18 Days Left in 2020

I am sure there are so many people looking forward to saying good bye to 2020!  It’s hard to believe there are only 18 days left to this crazy year! That’s what is so amazing about time, it keeps moving forward even when we have been stopped in our tracks!

I was listening to a Brene Brown podcast and she was talking how our brains are tired. This year has been so overwhelming and we are all so tired! I hope these next 18 days we are all able to find a few moments of peace and quiet! I think everyone would agree that our brains just need to relax and recharge!

A good friend of mine, Jamie Griffin, has a wonderful company, Consult to Grow. This week he had a very insightful Facebook post about Abundance, not scarcity as the greatest fuel for growth. This post was directed towards the work place; it also has so much truth about our own lives. The need to look at life through the lenses of abundance and gratefulness! Be crystal clear on your goals and visions to know exactly the path you will be taking. Doing your best to turn on the light to get rid of the darkness. 

These next few weeks, I’m going to take a page from Brene Brown and Jamie Griffin. I am going to give my very tired brain a break. I am going to focus on abundance and gratitude. I will bring these hopeful thoughts with me into the new year!  I hope that you are able to take a moment to do the same! 

Imagine a temple inside your mind, a haven from the chaos of the world.

Marianne Williamson

#suzysswirl

19 more Days

It is hard to believe that Christmas Day is only 19 days away!  So much to do and the days are flying by too fast!  My intention is to enjoy and take in all of the Christmas warm feelings each of these 19 days! 

Lake Bluff hosted their annual holiday event, It’s a Wonderful Life yesterday! It was a beautiful day for families and friends to be out strolling around and just enjoying the day! It was so much fun watching everyone read each page of the story, What Snowman do at Night at each window throughout town!  You really could feel the holiday spirit swirling around!  Suzy’s Swirl also had the cutest little Snowman Frozen Yogurt Cup too!   

Now each day is going to be filled with finishing up the Christmas shopping, wrapping and starting the Christmas baking!  At Christmas time my Mom always baked these amazing sugary minty meringue cookies. Today is your lucky day, I’m going to share this festive and yummy cookie recipe with you:

2 Egg Whites

¾ Cup Sugar

1 Bag of Mint Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees

Beat Egg Whites until Thick and Fluffy

Gradually add in Sugar until Stiff Peaks Form

Gently Fold in Chocolate Chips

Turn the oven off and bake the cookies for (1) hour

Don’t peak!

Enjoy these next few weeks!  Try not to get too stressed out!  If you do get stressed, remember stressed spelled backwards is desserts!  Suzy’s Swirl is the sweetest place for fun treat! Stop in and say hi!

“The smells of Christmas are the smells of Childhood” 

Richard Paul Evans

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Friends- family-food

As we have heard over and over again, these holidays are going to be different.  For me, instead of focusing on what is going to be different, I am going to embrace all that is the same!  For Thanksgiving I plan on making new and traditional dishes, reaching out to my friends and spending time with family, even if it is a zoom call!  Together we all have so much to be thankful for. When we stop and share a meal with family and friends, all the troubles of the world will pause! I believe it just depends on what you want to focus on. I also know, that sometimes that is easier said than done!

As we move past Thanksgiving, our focus will be onto Christmas.  Christmas is such a magical time of the year.  The twinkle of Christmas lights, the anticipation of Santa coming, the goodwill of strangers and depending on where you live, the snow white dusting on the ground all shout Christmas!  How can we forget Christmas Cookies!  Even during uncertain times, Christmas can still be a magical time!  This Christmas, I think, focusing on those in need is going to be more important than any other year before!  As much as I enjoy shopping and baking for my family and friends, this year, I intend to make sure I give back too! 

Each and every day is going to be topsy turvey!  There are days I feel that I am on a roller coaster ride and I do not like roller coasters!  I hope and pray that together we can truly remember what the holidays are all about.  Being thankful for what we have, thankful for family and friends and blessed for the Angels watching over us! Just one day at a time my friends!  Some may think this is a “Pollyannaish” way of thinking and living, but it sure beats the alternative!

I hope we all find the time to be with our family, reach out to old and dear friends and enjoy a simple meal with your family or make Christmas Cookies for the neighbors! Let’s not complicate it all – let us be Thankful!

God Bless Us All!

The thankful heart will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings

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Thanksgiving at Suzy’s

Suzy’s Swirl has been Swirling for 8 years now!  It’s mind blowing how fast time has Swirled by!  When it came to our first Thanksgiving in business we wanted to do something special for our customers, what better way to celebrate than to offer an unbelievable Gift Card Promotion!

The Suzy’s Swirl Thanksgiving Gift Card Promotion is AMAZING!  You buy a Gift Card and You get a Gift Card of Equal Value for FREE!  Who else does that?  If you buy a Gift Card for $50.00 you get another Gift Card for $50.00 FREE!  We began offering this special just on Black Friday and over the years, due to customer requests, we now offer this special before Thanksgiving!  Our new customers can’t believe they get FREE Gift Cards and our frequent Swirling customers can’t wait to stock up on Gift Cards for the entire year.

Suzy’s Swirl Gift Cards are great for stocking stuffers, teacher gifts or your mail carrier. But don’t forget the rest of the year! These gift cards are great for all of the seasons of the year! They truly are the Sweetest Card for all the Seasons! 

This Thanksgiving at Suzy’s Swirl we are so Thankful! We are Thankful for our crew, they continue to stay positive and are able to pivot at a moment’s notice!  We are Thankful for our customers, we are grateful when you walk through the door and we see your smiling faces! We are Thankful for our family, your continued love and support each and every day is unmeasurable! Suzy’s Swirl would not be here without all of YOU! In case we haven’t said it lately, “Thank You!”

Happy Thanksgiving!

“What is Today, we were just Grateful for Everything”

Charlie Brown

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COvid Fatigue

I don’t know about you but I know I have Covid Fatigue!  It is a trending, it is real and it’s strong.  We are tired of staying inside, being careful and being scared!  A few months ago we were making progress with this virus, fast forward to today and it appears that all hell is breaking loose!  You add the holidays to the mix and it seems like a recipe for disaster!

Facing this fatigue is so important for our personal health!  We are certainly living in challenging times and there are no easy solutions!  Definitely wearing a mask, washing your hands and keeping your distance from others will be a big part of the solution!

During these uncertain times here are a few other things that might help us all navigate through our fatigue and the holidays.  Taking a simple walk and getting some fresh air will be so helpful.  Talking about your feelings with friends or family is important too!  Sometimes the internal conversations we have in our heads are just not healthy!  Truly expressing our feelings is such a relief.  Finally, helping others is always a good thing!  Donate to local coat drives, food drives and toy drives.  Giving back is great for your community and for your heart and mind!

I am personally, going to try to listen to the news a little less and stay in the present moment more!  I am going to remember to take a breath and exhale!  I am going to say thank you to the people who are wearing a mask and not focus on those who are not!  I cannot control everything, even though I wish I could!  LOL!  Finally, I am going to continue to have FAITH that there are more happy and healthy times ahead of us!

Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness

Desmond Tutu

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It’s official the holiday’s have begun

Starbuck’s has unveiled their holiday cups and bags! Even Dunkin has started using their holiday cups and bags! Plus, Macy’s in downtown Chicago lit up the Christmas Tree in the Walnut Room! These are all traditional signs that the holidays are beginning!

For me, the holidays begin when I start making my Grandma’s Pumpkin Bread for Thanksgiving! Once it was cooked she would wrap it in wax paper and then again in aluminum foil! It was something I would always look forward to having. No matter how dry the turkey was or how lumpy the potatoes might have been, the Pumpkin Bread was always delicious! It’s great both cold or warmed up with a little bit of butter! Yum!!

You’re lucky people today, I am going to share my Grandma’s Pumpkin Bread recipe with you! It is the best Pumpkin Bread you will ever make! I love it because the recipe makes (3) loaves, enough to share with friends and family! It also freezes well too!

Grandma Wood’s Pumpkin Bread Recipe

3 Cups Sugar

1 Cup Vegetable Oil

2/3 Cup Water

4 Large Eggs

2 Cans of Pumpkin (15 ounce)

1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

2 teaspoon baking soda

1 ½ teaspoon salt

3 1/3 Cups Flour 

Mix in the order – spray (3) pans

Cook for (1) hour at 350 degrees

Enjoy!

Last, but not least, do you know what else signifies the start of the holidays?

 The Suzy’s Swirl Gift Card Sale! Suzy’s Swirl Gift Cards are the Sweetest Gift to Give! Stay tuned to our Facebook and Instagram page for more information! 

Wishing you all a Peaceful, Cozy and Blissful Holiday Season filled with Great Food and Family!

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We The people

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

These words are the Preamble to the United States of America’s Constitution.  I thought it was so important for all us to be reminded what these words mean, especially 2 days before our Presidential election.

Let’s break down the words for a moment

Justice – just behavior or treatment

Tranquility -  state of being tranquil or calm

Defense – defending from or resisting attack

Welfare – health, happiness and fortunes

Blessings of Liberty – rights and freedom

Posterity – all future generations of people

Now that it has been broken down, let’s put it back together, in a simpler form.  We the People need to treat each other in a kind manner, we need to stay calm and resist attacking each other, we need to help and care for each other to insure good health and find happiness in our lives, we have the right to vote for whomever we want and are free to love whomever we want and we 100% need to make sure that we take care of our world for our children and our children’s children! 

The United States of America was never intended to be a Blue and Red State of America!  We will always have our differences, we are all unique individuals and at the end of the day we should all be able to get along no matter what! Isn’t that what we teach our children?  Why does it change when we become adults?

As we count down to Tuesday, November 3rd let’s remember the meaning of the Preamble to the United States Constitution! We can work together to achieve great things for the common good of all people! Let us continue to have faith and use our moral compass to do more good for all! God Bless the United States of America! 

“God Bless America, my home sweet home”

Irving Berlin

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62 more Days until Christmas

Can you believe it, is it possible, it’s crazy, 62 more days until Christmas!  As I think about these next 62 days, I ask the following:

Do you shop all year round for Christmas Gifts?

Do you start shopping on Black Friday?

Are you an Online Shopper only?

Do you procrastinate until the final days to shop?

I personally, like to wait until September – October to start my shopping. I find that getting closer to the holidays puts me in the mood for holiday shopping! I certainly DO NOT like waiting until the day before to shop! Over the years I have found the more I can get done by the beginning of December, the less stressed out I am!  I even have my gifts wrapped and under the tree before Christmas, except for the ones that Santa brings!

As my family has grown up, I have made some changes in how I shop for everyone too!  For my kids, I try my best to purchase 3 things – something they want, something the need and something to read!  I’ve also gone with theme gifts for everyone too!  Last year it was all about games and popcorn, another year it was pajama’s and another was warm cozy blankets.  I already have my theme gift idea for this Christmas, I’ll let you know after Christmas what it was, I know they are all going to love it! 

I think trying to do as much a head of time is key!  It’s so important to remember what the true meaning of Christmas is all about!  Being able to enjoy and relax this time together is the greatest gift of all!

PS – Suzy’s Swirl Gift Cards are the Sweetest Gift to give too!

Time Time Time

In Inc. Magazine this week they featured Warren Buffet.  I didn’t know that much about Warren Buffet other than he is very rich.  I did a little reading up about him, this is what I found out!  He was born on August 30, 1930 which makes him 90 years old!  Warren also had a knack for financial and business deals as a young child.  At age 11, he made his first investment deal.  Fast forward to today with a net worth of approximately 72 billion dollars.

What do Warren Buffet and the word Time have in common?   A major theme in all of Buffet’s words of wisdom and practical tips in business all revolve around the word Time.   Spend time finding the right person to marry, spend time investing in yourself and spend time with people you respect.  One of his best pieces of advice, per Inc. Magazine, it relies on Father time as the “friend of the wonderful business.”  Plainly stated, it is having the faith to believe that good things will happen to those who wait.  Buffet said, no matter how great the talent or efforts, some things just take time.  You can’t produce a baby in one month by getting nine women pregnant.  Interesting. Time-Time-Time!

We live a world that doesn’t always want to take time.  We want things immediately.  We want a vaccine now vs. taking time to make sure it’s right.  We want a job, any job vs taking time to find a good job.  We want our kids to grow up vs. taking the time to enjoy the moment now.  The time we have on this earth is precious and we need to take the time to enhance it, take care of it and love the time we have! 

Time is how we document growth, pace ourselves, make decisions and live day to day.  It will all happen in good time. Time is how we heal.  So, let’s not rush time, let’s enjoy this time we have and let’s use this time in a positive and smart way!  We just have to give each other time!

“The most important thing to do if you find yourself in a hole is to stop digging”

Warren Buffet

#suzysswirl

Oh, what a beautiful Day!

Oh, what a beautiful day today! I’m able to sit outside and watch the leaves gently glide to the ground and I’m reminiscing about these past 10 months and the next 3 months to go! 

January 1st, 2020 seems like it was years and years ago!  We started the year with so many hopes and dreams!  So many of us made resolutions to lose weight, eat healthier, spend more time with family and the list goes on and on!  Little did we know that 3 shorts months later we would be quarantined with our families and literally spending every minute of every day together!  Be careful for what you wish for!  LOL! 

Here we are on October 11th enjoying the beautiful day!  For our friends and family on the west coast we are hoping and praying that the wild fires are coming to end.  For those in the south we are hoping and praying that the hurricanes will be less and less.  Every day we hope and pray for better numbers in regards to Covid-19 and a vaccine soon! 

As we near the November 3rd Presidential election, I hope and pray for peace and understanding.  It would be great to see more civility and more bipartisan efforts amongst those who are running for office.  Also, amongst those on Facebook, Instagram and in the grocery store line!  We are the United States of America for goodness sake!  

On this beautiful day, I hope all of us can get outside, enjoy the falling leaves and all of the signs of falls!  There is a change in the air and I hope and pray it is a hopeful and blessed change coming! 

“Give every day the chance to become the most beautiful day of your life”

Mark Twain

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Suzy’s is still Swirling Strong!

This past week Suzy’s Swirl opened their doors to welcome customers, friends and family to Swirl their own cups!  We are so excited to offer so many different ways for everyone to get their Suzy’s Swirl!

*Open the door, come on in and fill your cup!

*Car door service is still going strong!  We will bring an order form right to your car and bring your order out to you!

*Online orders are quick and simple – just give us a call that you’re here and we will bring your order to your car!

*Have your order delivered to your home via Uber, Grub Hub, Door Dash or EZCaterer! 

The safety of our customers, family, friends and crew will always be our #1 priority!  We have made a few changes in the store to keep us all safe and healthy.  Our crew will continue to wear face masks, gloves and sanitize all surfaces between customers.  We appreciate your understanding and help too!

We are committed to Swirl the highest quality products, exciting flavors and toppings and innovative and creative new items!  We look forward to everyone trying our new push pops, donut sandwiches, custom positive pies and cakes!

Follow Suzy’s Swirl on Facebook and Instagram to stay tuned in on what’s new and exciting!  October, November and December are going to be three amazing months and you don’t want to miss out on the fun and great savings!

At the end of the day, all of us at Suzy’s Swirl are so grateful and appreciative for all of you, Our Customers – Our Friends!  Whether you have been coming by for years or brand new to Suzy’s Swirl from the bottom of our hearts we say, Thank You! 

Anything is possible when you have the right people there to support you!

Misty Copeland

#Suzysswirl

Fall is in the Air!

The Autumnal Equinox, also called the September or Fall Equinox happened on Tuesday September 22nd.  On this day it is the most equal of day time and night time.  It is the end of summer and the beginning of fall!  This is my most favorite time of the year!

Fall is when trees and foliage silently explode into the vibrant colors of orange, yellow and red.  Pumpkins of every shape, and size appear in pumpkin patches ready to be picked.  Neighbors begin to decorate their homes for Halloween!  Of course, every grocery store has an entire section of everything pumpkin!  I love it so much! 

The fall season is such a warm and cozy time of year!  We finally get to wear our cozy sweaters, vests and scarves! The air is cool and crisp and the perfect weather for bonfires with friends!  It’s still a great time of the year to eat every meal outside until the snow flies!   Can you tell I love Fall?!

I truly love all of the colors, the flavors and the feel of Fall!  I also love, that Suzy’s Swirl has amazing Fall Flavors Swirling too!  We have Pumpkin Pie, Toasted Marshmallow, Cherry Almond and more!  Yum-Yum-Yum!

Enjoy these fall flavors in a cup, a push pop, positive pie or custom cake!  So many ways to Fall in Love with Fall and Suzy’s Swirl!

Autumn is a second spring, when every leaf is a flower  

Albert Camus

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All we need is Love

Love in 2020 

The dictionary defines the word Love as, a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person.   The word Love can also be used as a word of endearment for a person or an attachment.  Hopefully, we have all used the word Love as a feeling that we have for our parents, children and spouse! 

Love is an ever changing feeling.  The way we Love as a young child, through our teenage years and into adulthood has evolved with each stage of our lives.  The word Love is jam packed with so many different emotions too!  We use the word Love when describing an amazing meal, a beautiful home, a new special person in our life, a new dress or new car, and when we are holding our new born baby! Love is an amazing adjective and verb!

This year in 2020, in my humble opinion, there seems to be less Love going around!  In the midst of Covid-19, social injustice, climate change, I think we need to look for more Love! I believe when we focus more on Love, Happiness and Understanding that is what we will see all around us. When we try to see the good and kindness in the people around us, we won’t just see the color of their skin, we will see a reflection of us! I’m a firm believer in living life by The Golden Rule – Treat Others Like You Want to be Treated! Love is just a word until someone gives it meaning. I hope all of us can find that someone or something that gives you the meaning of your love! What the World needs now is Love sweet Love! 

“I have decided to stick with Love. Hate is too great a burden to bear!” 

Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Dumpster Day!

In the first few weeks of quarantine for Covid-19 so many of us decided this was the perfect time to clean our closets, cabinets and fridge. It was a great way to purge all of the old stuff and to make room for all of our new online purchases! The purging was cathartic and it made us all feel lighter in the midst of chaos going on outside! 

This week I went one step further, I had a dumpster delivered to my home.  t’s amazing how fast I could fill it up.  A dumpster is a great way to get rid of anything that won’t fit in a garbage can. Here are some examples, old seats to the back of your car, little tyke cars – when you no longer have any little tykes living with you, Christmas lights that don’t work and the list goes on and on. We all get so busy and stuff just piles up until we can no longer see what we have. That’s a clear indication that it’s time to start dumping! 

So, as I look at my very organized garage and basement I feel so much lighter.  When I look at the very full dumpster I feel like I accomplished a lot! Of course I could not do any of this by myself, my daughter Julie, was a huge help with it all! It was fun rolling up our sleeves and deciding what do we keep, what can we recycle and what gets dumped! Even my neighbors asked us what we were doing! If you have the time and need to lighten up your home, rent a dumpster and start dumping! To the dump, to the dump, to the dump, dump, dump!

“Out of Clutter, find Simplicity”

Albert Einstein 

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Happy Labor Day!

Labor Day is a federal holiday that is celebrated on the first Monday of September.  This day is meant to celebrate the hard working men and women and the economic and social contributions of these workers. Labor Day is a patriotic day to celebrate the strength, prosperity and the well-being of our nation!  In 1882, the Central Labor Union of New York City sought to create a day off of work for working citizens! 

This year’s Labor Day feels different from years past. Our nation is so divided and conflicted today! Some may say this due to it being an election year, I believe there is much more going on. Covid-19 has also, played a huge part in our Nations distress too! Take a look at your own community and see the restaurants, bars and stores that have had to close in these past few months. How do we celebrate a day that’s supposed to be focused on strength, prosperity and well-being when many of us are just holding on by our fingernails?

This Labor Day is a reminder of what makes The United States of America United!  The United States of America was built by a collection of hard workers with so many differences, similarities, ideas and thoughts! When you combine all these super powers you have a Nation that can thrive, be strong and have happiness for all!  This Labor Day we can pause and reflect on the true meaning that Labor Day represents! Together we can continue to celebrate our Nations strengths, prosperity and well-being it’s just going to take hard work from all of us each and every day! 

“No work is insignificant. All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.”

 – Martin Luther King, Jr.

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VOte

The first Presidential Election was back in 1789.  On April 30, 1789 George Washington was voted in as our 1st President of the United States.  It was decided in 1792 for the Presidential Elections to be held on the first Tuesday in November.  The people thought this was a good time for an election as the harvest would be completed, the weather wouldn’t be that bad and the election winner would start off the beginning of the new year.  Fast forward to August 19, 1920 when women finally won the right to vote! 

So now we all know a few facts that maybe you didn’t know before!  It’s always good to learn something new!  As we move into another Presidential Election year, I urge you to VOTE!  We can VOTE as an absentee voter, mail in voter or in person voter. VOTE early!  It is our right as Americans to VOTE!  

As the Republican and Democratic Conventions have come to an end we have heard both sides of the story for now. We live in a country where we can choose who we want to marry, what religion we want to believe in, what career we want to pursue, the list goes on and on and includes who we want to VOTE for.  We live in a country that needs to respect and embrace our differences vs judge and be cruel because we are different!  Be open minded!

God Bless America

“We are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike”

Maya Angelou

#suzysswirl

The Crown

This past week I started watching The Crown.  I am definitely behind the times, as The Crown came to Netflix in November of 2016.  So far, I find The Crown so fascinating.  I completely understand why millions of viewers love this show!

In case you didn’t know, like me, what The Crown is about let me give you a quick snap shot!  The Crown is about Queen Elizabeth’s II life as a young girl all the way to adulthood, her relationships with her parents, sister and finding her voice and confidence once she becomes Queen!  It’s so interesting to watch how and why Queen Elizabeth II has been Queen of England for 67 years!

I have learned a few things while watching The Crown.  The Great Smog of London in 1952, an unusual period of cold weather, combined with an anticyclone and windless conditions and collecting pollutants, causing a thick smog.  Approximately 4000 people died and 100,000 became ill.  People were having coughing fits and walking around wearing facemasks. Hospitals over ran with the sick, not enough doctors or supplies and running out of money!  How eerily similar to what is currently happening in America 2020!  Plus, I never knew how much the Queen loved horses and corgis!

I look forward to watching the next 3 seasons of The Crown.  I hear that it continues to get better and better with each season.  So far, I have a new appreciation for Queen Elizabeth II, the royal family and the regality of The Crown.  I highly recommend you giving it a try!

It has perhaps always been the case that the waging of peace is the hardest form of leadership of all.

Queen Elizabeth II

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Beautiful Smiles

I miss seeing your beautiful smile!   When you would get a genuine, really good smile it could change your entire day!  Your smile can really reveal how you are feeling.  Are you gritting your teeth through your smile because you are stressed, do you add a wink to your smile because you are being playful or is your smile just a genuine smile because you are happy?  All of these unique smiles are covered up by required face masks! 

Now that our smiles are covered up by our face masks, we are focused on people’s eyes!  They say that our eyes are the “window to the soul”.  There’s research that says our pupils change when we talk about things we are interested in, then change again when the subject becomes less interesting!  Hmm!  Research shows that when we’re trying to remember something we typically look to the left and when we are being more creative we look to the right!  I’ll have to pay more attention to what direction my eyes are looking next time!  LOL!

I really do miss seeing friends, family and stranger’s beautiful smiles!  A Smile is a silent way of saying hello, excuse me or just a kind gesture!  Smiles are priceless!  I will never take for granted how much a genuine happy smile can mean to me or another person!  I look forward to when we will all be able to let our Smiles shine bright for all to see!  Until then, keep your mask on and keep smiling with your eyes for all to see!

“Nothing You Wear is More Important Than Your Smile”     

Connie Stevens 

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The Season of Back to school

The back to school season is upon us!  Walmart, Office Max and Target, to name a few, are all gearing up for the back school excitement!  There’s something special about new pencils, a fresh box of crayons, those perfect folders and a clean book bag!

This year going back to school will be different! For most kids, they will be starting the school year with remote learning!  They will be having their scheduled lunch time at home and recess will be in their very own yard!  This is not an ideal situation for the kids!

School Districts have been put into such an incredibly difficult dilemma!  Schools are trying to make the best decision, not just for your family, but for all families!  Thankfully, School Districts have had more time to adjust to remote learning this time around vs just a few days!  Parents and care givers have a better understanding of what remote learning is going to be like too! 

Ultimately, everyone wants to see the kids of all ages go back to school! Teachers want to go back to their classrooms to teach and mentor their students!  We all want school back to the way it was!  Until that day comes, let’s stay positive, work together as a team and always know that administrators, teachers and parents are doing the best they can.  Most importantly, students are equally doing the very best they can during such uncertain times!

The Season of Back to School can be just as exciting as last year!  Hopefully kids will still be nervous to find out who their teachers will be, they will be anxious to find out what friends will be in their class and wondering what books they will be reading!  As a wise teacher used to say each morning, “Have a Good Day, remember the choice is always yours to make it a Good Day or Not.” Hopefully there will be more Good Days than Not! 

“Let us remember: One book, one pen, one child and one teacher can change the world”

Malala Yousafzai 

#suzysswirl

Action for Happiness

Can you believe today is August 2nd?!  Many of us are still working from home, some of us leaving our homes to work and the majority of families are figuring out how your kids are going to go back to school!  It’s still a lot! 

In the midst of these daily challenges, let me introduce – Action for Happiness!  Action for Happiness is an amazing website that helps people take action for a happier and kinder world!  The website has positive happy nudges to make each day a bit happier!  From Zoom calls, calendars and short reads all happy ways to bring happiness to you and others around you!

At Action for Happiness the month of August has been called Altruistic August!  Altruism is the principle and practice of happiness and concern of others. The way of the world today, we are thinking so much of ourselves and forgetting about the importance of bringing happiness to others!   Action for Happiness has a wonderful calendar you can print to remind you of one simple action to bring Happiness to anyone each day!  They also have a version for kids too!  Today’s suggestion is – Send a positive message to someone you can’t be with!  Easy!

Today, take a minute and check out Action for Happiness. (www.acstionforhappiness.org)

You can even download an app on your phone and get Happiness/Positive affirmations each day!  So nice!  In a world where life can be so challenging, take a moment for a little Happiness! 

Keep Calm. Stay Wise. Be Kind.

#suzysswirl