I remember when as a child my mother would buy a box of Valentine’s cards and we would give them to the kids in our class. In high school, you could buy a card or send a rose to a friend and that was so much fun!
Happy Valentine’s day to all my friends out there and I hope you have a special day. Do something special for yourself!
Melinda
The League of Nations, the international organization formed at the peace conference at Versailles in the wake of World War I, recognizes the perpetual neutrality of Switzerland on February 13, 1920. Switzerland was a loose confederation of German-, French-, and Italian-speaking …read more
On February 13, 1633, Italian philosopher, astronomer and mathematician Galileo Galilei arrives in Rome to face charges of heresy for advocating Copernican theory, which holds that the Earth revolves around the Sun. Galileo officially faced the Roman Inquisition in April of that …read more
The earliest military action to be awarded a Medal of Honor is performed by Colonel Bernard J.D. Irwin, an assistant army surgeon serving in the first major U.S.-Apache conflict. Near Apache Pass, in southeastern Arizona, Irwin, an Irish-born doctor, volunteered to go to the …read more
Following Britain’s bloodless Glorious Revolution, Mary, the daughter of the deposed king, and William of Orange, her husband, are proclaimed joint sovereigns of Great Britain under Britain’s new Bill of Rights. William, a Dutch prince, married Mary, the daughter of the future …read more
“If music did not pay, it would be given up.” So wrote Associate Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes in a landmark Supreme Court decision in 1917. Holmes wasn’t referring to musicians themselves in that statement, but to places of business in which copyrighted musical works could be …read more
Melinda
Enjoy!
Melinda
So glad you stopped by today, I look forward to your comments each week.
Melinda
Sleep and I have a bizarre relationship. It takes me forever to fall asleep most days because I simply cannot turn my mind off. Either it’s filled with anxiety-ridden worry-thoughts like Are you SURE you turned off the stove? Or a slew of self-defeating thoughts like What if you aren’t good enough? I would stay […]
Waking up right with good sleep hygiene — The Mental Minute
Bryan Dunst discusses how you can nurture your gifted child.
How to Nurture your Gifted Child — bryandunst
Melinda
On February 6, 1952, after a long illness, King George VI of Great Britain and Northern Ireland dies in his sleep at the royal estate at Sandringham. Princess Elizabeth, the oldest of the king’s two daughters and next in line to succeed him, was in Kenya at the time of her father’s death; she was crowned Queen Elizabeth II on June 2, 1953, at age 27.
On February 6, 1928, a woman calling herself Anastasia Tschaikovsky and claiming to be the youngest daughter of the murdered Russian czar Nicholas II arrives in New York City. She held a press conference on the liner Berengaria, explaining she was here to have her jaw reset. It …read more
John Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men, the story of the bond between two migrant workers, is published. He adapted the book into a three-act play, which was produced the same year. The story brought national attention to Steinbeck’s work, which had started to catch on in 1935 …read more
The members of the Dalton Gang stage an unsuccessful train robbery near Alila, California–an inauspicious beginning to their careers as serious criminals. Bob, Emmett, and Grat Dalton were only three of Lewis and Adeleine Dalton’s 10 sons. The brothers grew up on a succession of …read more
Wary of his growing antiwar attitude, Benito Mussolini removes Count Galeazzo Ciano, his son-in-law, as head of Italy’s foreign ministry and takes over the duty himself. Ciano had been loyal to the fascist cause since its inception, having taking part in the march on Rome in …read more
Melinda
‘Walking is a man’s best medicine’ – Hippocrates You’ve no doubt heard that we should all be aiming to walk 10,000 steps every day. But did you know that this figure actually came about from a Japanese advertising slogan, rather than being based on medical science? Honestly – google it!! The important thing is that […]
18 reasons why walking is good for you! — Happy Healthy Me – a Journey
Enjoy!
Melinda
It’s hard to believe that two centuries ago, most people didn’t have access to a garden. The best they could hope for was a park. Today, though, things are different. The majority of people have a garden at the back of their home where they can feel a little closer to nature.
And that’s good news: gardens can work wonders for your mental health. Here’s how:
For some people, just watching seeds they’ve planted grow into full-grown plants can be an extremely edifying experience. You’re doing something that is allowing life to flourish – and that can make you feel great. Spending time in nature to better your mental health is ideal and recommended, which is evident from the Second Nature Utah Reviews. Going to an outdoor therapy retreat can be incredible for your well-being and mental health, which is something you might wish to try if you want to work on yourself.
Do you remember lounging around in summerhouses while you were young, reading a book without a care in the world? If so, you’ll know all about the incredible calming powers of gardens.
Just spending a couple of hours in the garden can be enough to allow the stress to drain from your body. The person who steps back into the house after lounging in the sun is not the one who stepped out of it two hours before.
Because you have more space, you’re much freer to move your body in the garden than you are in the house. In turn, this helps to elevate your mood. Your brain releases a host of feel-good hormones that circulate around your body, changing how you feel.
As modern humans, we’ve largely lost our connection to nature. We’ve forgotten that we’re not just strange aliens who arrived on Earth out of the blue but instead products of this planet. As such, we’re at our best when we’re in nature, enjoying its surroundings.
Sometimes, though, we forget this, particularly if we live in giant modern cities. Our built environment does not resemble nature and can leave us feeling alienated and lost, without really knowing why.
Having a garden helps to reverse this by putting you back in touch with your roots, if only in a small way. Many people report feeling sensations of biophilia when out in nature — the profound sense that “this is where I should be.” This alone can be enough to transform your mental health, reminding you that nature is bigger than it appears on the television screen.
Of course, even gardening comes with risks. Make sure that you don’t spend too long out in the sun to avoid skin damage. Drink plenty of water when outside.
Gardening can lead to a host of bacterial and insect-borne illnesses. These include:
So long as you protect yourself, you should be safe in the garden. Simply spending more time outdoors can work wonders for your mental health, particularly if your job requires you to be in the office all week.
This is a collaborative post.
Melinda
So glad you stopped by today, I look forward to your comments each week.
Melinda
We have one tree out front that lost several limbs due to ice. My husband had to go on the house and pull one larger limb off the roof. It’s beautiful outside of course that’s from the inside in the warmth. Tonight the roads are re-freezing and will be another morning with hundreds of accidents since people won’t stay off the roads.
Be Safe!
Melinda
Melinda
Melinda
Most of us will react to things going wrong in our lives with shame and self-criticism. We ask ourselves what our problem is and why can’t we cope. This just creates further emotional distress and we seem to dig ourselves a hole that gets bigger and bigger with more emotions such as anger, despair, confusion, […]
Mindful Self-Compassion — Emma Pay
When you get married you commit to for better or worse and in sickness and in health. You don’t think those two things will happen early in your marriage if you think about them at all. Marriage is full of ups and downs, good and bad, and is very hard at times. When you add a chronic illness to the mix it can get complicated. Not every person is ready for the better or worse, or in sickness and in health.
Sacrifices are essential to living with someone with a Chronic Illness. There were years where my husband had to fill my medicine case each week, cook every meal, do all the laundry, help me shower, get me dressed, help me in and out of the car, walk me up and down the stairs, the list goes on and on. I haven’t seen the inside of a grocery store in years.
He gave up several hobbies he loved to make sure there was always time to take care of my medical and mental health needs. It comes at a cost to the partner’s mental health. I encouraged him to seek counseling which he did and it helped a great deal.
My husband has been caring for me and my health since we first married. Long before Lyme Disease, an Immune Deficiency Disorder, and Fibromyalgia, there was my Mental Illness to care for. I have Bipolar Disorder, which is a serious Mental Illness that requires constant monitoring and several medications to stay well.
From the very beginning, he had to keep an eye out for signs and symptoms. Ask gently if I had taken my medication and help me deal with my depression when the Black Dog moved in.
One of the things I asked from the very beginning was for him to sit in on my appointments with my Psychiatrist. I wanted him to understand how sick I was and hear it from the doctor, to hear me talk to the doctor. This would prove immensely helpful in the years to come.
I had to trust him with the darkest part of myself, my Bipolar Disorder and it was difficult at first but I knew it was needed if our marriage was going to work. I had to trust that he would listen and learn but not take over my healthcare unless I was a harm to myself.
One critical step my husband took is put my health before his career, it was a huge guilt trip for me. He passed up promotions and great opportunities to travel so that I would not be home alone. Just last week his boss asked all of the VP’s to lunch and he had to decline due to the rising cases of Omacrom. Ouch, that burns sometimes!
The truth is I don’t know what I would have done over the past 20 years without his sacrifices. If you have a chronic illness make sure you are transparent in the struggle and what may be required of them. If a dating relationship can’t withstand that challenge then a marriage certainly won’t.
Melinda
Bella and Grace by Stampington
Enjoy your day!
Melinda
This is a tricky topic. But I will share my own experience in this area because it is all that I truly know. Coming into recovery I was taught by those who went before me that to be clean means I cannot take any mind or mood altering substances. IF they are prescribed for me […]
Addicts and pain meds 1/30 — The daily addict
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, the political and spiritual leader of the Indian independence movement, is assassinated in New Delhi by a Hindu extremist.
Born the son of an Indian official in 1869, Gandhi’s Vaishnava mother was deeply religious and early on exposed her son to Jainism, a morally rigorous Indian religion that advocated nonviolence. Gandhi was an unremarkable student but in 1888 was given an opportunity to study law in England. In 1891, he returned to India, but failing to find regular legal work he accepted in 1893 a one-year contract in South Africa.
In Londonderry, Northern Ireland, 13 unarmed civil rights demonstrators are shot dead by British Army paratroopers in an event that becomes known as “Bloody Sunday.” The protesters, all Northern Catholics, were marching in protest of the British policy of internment of suspected …read more
With the stirring notes of the William Tell Overture and a shout of “Hi-yo, Silver! Away!” The Lone Ranger debuts on Detroit’s WXYZ radio station. The creation of station-owner George Trendle and writer Fran Striker, the “masked rider of the plains” became one of the most …read more
On January 30, 1920, Jujiro Matsuda (1875-1952) forms Toyo Cork Kogyo, a business that makes cork, in Hiroshima, Japan; just over a decade later the company produces its first automobile and eventually changes its name to Mazda. Today, Mazda is known for its affordable, …read more
In London, King Charles I is beheaded for treason on January 30, 1649. Charles ascended to the English throne in 1625 following the death of his father, King James I. In the first year of his reign, Charles offended his Protestant subjects by marrying Henrietta Maria, a Catholic …read more
Melinda
I’m so glad you are enjoying Fun Facts. I learn something new each week, even if it’s weird. I love hearing your comments!
Enjoy!
Melinda
I learned to make this dish during my travels. It was at a hostel in Moab, Utah, where I first had a Thai curry so tasty that I decided I had to learn to make it myself. It took me several attempts, but I managed to create one that hit all the right notes. My […]
Curried Winter Vegetables — Micro of the Macro
Original Video
“There are losses that rearrange the world. Deaths that change the way you see everything. Grief that tears everything down. Pain that transports you to an entirely different universe, even while everyone else thinks nothing has really changed.” – Megan Devine
Grief and loss come in a multitude of forms. It may be the death of a person you have loved. The end of a meaningful relationship, for you. The loss of a job or the end of a career. A tragic accident or receiving shocking news.
Whatever kind of loss you are grieving for right now, it can help to be real and to process how you feel.
The questions below might help you with this:
1. What losses am I grieving? Who am I grieving for?
2. What is the most difficult time of day, for me?
3. Where in my body do I hold the…
View original post 132 more words
So glad you stopped by today, I look forward to your comments each week.
Melinda
“No one has the right to judge you, because no one really knows what you’ve been through. They didn’t feel what you felt in your heart.” Keep these words in mind the next time you feel that someone has some view, or opinion about you. – No one has the right to judge you. Absolutely […] […]
No one has the Right to Judge you — Don’t Lose Hope — Coaching Skills International
Dr. Lori Gore-Green discusses the second trimester of pregnancy.
Understanding the Second Trimester — Dr. Lori Gore-Green
Melinda
lookingforthelight.blog 