Challenge Of This Week

Are you ready for this weeks challenge? Of course you are. You have been ready for quiet some time now haven't you. This weeks challenge is to...

SMILE!


Now you are looking at this and thinking, well that is not much of a challenge but believe me it is. I want you to smile at EVERYTHING. I am not just talking your smiling at a person as they walk by but also at your daily routines that could have mishaps.

The other day I was in the store. Now I do not believe I have told this but I had an injury a while back that has hurt my back. So I am very cautious when it comes to doing certain activities. However I was not cautious enough or in time for what was about to happen. There I was standing in line waiting patiently. I notice I seem to find the lines that make me wait. Oh well. I am standing there and then it turns to my turn. So I am putting up my items, now I do not know about you but I like to watch the items get rang up so I know I am getting the same price I saw on the shelf. So I am trying to quickly load onto the conveyer belt as the cashier is checking my stuff. I figure I will count it in my head. I finish up and push the cart in front of me and go to pay. When a shooting pain goes down my back. The person behind me was not paying no attention and hit me with their cart. I was about to turn and say something along the lines of "Excuse me, am I invisible." I was only going to say that due to the person not apologizing. Yet my thoughts hit me all at once. As I am thinking away I am slowly finishing up paying and walking to the car. It takes more effort to be kind then it does not to be.

I thought what if the person behind me didn't realize it? Was that person to busy talking to notice? Should I start a fight just because I felt upset? If I did that would make me look just as bad as the person. So instead I walked away and as I walked away I found a penny and then smiled. This may not seem like much but there is a poem I loved growing up about how when you are down a angel will toss down a penny to cheer you up. For the rest of the day I smiled and I had a really nice day. I even got smiles back from other people.

So your challenge is smile. Even if you spill coffee, trip, make a mistake I want you to smile and look out because there may be a pe nny from an angel coming your way in the days to come.

~Keyria Lockheart~

Today is the day that the Lord has made. Let us be glad and rejoice in it!!

Catching up

First I need to apologize for not writing sooner. I have to tell you though I finally finished one major goal on my long term goals list. I am now a graduate and have my AA. YAY lol.

Now here is something I did while I was working on my goal to finish college:

Morning Goal Blues

I woke up early, gave my dog a hug

I rolled to the right and screamed, there was a bug

Just lying on the pillow I hope it had a nice nap

I threw it in the garbage then adjusted my night cap

I went to a take a shower because now I felt icky

Of course didn’t help when I stepped in something sticky

This cannot be happening I said looking down

Sure enough doggie love pile was splattered on the ground

I went to the bathroom to grab some T.P.

It was all gone, lucky me

Time for a shower, I was washing my hair

When soap got into my eyes, ahhh! This was not fair

I put on my robe and into the kitchen I went

Thinking coffee might help oh and I must pay the rent.

I go to find my checkbook and my pen

When I heard my phone ring again and again.

Now I was in a frantic as I was throwing things all around

Trying to find where my phone was by its ringing sound

When I finally found it under the cushion that I threw

I pressed talk “Hello?” “Hey Kyra, it’s is Drew,

Was wondering if you wanted to go out today

That sounds wonderful I thought then said “O.K.”

I hung up the phone with information got

Wasn’t paying attention when I grabbed the coffee “ouch that is hot”

I screamed as it shattered to the ground

More too clean up, messes were coming in mounds

But first my checkbook last night it was on the table

When I was listening to the self help tap….ahem I mean watching cable

There it was lying down on the floor

It had bite marks from my puppy ding dong, there was the door

I went to the window to see who was there

It was my land lord lady with purple dyed hair

“Hello Mrs. Micheal and how are you today?”

“I am fine, need the rent and I will soon be on my way”

I grabbed my checks with the puppy teeth marks

Looking for a pen while my puppy did bark

Mrs. Miceals left, and I turned around

Looking at all the disasters on the ground

I took a towel and cleaned up the messes

Taking away some of my stresses

Ding dong ding dong went the front door

I was surprised that I fell with a kaboom to the floor

I looked once again to see who was there

It was Drew standing with his friend Claire

I started to mumble inside my mind

I thought this was a date oh well this is fine

I welcome them in they asked “What went kaboom?”

I tell them it was something in the other room

My laundry was still going and I wasn’t prepared

To start this day oh why should I care

I get dressed, grab keys and phone

Told my puppy to be good while he is alone

Off I go to start my life

Praying that it will hold no strife

Even though not much was done

The rest of the day turned out to be fun

In the back of my mind I had much to do

So here is my quick poem just for you

This I must confess

That sometimes life can be a stress

With all our promises and all our goals

We walk around counting Woes

I have this to do and that to have done

I have this to get and that to have run

Work, school, errands, meetings

Hello! Goodbye! Oh Simple quick greetings

In and out of stores

In and out of doors

Clean the house, mow the lawn

Run another errand won’t be long

Run around all through town

Sometimes I feel my world upside down.

May you have a Blessed day

With successful goals in every way.

~Keyria Lockheart~

Phil 4:13 You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you.

Goal: Throwing a party

The other day I was going to talk about having a birthday party. Your goal would be set up a birthday party and successfully run it. First and foremost we need to make sure we can do it stress free.

The first thing I always do when planning anything is make a list. Since this is a party my list will include the following:

When and where I can have it.
Decorations and what kind of party (costume, birthday etc)
Foods
Prizes and gifts
Who is invited and how to invite
Games and props
How much I am willing to budget for everything.

Most of the time it is hard to have a huge party due to lack of funds. I find it more creative when you can have others particiapate. Here is a fun stress free party idea that may help you see what I mean.

Problem: I don't have money to take all my friends to the movies, bowling or some other activity.
Solution: Instead of them bringing a gift maybe they can use that money to pay thier own way in. Remember the fun is having friends there with you!

For my party I invited 7 friends to do bowling and movies. I knew I could not afford to pay for it. My friends and I decided that we would have fun by doing a carwash. We asked a store if we could use thier parking lot and we would give them 10% of our earnings. The store agreed. We then made signs saying birthday car wash. We used the theme that every car has a birthday and needs to be cleaned. It was great! We had a lot of fun. We were able to pay for not only the movies and bowling but also for food. After all of it was over we still had enough for each of us to have 20$ in our pockets. It was the best birthday I had ever had.

Problem: I can't have a party at home for personal reasons and I don't know what else to do since I dont have money to go do things.
Solution: Have it outside at a park, or maybe at a friends house or even in the backyard. There are alot of places you could have a party. Maybe just a few of your friends are invited and you can all car pool (all chip in for gas) and go have a beach party.

I did the beach party I invited four girl friends and we all carpooled up to the beach. We had a blast. Girls day out. What made it even better was the surfer guys we met that taught us a bit about surfing. A girls dream come true.

Problem: There are too many people invited and not enough food
Solution: Potlucks are best. Cheap snacks from a local dollar store such as cookies are good for layouts. Or do pizza but cut the pieces into smaller slices.

I once had a party that was themed as a casino. The only way you were allowed in was the cover charge of $2.00. This would enable each guest to play all the games inside and gave them $20 in chips to play with. Plus one free soda. After that we charged .50 for every can soda after and $.25 for every extra needed chip. This helped us make the money to order the pizza that they got to eat. Basically the guest paid for thier own meal.

Problem: I can not afford alot of decorations. I am on a very tight budget. Balloons alone are very expensive.
Solution: Sometimes we have to get creative. If you can't afford much the dollar stores have some fun party supplies and some even have balloons. Get creative with what you have. you can make confetti by shredding papper or cutting it into odd shapes. You can make streamers out of popcorn and ribbon.

For my childs birthday I had some colored ads that I normally toss but instead used the back of them and cut out each letter shape in Happy Birthday. I taped them to the wall. I bought a teenbop magazine. I cut out The pictures and taped them to the walls, chairs, tables, and hung up with ribbon the poster ones. I got some fun eyeshadow, blush and lipstick from the dollar store and layed those out along with nail polish. I put up pictures of her and her friends around the room as well. I used some dollar purple (her favorite color) material to cover the table where they could do thier make over. She was estatic when she came home and saw all the fun surpises.

Problem: Can't afford any decorations.
Solution: Become Creative. Use your mind. What pictures do you have that you can place out, what colors of materials can you use to decorate. What ribbon do you have left over from christmas, what about wrapping paper that you can use to cut out words and decorate walls with?

I just moved into a new studio. I had nothing on the walls yet because I had not unpacked. My friends thought this was perfect. I had no decorations and they had tons. They all came over with decorations and decorated my new apartment for my birthday. We had such a good time that we planned to do this for each time we get a new place. Mark who posted a picture of Santa Clause on the fireplace and his pic on my cieling said he is next. I am already getting ready to get him back for all the silly decorations he did to me.

Problem: Not sure what kind of theme to do
Solution: Be reasonable. Don't pick a theme that you can't afford to pull off. Costume can be fun, that way the decorations are basically on the person themselves lol. Game night have everyone bring thier favorite game over, Casino, Character night... are just a few fun ones

I did Casino and character. Both are fun to do. Character night is when you give each person that comes a certain idenity. Only they know who they are at the beginning of the night you have them reach in a hat and pull out a piece of paper. On that paper is an identity of who they will play the rest of the night. (course you and someone else has to put in identities so that you have some you know and some you dont. All night they have to go with that character. Then at the end you have everyone guess who they were. If you ever seen whos line is it anyways then you already know how to play. For the casino we had gone to the dollar store and picked up games.. tried to find casino type games, but used other games as well. We bought alot of cards and then enough so that each person can have a deck of thier own as a party gift.

Problem: What can I give as a party favor when dealing with a tight budget?
Solution: Alot of fun stuff can be from the dollar store. Since that place is cheap and you can find some fun things. Another idea is stuff that you may have that is in good standing that you may not want anymore.

The one I recomend is brown bag byes. Everyone invited brings a brown bag with an item in it. The idea is that there is a set budget on it like five dollars to a bag. So someone may put in a five dollar bill or another person may have put in a five dollar item. How it works is all the brown bags are the same but what is inside is different. They are mixed up and before each person leaves they get to have one of those bags. You never know what you may find. But it needs to be appropriate. (exp: Rags, makeup, hammer are not appropriate for a 7 year old all boy party.) This way you dont have to spend alot on party gifts instead you just do the one for the children of the household that are throwing the party.

Problem: I want the gifts to be originals not just same for each child.
Solution: You can go pick up some cheap gifts that are all different, or you could create crafts with your own supplies at home. (Sometimes you can get coupons for supplies at art stores)

The party favors I did for my children were they got to make things and take them home. I did alot of arts and crafts (cutting magazines, glitter, ribbons, beads etc) and alot of food crafts (we did worm in the dirt plus some other fun. These they got to take home and keep and it was arts and craft stuff I already had. I still can use the left over for children school projects and more.

Problem: Who should I invite.
Solution: Depends on what your planning for the day. If it is an out of town trip I suggest not taking as many kids. Where as if you are planning a home party then I say go ahead and invite more. Also pay attention to the ages. For a four year olds birthday you would not want to mix with alot of 10 year olds.

WHY?
Out of town trips are different when it comes to numbers. The more kids you have the less time for activities. It is easier to keep an eye on a few then on alot of kids plus it is safer. Unless you are in a school setting I don't suggest having alot of kids. Sometimes they can be overwhelming especially when there is not enough supervisors.

At home party is best for alot of kids. You have a set time of when you will start and end the party. Kids can come any time in between those hours. That helps you not to be overwhelmed with an all day trip, plus you have more supervisors as some parents like to stay with thier kids. This also helps kids to be available to participate since some parents wont let children go on long trips away.

The same concept goes throughout kids to teens to adults. If you go on a trip I suggest a few very close good friends this is so that you wont get drowned out by a crowd. Where as if you are close to home you can have people come and go as they please.

Age appropriate is meaning if you are throwing a party for a kid, then have kids around the same age. A young child will not understand if there is all adults and no one to play with, same with age difference. Kids like certain things at certain ages. You can't expect 10 year old boys to want to play dolls with a little four year old girl on her birthday. If it is an all boy party do things boys like... lazer tag, water balloon fight etc. If it is all girls then do girl stuff: Makeover with hair, nails, and makeup. Make sure it is age apropriate.

Problem: Invites are expensive these days
Solution: One of the fun things about doing a party is sending out the invites. You don't have to buy invites. Instead you can make your own. Draw different things and then write the info on the oppisite side. Get creative and pull out art supplies, glitter, beads, coloring pencils etc. Have fun making invites. Hand out instead of send... or do a singing invite on phone message machines.

My child once went to class and this person walked in all in a cowboy outfit. He sang to them about a wild west party. Then handed out hand made invites to a birthday party thrown by another boy in his class. He was so excited that he came home asking me to make his outfit right away. My older daughter thought paper invites were outdated so she text her friends which was the cheapest invites I ever had to pay for lol

Problem: What activities and games to do?
Solution: That all depends on you and what kind of party you want to have.

If you are planning on staying home for the party:
Any games can be fun: board, cards, video system like the wii
Casino party: play card games (solitare, black jack, poker, etc)
Wild West: Western dancing
Safari: Scavenger hunt, Picture find
Princess: Makeover
Outer Space: Crafts Outerspace Mobile
Cooks: Make differnt kinds of fun food (Playdough for in between while things are in the oven)
The most important question to ask is:
How much I am willing to budget for everything.

This will be your main focus on all that you do. From Decorations, Food, Party favors and more.

Free-$10
Place: House, backyard, park
Decorations: Ads cut into shapes, letters and confetti, old magazine pictures or pictures of family, friends or birthday child
Invites: Text, handmade on paper at home
Food: Pot luck
Party favors: Brown bag byes (one persons junk is another persons treasure)
Games: Scavenger hunt

Whatever you plan on doing have fun :)

~Hugs Keyria~
Oh yes and before I forget. I am going to be doing blogs once a week for a bit. I am starting up some new goals in my life and I have to get them in a routine that works. This is why this weeks blog is so long. Once I have the routine down of my new goals I should be back to once a day or once every several days. We will see how it goes.

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. ~Matthew 6:19-21~

Stress Free Tip.....Who just took my blog???

Wow this has been a week full of tips already...... Hey..... wait..... what are you doing? .....Give me back my keyboard...My tips you knocked them over they are everywhere.... Give me baaaaacccck......

This Blog is brought to you by Online Gamer Richie Of Online Games Your Way

GAMING WOOT YEA!!! - Stresser or Not?

Ok gaming is my favorite way to de-stress, but you can't de-stress with all games.

Some games can actually add to your stressing, or even parts of some games can stress you out.
Example: World Of Warcraft, great game lots of stuff to do. This game can be very stressful, in many ways such as raiding or PvP. Most mmorpg's (massive multiplayer online role playing games) are like this.

The games you want to de-stress with are known as Casual Games. Games like Bejeweled or Hidden Object games, one where the objective is simple. You can find many of these casual games on my game site Online Games Your Way, The Flash Games there are great casual games. There are many types of games there for all types of players.

So Why are some games stressors and others not? This is all dependent upon one’s own personality. Take me as an example. I am “Highly competitive”; So PvP (Player Vs Player) can be a stressor for me if I am in the wrong set of mind for it. If I hop into say a mmorpg and go to PvP I could be stressing myself out even more.

However If I instead head out to do some simple quests or grinding (it’s a repetitive way of fighting mobs for loot), often at times that relaxes me.

But if I want to truly relax I go Play games with simple goals, Puzzle, Hidden Object and Physics type games are my favorite to relax with.

Puzzle games - These get your mind working on figuring something out distracting it from all the stressors you have been under.

Physic games- No you don’t need to know math or science for these. It’s just these games are based on that. Often times you’re figuring out how to get things to something or set up in a way to allow something to get somewhere. It’s like a puzzle but more interactive.

Hidden Object games- These games get you to relax because if you do not, you can't find anything on your screen. Besides these ones are fun because sometimes the objects you’re looking for are strange and funny.

So Remember Gaming can be a great De-Stressor but you have to be careful not to take the game to seriously.

As Always
Play The Game Your Way
Laterz

......... Now wait, come back here! You cant just type and zip file away....or can you? Well that was very informative, Games, a fun way to de-stress. He did say I can go to Online-Games-Your-Way.com and play alot of free games right? Well since I feel kinda stressed about trying to get the tips back in order I think I am going to head over and play a game or two... Tip Number 11 will come tomorrow.

Todays Challenge: Go to the link above and play a game or two or read some blogs.

~Hugs Keyria~
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. Psalms 119:105

Stress Free Method #9 Music and Pets

I went out and was asking my friends.... What calms you from stress? Almost all of them mentioned these two things: Music and Pets. What a combination huh.

#9 Music and Pets

It is amazing how little things can affect big things. Just to turn on some soft music, or music you enjoy listening too can actually calm your nerves. When I put on music (I like a lot of kinds especially: Christian, Jazz, Classical, Oldies, Pop…ok ok this can go on for a while) it relaxes me. It is a meditation in itself. I like to also put on sounds of the ocean, I can close my eyes (remember to rest) and pretend I am there. This takes my mind off of the stress at hand. This lets me relax and clears my mind. That way I can take on the problem with a fresh new start.

Also, having a pet can actually lower your stress level. I have read so many things about how petting a animal can lower your stress level. This is great! (Especially if you are an animal lover and you are non-allergic). This also keeps you from going into extremes because you know you have to care for something. I met a person that once told me if they didn’t have any pets, they probably would have done suicide already. But they can’t stand the idea of leaving them with anyone.

Todays Challenge: Go put on some music grab your pet and dance lol. Ok maybe not in that order. Go put on music and relax to it or have fun with it. Take your pet and give them a good brushing, pet them to let them know they are loved.

~Hugs Keyria~

The Stress Challenge: Instructions Final (Day 5)

It's Here! It is finally here!

"Congratulations! Today is your day. You're off to Great Places! You're off and away!" ~Dr. Suess

So are you ready for your last questions? Well lets make sure you wrote down the others first. They are:

What Symptom did you encountered?
What you were doing before it happened?
What time it was when it occurred?
How long did it last?
How did you feel before, during and after the encounter?

The last question is simple but needs to be asked.

What is the date?
Can you guess why this is important? Well this question is similar to the How long does the symptom last answer. By writing down the dates you can see how many days you have this feeling. This lets you see how often stress can control your life. Some people stress every day.

(Note: If you do stress every single day and have high, heavy symptoms dont wait for it to go away go see a doctor. Explain all the symptoms you are having and the length that they have been goin on for. Stress can be as serious as any other desease out there if not more serious. Stess does lead to death)

Can you imagine if you stressed everyday for one month. How well do you think your overall health would be? It would not be in tip top shape. Instead it could be so out of shape that it is affecting not only you but others around you. Remember to relax, breathe and wait patiently for symptoms to go away. If the symptom persists go to the doctors as soon as possibe!

There are so many symptoms stress causes, some being a life taker.

Ok now you have all the questions and you know what to look for each day. So grab those papers and pens and get to it. Start today!!! Find out how many symptoms you have and if you can Identify the main source.

Questions:
What Symptom did you encountered?
What you were doing before it happened?
What time it was when it occurred?
How long did it last?
How did you feel before, during and after the encounter?
What is the date?


So how do we cope with stress when we are trying to do our jobs?

Starts tomorrows. See you then

Hugs and Smiles

~Keyria~

Seek God’s will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take~ Proverbs 3:6
You can do anything through Christ who gives you strength ~ Philippians 4:13

Rewarding Passion

Well you have made it this far what could you do next? Only something enjoyable of course.

REWARDS! Everyone love rewards. It is always fun to treat yourself at the end of each goal that you have achieved. Just something small that you enjoy would be a great idea for rewarding yourself. Be reasonable. If you are dieting and you reached your goal wieght I wouldnt go out and buy the most fattening item on a menu. Instead I would proably go to a clothing store and purchase a new clothes item you had always wanted to wear. Alot of people buy bathing suits. Those who save for a car may buy an extra feature that doesnt cost much like a steering wheel cover, or a new cd to play inside the car. Those who achieved getting a degree may enjoy taking a vaccation. It doesn't have to be the most expensive vaccation, instead it could be a one day trip to a place you never visited, or maybe a two day trip to a favorite place of yours just to relax. It is a way to say Thank You to yourself after being so loyal to achieving your goal.

Goals are always with us. Even when we finish we don't just stop what we have learned. If we did people who lost all the wieght would gain it back. No instead we keep doing what we learned. So next comes motivation. Think of ways that we can motivate yourself. These are way to stay passionate about your goals because:

GOALS = PASSION and visa versa

What I mean is: If you had goals and no passion then you would never achieve your goal. For you would not have a want or a thrill to achieve the goal. To have a goal you must have had passion for it. For you don’t make goals without passion. Exp a person wanting to be a photographer would have a goal to be a photographer because that person has a passion for it. A person wanting a car would set a goal and succeed in doing so because they had a passion to get the car. Goals and passion go hand in hand.

Without passion you have no want for a goal. A person who does not like soccer would not set a goal to be a professional soccer player, nor would a person who did not like math would not go into an accounting job. Try not to make goals complex. Let them be something simple and easy that you enjoy.

A big thing to remember is that each goal you set in one way or another represents a healthier YOU. You would not set that goal if you did not want to improve something about you. It could be losing weight, finding a job, getting a dream car or it could be setting a goal to raise money for orphan which you learn to humble yourself. Goals help people see their potential and when accomplished let the person feel great. There is always going to be goals in your life. Don’t get overwhelmed instead just have fun and work on them one at a time. You may be surprised how they can shape who you are. If you have a passion you will succeed more so then if you don’t.

So let’s go over these again:
1) No more excuses
2) Have a change of mind (have discipline and think positive)
3) Be patient (don’t rush) Take the Time to Try the Truth
4) Be realistic, especially when it comes to timing
5) Don’t give up or give into pressure
6) Sacrifice with Passion
7) Make substitutions. (Enjoy the small things)
8) Write a list, break each goal down into time & needs to achieve. Mark off finished goals.
9) Search 4 Solutions and Support
10) Reward yourself
11) Goal = representing a healthier you
12) You fill in this one ;) What did you learn?

Goals= Go Out And Learn (Love) Success

Testimony: I work with God on all my goals. We are always working on a goal in my life to help me improve and be more like Christ. There are many Goals I have achieved with God’s help, from the first job I had to the first place of my own. I have even written a couple of stories and have gotten awards for them. All of this could not be done for me without my Father in Heaven.
~K. Hollon~

I can do all things through Him who gives me strength
~Philippians 4:13~
Seek God’s will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.

~Proverbs 3:6 ~

Reaching 4 Your Goals

How many times have you heard yourself saying “This time I am going to do it. This time I am going to finish what I started.” To once again find yourself repeating your actions before of not finishing what you wanted to do. Amazing everyone has once in their lives done just that. They started a goal to find out that they couldn’t finish. For many it is an ongoing struggle.

Why is that?

Why do we struggle with goals?

Most of us like the idea of the goal, but not the process of getting there, so we push the process in the back of our minds and forget about it.

For example let’s say you have been wanting to buy a new car. We know the way to achieve that goal is to save the money to get the car. However let’s say we are big on watching movies. You may tell yourself ok just this time and then I am going to stop going that way I can save. So we go to the movies this time thinking it will be our last.

Now let’s be honest with ourselves.

Can we really save the money and not go next time? What if our friend comes over and says “Hey I am so excited, that movie we have been waiting to see for four months is now out in theaters tomorrow. It is going to be amazing!” Now do you honestly think you are going to be able to say no to the movie? What about hanging out with your friend? You see there is always going to be another movie waiting around the corner. So are we going to reach our goal of buying that car with this mindset?

(continued tomorrow.... see you then) Keyria :)