Daily Ramblings – Ted Talk Tuesday – Black Friday

Tags

Black Friday, family, Happiness, Holidays, Love, Origin, Sales, Shopping, Ted Talk, TedEd, Tuesday

Here is one person’s take on Black Friday. A day that marks the beginning of Christmas shopping in America. I do not go out on Black Friday, because it is so insane, but many people, like my stepdaughters, live for this day. They get up before dawn and head to their favorite stores.

In this short 3-minute (+) video, Black Friday’s origin is explained. You’ll be interested who came up with the idea. I hope you are as excited about the holiday season as I am. It’s a great time of year. In fact it is my favorite time of year. I get in a lot of reading, writing, and of course, video game playing in, during the winter months, because in Michigan, there is nothing else to do, simply because it is snowing outside and cold, and all the rest. Yes, there are many who ski, hunt, and do a lot of outdoor things. For me, my 20 years of service gave me all the outdoor living I’ll ever need to experience. Now it’s a cup of hot coffee, a good book, and looking at the snow, thanking God I do not have to live in that anymore.

Well, that’s it for today. I hope all of you have a great Tuesday!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Motivation is Coupled to Your Mood

Tags

anxiety, depression, Exercise, Fall, Holidays, Monday, Mood, motivation, Sister, Sun Lights, Winter

This time of year it gets dark and stays dark. We have a lot of dark, rainy days in the fall, or dark snowy days. It’s just that time of year for Michiganders. Many people in my neck of the woods suffer from an ailment (I do not know the name), where the dark impacts their moods. My sister is one of them.

She and I are the exact opposite when it comes to this time of year. It is my favorite time. For her it is absolute torment. One solution she came up with was getting herself a light that she sits in for about an hour before doing anything else. It was the trick.

Do you have any fall challenges? Do the darker months impact you? You may want to look into a light like my sister did. Perhaps you have other challenges with the fall and winter months. Maybe you do not like to be cooped up. Learn some winter sports like cross-country skiing, hiking, or even just walking. There are a lot of things to do if you look for them.

Motivation and mood are tied to one another. It is hard to be motivated if you are pissed off or depressed. Find the root cause of these things; get some help if you need it. It is really hard to be motivated if you don’t feel well, or are suffering from depression.

Another thing you may look into is exercise. Exercise for me is like going to a psychologist. I just feel so good when I go to the gym, get in some exercise, and sweat a little. It is something about the body moving, the endorphins that are released when we exert ourselves, and the boost to the self esteem that comes when you do something that is hard to do.

Well, that’s it for today, folks. Enjoy the changing colors of the leaves, the snow that will come soon, if it is not here already where you live, and the great food and family time that accompanies this time of year. It’s great to be alive, isn’t it?

Have a great Monday, folks.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesday – 5 Quotes

Tags

Christmas, Clement Clarke Moore, Dale Evans, Edna Ferber, Happines, Holidays, Love, Peace, Taylor Caldwell, Thomas S. Monson

Christmas is the spirit of giving without a thought of getting. It is happiness because we see joy in people. It is forgetting self and finding time for others. It is discarding the meaningless and stressing the true values.

Thomas S. Monson

Christmas isn’t a season. It’s a feeling.

Edna Ferber

Christmas, my child, is love in action. Every time we love, every time we give, it’s Christmas.

Dale Evans

Don’t let the past steal your present. This is the message of Christmas: We are never alone.

Taylor Caldwell

T’was the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

Clement Clarke Moore

This is the last 5 quotes post for 2020. In light of the Christmas season, I chose quotes that are about Christmas, rather than selecting a specific author’s 5 quotes. I hope you enjoy them. If this is the only post you follow on my blog, Happy Holidays to you and your family. Wherever you are, I wish you much love, peace, and happiness during this great time of year.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Ted Talk Tuesday – The History of Tea

Tags

Comfort food, Food, Holidays, Shunan Teng, tea, Ted Talk, Tuesday

I’m finding some interesting history videos of different foods. I figured these were apropos for the season. I hope you enjoy it!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Workout Routine – Final Stretch

Tags

breaks, family, Friends, health, Holidays, Home Workout, physical training, Relax, Video Games

This year has been a crazy year for exercise enthusiasts. My wife, who is a competitive bodybuilder, all of her competitions were cancelled, and all of her gyms were closed off and on. The one thing she kept consistent was her diet, which she rocks, by the way.

This week, I’ll be doing another alternative exercise program. For those of you who know me, you know I’m an avid video game player. My current game of choice is Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War. Because the game was just released, most of my holiday month (December) I will be gaming, hanging out with the family, and eating all the great food this time of year brings.

One of my buddies who served with me in the military had a cool habit that I joined in with him on. It was called commercial physical training. This is how it worked: We watch a television show, and each time a commercial came on, we would do one exercise for the duration of the commercial. I’m going to adapt this technique to video game playing. The “matches” we play on Call of Duty, last about 5 minutes each. So each time a match ends, I’ll do an exercise with as many reps as I can during the intermission between matches, which lasts about 2 minutes. I’ll concentrate on each body part, starting with the larger ones as I play. Once I’ve hit the entire body, I’m done for the day, unless I’m motivated and will add some stair step exercise to get in some cardio (walking up and down stairs for a minute or so).

You will be amazed at how taxing these routines are. I remember watching The Bob Newhart show overseas in our barracks, and you’d be amazed how many commercials play during one comedy show. My buddy and I were smoked by the time the show ended.

This will be my last week of posting for 2020. I take the last couple of weeks off each year, to review, organize, and plan for 2021. For those of you who follow this scheduled post every week and none of my other pages, I wish all of you a terrific, fun, and relaxing holiday season.

See you at the finish line!

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Final Stretch of 2020

Tags

2021, Covid, family, Friends, Goals, Holidays, Planning, Recharging, Relax

As we approach the end of the year, I take some time to myself and review the current year and begin thinking about all the things I want to accomplish in 2021. Some of my friends think things will return to normal next year. I’m a little more pessimistic. I think many companies, organizations, and people have realized that with nasty bugs like COVID hanging around out there, we will not be able to conduct our lives the same way again. Change is inevitable. We all have to adapt, whether we like it or not. So as you make your 2021 plans, set your goals, and get your calendars set up, keep in mind that you may face many more interruptions and lockdowns, should this virus take another weird turn.

This will be the last week of posts for the year, as I move into holiday mode and take some time off from blogging to get myself aligned with my new set of goals in 2021. So, this Thursday will be my last post of 2020.

This week, if you haven’t already, take a look at what you’ve done this year. What goals did you hit? What goals did you miss? Did you miss your goals because you set the bar too high, weren’t motivated enough to push through to the finish line, or did COVID get in the way? If you’re not motivated enough to hit a goal, rethink why you set the goal in the first place. Did you really want to achieve it, or did you set the goal because you thought it was what you should do?

When I set goals, I think about what it will take to accomplish them. Do I really have the time? Do I really enjoy doing what that goal requires. If either answer is no, don’t set the goal. Do something else. Use contingency planning when setting your goals for the year. What happens if we get locked down again? What happens if I get sick? What happens if the resources I need to accomplish this goal become unavailable?

I’m assuming we will see a few more lockdowns in the upcoming months, depending on how quickly the vaccine is distributed to the public. With that in mind, my goals are going to concentrate on the things I am in 100% control of, regardless of lockdowns or no lockdowns.

Folks, it’s that time of year to enjoy family, friends, and relax a bit. If you’re like me, you’ve been working your tail off this year, pursuing your dreams and desires. For me, it’s a well-deserved break.

With that, I bid you adieu.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Ted Talk Tuesday – The History of Chocolate

Tags

Cakes, Chocolate, Christmas, Cookies, Goodies, History, Holidays, New Years, Pies, Tis the season

Since we are in the holiday season, many of us will be tossing aside our dietary concerns for the cakes, pies, candy, and all the rest that this time of year offers. In light of that, enjoy this Ted Talk on the History of Chocolate. It is short, but very informative!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Thankful Thursdays – Happy Thanksgiving

Tags

Celebration, family, Friends, Good Food, Gratitude, Holidays, Lydia Maria Child, poets.org, Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day

by

Lydia Maria Child

Over the river, and through the wood,
  To grandfather’s house we go;
       The horse knows the way
       To carry the sleigh
  Through the white and drifted snow.

Over the river, and through the wood—
  Oh, how the wind does blow!
       It stings the toes
       And bites the nose
  As over the ground we go.

Over the river, and through the wood,
  To have a first-rate play.
       Hear the bells ring
       “Ting-a-ling-ding”,
  Hurrah for Thanksgiving Day!

Over the river, and through the wood
  Trot fast, my dapple-gray!
       Spring over the ground,
       Like a hunting-hound!
  For this is Thanksgiving Day.

Over the river, and through the wood,
  And straight through the barn-yard gate.
       We seem to go
       Extremely slow,—
  It is so hard to wait!

Over the river and through the wood—
  Now grandmother’s cap I spy!
       Hurrah for the fun!
       Is the pudding done?
  Hurrah for the pumpkin-pie!

Credit: https://poets.org/poem/thanksgiving-day

For those of you who celebrate Thanksgiving, Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours. I love this holiday and look forward to the big meal we’ll be eating later today.

Have a great Thursday!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Week of November 23, 2020.

Tags

Friends, Holidays, lockdowns, motivation, Thanksgiving, Virus

2020 is zipping by. We are approaching Thanksgiving in the U.S. in a few days, and before you know it, 2020 will be a memory. For some, this was a tough year. For others, it was filled primarily with boredom, as one lockdown followed another.

I am neutral on the year. I’ve gotten plenty of things done the virus failed to impact. I got in a lot of reading. I also worked on me this year. Not just physical things, but mental things, spiritual things, social things. I consider myself a continuous work-in-progress. There is always one more thing to improve.

We are fast approaching the final month of the year. What will you do with these last few weeks? I’m continuing to push ahead. Many of my goals were hit a month or so ago, but I also missed quite a few, and I can’t use the virus as an excuse. I just changed priorities, adjusted to the lockdowns of the year, and adapted as best I could. This year made me realize nothing is invulnerable to change. It also taught me how nice it is to make new friends across miles and miles of distance—right here on WordPress.

We’ve only got a few weeks left folks. Stay with it! You can still get a lot done this year. Push through to the end.

Have a great week!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Thankful Thursday – Fall

Tags

Autumn, Cakes, Coffee, Cookies, Cool weather, Fall, Gentle Breezes, Halloween, Holidays, Leaves, Pies, Soup, Stew, Thanksgiving

Today, I’m grateful for the fall. The cooler temperatures, the wind, and the trees, with their multi-colored leaves falling to the ground and decorating our lawn and driveway. Wow!

I also enjoy the fall because it is heading toward my birthday, the Thanksgiving holiday, and Christmas and New Year’s! Let’s not forget Halloween. What a great time of year!

This is the season for chili, stew, and all kinds of great soups that warm the tummy. It’s the season of cookies, pies, and cakes. It’s the season of warm bread coming out of the oven. Let’s not forget the great times ahead when families get together and celebrate.

This year has been a strange one. We’ve got COVID, we’ve got the entire Western United States on fire, we’ve got a crazy Presidential election, and we’ve had some civil unrest in a few places. I just sit back and watch the show. What else can you do?

Another glorious thing about the fall is coffee!! I began a new habit of drinking cooler things during the summer months. But now that we are getting chillier, I’ll be back at the Raven, the Exquisite Corpse, Starbucks, and Dunkin’ Donuts for my favorite coffees. We still can’t go inside the coffee houses and enjoy some coffee with others, but they are serving and I’m buying.

Well, that’s all I got for today, folks. Here’s to the fall. May we all have many more!

Until next time…

Dave