Tis The Season

~~Stress Less This Christmas~~

 Christmas is right around the corner, and I haven’t purchased one single gift . . . not for ANYONE! I’m still busy sorting and decluttering after moving. I haven’t done any decorating. No tree, no garland, and the stockings are NOT hung by the chimney AT ALL!

 I hadn’t thought much about it until my daughter offered me a small Christmas tree that she was preparing to donate to Goodwill. Then . . . a light came on in my head . . . It’s time to decorate for Christmas! That thought, along with my already convoluted “to-do” stuff, triggered something inside me . . . STRESS!

 Since I am already coping with some level of stress, I need to do something to relieve it. I learned some time ago that effective stress-relief techniques focus on relaxing the mind and the body.

For starters, I can relieve a lot of my stress by dumping limiting beliefs. Limiting beliefs are those things I believe about myself that place limitations on my abilities.

Question: Is it possible to relieve stress?

Answer: Yes. But, before I go on if your level of stress is serious, consult your physician. But, if you think you can take charge of your stress, here are a few things that can help.

- Learn to have a sense of humor
- Try yoga: no legs behind the neck here though
- Aroma therapy works wonders
- Exercise for 30 minutes

- Take a walk in the fresh air

-Listen to some relaxing music
- Try dance and creative movement
- Eat Chocolate, eat it in moderation or open a candy bar and just smell it
- Relaxation & deep breathing exercises provide immediate relief
- Take a six minute vacation (let your mind wander freely)
- Communicate: talking with friends, family, a counselor, or a member of the clergy   about your feelings is a healthy way to relieve stress
- Set more realistic goals: for yourself and others (those close to you)
- Develop a hobby: writing, blogging, fishing, knitting, photography, woodworking, anything. Do something fun with your hands

Find your inner peace - - learn how to relieve your stress by finding what works best for you. 

Let us know your favorite ways to de-stress in the comments section

Calming Everyday Foods

Everyday Foods to Help Us De-Stress

 ~Energizing Snack~

When life gets stressful, there are many things we can do to help relieve the stress. We all know the most common ones. But, did you know there are foods that also help us to de-stress? Here are four foods I never thought of as stress relievers.

Cauliflower is a great and little known stress reliever. You should steam half a cup of cauliflower and mash it as you would potatoes. Add some olive oil and spices and serve it as a guilt-free side dish to basically any entrée!

Here's how I like mine: steamed about 5-10 minutes 

and served as a side with my entrée.

Cottage Cheese is a commonly used food, but did you know you can use it to de-stress? You can mix 4 ounces of cottage cheese with berries or pineapples for a satisfying meal or snack. Many of us eat it this way all the time. Did you know it is a great stress reliever?

Chicken is one of my all time favorite foods. I eat it often, and I didn’t know it could be used to de-stress. You should grill it, slice it and add it to salad for a healthy meal. We also eat this combination a lot around here, not realizing it is a food that is good for relieving stress. As with most proteins, 4 ounces per meal should do the trick.

Chicken & Baby Carrote: One of our winter favorites.

Carrots are great raw with hummus (I prefer mine with Ranch Salad Dressing). Carrots can also be steamed, sautéed, roasted and glazed. Just 4 ounces should do the trick to use as a stress reliever.

There you have it, some common everyday foods that we eat all the time that also serve as great stress relievers.

What are your thoughts on using foods to de-stress? Did you already know this? Do you know other foods that will help us to de-stress?

Winners Never Quit & Quitters Never Win: Wrong!

Winners DO Quit . . .

sometimes!

Life is Short, it's okay to quit...sometimes! 

A quitter is described as someone who habitually gives up easily, someone who lacks mental stamina. A quitter is deficient in resilience, resolve, or purpose. A quitter is a loser who doesn’t hang in when the going gets tough, someone who abandons the game before it is finished - - and doesn't return later to finish the game.

Quitters constantly procrastinate; they would rather talk about it, read about it, think about it and, talk about it some more, but they never seem to do anything. Quitters are glad when the day is over.

Quitting isn't always negative; it may be exactly what's needed in order to move forward. You will need to get over any guilt feelings that come with it though, especially if you have friends or family members who believe totally and completely in the “winners never quit” philosophy.

Many times it is not “quitting”, it is simply changing the direction of your advance. It is not quitting if we consciously choose to switch directions; when we replace one goal with a new one that's more in keeping with our purpose.

Quitting might sometimes be the worst option, but “once a quitter, is not always a quitter”. The harsh reality is that many things are worth quitting. There is nothing wrong with quitting a venture that should never have been started in the first place. Walking away from something that is bad for you is not quitting. You only have one shot at life, so make sure you take it with both hands and squeeze every little drop out of it you can.

Here are a few uplifting and enlightening facts to consider: Shortly after quitting whatever you're doing that is going nowhere, your blood pressure, pulse rate, and circulation will all return to normal; your headaches will diminish and the churning in your stomach will soon calm down. So go ahead, quit some things.

Rather than believe that “Quitters never win and winners never quit”, I learned from many successful people that . . .

Sometimes, "winners DO quit" when we need to change directions to reach our goal.

 What do you think? Can we quit something without being labeled a "loser or a quitter"? How much do you care what others think of your projects or endeavors? Let us hear from you, someone is waiting.

© 2009 by Leona G. Shankle

8 Quick Ways to Relieve Stress

Is It Possible to Relieve Stress? 

Yes! Before we go on, if your level of stress is serious, consult your physician. But, if you think you can take charge of your stress, here are a few things that can help.

1. Learn to have a sense of humor. Google “Funny Jokes” images

2. Take a walk in the fresh air (in your back yard or down the driveway works).

 3. Try dance, creative movement, or exercise for 15 minutes.

4. Eat Chocolate in moderation or open a candy bar and just smell it.

5. Relaxation and deep breathing exercises provide immediate relief.

6. Take a seven minute mini-vacation in your mind. Re-visit photos of fun family vacations...remember the good times!

7. Talk to friends, family, or a pastor/priest about your feelings.  

8. Aroma therapy works wonders.

Find your inner peace - - learn how to relieve your stress by finding what works best for you.

Let us know your favorite ways to de-stress in the comments section.

Music: My Muse

Have you ever had a song or a tune stuck in your head that won’t go away? I woke up this morning to the sad news that Aretha Franklin had passed earlier.

From that moment on Aretha’s songs and music were stuck in my head and they wouldn’t go away. Every step I took, every move I made, Aretha’s music was there. “Respect” skipped merrily through parks and playgrounds of my cluttered brain. “I Say A Little Prayer” danced happily on top of my overcrowded to-do-lists… in my head.

Most of the time, I can only stop the music stuck in my head by playing the tune over and over until I’ve overdosed on it. Today CNN performed the repetition so I didn’t need to go digging for my music.

Do you know Aretha Franklin? Do you like her music? I do. I love, love, love me some Aretha Franklin music.

What I love most is Aretha’s rendition of a song. It mesmerizes me. It holds me captive, unable to break away. The melodious rise and fall of her voice is spellbinding! Her clear throaty sound reaches way deep down inside my soul. I’m a willing prisoner to the heavenly sound of her words and music.

"Yea, oh yea - only Aretha . . ."

The journey she takes with her voice from low to high octave ending with that final burst of sweet-sounding deliciousness ... brings shivers of utter and complete joy to these untrained but adoring ears of mine.

Her voice, her words, her delivery, and her music are a recipe for sensual musical bliss. The melody and timing has my body moving along to the beat rhythmically. I’m swaying back and forth and side to side. I’m totally hooked!

I close my eyes and my mind wanders back-in-the-day. I’m immediately transported to a time and place when all was right with the world.

From song to song, beginning to end, is a soul soothing lullaby. It’s a perfect combination of vocal excellence and music long forgotten. It’s Classic!

What else can I say?

Aretha Franklin’s music is pure raw sensuous ecstasy.

Image Source

Wow, What a Week!

Truthfully, it’s been a rough month. Early in October I had to drop everything and rush home to see about Mama, she had some sort of medical situation going on. That led to a new dimension of caregiving, I had to take over paying her bills from here. 

A week later Jace’s mom, Jordyn, got sick. She was totally bed-ridden for two whole days. She spent the entire week as sick as a dog, unable to function at even 50% capacity. We made it though, got it all done. We were truly blessed! Mama and Jordyn are both fine now with no lingering problems. Thank God for healing blessings! 

After all that, this week flew by lightning-fast and now the weekend is upon us.

Don’t you just love weekends! I know I LOVE them, sometimes I spend the whole week living for the weekend! What’s not to love? I love them because the drudgery of the work week is over. It's the end of all that daily hustle and bustle for a day or two. Weekends are made for having fun and doing all sorts of interesting things with loved ones.

Weekends don’t count unless you spend them doing something totally relaxing and fun. My plans are to do as much nothing as humanly possible this perfectly cold dreary looking weekend (well, it’s dreary looking today anyway). 

I might even take some time away from the computer and other technical stuff and pop open a good book. It’s been a while since I’ve done that. Favorite music playing softly in the background to set the mood, makes being propped-up on my chaise lounge surrounded by favorite things a really inviting scenario.

Okay, enough already. I’m going to get started right now. What are your plans for the weekend? Are you doing anything special or will you just take it as it comes? Whatever you’re planning…

I wish you a Wonderful Weekend, enjoy yourself!

The Golden Time of Day

Sunset from my back yard - 10-21-2013

Watching a beautiful sunset is relaxing, strangely mesmerizing, like having my own piece of heaven right at my finger tips.

From a comfortable chair, I could spend hours gazing at the amazingly beautiful colors of the clouds and the sky. This is ‘The Golden Time of Day.’

The awesome beauty of an evening sunset is but one of God’s precious gifts, a natural stress reliever. Experiencing this celestial phenomenon is so calming I literally feel the burdens of the day float away like feathers in the wind.

During the quiet stillness of this picture perfect scene, witnessing this mind-altering miracle, I realize… life just doesn’t get any better than this.

Serenity

Absolute Serenity 

God grant me the serenity 

to accept the things I cannot change; 

courage to change the things I can;

and wisdom to know the difference.

By Reinhold Niebuhr

Japanese Garden Houston

TGIF: Thank God It's Friday - - Yesterday!

Why I Love Fridays

Friday is the welcome sign I hang out for the weekend that says, ’Hello Beautiful Saturday! Good Morning Awesome Sunday! I’m so happy to see you. ’

Friday is a great day to relax, unwind, and spend some quality time with the family after a long hard work week. Nobody is rushing around hustling to get here and there.

I don’t cook on Friday so I get to eat all the yummy take-out-fast-food I want.  

I can stay up as late as I want to on Friday and I can play around on my computer without feeling like I’m wasting time.

I love Friday because I don’t have to get up early the next day and I can sleep as late as I want to. If I want to sleep all day, I can. Nobody will bother me, but I don’t because I know I can.

Friday is the day that lets me know I can go where I want to go instead of where I need to go - tomorrow.

The day after Friday is the day I get to do what I want to do instead of what I need to do.

Friday is the day there is usually a great movie marathon on television. I get to watch some of my favorite movies, back-to-back, for as long as I want.

Friday is beauty shop day! I get to go in, lay back (yes, I said lay – not lie) and relax while Ms. Judy washes the dickens out of my hair and blow dries it. Then Ms. Donita works her magic with the flat-irons and whatever other appliances and gets me all spiffy-looking.  

Boy, I Love Fridays, especially beauty shop Fridays. Lawdy, my head smells delicious! 

Stress Less

Most of us are probably coping with some level of stress and we need to learn how to relieve it. Effective stress-relief techniques focus on relaxing your mind and your body. For starters, we can relieve a lot of stress from our lives by dumping limiting beliefs - - those things you believe about yourself that place limitations on your abilities.

Limiting beliefs can be difficult to change because we often don’t realize they exist but, they can easily be overcome with desire and determination. It is imperative to first identify them and how they have served you in the past so you don’t beat yourself up for having had them.

Limiting beliefs almost always begin with “I can’t because…” Examples include “I can’t find a good job because I never went to college, diets don't work for me, I don't have time to exercise, or my company isn't giving pay raises this year.”

Can you really get beyond your limiting beliefs? Fortunately, yes. It is possible to get rid of these beliefs and replace them with more positive ones but, you first need to identify your limiting beliefs. Then to change limiting beliefs, you will need to break the thoughts that reinforce your belief that you are unable to do something.

Is it possible to relieve stress? Yes. Before we go on, if your level of stress is serious, consult your physician. But, if you think you can take charge of your stress, here are a few things that can help.
- Learn to have a sense of humor
- Try yoga: no legs behind the neck here
- Aroma therapy works wonders
- Exercise for 30 minutes
- Lift weights but don’t go overboard
- Take a walk in the fresh air
- Try dance and creative movement
- Chocolate, eat it in moderation though or open a candy bar and just smell it
- Relaxation & deep breathing exercises provide immediate relief
- Take a six minute vacation
- Communicate: talking with friends, family, a counselor, or a member of the clergy about your feelings is a healthy way to relieve stress
- Set more realistic goals: for yourself and others
- Develop a hobby: fishing, knitting, photography, woodworking, anything. Do something fun with your hands

Find your inner peace - - learn how to relieve your stress by finding what works best for you. Let us know your favorite ways to de-stress.

© 2009 by Leona G. Shankle