We’ve made it through all the parties, kid’s programs, eaten everything in sight, and kissed all the relatives. So, now it’s New Year’s Eve and the new 2026…next up on what to do is remember to write 2026 instead of 2025, send some thank you cards out, and thank everyone who helped make our holidays wonderful. Thanks to all of you who have told me you enjoy my Lane/Crystal News and to all of you who give me things to write about. I pray that your new year will be blessed, prosperous, and lovely.
With all the leftover food we have been dealing with during the holidays, we probably need to remember the 2-2-2 rule for food. The 2-2-2 rule is a simple guideline for food safety with leftovers: get cooked food into the fridge within 2 hours, eat refrigerated leftovers within 2 days, and if you won’t eat them, freeze them for up to 2 months for best quality. If your family is like mine, we don’t always follow the 2 hours to the refrigerator rule. We might be at the table for 2 hours. So far, we have not had any foodborne illnesses. However, when the temperature rises it becomes more important to follow the rules.
While eating enough… everywhere I went… to gain 3 pounds, I discovered and have been concerned by the number of my friends and family at Lane that I found using artificial sweeteners like aspartame, found in Coke products. Although marketed as healthier alternatives for sugar, these products have created concerns about their effects on the nervous system function of everyone. Some studies suggest that when consumed excessively over time, they may interfere with parts of the brain critical for memory retention and mood regulation as well as cause problems with muscle retention.
