WEBVTT - Second Cup: Make little moments festive

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio.

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<v Speaker 2>Good Morning.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is to make little moments festive. Getting in the

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<v Speaker 1>holiday spirit doesn't need to involve big, showy decorations, though

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<v Speaker 1>obviously it can. There are lots of little moments through

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<v Speaker 1>the day where tiny changes can make a big difference.

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<v Speaker 1>Every year, I make a holiday fund list and plot

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<v Speaker 1>out when my family will be doing things like visiting

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<v Speaker 1>holiday train displays or seeing the Nutcracker. These events tend

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<v Speaker 1>to involve times and tickets, which isn't a bad thing.

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<v Speaker 1>When something is on the schedule and I pay for tickets,

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<v Speaker 1>I tend to do it. But some items on the

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<v Speaker 1>holiday fun list are more about moments. For instance, I

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<v Speaker 1>decided to set the serious XM radio channel in my

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<v Speaker 1>car to seventy nine, which is holly. I might get

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<v Speaker 1>sick of the holiday music eventually, but it's as fun

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<v Speaker 1>as listening to random pop music for a few weeks,

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<v Speaker 1>and it makes carpool runs feel more festive. I've been

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<v Speaker 1>listening to Box Christmas Oratorio while doing my daily stretches.

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<v Speaker 1>I am practicing for my twenty twenty four project of

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<v Speaker 1>listening to all the works of Bach. So in the meantime,

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<v Speaker 1>why not listen to his famous Christmas masterpiece. A few

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<v Speaker 1>weeks ago I pulled out my stash of Christmas puzzles.

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<v Speaker 1>I like to work on one thousand piece puzzles at

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<v Speaker 1>night because it's relaxing and keeps.

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<v Speaker 2>Me off my phone. When I'm on my phone, I

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<v Speaker 2>tend to look at the news, and that is of

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<v Speaker 2>course far less relaxing. So one thousand piece puzzles it is.

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<v Speaker 2>I could work on any sort of puzzle, so why

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<v Speaker 2>not do ones with rustic Christmas scenes or pictures of

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<v Speaker 2>carollers or of Santa sitting by a fire. I have

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<v Speaker 2>dug into my stash of old holiday magazines. I love

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<v Speaker 2>old magazines in general, especially those from a long time ago,

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<v Speaker 2>as they show what life was like for normal people

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<v Speaker 2>in times past. I have collected some vintage December issues

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<v Speaker 2>of women's magazines, but I have also kept some that

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<v Speaker 2>I have subscribed to years of Martha Stuart, Living, Better

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<v Speaker 2>Homes and Gardens, Good Housekeeping, Oh, the Oprah Magazine, and

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<v Speaker 2>so forth. Some of these titles have stopped publishing, which

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<v Speaker 2>makes me happy that I saved the old ones. I

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<v Speaker 2>don't really remember flipping through the December twenty thirteen Martha

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<v Speaker 2>Stuart Living issue back in twenty thirteen, even though I'm

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<v Speaker 2>sure I did so. It's like reading a new magazine,

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<v Speaker 2>and it turns downtime into something more festive. In any case,

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<v Speaker 2>we have some discretion over how we spend our leisure time,

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<v Speaker 2>and especially the little choices like music and reading material

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<v Speaker 2>that are definitely within our control. We also have some

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<v Speaker 2>discretion over small things in our homes, like using holiday

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<v Speaker 2>soaps or lighting candles. It is as easy to use

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<v Speaker 2>evergreen scented soap as lavender scented soap for a few weeks,

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<v Speaker 2>and one probably feels more festive. If you are reading

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<v Speaker 2>to kids, why not read a holiday story instead of

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<v Speaker 2>stories you read the rest of the year. We can

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<v Speaker 2>go overboard on this, of course, but every year, as

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<v Speaker 2>the weather gets bleak in December, I remember the wisdom

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<v Speaker 2>of ancient humans holding solstice festivals, and then of the

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<v Speaker 2>Christian tradition putting this holiday of light during the darkest

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<v Speaker 2>days of the year. As the song goes, we need

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<v Speaker 2>a little Christmas. Write this very minute, even if you

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<v Speaker 2>don't celebrate Christmas or simply celebrate the secular version of it.

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<v Speaker 2>A little festivity amid bleakness can be welcome. Indeed, in

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<v Speaker 2>the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's

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<v Speaker 2>to making the most of our times. Thanks for listening

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<v Speaker 2>to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback,

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<v Speaker 2>you can reach.

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<v Speaker 1>Me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.

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<v Speaker 2>Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts

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<v Speaker 2>from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or

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