Cell Phone Stress

I am often amazed when I see people talking on their cell phones. It has become a national obsession. I like my cell phone – I really do. I feel more secure knowing that my family can reach me if they need to and that I am only a phone call away from the office.

I just don’t understand the need to talk on it constantly. I personally feel that cell phones are adding to our daily stress. Recently I was shopping with my daughter. It was getting late, and I wanted to call three friends before the night was over. I did something that I never do and used my cell phone to call them from the store.

As I followed my daughter around the store, hardly paying any attention to her, I tried to concentrate on the calls. All I really wanted to do was say a quick hello and speak to them the next day. By the time I hung up from the third call, I was totally stressed.

I had wandered around the store aimlessly, trailing behind my daughter. I had given up precious time that I could have spent with her. My friends did not get my full attention as I normally would have given them.

I felt stressed and disconnected. And I felt guilty because my daughter had all but been ignored. I learned a great lesson. Cell phones can be a wonderful accessory and certainly helpful in an emergency. But they can also add undue stress and cause us to lose focus on what is truly important.

Golden Rays

Today is another sunny beautiful morning. The golden rays of sunshine woke me up again today and instantly put a smile on my face. What a healthy, happy and relaxing way to start the day! I love when the sun shines through the blinds and slowly wakes me up with nature's alarm clock. There is also something very grounding about. It reminds me that we are all energy and all connected. When I close my eyes on a morning like this to do my early meditation, I continue to picture the sun's golden rays surrounding and warming me. What a perfect way to start the day!

What a Beautful Day for Walking

Walking is such a fantastic way to exercise and energize. I particularly love those mornings when the birds are chirping and the leaves are rustling in the trees. I think I am addicted to the sounds of nature. Even when I am working at my computer I love listening to these same sounds through my window. After walking, the sounds of spring stay with me and continue to brighten my day. Treadmills are great in the really cold or bad weather but nothing beats a morning jaunt on a beautiful day.

Oven Fries Great in the Summer Too

I really like crispy veggie burgers and portabella mushrooms on the grill. They are so good on organic whole grain buns. My thing is that I prefer hot potatoes to potato salad or macaroni salad.

So all year long I love to make oven fries. I cut 4 to 6 russet potatoes into chunks. While they are still wet from slicing, I put them in a plastic bag that has about 1/2 cup of seasoned bread crumbs with a little parmesan cheese added. I use a Misto spritzer to spray some olive oil on top.

I place the potatoes on non stick aluminum foil in a shallow baking pan. Then I bake them for about 25 minutes in a preheated 450 degree oven. They really taste great.

Sometimes I omit the breadcrumb mixture. I spray the potatoes lightly with the Misto and add a little kosher salt. The cooking time and temperature are the same. Totally wonderful all year long.

Stop the Circle of Bad Thoughts

Most people, including me, keep replaying bad thoughts over and over again in our minds. If we feel that someone has wronged us, the thought lingers in our minds well after the deed is done. As women, we have long memories -- great for some things, bad for others.

These bad thoughts and feelings can be so destruction that they overshadow the good feelings and thoughts we might otherwise be feeling. So the damage is to ourselves more than to those around us. Although, we must admit that when we are thinking bad thoughts, we might not be too pleasant to be around!

Here's an easy way I found to eliminate those nasty bad thoughts. Put your head down towards your chest. Think of the thought that is bothering you. Now just release it; let it dissipate or pretend there is a funnel that the bad thought flows through to leave your body. Do this a few times until the feeling is gone. It really works!

Put on a Happy Face

It is amazing how one small change in a facial feature can make such a difference. I find that even the smallest smile makes me happy. Even if I feel overworked or stressed just putting a tiny grin on my face seems to do the trick. That one small change seems to brighter my eyes and my mood. I think that sometimes we just get too serious during the day-- with so many errands, chores, work and family responsibilities that we forget to take a moment to feel good. A little smile goes a long way in uplifting spirits and giving us the energy to accomplish more with a happy heart.

Yummy Grilled Peaches

I just had the most wonderful organic peaches that were grilled outdoors. I split the peaches in half and took out the pits. Then I put them in a basket on the barbeque with a little squirt of lime juice. When they were soft, we ate them with some organic yogurt. What a special treat. They are great with a little cinnamon or nutmeg added.

Treat Yourself

Healthy eating is great. I especially love the way that organic fruit tastes-- so unbelievably sweet. The flavor of organic fresh fruits and vegetables just can't be beat. But every now and then I like to have something crunchy -- something like potato chips but without all of the fats and other unhealthy ingredients. This week I tried organic corn chips. The flavor was so much stronger that any of the old junk food I used to eat. Plus a little goes a long way.

Count Down Your Stress

Stressed? Who isn't? Let's face it; people and your daily life are going to get you down even if your day starts out great. Here's an easy way to reduce stress -- sit quietly, close your eyes, count backwards from 50 to 1 (or 100 to 1) while breathing deeply. Just concentrate on counting and breathing and let your thoughts just drift by. Before you get to 1, you'll be feeling less stressed and ready to go.

The Majesty of Nature

My thirteen year old daughter is in Italy, and I'm here at home. She's having a great time, and I'm miserable and lonely without her. When I spoke to her last night she was so excited and happy even though she was exhausted. She was standing by the balcony of her hotel room gazing at the water and mountains in Sorrento. She said that the landscape was magnificent and that everywhere she looked was breathtaking beauty. The entire day had been filled with unbelievably gorgeous sites.

When I got up this morning, I opened my windows and gazed into the sunny blue sky and thought of her. My spirits immediately brightened. God and nature are so wonderful, connecting us all, and gracing us with their magnificence and awesome majesty. Although we are thousands of miles apart, I felt that same connection with her that I always have.

How wonderful that we can both look around us and appreciate the beauty, peace and serenity that nature offers.

An Ounce of Enthusiasm

I love affirmations. I really do. They keep the positive momentum going during the day -- that is, when they are done correctly. To really be effective an affirmation has to have some great emotional power behind it. Otherwise, the affirmation is nothing more than repetitive words. Thinking the affirmation in your mind with some enthusiasm or some very visual pictures is wonderful. To see if you really mean it though, try saying the affirmation out loud. Do you really believe the affirmation in your heart or does it sound phony? Try adding some enthusiastic positive emotion and acting as if what you want has already occurred. You don't have to believe it completely -- you just need an ounce of faith. Once you get that enthusiasm going, your subconscious mind will take over. Then the magic begins.