Tag: heart

Reach out and touch a heart!

Reach out and touch a heart!

A day is often filled with lots of stressors, usually things that make life a bit chaotic, but there are so many little moments in-between that make life amazing and worth all those exhausting and stressful moments.  As a teacher, I love the little things that make my students smile, laugh, and allow me to see a different side of them or witness them in a different light, even for just a minute or two.

I am like any tired teacher, CEO, janitor, parent, customer service representative, lawyer, doctor, etc because I am often overwhelmed by my post-it note reminders and to-do lists.  I have had some tough days lately filled with anxiety, tears, and even questioning what I am doing as a teacher.  I had a few patches with several complex situations (actually, three specific stressors) that made my life feel like it was spinning in circles.

During those spinning circles, there were two students that made an impact on my life.  One student who had been struggling recently came to me and asked if I could help her with finding a job.  As a Business Teacher, I was thrilled to be able to offer her assistance and that she showed such motivation by coming in after school to get help.  I answered her questions and assisted with a resume.  She was thrilled by the small amount of help that I had offered.  The next day she came in very excited to tell me that she had an interview coming up.  It was actually one of the first times I had seen her smile and saw such emotion in her personality.  I was very excited for her.  I congratulated her and told her I wanted updates on the job (basically so that I could cheer her on along the way as she started this new adventure).

This next young lady asked the most simple question, but it left a smile upon my face.  She is a quiet student and I really haven’t gotten to know her that well since it’s a new semester.  She’s always been very respectful and honest, but I could never tell whether she likes my class, hates my class, or just tolerates it since it’s her consumer education credit.  She came up to me at the end of class and in the most innocent and sweet voice she said, “I applied for a job, Mrs. Jamieson.”  I said, “That’s great, I hope you get it!”  She followed that with, “I did the online application, but I have this feeling that I should call or do something else, but I don’t even know what I would even say.”  I was impressed with her admission and how candid she was with me.  After all, I didn’t realize she trusted me or felt comfortable in my class yet (mostly because she’s quiet).  I said, “I would actually go to the place you applied and tell them you submitted an online application.  Explain to them that you wanted to confirm that they received it and hope they contact you soon to discuss the position.”  I explained to her that this gives the employer a chance to see her and it may set her apart from other applicants that don’t follow through after they submit the application.  She told me she felt relieved about what would come next.  She smiled and as she left, I said, “You know this means you have to keep me posted on your job prospects and how it goes!”

What’s the point of these two stories?  It’s quite simple.  Reach out and help others, touch their heart and in turn it will touch yours.  These young ladies did just as much, if not more, for me as I did for them.

~jj

#ProjectKindnessBook

#AlwaysChooseKindness

Find your passions {express yourself & decompress}!

Find your passions {express yourself & decompress}!

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Life can be a mountain.  It is much more a mountain than a beach.  There are challenges to overcome, hoops to jump through, and hills to climb to meet your goals and achieve your dreams.  Passions, hobbies, and ways to fill your time in a meaningful way for yourself and others help combat the challenges and obstacles.  You may not even think about the hobbies or things that you do to relieve stress, whether it be spending time with your kids, going on a date with your spouse, exercising, reading, cleaning and organizing your house, or some other hobby that you love.  There are hundreds of hobbies you can use to enhance your life and those around you.  It will make you stronger, happier, and more relaxed to devote some of your own time to your health.  It may just seem like everyday life to most people, but having avenues to decompress are vital.  They keep you happy, healthy, thankful, and sane.

Not only are hobbies important to decompress at the end of the day or week, or at the end of a very traumatic or draining month, but they allow you to express yourself in a unique way.  I often scrapbook and exercise to destress and reduce any tension that I feel.  I love to scrapbook to get my creative juices flowing and to reconnect and visit all the fun adventures that I have been fortunate enough to be able to experience.  I have been scrapbooking for 10 years and it is one of the most calming and refreshing hobbies that relieves stress.  On the other hand, I love a good workout and sweat session to boost my energy and rejuvenate my body after an exhausting or frustrating day.  Both are great hobbies that help my mind and body in different ways.  My small hobbies have helped me maintain a balance in my life and a thankful spirit in my heart.

Finding your passions and sticking to them will make you feel more at ease with your life, giving it more depth and meaning.  You might also find that channeling your hobbies will give you energy, express your creative side, and remind you to be thankful for all that you have.

~jj

#ProjectKindnessBook

#AlwaysChooseKindness

ABCs + Exercises = Get Moving!

ABCs + Exercises = Get Moving!

I thought it would be fun to do something a little different this week that would be creative, a little out of the ordinary, and something that family and kids, couples, and people of all ages can enjoy together!  In honor of the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women campaign and to pay tribute to Heart Health Month it seemed appropriate to put together an “ABCs of Exercises” to get people moving this month and throughout 2015!  So, here are some exercise ideas to get you going!

A:  Ab workout

B: Biking, Basketball, Bicycle Crunches

C: Crunches, Canoeing

D: Dancing

E: Equestrian – Ride horses!

F: Football

G: Game night w/ a twist – do exercises in-between games and snack breaks!

H: Hiking

I: Ice skating

J: Jumping jacks, Jogging

K: Kayaking

L: Lunges

M: Make a fort, make a tunnel, or make something creative outside!

N: Natural surroundings, use your imagination in your neighborhood to play outside.

O: Open Air — because I love fresh air and being outside!  Run, jog, walk, hike, the possibilities are endless!

P: Push-ups, Paddle boat

Q: Quick run

R: Racquetball, Running

S: Squats, Soccer, Skiing, Stretching, Swimming

T: Tennis

U: Ultimate frisbee

V: Volleyball

W: Weights/Weight training, Walking

X: X-treme water park? It’s X…give me a break, there aren’t too many options with X!

Y: Yoga, Yard work

Z: Zoo outing might be an option as long as it involves some walking, of course!

Happy exploring, playing, and moving!  Find your interests and hobbies and use those along with your imagination and creativity to come up with activities that you can enjoy all while moving!

~jj

Find solutions to your health weaknesses!

Find solutions to your health weaknesses!

I got home from the store today and my mom asked if I had bought her any jalapeno cheddar kettle chips.  My response was no because I don’t want to be the reason to encourage bad eating habits.  I didn’t say that to be mean, but because good family and friends help support those people they care about in their life.  By the way, I realize my blog as many post on exercise and health, but remember that in order to be healthy you must have a combination of emotional, nutritional, physical, social, spiritual, environmental, and intellectual well being.

So, why am I telling you about my mom’s chip addiction?  Because it is important to determine your eating and fitness weaknesses and find solutions for them.  For example, if it’s eating junk food, don’t buy tons of junk food like chips, oreos, french fries, and fried chicken tenders when you go to the store.  These junk food items tend to stare at you and reel you in if you keep them in your cabinets and pantry, encouraging you to eat more because of a food weakness you have.  If you aren’t capable of doing this because you don’t have the willpower to resist the urge of buying junk food, take someone with you that will make you be accountable for what you put in your cart.

If you struggle with having enough energy during your workouts then change your routine to include a power snack several hours before working out.  Apples, bananas, almonds, and carrots are great energy boosters to eat pre-workout.  If you don’t have enough energy at the end of your workout then you are probably doing something wrong.  Remember that the end of your workout should be the cool down.  This means you slowly ease your body and heart rate back down to its resting state.  So do NOT run 5 miles, swim, do a heavy cardio workout, etc and then suddenly stop once you have finished or met your goal.  One of the WORST things you can do for your body is to not do a proper warm-up and cool down (increases risk of spraining, straining, and other exercise injuries).  If you aren’t doing both now, I suggest you start to prevent injuries and slowly bring yourself back down to your normal heart rate.  It can be as simple as a 5 minute stretch.  This will help you ease into and out of your workout without dreading it or feeling energy deprived.

If your weakness is eating out, then consider making meals ahead and pre-planning meals each week.  For example, sit down on Sunday and write down your meals for the week and then insert what meals you will allow yourself to eat out.  I suggest you only eat out a few times each week.  You may think that you are able to find healthy eating options at restaurants, but often times you don’t know the calories, fats, and additives that are in restaurant prepared meals.

It’s summer and that means sunscreen season!  If you don’t wear it, you should!  If you think skin cancer won’t happen to you, think again.  It isn’t worth taking the chance!  Putting on sunscreen takes an additional 1-2 minutes or less (literally) and if that’s too long for you then consider a spray.  While I don’t think sprays are quite as effective, if that’s all the time you can or are willing to spare, then I am happy you at least do that.  One of the BEST ways to stay looking young is to apply sunscreen.  Why?  Because the sun burns and damages the skin around your eyes and nose where the skin is the most tender and thin.  This gives your face a more wrinkled and aged look.  So, next time you decide you don’t want to take the time to put on sunscreen, THINK AGAIN!

These may seem like nearly impossible changes to make to your current lifestyle, but remember that the above (along with most health choices) are learned habits, which means they can also with time, dedication, and discipline become unlearned habits!  I realize it can be hard to maintain healthy habits for your mind, body, and soul, but you will thank yourself if you work on changing your weaknesses into positives.  I challenge you to make a change to make a difference in your life, the life of those you care about, and the lives of others (through healthy choices, of course)!

~jj

Ditch your soda…here’s why!

Ditch your soda…here’s why!

You may (and should) know by now that soda isn’t exactly the best drink choice!  Or maybe you don’t, so let me be the first to inform you that you might want to reconsider next time you open a soda.  If you haven’t given up soda yet, here’s just a few reasons why you should: soda actually has lots of unnecessary calories, many sodas are loaded with sugar and aspartame, and they actually dehydrate you rather than quench your thirst.

This past week when I took a recertification class for First Aid & CPR, we began a discussion on soda.  One of the obvious concerns with soda is the high sugar content that it has.  Even many juices and sports drinks (i.e. Gatorade, Powerade, Vitamin Water, etc) are high in sugar which is why it is best to stick with water.  While I know some will say they can’t stand the bland taste of water and yada, yada, yada.  If that truly is the case, I strongly suggest you buy flavor packets that you can add to water rather than turning to soda and other sugary drinks.

This may be a short entry, but it is an important one!  For all of you who wish to lose weight and increase energy one of the easiest and BEST ways to do that is to give up soda.  Soda alone will help you drop weight quickly (especially if you are a heavy soda drinker)!  So, my advice is to get off the soda bandwagon and join the water bandwagon instead.  You may hate it at first, but you will thank yourself and me later when you realize how much better you feel.

~jj

Do it for your heart health!

Do it for your heart health!

Happy HEART HEALTH month!  Let’s talk about some important statistics and discuss what you can do to make sure your heart is strong and healthy.  This is a particularly important topic that I hold close to my heart (no pun intended)! 😉  I worked collaboratively with the American Heart Association (AHA) for 2 years and it opened my eyes to the wonderful initiatives and projects of the AHA as well as the severe concerns regarding heart health that face the United States today.

According to the AHA, heart disease is the number one killer of women in the United States, claiming more lives than all forms of cancer combined (heart.org).  While this stat is geared toward women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States, but heart disease is preventable and controllable (cdc.org).  These stats alone should be enough to make you strive to exercise at least 30 minutes each day so that you can spend many moons making fun memories with friends and family!  Remember, heart disease impacts all shapes and sizes, big or small, as well as every age, young or old.

What can YOU do to help prevent heart disease?

-Eat and maintain a healthy diet.

-Exercise regularly.

-Keep a steady, healthy weight.

-Don’t smoke.

-Regularly check your blood pressure and cholesterol.

For additional or more specific information, visit heart.org (AHA), millionhearts.hhs.gov (CDC), and cdc.gov/features/heartmonth (CDC).

I hope you recognize that the tips, advice, and stories I post each week are to help encourage people to “exercise2behealthy” for this very reason.  Not because I am concerned with the outside of each person, but because I care about the inside and the health concerns such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes, etc. that can be side effects of poor health choices.  Hence, there is no time like the present to get moving and start making healthy dietary choices for you and your family!

~jj

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