Knitting Zeal

Life Well Lived Getting Happy

This week I'm answering the Life Well Lived Getting Happy question,  "What are your favorite resources for increasing and sustaining happiness? 

My favorite resources for happiness would have to be relying on a seasonal schedule and my network of friends.  Summer time always seems to be a happy season to me.  The flowers are blooming, my little veggie garden is growing, as a family we take trips to the beach and Sesame Place, as well as the pool at the Y to have fun.  It's just a more relaxed time of year. 

Every summer my mom friends and I make a list of ideas for summer activities to do together with our kids.  Our Summer of Fun list usually includes adventures at parks, playgrounds, museums and farms as well as plenty of days to just watch the kids play in the back yard while the moms chat and knit.  It's a great way to destress, and include our kids in the relaxed atmosphere.

I have a small, close network of friends from different parts of my life that I've "collected" over the years.  I treasure all of them as they each add something to my life. From high school, the work world, knitting, blogging, and now my mom friends, each friend contributes something to my life and to sustaining a feeling of happiness for me.  I hope that I do the same for them!  It is important to me to surround myself with positive relationships and I think I've been successful at doing so. 

Another resource that helps me feel happy is going to the spa.  I go maybe twice a year to a local spa for either a facial or a pedicure.  It is a little luxury that really sustains my relaxation, pampering and making me happy!  Summertime is when I like to get a pedicure, since having painted toes peeking out of sandals and flip flops is a great thing!

What do you do to increase and sustain your happiness?  Check out the discussion going on at BlogHer.

 

Life Well Lived, Getting Happy

This week's Life Well Lived, Getting Happy question asks, "what are your favorite relaxation techniques? And what benefits do you see from practicing them?"  My first thought about this was to laugh.  Relax?  That has always been a challenge for me.  My brain is constantly on.  I had an incredible professor in Grad school who was an expert at meditaion and taught me his technique.  I used to be able to tune out and just breath.  Yoga was even really helpful.  

Lately, I can't seem to make those techniques work for me, but there are some other ways I work on relaxation:

• Going to the local spa for a facial.  I've only gone twice, as it is expensive, but I had no idea how good it would feel to have someone focus on my face.  A face, head and arm massage is very relaxing and rejuvenating.
• Going to the Y to exercise.  I still don't love exercising, but it is time that is focused on just me, no one talking to me, no one asking for a snack or a drink or why. It lets me tune out and just focus on the moment.  I even tried a yoga class again after many years of a hiatus.  That was hard, not all that relaxing, but there is potential there!  
• Knitting with my knitting group.  I don't always get to go, but when I do it is such a nice way to turn off life and be with like minded crafters.

Someday, I'd love to incorporate meditation back into my life.  I did download an app that has timed guided meditations, but I've only used it once.  I do have a relaxation playlist on my iPod that I listen to at night when I can't sleep. It usually helps.  

How do you relax?  What works for you?

Check out BlogHer.com's Dr. Amyee for techniques on how to relax and mediate.  Be sure to enter the Life Well Lived Moments Sweepstakes for a chance to win an iPod touch!

 

Public schools and our kids in Pennsylvania

Public education has been part of my life since I started kindergarten at a Philadelphia public school way back in the mid 1970s.  I completed 13 years in public school, kindergarten through 12th grade.  During that time I had the opportunity to spend a year, in fifth grade, learning some Latin, learning how to play flute and violin in third and fifth grade respectively, help out in the library as an aid in sixth grade (and further develop my love of books and the dewey decimal system,) learn some French and Spanish in seventh grade and then continue to study French in 8th through 12th grades and develop my interest in all things French!  

I had gym class every year.   I remember when my elementary school installed a new trampoline in the gym and we all got to take turns on it.  I remember participating in a "jump rope-a-thon" in the gym in elementary school.  I had the best art teacher in elementary school, Mrs. Horshack.  I wanted her job.  I still remember exactly how she pronounced "orange," as she was a native New Yorker.  I remember taking a special art club program with her after school.  All of these "electives" helped me grow as a student and as a person, contributing to my understanding and learning.

Today, many school districts in Pennsylvania are facing enourmous budget cuts due to Governor Corbett's severe funding slashing to public eduction.  That means that kids in school today may not be able to have the opportunity to have "elective" classes.  (I use quotations because I do not consider art, gym, music, language or library science elective, but essential; the schools are forced to classify them as such.) My son is still in preschool, but I study what happens in our local public school system to see what opportunities he will, or maybe will not have when he goes there in 2013.  My husband and I are prepared that we might have to supplement our son's education as needed with private lessons in music or other arts.  It isn't fair to today's students that they might loose out on the chance to experience learning opportunities that will contribute to their futures.  

I learned recently that a neighboring school district, Upper Darby School District, is only able to balance their school budget by eliminating art, music, gym and library classes in elementary schools and eliminating language and technology classes at the middle schools.  Those cuts include many teachers losing their jobs.  This school district, according to PSEA, is facing an almost $6 million budget cut since the 2010-2011 school year. This is a disservice to the children that will have a profound consequence on their future.  It is also a disservice to the teachers who worked so hard to establish their curriculums and own studies to be exemplary teachers.  And is is a disservice to the community, who will now have children growing up through their school district with an educational disadvantage, affecting the community's future. 

Balancing the budget for a school district is an enourmous task that appears to be compounded by antiquidated PA laws.  There is no simple answer, except maybe the powers that be ought to focus on solutions to this crisis by engaging with educational professionals who understand the problem enough to brainstorm a solution.  People need to talk about this problem so that it stays a trending topic in the media and under the noses of the elected officials. 

#HeyTomCorbett

Thanks to Stephanie of Confessions of a Stay-at-Home Mom for enlightening me on this topic.  Check out her blog for her post and links to others who are concerned about the budget cuts to public education in Pennsylvania.

Life Well Lived, Getting Organized

This week over on BlogHer's Life Well Lived series they are discussing paperwork organization.  They asked, "How do you organize paperwork both online and off? Share your tip(s) to managing physical and digital clutter?"  

HA!  I am horrible at paperwork organization.  It absolutely overwhelms me.  I have great intentions, but I just can't keep it going to stay on top of things.  I should plan a weekly time to file away important papers.  I have done a few things recently that has helped:

• Pay bills online and register for email statements as opposed to paper.  This has really cut back on the amount of physical paperwork we receive and it is very "green."  It also makes it really easy to search for account info, since the websites organize it for me.
• Online banking: this has been a lifesaver for me.  Not only do I save money and time from writing checks and mailing payments, I can check instantly what has been paid and what hasn't.  
• Junk mail recycled immediately.  This is an ongoing battle for me.  We get much less junk mail these days as opposed to three years ago, but we still get lots of unsolicited mail.  Instead of letting it pile up, I try hard to deposit it in our paper recycling bin ASAP.

The biggest paper clutter I have to deal with besides filing bills and receipts is magazines and catalogs.  I try to read them as soon as I have time, but I'll find a recipe I like or not enough time to finish an article and the piles begin.  Every so often I go through the house and toss the magazines that haven't been read.  If it's a cooking magzine, sometimes I tear out recipes I like, but with the internet, there is a lot online.  One thing I really like is electronic periodicals on my ipad.  Eventually, I might have to switch all my subscriptions to just e-versions.  My husband did this with the daily paper and it has considerable cut down on the paper in our home. 

And in regards to electronic clutter, I'm embarrassed to say that in trying to find an email from someone who I couldn't remember their email addy, I read through all my emails on my main email account.  I deleted as I scrolled through until I found the email I was looking for originally.  When I finished deleting all the junk and old emails, I realized that I had deleted over 7000 emails!  That is insane.  I don't even want to look at my google email accounts.  I am awful at deleting!  

What helps you with paperwork organization? Feel free to share your tips here and over at BlogHer.  While you are at it, check out the latest Life Well Lived sweepstakes and enter!

 

Optimism = Happiness

Optimistic, even in the face of reality. That has been my motto for many years.

Back before I was a parent and I worked full time as a therapist I had a button stuck in the bulletin board above my desk that had that saying on it. I had bought it from the Northern Sun Catalog, way before Internet shopping existed, probably the early 1990s. It was a saying that really meant something to me, as I had a very stressful job working with people who needed me to be positive, since their lives were so challenging. It was a message I tried to convey to my clients, as I truly believe that optimistic people are happier people, even in stressful times.

As a participant in BlogHer’s “Life Well Lived” series I have the opportunity to write about my thoughts regarding the current posted question about “Getting Happy."  This week’s question wonders about how we teach the children in our lives about happiness. Since my kid is stuck with a therapist for a mother, there is a great deal of discussion going on here about feelings. I help him identify his feelings and we discuss them on a four year old level. For the most part, he is a very happy kid. He does get angry at times and I speak with him about his anger and appropriate ways to express it. Just as it is important to talk about and model difficult feelings, it is also important to model happiness and remark on it just as often. One of the ways I model happiness for my son is by being optimistic.

Let’s face it, being a parent is challenging in this day and age. There are many stressors out there. I feel lucky that overall our lives are blessed, but that doesn’t mean stress is absent either. So, I’m not always feeling completely happy, but I focus on being optimistic. The difference to me is that just because I feel unhappy about a particular situation, I have hope that it will get better soon. I work hard to show my son that by having a positive outlook means that the challenges in my life can be overcome.

Does my four year old get optimism yet? I would say yes! He is optimistic in his personality. He doesn’t see limitations to his world. While at times that belief that he can do anything can get him in trouble, it is a belief that I do not want to crush, just shape a bit. I encourage his optimistic personality by listening to him, letting him learn consequences, and helping him process his thoughts and feelings when needed. I model being optimistic by carefully choosing the language I use around him and not being overly critical of myself or him. Constructive criticism for oneself can be useful, but too often I notice that people are mean, and not constructive with their opinions or criticism, especially about themselves. Being a happy person means keeping the negativity in check and being accepting of our self in life.

Another way I teach my son happiness? Laughing! We laugh all the time….by being silly, joking, tickling, singing funny songs and reading stories with silly voices. Hearing my son’s belly laugh makes me happy! It is the best sound in life!

How do you teach the children in your life happiness? Please share your best tools and tips in the comments below and be sure to visit BlogHer.com to contribute your ideas to this week's discussion!  Also check out the current Sweepstakes on BlogHer for a Kindle Fire!

 

NaBloPoMo!

So, November is National Blog Posting Month, and it's being hosted on BlogHer this year.  I've heard about this before but never participated.  sUsAn often does a post a day in February and I attempt to copy her out of admirations, but after that gusto in posts, I tend to trail off.  I'm consistent with my menu planning because it really helps me, and I work hard to post a photo every Wednesday.  So now, I'm going to try to post every day in November.  This may be tough, as it's such a busy time of year, but I'm hoping it will add a bit more discipline to my writing, as I tend to compose posts in my head all the time but never actually write them down.

This month I have a handful of product reviews that I'll share, some of which are products I won at raffles that turned out great!  I also will try to post my menu planning for the holidays.  I'm hosting Thanksgiving and possibly Christmas for at least part of our family.  I like to be prepared, so I will be working now on my menus and entertaining ideas.  I've been perusing Pinterest for inspiration too.

If you are a blogger and want to participate in NaBloPoMo, check out how to get on the blogroll and join in on the fun.  If you are participating, please leave me a comment with your blog link so I can check out your posts!

Trying something new for the first time...

I receive regular emails from Social Moms and love the ideas I read in their updates.  I just discovered their regular feature called writing prompts that are ideas submitted for prompting blog post ideas.  Today's prompt is "When was the last time you did something for the first time?"  

Ironically, on Sunday I finally got around to trying a spinning class.  And no, it wasn't a fiber related class. It was a bike spinning class, the kind for exercise!  We joined our local YMCA a few months ago and I have been meaning to try out a spinning class ever since we joined.  My schedule doesn't match the spinning class schedule usually, plus I was terrified of it, really!  It just seemed so extreme.  I've been using the eliptical machine twice a week for a few months, so I knew I could have the stamina to do that for up to 45 minutes before my feet hurt too much, but spinning seemed overwhelming.  This past Sunday the Y had a spinning demo class, a half hour class for beginners.  I forced myself to go and I'm glad I did, although my thighs are angry right now!  It was really hard, but also fun.  I was utterly exhausted afterwards, but I completed the class.  The instructor was awesome and very encouraging.  She mentioned that just because a normal class is an hour, beginners do not have to go at the same pace as everyone else nor do they have to do an entire hour.  Once my muscles recover from it, I will work at figuring out a way to start going to a class on a regular basis.  My crazy child will not stay at the child care at the Y yet, so we are working on that one this spring!  Hopefully by the summer he'll be comfortable enough to stay there while I exercise, since now I go when he is in school.  

So that's what I tried new recently.  What have you tried for the first time lately?