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Sunday, May 31, 2009

I Was Blessed Times Three Today


I got a triple blessing today and I wanted to share the tale of it with all of you. The first blessing was my brother Jim stopping by my house unexpectedly today. I have not seen or talked to him for quite awhile so what a wonderful surprise it was to have him drop by for a visit.

While talking to him he handed me (2) one-hundred dollar bills. I asked him, “What’s this for?” He told me that he was sure that he had missed one or two of my birthdays, and that he was doing good financially and wanted to share a bit of it with me. Wow!

After he left, I went to Wal-Mart and bought that digital camera that has been on my wish list for so long. You see, if you put your wishes out to the universe, wishes can come true. I even have some money left to put towards a bill.

It was a very glad living day for me. It was so great to see you Jim. I have missed you. Come by more often. Thanks for helping to make my wish for a digital camera come true!

The picture is one I took with my new camera of my pooch Hannah. She was not very cooperative with having her picture taken. She is not as thrilled as I am about finally having a digital camera.

That was my glad living day. How was yours?

Saturday, May 30, 2009

I Sure Have Missed My Blogging This Week!

I wanted to apologize to readers for the lack of posts this week. I have been busy with work on client projects and creating a new professional freelance writers directory. This has left me no time for posting to my blogs. Rest assured, I am on top of everything now and will be making regular posts here again for your enjoyment and hopefully your enlightenment. I hope you will come around to read and comment on them.

Monday, May 25, 2009

Happpy Memorial Day



Happy Memorial Day to You!!!

Please take a moment today to remember those brave souls who have lost their lives fighting for Freedom. Remember to give thanks for the brave hearts who continue to lay their lives on the line in the fight to keep Freedom alive here at home and around the world. My thoughts and prayers are with them all!

To All Our Armed Forces Men and Women

Thank you for all that you do so that I can enjoy the many freedoms I do as a proud citizen of The United States of America! You make America proud! Bless and Keep You Safe!

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Vegetable Gardens

You want only the freshest and healthiest foods for feeding your family. More people are choosing to buy vegetables from local growers, or to grow their own today due to growing concerns over the safety of commercially grown foods. People are also choosing to grow their own vegetables these days to save money.

Buying locally grown vegetables or choosing to grow your own vegetables, are both greener choices for the environment. Commercially grown vegetables shipped great distances to grocery stores leave the biggest imprint on the environment. Vegetables grown by local farmers leave a medium-sized imprint on the environment. Locally grown vegetables leave a medium-sized imprint on the environment. Your own vegetable garden leaves the least imprint on the environment.

Help to protect your family’s health by growing your own vegetables. Choose safer pest control methods for added protection for your family’s health. Your own vegetables will be fresher and healthier for your family to eat. Not having to buy vegetables from a grocery store can help reduce your food costs.

Planting and tending to a vegetable garden is good exercise. The whole family can get involved in the planting, weeding, and harvesting of ripe vegetables. This can be a fun activity that offers an opportunity for family bonding.

How can you learn more about building a garden for growing vegetables?


^Head to your local library to find the many books, magazines, and videos on vegetable gardening that are available there. Take some of these materials home with you for further reading later by checking them out with your library card.

^Use the internet to find articles and websites with resources on how to plan the design of your vegetable garden and for vegetable planting guides.


^Visit a local store selling vegetable seeds for planting, and ask store employees for advice on how to go about building your vegetable garden.

^Ask neighbors having vegetable gardens to share their advice and tips on growing your own vegetables.

Enjoy fresher and healthier vegetables straight from the garden to your kitchen. Prepare them as side dishes to meals, or as meals themselves. Then gather the family at the dining table to share in the goodness of homegrown vegetables together.

Saturday, May 23, 2009

The Beauty and Value of Gardens

Did you know that a garden could enhance your home’s appearance and raise its property value too? Gardens of all sizes and designs can give homes and properties greater curb appeal. Catching glimpses of pretty gardens as you drive by them is one way to experience the beauty of gardens. Having your own lovely garden to enjoy is much better. There are plentiful design choices for you to choose from in planning your signature garden. Melt away stress in your own personalized garden and private escape.

Making a garden that is a relaxing and enjoyable outdoor environment to spend time in does not have to be hard. A simple and inexpensive layout for your garden will do nicely in helping you to produce an attractive setting that can become your escape from the stresses of everyday life. Small gardens and porch gardens are the perfect solution for homes not having much open grassy area for building a garden on, or for apartment and condominium dwellers with no grassy area available to them for making a garden.

There are numerous articles, books, and videos on designing gardens and gardening. From them you can find many helpful ideas and tips for planning the layout of your garden, which varieties of flowers and plants would work the best with the conditions in your garden, and how to plant and care for them, as well as suggestions on decorating your garden with different outdoor accent pieces, fountains, arbors, and much more.

The Spring/Summer season is underway. It’s the perfect time to start thinking about creating a beautiful and peaceful garden for you and your family to enjoy and that can boost your home’s property value.

Check back here often to find the new, interesting, and helpful information on gardens and gardening. Planned commentary for this series on gardening includes articles that explore the building of various types of gardens, suggestions for decorating, adding functional outdoor items to your gardens like arbors, bridges, goldfish ponds, lighting, water fountains, and how to help your garden to maintain its picturesque and inviting look and feel.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Expanding On Topics of Interest for Readers

Hi,

This is just a quick note to let everyone know about some upcoming and exciting new topics I will be covering here on the blog. These new areas for discussion will be about gardening, saving money, faith, spirituality, volunteerism, mentoring, mental health, safe and natural weight loss, exercising and fitness, natural medicines and health care, pets, and travel. Additional topics will be forthcoming as well because a truly glad life consists of many different facets and choices in living.

I hope you all will find these additions to my blog interesting. Feel free to add your personal insights on any topics presented on the Glad Living blog and to suggest other life areas we might consider exploring here.

Thanks and have yourself a truly glad living day!
Julie

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Spend Time in The Great Outdoors for Better Glad Living

Summer is almost here. It is great to be able to spend more time outside now that temperatures have warmed up for most of us. You can find many fun and healthy activities to do outdoors. The fresh air will do you good in many ways.

Fun and healthy outdoor activities

• Walking
• Hiking
• Biking
• Jogging
• Swimming
• Softball
• Basketball
• Soccer
• Tennis
• Shuffleboard
• Volleyball
• Golf
• Boating
• Fishing
• Picnicking
• Bird watching
• Butterfly and lightening bug chasing
• Gardening
• Camping
• Horseback riding
• Roasting marshmallows and weenies
• Backyard parties
• Scavenger hunts
• Attending Street fairs
• Sightseeing at State and local parks and nature preserves
• Botanical garden tours
• Taking in art, music, and culture festivals
• Family days at amusement parks
• Visiting local historical monuments and treasures
• Zoo visits
• Going to boat, car, and RV shows
• Bargain hunting at garage and yard sales, and flea markets
• Treating yourself or the whole family to a movie at a drive-in or walk-up outdoor theatre
• Dining at outdoor eateries and the occasional cone from local ice cream shops
• Stargazing

You may know of many more fun and healthy things to do outside. Physical activity is good for body health. Breathing in fresh air and drinking in the sights and sounds of nature can be good for the health of your mind and spirit. Head on outdoors and find exciting ways to have fun and to provide your body, mind, and spirit with the nourishment needed for maximum health, and more glad living.

How do you like to have fun while enjoying the 3-dimensional health benefits the outdoors offers?

Contest #1 Winner Announcement

Congratulations to Alyce W!

Your entry was selected to win the Serenity Sampler CD.

Please send your mailing details to twsstaff@yahoo.com with "Contest Winner" in the subject line within the next 48 hrs, so that your CD can be on it's way to you. Enjoy!

I want to thank all of you that entered this first contest and also for the kind and encouraging words many of you included in your contest entries. Thanks!!!

Look for other contests in the future.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Which is Better for You-Tap or Bottled Water?

A decade ago when you saw someone walking around with a plastic bottle of water in hand, you saw him or her as health conscious and perhaps even trendy because Hollywood celebrities also gravitated towards bottled water then.

Bottled water became all the rage back then because several studies had found tap water often contains unhealthy and unsafe amounts of chemicals and other substances, even after undergoing treatment at municipal water plants.

Recent studies have shown a sharp rise in drug levels from various discarded prescription drugs showing up in the drinking water flowing into people’s homes, businesses, parks and other public places.

There are still many celebs and others believing that bottled water is better for them than water straight from the tap. Neither is the best for your health and the health of your family. Current studies have shown plastic bottles to leech some of the chemicals used in their manufacture, which can pose health risks to humans and is harmful to the environment.

Placing a filter on your faucet to filter out impurities will provide you and your family with the safest drinking water. Install filters on your bathroom faucets too for cleaner water for your family to brush their teeth with and for washing face and hands.

The government itself has made many changes to become a better steward of our environment. There has also been a lot of green legislation introduced into legislation that places greater restrictions on the amount of permitted annual emissions from corporations and the cars we drive in an effort to protect the environment from further deterioration. The drafting of new legislation governing pollution and for protecting the environment occurs regularly, and so too does the debating over them by members of the house and senate.

Growing numbers of people are looking for ways to live greener lives these days. You may want to help protect the environment by using eco-friendly products in and around your home, by driving a hybrid car, or using public transit. In these difficult economic times, many families are searching for green ways to live in order to reduce their food, fuel, and other bills.

Environmentally friendly products are also safer and healthier for you and your family. There are many articles and informational resources where you can learn more about how eco-friendly products are good both for the environment and for the health of your family.

When I come across affordable green products and services that I feel would be of interest to individuals and families, looking for affordable solutions for living greener glad lives, I will place then under Green Things.

Once such affordable green product I have found and use myself is the Eco-Canteen for keeping my filtered water cool and it provides me an easy way to take water with me while on the go.
Learn more about the Eco Canteen now. Please, Bookmark this blog first, or just use your browsers back button to return here.

Note About Missing Video from an Earlier Post Today

In an earlier post today I made mention about it being the last day to enter contest #1 to win the Serenity CD. At that time I had embedded a linked YouTube video player into the page so that everyone could have a listen to the 1st track on the Serenity CD, or so I thought and had hoped. The link only worked until I published my page! I have spent the better part of my day trying correct this. Not easy at all with dinosaur dial-up like I still have, and blogger's uncooperative video uploading system.

Unfortunately, I have not had any success with uploading the video to my blog thus far. I will keep trying another day. I have removed the broken linked video from the other post, just to let those people who may have seen it earlier why it is suddenly gone.

Thanks to everyone who has entered the contest thus far. It was really exciting for me to discover that I have several readers now. If you have not yet entered the contest, you still have a couple of hours left to get your entry in by midnight EST.

Do not feel left out if you missed this contest (there will be many more contests to come.)

Last Day to Enter Contest #1

I just wanted to remind everybody that today is the last day to get your entries in for the chance to win the Serenity Sampler CD! You can listen to the first song from this CD below.

This is my favorite. Every time I turn it on I envision myself as an eagle flying high in the sky within reach of clouds, soaring over the mountain peaks, and gliding effortlessly over the Ocean up to touch the horizon. Perhaps I am the only one affected in this way by this song. That is okay. It is not the first time and is sure not to be the last time that happens.

Thanks to everyone who has entered the contest. If you haven't yet, send your entry in by midnight EST today, for your chance to win this wonderful CD. Good Luck! A Winner will be drawn tomorrow morning with an announcement to follow here. Stay Tuned!

I hope you enjoy listening to this as much as I do. Please share your thoughts on this musical arrangement combined with sounds of nature.

Broken Video Removed: My apologies for any inconvenience to Readers.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Nurture Your Mind and Spirit Daily

It sure can be easy for many of us to forget to take personal time for ourselves with all that we do for work and for our families and friends. Yet the truth of the matter is that when we do not take the time to recharge our batteries, we set ourselves up to ultimately run out of steam and perhaps disappoint those around us. Not to mention the damage that not taking proper care of ourselves can do to our health.

Even if you have a very hectic schedule like many of us have today, you need to make finding time to nurture the health of your mind and spirit a priority. Unquestionably providing your body with healthy nutrition, staying fit, and getting a proper amount of sleep nightly are important factors in your overall health. However, the importance of nurturing your mind and spirit, and the serious impact not doing so can have on your health is undeniable. There have been many scientific studies conducted with findings to support the many possible benefits that can result from engaging in activities that nourish the mind and spirit.

You do not need a lot of time daily for providing your mind and spirit with the nourishment needed for optimal health. Twenty minutes a day will do. Whenever you can give yourself more than 20 minutes for self-care, take advantage of it. Not only can you give your mind and spirit a recharge in less than a half hour there are many activities you can do to refresh both at the same time. Sometimes you can even get in some refreshing of body muscles as well like through soaking in a warm tub of scented oils and bath salts.

Here are some other ideas for renewing your energy and revitalizing your mind and spirit in simple ways that do not require much time when you have little of it to spare.

•Listen to soothing music.
• Light a scented candle and allow yourself to be still and quiet for however long you can be.
•Learn deep breathing techniques for relaxing and de-stressing your body, mind, and spirit.
•Meditate. There are many books and tapes to teach you how to do this.
•Pray and strengthen your faith and connection with a higher power, or make connections with nature, people, and the world around you to fortify your sense of belonging and purpose.
•Place a cool cloth over your eyes and lay back while quieting your mind.
•Purchase a sound machine so that you can relax by listening to different sounds of nature.
•Take a leisurely walk through a botanical garden, a meadow filled with flowers in bloom, or along the beach.
•Let yourself be a kid again for a few minutes without thinking about your responsibilities as an adult. Laugh and act silly. Go to the zoo. Buy yourself some cotton candy or an elephant ear. Head to the movies and watch a children’s movie or comedy.
•Read inspirational books before starting your day and listen to inspirational tapes while commuting.
•Take an afternoon nap in a backyard hammock, or stretched out on the sofa.
•Give yourself the time and permission to pursue a hobby that you have been putting off.
Do not neglect giving care and the nutriment that your mind and spirit needs for health, fulfillment, and greater glad living. Taking time for yourself daily is not selfish, it will help you to be there for others in all the ways that you want to be.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Contest #1 5/12/09-5/19/09

Contest Time!

Enter to win a Serenity Sampler CD, containing ten lovely instrumental arrangements combined with various sounds of nature, to create a truly wonderful and relaxing listening experience. Renewing your spirit and relaxing your mind is important to self-care, and we all need to take good care of ourselves for glad living.

Right from the very first track on this CD my spirit begins to soar. It has a beautiful mix of music, wind, and other sounds that help me to envision myself as an eagle soaring high in the sky, and my spirit soars equally high every time I listen to it.

Entering the contest is easy. Simply enter by using the secure form below. You must provide your first name and a valid email address, and put a few words like, enter me in the contest in the message box. Entry deadline for this contest is 5/19/09. Selecting of a winner will take place on the morning of 5/20/09. Look for an announcement of the contest winner here on May 20, 2009. The contest winner will also receive an email message to notify him or her of having won the contest and Serenity Sampler CD. If for some reason, the contest winner should fail to provide directions to me for mailing the Serenity Sampler CD to them within 48 hours, I will then choose a new winner.

Thanks for entering this contest and Good Luck!

Adm.Julie



Serenity Sampler CD Contest
Questions marked by * are required.
1.Name: *
2.Email: *
3.Message:


Sunday, May 10, 2009

A Mother's Day Poem

There are times when only a Mother's love
Can understand our tears,
Can soothe our disappoints
And calm all of our fears.



There are times when only a Mother's love
Can share the joy we feel
When something we've dreamed about
Quite suddenly is real.



There are times when only a Mother's faith
Can help us on life's way
And inspire in us the confidence
We need from day to day.



For a Mother's heart and a Mother's faith
And a Mother's steadfast love
Were fashioned by the Angels
And sent from God above.

-Author Unknown-

If you are the author of this sweet poem or know who the author is, please email me at, twsstaff@yahoo.com so that I credit the author. Thank You!

Happy Mother's Day to Moms Around the World!


Today we honor and celebrate our Mother's
In honor and celebration of Moms from around the world, I want to wish you all a very blessed and glad day!
Happy Mother's Day!!!

Friday, May 8, 2009

Safer Food Alternatives


Buying foods from Farmers Markets and growing their own foods in family gardens or in community garden projects, have become popular with many people these days. More and more people are fearful about the safety of foods sold in grocery stores, chain stores, and restaurants, with the numerous recalls that there have been on a variety of foods and food products in recent years.

Consumers feel that the foods offered for sale by local farmers are safer and certainly, farm families eat a portion of the crops they grow to provide their families with incomes. Organic foods are also hugely popular now as well. Organic farmers grow food crops without using pesticides that are dangerous to humans and the environment. Organically raised animals that people consume for food, feed on all-natural diets, and are not given hormones and other synthetic chemicals that can pose a health risk to people when they eat meats and other foods containing them.

Buying your families foods from a local farmers market can reduce your family’s grocery bills. Since smaller vehicles are used, and fewer miles driven by farmers to bring local foods to market, buying foods from your local farmers market is good for the environment too.

If you want to have more control over how the foods your family eats are grown, grow your own in a family garden. There are many books available to help you to plan a family garden, and to provide you with useful planting guides, and tips for preventing pests from damaging your food plants.

If you like the idea of community members working together towards the same goal, join with other members of your neighborhood or community to help build and oversee the care and tending of food plants in a community garden. Everyone shares in the work, and everyone shares in having the healthier fruits and vegetables grown there.

Do you buy your family’s food from a local farmers market, grow some or much of the foods your family eats in a family garden, or participate in a community garden? Please share with us the advantages you and your family have experienced as of a result. If you still buy all your foods from your local grocery store, we would like to read your thoughts on this subject as well.

Eat More Veggies For a Healthier You

The average American diet is woefully lacking in the consumption of the right amount of vegetables each day. According to the USDA’s Food Pyramid, we should be eating 3 to 5 servings of vegetables every day. How many servings of vegetables do you eat daily? Adding more vegetables into my daily eating plan is how I started on my path to regaining control over my weight and health.

You do not have to go completely vegan, unless you want to. Simply adding a side salad to your lunch menu and a large salad or steamed vegetables with your dinner should help you to get your 3 to 5 servings of vegetables daily. As an added bonus, you are likely to find that by eating a salad or a serving of vegetables before digging into the main courses of your meals will help you to feel fuller faster and to eat smaller portions without feeling deprived.

A good way to fend off the hunger between meals that might cause you to choose less healthy foods is to slice and chop up your favorite vegetables and place one serving of them into individual sandwich baggies, and put them in the refrigerator to keep them fresh. Then when you feel the first pangs of hunger, you can just go grab a healthy bag of ready-to-eat veggies from the fridge.

Making the healthier choice to eat more servings of vegetables per day does not have to be hard. Add a salad to your lunch and dinner. Steam vegetables as side dishes to your main entrées and keep some fresh ready-to-eat veggies in the fridge to grab instead of junk foods to snack on between meals.


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Say No to Diets-Yes To Choices

Like me, I am sure there are a lot of you who are familiar with the Feast and Famine notion of dieting. You know when you eat everything you can the weekend before you start your new diet on Monday, because then most of your favorite foods will be off limits? Yeah, I have been there and done that, more times than I can count over the years.

This regimen of stuffing myself to the gills prior to depriving myself for however long I could hold out (a few weeks, to six or more months sometimes,) never did result in weight loss that I could keep off for very long. It is amazing how hard it can be to lose weight, yet gaining weight can happen so easily for those of us dealing with excess weight issues.

I know there are many people who are at the opposite end of the spectrum when it comes to weight issues. They lose weight rapidly, and cannot seem to gain enough to reach a healthy weight no matter how much they eat. I am sure this can be just as much a difficult struggle for them as dealing with a weight problem is for those of us on the heavier side. I wish I could offer those of you having to deal with being underweight more than just the encouragement to keep trying every possible healthy avenue available for help in overcoming your issue. However, my experiences have been with being overweight, and that is where I am coming from.

I have dropped fifty-six pounds in the last year, and have kept that weight off while I am still working towards my ultimate weight goal. I did not go on a diet or use any diet products. I have given those up for good. They have failed me time after time, and after becoming more knowledgeable about their health risks, I do not consider them the right choice for me anymore. I simply adopted the mindset that the answer to my struggle to lose weight, become healthier, and live longer lies in the choices I make. I chose to educate myself about the real nutrition my body needs for fuel and health, and make my food choices based on that. I also made other choices such as to exercise more, not to smoke or drink alcohol, and to be mindful of the fact that my mind and spirit need as much healthy nourishment as my body does.

The weight loss that I have achieved so far did not happen overnight. I am thankful for that actually. It has given me the time to learn what real nutrition and health is and is not. I have also learned why I ate the way I did, and how I can choose to eat for the right reasons now, and choose foods that are better for me. I will share more of what I have discovered through my journey of losing weight and getting healthier this past year with you in future posts.

What did you think of this article? Share your comments.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Forget Dieting Pipedreams. Make Healthy Choices for Real Health

Diets do not work for anyone really outside of the creators of trendy new diet plans, and the makers of the zillions of diet products offered on the market. These individuals and corporations make millions of dollars annually off people’s desires to be thin and willingness to put their own health in serious jeopardy just to be the size and weight that our society unfortunately considers beautiful.

The true measure of real beauty comes from within, and we should all stop “buying” into the Hollywood, media, and diet industry fueled illusion that only size two women and enormously muscled men are beautiful. As soon as we start doing this, maybe fewer teenage girls and boys will starve themselves to death trying to achieve this ideal of perfection and beauty that our society has held onto for long enough.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to lose weight in a healthy manner if you really need to, or in wanting to improve your health and fitness levels. Scientific research has shown that people with a healthy weight and that are also fit and lead healthier lifestyles, do live longer. Your focus should be in achieving your desired weight and fitness level in healthy ways. Not through depriving yourself of certain foods, feeling hungry and tired from poor nutrition, or by overexerting your body with exercising that is too strenuous for where you are at fitness-wise right now. Popping so-called magic diet pills or drinking diet shakes and beverages whose ingredients may harm your internal organs, is not a healthy solution for you either.

I am suggesting that you eliminate the word diet from your vocabulary altogether and replace it with the word choice. It is choices, and not dieting and using diet products, you do not need and that may be harmful to you, that real overall health is all about.
You can make the choice to eat foods that are healthier and more nutritious to fuel your body with, while also allowing yourself to feast on a favorite treat occasionally. You can make the choice to become more physically active. You can make the choice to live a healthier lifestyle. We all face making various choices everyday. The ones we make concerning our health and the lives we want to live are very important choices indeed.

Please look for a continuation on this important subject of “choices” for health and greater glad living in future posts filed in the body, mind, spirit, and 3-dimensional health sections of this blog.

Sunday, May 3, 2009

My Day 5-3-09



Most of you are probably headed off to bed as I write this. Sweet Dreams!. I have a hot cup of coffee in front of me and plans to write several articles overnight. I slept too much on Saturday when I was feeling exhausted and now my sleep cycle is a bit off tonight. Not to worry, I have hair, gifts, insurance, and fitness articles I can work on tonight and maybe I will feel drowsy by 5 or 6 am.

Not much excitement in my Sunday. Washed some dishes, gathered clothes to put in the washer (hmmm...I should carry the basket down to the basement and get those going right now.) Wrote a long post about how putting some organization into your life can add more glad to your days that I posted earlier. Took Hannah Lilly out a few times for short walks. Does your dog seem to get lost in all the new scents of spring too? Hannah seems content to stand outside sniffing the air for hours!

That is about it for me right now. The coffee is staring to kick in so I think i will open my Word program and start on writing some of these articles.

I wish everyone a glad and safe week ahead!

Julie

Organization Can Make for More Glad In Your Life

When your life is more organized, you will find that you spend more days glad and much fewer days feeling stressed. You can reduce or avoid altogether these common stressors in life by getting yourself organized. Stressors like, time wasted looking for misplaced items. Regretting missed appointments. Wondering what you should cook for dinner that night and if you have all the ingredients that you will need. Trying to keep straight in your mind the different activities, the kids will need chauffeuring to in the week ahead. Hoping that you will remember to pick up your dress and his suit jacket from the dry cleaners in time for that party the both of you are attending next weekend.

The list of things that can stress you out and that are as a direct result of disorganization in your life could go on for pages. I do not think it is necessary to try to list them all anyway as I am sure you can either relate to the ones I have listed, or readily come up with a list of your own of stressors in your life that could be decreased or eliminated with a little organization. I think that we can all agree that more days filled with glad than days ruled by stress are far better for us all. I decide to make this post today because Sunday afternoons are a good time for most people to organize various things for the week ahead so that you can have more glad days and fewer days of stress.

Designate a place for keeping your car keys, checkbook, stationary and stamps, kid’s book bags, shoes and jackets, sports equipment, etc. Then remember to put things back in their designated spot after use so you will know exactly where they are the next time that you want to use them, and you will not have to spend time searching all over the house for them.

You can sit down with weekly sales ads from your local grocery store(s) and plan your meals for the week as well as build your shopping list. Do not forget to look through your Sunday paper for grocery coupons you can use to reduce your food bills. Sundays are also good for many people for cooking some meals ahead of time to freeze and then pop into the microwave or oven for quick meal fixed during the week.

You can set up a family calendar board to hang in a prominent place where everyone will see it and list important appointments like dental and doctor visits, and school and business meetings, as well as the activities that family members will be doing during the week. You can use different colored markers for each family member to help them find at a glance what they are doing that day. Give family members the responsibility of adding any new appointments and extra curricular activities that prop up throughout the week. It is a good idea for them to draw a star or another symbol in front of any new entry, so that other family members will notice it and understand it to be a newly added to the family calendar board.

Plan chores for the week and assign them to family members. You can create a chore board for this or just add them to your family calendar board. This way everyone will know what their responsibilities are in helping to keep the house tidied, and other things like making sure the trash is placed out by the curb on trash day gets done during the week. Doing a few chores every day could mean less time playing catch up on Saturdays, and more time for family fun on the weekends.

Sundays afternoons are a good time to balance your checkbook and write out checks for bills due that week. Place checks with their corresponding payment slips into envelopes and affix the appropriate postage to them. Now they will be ready for dropping off at the post office on your way to work one day this week.

Lay out a few days worth or an entire week’s worth of outfits for the kids to wear to school or to play in so that you will not have to mess with picking out clothes on a busy morning. If you are worried about wrinkles developing, hang outfits on different colored hangers for each day of the week in the closet, so that you or your child can grab the outfit for that day quickly in the morning when dressing. You might find that this works so well in eliminating arguments and hassles with getting the kids dressed every morning that you will want to do the same with your work clothes for the week.

Check your child’s school bag to ensure you have signed all papers needing your signature before your child takes them back to school to give to his or her teacher. Place extra gym clothes and other things your child will need during the week into their school bag. Do not forget to write dates of upcoming school parties and treats you are to supply for those parties on your calendar board so you will not forget them. Children should place all their schoolbooks and school supplies into their school bags and place them near the front door, or a designated spot, for fast retrieval of them on the way to the bus stop in the mornings. Do the same with your briefcase or workbag, so that you have everything you need for the office or work when you head out the door each morning.

After planning and organizing your week ahead, late Sunday afternoons are also perfect for treating yourself and your family to a special treat like an ice cream cone, or a family bike ride around the neighborhood. With more organization in your life now, you are certain to have more glad days in your life, than those stress-filled days none of us enjoys having.

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Resources from the CDC on Swine Flu

Many people are still concerned about contracting the Swine Flu I mentioned in a health alert on April 29th. Seen here: http://gladliving.blogspot.com/2009/04/us-swine-flu-cases-increase.html

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has two excellent resources that the public can access to find more in-depth information about the Swine influenza disease, infection prevention, tips on caring for infected persons, and much more. to educate and help relieve people's growing fears about this serious flu virus.

1. The CDC website provides a wealth of information for the public on Swine flu (which they are now calling h1n1 Flu, due to people having unwarranted fears towards pigs, and the needless slaughtering of huge numbers of them around the world.) where you will find information on prevention and treatment. http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/guidance_homecare.htm




2. The CDC provides a toll free 24 hour hotline to the public to answer your swine flu and other health concern questions. 1-800 CDC-Info or !-800-232-4636.

Friday, May 1, 2009

My Day in Brief

I debated about whether I should just delete this section from my blog since I have not found the time to make daily journal entries to date. I decided against doing that though. I do not even know if anyone else is reading my blog journal right now anyway. For me however, I like knowing it is here when I do find the time to capture moments I want remember from my day-digitally.

I spent some time writing articles today, which of course any day that I get to write is a good one for me. I am considering writing late into the night, which I do often. Some of my most creative writing happens at around 3 am. I have trouble sleeping sometimes and instead of stressing over it or resorting to taking pills, I just write for clients or for my own personal pursuits, until I get sleepy.

I walked about 5 blocks to have dinner with my Father and his Galpal, Nila this evening and then walked back home. Dinner was good! Came back and let my poochie Hannah Lilly outside to do her business, and now I am seated in front of my laptop typing out this post.

I may watch "Wife Swap" and "Super Nanny" or at least turn the TV on for noise. It can get real quiet around here. Then again, I may just put on some Reba tunes and bop in my chair to them while I write.

Have a splendid and safe Friday night and weekend!

FDA Recalls Hydroxycut Dietary Products

The Food and Drug Administration announced today a recall on Hydroxycut products (which are dietary supplements) and warns people to stop using them because they have been linked to causing serious liver damage, and 1 reported death thus far.

I am not a big fan of diet pills and other dieting products in general anyway. They never seem to result in any real long-term weight loss, and the possible damage they can cause to your heart, liver, respiratory system and other systems in your body, is just not a health risk worth taking to me. I should say not a risk to my health worth taking anymore. As I have fallen for some of those cleverly pitched diet products, promising almost instant weight loss without changing your eating habits in the past. The real path to getting your weight under control is not through a diet pill or another diet products, it happens through actively choosing to eat a well balanced, nutritional diet, limiting consumption of fat-laden and sugary foods, and exercising regularly.

You can read more about the FDA recall and warning for users to stop taking Hydroxycut products in this CNN article: http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/05/01/hydroxycut.fda.recall/index.html?eref=rss_us