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.
Saturday, January 23, 2016
Lesson 20
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
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!
Tuesday, January 19, 2016
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!
Monday, January 18, 2016
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!
Sunday, January 17, 2016
Lesson 16
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!
Saturday, January 16, 2016
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.
Thursday, January 14, 2016
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!
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
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!
Tuesday, January 12, 2016
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...
Monday, January 11, 2016
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.
Sunday, January 10, 2016
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!
Saturday, January 9, 2016
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!
Friday, January 8, 2016
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"
Thursday, January 7, 2016
Lesson 7
Wednesday, January 6, 2016
Lesson 6
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
Tuesday, January 5, 2016
Lesson 5
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.
Monday, January 4, 2016
Lesson 4
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.
Sunday, January 3, 2016
Lesson 3
Saturday, January 2, 2016
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!
Friday, January 1, 2016
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!