Junk Mail Fatigue? The cure - National Card and Letter Writing Month

Instead of junk mail I’d like to celebrate “National Card and Letter Writing Month” with some good news, please. Heck, I’d settle for any piece of mail that does not threaten or guilt me into …

* completing a survey.

* making a donation.

* calling or writing to my congresspersons or political party.

* eating or drinking something I don’t want at some place I don’t want to be.

* making a payment NOW or at sometime sooner than later.

* paying someone else’s bill NOW or sometime soon.

Ahhhhh …. I long for a note from a friend with a funny cartoon inside, a letter from my mother with a check to go “spoil” myself, a note from a girlfriend “just because.”

The thing about notes and letters is that one often has to initiate them. However, once they are in motionthey seem to take on a life of their own and become more frequent …

I was on a roll earlier this year writing “thank you” notes. Amazing things came out of that! … lots of return notes (thank yous, funny and sweet), an autographed copy of “Why Good Things Happen to Good People,” a major discount on a car repair job and tons of feel-good energy.

Best of all I found that writing notes cheered me up. Doing good onto others just seems to do the best on to me too.

Next month, April, is officially known as “National Card and Letter Writing Month.” It is also known as “National Humor Month.” You can celebrate both by mailing out funny DogCaption Cards! And … 25% of the profits from these card packs benefit dog and cat rescues. I should know. I am kinda on the board!

While you’re at it - why don’t you surprise me with a note? I’ll return the favor! My address is:
10321 Antietam Court, Fredericksburg, VA 22408.

Special thanks to girlfriendcelebrations.com for bringing “National Card and Letter Writing Month” to my attention.

Cheers! Viveca

P.S. Another cool April event is the release of a new stamp, the "Adopt a Shelter Pet" Stamp

Boost Your Energy with fun, Fun, FUN!

Today's Fatigue Be Gone Newsletter encouraged everyone to add FUN into their daily routine and to put something fun at the TOP of their "To do" lists.

I said I would post one of mine --- here goes!

Playing with my pups. I easily do this everyday. Here are scenes from a recent "dress up" play date.

For information on the health benefits of pets, friendship, laughter etc., click here.

To register for the Fatigue Be Gone Newsletter and to view a past issue on how to break the fatigue/insomnia cycle, click here.

Feel free to add your best FUN "To dos" using the "comments" option below.

Cheers! Viveca

Free Energy Boost Resources --- Your Friends & Your Breath

Talk it out with your friends …

There is nothing like the soothing, healing and re-energizing touch of a best friend’s sage advice.

Yesterday Coleen chided me for not saying “No” more often. She recommended that before I make anymore “Yes” decisions that I pause and think about “What would Coleen want me to do?” She said she cared more about me than I was caring for myself.

Gulp.

Well that slowed me down – in a good way.

Then she reminded me about a fantastic energy boosting breathing technique that we had learned together! Ahhhhhhhh. Here, you try this today and see how good – how peaceful, centered and safe it can make you feel too.

Energy Boosting Healing 1-2-3

1. Inhale to a count of four. 1-2-3-4
2. Hold that breath for a count of seven. 1-2-3-4-5-6-7
3. Exhale that breath to a count of eight. 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8
   
   

Do this four times in a row. That is considered a “series.” Be sitting down and comfortable when you do this exercise. Then, do this series two times a day.

Voila! Join me in saying “No” and boosting your energy for FREE this week. If you have a moment, drop a comment and let us know how GREAT you feel.

Cheers!

Viveca

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Is your super woman role taking a toll on you? You're not alone. Experts suggest more than 80 percent of American women (and men) suffer from adrenal fatigue. Learn how to wrap your super woman cape around fatigue and cast it out of your life forever in the Fatigue Be Gone Jumpstart! e-Guide. Available at www.FatigueBeGone.com

Getting Ready for Fruit & Veggie Day!

Monday is Fruit and Veggie Day? Are you ready?

I am. Went shopping yesterday and loaded up on the good stuff. This week I am letting Blooms handle everything. Brought home a carrot juice by "Odwalla" and a Green Machine by "Naked." Both are good brands and super fresh (checked the "sell by" dates.) Then I'll throw in some apples and blueberries. Voila!

Tomorrow I'll be on the road all day. I've been adopted by a senior boxer who I have already named Lana Love. This is total, what-am-I-doing inspiration that has me driving 8 hours to add another heart on paws to my pack of 2 pups, 3 purrs and a bird.

So, what will I do with all the extra energy and time I gain tomorrow? Enjoy a long drive, rescue a pup and visit with my best friend from high-school. Cool beans! I'll post photos when I get back!

Cheers! Viveca

What special flavor will you splash into your Fruit and Veggie Day? Do tell ...

Fruit and Veggie Day!

Yep. It is Monday. Fruit and Juice Day. All-day-long.

I am sipping on my Beet/Carrot/Celery/Cabbage drink. It is a beautiful color - pretty close to this art! And, the way it tastes ...
it MUST be great for me!

How is your Monday going?

Viveca

The energy-boosting power of dance!

I love to dance and it is one of the fastest and easiest ways to boost energy and break out of any kind of slump (writer's block, tedious chore blues, loneliness & anxiety.)

Years ago when I ended a major relationship I was so down, lonely and disconnected. Depression is exhausting - mentally, physically and spiritually.

The last thing I wanted was to "rebound" and fill that gaping hole with another loser relationship.

I signed up for Salsa Classes.

Long story short, I got the touch and connection I craved, 2 min with this man and 2 min with that man! I made a fabulous new group of friends. We were all there for the same reason, just had different stories. This Friday night class was something I could look forward to and it brought back the simple joy of TIGF!

Physically I worked out the kinks in what had been a chronic back pain and danced my way back into a supple spine. Emotionally I built back my self-esteem (Salsa Dancing isn't easy and positive non-threatening attention from 2 minute men was great!) I strutted and swayed my stuff right out of depression and fed my worn out adrenal glands the "right stuff", FUN!

If you are feeling blah, depressed or down right exhausted, your cure could start with a dance class. Look at your life. If you don't see a weekly date with joy, fun, and friends all the pills and massages in the world are not going to make a difference. Joy is part of the Fatigue Be Gone! prescription.

Let's dance, dance, dance! (And post later and tell me all about it!)

Hugs! Viveca

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The Re-Energizing Power of the Pup! (and the purr)

Just back from my weekly volunteer time ay my SPCA. One day a week I walk dogs for a couple of hours and twice a month I host their TV Show called "Making Friends." Some days I have to drag my butt in there but I always leave with a spring in my step and my heart.

According to Dr. Stephen Post, author, Why Good Things Happen to Good People: How to Live a Longer, Healthier, Happier Life by the Simple Act of Giving, "Stress related health problems improves after performing kind acts. Helping reverses feelings of depression, supplies social contact, and decreases feelings of hostility and isolation that can cause stress, overeating, ulcers etc. (like fatigue.) A drop in stress may, for some people, decrease the constriction within the lungs that leads to asthma attacks."

Whew. That is a lot of good that comes out of doing good.

To locate your neighborhood shelter, go to PetFinder.com and click on the "Animal Shelter" Tab. For more information about the healing power of pets and purrs, click here: http://www.dogcaptions.com/page4704.html

For more health benefits of hugs, smiles, friendship, laughter and gratitude, click here!

Hold on tight and experience the healing power of the hug!

Yes, you are just a dozen heartbeats and thirty seconds away from feelin' fine.

All About The Re-Energizing Health Benefits of Hugs!

I've been doing a little experiment to see if something as simple and free as a hug could really make a big difference in how I feel AND re-energize my marriage.

Guess what? The answer is YES to both!

Here's my 3 Step Hug Formula.

1. Before you part for work in the morning hug and hold on tight for thirty seconds. Take big deep breaths and relax into each other's arms. Tell him that you love him and wish him well in his day.

2. When he returns ... repeat with a welcome home hug.

3. Before or after dinner ... repeat.

There. Easy isn't it? Now, how about those health benefits ... I got goosebumps when I read them because they confirm exactly how I have been feeling during this experiment!

1. Loving contact before a tough day at work "could carry over and protect you throughout the day," says psychologist Karen Grewen with the School of Medicine at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
Yes. I have been feeling calmer and happier all day long.

2. When couples hugged for 20 seconds, their levels of oxytocin, released during childbirth and breastfeeding, increased. Those in loving relationships had the highest increases.
Yes again. Twenty seconds seems long the first couple of times but we settled right into this routine and I love feeling his heartbeat and breath on my cheek.

3. "Scientists are increasingly interested in the possibility that positive emotions can be good for your health. This study has reinforced research findings that support from a partner, in this case a hug from a loved one, can have beneficial effects on heart health," said Dr. Charmaine Griffiths, spokesperson for the British Heart Foundation.
My heart feels happier and he's been much less stressed.

Give Thanks = Feel Great. All natural energy and optimism boost.

Sometimes I need to go down-down-down to remember to do what I would tell a friend to do in exactly the same situation.

I came down with the flu officially on the 1st. It started with a niggling headache on the way to church. By the time I was walking down the isle for communion I knew I had to make a dash for it. I was about to faint or throw up – or both – in front of a crowd. Yikes.

Today is January 7th, . I’ve languished through seven days and nights of headaches and hot and cold aches. Now it’s turned into a full blown head cold and a huge snuffy nose.

Can you believe that I’ve been feeling a little sorry for myself? This is not my triumphant launch of the New Year! Finally this morning I remembered the gift of gratitude and its awesome, re-energizing and healing benefits.

According to University of California David psychology Robert Emmons “people who remember to give thanks every day feel better, have more energy, are better liked and are more successful.”

He also went on to say that “Grateful people take better care of themselves and engage in more protective health behaviors like regular exercise, a healthy diet, regular physical examinations.”

Count me in! I can do this!

I would write more here but I have to get busy writing thank notes for Christmas gifts and gatherings. Then there are left over “thank yous” for being my friend, my brother, parent and … Then I’ll whip up a couple thank you notes to stuff in my husband’s lunch box and coat pocket. I’m feeling better just thinking about this.

If you are reading this note, you too are not feeling your mostest. Join me.
Put on some cool music, light a scented candle, gather some fun cards, a big glass of water, some cloth hankies! and take a gratitude break. Leave me a comment and let me know how good you feel a half dozen thank yous from now.

Viveca

P.S. Stock up on fun Thank You Notes (pictured above) and raise money for animal rescues and shelters at http://www.DogCaptions.com.

P.S.S. Check back here on Friday. I have HOT information to share. There is a BEST and natural time of the day for passion, creativity, tough tasks, breaks, collaboration and more. Imagine how easy life could be if you only knew …

An Energizing Benefit of Friendship - Laughter!

You know that saying ... "Cry and you cry alone. Laugh and the world laughs with you."

Well for one thing, when I cry I often am alone. When I cry with a friend I usually end up laughing!

For example ... once I was crying over being rejected by a man. It had been - shall we say - just one of a series of rejections spanning a couple YEARS of my life. And, prior to being dumped, I'd been looking forward to the date of a lifetime. He was a gourmet cook who was having me over for a delicious meal that would end with candlelight playing off of his sweet face as he played the piano and sang songs that he must have written just for me. (Really, this was the game plan.)

Then came the end-all-call "I feel sick." he said. "We were having dinner tonight? Oh yeah. I forgot about that. I'll call you soon."

I hung up and went straight into despair. At that precise moment, Marci called.

"Marci" I said. "My love life is so bad that I am even being rejected by midgits." (He was very, very short and I am very, very tall. But like I said it had been YEARS and he sang, and cooked and I was starting to see myself looking more and more like Queer Noor...)

Marci & I exploded with laughter - even though I was at that moment absolutely serious. Then she shared some of her pre-hubby escapades and she reminded me of how beautiful and fun and intelligent I was ...

That is what friends are for - they help us laugh at ourselves and life and get back into the game.

Want to LOL (Laugh Outloud) right now? Here are a couple of my favorite funny hotspots including: Mojo1000 Observations of a bus driver "hacking life with a dull blade" Jonathon is a hoot!

Then there is my beloved DogCaptions.com. My brother Richard takes awesome dog photos - adds quirky captions and voila! We have a pack of note cards to cheer on our human friends and raise money, the funny way, for our fur friends. Help us - help yourself and order a pack today!

Then I always enjoy stopping by Paul Gilligans Pooch Cafe. This link often pulls up his daily strip - sometimes it pulls up his innermost thoughts. Sometimes they are the same!

Finally, the photo here is of my new puppy, Albert. He is a 2 year old Bichon Frise that we adopted 2 months ago. A is a constant source of amusement & has our household on the run!

Right now he is chasing Gengus Kitty which is good. Gengus is my 18lb Persian who needs to lose a few lbs and is bigger and stronger than Albert! At night when I am working on the couch Albert will jump on me, lick me and drive me off of this keyboard. That's good. You don't hear of people getting carpel tunnel from petting and playing with pooches! Then Alby constantly makes my husband laugh - even giggle.

If you are Albert-less and Kitty-less, go to Petfinder.com. This weekend is a great time to bring home a little more love and laughter. (By the way - if you are bringing home one why not two? Ask the shelter if the pup or cat of your dreams has a special friend who would like to come home with them.)

Old Friend New Friend Week - 5 Energy Boosting Reasons to Be A Friend

Don't have time for or feeling too tired to connect with friends? Here are 5 excellent reasons for you to pick up the phone and call that girlfriend ... I often call my friends for virtual lunch when there isn't time to get together. We munch and chat and laugh - I always feel more energized when I hang up that phone. (Now - I am talking about calling a friend, not a downer or an energy vampire!)

Health Benefits of Friendship

1. Cheering up a friend – random acts of kindness -can create something known as “helper’s high.”(endogenous opioids” internally produced chemicals that affect our brain like opium.)

2. When women tend or befriend more oxytocin is released which counters stress and produces calming effect. -UCLA Study on Friendship Among Women

3. Not having close friends and confidants is as detrimental to our health as smoking or carrying extra weight.-Nurses Health Study from Harvard Medical School(the famed!)

4. Close friends help keep your immune system strong during times of stress. -Ohio State University Researcher
(One of my favorite, friendly BLOGS is Happy Girl Musing. Terry Hernon MacDonald spent a week on this very topic - friendship. Check it out.)

5. The leading causes of premature death in the U.S. are heart disease, cancer, cirrhosis of the liver, non-car accidents, influenza and pneumonia, vehicle accidents, suicide and homicide. “All of them are tremendously influenced by social isolation, loneliness, and human fragmentation.”
-Dr. James Lynch, author, The Broken Heart: The Medical Consequence of Loneliness

Feel like a piece of burnt toast throughout the day? Or maybe your brains feel like scrambled eggs? You might be suffering from adrenal fatigue. Take our free Fatigue Questionnaire at http://fatiguebegone.com/tired_woman_quiz.htm to discover the true causes of fatigue.

The Energizing Benefits of Smiles!

According to The British Dental Health Foundation "a smile gives the same level of stimulation as eating 2,000 chocolate bars!" And, according to psychologist Dr. David Lewis "Seeing a smile creates what is termed as a 'halo' effect, helping us to remember other happy events more vividly, feel more optimistic, more positive and more motivated."

Want to feel better? Smile more ...

Don't believe me? Prove it to yourself. Make a point of smiling at everyone you see today. And, put a smile on your face when you talk to people you can't see. (You can tell, even over the phone, if someone is smiling or not - can't you?!)

So - give this a try - then post me a comment in the morning ...

:) :) :) Viveca

BTW - If you'd like more to smile about - from the comfort of your keyboard - please visit http://www.dogcaptions.com/ and join in our Old Friend New Friend Week Celebration and Fundraiser.