While we are not watching, life can become completely routine. We can do the same thing over and over and think little of the fun things we are missing. We need to take a few minutes each day to "side track", if not bodily, at least in thought. Life is too short to miss the fun parts. When was the last time you had a spontaneous moment?

Summer baseball memories! I have learned to love baseball! Friday night games, hot dogs and fireworks! Making memories with my husband. The A on his cap, of course, is for Atlanta Braves. But my husband tells me it is for Antje( my name). I like that! There is something special about our time at a baseball stadium! I'm not sure if it's the game or the fun time with my husband!

"A baseball park is the one place where a man's wife doesn't mind his getting excited over somebody else's curves. "
~Brendan Francis~

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I recently invited my sisters out for a Saturday afternoon teaparty. Little did I know Simply Teavine, a delightful tea room near our home, had an attic for playing "dress up" just like when we were little girls. What fun!

Plan moments when you can make special memories. They last a lifetime!

"It's hard to be responsible, adult and sensible all the time. How good it is to have a sister whose heart is as young as your own."
                                                                                                          ~Pam Brown~

Have you heard bout www.janbrett.com? There are 4,170 pages of free activities, coloring pages, and projects to browse through. Lots of fun stuff, as well as learning pages. There is so much here! I think you will like it! Click on this little animal for lots of things for your little ones!

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Summer time is here and that means our skin may need a little help! But think twice about some topical agents that can be bought over the counter. Watch out for hydrogenated oils!
This Yahoo News was sent to me and sounds like a good thing!

The Secret to Perfect Summer Legs

If you don't know a pentapeptide from an antioxidant and, frankly, you don't care -- you just want your gator-dry legs to be soft and silky-smooth -- look no farther than your kitchen. The answer lies in that bottle of safflower oil sitting on the shelf. This polyunsaturated oil, beloved by cardiologists for being good for your heart, is just as good for your skin, but from the outside in.

The oil, which is pressed from the seeds of spiky yellow safflowers, is a super moisturizer. "That's because it's very high in linoleic acid, a fatty acid that skin normally makes to keep its moisture level up and barrier function intact," says New York City dermatologist Amy Wechsler, MD, RealAge's skin expert. Because the body's linoleic acid production gets sluggish with age, it helps to replace it from the outside.

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"Thomas and I recently went to Fort Monroe for a Tanya Tucker Concert out under the stars with a fireworks show to rival the best per the advertisements in the PX/Commissary. We arrived early in the evening, got our folding chairs out and made our way to great seats on the second row. As we settled in,
an elderly lady full of spunk and excitement made her way across the big parade field, carrying her folding chair and picnic basket and set up next to us. I noticed she was alone. I wondered how someone her age would want to see a country music singer with all the loud music and such, especially sitting right next to
the blaring speakers. We started up a conversation with her and found she was 94 yrs old. She lived quite a distance from Fort Monroe but told us she keeps a folding chair in her car trunk so when she is out and about and sees something she wants to stop for, all she has to do is open her trunk and she is ready. I
watched her throughout the concert swaying back and forth almost dancing at times to the loud music.
She smiled, laughed, ate and clapped like the youngest of Tanya's admirers. We talked and she told how
she had just gotten over her latest surgery - a knee replacement and that was after a hip replacement and other knee replacement several years prior. She called herself the bionic woman. After the concert we lost sight of her in the crowd but WOW what an inspiration!"

The June issue of Natural Health Magazine has an interesting article that says the aging process is hard on everyone, because many have a tendency to associate worth with youth. Dr. Andrew Weil says, "The idea that the value of life diminishes with age is unique to our culture, and it's more intense than it's ever been at any time." Because of this fact, unfortunately a lot of time is spent fixating on youth and how to retain "that look".

Again Dr. Weil says, "Putting attention toward reversing aging distracts you from what's really important -maintaining health
as you go through life - so that at any point you have the energy
to enjoy it." His point is well taken from my perspective. We need to make peace with aging. There are benefits to not being young, believe it or not! I have found that as I grow older, it's not so important that everyone like me. But it is important that I can live with myself. It's not important that I look and act like those around me.It's more imporant that I like what I have become through the trials and joys of my life. If I am not me, there is no one else that will be! The same is true for you! Think about it! Live "your" life to the fullest! You're the only one that can! Forget your age and enjoy your days!

Pam Woods wrote an article for www.ezinearticles.com talking about stress. She says one of the good ways to destress your life is to "zap tolerations" She continues, "A toleration is something that irritates you and drains your energy because it needs to be done, fixed, removed, or changed. If you're like most people you may be tolerating 100 or more things! Put together a list of all the things that bug you, e.g. a dripping faucet, money concerns, your weight, shopping and running errands, not enough time, computer files out of control, your hair, a room that needs to be painted, etc. When your list is complete, group like items and see if one solution will eliminate multiple tolerations. For example, if you have piles of clothing in each bedroom, dirty windows and dust bunnies on your floor, hiring a housekeeper will zap all three tolerations. Line up a housekeeper, today. Then, commit to spending a chunk of time each week to zap your other tolerations. If you have a toleration that you don't have the skill or know- how to fix, consider calling an expert or seek out a skilled professional. You may be able to trade services."

These tolerations or procrastinations can weigh heavy and endlessly on our mind. What a drag! Make a list and clean up what you can. Little by little you will feel back in control.

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YES, THE KIDS ARE LISTENING !

Alert: Watch the background information that your children fall privy to on any given day in the home. The talk of the child's problem teacher, finances, the baby sitter or neighbor conflicts has profound effects on the life lessons you try so carefully to teach your young ones during "family" meetings. Make sure your private conversations are private, keeping in mind that the most important conversations are the ones your child overhears. Keep the "music" sweet in the family.The children are learning how to handle life problems. Pick up Prevention Magazine, March '08, for a great article on this subject. Also see On Marriage, under Kindling on this website.

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Drink Your Water!
You have to do it! It's that important

~One glass of water shuts down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of the dieters studied
in a University study.
~Lack of water is the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue.
~Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of water a day could significantly ease back and
joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers.
~ A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math,
and difficulty focusing on the computer screen.
~Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%, plus it can slash
the risk of breast cancer by 79%, and one is 50% less likely to develop bladder cancer.
~Are you drinking the amount of water you should every day?

"To seek approval is to have no resting place, no sanctuary. Like all judgment, approval encourages a constant striving. It makes us uncertain of who we are and of our true value. Approval cannot be trusted. It can be withdrawn at any time no matter what our track record has been. It is as nourishing of real growth as cotton candy. Yet many of us spend our lives pursuing it."
Rachel Naomi Remen