LEMON SODA

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We all know the deal — in a relationship, every day should be Valentine’s Day. Designating a specific day of the year to celebrate your love is redundant and the Hallmark Holiday is bound to drain your pockets. Some of us used to be rebels, but somewhere along the road we became smitten with someone, and now Valentine’s Day seems like a good excuse to maybe show a little bit more affection than usual; cuddling with some popcorn and a movie, exchange of hand-made gifts or even a fancy dinner out.

Unfortunately, there are still those who despite wanting to be extra cheesy with their significant other, can’t due to a slight problem: living in a different country (or state/city.) Here’s what you can do for your sweetheart for a long distance Valentine’s Day:

• Send them a video of you singing to them, reading poetry, or just talking about how amazing they are. Be creative with editing!
• Make them something cute on Photoshop (follow tutorials if you’d like) and post it on their Facebook for everyone to see! If you’d like to keep it more private just email it to them.
• Send them a package with all sorts of goodies: a mix CD/tape, handwritten letters, candy, a personalized bookmark…
• Text them at different times during the day with cute quotes.
• Set up a Skype date! Dress up, have some champagne and watch something together.
• If you have been saving up (and if you haven’t, keep this in mind for future reference), buy yourself a ticket to your love and show up unannounced the morning of Valentine’s Day. Have their friends or family help you out if needed.
• Send them a sexy self portrait along with some coupons for possible activities on your next encounter!
• Prepare a gift, any gift, to send. Have it sent to their friend or relative and have them help you hide it. Next, send them clues (a letter per day two days before Valentine’s, or through email, Facebook, texts…), of where to find it. With each clue, include information on what this might be. If everything goes well they should find it on the day :)
• If you are close enough, send them a cake or small cupcakes with a note!
• Send them a box of candy. Wrap each individual candy in a little note where you tell them something you love about them.
• Whatever you decide to send, do it without previous warning!

Last year I spent Valentine’s Day in Miami with my mother while Tom was still in Beijing. Luckily, this year I get to spend it with him in Barcelona :) It has obviously been planned, but on the actual day we have decided to cuddle, have room service and get drunk on wine.

What are your plans for Valentine’s Day?

• If you’re next in line to put your week’s worth of groceries through, let the person behind you with two sodas and a bag of chips go first.
• Give up your seat on the bus so that two friends can sit and chat together.
• Spare some change or be as generous as you’d like with street musicians; when you tip them make sure you tell them how well they play/sing.
• If you see someone looking confused or lost, ask if they’d like some help.
• In controversial matters, speak your mind but agree to disagree so as to avoid useless confrontations (you will not convince anyone against their ideals and they will not convince you against yours.)
• When someone expects you to rise in anger, do the opposite.
• When working on projects, encourage your teammates by complimenting their bit of work.
• Be welcoming to ‘the new kid’.
• Hitting your computer won’t help. Hitting anything won’t help. Calm down, assess the situation and ask for help if needed.
• Say thank you. Sounds simple but we don’t say it enough.
• Treat your parents or friends to dinner or a movie, just because.
• Give because you want to, not because you expect anything in return.
• Leave uplifting quotes inbetween library books.
• Confide in a good friend. Let them do the same.
• Throw a party to celebrate your friend/boyfriend/brother/sister.
• When someone is talking to you, ask more about their story. (If you want to be interesting, be interested.)
• Apologize. Even if it wasn’t your fault to begin with, there is nothing worse than being in a fight with a loved one.
• Be confident in yourself and others.
• Be happy for your friends when they shine.
• Don’t insult others; it is neither classy nor useful.
• Never wish badly upon someone.
• Grab a flyer passed on to you on the street. Even if you end up throwing it away, at least take a glance at it.
• Set up a local fundraiser for a cause (who doesn’t love bake sales?)
• Make everyone feel like they count.
• Hug often.
• Donate even if just a few dollars to artists, web developers and fellow bloggers just to show your support.
• Smile in photos!
• Leave a good tip, even if you are a broke student (like me.)
• Spend time with kids. Learn from them (and their brutal honesty!)
• Tell your mother how amazing the meal she cooked was.
• Empathize.
• Talk to your pets.
• Pamper yourself. Love yourself, feel pretty and help others feel beautiful too.
• Every day should be Mother’s Day/Father’s Day/Valentine’s Day.

What do you do to spread the love around?

If I were a month, I’d be April.

If I were a day of the week, I’d be Sunday.

If I were a time of day, I’d be 10am.

If I were a planet, I’d be Earth.

If I were a sea animal, I’d be a starfish.

If I were a direction, I’d be North.

If I were a piece of furniture, I’d be a bookshelf.

If I were a liquid, I’d be lemon soda.

If I were a gemstone, I’d be an amethyst.

If I were a tree, I’d be a willow tree.

If I were a tool, I’d be a palette knife.

If I were a flower, I’d be an orchid.

If I were a kind of weather, I’d be rain.

If I were a musical instrument, I’d be a cello.

If I were a color, I’d be any shade of purple.

If I were an emotion, I’d be lovestruck.

If I were a fruit, I’d be a raspberry.

If I were a sound, I’d be the sound of waves.

If I were an element, I’d be air.

If I were a car, I’d be a smart car.

If I were a food, I’d be sushi.

If I were a place, I’d be a coffee shop.

If I were a material, I’d be cotton.

If I were a taste, I’d be sweet.

If I were a scent, I’d be vanilla.

If I were an object, I’d be a book.

If I were a body part, I’d be the lips.

If I were a facial expression, I’d be a grin.

If I were a song, I’d be Brown Eyed Girl.

If I were a pair of shoes, I’d be black ballerina flats.

Via Scattered Starlight. What would you be?

You create your thoughts, your thoughts create your intentions, and your intentions create your reality. — Dr. Wayne W. Dyer

I remember a friend of my mother’s, back when we were in Miami: Brazilian, loud, cooked amazingly and yelled at cars who got in her way. She was very spiritual as well, and one of the things I remember most clearly after 11 years is her Treasure Map. “This is my house in Key Biscayne, my car is parked right outside. Over there is my family who have moved from Brazil, and I’m over here running my own business.” These were magazine clippings and old photographs glued on to a cardboard, scrapbook style, and they were there as a visualization of her goals.

She taught me about the Law of Attraction, which I loved the concept of. So the next day I convinced my father to take me to a huge art supply store just off of the US 1 so that I could get some cardboard paper for my Treasure Map. Of course I was only nine at the time, so my Treasure Map consisted mainly of roller blades, a new set of paints and glitter, as well as a sticker book and a lot of stickers to trade with my friends.

Some people write things down, put them in a drawer and believe if it’s meant to be it will come to them. But I say: don’t underestimate the power of visualization. The mind associates objects and ideas with images, be they simple or complex. Visualizing a certain situation can invoke the emotions that come with it; that way, if you suffer from stage fright, imagining yourself in front of a crowd ready to give a speech might make your palms a little sweaty. So in the same way, if you visualize success, you will experience a taste of what it would feel like — it’s about taking that bit of energy and turning it into motivation to attract that which you want for yourself.

Before you create it:

• Sit down with yourself quietly and think of what you want — what you truly want! Don’t think yourself selfish, just start with a clear goal in mind. Go beyond material things; think about where you’d like to see yourself in the near future and with who!
• It can be in the form of a posterboard on your wall, maybe a corkboard inside a fancy frame, your computer desktop or even a video if you’re feeling extra creative!
• It’s best to keep it private, you know, like a treasure!
• Be in a good mood, because only positive things will go on it.

Creating your Treasure Map/Vision Board:

1. Go through magazines and We Heart It for images that represent what you love and want.
2. Draw, glue, fold cut and write. Rhinestones, glitter, feathers…Whatever works!
3. Include at least one photograph of yourself to ground the goal and bring it closer to you, preferably in the center!
4. Add positive affirmations.
5. Once you’re satisfied, put it up somewhere where you’ll see it often.

Now all you have to do is put your dreams to action; it doesn’t matter how many things are up on your map if there is no intent on your part to making it happen. We can’t leave everything up to the Universe, you know!

I am a little late with this, but needed to share with you guys in case you hadn’t seen them already! These are definitely going up on my wall. Hope everyone’s had a good start to the week!

Dalai Lama’s 18 Rules for Living:

1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
2. When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.
3. Follow the three Rs:
   • Respect for self
   • Respect for others
   • Responsibility for all your actions.
4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
6. Don’t let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
7. When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
8. Spend some time alone every day.
9. Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.
10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
11. Live a good, honourable life. Then when you get older and think back, you’ll be able to enjoy it a second time.
12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.
13. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don’t bring up the past.
14. Share your knowledge. It’s a way to achieve immortality.
15. Be gentle with the earth.
16. Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.
17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.
18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.

Via here.