Support McHappy Day on Wednesday May 8th!

Wednesday, May 8th is McHappy Day at McDonald's restaurants across Canada.

For every Happy Meal, Big Mac or hot McCafe beverage sold on May 8th, McDonald's will donate $1 to Ronald McDonald houses and other local childrens' charities across Canada.

Last year's McHappy Day raised over $8,000,000. This year marks the 20th anniversary of McHappy Day in Canada, and McDonald's is hoping to make this one the biggest and best yet.

As I wrote about for last year's McHappy Day, I am happy to support this event which provides important funds to help so many families in need. I encourage everyone to stop by their local McDonald's tomorrow. Whether you stop by for a morning McCafe beverage or you take your family out for dinner, you will be helping to raise money for a great cause.

Need more reasons to support McHappy Day?

Watch this History of Smiles video to learn how Ronald McDonald House Charities help give sick children what they need most - their families.

 



Help spread the word on Facebook or Twitter using #McHappyDay to encourage your family and friends to support families who could use some more smiles.

Disclosure: McDonald's has asked me to help spread the word about this year's McHappy Day, which I am happy to do. A donation in my name will be made to Ronald McDonald House Charities Canada in exchange for my involvement. All opinions expressed are my own.

A Few Articles for Getting Back on Track with Your Health and Wellness Goals

How are you doing with your New Year's Resolutions? Are they long forgotten, or have you managed to stick to your commitment to eat healthier, be more organized or workout daily?

If you have managed to stick with your plan, congratulations!

If not, it's not too late to get back on track.

February can be a tough month. It's cold and the constantly changing weather conditions can wreak havok on any outdoor workout plans. The good news is that February is now more than half over. Spring is just around the corner - at least that's what I keep telling myself!

Brrr...

Somebody was definitely thinking when they made February the shortest month of the year, don't you think?

Over on HubPages, I've been writing some articles focused on eating healthy foods and staying active. I thought that I would share them here, for anyone who's looking for ways to get back on track with their goals to be a healthier version of themselves.

20 Fun Ways to Keep Active will hopefully remind you that exercise can indeed be fun. Seriously.



Snowshoeing is a great way to keep active in the winter

 

Are you getting enough calcium and fruit everyday? If not, why not whip up one of these Quick and Healthy Fruit and Yogurt Smoothies as a tasty treat?

Pineapple Orange Smoothie

If you're trying to eat more vegetables, here are some ideas to get you started:

How to Cook with Spinach provides information on 10 things you can make with fresh or frozen spinach.


Spinach feta pasta
 

Cooking with Parsnips has lots of easy and delicious ways to cook this underappreciated vegetable.

Baked parsnip and carrot fries
 

And finally, if you're not eating a healthy breakfast every morning, you might want to read   A Guide to Eating Healthy Breakfasts for some tips and ideas to improve your health. 

Gardening Photos and Articles to Help You Forget the Cold

As some of you know, I've been participating in an online writing program since September. The HubPages Apprenticeship program has been quite rigorous, requiring me to write a minimum of eight articles per month, in addition to completing the monthly lessons and providing feedback to other writers in the program. It's been a lot of work, but I've learned a lot about writing online, and have actually been successful in finding a couple new writing clients because of what I've learned in the course.

I've been doing this program in addition to my work as a virtual assistant and some other writing. As a result, it's been a long time since I posted anything on this blog. I've got quite a few blog posts in my head. I'm just waiting to find a bit of free time to get them posted!

In the meantime, I thought I'd share a few of my recent HubPages articles about gardening. With temperatures bitterly cold this week in the GTA (minus 24 anyone?) I thought my readers might appreciate reading them, as they have lots of photos of summer gardens and flowers. 

10 Reasons to Replace Your Front Yard with a Garden

Growing Daylilies for a Low Maintenance Garden

Vegetable Garden Companion Plants

Simple Ways to Save Money on Gardening


Enjoy! 

I hope these articles remind you that warmer days are right around the corner and help you forget the cold weather at least for a few minutes. 

Remember - it's never too early to start planning this year's garden!