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

Daily Ramblings – Schedule

Tags

Brother, Christmas, December Schedule, family, Good Food, Holidays, vacation

Hey all! My brother is coming into town on December 20, 2019 to hang out with the family. I’ll be shutting down from the 20th – 29th while he’s here to maximize time with him. I’ll be back up on the 30th, just in time to provide you my end-of-year autopsy and put out my goals for 2020.

I’ll announce this again on the 19th, but wanted to give you a head’s up.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Bonus Content – A Soldier’s Christmas

Tags

Christmas, Gratitude, Holidays, Sacrifice, Separation, Service, Serving Abroad, Soldiers, Thanks

Too all my brothers and sisters serving during the holidays:

A Soldier’s Christmas

Submitted By: Happytoscrapitall

The Night Before Christmas

T’was the night before Christmas, he lived all alone in a one bedroom house, made of plaster and stone.

I had come down the chimney with presents to give, and to see just who in this home did live.

I looked all about, a strange sight I did see: no tinsel, no presents, not even a tree.

No stocking by the mantle, just boots filled with sand; on the wall hung pictures of far distant lands.

With medals and badges, awards of all kinds, a sober thought came through my mind.

For this house was different, it was dark and dreary. I found the home of a soldier, at once I could see clearly.

The soldier lay sleeping; silent, alone, curled up on the floor, in this one bedroom home. Not how I pictured a US soldier.

Was this the hero of whom I’d just read, curled up on a poncho, the floor for a bed?

I realized the families that I saw this night, owed their lives to these soldiers who were willing to fight.

Soon ’round the world, the children would play and grownups would celebrate a bright Christmas Day.

They all enjoyed freedom, each month of the year, because of the soldiers like the one lying here.

I couldn’t help wonder how many lay alone on a cold Christmas Eve in a land far from home.

The very thought brought a tear to my eye; I dropped to my knees and started to cry.

The soldier awakened and I heard a rough voice, “Santa, don’t cry. This life is my choice.

I fight for freedom, I don’t ask for more; my life is my God, my country, my corps.”

The soldier rolled over and drifted to sleep; I couldn’t control it, I continued to weep.

I kept watch for hours, so silent and still, and we both shivered from the cold night’s chill.

I didn’t want to leave on that cold, dark night, this guardian of honor, so willing to fight.

Then the soldier rolled over, with a voice soft and pure, whispered, “Carry on Santa, it’s Christmas Day, all is secure.”

One look at my watch and I knew he was right, “Merry Christmas my friend, and to all a good night.”

Author: A peace keeping soldier stationed overseas

Scrapbook.com I do not know who the original author of this is, but wanted to cite the website I found it on. If you, or someone knows who the original author is, please reply in the comments, I will edit this and replace it with the original copyright owner. I had to share this. It warms my heart every time I read it.