Cue The Lights!!!

While this is the last blog entry for credit in my English class for the semester, I appreciate the chance to write about what ever I want and I plan to keep this blog and maybe from time to time I'll come back to it and keep writing whether it's a lot more random-ness or whatever. =]

With there only being 20 days until Christmas, I am getting SO antsy just waiting. Christmas is my favorite time of year and one of my favorite parts, next to the caroling, are the christmas lights!! Sadly, my family never did anything too extravagant but it was always fun putting up all the decorations. If you think your decorations and lights are crazy good, just look at this family's display of holiday spirit. This house's christmas light show was synchronized to the Trans Siberian Orchestra. Pretty cool, huh?


"The Supreme Court has ruled that they cannot have a nativity scene in Washington, D.C. This wasn't for any religious reasons. They couldn't find three wise men and a virgin."
~Jay Leno

Don't Sweat It

With finals week coming closer and our first semester drawing to an end, I thought it might be a good idea to write about ways to deal with stress. I don't know about you, but I get stressed pretty easily and I never like to deal with it so I looked up a few things that might help with the craziness of the season.

First of all, you have to figure out what is causing any of your built up anxiety. It could be anything from large crowds to death. There are a number of ways to deal with this stress. As a matter of fact, I found 101, thanks to the Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. Here are a few interesting tips to help.

Stretch

Get enough sleep

Look at a work of art

Say "hello" to a stranger

Don't know all the answers

Don't rely on your memory, write it down

Break large tasks into "bite-sized" portions

Stop saying negative things to yourself

Say something nice to someone

Get up 15 minutes earlier

Practic breathing slowly

Talk less, listen more

Look up at the stars

Freely praise others

Exercise

Smile

Another tip was something I'd never thought about. Sharon Gold said, "Throw out an alarming alarm clock. If the ring is loud and strident, you're waking up to instant stress. You shouldn't be bullied out of bed, just reminded that it's time to start your day." If you think about it, it makes total sense. First of all, you wake up startled and discombobulated (I've always liked that word). It just starts your day off badly.

Hopefully you can use a couple of these stress relievers to get through finals. Good luck!

"Stress is nothing more than a socially acceptable form of mental illness."

~Richard Carlson

"Reality is the leading cause of stress for those in touch with it."

~Jane Wagner