An Energizing Benefit of Friendship – Laughter!

You know that saying … “Cry and you cry alone. Laugh and the world laughs with you.”

Well for one thing, when I cry I often am alone. When I cry with a friend I usually end up laughing!

For example … once I was crying over being rejected by a man. It had been – shall we say – just one of a series of rejections spanning a couple YEARS of my life. And, prior to being dumped, I’d been looking forward to the date of a lifetime. He was a gourmet cook who was having me over for a delicious meal that would end with candlelight playing off of his sweet face as he played the piano and sang songs that he must have written just for me. (Really, this was the game plan.)

Then came the end-all-call “I feel sick.” he said. “We were having dinner tonight? Oh yeah. I forgot about that. I’ll call you soon.”

I hung up and went straight into despair. At that precise moment, Marci called.

“Marci” I said. “My love life is so bad that I am even being rejected by midgits.” (He was very, very short and I am very, very tall. But like I said it had been YEARS and he sang, and cooked and I was starting to see myself looking more and more like Queer Noor…)

Marci & I exploded with laughter – even though I was at that moment absolutely serious. Then she shared some of her pre-hubby escapades and she reminded me of how beautiful and fun and intelligent I was …

That is what friends are for – they help us laugh at ourselves and life and get back into the game.

Want to LOL (Laugh Outloud) right now? Here are a couple of my favorite funny hotspots including: Mojo1000 Observations of a bus driver hacking life with a dull blade” Jonathon is a hoot!

Then there is my beloved DogCaptions.com. My brother Richard takes awesome dog photos – adds quirky captions and voila! We have a pack of note cards to cheer on our human friends and raise money, the funny way, for our fur friends. Help us – help yourself and order a pack today!

Then I always enjoy stopping by Paul Gilligans Pooch Cafe. This link often pulls up his daily strip – sometimes it pulls up his innermost thoughts. Sometimes they are the same!

Finally, the photo here is of my new puppy, Albert. He is a 2 year old Bichon Frise that we adopted 2 months ago. A is a constant source of amusement & has our household on the run!

Right now he is chasing Gengus Kitty which is good. Gengus is my 18lb Persian who needs to lose a few lbs and is bigger and stronger than Albert! At night when I am working on the couch Albert will jump on me, lick me and drive me off of this keyboard. That’s good. You don’t hear of people getting carpel tunnel from petting and playing with pooches! Then Alby constantly makes my husband laugh – even giggle.

If you are Albert-less and Kitty-less, go to Petfinder.com. This weekend is a great time to bring home a little more love and laughter. (By the way – if you are bringing home one why not two? Ask the shelter if the pup or cat of your dreams has a special friend who would like to come home with them.)
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Old Friend New Friend Week – 5 Energy Boosting Reasons to Be A Friend

Don’t have time for or feeling too tired to connect with friends? Here are 5 excellent reasons for you to pick up the phone and call that girlfriend … I often call my friends for virtual lunch when there isn’t time to get together. We munch and chat and laugh – I always feel more energized when I hang up that phone. (Now – I am talking about calling a friend, not a downer or an energy vampire!)

Health Benefits of Friendship

1. Cheering up a friend – random acts of kindness -can create something known as “helper’s high.”(endogenous opioids” internally produced chemicals that affect our brain like opium.)

2. When women tend or befriend more oxytocin is released which counters stress and produces calming effect. -UCLA Study on Friendship Among Women

3. Not having close friends and confidants is as detrimental to our health as smoking or carrying extra weight.-Nurses Health Study from Harvard Medical School(the famed!)

4. Close friends help keep your immune system strong during times of stress. -Ohio State University Researcher
(One of my favorite, friendly BLOGS is Happy Girl Musing. Terry Hernon MacDonald spent a week on this very topic – friendship. Check it out.)

5. The leading causes of premature death in the U.S. are heart disease, cancer, cirrhosis of the liver, non-car accidents, influenza and pneumonia, vehicle accidents, suicide and homicide. “All of them are tremendously influenced by social isolation, loneliness, and human fragmentation.”
-Dr. James Lynch, author, The Broken Heart: The Medical Consequence of Loneliness

Feel like a piece of burnt toast throughout the day? Or maybe your brains feel like scrambled eggs? You might be suffering from adrenal fatigue. Take our free Fatigue Questionnaire at http://fatiguebegone.com/tired_woman_quiz.htm to discover the true causes of fatigue.

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The Energizing Benefits of Smiles!

According to The British Dental Health Foundation “a smile gives the same level of stimulation as eating 2,000 chocolate bars!” And, according to psychologist Dr. David Lewis “Seeing a smile creates what is termed as a ‘halo’ effect, helping us to remember other happy events more vividly, feel more optimistic, more positive and more motivated.”

Want to feel better? Smile more …

Don’t believe me? Prove it to yourself. Make a point of smiling at everyone you see today. And, put a smile on your face when you talk to people you can’t see. (You can tell, even over the phone, if someone is smiling or not – can’t you?!)

So – give this a try – then post me a comment in the morning …

:) :) :) Viveca

BTW – If you’d like more to smile about – from the comfort of your keyboard – please visit http://www.dogcaptions.com/ and join in our Old Friend New Friend Week Celebration and Fundraiser.

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Relax and Re-Energize with a little purring and petting

Two weeks ago I brought home a big (15 lb!) bundle of taffy colored fur called “Kitty.” I’ve never had a cat before and Kitty is a fascinating and delightful addition to our family. (Velvet the dog, Peetie the worried cockatiel, Micheal and Moi.)

Last weekend a snippet of an article caught my attention and tonight I snuggled in to do some research on the topic of pets and how they make us healthy. A few highlights include:

* Petting cats or dogs increases feel good hormones, lowers blood pressure and slows the heart rate. In other words, petting is healthy for your heart!

* Want an easy, healthy stress buster? A study shows that watching fish swim can drop your blood pressure about 15 points …

* Want an easy does it way to relax and re-energize? “Walking is the biggest bang for our buck. Thirty minutes a day of walking will prevent many cases of diabetes, hypertension, and other chronic diseases.” -Surgeon General

Psst. Dog owners walk 79 percent farther in an average week than non–dog owners.

For the rest of this puuurfect story, click here ….

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