Life Tips Daily

When you’re tired, and feelig all alone, just remember you can blend yourself a supper, and then call on me…

Many people just don’t have the energy at the end of a day to prepare a nutrious supper. Call the raw food brigade to help you through. Veegies, a blender, soup or smoothie and in les than 30 minutes you can be enjoying 5 fruits and veggies. Tonight I did a cooked soup thing, and added a little goat yogurt, and then had some fruit on te side. It was just enough to get me going after a little rest.

http://renegadehealth.com/blog/how-do-i-get-more-vegetables-in-my-diet/

Big Sky Big Changes Photo by Mary MacIntyre

Annmarie is up in Vancouver, BC for a retreat and I realized I wasn’t getting enough vegetables in my diet the last couple of days…

So I pulled out our Smoothie Book and looked in the Green Smoothies section and found a perfect one for this bachelor (who isn’t much of a chef).

This can be a soup or a smoothie, but regardless it tastes great and has a ton of fresh, organic vegetables in it!

This is easier to eat than a salad. Add nuts for extra protein. You may find you have some leftover, so you could have part of another meal with that! Fun for kids too.

Computer troubles today. I am borowing a friends, computer. I’m including this blurb because I know if you are suffering from insomnia, ALL the information you can get may help. I am nor suggesting you buy anything. Start with the concept and see what you can do….

Big Sky Big Changes Photo by Mary MacIntyre

www.twitter.com/dan

2 birds nests on one cactus!

http://www.infomarketingservices.net/

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Will your future company provide enough access to new challenges to
keep you sharp –and marketable –in the event of sudden
unemployment?

i believe photo by Mary MacIntyre

Wow! This is a great set of resources for you. I had a slightly different idea when I started, however the videos opened new doors. Have you considered the connections of love and weight loss?
Of course, many of us are different and have multiple causes for weight gain. Still if this is an issue and concern for you, do visit the above links to examine how your feelings may add to the pounds.

Peace at last....

I think lately I have become a stress magnet. Some of this is my own fault, which is a strange confession to make when I am feeling rather angry. Yet yes, some of this is true. The rest is HIS fault.

I think everyone has an overshare of stress lately. When all this is ping balling through the air, it is often easier to just explode than to find a clamer way to communicate. I hit the explosion level this weekend which is good for I have been holding back so long.

So what is the best way to handle these powerful emotions? I need a few tips! Yep, I don’t have all the answers this time and I’d be really happy to hear your thoughts.

It was real easy when a customer who was talking about quitting smoking added how he was yelling a lot at his employees. This seemed to be a powerful thing for him to speak, as he began owning his anger, and partially ackowledging that yelling at his employees might not be an effective behavior and that maybe they were the total reason he was upset. (I took him over to Country Life’s Omega Mood, where he also mentioned he was actually feeling depressed)

Well, I want to feel my anger for awhile and express it. I just want to find a safer more effective way of expressing it at the workplace. Today I did great grounding work and thought I was almost over it. I worked in my yard and was excited by all the plants that are growing, and my getting one plot of garden ground ready. Teh a friend called in response to my please help me call. Tears again. Oh well.

So I’ll keep you updated. I am going to do some EFT soon. Please respond. Yes the two guys at work are real jerks too often, and I am fed up with that!

Well my problems are with co workers.

If you spend a lot of time on the computer, either at work or at home, you may find that you become stressed and disorganized when you can’t find files or documents that you’re looking for. The naming system you used made sense at the time, as did the location you saved it to, but now, for the life of you, you can’t recall what you were thinking (or what you were drinking!).

Here’s today’s tip to help you feel more in control of your clutter:

Clean both desktops
There is of course the physical desktop, where your computer keyboard and screen sit upon if you have a desktop computer. Some laptop owners sit at a desk at least occasionally, though that is perhaps not the general rule. Either way, make sure the surface on which your computer rests is clean: no post it notes mocking you with things you have to remember, no empty drink bottles, food plates, no stray pens and pencils everywhere. You may have to bring out some surface cleaner to clean your newly discovered (and likely dusty) surface.

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If, like me, you have a feeling that this year is going to be the best year of your life, try this exercise with me and review the past month. By reviewing the first month of the year, you may be able to see where your good intentions (also known as New Year’s resolutions) didn’t quite hold and how you can adjust them so that they will work better. What am I talking about? Well try the following and see if it helps you feel more in control of the new year.

Review your goals
If you made resolutions for the entire year, but find that nothing you did in January really contributed toward those goals, perhaps it’s time to consider making two lists: one of your overall goals for the year, and one that includes a breakdown of what you will do each month to work towards the greater goal. A good example is weight loss: if your goal is to lose 40 pounds by the end of the year, you may feel like it’s ok that you didn’t have much success in the first month because you have 11 more months to get on track. However, you may also discover that if you don’t give yourself a monthly goal related to weight loss, by the time November comes around, you will still have 40 pounds to lose! Instead, set monthly goals that are baby steps towards the big goal. For the weight loss example, this could involve walking 30 minutes a day, or planning to lose four pounds every month.

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If you live North America, particularly in one of the many states or provinces where snow is prevalent, it’s hard to make yourself leave the comfort of home when the cold weather arrives. However, if you’ve found that your plans to hibernate are wreaking havoc on your waistline, here are some things to consider to combat the weight gain.

Get souped up
A great way to fill your stomach without sacrificing too many calories, and ensure that you get your daily serving of vegetables is to make yourself a thick, hearty soup full of veggies and lean meat (unless you’re a vegetarian, of course!). Not only will this meal make you feel warm and cozy, it’ll satisfy the requirements for a healthy meal too.

Bundle up and go walking
Colour me guilty: I cheerfully use the winter weather to excuse my general physical inactivity but that’s a weak excuse. Why? Because the sidewalks around my place are cleared very regularly, and even when they’re not, long boots with a decent grip are all that is needed to ensure that a walk doesn’t turn into a slippery stroll. If you layer your clothing and have a good jacket, hat and gloves (or mittens), you’ll hardly feel the cold and return invigorated and warmed from your walk.

Try a winter sport
If walking sounds boring, why not try snowshoeing or cross country skiing? Neither requires any hard to learn skills and both will provide a very intense workout, even though you’re cruising along on flat ground for the most part. Depending on where you decide to go snowshoeing or cross country skiing, you may be able to rent the gear that you need before committing to it.

If you prefer sports that are more exciting, try downhill skiing, snowboarding or ice skating. These activities can be hard on those who are new to them so expect to build up your confidence (and skill) slowly.

For those of you living in chilly weather, how do you keep active?

Is anybody else suffering from the “Christmas is coming far faster that I want it to arrive” blues? Well instead of suffering, here are some ways to enjoying the fast approaching day. These tips are guaranteed to halt most, if not all cursing, and put you back in a cheery mood.

Take a day off
If you work somewhere where you can take a day, a half day or a couple of hours off, do it! If you’re worried that your shopping list will never shorten, spend this extra time shopping, if you’ve been shopping like a fiend and need a little extra shut-eye, sleep in, then hang out in your pyjamas all day (afternoon…rest of the day). The key is to do what will make you feel better at the end of the day. I’ve followed this and taken every other Friday off from my full time job so far in December and it’s been great shopping during less busy times.

Get a cold nose
If you’re lucky to live somewhere where the snowfall has been excessive so far, get out there and enjoy the snow! Snow is a hassle if you’re the one responsible for shoveling it, but nothing says winter like snowy days and if you live somewhere where it snows, you know how much better it is when you have a white Christmas. Go out and enjoy yourself in the snow: build a snowman to guard the house, make some snowballs or even do some snow painting. If your inner child is calling especially loudly, make a snow angel. When your nose starts running and your cheeks are red and you’ve lost sensation in your fingers and toes, it’s time to come in and warm up with hot chocolate or coffee.

Bake Therapy
When the smells of something delicious is coursing through your house, I dare you to be sad…unless you use so many bowls and utensils that the cleanup is staggering! If thoughts of baking make you think “more work I haven’t done!”, then bypass the mixing of ingredients and buy your dough ready made. Everyone knows the fun part is decorating the cookies anyway, followed closely by eating them.

It’s very easy during this season of giving to keep on giving to everyone but yourself. Give yourself permission now, not after the season is over, to do something that’s just for you and has you singing along with the Christmas carols in the mall the next time you have to venture there.

Yesterday’s tips will help you when you’re mailing your cards or packages, but do you need some help organizing Operation Christmas Card Write-up? I’m happy to help! Here is how to make the most of this repetitive but hopefully rewarding task.

Start early
If you give yourself plenty of time to write your cards, you will avoid feeling stressed and feeling put on the spot to come up with something suitable for each card. Hopefully by having a lot of time, ideas will be able to flow, and you will be in a good mood which will inspire positive thoughts and plenty of goodwill as you write the cards.

Get it together
As with any task, nothing is more irritating than having to get up every three minutes to grab yet another needed tool. To that end, make sure you have the following before sitting down to write your cards:

• plenty of cards and envelopes (including extras for mistakes!)
• nice pens that write well (you may want to use different and festive coloured pens too)
• scrap paper for testing pens, or for writing out practice messages
• water to seal the envelopes if you don’t like licking envelopes
• tape if you like to use that to seal envelopes
• correction fluid if needed
• a cleared off area with good lighting and comfortable seating.

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Do you ever get stuck on the phone with a friend who keeps talking and talking and talking? If your problem is the length of your telephone calls and not that you no longer want to speak with them, here are some tips to get off the phone with a chatty friend minutes faster!

Set a time limit on the conversation and inform your chatty friend of it
You don’t need to start the conversation with “I have a stopwatch and once 10 minutes have passed my phone will automatically hang up” but you can let your friend know ahead of time that you really only have 5 minutes to talk. You may be uncomfortable setting a time limit on the conversation, especially if you’re the one who called, but the fact that you called means you want to keep in contact with and talk to your friend, and that is what your friend should focus on.

Listen more
If you’re stuck on how to be a good listener, read this. If you allow your friend to do most of the talking during the conversation, when the conversation ends, he or she will likely feel that it was a good (albeit short!) conversation, compared with if the talk is dominated by you and then cut off by you. If your call is purely to catch up, allow your friend to spend more time talking about what has been going on in her life (you probably won’t have to twist her arm to get it out of her!). Ask questions but let the majority of the talking come from your friend.

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If you have ever poured your heart out to a listening ear, only to look up and see that your confidant is otherwise occupied—sending a text message, watching television or actually talking on the phone to somebody else, you have felt the hurt of talking to someone who wasn’t listening to you, and it’s not a good feeling.

When we talk, we like to think people are listening, especially if we’re sharing something that makes us feel vulnerable. Good listeners are perceived as friendly people, the sort of person that people want to befriend. How can you make sure when it’s your turn to listen, you give it your all?

Make a decision to pay attention
This is simple enough: if someone comes to you and asks if you have a minute for them to run something by you, or if an upset friend asks if the two of you can talk, if you decide to say yes, a good listener will realize that they are also making a decision to give that person their full attention. If it’s not a good time for you to listen, don’t say yes—you will only shortchange the person coming to you, and they don’t deserve that.

Eliminate all other distractions
Once the decision has been made to be a listener, you should physically turn to the person and turn off or silence any gadgets that might cause a distraction or intrude in your conversation, including beepers, telephones, and computers. If you need to excuse yourself from other people or your children, do this too. Find yourself a quiet place (or create one) where you will be able to pay attention. Even if you are not speaking face to face with someone, and they have no way of knowing who is in the room with you, it is a good practice to remove distractions and force yourself to focus on the speaker alone.

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Good morning!

It’s been a while but work has been kicking my butt-both jobs as a matter in fact. It makes me wonder how those people who start a business that eventually moves to being their primary gig manage do it. You know who I’m talking about: the person who works at her full time 40 hours a week desk job, while doing web design on the side at nights and on the weekend, or the person who combines a full time job with a part time job, making their work week 60 hours a week-or more.

Although I have two jobs (Full time job + part time job of 12-15 hours a week), there are people who manage to fit much more into their weeks. How do they do it? I don’t know for certain but here are some helpful tips for those of you who are considering taking on a second job.

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Christmas is just around the corner (don’t be fooled by that month called November: it will be over before you know it). It is pretty amazing how many events get crammed into the final month of the year—parties, potlucks, dinners, gift exchanges, numerous shopping trips to buy the perfect gift, get togethers with friends and family that you don’t seem to have the opportunity (or inclination) to socialize with the rest of the year. If you’re anything like me (and I hope you’re not), you probably start thinking about Christmas in October, then do nothing until December 9 or 10, and then feel like you’re in a losing race for the rest of the month. Your plans to host a party or dinner have to be abandoned because you just don’t have enough time. You may also end up double booking yourself or booking yourself for four parties in five nights which, when you’re not 19 anymore, is hard on your body.

I’ll be sharing a few tips to help you have a more enjoyable Christmas season today and tomorrow. Today’s tip is:

Start early
A friend of mine swears that you can never start planning too early for Christmas and I used to scoff at this. I’ve realized that it’s true: from buying decorations, gift wrap and other supplies (disposable plates, cutlery, napkins, etc) during the Boxing day or post-Christmas sales to asking family members for their wishlists at the end of the summer (or earlier!), the more time you give yourself to get ready, the more money you’ll save because you’ll actually be able to buy gifts when they go on sale rather than during the times where the demand is largest, meaning that not only are things more expensive, but the quantities are limited). Starting early means that you can afford to take the time to buy gifts that you’re confident that the recipient will like, because you’re not panicking and picking up the first thing that comes into your field of vision. You may even discover that you enjoy shopping, since it’s the unhurried leisurely variety, rather than the scenario of struggling to get through a crowded mall. The available selection is also larger earlier on in the season, so the chances of you getting exactly what you wanted to buy are much higher.

Tomorrow we’ll look at how to organize all the events you are involved in during the holiday season.