Coffee - The first step in your morning routine

I have not always enjoyed coffee. Matter fact I once hated coffee. Never really set well on my stomach in the morning. My wife used to joke me about not being a grown-up because I didn't drink coffee. These days I have my coffee every morning. 2 cups typically. I drink it in the bed while I do my morning routine of running through part of my readings and writings. My wife gets up and it brings me my hot Java to start my day off. 

I could probably do without it. But now it is become part of my routine and it is nice to sit in bed with my wife chat in the morning and share a cuppa coffee together. When I go out of town by myself and I have to figure out the hotel room's coffee maker, it is a disaster! You see I really don't know how to make coffee. I'm spoiled. I rarely ever make it at home so when I have to make it we are probably all in trouble. Or at least for those that are drinking my coffee concoction.

Have you noticed out in your neighborhoods how many places serve coffee? There are a lot of specialty stores and barista adorned establishments that are specializing in coffees. I think you could become a coffee architect ( or should we call it a JAVATECT? ) and assist all of those businesses with their design efforts that are centered around this black cup of juju juice.

I must pause for a moment to go get my 2nd cup of coffee. I'll be right back.

OK now that I have returned we can continue.

The biggest part of my new found coffee infatuation is that it has become a regular part of my routine......everyday! It sets the comfortable tone when I run through my tasks and schedules for the day. No matter where I am, home or the Richmond office hotel or away on a business trip or even on vacation......my coffee sets my volume for the day.

You say volume? Yes.....absolutely! If I intend on accomplish my goals for the day.....which are goals for the week.....which are monthly benchmarks......you get it.....yearly budget accomplishments......then it starts with turning up the volume everyday and meeting my own expectations I have set for myself. All of that.....beginning with just a cup of coffee in the morning......ROUTINE!

So my friends, enjoy that last cup of coffee......and then get on to your dreams.....one task at a time.

D. Eugene Thompson

ET This I Believe

Crabtree Falls - Camping

There is nothing more peaceful than camping in the great outdoors. In most cases we are able to get away from it all and leave everything behind. Become one with nature….you know…really roughing it. Okay maybe not always really rough….mostly it is just relaxing…..roughing it causes too much work.

In the past our family has done a lot of camping.  It started back in 1989 when I won the William Caudill Traveling Fellowship to go and study architecture.  I chose Europe.  First problem was I was married and had two kids. One child was 2 ½ years old and the other was just 4 months. Second problem was that there wasn’t much money to travel on. You can read about our Europe travels in our page. I am slowly loading up some of the adventures and sketches. Europe Journal

So, in order to make the money stretch we camped across Europe. 13 countries, 16 weeks….but enough about that…let’s talk about this trip.

My wife and I found a great place in western Virginia called Crabtree Falls. It is the tallest waterfalls in Virginia and has a wonderful hiking trail…or should I say climb? Running right beside the falls. There is a wonderful campground ½ mile from the bottom of the falls that a few years ago we camped next to the stream in our tent. This year we chose the cabin.

Camping Definitions:

I would say there are absolutely different levels of camping. Your comfort level or $ determines  what you do. Let’s start off with the easiest level and work up:

Motel Camping: No this is not camping. Throwing your clothes in a bag and going to a maid manufactured bedroom and bath is not really anywhere close to camping…..cannot be considered but I thought for some of you I might need to clarify.

Level One Cabin Camping: There are cabins that provide everything. Not only is there a bed, but sheets and pillows are provided. Not only is there a stove, but all the dishes and cups and often even a small refrigerator. We found a few of these in Europe but they were not out in the woods. We called them caravans. They were basically travel trailers that were fixed in place. Electric was provided and sometimes water. Bathing facilities were provided in a large structure somewhere on the camp grounds.

Level Two Cabin Camping: Same as above but they don’t provide any dishes, sheets etc. These are more likely truly a cabin with a small porch and picnic table out front.

Car Camping: We often do this these days. We bring everything for true camping but it is packed up in the car.  It doesn’t have to be placed in something that you will have to haul on your back to the camp site. We will often rent a spot at a campground and then be able to drive the car right up to the spot where we plan on pitching our tent. Things still need to be pretty well “bagged up” so you don’t have to have a gazillion things to unload.  This also depends on how many people you have with you.  When all the kids were there, we had more sleeping bags, more food, more tents etc. All the cooking is done on a Coleman grill or similar…even an open fire at times although that is hard to regulate when you have a small army to feed. (Sometimes we have sites that incorporate electric…that is cheating)

Hike Camping: Same as above but forget the car.  Park it and become a pack mule! Pack light and be wise on what you bring.  We have done this several times up on the Appalachian Trail….so much fun. We carry some water but have a filter system so if we find a stream we can purify it. Small packed up meals and a whisper-light camp stove. Everything else can be foil dinners or cold food. Our youngest son always dreamed that we would one day hike the entire trial this way.

Rambo Camping: Head out with just a knife! I had a friend in high school that always dreamed of doing this.  Each time he went out camping he was going to leave one thing behind until eventually all he had was a knife.  Years later I saw him and asked how has his wilderness adventures had gone.  He reported that he had gotten married to a wonderful lady who gave him three wonderful girls…..camping now existed in a giant Winnebago to accommodate all the hair dryers and curling irons.  My wilderness man image of him has been shattered.

This weekend my wife and I are Cabin Level Two Camping.  We really just needed a quick get-a-way and didn’t want a lot of work to accomplish. Setting up was pretty easy the first night after we arrived.  The nice part about cabin camping on the first night is after the long drive you don’t have to do much. There are many stories of me and the kids sitting up camp with the tent…in the dark…you can imagine the drama and those stories…..okay okay….I will write about those adventures too. Check back later for those stories.

The first evening at the campsite we ate dinner and fell asleep by 8PM. We cooked a steak on the grill and some peppers and onions and crashed.  12 hours later we awoke from our slumber.  Much needed rest apparently. One of the things that I find difficult to shake is the need to schedule and plan everything…..and I mean everything.  It is hard for me to let loose and just relax.  I was about crazy in the 3 ½ hour drive here just sitting. Once here, no internet connection! And probably a good thing.

In the morning...we are making pancakes

Such a peaceful morning with just the stream flowing in the background, (a favorite thing at this campsite…it drowns out the noise of any other campers). We woke up and made some coffee. Yes it was instant coffee and yes it was in a electric kettle….remember I said we were here for relaxing….not working. Still nice under the canopy of trees. Then for the best thing about camping….breakfast! It has to be the absolutely best meal there is.  Grill up some Turkey Bacon….(I still need to make sure I don’t blow my diet) and a few pancakes.  Yeah, I know….not on the diet.  I plan on working those calories off on the hike today.  While I was cooking breakfast, I went ahead and cooked up the chicken for our wraps we were going to take on the trail.  We planned to make some bacon and chicken wraps to eat on the hike…..I cooked a few pieces for MAVRICK as well.....such a spoiled doggie.

Morning showers are always something of an adventure.  How exposed you feel is dependent upon the campground facilities.  This one is pretty open. Thankfully I was the only one in there at the time. Water is never really very hot, so you don't spend a whole lot of time bathing.  After all, you are about to go back out into the wilderness….who are you trying to smell fresh for?  The bugs?

The things you hear while camping: My wife heard a little boy ask his father while walking back from the bathrooms, “What about butterflies? Can you eat butterflies?” the father responded, “I don’t know son, maybe.”

Then the hike, we walked up about ½ mile to the beginning of the Crabtree Falls Trail. MAVRICK was a bit skittish when it came to passing people. He also struggled with the huge steps.  We were all set to climbing the trail all the way but we can thank MAVRICK for giving us an easy out.  He was panting and wobbling all over the trail.  Poor guy made it about half way even with several water breaks along the way. A few pictures at various spots and then we turned back around to head home.  Last stop was the river.  MAVRICK decided he needed to cool down so he waded out in the middle of the stream and laid down in the water. What a silly doggie.  He makes us laugh.

Campfire in the evening and relaxing after the long hike...and long nap. Cooked up some steak and chicken fajitas for dinner and then sat next to the fire and enjoyed some music.  About 9:30 I think MAVRICK was getting a bit anxious....he was ready for us to get to bed! Poor tired doggie.

Coffee in the morning by the campfire with some nice discussion about how wonderful things are and how blessed my wife and I are.  We planned some new adventures together for the next few years. A huge breakfast of pancakes, turkey bacon and eggs and then we packed up the van a headed out to go home. Hitting traffic as we entered back into Hampton Roads just put an exclamation mark on why we needed to get away from it all this weekend.

I am ready to head back my friends!

Here's to My Health.....Coffee? Really?

Feeling jittery about whether to drink coffee? Percolate on this: Coffee's benefits considerably outweigh its negatives, researchers now believe. Although caffeine can cause anxiety and insomnia in some people, the beverage's unique properties -- such as more powerful antioxidants than from any other source in the American diet, including fruits and vegetables -- can do a lot of good. Just be sure to spring for organic coffee, says Beth Reardon, director of nutrition for Duke Integrative Medicine, since coffee beans are among the most heavily sprayed crops (all those chemicals can undo the benefits).

Here are the top five reasons to sip coffee:

1. Coffee slashes your risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

The health benefit: The more coffee you drink, the less likely it is you'll develop type 2 diabetes, numerous studies have shown. For example, postmenopausal women who drink at least four cups of coffee a day are less than half as likely to develop type 2 diabetes as those who don't drink coffee, according to a 2011 study of more than 700 women by the UCLA Schools of Public Health and Medicine.

In fact, every additional cup is thought to reduce the excess risk of type 2 diabetes by 7 percent, according to Australian researchers in a 2009 Archives of Internal Medicine meta-analysis of 18 different studies, which linked coffee drinking and diabetes prevention.

How it works: Coffee is thought to improve the body's tolerance to glucose by speeding metabolism and improving insulin tolerance.

The UCLA researchers discovered one possible molecular mechanism for this. Coffee consumption increases blood levels of a protein called sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), which seems to offer protection against type 2 diabetes in those who have a certain type of genetic mutation. (Decaf coffee didn't show this effect, however.)

If you're already showing signs of prediabetes, of course, you'll want to refrain from dunking doughnuts in that joe.

2. Coffee can counter cancerous cell damage.

The health benefit: Coffee was once believed to cause cancer -- but that was before researchers factored in such related behaviors of frequent sippers as smoking and drinking alcohol. Today, there's mounting evidence that coffee may be protective against certain cancers, possibly by enhancing DNA repair.

Some of the best evidence concerns liver damage and liver cancer, which strikes more than 18,000 Americans a year. Multiple studies have found an inverse relationship between coffee consumption and liver cancer risk, including a 2007 meta-analysis of nine different studies.

Cancer-prevention researchers are finding similar benefits of coffee drinking versus other forms of the disease. In 2011, for example, a Harvard team found that women who drink several cups of coffee a day (caffeinated or decaf) have a lower risk of endometrial cancer. Another 2011 Harvard study reported that for men who consumed six cups of coffee a day, their risk of lethal prostate cancer was fully 60 percent lower than lesser coffee drinkers, and their risk of any kind of prostate cancer was 20 percent lower.

Other studies have linked coffee drinking to a reduced risk of colon cancer, rectal cancer, oral cancer, and esophageal cancer.

How it works: Coffee contains hundreds of chemical compounds -- among them antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds that can decrease markers for the damaging process of inflammation. The highly active antioxidant compound methylpyridinium, for example, is found almost exclusively in coffee (both caffeinated and decaf types), due to the beans' roasting process. Espresso has two to three times the amount of this anticancer compound as a medium-roast coffee, according to the German researchers who identified it in coffee.

3. Coffee may lower your risk of dementia.

The health benefit: Scientists still don't fully understand what causes the brain changes associated with Alzheimer's disease, but they're learning more about risk factors for dementia -- and a hearty coffee-drinking habit seems to lower the risk.

When researchers in Sweden and Denmark tracked coffee consumption in a group of more than 1,400 middle-aged subjects for an average of 21 years, they found a clear connection. Those who quaffed three to five cups a day were 65 percent less likely to have developed dementia than the two-cups-or-fewer crowd. (Drinking five or more cups a day also seems to reduce the risk, although this group was too small to allow researcher to draw statistically significant results.)

How it works: Researchers believe the antioxidant properties of coffee may work to reduce vascular forms of dementia. Drinking coffee is already known to be protective against type 2 diabetes, a chronic disease that raises the risk of dementia. (Having diabetes together with depression, for example, doubles dementia risk.)

Another theory: Animal studies indicate that the caffeine in coffee may improve the efficiency of the blood-brain barrier, thwarting the negative effects of high cholesterol on cognitive functioning. Caffeine added to rats' watering improves their cognitive functioning and reduces by half the amount of abnormal amyloid protein in their brains, which has been linked to Alzheimer's disease.

It's also possible that coffee drinkers simply have more energy and move more; researchers point out that exercise is protective against dementia, too.

4. Coffee protects (men, anyway) against Parkinson's disease.

The health benefit: At least for men, it seems pretty clear that coffee helps lower the odds of developing Parkinson's disease. Compared with abstainers, guys who down two to three cups of caffeinated coffee a day have a 25-percent lower risk of Parkinson's.

That's the conclusion of a review of 26 published studies looking at coffee consumption and Parkinson's. It echoes an earlier body of studies. The link hasn't been shown to be as strong for women.

Why it works: Researchers aren't sure what the protective mechanism at play is, or even whether it's the caffeine or other protective compounds that are behind the benefit. Genetics may play a role: One 2011 study found that subjects who carried certain types of a gene called GRIN2A received more neuroprotective benefits against Parkinson's from coffee (although coffee drinkers with all forms of the gene still had a lower risk of developing the disease).

5. Coffee may buffer depression.

The health benefit: Another large study links long-term coffee use with a reduced risk of depression. Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health tracked 50,000 nurses in the Nurses' Health Study for more than a quarter century. In 2011, they reported that those who drank four cups of coffee or more per day had a 20-percent lower risk of developing depression, compared with those who rarely or never drank it. Those who downed two to three cups a day had about a 15-percent lower risk.

A much smaller study in Finland linked coffee consumption to a decreased risk of suicide in men. There's also some evidence that coffee protects against depression in men, too.

How it works: Nobody's sure, but one theory is that coffee drinking causes a short-term boost to energy and mood. The caffeine in coffee is probably the substance causing this effect -- the Harvard researchers saw a similar decrease in depression among those who drank caffeinated soft drinks and ate chocolate, both of which contain caffeine.

Brain receptors that respond to caffeine are found in the basal ganglia, the part of the brain where neurotransmitters critical to depression are concentrated. Repeated low-dose stimulation of these receptors may help protect against the development of depression.

The Battlefield: First Front

My battlefield begins every morning.  Lately I have had such a struggle getting up that it is a bit ridiculous! I have never been a big fan of early morning work outs but that is really the only time I have within my schedule due to everything else that fills up my life.  So, it has always been the best time to get my exercise accomplished.  However it is the hardest time for me to get motivated.

For a while, I was waking up at the crazy hour of 5:30 or so automatically.  Without alarm clock without the help of my wife, just plain waking up.  That gave me a perfect opportunity to begin my morning routine.  However lately, it has been simply painful.  I have tired going to bed early but nothing really helps.

It takes a bit for me to get movement going.  Does anyone else have this problem? How do you overcome it? I keep plugging away, but fight it every minute until I am wide eyed. The argument is the same early morning...do I really want to exercise? Come on, maybe tomorrow, I deserve a break today or I have a meeting pretty early so I probably don't have time now.

Frustrating......lets see who wins today's battle, my strong side or my weak side.  Until then my friends....Have another cup of coffee and WAKE UP!

Exhausted, Drained, Empty and Worn Out....and it is the first thing in the morning

Have you ever woke up in the morning and felt more tired than you did when you went to bed? Like you are already pooped before the day even begins? What happened to that iconic image of waking up to the sunlight pouring into you room from the nearby windows and you stretch and smile and say "What a wonderful day!". Yeah Right! Me too. Somewhere in the middle of this millennium I lost morning wake up smile.  Usually I wake up because my back hurts and I cannot lay there in bed any longer.  Or...I got to go pee. I am up and usually hear the snap, crackle and pop of my bones....most of them in my neck.....snap, crackle and pop are even a bit soggy these days.

Self motivation is hard to come by these days. It takes a lot more effort to move this sack of potatoes than it did twenty years ago. Things appear a bit more pessimistic than they did back then as well. Now I am not trying to bring anyone down.  Just giving the State of the Union address here and wishing (maybe self-motivating thru these words) to get up and running again. I have enjoyed my sanctuary garden in the back patio but that sometimes wears off its excitement too. "Waking up to Folgers" doesn't always do the eye-opening trick either.  But it does help.

Sometimes, Mavrick....our bit-of-a-pain-cause-I-chew-everything-but-still-so-cute puppy wakes me up standing on my chest licking my face. He brings in one of his chewed-upon toys in wanting to play. Wet paws and all from his morning jont around the backyard. Not sure that helps but you can't help but smile.

I haven't seen the movie yet but I have seen the previews of Captain America.  You know where the skinny weak guy climbs in some hyperbolic chamber and then climbs out a tough muscle bound stud. I need one of those machines! Or even waking up in the morning and feeling like it was Christmas. That would be awesome as well.

Sometimes we get lost along the path of life and loose the JOY in our lives.  Our lives become routine and lacks adventure.  Yes I did say adventure.  I don't have to be a pirate or secret agent to have adventure.  We all need adventure even it is small.  I have bucket list and some of those things are quite adventuresome.  I can't wait to start marking some of them off. Adventure keeps our lives from getting into the doldrums. LIFE itself can take a beating on you and it takes a bit of self-motivation to shake it off and wake up with that smile and say......Good Morning! I really mean it.

So my friends.....Have a Great Day.....and make it an adventure.

Share you adventure...great or small.

The Aroma of Coffee in the Morning

I am becoming very much the coffee freak these days! I say that because I never really liked coffee before.  I would have a cup every now and then and my wife would say I was playing grown up, like a little girl pretending with Tea and Cookies....except just the opposite.

I would try to drink some coffee during my days in Architecture school at Oklahoma State.  You know....for the reason of trying to stay awake.  Nope, couldn't do it.  It was enough struggle to keep going, but the coffee just upset my stomach. Of course the JOLT cola didn't do much better!

I think I must have been converted while my in-laws were living with us. My father-in-law would always get up first thing and make a pot of coffee......and then before long, he was make two pots of coffee for all of us. I think what I like most about the coffee habit is being able to pour a cup of coffee in the morning and then go out and sit on my patio surrounded by the flowers in my garden, (that I planted, by the way) and enjoy a moment of peace and quiet before the hectic day is to begin. Now our backyard is not exactly a fortress of solitude, but it has it's ability to take me away at least.

Of course that is in the spring or summer time.  In the winter time, I wake up and then my lovely wife (to whom I am so appreciative....staggers back from the kitchen with sleepy eyes partly opened and bring us our first cup of java for the morning).  ummm, wonderful smell, wonderful taste.....just right!

Now I don't go about adding a bunch of stuff to the coffee. No creamer. No milk. No sugar. No nothing.  Just plain black coffee! And we don't get a abnormally special coffee either.  Just FOLGERS breakfast blend or something like that. (Please don't ask me to buy it at the store....I am sure I wont buy the right stuff!) No if I go out for breakfast, and have a choice like PANERA, I will get some of the darker blends....but still no additives. Here is my MOTO: "If you are going to drink coffee....then drink coffee!"

We or maybe it is just I have started a collection of different coffee mugs from where ever we go.  We have a few from Eskimo Joe's in Stillwater (my wife has broken hers twice). We have a couple from Vegas, (my wife broke hers....now you see a theme happening here?). We have some Christmas ones, I got a Steeler mug for my Birthday....it is the best....big, strong and indestructible......ok, don't tell my wife about the indestructible part.

Juan Valdez...bring me another cup!
Have a blessed day my friends and remember to enjoy it to it's fullest!