Brave Little Deer Photos

This wild little deer was drinking out of the elephant pool at the National Zoo (the elephants were in another part of their habitat).

 Although its family remained under the cover of trees and tall grass this brave deer kept drinking.

And then one of the elephants took a step towards the pool and the deer took off. The deer was so fast I only had time to get this last photo. It safely joined its family in the woods and the elephant decided to stay where it was.

This cute little deer brought to mind Psalm 18:33 "He makes my feet like the feet of deer, And sets me on my high places." May God bless and keep you!

Related posts:
Wild deer video: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2011/12/endearing-deer-family.html
Baby gazelle: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/11/zoos-and-baby-gazelle-day-16-of-30-days.html
Baby cheetahs: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/07/cute-cheetah-cubs-and-wild-wednesdays.html

75 Ways to Feel Happier

While decluttering I found this undated list of happiness / positive thinking and living strategies I wrote some time ago. Rather than just type it up for myself I thought I'd share it with you. It's not a definitive list, just the result of a little brainstorming. These are things that work for me, my clients or people I know. There were 18 items on the list but as I started typing I thought of more and added them. They're in no particular order and I'm not sure what book(s) I was reading at the time I wrote the original list but The Holy Bible, The Happiness Project, and The Power of Less are some of my favorite books so they probably informed the list some. I'd be glad to do posts on any you'd like more information on - just comment below or email me at lovejoypeas@gmail.com. May God bless you!

1. Blessing counting
2. Sing praise or happy songs
3. Deflect negative self talk
4. Use positive self talk
5. Create a positive environment
6. Focus on priorities
7. Arrange joyful experiences
8. Relive joyful experiences
9. Anticipate joyful experiences
10. Enjoy joyful experiences
11. Give others the benefit of the doubt
12. Look for the silver lining
13. See through eyes of love
14. Give genuine complements
15. Smile
16. Be productive
17. Spend time with supportive family members and friends
18. Volunteer
19. Choose to be positive
20. Healthy habits
21. Focus on gratitude
22. Meditating on uplifting scripture 
23. Pray
24. Worship God
25. Morning pep talk
26. Evening relaxing routine
27. Positive routines
28. Seek peace - peacefully
29. Build fun into your daily life
30. Help a stranger
31. Hug someone you love
32. Enjoy the beauty in life
33. Give to charity
34. Complete a nagging task
35. Choose compassion
36. Let go of worry
37. Enjoy life
38. Meditate on God's Word 
39. Read uplifting quotes
40. Enjoy a comedy
41. Be creative
42. Kiss a baby 
43. Spend time helping people less fortunate than yourself
44. Cherish little moments of happiness
45. Take time to celebrate your successes
46. Tell your loved ones how much they mean to you
47. Give a truly meaningful gift
48. Call someone who is lonely
49. Visit someone who is suffering
50. Forgive
51. Say no 
52. Schedule breaks into your day
53. Get enough quality sleep
54. Eat healthfully
55. Exercise regularly (check with your doctor first)
56. Get rid of the clutter in your life
57. Don't nitpick
58. Put whatever's bothering you in a long term context (will it matter 5, 10, 20 years from now?)
59. Question any limiting beliefs
60. Act like you're happy 
61. Read good-news stories
62. Read uplifting books
63. Limit your exposure to negativity
64. Savor the little pleasures of life
65. Align your behavior with your beliefs 
66. Enjoy some fresh flowers
67. Relish a bite of dessert
68. Write a love letter
69. Release unrealistic expectations of yourself and others
70. Replace bad habits with good ones
71. Enjoy some music
72. Play with your pet (or a friend's)
73. Walk in the rain
74. Spend time in nature
75. Choose joy

Related posts: 
Clutter clearing: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/search?q=clutter
New way to think about productivity: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/05/new-way-to-think-about-productivity.html
Encouraging words: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/11/encouraging-words-day-26-of-30-days-of.html 

Disclaimer: I wasn't asked or paid to write this post and am not affiliated with anyone mentioned except as a follower or customer.

Love Saves the Day - Book Review

I saw Gwen Cooper's Love Saves the Day on the "new books" shelf at the library and had to read it. Between the title (who doesn't want love to save the day?), the cute cat and the description on the back of the book I was hooked.

I especially enjoyed Prudence the cat's perspective. The story was fantastic and I'd recommend the book to all cat lovers. I did find myself skimming bits here and there (more so when the story was told from the humans' perspective) but found myself laughing and crying and really loved Ms. Cooper's "first beautiful thing" concept.

A line that resonated with me was "Laura tried to wear logic like an armor (page 175 of the large print edition)." Maybe because I know certain folks who do just that and the words clicked. But my favorite concept from the book (besides all the lovely cat observations) was the aforementioned "first beautiful thing" concept. I don't want to spoil the book so I won't go into detail on how it was used there but really, aren't we all occasionally asked about our first memories? And for people with traumatic childhoods... just having the question asked can be painful. But, now I can ask - what is your first most treasured memory? What is your first beautiful thing? And that should only bring smiles.

Thanks for reading my little review. May God bless you!

Related posts:
Christmas Cat Book Review: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-cat-who-came-back-for-christmas.html
Funny Easter Cats: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/03/funny-easter-cat-photos-happy-easter.html
Funny St. Patrick Cats: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/03/funny-st-patricks-day-photos-of-moose.html

Andean Bear Cubs Playing and Eating (Photos and Haiku Poem)

This weekend my husband and I had our first sighting of Curt and Nicole, the Smithsonian National Zoo's newest Andean bear cubs. They were born in December but didn't make their public debut until May and this was the first time since then that they've been out at the time of our visit. We stayed watching them for quite a while because they were actively playing and eating and seemed to thoroughly enjoy their habitat. Their mom, Billie Jean, seemed to enjoy her nap just as much as the baby bears enjoyed their romp.  Above you can see the twins sitting up and their mom's back (she's in between them, sleeping). Sadly, their dad, Nikki, passed away before they were born. However, the zoo staff is clearly working extra hard to make up for this lack because the cubs seem totally well adjusted and happy.

The cubs feasted on what looked like oranges, apples and peanuts. While they didn't succeed, they even tried to climb one of the trees. Their playful antics inspired me to write this haiku poem:

Andean bear cubs

try to climb trees, frolic and

feast on fruit and nuts

 I loved the expression on this cub's face when it took an eating break.

Above you can see one bear playing with a cardboard box (it's not just cats who love them) while the other cub enjoys the pile of fruit and mom continues sleeping. I hope you enjoyed these cute bear cub photos. May God bless you and those you love!

Source:
http://nationalzoo.si.edu/publications/pressmaterials/pressreleases/press-release.cfm?id=164

Related posts:
Andean Bear Cub's Birthday Bash: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/01/andean-bear-cubs-birthday-bash.html
Bear Claw Cleaning: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/02/bear-claw-cleaning.html
Lion and Bear Tongues: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/02/lion-and-bear-tongues.html

10 Minute Office Supply Cube Reorganization and Clutter Removal

Recently I took 9 minutes and 35 seconds (rounded up to 10 minutes in the title) to declutter our office supply cube. It started out organized but I haven't tended to it in over a year and it was getting hard to fit back in its spot on the shelf. You can see the "before decluttering" picture above and the "after decluttering" picture below. The "before" is a scrambled mess and the "after" is a manageable, categorized collection.

 Here are the steps I took to organize our office supplies:

1. Remove everything from the bin, loosely sorting into categories and putting things that belong somewhere else in a basket
2. Clean the bin
3. Firm up the categories (the categories I ended up with that went back in the bin were writing implements, paper [sticky notes and notepads], staples, clips - we keep full sized paper on a bookshelf in the office and printer cartridges and software have their own cubes); there were also things for the donation bag)
4. Put rubber bands around categorized items as appropriate (loose writing implements together, paper together etc.). My hope is that this will help the categories stay categorized more easily but I'm not the only one using the bin, so we'll see how that works as time passes.
5. Put the categorized keepers back in their new homes
6. Enjoy the newly organized space!

 Another view of the "before decluttering" office supply bin.

This is what the office supplies looked like spread all over our dining room table. Only the decorative items weren't in the bin (the flowers, canister, fountain, starter plants and digital frame). Hard to believe all that stuff came out of the small cube!

So, after a few days of using the newly organized office supply cube I'm happy with the results. It was definitely worth the time it took to clear the clutter and make things easier to find.

May God bless you and those you love!

Related Posts:
Desk organization: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/02/16-minute-desk-decluttering-project.html
Self talk for clutter busting: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2011/12/self-talk-for-decluttering.html
My home vision: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/02/my-home-vision-new-series-on.html

Bees Fighting Over Sunflower Photo Series With Neat Motion Picture

Today at the U.S. National Arboretum I enjoyed watching these bees fight over this sunflower. What I didn't know when I loaded these photos is that Google's magic will make a motion picture out of such a series. It's the last photo and I hope the motion shows for you as it did for me. I was really tickled by this newly discovered feature.

 Above you can see a bee coming in to attack the one already on the sunflower.

 Above you can see a bee planning a sneak attack from the top left quadrant of the sunflower.

Another bee on bee dive bomb attack in the making.

In this final regular photo, the bees are sharing the sunflower (I love a happy ending). This last photo I adjusted so you could see the two bees (barely) in the bottom left quadrant of the middle part of the sunflower. The first four were untouched.

And, lastly, here's the magic motion picture. Isn't that neat?

I thank God for the many blessings in my life, which include my wonderful husband, the abilities He's blessed me with (walking, seeing, photography and so much more!), beautiful flowers, and your kind support. May God bless you and keep you!

Questions To Help With Decluttering Clothing

Image by Gracey

A client was looking for more questions to help her with clothing decluttering (in addition to the usual do I love it/use it/need it questions) so here are some that I brainstormed for her and hope will help you too.

• Does it flatter my figure?
• Do I feel great when I wear it?
• Is it comfortable?
• Does it project the image I want to share with the world?
• Do I have another, nicer version of this?
• Is it a flattering color for me?
• Is it still in style? (even when styles come back they often change just enough that our old things probably won't work)
• Do I have space for this in my closet/dresser?
• Will I wear this in the next year? How many times? 
• Is it worth the space in my closet/dresser?
• Have I worn this in the last year?
• Does it fit me properly?
• Would it get more use in another home?
• Do I know someone who would love this more than I do?
• What is keeping me from letting this go? 
• Will this go with at least 3 other outfits I own?
• How many of this type of clothing item do I want to keep and have space for? Say it's 10... then only keep the best 10.
• Is it stained? Stretched? In any condition other than excellent? Is it worth repairing?
• Does wearing this item make me feel good or bad? Light or heavy? Happy or sad?
  Free or constrained?
• If I were moving tomorrow, would I take it with me?
• Is this item a vital part of my wardrobe or just clutter?