Positive Attitude

Zoom – Tips and Tricks

on Wednesday, April 1, 2020

I started using Zoom back in the Fall of 2019. It was a convenient way to meet with the officers of my Toastmasters club. We would meet in person and then alternate the next month to online. And was a pretty good little setup for us.

Then COVID-19 hit! And it forced us to use Zoom as a means for meeting in the club as well as officer meetings.

So I am no expert at Zoom, but I have used it a fair amount.

I put together a short video with some tips and tricks on using Zoom. I hope you find it helpful if you are new to Zoom.

To download Zoom to your device go to zoom.us . You should use the application instead of running from a web browser. I don’t even think that is an option, but want to point it out as some have asked how to properly view a Zoom meeting. So that is the first step.

With the free account you can share have a meeting with up to 100 participants. They had a 40 minute limit on each meeting, but have lifted that restriction during the virus lock-down.

The best thing to do is download and start using it by yourself to get comfortable with the settings. Test your video and audio from the settings menu. You can even record yourself to see if your background, lighting, audio and camera view are to your liking.

Give it a try. Let me know if the comments below if you have any questions.

Happy zooming!

Bible Positive Attitude Wisdom

Peace All Around Us

on Tuesday, March 24, 2020

After the rain today I was reminded that in spite of all the chaos in our country right now – the seasons will change, just as He has ordained. Not everything has been upended!

The rain falls, sun shines, the moon reflects and the ground is starting to awake with new colors.

We have to turn the TV off and find peace around us. Where do I find peace you ask?

By listening to the birds chirping outside in the trees
Watching the grass as it is starting to grow
Watching as my grandbaby as she smiles when she sees my face
Music excites and soothes me – just depends on the music
My Bible is full of truths, some I still haven’t discovered and some I am still trying to obey – so much to be learned
My wife still kisses me at night
Friends and family laugh when we talk

Yes there is peace to be found all around us – seek it…….

If you can’t find peace right now, reach out to me – I will be glad to share with you some of mine!

“When I observe your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you set in place, what is a human being that you remember him, a son of man that you look after him? You made him little less than God and crowned him with glory and honor. You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet:”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭8:3-6‬ ‭

Image may contain: tree, plant, sky, grass, outdoor and nature — baby’s breath blooming

Image may contain: plant, flower, grass, outdoor and nature — Grape hyacinth

Adventure Positive Attitude Wisdom

First No Till Garden

on Wednesday, May 29, 2019

I just finished my first no till garden and decided to make an instructional video. If you are interested in how to make a no till garden, or want to see how I did it then please go watch the video below.

No Till Garden video

I have made a few raised bed gardens this year, but this one is just a bit different. It really wasn’t that hard, but in retrospect I wish I had more green items to include before I added the papers.

More organic material would make for a more rich environment quicker. I know by adding adding compost in the years to come the ground will be built up, but I wanted to plant cantaloupes this year. We will see how it goes.

Adventure Positive Attitude Toastmasters Wisdom

Plant Based Diet – Greenhouse

on Sunday, March 31, 2019

I have enjoyed the new foods I have found and eaten on my plant based diet. I do like a good variety of fruits and vegetables. The only thing that will make me feel better about my plant based diet will be to eat the fresh fruits and vegetables from my own garden.

So to increase my possibilities of fresh veggies that I know are grown organically, I built my own greenhouse.

This rest of this post is to show some of the stages on how we built the greenhouse. I want to thank a few folks who helped make this dream a reality. My dad helped me more than anyone and worked tirelessly with me till it was finished. My son helped weld the cattle panels. And lastly I got the inspiration and blueprints from TexasPrepper2.

We started with a 2″x8″ foundation that is 16’x7′

The framework is made of 4’x16′ cattle panels

My son welded the 4 cattle panels together and then we stapled them to the 2x8s. I also have some rebar drove in the ground and attached to the 2×8 for stability.

We started our wooden framing with a window on the south wall and a door on the north. Notice we also have wood chips down so we can work without getting so muddy.

The trench for both water and electricity in the greenhouse.

All ready for the plastic! The edge of the cattle panels we cut a used water hose to be sure the plastic doesn’t get caught on the wire and tear.

Finished product! My dad and I spent over 12 hours building this greenhouse, and it ain’t perfect but it sure will suit my needs!!

Adventure Positive Attitude Toastmasters Wisdom

Plant Based Diet – Back on Track

on Thursday, March 21, 2019

So my pause from the plant-based diet was to enjoy the festivities of my son’s wedding. And boy did I enjoy!

My son’s wedding cake just oozing with chocolate goodness.

I ate pizza, macaroni and cheese, sweet tea, brisket, pork, cakes (it was a wedding already!), ice cream and all sorts of other goodies during the wedding weekend. I did not really push away from anything to eat the whole weekend – which started on Thursday.

Friday night I actually got sick with diarrhea. Not sure if it was the MSG on the brisket or all the sweet tea I drink that day, but something just did not agree with my system. So the day of the wedding I was in recovery mode not eating a lot, and drinking lots of water.

There were left overs on Monday and I worked through some, but found my way back to eating more plant based food. And then on Tuesday I was back to just plant based meals.

What did I learn from this pause?

I learned that I do like the taste of cakes and ice cream, but it leaves me feeling empty and sort of sick inside. I guess I have finally pushed through the sugar withdrawals and can do without sugar. When I do eat or drink those things I just do not get the same satisfaction as I used to.

Eating those kind of processed foods also make my body feel sluggish. I did not feel as sharp as I do while eating a plant based diet.

So now I continue my journey of eating a plant based diet. I am not perfect, nor am I super strict about what I eat, but I am doing much better than I was when I first started this journey. I look forward to learning more food options and how these foods affect me.

The way I really feel is this – I like to release pounds from my body more than I like to eat empty foods. That has been my biggest and best eye opener!

I just started reading Dr. Joel Fuhrman’s book Eat to Live, and it is really revealing about why we should be eating a plant based diet. With all the big money that surrounds the food industry it is no wonder that this message will take a long time to get out and be adopted in American culture.

Not sure who I heard this from, but I thought important to share because it really helps with my mindset. I am not becoming a vegetarian, but rather a nutritiocian!

Adventure Positive Attitude Toastmasters Wisdom

Plant Based Diet – Anticlimactic Meeting

on Sunday, March 10, 2019

Well my doctors visit was nothing short of an anticlimactic meeting.

I started this plant based diet for a few different reasons, and one of the main reasons was that I want to get off the blood pressure medicine that I currently take.

I know that I cannot just stop taking the blood pressure medicine, and I do agree that my doctor needs to help me decrease the dosage until I can stop taking it. So I was hoping my diet change would help my blood pressure.

I have been actively measuring my blood pressure on a somewhat regular basis for about 3 months now. With the help of fasting I have been able to release weight and lower my blood pressure. I have also added different vitamins to help with my cardiovascular system. (Dr Ohhira’s probiotics, RegActiv, Kyolic, and magnesium)

Armed with my documentation and new diet that is making changes with my body I was looking forward to seeing my doctor. I was hoping that he would see my hard work in documentation and dietary changes and would rave at my efforts. I was even hoping for a good conversation about what dietary disciplines would benefit by blood pressure and overall health.

The day of my appointment I was at the doctor’s office a bit early – I was anticipating this visit. I came into his patient room and the nurse took my weight and blood pressure – both which had improved since the last visit! So I just knew this was going to be a good meeting with my doctor.

Then he finally comes in and asks the normal questions. I start to talk about my new diet habits and he continues on with checking BP and heartbeat. I show him my documented weight and blood pressure chart and within 30 seconds he hands it back to me. He says looking good – keep up the good work. Reduce my blood pressure medicine by half and come back in six months.

Anticlimactic! All that I hoped for in the visit was just a flash. No substantial talk about diet over medicine. No talk of diet at all.

To be honest, I didn’t really expect a lot from my doctor. Today’s American doctor is trained to diagnose the symptoms and prescribe a medicine. No direction for diet is addressed – that would be for a dietician – not a doctor.

Hippocrates said “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” But Hippocrates is not a modern day American doctor. I don’t fault my doctor, he is just working within the guidelines that he has as an American physician with our current healthcare system.

My takeaway is to invest my efforts in improving my own health. No one cares anymore for my body than I do. So, my search for knowledge and understanding of the human body continues!

Adventure Positive Attitude Toastmasters Wisdom

Plant Based Diet – Intermittent Fasting

on Thursday, March 7, 2019

I need to come clean about something. My success so far with the plant based diet has been augmented with intermittent fasting.

So what is intermittent fasting? Intermittent fasting is an eating style where you eat within a specific time period, and fast the rest of the time. My intermittent fasting schedule is 16 hours of fasting and 8 hours of eating daily. I am not able to do it every day, but I certainly have been trying to the past 2 weeks.

The first thing every morning I drink 16 ounces of water. I will then take my vitamins and blood pressure pill, and a shot of a apple cider vinegar and juice mix. I might take a cup of coffee next, or just off to work with water.

I will drink water and coffee right up to 10:30 or 11:00. I will eat a snack at that time, and will continue to eat as I want or can until 6:30 or 7:00.

I am still learning about fasting. I have discovered it hard to find good information on fasting, and I believe simply it is because it is difficult to make money from fasting. People eat less – not more or even any specialization foods when you fast. You just don’t eat. There is no money in that you see.

I have found some good research and reporting from a Dr Fung. He has several videos on YouTube. One that I have learned from is here. If you are even half way interested in what I am saying about fasting – then take some time to listen to him and keep learning from others.

I am also a fan of multi day fasting, but I will save that for a different post. But just want to say that you have to learn to get past the pain of hunger at times knowing that you will not die or starve to death. I now understand that hunger pains let me know that I am on the right track. Feeling bloating from eating too much would be at the opposite end of the spectrum of sensation.

I will continue this regimen for at least two more weeks.

Adventure Positive Attitude Toastmasters Wisdom

Plant Based Diet – Food Variety

on Friday, March 1, 2019

Today is the 5th day of me on a plant based diet!

When I started I was thinking – how will I find enough to eat? Normally I do not eat a variety of vegetables or even fruits for that matter. So a diet that consists of only plants seemed a little difficult to me. That was also some of the motivation behind this diet choice – to learn to like a greater variety of vegetables.

To start off – I eat a lot of nuts during the day (easy snack). But I have also found some new vegetables to try and plenty of fruits to keep me full. My wife says when I am hungry I get a little cranky, so I want to keep my mind in tune by eating well. To make both of us happy!

Below are some pictures of some of the foods I have ate this past week.

I keep plenty of nuts on hand – almonds, pecans and walnuts

What great snack options I have been enjoying – apples, bananas and blueberries

I tried a new dish – butternut squash and artichokes. I also baked some beets for supper.

I bought most of my foods from our local grocery store, but also made a trip to Whole Foods to find some organic options. I prefer the organic foods for several different reasons. The next time I go I need to plan a little better with meals in mind instead of just the foods that I know I like to eat.

Now the weekend is coming. How will I hold up?! ……………

Adventure Positive Attitude Toastmasters Wisdom

Plant Based Diet

on Wednesday, February 27, 2019

I watched a documentary over the weekend that really spoke to me about my eating habits. I tend to think I eat good, but in reality I have let my eating habits slide since Thanksgiving and Christmas.

I watched a documentary called PlantPure Nation. These next few posts from me are not to promote the movie, but tell what I learned from seeing the movie. However; I would suggest you watch it for your own education because there is a lot to be learned here, but these posts are to reflect how the documentary has motivated me to action.

The movie provides details on how control groups of people ate nothing but a plant-based diet for 10 days and how their health improved. Some lost weight, some were able to get off medicines and it seemed all were motivated to change their eating habits. The movie talked about people improving their blood pressure, sugar and how it can cure diseases. Lowering my blood pressure and weight are my two main motivators.

That is the main thing I want to do with this information I have learned – improve my health. I don’t pan to live the rest of my life eating nothing but plant based foods. I am a BBQ guy – I have to eat meat! And I love meat. But for a season I am going to try to make all my meals consist of plant-based foods.

My wife and son think I am crazy. She says I need protein. He just thinks I need to eat like normal. They are not on joining me yet, but will support me nonetheless.

My goal right now is to eat this plant-based diet for the month of March. I actually started on February 25, 2019. I already know there are upcoming events that will require I eat certain meats, and I am ok with that – I will make those exceptions. But for the most part I will eat daily from a selection of food and drink that I can determine is derived only from plants.

Let the eating begin!!

Bible Positive Attitude Toastmasters Wisdom

Thinking of LOVE

on Monday, September 24, 2018

LOVE – it has been the topic of many songs, books, poetry, plays and movies. We all talk about it, but do we really understand what is love?

I love my wife. I love my mom. I love blackberries. I love my guys in our Bible study group. I love to sleep in on Saturday mornings.

Tina Turner sang about love….

What’s love got to do, got to do with it
What’s love but a second hand emotion

-Tina Turner

Can all of these be using the word love in the same context with the same meaning? I don’t think so. I understand love to be more than just an emotion it is an action we do for someone.

We show our love by actions – not by words.

According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary love has the following definitions:

strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties
attraction based on sexual desire : affection and tenderness felt by lovers
After all these years, they are still very much in love.
affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests
love for his old schoolmates
warm attachment, enthusiasm, or devotion ::love of the sea
the object of attachment, devotion, or admiration :: baseball was his first love
a beloved person : DARLING —often used as a term of endearment
unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another: such as
1. the fatherly concern of God for humankind
2. brotherly concern for others
a person’s adoration of God
a god (such as Cupid or Eros) or personification of love
an amorous episode : LOVE AFFAIR
the sexual embrace : COPULATION
a score of zero (as in tennis)

These definitions do describe how we understand love in modern day America.

However, in studying my Bible I read in the New Testament that there are several Greek definitions of the word love which give the word a deeper personal attachment.

Eros – represents the idea of sexual passion and desire. It was not always used in a positive way either. Eros had the idea of a dangerous and irrational form of love that could take hold and possess you.

Phila – was considered a friendship that developed between brothers in arms who had fought side by side on the battlefield. It was about showing loyalty to your friends, sacrificing for them, as well as sharing your emotions with them.

Storge – is the love and affection that is naturally shared between parents and children, and to other siblings. It is a family love.

Ludas – is a playful love. This can be seen in childlike love or the early stages of a relationship.

Pragma – is a longstanding love. A love that is considered in making compromises over a long period of time for the good of the relationship.

Philautia – is self love – what we would consider on one hand a narcissist, but on the other hand a satisfaction of loving who you are and where you are.

Agape – is the most radical of love in that is unconditional. God has an unconditional love for humans. We can’t earn it and we can get away from it. He loves us no matter what we do!

From what I read and understand about love I like to think of love as an action – something you do for somebody. Yes I know that I still love blackberries, but I have no other way of saying that. Other than I really like the taste of blackberries. Correct it is, but not as short of a way to say it.

I found this quote somewhere and I use it often. Love always does what is best for others.

Think about that. When you say you love someone, do you do something for them that is best for them – sometimes over even your own comfort or desires? To me that is love.

In John 15:13 Jesus said “No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends.” Then He went on to demonstrate that love toward us – He set the perfect example of love. In our world today, to me the ultimate display is to give the very core of who you are right now – your life – for someone else. That is the ultimate high bar setting that we can only look to achieve.

So when you think of love, I hope you think that there has been a high bar set and that love is more than an emotion it is an action word.

Go love!