Relaxation

Serene: Do you ever wonder? Sometimes we are so caught up in the details of life that we forget how beautiful and serene life can be. For a few minutes of relaxation with calming photos and music:

Flash: Jacquie Lawson has created about 45 wonderful cards crafted skillfully using

Macromedia's Flash program. Here we have a Flash picture which Jacquie will change every month.

Her website may be viewed at at: http://www.jacquielawson.com/default.asp. where you can make good use of these cards that are just the thing for sending during the holidays via email.

Click on the picture to see one of these cards in action. Enjoy this while you are in a relaxed mood.

Relaxation begins with learning how to deal with the stress in life so that you can relax. Most of us have learned on both a personal and professional level that it is not possible to completely avoid stress in our lives. But what is possible, is to change how we react to it.

It’s not only possible – it’s imperative for our physical, spiritual, mental and emotional health. Don’t you just want to slap the health care worker who says, “Do you have any stress in your life?” when you complain of headaches, sleeplessness, difficulty concentrating, or other “vague” syndromes of discomfort? "Do I have any stress? Excuse me, do you actually know someone who doesn’t have stress?” So my new venue here will be ways for us all to decrease our stress. For some reason (the media’s overcooked concept?) the first person who comes to mind is the “working mother” – and the “single Mom” – so my first thought was this site which – no kidding – lets you figure out something for dinner even when you have a nearly bare fridge and nothing much in the cupboard either!

Try it. I think you will like it. And what a nice way to decrease the stress in your life for those 'especially rushed minutes' between unbuckling the kids in the car seats to getting some supper on the table before they start whining, fighting, crashing, snacking!!

Soup's on! (From Kim Komando’s Daily Newsletter)

Do you ever open the refrigerator and stare at everything? Sometimes I just don't know what to make for dinner. I'll stand there forever hoping something jumps out at me.

Cooking by numbers will help out when you're at a loss for recipes. It lists a bunch of common ingredients. Place a check in the box next to the ingredients that you have in your refrigerator and pantry. Based on what you have in the kitchen, it will list a number of recipes you can make.

The Toy Maker! This next site, also from Kim Kommando is a delightful one. It is a way to spend quality time with the kids in a very old time way, using modern technology to do it. Well, just check it out – you’ll be glad you did!!

Old-style fun - Before computers (gasp!) and electricity, children and adults had to find a way to amuse themselves. Most toys and games were homemade.

These paper toys have an old-school feel to them. Click on a link for a description of the toy. Each has a printable pdf file, so they're a snap to make!

You'll find folding story books, gift bags, baskets and more. It's a lot of fun.

TO VISIT THIS SITE, GO HERE: http://www.thetoymaker.com/

The Rescue Site: Another way to relax is to do service for others. In this case, it is quite relaxing to simply flip from web page to web page donating money that is NOT your own, to help others. I have lots of other tricks up my sleeve to help you relax but first, try this simple technique which will hopefully, take your mind others more troubled than you are. Keep this site on your desktop as a short cut or send yourself the link and keep it in the bottom of your inbox. Each day, before opening your other mail, open this
one and click the tabs one by one. Each click donates to the cause listed under that tab. (Read the "about us" and other information in the side bar to see how this works.) Clicking the back button on your web browser after clicking or donating to each cause
will raise the tab you just used so that you do not lose your place.

These are true and real donations confirmed with www.truthorfiction.com/ and have been helping the named causes for a number of years now. Be generous. Spend a few minutes each day to click and donate (not your money) to some of the world's greatest causes.

Service for Others - Opportunity to help our Servicemen:

One thing mental health practitioners have found, after many studies which I will not enumerate here, is that stress reduction is often a matter of changing one’s focus. Interestingly, in support groups for people with emotional distress, it has been learned that even drugs don’t always do as much for a person’s stress level as helping others. It’s the opinion by many in the mental health field, that helping others also improves our own feelings of self-worth. With these thoughts in mind I have included the following links for your perusal and mental health!!

AAFES Gift Certificates
http://www.aafes.com/docs/homefront.htm
The Army and Air Force Exchange Services is where most servicemen and women do their shopping. You can purchase gift certificates for those in Iraq and those hospitalized.

Adopt a Platoon
http://www.adoptaplatoon.org/
Adopt a Platoon has several ongoing projects to ensure that every soldier overseas does not walk away from mail call empty-handed.

AnySoldier
http://anysoldier.com/index.cfm
Any Soldier is a non-profit organization that helps people send care packages to members of the armed services in Iraq.

AOLbyPhone
aol://4344:3449.abpSPLSH.16722104.784567724/
AOL users can record up to a 3-minute voice mail and send it to military personnel who are in their Address Book. The recipient will receive the message as an e-mail attachment and can listen from their computer. Free trial ended January 15.

Appreciate Our Troops
http://www.appreciateourtroops.org
Purchase a Support Our Troops mug and a free personalized mug will be given to a current or former service member.

Blue Star Mothers
http://www.bluestarmothers.org
The Blue Star Mothers was founded by service members' moms during World War II. Any mother with a son or daughter in the military can join.

Books For Soldiers
http://www.booksforsoldiers.com/
Help the troops escape boredom by donating some books. You can also donate DVDs and CDs requested by soldiers.

Camp Doha
http://www.campdoha.org/
Camp Doha provides valuable information for those about to deploy, their friends and families and anyone who wants to support the troops.

Cell Phones for Soldiers
http://www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com/pages/1/index.htm
Donated cell phones are recycled and turned into cash. The cash is used to purchase calling cards for soldiers in Iraq.

Defend America
http://www.defendamerica.mil/nmam.html
Thank any service member stationed throughout the U.S. and the world with an e-mail.

Fisher House
http://www.fisherhouse.org/
The Fisher House Foundation donates comfort homes, built on the grounds of major military and VA medical centers. These homes enable family members to be close to a loved one during hospitalization for an unexpected illness, disease, or injury.

Freedom Calls
http://www.freedomcalls.org/
The Freedom Calls Foundation is helping families videoconference with their loved ones in Iraq. You can donate money to help keep this project going.

Groceries for Families
http://www.commissaries.com/certificheck/
The men and women who lay down their lives for us are terribly underpaid. Help a family by purchasing gift certificates to the commissary.

Help Others
http://www.wateraid.org/usa/default.asp

Homes for Our Troops
http://www.homesforourtroops.org/
Homes for Our Troops assists injured veterans and their immediate families by building new or adapting existing homes with handicapped accessibility.

Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund
https://www.intrepidmuseum.org/donation/contribute.php/?section=DON
The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund provides grants to the families of servicemen and women who died in Iraq. You can donate online, through mail or by calling a toll-free number.

Military Moms
http://www.militarymoms.net/index.html
This site provides support to all of the moms out there who has a son or daughter in the military.

Operation: A Bit of Home
http://www.operationabitofhome.com/
Operation: A Bit of Home supports over 150 different soldiers per day by providing necessary and hard-to-get toiletries.

Operation Air Conditioner
http://www.operationac.com/
Operation Air Conditioner provides not only air conditioners but space heaters (the desert is cold in the winter) for soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Operation Call Home
http://www.platoonphone.com/
Operation Call Home's mission is to provide each platoon with their own satellite phone.

Operation Dear Abby
http://anyservicemember.navy.mil/
The U.S. Navy and Dear Abby have teamed up. Their site allows you to send e-mail messages of support to service members.

Operation Give
http://www.operationgive.org/
Operation Give provides toys, clothing and school supplies primarily to the children of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Operation Hero Miles
http://www.heromiles.org/
You can donate your unused frequent flier miles to help soldiers travel on emergency leave. They are also used to help families fly to hospitalized soldiers.

Operation Interdependence
http://www.oidelivers.org/
Operation Interdependence supplies care packages to deployed soldiers. You can help out by providing goods, coordinating efforts or donating funds.

Operation Iraqi Children
http://www.operationiraqichildren.org/
Many soldiers are rebuilding schools in Iraq and scrounging around for school supplies. Help by donating a school supplies kit.

Operation Military Pride
http://operationmilitarypride.org
Operation Military Pride is a volunteer organization that sends cards letters and care packages to troops.

Operation Uplink
http://www.operationuplink.org/
Donate money to Operation Uplink. The money is used to purchase phone cards so servicemen and women can call home.

Soldiers' Angels
http://www.soldiersangels.org/heroes/index.php
Become some soldier's angel by adopting a service member.

Treats for Troops
http://www.treatsfortroops.com/
Treats for Troops helps get you provide packages to your loved ones overseas. If you don't know anyone, the Foster-A-Soldier Program matches you with a registered soldier by branch of service, home state, gender, or birthday - or you can choose to sponsor a group of soldiers.

USO Cares
http://www.usocares.org/
You can sponsor care packages provided by the USO with a $25 donation.

Voice from Home
http://voicesfromhome.org/home.html
Voices From Home allows military members and their families and friends to send and receive immediate voice e-mail messages in remote locations around the world.