Putting Yourself First – Living For Health and Wellness

Pride is one of the Seven Deadly Sins, and modesty, a virtue.  So is it any wonder that moms, work at home moms, and women in general have a hard times taking care of themselves first and setting aside time each day to improve mind, body and spirit?

As a mother, it is especially hard to find time in our hectic lives to pamper ourselves and to de-stress.  However it is of the utmost importance that we do so, so that our mind can center itself, the body can relax and the spirit can be renewed.  And although we sometimes get so busy that we forget to do these things, I would encourage you to somehow remind yourself to take this daily time to yourself, whether by using post-it notes, an alarm clock, and a note on the calendar, or even a computer reminder!

When you take time for yourself, it doesn’t have to be a long time (although, the longer you can afford to relax, the better!), because it is the quality of time that counts, not the length of time.  You start with taking just 15 to 30 minutes every day to let yourself unwind and relax.  This can be really early in the morning before the children wake up, during a lunch break, right before bed, or any other time that fits your schedule.

Here are some ideas that you can use to get started with your daily time to help yourself de-stress.  Please feel free to modify these ideas in any way to fit your lifestyle or personality!

Meditation – Meditating has a reputation for sounding much harder to do than it really is.  Take a few moments to either lie down or sit comfortably and clear your mind of worries, daily stresses, or other intrusive thoughts.  Relax your entire body and try to clear your mind, focusing only on deep, diaphragmatic breaths.  You can meditate for as long as you would like to.

Take a Warm Bath – Water has its own peculiar way of taking away stresses, relaxing the body and helping us to unwind.  But when you are putting yourself first and taking care of yourself, you don’t want this to be a short to-the-point bath.  Take time to add scented oil or bubble bath, fix yourself a cup of hot tea or cocoa, grab a favorite book and have a luxurious soak!

Prayer – No matter what your religious beliefs are, prayer has been shown to relax the mind and soothe the soul.  Take a few moments to pray or simply be grateful for what you have in your life.  This helps you center your spiritual self as well as to focus on you for a while.

Yoga – Yoga is so much more than twisting oneself into a pretzel.  Most beginners yoga poses are very easy to do, and help you to focus your mind, body and spirit all at once!

These are just a few of the ideas you can use when you take time for yourself.  However, putting yourself first doesn’t mean simply taking 30 minutes everyday for mom.  It also means that your own basic needs must be met everyday.  What are these needs?  Abraham Maslow. a humanistic psychologist developed a hierarchy of basic needs that every human being has. Let’s take a look at these needs and how they relate to you as a work at home mother.

1.  Physiological Needs

These include the very basic needs that are the most necessary to a human being.  They are: oxygen, food, water, sleep, and a relatively constant body temperature.  If these needs are not fulfilled they can influence your thoughts and behaviors, cause you to become sick or even cause pain, discomfort or death.

2. Safety Needs

When a person’s physiological needs are met, then the need for safety will come next – whenever one stage is fulfilled, the next stage suddenly becomes more important.  Safety needs include: physical safety (from violence, aggression, etc.), a secure home, secure employment, security of revenues and resources, moral and physiological security, family security, security of health, and security of personal property against crime.

3.  Love/Social Needs

The third layer of Maslow’s hierarchy after physiological needs and safety needs are those involving your emotionally-based relationships, including: having healthy friendships, sexual intimacy, and having a supportive and communicative family.  This includes feeling as if you belong and are accepted, and feeling loved as well as loving others.

4.  Esteem Needs

All human beings have the need to feel as if they are respected and to have self-respect.  Therefore the 4th level of needs include:  self-esteem, confidence, achievement, respect of others and respect by others.

5. Self-Actualization

The fifth and final level of basic needs is self-actualization, which is the instinctual need of human beings to make the most of their abilities and strive to be the best that they can be.  Self-actualization can best be described as reaching one’s fullest potential.  These needs can include (but are not limited to): morality, creativity, spontaneity, problem solving, and lack of prejudice and acceptance of facts.

With these basic needs in mind, think carefully…what needs of your own are you meeting?  Which are you neglecting?  At any given moment, think about which layer of the hierarchy you are on at the moment.  Can you improve this?

Even though as a mother, you have a responsibility to meet the needs of your children and family, you also have an obligation to take care of yourself first.  Because, quite simply, you cannot fully take care of others if you are not making sure your own needs are met first.  So each day, keep in mind what your own needs are, and see that you are taking care of yourself first so that you can take even better care of your family and loved ones.

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Article Source: http://www.faithfulgrannies.com

About the Author:  Stephanie Davies is a WAHM from Mid-Missouri.  She loves to read, write, knit, watch movies, build websites and surf the internet.  Her website at http://www.hostingwahms.com provides website hosting and other online services to work at home parents.  She recommends Christian Work From Home Moms and Grandparents http://www.faithfulgrannies.com as a great online source for work at home moms.

Good Thinking

You have a very realistic view of your possible future, but it might feel as if a friend or coworker is standing in your way. Thankfully, you have a specific mission now and you are not inclined to let others run your private affairs. Remember you can still care about someone, even if you won't back down. State what you feel is non-negotiable, but be kind in your delivery.

Taking Up a New Hobby

New Year Resolution: Taking Up a New Hobby It's never to late.

People make New Year’s resolutions for a variety of reasons, but at the core is a desire to change. While many people may choose resolutions where they are making sweeping changes to their lives – losing weight, stopping smoking, getting their finances in order – some people just make the resolution of taking up a new hobby.

When thinking about taking up a new hobby, it doesn’t have to be starting a coin collection. Hobbies are activities or interests which are practiced or engaged in mostly for pleasure and outside of your regular job. The benefits of having a hobby are varied.

One of the most important reasons for having a hobby is that it gives you an outlet for enjoyment rather than concentrating only on work. Another benefit is that hobbies allow you to spend time learning a new skill. Depending upon your hobby, you may actually have something physical to show for it when you spend time on your hobby.

Another reason for having hobbies is that it can actually help you to get a job. Employers want employees who are well rounded and have interests outside of work. They will probably ask you about your hobbies or activities you enjoy when you’re away from work.

What are some types of things you have always wanted to do but haven’t taken the time to learn? Some people want to learn to play an instrument, learn a new language or something similar. Now is the perfect time to take up a new hobby or learn a new skill.

Take up running and work toward running a short marathon. Learn to ice skate or you can learn to rollerblade if that’s more to your liking. Find a team sport to join if you prefer to spend time with other people. Softball, baseball, soccer and basketball are great team sports to play.

Find other people who share your interest. These could be people you meet in person or those you meet online. Look for forums or organizations related to the interests you have and then join in the fun!

Be sure to find a hobby that you will enjoy and not something you will have to force yourself into doing. If you love taking photographs you may want to set up a darkroom and learn to develop black and white film. However, just because you love to take pictures doesn’t mean you have to do scrapbooking. There’s no reason why you can’t take pictures and share them with others or let someone else put together a scrapbook out of the photos you’ve taken.

If you want to start a collection, begin your collection with something you may already have. Do you have a box of Barbie dolls in the attic? They may be worth money and be the perfect choice of a new collection. Men can start with their childhood baseball cards. Remember, you want to find something you can afford and enjoy.

Taking up a new hobby is a great New Year’s resolution. Think about your interests or what you’ve always wanted to learn. Knowing these things will give you some ideas of what New Year’s resolutions to make but you don’t have to wait until the New Year to begin.

New Year - New You

New Year - New You: How to Stay Motivated and Focused as WAHM

The new year is a great time for work at home moms (WAHM) to reaffirm their goals and boost their motivation. It's a great time to review the last year and to plan for the new year.
In fact, the new year can be the perfect time to reinvent yourself, your schedule and your business's systems. It's the perfect time to start anew.

Here's how to stay motivated and focused as a work at home mom this new year's.

==> Review the Past Year: Passion & Results

There are two things about the past year that need reviewing.
First of all, take a look at your results. Did you meet the goals you set for yourself over the last year?
How much did you earn? How are the other metrics in your business doing - things like traffic, number of paying clients, number of subscribers and so on.
Celebrate the successes and look for lessons in the places where you fell short.
The other area to review is your own personal passions. Over the last year, chances are you've experimented with a number of different things in your online business.
What did you find you particularly enjoyed? Were there things you did that you didn't particularly enjoy? What would increase your quality of life if you did it all the time; and what would you rather not have to do this new year?
Business isn't just about profit; it's about doing what you love as well.

==> Starting the New Year with a Burst of Motivation

Start this new year by writing out a number of goals that are both exciting and within reach. Make it a stretch, but make it also a reasonable goal.
Write out most of your goals in a tangible, measurable manner. For example, you want to be earning X dollars a month by the end of the year or you want to have Y amount of traffic.
However, you'll also want to have a few goals that aren't metrics-based. For example, you might want to get healthier and more energetic by doing yoga and changing your diet. You might want to spend more time with your kids.
Once you've written all your goals down, put your paper down and take a moment to visualize yourself one year from now. Imagine this person having achieved all their goals. Feel what it's like to be that person. Step into that person.
Take that feeling and bring it back to today. Are you ready to create that life for yourself? If so, reaffirm to yourself that you're going to hit all the goals you laid out for the year. Use this motivation to move forward as your launching pad into the new yea

New Year's Eve Party Ideas

 New Year's Eve Party Ideas for the Whole Family

It’s not unusual for adults to celebrate New Year’s Eve by staying up to welcome in the New Year.  This year, however, why not try one of these New Year’s Eve party ideas for the whole family to celebrate together? 

Invite some friends with children to join you for a New Year’s Eve party the entire family can enjoy.  Start early enough so that the youngest children will be able to have fun before they get too sleepy.  You may want to plan on having a big slumber party since everyone will want to stay up to welcome in the New Year.  This way, if someone isn’t able to remain awake, they don’t have to worry about falling asleep on the trip home.

Stock up on plenty of snacks for the evening or ask each family to chip in by bringing something to share.  If you’re having a themed party, try to have food that will work well with your theme.  Since there will be children present, you may want to serve only non-alcoholic drinks.

You may want to have games planned for children, teens, and adults if there will guests from each age group.  Of course, the teenagers may decide to play the adult games if the adults agree.  For those people that aren’t interested in playing games, have several family-friendly movies available.

When you send out invitations to the party, why not include a request that everyone bring along an item to put into a time capsule.  The items should be small but meaningful to the person bringing them.  (Provide labels and a pen so everyone can identify their own items when the time capsule is opened at some point in the future.)  Bury or hide the time capsule so that it will remain untouched until a designated time, possibly in one or two years on New Year’s Eve.

Be sure to have several disposable cameras handy or ask your friends to bring their own cameras.  With all the fun that’s sure to be had you’ll want to get pictures of the festivities.  After the New Year has started, you may want to get together and create scrapbooks of the evening. 

Since the parents are going to be at the party with their children, see if they would be willing to allow the children to try to stay up and welcome in the New Year.  It’s not often that children stay up until midnight, and they probably won’t be able to stay awake that long, but let them try.

It’s a great idea to use these New Year’s party ideas for the whole family to enjoy.  Invite friends with children and you’ll double or triple the amount of fun your family would have on their own.  Remember that New Year’s Eve only comes around once a year, so be sure to enjoy yourselves and create precious memories for one and all.

Green Christmas Presents Also Mean Green Wrapping and Green Cards

Green Christmas Presents

Also Mean Green Wrapping and Green Cards

 

Green Christmas presents aren't just about what you choose to give as a gift - it's also important to think about wrapping paper and even the greetings cards you're sending out. Christmas cards are a fantastic way to get in touch with people who you may not have spoken to for a while, and are perfect for sending good wishes to family and friends. However, the numbers quickly add up, and most of us will end up using huge amounts of card for these yearly greetings. There are ways in which you can minimize the environmental impact of the cards you send.

Make Your Own Cards

If you're really feeling creative then why not try making your own cards from recycled materials? You can use parts of old greetings cards, or scraps of card, to put together cards that are personal and fun. This is an especially good idea if you've got kids who enjoy arts and crafts!

 You can also go digital and design your own cards on the computer. This can be another fun project for you or the kids and is an easy way to send out cards without wasting any paper at all! Save the paper cards for only your closest friends and family and you'll be helping to save a lot of trees this Christmas.

Wrapping Gifts

A lot of gift wrap is difficult to recycle, especially since it gets torn up and thrown out with other trash! Try not to add to this waste by using recycled materials to wrap your green Christmas presents, such as old newspapers, magazines, old brown paper bags, or wrapping that you've salvaged from previous years. Most people won't mind you wrapping in this way - in fact, you can usually make it look unique and creative with a little effort! If you still want to buy wrapping paper, many stores now sell recycled options.

After Christmas

Once Christmas is over you'll likely be left with a huge number of Christmas cards that no longer have any use. It's important that you recycle cards as much as possible - whether this means re-using them for your kids' craft projects, or dropping them off at local stores who include a Christmas card recycling point.

Although these are easier to recycle, you should also try to save as many envelopes as you can when receiving cards. When it comes time to send cards again, you can reuse the better quality envelopes by using special “reuse labels” to cover up old details. This is a habit you can continue throughout the year, too!

 You can also recycle holiday gift wrap. When unwrapping gifts, try to do it carefully rather than tearing it all and you can use it as is. This is the perfect way to turn the presents you receive into more green Christmas presents!

Snowmen Treats

These are too cute for words!! Nutterbutter Snowmen Treats!! I'm guessing it's just white chocolate coating, but I am sure you can use any white candy coating or yogurt coating ;)