Daily Ramblings – Bonus Content – Thanksgiving Countdown

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Christmas, family, Friends, Good Food, Good times, Gratitude, Happiness, Holidays, New Years, passion, recharge, Relaxation, Thanksgiving

Ooh! Pumpkin pie, turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and all the rest await! It’s going to be a great Thanksgiving this year, like every year. I’ll be making the final grocery run tomorrow and I always end up getting more than we need.

I’m not much of a football fan, so I don’t watch the games, nor do I watch the parades. I used to when I was a kid, but now, I just enjoy hanging out and doing whatever. I’ll be doing a little gaming, reading, hanging out with the family, and eating a truckload of food, on and off all day long.

I decided today would be my last posting for the year, other than my holiday postings. I was going to continue all the way to the end of the month, but decided it was time to just shut things down for the rest of 2022. It’s been a great year, folks.

I’ve made some great friends here, that I would not have met anywhere else. So here’s a shameless plug for their blogs, in case you are interested:

https://kmallan.com/ – K.M. Allan is an Australian YA author. Her Blackbirch series is terrific. If you’re thinking of writing a book, she provides all kinds of tips, tricks, and real-world experience writing and publishing a book. She mailed me a copy of her first book, which was not cheap, and I so appreciate her.

https://tierneycreates.com/ – Enjoy crafting? Check out this blog for anything related to quilting, travel to cool places, and even some postings from one of her creations. Her husband is also quite the craftsman.

https://joannaoftheforest.wordpress.com/ – If you want some great pictures of the outdoors and enjoy reading articles that are happy and interesting, you’ll want to check out here postings.

I consider all three of these bloggers friends, because they always respond to my blog postings and we have had some interesting interactions.

Well, folks. I hope all of you have a terrific holiday season and get some time with friends, family, and your favorite hobbies. I’ll be doing what I love–gaming, reading, and writing. I’ll also be making some decisions about some daily postings that I’ve done this year, that I may change up, just to keep things fresh and help me explore new areas that I have not dove into before.

Happy Holidays, folks.

See you in 2023!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Holidays

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Christmas, December Off, Holidays, motivation, New Year's, Relaxation, Thanksgiving

Well, folks, we are fast approaching the end of the year. As a reminder, I started a tradition last year that I will continue this year. I will be shutting down Daily Ramblings at the end of this week. For those of you who are new, December is the month I shut down everything. I literally take the whole month off to do what I want to do. I sleep in, I read for hours, I game, I hang out with family and friends that visit this time of year, pretty much no schedule, no obligations, nothing. It’s a great way for me personally to come into the new year strong. It also gives me time to think through what I want to accomplish in the new year as well.

Many of you are preparing for Thanksgiving (US) and many other holidays that are celebrated specifically in your country. There are too many to keep track of and recognize here. That being said, holidays are truly motivational because of their recuperating characteristics.

I know most of you do not have the ability to take an entire month off. I get it. But you do have the opportunity to take some time for yourself a few times this month. When I worked, we always got a four-day weekend for Thanksgiving with a half-day the day before. For Christmas and New Year’s, we always got a half-day before the holiday and depending on when it fell on the calendar, we’d get a three or four-day weekend. Some folks, save their paid time off (PTO) to capitalize on these holidays and string Christmas and New Year’s Day together.

I’ll remind you again when I shut this down for the year but wanted all of you to know in advance. I look forward to this month and toward the end of this month, I am really looking forward to getting back to my work schedule.

Well, that’s it for today, folks!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Ted Talk Tuesday – Black Friday

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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

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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