What about this?

A guessing game: I rarely leave home without it. It’s always in my back pocket. It’s loaded with information that I check during the day. What is it? No, it’s not my cell phone. It’s my pedometer! Thanks to a friend and neighbor, I walk over 10,000 steps almost every day. If not for her, I would be a slug. I used to hate waking up early and walking in the cold or in the rain, but now I actually enjoy it! Everything is always more enjoyable when you can share it with someone!

#1 – 100 Weight Loss Tips
Already blown one of your New Year’s resolutions? All is not lost. Every day of our lives, we have the opportunity to start over. If losing weight is something you’d like to accomplish, then read Dr. Oz’s 100 Weight Loss Tips and start implementing some of his tips today. His list is more helpful than most and I think you’ll agree that it’s never too late to start taking better care of yourself!

#2 – Yarn Bombs
This isn’t earth-shattering news, but I thought it was interesting. I recently read an article in my local newspaper about a yarn bombing that occurred at a newly renovated art museum in town. The museum directors weren’t upset and thought the ruffled strips of yarn wrapped around a pole were rather interesting. It seems some people are going to great lengths (sorry, I couldn’t help myself!) to leave their mark in the world. Yarn bombing is akin to graffiti. People sneak out at night and tag public objects, but in the case of yarn bombing, they leave their mark with knitted or crocheted yarn. Click here to see a few examples of it. Wikipedia states, “While other forms of graffiti may be expressive, decorative, territorial, socio-political commentary, advertising or vandalism, yarn bombing is almost exclusively about reclaiming and personalizing sterile or cold public places.”

#3 – Wax On, Wax Off
Over the holidays, the charming snowmen candles on my kitchen table fell out of favor when they dripped wax on my red tablecloth. With minimal fuss, my tablecloth is as good as new now. Here’s how I removed the wax:

A. Used ice to solidify wax.
B. Scraped off as much wax as possible using a dull knife.
C. Sandwiched wax spots between paper bags – one bag under and one bag over the spots.
D. Ironed spots on medium-high while periodically shifting to fresh areas on bags.
E. After melting off as much wax as possible with the iron, I pretreated the areas with a stain remover and sent it through a warm wash.

#4 – My 50 List
I read in an article that people live for an average of 28,616 days. I don’t have a “bucket list,” but after roughly calculating that I’ve used over 20,000 of my days already, I think it’s about time that I set some additional goals for myself. On the site my50 (Things to do in a lifetime) you are invited to create a list of things you’d like to do during your lifetime. You can add descriptions, pictures, deadlines, and achievements to your list. You can make your list public, to help inspire others, or you can keep it private. Thinking of my life in terms of days versus years, is a perspective that reminds me not to squander any of my time on this earth!

#5 – Recognizing Miracles
“People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don’t even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child — our own two eyes. All is a miracle.”
Thich Nhat Hanh