Friday's Letters

Dear Tennis Ball, you're the best foot massage a girl could ask for after a long run. Dear Adidas Outlet, I felt like I was in heaven while sifting through your $12 running shorts and $40 shoes. Yes, it was heaven. Dear "The Happiness Project", because of you I am thinking twice before getting upset, taking more time to laugh, and remembering to be grateful. Dear Big D, I love it when you come share a good new song you found out about...and then ask me to buy it. Good thing I think you're the greatest...and we have the same taste in music.

Friday's Letters

Dear Garden Peas, I could eat you all day long. And no one is stopping me, so maybe I will. Dear Skating Class, you girls were so creative with your questions and answers during my nutrition class. Thanks for showing your excitement for learning and health! Dear Desk Chair, I need to get out of you more. It'd help my body and mind. And you make me wish I had an exercise ball to replace you. Dear Weekend, I'm looking forward to sunshine, a long run, reading and naps. Thanks for slowing me down and keeping me going. Dear Summer Survival Tips, we'd all be better off if we followed some of those tips. Here's to changing for the better!

 

Friday's Letters

Dear Memorial Day, your early morning 10k, followed by work, gardening, visiting graves, a BBQ and Bee's Baseball game made me more grateful than ever for health and family. Dear Little Girls, you stood at the base of a 2 mile hill in the 10k on Monday screaming "Cookies for sale but you don't have to pay!" Thanks for making me smile instead of cry. Dear Lunch Hour, as much as I love my job, sitting outside in the sun eating my cold hard boiled eggs is a nice break from the office chair - for my legs and my mind. Dear Kale Chips, I've eaten a whole pan of you...by myself...3 times in the last week. Why do you have to be so good?

Love, T

 

A Reason to Smile

Not so long ago I posted about the importance of being grateful and how much that can benefit our health.

Well, today I’m here to tell you another simple yet important way to better your health: SMILE.

According to this article there are several personal benefits to smiling.

*Be Happy, Fight Illness Better: People who are optimistic (and these are the people who are out there smiling!) have stronger immune systems and are actually able to fight off illness better than pessimists. “There is a link between optimistic attitudes and good health. It has been measured in a variety of ways. Overall, we have found that optimistic people are healthier. Their biological makeup is different. They have a more robust immune system." Another indication is that happy people tend to take care of themselves more, which often leads to good health.

*Smile: You’ll Live Longer: According to a study published in the November 2004 issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry, elderly optimistic people, those who expected good things to happen (rather than bad things), were less likely to die than pessimists. In fact, among the 65- to 85-year-old study participants, those who were most optimistic were 55 percent less likely to die from all causes than the most pessimistic people.

*Smiling Feels Like Eating 2,000 Chocolate Bars: According to The British Dental Health Foundation, a smile gives the same level of stimulation as eating 2,000 chocolate bars. The results were found after researchers measured brain and heart activity in volunteers as they were shown pictures of smiling people and given money and chocolate. Dr. Nigel Carter, chief executive of the Foundation, pointed out, "We have long been drawing attention to the fact that smiling increases happiness both in yourself and those around you, so it is good to receive the backing of this scientific research…”

*Smiling is Contagious: What's even better is that the more you smile, the more others will too. Says 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."

So give it a try…make an effort to smile a little more today!

Good Eats and Good Reads

Here is some link love to start out your weekend! I’ve (mostly) finished school and moved home. I can’t wait to start cooking and hanging out with my family and running outside and not studying anatomy! Hallelujah!

~ Are you a morning person? I sure am!
~ Remember when I challenged you to go to a spin class? Well check out the benefits here!
~Check it out! My quinoa granola bars made the list!
~Anyone racing this weekend? Here are some tips!
~Better than ice cream? Why not?! (I made some of this for my family, strawberry banana flavored!)
~Ready to start training for a race? Check out Smart Coach with Runners World. Simply become a member and fill out when the race is, how hard you want to train, what your level is, etc., and they make a plan! Super cool.
~Somehow I've been designated as the "pineapple cutter" of the family. But here is how to for the real thing!

Here's a little weekend inspiration...have a good one!

~Have a link you want to share? Leave it in the comments for all of us to enjoy!!