Not Resolutions but…Things To Do

While I was researching inspirational words that may help you choose and stick with your 2017 Resolutions, I came across this beautiful infographic. Then I read the article. She got it right!

Look over the infographic. Basically, she guiding us to rethink how we view Resolutions. Instead of writing up a list of things we may never accomplish and then consider ourselves failures when we fall short, the author recommends we spend each month improving ourselves in a particular way. It’s a challenge to spend the whole year cultivating good habits to replace the bad. By the end of the year, you’ll have twelve new habits that will benefit you for a lifetime.

All I can say is, I’m ready to reflect on how much more fabulous I’ll become in 2017.  Who’s with me?!

Read the full article here: http://www.cleverpedia.com/new-you-for-the-new-year-challenge

"Maybe, Christmas … perhaps … means a little bit more.”

“Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. Maybe, Christmas … perhaps … means a little bit more.”  ~ The Grinch

An old piece of wisdom says, “It take a village to raise a child.” I truly believe this to be true. Personally, my village had a looooooooooooot of people in it. My parents, friends of my parents, grandmother, my aunt and uncle, baby-sitters, priests, old mean nuns, extended family members, shop owners, teachers, scout leaders, dance teachers, etc… Shenanigans were NOT tolerated in my village. Sure, we could be kids but we couldn’t go crazy with that. I also want to say my village – not my peers – taught me invaluable life lessons.

One of the most profound lessons I’ve ever learned from my village was to remember the reason for the (Christmas) season. These days, we acknowledge and respect that other religions have important holidays at this time, too, so this blog won’t be about the reason for the season, per se. Instead, we’ll talk about how to get the most out of the holiday season in a way that EVERYONE benefits.

You’ll hear your family say this. Newscasters will say it. It’ll be a funny meme on social media.  …and it’ll be true. This time of year brings out the best in us all. We’re more cheerful, more loving, more generous, happier…the perfect time of year to do things for others!

This year, spend some time showing others the beauty of the season with Random Acts of Kindness. It’s a great way to teach little ones to be grateful for what they have. It’s an anonymous way to show someone who’s having a hard time a little act of charity they otherwise may be too proud to accept. And most importantly (for me), it helps us to remember that Christmas isn’t on sale or gift wrapped and placed under the Christmas tree.  …and of course, it’s another way to see the awesome beauty of a truly genuine smile.

Don’t think you don’t have the means to show Random Acts of Kindness. These ROAKs (as you’ll see them referred to on social media) can be as simple as helping someone at the grocery store load their groceries into the car (or in my case, haul them up 4 flights of stairs). Pump someone’s gas for them so they don’t have to get out of the car. Hold up traffic (safely) so the slower moving person can cross the street at their pace. Or, if your ambitions is to be the King or Queen of ROAKs, we have some great ideas that are sure to keep the recipient smiling for weeks!

 

Vending Machine Magic

Sometimes, the afternoon munchies hit hard! I don’t know about you but I rarely carry actual money anymore. I use a check card or credit card for most everything so I never have the right currency to raid the vending machine (which can be a blessing in disguise). Finding this ROAK would be right on time! You can also feed a meter or tape coins to a washer at the laundry mat.

Blessing Bags

I love, love, love this idea! Get gallon sized Ziploc bags and add snacks, hygiene products, money, socks, over the counter medicine … whatever you want. When you see a person hold a sign and asking for food or money, you gift them with a Blessing Bag.  Imagine how surprised and touched that person will feel.  Voila! Blessing bestowed, all thanks to you!

Pay Attention to Someone Who is Usually Overlooked

Give your Refuse Technicians (trash collectors) or Correspondence Coordinator (mail person) a shout out this holiday season! My mother always had us kids leave the mailman and trash collectors a holiday card with a $20 bill or gift card inside. “They do a lot for us through the year. They deserve a little something special.” You know what? She was right.

 

 

Pick Up the Tab

I don’t mean foot the bill for dinner at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse or the Capital Grille. Instead, when you’re in line getting a coffee, pay for the coffee behind you. If you’re in a McDonald’s drive-thru, pay for the car behind you. I got caught up in in a “pay it forward/pick up the tab” chain once. When the lady at the drive-thru window told me the car in front of me paid for my food, I paid for the car behind me. She said people had been paying it forward for at least an hour. It felt good to be a part of that and I hoped that the nice feeling we got from knowing someone paid for our meal would ripple through everything else we did that day. I think that’s the point of a “pay it forward” chain. Start your own “pay it forward” chain and know that you’re responsible for good vibes in the universe. We could use more good vibes.

Hopefully, you and your crew are inspired to show Random of Acts of Kindness during this holiday season. I am just as hopeful that you will be the recipient of Random Acts of Kindness; and if you should be, be sure to pay it forward!

If you are going to be a Random of Acts of Kindness Elf, please take pictures of your elf magic and post it to social media. Be sure to tag us @jbmhhfmwr!

“12 Days of Christmas” Workout

Yep. We have overeaten. We will overeat. We are planning to overeat. We are overeating. See where I’m going with this? It’s the holidays. Other than shopping, decorating, and watching holiday movies, what else do we do? We eat. In fact, we eat while we’re shopping, decorating, and watching holiday movies. It’s been said time and time again, we have a tendency to gather around food when it’s time to celebrate and be social.

Some old person once said, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” It took me a few years to figure this one out but basically, the gem of knowledge here is that it’s better not to gain holiday weight than work hard at trying to lose holiday weight.

As of January 1, there are exactly 148 days until Memorial Day weekend. You’ll be so glad you paid attention to your calorie intake and fitness routine when you debut a more toned and fit body at the beach, backyard BBQ, or pool party.

We don’t want to take the fun out of the holidays, though. We want you to enjoy the sweets you’ve waited for all year. We want you to sip the chocolatiest hot chocolate and dunk the sugariest sugar cookies in them. We just want you to do it all in moderation. We also want to see you up your fitness routine to accommodate the influx of holiday calories.

We know a little extra motivation is needed to go to the gym when it’s cold outside so we found a super cool fitness routine that you can do in the comfort and warmth of your own home. We also wanted to find a routine you’d want to do…maybe something the whole family could enjoy. What we found was the “12 Days of Christmas” Workout. You do each move just the way you’d sing the original version of “12 Days of Christmas.”   Like so:

“On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: 1 plank for 20 seconds.

On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: 2 burpees and 1 plank for 20 seconds.

On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: 3 push-ups, 2 burpees and 1 plank for 20 seconds.” You just keep adding days/exercises until you’ve done 12 high knees and finished with that last plank for 20 seconds. Pretty cool, huh?

Here’s the whole workout. Easy, right? Well, it’ll be fun if you include the whole family!

If this workout isn’t for you and you need something more scheduled (which is like me), try this 30 Day Holiday Workout Challenge. Most days, you have to put in work for a pretty decent workout. It’s not called a challenge for nothing. 

Still haven’t seen a workout that fits your personality? Try one of these holiday heart pumpers to keep Christmas calories at bay.

Ok, so maybe we went a little overboard trying to find a way to blend Christmas with working out. The point is to keep moving. Don’t get soft like Santa while you’re enjoying the holidays. It’s so easy to gain weight and so very hard to lose it in time for your summer reveal. If all else fells, just monitor your calories and try to get in 30 minutes of walking in each day. The weight will take care of itself.

If you have any tips and tricks for sticking to a health and fitness routine during the holidays, please let us know. We’d love to share your insights with others!

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!

DIY Gifts Can Make a HUGE Impression

I’ve never been a very crafty person. I tried to crochet but all I ever came up with was a reeeeally long and useless crocheted thing. I can’t draw or paint…or sign my name the same way twice. I tried to sew things but they never stayed sewn together. No, no. I realized a while ago that crafty things were not my strong suit. Instead, I have ideas!

When it comes to buying gifts, I try very hard to find something that delivers the “wow!” factor. It’s not that I want to one-up anyone, I just want to make sure the gift is memorable, useful, and that the gift receiver shows a very genuine smile when they open the gift. However, I struggle every year with do I buy big ticket items or things that are more personal? Sure, my single mom friend would love a Michael Kors bag but sometimes I think she’d appreciate a month’s worth of frozen dinners to use at her convenience.

I also catch a case of the “guilties” this time of year, too.  I know Christmas isn’t about store bought gifts but so many people look forward to getting the most popular gifts of the season (like the Michael Kors bag). Me? I have never been the person who wanted what was popular or trendy. I always wanted what was classic and timeless. So, I started thinking about how I could combine thoughtfulness with timelessness.  I came up with two ideas; the first was sticking to a budget (I even have to laugh at that one.  LOL!!!) and the other was DIY gifts. So, I put my brain to work figuring out DIY gifts that family and friends would find thoughtful, useful, and memorable.

I’m happy to report that I have been successful in finding DIY gifts that are so cool you may want to keep them for yourself. I’ve also known people to sell some of these DIY gifts to help stabilize the Christmas budget. Hopefully, you’ll be able to use one or two of these ideas as gifts. If not, maybe you can put them in your guest room over the holiday. Either way, these projects are easy to do, make a huge impact, and will always be remembered.

Bath Bombs, etc.

I am sooooooooooo late to the bath bomb craze! People have been enjoying these little fizz monsters for a while now. And, of course, they have a recipe for making bath bombs that seems as easy making a cake. Bath bombs (and bath salts and whipped body butters and shower steamers) come in all kinds of scents and purposes. Need a “pick me up, wake up” shower first thing in the morning? Try a citrus scented shower melt. Want to be gently lulled into peaceful slumber? Drop a lavender scented bath bomb in a warm bath. Need extra moisturizing during the winter months? Dip yourself in a homemade body butter made with three different kinds of butter.  If this sounds good to you, think of how the person you gift these to will react!

Flavored Butter

Think about it… It’s snowing outside. You’ve got on your cozy pajamas. You’ve just heard that OPM has closed the federal government for the day. The coffee is almost done and you’d love something warm to eat while you watch “I Love Lucy” re-runs. How does a biscuit or croissant - with little pockets of cinnamon honey butter nestled here and there - sound to you? Or, you and your loved one are set to have a romantic dinner; steak, a baked potato, and a wedge salad. Wouldn’t that steak taste like heaven with an onion/red wine butter melted over it? What I’m getting at here is that flavored butters make a great and unexpected addition to any snack or meal. Any foodie would love to have one or more of these flavored condiments for a gift!

Something Cozy

It’s December. It’s cold outside. Everyone will appreciate a nice scarf or hat as a gift. A pair of gloves are always needed. It’s just that these kind of gifts rank up there with socks and underwear. Sure, we need them but they aren’t fun. They’re not cool. They’re not exciting! Something cozy, that’s cool and exciting is an arm-knitted blanket. These are all “they’re” talking about. I don’t even think you need to know how to knit. YouTube has tutorials on how to make these gianormous and oh-so cozy blankets. You knit them using your arms as the knitting needles. How cool is that?? …and they are to die for!!

Potpourri

We all prefer that our houses smell less like cat and soccer cleats and more like suntan lotion or fresh apple pie. For a while, I had three males in my house…two teenagers and my husband. My second floor constantly smelled like armpits, Axe and ass. I should have bought stock in Glade candles based on how many I bought. Which made me think… Instead of buying a candle as a gift, make homemade potpourri. You can customize the scent and make as much or as little of it as you like. All of the ingredients are natural so you aren’t dealing with unknown chemicals in your home (which means the cat or your toddler can eat it without you having to worry). …and if you make the kind that simmers on the stove, your entire house will smell like a Thomas Kinkade painting. Cozy, cozy, cozy!

We’re all paying closer attention to our budgets these days. We want our money to last longer but we also want experiences and to have the finer things in life. In my short time on this planet, I’ve come to realize that, while having a Louis Vuitton bag is sheer, palpable joy, it’s nothing compared to being gifted something that is so “you”…something you know the gift giver spent time thinking about - and in this case - making. Your smile – and theirs – will turn out to be the best gift either of you give.

“Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. Maybe, Christmas … perhaps … means a little bit more.”  ~ The Grinch

If you make any of these items, please post your pics on social media and tag us @jbmhhfmwr.  We’d love to see your handy-work! If you have any DIY projects that would make good Christmas gifts, let us know in the comments below!