Lesson 20

So apparently "floaters" is not the official term for the little particles you see sometimes. They are actually shadows of tissue and protein as they pass near the back of your eye. Here is a video explaining.
Until tomorrow...you can see clearly now.

Lesson 19

Today's lesson comes courtesy of my mom. (Thank you...love you!) I had no idea there was any use for avocado seeds other than sprouting a tree or keeping it whole in your avocado dish to prevent browning. Turns out I was wrong, it is edible! And loaded with good for you stuff!  This site has loads of details and ideas of how to incorporate it into your diet. I will have to start thinking twice about throwing away the seeds for reasons other than the garden I daydream about. I see a lot of guacamole in my future  ;)
Until tomorrow...Don't leave any scraps!

Lesson 18

Happy National Popcorn Day!
I love popcorn!  Just about any kind will please me, but I lean toward the sweet and salty varieties. In honor of it being popcorn day, I thought I would pick up a couple popcorn factoids.
"Popcorn has more protein than any other cereal grain. It also has more iron than eggs or roast beef. It has more fiber than pretzels or potato chips."
All those health benefits, I should pop me a bowl more often!
For more interesting popcorn facts head over here

My favorite way to pop up a snack is to take a brown lunch sack and put 1/4 cup of kernels in the bottom. Then I spray a bit of cooking spray and shake it up. At this point you can add seasoning of your choice, my favorite is Caribbean jerk spice blend. Fold the top of the bag over twice, shake, and microwave about 2 minutes or until the popping slows. ENJOY!

Until tomorrow....snack smart!

Lesson 17

For many of us, it is that time of year when it can be downright ugly outside. Here in Florida, there's  not a lot of what most people would call cold, but it has been cooler and we have rain year around.
I love wearing "Toms" shoes, but on a rainy day, they get wet and are miserable to have on the rest of the day. Today I learned an easy trick to keep any type of fabric shoe dry on a rainy day. I found two versions out there, but both had the same concept. You take either a piece of beeswax or a cheap tealight candle and vigorously rub the wax over the material until you have an even coating over the entire fabric area. Then you take your blow dryer and heat the shoe until the wax melts and is absorbed into the fabric. It's that easy, now water will bead up and run off instead of soaking through to your feet. I wonder which pair I will try this on first??? Until tomorrow....think warm thoughts!

Lesson 16

Today's lesson is short and sweet. We have all seen the many "Life Hacks" out there on just about every form of social media. Most of the time they are things I either find useless or not so special, but this one caught my eye today.
When making ice cream cones start by putting a marshmallow at the bottom. This way as the ice cream melts, it won't run right down to the bottom of the cone and drip all over the place. I imagine the marshmallow could also be a nice extra treat at the end and goes with so many flavors. I have a new use for my yummy homemade marshmallows. Until tomorrow...enjoy until the last drop!

Lesson 15

We have all heard about eating fruit for nutrients and how juicers will even throw in the skins for an extra punch of them. Well, I'm not into juicing, and I almost exclusively drink water, so I just leave the skins behind. Today I came across the idea of making sun tea out of pineapple skins! Apparently pineapple contains Bromelain, which helps with all sorts of things from protein digestion to possibly preventing blood clots. Sounds good and me, and I love pineapple, so why not. After a little Google digging, there are recipes for both iced and hot tea versions. Some are as simple as just the skins and core of the pineapple with water. Others have extra ingredients to add more nutrients or flavor from ginger to cinnamon to honey. This site has a couple of basic recipes to get you started. I think I will give it a try next time I cut up a pineapple.  Until tomorrow...Think outside The obvious.

Lesson 14

I apologize in advance for a sappy entry today.
I've frequently said that friends are the family you choose, but the last 36 hours has confirmed that they chose you too. Josh has unfortunately had to be in the hospital and we are still waiting to find out what is going on for sure. While all of our family back in Texas has been praying for him and supporting me, it isn't the same as having them here. But today, I learned that people here and even far away are thinking about us and wishing Josh the best. Not only have we had offers of "anything I can do to help" from our friends nearby and great support from my managers at work, but the online community that Josh is an active member of has shown how much they care. There have been moments I was almost brought to tears to see the tweets and thoughts for Josh today. To all of you have taken the time to pray for us and let Josh know he is loved, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. So, today I learned we aren't alone here, we have this giant extended family that is taking care of us from near and far. Until tomorrow...we are thinking about you too!

Lesson 13

As a member of the "cord cutter" generation, Netflix and Hulu are my cable substitutes of choice. One thing that has always been a head scratcher though, is how they calculate what to recommend after I finish watching a movie or TV series. Today that question was answered. It turns out they have a code for every genre a show could fall under and the recommend other shows in one of those genres. There are hundreds to choose from and they vary from vague to extremely detailed. Apparently each genre has a unique code that you can enter when you are searching for your next binge or movie of the moment.
Check out this article for a list of some of the most popular codes.  Until tomorrow...Crack the code!

Lesson 12

I just found out they are opening a vegan butcher shop in Minneapolis! It sounds crazy, I know, but as a vegetarian it sounds like a great escape. The Herbivorous Butcher will feature veggie friendly versions of everything you would find at a regular butcher or deli counter. I'm glad they are going to offer mail-order! Until tomorrow...

Lesson 11

We all have some sort of a bucket list in life, today I came across what I think would be the crown jewel in my mom's list. In Nairobi, there is a place called Giraffe Manor. It is a boutique hotel with amazing giraffes living all around it. They even peek their heads in on occasion. I think this would be an amazing experience for anyone, but I think my mom couldn't have dreamed up a more perfect escape. Check out this article from Country Living.

Lesson 10

Today's lesson again comes to you courtesy of Mental Floss, this time in website form. I innocently fell down the rabbit hole that is Facebook and stumbled into "10 Shocking Secrets of Flight Attendants". While the list had many little tidbits of information I had no idea about, I grew a little more appreciation for the polite faces greeting me as I board.
Apparently being a flight attendant is not as lucrative as one might think, starting salary is only around $18k a year. But what I found most shocking is that they only get paid their regular pay when they are considered "in flight". So, unless the door is closed and the plane is moving, they are only getting an expense allowance of $1.50/hr. I know I would be tempted to let rude passengers figure out what to do with their oversized carry-on on their own! So next time you are greeted by that smiling face by the door at the end of the jet way, smile back, it's the least you can do in return. Until tomorrow...have a nice flight!

Lesson 9

While skimming Facebook today, I came across an interesting article my friend Brandi Holcomb shared. Apparently Legos have now become a better investment than gold! Since the year 2000, the average Lego set has increased in value by 12% while gold has only increased 9%. This is just for your average set, the value increase for the unique, limited edition, and retired sets have seen astronomical increases. Time to clean out those toy boxes and collect all the teeny tiny pieces, it could be a nice nest egg ;)
For more details check out Babble
"The more you know" the less Legos you may throw away!

Lesson 8

There is a great program on Netflix these days called "How We Got To Now". Each episode focuses on one thing we take for granted in our modern lives and all the intricacies of how that thing evolved over time to become what it is now. A fun thing that I learned watching is that the island of Murano, Italy is famous for its glass for good reason. You see, originally the glass makers lived throughout Venice, but people feared the stoves would lead to the city burning down. So they forced them to all move to and stay on the island of Murano. That way the fires they believed would be inevitable would be contained. One of the residents changed glass forever by discovering the chemical additive that made glass clear and coined it "cristalo". Windows would not be the same without a few people afraid of fire.
"The more you know"

Lesson 7

Today's lesson comes courtesy of Jason Goldtrap, everyone's favorite neighbor at work. A few days ago, Jason posted a story of all the lesser known deaths of 2015. I briefly glanced at it between calls, and thought what a neat thing to create. Today he mentioned that one of the ones on the list was Lillian Vernon, definitely a name that rang a bell with me. I have many memories of thumbing through her catalogs of all sorts of customizable children's items. What I didn't know about Lillian Vernon, was that not only did she start as a very small business out of her garage and grow to be a household name, but her company was the first publicly traded company on the American stock exchange to be founded by a woman. I am always pleasantly surprised to learn about the women that changed history and paved to way for the success of anyone with a dream and dedication.  Until tomorrow...just think "The More You Know"

Lesson 6

Hi everyone! Today in among my 50+ calls from DVC members, I actually got to talk with another anosmic. For those of you scratching your head right now, that means you have no sense of smell, as I have not for the last 5 years. I don't know how we found we had that in common, but she lost hers due to multiple sinus surgeries, not all of which were successful. I had done a lot of reading shortly after losing mine, so I suggested to her one of the books I enjoyed; Season to Taste by Molly Birnbaum. My member then asked if I thought I would get mine back, and I immediately answered no. Then came the part that made me curious. She said that her doctors have told her that the smell neuron signals come from two places, one in the back of the nose the other in the brain, and that the ones in her nose look to be fine. This gives her hope that one day hers will come back.
After further research, I found that while there is the olfactory epithelium located at the back of the nose, there are multiple places the message could get lost after it leaves there. The first stop for all of them is the actual olfactory bulb, then on to the piriform cortex for identification, and on to the thalamus to be relayed to the brain. This is where it splits off to go to the orbitofrontal cortex to be integrated into taste information, and to the amygdala and hippocampus to trigger if you have memories related to this smell. Sounds like a long and winding road to me. Amazing how it all comes together in split seconds.
If you are wondering what the photo above is, the green parts at the bottom are odor sensing cells and the orange circles at the top are the olfactory bulb. It makes me wonder just where my disconnection is.
Until tomorrow...keep sniffing out new things!

If you would like more detailed info on this visit Making Sense of Scents: Smell and the Brain

Lesson 5

Full disclosure, I didn't take the video above today, but I did learn a little bit more about what is in it today. As many of you know, I moved to Florida chasing my love of Disney and have ended up working for Disney Vacation Club. I still have those moments that everything is magical and one of those has been standing in the the Osborne Spectacle of Dancing Lights. Sadly, they announced that this year would be the 20th and final year for this amazing Christmas light display. It was scheduled for them to dance for the last time this last Sunday, so we went for a farewell visit on Saturday night.

While standing near the globe at the far end of the street, I looked up and saw that one of the angels danced a little differently. While all the other angels fluttered with wings going opposing directions, this one always shifted the same direction. Now, I don't know if this is on purpose or just by fault that this angel is unique, but it seemed special to me.
Getting to what I learned today. It turns out there is another special angel in the display, a solid white one. This angel supposedly was added to the collection in 2011 after Jennings Osborne passed away and is meant to stand as a memory of him and all the good things he did for others.

As a special surprise, the Osborne Lights have been extended to stay on until tomorrow night, I am hoping to get a chance to visit one last time and check in on these special angels. Until tomorrow...sparkle on!

P.S. if the video above is not working, I apologize, here is a link to it on YouTube Osborne Lights Angels

Lesson 4

While on a short reprieve at work today (who knew January was the official vacation booking month of the year), I was thumbing through an issue of Mental_Floss magazine. Being how fleeting of a moment it was, I didn't make it far, and I have this strange habit of thumbing through magazines, but I stumbled upon a blip about an artist who took a literal translation artistically.
In German, the word for light bulb is Gluhbirne, which literally translates to glow pear in English. The artist took this meaning and tested it. They placed a light source inside of a pear and was enthralled with all the texture the was brought out my the light shining through. Unsurprisingly, a glowing pear looks just like a light bulb, those Germans must be onto something. After the pear, they continued to light up the inside of many other fruits and loved the intensity the light gave the colors of the fruit.  I don't know about you, but it is incredibly tempting to stick a flashlight in my next afternoon snack just to see what would happen.
I wonder if tomorrow a pear will flick on above my head...lol...until tomorrow keep your thinking caps on.

Lesson 3

Driving down the highway today, Josh brings up a rap song from the late 80's and acts appalled that I don't know what song he is talking about. Josh being Josh, he pulls up the song and plays it.  I still had no recollection of it, so he starts reading something about it to me.  I can't remember what he was saying, but he did read the word "interpolated". I immediately asked what that meant. So, for today's thing I learned, it is what is interpolation. 

Since the context we stumbled upon the word is music, I focused on learning that definition. Basically interpolation is when a piece of a song has not been approved to be part of a later recorded song, so the new artist simply uses the melody from the prior song, but strictly in his or her own voice. A very common pair of songs that this is prominent in is "Ghetto Superstar" using the melody from "Islands in the Stream". Take a peek over here for more info https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interpolation_(music)

That's all for today...keep on learning!

Lesson 2

Days off are not always the most fruitful in the knowledge department. An old friend of mine from my life of being a hairstylist shared a post on Facebook today that caught my interest. "They psychological effects of dying your hair" from rebelcircus.com had a list of things that keep you addicted to coloring your hair. The point I already knew was that it makes you feel sexy. What I didn't know was "The Nottingham Trent University study also found that, in addition to confidence, women who dye their hair are also more impulsive, sexually exciting, rebellious, creative, attractive and able to deal with criticism."

So next time someone questions why you spend good money getting your hair colored...tell them it's and investment in you, it been proven ;)

Until tomorrow...goodnight!

Lesson 1

Inspiration can come from many different places. One of mine is a YouTube channel "Smarter everyday." They posted a video about astronauts and how they have created ways to exercise in space. Since there is no gravity, they are subject to muscle mass and bone density loss at rapid pace. While this is interesting and you see how they have created an exercise machine that uses a vacuum piston system to simulate weight, I was most intrigued by how the body loses the bone density. You see, my family has a history of osteoporosis, so I new the affects of bone density loss, but never knew exactly how it happened. Come to find out, the body actually has to excrete the calcium.  Our body can excrete in lots of different ways, but in this case it is through urination. Long story short, if you aren't making sure your body has what it needs to maintain strong bones (calcium, minerals, and bone bearing exercise etc. ) you are literally peeing away your bones...shocking!

Definitely something I didn't know before today. The video has lots of interesting material, you should check it out: https://youtu.be/05oOst9kZXQ

We shall see what tomorrow brings...excited to share!

So...what are we doing here?

We all grew up hearing a plethora of old sayings. The one that I recall most often is "You learn something new everyday." This year I have decided to make note of those things everyday. So, everyday I will chronicle that little (or big) thing that I learned. My hope is that it will be natural and simple, but I promise that if I get to the end of the day and haven't learned something in passing, I will make an effort to learn something. Some days may be more exciting than others, but I am looking forward to being able to look back and see how much I grow.  Thank you for following me on this journey, hope it's a great ride!