Ideas

Leap Day: Clocks, Birthdays, and Inspiration

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I grew up in Indiana, where for most of my life we did not change our clocks during Daylight Savings Time. When I went off to school (boarding high school) and then college, I lived in states that observed Daylight Savings and you changed your clocks. It was always so confusing to me (and still is). Since I lived over half of my life in Indiana, NOT changing my clock is what makes sense to me. Each year when it is that time of year to change the clock, I have to ask my husband, okay we spring forward so are we gaining an hour or losing it? I know if I actually used my brain I could figure it out on my own, but it always feels unnatural to me. I think it is always harder for me to process because deep down I always ask myself, is this really necessary? It also shows what gets ingrained in us during our primitive years!

Which leads me to Leap Year. I have to say that as I thought about it, I could not remember what Leap Year/Leap Day was all about! Why do we have this random extra day every four years? So I did what most people probably do in these cases. I Googled it. Not at all what I was expecting. Years divisible by four, more revolutions around the sun, blah, blah, blah.

The bigger question to me is: What do people do that are born on February 29? Do they celebrate their birthday on February 28 or March 1? Or are they just much younger than the rest of us?! What an odd situation to be in. I have a friend who is a firefighter. She worked a 24 hour shift yesterday and is working another 8 hours today (for a total of 32 hours in a row) so that their rotating 24 hour work/shift schedules are not off for the year. The way their shifts work, it means they can know today if they will have to work on Christmas day in 2020. So Leap Year impacts their schedule of holidays. Their solution: each of the three shifts work 8 hours today. Fascinating! The work life disruptions of Leap Year.

Well I learned something today. I leave you with a short and inspiring blog from Seth Godin. You have to click the link to be inspired.

Happy Leap Day!

Dan’s Coffee Run

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Thank you, Travis Thomas, who recently launched: 30 Days of Yes.  Be sure to check his site out, his new session of 30 Days of Yes starts on March 1, 2012. Travis recently blogged about Dan’s Coffee Run, and I could not resist sharing it further. Just to entice you a bit to click the link (and read about Dan), it involves coffee and a cancer ward. His story made me think about all I could be doing (and am not) and inspired me with curiosity and gratitude for what others may be doing in my community. The guy in line next to you at the grocery store could be a “Dan.” Your co-worker, the one that you have sat next to for years, might be a “Dan.” Are you, yourself, a “Dan?”

It made me think about the different blogs and books that are year long adventures in Random Acts of Kindness. Some blogs set out to do a random act each day for a year, or each day for a month, etc. Whatever way you slice it, it seems the best path to start is to make a conscious acknowledgement in thought (or write it down!) that you are going to do x, y, or z, within a specific time period. I imagine tracking it helps folks know if they are staying in line with their goals.

Today I watched this video and it inspired me. If you do not want to watch the entire video go to 11:10 and watch to the end of the video. Shawn Achor talks about how doing something for 2 minutes a day for 21 days rewires our brains to be more optimistic.

After reading more about Dan and listening to Shawn, are you inspired to do something? I am. Just need to decide what! Any ideas for me?

Need Inspiration: How do you find good books?

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I am a little out of it today, and in need of some inspiration. I often find my inspiration from the books I read. Whether it is the story line, or just how amazing the author is at synthesizing words together in such clever ways. It made me start to think about how we find out about the books we read. For those of you who know me (or if you have read past blog posts), you know I am an avid reader. If I am engrossed in a book, it can be hard to pry me away. I am also always on the look out for what books to add to my list. How do you find the books that interest you? How do you find out about new books that have just been published?

I subscribe to quite a few newsletters announcing new books that have just been published. I also follow a few of my favorite authors on Twitter, to find out what they are up to, what they are writing about, and what is inspiring them. Here are a list of the book newsletters I receive:

What blogs, websites, newsletters, etc do you know about where you find out about new books? I would love to know!

a snapshot of my book tower

Do you remember Mad Libs?

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Have you ever seen an “Ad Lib?” This week Title Nine inspired me. One of their emails had an Ad Lib (that is what I am calling it!) for your perfect day and they connected it to buying a bathing suit. It is February. I am not really thinking about buying a bathing suit at the moment, but nonetheless their ad sparked my thought. Gosh, it has been years since I have done a Mad Lib. Nostaglia of my childhood. Do kids even do those anymore? Maybe there is an app for that?!? Okay, so my research side went and looked just now. There are two apps called: Mad Lib in the iTunes store. One is free and the other is $3.99.

I wanted to grant your Friday with my own little Mad Lib for you, Tami style (I kept it easy so you will not have to think to hard, since it is Friday):

It is Friday and the weekend is almost here. Tonight you will [sassy verb] with your favorite [noun]. As you arrive at [favorite destination] you will slowly sit down, and say: “Ah–[adjective].” You are so excited it is the weekend, as you have so many plans for Saturday and Sunday. The first thing you are going to do on Saturday is [verb] with [favorite pet’s name] on a [noun]. Afterwards, you promised you would take care of your friend’s [happy noun]. On Sunday, you plan to excitedly [verb], but you are quickly apprehensive because your hair is [adjective]. You learn that the actual size of the [verb] you set out to accomplish is really much, much more [adjective] than you could have ever expected. Wow, do you have a [noun] to tell folks on Monday. Enjoy your weekend!

Thank you, Title Nine, for inspiring me with your Ad Lib ad. Very creative!

**Feel free to share your Mad Lib in the comments section to the left after you fill in all the verbs, nouns, etc.

Michelle Obama and Push-Ups

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So not to be completely vain, but I have to talk about: Push-ups. I have never liked doing them, never been good at them, never really had the upper body strength. I hated those fitness tests we had to do in elementary school where the gym teacher tracked our pull-ups, sit-ups, push-ups, etc. Ugh, so not fun. However, recently I saw Michelle Obama on Ellen DeGeneres, and they were competing to see who could do more push-ups. Then, I read this article from the Baltimore Sun about Michelle. I thought to myself: Michelle rocks. What first lady in history could do push-ups and would do them on national television? Some might think it is not the right way for her to show herself, but I think: DO NOT STOP – you are an inspiration! I love how the above article is written, and this quote specifically:

“She is breaking all kinds of molds. But there is something about a push-up. Do you remember an aging Jack Palance doing his one-armed version at the Oscars? America caught its breath. More than any other physical test or calisthenic, it is a quintessential American demonstration of strength. Even chin-ups — which are probably harder to do — are not the boot camp badge of honor that push-ups are. And America’s first lady can do a rack of them. We are in uncharted territory here, my friends.”

Michelle has been speaking around the country for the initiative she launched: Let’s Move. This is an initiative I can get behind. An initiative that fosters raising healthy children, teaching them healthy habits, becoming more physically active, and helping with access to healthy food options.

farmers' market artichokes - a healthy local option!

I am off to go do my daily push-ups. I think I am up to 10 a day (shhh…I am just starting out, it has been a long time since third grade gym class). Thank you for the inspiration, Michelle Obama!