by | Sep 26, 2021 | From the Heart |
Because you spend most of your time at home, make sure it’s peaceful, relaxing, and a happy place. It’s not about investing in expensive decor or new furniture; it’s about the small things that make all the difference. Here are six simple things to do.
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Clean Your House Every Day
Don’t just clean the house when it is messy. Have a schedule, so you’ll always know what needs to be done next, and it’ll never pile up. Simple things like dusting the counters, sweeping the floor, and straightening up your room will make a big difference. Once in a while, call a professional for a deep cleaning exercise that leaves your house healthier, brighter, and smelling good.
Make Your Home a Place You Can Relax
The world can be a tricky place where you’re always under pressure to be perfect in everything you do. However, your home is where you can unwind, be yourself, and just let go. Give your home some love, put pictures of your loved ones out and decorate according to your style.
Additionally, keep plants or pets around for company, cook easy meals on the eyes, and make sounds you enjoy listening to. Filling your home with great tunes such as pink panther sheet music lightens up the mood, makes your home more inviting and calm.
Let Everyone Feel Loved and Appreciated
Happiness is infectious. When other family members are happy, you will be too. Make it a point to appreciate your family members for their excellent qualities or do something that makes them happy.
For example, if your mom likes flowers, put fresh ones every week on the dining table. Does your dad love cooking? Cook together one evening. Would your sister love to learn how to fix things around the house? Show her how to do it. Everyone has their way of expressing love, so spend time with the people you live with and love them for who they are.
Let in More Light
A brightly lit home looks happier and relaxed. Draw the curtains open during the day, get rid of the clutter on your window sill, and switch bulbs to daylight versions. Investing in a new light fixture can also help since it’s a great way to add more character and style to your home.
Take Care of Yourself
You can’t always be there for your family when you’re feeling down in the dumps- take care of yourself first. As much as possible, avoid negative people and situations. It is also essential to spend time alone to recharge your batteries and positively deal with other people.
Be Grateful Everyday
Every day, find something good in your life. Whether it’s a delicious meal your mom cooked, a nice walk during sunset, or a compliment your friend paid you. Pause and take time to appreciate the beauty in your life. Having a positive outlook will always help you feel happier about yourself and the world around you.
It’s the small things that count, so don’t neglect your home even when you spend too much time away.
by | Sep 25, 2021 | From the Heart, Inspirations |
Hey Lovely People,
I hope your day is sunny and bright.
This weekend I am celebrating my hubby’s birthday! I love you so much honey, lots of hugs and kisses. Enjoy your special day, weekend, and month!
The picture below shows my hubby in his new wedding anniversary boots and birthday aviator jacket. He never asks for anything, so it is nice to see him in some of his new favorite style pieces.
JT’s hubby in his birthday style Cowboy Boots: Tecovas Aviator jacket: Tommy Hilfiger
I wrote a short poem that I would like to share.
Happy Birthday
Happy Birthday to my husband, my love, my best friend
A man of God who seeks daily to put Him first and who is not afraid to stand up for what you believe in.
A sweet man who takes time to listen.
A caring man who loves me unconditionally and looks at me deeply with those handsome blue eyes.
You are strong, steadfast, a communicator, and an encourager.
You’re my cheerleader
You always have my back
You build me up when I get down and hard on myself.
You will tell me you know what the word of God says about you.
May this year be an overabundance of God’s blessings on you
and an overflowing of prosperity.
I love you with all my heart and soul.
Love you,
JT
by | Sep 16, 2021 | Lifestyle |
Your family means the world to you, and you love them very much. You want what’s best for everyone and see them succeed and be well.
Pexels
One way to achieve this goal is to focus on living a healthy lifestyle as a family. Take some time to understand what changes you can make that will have the greatest impact and deliver life-altering results for you and your loved ones. What you do or don’t do each day matters and will influence how you feel and your appearance.
Stay Active & Get Outside
If you want to live a healthy lifestyle as a family, then you must remain active. Get outside and exercise regularly as a group. Find activities you can all enjoy and do together that get you moving and your heart rate up. There might be plenty of sports and active hobbies you can do in and around the house or you can consider joining a gym and going there together.
Cook Together
Another way you and your family can live a healthy lifestyle is to choose to cook as a group. Prepare meals and snacks together and have fun spending some quality time in the kitchen. Find low sugar healthy muffin recipes to prepare that will keep your kids full but not harm their diet. Make meals and snacks as a family and then sit down and eat together and talk and share about each other’s days.
Follow A Bedtime Routine
Sleep is essential to you to function as a parent and your kids performing well in school and being in good moods. Therefore, it should be a top priority in your household if you want to live a healthier lifestyle. Stick to a bedtime routine and try to follow a schedule, so you’re all going to bed and waking up around the same time each day. Your routine at night may include taking baths, reading books, or both. You’ll all wake up happier and ready to seize the day when you get good sleep.
Commit to Less Screen Time
You and your family can live a healthy lifestyle by committing to less screen time overall. It’ll be beneficial for your health and neck and eyes and free up time in your schedule to do other activities and hobbies. While technology can be useful for many parts of your life, it can also be quite addicting and take up a lot of your time. You may notice that your kids are not only happier and healthier but that you all have more moments to spend with the family.
Conclusion
These are some tips that will help keep you and your family living a healthy lifestyle. You’ll soon be on your way to enjoying each other more and all feeling your best. Take pleasure in the fact that you’re making positive changes that will get your family on the right track to improved health and wellbeing.
by | Sep 14, 2021 | Pets |
For those who have a less-active dog and are left wondering if the dog is right for you (as you expected playfulness and fun), then there is a solution. Dogs are not born to be lazy. They are energetic animals who love to play. Therefore, somewhere deep down in your dog is their energetic and playful self. Of which, you might want to bring out of them to make them more active. On that note, here are some tips on how to make your lazy dog more active.
Image by Dan Fador from Pixabay
Use toys
If your dog is avoiding exercise and playfulness on walks or in the house, then you will want to use toys. Toys are there for dogs to be playful as well as healthier. Using a toy like Runball will promote better health for your dog by encouraging them to play and fetch when out on a walk. Taking a toy will engage your dog and enhance their need for play, which will promote better physical health.
Assess your dog’s health
Assessing your dog’s health will help you understand if something wrong is causing them to be lazy. There could be a hidden condition that you aren’t aware of, causing them to want to lie down and rest. Before you start to encourage your dog on more walks and runs, assess your dog’s health by talking to a vet.
Try various activities (other than walking)
Although a walk is an essential part of a dog’s routine, they might feel more encouraged to participate in other activities. The same routine and route might be the possible reason for your dog being lazy.
Instead, you could try agility. This is an obstacle course-style activity that will train your dog as well as make them more active. If you perform the agility training, it will create a stronger bond between you and your dog, and they will understand that you are in control.
Change their diet
Every dog has different nutritional needs and preferences. Thus, trying different foods will help you understand if their diet is making them fatigued and lazy. Ensure that they get plenty of vitamins and minerals, as this will provide them with energy. Vitamins A, D, and E are all essential for a dog’s health and growth. Incorporating calcium-rich foods will also promote bone growth and strength.
Mental stimulation
Sometimes, a dog needs mental stimulation before they get up and get active. They might lie around all day because they are not mentally stimulated.
Try playing hide and seek or test their command skills at home so that their brains can become active, which will encourage them to be playful and might even persuade them to go on a walk. Brain training will strengthen their mental state as well as their physical state. It will create a better bond between you and your dog and make them much happier, encouraging them to be more active.
by | Sep 13, 2021 | Around the Home |
The leaves are starting to turn, and the nip of the fall weather will soon be in the air. Now, the kids are back to school, and Christmas is not far away. It really is a beautiful time of the year that shows the transition of time. With this in mind, here are some things that you can do this fall to get ready for the winter.
Giani Pralea from Pixabay
Declutter and organize
During the summer months, you have probably spent a lot of time outside in the good weather and collected things from day trips and vacations. This is the best time to tidy all of the summer equipment away to be used next year. The patio furniture can be washed and stored in the garage. Summer clothes can be laundered and packed away for the warmer months. Find the winter wools and thick blankets to help keep the chill off your skin. It’s time to pack away the summertime and unpack the winter.
Change furniture
If you are thinking about changing the furniture around for the Holidays, you might want to do it sooner rather than later. Ordering your sofas or bigger dining table early so that they arrive plenty of time for the holiday season can help avoid a lot of stress. If you are not planning on changing the existing furniture, you can get it professionally cleaned. This is great if you have a fabric sofa to clean it and give it a new lease of life. Sometimes all our furniture needs is a bit of TLC and some elbow grease to bring it back to life.
Deep clean
When the weather is warm, the last thing you want to do is clean the house. We are not saying that you have neglected the house, but it could probably do with an overhaul. While you are decluttering and storing the summer stuff, it is a great time to give everything a good clean. Spending a few days going through the rooms and giving them a good scrub and vacuum can do wonders for your home and health. It will also make sure that the cleaning won’t be as difficult as the winter rolls around.
Service the systems
The winter and the colder weather means that your heating and electric systems will be on longer and more often. After not being used as much over the summer, it is always a good idea to have them serviced before the pressure of the winter appears. Servicing the systems will help to ensure that you won’t be hit with sudden system failures that leave you without heat, hot water, and power. If you don’t know much about these systems, it is a good idea to get a professional engineer to look at them. If you have a fireplace, you should get your chimney swept to avoid issues with the chimney. Also, make sure that you have enough fuel for your heating too.
Decorate
As the year goes on, you might discover that rooms are getting a bit worn out and need a coat of paint. When you have small kids, you probably feel the need to paint the rooms once a month with the mess they can leave with their little handprints. If you are planning on having family around for the Holidays, giving the place a fresh coat of paint can help you feel better about your home. Even just a quick coat of white paint on the ceiling can help to brighten the room up again.
Prep Holiday food
Depending on what holidays you celebrate, you will need to buy different things. But, one thing we can all agree on, no matter what we celebrate, we need to start planning early. Start stocking up the tins and frozen items that you might need in the coming months. It is also a great way to ensure that you have a good food supply for the winter if the weather takes a nasty turn and you can’t get out of the house for a while. So grab those winter meats and canned goods to have at the ready.
Donations
The Holiday season normally means that a lot of new stuff comes into our homes, but do we get rid of anything? Having a declutter can mean that we find stuff that is no longer serving us and we don’t need anymore. Maybe some old clothes you don’t like any more would be better off heading to Goodwill. Or maybe you have toys sitting around that the kids don’t play with anymore. Whatever the item, try to give it to charity or sell it, rather than allow it to go to a landfill. And, remember, the Holidays are a time for giving. Even if you feel the need to get rid of something doesn’t mean that someone else won’t love it.
Prep for bad weather
We mentioned the bad weather in a previous point, but it is worth discussing it more. The weather has been becoming more unpredictable in recent years, so it is worth your while prepping a bit more than usual. This means clearing out the gutters, adding flood defenses if your home is prone to flooding. It might be a good idea to grab some snow supplies, even if you don’t get snow where you are. As we said, it is getting unpredictable.
Gardening
If you are an avid gardener, you will already know that now is the time to start clearing out the garden and getting things ready for the spring. Root vegetables will be ready to harvest soon, and it is a great time for getting prepped for the spring. The flowers that have started to die can be added to the compost heap to be used as part of next spring’s planting. If you don’t know that much about gardening and would like to learn more, there is an abundance of information to teach you the basics.
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