It’s time to celebrate food again…something that we love to do on The Morning Thing.

(Photo courtesy of http://www.daysoftheyear.com)

It’s Blueberry Pancake Day. Yummy! Click HERE to find out more about this yummy celebration.

Click HERE for a recipe for Cake-Mix Blueberry Pancakes. Recipe courtesy of Food Network Kitchen

Click HERE for a recipe courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis – Jade’s Mini Pancakes with Blueberries.

Click HERE for Bobby Flay’s recipe for blueberry pancakes. He adds Orange-Honey Butter and Cinnamon Maple Syrup! Yummy!

Click HERE for 56 different healthy recipes using blueberries. This little fruit is so versatile and good for you!

(Photo courtesy of http://www.daysoftheyear.com)

It is also National Kazoo Day. Click HERE for a history of this special day and instrument.
Click HERE to hear our own WNZR Kazoo band featuring Wesley Boston and Josh Pope.

In the 8am hour, we shared bible verses on prayer. Click HERE to find encouragement for your day.

Today is an exciting day for The Morning Thing! Its Chocolate Cake Day! Join us in celebrating this amazing dessert! Wesley loves to eat his chocolate cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and drizzled with caramel sauce. Jenna loves to have a big cup of milk or coffee with her’s. However, you love it, indulge in chocolate cake today!

Check out this link for recipes of some of the best chocolate cakes!

And, if you aren’t a chocolate lover but can’t resist eating a few fries with your ketchup check out this link. We found out that condiment packets are not meant to last forever. They actually expire! So, make sure you clean out out your car and fridge!

And…. GUESS WHAT??!!!
WNZR’s annual Valentines banquet is only a couple weeks away! This year’s theme is “Love & Laughter”. We will feature a discussion on how humor is important for all relationships, but is essential when a couple is striving for a healthy, loving relationship.

We will have a Couples Challenge with fun games and fabulous prizes. Couples attending the banquet will have the opportunity to sign up to participate in Love Song Poetry, Movie/TV Trivia and How Well Do You Know Your Spouse.

An Italian buffet dinner will be served including chicken parmesan, fettuccini alfredo, tossed salad, antipasto salad, fruit salad, garlic bread sticks and chocolate layer cake for dessert.

Guests will also get the chance to win from over $1,000 dollars’ worth of door prizes!

But, tickets are limited to the first 50 couples! You can get your tickets at the WNZR studios in Founders Hall on the campus of MVNU or at the Gospel supply shop in downtown Mount Vernon.

For more information check out our website HERE!

The Morning Thing celebrated Music Day today with BIG news for WinterJam fans.
WinterJam is headed to movie theaters. See all the details below.

Click HERE to see a list of theaters in Ohio showing THIS IS WINTER JAM.

Dear Winter Jam Fan, On Tuesday, April 19th at 7:00 pm experience a once-in-a-lifetime big-screen spectacular at a movie theater near you. THIS IS WINTER JAM captures the life transforming ministry of Winter Jam, as you’ve never seen it before. From unforgettable live performances from Skillet, Jeremy Camp, Francesca Battistelli, for KING & COUNTRY, Building 429, Family Force 5, NewSong and more, to unprecedented backstage access, and never-before seen interviews from Winter Jam artists past and present, THIS IS WINTER JAM offers an exclusive insiders look at the heartbeat of Winter Jam – a passion to see lives changed forever by the Gospel of Jesus. PLUS… be the very first to see the world premiere of for KING & COUNTRY’s brand-new music video “Priceless”, featuring exclusive scenes from their upcoming theatrical film. WATCH THE TRAILER JamTour.com/movie

Today is National Opposite Day, so we decided to switch shows!

Joe and I guest hosted the Morning Thing, and Marcy and Wesley will be hosting the Afternoon Drive later today!

You can find all the information we shared about National Opposite Day by clicking here.

Since it’s Opposite Day, we shared some words that you probably didn’t know had opposites. You can find that list here.

We also shared some words that are their own opposites, and you can find all of those here.

We talked about Winter Storm Jonas, and shared some of the recording-breaking snowfalls from across the US. You can find the complete list here.

And here’s the Enterprise ad featuring For King & Country that we talked about.

Have a great week!

-Jess

Are you looking for a perfect vacation spot for 2016?

Click HERE to see a list of the 2016 best solo trips from http://www.smartertraveler.com
The Morning Thing team thinks this list includes great spots for anyone, including families. We would all LOVE to go to New Zealand.

MT Fave 5 for the week of January 18th
As winter weather continues to hit us, we are finding that we are spending more time thinking about vacation.

Here are our 5 favorite vacation destinations:

1. DisneyWorld! Orlando, Florida is the ultimate location for family fun and great for kids of all ages.
2. Washington D.C. – there are SO many things to do and places to go. Look for the “free” museums and make sure to visit all the memorials and the National Mall.
3. New York City – AMAZING! This is the city that never sleeps. Take in a Broadway play, visit Rockefeller Center and see the Statue of Liberty. Save some money before you go, because everything is expensive.
4. Grand Canyon. Wesley Boston says that the first view of the canyon is breathtaking. It seems to go on forever because you can’t see the other side. This is on the vacation bucket list for Marcy Rinehart, Aubrey Bailey and Jenna Potts.
5. The Beach. Good ones include: St. Augustine, Florida; Myrtle Beach and Hilton Head, South Carolina; and Daytona Beach, Florida.

We know that most of us will not be hopping on a plane this weekend to head to an exotic vacation destination. 🙂 (We can dream, right?!)
So, to get you ready for another wintery Ohio weekend, we shared some yummy crock-pot soup recipes. Click HERE for a comforting recipe to try this weekend.

Marcy loves this recipe for beef stew, click HERE.
Jenna wants to try this recipe for potato soup, click HERE.
Click HERE for a Taco Soup recipe. This one is sure to add a little heat to your winter nights.

Stay WARM and SAFE this weekend!

The Morning Thing shared Life Hacks from a fun website
Click HERE to have some fun!

– Predict the weather by looking at your coffee
– hot water and salt can help you take care of a clogged toilet
– chip clips can help you get the last few drops of toothpaste out of the tube

Have a life hack to share? Email us at wnzr@mvnu.edu

We also shared some information about a wonderful event happening at East Knox High School on Friday, 1/22/16. Click HERE to hear our conversation with teacher, Kevin Oldaker about the Basketball Spaghetti Night!

Today is a special day for WNZR! Its our Holiday! Throughout the show we celebrated National Disc Jockey Day!

Plus, we looked a the Flavor Forecast. Looking ahead we expect to see slight chance of spicy dishes with a high of Matcha. We also have a 50% chance of Amaranth. To see the complete flavor forecast CLICK HERE.

For National DJ Day we celebrate those who play recorded music on the radio and at events. From weddings, birthday parties, church youth events, retirement celebrations, car rides and so much more, DJs are a part of every aspect of our lives! We talked to some of our staff at WNZR to find out why they love being a DJ and to hear their favorite memories!

    Click HERE to listen to Joe’s experience as a DJ!

Aubrey shares her favorite memory as DJ at WNZR HERE.

Listen to Miriam’s favorite part of being a DJ HERE.

Rachel Radcliff shares her favorite memory as a DJ HERE.

Click HERE for Mariah Powell’s experience as a DJ!

Americans consume 17 billion quarts of popcorn each year, more than any other country in the world. A majority of the popcorn produced in the world is grown in the United States.

Today, we celebrate this yummy snack!
Click HERE to find out the history of popcorn. Popcorn started becoming popular in the United States in the middle 1800s. A few inventions including cooking with steam and adding peanuts and molasses made popcorn even more popular with Americans.

Click HERE for 49 mouth-watering facts about popcorn. Yummy. Are you getting hungry?

Looking for a fresh, new way to eat your favorite snack? Food Network Magazine created 50 different recipes using 12 to 16 cups of freshly popped popcorn. Click HERE for some great ideas on how to flavor your popcorn.

It is NATIONAL HAT DAY!

Hang on to your hats and celebrate in style on January 15. Millions will participate in National Hat Day.

• Hats may be worn for safety and protection, religious reasons, ceremonial reasons, warmth or fashion.
• In the Middle Ages, hats were an indicator of social status.
• In the military, hats may denote ones nationality, branch of service, rank and/or regiment.
• A Thebes tomb painting depicts one of the first pictorials of a hat . The painting shows a man wearing a conical straw hat.
• Structured hats for women began to be worn in the late 16th century.
• Millinery is the designing and manufacture of hats.
• The term “milliner” derived from the city of Milan, Italy. The best quality hats were made in Milan in the 18th century.
• Millinery began as traditionally a woman’s occupation, as the milliner not only created hats and bonnets but also chose lace, trim and accessories to complete an outfit.
• In the middle of the 1920′s, to replace the bonnets and wide brimmed hats, women began to wear smaller hats that hugged their heads.

Depending on where you live, if you are outside in the middle of a cold January, you may definitely want to wear a hat on National Hat Day!

Be sure to wear a hat and use #NationalHatDay to post on social media.

Wondering how to wear a hat? Click HERE to see 15 stylish outfits using a hat throughout all 4 seasons.
by Vanessa Rodriguez in Style Guides.

As you celebrate National Hat Day, click HERE to make sure that you are following hat etiquette. You can find out rules for both women and men.