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Archive for July, 2018

Who Ya Gonna Call?

Posted by terrepruitt on July 30, 2018

Have you heard of Uber? Or Lyft? They are the driver services where you hire a private driver in his/her own car to pick you up and drive you to where you need to be. Supposedly it is less expensive than a taxi. With the applications made for smart phones it is supposedly really easy too. You can order a driver, see how much it will cost, how long it will take, and watch the driver’s progress to your location. You might think of using Uber or Lyft to take you out to dinner or to an event to avoid having to pay parking or even when you are visiting another city and you don’t want to rent a car. But do you know what else these services are being used for? Non-emergency transportation to the hospital!

A paper authored by an assistant professor of economics at the University of Kansas and an internist at Scripps Mercy Hospital in San Diego says that cities that have Uber available have reduced their use of ambulances. Noted in the paper, the present health care system has slowed ambulance response time down, so calling for an Uber/Lyft can get you to which hospital you want to go to. Ambulances are usually required to take you to the nearest medical facility, whereas if you hire one of theses private driver services they will take you where you want to go – and possibly faster than an ambulance.

I think it goes without saying that you would save money considering medical transportation is often costs hundreds if not thousands of dollars. Also, in non-emergency situations, you could be freeing up an ambulance for an actual life-threatening emergency. Someone who REALLY NEEDS the ambulance could get it!

In Texas, Tarrant County Emergency Services is actually using Lyft instead of ambulances. When some calls 911 they can speak to dispatch and a triage nurse. The callers are able to have a Lyft driver dispatched to pick them up and take them to a medical facility of their choice.

I think if you have an advice nurse or a triage nurse (as it seems to be called in Texas) available to you, it might be a good idea to call them and see what they think. There are many reasons one might need to go to the hospital and they are unable to drive themselves, but it is not necessarily a need for an ambulance. Of course, always call 911 when there is an emergency.

What do you think about using an Uber/Lyft type of ride to the hospital?

Posted in Misc | Tagged: advice nurse, Emergencies, Lyft, mbulances, non-emergency ride, private driver, ride-sharing, Uber, University of Kansas | Leave a Comment »

Capitola Wharf

Posted by terrepruitt on July 27, 2018

I posted a picture of the ocean from the wharf back in April, but here is the entrance to the wharf. It was a beautiful day, but most days are when you can spend it with your Sweetie at the ocean.

A Friday Photo of the Capitola Wharf Entrance.

Posted in Friday Photo | Tagged: beach, Capitola Wharf, Friday Photo, ocean | Leave a Comment »

Bringing More Fun Into Class

Posted by terrepruitt on July 25, 2018

Sometimes we end Nia class with the laughter “exercise”. You know that saying “fake it ’til you make it?” Well, since the brain can’t tell the difference between fake laughter and real laughter it releases the “happy hormones” regardless. There are many additional benefits to laughter:

–it can trigger the release of endorphins (the “happy” hormones mentioned)
–it can help lower your blood pressure
–it can reduce stress hormone levels
–it can give your abdominal muscles a workout
–it can help improve cardiac health
–it can improve your immune system by boosting T-cells
–it can give you a sense of well-being and help you look at the world more positively
–it helps relax the body
–it burns calories
–it may even help relieve pain

What better way to end an exercise class than laughter?

There are a lot of ways to do it, but one way is by laughing and “cooking all four sides”. Debbie Rosas uses that saying when referring to being on or using the “sides” of the body; front, back, left, right or tummy, back, left side, right side.

Sometimes in Nia class since we are already on the floor for the Floorplay cycle of class we will do the “exercise”. It is simple actually. While lying on your back just start to laugh. It doesn’t even have to be “real” laughter. Just start to chuckle or giggle. Or even just begin by saying, “Ha!” One loud HA! Then keep going. Pretty soon your “ha-s” will change into something else – again, it might not yet be real, but someone who has joined in will make a noise that will cause real laughter. Once one person has started, it just goes from there and the next thing you know everyone is really laughing. Even if or when it starts to die down something will happen, someone will think of something funny and start up again, or someone will snort (that is always good for a laugh), or someone will do that long sigh that always happens after a good laugh session and it will start back up again.

After about one minute roll to a side. Stay there and laugh for a minute. Just keep it going even if there are moments when it is not that real-from-the-belly kind of laugh. Then after a minute, roll to the other side. Stay there laughing for about a minute. Keep it going. Then roll to your tummy. Here is where you might start really sensing it in your belly, after three minutes of laughter your abs might already notice and when you roll on the belly and laugh more, they probably will be getting your attention a bit.

This is a really fun way to end the class. It reminds everyone that participates how fun laughing is. It reminds everyone how contagious laughing is. It reminds everyone that no matter what is going on there is a chance for laughter. It also reminds everyone that laughter can be a bit physical.

Of course you don’t have to be in a class to do this exercise. Perhaps there is someone in your home that would like to participate with you. Also you don’t have to do it for a minute on each side.

So what do you think? Is this an exercise you can enjoy?

Posted in Nia | Tagged: abdominal exercise, cardio exercise, cooking all four sides, Debbie Rosas, laughing for four minutes, laughter exercise, Nia, Nia class | Leave a Comment »

Five Ways To Help Relieve Pain

Posted by terrepruitt on July 23, 2018

Not only am I receiving my dad’s magazines, but my neighbor had some subscriptions that he is no longer using so he is passing them on to us. I have a lot of magazines. Most magazines are just advertisements. Even the “articles” are just ads disguised as “information”. I used to go through a magazine and just rip out the advertisements the second I got it, but now I am passing magazines onto one of the community centers where I work so I don’t rip out the advertisements. I have been perusing the magazines to get information to pass onto my readers. An article I read recently in Good Housekeeping was titled 5 {WHO-KNEW WAYS} to Fight Pain. Well, many of us knew, but sometimes it is interesting to see what others are saying. And some of them were NEW to me.

The five things are Diet, Sleep, Reframing, Relaxing, and Exercise.

The first thing they recommend to help ease pain is change the diet. One of the main causes of pain is chronic inflammation. I am not sure if you have ever noticed that some days you might wake up a little sore. Could be that you didn’t even do anything the day before to make you sore. But when you get out of bed you notice that your joints feel a little stiff. A lot of people attribute this to the aging process. While aging probably has something to do with it, I know plenty of young people that wake up (or sit for a long time) and have a difficult time moving right after. For me, I believe it has a lot to do with what I have eaten. Next time you wake up sore without having lifted weights or done anything to warrant it, think about what you had to eat the day before or even the day before that. Just keep an idea in your mind of what you had. Then see if you are sore the next time you have that same food. I believe that for some people gluten causes joint pain. There are a lot of foods that can trigger an immune response and they (the foods) are different for everyone. So switching up your diet might help alleviate some pain. There are Anti-Inflammation Foods you might want to add to your diet.

Lack of sleep can increase inflammation in the body. And we have already stated that inflammation is one of the main causes of pain. Also, the article is saying that sleep deprivation can change how people experience pain. Studies have shown that getting an hour’s more sleep before surgery has helped patients need less pain medication.

Then there is “reframe the pain“, as in stop talking about it, stop dwelling on it, stop focusing on it, and start thinking about it differently. Instead of just thinking about the pain and expecting it to be bad, think about something else. Focus on something positive, kind of distract yourself from the pain. Or instead of saying something like, “Oh this is going to be awful, it is going to hurt so bad.” Perhaps think, “This is something that I can handle. It will not be that bad. I can easily get through this.” I found an online article about “Reframing”.

Then there is relaxing. The article mentions Biofeedback with electrodes or classes that you can take the help you be more mindfully relaxed. I believe that breathing techniques like Pranayama might help. Focusing on relaxing tense muscles can help bring ease into the body.

There is also mention of exercise. When you exercise your body produces endorphins which give you that happy feeling and that can help fight the pain. Exercising for pain management really depends on the type of pain, of course. You have to be able to move and make certain you are not further injuring yourself. People often ask me after an intense workout that has left them sore, what is the best way to get better, and my belief is to keep moving. Some people don’t think that way so we all need to deal with DOMS in a way that you feel is best. While you want to let the muscle recuperate sitting around and doing nothing isn’t necessarily going to make the aches and pains go away.

What type of pain can these five things help?

Diet: Chronic pain due to inflammation

Sleep: Any kind of pain

Reframing: All types of pain

Relaxing: Chronic pain

Exercise: Mild to moderate Chronic pain, especially muscles pain (DOMS)

So for many of us who would rather not reach for a pain killer in the form of a pill, these ideas might be something to try. What do you think?

Posted in Misc | Tagged: Anti-Inflammation Diet, Anti-Inflammation Foods, Biofeedback, DOMS, exercise as pain relief, Good Housekeeping, lack of sleep, magazines, pain medication, pain relief, pranayama, reframing pain, SelfGrowth.com | Leave a Comment »

Fun Wine Label

Posted by terrepruitt on July 20, 2018

I often buy wine based off of the label, especially red wine since I know practically nothing about it. I love this label. It is so fun. I love the dancing. I love the colors. Yup, I am posting a picture of a wine label for my Friday Photo today!

Posted in Friday Photo | Tagged: Dancing, She-razz, wine, wine label | Leave a Comment »

A Good Pair Of Scissors

Posted by terrepruitt on July 18, 2018

I am not a hairdresser, nor do I really know anything about cutting hair. I do cut my own hair. Not all the time but more often than not. When I lost my corporate job I was trying to cut costs and I believe my hairdresser at that time raised her prices on me without telling me. I understand when stylists have to raise their prices, but in the past I had been notified in advance, she just tacked on some money one time when I went to write my check. Which upset me, I had FINALLY gotten her to cut my hair the way I wanted. So the two situations (job loss and no advance notice on the price increase) had me exploring other options. When my hair got too long to tolerate I would just chop at it with my cuticle scissors. They were sharpest ones I had. Or maybe I used my other pair and they got dull and I started using my cuticles scissors. No, it was my cuticle scissors first because I remember laughing and thinking I was Kinsey Millhone – hacking at my hair with little cuticle scissors.

Every once in a while I do go get my haircut, but I go to a place that does not take appointments and so sometimes I am sitting there for 45 minutes or more and that is just annoying. The last time I was there she mentioned that she spends more time on me than any once else so I kind of felt bad taking up so much of her time, so I haven’t been back.

I have also been challenged with getting my hair stylists to cut my hair like I want them to cut it. I am not one to have the latest style anything (clothes, hair, makeup) so I want my hair cut like I want my hair cut and because of my work, I want it to be as easy breezy wash and go as possible. Most of the time I am out with sweat drenched hair. Yeah, that sounds gross, but when I finish a class and I am right next to the grocery store, I am NOT going to go home and shower and then go all the way back. I just run my errands after my classes on my way home and I need my hair to be acceptable looking after I towel dry it.

When I go out, I do my hair, but that is not as often as me running errands after a class. I hate flat hair and when my hair is too long it just lays flat. So I like it a little shorter and choppy. It is the choppy I can’t get a hair dresser to do. So usually I come home and end up chopping at it on my own. So I just decided that – for the most part – if I am going to come home and cut my hair after I get it cut, I might as well do it myself.

The problem is . . . oh, heck, there is more than just one problem with me cutting my own hair so I won’t get into all that. What I will say is a good pair of scissors makes all the difference in the world. I bought a low-end good pair of scissors. I can understand why stylists spend a lot of money on scissors. They need to be good in order to cut the hair. And since they (stylists) actually know how to use them they can do wonders. My aim is to get my hair out of my eyes and if I can, make it stick out a bit.

I could very well be walking around looking like I cut my own hair, but now-a-days people walk around with all types of stuff going on up there so . . . that is ok with me as long as I am ok with it. And I am. Especially since I purchased actually hair cutting scissors. They make it so much easier to cut my hair.

One thing though, I cut my hair wet so, I never really know what it is going to look like when it is dried and styled. I don’t actually cut it the same way every time (refer back to the “I don’t know what I am doing.”).

I just cut my hair today and had my scissors out and that is what made me think to share how a good pair of scissors can make a world of difference. I don’t know what my hair will actually look like, I have yet to see.

Do you have a pair of specialty scissors? Perhaps for hair, gardening, cooking?

Posted in Misc | Tagged: cuticle scissors, cutting hair, Goodie scissors, hair stylist, hairdresser, Kinsey Millhone, scissors | Leave a Comment »

A Little More Brave

Posted by terrepruitt on July 16, 2018

It was way before 2008 that I first noticed an oriole on our hummingbird feeder. I didn’t know what it was then. I got a picture of one on a feeder in 2008. I don’t know that I saw any more for years. Now they are regulars. In fact I am rushing to post this so that I can go fill the feeder they just emptied. I’ve mentioned before that the feeder we bought specifically for the orioles is way too difficult to clean. It is very narrow and I am not sure I can get the brush in there and get it clean enough. They are much dirtier than the hummingbirds. Or something. It could be that they have to get their beaks all the way in whereas hummingbirds have long tongues. I am not sure, but the hummingbird feeder they primarily eat off of is way more gross than the ones the hummingbirds eat off of. It gets this black sludgy stuff in it. This time of year it is not so bad because I am filling it every three or four days. Our hummingbird feeders come apart and are very easy to clean so we just take the flowers off of them so that the orioles can get their beaks in for the sugar water.

I think the orioles we get are Hooded Orioles. I originally read (now I can’t find it) that they depart in July, but now I am looking at a site that says they depart in August. So we might have them another month or so. I am trying to keep the feeder full so they have enough before they go. But I try to keep them all full for the hummingbirds anyway.

The orioles have gotten a little more brave as they used to fly away immediately if we even walked into our living room. But now they will stay at the feeder or even come into the yard when we are in the living room. And they are so brave that now they are eating at the feeder that is close to the window. They are tormenting my cat. She climbs up on the cat tower and talks at them. She reaches at her paw for them. There were two on the feeder today while Nessa and I were playing and that quickly distracted both of us.

I guess over the summer they have gotten a little used to us so they are not as fearful. They are still very cautious, but they are less freaky and will stay and eat as long as we are not too close.

My husband said he saw six last night around the feeder . . . that could be why it is empty and I have to fill it. I know that I have seen two brightly colored ones together, so I know that there are at least two males. It is difficult to tell the females apart but I have seen at least four together so I know that there are at least four of them. I have never seen all six together.

Since they have gotten a bit brave I was able to take closer pictures. So here are a few.

Do you get to see birds in your yard?

Posted in Birds, Misc | Tagged: brightly colored bird, cat tower, Hooded Orioles, hummingbird feeder, hummingbird tongues, Hummingbirds, Nessa, orioles | Leave a Comment »

Pink Alstroemeria

Posted by terrepruitt on July 13, 2018

In June I posted a Friday Photo of these same flowers but in yellow. One of my friends in my Tuesday yoga class said they are alstroemeria. I believe my mother-in-law had told me that before. She was a gardener. My friend just had all different colors of these flowers put in her yard. This is not a picture of her flowers, it is a picture of my friend from Yin Yoga Teacher Training’s flowers.

I love these flowers, they come in a large variety of colors and they usually last a long time when brought in the house and used as decoration.

Posted in Friday Photo | Tagged: alstroemeria, Friday Photo, Yin Yoga Teacher Training | 6 Comments »

Banana Bread

Posted by terrepruitt on July 11, 2018

The other day we had bananas WAY past their ripe stage, and recently whenever that happened I said I would make banana bread, but I have not. This time I was determined to. I went looking for my banana bread recipe and I found I did not have it, the one I talked about in my Blender Banana Bread post. I thought I had it bookmarked but could not find it there either. So I had to make it from memory with a little help from the internet. I am not sure I have it right. It is tasty, but I might need to do a little experimentation.

Here is what I did.

________________________________________________

Banana Bread

3 ripe bananas
1/2 cup butter (one cube)
2 eggs
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350° F.

Peel the bananas, putting the peeled bananas in a bowl. Smash the bananas with a fork. Cream the butter, sugar, and eggs together. Add the vanilla. Sift the flour, salt, and baking soda together. Mix the flour mixture into the creamed mixture a little at a time.

Grease a loaf pan. Pour the mixture into the loaf pan and bake for 55 minutes. Check the loaf to see if it is ready. Ovens vary so you might need to bake it longer.

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I like walnuts in my banana bread, but my husband does not so much, so I didn’t put them in this time, but next time I will. And one of these days, I’ll put chocolate chips in there.

How do you make banana bread?

Posted in "Recipes" | Tagged: banana bread, butter, ripe bananas, vanilla | 2 Comments »

Orange Collars For Indoor Cats

Posted by terrepruitt on July 9, 2018

I can’t remember why exactly . . . I think it was because when we adopted Teagan (Smokey) and Nessa (Esmeralda) The Dancing Cat used pellet litter . . . . so I started researching litter. I liked the litter that we used when we first got Spot, but Costco stopped selling it LONG ago and we had switched to Arm & Hammer. I liked it. It clumped well and it — the unscented kind — did a good job of keeping the smell in check . . . at least with Spot. But I got very tired of the dust. I share a room with the litter box and just regular dust is hard to deal with, but add cat litter dust on top of that and I just was tired of it. My research revealed that Dr. Elsey’s Ultra Litter was pretty much dust free. Of course, that was the old formula . . . according to the reviews. Seems like about the time I was thinking about buying it they switched their formula/litter and loyal customers were upset because the dust free litter now had dust. I decided to try it anyway because there were a few reviews that said it was good. Well, I think it is a lot less dusty than the litter we used to buy. It might be more dusty than it was at one time, but it is still less dusty so we use it. And the cats had no trouble at all adjusting from pellets to one litter the the next. They are such good girls. This story is all leading to #Orangeinside.

The last litter bag we opened had an orange collar inside. (Ha! That is not what #Orangeinside is about. 🙂 ) I picked up the package and read “Share a photo with #Orangeinside on Instagram for a chance to win a year supply of Dr. Elsey’s Ultra cat litter.*” And I said to my husband, “Will you do it for me? I don’t have Instagram?” And then I went on to say what a brilliant way to market. Send out an orange collar with your website on it and have people take pictures of their cats in it and post it on Instagram! I thought that was brilliant. I don’t even HAVE Instagram and I was going to do it — or have it done. I could use a free year of cat litter. Heck yeah!

But then I flipped the bag over and read the other side of the enclosed card. It said that less than 5% of missing indoor cats are returned home, that a cat with an orange collar is an indication of an indoor cat, a cat with an orange collar should not be outside. Ha! I hadn’t read past that because I thought that was a great idea. Now that I am reading the entire thing I understand what the white strip on the collar is. It is a space to write your phone number so someone can call you when your cat is found. This is cool. I like this program.

I also noticed once I really looked at the collar that, there is a little kitty face on the breakaway buckle and if that kitty face is facing outward the website does not show, only the spot for the owner’s number.

The thing is . . . my cats are indoor cats and they don’t wear collars. That is one reason I love indoor cats, they are unfettered by collars. I was planning on putting the bright orange collar on our black cat for a photo because I thought the orange and black would really stand out. But when I thought about it I don’t know where she was and her sister was right there. So I tried it on her. Well, I am not posting all the blurry shots I have. She wouldn’t really sit still. She was trying to get it off. I did manage to get one or two, but not of her face.

Today as I was preparing to write this post I put it on the black cat. She was in mellow mode so she just laid there and actually let me get a few photos.

When I googled Orange Collar the result was a lot of sites selling orange collars. The few articles that came up showed a year of 2015 in the summary . . . so I am thinking that this orange collar for indoor cats has been around since at least 2015. I think it is a neat idea.

Have you ever heard of the orange collar thing? Do you have an indoor cat? Does your indoor cat wear a collar? WOULD your indoor cat wear a collar?

Posted in Cats, Misc | Tagged: Arm & Hammer Litter, clay litter, Costco litter, Dr. Elsey's Litter, Dr. Elsey's Orange Inside Collar giveaway, dust free litter, Esmeralda, indoor cat program, Nessa, Nessa with Orange Inside Collar on, orange breakaway collar, orangeinside collar, pellet litter, Smokey, Teagan, Teagan with Orange Inside Collar on, the dancing cat | 6 Comments »

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Terre Pruitt's Blog

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