It is National Cereal Day!
Did you know??
– Of the more than 314 million people in the U.S., 49 per cent start their day with a bowl of cereal.
– Astronauts from Apollo 11 boosted their brain power while in space with a cereal breakfast. The cereal was mixed with fruit and pressed into cubes since the lack of gravity kept the astronauts from pouring it into a bowl with milk.
– There are 2.7 billion boxes — enough to wrap around the earth thirteen times — of cereal sold every year.
Click HERE to find more interesting facts about cereal.
If you post or tweet about cereal today, please use #CerealDay #NationalCerealDay

We also talked about your smart phone battery this morning. Click HERE for 5 easy steps on how to make your phone battery last longer.

The Morning Thing also shared an update on business.
QVC and The Today Show have partnered together to find the “Next Big Thing”. They are looking for creative inventions. Finalists will be selected to come pitch their product live on TODAY during the week of April 18 to a panel of judges, then viewers will get to vote for their favorite. The three products with the highest votes in their categories will return to TODAY, where the panel of judges will select a winner. The winning inventor will get to sell his or her product on QVC on April 23. Click HERE for more details.

Fast food chain Chick-fil-A is encouraging customers to ditch their smartphones during dinner, even placing boxes called “cell phone coops” on the tables at some of its locations. The point is to get people to talk to each other instead of texting or scrolling through social media. Click HERE for more details and how you can get ice cream if you are successful with the challenge!

Target is spreading the news of the #NOFOMO campaign, which has women sharing their swimsuit selfies online, as part of an effort to encourage body positivity. The company said the campaign is “all about shaking off body insecurities and not letting anything get in the way of having fun in our swimsuits.” Click HERE for more details.

Today (3/4/16) is National Employee Appreciation Day.
For our weekly Fave 5, The Morning Thing crew decided to share our 5 favorite ways to show appreciation to employees.

1. A simple thing to do, but often forgotten – say THANK YOU! A hand-written note means more than an email, so take the time to write down specifically how the employee helped you and the business or organization.

2. Have a team celebration! If the team did a good job, reward them with a party. Have food, casual dress day, close the office and celebrate the success!

3. Tell others about your fabulous employees. Your workers will feel appreciated if you get caught telling others about their outstanding work performance.

4. Create an award for outstanding behavior – maybe the employee of the week, month or year. Be sure to include specific details of “why” the employee is being honored.

5. Create a culture of encouragement. Employees will respond to positive reinforcement. Employees who are recognized for their efforts will continue to work hard and encourage co-workers to do so too. Praise achievement and encourage others to pursue their goals.

Click HERE for more information about National Employee Appreciation Day.

(Picture courtesy of www.nationaldaycalendar.com)

The Morning Thing talked with Dr. Henry Spaulding, MVNU’s President today. He shared the March MVNU Update. Click HERE to hear our conversation.
Dr. Spaulding talks about the change to MVNU’s calendar with a 2 week spring break. He also gives us the latest update on the Mount Vernon Grand Hotel and tells us about MVNU’s new major (Communication Sciences and Disorders).

Today, The Morning Thing also had the chance to introduce you to the local band, Taming Lions. They will be hosting a free concert on Saturday 3/5 at the Alcove Restaurant. The concert starts at 6pm. The Alcove is located at 116 South Main Street in downtown Mount Vernon. Click HERE to hear our conversation about how the band got started, the music they love to perform and the passion behind their ministry. Click HERE for more information about Taming Lions.

The Morning Thing had a chance to talk with Kevin Downes, Producer on the movie Woodlawn.
Click HERE to hear the conversation.
Woodlawn takes us to 1973 and follows the story of government-mandated desegregation. Tony Nathan (Caleb Castille) joins fellow African-American students at Woodlawn High School in Birmingham, Ala. As violence and anger erupt in the city, Woodlawn football coach Tandy Gerelds (Nic Bishop) allows an outsider (Sean Astin) to speak to his players. His message of hope and love leads to a spiritual awakening that inspires star athlete Nathan, his teammates and other members of the community to overcome the hate that surrounds them.

Woodlawn is now on Blu-ray and DVD. Click HERE to see a trailer and find out more about the movie.

Is limiting screen time for your kids working? Or backfiring?
This morning, we took a look at a struggle all parents have in 2016.

Click HERE for a different view on the technology discussion. Zina Harrington shares why her family doesn’t limit screen time for the kids.

Zina argues that we need to teach our kids self-moderation and balance, with a bit of flexibility thrown in.

Today on The Morning  Thing we talked about overthinking and over-analyzing situations that we cannot change. We worry too much about other people’s opinions when we should be focused on God and His plans for us. The Bible repeatedly tells us to not to worry, to let go and let God. If you find yourself anxious and overthinking turn to God’s Word. Check out this link for 10 scriptures to help you find peace in God.

Plus we had the opportunity to talk with Dr. Brad Whitaker about the new Center for Student Success located on the first floor of the MVNU’s Thorne Library. He talks about the new services that are offered to students, how the community can benefit from the center and the future plans for CSS. To listen to our whole conversation click HERE!

Smart phones have changed our lives. They give us instant information and communication, but are there negative effects?
Research says that growing smartphone use has played a role in the increasing sense of loneliness in Western society.
So how do you know if you are addicted? What can you do to break the smartphone habit?
Click HERE to see some amazing tips including a flowchart on how to help find balance with this wonderful piece of technology.

It’s LEAP DAY! This special day only happens every 4 years. Do you know why we have a Leap Day? Click HERE for the real reason 2/29 is here.

There are some other great events that happen every 4 years.
The OLYMPICS! Click HERE to find out more about the summer Olympics coming to Rio!
The Presidential Election also happens every 4 years. Tomorrow (3/1/16) is Super Tuesday. Click HERE for more information on who will be voting and how those votes will impact the presidential nominees.
A total solar eclipse also happens every 4 years. Click HERE to see where the eclipse will be visible (NOT in Ohio unfortunately).

We also talked about the brain and brain drain from fuzzy thinking to memory lags. Recent surveys say that 1 in 8 baby boomers has memory lapses, at least once in a while.While some causes of memory loss are genetic, it’s never too early or too late to build a bigger, more nimble brain and postpone memory loss by a decade or far more.

The Academy Awards will be handed out on Sunday night.
For our Morning Thing Fave 5, the team decided to share our favorite Oscar winning movies of all time.

Wesley Boston – Ben Hur (1959 Best Picture). This is not only my favorite Best Picture Winner, it is my favorite movie of all time. I have watched it again and again and never tire of it.From a film-making standpoint it is incredibly well made: It has amazing cinematography, is brilliantly written, beautifully acted, and well edited. It is an incredibly powerful story that can connect with anyone on some level. It deals with so many human emotions- anger, desire for revenge, the struggle to find in peace and to forgive… It is well worth the watch.

Marcy Rinehart – The Sound of Music (1965 Best Picture). Julie Andrews is the QUEEN of musicals. This is by far her best performance. The rest of the cast is superb. The story-line is fabulous and intriguing. The music is timeless. This movie was great in 1965 and is still incredible in 2016. I am thrilled that my daughter Rachel loves this movie too. She has a dream to play Liesl on stage.

Jenna Potts – Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2004 Best Picture). I loved seeing the characters from the book come alive on screen! The science fiction elements and the action adventure story-line made me love the film as much as the book! The first time I watched LOTR was in junior high with my Dad. We had a marathon of the films which took all evening and most of the night but made the series even more memorable!

Aubrey Bailey – My favorite Academy Award-winning movie is Annie Hall (1977 Best Picture). When I was in high school, my friend Karah made me watch this movie. I didn’t really want to, because I had never heard of it, since it was from the 70s. It turned out to be such a cute movie with a slightly sad ending — but I won’t give anything away if you haven’t seen it. Woodie Allen is so funny in this movie, along with Diane Keaton’s strong character of Annie Hall. Now that I am thinking about this movie again, I want to watch it soon.

We all picked Rocky (1976 Best Picture) as our #1 favorite Oscar winning movie of all time. This is a powerful story and an incredibly well made movie. It’s got great characters and memorable moments. Sylvester Stallone did a phenomenal job writing and acting in it. And when you consider his real life rags-to-riches story in making this movie, the film becomes even more powerful and inspiring!

And…now for the worst movies…we found a list of 21 sequels that should NEVER have been made. Click HERE to see the list and tell us if you agree.

Living in Ohio, you never know what the weather will decide to do. Yesterday, the temperatures were in the 50s with sunshine, a monsoon today, and tomorrow…a winter wonderland.

But don’t worry! Here on The Morning Thing, we are talking about 50 things you can do when it’s cold outside. We will help prepare you for tomorrow’s weather — but, who knows, it may be sunny with a high of 65 tomorrow. Ah, Ohio.

You can find the complete list of ideas of how to survive boredom in the frigid temperatures here.

Some of the things to do when it’s cold outside include:

• Watch a movie. Pick something interesting and watch it curled up under a blanket.

Wouldn’t this be an awesome place for movie watching during the winter months?

• View Old family pictures. View pictures of your children, nephews, and nieces or pictures of your parents when they were growing up.

NOSTALGIA! Always nice on a cold day.

• Start a crochet or knitting project. If you’re not sure how to crochet or knit, there are many easy alternatives! You can find those here and here.

If I owned a blanket like this, I don’t think I would ever leave the couch. Anna Mo, a crafty woman from Ukraine, creates super chunky blankets like this and other home goods in a range of beautiful colors. I just like to look at them. You can take a look here.

Stay warm and be safe out there in the arctic tundra! – Aubrey