Girls, you can say what you want about the Miss America Pageant, but it is helping Miss Virginia Caressa Cameron with her educational opportunities. I don’t know how much $50,000.00 is going to put a dent in the high cost of higher education, but at least it will help!

While all of us can’t be Miss America, we can feel like her when we put our health at the top of our to do list. We get so busy, especially if we are moms, taking care of others in our lives. This is a great privilege, but it also takes a lot from us.

I know this is advice that we have all heard a million times, but it is more difficult to implement than it is to simply agree with.  But we have to get to the point where we actually believe it, deep down, rather than just intellectually.

We also have to have a plan. One of my favorite, much used sayings is “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” This is so true, especially in my life. If I don’t have a plan, written down, I’ll spin my wheels all day long and accomplish little.

So with that thought in mind, the following ideas will help you get started on your “life improvement” plan.

1.  Start adding vegetables and fruits to each and every meal.  Eat them first, before you consume anything else.  By doing this, you will easily begin the process of eating a healthier diet.

2.  For each non-water beverage you consume, add a glass of water. If you hate the taste of water, add a lemon or lime to it, and you will gradually grow to crave it.

3.  Start a journal. You can speak into a recorder, blog online, or the old fashioned way, pen and paper. It doesn’t have to be every day, but be consistent. You will be surprised at what happens.

That’s it. Three simple things to get you started. You can add more if you like, but I prefer to keep it simple.

Times like these call for…no, not booze…TOONS!  Nothing beats sitting in front of the tube, soda in one hand, remote in the other, and letting “Spongebob” or “Courage The Cowardly Dog” mesmerize you into total relaxation. 

There is something magical afoot when “The Penguins of Madagascar” are executing their covert activities either on on behalf of another animal at the zoo, or simply to feed their own curiosity.

I know that to some people this might seem like a waste of time, but I beg to differ. Which is worse, watching politicians’ dribble on C-Span, or laughing at the antics of your favorite cartoon character?

It might seem that I only enjoy the most recent cartoons, however you would be mistaken in that conclusion. (A conclusion, which yes, I know I’ve led you to by my diatribe thus far, but will soon be corrected)

The stupid Wile E. Coyote never won against that annoying little RoadRunner, and Bugs was much smarter than a rabbit should be.

Now if only I could watch C-Span and choose what cartoon characters I wanted my representatives to reflect…hmmmm!  I think that most, if not all of them, would make good “Porky Pigs!” LOL

Or maybe it will be Dune! Those blue eyes were so cool, not to mention riding the worms!  And who could forget the original “Twilight Zone” series. I don’t know anyone in my age bracket (who at least saw this series) who doesn’t remember the one about Timmy (I think that was his name) who had the mental ability to put anyone anywhere in the universe just by thinking about it! He could even put you on television in a cartoon and watch you get killed while laughing about it.

Another one, that I don’t recall much of, but I know that my mom watched it, was “Dark Towers.“  I love the internet, you can even see some of the old episodes online!

Lost In Space still runs through my mind; who can forget Jonathan Harris, the outcast Dr. Smith, who caused trouble every single episode!  Such a pansy! tee-hee!

I could go on and on…but I think you get the picture! LOL (yes, pun intended!)

For those among the uninitiated (i.e. folks way younger than me), Pong was one of the earliest arcade video games. I’m sure that it would bore the typical game fanatic to tears, however some might find it quaint enough to at least see what it was all about!

The goal of the game was to defeat an opponent, whether it was the computer or another player. High score wins. Simple enough, but still…it was a lot of fun!  To get the full impact of the visual bonanza you will encounter when you see Pong, you will first have to imagine that you have never seen a video game before…ever.

Next, get a copy of the game to play on your computer, or go to a flea market, or check online to see if you can get an original Atari player, as well as the game. (Good luck!)

The maker of the game, Atari, is credited with beginning the home video craze. I concur with that statement completely!

Atari holds a nostalgic place in my heart, and they always will. I can remember spending a roll of quarters (daddy’s girl!) at the local arcade playing Centipede (love it!) and the ultimate battle in space “Asteroids!”

Now don’t get me wrong, the games out now are awesome, but just like an old song might remind you of a happy time in your life, so can a video game!

Information overload is a real condition that affects many people today. The greatest sufferers of course, are those in the industrialized world. Our kids look at us like we’re nuts when we tell them to look it up in the yellow pages! They say, “No, Mom, forget it. I’ll look it up online,” as they reach for their cell phone!

It’s no wonder that we can sometimes feel lost in a sea of data, but it doesn’t have to be that way at all. You can’t control the billboards along the highway, but you can control your radio, your computer, your television, and your cell phone.

It might take an effort, because we seem to be indoctrinated to the mistaken notion that we MUST know, and if we don’t, then somehow we’re not “WITH IT” or that we’re irrelevant. 

Go ahead, and take a day off from the madness around you. Go “radio silent” on everything you can for at least one day, and see if your mind is not clearer, and less tangled with all the crap the world’s gonna throw at you.

Believe that the world will go on spinning if you are the last to find out about the latest celebrity break-up, I promise it will!

Worlds have been conquered, or at least countries have, by individuals with self control, so why can’t you conquer your own little corner of it?  You can! When you really stop and think about it, everyone has self discipline in some measure or another. You might have no problem passing up on dessert after dinner, but you could melt at the thought of one more beer, or cigarette, or whatever.

Your will power is an inner strength that allows you to overcome the temptation to do something you either ought not, or don’t want to do. Self discipline, combined with will power, gives you the stamina, or “staying strength” to get you through the times that your will power might weaken. It’s that commitment you make to achieving your goal that shows an exercise of self discipline.

You can perform mental exercises to increase your self discipline. Practice being mindful of what you say and do. Step outside of your comfort zone and do something that is unlike you, or that you don’t want to do normally because of laziness, weakness, shyness, etc. When you do something out of the ordinary, and that you don’t particularly like to do, you are training your mind to be obedient to your will.

Change is never easy, but if you continue doing the same things that you are doing now, you can be certain that you will be on the same road for the rest of your life. If you want to see changes, then do something different. When you control your mind, you control your thoughts, your attitudes, etc.  It is certain that when you change the way you think, you will change your life.

One of my favorite ones of all times, is the one for milk.  It shows a guy who needs milk for his cereal, however they are out of it. His child is in her highchair with a bottle in her mouth, and a cat is drinking out of it’s dish.  He looks at the kid, who looks back at him and the expression on her face is “no way, you can’t have my milk.”  Next thing, the screen goes black, and you hear a cat meow, and when the lights come back up, the cat no longer has her milk! 

And remember, “where’s the beef?”  I’m laughing right now thinking about it.

The ‘net has a great number of sites dedicated to old television commercials  The following links are but a small sampling of the great nostalgia you can immerse yourself into whenever the urge strikes!

retrojunk.com

theoldcomputer.com

old-tv-ads.com

and for that special commercial, the one that sticks most deeply into your memory, there’s “videomercials”, which are ads that can be downloaded in a WAV format or ordered by DVD or VHS.

If nothing else, you can annoy your kids and perhaps even your spouse, by using your DVD or VHS player, and rigging it to start an old commercial when they turn it on!  Imagine the look on your spouse’s face to see a commercial from when you were kids!  Gotta love it!

Twitter is a tool that is based upon the adage “keep it short, but sweet.”  With a limit of 140 characters per posting, there is no danger in getting caught up in your best friend’s drama by reading her 3 page letter explaining why her boyfriend is a jerk.  With Twitter, she can upload a link to a video of him eyeballing the waitress (using her cell phone of course), and send it to you. No explanation necessary. 

The median age of a twitter user is 31, with 35% of them living in urban areas.  Facebook is popular among businesses and political entities, as well as the younger crowd, with the median age being 26.

The median age of a Myspace user is 27, however linkedin draws crowds with the median age of 40.
People all over the world are getting in touch with long lost relatives, old schoolmates, and even celebrities by using these social media outlets.

If you have not had a chance, or have been avoiding getting caught up in the social media “craze”, you owe it to yourself to at least check out what they have to offer.  You might be surprised at who you find!