Thursday, April 25, 2013
SOLVING COMMUNICATION ISSUES




Family gatherings.  A group of friends.  Co-workers.  Neighbors.  Every single day we are surrounded by all kinds of relationships in our lives.   Some days there is conflict.  Some days we get along great.

But why can’t it be great all the time?  Part of the reason relationships fluctuate is there comes a time when we feel as if we cannot be our true selves.   Quite often we pretend all is well.  Sometimes like in the situation of a family reunion, we tend to put up walls or hold our tongue and just get along out of obligation as to not cause a stir.

The reality is that if we were honest about what is going on, rather than shutting down, we would be able to get along with everyone in our lives a lot better.  When we pretend to be ‘okay’ and we are not and we do not share what is bothering us, we tend to build up resentment.   Building up resentment only builds walls and we eventually shut down and stop talking to one another.  We end up not talking about the real issue and things tend to compound and we have more and more misunderstandings.

If we took the time to discuss our problems rather than just assuming discussions would end up in conflict or arguments, chances are we would air out all the real issues and get to the root of them to actually have a mature conversation to solve our problems.

When problems keep adding up, it does not help us.  It only hurts us more and hurts the ones we care about.  

Taking the time to be ‘real’ and be courageous enough to be vulnerable to share what is really going on, is the solution to letting go of the walls, of the shells we wear out of defense.  If we are truthful with how we feel and what we think, we will find we are not alone and we actually share more common ground than we think.  It is in this discovery and revelation we soon find that communication is the solution to everything. 

~ Athena & Tess – We Solved It
SOLUTIONS for everyday PROBLEMS
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
TIME OUT TO HELP AND CONNECT



There comes a point in life where we become so overwhelmed with life around us, we feel lost, helpless and even at times hopeless.

And we’ve seen more things happen over recent years that have been enough to derail us from our own life track.  

This week may be such a time.  When things compound, it’s enough for you to question the world, life itself and wonder WHY…

We’ve seen war.  We’ve seen senseless acts of violence… which seem to be increasing all over the world.   We’ve seen Mother Nature with her relentless storms, Tsunamis, earthquakes and tornadoes.   From a world of unrest in desperate need of peace and the economy which seems to not see the light of day – it’s enough to wonder why we are here and why things are the way they are.  

The truth is we need to sometimes take a step back.  We cannot function in zombie mode.  And it’s easy to become numb, paralyzed, speechless as we see life as we know it transform before our very eyes as we shake our heads trying to understand it all.

We felt it was necessary and timely to address our sense of well-being.  And sometimes when we feel like we don’t know what to do – all that we can do is step up and step in and do our best to help. 

Here at We Solved It… this is what we want to do.  If you are feeling grief, a sense of loss and a feeling of helplessness and not knowing how to process your emotions – we’re here to help you get through this.   

We may not have all the answers, but we all have solutions within us.  Our suggestion is for us all to work together in helping one another during this difficult time.  The power of prayer can unite us all.  Love is the answer in helping us bond and be supportive.  There is a lot each of us can do to help.   

Many letters of support are going to be helpful right now.   The families who have been affected need support and love.  And for many of us who are still traumatized by events all over the world who are still recovering having lost family, friends and loved ones from natural disasters, military members who have lost their lives and so on – we all know what it feels like.  While the pain never goes away, what we all can do is share our support, our care, our comfort and our hearts with those suffering right now.   

And if we feel out of sorts and need to grasp our foundation of hope and faith in order to be strong and be helpful and of service to others, we need to take a time out to regroup. We need to take a moment to cherish those we love, express gratitude for what we have and remember when we give our best during a time like this to those who need it most, we in turn are doing what we are called upon to do to be of service.

We are with you and we are here for you.  Let’s share our voices and our strength and help each other the best we can.  

~ Athena & Tess – We Solved It
SOLUTIONS for everyday PROBLEMS
Monday, April 15, 2013
RE-CENTERING YOURSELF




You exercise daily.  You do what you need to do take your daily time-outs for yourself.  You spend time with your family and friends and get in all the ‘you’ time you can.  But somehow, some way – you keep falling into this place where life is still getting you down and people and almost everything seems to be getting on your nerves.

How can you solve this?  

First ask yourself what the cause is. 

·         Is it your job?  Are you under a lot of pressure?  Too many deadlines?  Overworked?  Is there conflict in the work place?  

·         Are things piling up at home?   How cluttered is your environment?  Are you starting to feel disorganized and are you mismanaging your time, losing items all the time?
·         Are you having family issues/problems? 

Whatever the problem happens to be – you can’t solve it until you identify the root cause of why you are feeling out-of-balance with yourself.    We can do many things to make ourselves happy in the course of a day.  We can take care of needs large and small.  But sometimes if things don’t feel right, we don’t feel right. 

Journaling is a big help.  By journaling we are able to see patterns of our own mood swings and what the cause may happen to be.  If we are noticing we are irritated at the same time every day – perhaps it may have to do with getting out of balance due to something you are doing or not doing.

Causes could be...

·         Lack of energy like a mid-morning or mid-day slump.  Moods are often triggered by things like fatigue.  How much sleep are you actually getting?  Is it quality sleep?  Are you waking up in the middle of the night?   Perhaps you are not sleeping sound.  If you are having weird dreams or nightmares... perhaps a lot of stress you are facing is affecting your sleep patterns.  You will find that the cycle of this madness is created by not sleeping well.

·         How often do you eat?  Not eating right or on schedule can be the culprit.  Low blood sugar can affect your emotional state in how you handle conflict, confrontation or even the smallest of things like hearing someone’s tone incorrectly and your taking something someone says the wrong way.  In order for our brains to function properly we need to feed our brain.  If you happen to be dieting – this can create many mood swings from nutritional deprivation.  Make sure you are not lacking nutrients.

·         Sound.  Noise can affect us.  We all need QUIET TIME. There is often too much noise around us which affects our surroundings.  And we cannot think clearly when this happens.  Noise is everywhere – from traffic on the streets, gardeners with their leaf blowers, phones ringing, trucks backing up beeping, people talking all the time and endless other noises from machinery and equipment in many of our everyday environments.   When was the last time you only heard the wind blow or birds chirp?   Many of us can snap because we have too much noise around us.  

We have to take the time to start to consider how much is thrown at us in a 24 hour period and how much we take on and endure.   We also need to learn to ‘detach’ ourselves from the outcome of things we cannot control and the behaviors of other people which can put our day on another course.  We have to make sure that negativity around us does not rub off onto us to change or alter our day, but rather we must learn to manage how we react and feel.  

This may seem strange to consider, but we do not often realize that we as humans are like sponges and we pick up whatever is around us; we enable things to affect us negatively and if we do not take care of things and maintain our well-being in our surroundings, things can take their toll and ultimately put us into a downward spiral even if we are the happiest, healthiest people on the planet. 

Awareness.  Slowing down to pay attention and taking stock by logging what we think and feel when we are off-center, helps us to re-center and regain our footing again.  So the next time you schedule your ‘you time’ – make sure that it also includes time to actually paying attention the real core of the problem so that you can address it with the proper solution of what is causing you to feel off-kilter.  Investing this special time constructively instead of going the full-pace you are used to, can resolve much more than you realize and suddenly you don’t have to ‘fill’ your time with things that aren’t really addressing the problem and actually start working with the real solutions that do!

~ Athena & Tess – We Solved It
SOLUTIONS for everyday PROBLEMS


Thursday, April 11, 2013
PLANT PROPAGATION - SAVES MONEY AND OUR PLANET



New beginnings.  We all like them. It’s one of the reasons we love New Year’s and SPRINGTIME…. Both symbolize ‘new life’ and a chance to have new goals, new dreams and plans.

New plants are like adding NEW ENERGY to your environment. AND growing more plants helps our planet and improves our environment!   Houseplants like Pothos, English Ivy and Philodendron can absorb the flu virus and clean the air in your home.  And these plants can be propagated continuously.  If you get a giant planter box or plant pot and keep cutting and planting when roots appear you can keep adding to the box or pot with new cuttings, non-stop.  The more you add to ‘fill in the gaps’ – the fuller your plant will look, as if it is one giant plant.  In the course of a few months, you’ll have what appears to be a full, mature plant that would have normally cost you about $30-40 at a nursery or home improvement store.  

Outdoor plants surrounding your home can add new vibrant energy, life and color too.
But what if you’ve had to change your budget and cut back?   Cutting back doesn’t necessarily mean not having new life surrounding you.  Having plants in your life does not need to be expensive.  Growing plants you already have from cuttings is a fantastic way to keep your garden growing. It’s a fantastic way to sprout new gifts and give a piece of yourself away – something you nurtured and cared for will have great meaning. 

But not all plants are created equal in the ways they are propagated.  Here are the three main ways to propagate plants:

 

Cutting back overgrown plants isn’t just about cleaning up what you have, but starting new life from it is a great way to take advantage of all that is growing to keep growing new plants. 
If you have a friend, relative or neighbor in the same budget-conscious spot – why not trade cuttings?  We often don’t think about doing this.  Quite often you will always know a neighbor or two who have fruit trees who over produce and you exchange the stash overload, but how often do people trade plant cuttings.  It’s not as common, but why not?  If you happen to have several friends in the same boat, plan a combination seed and cutting party where you exchange what you have with others and by the end of the party, you’ll have a whole variety of new plants and flowers you didn’t have before.  Seeds are cost-effective. They may take longer to sprout, but for just five dollars you can start 5-6 different kinds of flowers, vegetables or herbs.
Don’t be afraid of planting the seeds from the food you eat, either.  While you’re probably only familiar with your mother or grandmother starting an avocado tree from the seed inside of an avocado – this isn’t the only seed you can start to keep growing your own food plants.  Bell peppers, nectarines, plums and more – use your own resources.  You can keep things growing.  
If you live in a tiny apartment, you can do the same thing with house plants if you don’t have a yard. Everyone should be able to enjoy the beauty of plants.
You don’t have to worry about purchasing expensive planter pots either.  Many food containers we use on a daily basis make great plant starter pots – from cottage cheese and quart-sized yogurt or margarine tubs to even glass or plastic bottles, jars or containers from milk, juice and soda make for a fantastic plant container.  Remember, you’re just using these to get plants started.  And it is a wonderful way to use your recyclables in a great way.  Reuse, repurpose – you’re saving money and the environment at the same time while helping the planet and beautify your home environment, too. 
Starting new plant life is a great way to infuse new life into your own and enjoy the lovely surroundings you create by continuing the circle of life with what you have. 

~ Athena & Tess – We Solved It
SOLUTIONS for everyday PROBLEMS