20 Ways To Make Your Monday Awesome

Jul. 9, 2012

By Christopher Hudspeth 

I know what you’re thinking; Mondays are the worst.
Mondays are the oatmeal raisin cookies that you thought were chocolate chip.
Mondays are an emotional toe stub.
Mondays are the obnoxious Facebook requests that fill up your notifications.
Mondays are everything that butterflies, rainbows and happiness are not.
I don’t disagree, but here are some techniques and concepts that are capable of turning a commonly hated day, into an awesome (or very unique) one.

1. Say “yes” to everything, Jim Carrey (Yes Man) style, and see where you end up today. Supposedly the universe rewards you for saying “yes,” so give it a go.

2. If you insist on saying no, say it exactly like Jonah Hill does in this scene:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88mI7fGqQgk

3. Google “Dwarf Bunnies,” then try not to smile — or make any type of “Aww” sound, at how f-cking cute they are.

4. Go to a room by yourself, and dance to “Flashlight” by Parliament. I guarantee you’ll feel amazing afterward.

5. Order something off of the internet. Clothing, electronic device, edibles — it doesn’t matter what; it just provides you with something to look forward to in the mail, other than bills.

6. Splurge and have that delicious, overpriced liquid crack from Starbucks.

7. Work diligently so you won’t feel guilty about calling in sick on some other day this week.

8. Perform some method of exercise. Lift weights. Walk. Jog. Run. Do one of those instruction videos. You know — the ones where the trainer keeps telling you to “Push yourself” and “Dig deep,” while they infuriatingly half-ass their way through the routine.

9. Eat whatever the hell you want, regardless of its suggested serving size on the health pyramid.

10. If your room is a mess, don’t indulge your mild hoarding condition. Pick things up, lose the clutter and see how much happier you are after.

11. Download a large amount of new music. Fill your iPod and burn CDs, for your listening pleasure.

12. Take a nap. Make it anywhere between 45 minutes and three hours.

13. Make a conscious effort to smile. It’s a scientific fact that it can improve your mood.

14. Avoid negativity like it’s the plague. We all have a pessimistic friend or co-worker that we see daily. When their Debbie Downer side comes out, you walk away… or at least plug your ears and say, “LALALA” really loud, so you don’t have to hear it.

15. Acquire some cookies, and say “Nom, Nom, Nom” as you eat them. Seriously, somehow it makes them taste better. Even if they’re unexpectedly oatmeal raisin.

16. Take a few moments to count your blessings. Yes, the beginning of a workweek can feel tedious — but if you have a job be grateful. If you don’t, just appreciate what you do have, like the fact that you woke up today!

17. Give your parents a call. In all likelihood, they’d love to hear from you.

18. Watch or read something out of your element, and see if your views change. For example, the concept of Twilight might make you cringe, but give the books or movies a legitimate chance, then form an opinion.

19. Compliment or express your praise for a person you appreciate. As Kanye West said, “If you admire somebody you should go ahead and tell ‘em, people never get the flowers while they can still smell ‘em.”

20. Think of positive things at bedtime. No bills, no work, no stress. Only ponder on happy thoughts. There’s nothing worse than anxiety occupying your mind, right as you’re trying to go to sleep. Hakuna matata.

Read more at http://thoughtcatalog.com/2012/20-ways-to-make-your-monday-awesome

Door 76 : Japanese Style Bloody Mary

Japanese-style Bloody Mary

Ingredients

• handful icecubes
• 50ml/2fl oz sake
• 3mm/½in piece pickled ginger (available from specialist Japanese stores)
• pinch shichimi
• (available from specialist Japanese stores)
• ¼ tsp wasabi
• (a spicy Japanese condiment)
• 1½ tsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 100ml/3½fl oz tomato juice
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

 

 

Preparation method

1. Fill a tall glass with ice and add the sake.
2. Mix the pickled ginger, shichimi, wasabi and soy sauce in a small dish. Add this mixture to the glass.
3. Top up with the tomato juice. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve straightaway.

Ways to wake up feeling fresh in the morning

 Ways to Wake Up Feeling Fresh in the Morning

 

 

Okay so we know that waking up and doing things in the morning is the best way to achieve our goals in life. We can exercise, study, work, meditate, etc. much better than other times in the day. However, most of us feel pretty crap in the morning.

So what can we do about it? How can we wake up ready for work?

Ways to wake up feeling fresh in the morning

Here are some things you can do in the short term and the long term so that you will wake up fresh and energetic in the morning. I’ve divided them up into three sections; (1) the night before and (2) during the night and (3) the morning.

The Night Before

1. Avoid coffee, red wine and chocolate the night before
To wake up fresh you need to get a good sleep and one of the best ways to ruin a good sleep is to upset your gut. You really need to keep it happy during the night.

Coffee, red wine and chocolate have been scientifically shown to disturb your sleep more than any other food. They upset your intestines in such a way that you will wake up constantly or have a very light sleep that doesn’t re charge you at all. Try not to have these things after lunch time.

2. Go to bed happy with your partner
One of the best ways to get a terrible sleep is to go to bed before you solve a problem with your partner. In my relationship I never let the sun set on an argument, even if I have to compromise a little bit on my own ego.
Before you go to bed make sure your partner is happy (as much as you can) and make sure that you are happy with them. It is also one of the best things you can do for your relationship, let alone your sleep.

3. Meditate, pray and calm down before going to bed
Every night before I go to bed I do about 30 minutes to an hour of meditation. This is amazing as it allows you to throw out all the days worries and forget about the worries of tomorrow. The future cannot be changed while you are asleep and the past is gone so there is no point losing sleep over it! Let it go.
Meditate or pray or do whatever you do. Simply sitting there and watching your breath is a great way to prepare yourself for a nice deep sleep. Check out this post if you want to learn to do a quick little stress relieving meditation.

4. Don’t eat dinner right before bed
A lot of people run home after work, cook up some dinner and then eat it and go to bed. This is a bad idea. The process of digestion takes a while and you do not want to be laying down right after you ate a big meal. Try and leave a few hours in between your bedtime and your dinner and see how you feel the next day.

5. Organize your room according to Feng Shui principles
I know a lot of you probably think that Feng Shui is a load of bull but just give me a second to convince you that it actually has some “western logic” behind it.
For those of you who don’t know Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese art of setting up your home in a way that balances the energies and vibes by putting furniture in certain “hot spots”.
The bedroom is particularly important and I have found that since I arranged my room according to Feng Shui principles I have had a much more “rested” sleep. In particular the placement of your bed is important. Feng Shui tells us that you should sleep where you can see the door but not be in he direct path of the door opening. This helps us sleep with a sense of security. I can see the practical reason for this. You can get some more bedroom Feng Shui tips here.

6. Go to the toilet
Even if you do not need to go to the toilet before bed you should still have a go and squeeze out whatever you can. The reason for this is that the kidneys will continue to work during the night and by the morning your bladder will be nice and full. If your bladder fills up early you might feel the need to go during the night and this cuts out valuable time from your sleep.
You might think that sleeping is about the total time spent asleep but this is incorrect. It is important to stay asleep without breaking it because it takes some hours to get into the “zone” where you are truly at rest. A toilet break interrupts this zone.

During the Night

7. Not too hot, not too cold
Another sleep related tip: your sleep is greatly affected by the how hot or cold you are during the night. It is important to get a good balance as this keep your energies calm and stops them from spiking.
Try and find a balance between clothes and bed covers. For example, I like to sleep without any clothes but with a heavy blanket. This keeps my temperature pretty consistent.

8. Keep the window open
One of the best things you can do for your health in general and your sleep in specific is to keep your window slightly open during the night. This has two benefits.

Firstly, the gap in the window will allow poisonous carbon dioxide to float away. The reason the human body breathes out is because carbon dioxide is poisonous. And during the night you take a heck of a lot of breaths and your room fills up with this gas. Let it out the window.
The second reason is that you need to allow new oxygen to float in. This might also help you regulate the temperature of the room.

9. Keep your sleep consistent
People think that you MUST have eight hours sleep to get enough.
Not true.
It is more important to go to bed at the same time and wake up at the same time everyday. Not everyone needs eight hours. In fact, if I get eight hours sleep I usually feel tired and groggy for the entire day. Six to seven hours is about right for me.
Start by setting your bedtime at the same time each night. Forget what is on the television and just go to bed at say 11pm each night. After a while start setting your alarm for the same time each day; even on weekends. If you don’t start waking up fresher and happier each morning I will write you a personal apology.

10. Cut out noise, it’s actually killing you!
I recently read in New Scientist Magazine that your life is actually being shortened by noise during the night. Yep, that’s right… that screaming police car or roaring traffic is actually killing you! The magazine said that the noise has an effect on your heart and waking up many times during the night puts your body under a lot of stress.
Try and keep your room quiet by wearing some earplugs. You can get earplugs that only cancel out certain sounds so that you can still hear your alarm or a baby monitor on your bedside table.

 

The Morning

11. Drink a glass of water
A cool glass of water on an empty stomach actually has a lot of health benefits as well as serving to wake you up. The water will kick start your metabolism and as such you will wake up faster and feel more alert.

12. Exercise
When you are groggy in the morning and nice run in the fresh air can wake you up fast. However, the interesting thing is that when you exercise in the morning you will actually have more energy the NEXT day. The more you exercise the more energy you will have as you become fitter and healthier.
If you need some tips to get up and exercise early check out this post on early morning exercise hacks.

13. Don’t drink coffee… everyday
Science is now showing that our body becomes accustomed to the caffeine in our coffee and we have less of a reaction to it. This means that your daily cup of coffee is waking you up less and less every day that you drink it.
A better idea is to save the morning coffee for when you are really tired and need a little bit of help. Perhaps if you had to stay out late or get up extra early and you have disturbed your regular sleeping habit. This is the time to have a cup of coffee.

14. Breathe deeply
The first thing you should do in the morning is take some deep breaths into your stomach and concentrate on waking up. Imagine breathing in a bright white light that makes your body feel happy and light.

15. Have something to be excited about
If you get up and go to a job you hate to work with a boss that drives you crazy you are not going to really enjoy waking up. However, if you have something you enjoy to go to you will be more likely to wake up happy knowing you have a bit of joy coming your way.
If you can’t leave your terrible boss then you should make time in the morning to do some sport or activity that makes you happy. Start your day with something happy and fun as opposed to starting it with work.

16. Get up straight away
When I was in the Himalayas a buddhist master told me that one of the best things you can do to wake up early and feel alert and fresh is to get up straight away. As soon as your alarm goes off you should get up without snoozing it over and over again.
He said to me half jokingly: “You have to get up before your self cherishing does”.

17. Be grateful for not dying
The Buddha said that every time you go to bed you should consider that you won’t wake up. That way, when you wake up you will be especially grateful for the day you have ahead of you. Instead of seeing the day as a burden that you have to “get through” you will see it as an opportunity to do something meaningful and beneficial.
Why? Because you could die tonight.
When applied correctly this realization will bring you tremendous energy.

Conclusion on waking up freshly

Each of these tips works. I have tried it on myself and my friends. And the great thing is that the more of these tips you apply the fresher you will feel when you wake up. Try them yourself.


http://www.thedailymind.com/how-to/17-ways-to-wake-up-feeling-fresh-in-the-morning/

Corretto

Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzoNZoiAbbA

nachoz 16:09 - Women

How To Make A Salad Like A Real Man In 7 Easy Steps

May. 7, 2012

By Natt Smith

 

Natt Smith is a writer and professional puppet.

Read more »

Congratulations for venturing out of pizza territory! I know this is not easy for a man to do and I applaud you for your willingness to explore an arena that has an entire section dedicated to it on the T.G.I Friday’s menu: The Salad. Salad has a bit of a bad reputation amongst the male community and I completely understand why: it usually contains lots of green things. Fear not! I’m going to give you the tools you need to build a Big Ass Salad that is worthy of the hungry man, I’m talking really big, like as big as a Yorkshire terrier. 

 

Step 1: The Bountiful Bowl



In order to contain the mountain of food that will be your Big Ass Salad, you need a bowl worthy of a king. Think Louis VI of France aka The Fat. A man nicknamed The Fat would definitely have had a big bowl. I recommend taking your bowl and gently putting your face in it. If the bowl is too small to accept your face, you will need to upgrade. I suggest bringing this method to a big department store where people will stare at you with pity, but you get the last laugh when you’re enjoying your Yorkshire terrier sized salad. 

 

Step 2: The Gorgeous Greens



I know green can be a scary color. The toxic green slime turned Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael and Donatello into mega turtles. Thank God for Splinter who found and trained them in the ninja ways ensuring the streets of New York City were safe from Shredder and other evil forces… but anyway, green shouldn’t be feared. Protein powder is to body builders what lettuce is to The Big Ass Salad, it gives you mass. You needn’t stick with lame ass iceberg either go ahead and feel free to explore the many varieties: arugula, spinach, oak leaf, bok choy, kale. As my good friends the Black Eyed Peas say, “get a little crazy, get a little stupid.”

Step 3: The Tasty Toppings

Look at the stars, what do you see? Stars, right? No sh-t Sherlock, now pay attention to the salad. The toppings are where you can let your inner child go absolutely buckwild. There are no limits to what you can put on The Big Ass Salad. If you like cheese go ahead a dump some bleu on that sucker, or pepper jack, or feta… the world is your big mouldy oyster. On a side note, oysters would probably taste nice in The Big Ass Salad. You can explore your deepest, darkest desires and all in the form of vegetation: avocado, peppers, jalapeños, carrots, beans, red onions, asparagus, cucumbers, sugar snaps, eggplant, mushrooms or corn. You may even get a bit fruity and start tossing berries, apples or pineapples in there. Do whatever makes you feel good inside. Go ‘nuts!’ Give into your ‘seed-y’ nature. Anything goes in The Big Ass Salad. 

 

Step 4: The Powerful Protein



Perhaps the hungry man’s favorite part of The Big Ass Salad is the girth, aka the MAN MEAT. It won’t matter if you make a salad the size of a German Shepherd, without protein you will be hungry within the hour. You can take the classic route and go with beef, chicken or pork but protein comes in various forms. You can beef it up with beans, lentils or chickpeas. Perhaps you’re feeling a bit adventurous and want to try some sort of soy based product like tofu or tempeh. Feeling so hungry your head might crack? Then go ahead a crack an egg or two on The Big Ass Salad. If protein is wrong then I don’t wanna bacon right. 

 

Step 5: The Delicate Dressing 





Up until this point you didn’t need to think about much, you did whatever felt good, and kudos to you, but now the outcome of The Big Ass Salad lies in your hands. Well, technically it lies in your bowl, but figuratively it lies in your hands. I tend to think less is more when it comes to topping off The Big Ass Salad. I’m a sucker for heat so I usually put a mix of Tabasco, Frank’s Red Hot and a dash of apple cider vinegar. You’ve been so open to this experience hence far why not bring it on home and create your own dressing? A lovely mix of balsamic, olive oil and seasonings do beautiful things to The Big Ass Salad. No point drowning it in a white gooey concoction, you, sir, have class. 

 

Step 6: Tossing Your Salad



Obvious jokes aside, you really need to get in there and toss that Big Ass… Salad. Toss it every which way and with vigor! You can use your hands, but I’ve heard that can be a bit messy, so stick with a fork or giant spoon. You want The Big Ass salad to be perfectly tossed so that all the ingredients make it into each gorgeous bite. 

 

Step 7: Devour Your Salad

 



Congratulations, you did it! I know it was a lot of work, but this isn’t the lazy man’s salad. You won’t find it on a menu at Applebees and you certainly won’t find it at a fast food chain. You earned The Big Ass Salad, now stop reading this and go devour every damn bite.

http://thoughtcatalog.com/2012/how-to-make-a-salad-like-a-real-man-in-7-easy-steps/