Write an article based on this "Develop the right attitude. Keep track of your progress and be proud of minor improvements. Create a commitment contract with yourself. Get someone else to get fit with you."
article: The mind may not be a muscle, but it's still incredibly strong, and can make the difference between succeeding and failing at your goal. Being fit is a marathon, not a sprint, and it requires making changes to your entire lifestyle. Don't give up when you're not getting what you're heading for... Don't approach this with the mindset that you can abandon the changes you make as soon as you reach your ideal fitness goal or you risk slipping into your bad habits again. Being fit should mean incorporating things into your life that you can eventually do by habit. It is a good idea to start a 'fit journal' so that you can keep track of when you work out, what you do, and for how long. You can also log what you eat each day. You may find that when you have to write down whether you snacked or not you may be less inclined to snack. Don't think that just because you have one setback, you may as well scrap it all and give up for the day. Don't be discouraged if you stop losing weight or stop gaining muscle; remember that plateaus are normal but overall you've put yourself on an upward trajectory and that's definitely something to be proud of. These contracts are otherwise known as a reward system. Set a goal for yourself and then decide upon a reward for yourself. Pick an item that you really want or something that you really want to do. For instance, make a contract with yourself that states that if you go on a run for 30 minutes every day you can buy that cute shirt or new golf clubs you have had your eye on for weeks now. It is much easier to reach your goals when you have someone to share the pain and the gain. Create a schedule that you can both commit to and keep each other on track. You could even get a group of people in on the 'get fit' schedule. Have everyone put $10 into a pot and the person who works out the most during the set amount of time wins the money.

Write an article based on this "Use funny inspirational quotes to get you started. Make a funny reference, but take it seriously. Tell a story specific to your school. Poke fun at the "traditional" graduation speech. Start with a lame joke, then unpack it."
article: Starting with inspirational quotes is a common (even corny) feature of the graduation speech. If you want to have a little humor in your speeches, using humorous quotes can be a great way to do it and add some levity. Here are a few classics of the genre: Will Rogers: "Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there." Ben Franklin: "You will find the key to success under the alarm clock." Bill Watterson: "What's it like in the real world? Well, the food is better, but beyond that, I don't recommend it." Ray Magliozzi: "You will never have more energy or enthusiasm, hair, or brain cells than you have today." One excellent way of putting a little humor in your speech is ironically referencing something that seems like it would be a silly reference for a graduation speech. Pop culture like songs, cartoons, and action movies could all be great references for a funny graduation speech, as long as you take it seriously and develop it. Pick a pearl from a favorite rap song: "As the venerable Lil Wayne taught us, 'Real G's move in silence, like lasagna.' And that's what I want to talk to you about today. No, not the questionable Italian casseroles lovingly served by the lunch ladies at our school, but moving forward. In silence. Like the real G's that Jefferson High School has made us." Reference some "low" culture: "Wondering these halls, we were like so many Mario Brothers in the sewers of our lives. Getting lost and finding our way. Reaching for stars. Thinking we were sparkling and invincible. Trampling strange mushrooms. Smashing turtles with hammers. Doing battles with princess-stealing dragon creatures who live in fiery realms. Well...we did some of that." Think of a funny story specific to your school, something that involves characters present at the graduation. This could be a good way to lead into your speech with some humor, as long as the story is appropriate for your audience. If you're giving a speech because you're an exceptional student or an administrator, it could get a good opportunity to self-deprecate. Tell a story about a time you failed spectacularly. Try to think of something everyone will be able to recognize. If your school has been under construction all year, make jokes about "building the future one closed hallway at a time." Avoid telling "inside" jokes unless you're going to explain them. If something is funny to you and your swim-team friends, but nobody else knows what it means, it's not good for a graduation speech. Remember who your audience is. While it might be difficult to pull off well, poking fun at the usual cliches of the graduation speech can be a good way to find something more interesting to say. Think of the corniest speech you could possibly give, then use that as a spring to go in the opposite direction. Attack the "hard-work" cliche: "Lots of people will tell you that success comes with hard work. And that the only way to climb that ladder of success is by keeping your hands out of your pockets. But it isn't true. Some people are just lucky. And that's what I want to talk about today..." Pick on the "I see the future innovators of the world" cliche: "I look out at you, my fellow graduates, and you know what I see? I see a future of loan debt. I see the students who will break their thumbs on the Xbox of life. The kids who will back-up the emergency rooms of the world, on Halloween, when the partying was too intense. Who will have 14 grandmothers die during finals week. And who will take control of their lives." Lots of good speeches, and some bad ones, use some conceit, story, or aphorism through the whole speech as a kind of metaphor. David Foster Wallace's "This is Water" is a classic speech of the genre. He starts with a simple joke about two fish swimming along in the ocean, and then talks at length about the cliches of graduation speeches, in which many speakers position themselves as the older fish swimming along telling the younger fish what water is. Pick a common joke that you like and tell it. Knock-knock jokes, chicken crossing the road jokes, talking dog jokes, jokes about moths visiting podiatrists. You can use any joke if you put the work into it. "My dad used to love to tell a joke. It goes like this: A guy and a skeleton walk into a bar. The guy orders two beers and a mop. I think there are two kinds of people in this world. Skeletons, and the people who mop up after them when they drink too much."

Write an article based on this "Host a backyard campout. Plant a garden. Build a fort. Institute a "nature scavenger hunt. Get crafty. Create a waterpark. Buy a cheap camera. Provide toys that have to be used outdoors. Convert chores to fun."
article:
If you live in a rural or suburban area with a yard, host a weekend campout! Invite neighbor children over, pitch a tent, and provide some fun games and activities such as sing-alongs, stargazing, and story time. The National Wildlife Federation sponsors an annual "Great American Backyard Campout" that includes public campout events. If you live in an urban area or don't have a backyard, joining one of these events could be a good option. Get your children involved in planting and maintaining the plants as they grow. There are many websites that offer suggestions for kid-friendly gardens. You can even build fun projects such as a "bean teepee" (bean vines grown up long poles tied together) that your kids can use as an outdoor play space. If you don't have a lot of outdoor space, you can still have a garden area! Try making a fairy garden, or planting a planter box with herbs such as rosemary and thyme that are easy to grow (and you can use them in meals!). If you have a little more space, you can grow a container garden. You can make a bean fort or bean teepee, or you can give your kids the raw materials to make their own forts. All you need are some old sheets, some long branches, and maybe some cardboard. Let your kids use their imagination to build a fun play space! " There are many places online to find scavenger hunt lists, or you can make your own. Having a challenge will keep your kids occupied and give them a sense of accomplishment when they've finished the quest. This will work for kids who live in the city as well as those in rural or suburban areas! If your children like collecting stuff, send them outside with a bucket or basket to find items for fun craft projects. Seeds, pine cones, rocks, flowers, and leaves can all be made into fun crafts and gifts. In the summer time, turn on the garden hose, add some buckets and squirt toys, and let your kids go wild! Squirting some soapy water on a tarp will give your kids a homemade slip 'n slide for hours of fun. Give your child an inexpensive camera (either film or digital) and encourage them to explore the outdoors and take pictures of what they see. This will help them get more involved with and curious about their environment, and there are many kid-friendly cameras available for under $100. Toys like jump ropes, soccer and basketballs, and sidewalk chalk simply don't work indoors. They may tempt even reluctant children into heading outside. Chores such as raking leaves and shoveling snow may not immediately appeal to kids, but teaching them to see the chore as producing a reward -- like a big pile of leaves to jump in or the makings of a great snowman -- will encourage them to be active and responsible.