10 Simple Ways To Improve Life in 2011

It takes personal motivation to improve our lots in life, and if we keep doing the same things over and over, it’s no wonder that half the nation feels BLAH most of the time.
Here we are, facing the clean slate of a new, bright and shiny year. This is your chance to try new things, and possibly make strides towards feeling a little more upbeat about yourself.
This is a list of simple things to help 2011 turn out to be a great year....

1. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
2. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
3. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
4. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out credit card.
5. Clean out the clutter. If you don't use it, get rid of it.
6. Get moving. Be it playing the wii or taking the stairs instead og an elevator, anything counts.
7. Smile at one stranger. Preferably not a creepy stranger.
8. Play a game, any game. Kickball, Freeze Tag, Monopoly. As long as it makes you laugh, then it's beneficial toy your mental well being.
9. Don't worry about what hasn't happened. One way or another, that situation is going to happen, use the time before hand to be prepared, then let it go.
10. Try one thing you have never tried before. It doesn't have to be some extreme skydiving, but if you have never volunteered for a Beach Clean-Up event or a Cancer Walk to raise money, give it a whirl. The emotional reward from the experience is overwhelming.

These samll things won't bring about world peace, but however small that one thing is we can do in our day-to-day lives, to bring about a moment of well-being is a welcomed change of pace.

Start your New Year out right with a brand new home built by Centerline Homes! Stop by any of our New Home Communities for more information! Or click to register online!

5 Ways to Get Back To Healthy Eating After Overindulging

It's distressingly common that a healthy diet will seem completely satisfying (or at least doable) until some sort of interruption comes along. Then, after a holiday or trip, you feel like your diet is ruined, and you don't want to give up your favorite foods all over again. If healthy eating is important to you, the attempt to get back to healthy eating after overindulging should be just as important. Luckily, it's doable.

1. Recommit to healthy eating. Realize that although mistakes were made, you have all the same reasons that you did before to value healthy eating.
2. Start right away. It's always easier to think you will get back to healthy eating after overindulging as long as you can do it next week, but next week it will seem just as hard as it does today. If you absolutely can't bring yourself to start eating healthy right away, set a firm date to return to your plan.
3. Make sure you have plenty of healthy food options that satisfy your cravings. For example, if you've got a sweet tooth, try to keep fruit in the house. Doing this will help you feel less deprived as you start to get back to healthy eating after overindulging.
4. Consider a diet plan that includes the occasional indulgence. For example, if you allow yourself to eat any treat you want on holidays, or even once a week, realizing that this has happened won't make you feel that you have failed at healthy eating. Maybe it would be better to eat healthy food all the time, but the important thing is to make a constant effort and not become discouraged.
5. Maintain a positive attitude. Beating yourself up about what you've already done is unlikely to help anything. If you have trouble staying positive, remind yourself that you got back on your diet plan when it was tough, and you are now facing the challenges of healthy eating fair and square.

Tip - If you think you'll be in a situation that will tempt you to overindulge again, for example an upcoming holiday season or vacation, try to make a plan ahead of time about what indulgences you will allow and how you will stay healthy during this time

Happy New Year from Centerline Homes!

5 Home Improvement Tips for 2011

Now’s the time to add a few New Year’s home improvement resolutions to your already long list. Here are some worth considering that will keep your house in shape, help the environment, and save you money.

1. Stay Safe: The start of a New Year is the perfect time to replace the batteries in your carbon monoxide and smoke detectors. Also, check to be sure your fire extinguishers are in working order and easy to access. Another important fire prevention resolution is to have your chimney inspected and the flue cleaned if necessary.

2. Winterize Your Home: Now that cold weather has arrived, don’t put off winterizing your home by sealing up cracks and repairing the weather stripping around your windows and doors. Remember to cover outside faucets, bring in potted plants, and drip inside faucets when the temperatures drop below freezing. It’s also a good time to add additional insulation to your attic which can save big money on your heating and cooling bills.

3. Save Energy: Resolve to turn down your thermostat this winter when you’re at work or sleeping. Better yet, replace it with a programmable thermostat that will remember to do it for you. Installing energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs can help reduce your carbon footprint while saving money at the same time.

4. Go Green: Make the effort to start recycling and dispose properly of old electronic equipment such as televisions, computers, and cell phones. Take steps to save water by repairing dripping faucets and fixing running toilets. Other ways to save water include installing low-flow showerheads, and replacing old water guzzling toilets with new water saving or dual-flush models. When buying new appliances or electronic equipment, be sure they carry the federal Energy Star seal for energy efficiency.

5. Home Maintenance: Making a resolution to change the air filter on your central system every month or two will save energy and allow your system to run more efficiently. Draining your hot water tank once a year removes any sediment buildup. This can make it last longer and work better. Cleaning your gutters regularly is another important home maintenance project that is easy to overlook. Neglected gutters can lead to the rotting of eave boards as well as damage to basements and foundations.

So what are your home improvement resolutions for the New Year? Share the pet projects that you’ve been putting off by leaving a comment below. Visit a Centerline Homes Community to find your New Home for the New Year!

Top 10 New Year's Resolutions for 2011

New Year's Eve has always been a time for looking back to the past, and more importantly, forward to the coming year. It's a time to reflect on the changes we want (or need) to make and resolve to follow through on those changes. Did your New Year resolutions make our top ten list?

1. Spend More Time with Family & Friends
Recent polls conducted by General Nutrition Centers, Quicken, and others shows that more than 50% of Americans vow to appreciate loved ones and spend more time with family and friends this year. Make plans to meet up with friends for an evening of comaraderie at a favorite restaurant or take the family to a popular place for family fun. Work shouldn't always come first!

2. Fit in Fitness
The evidence is in for fitness. Regular exercise has been associated with more health benefits than anything else known to man. Studies show that it reduces the risk of some cancers, increases longevity, helps achieve and maintain weight loss, enhances mood, lowers blood pressure, and even improves arthritis. In short, exercise keeps you healthy and makes you look and feel better.

3. Tame the Bulge
Over 66 percent of adult Americans are considered overweight or obese by recent studies, so it is not surprising to find that weight loss is one of the most popular New Year's resolutions. Setting reasonable goals and staying focused are the two most important factors in sticking with a weight loss program, and the key to success for those millions of Americans who made a New Year's commitment to shed extra pounds.

4. Quit Smoking
If you have resolved to make this the year that you stamp out your smoking habit, over-the-counter availability of nicotine replacement therapy now provides easier access to proven quit-smoking aids. Even if you've tried to quit before and failed, don't let it get you down. On average, smokers try about four times before they quit for good. Start enjoying the rest of your smoke-free life! Locally, there are a variety of free support services, hotlines and smoking cessation classes to help you kick the smoking habit.

5. Enjoy Life More
Given the hectic, stressful lifestyles of millions of Americans, it is no wonder that "enjoying life more" has become a popular resolution in recent years. It's an important step to a happier and healthier you! Consider a holistic healing center for products designed to bring balance to your body, mind and soul. Or just get out and try something new! Take up a new hobby or try your hand at skiing. Go to a theater performance, or head to the local spa. you can find a wealth of artistic and recreational activities to meet just about anyone's wishes.

6. Quit Drinking
While many people use the New Year as an incentive to finally stop drinking, most are not equipped to make such a drastic lifestyle change all at once. Many heavy drinkers fail to quit cold turkey but do much better when they taper gradually, or even learn to moderate their drinking. If you have decided that you want to stop drinking, there is a world of help and support available. Alcoholics Anonymous offers meetings throughout most areas. There are also a number of treatment-based programs, as well as support groups for families of alcoholics.
 
7. Get Out of Debt
Was money a big source of stress in your life last year? Join the millions of Americans who have resolved to spend this year getting a handle on their finances. It's a promise that will repay itself many times over in the year ahead.

8. Learn Something New
Have you vowed to make this year the year to learn something new? Perhaps you are considering a career change, want to learn a new language, or just how to fix your computer? Whether you take a course or read a book, you'll find education to be one of the easiest, most motivating New Year's resolutions to keep. Community Colleges offer a wide variety of "lifelong learning" courses, and local YMCA's offer great recreational training for beginners of all ages. Most local colleges and universities offer distance and adult education programs.

9. Help Others
A popular, non-selfish New Year's resolution, volunteerism can take many forms. Whether you choose to spend time helping out at your local library, mentoring a child, or building a house, there are many nonprofit volunteer organizations that could really use your help. Or if your time is really in short supply, maybe you can at least find it in you to donate the furniture, clothing and other household items that you no longer need, rather than leaving them out by the curb to fill up our landfills.

10. Get Organized
On just about every New Year resolution top ten list, organization can be a very reasonable goal. Whether you want your home organized enough that you can invite someone over on a whim, or your office organized enough that you can find the stapler when you need it, this should get you started on the way to a more organized life.

While planning your 2011 New Years Resolutions, make a New Home a part of your New Year, with Centerline Homes! Happy New Year!

10 Ways To Get Into The Holiday Mood

1. Keep a Holiday Scrapbook
Buy a scrapbook as the holiday season nears. As the season progresses, tuck in a few photos or cards and jot some notes about the foods you cooked, the presents that were given, and the traditions that were kept.

2. Cookie Parties
Shave cooking prep time by using store-bought dough and invite family and friends over for a cookie-decorating party.

3. Let Kids Make Wrapping Paper
Any kid will tell you that the wrapping often is just as much fun as the gift. Get children involved in holiday gift-giving by offering them plain wrapping paper to decorate. Their creative designs promise personal touches no wrapping-paper company can match.

4. Falalala-la-la-la...
Experience a sense of community by attending a holiday sing-along. Or organize your own group of carolers and stroll the neighborhood. Set up a time to sing for residents of a nursing home.

5. Re-Connect
Bundle up your family and head outdoors to a holiday festival. Admire the decorations from a blanket-wrapped seat in a horse-drawn carriage, warm your insides with hot cider and cocoa, and wave to strolling carolers.

6. Let The Count Down Begin
Build kids' holiday anticipation with a countdown project that tucks a chocolate kiss and a lip of paper into 12 wrapped and numbered gift boxes. On each slip of paper, write a reason why you love them.

7. Make Your Own Decorations
To make a fancy topper or doorway decorator, trace diamond shapes onto stiff paper and cut out five of them. Use a ruler to bend them in half and assemble the piece into a star shape, fastening with tape. Glue into place glitter or shiny pipe cleaners along the edges, roll up a tube to take to the back, and stick it on your tree or around any doorway.

8. Cocoa Tasting
Invite friends over for a hot cocoa tasting party. Stock up on a handful of flavors, then prepare a small buffet of whipped cream, toppings, and cookies.

9. The Gift of Giving
Send a check to a local food pantry, donate new toys and clothes to organizations that help struggling families, or buy pre-bagged holiday meals at the grocery store for people in need. Reach out when you can to make the holidays better for other families.

10. Admire
Pick an evening to pack the car with music, cocoa, and family, and drive around town to see outside decorations.

Happy Holidays From Centerline Homes!