A Glorious Day To Be A Mother

May 9th, 2010 By: Brittany

My mom is a neverending song in my heart of comfort, happiness, and
being. I may sometimes forget the words but I always remember the
tune. ~Graycie Harmon

Happy Mother’s Day To All Mother’s both in our hearts and in our homes.

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Mom’s Day Green Gifts

May 7th, 2010 By: Brittany

Still looking for a great Mother’s Day gift. Check out these creative and green gifts to help spark your gift giving!

Bamboo bowls From Bambu

Sustainably harvested bamboo and comes in mouth-watering colors like yellow, berry, red, cayenne, blue corn, chocolate, kiwi green, green apple, naked and black. These bowls are fabulous for mom’s who love to cook, serve, and entertain.

EGGLING – $12

This little egg planter is just the thing! The egg-shaped pot is made of unglazed ceramic and you can choose from basil, cactus, red pepper, mint, lavender, or strawberry. Great for any mother.

Organic cooked meal

What a great way to celebrate your mom with a little home cooking. Local farmer’s markets are back in full swing. Pick up some local organic foods, and prepare a awesome meal for mom.

Green Clean

Why not offer your service for a day helping mom clean. Offer to clean non-toxic cleaning supplies. Look for biodegradable products, which are often washed down the sink after use, and cleaners without chemicals hazardous to the environment, such as phosphates. You can also give mom a gift certificate to a green cleaning service in your town.

Eco Spa Pampering

What mom doesn’t like to be pampered? Take your mom on a luxurious and relaxing day to the spa. Many cities now offer a plethora of organic and eco-friendley products and services to please everyone.

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How To Become Happy When You’re Depressed

May 5th, 2010 By: Brittany

There are times through out life that we feel depressed. Many of us may encounter depression more regularly then others. Either way, it is important that we continue to not stay in a state of consistent depression. The hardest part about moving through depression, is lack of motivation. Let’s run through a few ideas to get you feeling better, and motivate you to become happy.

1. Take a walk. Walking is a very good start towards feeling happy. Not only does walking make you feel more motivated, but research has shown that it helps with the effects of depression.

Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin measured the moods of two groups suffering from depression after a 30 minute period. One group spent the 30 minutes walking on a treadmill while the other group sat quietly. They were surveyed five minutes before the session and five, 30 and 60 minutes afterward. Although both groups reported a reduction in negative feelings only the group that exercised acknowledged they felt good after the session.

2. Read or listen to something positive. It important to take into consideration that feeling depressed is very taxing on both our minds and body. Listening or reading to something is inspirational can quickly change our present outlook. Think of how you feel when you hear a touching story on the news, or read heart felts quotes. These all provoke a sense of positive thinking. Find quotes, read stories, or listen to a cd that inspires happiness.

3. Learn forgiveness. Forgiving yourself and forgiving others is important for happiness. We tend to be happier and live happier lives when he let go of our anger, hatred, and dislike for ourselves and others. Negativity can way you down and make you collapse into a deeper state of depression. Learn to forgive your self first. The best way to do this is to stand in front of a mirror as often as you need to, and tell youself, ” I forgive myself, I deserve love and I deserve happiness.” Once you’ve forgiven yourself; forgive others.

Although holding on to anger and hostile feelings can increase the risk of heart disease, forgiveness can diminish that risk. Not only does forgiveness reduce chronic stress, it also increases your sense of self control, which lessens the chance that you’ll overreact in stressful situations. Bottom Line Secrets

4. Help others. When we help others we help heal ourselves. Helping people for the sake of helping will not only help motivate you to go out and participate, but it will also make you feel needed. You could help a elderly neighbor wake her dog, read stories at your local children’s hospital, or you could volunteer at a soup kitchen. These are just a few things that make you difference for others, but can make a difference for you too.

5. Stand up for yourself. Letting others walk all over you can make you feel less of a person. Certainly, we don’t like to feel that we do or say doesn’t matter. Stand up to others when you feel others aren’t listening or giving you any credit. Many people who feel depressed at work feel so because they let their co-workers and manager walk over them. Standing up is important for self-esteem, self confidence, and motivation.

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Your Words of Wisdom of The Day Are…

May 3rd, 2010 By: Brittany

“The greatest mistake a man can ever make is to be afraid of making one.”
Elbert Hubbard

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Healthy Breakfast Ideas For Diabetes

April 28th, 2010 By: Brittany

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Massage As Regular Exercise?

April 26th, 2010 By: Brittany

Many people do no think that massage should be counted as regular exercise. When you think of exercise you think of lots of exertion, movement, and pulsing heart rate. Massage on the other hand makes you think of relaxation, peace, and reduced heart rate.

However, research has shown that massage should be done on a regular basis just like exercising. Massage allows the body to heal in the same way exercise helps your body heal. Both help our bodies release tension, stress, stimulate endorphine production, and enhance the immune system.

Reg use of bodywork contribute immensely to health and quality of life for everyone, but especially for people dealing with difficult life changes, depression, grief, and physiological and emotional challenges we all during our lives.

Experts estimate that upwards of ninety percent of disease is stress related. Working out and getting a massage regularly can help you alleviate stress. Taking part in this form of regularly scheduled self-care can play a huge part in how healthy you’ll be and how youthful you’ll remain with each passing year. Budgeting time and money for exercise and massage therapy at consistent intervals is truly an investment in your health. StressMedics.com

The best way to start adding massage as apart of your exercise routine is researching massage, techniques, and places in your area that offer massage. If you find a very cost effective way to keep a regular massage schedule is taking a partner class at a local community college where you and your partner can learn how to give affective massages together. You can also visit local colleges of massage and bodywork. Most of these places are significantly cheaper, and just as effective as making a session with a spa.

Enjoy your massage!

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Changing Your Environment

April 25th, 2010 By: Brittany

I often tell people that feel a sense of depression, procrastination, frustration, or lack of motivation to make a change to their environment. Your personal surroundings make up a large part of your life. Most people don’t take into consideration that how their room looks, how their kitchen smells, or how light or dark your office is affects them.

For example, a friend of mine had moved into a new apartment. She loved the surrounding location her apartment was in. She found however, over the course of time she spent their the more tired she felt. She would often tell me she doesn’t feel as good as she use to, or that she just doesn’t feel like doing the hobbies and activities she did before. I ask had anything changed in her life such as relationships, diet, job changes, etc. She said no to the above. The only thing that changed was her move.

Upon inspection I noticed about her apartment was its dark. Her old place had windows that never had any drapes or blinds over them. The windows at her new apartment had blinds that she never bothered to open completely. The walls where painted gray, her furniture was dark in color, and she had not bothered to  hang any of her pictures on the wall. Clearly, I could see why she felt depressed and unmotivated. So, I asked her to try working on her apartment in the next few weeks. I told her to clean the boxes out with her old pictures, and hang the ones that make her feel happy. I told her to open the blinds up completely. The next step was to ask the landlord if she could paint one wall of her apartment. He agreed to let her, so we painted one of her walls a light peachy color. She also picked up a few throw pillows and blankets that where light and cheerful. These things made a huge difference to her motivation; her personality bounced back.

I wanted to add a part of an article that inspired this post. You can read further on AOL Health, Effects of Environment and Geography on Mood and Personality.

A slew of recent studies that delve into mental health suggest that there’s more of an association between your setting and how you feel than you might expect. Plus, if you live in or visit Las Vegas, these stark statistics may startle you.

Las Vegas: Home of legalized gambling and perhaps something even darker than that. According to a study conducted by Temple University published in the December 2008 issue of “Social Science and Medicine,” residents of Las Vegas face a suicide risk that is significantly higher than other parts of the country, based on analysis of data from the National Center for Health Statistics. Even more startling: People who die while visiting Las Vegas are twice as likely to die by suicide versus those who die traveling someplace else.

The theory is that the environment that Las Vegas purveys may psychological effect the way we act and think.

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