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If you have coworkers or friends that you just can’t stand, or try all day to avoid, here’s some tips to help deal with them:

Stop the blame game. It’s really easy to use language that makes the other people feel like your putting everything on them. This in turn will make them less receptive towards you. So instead of telling someone, “You need to have the report to me by tomorrow,” say “The report needs to get turned in by tomorrow.”

Stay open-minded. You don’t always know what is going on in other peoples personal life. This means just because their being stubborn or short with you, its not always because they don’t like you. Stay open-mined, you’d be surprised how much you can grow personally by doing so.

Set a good example. If you don’t like bossy, annoying, loud people in the office, then don’t be one. If you set a good example people will try to imitate you and then your work day will go so much smoother.

Let people know the consequences to their actions. Sometimes people may think that you put deadlines on them for fun. So instead of saying, “I need that report by Monday no matter what,” tell them, “I need that by Monday so that we can meet with the clients and move forward on this project.”

Give out compliments. Don’t always go through your day focused on the negatives of your work day. Give out some compliments to coworkers that do things that you enjoy, this will also help them realize what other people like about them.

10 annoying things coworkers do in the office

The only worse thing than being trapped in a building for 8 hours a day, is being trapped in a building with annoying people for 8 hours. Here’s our list of work jerks:

Eat other peoples food. I took the time to go out and buy the food, then bring it into the office, just because your hungry and are able to look past the 500 times I’ve written my name on my sandwich doesn’t mean you can eat it.

Spread rumors. Rumors are like a disease, if you get enough people in a close enough space and one person says a rumor, everyone has some sort of variation of it by the end of the day.

Taking credit for your work. Its bad enough that you don’t always get the credit you deserve in the work, its even worse when someone else takes credit for your work.

TMI talk. What happens in Vegas should stay in Vegas. What happens outside of the office, should stay outside of the office.

Invasion of personal space. Sometimes people just get up in your space that definitely don’t need to be that close.

Posting photos of you in the office. There’s always that person thinking its funny to take pictures of people in the office and tagging you in the photos.

Ask for help when they don’t need it. When someones just too lazy to do it themselves, so the pretend to not know how to do it, to have someone else do it for them.

Talk extremely loud on the phone. No one needs to know when your scheduling your dentist appointment, lets all just use our indoor voices.

6 Types of Office Personalities

We all have or will be working in an office in our lifetime. In the workplace, you are going to come in contact with a couple of people that just have certain office personalities you may want to stay away from. Better yet, don’t become one of these types of people.

1) The Borrower: This person is the type to always take things from your desk, and you never see them again

2) The Loud Speaker: This person has yet to master the “inside voice” and talks so loud on the phone that you, too, have to live through all his personal and professional drama.

3) The Know It All: Puts in his 2 cents in all conversations, even if he’s not involved. Plus this person has to be right, or else they’ll keep talking.

4) The Whiner: Spends the entire shift complaining—about co-workers, workload, management, corporate policies.

5) The Gossip: Usually knows the latest scoop and if they don’t they’ll make it up

6) The Fake Boss: If you didn’t hire me and you have no power, you can’t tell me what to do

Why are there jesters at Mardi Gras festivities?

I have asked myself this question multiple times. The jester or fool was someone whose sole purpose was to entertain the royal court.

The Mardi Gras celebrations are all about the royal courts of old, thus, the costumes of kings and queens as well as the formal ending marked by the “Meeting of the Courts”. And as with all royal courts in the world, there will be a jester to entertain the king on his low moments.

The court jester, who was also called the Court Fool, was used to balance out the four humours – sanguine, choleric, melancholia, and phlegmatic – that were then believed to influence an individual’s general health. This is the time when the adage about laughter being the best kind of medicine started, which the court jester was the primary provider.

In medieval times, the court jesters were usually mentally handicapped people who would have found no other means of employment were it not for their unwitting capability to amuse the court with their actions and behavior. In time, the court jesters slowly evolved to be esteemed members of the court able to insult the royals to some degree without facing punishment. One of the most famous was Archibald Armstrong,court jester to King James.

In many ways, Mardi Gras jesters retains the role of the court jesters of old. Thus, you will see a jester juggling balls, telling jokes and generally just behaving in goofy manners to bring on the laughs.

Traditional Mardi Gras Foods

We know that on Mardi Gras there are parades and parties in the street in New Orleans, St. Louis, and other places across the U.S. However, Mardi Gras is not something that was started a couple of years ago. It has a history and where there is history and tradition there is food.

Chicken-Andouille Gumbo

A symbol of Creole cooking, gumbo is a staple in homes and restaurants across Louisiana

Muffulettas

Originated in New Orleans and is a staple for the celebrations. It is made with an Olive Spread of herbs and vegetables that is slathered on ham, salami, and provolone cheese.

Bayou Fried Shrimp

Cajun seasoned and fish fried shrimp. You can’t go wrong. Dip them in some tartar or cocktail sauce

Red beans and rice

It’s just red beans and rice and very easy to make

Spicy Remoulade Sauce

Goes perfectly with po’boys, fried shrimp and crab cakes. Don’t like spicy foods go easy on the red pepper.

Traditional King Cake

Similar to coffee cake, this ring-shaped confection is as rich in tradition and history as it is in color and taste.

Hungry yet? If not then CLICK HERE for more traditional Mardi Gras foods. If you’re feeling up to it try to make a dish…and bring the Wake Up Normal team some.

The history of Mardi Gras

How did all this Mardi Gras craziness get its start? Check it out here:

The earliest reference to Mardi Gras “Carnival” was in a 1781 report to the Spanish colonial governing body.

But it wasn’t until 1872 that a group of businessmen invented a King of Carnival, Rex, as well as introducing the Mardi Gras colors of purple, green, and gold, the Mardi Gras song, and the Mardi Gras flag.

The parade throws, where people toss trinkets into the crowd during the parades, started in the early 1870s and continues on today. In 1884, Rex started throwing out medallions instead of little trinkets. These doubloons have become a sought after trophy from the parades.

Want to check out the schedule for this years Mardi Gras? Check it out here:

http://www.mardigrasneworleans.com/schedule.html

Going to Mardi Gras and looking for a place to park? Check this out:

http://www.parkwhiz.com/mardi-gras-parking/

How Much Sleep Do Teens Really Need?

In a recent study, national guidelines suggests that teens get at least 8 hours of sleep because that would result in them being more attentive. However, now it is being said that 8 hours is unrealistic because adolescents are overloaded with homework, extracurricular activities, and part time jobs. A standardized test was performed and showed that 16 year olds scored best with about seven hours of sleep a night. The study found that 12 year olds operated better with eight hours and 10 year olds perform better with nine hours.

What about a study suggesting that students do better in morning classes when there is a late start?

Ways to fall asleep faster

We’re all told to go to bed earlier, or get more sleep, sometimes we actually have the time to do just that. But we’ve all been there, just laying in bed unable to catch up on that much needed sleep. Here’s some ways to fall asleep faster and take advantage of that nap time.

Get your body ready for bed. Try this little relaxation tip before you fall asleep: tighted your muscles for 7 seconds then realease starting with your toes and working your way up your body.

Get rid of any bothersome noises. Instead try turning a fan on, or buying some ambient music off of iTunes.

Turn down the heat. Most people fall asleep faster when their in a room that’s around 65 degrees.

Take notes on your day and your sleep. By keep a journal of the stresses/foods/drinks that happen when your awake, then taking notes on the quality of your sleep that night, you can start to find patterns.

Don’t let your mind race before you lay down. Try to think about your day and your plans for the next day 2 hours before you lay down for bed.

7th Grade class is extreme coupon-ing

No one liked learning math growing up. But what if you could learn math and save money at the same time? For these 7th graders that is a reality, that might just land them on a reality tv show.

Heather Fulmer, a math teacher at Goza Middle School, is teaching her students math, and the importance of saving money through extreme coupon-ing. The teacher said that she spends a week or two explaining to the children just how coupons work. Then once they understand the concept behind the coupons she uses them to teach them percentages. She then takes the students to a grocery store and grades them on their savings. Through the combination of store and manufacturer coupons the kids try to get as many items as they can for free.

Girl gets lunch confiscated and forced to eat chicken nuggets

What could her mother possibly have packed in her daughters lunch to get it confiscated by school officials? Her lunch was a lot healthier than you might think.

Last week a 4-year old’s lunch was taken away because it wasn’t deemed fit by the North Carolinian school board. The state inspector said that the lunch was missing a “milk equivalent”. So what was in this little girls lunch? She had turkey and cheese sandwich, a bag of chips, a banana, and apple juice; so what was the schools better replacement meal? They took her lunch away and made her eat chicken nuggets, then sent a bill home with the child, that was later waived after all the media attention the story has received.