23,500 mph, and the two will have a breathtaking close
encounter later this month. Earth and Mars are both orbiting
the sun, but because we are on the inside track, it only takes
us 12 months to complete an orbit. Mars, further outside,
takes a full 24 months. Therefore, about every two years,
Earth catches Mars from behind and laps it.
As the planets get closer and closer, Mars is brighter than
everything in the night sky except the moon! We will pass Mars
on October 30th, only 43 million miles apart, compared to the
usual average distance of about 140 million miles. On the
30th, Mars will rise at sunset, hang overhead at midnight, and
"blaze forth against the dark background of space with a
splendor that outshines Sirius and rivals the giant Jupiter
himself." That's how astronomer Percival Lowell described it
in the 19th century.
With your bare eyes you'll see the huge bright red planet.
With even a basic telescope in your yard, you should be able
to see polar ice caps and dark markings on the face of the
planet. So, take some time this month to seek out our red
neighbor. And let the cosmos remind you how insignificant our
daily worries are!
(Source for main info: http://science.nasa.gov)
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