How To Help Others For Christmas

One of the bigger ideas from Christmas is that of giving to others. There is something about giving especially during the holiday season that makes it extra special. In fact, giving helps you truly appreciate what you have. When you give, you want to make sure that your donations are used effectively for that cause. So, we have done some research on some worth while charities that you can use this Christmas season.



#1. Charities to Donate to During Christmas: Local Food Pantries With the troubled economy, many local food pantries are struggling to keep up with community need. More people than ever are having a hard time affording daily meals. This is even more so during the holidays. Check with your local food pantry to see which items they are in most need of. In the alternative, you can always make a cash donation to allow for the purchase of specific food items as they run low.



#2. Charities to Donate to During Christmas: Local Churches and Other Religious Establishments
Many churches and other religious organizations give out special food boxes for holiday meals near Christmas. Contact these establishments to donate the food items desired, make a cash donation or see if they can use your help to deliver these food boxes to those who otherwise could not afford a holiday meal.



#3. Charities to Donate to During Christmas: Homeless Shelters
Homelessness is a major issue. It's hard enough to imagine being homeless at any time, especially during the holidays. Contact your nearest homeless shelter to see how you can help during Christmas. Perhaps you can buy gifts for some of the children, donate food for a meal or give your time to help serve a Christmas meal. Cash donations are always needed.



#4. Charities to Donate to During Christmas: Soldiers and Their Families
No matter how you feel about the war, there are soldiers fighting overseas for what they believe in. They are separated from their families during the holidays, making it hard for them and their families. There are charities that support troops away from home and the families of those soldiers who remain here. One of these charities is Operation Homefront¹.



#5. Charities to Donate to During Christmas: Nursing Homes
The elderly often have a difficult time living in a nursing care facility during the holidays. Some residents may have no visitors. Call a local nursing home and see if they have any residents who may like some company over the holidays. Perhaps they will allow you to "adopt a grandparent". Giving your time to someone who may be lonely is one of the best gifts you can give this Christmas. Chances are, you'll want to continue the visits long after the holidays are over.



#6. Charities to Donate to During Christmas: Children's Organizations
There are many different children's organizations available. Choose from children's social issues, children's health issues, at-risk children's issues or others. You can donate to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of America² and help a child with a life-threatening medical condition.



#7. Charities to Donate to During Christmas: Separated Families
There are organizations that help children who have a parent in jail or prison. Many offer children help with necessities. Others visit with the children. Some even make a video of the incarcerated parent to send a Christmas message to the child. One of the charities that helps these children is Mariah Charities³.



#8. Charities to Donate to During Christmas: Helping Families Help Themselves in Developing Countries
While searching for charities, this writer found an organization that allows a donor to make a loan to an individual in a third world country to be able to provide for themselves and their families. These loans are repaid, and the lender can choose to make a loan to another in need. This organization is h3o: Humans Helping Humans⁴. You can also choose to make a donation to the organization for its operating cost to keep this service available.



#9. Charities to Donate to During Christmas: Gifts for Kids on Christmas Tree Displays at Local Retailers
Many stores will have a Christmas tree set up around the holidays with hanging paper tags. These tags list the first name of a child along with clothing sizes and a toy or game item that child would like to receive for Christmas. This year, take one of those tags and buy the desired items for a child. Nearly every year, this writer allows her kids to decide on one tag from these trees and help to pick out the needed items for another child in need.



#10. Charities to Donate to During Christmas: Select a Charity of Your Choice
Charity Navigator⁵ has a listing of thousands of charities to choose from, as well as tips on how to decide on a specific charity. You can view charities by category to find organizations that share your views on causes that have meaning for you.


Donate to Charities During the Holidays as a Christmas Gift to Someone in Need
Make the holidays more special to a stranger in need and donate to charity. With so many charities to choose from, you are sure to find one that fits your personal preferences. Choose one of the above-listed charity options, or come up with your own ideas of charities to donate to during Christmas
1) Operation Homefront; Supporting Our Troops and Helping the Families They Leave Behind; Operation Homefront
2) Make-A-Wish Foundation of America; Make-A-Wish; Make-A-Wish Foundation of America
3) Mariah Charities; Taking Heed to God's Whispers; Mariah Charities
4) h3o.org; Humans Helping Humans Organization; Humans Helping Humans
5) Charity Navigator; Your Guide to Intelligent Giving; Charity Navigator


Well, this should give you some choices on what charities to choose this Christmas from Yahoo.com.If you would like to contact us with any questions or feedback, please contact us by email.

Thank You for Visiting!

Joseph A. Jones & The WellLife Team

How To Host A Thanksgiving Day Feast

It looks like someone is hosting a Thanksgiving day dinner. As we get older, people always want us to host a holiday function or get together. Even though we have hosted many  holiday occasions , it is easy to forget certain rules to follow. So, we decided to refresh you with some simple suggestions in planning a Thanksgiving day dinner.


Step 1

Figure out who you are going to invite to your first Thanksgiving feast. This can be difficult because you may face some hurt feelings. When you are doing this for the first time you may want to invite every member of your family as well as close friends but that's not advisable because it's your first time. Start slow and do it right

Step 2

Prepare your menu. Word of advice: traditional is best where Thanksgiving is concerned. Turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes and a green vegetable are a good start. You can ask your guests to each bring a side dish to make everyone feel like they are involved. Ask someone to bring a dessert, ask someone else to bring hors d'oeuvres and someone else to bring a specialty dish. This will get your guests involved and make it a more inclusive experience.


Step 3

Get a few holiday decorations. Thanksgiving is a holiday where you are thankful for what you have. This does not mean you are rich or a show-off. It means you are thankful for the things you do have and the people you have to share it with. Put up some new pictures to show your gratitude.

Step 4

Say a few welcoming remarks as you sit down for holiday dinner. Nothing too involved or stodgy, but just let your guests know how much it means to have them over and what the holiday means to you. This will help everyone be in the holiday mood.

Step 5

Give yourself at least 30 minutes between the end of your meal and the start of dessert. You may want to make dessert very casual. Everyone has been seated around the dining room table for 45 minutes to an hour. Why not serve dessert and coffee in the family room with the television on. It is Thanksgiving and that means you can watch football all day. You've turned the TV off during your meal; put it back on and watch and talk football while you eat apple pie.


So, this should help you to plan out that special holiday gathering. Thank you to the livestrong.com article for this useful information.  If you would like to contact us with any questions or feedback, please contact us by email.

Thank You for Visiting!

Joseph A. Jones & The WellLife Team

Throwing A Halloween Party For Adults.

As we get older, holidays are something to look forward to and celebrate. Why would Halloween  be any different? So, a good way to celebrate Halloween is throwing an adult party with your closest friends. When planning this party, it is important to have adult activities and games. We are not 12 years old any more trick or treating for the first time. Here is some ideas for your adult Halloween party.

Making any Recipe Creepy for Halloween

You can turn almost any recipe into a perfect adult Halloween party idea with a bit of a special presentation.

Halloween drinks & cocktails. For instance, take any red cocktail and place it in this "blood donation" dispenser for a spooky twist. The one pictured below is available at SpiritHalloween.com and costs $19.99. The truth is, it doesn't hold all that much liquid and is rather cheaply made (I was a little disappointed with the quality when I bought one last year) and it leaks. But it does look very cool and is really fun to use-- it was a hit.


Creating creepy Halloween food. My favorite adult Halloween party ideas are always food-related, so I always make some of the creepy recipes above (or on my main Halloween Food page) to really make a gory Halloween table. But you don't have to. Simply place some different plastic body parts (stick them on a bed of cabbage leaves on a platter!) around your table and add some splashes of blood and gore to complete the look.

My Favorite Adult Halloween Party Themes
(and How to Host 'Em!)

Nuclear Spill. Think Chernobyl in your living room! Cover everything in your home with radioactive stickers, and have guests come as zombies, mutants, scientists, burn victims, etc.

 Hellidays. This is such a fun adult Halloween party idea! If you can think of a holiday, you can spook it up. Dead Easter bunnies, evil Santas, cannibal Thanksgiving dinners... you'll love watching your guests' horror as their favorite holidays are utterly vandalized. 

Satanic Ritual. Goblets of blood, human sacrifice, pentagrams (remember, they're only evil when displayed upside down!), and everything draped in black. Be sure to go with low lighting and low, eerie music.
Massacre at the Oscars. I did this theme a couple years ago and it was one of my most well-received of all time. Have your guests dress as their favorite movie stars (classic or modern)... but dead or injured or murderous. Plan it like an Oscar party... but with blood and gore. Hand out creepyOscars" (like this funny skeleton trophy) for best dressed at the end of the party.

Ghost Town. Make this an Old West theme or whatever you want. Maybe a small European town overrun by some ancient evil? Create menus and decorations accordingly.

One Wedding that's a Funeral. Plan this as if it were a wedding, and have all your guests come as wedding guests. But dead. Get a creepy bleeding wedding cake and cover everything in blood-splashed tulle.

 Seven Deadly Sins. This is a great adult Halloween party idea from a friend of mine. He devoted each room in his house to one of the seven deadly sins-- very creepy!

Heaven and Hell. Have your guests choose to be angels, cupids, etc.; or devils and demons. Assign different areas of your home to be "heaven" areas or "hell" areas.

Superheroes & Villains. This is pretty simple, and is all about bright colors and fun costumes. Good if your friends are as nerdy as mine.

Evil Nursery Rhymes or Fairy Tales. This is such a fun adult Halloween party idea! Have your guests come dressed as creepy-fied versions of characters from their favorite fairy tales, and decorate your home as a haunted wood or the witch's house from Hansel and Gretel.

Murder Mystery Party. If you only have a few guests, one of the simplest adult Halloween party ideas is a murder mystery game. Have guests come in costume and spend a few hours playing amateur sleuths. Look online for some good Halloween-themed murder mystery games.

Vampire Nightclub. Fog machines, black lights, and all sorts of vampire costumes. This is the perfect Halloween party theme if your guests love to dance.

 Bloody Bayou/Voodoo. Think swamp water punch, hanging vines and moss, shrunken heads, and skulls. Put out this screaming cheese man and pretend he's a voodoo doll. So fun!


Cannibal Butcher Shop. This one is all about gore and gross food. Cover your table with a bloody handprint and dripping blood table cloth and plenty of body parts. Serve this jello mold panna cotta brain and other cannibal-themed Halloween foods. (Like the "morgue stew" pictured near the top of this page)

Haunted Mansion. I like this for a more subdued, elegant Halloween party. Serve southern food like hush puppies, corn muffins, fried chicken, etc., decorate the house with creepy portraits and play creepy classical music in the background.

Crime Scene. This is such a fun adult Halloween party idea! Decorate the front of the house with caution tape and a chalk outline of a body (or several). Then make each room in your house the scene of horror: this bloody shower curtain in the bathroom, a stalker's room in a bedroom, a cannibal nightmare in the kitchen. Have fun with it!

Spooky Shot Halloween Drinking Game

A drinking game is one of the best adult Halloween party ideas if you really want to get the party rolling along. And this one is competitive, a little mean, and a lot of fun.


To Start: Start out with at least 6 players, and as many players as you like. You can play this game during the course of an hour, if you like, or keep it going all night. The goal of this game is to get the people around you to say forbidden words that will require them to take a shot.

 Setting Up: Before the party, come up with six words that nobody is allowed to say during the course of the game. If you want your guests to get really wasted, pick simple words like "that" "drink," etc. Or you can make them words related to your Halloween party theme or Halloween in general. Set up a table full of shots, or with shot glasses and a couple of choices of booze/cocktail mixes so people can pour their own.

 Playing the Game: To play, pick a start time and inform everybody of the rules and the forbidden words. Make the other guests in charge of telling somebody when they have to pay with a shot because they've used a forbidden word. Then let things naturally take their course. As the night wears on, it'll get harder and harder for your guests to remember to hold their tongues!Optional: When I play this game, I like to give each guest their own creepy "blood-filled" shot glasses they have to keep with them at all times. It kind of adds to the fun punishment aspect of the game. And it's something fun for them to take them home afterwards.  Thank You goes out to divinedinnerparty.com for their useful information.Now this should get you  started  for your adult Halloween Party.


A big thanks goes out to divinedinner party.com for this useful information. This should get you started on planning the ultimate adult Halloween party. If you would like to contact us with any questions or feedback, please contact us by email.

Thank You for Visiting!

Joseph A. Jones & The WellLife Team

Memorable Fall Activities

That picture looks like a good time. We know yet another fall season is upon us. It seems that we get into doing the same routines each season and not always capture meaningful events during the year. So, we took it upon us to find some meaningful activities that you can do to capture those experiences again.


1. Fall Foliage Drive or Bike Ride – We enjoy driving through our local forest preserves or if we are feeling adventurous, we google "Fall Foliage Drives" and head out for the nearest route in our area to see the most amazing colors on the trees. If we are lucky, we’ll find an orchard or fruit stand to grab apples and pumpkins. This year we are totally into biking so we’re going to hit the bike trails for a new foliage experience. Read my tips on how to plan a family bike ride. Don't forget to walk through your neighborhood to admire the leaves and the Halloween decorations.


2. Visit a Pumpkin Farm – Nothing says Fall like a trip to a pumpkin patch. We have some fun local pumpkin farms that have games and a petting zoo for little ones. It’s a great place to take a photo of your kids for the Christmas newsletter! The colors are outstanding. Of course, you need to decorate those pumpkins when you get home. Now that my kids are a little older though, we like exploring the corn maze at night by flashlight. Spooky!


3. Crafting & Decorating for Halloween – We take decorating for Halloween very seriously at our house. I like to spend time with the kids making a new Halloween decoration or treats for their Halloween parties every year. It’s time we get to spend together creating, talking, and connecting. You can see some of the Halloween decorations that I’ve made with the kids here and get the instructions.


4. Organize a Neighborhood Trick or Treat Procession – Trick or treating is so much more fun in a group. Our neighborhood started a Trick or Treat Procession a few years ago where everyone would meet and walk together. Our procession had wagons full of snacks and hot chocolate, more wagons to pull the young ones who get tired after 3 blocks, dogs on leashes in costumes, and plenty of cameras and video cameras to capture the fun. It's like hosting a party but you don't have to clean your house!


5. Football Party - Invite your friends and family over to watch that special game at your place, take your kids tailgating to your college football game, or just organize a neighborhood flag football game. The party can be simple and have everyone bring a dish. Or, go all out with tasty dips and vats of chili. Set up games for the kids like throwing a football throw a hula hoop or measuring the longest throw. Rather throw a Halloween party instead? Check out these ideas for a fun and easy Kids Halloween Party.


A big thanks goes to PalatinePatch.com for these great ideas.These activities can definitely make some great memories for you this fall. If you would like to contact us with any questions or feedback, please contact us by email.

Thank You for Visiting!

Joseph A. Jones & The WellLife Team

How to Stay Healthy When You Travel

     You have spent the time and money to prepare for that special trip this summer. In your opinion, you have everything planned but you maybe missing one important detail before you leave. That is your health. Many people will go on trips to only ignore various health tips and end up sick or have health problems for the entire trip. We have all heard stories about peoples trips being ruined because of sickness. There are some precautions that you can take to help prevent this from happening by Web MD. Here is what they found.

How can you stay healthy on your trip?

The best way to stay healthy on your trip is to plan before you go. If you are planning to travel to another country, see a doctor at least 6 weeks before you leave so you will have time for vaccines (immunizations) that you may need to get ahead of time.

Also ask your doctor if there are medicines or extra safety steps that you should take. For example, people who have heart failure may need to take shorter flights with more stops to avoid long periods of sitting. Or someone visiting Africa may need to take medicine to prevent malaria.

Where can you get the best information?

You can use the Internet to find general travel health information. Just make sure the information is up-to-date and from a reliable source. You can also find out if there are any problems with disease outbreaks in the places you will be visiting.

Try these websites:

• www.cdc.gov/travel. This is the website for travel information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

• www.who.int/ith/en. This website lists information on travel, required immunizations, and disease outbreaks from the World Health Organization (WHO)

• If you are taking a cruise, you can find your ship's sanitation inspection scores on this website: www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp.

Find out where you can get the best medical care in the region you are visiting. The U.S. State Department’s website, www.usembassy.gov, lists every U.S. embassy worldwide and lists some doctors and medical facilities in those countries.

If you are traveling out of the country, take along the phone numbers and addresses of embassies in the areas you will visit. They can help you find a doctor or hospital. Find out if your insurance company will cover you. You may need special travel health insurance.

Which immunizations and medicines will you need?

Check with the nearest travel health clinic, your regional health department, or your doctor to see what kind of vaccines you should get. In the United States, most state health clinics can give you travel vaccines, some medicines, and healthy travel tips. If your state health clinic does not give vaccines for travelers, ask if there is a clinic nearby that does.

Hepatitis A vaccine is recommended for most people traveling to developing countries. Hepatitis A (or Hep A) is one of the most common diseases found in returning travelers. You can easily prevent hepatitis A by getting the vaccine.

Make sure that all routine shots are up-to-date for you and your children. These shots can protect you from diseases such as polio, diphtheria, measles, whooping cough, and rubella, which are still a problem in some developing countries.

If your doctor has told you that you should have the pneumococcal vaccine (to prevent complications of pneumonia) or a flu vaccine because of your age or a health condition, it is important that you get those vaccines before you leave.

The yellow fever vaccine is now required for travelers who plan to visit countries in South America and Africa where the disease is active.

You may need to have the typhoid fever vaccine, especially if you are traveling to an area where the risk of typhoid fever is high. These areas include Central and South America, Africa, and Asia. The nearest travel health clinic or health department will have the most recent recommendations.

You may need other vaccines, depending on where you are going, how long you will be there, and what you plan to do while you are there.
If you plan to visit an area where malaria is a risk, ask your doctor to give you a prescription for medicine to prevent malaria.
If you may be handling or near animals in parts of the world where rabies is common, you may need to get a rabies vaccine series.

What precautions should you take while you travel?

Before you go, find out about the places you plan to visit. Is the water safe to drink? Do mosquitoes or other bugs carry disease? Is there air pollution? Will you be at a high altitude that could make you sick? Is it safe to swim in pools, lakes, or the ocean? Could you get heat exhaustion, sun stroke, or a sunburn?

Basic safety can prevent some illnesses:

• Many developing countries do not have safe tap water. When visiting these places, drink only beverages made with boiled water, such as tea and coffee. Canned or bottled carbonated drinks, such as soda, beer, wine, or water are usually a safe choice. Do not use ice if you don't know what kind of water was used to make it. And do not use tap water to brush your teeth.

• Do not eat raw vegetables, raw fruits (unless you wash them with safe-not tap-water and peel them yourself), or raw or undercooked meat and seafood. Avoid food or drink from street vendors.

• In malaria-infected areas, use DEET insect repellent on exposed skin, and use flying insect spray in the room where you sleep. Wear long pants and long-sleeved shirts, especially from dusk to dawn. Mosquito netting works well to protect yourself from bites while you sleep. Protect against ticks when you visit places where Lyme disease or Rocky Mountain spotted fever is present.

• When the weather is very hot, stay indoors during the hottest time of the day. And use sunscreen when you go outside to prevent sunburn.

• Air pollution in some large cities can pose a serious threat to those with asthmaor other respiratory conditions. Avoid those cities when air quality is poor, or stay indoors as much as possible.

• Practice safe sex. One of the most common ways that travelers get infections is by having sex with an infected person. Using condoms can prevent sexually transmitted infections and diseases.

Getting a disease on your trip is probably what you think about when you hear about travel health. But it is important to know about other ways you can be hurt. Many travelers are hurt in car accidents. If you must drive, learn about local driving customs, such as driving on the left side of the road. Travel during daylight when you can. Always use seat belts. If you use hired drivers (such as in a taxi), don't be afraid to ask your driver to slow down or to drive more carefully.

What if you get sick while you are traveling?

Diarrhea is the most common illness to strike travelers. Traveler's diarrhea is most common in developing countries where food and water are not as safe.

Traveler's diarrhea most often begins quickly with watery diarrhea, vomiting, cramping, and a low fever. Many doctors recommend trying to eat as normally as possible. If you are vomiting, try to drink water or other clear fluids. Watch for signs of dehydration, such as a dry mouth and dark-colored urine. If possible, drinkrehydration drinks to replace lost fluids and electrolytes. Most cases of travelers' diarrhea get better in 1 to 3 days without treatment. But see a doctor if diarrhea lasts longer than 7 days, or if you have a high fever, blood or mucus in your diarrhea, or signs of dehydration.

If you become seriously ill while traveling, your country's embassy or consulate can help you find medical care. If you become ill with a fever or flu-like illness while traveling in malaria-risk areas, get medical help right away.

Should you see a doctor when you return?

If you were healthy during your trip and you feel well when you return home, you probably do not need to see a doctor.

If you were sick with a fever or severe flu-like illness while traveling, see your doctor when you get home. Also, if you get sick with a fever or severe flu-like illness for up to 6 months after coming home, see your doctor. Tell your doctor the places you visited and whether you think you may have gotten a disease. Many diseases do not show up right away, and some can take weeks or months to develop. Many travelers who get malaria don't have symptoms until they get home.

Other symptoms to watch for after you come back home include:

• Diarrhea that lasts a long time or that keeps coming back.
• A skin rash or sores on the skin.Jaundice, which causes the whites of your eyes and your skin to look yellow 
• Losing weight without trying, or feeling tired and worn out.

Now, you are armed with information to have yourself a happy and more importantly healthy trip. If you would like to contact us with any questions or feedback, please contact us by email.

Thank You for Visiting!

Joseph A. Jones & The WellLife Team

Planning Your Summer Vacation

      What a relaxing picture. It is the summer and now you have time to plan some fun summer vacations. You have done allot in life and now want to experience more and really get the most out of your summer. We found  useful travel tools to use so you can plan the best vacation yet.


Plnnr

Planning a trip to a destination you've never been before is a lot of work. You must wade through guidebooks, recommendations from friends, newspaper and magazine articles, and travel sites and blogs. Plnnr helps organize all those resources, collecting up-to-date information and creating an itinerary for your trip, taking into consideration the amount of time you'll need at each attraction. Simply answer a few questions about your preferences, including the location, date, duration, theme ("outdoors," "best of," "culture," "with kids"), the intensity ("wake up late, here to rest" or "wake up early, see everything"), and level of luxury. Within seconds, Plnnr’s itinerary engine generates a trip plan complete with a map of the scheduled attractions. You can then customize your itinerary, removing places you don't wish to see and adding places that Plnnr left out. Plnnr also locates in-budget lodging. Right now, vacationers can get itineraries for 20 locations, most of which are outside of the United States (New York City, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. are the three U.S. locations currently available), but the company is working on adding more.


TripIt

One of the hardest things about planning a trip is keeping all your travel plans organized. TripItorganizes all your plans in one place. Simply forward any confirmation e-mails you receive (flight info, car rental, hotel confirmation, etc.) to plans@tripit.com. TripIt then collates them and builds an itinerary for your trip—accessible online or from your mobile device. The site will compile flight numbers, gate info, and other important items so you're always in the right place at the right time with the right confirmation number. TripIt also lets users check in online, get flight status updates, check the weather, and get driving directions. The basics are free, but you can pay $49 a year for a Pro account, which sends mobile alerts about flight changes, delays, cancellations, and gate changes; finds the best alternate flights if your flight is cancelled; and gives you VIP privileges at a number of car rental agencies worldwide.


Tripping

The best travel tips come from locals, whether it's a restaurant that's not so promising on the outside but serves the best food around or a great wine bar that's not listed in the guide book.Tripping aims to make the world a better place through cultural exchange by connecting travelers with locals' travel tips. Tripping also works as a social network, pairing people for casual meetups and even free home stays. According to Tripping, the site aggregates and offers the widest selection of local home rentals on the planet.

Users (known as Trippers) make a profile to help the community learn about them and to help other Trippers connect with them. Trippers can rate other Trippers anonymously, so they can be sure they're staying with or hosting a trusted Tripper. They can also write testimonials to serve as references. To get a "Validation icon" on their profile, Trippers can confirm their identity and address through a face-to-face video chat with someone from the Tripping team.


Wanderfly

Since everyone's looking for something different from their travel experience, a general guidebook may not always cut it. Wanderfly combines elements of Pinterest with those of review-based travel websites. Users can select what kind of things they're looking for in a trip, such as "trendy," "food," "off the beaten path," "adventure," or "authentic," and Wanderfly will provide suggestions of 24 cities it thinks you'll like. Click on a suggested city and you'll have the option of searching for hotels and airfare. Users make Pinterest-like boards for cities they live in, have travelled to, or are interested in visiting. They can bookmark favorite restaurants, parks, attractions, and shops onto a particular city's board. For example, if you have a trip to Portland coming up, you can start pinning places you want to visit, like Voodoo donuts, to your Portland board so you'll be sure to remember to visit that sweet spot. Users can follow other users to view new content as they recommend it.


Airbnb

If a hotel's penthouse suite is too pricey, you can stay in an actual house (or apartment). On Airbnb, people can list their homes, and also discover and book accommodations around the world. The kinds of accommodations range from flats to tree houses to castles and even to entire countries. Most of the reasonable properties are listed for less than the average hotel room, and in many cases, the owner of the rental is happy step in as a local guide, pointing guests to the best spots in the area. Rentals are available in more than 19,000 cities in 192 countries, and more than five million nights have been booked since Airbnb's start in 2008. The site is free to use for both hosts and guests, and hosts can be assured that their property will be covered for any loss or damage due to theft or vandalism with a $50,000 guarantee. The site also has an Android and iPhone app, making it easy to book while on the go.


Jetsetter

Jetsetter, Gilt Groupe's presence in the travel industry, gives users a peek into the world of luxury and adventure travel at a fraction of the normal cost. Jetsetter uses the same "flash sale" concept as Gilt's other sites, offering Jetsetter-verified properties or experiences at a discounted rate (usually 50 percent off). A verified property is a place that has been visited by a member of the Jetsetter team of editors and correspondents and receives a positive review. Users can use the trip planner on the homepage to search for vacations by destination, interest, or hotel name. Along with hotels, Jetsetter also features "once-in-a-lifetime adventures," as well as weekend getaways. And if you'd rather stay in a rental property like an apartment, ski lodge, chateau, or villa instead of a hotel, you can also book that through Jetsetter.


Hipmunk

Searching for a flight is sometimes the most time-consuming part of vacation planning. Thankfully, there'sHipmunk. The site, which is also available for Android, iPhone, andiPad, lets users choose flights through a very intuitive visual timeline. Users look at flights in terms of departure and arrival time and can sort by "agony," price, duration, and number of stops. They can also filter to exclude early-morning departures, morning departures, and red-eyes. To adjust the date or destination without losing the original search, Hipmunk lets users open a new tab within the site. Additionally, it has a hotel search, which works in the same way as the flight search but shows the results on a map so that users can see the proximity to landmarks and other points of interest.


Zicasso

If planning and booking every detail of your trip sounds too overwhelming, you can turn to a company to save you time and maybe even score you deals.Zicasso is a free luxury travel referral service that connects travelers with travel agencies and tour operators. To get started, describe your dream trip by filling out a brief online questionnaire with basic info, such as the date, destination, number of adults and kids in the group, age group of the adults, quality of hotel, type of travel (explore on your own, be led by a tour guide), budget per person, and anything specific you have in mind. Within two business days, you'll receive a price quote and sample itineraries from up to three Zicasso-approved travel agencies. There's no obligation to purchase a trip, and you don't have to hand over any credit card information. If you decide to go with one of the suggested trips, you'll pay the travel company directly.


Glamping Hub

Toasting marshmallows, hiking, and sitting around the fire are just a few of the reasons why people enjoy camping. What many people don't enjoy, however, is going to the bathroom in the woods; forgoing showers; and sleeping on the cold, hard ground. With glamping, those who yearn to leave the city and become one with nature can do so, just in a more glamorous way than typical camping. Glamping Huboffers a variety of luxury campsites around the world. Glamping is a great eco-friendly alternative to a hotel since, in most cases, the construction of the abode is designed to take advantage of surrounding elements of nature. Most glamping sites also feature composting toilets, solar power, and working gardens. Glamping Hub lets users search by location, date, and number of guests to find a glamping site fit for a king.


Raveable

Before you book a hotel, make sure to check its rating. Raveable collects user reviews from sites like TripAdvisor, Yahoo! Travel, and VirtualTourist and aggregates them, highlighting the hotel's pros and cons. It also points out any special features like free breakfasts, pools, and airport shuttles. You can search for hotels by categories like romantic hotels, kid-friendly hotels, and special features like an in-room Jacuzzi or fireplace, lazy river pools, rooftop pools, and even topless pools. So far, the site has more than 70 million reviews of more than 165,000 hotels worldwide.

Click a hotel's review page to find helpful information, like whether or not you're getting the best bang for your buck and, if not, alternatives that are either a better quality for a bit more money or are cheaper and a higher quality. Raveable also pulls data in from BedBugRegistry.com and informs users whether there has been a report of bed bugs within the past 12 months.

These are great sites discovered by pcmag.com to use so you can come up with that one vacation of a lifetime.If you would like to contact us with any questions or feedback, please contact us by email.

Thank You for Visiting!

Joseph A. Jones & The WellLife Team

Easter Ideas For The Family

April is a meaningful time for us. Spring time is here and that brings Easter holiday to us.This makes it a great time for family and friends.With this holiday, we must be reminded of all of the Easter activities available for us to make it a memorable one.

Here are some fun ideas for Easter that familyfun.go.com has provided with web links:

 1) Jelly Bean Trail Activity
 2) Easter Morning Yarn Race Activity
 3) Egg Scramble Activity
 4) Sock Hop  Activity
 5) The Great Egg Drop Activity
 6) Easter Egg Decorating Party Activity
 7) Easter Brunch Party Activity
 8) Explaining the Easter Story To Kids Activity

These are great activities for everyone. Be sure to roll your sleeves up and participate, that makes you feel like a kid again and strengthens the bonds with your family and friends.If you would like to contact us with any questions or feedback, please contact us by email.

Thank You for Visiting!

Joseph A. Jones & The WellLife Team

Activity Ideas for Spring

        March the first month during the spring season. We have experienced so many springs in our long life. That can make us wonder something. Did we get outdoors and make the most out of every season? If you wondered this, we did find some activities you can get involved in to make the most out of this beautiful time of year.

Hiking: an outdoor activity which consists of walking over different terrains and often on a trail. 

Backpacking: also known as trekking and is more intensive than hiking.

Dog hiking: can be highly enjoyable to exercise with pets.

Dog walking: get outdoors and taking the family pet for a walk can be a highly enjoyable exercise everyone looks forward to doing together

Nordic walking: walking with fitness poles.

Scrambling: rock-climbing or done indoors on prefabricated structures.

Waterfalling: includes hunting waterfalls and hiking with others with the purpose of finding and enjoying waterfalls.

Swimming: can be very enjoyable when weather permits and helps tone and shape the body.  Low impact is ideal for those with limited movement or joint motility issues and is a non-impact exercise.  Swimming can also be done indoors when the weather gets bad and is an activity enjoyed by everyone from small kids to even senior citizens.

Running: involves either jogging or distance running, which is a great form of exercise which gets the blood flowing, melts fats and raises the heart rate, all of which are excellent for those trying to lose weight and stay in shape.

Mountain cycling: a mountain activity which can be fun for someone of more advanced fitness levels.

Skiing: can be either on water or snow, great fun for the whole family.

Windsurfing: a fresh water activity which many enjoy and is physically challenging and mentally stimulating.

Tree climbing: great for bringing out a person’s inner child and as long as someone does not have preexisting knee or joint problems, it is a great way to stretch and work out all the muscles of the body.

Rock climbing: for more advanced fitness levels and is adventurous and challenging.

Kayaking:  a water sport which is great for exercising the upper body.

Canoeing:  slower than kayaking and is an enjoyable weekend activities many families observe.

Rafting: for the more physically fit individuals, not something to be done alone, but rather under the watchful eye of a guide that has been properly trained and has vast experience.

Caving: exploring caves

Photography:  photography is not only a creative outlet, but when taking pictures of nature it calls.

I know this is a long exhaustive list from Healthy Living by Dana Fenton for you to read. Hopefully, some of these ideas will spark you to get outdoors and enjoy the spring season.If you would like to contact us with any questions or feedback, please contact us by email.

Thank You for Visiting!

Joseph A. Jones & The WellLife Team

Menaingful Ideas for Valentines Day

      Valentines Day is approaching and we have celebrated it many different ways over the years. Now, we look out and think that this Valentines Day should be more on the meaningful side not just the standard buy  the Valentines Day gifts and that is it.We found some ways to make this year more meaningful for you and your significant other.

• Concentrate on your partner. Focus on how special they are to you. Instead of stressing about the perfect Valentine's gift, think about all the fun, silly, spunky, sexy, serious and loving things that this person does for you. Think about who he or she is. What makes them smile? What are they truly passionate about? What small little things could you do every day that would make them feel more loved?

• Under-promise and over-deliver. Make promises early and make them often—just keep them. No emergency is more important than love. Show your love and respect by honoring your time together and your commitments. Leave work early and call them on the way home to say you just couldn't wait to see them. Ask if they'd like you to pick up something special before you get there

• Be a mirror. We reflect the world around us, the good, the bad and the ugly. Be mindful of your partner's moods. When you're approached with love and joy, mirror it back and they'll feel especially loved and close to you.

• Note it. Love notes are a sure way to inspire a loving connection every day of the year. They don't all have to be sappy poems. Buy a calendar, keep it in the bathroom and write a reason a day that you appreciate and admire your one-and-only. Follow the object of your affection to the store or the dry cleaners and leave a note on their car in the parking lot. Drop them in a purse or write them on the bathroom mirror with a dry erase pen for a pleasant surprise to wake up to.

• Plan a dream date that won't cost you a dime. Tell this person that the only topic of conversation is to hear about their dreams, what they love, what they want to do before leaving the planet, what they'd like to learn, where they'd like to travel, and who they most admire. Let them talk freely without stopping and then write a few down later and help create those dreams.

• Prepare a romantic meal or just pick up restaurant delivery on the way home or have one of the online gourmet delivery options deliver a five-course meal to your doorstep. Dim the lights. Play Sinatra or another one of their favorites and tidy up the kitchen , too!

• Make the very last moment of your day together special by kissing them softly, accommodating a simple request like water or Kleenex, pulling the covers up to their chin, touching their forehead and telling them how much they're valued.

We hope this helps you in finding ways to have a more meaningful Valentines Day than years past.A thank you goes out to WikiHow for thier important information that was used in this blog.If you would like to contact us with any questions or feedback, please contact us by email.

Thank You for Visiting!

Joseph A. Jones & The WellLife Team

Experiencing Joy While Aging !

         Stereotypes are meant to be broken. There is allot of stereotypes that exist while you are getting older.  For instance, older  people  are  more miserable and depressed all of the time. That could not be further from the truth. Web MD and many other sites show studies that when people get older they actually  get happier. It would be interesting to know how they get happier. We found an article by Jonathan Young that mention many reasons why they can become happier.

1. We can enjoy life. We are often playful and like to laugh. We are starting to move beyond the need to look cool. This leads to all kinds of fun, at unexpected moments. Even our idiosyncrasies can be quite entertaining. When we hit a bump, we are sometimes bemused at the ridiculousness of life. We also enjoy recalling the oddities we have witnessed. Some of them have been amazing. We've had enough disenchantment for a lifetime. We're willing to be enchanted again.
2. We make the most of what we have. We are finally gaining some perspective and even a little wisdom. We have a bit more inner stability. We have the guidance of memory that often routes us around trouble. We are coming to terms with our limits, and mainly celebrate what we can do. At long last, we seem to have a sense of who we are. We like ourselves more than we expected. We are getting better at trusting our own tastes and preferences. We appreciate the freedom to indulge in our interests, new and old. A grateful heart lets us take pleasure where we find it.
3. We appreciate people. Friends, acquaintances, and even strangers have unexpected qualities. Their faces are surprising in ways we didn't notice before. Also, we have decided that most people are good enough as they are. There's no need to change anyone. We realize it wouldn't do much good to try, anyway. We appreciate those who have been kind to us. We have received a great deal of affection over the years, and such gifts last. We have the friendship and love of a lifetime with us always, even from the people who aren't around anymore. We are thankful to have had good company on the journey.
4. We accept our flaws. We don't have to be perfect. On most days, we relish the diversity of our personalities. We can be flexible or stubborn, clueless or profound, depending on the moment. We tend to honor the delicate parts of ourselves. A life with nothing to be sorry about would be rather uneventful. We are even starting to appreciate our past disasters. Old humiliations have become essential parts of a fine story. We occasionally even feel a tender fondness for the ragged edges of our lives.
5. We are at home in the world. We enjoy our surroundings and often discover new secrets about familiar places. Watching the explorations of small children and animals can delight us. The piece of cake we allow ourselves is especially delicious now that we don't indulge often. The scent of a flower or gentle touch of a breeze seems more sensually rich than before. Sometimes, we glance around our home spaces to relish how our belongings reflect our personalities. Perhaps we got more efficient in the pleasure department. Maybe, having had our share of difficulties, we just appreciate things more.
6. We have less to prove. We are learning to avoid comparing ourselves with others - or even with our former selves. It is a relief when we can begin to overcome feelings of competition. We can sometimes even deal with envy as a bad mood, not to be trusted. By focusing on our best personal qualities, and favorite current interests, we can find something fulfilling in almost every day. We might have more contributions to make, but don't feel quite as driven to do something of great importance. Most of the time, we are able to work and play for its own sake, not to look good in the eyes of others. Now that the need to show off has eased a bit, finding opportunities to use our talents is a manageable task.
7. We have strong priorities. We are getting better at tending to our deeper yearnings. Now that we're not in charge of fixing everything, we are free to devote our energies to neglected passions. It may be creative expression, reading, gardening, hobbies, or working on causes. Certain projects virtually call us. It might surprise friends that we are so energized by these activities, but we feel no need to explain ourselves. On most days, we use time in more immediate and present ways than ever before.
8. We accept our moods. We know that life is rich with nuances of emotion. We like being happy, but indulging in a little grumpiness has its rewards, too. We can usually let sadness come and go when it wants, without making a big deal about it. Life has its ups and downs. No point getting frustrated when it won't help. We avoid fretting about things, if at all possible. We are often able to be philosophical about life's ordinary disappointments and tribulations. When we can accept our feelings, a natural buoyancy usually restores tranquility soon enough.
9. We take time to reflect. We are able to ponder the inner life more than in the past. Allowing quiet to enter us seems to change the flow of time and make it larger. We find ways to open to the mysteries within. For some it is meditating, for others it is knitting, still others find it during a daily walk. It is simply being receptive to something beyond our ordinary thoughts. Partly, it is using the gifts of experience and long memory. Reflecting on fine moments in the journey reminds us of the riches of our lives.

I think this article gives some great insight why you can experience joy while you are aging. Thanks to folkstory.com and Jonathan Young for his wonderful thoughts concerning this topic. If you would like to contact us with any questions or feedback, please contact us by email.

 Thank You for Visiting!

Joseph A. Jones & The WellLife Team