Category Archives: Blogging for good health!

Blogging for good health!, Habit Building, This -n- That

Snack Attack Hack!

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Is it too early to start eating the next meal? But you’re feeling a little hungry, and a bite of something would, “keep the big ones from eating the little ones,” as my mom used to say.

Just who the big and little ones were, I never figured out – but they were starting to wage a small battle in my tummy for sure.

How about a baby Snickers? Or just a bite of one? Ha! Bet you can’t do that!

Used to drive my students nuts taking one bite of Snickers a day until it was gone by Friday! LOL! That was back in the day when I ate Snickers.

I digress.

Point being: Wouldn’t an equal number of calories of any number of things, be equal to the body? Bite of Snickers vs. 15 red seedless grapes vs. 8 baby carrots?

If you are a long-time loyal reader of foodtalk4you, I’ve touched on this before. A calorie-for-calorie approach is not going to bring balanced health. Here’s why:

Just look at the labels. Snickers ingredients and nutrition:

Now look at the ingredient and nutrition labels on the grapes and carrots:

Oops! That’s right. There are no ingredient labels! If the snack choice isn’t obvious yet, let’s look at the nutritional breakdown of first grapes and then baby carrots:

With our COVID isolation hopefully winding down soon – I get vaccine #2 on March 10th! – I don’t want to literally roll out my front door carrying the weight of pandemic stress-eating around my waist.

Remember, any extra tonnage we might be lugging along with us was not put there overnight, and it won’t come off overnight either. Let’s do this one baby carrot, or grape, step at a time.

These two snack hacks will start your journey – and will tide you over between meals.

I’ve been doing this for a few weeks now, and can attest that I am feeling great, weigh less, and feel so much better about my food choices.

While that single bite of Snickers is gone in a flash and we are left wanting more, a snack of 10-15 grapes or 8 baby carrots takes much longer to eat, fills up that tummy, adds to our hydration, and provides positive nutrition.

Normally, a bowl of 10 grapes is all I care to eat at a time — they really are filling when nibbled on one at a time. Ten grapes have about 20 calories. There’s plenty of sugar to power up your activity, lots of water, and vital nutrients. These are great as an evening snack to munch on during a movie.

Carrots? Wow! My little bowl of 8 carrots can carry me a long time, and take a while to eat, as well. That’s the keen thing about these two choices, they are not going to be gone in a flash. Did you see the quantity of Vitamin A in 8 baby carrots? Good for the eyes!

Did you get your steps in today? While talking to two friends on my cell phone, I walked my yard like a Rumba! Got my step goal done and a little extra. Can’t beat being in the sunshine, while spreading friendship the only way we can right now!

Join me in using these snack hacks; what is learned while snacking can be applied to meals as well, but that’s another post.

In health-

Deidre

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Blogging for good health!, This -n- That, Titles Worth Reading

Got A Heart(string)?

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You can enjoy some kite-flying weather in the United States right now, but our post is not about kites today.

No, we’re talking about metaphorical heartstrings.

We don’t hear much about heartstrings anymore. You know the expressions, “That story really tugged at my heartstrings”? or “Zing! Went the strings of my heart”?

Most old sayings are rooted in truth. We do have strings in our heart called the chordae tendineae. They hang onto one of the two kinds of heart valve flaps we have, allowing them to close just enough during each beat.

Understanding the concept of love reaching out over the miles during a pandemic, or across space and time as in the Titanic love song, “My Heart Will Go On,” can be a tricky concept to explain to young children or even adults.

How do you paint the picture of feeling love, connection, or concern in your heart? How is it that we are connected? How do you demonstrate love never dies? How do we remain connected after physical separation?

One mother, Patrice Karst, sought a way to explain this phenomenon to her young son, Elijah, and in so doing, has given adults and children a physical way to see that which is invisible.

Her book called, The Invisible String was born. With a relatable, down-to-earth story, and masterful illustrations by Joanne Lew-Vriethoff, Patrice Karst brings to life the love ties that bind and connect us all.

  • Is your child anxious about leaving you when going to school, especially after staying at home so much?
  • Has a best friend moved away?
  • Is a parent being deployed?
  • Has a loved one died?
  • Is there a sense of disconnect because of travel restrictions?

I think this book will go a long way in demonstrating the strength and nature of love to young ones and will serve as a great reminder to the adults reading, The Invisible String, as well.

I have my copy! It’s ready to share with grandkids, and has already reminded me not to pout too much, when not hearing from someone for a while. That love string is still there. Maybe I need to make it stronger by reaching out to them.

Thank you, Natalie, my Facebook friend, for sharing this delightful book with me! Now, I am spreading the love by sharing it with my readers!

If you enjoyed this post, please share on social media, and click on the subscribe button so you won’t miss the next post.

In health and love-

Deidre

Blogging for good health!, Exercise, Habit Building

Just Breathe …

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One meal… One breath… One movement at a time…

Does that sound familiar? Yes! Good job! It’s the focus of foodtalk4you!

Today, I am going to share some breathing techniques that can instantly become a part of your toolkit for stress reduction. Hmmm. Sounds like another book title. More on new books later.

Right now, we’re going to focus on three specific techniques I shared this past weekend during a Zoom meeting. Listeners seemed to be taking notes, and one participant emailed me that the techniques had helped her through a stressful situation later that day.

But first … a short intro. We are born breathing using our diaphragm, and somewhere along the way, often become chest breathers. The difference being. we switched from using the large, strong diaphragm muscle to move the air in and out of our lungs, to using the smaller, secondary muscles of the upper chest.

As a test, notice if your shoulders are rising significantly as you take a nice big breath. Yes? You’re a chest breather. No? Is your belly moving out more than your shoulders move up? Well, you’re a belly breather – and probably a singer with some training on how to breathe.

Chest breathing is associated with our response to stressful situations – a part of that fight-or-flight response. Chronic chest breathing can increase tension in the head, neck, and shoulders. Belly, abdominal, or diaphragmatic breathing is more effective in moving air and leads to calming effects and responses.

When someone tries to help you calm down by saying, “breathe,” your best response is to mindfully take some slower breaths that allow your belly to move out with each new breath.

You can practice this technique by placing one hand on your chest and one hand on your belly. As you slowly breathe in and out through your nose, concentrate on shifting your breath to make your belly move more than your chest. The calming effect is almost immediate.

Armed with knowing how to breathe from your belly, let’s look at three easy techniques that can help you calm down in a jiff.

  1. Falling Out Breath – is excellent for physical tension, and we naturally do this when we groan. Try this: Inhale deeply into your belly, and at the top of the inhale, grab a bit more air. Then, exhale completely, making a sound. A sigh, groan – whatever. Do this a few times, and you’ll note a considerable sense of relaxation in your body.
  • Box Breath – is useful for clearing your mind. Not only will you be moving air more efficiently by breathing using your diaphragm, but your concentration on breathing will scatter whatever emotions or thoughts that are swirling in your head. Do this: Inhale to a count of 4. Hold for a count of 4. Exhale to a count of 4. Hold for a count of 4. Repeat several times. Magic, right? A minute or two of this each should help going to sleep.
  • Emptying breath – our last breath tool for today will deactivate that stress response and reactivate calming mechanisms. Try this for a minute or two: Inhale to a count of 3, and exhale to a count of 6, trying to get rid of as much air as possible.

Please don’t pass out from hyperventilation!

It may take some practice to do these techniques without getting woozy. Take things slow and easy, breathing using that diaphragm. Yes, your belly is going to need to move out – which may detract from your svelte profile – but you can suck it in after your nerves have calmed down.

To learn more about the benefits of deep breathing go here: Decrease stress by using your breath – Mayo Clinic

To learn more about the benefits of box breathing, check this out: Box Breathing: Techniques, Benefits, GIF, and More (healthline.com)

Many thanks to my daughter, Serena, who shared this book with me, Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art, by James Nestor.

What I have read of it online has convinced me to get a hard copy to study. You can expect some more posts in the future about this most important subject!

Breathe, dear readers.

In health-

Deidre

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Anti-Inflammatory Foods, Blogging for good health!, This -n- That

Beyond The Sunshine

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Our friend, Mr. Groundhog, was reluctantly pulled from his comfy den and was held up high in the air by a top hat festooned, bearded fellow. Others in similar garb declared the winter would hang around for another six weeks.

Sigh. Whatever.

Just give me some sunshine and I’ll be happy!

Wherever you are on the globe, it is probably being recommended that you supplement with Vitamin D in the winter, as the sun will be too low on the horizon to be effective in triggering the processes, starting in your exposed skin, to do any good. Plus, there’s hardly any exposed skin in the winter months.

I am citing the National Institutes of Health, NIH, today in daily normal and higher limits of vitamin D, and where to find this important vitamin in food sources.

Vitamin D – Health Professional Fact Sheet (nih.gov)

Vitamin D – Consumer (nih.gov)

The NIH offers the following recommendations:

The amount of Vitamin D you need each day depends on your age. Average daily recommended amounts are listed below in micrograms (mcg) and International Units (IU):

The daily upper limits for Vitamin D are listed below in micrograms (mcg) and international units (IU):

Please work with your health care provider to determine what your levels of Vitamin D are and how to proceed with supplementation.

In the meantime, we can get some of our Vitamin D from foods:

If you are like me and are a non-milk drinker and non-cereal eater, we’re left with cod liver oil, (in capsules, please!), and either rainbow trout or sockeye salmon with a raw mushroom salad for a substantial hit of Vitamin D.

Anyone with leanings toward vegetarianism/veganism should take note, and work with their doctors about this vital nutrient.

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin, which means it needs to be consumed along with a healthy fat to be absorbed by the body. Fortunately, salmon has such a fat in it, but use some healthy fats (olive oil) in the cooking or presentation of your food. Fat Free and highly processed dressings only contribute to not absorbing vital nutrients and expose you to highly-manipulated, food-like substances.

So, show extra love to your body in this season of love by dishing up some Vitamin D rich foods. A candlelight dinner featuring sockeye salmon or rainbow trout sounds mighty fine!

Love to all our readers who support the efforts of foodtalk4you by sharing our articles on Facebook, Twitter, and email. Couldn’t do this without you!

May you be a sunbeam to someone today.

In health-

Deidre

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Blogging for good health!, Recipes, This -n- That

Make Your valentine Happy – with Cookies!

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We have reinvented all the holidays and festive days now – except Valentine’s Day.

I consider St. Patrick’s Day to be the start of my COVID pandemic experience. Whew!

Hopefully, people converted their Super Bowl experiences this past Sunday into something that included whoever-is-in-your-bubble-game-watching. The world does not need another surge of hospital admissions.

I hosted my first ever Super Bowl Party last year – even created a tablecloth gridiron with helmet place cards. Was looking forward to a repeat. Darn. Just me and a mini gluten-free homemade pizza this time.

So, what can be done to spread the love at Valentine’s this year? How about a batch of 5-ingredient cookies to share?

I made these at Christmas and had such a blast making and sharing, I thought I’d do the same for Valentine’s. Not sure if they will survive the mailing journey to my kids or not. I may have to send them before pictures!

All credit goes to Southern Living magazine for the original. They included a recipe card for these cookies in a mailing last year, and I converted them to gluten-free, changed the vanilla extract to almond, and added a pinch of salt. Guess they are 5.5 ingredients now.

Here’s the recipe that is easy to fix and fun to decorate – solid therapy for getting into a great frame of mind. Here’s the recipe as I converted it:

Easy Gluten Free Sugar Cookies

Ingredients for cookies

½ cup/125 ml butter, softened

1 cup/250 ml powdered sugar

1 large egg

1 ½ tsp/7.5 ml vanilla or almond extract

1 ½ cups/375 ml gluten free flour – with extra for rolling out dough – I use Bob’s Red Mill brand

Pinch of salt, if desired

Method for cookies

Beat butter and powdered sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy.

Add egg and vanilla or almond extract and beat 30 seconds.

Add flour, beating at low speed until combined.

Place dough onto floured parchment paper and roll to ¼ inch/6.35 mm thick. I had to dust the dough with additional flour to keep from sticking to the rolling pin.

Transfer the parchment with flattened dough to a cookie sheet and chill in refrigerator for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 F/190.6 C.

Cut dough with lightly floured cookie cutters, place ½ inch/ 1.27 cm apart on parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Reroll scraps, and repeat process.

Bake in batches for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown around edges. Cool completely on wire rack.

Decorating Icing

2 cups/500 ml powdered sugar

1 ½ Tablespoons/22 ml meringue powder – I use Wilton Meringue Powder

A few drops of vanilla or almond extract, if desired

3-4 Tablespoons/45-60 ml water

Food coloring gels

Mix powdered sugar, meringue powder, and the least amount of water until smooth. If you want to pipe decorations, a thicker version will be desired. If you want to cover a large surface, a thinner icing would be preferred.

Divide icing into small bowls if using food color. Use a toothpick to dip into the colored gel and then stir into icing until color is evenly distributed. A little dab of coloring goes a long way!

Spread or pipe the icing onto cookies as desired. A toothpick is your good friend if floating a smooth surface. Check out Karla’s Cookies HERE: Karla’s Cookies (teachable.com) for a free tutorial on Royal Icing.

My Valentine’s cookies are humble, but clearly filled with love. It was an excellent afternoon’s worth of creative therapy and has given me a little something to share.

Enjoy! It would be wonderful to give each of you a cookie in thanks for being such loyal supporters of foodtalk4you, but you’ll have to make your own!

Please pass along this fun recipe post on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or email and make sure to subscribe so you won’t miss the next issue.

Happy Remodeled Valentine’s Day-

Deidre

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Blogging for good health!, Exercise, Habit Building, This -n- That

And I Repeat – Happy Groundhog Day!

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I feel a bit like Punxsutawney Phil today. He’s being hauled out of his snug spot to test the sunshine factor for prognostications about the duration of winter.

That’s me. Being drug out of my totally relaxed state of snugness to start the day. My gratitude each time for its opportunities, is invariably followed by the overwhelming urge to hit the snooze alarm.

I’ve told Alexa to nudge me awake with meditation music, which beats the effects of an alarm clock. Starting the day with a startle, a jolt, and an elevated heart rate seems counterproductive to greeting the day with a smile.

With nowhere to safely go, or any deadlines to meet, getting up can be problematic for me. There are still cool things to be accomplished at home, so I rely on my biggest motivator: Sunshine.

Sun streaming in my windows is my happy place. Curtains back, shades up – here comes the sun! If I dally in bed too long, the angle of the sun misses my home office, and inspiration is harder to find.

This is all said as a Segway to the fact – we need sunshine.

Remember learning about the “Sunshine Vitamin”? That vitamin we get through the sunshine that’s good for our bones? Well, it is vital for a lot more than that. Take a look:

As you can see from the chart above, this is an important part of staying healthy. Rays of sunlight trigger our skin and body to produce Vitamin D through a cascade of processes.

If strong bones and sound mind aren’t foremost on your mind, then something that is on everyone’s radar right now is the COVID-19 pandemic. I have read that 80% of those with COVID are/were deficient in Vitamin D.

Check it out HERE: New Study Found 80% of COVID-19 Patients Were Vitamin D Deficient (healthline.com) AND HERE: Low Vitamin D Levels Tied to Odds for Severe COVID (webmd.com).

The Mayo Clinic talks about this same correlation, but suggests the need for further testing –  Can vitamin D protect against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)? – Mayo Clinic.

The more I read about Vitamin D, the more I think we need to know our blood levels of this vital nutrient better than our astrological sign. Request that Vitamin D levels be checked at your next doctor’s appointment. Normal values are 30-74 ng/ml. An increasing portion of the population is very deficient. Why?

We are creating the perfect storm to become deficient: Young and old, people are not getting outdoors enough. Much exercise, if done at all, is accomplished in an indoor gym. We need some skin exposure to effective sun to start the chemical processes that create this vitamin in our bodies.

But how much sun? This depends on your latitude, your skin color (darker skin needs MORE exposure), time of day, and season.

Check here for details: How Much Time in the Sun Do You Need for Vitamin D? | US News.

Overall, 5-20 minutes twice a week, when your shadow is no longer than you are tall (between 10:00 am -3:00 pm). The early morning jog does not count toward making Vitamin D. Sorry. Roll up your sleeves and take a noon-day stroll.

Of course, skin cancer is on our minds as well. Experts agree that relying on facial exposure to the sun’s beams should be avoided. Wear a hat and/or use sunscreen on your face and ears.

Use of sunscreen is another part of the perfect storm. Give your arms and legs a few minutes in the sun before slathering up.

Finally, the trifecta involving obesity, Type II Diabetes Mellites, and Vitamin D deficiency creates the capstone to this storm.

A summary of research HERE: Vitamin D Deficiency, Obesity and Diabetes – PubMed (nih.gov) says:

Vitamin D deficiency reduces insulin secretion capacity of the islet beta cells in pancreas. Moreover, epidemiological studies have demonstrated that vitamin D deficiency is closely related to obesity and increased risk of T2DM. 

Just this one humble vitamin demonstrates the inner-connectedness of our wonderful bodies. Disrupting the delicate balance of proper body weight, alone, put so many other aspects dangerously out of kilter.

There are dietary risk factors I’ll touch on next week, along with where we can access Vitamin D through diet so, stay tuned.

Deidre Edwards

In the meantime, protecting face and ears, show a little skin to Mr. Sun for a few minutes each week as temperatures allow. My bundled up walk here in the Northern Hemisphere didn’t do much for my Vitamin D levels, but did wonders for my spirit and served as excellent exercise on a cold winter’s day.

In health,

Deidre

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Blogging for good health!, This -n- That

Hangin’ Out in Limbo Land

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Limbo Land. It’s a hard place to live.

Sometimes we don’t know when the end of whatever state we’re in will ever end. We may long for the end. Read COVID-19. Or we may dread the end. Read something good comes to an end.

Or we may be in limbo even knowing what we are hoping for.

Recalling the times of physical confinement related to being the sole caregiver to my sweet husband, I remember bristling at no longer being able to hop in the car to spontaneously dash somewhere. Take away the angst of seeing a loved one slowly deteriorate and losing a loved one – and I’m left with much the same feelings today.

Waiting to be free to travel.

Waiting to see family and friends face-to-face whenever we want.

Waiting to be unencumbered by wearing a mask.

Waiting for smiles. Waiting for hugs.

Waiting to meet new people.

Waiting.

Waiting in limbo land.

It takes a toll.

We’re wrestling with being in limbo. We’ve probably all been there and done that. What makes fighting an uncontrollable state of being in limbo winnable?

Accept that you are not going to win.

As citizens of the world, we are being asked to dig deep for that last push before enough people are protected by one of the vaccines. In the meantime, we keep on by following the love.

Love yourself and others by limiting public contact, staying socially distant, wearing a mask over our nose and mouth, and by washing our hands frequently.

Do we know when the end of this high-alert COVID-19 situation will end? No. But that does not give us reason to throw caution to the wind because we are so done with this!

More than ever, it’s time to show the love even more.

Show love to those weary, masked faces in the hospitals trying to save lives. Many lying in those COVID ICU wards didn’t really believe it would happen to them.

Now they are believers.

That’s not enough.

We must be believers NOW.

As we see the lines of ambulances searching for hours to find a place to leave their patients – remember –  and show the love.

As we see stretchers lining hallways for lack of rooms to house COVID patients – remember – and show the love.

As we see family photos with faces of many who will never make another portrait – remember – and show the love.

As we approach the month that remembers LOVE, be the agent of LOVE.

Bolster your sagging spirit by calling a friend. Send them an unexpected card that just says, “Thank you for being my friend.”

Facetime distant family members – it’s restorative!

And make time to do something that helps to purge those negative, pent-up emotions through exercise. Every time my exercise habits lag, so does my spirit. So does my body.

Show the LOVE to yourself by going for a brisk walk and in doing some strength training at home, using a video to guide you along. Whether using YouTube, an app, or your gym’s video link, shake a leg today to work out the stress of being in limbo land!

Control the things you can control. See a simple project through from start to finish. Get some accomplishments under your belt.

And show the love. We can do this!

In health-

Deidre

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Blogging for good health!, This -n- That

What You Say?

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Don’t you love it when an adage or truth is scientifically proven? Not that laboratory proof is needed when we know something works, but it’s just nice to be validated by science occasionally.

Talking things through has long been a cornerstone of cognitive and behavioral therapy. We just know talking about our feelings and reactions helps to put things into perspective. We’ve all experienced that release when, finally, we just “say it.”

Put it out there.

Label it.

A subset of just talking about things is referred to as journaling. Putting our thoughts and emotions into words on paper can be transformative when going through tough times.

These are things I share when talking about Caregiver Emotional Survival – but are applicable to virtually every aspect of life.

What got me down this delightful scientific rabbit hole this week was an online course offering through MasterClass. Why I started a course on “The Art of Negotiation,” by Chris Voss, I’m not sure.

Maybe it was reading about his mirroring techniques. All fascinating stuff. Good for hostage negotiators, frustrated parents of teenagers, or those looking for excellent techniques to negotiate a business deal, or asking the boss for a raise.

It was Chris Voss’s technique and description of labeling that got me Googling on the internet.

It turns out that, yes, when a person is experiencing negative emotions, getting them to label or identify that emotion will blunt the negative spiral they are experiencing. What happens is, they enlist contemplative evaluation processes in another part of the brain to find the label.

Scientifically, the part of the brain processing emotions, the amygdala, becomes less active after the subject puts a label on the negative emotion being experienced. Matthew Lieberman at UCLA, used Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, fMRI, to discover these things while monitoring people’s brains – when they viewed pictures that would elicit a negative emotion vs. when they verbally labeled their emotions.

In another article, Mitch Abblett explains that naming an emotion helps to tame that emotion. If you are experiencing one of those head-in-your-hands moments of emotional turmoil, putting a label on what you are feeling helps draw your hands away from your head (check out amygdala) so you can look at and evaluate what’s going on at a perspective-giving distance.

From this relative distance, we can respond to emotions and emotional situations with less of a knee-jerk reaction, and rely on a more thoughtful approach.

If you are looking to get a handle on how you are feeling, putting your emotions into words is a great first step. Using speech to do that is the preferred method, but writing is effective as well. I have had success with both methods.

Just using journaling, however, keeps your emotional cards close to your chest. At some point, putting your emotions into words that are there in the air to be heard, is the ultimate de-escalator for that amygdala buzz of feelings going on in your head.

Who we share those now-labeled emotions with is important. Maybe you want to sort out your feelings with a neutral third party before considering sharing them with others.

In any case, talking about emotions does tamp down the negative storm in the amygdala. It’s science!

So, how are you feeling?

There has been so much frustration, disappointment, and grief this year that our cumulative amygdala must be spiraling out of control. We need to be there for each other – there’s much to describe and label.

I hope this spurs Foodtalk4you readers into calling a friend or family member on a more regular basis to just check in with feelings – and be honest with yours as you pause to describe how you are really doing.

Here’s to taming negative emotions and ramping up the good ones.

In health-

Deidre

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Tame Reactive Emotions by Naming Them – Mindful

untitled (ucla.edu) – PDF of full study by Matthew Lieberman

Putting feelings into words: affect labeling disrupts amygdala activity in response to affective stimuli – PubMed (nih.gov)

Blogging for good health!, Stress Reduction, This -n- That

Hope and Blessings

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While some are gladly shredding any reminders of 2020, others are starting their new year with an uplifting time of remembrance.

What?

Who are these nut cases?

Well, I am!

In the first post of 2020 (HERE), I shared an idea that had come through my Facebook feed about starting a Blessings Jar. The habit of jotting down a few words about a blessing was well-established when COVID-19 became a driving force in our lives by mid-March.

Just having this unassuming jar sitting on my counter everyday provided a reminder there are blessings to be found in all circumstances.  I was already having so much fun viewing my little town’s Bear Drop Ceremony at 6:00 pm EST to be concerned with the Blessing Jar reveal on New Year’s Eve.

Masked, solo, and under an umbrella, I joined a small, socially-distanced group to bid an early and rainy goodbye to 2020. Because of COVID restrictions, there’s a 10:00 curfew, but – lucky for us – our sister city of Bern, Switzerland, was celebrating at midnight, when we were doing our Bear Drop earlier in the evening in New Bern, North Carolina. So, in terms of dropping the ball, ‘er Bear, we were all legit.

It was yet another blessing entry for my 2020 jar. The big revealing of a year’s blessings was delayed for me until January 5th.

So, last evening, out poured all the noted blessings of 2020. Reading each one created wave upon wave of gratitude, smiles, and happiness. How truly rich I am! Some papers simply had the name of a friend. My heart lifted them in prayers of gratitude along with the sincere hope that I was a blessing to them as well. Would my name appear in their jar?

The experience of reviewing each entry was far more powerful than I had imagined it would be. Strength giving. Transformative. Humbling. Heart-swelling with love.

And creative. I want to create blessings for others. Oh, how I wanted to be the force of blessing to others.

With each blessing comes a realization that there’s HOPE.

HOPE that we can endure anything if we have blessings. The blessings are there. We need to take our spirits out of the sludge of the daily news to see the blessings that are right before our eyes.

Since 2018, I have suggested to readers to use a Word of the Year to guide and color their intent – their approach – for the new year. (HERE: 2018 1 – 2019 1 – 2020 1)

There had been no great personal revelation for my Word this year until I put a couple things together while reviewing the contents of my blessings jar.

The first, was an ornament our church had given to each of us this year. One word in ceramic to remind each of us that there is hope.

The second, was that earnest desire springing forth to be more of a blessing to others by being that hope.

2021 is going to be my year of reflecting HOPE – doing and saying things that give HOPE – and being that HOPE for someone.

As my blessings jar starts to fill up in 2021, I am reminded of that HOPE and my role in being someone else’s blessing.

Be the HOPE-

Deidre

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Blogging for good health!, Stress Reduction, This -n- That

A Clean Slate For The New Year!

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When you think about it, the first of January is merely the day after December the 31st. While what we do is written on a new calendar, there isn’t a big tumultuous change. It’s just the next day.

Yet, we do feel like it’s a new start. Time to wipe the slate clean and start over.

That’s a good thing. So, let’s do it.

If we desire success in projects where there once was frustration and failure, let’s see what we can do to check off more victories.

As you ponder a few goals for the New Year, is there a voice in the background saying, “But it’s sooo hard! It’s going to take sooo much will power every day!”

No matter your goal, there will be daily dedication, discipline, and commitment – but things can be done to assure success.

I’m all about making jobs easier. The less you have to fight doing things the hard way, the better the chance you will succeed.  

The less effort needed to sort through lost or misplaced tools or equipment for your task, the more energy you will have to accomplish it.

Fewer distractions in your immediate environment mean you can more easily focus on the task at hand.

A favorite author of mine, James Clear, recently put it this way:

The more disciplined your environment is,

the less disciplined you need to be.

Don’t swim upstream.

If your goal for the new year is to eat better and maybe lose weight, then why challenge your self-control at every turn when your kitchen and refrigerator are filled with sugary, starchy junk food? Why put yourself through that?

When looking for an evening snack, why make yourself have to pass up on the kettle corn, the double fudge sandwich cookies, or snack-sized pizza bites before you grab an apple? Those items shouldn’t even be in your house if you are serious about improving your diet.

Save using your limited will power energy by removing the tempting distractions.

Be your own best friend by controlling your environment.

You want to write a best seller? Make a dedicated area, free of distractions, and commit to a small chunk of time every day.

You want to craft more or take up artwork? Create an area where needed supplies are always at hand and design your masterpiece.

Make 2021 the year you achieve your goals easier by controlling your environment.

In making health easier-

Deidre

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