The National Symphony Orchestra will perform on Sunday.

Wondering how to spend this Labor Day in Washington, DC?  Here’s what’s going on in our nation’s capitol this weekend.

The Labor Day Concert at the Capitol will be held Sunday at 8:00 p.m. on East Capitol and First Street.  The concert will be performed by the National Symphony Orchestra and is free.

Another festival, a Beatles Tribute Festival, will be held September 2 through 6 at the Gaylord National Resort in nearby National Harbor, MD.  Over 50 bands will perform hit Beatles songs over the five days of the festival.

The Kennedy Center will host the Page to Stage Festival starting on the 4th and running through the 6th from 2:00 to 10:00 each day.  This festival includes free readings and open rehearsals of different plays and musicals.  If you’ve ever wondered what goes into putting on a hit production, this festival is for you.

A Labor Day parade will be held in Olde Towne Gaithersburg on Sept. 6th at 1:00 p.m.  Marching bands, horses, clowns, and more will march down Summit and Diamond Avenue.

The DC Blues Festival will be held on Sept. 4th from 1:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Barron Amphitheater.  It’s free to attend.

The Virginia Scottish Games will be held Sept. 4th and 5th in Alexandria.  These games celebrate the city’s Scottish background.  You’ll hear authentic Scottish music, see demonstrations of highland dancing, and more.

A romantic dinner for two can be a great way to start a date at home.

While a romantic dinner at a fancy restaurant followed by a concert or a show can make for a great evening out, there’s nothing wrong with having a little romantic fun at home.  In fact, for couples on a budget (and who isn’t on a budget these days?), planning a romantic night at home may be the only real option.  If you’re watching the wallet, here are a few ideas for saving money.

Have a picnic on your living room or bedroom floor.  Just spread out a blanket, make a nice dinner (or maybe some ramen noodles if money is really tight!), and enjoy your favorite movie or put on some music.  It has all the charm of a picnic outdoors but without the bugs or the weather. 

If sitting on the floor isn’t your idea of a good time, cook a nice romantic dinner.  Light the table with candles, put on some nice music, and have a fancy dinner at home.  You don’t need waiters or expensive desserts to make it a nice meal.

While going out to a theater to see a movie can be fun, watching a movie at home can be just as much fun.  You can have all the popcorn and soda you want without paying the crazy concession stand prices, for one thing.  For another thing, you don’t have to worry about missing a key point of the film if you have to make a bathroom run.  Oh, and there are no noisy children or rude theater-goers.  Of course, if you have children, you may want to arrange for them to stay over at a friend’s or relative’s house for the evening so they don’t interrupt!

Of course, there’s nothing to say that you have to keep your romantic fun PG-13.  If you have a large bathtub, you can light some candles, pour some wine, and spend some quality time together covered in bubbles.  This type of evening can easily lead to the bedroom.  For a little romance there, sprinkle some fresh rose petals on the bed (free if you have roses and they’re in bloom) and, again, put on some nice music.  You might even want to do something like read a little romantic poetry or, if you sing or play an instrument, sing a love song.

There are many ways to have a romantic night at home.  While these are all great ideas, there are many more that are unique to you and your significant other.  Plan something the two of you love to do and see where the evening takes you.

To listen to some kids today, you’d think school was torture.  But then to hear some parents and grandparents talk, it seems like school today is a breeze compared to what it was “back in the day.”  Is school harder than it used to be?  Well, that depends on how you look at it.

One thing is certain: today, kids are learning more at a younger age, and they’re expected to learn it much more quickly.  By first grade, kids are doing more than just learning basic math, they’re doing all kinds of addition and subtraction.  Likewise, reading comprehension has been accelerated.  Forget “I See Sam”—first graders are now reading more complex books that are longer than a dozen pages.  Even physical education seems more intense now.

But what about grandpa and his old days?  Well, memory has a lot to do with that.  Not that older people are losing their minds!  However, it’s true that we often remember things we didn’t like as being harder than they were, and some people just didn’t like school.  To them, those days in the classroom probably seem much harder than they actually were.  The old “I walked uphill in the snow…both ways!” may be funny, but it really shows how memory can play tricks on us and exaggerate those things we didn’t like. 

So is school harder than it used to be?  It depends on how you look at it.  If you’re a kid who doesn’t like school, then it probably seems incredibly difficult.  If you’re of the older generation and didn’t like the classroom, it probably seems like kids have it incredibly easy today.  It all comes down to perception.  Either way, one thing is clear: school may be hard, and it may seem like no fun, but education is incredibly important.

The dog days of summer are here

The last month of summer is here, and while the kids are getting ready to go back to school, there’s still some time for family outings.  If you’re wondering what to do during the dog days of summer in Washington, DC, here are a few ideas.

If you’re a football fan, you can drive over to Ashburn, Virginia, to watch the Washington Redskins train.  The training camp runs through August 19 and is free to watch.  You may even get the chance to meet your favorite players and get their autographs after practice.  August 7th is fan appreciation day at noon, and the team is sure to have a few surprises for anyone who comes to see them practice that day.

August 7th is also the Friendship Firehouse Festival at the firehouse museum in Old Town Alexandria.  The festival features live music, free giveaways, crafts, hands-on activities for the kids, and much more.

August 7-8 and August 14-15 is the Arts on N Street Festival at the Washington Convention Center.  This free art festival features work by local artists, organizations, and businesses.  While there’s plenty of art for the adults to check out, there are also many activities for the kids.

Starting August 13th and running through August 30th is the Comcast Film Festival.  This outdoor film festival is held at the Universities of Shady Grove in Rockville, Maryland.  Films begin at 8:10 each evening, but you can arrive as early as 6:30.  Some food and snacks will be available for purchase.

Love good food?  If so, you’ll enjoy Restaurant Week.  Starting on August 16th and ending August 22nd, you’ll find more than 100 of the top restaurants in DC participating in this event.  Each restaurant will offer a three-course lunch for $20 and a three-course dinner for $35.  It’s a great opportunity to try a new place to eat or a new entrée.

The Alexandria Cambodian Community Day Festival is August 22nd from noon to 6:00 p.m.  Visitors to this event will get to explore the Cambodian culture via food, arts, crafts, and much more.

Finally, the Maryland Renaissance Festival kicks off on August 28th and runs through October 24th.  Visit this 16th century English village to see live performances, play games, eat great food, and much more.  It’s located in nearby Crownsville, Maryland.

Relaxing Lavender Roses

Stress seems like a constant in our world.  Whether we’re stressing over work, technology, a relationship, money, or something small like a stain on the carpet, stress is almost always in our lives.  But there are many ways to combat stress, and one of those ways is with flower therapy.

You’ve probably heard many people say how happy they were to receive flowers or that they just love the sight of fresh flowers in their home.  But why?  Why is it that flowers seem to make people happy all the time?  Is there really a type of “flower therapy,” or is it just wishful thinking?  As surprising as it may be, there truly is some scientific proof that flowers can make us happy!  A study by the State University of New Jersey shows that the saying “stop and smell the roses” actually has some real meaning behind it.

According to the study, flowers can trigger happy emotions.  For ten months, the team studied the emotional and behavioral responses of people who received flowers.  From their reactions, the researchers drew several conclusions.  First, flowers can have an immediate impact on our happiness.  When the people received flowers, they smiled and were genuinely happy to get the flowers.  But flowers do more than make us momentarily happy.  The study also showed that the participants tended to feel happy over a number of days, especially when they saw the flowers. 

Participants also reported feeling less lonely even after the flowers had wilted and were gone.  This is because receiving the flowers helped them to make connections with other people.  Receiving flowers says that someone is thinking of you, and that can mean the world. 

There you have it—scientific proof that flower therapy is the real deal!  Next time you know someone needs a little pick-me-up, send them a great arrangement of flowers.  You’ll make them happy for days and forge a stronger relationship with them as well.

Send some happiness & flowers!

Uh-Oh. Sorry About That.

It can be difficult to say you’re sorry.  No one really wants to admit to being wrong.  But sometimes we are, and sometimes someone else thinks we are, so it’s important to know how to apologize with grace and dignity. Saying you’re sorry can save your relationship, smooth over family troubles, and even help you at work if you’ve offended a coworker. 

Being sincere is the first and most important part of saying you’re sorry.  If you aren’t sincere, your apology will not have the desired effect: forgiveness and a repairing of the relationship.  In fact, sometimes it’s even better to wait to apologize to someone until you are truly sorry for what happened!  The old saying “better late then never” does apply here. 

When you do apologize, there are several things you can do to show that you really mean it.  First, apologize in person.  Don’t do it over the phone, and certainly never use email or text messaging to send an apology unless there is absolutely no other way.  Even a phone call is better than email.  Doing it in person will show the other person that they are important enough to you that you will take the time out of your day to apologize.  Make eye contact when you say you’re sorry, and don’t try to make excuses for your actions.  It doesn’t matter why you did what you did (and you may have had perfectly good reasons for your actions), making excuses will make your apology seem much less sincere.

You may also want to give a gift or send flowers to back up your apology.  Don’t be too extravagent.  Expensive or multiple gifts will make it look like you’re trying to buy yourself forgiveness, and that won’t work.  A bouquet of roses for your spouse, a small box of candy, or a little trinket is just perfect for an apology gift. 

Saying you’re sorry and meaning it can be difficult, especially when you think you were right.  Learning to apologize with grace maintains not only your dignity, but the other person’s.

Copyright 2010. MyFlorist.

Looking for some great outdoor movie venues in the DC Metro area?  Here are just a few of them.

The Crystal Screen Film Festival is an annual event that has a theme to it.  This year’s theme is Star Trek.  Starting with Star Trek: The Motion Picture, the series will screen one movie a week for eleven weeks.  The run will go through the six original series movies, the four Next Generation movies, and conclude with the most recent Star Trek reboot directed by J.J. Abrams.

The Rosslyn Outdoor Film Festival runs until September 3^rd, 2010.  It takes place at Gateway Park every Friday at 8:00 p.m.  Their theme for 2010 is “I love the 90s” and includes films like Clueless, Office Space, and The Wedding Singer.

Finally, the NOMA Summer Screen festival is held at 9:00 p.m. on L street NE between 2^nd and 3^rd.  Their 2010 theme is “The Future is Now,” and they will be screening movies like Logan’s Run, Groundhog Day, and Donnie Darko.

We know communication is vital to all of our relationships with friends, lovers, co-workers or family. But in today’s modern society where everyone is on the go 24/7, communication has changed. Real communication, actually talking to someone right then and there, seems to have taken a backseat to digital and wireless communicating.

What about talking to your friends? Do you pick up the phone and call them to keep in touch, or do you write a comment on their Facebook page? Do you know what they’re doing because you talked to them or because you read their latest update on Twitter? Social media sites make it possible to keep in touch with others through a computer screen.

If you want to tell your husband or girlfriend to pick up milk on the way home, do you stop by and see them at lunch? Chances are, you send a text or leave a voice mail.

If you need information from a co-worker, do you actually get up and go to his or her office, or do you send an email? Are you even in the same building? More of us are working from home or a branch office these days. Email has replaced much of the face-to-face communication at work.

When families are long distance, we use all the available communication technology available to us. We text, email, Facebook, Tweet, video conference, Skype or call. Rarely do we drive up to their doorstep and give them a hug, and sit down in the same room to talk.

So is communication a lost art? It’s hard to say. We recommend spending real world time with all the people in your life. Practice the original method of communicating. Use your words without technology, in the same room, where you can reach out and touch other life forms.

There are many different ways to celebrate the Fourth of July but few are as amazing and breathtaking as celebrating this holiday in our nation’s capitol.  Watching fireworks explode in multitudes of color around the many different landmarks in Washington DC is a sight like no other.  Imagine bursts of color behind the Washington Memorial, the Capitol Building’s dome, or reflected in the Reflecting Pool.

The Fourth of July is an all-day event in the city.  It starts with a parade that makes its way up Constitution Avenue.  This parade includes marching bands, floats, and more.  Of course, if you want a good view, you’ll need to get there early.  Another great event is the Smithsonian Folklife Festival.  It features music, dancing, great food, and handmade crafts.  This year, the festival’s three themes are Mexico Profundo: A Deeper Mexico, Asian Pacific American Connections, and Smithsonian Inside Out.

The National Archives host a number of different events, including a “birthday” party for the signing of the Declaration of Independence.  Following this, you can visit the White House Visitor Center for some games and other activities.  If you want something a little more relaxing, the U.S. Navy Band will host a concert at the Washington Monument Grounds starting at 6:00 p.m.  A Capitol Fourth Concert, a Fourth of July tradition hosted by the National Symphony Orchestra, will take place on the West Lawn of the Capitol.  It begins at 8:00 p.m. and ends just in time for the fireworks.

The fireworks show, which is what everyone wants to hang around for, starts around 9:15 p.m. or so.  The fireworks are fired off from the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and explode over the Washington Monument, creating a spectacular sight like no other!