The Bluebird Patch

Losing a pet is one of the most most tragic, traumatic, and emotionally devastating experience a pet owner can face. As a volunteer at a local animal shelter. I constantly see people coming over asking if they can leave a flyer of their missing dog (or cat). The reality is that m illions of dogs and cats are lost every year and only a small percentage ever return home. This is why I love Finding Rover so much. This new app can track lost dogs using facial recognition

Is being busy the secret to happiness? A recent study, “Americans Less Rushed But No Happier: 1965–2010 Trends in Subjective Time and Happiness”, suggests the key to a happy life is to be busy but don’t feel rushed. “Respondent reports of feelings of being ‘always rushed’ declined by 6–9 points from those reported in 2004. The decline was found both among employed and unemployed respondents, indicating it was not simply a function of higher unemployment.” However, feeling less rushed didn’t seem to have much benefit:  “people reported feeling no happier even when they were less overwhelmed. The highest levels of happiness were found among people who reported almost never having excess time but almost never feeling rushed.  In 2009 – 2010 time-pressured people continued to report being less happy even after controls for marital status, employment and other important predictors of happiness.    Somewhat higher correlations with happiness w...

            Atlanta Homeless Registry - Shelter Outreach   The goal of the Atlanta Homeless Registry is to create a by-name registry of people living on our streets and in shelters, enabling us to prioritize those most vulnerable and those at risk of dying on the street so that we can connect them with housing and services that meet their needs. On the evening of Thursday, January 17, 2013, 100 volunteers are needed to conduct surveys with homeless people sleeping in emergency shelters. All volunteers will be trained and placed on teams supported by professional outreach workers and the Atlanta Police Department's Homeless Outreach, Prevention, and Emergency (HOPE) services team. Court-ordered volunteers are not permitted to serve.  Volunteers with limited mobility may register for shelter outreach, but should not register for street outreach. The Atlanta Homeless Registry is organized by the Office ...

Dr. Mak Arvin, a Trent University  Professor has launched the first issue of The International Journal of Happiness and Development ( IJHD ) .    IJHD is an interdisciplinary journal that seeks to broaden our understanding of 'happiness' and how it may relate to development from economic, political, psychological, and/or sociological perspectives. The journal entertains all definitions of happiness, including 'subjective well-being' or 'life satisfaction' commonly used terms in economics. It welcomes rigorous and scientific papers that provide theoretical or empirical investigations which improve our understanding of how happiness is generated and how it may relate to development interpreted at both micro and macro levels. The IJHD reflects the development of the field and, by taking a truly inter-disciplinary approach to the subject, seeks to broaden our understanding of “happiness” and how it may relate to development from economic, p...

  This boy chihuahua hates the cold weather and needs to wear clothes every time he goes outside.  He is so adorable that you might think he is a stuffed toy chihuahua. Choosing a name for him was a very easy process. He is so small that we decided to call him "Tiny". He was adopted through a local animal shelter on a cold winter day. I still remember like it was yesterday how he was all curled up and shivering at the adoption event. Can you believe someone just gave up on him?

Atlanta native Cee Lo Green is celebrating the holiday season, Muppet style. He has released a cool and fun  Christmas video for "All I Need Is Love," a track featuring Jim Henson's lovable muppets that was included on the singer's recent holiday album " Cee Lo's Magic Moment . " Watch how Cee Lo gives Atlanta a shout-out while he sings and dance with the Muppets.

Healthy Child Healthy World ignites the movement that empowers parents to protect children from harmful chemicals. Did you know o ver 80,000 chemicals have been invented since the 1950s.  There are  200  foreign  chemicals in our children's system AT BIRTH. 20% of these chemicals are untested as to their effects on our children? With a growing body of evidence linking everyday environmental contaminants to asthma, learning disabilities, obesity, cancer and more, Healthy Child translates the science and inspires parents and caregivers to create healthy environments where families can flourish. For the past two decades Healthy Child Healthy World has been the nation's leading organization of its kind.  They: Expand  awareness of unnecessary toxic risks to children's health; Encourage  easy actions and responsible lifestyle choices; Advocate  for corporate policies and government legislation that protect children from environme...

HOW PRIVATE ARE YOUR FACEBOOK SETTINGS? If you are tired of having to be on top of your Facebook privacy settings then I highly recommend you download Privacyfix and  instantly check your privacy settings across Facebook, Google and the other websites and companies collecting your data. PrivacyFix, a free plugin for Chrome that tells you how your online activity is being tracked, and fills in your online privacy holes with a click. But that’s not the best part. Unlike other tracker blocker plugins, PrivacyFix provides an estimate of exactly how much revenue you generate for Facebook and Google through your online activities. You can get to the fix with one click and know when policies change.  They don't collect any data from your use of Privacyfix, unless you choose to send it to them. Privacyfix don't store IP addresses and they cannot and do not see or save your web browsing. 

We love Rachel Crow, not only she is a smart, bubbly and talented young lady but she is pure sunshine. Crow participated in the first season of the U.S. version of The X Factor in 2011 and she finished in 5th place overall. Rachel was born to a drug addicted mother and suffered child abuse before she ended up in foster care. "She was born a crack baby and actually lived in a crack house and suffered a lot of abuse," Rachel's adoptive mother, Barbara Crow, told the Huffington Post. "But she is totally unaffected by it. She never looks at [her past] in a sad way. She looks at it as that is what made her the person she is."

This Thanksgiving be more aware of portion control.  It's not just what you eat -- it's how much. With portion sizes growing, here are some steps you can take to remain Healthified. Remember, if you have health, you probably will be happy, and if you have health and happiness, you have all the wealth you need, even if it is not all you want ;)

Why are Walmart workers standing up all across the country? As the world’s largest private employer, Walmart impacts all of our lives. Communities, workers, organizations and elected officials are coming together to demand that Walmart improve living conditions and guarantee the rights of workers, care for the environment, rebuild our communities and elevate global living standards. Walmart store workers are asking people nationwide to support them on Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year. They ask that supporters take action that spreads the word about their strikes and demonstrates to Walmart a wave of support for workers who are speaking out about poor working conditions, low wages, irregular hours and more.  While the store workers are not union members, they have joined together in OUR Walmart , a worker-led organization that stands up to make change in its company. Find out more at http://forrespect.org  and http://MakingCha...

  Don't sweat the small stuff! Have a Happy Thanksgiving with Honeybaked Ham! No matter how much I plan a sensible Thanksgiving dinner, I always over -plan, over-work , and over - spend. This year I'll try a different approach. Cook as little as possible and leave the rest to Honeybaked ham. I'm willing to cook a 30 minute side dish (just one) and bake a simple dessert (apple crème brûlée bread pudding) but besides those two things (that can easily be made the day ahead) my kitchen will not be open during the holidays. This year I choose to be happy and stress free for Thanksgiving. I refuse to slave all day in the kitchen. As much as I enjoy cooking there are days I wish I have a personal chef at home that could cook for me. Since I don't see this remotely happening, the best thing I could do is order the Honeybaked Ham Whole Turkey Feast . Perfect for the Holidays and special celebrations, this gourmet feast includes a whole roasted turkey, old-fa...

Did you know World Kindness Day is today? This was the opening day of the first World Kindness Movement® conference held at Tokyo in 1998, and the 35th anniversary of the Small Kindness Movement of Japan, which brought the signatories of the ‘declaration of kindness’ of the World Kindness Movement together in 1997. The idea of a World Kindness Movement was conceived at a Tokyo conference in 1996 when founders of the Small Kindness Movement in Japan brought together like-minded individuals from around the world who had started kindness movements in their own countries. They were led by Dr.  Wataru Mori , a physician in Tokyo, who envisioned that a more compassionate and peaceful world could be achieved if a critical mass of acts of kindness was ignited.

M r. Broccoli, Clown Dog and a cast of IKEA adorable soft toy characters; will be given out today at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston, 1405 Clifton Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30322 at 9:00am. This IKEA Random Act of Life Improvement* is just another way to let everyone know this heart-felt soft toy campaign has purpose. Running from November 4 - December 29, 2012 , for every IKEA Soft Toy or children's book you buy, the IKEA Foundation www.IKEAfoundation.org will donate one euro ($1.30) to education programs worldwide supported by UNICEF www.unicef.org and Save the Children www.savethechildren.net . Additionally, in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, IKEA has donated 2,000 soft toys to the American Red Cross to be distributed to children in shelters impacted by the hurricane. IKEA has also provided the American Red Cross with nearly $450,000 worth of in-kind donations to be used in shelters in New Jersey and New York. There are also many thousands o...

Guardian columnist Oliver Burkeman discusses his latest book  The Antidote   in this video animation about happiness. During his research for the book Oliver spoke to people who believe that theories about positive thinking and visualising your goals may not be all they're cracked up to be. Turns out there's a long tradition in philosophical and spiritual thought which embraces negativity and bathes in insecurity and failure The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking   will be released to  Amazon  on November 13, 2012.

From the land of Angry Birds comes a new meditation app for people looking for relaxation and happiness. Eternitas Publishing brings you a first-of-its-kind Feel Good App on the   iTunes App Store .  Blissify Me  – the guided meditation game, helps players relax and cultivate positive states of mind. Blissify  Me combines modern technology and ancient wisdom to bring a fun meditation experience to the player. Players earn virtual jewels for meditating and unlock lucky charms as rewards. When a player earns enough jewels she unlocks the next progressively more advanced meditation. This feature secures a smooth learning process and the players learn needed foundation techniques before continuing with more advanced meditations. “ People new to meditation have loved the game twist. By turning the learning process in to a game you get an addictive layer to the meditation experience. Meditation can be awesome,” Christian comments. The concept is super simple...

I sure  wish Pinterest existed before I planned my wedding .  I planned my wedding in less than 4 weeks for under 3,000 dollars. Looking back there are so many things I wish I did different. I don't believe in huge wedding or getting in debt just to celebrate the union of two people. Spending $30,000 in a wedding is the worst financial decision you could ever do. With that kind of money I would travel for a year or put a down payment on a house. I think weddings should be an intimate affair between closest friends and family members. The trick to a successful wedding is to stick to a theme, s tep out of the ordinary with personal vows and toasts,   and pay attention to small (but unique) details. If I have to do it all over again, I would use the bluebird of happiness as my wedding inspiration. There's so much that you can do with this theme. There's nothing more romantic than 2 little bluebirds on top of a wedding cake. Just thinking abou...

There are some great videos out there that teaches children about kindness. One of our favorites is " Quacky's Questions: What is Kindness?" In this video "Quacky" the duck is searching for the meaning of the word kindness and where does it comes from. During his quest he discovers the more he gives the happier he becomes.

When it comes to random acts of kindness, I'm true believer that it only counts if it's a spontaneous act that comes from the heart. A random act of kindness is something you instinctively do without hesitation. There is no need for you to publish it, no need to tweet it, and there's no need to make a youtube video. If you really want to practice random acts of kindness all you really need to do is to be aware of what's around you. If you only open your eyes you will see the need. The need of words of encouragement, the need of a helping hand or the need to just have someone who can listen without judging.  On October 30 th , I took my kids to Sugarloaf Mils (formerly known as Discover Mills) and I witnessed not one but 2 totally random acts of kindness. The mall was giving away a free Kre-O Transformer to every family that's part of their Kidgit club. The Kre-O set includes a total of 386 bricks and other construction pieces. The toy can be built in...

"The best  gifts  come from the  heart , not the store."  This past Sunday, I received a handmade haunted House, as a token of appreciation for helping Georgia SPCA during their Howl-O-Ween event. This haunted house was made by one of the volunteers and  I'm in love with it. Everything that comes from the heart, better yet, anything that is handmade is 100 times more valuable to me. I truly appreciate all the hard work and attention to detail that was put into this house. From the witch hanging from the ceiling, the furry trick-or-treaters, the cemetery on the front, the skeletons dancing on the back and the witch flying above the house, this is one gift I will truly cherished and never forget.  Halloween is also about giving back. Some people give candy, some use this time to raise awareness, some volunteer, and a very special few use this time to express their creativity. I have been lucky enough to experience it all. I'm a...