The average American gobbles down more than 4,500 calories on Turkey Day, but that number can be easily slashed — starting with some basic portion control. But what’s 4 ounces, 78 grams, or a ¼ cup exactly? Follow this serving size guide for a smarter (but still enjoyable!) holiday meal — minus the elastic-waisted pants.” Full story at: This Is One Serving: Thanksgiving Favorites | Greatist.
The guys over at the Minimalists have this thought to share:
This Friday is the busiest shopping day of the year: Black Friday. Retailers prepare months in advance for this dark day—preparation that’s meant to stimulate your insatiable desire to consume: Doorbuster sales. New products. Gigantic newspaper ads. TV, radio, print, billboards. Sale, sale, sale! Early bird specials. One day only! Get the best deal. Act now! While supplies last.
The Minimalists would, however, like to shed some light on this darkest of Fridays. It’s important to understand that consumption is an unquenchable thirst. Retailers and advertisers and manufacturers know this too well. And thus, they’ve invented an entire day designed to take advantage of your insatiable desire to consume.
The pernicious aspects of Black Friday are not few. The pandemonium of this day is a synecdoche for our consumer culture as a whole. On this day, people consume gluttonously without regard for the harm they’re inflicting on themselves. On this day, greed becomes ravenous. On this day, people live without real meaning, buying gifts to fill a void that can’t possibly be filled with material possessions.
Sadly, people participate in the rapacious nature of Black Friday in the name of a holiday, as if buying gifts was an ideal way to celebrate Christmas. But thankfully, you have options.
Instead of embracing Black Friday, you can Block Friday. You can refuse to buy material items for people to display your love. Rather, you can showcase your love, caring, and affection through daily actions—every day, not just holidays.
If you want to give gifts, why not gift an experience—a nice meal, tickets to a concert, or a sunset on the beach? After all, the best, most loving gift you can give someone is your time and undivided attention.
Will you join us? Will you opt out of Black Friday? If not, why not?
I will opt out! I hate what Christmas has become and the stress that it causes by all the false expectations it creates. Give me Thanksgiving with family, food and gratitude and I’ll see you next year…
RT @Swag_gy: @ninatandon I watched you on #TEDyouth on livestream, you are so incredibly inspiring and awesome!! Thoroughly enjoyed and learnt so much.
Jeff Bullas has some interesting thoughts on how to become a better blogger:
Blogging plus Social Media
The rise of social media has allowed bloggers to display and market themselves and their content globally without having to pay a cent to a newspaper, television mogul or to the mass media elite.
Bloggers that were previously undiscovered became global brands on topics as diverse as food, fashion and technology. Marketing your blog was no longer restricted to building an RSS or email subscription list.
Publishing and marketing has been democratized. Freedom to express yourself globally is available in seconds and it is also mobile.
The age of the printing press is now threatened after 573 years. Print media marketing has now been surpassed by digital media for the first time in history.
Jeff has a great perspective on the importance of blogging. Comment below or connect with me so we can talk about how this applies to you and your situation…
With the holidays approaching, the AFP Grandparents are back with some important advice for grandparents everywhere.” via 5 Tips To Being a Grandparent.
Chris Brogan’s in disguise (Photo credit: acnatta)
Chris Brogan wrote this morning:
I think often about this: if _____ died, would I have said everything I want to say? I try to keep that answer “yes” all the time. So, if you live that way, you don’t have to worry about Father’s Day. It’s not some false holiday. It’s just a pointed highlight to a year long celebration. If we’re not thanking people for their amazing part in our lives all the time, then we’re missing an opportunity, aren’t we?
The Door County Maritime Museum has a special event coming up that I’m sure I’ll be attending, being from Algoma and all. Why don’t you join me?
Join us to hear Rochelle Pennington, the author of The Christmas Tree Ship.
Pennington’s verbal presentation will focus on many of the little-known facts surrounding the story including the ship’s mysterious disappearance, clues washed ashore in the decades following the vessel’s demise, ghost ship sightings of the phantom schooner, and mysterious omens believed to have cursed the ship immediately before it set sail on its final voyage on November 22, 1912.
Pennington’s power-point presentation will include many of the century-old photographs of Captain Schuenemann, his family, and the ship. In addition, the author will have several artifacts along with her to share with the audience: an axe used to chop trees down, dishes, a spittoon, a clay pipe, an ornament carved from one of the first Christmas trees raised from the sunken ship in 1971 when the vessel was discovered, and an actual Christmas tree from the cargo. Underwater photos of the ship in its present state, with trees still visible in the cargo area, will be on display as well.
“Author Rochelle Pennington has written two books detailing one of the most well-known shipwrecks of the Great Lakes, Lake Michigan‘s Christmas Tree Ship, which delivered holiday evergreens to the citizens of Chicago each Chirstmas season before it was caught in the “Great Storm of 1912″ and subsequently went to the bottom of the lake fully loaded with trees.”
She will be with us at 2:00 pm on June 24, 2012 at the Museum to do a presentation. Pennington will also be signing books. Copies of both Rochelle’s books, The Christmas Tree Ship: The Story of Captain Santa and The Historic Christmas Tree Ship: A True Story of Faith, Hope and Love are available in our Museum store.
A massive wagon train, made up of 1,000 settlers and 1,000 head of cattle, sets off down the Oregon Trail from Independence, Missouri. Known as the “Great Emigration,” the expedition came two years after the first modest party of settlers made the long, overland journey to Oregon.After leaving Independence, the giant wagon train followed the Sante Fe Trail for some 40 miles and then turned northwest to the Platte River, which it followed along its northern route to Fort Laramie, Wyoming. From there, it traveled on to the Rocky Mountains, which it passed through by way of the broad, level South Pass that led to the basin of the Colorado River. The travelers then went southwest to Fort Bridger, northwest across a divide to Fort Hall on the Snake River, and on to Fort Boise, where they gained supplies for the difficult journey over the Blue Mountains and into Oregon. The Great Emigration finally arrived in October, completing the 2,000-mile journey from Independence in five months.In the next year, four more wagon trains made the journey, and in 1845 the number of emigrants who used the Oregon Trail exceeded 3,000. Travel along the trail gradually declined with the advent of the railroads, and the route was finally abandoned in the 1870s.
The current season of Springtime and it varied holidays that have themes of new beginnings, new life, freedom from old bondages and the potential for resurected aspirations provide the external prompts for each of us to self-reflect and re-work our life plans.
I’ve always found it easy to start my day healthy. Greek yogurt and fresh fruit are incredibly satisfying at 8 a.m., punctuated by a carefully crafted cup of black coffee that revs my brain. But by 8 p.m., everything changes. I’m a ravenous satyr, craving the flesh of fatty charred meats and the comforting toasty bite of calorie-laden IPAs. Melted cheese has a particular flare that would nauseate my 8-a.m. self, and the same could be said about anything fried or coated in buffalo sauce.
In my humble opinion, the story of St. Patrick is a story of a lost opportunity for the modern church. It begins like this…
1 I, Patrick, a sinner, a most simple countryman, the least of all the faithful and most contemptible to many, had for father the deacon Calpurnius, son of the late Potitus, a priest, of the settlement [vicus] of Bannavem Taburniae; he had a small villa nearby where I was taken captive. I was at that time about sixteen years of age. I did not, indeed, know the true God; and I was taken into captivity in Ireland with many thousands of people, according to our desserts, for quite drawn away from God, we did not keep his precepts, nor were we obedient to our priests who used to remind us of our salvation. And the Lord brought down on us the fury of his being and scattered us among many nations, even to the ends of the earth, where I, in my smallness, am now to be found among foreigners.
Gretchen Rubin again. This time on the topic of being an a$$…
We all see the world through our own eyes, and it can be hard to recognize how our words and actions appear to other people. One of the challenges of being a difficult person is realizing that you’re a difficult person. I’ve known many difficult people who, I suspect, have no idea that others find them difficult!
In his excellent book The No A****** Rule (I’m omitting the title not from prudery but from fear of spam-blockers), and also on his blog, Work Matters, Bob Sutton has a quiz to help people recognize if they are a*******.
I was inspired to adapt that material for this quiz. As you answer these questions, be brutally honest with yourself. Don’t make excuses for yourself or other people; just try to answer accurately. These questions apply to family members gathering for a holiday, or to co-workers, or to any group of people who are trying to get along with each other.
Go to the source if you want to read Gretchen’s quiz. Personally I was disappointed that she offers questions but no recommendations. Fortunately, one of her readers suggested this series of posts from writer Annie Zirkel. Annie says…
We come into contact with prickly people all the time. It might be a scowl, a frosty attitude or a touchy disposition. It might be the choice of words as in ‘What do you want?!’
Sometimes they serve us coffee. Sometimes they sit across from us at work or in committee meetings. Sometimes they live in our neighborhood or even worse! in our own homes.
And sometimes – more often then we’d like to admit – they are staring back at us in the mirror.
Me? I often ponder why society secretly venerates a**holes like Steve Jobs, Gregory House of House, MD, and Cal Lightman from ‘Lie to me‘ and why they are a source of entertainment for us. Personally I’m a recovering assaholic [got that word from Steve Jobs’ biography] – deep inside I know I am warm, loving and caring but for reasons I often don’t understand even my best intentions are frequently taken the wrong way. And the results are far from entertaining. Because Gretchen’s quiz got me thinking I’ll be digging into Annie’s series for insight. Join me if you’d like. I’ll report back on what I find…
We can draw a healthy line, a healthy boundary, between ourselves and our nuclear family. We can separate ourselves from their issues. Some of us may have family members who are addicted to alcohol and other drugs and who are not in recovery from their addiction. Some of us may have family members who have unresolved codependency issues. Family members may be addicted to misery, pain, suffering, martyrdom, and victimization. We may have family members who have unresolved abuse issues or unresolved family of origin issues. We may have family members who are addicted to work, eating, or sex. Our family may be completely enmeshed, or we may have a disconnected family in which the members have little contact. We may be like our family. We may love our family. But we are separate human beings with individual rights and issues. One of our primary rights is to begin feeling better and recovering, whether or not others in the family choose to do the same. We do not have to feel guilty about finding happiness and a life that works. And we do not have to take on our family’s issues as our own to be loyal and to show we love them. Often when we begin taking care of ourselves, family members will reverberate with overt and covert attempts to pull us back into the old system and roles. We do not have to go. Their attempts to pull us back are their issues. Taking care of ourselves and becoming healthy and happy does not mean we do not love them. It means we’re addressing our issues. We do not have to judge them because they have issues; nor do we have to allow them to do anything they would like to us just because they are family. We are free now, free to take care of ourselves with family members. Our freedom starts when we stop denying their issues, and politely, but assertively, hand their stuff back to them—where it belongs—and deal with our own issues. Today, I will separate myself from family members. I am a separate human being, even though I belong to a unit called a family. I have a right to my own issues and growth; my family members have a right to their issues and a right to choose where and when they will deal with these issues. I can learn to detach in love from my family members and their issues. I am willing to work through all necessary feelings in order to accomplish this.
Mastin Kipp of The Daily Love shares this thought on letting go of 2011…
I love this time of year. This post-Holiday, pre-New Year time. It’s a quiet time, a reflective time when the hustle of the Holidays is winding down and the dawn of a New Year is imminent.
Now, it’s true that we can make a change at any time; it doesn’t take a New Year to have to change – but with a New Year at hand, our minds naturally reflect on where we were a year ago and where we want to be a year from now! And then we think about the things we want to do to change our life circumstance – we call these resolutions. We can resolve to change at any time, but I love this time of year because there is a momentum, a wave, a global event that we can use and harness it’s power.
Tomorrow I will write about how to change and what to do if you want to change, but I want to leave that for tomorrow. Today, on the last day of the year, I just want to encourage us all to look back at the year and reflect on it, learn from it, and let it go.
What did you learn this year? What mistakes did you make? What stories did you create about what’s possible for you? What stories did you create about what’s impossible for you? This time last year, were there changes that you wanted to make, but didn’t? Why not? Did you love yourself just a little bit more this year than you did last year? What’s one habit that you DON’T want to bring into 2012? Can today be the LAST DAY of that habit? When would now be a good time to let it go?
We are all moving ahead into 2012 – it’s close enough. But for this moment, let us think back about the year, let us reflect, take a moment to pause and really give 2011 a conscious goodbye – and with it – the habits, stories and beliefs that should stay with it. The first step to creating something new is letting go of what no longer serves you. What no longer serves you?
This is what I mean when I Tweet that “Letting go is the best way to hold on”. We try to control, we agonize over feeling powerless – but all that stress, anxiety and worry leaves us when we remember that we are truly guided by The Uni-verse. When you let go of what pains you, of what no longer serves you, you step into and tap into an energy that we do not still understand – and probably won’t ever truly fully comprehend. But this Energy, this Force, this Creative Uni-verse is guiding us ever so compassionately, ever so diligently, ever so mindfully to a greater and greater outcome. When we let go of the negatives, we leave room for even more awesomeness to enter.
When we see that EVERYTHING is happening FOR US and never TO US, we see the tremendous amount of Grace that our lives are filled with and we can nestle into that knowing that – indeed, every-little-thing-is-gunna-be-alright – and even better than that, everything is PERFECT as it is! So for today, leave the goal setting aside, leave the achieving at the door and just reflect – reflect on this year that is gone.
What can you let go of? What would feel SO GREAT to be free of? What are you most terrified to admit? Then – step into it and let it go!
Now today is Christmas – some of you have already opened your presents, others of you are just getting around to it and yet still some of you haven’t even woken up yet. And then many of you are from other walks of life and so today isn’t as meaningful to you as say others days this month. To all humans, I say – HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
This time of year, no matter what faith system, or lack thereof we may be a part of – we all have one thing in common – this time of year above all else is about LOVE. Loving our Creator, loving ourselves and loving our friends, families and strangers.
Today – and the Holidays (and hopefully EVERY DAY) is a reminder to BE the presence of LOVE on the planet. That is what life is about. We come together this time of year because we truly can’t make it alone.
I think the greatest gift we can give ourselves and others is the gift of Love. Not in some sappy romantic comedy kind of way, no. In a real kind of way. Love isn’t Love if it’s not Love in action. By Loving ourselves, we let others off the hook. We are no longer trading for Love – that is to say, you do “THIS” for me and then I’ll do “THAT” for you. That isn’t Love – that’s horse-trading. Many times though, we have conditional Love because we do not feel as if our needs are going to be met. But when we accept the Love of The Uni-verse in our lives and then express that Love to ourselves, get busy being of service to others and adding value to their lives with our creative gifts, then all of a sudden we have MORE than enough LOVE to give away.
And then, we let other people off the hook for our own happiness – they feel that and we begin to lighten each other’s loads. When we take responsibility for our own happiness and choose to give Love away, we are giving the greatest gift that we could ever give. Because this is why we were born. The Uni-verse breathed life into our lungs because It gave us a gift to give to the world. When we live a life dedicated to being of service and giving that gift, we create miracles in our lives.
So perhaps today we can create a new habit that will come with us into the New Year – let us BE the presence of LOVE in our lives and in the world. Let’s take responsibility for our own happiness, no longer blame others and instead BRING what we feel is missing from life. Let us stop trying to get or take Love and instead set our aim on how we can serve and express our gifts to the world, so that we make the world a better place for someone else – and in doing so we will also be making the world a better place for ourselves.
Let us discover what makes us happy, what makes us come alive and then go out and DO it so we can show up to those we LOVE FULL-FILLED and pour that Love on to them. Let’s take the conditions off of our Love and instead give it away freely, knowing that we only get to keep what we give away, anyways.
May today, this Holiday Season and the New Year bring you Love, bring you JOY and bring you a sense of clarity for what makes you happy – and may you have the courage to walk out your Faith and truly be the presence of Love on this planet – you are the happiness you’ve been looking for.
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Holidays and Namaste!
Some of you may not know what the word Namaste means or just know it as the salutation yogi’s use to greet each other and when saying goodbye, and perhaps you are wondering what it has to do with the holidays. The meaning of the word Namaste encompasses the spirit of the holiday season, no matter what religion we may or may not practice- The divine, spirit or light in me recognizes the same in you; we are one. The gesture for Namaste is two hands placed together at the heart as we bow the head to the heart, to Love.
The holidays are a time of year when we are collectively vibrating at a higher level because at the heart of all of the presents, holiday parties and festivities lies life’s greatest healer- Love! It truly is a wonderful time of year. Peace, kindness, joy, generosity, appreciation and togetherness are overflowing…
Could you imagine if the spirit of this magical season lasted all year? I’m convinced we would all be much happier and healthier (minus the holiday eating and drinking of course).
Make it a point to connect with people you love regularly, even if you are busy. Life will always be busy but Love isn’t a luxury; it’s a necessity and time is one thing that is so easily wasted yet impossible to get back.
Show your appreciation of the people in your world all year. Tell them, write it in a card, make them a meal or give them a small token of appreciation. Sometimes people don’t know how special they are to you until you let them know. Why wait all year to do so?
Spread the holiday cheer all year. The holidays are a time when most people’s level of friendliness goes up a notch and maybe they smile and chat more than usual. Keep smiling!
Sometimes, the holidays are filled with the joy we associate with that time of year. The season flows. Magic is in the air. Sometimes, the holidays can be difficult and lonely. Here are some ideas I’ve learned through personal experience, and practice, to help us get through difficult holidays: Deal with feelings, but try not to dwell unduly on them. Put the holidays in perspective: A holiday is one day out of 365. We can get through any 24-hour period. Get through the day, but be aware that there may be a post-holiday backlash. Sometimes, if we use our survival behaviors to get through the day, the feelings will catch up to us the next day. Deal with them too. Get back on track as quickly as possible. Find and cherish the love that’s available, even if it’s not exactly what we want. Is there someone we can give love to and receive love from? Recovering friends? Is there a family who would enjoy sharing their holiday with us? Don’t be a martyr; go. There may be those who would appreciate our offer to share our day with them. We are not in the minority if we find ourselves experiencing a less-than-ideal holiday. How easy, but untrue, to tell ourselves the rest of the world is experiencing the perfect holiday, and we’re alone in conflict. We can create our own holiday agenda. Buy yourself a present. Find someone to whom you you can give. Unleash your loving, nurturing self and give in to the holiday spirit. Maybe past holidays haven’t been terrific. Maybe this year wasn’t terrific. But next year can be better, and the next a little better. Work toward a better life—one that meets your needs. Before long, you’ll have it.
God, help me enjoy and cherish this holiday. If my situation is less than ideal, help me take what’s good and let go of the rest.
Here in the midst of the holiday season, we’re so busy attending to others’ needs that it is all too easy to forget to take care of ourselves. While buying presents, cooking, and hosting our families and friends, we often push aside our own needs and desires. While the holidays are a wonderful time to be together with our loved ones, they can also be extremely busy and sometimes emotionally fraught, making the expression of self-love all the more important.
Forgetting to love ourselves can lead to seasonal blues, stress and anxiety. And while we may think we’re helping others, we are actually setting a negative example, especially for the children in our lives. Watching mom, uncle or grandma neglect him or herself is not a model we want our children to emulate.
Self-love does not, however, have to be left out of the holidays. I’m delighted to share these tips to help you navigate the holiday season in a way that is loving and considerate of yourself. I’ve developed these techniques through my own experiences and my work as a Body Image mentor and life coach. Following this advice helps my students remain calm and focused during the holidays.
The guys over at the Minimalists have this thought to share:
Jeff Bullas has some interesting thoughts on how to become a better blogger:
In my humble opinion, the story of St. Patrick is a story of a lost opportunity for the modern church. It begins like this…
Gretchen Rubin again. This time on the topic of being an a$$…(I’m omitting the title not from prudery but from fear of spam-blockers), and also on his blog, Work Matters, Bob Sutton has a quiz to help people recognize if they are a*******.
More healthy thinking from Melody Beattie…Here in the midst of the holiday season, we’re so busy attending to others’ needs that it is all too easy to forget to take care of ourselves. While buying presents, cooking, and hosting our families and friends, we often push aside our own needs and desires. While the holidays are a wonderful time to be together with our loved ones, they can also be extremely busy and sometimes emotionally fraught, making the expression of self-love all the more important.
Bright, shiny objects! 
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