Stress Relief for the Holidays

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you. I’ve had a busy week of working, shopping, and sneaking in a little bit of writing. It’s busier during the holidays for me, so I haven’t been able to write as much as I like to.  

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But enough about that. Today, I’d like to talk about dealing with stress during the holidays. It gets busier during the Christmas season and the first thing to go is our self-care routine.

Part of my self-care routine is exercising. I run, but since I’ve developed runner’s hip, I’ve taken up the elliptical machine to give my hip a rest. But I digress, any type of exercise this time of year is an excellent stress reliever. It gets those endorphins pumping.

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Another way to relieve stress is to take a few minutes and read a book. Reading for just fifteen minutes has been proven to reduce your stress level by sixty-eight percent. I love reading especially in the winter in front of the fire. It’s a great way to shut the world off and relax.

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Hiking is another way to relieve stress. Just getting out into nature and breathing the fresh air clears the cobwebs, and it’s healthy for you too. Hiking in the woods is great because you’re moving and releasing those endorphins, but also because you’re in nature and the trees release phytoncides that we breathe in. These organic compounds boost our immune system. It just goes to show you we’re all connected with the earth, so we should be taking care of it, but that’s another blog post for another time.

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Some people take up knitting or crocheting to relieve stress. I haven’t done this, but I’ve heard it’s an excellent way to relax. I’ve taken up painting, but since I’ve been writing, I haven’t had time to paint like I want to. I need to practice and strengthen my skills there. I’ll never be an artist, but it’s fun to take a break and paint.

Another excellent way to relieve stress is yoga. How could I forget yoga? It’s a great way to stretch those muscles and relieve the stress of sitting at a desk all day. I’ve always found yoga has relaxed me, and made me more aware at the same time.

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So there, you have it. Some stress relieving activities for the holidays. What are some of the ways you relieve stress? Leave a comment! I’d love to hear from you!

Dealing with a Narcissist during the Holidays

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you. I’m back today after a week of work and writing. We’ve had a snowstorm hit our area and the kids had a snow day on Friday. The storm continued through the weekend, so now we have a winter wonderland in our yard. Hubby put out some bird seed and my family of cardinals has returned. I’m so glad to see them. Something about their consistency gives me joy, but enough about that.

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Today, I’d like to talk about dealing with toxic relationships. Now, I’m not a therapist, but since the holidays are coming up many people don’t have a healthy family to celebrate with, and the holidays can bring these relationships to the forefront.

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For example, what if you have a narcissist in your family. These people are extremely difficult to be around.  They manipulate unsuspecting family members by playing the victim or by piling on the praise. They also try to ostracize family members they can’t manipulate. The reason they do this is because they need to be the center of attention.

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These people are hard to be around. The best way to handle them is to detach so they can’t manipulate you. If you have a narcissist in your family, try to keep your distance and get through the holiday. You might be the only one who knows they’re a narcissist. So, any kind of confrontation could end badly with other family members taking the narcissist’s side.

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Trust me, if you detach from them and accept them for what they are, you’ll be better off in the long run. There are other toxic relationships in families, but the narcissistic one seems to be the most devastating. Once you let go of trying to change them or your family members, you’re a long way toward alleviating the narcissist’s negative effect on your life.

On that note, let’s be kind to everyone. We don’t know what kind of family dynamics they’re returning to, and we don’t want to make the holidays any harder for them.

How about you? How do you handle toxic family dynamics? Leave a comment! I’d love to hear from you!

The Importance of Family Traditions

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you. I’m back today after a busy week of writing, working, and throwing a bridal shower for my niece to be.

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It was a hectic week to say the least and I didn’t get much writing done, but that’s okay. It was nice to see members of my family that I haven’t seen in a long time, and it was nice to welcome my niece to be into the family.

But enough about that. Today I’d like to talk about the importance of family traditions. I was able to take a few moments, in between making sure everything ran smoothly and making sure everyone’s glass was full, where I was able to sit down with my cousins and talk about the changes between our generation and the current one.

When my cousins and I were growing up, we played outside as much as we possibly could. I remember going over to my grandparents and as soon as all of us cousins arrived, we’d go over to the empty field across the street and play kickball. I loved going over to my grandparents so I could play with my cousins. I didn’t know it then, but we were making memories and learning how to negotiate and get along with other people. Our parents took photos of us during those kickball games to put into photo albums, so we’d be able to look back and reminisce.

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I remember holidays together where we’d all sit around the table and eat turkey and stuffing. It didn’t matter if it was Thanksgiving or Christmas, we always had turkey. Both my parents came from big families, six siblings on both sides, so there were aunts and uncles galore.

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I remember lots of love and laughter.

It’s important to keep those family traditions going. We’re going to lose something if we don’t. I see it in my own family. Now, that my aunts and uncles are getting older, it’s harder for them to host the big family holidays. I know as soon as my mom gives up hosting Christmas, I’ll take care of it, but it’ll be with my siblings and their families. I’m going to miss the extended family celebrations we’ve had in the past where all my aunts and uncles get together. I’m trying to figure out a way we can still do it. It has become too much work for my mom to host them.

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Family traditions are so important. It gives us something to look forward to in the daily grind of life. It’s a way to stay connected. To tell family stories and learn about our ancestors. I’ve learned things I never knew about my grandparents and their parents just sitting around the table chatting.

With so many people staying connected via social media, I predict some of these big family get-togethers are going by the wayside. I hope not. We will lose something in the process.

I don’t want our family history to be lost to Face book posts. It’s such a great way to connect when you actually get together in person and chat face to face. I think about all the family stories that’ll be lost if we don’t get together. Maybe it’s time I wrote a story about our family and put our history on paper.  

That’s one way to keep our history alive. How about you, what family traditions do you have that you don’t want to lose? Leave a comment! I’d love to hear from you!

Just saw this on Face book and thought it was appropriate for this blog post! LOL! My sick sense of humor rearing its ugly head!

Happy Father’s Day!

To all you Dad’s out there! Celebrate your day!

 

Merry Christmas!

 

 

I hope you all have a Merry Christmas! Thank you for a wonderful year of blogging. I appreciate every one of you!

 

Kindness Matters

 

Hello everyone. I hope all is well with you. The holidays are upon us and I’ve had a busy weekend with Christmas shopping and decorating. Later tonight, we’re putting up our tree. So, I haven’t gotten much writing done. So, it begins…tis the season where I struggle to find time to write. It happens every year and this year is no different. Hopefully, I’ll find some time to do it. I do get a little cranky when I don’t get my writing time. 😉

 

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Anyway, enough about that. Today, I’d like to talk about kindness during the holiday season. I remember growing up, we would always spend Christmas Eve with my dad’s side of the family and Christmas Day with my Mom’s side of the family. I remember looking forward to those holidays with so much excitement. I loved getting together with my cousins and everyone was in such a good mood. I loved Christmas. I loved all of it, the food, the presents, and the high spirits. That’s what Christmas means to me, but it isn’t like that for everyone.

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I know many people have painful memories of Christmas. It’s a lonely time of year for them. There has been speculation that the suicide rate increases during the holiday season, but that has been debunked. In my research, I’ve found the suicide rate rises after the holiday season is over.  What this tells me is people can’t pull themselves out of that downward spiral that occurs during Christmas. So, it’s more important than ever to be kind to our co-workers and people we meet along the way. You never know what people are going through.

Kindness does matter, even if our acts seem to go unnoticed, they are not. They’re felt by the people we touch and they’re able to pass that kindness on. It’s the ripple effect, and it does exist.

I know the holidays are about family, but for many people, their family is the problem. They may have toxic relationships inside their family that they can’t change. If you know anybody like this, extend an invitation to them to spend part of the holidays with you. So, they can find a safe place to decompress if they need to from the toxicity of their own environments.

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So, please be kind to everyone you meet. You never know when you might be the person to turn someone’s day around.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my post. I hope the holidays don’t have you frazzled. Do you have memories of someone’s kindness to you? Leave a comment! I’d love to hear from you!

The Ripple Effect

 

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you. I’m back today after a busy holiday. It was a Happy Thanksgiving for the Orchards and I hope it was for you as well. Now, the Christmas season has officially begun, and I’m excited. It’s my favorite time of year because I love shopping for Christmas and finding gifts for everyone and the lights! All those awesome Christmas lights!

 

 

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But enough about that. Today I want to talk about the way women view their bodies. We’ve been conditioned by society to believe we need to fix our imperfections and the only way we can do this is by buying what “they’re” selling, whether it’s clothes, makeup, or exercise equipment.

Instead of focusing on our supposed imperfections let’s focus on how our body feels. Does it feel healthy? Does it feel strong? Can I do all the activities I want?

If we focus on how we feel instead of how we look, we’ll be happier. For example, when I run, I feel awesome afterward. I have a lot of energy and the endorphins are bursting through my body. I feel good for hours afterward and I feel healthy and strong.

 

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When I’m taking care of my body in this way, I’m not worried about how I look because I feel so good. I accomplish more, my mind’s clearer, and I feel great.

I don’t pick at my imperfections because I’m focused on what I want to accomplish and my relationships. Which is where my focus should be. Then my relationships grow stronger and I’m happier. All because I’m taking care of myself.

Taking care of myself causes a ripple effect. It affects my relationships with my hubby and my kids. Because I’m healthier, I’m less reactive. I’m more proactive and focused on my goals. I accomplish more and that makes me feel better about myself, too. It’s good for my self-esteem when I set goals and accomplish them. This all stems from the fact that I started taking care of myself.

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I should add, that another part of taking care of myself is eating a healthy diet. I don’t feel I need to go into a lot of detail about that because you all know what a healthy diet is. 😉

So, if you don’t have a self-care routine, develop one and see what kind of ripple effect it could have on your life.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my post. What are some of the ways you take care of yourself? Do you see a ripple effect happening in your life because of it? Leave a comment! I’d love to hear from you!

Merry Christmas

 

 

Merry Christmas to all of my readers and followers. I love and appreciate all of you. I’m taking this weekend to prepare for the holidays and spend time with my family and friends.

I hope all of you make wonderful memories.

I will be back next week.

Hugs. 🙂

 

Happy Mother’s Day!

 

Hello everyone! I hope all is well with you! I’m back today to wish everyone a Happy Mother’s Day! Now get off the internet and enjoy your day! 🙂 I’ll be back next week with our regularly scheduled post! 🙂