Depending on where you live you may look outside and notice the leaves just starting to turn. After a long blast of oppressive heat, some cool, crisp air is finally starting to seep in. You might have even felt a nip in the air late at night. That means the holidays are right around the corner, which naturally means holiday shopping. Of course, the holidays are going to be a little different this year. Here are a few things to keep in mind.
The beginning of a new school year used to be a pretty predictable ritual. Some parents would be sad to see their kids go, while for other parents, it was the most wonderful time of the year. There would be the usual back-to-school sales. Even places that didn’t sell school supplies or clothing would join in the fun. As a parent you would check out your kid(s) school, get to know their new teachers and work to get the kiddos back into the school routine. It was pretty much the same every year.
Until now.
The summer sun is baking everything in sight. You can watch the heat ripple and you wonder how everything doesn’t melt like one of those clocks in a Salvador Dali painting. Sounds like a great time for a swim. But while you’re imagining that cool water washing over you, it’s also a time to remember some basic swimming safety.
It’s been a tough 2020— so much so that many of us are wondering when things will ever get back to normal. Is there even a normal now? In this series, we’ll take a look at what comes next.
To kick things off, we’ll start with a happy topic. Vacation! It used to be that even if you weren’t going anywhere, chances are you’d have a friend or coworker that was. They’d come back with a nice tan and some great pictures to show off and be the envy of everyone— at least until the next person came back with tales of an even better vacation. Of course, things are a little different now. On the plus side, with the coronavirus having ravaged the travel industry, many hotels and airlines are offering some great deals to drum up interest. On the downside, some of the attractions you were hoping to see may have limited hours or be closed altogether.
Spending time outside and enjoying the fresh air is always a good idea for staying both mentally and physically healthy. But these days, with most of us still being sheltered-in-place, it’s more important than ever to make sure to get some green therapy. There are several health benefits that come along with spending time outside, including:
Gluten
Wanted: for not being trendy and for being in foods with too many carbohydrates
Description: a family of proteins found in grains like wheat, rye, spelt and barley.
Why has poor gluten been singled out for such disdain?
Remember your first date with your current partner? Maybe it was a great experience that makes you wistfully smile when you think back on it. Maybe it was an epic disaster straight out of a sitcom. However it worked out, it was interesting and fun (or at least memorable enough for a second try.) With that in mind, how long has it been since you had that sort of excitement? If you’re like many of us, you can probably think of a long list of work projects that are more recent than your last date. If we’re going to keep our lives balanced, it’s important to remember the excitement of that first date and try to recapture it once in a while. And what better way than a date night?
We're all aware of the tendency to overindulge our stomachs during the holidays, but what about the rest of the year, and especially now that we are quarantined? Is there something more we could be doing with our normal diet given our current circumstances?
Being home all day, whether it’s newly homeschooling or teleworking, who has time to cook? The good news is there are plenty of quick tricks you can adapt in the kitchen to have a healthy dinner ready in no time!
Laughing just feels good. When you laugh really hard, tears may fill your eyes and your stomach may hurt, but it stills feels good. Laughter is fun. Probably some of your best memories are of you and your friends or family laughing together. You always remember a funny movie or a really good joke that made you laugh out loud. Laughter brings joy to your life.
It seems only yesterday that you couldn’t wait until the next time you saw them. Couple time seemed to last forever and you built a treasure trove of shared memories. Then came the kids. You wouldn’t trade them for the world, but these days you grab couple time in between trips to soccer practice, washing clothes, checking homework and refereeing squabbles over who gets to use the tablet next.
Back before the coronavirus hit, when you wanted a night alone, whether for a romantic evening or just for some delightful peace and quiet, it was reasonably easy. You waited until the kids were at summer camp or at grandma’s or perhaps you followed a time-honored tradition of calling a babysitter. Unfortunately, it’s not quite so simple anymore. So how do you get that precious night off from parenting?
Six feet. It used to be that there wasn’t anything particularly remarkable about it. Sure, it was pretty common. It’s the height of the average refrigerator and the average Christmas tree. It’s also the length of a twin or full-sized mattress. If you like exercise, it’s the length of a yoga mat, and if you’re into animals, six feet is the typical height of the African white rhino.
Lately though, six feet has taken on additional significance, since it’s the distance we’re supposed to keep between us at all times. It’s safer, of course, but it sure can make it challenging to interact with people. In the next part of our series, we’ll look at ways to be sociable without risking life and limb, not to mention your health.
Do you think of yourself as an artist? When famed abstract artist Jackson Pollock referred to an artist, he meant anyone who is “building things.... some with a brush, some with a shovel, some choose a pen.” If your idea of creativity is building something from a watermelon, Pollock would have certainly approved!
Fruit carving, called Mukimono in Japan, has a long history, perhaps dating as far back as the 7th century AD. Watermelons have traditionally been carved into vessels to hold a candle, much like today's jack o' lanterns, or made into baskets to hold flowers or fruit, but mostly these fruits are carved to add an artistic presentation to the table.
“We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.”
~ George Bernard Shaw
Has that humdrum day got you down? Wanna spice up your life? Well, why not bring the Monopoly Man home with you for hours of real-estate mogul inspired adventures? And if the Monopoly Man isn’t your style, there’s Pac-man, the lovable Donkey Kong, competitive Scrabble, lawn bowling and more.
Staying healthy is more important than ever before as we try to slow the spread of COVID-19. We all know that eating healthy food and exercising is conducive to that goal, but did you know that meditation is, as well?
Research shows that meditation is beneficial for both physical and mental health, and may reduce blood pressure, pain, anxiety, depression and insomnia, as well as symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome and ulcerative colitis.
We live in a world of technological marvels that would have astounded our ancestors. It’s pretty amazing when you think about. We have access to more information on our phones that the ancients of Alexandria had in their entire library. Videos, news, sports and more are just a click away. We’re connected to our world in more ways than we ever thought possible.