30 Ways to Cheer up and

Improve your Mood Any Time

1. Have a Pajama Party.
2. Buy a Sushi Kit: Buy one of those “make your own sushi” kits from the supermarket, and learn to roll your own scrumptious treats. Eat your sushi sitting on the floor watching kung fu or your movie of choice.
3. Go for a Bike Ride.
4. Take a Shower.
5. Sit in the Sun for 20 Minutes.
6. Take a Walk.
7. Walk Barefoot in the Grass.
8. Write a Gratitude List of Ten Things you Appreciate.
9. Dress up in a ridiculous outfit to do something mundane in public: (like walk the dog or buy groceries)
10. Bake someone, (who wouldn’t mind the extra calories), a plate of all-natural, preservative-free, fresh cookies.
11. Play a Good Hearted Joke on a Friend. (Example: Send a friend an email saying you’ve decided to join an odd religious group and ask them to attend your conversion ceremony.)
12. Experience Nature: Play in the garden, get a new plant, re-pot a plant, hang out near a body of water, etc.
13. Play with a Pet (or a friend’s pet).
14. Participate in Operation Beautiful: Operation Beautiful’s mission is to put up anonymous notes in public places for other women to find. The notes say, “You are beautiful” and give the Operation Beautiful web address.
15. Participate in a Flash Mob.
16. Hide something fun and then create a treasure hunt of clues for a friend or family member to find it.
17. Cheer Someone Else Up: Mark Twain said, “The best way to cheer yourself up is to cheer somebody else up.” Call an old friend up, just to say, “Hi!” Text someone and tell them they’re awesome.
18. Postcard Compaign: Buy a packet of ten postcards and send a note to your friends – even the ones you see every day. Tell them how awesome you think they are, and how much you love hanging out with them.
19. Play a Board Game: Meet a friend (or a stranger) at a coffee shop and play a board game.
20. Build a Fort in your Home!
21. Friend Someone New on Facebook: You know all those random “friends of friends’ who keep adding you on Facebook? Strike up a conversation with one of them. You know you already have something in common, and they added you so they can’t think your a serial killer or anything. Who knows, a “friend of a friend” might turn into an actual friend.
22. Love Letter: Write someone a love letter in chalk on the steps up to their apartment or the pavement outside. Use several colors. Hide and watch their reaction when they see it.
23. Celebrate Random Holidays: You can think of lots of ideas for random or made-up holidays. (You can even google “strange holidays’ and get a complete list.) Celebrate the birthdays of your favorite writers, musicians and artists. Celebrate crazy religious holidays – someone wrote about celebrating Holi – a hindi festival where everyone throws colored powder over everyone else.
24. Have a Picnic (Even if it’s on a blanket in the living room).
25. Call a friend and ask him/her to tell you their favorite joke.
26. Bake chocolate chip cookies for your neighbors/neighborhood. And, if they’re not home when you deliver them, hang them on the doorknob with a note.
27. Drink two glasses of water. (Many times, what you think is sadness is really just dehydration!)
28. Buy yourself a bouquet of fresh flowers.
29. De-clutter a part of your home or office that needs it (These little jobs can be really uplifting as they give us a sense of accomplishment throughout the day.).
30. Get Moving: Dance, jump, do pushups, kick box, do yoga, do anything aerobic (There are lots of free fitness videos online, at the library and even with Comcast On Demand!)
31. Sing at the top of your lungs!

(Excerpted from http://ezinearticles.com/?Cheer-Yourself-Up:-25-Instant-Mood-Lifters&id=334147 and http://steffmetal.com/101-ways-to-cheer-yourself-up/)

Please leave a comment and tell us about some of your favorite mood lifters too so that we can expand our list!

Coconut oil was commonly used in the U.S. until the 1950s.  In spite of new evidence showing that coconut is, among other things, an inexpensive and important source of nutrition and healing, many still falsely believe that coconut is a dangerous food due to its high saturated fat content.

According to Dr. Jerry Tennant, M.D., an expert in healing chronic disease and terminal illness, coconut is “very useful in rehabilitation of a sick liver”.  And, “There is no relationship whatsoever between the amount of saturated fat eaten and the levels of blood cholesterol.”  “Highly saturated tropical oils such as coconut . . . are not harmful, as the popular press would lead us to believe.  These fats and oils have nourished healthy populations, free of heart disease, for millennia.”

Did you know that, among other benefits, coconut oil is antimicrobial, antifungal and antibacterial?  There is even a Coconut Research Center!  Coconut oil is even rich in minerals, which makes it alkalizing.

Coconut oil is also . . . .

* Good for the Heart: The saturated fats present in coconut oil are not harmful like they are in other vegetables oils. Coconut oil does not lead to increase in LDL levels. It also reduces the incidence of injury in arteries and therefore helps in preventing atherosclerosis.

* Good for Weight Loss: It is often preferred by athletes and body builders and by those who are dieting because it contains lesser calories than other oils.  (Its fat content is easily converted into energy and it does not lead to accumulation of fat in the heart and arteries.)  Coconut oil helps in boosting energy and endurance, and enhances the performance of athletes.  It is also easy to digest and it helps in healthy functioning of the thyroid and enzymes systems. Further, it increases the body metabolism by removing stress on pancreases, thereby burning out more energy and helping obese and overweight people reduce their weight.  Hence, people living in tropical coastal areas, who eat coconut oil daily as their primary cooking oil, are normally not fat, obese or overweight.

* Good for the Immune System: It strengthens the immune system as it contains antimicrobial lipids, lauric acid, capric acid and caprylic acid which have antifungal, antibacterial and antiviral properties. The human body converts lauric acid into monolaurin which is claimed to help in dealing with viruses and bacteria causing diseases such as herpes, influenza, cytomegalovirus, and even HIV

* Good for Healing: When applied on infections, it forms a chemical layer which protects the infected body part from external dust, air, fungi, bacteria and virus. Coconut oil is most effective on bruises as it speeds up the healing process by repairing damaged tissues.

* Good for Fighting Infections: According to the Coconut Research Center, coconut oil kills viruses that cause influenza, measles, hepatitis, herpes, SARS, etc. It also kills bacteria that cause ulcers, throat infections, urinary tract infections, pneumonia, and gonorrhea, etc. Coconut oil is also effective on fungi and yeast that cause candidiasis, ringworm, athlete’s foot, thrush, diaper rash, etc.

(Source: http://www.organicfacts.net/organic-oils/organic-coconut-oil/health-benefits-of-coconut-oil.html)

* Coconut is also good for beauty/anti-aging, diabetes, bones, dental care, cancer and more.  Visit http://www.organicfacts.net/organic-oils/organic-coconut-oil/health-benefits-of-coconut-oil.html to learn more.  (It’s good for so many things, it reminds of us the Greek father in “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” who was always saying, “Just put some Windex on it!”)

Tip: if you love grilled cheese sandwiches, try cooking yours in coconut oil for an unbeatable texture and flavor!  Yum!

(We will discuss more about how to add coconut oil to your lifestyle in future blogs.)