Daily Ramblings – Funny Friday – Women are Funny!

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Comedians, Ellie Kemper, FriYAY, Funny, Giggles, Joy, Laughter, Relax, Snickers, Weekend, Women

I hope you find this Ted Talk entertaining. I am doing my best to focus most of my posts on Women this month, to celebrate Women’s History Month. Enjoy!

I hope all of you are having a great Friday! Friday, in my religious path, is a day of fasting. We don’t do food fasting. We do what is called a Mental Fast. On each Friday, we are to avoid any negative thoughts. So, the videos I post here each week are some of the things I watch to remain focused on positive, uplifting, funny things. I also listen to uplifting music, read uplifting articles and books, and do all I can to focus on the good in my life. It’s a terrific practice.

Well, that’s it for today, folks. Have a great weekend, and take some time for yourself, why don’t ya!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Bonus Content – Jane Marczewski

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America's Got Talent, Cancer, Happiness, Jane Marczewski, Joy, Living Life, Stephen Guise, YouTube

I am subscribed to Stephen Guise’ Blog. He is the author of “Mini Habits”, which had a huge impact on my life. His email today introduced Jane Marczewski. Here’s a link to Stephen’s article: https://stephenguise.com/blog/

She won the Golden Buzzer award on America’s Got Talent, and sadly passed away from Cancer three days ago. I had to share this story, particularly the quote, which she gives in the video.

The quote:

“You can’t wait until life isn’t hard anymore, before you decide to be happy.”

~ Jane Marczewski

Rest in peace, Jane “Nightbird” Marczewksi.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Hobbies

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Balance, Fishing, Fun, Happy, Hobby, Joy, Music, Reading, Relaxation, Relish, Video Games, Writing, Xbox

My sister has been “over-focused” on work for as long as I have known her. There is nothing wrong with that, provided you take time to do other things to balance it out. Balance is key to a happy life, in my opinion, so that you can do your work, have some fun, and not miss anything important. Important things like regular checkups for you and your pets, paying your bills, exercising, learning something new, and enjoying something that you do, because you enjoy doing it.

Hobbies could be coin collecting, antiquing, drawing/sketching, playing an instrument, or playing video games. It doesn’t matter what your hobby is, as long as it gives you a break from the things you have to to do. Another requirement: You have to look forward to it.

I love playing video games of all kinds. Whether these are on my pc, my iPad, or my Xbox. They are challenging, entertaining, and even educational. I look forward to my daily session, and laugh, yell, and have a heck of a good time. It is even more fun when I can link up with my brother and play together.

This is what I’m talking about. The passion for your hobby has to be there. You have to enjoy it, think about it, and relish the time you get to do it.

Think about people who enjoy fishing. These people can’t wait to get back out on their boats and fish again.

Think about those people who enjoy golf. They can’t wait to get out to the course. They even plan their vacations around it. Does that resort have a golf course?

I hope you get my point. The quote, “All work and no play make Jack a dull boy” rings true here. Spice up your life a bit with a hobby. It provides a great retreat from your daily routine of work, chores, bill paying, and errands.

In the meantime, I’m about ready to head down and fire up my Xbox.

Have a great Monday, folks!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Thankful Thursday – Brother

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Companionship, Dad, family, Grateful, Hanging out, Happiness, Joy, Thankful

Today, I am grateful for my brother. He just visited recently, and it was a terrific time to reconnect and give him time to spend with Mom and Dad. When family visits, I tend to stay away a bit, so they can get the most out of their visit with the folks. That being said, we got in plenty of gaming.

We also ordered out for some food a few days and enjoyed it tremendously. There’s a local restaurant here called Cracker Barrel. They have the best fried chicken. Boy oh Boy!

He’ll be coming back again sometime this year. He and my sister are visiting more, because Dad is deteriorating. He does not eat that much, sleeps most of the day, and when he does get up from his rocking chair, he is really unsure of himself on his feet. It is hard for him to stand up on his own, and when he walks he takes small “baby” steps because he is afraid of falling down.

My brother noticed a huge difference from the last time he visited. Dad slept through most of my brother’s visit. I think they exchanged a few words, and that was it. Anyway, we had a great time with him while he was here. Here’s to his next visit!

Have a great Thursday, folks!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Thankful Thursday – We Got a Dog!!

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Animals, cozy, Dad, Dogs, family, Joy, Mom, pets, Warm

We have a new addition to the family. Her name is Bella. I’ll get photos up later. She’s only been here a few days and little skittish.

I don’t know what it is about pets, but they tend to change the whole family dynamic. To be honest, my Mother loves animals, and I knew that it would only be so long before her and Dad got a new family member. At times, I think Mom enjoys animals more than she does people. She just gets along with animals and the outdoors and is most happy when she’s outside in her garden or on her deck with a cup of coffee in the morning, watching the squirrels, rabbits, and chipmunks do their thing.

So today, I’m grateful for our new dog, Bella. She’ll give Mom some comfort, and she’ll make our home a little more warm and cozy.

Have a great Thursday, folks. I’ll get pictures up later. Promise.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Spread Your Wings Sunday – Week of August 9, 2020.

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Comedy, Funny, Giggle, Hilarious, Joke, Joy, Laugh, Laughter

Weekly challenge: This week, the challenge is to laugh. Here are a few sources that will help you out:

The Onion – https://www.theonion.com/

The Laughfactory – http://www.laughfactory.com/jokes/family-jokes

Cracked – https://www.cracked.com/

These three will get you started. Need more? There’s always a good comedy show on Netflix and Amazon.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Funny Friday – Two Men Hiking

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Friday, FriYAY, Fun, Giggle, Grin, Joy, Laughter, Relax, Snicker, Weekend

Two men are hiking through the woods when one of them cries out, “Snake! Run!” His companion laughs at him. “Oh, relax. It’s only a baby,” he says. “Don’t you hear the rattle?” — Steve Smith

Can you hear the drum and symbols in the background? (HA!)

Have a great Friday, folks!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Thankful Thursday – My Ability to Learn

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audio, classics, college, Joy, kinesthetic, Learning, scholars, visual

Today, I’m grateful for my ability to learn and love of learning. Like most boys, I wasn’t interested in reading or writing, or any of the things I am interested in today. Instead, I enjoyed running around outside, playing baseball and other games with my friends.

I didn’t get my degrees until later in my military career and glad that I did. I began my college in 2003 and did not realize how little I knew. Once I began reading and writing for school, I was hooked. I marveled at Aristotle, Socrates, and Seneca. I enjoyed reading about psychology, history, mathematics and the sciences, and particularly enjoyed programming courses.

Learning about learning is an interesting exercise. I learned about the ways people learn. Some folks learn visually. Picture someone who can read a set of instructions and put together a model or piece of furniture.

Others are audio learners. Instead of reading, they prefer music or audio books to learn. They learn best in situations like lectures and such.

Finally, there are kinesthetic learners. These are the folks who learn by touching things and experimenting with them. They are the “learn by doing” crowd.

Each of us has a dominant modality. The other modalities still contribute, though. For me, visual learning is strongest, with audio and kinesthetic coming in at a tie after that. Coding, for example, I learn by doing. I can read about it all day, but until I clack away at my keyboard and run my code, I don’t know if I did something right or wrong.

So today, I am grateful for the ability to learn new things and my love of learning.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Spiritual Saturday – Love is Given; Love is Received.

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Flowers, Gratitude, Joy, Karma, Love, Mother's Day

Begin with the love you have. Love gratefully. This love expands your heart into a greater vessel which can hold yet more love.

—Harold Klemp
The Language of Soul

Today’s posting will be a little short, because there’s not much I can add to this quote to improve its message. The only thing I can say is that you get love when you give it. Sometimes the timing is a little off, but if you are aware enough, you’ll recognize this when it happens.

Here’s a brief story to illustrate my point. My wife and her daughters aren’t communicating right now and it is just killing my wife. She misses them. I don’t blame her. They are my stepdaughters, and they are going through that phase that all young people go through. You know that phase when your parents know nothing, are behind the times, etc.

Anyway, my wife went to the market on Mother’s Day and realized people were buying flowers for their Mother’s that day. She picked up a bouquet and went to the checkout line. As she waited a young man came up behind her and struck up a conversation. During the conversation, the young man offered to buy my wife the flowers she had picked out, stating that his Mother died a few years ago, and he wanted to buy someone a Mother’s Day bouquet because he didn’t have a Mother to buy them for anymore. This act of love reduced my wife to tears, right there in the shopping line.

Some would say this is coincidence, but I say that there is no such thing. That man needed to show his love by buying a bouquet of flowers for my wife, and she needed those flowers, because her daughters didn’t get her anything. Love was given; love was received.

I hope you enjoyed my little story and this quote today.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Thankful Thursday – Grateful for Retirement

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Blogging, Exercising, Grateful, Gratitude, Joy, Learning, Loving, Reading, Retirement, Service, Writing

When I was in the Army, particularly when I surpassed 10 years of service, I knew I was going to retire. It just didn’t make sense to leave the service and walk away from retirement. Boy, I’m glad I did.

I am grateful for the time I served, and if young enough, and faced with the same choices when I was younger, I’d do it all again. It was an adventure of a lifetime and it offered me the opportunity to do things I would have never had an opportunity to experience any other way.

I served in Europe for 6 years. I was in Berlin, Germany when the Berlin Wall came down. I was at the retirement ceremony for Checkpoint Charlie. I got to see Reagan give his famous “Tear down this wall” speech. So many memories.

Because of my service, my medical care is literally free for life. I had the opportunity to retire early and come home to help my folks. This has been a great thing. How many people get to celebrate their parent’s senior years? Not many. In fact, most people will never retire.

Honestly, I am not retired either. The key difference between my working life and my “retired” life is that I can do what I want. So, I am.

What do I love? I love reading. I love writing. I love exercise. I love serving. I love meeting new people and having impromptu conversations with people. I also love learning. So this is what I do every day.

What is something I discovered pretty quickly? I learned that I couldn’t just hang out and do nothing. Netflix is entertaining, but watching it all day every day—No thanks!

My military experience has bled into this retired life. I need structure. I don’t need a minute-by-minute schedule, but I need to do the same things daily. I do all the things I enjoy each day. I love blogging. I love working on my book projects. I love learning new things. All the things I do every day are an absolute joy. I hope all of you are in a position some day to do the same if you wish to.

So this is what I’m grateful for. My retirement and the new adventure I’ve embarked upon.

Have a great Thursday everybody!

Until next time…

Dave