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Can you believe that christmas came and went almost two months ago?

Each year time seems to go by that little bit faster for me.. It's hard to believe that spring is already on the way, although as it's my favourite time of year I cannot wait to see the first buds blooming and the hear the birds singing each morning welcoming me to the day..

Time to get my gardening hat on (well usually for me that means watching my husband do the heavy work whilst I do a bit of fetching and carrying and help him to decide where the new plants should go).

I've never really enjoyed the physical working part of gardening although I don't mind a little weeding occasionally, I far prefer to sit with a chilled drink on a sunset evening and enjoy the fruits of all that labour!

Strangely enough though, I've never minded fetching and carrying and am not averse to helping lay the odd patio, just don't like digging!

This year we have added aid with the garden planning in the form of an excellent ebook and audio which you can check out here This wonderful find is going to help us to establish the garden of our dreams this year, I can feel it in my bones, knowing a good thing when I see / hear it!

Good luck with whatever garden plans that you have, I wish you lots of enjoyment and happiness with it.

Out of all the beautiful destinations in this world, one of the most popular is still Cancun. This is one very beautiful country that has many interesting things for you to do and to see whilst travelling. Most people who visit Cancun stay in the hotel zone as there can be problems at times in the Cancun region. This means that if you are planning to take a New Year break, you could do worse than to consider visiting Cancun.

Regardless of your chosen method of travel, these days if you are visiting Cancun it is wise to have your hotel room reservations booked beforehand. That way, you will be able to check in and relax a little as you plan your tours. There is so much to see in Cancun that your travel schedule may fill up pretty quickly and you want to be able to fit everything in without feeling too rushed and spoiling the ambience.

Most people start with the city. If you're not too sure of your destination you will be able to get more advice from your taxi driver. There are also plenty of local brochures aiming to tempt you to visit the local attractions during your sightseeing trip.

Most of the hotels serve delicious buffet style lunches, perfect to set you up for relaxing on the beach and swimming in the ocean during the afternoon heat. Cancun offers so much variety that you may well need this beach respite daily to help you to recover from the rigours of shopping and exploring that are best faced in the mornings..

Chichen Itza is a must see on your Cancun travel list. This is a very interesting city. It used to be a commercial and a religious city. Although for reasons that continue to baffle archeologists the city was abandoned. As an aside, did you know that in Chichen Itza there is a structure that is called EL Castillo?

This interesting place has four stepped faces and each face has 91 steps. If you add together ll of these steps, plus the 1 at the summit, they equal 365. The interesting thing here is what the Mayans used this building for (for that you have to visit!) Another truly spectacular sight to add to your Cancun travel itinerary is the largest pyramid in the Yucatan Peninsula which is situated in Coba.

Don't be put easily off your trip to Cancun (although it is always wise to check your local travel advice for this area before booking, because there are ocasional problems / restrictions). Cancun, Mexico has a huge amount to offer in terms of relaxation, culture, fun and beauty. It is at least a once in a lifetime experience to consider...

Stress plays an important role in our lives, both in everyday life and especially for those struggling with anxiety and panic attacks. Over the generations many stress management techniques have been bandied about. The following quotes illustrate a few of the different views on stress.

The mark of a successful man is one that has spent an entire day on the bank of a river without feeling guilty about it.
~Author Unknown

For fast-acting relief, try slowing down.
~Lily Tomlin

No one can get inner peace by pouncing on it.
~Harry Emerson Fosdick

Maturity is achieved when a person accepts life as full of tension.
~Joshua L. Liebman

Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.
~ Ovid

Tips for De-Stressing

Try these stress busters on for size. See if they help you to enjoy life a little more!

Schedule some Fun – Remember that the holidays are meant to be a fun time. Schedule social activites amidst the shopping and preparations. On an everyday note: Regularly schedule trips to the park, zoo, museum, amusement park, movies and other fun places. No companion to do this with? So what! Enjoy your own company. Take a good novel along and a camera to snap shots for a memory book or journal. Get out, meet people and enjoy life!

Eat & Live Better – You are what you eat, the saying goes. What are you eating? Learn healthier eating habits and get your menus and snacks planned. And get fit. No need for expensive health club memberships, unless that’s what you want. But do a little “something” every day. Check out library books and videos for exercise tips.

Relax & Establish a New Thinking Pattern – You can Start thinking better! You can stop that “stinkin’ thinking” as motivational speaker Zig Ziglar says. Work on putting better thoughts into your mind, learn to relax with healthier books, shows, people, work, etc. and turn your thinking around. Let some of that holiday spirit filter in and learn to be good to yourself!

Time Management – Learn some basic time planning from library books and online articles. And start managing your self and your activities. Take charge and be responsible. No one else will push you or parent you once you graduate from high school. It’s up to you to take charge! Do it.

Team Building – Stop trying to do everything yourself and by yourself. Coaches and mentors can help take you to higher levels. So can good healthy friendships and co-workers and other business associates. Reach out! Be a friend and get friends back in return.

Learn more about stress busters and overcoming stress with your own copy of: The “Curing Your Anxiety and Panic Attacks” Guide

Change is an interesting concept that is not always easy to handle. Here are a few quotes attesting to this:

He who rejects change is the architect of decay. The only human institution which rejects progress is the cemetery.
~Harold Wilson

If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies.
~Author Unknown

It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.
~Author unknown, commonly misattributed to Charles Darwin

We did not change as we grew older; we just became more clearly ourselves.
~Lynn Hall

Think for a moment about how well you adjust to change.

Does the very thought of change produce fear and panic? Try the following short quiz

1. How is your work or job that you are doing? When you wake up, are you ready to get down to business or does the thought of it produce fear / panic / anxiety?

2. How about your finances – are they under control? Do you suddenly head to eBay and spend hundreds or thousands of dollars with no forethought, no planning, no setting aside of funds beforehand?

3. Have you been eating and sleeping regularly? Any change in your patterns / habits?

4. How’s your social calendar? Do you have one? Are you ever afraid to even try to find something to wear to go out in public?

Look over your replies and face facts about your self, your fears and anxieties. The above questions represent brief glimpses into very basic parts of everyday life. If you can’t roll with the punches, with constant change, maybe you need help. Maybe you need to learn some coping skills and combat change head on.

When you think of change, remember words of the wise:

When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.
~Victor Frankl

If you don't like something change it; if you can't change it, change the way you think about it.
~Mary Engelbreit

If you want to learn more about anxiety and panic disorders and how to change the way you think; Learn coping skills that will help you embrace changes in your life instead of fearing and avoiding them. Grab your own copy of:

The “Curing Your Anxiety and Panic Attacks” Guide from the link below..

http://www.ace4ebooks.com/Anxietys/AnxietyEbook.html

Some time ago I read a book called "Why Feeling Bad is Good". I can't remember the name of the author and the book is always on loan to one or other of my friends, but it made a huge impression on me at the time of reading and I still use some of the principles it suggests to this day so I just wanted to share a little of it.

Basically the book describes some of the stuff that influences us as we are growing up, particularly looking at our relationships with our parents (mothers/daughters mostly - sorry guys).

The overall premise of the book is that we find it difficult to break free of the influences that we experienced growing up. Therefore if our parents were not too good at dealing with conflicts / encouraging us to move forward and make changes in our lives where necessary, to help us to deal with the negatives, then we will not be too good at moving forward and we won't like change to the extent where we prefer to be stuck in a negative but familiar situation.

This is where the Feeling Bad is Good bit comes in. The book suggests that if we are open minded about our emotions, feeling bad, even slightly depressed, can be a good thing because it wakes us up to the fact that we need to make some changes in our lifestyle.

The book is clear that feeling bad is only good if we are prepared to make those changes. Use the bad feelings as a catalyst for examining your current lifestyle, exploring what it is that is causing the negative emotions and then taking some positive action to overcome these.

Taking this approach can in turn help you not to allow these feelings to become so bad that they have begin to affect your ability to function in your everyday life.

I have used this premise to prevent myself from becoming too stuck in a rut ever - something which has always caused me severe bad feelings. Now, if I begin to feel worn down by everyday life / work issues, I take a few hours to allow myself to think through what exactly is causing the problem and then plan what actions I can take to reduce the distress it is causing me.

Its important here to have short term actions that you can start taking immediately to help alleviate some of the distress from the situation. For example you may feel, (as I once did) that you simply cannot work in your current situation any longer. Finding a new job takes time for most of us, so how can you alleviate some fo the stress / distress whilst you are waiting for the right new job to come along?

For me it was being able to talk this situation through with both my husband and my immediate supervisor which led to a plan. Each day I followed the initial steps which were simple enough and worked slowly towards my ultimate goal. Simply being able to talk through and acknowledge my problem within that job at the time, enabled me to feel lighter and having a plan, enabled me to work through each day far more effectively, and deal with the stressors as they arose. It also helped me to recognise that the problem was not all mine, which in turn made me determined that I would not simply take any other job which came along and perhaps find myself soon to be in the same boat.

I always believed that this weas one of the reasons my husband and I moved homes and jobs so many times since we were married.. This book and its philosophy helped me to realise how important it is to face our fears and take control of our lives. Its not easy, but it is possible and it DOES make a huge difference.

Change doesn't have to be as frightening as most of us humans always seem to find it. Remeber, a little anxiety here and there keeps us on our toes. A little change here and there keeps us fresh and alert, fresh thinking people are better able to cope with everyday trials and tribulations than tired, downtrodden ones....

So although everyday doesn't feel as good, or go as planned - I have to say thank you over and over to the author whose name I can't remember!

Sorry it's been so long since my last post here. I seem to have gottent caught up in a lot of other stuff recently. Exciting, but time consuming...

So - is anxiety a good or a bad thing for us humans? Most scientists would tell us that a certain amount of anxiety is pretty necessary to us, it is a normal part of our everyday life which most of us take in our stride. It only becomes a proble if our anxiety levels are constantly high, leading to psychosomatic symptoms and persistent fear / worry which affects our ability to live life to the full. See previous blog for more info on that one..

There are a couple of simple strategies that we can use to try to prevent our anxiety sumptoms from taking over our lives, for tips on everyday stress management - see the article on managing stress under links.

If you experience anxiety or panic attacks, you will need to see your medical doctor to get the right treatment to help you overcome these symptoms, however, you may also be interested in an ebook which describes how to help manage these type of symptoms naturally. Follow the link below for more information.

Quite a lot of us spend time worrying about something that happens in our lives although for most of us this worry does not last too long at any one time. Unfortunately there are people who spend almost their entire lives worrying about something, and their worries become part of anxiety symptoms which trap them in a never ending cycle that in turn produces an anxiety disorder.

This cycle of endless worry and anxiety is known as a mental disorder as opposed to a physical disorder. Anxiety symptoms can manifest themselves both physically and psychologically. Anxiety disorders happen when our brain warns us about a perceived danger that is about to occur. In this situation your body will ready itself for a fight or flight reaction. Your heart, lungs and other parts of your body will work faster and produce stress hormones and adrenaline to cope with that perceived danger.

This in turn can trigger abdominal discomfort, diarrhea, dry mouth, rapid heartbeat, palpitations, tightness and pain in the chest region, shortness of breath, dizziness, frequent urination and even difficulty in swallowing. This list covers just the physical effects that anxiety disorders produce.

Psychological anxiety symptoms on the other hand include insomnia, irritability, anger, the inability to concentrate on various day to day tasks, a fear of madnessor of losing your mind and mental faculties, which can be combined with a sense of being detached from reality and not having the ability to control your actions.

As if that isn't enough, apart from these anxiety symptoms you may also experience emotional symptoms. This could lead to a constant feeling of unease that has nothing to do with your present situation. You might that you experience enhanced anxiety due to being involved in a stressful situation like pressure at work or within a relationship. Your anxiety symptoms may then rear their heads, possibly leading to more anxiety about suffering from an illness, real or imagined because of the physical symptoms you are experiencing in relation to your anxiety. Couple with your body’s reaction to perceived dangerous threats, these emotional stresses can and will increase your anxiety symptoms dramatically.

When you first experience anxiety your doctor must be able to diagnose your complaint. The doctor has to be able to decide if your symptoms are a medical condition or if they are a mental problem. Once you have been identified as having an anxiety disorder, treatment to cure or control your condition can begin.

The symptoms stated above may be considered as anxiety symptoms if they are of a prolonged or severe state or if the feelings of anxiety come into existence when there is nothing dangerous or stressful in your current situation to cause them. If your anxiety symptoms start to interfere with your everyday life and activities like work or social events then you can be pretty certain that you are suffering from anxiety disorder.

If you do suspect yourself to be suffering from anxiety symptoms get your self-diagnosis confirmed as soon as possible by a qualified medical practitioner so that they can recommend a treatment which will help to cure these symptoms for you. There are many good practitioners available who can help you to overcome these symptoms, and learn how to rid yourself of this level of distress.

If you're one of us unfortunates who’s either constantly going back and forth between one diet or another, or who knows they need to watch what they eat but always seem to be too busy to do this effectively, then you need to know that there is help out there!

I have to confess that I before I discovered this I would go from one diet plan to another and stick with it only long enough for it to work a little. After a short time I would find it increasingly difficult to stick with it and would go back to my old eating habits. Naturally this wasn’t healthy, but by a great effort on my part (and the intervention of internet searches) I have been able to turn my whole life around. Instead of alternately bingeing and dieting I’m now joining the healthy route of sensible eating ideas and regular exercise. The main help I have with this is in using a few really tasty low fat recipes that I found on the internet which really help me with my new get-fit regime.

Until I hit on these recipes, I had found there weren’t really too many things that I could eat that were quick to prepare but also good for me and tasty. Previously, I had scorned low fat foods and meals since they didn’t seem to taste very good, but recently I’ve learned a lot, and have become quite inventive at finding ways to make easy low fat recipes that tickle my taste buds.

Eating low fat meals really is a sensible way to contain your excess food and fat intake. Having easy low fat recipes on hand however, just makes it all the more easier for you to stick to the new plan. Think about it, if you have to slave over the stove for a long time only to produce something that’s only slightly edible, and has no compensation of fats in it either would you really do it? If you're like me, that's a definite no, no. Everyone needs motivation to do something and using easy low fat recipes is one the best ways that I’ve found to stay on my sensible eating regime.

Many of these recipes are easy to remember, and to rejig a little for a simple, yet different meal choice, they don’t need to utilize a lot of ingredients either. If you need a little extra motivation, you can always stick them on cards to your fridge. I’ve really found that easy low fat recipes are my ticket to getting myself back into a good routine, and my weight back into a good balance. So if you want to give this a try, go to your favourite search engine and type in low fat recipes, you should be amazed what you'll come up with to help you. Good Luck!