My Three Effective Ways to Be More Positive in 2019

This is the first month of 2019 when many people are still making plans for self improvement for the next twelve months.

Nobody can be strong and healthy all the time

However, not everyone is strong, healthy and living a life with few worries.

Having worked with closed friends and loved ones and accompanied them to a number of counselling sessions, I have learned and tried a few effective strategies along the way.

We all feel gloomy and depressed sometime in our lives

For those who may feel depressed from time to time, and would like to become more positive and less unhappy in their lives,  the following simple exercises may help them to become more positive:

Grateful & sunny thoughts are important to improve our mood

a. The Gratitude Exercise
 
Each day find 3 to 5 things for which you can be grateful.

I usually do it in the morning before I even roll out of bed. I thank God for being healthy, for my children, for another day, for living in a decent home and for living in a peaceful country like Canada.

In the evening after I climb into bed, I thank God for a nice warm bed, for my husband sleeping beside me and for a great day!







b. The Visualization Exercise
 
Take a few minutes each day, close your eyes and visualize yourself in a nice environment or your favorite place doing something you love. Try this exercise two to three times a day. It would help to improve your mood.

Visualize yourself in a happy place as often as possible daily can help one to become more positive

My favourite place is on a beach, under an umbrella and listening to the waves of the ocean. I am either dancing or doing something fun with my loved ones and best friends

c. Focus on what you have and want out of life, not what you don't' have.
 
Instead of wishing for what you don't have and feeling down, ask yourself what you really want  out of life and start doing something to achieve it.

One of the important goals in my professional life was to become a leader in education. I knew that I would need excellent public speaking skills.

Therefore, I joined a Toastmasters Club, learned and practiced my skills at the weekly meetings for three years. I have become a confident speaker and can speak in front of hundreds of professional colleagues with little difficulty. I did achieve my professional goal as a school administrator.

 







There are many other ways to help people to become more positive. The above three ways are something I have done and still doing to help myself and loved ones to stay positive, achieve our goals and enjoy our lives!

R.T.
Toronto
    

Making and Keeping My New Year Resolutions for 2019

Hiking trail at the Rouge National Urban Park, Toronto 

I felt great today as it was the beginning of a new year, the year 2019!

Instead of sleeping in all day, I was very proud of ourselves as we went hiking at the Rouge National Urban Park, Toronto, in the morning of the very first day of 2019.

A warm winter for Toronto, the hiking trails were clear with no snow.

I am one for making new year resolutions. Many people feel reluctant about making them since they are going to break them anyway.













However, I feel it's important for me to make resolutions at the start of a new year. Even though I may break a few but at least I will try to keep some of them.






















On the other hand if I don't set any goals for myself, 2019 will fly by and I would have achieved nothing when I look back a year from now.





















Therefore, my goals for 2019:

1. Put God first everyday and start my day with prayer and reading God's words

We passed by farmer houses on our hike at the Rouge Urban Park

2. Join a walking club so that I can become more active and keep myself healthy!

Hiking on the first day of 2019 was a great beginning to a new year!

3. Share the good news with my family members and others regularly.

4. Live out my faith in actions - love and be compassionate and show forgiveness to others.

5. Learn a new language

6. Rein in my tongue!

Getting up early and being outside to enjoy God's beautiful creations was a great start to 2019. I will work hard to keep my New Year resolutions alive!



R.T.
Rouge Urban National Park
Ontario
Jan. 1, 2019

Keeping Our Family's Christmas Tradition Alive

The Christmas and New Year holiday season is a joyous time for the majority of people in North America. There are so many things to do with friends and relatives to reconnect and visit.

With our children all grown up, working and living outside of Canada, at times, it's not easy for us to keep all our family traditions. This year, with Mom being hospitalized, our 45 year big family Christmas dinner was interrupted.

However, there is one family tradition we insist on keeping within our own family no matter what happens.  Attending the Christmas Eve service has been a tradition in my own family for a long time. We have been fortunate that no matter how far our children live away from us, one of them always makes it home and spends Christmas with us.

We attended the Christmas Eve Service at St. Paul's Church in downtown Toronto

With whatever has been happening in the U.S., our son's flight was delayed and he had to hang around at the airport for two extra days before coming home for Christmas. We were glad that he could make it and not missed the most important part of our family tradition, attending a church service together and spending time in a worship service as a family.

We attended the 10p.m. service at St. Paul's Church on Christmas Eve in downtown Toronto.


It was a nice crispy winter evening. The church looked beautiful, warm and welcoming with the lights and decorations inside.

The choir sings from the balcony of St. Paul's Church

We were there early and listened to the choir singing from the church balcony.

Though it was late in the evening, the church was packed and the service was well attended.

St. Paul\s Church is a church with beautiful architecture.

We listened to the lovely Christmas carols, reflected on the true meaning of Christmas:

- the birth of Christ, God's love for his people and his plan of salvation for all.

It was touching and my eyes were filled with grateful tears for God's love.










God's love and our prayers started to soften our son's heart.

He made an attempt to partake the communion!


Attending Christmas church services is an important part of our family traditions.

























We will definitely keep our Christmas tradition alive for years to come regardless of the weather or how busy we are during this holiday season!

R.T.
St. Paul's Church
Downtown Toronto

A Homemade Take Out Christmas Lunch with Mom at St. John Rehab Hospital, Toronto

We came back from our U.S. trip a few days before Christmas. No matter how nice our trip has been, it  always feels good to be home.

Knowing that we would be away most of December, we put up our Christmas decorations and lights in late November. Therefore when we came home in late December, the house was aglow with Christmas lights and decorations.

What a warm welcome home and a nice feeling!

However, my mom fell and cracked her hips before we went away.

It was nice that my sister and brother took turn to look after her during our absence at the rehab hospital. So it was my turn to look after her as soon as we got back.













Unable to be released to go home for Christmas, Mom was very happy when I told her that we would bring a meal to share and spend time with her on Christmas Day!

I made her favorite food: shrimps and salmon, a few kinds of soft green and yellow vegetables, some meatballs and appetizers. I even brought a tablecloth, plates and cutlery to the hospital so that she could feel that it was a special day for her. We put the home made food in a basket and took everything we needed with us.

We got to the hospital a little past 11am to make sure that she would not have lunch yet.

She was very happy especially when she saw E. coming to greet her. She liked the fact that E. came all the way from the States to visit her.

We set everything up in the visitors' lounge and enjoyed our Christmas lunch. I kind of felt bad when another family came in with one of the patients who looked at our Christmas lunch, yet all he had was a sandwich from the hospital.

We finished our Christmas lunch and left the room quickly so that other patients could have the use of it. Mom was eager to show us what she could do with the aid of her walker.

We took  her down to the lobby, enjoyed a hot drink and asked her to open her presents there.

Mom always spends Christmas with all or most of her children and grandchildren. This year was the first time we did not have our big family Christmas dinner together.

I was glad Mom did not spend Christmas alone and that we could spend this special day with her. It was a blessing!

R.T.
St. Johns Rehab Hospital
Toronto

Jackson Court, An Elegant Bed and Breakfast Inn in San Francisco.

Steep streets of San Francisco

We checked  into Jackson Court on the second Saturday we were in San Francisco.

A view of the San Francisco Bay from the top of Jackson Street, S.F.

The main floor sitting room at Jackson Court

We could have chosen a place downtown but we wanted to explore another completely different part of SF than being in a touristy area again.

















Jackson Court is an elegant huge old house renovated into a very comfortable luxurious bed and breakfast inn.

The Burgundy Room at Jackson Court, San Francisco

We stayed in the burgundy room.

It was a beautifully decorated spacious room with our own private bathroom and sitting area.

We loved going back to our beautiful room each evening after a full day of activities.

I parked myself in front of the desk to do my writing.

A complimentary breakfast was provided each morning.










There were fresh fruit cocktail, croissants and other pastries, freshly brewed coffee, and daily newspaper awaiting for us in the comfortable sunny kitchen.




We enjoyed sipping our morning coffee, reading the local newspaper and learning what were happening in the city. We liked looking out to the streets watching people coming and going to work.

                 The Games/ Reading Room on the main floor.

It felt like home; we just sat down for breakfast with nothing needed to be done at all.

Tea and cookies were served every afternoon in the drawing room.

The staff were very polite, helpful and friendly and the services were excellent.

In the late afternoon, between 3:30 - 6:30pm, hot tea and cookies were served at the inn's sitting room on the main floor with the beautiful fireplace on while soothing classical music was playing in the
background.

We enjoyed an after tea by the fire at Jackson Court during our recent vacation in San Francisco 

Away from the traffic noises and busy downtown area, we enjoyed this quiet and peaceful place.

A private garden in one of the rooms at  Jackson Court.

The only drawback of this place was personal.











It was too far from where E.'s place.

Entrance to the bed and breakfast inn

Therefore he only came once helping us to check in but not during the whole week while we were here.

We enjoyed our stay at Jackson Court a lot!

R.T.
Jackson Court
San Francisco
USA

Staying at a Shell Vacation Resort Hotel During Our Holiday in San Francisco

View of Coit Tower from San Francisco\s waterfront

Our vacation in San Francisco was the longest this time spanning more than three weekends.



Unable to book the same hotel for our entire holiday, we stayed in a number of places including a vacation resort, a bed and breakfast inn, a downtown hotel and a hotel right by  the airport for our last night.

Our bedroom at the Suites at Fisherman's Wharf, SF

Of all the places we have stayed, we liked the Suites at the Fisherman's Wharf, a property of the Shell Vacation program the best.

A spacious living room at our 1 bedroom suite

At that vacation resort, we had a one bedroom condo unit with a spacious living room and dining area  where we could relax in the evening, watched some TV and entertained visitors.

E. came over and we enjoyed sometime watching TV together. It was homey.

A well equipped kitchen at the suite

Though we rarely used the cooking facility at the condo, there was a well equipped kitchen where we boiled water and made tea and hot chocolates in the evenings.

Our hotel was close to many attractions in San Francisco

The best part about this vacation resort was its excellent location.


We were able to walk everywhere from this resort property to all the places we wanted to visit.

Standing Outside our hotel at the Suites at Fisherman's Wharf

We were sad on the day we checked out, wishing that we could have spent our entire vacation at this very nice resort!

R.T.
Suites at Fisherman Wharf
San Francisco
USA