Being Happy With Life

I was reading in Parenting magazine an article about being happy.  In this article they published a quote by Tania Paredes, a psychotherapist and couples counselor, which said, "Happiness is when you feel like the important parts of your life are where they need to be."  

Happiness doesn't depend on the amount of money you make, the house you live in, or the cars you drive.  If that were the case, I would be one very unhappy individual.  Instead, happiness is found in the little things.  When you ask your children what makes them happy, their answers can include their blanket, a cookie, a kiss, their bike or their favorite TV show.  They find joy in the little things that we adults tend to take for granted.  

Due to the hustle and bustle of life, days seem can seem to last forever.  But, before you know it those long days are over and another year has gone by.  Don't be left trying to figure out what you were doing while life passed by, enjoy as many moments as you can.  The things that make you happy can change many times over a lifetime, but enjoying every phase of life is essential.  

Harrison Ford said, "Being happy is something you have to learn. I often surprise myself by saying "Wow, this is it. I guess I'm happy. I got a home I love. A career that I love. I'm even feeling more and more at peace with myself." If there's something else to happiness, let me know. I'm ambitious for that, too."

Happiness is simple and it is contagious.  Life passes by too quickly; take time to slow down and find joy in the little things. Decide what the important parts of your life are and if they are where they need to be. If that doesn't seem to make you happy, then think like a child and remember those simple things you used to love that once made you happy.  

Mothers

To all women out there, Happy Belated Mothers Day!  Hopefully your Mothers Day was relaxing and full of fun surprises from your children, husband, friends, or whomever you associate with.  Sometimes we as mothers can feel alone in the world, but 82.5 million women in the world are mothers and 4 million women give birth each year.   

I was watching a golf tournament yesterday and each of the golfers had taken time to thank their mothers for all they did for them when they were growing up.  How many times do we stop and say thank you to those women in our lives who have helped us become the people we are today?  

Abraham Lincoln once said, "All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother."  Mothers do so much for us and most of it goes unnoticed.  I once had a friend who said her husband came home and saw her scrubbing the baseboards.  He asked her what she was doing crawling all around the house.  He thought the baseboards just never got dirty, but to his amazement, his wife had been cleaning them all along.  

I was interested in what would define a mother.  The definition I found said, "A mother, mom, mum, momma or mama, is a woman who has conceived, given birth to, or raised a child in the role of a parent. Because of the complexity and differences of a mother's social, cultural, and religious definitions and roles, it is challenging to define a mother to suit a universally accepted definition. The male equivalent is a father." 

It doesn't seem hard to define a mother.  Whether or not we as women ever have children, we are all mothers in one way or another.  Oprah Winfrey said, "Biology is the least of what makes someone a mother."  

I hope that on Mothers Day, you took the time to thank your own mother for the time and effort she put into helping you become who you are.  You don't have to wait for Mothers Day to roll around each year to show your appreciation.  Thank the women in your life for what they have done for you.  

Summer Time Fun

I know it did snow just two days ago, but it should be time for summer.  Time to eat dinner outside, walk around in the cool grass barefoot, eat food without any utensils, and end the day with a party, just because all your neighbors are outside too.  These simple things is what makes summertime great.  

This summer is going to be different than any other summer for me.  I have a 18-month old little girl, who loves to be outside.  She doesn't care what she is doing, as long as she is out in the sunshine.  I am new at summertimes with kids, so I wondered if any of you had any fun ideas of what you do to pass the time outside in beautiful weather, as long as the weather starts cooperating.  I don't think building snowmen is a fun summer activity!  

One thing my daughter does love to do is blow bubbles.  Every once in a while she will blow and actually get a few bubble to come out, but mostly she just dips the bubble stick in and out of the bottle, laughing all the while.  For those of you with older kids who do like to blow bubbles, my neighbor taught me a fun new twist to bubble blowing, and a great way to reuse old water bottles that seem to collect on hot days.  To start you off, here is the activity I learned about that could occupy a few minutes or hours of a day.

What you need:

Empty water bottle

Old, thin rag

Rubber band

Container for dish soap

Dish soap

Directions:

Cut the bottom off of an empty water bottle.  Get an old rag, one that isn't too thick, and attach it to the bottom of the water bottle with a rubber band.  Get a container and put dish soap in the bottom, mixed with a little water to make it last longer.  Dip the water bottle in the dish soap and blow through the part of the water bottle you usually drink from.  (Be sure not to suck in, the bubbles will come out the top!)  The bubbles will come out the end with the rag attached to it and will actually make bubbles that are hooked together, like bubble snakes.  

My older nieces and nephews had a blast trying to make letters out of bubbles to spell their name on the grass.  Little children have a good time too because they can actually catch the bubbles without them popping and hold them in their hands. It is a fun way to blow bubbles in the summer time.  For pictures to guide you along the way, visit http://www.howdoesshe.com/making-bubbles.

Let me know if you try it and if your kids enjoy it, and if you have any other great ideas to help pass the summer days of being outside!  

Family Meal Time

Family dinner time is different in every home.  Some dinners involve kids fighting over the food, throwing things at each other, and speaking only in a yelling voice.  Others are gathered on the couch eating a pizza and watching American Idol.  Some might imagine dinner to be like it was on the Brady Bunch where everyone is sitting nicely saying please and thank you.  No matter what dinner time is like in your home, it is just important you are making an effort to spend time together by having dinner.  

Recent studies have shown that the more often families eat meals together, the less likely children are to begin smoking, drinking, develop eating disorders, get depressed and they tend to do better in school.  In the last ten years, the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse has been studying family meals.  Last year they published their study which found kids who eat most meals with their parents are 40 percent more likely to get A's and B's in school.    

In an article in Time Magazine, a study in the Archives of Family Medicine found that eating family meals together tends to mean less soda and fried food and more fruits and vegetables.  Family meal time also teaches your children to compromise, since they can't all have their favorite meal each night.  

There are some meals though, that most all your children will enjoy and this Chicken Noodle Soup is one.  It is great for those cloudy, snowy or rainy days and will bring warmth to your soul as you sit around the table with your family for dinner.  Plus, it is really easy to make and is delicious the next day, if there are any leftovers!  

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

9 cups water

8 chicken bouillon cubes

With water and bouillon cubes combine:

2 potatoes, cubed

1 cup carrots, cut into pieces

2 celery sticks, sliced

When the vegetables are almost soft, add:

 1 cup, or so, of noodles

1/2 cup frozen corn

1 can of chicken, or 1 cup of cooked chicken

When the noodles are almost soft, add:

1 cup sour cream

1 can cream of chicken soup

Simmer until the sour cream and cream of chicken soup 

are blended and the noodles are soft.  

If you like more carrots or celery or potatoes, feel free to make this recipe your own.  It is delicious and is great for a cold day, like we have been having.  Family meal times don't need to be extravagant.  They can be simple and fun and will make for a happier, healthier family.  

Lamps for Every Room

Summer is just around the corner.  The days are starting to get longer, which means there is more natural light beaming through your home for more hours of the day.  Natural sunlight is a free way to enhance your mood each day.  It has been proven that some individuals moods are worse in the winter, due to the lack of sunlight they get each day.  You can't have sunlight in your home all hours of the day and night, but when the sun sets for the day, is the lighting in your home fit to offer you the best lighting to keep you happy and healthy?

If the lighting in your home is lacking, lamps are a great way to bring in more light and add a decorative touch to the room.  So, how do you know if a room is too dark?  It seems pretty obvious, but according to PC Design lighting should create a soft glow in the room, you should be able to walk though a room without tripping, as well as comfortably read from any area of the room, and the lamps should enhance the interior of the room.  

There are many different lamps available to increase the lighting in a room.  Fisher Home Furnishings offers a variety of floor lamps to fit the mood you are looking to create in your room. 

If you don't want to depend on your smile lighting up the room, then come find some lamps to light up your room and add a decorative touch to your home.    

Home Entertainment

I recently heard on KSL Radio that media rooms aren't big selling points for homes anymore.  This article found that with the technology of today people have the big screen TVs in their front room and don't want to make the effort to use a theater room, especially if the media room is in the basement.  So, if you were saving your money to turn your downstairs into a movie paradise, you may want to think of something else to do with that money.  

The media rooms tends to draw people to your home, so if you don't have the media room how do you get people to want to come and hang out?  According to an article on About.com, you don't need to make your home fancy, you just need to make it you!  This article stated the first thing necessary to entertain in your home is to move furniture and other pieces around to make room for people to walk around comfortably.  Be sure the amount of people you will be entertaining will be able to fit comfortably in your home, around the table, or where ever else they may be.  Other tips include choosing whether the room should be formal or informal, then find a way to introduce a theme, nature and order.  By deciding on a theme for your room, you make  the room fit you and your style and keep the ambiance of the party flowing. 

      

You may be reading this post thinking, none of this applies to me.  I don't enjoy entertaining and I don't want people at my house.  But, what about if you have kids.  Would you rather have your kids at your home on a Friday night, where you know what they are doing, or somewhere else where they could be getting into trouble.  

    

 Teenagers are always looking for something fun to do and when kids have too much free time, trouble starts.  By making your home a place where they want to hang out, you can be sure your kids, and their friends, will be staying out of trouble.  Ways to make your home entertainment friendly for teens is to offer a place where your teens and their friends can be away from you, but where you can breeze in and out occasionally.  Teens like to have a good time, so have some form of entertainment and food available.  Then, avoid interfering with your teens night.  Stay out of the way, but check in, as long as you avoid embarrassing your children when you breeze in and out.  By having the party at your house, you can be sure what the kids are doing are acceptable and in accordance to the rules you  have in your home. 

     

Making your home an entertainment place where people, including your teenagers and their friends, can come for a fun night, is easier than you thought.  You don't need the fancy media room anymore.  All it takes is order, a nice room to be in, and an invitation to all your friends, or your children's friends.  

Dining Rooms

The dining room in a home is usually the place where families sit down and enjoy a delicious meal together.  The room was usually set next to the kitchen, for the purpose of easily serving the guests.  In the olden days, the furniture of the room was usually a large rectangle table, with two armed chairs at either end of the table, and chairs lining the length of the table. Nobility would use these dining rooms to entertain, so the table would have been big enough to hold many people, including those who worked in their castle or home.  

 

The table was usually the only furniture in the dining room's of the past, but now, the typical dining room in America today has other items of furniture, including a hutch, usually used for displaying and protecting beautiful china dishes.  Instead of the long tables of the olden days, the dining tables have removable leafs to allow for more space when the full length of the table isn't necessary.  

Dining rooms in newer homes today are usually set across from the living room, but still close to the kitchen, as in the past.  The actual use of dining rooms has seemed to transpire back to the olden days and are usually used for more formal occasions than for everyday eating.  The furniture in the dining room tends to match, and have other pieces than just a table and chairs, as space permits.  

In homes today, with formal dining rooms, there is usually a "dinette" or a "breakfast nook" located somewhere in the kitchen.  This area is usually just big enough to fit a table used for everyday meals.  Other homes have a bar, big enough to fit the family for dinnertime.  The modern family gathers at these places more on a regular basis for meals, so having a dining room and using it for special occasions can seem a real treat to the family.  

Families today still gather in the dining room to enjoy a delicious meal together.  Those occasions can be birthdays, holidays or just a celebration of a good day.  When those occasions arise, be prepared with beautiful dining furniture to serve your family or guests a beautiful meal.  Fisher Home Furnishings has a great selection on dining room furniture, whether you are looking for a table just big enough to fit in your dinette, new bar stools, or a whole dining set to beautify your dining room.