Coffee at Lulu's

During our recent trip to Fairbanks we were fortunate enough to have Colleen be the one in front of the espresso maker at Lulu's Bread & Bagels!

Thank you for making us the best Americano's we have had in a coons age.

Live the Green Dot

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” 

― Martin Luther King Jr., I Have a Dream: Writings and Speeches That Changed the World

“A green dot is simply your individual choice at any given moment to make our communities safer….no one has to do everything, but everyone has to do something...What's your GREEN DOT?”

Ending violence one Green Dot at a time.

High Five Friday for Clear Blue Skies

High five Friday for clear blue skies, walks on the snow, strong super heroes who carry your tripod that you for some reason had to extend a mile before it was intended to be used, and high five Friday for being able to take photos of Denali.

Critical Thinking Part 3

During a presidential election year most everyone will come forward with their two cents, and thoughts on the candidates and the issues. Couple this with the fact that we live in an age of worldwide connection, and social media gives anyone who wants it quick access to publish their thoughts for the world to view, criticize, and retort, so with this in mind I have been thinking a lot about critical thinking.

Critical thinking does not come naturally; it takes practice and commitment to recognize our self-servicing egocentric thinking, and even more training to overcome the negative uncritical thinking tendencies that we have naturally inherited.

My hope for my community, and for the world is that we are all encouraged to think for ourselves, with a heart towards being fair-minded and empathetic. That our children (who will grow into their adulthood) are taught to respect others rights equally to their own, and that we practice rational thinking and actions. To this beginning I can see greatness for humankind; I can see peaceable conflict resolution, and I can see a world full of respectful people.

Every day use your heart and mind to feel and think critically, and share love with your fellow man.

Critical Thinking Part 2

*The Problem: Everyone thinks; it is our nature to do so. But much of our thinking, left to itself, is biased, distorted, partial, uninformed or down-right prejudiced. Yet the quality of our life and that of what we produce, make, or build depends precisely on the quality of our thought. Shoddy thinking is costly, both in money and in quality of life. Excellence in thought, however, must be systematically cultivated.

A Definition: Critical thinking is the art of analyzing and evaluating thinking with a view to improving it.

The Result: A well cultivated critical thinker:

• raises vital questions and problems, formulating them clearly and precisely;

• gathers and assesses relevant information, using abstract ideas to interpret it effectively;

• comes to well-reasoned conclusions and solutions, testing them against relevant criteria and standards;

• thinks open-mindedly within alternative systems of thought, recognizing and assessing, as need be, their assumptions, implications, and practical consequences; and

• communicates effectively with others in figuring out solutions to complex problems.

Critical thinking is, in short, self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-­corrective thinking. It requires rigorous standards of excellence and mindful command of their use. It entails effective communication and problem solving abilities and a commitment to overcome our native egocentrism and sociocentrism.

* source Critical Thinking - Concepts and Tools

Critical Thinking

Are you a critical thinker?

Critical thinking requires these abilities:

• Recognize problems and find ways to address them 
• Recognize unstated assumptions and values 
• Comprehend and use language 
• Gather information 
• Interpret data, appraise evidence and evaluate arguments 
• Recognize relationships between propositions 
• Draw conclusions and make generalizations 
• Test conclusions and generalizations 
• Render judgments 
• Reconstruct patterns of belief on the basis of experience

Based on An Experiment in the Development of Critical Thinking, Edward M. Glaser, Teacher's College, Columbia University, 1941.

Source: Elder and Paul

Pan

Never be too old to hear that same old story again in a new light. Never be too old to accept that perhaps, just perhaps, that story is worthy of a joyful revisit.

Besides what could possibly go wrong.

Word of the Day ~ Retrofit

Word of the day is retrofit. 

What in your life do you want to retrofit? 

To change?

Ides of March

The Ides of March are upon us and I predict nothing but good things to come our way. 

Kittiwake ~ Fairbanks Local Music Talent

During our recent trip to Fairbanks we were driving to supper in our oldest son's car, to eat at Friar Tucks, and he had some great music playing from the stereo. "Who is this group?” I asked. "Kittiwake, a local group," he replies. "Wow!" says I.

Plus there is a locally owned recording studio in Fairbanks. Go have a listen, and let me know what you think.

How do we make America great again? We support our local communities and the people who live in them.

High Five Friday for Marshmallows

High five Friday for making homemade Espresso Marshmallows and graham crackers. The top photo is what they call 'nailed it'.  Mine do not look as pretty but boy do they taste good!

Happy Friday to you all!  

Enjoy your weekend ahead!

Macmillan’s Pocket American and English Classics

Macmillan’s Pocket American and English Classics - this post has been updated and you can now view the list of books I am seeking by clicking HERE.


Thanks for helping be my extra set of eyes for these titles in the Macmillan’s Pocket American and English Classics, and let me know when you find one. Happy book hunting!

...

 

Road Trip Together

There is nothing in this world that I love more than to road trip with my favorite fella. Top it off with clear and a million blue skies where we could see Denali for almost the entire 356 mile road trip and you have the perfect day.

Counting my blessings, each and every one!

What I Relearned Today ~ Tip Tuesday

Photo from the interwebs

Mankind has progressed a long way in the last two centuries. We are more enlightened, more educated, and we have the good fortune to live in an age where we are more technologically advanced. Yet perhaps our future generations will think of us as back-woods-people, same as we currently do when we think about people who lived in the year 1837. None the less there have been some discoveries, inventions or manmade creations that we should not embrace.

Cutting to the chase I am specifically talking about our food and the unnatural modifications that we ingest more times a day than we know about, and the addition of some form of sugar to EVERYTHING!

What I relearned today is that there are some foods on the grocery store shelves and in refrigerators that we should avoid if we want to live a healthier life. Three of them, according to *Dr. Amy Lee, on the top of the list of must read the label before you purchase are yogurt, wheat bread, and cereal bars. More importantly what you need to avoid is the sugar content that these seemingly healthy, good for you foods are hiding in their ingredients list or are plainly stated as one of the main ingredients.

All yogurt and bread labels should be read closely, and as for the yogurt, according to Dr. Amy Lee, more than 13 grams of sugar per a 6 ounce serving size is too much sugar. As for the cereal bars, according to me, do not purchase them to eat for breakfast or for what you think is a healthy snack, because they are not healthy. They should only be eaten in the same manner you or your family eat candy bars, as in NEVER! Okay well once in a blue moon would not do you any harm, but these foods should be eaten in strict moderation.

There are a few yogurts and kefirs on the shelves that have a lower sugar content that can be found in the health food aisle of the grocery stores, but the best choice is to make it yourself.

What I relearned today is that sugar in large quantiles is not good for your long-term health and that modified sugars are hiding in prepackaged foods. We must be diligent and read the packaging labels on the food we purchase.

Here is a list of some of the names for sugar to be on the lookout for: corn sweetener, corn syrup, dextrose, fructose, fruit juice concentrates, glucose, high-fructose corn syrup, invert sugar, lactose, maltose, malt syrup, raw sugar, sucrose, sugar syrup, cane crystals, cane sugar, crystalline fructose, evaporated cane juice, corn syrup solids, oligofructose, tagatose.

I found this web site that you also might find useful. Sugar-and Sweetener-Guide.

Enjoy your day sweetened with love and not sugar!

*Note - I am not promoting what they are selling from the Nucific web site but good advice about health is good advice.

Georgia Guidestones

Georgia Guidestones (Credit: Ajmexico/Georgia Guidestones/Flickr/CC BY 2.0)

"On 22 March 1980, the Georgia Guidestones – four giant rough-edged stones encircling a center slab with a capstone balancing on top – weighing 119 tons, were revealed to a crowd of about 100 people. One crowd member, a local pastor, immediately professed his belief that the stones were built for cult and devil worship because of its similar appearance to Stonehenge. On each side of the capstone, engraved in four ancient languages, were the words: “Let these be guidestones to an Age of Reason.” And written in eight languages – English, Russian, Mandarin Chinese, Arabic, Classical Hebrew, Swahili, Hindi and Spanish – were cryptic instructions for rebuilding society post Doomsday.”

To read the full article on BBC Travel click on the link, and I hope you find it as interesting as I do.

It just might be worth a trip to Georgia, USA. 

Happy Thursday my dear friends and family. 

Make the most of each and every day.

Live small, live large, live happy!

Share the love!

Tip Tuesday ~ Give Every Dollar a Job

Good advice from You Need a Budget.  I am not one for apps to help me plan or stay organized, but if you are you might want to check this one out.

At any rate they have some sound advice on their home page YNAB.

Spend every dollar wisely and with purpose.