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15 Ways to Be Happier in 2015

New year. Happier me.

I’ve never been a huge fan of the resolution list craze and I don’t believe in holding off on pursuing goals that can be accomplished before the first of the year. That may be the overachiever in me talking. I’m all about personal development, but getting in better shape, eating healthier and spending more time with family can all start now depending on how bad you really want it right?

So for the purpose of this list, I’ll focus on what it all comes down to anyway — being happy. Starting new routines, kicking old habits and living the way we really want is largely based on our desire to genuinely be the happiest person we know. Who doesn’t want to be that person?!

Before we raise our champagne flutes and toast to the beginning of the New Year, here are 15 ways we can be happier when it’s time to greet 2015.

Cues the “Auld Lang Syne.”

1. Slow down and enjoy the little moments.

Stop being too busy to taste the flavors in your food, to hear yourself think, to watch the sunset or to listen to the words of your favorite song.

2. Say no to time-wasters and space-fillers.

Your days are valuable and should only involve valuable things and people. You can’t be everywhere at once and you can’t be everything to everybody. Choose what and who is deserving of your time and let the rest fall by the wayside.

3. Be more honest and open with yourself.

What do you really want to do with your life? Is the current path you’re on something you’re passionate about or are you doing it because society’s roadmap told you so? Stop getting in more debt attending a grad school program that does not align with your passion.

4. Take more risks.

Seriously. Get out there and get messy. Make mistakes and fail a few times. Fail again after that. Let the challenges help build your character because the success that follows will be worth it.

5. Assess your circle of friends.

Are you constantly giving and listening to other’s drama and not receiving anything in return? Do the people you lean on really support and uplift you? Do you genuinely feel like they have your best interest at heart? Remember, the five people you spend time with the most are a telling sign of who you are.

6. Realize the past can’t be changed.

Like ever. Stop reliving what could have been or obsessing over how the situation may have played out differently if you would have gotten one more word in or reacted better. It didn’t work out for a reason. Take the lesson from it and find comfort in knowing that what’s meant for you will come in due time.

7. Find the time to help someone in need.

Lend a listening ear or a firm shoulder to lean on. You never know when the person doing the needing will end up being you.

8. Stop making excuses for not living out your dream.

If others can do it, so can you. A few years from now, you’ll be upset with yourself for all the time you wasted and find yourself stuck dwelling on what could have been.

9. Be happy for others.

Being jealous or fake happy is draining. Genuinely be happy for other’s success because you’ll want them to be happy for you when you share your good news.

10. Give what you’d like to receive.

If you’re seeking compassion, show it to others. What goes around, always comes back around.

11. Leave expectations at the door.

People grow, change and make mistakes. Some people will help you while others will attempt to bring you down. Don’t expect too much from anyone either way. The only person’s actions and mind you can control is your own.

12. Validate yourself.

Don’t worry about what others think or don’t think of you. What weight does their opinion carry anyway? Think highly of yourself and give yourself permission to be great.

13. Stop settling.

Being single is better than being unhappy and working 80 hours a week doing something you love is better than working eight hours a week doing something you hate.

14. Respect your own privacy.

Keep some things to yourself. Not everyone needs to know every detail about your relationship or what’s going on at your job, even if they are family and friends. Savor certain moments despite the burning desire to show and prove.

15. Live in your own purpose.

Don’t follow the crowds. Trying to emulate others deters you from that special path you were meant to take. Be inspired from their journey and put that energy into who you were meant to become.

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Christmas traditions from around the world

Click on any one of the floating icons at the top of the page and enter into a world of information about the meaning of Christmas Traditions and Customs as well as how varies countries celebrate Christmas.
HAVE FUN!!!!!

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Using WHOM properly

WHO and WHOM are two very commonly confused words.  To be honest, most native speakers don’t even know how to use them properly 😀   I think this is a great info/comic explaining the proper usage of WHOM (and WHO).  > http://theoatmeal.com/comics/who_vs_whom  Enjoy and laugh a little!

 

 

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Greetings

There are different ways to greet people:

Greeting means welcoming someone with particular words or a particular action.

When meeting people formally for the first time, we greet by shaking hands and saying “How do you do?” or “Pleased to meet you.”

“How do you do?” isn’t really a question, it just means “Hello”.

When young people meet informally they sometimes greet and say “Give me five!” and slap their hands together (high five).

Generally we do not greet by shaking hands with people we know well. We greet by just saying ‘hi’ or ‘hello’

Here are some expressions you can use to greet people.

Greeting

  • greetingHi, hello.
  • Good morning, good afternoon, good evening.
  • How are you?
  • How are you doing?
  • How do you do?

Responding to greeting

  • Hi, hello.
  • Good morning/Good afternoon/Good evening.
  • I’m fine thank you (thanks)/Okey! Thank you (thanks)/Can’t complain/Not bad.
  • How about you?/And you?
  • How do you do?

Things to remember about greeting:

When you greet someone and say:

“How do you do?“

this isn’t really a question, it just means “Hello”.

 

My English Pages

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Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a very American holiday. It is also called Thanksgiving Day. It is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November every year. It used to be a religious holiday to give thanks to God. There are two versions of the origins of this holiday. One is thanks for the early settlers arriving in America safely. On December the 4th, 1619, a group of English pioneers arrived at a place called Berkeley Hundred, in Virginia. The group made a promise that the day of their arrival should be a “day of thanksgiving” to God. The second version is the thanks given to Native Americans for teaching the pilgrims how to catch eels and grow corn in Plymouth, Massachusetts. In 1941, President Roosevelt made Thanksgiving a federal holiday.

The main event of any Thanksgiving is the Thanksgiving dinner. It is traditional to have baked or roasted turkey. This is usually accompanied with mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, fall vegetables, cranberry sauce, and gravy. Pumpkin pie is the most commonly eaten dessert. The Thanksgiving holiday weekend is one of the busiest times of the year for traveling. It is a four-day or five-day weekend vacation for most schools and colleges, and many businesses and government workers get three or four days off. Thanksgiving is also the unofficial signal for Christmas preparations to begin. Once Thanksgiving finishes, stores fill their shelves with Christmas goods. It is also a bad time to be a turkey.

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AMERICAN IDIOMS STARTING WITH ‘A’

Welcome to our extensive list of American English idiomatic expressions! These kinds of phrases are used by native speakers all the time. Learn and use some of these idioms and you will be able to speak English in a more natural way. 🙂
  • About time:  Nearly time, high time. ex. “It’s about time you bought a new car!”
  • Absence makes the heart grow fonder:  Proverb that means that our feeling for those we love increases when we are apart from them.
 ABSENCE1ABSENCE2
  •  (To) act high and mighty:  To act proudly and arrogantly. ex. “He has been acting all high and mighty ever since he chased away that mouse.”

ACTHIGHANDMIGHTY
  • Actions speak louder than words: Proverb meaning that’s it’s better to do something about a problem than to talk about it.ACTIONSLOUDER2ACTIONSLOUDER

 

  • (To) act one’s age: To behave in a more mature way. Frequently said to a child or teen. ex. “Bill, stop throwing rocks! Act your age!”

ACTONESAGE2ACTONESAGE

 

  • (To) add fuel to the fire:  To make a bad problem even worse. ex. “He added fuel to the fire by bringing up old grudges while they were arguing.”

ADDFUELTOFIRE

 

 

  •  (To) add insult to injury: To make a bad situation even worse.

ADDINSULTOINJURY

 

 

  • Against the clock: To attempt to do something “against the clock” is to attempt to do something as fast as possible, usually in order to make a deadline. ex. “They were working against the clock to finish the project.”
 AGAINSTCLOCK
 
  • All out (adj./adv.): Full-scale; complete. ex: “They said it was only a few skirmishes, but it was an all-out war.”
 ALLOUT
  •  All set:  Ready (to go). ex. “All set?”
ALLSET
  • All thumbs:  Awkward. Clumsy.
  ALLTHUMBS
  • A little bird told me: When someone says “a little bird told me”, it means they don’t want you to know who told them.
 
ALITTLEBIRD

  • All in a day’s work: Typical; normal; par for the course. ex. “Talking to famous celebrities is all in a day’s work for some Hollywood reporters.”
ALLINADAYSWORK 
  • (From) all walks of life: (From) all social, economic, and ethnic groups. ex. “People from all walks of life voted for him, but he still lost the presidential election.”
 Workers
 
 
 
 

  •  Apple of someone’s eye:  Someone’s favorite person (and sometimes thing). ex. “Sarah was the apple of Tom’s eye for quite a long time. He was very much in love with her.”

APPLEOFEYE

 

  • Armed to the teeth: Heavily armed. ex. “The rebels were armed to the teeth.”
ARMEDTOTEETH

  •  At all hours (of the night): Very late at night, throughout the night. ex. “Her boyfriend would call her at all hours of the night.”
 ALLHOURSOFNIGHT
  • At each other’s throats: Fighting or arguing hard. ex. “They were at each other’s throats. The arguments never stopped.”  Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor were at each other’s throats as George and Martha.
 ATEACHOTHERSTHROAT
  •  At this stage: At this point. ex. “At this stage, it’s difficult to say who will win the election.”
 ATTHISSTAGE

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JANET’S PROFILE

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Halloween

History of Halloween

Halloween falls on October 31st each year in North America and other parts of the world. What do you know about Halloween? Do you celebrate it in your country? Here is a little history about it.  Vocabulary

to evolve (v)– to change little by little

spirit (n)– ghost, some people believe the spirit and body separate when a person dies

holy (adj)– sacred, very good, related to religion. Hallow comes from the word holy.

saint (n)– an honored, holy person

evil (adj)– very, very bad

lantern (n)– lamp or enclosed light that can be carried around

turnip (n)– a purple and white vegetable that grows in the ground

Like many other holidays, Halloween has evolved and changed throughout history. Over 2,000 years ago people called the Celts lived in what is now Ireland, the UK, and parts of Northern France. November 1 was their New Year’s Day. They believed that the night before the New Year (October 31) was a time when the living and the dead came together.

More than a thousand years ago the Christian church named November 1 All Saints Day (also called All Hallows.) This was a special holy day to honor the saints and other people who died for their religion. The night before All Hallows was called Hallows Eve. Later the name was changed to Halloween.

Like the Celts, the Europeans of that time also believed that the spirits of the dead would visit the earth on Halloween. They worried that evil spirits would cause problems or hurt them. So on that night people wore costumes that looked like ghosts or other evil creatures. They thought if they dressed like that, the spirits would think they were also dead and not harm them.

The tradition of Halloween was carried to America by the immigrating Europeans. Some of the traditions changed a little, though. For example, on Halloween in Europe some people would carry lanterns made from turnips. In America, pumpkins were more common. So people began putting candles inside them and using them as lanterns. That is why you see Jack ‘o lanterns today.

These days Halloween is not usually considered a religious holiday. It is primarily a fun day for children. Children dress up in costumes like people did a thousand years ago. But instead of worrying about evil spirits, they go from house to house. They knock on doors and say “trick or treat.” The owner of each house gives candy or something special to each trick or treater.

Happy Halloween!

LINDA’S PROFILE

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IDIOMS

Oftentimes when we speak, we use idioms to make a point.  Idioms are used in many different languages for expression. Though it may be difficult to translate them from one language to another, we may still find ones that share the same basic meaning. 
Learning idioms is important if you want to have normal, everyday conversations with native speakers on an informal level.  The rules you learn for speech in the classroom do not always apply to the language of the streets, the clubs, the coffee shops, speaking with friends, etc. 
Understanding idioms and knowing when to use will help you speak better and help you understand the different phrases you hear.  Here are some of the most common idioms used in the English language.
 
A Chip On Your Shoulder: 
Being upset for something that happened in the past. 
 
A Piece of Cake: 
A task that can be accomplished very easily.
 
Back To The Drawing Board: 
When an attempt fails and it’s time to start all over.
 
Bite Off More Than You Can Chew: 
To take on a task that is way to big.
 
Down To The Wire: 
Something that ends at the last minute or last few seconds.
 
Go The Extra Mile: 
Going above and beyond whatever is required for the task at hand.
 
Hit The Nail on the Head: 
Do something exactly right or say something exactly right. 
 
Mumbo Jumbo: 
Nonsense or meaningless speech

Out Of The Blue: 
Something that suddenly and unexpectedly occurs.
 
Rain check: 
An offer or deal that is declined right now but willing to accept later.
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Education meets overseas travel with the spirit of Eurovision

The above description represents how many young learners felt about the European Unions Erasmus program, and up until quite recently there was still a hint of youthful idealism about the scheme, albeit mixed with some essential life skills for the next generation.
More recently however, the newly branded Erasmus+ appears to have a more clearly defined strategic purpose. With youth unemployment throughout Europe at record levels, around 6 million young people out of work, it is one of the European Union’s toughest challenges. It is probably no wonder then, that the budget for Erasmus+ has been increased by 40% in order to help fight youth unemployment. The main problem, according to some sources, is the fact that skills held by the young and unemployed do not match the jobs available. According to European Union sources, there are currently 2 million job vacancies within the EU where employers cannot find people with the right skills.
In countries where youth unemployment is low, such as Germany and Austria, there are vocational training places available for every young person who wants one. The new Erasmus+ scheme also includes apprenticeship exchanges.
Less is more
In my view there are far too many soft courses for students nowadays. Many University campuses have grow huge on the back of providing these soft degree courses such as media studies or humanities, while failing to equip graduates with the skills they require to become productive in the workplace. This is probably one reason why there are so many immigrants moving to the UK to do work that nobody else will do.
What we are failing to do is prepare the next generation for the harsh realities of life. There are only so many jobs available in the media at any one time, so why not limit the number of students studying such degrees and increase the places available for courses that teach transferable skills? We are also failing to equip students of all ages with skills in languages, an extremely transferable skill that could be useful in any sector.

Languages are the lifeblood of Europe, and as Language teachers we should be encouraging all students to learn at least one foreign language, and of course, English is the best!
You can find information about the Erasmus+ programme here:http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/index_en.htm
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Good news for all single students

According to a recent European Commission study, you are more likely to be able to improve your employment and career prospects by studying a foreign language. What is more, you are even more likely to get the job you desire if you have studied a foreign language such as English in England. The same applies for Spanish in Spain, German in Germany etc. The study examined the lives of more than 80,000 people who had participated in the Erasmus program and suggests that the experience of studying abroad has far reaching influences, such as giving people an international outlook. They also found that around 40% of people also went to live and work abroad. However it’s appreciated that it’s difficult to just drop everything and go to live and study abroad, so that’s why Skype lessons with a native speaker are the next best thing!
Studying via Skype is easy, fun and convenient. It fits with your time schedule, there are no travel requirements and you don’t need to take a break from work. What’s more, even if you do plan to visit foreign shores for language study purposes it’s a great way to prepare, then you can go and visit the UK and perhaps stay there for an extended time period in order to really start using your language skills.
You can read more about the impact of the Erasmus program and the opinions of the European commissioner for education & multilingualism Androulla Vassiliou on the BBC news website, but what really excited me about this story was the impact that learning a foreign language can apparently have on your love life!

Yes, it is true. According to the European Commission, statistics show that people who study a second language for any length of time are significantly more likely to settle down with a partner of a different nationality, around a third of Erasmus participants had met a long-term partner while abroad. Great news for all of my young, single students of whom there are many.

I can’t wait to share the good news with them that by learning English with me, they are also increasing their chances of finding love in the future.
I won’t hold my breath waiting for the wedding invitations to arrive though just yet.

 

Contact Rachel today > http://www.italki.com/teacher/1394345

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