Exercise Your Mind with a Writing Exercise

How to write a letter to Santa:

By a nine year old girl,

Dear Santa,

Did I ever tell you that the new red suit makes you look extra skinny?  How is Mrs. Claus?  Is she baking some gingerbread cookies?

You should get me a new mountain bike for Christmas because I have been extra good this year.  A new bike would help me get to school faster.  I wouldn't ride it until homework is done.  I know that since I am your favorite kid, you would be extra nice to me!  I bet I am right because, come on, who doesn't love me?  I'm the best, nicest, most giving kid!  If I do not receive a new bike, it would be very upsetting to me.  So you don't want to upset a young girl like me, would you?  It is Christmas.  It would mean just so much to me.

By a seven year old boy, 

Dear Santa,

My mom Louise has been really good this year.  I think she should get a n iPad for Christmas this year because she always helps me with my homework and she buys us food and toys.  Most of all she helps us when we're sad.  Love,

Seven year old boy.

Christmas gifting

I got something for you....

Close your eyes....

Ok now put your feet up by the computer screen....

Wait...first take your shoes off.....but keep your eyes closed....

NO PEEKING.....

Do your feet feel warm now?

Ok....you can open your eyes.....

I got you a fire to help you stay warm during these cold winter days.

You deserve it. After all you're my only reader.

Eat wrong feel good.

I've never had a good nutrition plan.

But I do eat a lot. Sometimes I eat because I'm hungry, however, I also eat lots of things when I'm not hungry at all.

Oh, you're like that too huh?

I remember after my first Ironman tri my garmin said I burned something like 13,000 calories. I think I'm still working on replacing all those burnt calories.

In fact I just now finished off a plate of buffalo wings brought to me in between meals at work.

And then there's all of these things I've been snaaaaaacking on all day. Tomorrow there will be a whole new presentation of holiday snack food.

I guess I have learned over time that there are some foods that are more appropriate for an active lifestyle. If I want to feel good and strong for a long bike ride, It's best if I've had a balanced meal recently. I notice I eat lots of protein on days that I exercise heavily. Well, I guess I have lots of carbs those days too.

Someday maybe I'll start to measure out my food a little better, but for now, I seem to do fine by eating what I feel like, or what's in front of me.

I have noticed that electrolyte replacement has been important for me especially on long rides. I have cramped up a few times and have learned the hard way that I better replace lytes throughout my ride or I could be in trouble.

I think I eat like I ride. The more I eat/ride, the more I want to eat/ride. And on those days when I have lofty goals and ambition, I eat/ride until it hurts, then I suffer through some more eating/riding until I am really in pain and wonder why I ever even started eating/riding. So eventually I stop.

And twenty minutes later, I'm ready to eat/ride all over again.


Anyway, these are liquid electrolytes

Dot dot dot ...

Move on.....There is nothing special to read here today. You might as well do yourself a favor and surf away from here.....

But did I mention:

-I have a tentative meeting scheduled sometime early January to set up an account to buy minerals. (Applause)

-All of my Christmas shopping is finished.

-We have an awesome design for our product packaging.

-I can donate a pint of blood in less than five minutes.

Creativity in a Cone

Recently "Science" tried to tell us that creativity comes from spending time outdoors:

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=1012&sid=23343018

I'm not sure I buy all of that nonsense.  I happen to know that creativity comes from having a large downward pointing cone shaped head like my intern here:

If he didn't have all that hair you could probably see all the creative thoughts happening right on the surface of that large mind of his.

-

Starting up a business takes a lot of creativity too.  Before long I will be hanging my shingle and pushing my product out the door.  So I had my creative intern brainstorm a list of things to make a business successful.

You can read the list here:

-Spy on your competitors
-Spread rumors about the inferiority of the products that your competitors distribute
-Jump rope
-Watch football
-Identify your market
-Eat lots of electrolyte containing food (hopefully ham, cake, cookies)


Perhaps his most creative and productive idea so far is to identify a business EXACTLY like mine and copyeverythingtheydo.

So recently I kidnapped a couple of my interns and set out to do just that.

Before long he found the very business we need.  It's located here at the North Pole (which is incidentally located outdoors):

I knew the business was EXACTLY like mine because of the white walls.  And I knew it was successful because of all the packages in the 'out box.'  There's even room enough to jump rope in there.

There was a discrepancy that I should point out.  The factory workers don't have downward pointing cone shaped heads......hmmmm.....they must spend a lot of time outdoors climbing that pole.

Winter Wonderland Getaway

I got an angry message from my reader late last night.  The last thing I want is to alienate myself from my reader. 

There's no excuse for a day absent from the blog place.  Especially a working business day.

But I'm guilty.  You see I fell victim to treatment of a day of complete self endulgement.

I became lost in another world where I was free from the busy holiday life

Do you get the picture?

 

It's just that I'm a regular at a local day spa.  They always welcome me with a smile a copy of their latest brochure 

Yes I'm a spa snob.  I would only 'spa' at the most exclusive spa resort.  You can see mine is exclusive by these private spa treatment planning stations.  I get one on one attention in there.  And my personal day spa trainer uses a computer to make my specific spa treatment plan.

 

Next thing I know I am reclined in a day spa chair and the decompression therapy begins.

"Are you comfortable Mr. Marchant?" 

"Yes, thank you."

 

Does your day spa provide live entertainment? 

Ever heard of the Roxettes?

 

If your day spa doesn't give you that feeling where all of your worries are just oooozing away...... you might be getting ripped off.

There's nothing more convincing than evidence based therapy.  My personal spa trainer shows me where all my stress and worries really go......into this visible, tangible container of living proof.

I went with the full day spa self endulgement package complete with all access glutony revival treatment. 

Maybe the best part of all is the sticker I get at the finishing time.  They actually try to make me feel like I accomplished something while I was there.

So Please forgive me reader, for being absent yesterday.

Brief Review with Rope and Eggs

If you've been talking to my readers, they'll tell you all about how I have a small electrolyte capsule lab with white walls and a wire rack.  That's about the part where they lost your attention, so you probably missed the part where I sometimes dress up in a somewhat sheer, but modest, and very tasteful bunny suit at work.  Its to protect me from the medicine/chemicals and to protect the medicine/chemicals from me.

And there's almost no chance that you heard the part about my boring, thoughtless, unimaginative and definitely unoriginal although effective Christmas season to do checklist.

So when you take the part you listened to and the two parts you didn't and encapsulate them into one package, that's pretty much all you need to know about me.

But tomorrow if you bump into any of my readers, you'll be burdened to learn that I also suffer from the burden of waking up a wee bit too early for my taste usually.  Today was one of those days.

Today I arose much too early as is often the case (as you know) and stumbled over myself for a few minutes before I found myself at the gymnasium where I was greeted with some of the people I often see there.....and I tried to get into 'wake up mode' which never really works out.  So I did my exercising and sweating and blah blah blah then I left.

None of this really matters except that I don't work today.  So a few hours later I accepted an invitation (by the foxy lady I've been seeing) to go right back to the same gymnasium.  This time I was recognized by a gym worker and accused of doing 'two-a-days.'

I didn't feel like I was at the gym again.  I felt like I was on a date (with the foxy lady I've been seeing).

As per the plans of the foxy lady, I went into the spin class room and sat through a spin class.  But not just a spin class but the first ever spin class I have been to in all my life.

So I went to a spin class date.  Somewhere in the spin class the spin class teacher made us do an exercise that caused me to bump elbows with the foxy lady.  So that was nice.

All that elbow bumping got me all excited and after the spin class date I showed off to the foxy lady I've been seeing by climbing up this rope.  I even did it a couple times until I was satisfied that she was sufficiently impressed with my bravado.

Somewhere in the between times at the gym I found myself at the capsule lab with white walls.  The capsule lab doubles as Santa's work shop.  I gotta couple projects going on there.

But I made it home for breakfast where the foxy lady and I sat around and ate breakfast food that was whipped up by this little elf.

So when you bump into some of my readers today and they try to tell you even more all about me, just say, "Look, I don't want to hear it."  Then turn and walk away to a safe place where you can get working on that Christmas to do checklist that I gave you.

Holiday Comfort

It's a good idea to have some holiday traditions to bring in the Christmas spirit. 

 I suggest this checklist:

-Read a few literary texts (A Christmas Carol, The Mansion, Luke Chapter 2, The best Christmas Pageant Ever)

-Decorate cookies or a ginger bread house

-Surprise someone (maybe even a stranger) with a holiday treat.

-Drive around town to see who has decorated with lights.

-Consume seasonal foods

-Sit by the fireplace

-Jockey for position in line at the department store/shopping place

-Buy things online

-Sing Christmas Carols

-Send a Christmas Card

-Visit a live Nativity

-Put up the holiday decor

-Put a candy cane in a mug of hot chocolate

-Shovel the walk

-Donate blood to the Red Cross

-Get out your ugly sweater

And after you do all of that stuff go out and ride your bike for a few hours every day.  But stay out of the snow.  And when you take your electrolyte supplement so you don't get cramps, just remember:

Electrolytes are physically compatible with EggNogg

If you don't celebrate Christmas, have a nice month anyway and enjoy the things you celebrate.

Get Up

Exercising has gotten complicated. 

Now that I'm old enough to be an adult I have regrettably become an early riser and..... a gym member.
Most days I try to fit in some exercise time at the gym before my working day starts. 

My wife taught me to get my things in order ahead of time..... so the night before a workout/work day I try to make plans for both.  Its a circus the next morning trying to pull it all together and get out the door.  I gotta remember the stuff in the fridge, the stuff on the chair, take my 'vites' and load it all in the gym bag.........in the dark so nobody awakens.  Sometimes I get it right, but sometimes I forget something.  Usually I can get by without the forgotten item, but sometimes I have to make a phone call to get a special curbside delivery of "essential items" or "unmentionables" or "underclothing."  Which is never embarassing.

Today I forgot to make sure my electronic music player was fully charged with battery power.  So I spun around with earbuds in my ears but no power.....
It might as well have been plugged into my belly button.

I never listen to earphone music when I ride out on the streets but I like it at the gym.  Earphone music at the gym makes it feel like I'm almost exercising in private, like if I can't hear the people around me, then they can't see me. 

The beauty of my gym is that halfway through my 'routine' a group of fitness people comes up the stairs, all in single file and performs a 'routine' of their own.  Lunges, sprints, jumps, stretches, all synchronized to the music from my earphones.  I've always thought these performances were a FLASH MOB all for me, choreographed to my playlist, but today I learned they are NOT.....it was a fitness bootcamp class for other people who are also early risers and have a gym membership just like me.

I could hear the instructor the whole time....the one with the lapel microphone.  She wasn't singing along to my music like I thought she was.  She wasn't talking to me at all.....She was only speaking to the bootcampers so they would know what to do and how fast.  Oh well.....


Now I have to find a whole new way to flatter myself.

Maybe I'll just start exercising in my work clothes.

Research and Development

I like to keep a clean shop.

Once I started riding my bike in the desert heat it didn't take long to notice how fast my head becomes a salt lick. I might be a slow learner but pain is a great motivator. After I made the connection between my leg cramps and my salt face the lab came to be.

I live in an active community. It was easy to find volunteers to participate in 'clinical trials' as we develop the finest electrolyte capsule around.

I've been trained to succeed in the lab. Since I earned my degree as a doctor of pharmacy I have spent years preparing and dispensing medicine to patients. I have additional training in compounding or combining specific chemicals to meet individual needs.

We make electrolyte capsules for endurance athletes. I know the value of electrolyte replacement as a medical professional and an endurance athlete. I ride my bike thousands of miles each year and compete in events including:

Marathons
Ironman triathlons
Sprint and Olympic triathlons
Cycling centuries and 'whateverelses'

We can give you an excellent product to help you meet your electrolyte needs as you train and live.

This is where we put electrolytes into capsules.