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Posts Tagged ‘holidays’

Valentine’s Day is fast approaching and most of us celebrate Valentine’s Day in some way or another. When it comes to Valentine’s Day I enjoy doing something special with my spouse but we always plan a few special things to do with our family. Afterall…This day is all about love!

What kind of “family” things do you like to do with your family to celebrate? Here is some of the things we like to do.

1. We make handmade cards for one another & then mail them to each other. It is always fun to see them & who doesn’t love getting a card in the mail.

2. If you have older children let them help you bake up some Valentine’s Day goodies such as heart shaped cakes, decorated cupcakes or some Valentine’s Day shaped sugar cookies decorated in red & white sprinkles.

3. Throw a Valentine’s Day mini party! Play some games, watch some movies, pop some popcorn & call out for a pizza.

4. Put up some Valentine’s Day decorations & let the kids help!

5. Make or Buy extra little Valentine’s Day cards and have the kids fill them out. Drop them off at senior centers, hospitals or send them to our troops. It’s also nice to remember others during this very special day.

What kind of “family” Valentine’s Day activities do you enjoy doing with your family?

Shelly

Making and Keeping New Years Resolutions by Corrie Petersen

Everyone does it! New Years Day rolls around and we all sit down and make our New Years Resolutions. It’s one of those things that just come natural to us on January 1.

How many of you make those New Years resolutions each year and lose site of them before the first quarter is over? I know I have! Let’s look at the difference between a goal and a New Years resolution. A goal is something you are striving to achieve. A New Years resolution is something you really don’t want to do, but you know you should. So, even though most likely it won’t get done, you feel obligated to make the resolution to do it.

An example of a goal would be:

I want to make $2000 a month

An example of a New Years resolution would be:

I want to lose 100 pounds

In the first example you know this can happen if you sit down and plan. In the second example this may be a little more difficult because losing 2 pounds a week may be hard for some. A lot of us set a goal of losing weight, but because life and business happen, this does not!

Now that we know the difference between a goal and a New Years resolution, let’s talk about the ways you can make your New years resolution into a goal that you can achieve.

One thing that will help you reach your goal is to write it down. Not only will writing it down help you remember your goal, but it will also keep you accountable. You will want to put your goals in a place where you will see them every day. The more you see them, the more likely you are to accomplish them. Another thing that will help you to reach your goals is to share your goals with someone that can hold you accountable.

Once you have your major goals in place, you need to break those down into goals that are more reachable. Break them down into monthly goals. That way you will know what you need to do on a monthly basis to reach the major goals. Now for some a monthly goal is too far out there. That’s ok. Just break your goals into weekly goals. Just do what it takes to make it reachable.

When you break your goals into smaller goals they look more attainable. Here is an example.

Say you want to make $12,000 a year. $12,000 seems like a huge amount of money. You may take one look at that and want to give up. Well, don’t do that! Instead, make the goal reachable. Break that goal down into monthly amounts. $12,000 a year means you need to make $1000 a month, which means you need to make $250 a week. Now sit down and see what you need to do to make $250 a week. Write down exactly what you need to do to make $250 a week.

Once you have your smaller goals written down, you need to share them with that someone we talked about earlier. You need to share them with someone that will hold you accountable. That person may be your spouse or another work at home mom or maybe a friend that has similar goals.

When you find the person that is going to help you, you need to set a time at least once a week that will work for both of you. You will need to tell this person what you did for the week, if you reached your goals, and what your new goals are for the coming week. Mondays and Fridays are good days to do this goal meeting.

So there you have it. You are well on your way to having a successful year. Keep up the great work and continue to strive each week and before you know it, you will reach your goals!

Corrie Petersen is the owner of WAHM-Articles.com and she runs a successful Virtual Assistant business. She loves to help her clients reach success through the services she offers. If you’re ready to take your business up a notch, go to http://www.virtualfreedom4you.com to see what services she offers.

Article Source: WAHM Articles

I would like to wish all of my blog followers & readers a very happy NEW YEAR!

Now that the 2010 year has been completed, it is time to move on and begin 2011. At the beginning of each new year I like to look back at the previous year and make a list of things I would like to accomplish in the new year and that list is comprised of both personal and business goals. I wouldn’t call them New Year’s Resolutions but New Year’s Goals.

The new year of 2011 brings to me a new business goal and that is to keep this blog site up and running on my own and to keep providing all of my readers with information, articles and tips for you to enjoy.

If you are a goal setter or a New Year’s Resolution setter…I hope you accomplish everything that you set out to accomplish during the new year.

Happy New Year Everyone!

Shelly

It’s that time of year again where the holiday season is getting into full swing. Every where you go you see holiday decorations and people are generally in a very giving and festive mood. I don’t know about you…but people around here start decorating for the holidays the day after Thanksgiving…and our radio stations are playing all of the wonderful music that goes along with the holiday season.

There are many fun things you can get out there and do as a family…after all, the holiday season is all about family time! Here are some things that I enjoy doing with my family.

1. Caroling (in our neighborhood & local nursing homes/hospitals)
2. Helping the less fortunate decorate their homes & yards.
3. Volunteer to help make the season better for others.
4. Donate toys
5. Donate food to your local food bank or volunteer to help prepare holiday meals for shelters or meals on wheels.
6. Attend local holiday plays and shows.
7. Attend local tree lighting ceremonies.
8. Drive around your neighborhood with the kids to look at holiday light displays.
9. Entertain some family and friends at your home with a pre-holiday party. Spend the time decorating the tree, wrapping gifts, eating some great food, singing holiday songs, etc.
10. Rent some holiday movies and have family movie night.
11. Plan a few family game nights & award the winners of those games with some pre-holiday presents.
12. Visit Santa and get family pictures done.
13. Get a few family and friends together for a cookie exchange party.

What does your family enjoy doing together during the holiday season?

Shelly

I would like to wish all of my blog readers a Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you enjoy this time with all of your family and friends!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Shelly

During certain holidays throughout the year, I enjoy making a great tasting ham for our holiday dinners. Once the dinner is over…I am always left with a lot of left-over ham! To solve this problem, I like to freeze my left-overs to use at another time.

When it comes to freezing your ham, I remove the rind and bones and cut my ham into bite-sized chunks or I thinly slice it depending on how I plan to use it. I like to freeze mine in freezer safe storage bags in pint and quart sizes. I freeze in 1 cup, 2 cup and 3 cup capacities which is how I make most of my recipes. You will want to label your bags with the contents and how many cups are inside. Frozen ham will keep for 2-3 months if properly frozen.

Now…what can you make with all of that left-over frozen ham?

1 cup portions: great for ham sandwich spread (ham salad), pizza toppings, taco fillings, toss on fresh vegetable salads, ham and egg omelets.

2 and 3 cup portions: great for ham and bean soup, ham and green beans, ham pot pie, ham and potato soup, pork vegetable soup, split pea soup, ham stuffed manicotti or use it in lasagna in place of beef, ham and rice stir fry, meat and potato stuffed pastry pie, ham Sheppard’s pie, cheesy ham pasta dish, ham and broccoli casserole or tossed in a big fresh vegetable chef salad.

There are many things you can make with leftover ham once you have properly frozen it. You can find oodles of great recipes online by doing a keyword search for leftover holiday ham recipes.

Shelly Hill is a mother and grandmother living in Pennsylvania who enjoys cooking, baking and canning a variety of foods for her family and friends. You can visit Shelly’s online cooking and recipe site at http://wahmshelly.blogspot.com for free menu ideas, cooking tips and free recipes.