Healthy Lifestyle Path to Wellness JUST RELEASED (via pamelaholtzman)

LOVE THIS BOOK – Coffee table gorgeous and FILLED with extraordinary photography, health tips, recipes, stress management techniques and more! It is a MUST HAVE for anyone struggling with health issues or wanting to improve their health! Great job by Pamela Holtzman.

Hi, I am Pamela Holtzman and my blog is being introduced TODAY! I have just released my new book HEALTHY LIFESTYLE PATH OF WELLNESS. It is a compilation of my life experiences with health and wellness over the last 40 years. I am a cancer survivor – having a diagnosis in my early 20's of life threatening lymphoma. As a young mothe … Read More

via pamelaholtzman

What’s On Your Bucket List?

By: Mika Tatich

Are there things you would like to do in your lifetime but unsure when you’ll have the time? If you had one year left to live, what would you want to do with that time? It’s never too late to make a bucket list of lifetime goals, and nothing is omitted from being put on the list.

Writing down goals to accomplish, places to visit, and people to meet helps a person put into perspective how realistic these wishes can be, even if they seem like they will never be granted. They don’t have to be grand or heroic to all, just as long as they are of importance to you.

Here is a list of ideas to start out with when creating your bucket list:

• Places to visit
• People to meet (famous or not)
• Adopt a child
• Trips you want to take
• Marathons
• Face a fear
• Take adventures
• Go back to school
• Sign up for dance classes
• Join a fitness center
• Get a book published
• Personal accomplishments
• Have a child
• Mentor someone
• Meet a financial goal
• Own a house, car, fur coat, etc.
• Find out more about your family history
• Tell a person a secret you’ve been wanting to share with them for a while
• Volunteer for a good cause

After collecting all your dreams, ambitions, wishes and goals together, find a way to take action. Pencil in your busy schedule some time for yourself to work towards these dreams. And when that time comes, embrace it whole-heartedly. You can do it!

And remember, it’s all about you. Anything is possible if you believe in yourself.

 

Using Social Media Networks for Businesses

By: Mika Tatich

Although some businesses are considered Luddite and unwilling to incorporate social media networking into their promoting strategy, it has been proven that social networks increase fan base for businesses as well as promoting the businesses.

According to a study by Airwide Solutions, a number of mobile operators predicted that by 2015, 94 percent of communication would be through social networking, while 87 percent will be through SMS/MMS messaging and 81 percent through voice.

Teresa Degarmo, E-Marketing Communications Specialist for Finger Lakes Wine Country, explained in an interview the six steps to effectively use social media for a business.

Build an Identity

Build a presence on each social outlet you have. That includes images, information, tag lines and engaging topics.

Grow a Fan Base

Start by inviting your personal friends to “like” the brand page and follow. Purchase ads for the side of your page based on demographics of your target audience.

Engage With the Audience

Post comments to your wall and start a discussion with your fans. Post pictures, videos and share links to cross promote and repurpose content.

Measure

Look at statistical modules like Facebook Insights to se if there’s a positive trend to fan interaction. If not, rethink your engage and audience strategies.

Tend to the Content

Based on the measuring step, keep moving forward or take a step back to rethink your strategies. Remember to always keep content consistent and fresh.

Repeat

To stay alive in the social media networks, you have to have live pages. Continually grow your fan base, keep your content fresh, and measure the effectiveness of your social media presence.

Being a part of an online business community isn’t just for fun, it gives members a chance to win prizes, trips and free coupons while supporting, promoting and giving feedback to that business. So while media networking aids businesses in support and development, it also keeps the fans happy by learning more about it and keeping close with other fans and the business itself.

Can You Ever Forgive Yourself?

Relationships

Judy Kaplan

Living with Regret To hold yourself responsible for something that you regret is a hard place to be. In a sense, when you do feel a responsibility for an action that you took that hurt someone else or hurt yourself, there is a healthy part to that. However, STAYING in the place of regret and revisiting it on a regular basis, characterizing yourself with the negativity of it or containing anger that contaminates other aspects of your life is behavior that prevents you from moving on. Sadly, regret keeps people stuck. It isn’t forward thinking; it is backward thinking. It keeps your focus on the past rather than the future. When you are driving the bus, looking behind you is not the safe or protective thing to do; it can cause you to crash as you move forward without paying attention to what is in front of you. Continuous negative self talk re-thinking mistakes of the past can cause one to feel angry, frustrated, disappointed or depressed. Sometimes you might feel angry at the world, irritable, tired, overwhelmed or sad. Many of these feelings come from anger toward yourself for making the wrong decision, handling a situation poorly, causing hurt in a relationship or even staying in a relationship that is not a healthy one, to name a few examples. Gain Wisdom from your Regrets Life is a series of challenges and opportunities to grow. A mistake is a mistake. Most mistakes lead to losses that must be endured, worked through and eventually let go. A poor business decision could lead to financial loss and a change in life style. A relationship might be lost because of a poor decision to have an affair. If someone you love dies and you think you could have done more for that person, you are faced with a heavy burden of regret. How can you reframe each of these situations to learn, grow and do better for yourself in the future? The key to gaining wisdom is to seek out the blessings that emerge from the mistake. What have you learned? How will you live life differently as a result? Who can you seek counsel from to get you on a better path? The opportunity therein is to learn new ways of behaving, being more mindful of your choices, remembering the pain and understanding what you can and can’t do to avoid that same problem in the future. Three Steps to Forgiving Yourself Treat yourself kindly, not with ongoing negative self-talk. Nobody deserves to remain in the doghouse forever. If you have been beating yourself up about something, give it up and replace the energy with doing something more productive to gain from the experience. Hold yourself accountable for your behavior every day. Make good choices with the knowledge of your learnings from the past. Make those experiences count for something. Be sorry and make a promise to yourself that you will not fall into that particular POTHOLE again. Live up to that promise. Trust you can do it. Then, make sure to do it. Can you ever forgive yourself? It doesn’t come easy, that is for sure. It is one of the deepest and most personal of challenges to overcome. You deserve to be happy and free of the burdens of regret. If you are having trouble letting go, seek help to figure out how to resolve it for yourself. You will be forever grateful to be forgiven! Judy Kaplan is an individual & marital therapist, a professional motivational speaker, consultant and publisher. For further information about the work that Judy does feel free to contact her at 847-833-9585 or mstherapy@aol.com.

Time to Think of YOU!

By: Mika Tatich

So your children have gone back to school now and you have all this free time to do whatever you want. What are you doing with it? Are you cleaning the house twice a day? Grocery shopping so the family has a well-cooked meal when they get home?

Maybe it’s time you do something for yourself. While the spouse and kids are out learning and working, you owe it to yourself to have a little “me” time. Options are unlimited in how you want to spend a few hours of your day. Have you wanted to take an exercise class? Dance, maybe? Cooking? Here at Red, we encourage women to never forget what they dream about. If what you sit around fantasizing about is only a phone call away, go for it!

Here are a few ideas for those who may not know exactly what they want to take up:

Baking class. You love sweets just as much as the next woman, so why not try a baking class? Learn to make your family’s favorite sweets and show off your baking skills to girlfriends at your next get-together. Chances are they’ll love what you are doing and want to join!

Have an afternoon out with the girls. Maybe all of you have a family to tend to and can only chat during the week via phone. Clear your schedule of sweeping the floor and hanging clothes to spend an afternoon catching up, seeing a movie, or whatever it is you both like to do!

Rearrange the living room. I know it sounds boring, but rearranging rooms in my place is one of my favorite things. Not only does it make your house feel refreshed but will give you a sense of appeasement and

Meditation. Everyone should take the time to clear your mind of excess baggage or thoughts and rejuvenate. Help yourself feel alive again.

Clean out the closets. Ahh, the one thing we love to avoid – closet cleaning. Stop being a pack rat and empty your closet of things you don’t need/use/wear. Give them to a Goodwill or Salvation Army, so your unwanted items can go to people who really need it.

Engage in dancing and/or exercising. Find a dance or exercising class nearby that sounds interesting and fun to you. Now’s the time to take up past hobbies or dreams. You’ll not only feel great in your body afterwards but you’ll have met a whole group of new women!

Whatever you want to do, do it. You only live once, so get movin’, sister!

Saying You’re Sorry

By: Mika Tatich

When there’s a fight between you and one of your girlfriends, what do you do to resolve it? Do you rush to her house and demand an apology? Do you wait until your friend calls to apologize because you’re too stubborn?

It’s not uncommon to have difficulty saying you’re sorry to a friend when an argument has broken out. After all, we are women, which means we allow our emotions and feelings to skyrocket at any moment. We’re sensitive and moody, but that’s okay! The most important thing is to recognize these feelings and figure out the best way to get a grip on them.

If you and your friend have been getting into multiple arguments lately, ask yourself, “Am I okay?” Without knowing it, you could be stressed out, malnourished or just plain busy with life, causing a bit of tension between you and those close to you.

When this happens, the first thing you need to do is locate where the stress is coming from. After that’s finished, pick up the phone and make a call to your friend apologizing for the way things have been recently, and let her know why you’ve been stressed.

Oh, there’s no stress behind your anger? That’s okay. Sometimes we need to feel truth to being upset to remind us we’re human. If one of your girlfriends has been breaking the unwritten rule of secretly seeing your ex behind your back, you have a reason to be upset. But running to your other best friend and saying hurtful things is not going to make things better.

One of the things you can do in this situation is vent to something instead of someone, like a stuffed animal or your mother’s casserole. Heck, even your pet will do! But bringing another friend into the messy situation isn’t going to help anything. If she is willing to help, though, let her be the common ground between you and your “backstabbing” friend. She can hear both sides out, keep some sort of communication between you two and maybe even set up a date at the coffee shop for all three of you to talk.

When the time has come for you and your friend to make up, please make sure you make up in person. Things may seem okay via phone, but the next time you see one another it may feel awkward.

Face to face confrontation is always the best way to go, so put those frightened feelings aside and pull out the hidden hugs!

Photo Source: More Than Coping

Let’s Get You Hired!

By: Mika Tatich

Have you been out of a job all summer? Unhappy with your current job and looking for another? With students heading back to school this month, two things are bound to happen: more jobs will be back on the market, and you’ll find yourself to have more time for extra pay while the kids will be preoccupied.

With the help of my co-worker, journalism intern Araceli Arroyo, we have made a list of tips for you to help ensure you’re on the right path to a great career.

Make a list of apply-to companies. Are there certain companies you’d like to work for? Start a list of all the places you will apply to, and check them off as you send in your resume.

Be prepared. Do all the research you can on each of the companies you plan on applying to. Practice your interview skills in front of the mirror as well as your phone skills. Make sure your resume is updated and as perfect as can be, and have plenty of business cards handy.

Network with anybody and everybody you possibly can. Take advantage of all the community sites online such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Alum Mater, etc. and see if you can find a person who may be willing to help you.

Dive right in and apply for a job immediately after hearing about it. The last thing you want is someone else to be stealing your job while you’re snoozing on the couch with an open bag of Oreos.

Stay on top of things. Follow up from your interview or resume by thanking those you met with for allowing you to speak to them. Also, remind them of your interest in the position you want and why you would be a match for the job.

To accept or not to accept? Lastly, when you receive a job offering, take the time to weigh out the pros and cons of accepting it. Does it meet your requirements? What are the benefits to taking this job? Do I see myself being happy with this company? Happiness is key.

Photo Source: LiveCareer