*Mornings Archives

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The holidays are coming … And in case you want to look like you did difficult yard work permanently, Gucci is selling grass stained jeans … for $770. You can also get some overalls that look you rolled around in the dirt … for $1,400. (In the Know)

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Who are these people? If you had to choose between your dog and your phone, you wouldn’t have to even think, you’d choose your dog. Right? Right?! Well, maybe not. According to a survey from SimpleTexting, 40% of participants said they would choose to be separated from their dog for a month instead of having to give up their phone for a month. Even scarier, 44% of people surveyed said they would give up seeing their significant other for a month if it meant keeping their phone with them at all times. (People)

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New research has found that there’s a link between eating too much at dinner and taking in more calories during the day and having a poorer diet overall. Seems it’s best to eat your bigger meals earlier in the day, and keep it light for dinner. (EurekAlert)

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The world of the Jetsons may be here before we know it. Future Car says General Motors is exploring the possibility of manufacturing flying cars for an aerial taxi program. Hyundai and Uber are already working on a similar program. General Motors would most likely use a vertical takeoff and landing system with electric motors instead of jet engines. Taxis would only be able to fly short routes

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Maybe it’s time to take your work outside … A new survey has found that office workers are more productive and in a better mood after spending time outdoors. Productivity improved by 45% after workers spent just a half-hour outside, and 63% said they felt better after spending time in fresh air. And this is interesting … 57% of managers surveyed said they thought their employees were more productive working from home. Because of that, 50% say they’re focusing on flexible schedules and encouraging staff to spend more time outside. (SWNS)

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The Sunday Blues are more like the Sunday Stress … A new survey found that people start to feel anxiety about the upcoming workweek at 3:58 p.m. on Sundays. 88% of respondents said they regularly feel anxiety on Sunday about what Monday morning will bring. The survey also revealed that a whole lot of us are working on the weekends – with the average worker doing about three hours of unpaid work on Saturdays and Sundays. 45% said they were looking at emails, 38% said they were going over presentations, and 31% said they made business calls over the weekend. And the survey found that people think about work and their jobs about six times a weekend.

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Are you happier around your friends than your family? Don’t be embarrassed to admit it … because you are definitely not alone. A new study from Southern Methodist University found that people are happier when they’re with their friends than with their spouse or kids. In fact, the research found that people reported the lowest levels of happiness when they were with a significant other. Ouch. But there’s a pretty good reason for this: The study found that when people are with friends, it typically involves fun, social events. The time spent with family tends to involve less fun activities – like doing chores. So basically, it’s not so much who you are with – but what you’re doing.

The lesson in all of this – according to SMU psychology professor Nathan Hudson, is to make an effort to do fun things with family – not just with friends. “It’s important to create opportunities for positive experiences with romantic partners and children – and to really mentally savor those positive times. In contrast, family relationships that involve nothing but chores, housework, and childcare likely won’t predict a lot of happiness.”

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IIamas May Hold Key To Beating Coronavirus: Raw Story says Stockholm, Sweden scientists are developing a coronavirus vaccine using llamas and alpacas. Dr. Gerald McInearney tells the website, “Camels, and alpacas and llamas and other animals from that family have special, small single-chain antibodies. Tiny antibodies they’ve proved can block Covid-19. We are very excited that we have something that’s very functional.”

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At what age do you think workers hit career burnout? 40s? 50s? 60s? Nope. It’s a lot sooner. According to a new study, workers are most likely to experience career burnout at the age of … 32. The research found that nearly a third of workers polled said they’ve felt overwhelming stress and exhaustion at some point during their careers. The reasons? 52% of respondents said it was because they tried to do too much, 58% blamed it on a long work hours, and 39% said it was not taking enough vacation days. Other reasons: Feeling like you always have to be “on” (47%) and pressure to go above and beyond in order to keep your job (37%). (SWNS)

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Are virtual weddings here to stay? Seems many wedding planners think virtual weddings will continue even after the pandemic is over. “I think virtual will become a piece of every wedding in the future, even long past this pandemic,” said Samie Roberts, co-founder wedding streaming service LoveStream. “You always have a grandparent who isn’t able to make it, or a pregnant friend, or any of those things. I think that now that there’s a way to have a virtual piece of a wedding, it will become more of the norm.” (Insider)

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The Aruba Tourism Authority is inviting people who are working from home to work from Aruba. They’ve launched something called the “One Happy Work-ation” program, allowing visitors to stay for up to three months. And, as an added bonus, Aruba is offering hotel packages which include special rates, complimentary WiFi and even all-inclusive food and beverage options.

Why not take them up on the offer? If you do it right, your boss will never know. (Travel + Leisure)

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The Big Ten announced today that it will resume its football season on October 24th.

The conference initially cancelled football until the spring, but its Council of Presidents and Chancellors got together and decided to allow the league to play football this fall amid serious questions about COVID-19 testing and tracing, and concerns about myocarditis — an inflammation of the heart muscle which is believed to be a long term effect of the coronavirus.

The season will include eight games over eight weeks, with a Big Ten Championship Game scheduled for December 19th. (USA Today)

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Getting ready to dive into a new TV series, but not sure how much time you’ll need to dedicate to binge the whole thing? There’s an app for that. Bingeclock crunched the numbers on 52 of the most popular shows, like The Office, Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad.

It will take you just over four days to run watch all nine seasons of The Office or around three days to revisit Game of Thrones. You can binge Breaking Bad in 2 days and 14 hours. It will take just shy of 14 days to run through the backlog of Simpsons episodes. But if you’ve really got time on your hands, consider watching some soaps — you’ll need almost a year and a half to catch up on nearly 60 years of General Hospital reruns. (Stacker)

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Curious what wine pairs well with a Taco Bell Chalupa? The answer is… a spicy Jalapeño Noir Red Wine. Apparently, the wine has wild strawberry, cherry and beetroot notes and pairs well with a Toasted Cheesy Chalupa. Unfortunately, the wine is only available at Taco Bell locations in Canada right now. But Windsor isn’t that far, right? (Delish)

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Last week there was the story of the gender reveal party in California that sparked a wildfire that spread to more than 10,000 acres, and now there’s a new story of a gender reveal party gone bad. This time, a man in western Massachusetts accidentally shot himself in the crotch. Tom Cressotti and his wife, Kristin, each had a powder-filled canon they would pull. The color of the cartridge’s contents, blue powder or pink powder, would reveal the gender of their baby. Well, it seems Tim was holding the canon the wrong way – and shot himself in the groin with blue smoke. It’s a boy! A video of the event shows poor Tom on the ground, writhing in pain. (Insider)

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If you’re one of the few that enjoys a bit of Black Friday deal Thanksgiving day shopping, Newsweek says Simon Malls plans to close all of their properties on Thanksgiving because of the coronavirus. They released a statement saying, “In these challenging times. We made the decision that we will not open on Thanksgiving Day, instead allowing our associates to spend the holiday with their loved ones.” The closest Simon properties to our area include University Park Mall in Mishawaka, and Lighthouse Place in Michigan City.

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If you’re going on a first date, job interview, or anywhere you want to make a good impression, you may want to stay away from this one color … mustard yellow. According to a new poll, wearing the color yellow can instantly make you less attractive to people. 39% of men and 31% of women said yellow was among the least attractive colors. (Best Life)

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If there’s one thing that 2020 has taught us, it’s to expect the unexpected. No one could have expected a marriage between Pepsi and Red Lobster to create a new cocktail — a Mountain Dew margarita called the DEW-Garita. The cocktail is said to be made with a secret recipe and will be available at all Red Lobster restaurants by the end of the year. (People)

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You don’t typically think of Pepsi as something to drink when you want to fall asleep, but the company is about to add a new water beverage to their drink lineup — and it’s specifically designed to be sipped before you go to sleep. Driftwell, which launches in December, contains L-theanine and magnesium, which are ingredients said to help you relax and de-stress before falling asleep. The drink, which only comes in one flavor right now — blackberry lavender — is sold in 7.5-ounce mini cans which, according to a PepsiCo spokesperson, is the perfect size for “hydrating before bedtime without requiring another trip to the bathroom.” (CNBC)

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Do you like cheeseburgers? Do you like making easy money? A gambling website has a unique and delicious opportunity for one very lucky burger lover. BonusFinder.com, which is based in Amsterdam, wants to find the best cheeseburger in America — and is offering someone $500 to help them find it. In addition to $500, the winning applicant will be provided additional funds for travel and for the burgers, of course. Applications are being accepted now and a winner will be chosen on October 9th.

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Cover hogs can make for some sleepless nights and even problems in your relationship. Well, there’s a simple solution to those blanket battles – separate bedding. In Europe, especially Scandinavian countries, using separate bedding is very common. Basically it’s just separate comforters for each person – and a shared fitted sheet. “When I make the suggestion — maybe use separate covers so they don’t fight over the covers — they kind of look at you quizzically, like it’s such an obvious thing to suggest, but it didn’t occur to them,” sleep specialist Dr. Rafael Pelayo tells Good Housekeeping. “It’s not a routine recommendation, but if somebody is telling me that they’re having concerns about one person moving too much or they’re uncomfortable in their bed because they’re fighting over covers, I suggest, why can’t you get two blankets? It seems to make sense.”

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The Salvation Army is getting an early start on its annual holiday fundraiser and volunteers with bells and red kettles will be out as early as today.

The launch of the charity drive traditionally begins closer to Thanksgiving, but because of economic struggles due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Salvation Army decided place their iconic red kettles outside of stores today. But despite the much earlier start, the Salvation Army still expects a 50 percent drop in fundraising this year due to retail store closings, a coin shortage, and people carrying less cash.

The Salvation Army says it raised $126 million with its holiday drive last year. (PR  Newswire)