January 2026
S	M	T	W	T	F	S
	1	2	3
4	5	6	7	8	9	10
11	12	13	14	15	16	17
18	19	20	21	22	23	24
25	26	27	28	29	30	31

Archive for the ‘Misc’ Category

Clearing The Negative Ions With Salt

Posted by terrepruitt on December 21, 2016

In August I went to the beach when I came back and wrote a post about negative ions and how the beach is one place you can get them. You can also get them in the mountains, from waterfalls, and even from the shower. Another place you can get them is a Himalayan Salt Lamp. I have wanted one for a long time but whenever I have seen them they are really expensive. Well, lucky me, I got one for Christmas.

How I got it early might be explained here or my friends and I have been having a Christmas gathering since we were eighteen. For thirty years we have met and celebrated Christmas. Sometimes it is before Christmas, sometimes it is after. We just have always made sure that we did it. It used to be four of us, but life’s circumstances took one of our friends away to another state. For the past five years or so it has just been three of us. But we still meet.

We gather, eat, drink, and exchange gifts. The point of the gather is NOT the gifts, but we always manage to do pretty good with that. The point is to visit and be together, but still we have always managed to exchange something.

This year we were able to fit it into our schedules before Christmas. And a salt lamp was one of the gifts. My house is full of Christmas decorations so I was going to wait to put the lamp out, but I ended up not waiting. When I plugged it in and went to turn it on I was so excited to see it has a dimmer switch – super cool.

In order to write this post I did a search about the lamps and I came across an interesting site that has a lot of information. It gives 10 reasons why you want one (Salt Lamps Cleanse & Deodorize the Air, Reduce Allergy & Asthma Symptoms, Eases Coughing, Increase Energy Levels and more). It also gives advice on what size you might want for the room you are putting it in. I think I might need a bigger one to be effective in the room I have it in now. Or perhaps I can get two for the space. It says that an average size room (which is what?) would benefit from a 6.9 lb lamp, but a 15 lb lamp would be better for larger areas like a living room.

Our house was designed with a great room so the area is very large plus there are cathedral ceilings. The 15 lb one would probably work better in the living room. It could be that two large ones would work best in that space. It is very large. I will take my gift one for my office. Once Christmas is down I will be moving the lamp closer to where we sit and that might help in the mean time. Until I find one (or two) I want to buy for the space.

My hubby has a tea light holder and I use that every once in a while. I am very excited about the lamp. I wonder if we will notice a difference?

Do you have any Himalayan salt around? Lamps? Candle holders?

Posted in Misc | Tagged: beach post, celebrated Christmas, Christmas gathering, Christmas gift, gift exchange, Himalayan salt Candle holders, Himalayan Salt Lamp, increase energy levels, negative ions, Reduce Allergy Symptoms, Salt Lamps Cleanse the Air | 4 Comments »

To Open Or To Wait? That Is The Question

Posted by terrepruitt on December 19, 2016

So do you wait or open? A friend and I were talking last week, she was saying that she was making some gifts and she was going to try to get them in the mail but wasn’t sure when that would be. She didn’t think she would make it in time for them to arrive at my house so that I could take them with me to the gathering that was planned with the recipients of said gifts. I suggested she send them to me anyway because that would give me and the other recipients motivation to meet again. Then I started laughing because I said if she sent them to me I would open mine right away. And she said, “You should!” Then we started talking about the practice of waiting to open or opening right away.

Unless someone tells me specifically not to open a gift until the actual occasion, I am going to open it. If it comes in the mail or they give it to me in person, I am going to open it. I am not one to wait or to expect others to wait. I think it is perfectly fine to open it right away. I get too excited to wait!

I know that some people like to wait. They think that if you receive a Christmas gift in the mail you should wait until Christmas to open it. I am not saying that waiting is wrong or that opening the present right away is wrong. I think it is between you and then giver. I think that whatever you want to do or however you feel – is right.

Because I like to open my gifts right away, I loved her response. She said, “You should! You should open it right away! Why wait?” And the enthusiasm with which she said it just made me laugh. I loved that!

I might have mentioned it in a post before – and this might even be “too early” for a lot of you – but one year my husband and I were in Fry’s Electronics and he saw something he wanted for Christmas. Perfect. To me, if someone can tell me what they want and I can get it — I love it. So I bought it. And we decided not to wait until Christmas to use it. Well, it happened to be October. So, yeah, that might be a little early, but it was awesome. It didn’t just sit in a box in the closet. We used it. We got three months use out of it before the occasion. It was a CD/DVD Jukebox. It is a CD/DVD player but it holds something like 300 hundred discs. We used it and we still use it!

So what do you think? Are you a waiter? Or an opener? Do you like people to wait? Or do you want them to open it right away?

Posted in Misc | Tagged: birthday presents, Christmas gifts, Do not open until, early Christmas present, excited to open gifts | 4 Comments »

Need A Service? Try 211

Posted by terrepruitt on December 14, 2016

About two years ago I wrote about a phone number, 311, that you can call when you have a non-emergency police issue. Well, actually it is a number for non-emergency municipal services. I thought it was a state-wide number, but I found out when my dad died that it is not. When I dialed it, it did not connect. The deputies in his area didn’t know what it was, so clearly they do not have 311 in that area. In California it is available in the following cities:

Anaheim, California / Berkeley, California / Los Angeles, California / Oakland, California / Riverside, California / Sacramento, California / San Francisco, California / San Jose, California

Well, last week I was working on a computer at the community center where I teach Nia and stretch and a woman asked if they had a list of people who give home assistance. I stopped to listen because I was interested in finding such a list, too. But then the person behind the desk said, “No, but you can call 211.” All of us in earshot stopped to hear more. Apparently 211 is an informational resource. You can call 211 to get information about things.

211 is NOT a city service, it is an informational service run by the United Way. It seems that this number is available to “people across North America.” According to the website they can supply you with “non-emergency community, health and disaster information.” The website says the people who can help are trained to answer questions about variety of services. The site claims that it is confidential. The site boasts that the service is available 24 hours a day seven days a week and in over 170 languages!

So it sounds like they can give you ideas and information on who to call when you need various services. The drop down list of services on their website lists:

Crisis + Emergency, Disaster Assistance, Food, Health, Housing + utilities, Human Trafficking, Jobs + Support, Reentry, and Veterans. That is a broad list. I am thinking it covers just about everything.

The service providers are not vetted nor do they go through any type of screening process. There is an inclusion policy. So in order for organizations to be included they have to meet all of the criteria in the policy. But the website does have a disclosure stating that the United Way assumes no liability for the information on the website or services provided by the providers on the website.

So it is somewhat just a directory. But still it is nice to have this information available. It could be that they are a better more succinct version of Google. Perhaps the chances of getting distracted are less. One call can be made an a list provided as opposed to being able to get distracted with all the other stuff on the internet.

Just like 211, I make no claims and assume no liability if you do end up using the site or calling. I just like to share information when I learn it. It could end up being useful, it could not. Either way, I still think it is interesting.

Did you know about 211?

Posted in Misc | Tagged: 211, 311, non-emergency community information, non-emergency disaster information, non-emergency health information, non-emergency municipal services | Leave a Comment »

Death, Again!

Posted by terrepruitt on November 21, 2016

So, I have not posted a few times when I normally would have. I was really going to make a huge effort to post on all my self-imposed scheduled days this month. The Friday Photos are really helping. I was confident I could do it, even with all of the Holidays. I know that I can at least post on Friday even if I can’t think of anything to write because it is just a picture. The 11th was a Holiday, Veteran’s Day, and I had planned to be out of town, but I was going to have it all set up to go. I was going to be out of town taking my dad to his surgery for cataracts. My hubby and I were going to leave late Thursday night to take my dad to an early appointment on Friday. But on Tuesday a call from a neighbor had me concerned so I was going to go to my dad’s and see what was up then come home Wednesday, teach my Nia and stretch class on Thursday and get ready to be gone for the weekend. But, I got a surprise when I got to my dad’s house. He was not alive. My dad was dead. It was completely unbelievable. I am still having a hard time believing it. I still stop and think, “Wait. What?” So here I am writing about death . . . again.

I was just starting to feel really sad about my mom’s death, really feeling the loss, yet at the same time I felt like I was starting to be able to find that bubbly joy again. Sounds odd and contradictory, but that is what I was feeling. For me, it is almost as if for the first few months I could just say that I hadn’t seen her in a while. Ya know, life gets busy . . . it has just been a while since I was able to visit. Then after a year or so I really started to miss her . . . I couldn’t act as if it has just “been a while” since we visited. Then recently I was really missing her. It has been way too long since I heard her voice or seen her or gotten a hug from her. It is as if the missing of her was settling in to my body. At the same time I felt like there were days where my dance was just bursting with joy.

And now here I am in a shocker of a situation.

So I am busy dealing with death. This one is all on me. So I might be absent from my blog a bit more than usual. Or I just might be posting about death a lot. Or I might just stick to cat stuff for a while. Cat stuff is easy. There are always pictures to post of cats. Our cats are awesome and while there might not always be a cute or funny story to tell there are always tons of pictures that I could post.

Sigh.

Posted in Misc | Tagged: death, Nia, Nia class, stretch class | 6 Comments »

What Is REALLY Happening?

Posted by terrepruitt on November 2, 2016

Sigh. I am slogging through all of the candidates, propositions, and measures that we get to vote on. It really is so confusing, especially when they flat out tell you they don’t really know what the results will be. They don’t really have a clear idea of the impact some of the laws will have. I am reading and researching so I am just posting this to say I am doing that instead actually writing a blog post (although this IS a blog post). 🙂

As I am reading and trying to figure things out, it occurred to me that it seems as if the money really never goes to where they say it is going to go. If it did, then everything would have enough money, pretty much. The propositions, measures, laws, amendments, whatever they are called that you get to vote on . . . . they all say they will take care of the issue they are asking money for. They say that we need it because more money is needed so “this is the answer!” Many of the laws include provisions for inflation even. So, it seems like, if the money they are asking for and get really is the answer, if the money is being used properly, if the money is used as they say it is going to be used why do they keep asking for more money? Why are they amending, changing, or cancelling what we just voted on and/or asking for MORE money? What is really happening to the money?

Posted in Misc | Tagged: asking for money, money misuse, propaganda, voting | 4 Comments »

Where You Sit

Posted by terrepruitt on October 17, 2016

I always thought it was sitz boneS, but Wiki says it is sitz boneZ. I will probably continue to call them sitz bones. Or get really fancy and call them by the correct name: ischial tuberosity. I thought I should post a picture of them since I am often instructing students to sit on their sitz bones. I wanted to make sure that people knew where they were and what they were. It is easier to consciously sit on something or affect something when you are aware of what it is and where it is. While this (see below) is not the best rendering of the bones in the hip area I think you can get the idea.

Typically the front upper part of the hip bone structure is thought of and called the hip bones. But actually the entire bone is the hip bone. The hip bones are part of the pelvic girdle. The front portion somewhat at the top, the area we often refer to as the “hip bone,” is the Iliac Crest which is on the edge of the Ilium. The bottom portion is the ischial tuberosity or sitz bonez. The sacrum and the coccyx are part of the vertebral column and not considered part of the pelvic girdle. There are names for other portions and areas of the bones, but since this post is about the sitz bones, I’m not going to list and label them all.

We are all built differently so some of us will have more flesh to get through to actually feel the sitz bones. And some of us will feel them rather easily. Either way . . . . we all have them. We sit on our sitting bones or sitz bones. My drawing does not clearly show the acetabulum, the place where the head of the femur (thigh bone) fits. It is about where the words “Tail Bone/Coccyx” is. You might be able to imagine when the thigh bone is moved to a sitting position, the sitz bones protrude a bit.

In yoga often times the correct way to do the pose is to have both sitz bones on the floor. In stretching having both stiz bones on the floor is sometimes the way to get the most out of the stretch. At times the way to do the yoga pose it to be sitting directly “on top” of them. Other times they might be used as reference points or points of focus. When in downward facing dog the instruction might be given to reach your sitz bones away to help lengthen the spine and take the weight off of the hands. For one stretch, one might instruct to pull your foot directly back to your sitz bones.

In Nia we occasionally use the sitz bones and the floor to give our glutes a massage. Gently moving around on them, perhaps rocking and/or rolling, while sitting on the floor can be a great way to ease the muscles we just danced during the class.

Sitz bones are used a lot and referred to often in yoga, stretch, and Nia, so I thought I should highlight them.

Are you familiar with your sitz bones?

Posted in Misc | Tagged: hip bones, ischial tuberosity, Nia students, Pelvic Girdle, sits bones, sitz bones, stretch class, tail bone, yoga students | 2 Comments »

Soap From The Angels

Posted by terrepruitt on October 3, 2016

In my post, Homemade Soapy Goodness from 2014, I talked about how I found some soap that I loved. I loved it so much I was asking for it as gifts. My hubby would say, “What do you want for Christmas/your birthday/our anniversary?” And I would reply, “Soap.” In 2015 when I went to order more soap, I could no longer find the soap lady. Her Etsy landing page is still up, but I can’t find that she makes soap any longer. I did receive some soap from a friend and I loved it so much that I started buying it. But it went from $4.00/$5.00 a bar to $8.00 a bar – not including shipping. So I decided I needed to find a new soap to use. I was just making do with some other kind I had found that was kind of drying, but it was ok. Since I am always on the hunt for some great soap, my hubby and I usually buy a bar or two from the vendors at any Art and Wine Festival we go to. Which is funny because we don’t go to many. We have been going to one – the Milpitas one – for the past two years. It also funny because the first year, I didn’t buy any. Well, this year we bought some soap from Three Angels Soap – again.

I say again because the first time we went to the festival (August 2015), I didn’t buy a bar of soap from her but my hubby did. I do remember a period of time when I kept asking my husband, “What are you using in your bathroom? Are you using a new hair product? Are you using a new soap?” And he didn’t know what I was talking about, but every time I walked into the bathroom it smelled awesome. He was using something that made the entire bathroom smell really nice.

Then after the second time we went to the Milpitas festival we both bought some soap. When I used it the whole bathroom smelled great. That is when I realized that it had to be this soap that my hubby had used and that had made his bathroom smell so great. I love this soap.

I have tried three kinds so far Memories of Rose, Purple Moon, and Lavender Swirl. They all smell GREAT! Lavender Swirl does not lather up as much as the other two. It also does not make my bathroom smell as good as the other two. I really liked Purple Moon. It lathered up great and made my bathroom smell awesome. I also really like the way it make the skin of my face look and feel. But so far my favorite is Memories of Rose. It lathers up great, makes my bathroom smell great and I love the way it moisturized my skin!

As you can see from the picture I have a few. Some of these are mine and some of them are gifts. Don’t you think the one that looks like a chunk of cake with frosting flowers on top is a nice gift? What about the cupcake? I have not even tried all the scents that I am gifting because I know they will be awesome.

The ingredients include: Olive oil, Cocoa Butter, Mango Butter, Buttermilk, Greek Yogurt, Coconut Oil, Avocado Puree, Confectionery Sugar, Goat Milk, Palm kernel oil, Aloe vera, just to name a few. (Not all of these are in one soap, I was just listing some of the ingredients in several soaps).

So . . . YAY! I found some new soap to love! I hope that you will give Three Angels Inc. a try when you want to treat yourself to some luxurious soap. Or you want to treat someone else to so luxurious soap. Give her a call or check out her website!

Do you have a favorite soap?

Posted in Misc | Tagged: Avocado Puree, Buttermilk, Cocoa Butter, coconut oil, fancy soap, gift soap, Greek yogurt, luxurious soap, Mango Butter, natural ingredients, olive oil, Three Angels Inc. | Leave a Comment »

Can You Spot The Marketing Mistakes?

Posted by terrepruitt on September 26, 2016

Marketing Gurus and People, can you see anything wrong with this e-mail? Can you perhaps give Dan some advice?

I really don’t care for people telling me they can do things, such as this e-mail in which Dan claims his company has helped YYoga generate 1,000 new registrations in 48 hours. Most of the time, just like with this e-mail, it is clear the person trying to get my business has not even taken the time to look at or read my website. If Dan would have taken 60 seconds to read my website, he might have come to the correct conclusion that I am not a fitness center. I do not own a fitness center. He might have noticed that I am a Nia and yoga teacher that primarily works for the City of San Jose and the YMCA. He might have concluded that I do teach at other places when I am hired to do so . . . and I can even do types of personal training be it Nia, Yoga, or something related to working out and exercise. But I am not a fitness center.

I have people call me all the time to tell me they can “get me on page one of a Google search.” I, of course, get excited 😉 and then I ask them, “For what?” and they can never answer me. So, how can I put my faith in them to “get me on page one of a Google search” when they don’t even know what I do? What search would that be the front page for? And would I be at the TOP, the first one, on that front page or down at the bottom? But they can’t even tell me what I do so they have no idea. I know that unless you are Google calling me and I pay top dollar, I am not going to get on the front page for many searches. But I also know that I AM on the first page when you “Google” certain things. I just get very confused and frustrated by these people who waste my time.

If you are not going to do a little bit of research and actually try to sell something the person actually might need and something you can actually provide, then don’t bother. You waste everyone’s time when you don’t know what you are talking about.

In the first e-mail Dan says that he helped a company generate 1,000 new registrations in 48 hours. In the second one he says the company “acquired 1,000 new members in less than 48 hours”. That really doesn’t mean anything either. So what? 1000 new registrants. Did they PAY something? Or was this just a free registry? How many actually signed up and paid for a service that the company offers? Oh yes, out of 1000 people you would think something became of it, but what? What does this e-mail even mean?

Also, he would “love to tell me more”? Well, I would hope so because as I have already begun to say, he hasn’t really told me anything. I mean, in addition to the useless information he provided, he didn’t provide me with a company name, a title, a phone number or anything. Again, in my opinion, not a very good marketing person . . . I guess he feels since HE doesn’t do any research into his prospects they must not do any research into the companies they might consider talking to and working with.

I get this type of sub-par solicitation all the time. It just blows my mind. So, no, I don’t have 15 minutes for a call this week, when clearly you didn’t take 15 minutes to do some research. But you know, perhaps Debbie does. 🙂

What do you Marketing People think?

Posted in Misc | Tagged: City of San Jose Exercise Instructor, marketing gurus, marketing people, Nia Teacher, SJCity Fit Exercise Instructor, sub-par solicitation, YMCA Group Exercise Instructor, yoga teacher, Yyoga | Leave a Comment »

Sample Stretch Class

Posted by terrepruitt on September 23, 2016

Some people might wonder what a stretch class is like Not the difference between yoga and stretch, but what a stretch class is like, what we do in class. I am sure all stretch classes are a bit different. My feeling is that basically you want to stretch the entire body. Different bodies are going to have different needs. Someone might have really tight hamstrings and perhaps need a lot of stretches that stretch the hamstrings. Some people might have tight calves and need a lot of stretches that stretch the calves. Someone might not have chronically tight triceps, but might need a good stretch for them because they used them a lot the day before. So there might be some people with specific needs, but everyone can usually use a full body stretch. So I thought I would share a stretch workout we have done so you can see what a class might be like. As with a Nia class that has a “map” of seven cycles consisting of setting your focus and intent, stepping In, warm up, get moving, cool down, and floorplay, in our stretch classes I use the body. I basically go from head to toe. We just start at the top and work our way down. Sometimes we do some middle work in between because I want us to be standing and it is what we can do standing. Or we might do some foot stretches while we are seated in the beginning, but generally I like to work from head to toe.

The “13 joint” in this sample the Nia Thirteen Joints Exercise. That is just one way to get the 13 major joints moving. “Posture” is just us setting up with a long spine for the movements to come. The “bend” is where we are standing and we keep our weight evenly distributed over each foot and bend left then right, closing one side and opening the other. Then the lean is where we shift our weight to get a stretch. “Peacock” is what I learned the movement as, where you clasp your hands behind your back then fold over and let your hands fall over your head to the earth. I cannot remember where I learned it as that, but that is what I call it.

The “on all four hip circles” is being on all fours and moving your hips to the left, back, right, then forward, then reversing and going the other direction. Hug (alt.) is literally hugging yourself with one arm on top then switching so the other arm is on top. Great way to open the shoulder area in the back. “Wind releases” are hugging one leg to the chest then the other.

We hold each stretch about 30 seconds. Sometimes it might take us longer than anticipated to get into a stretch or I might see some really uncomfortable people, so I adjust. If someone walks in with an obvious issue or states something or has a request we can switch things up. It is very flexible. Ha, ha, ha. That is what we are working towards.

Any questions? Care to join us? Care to try this at home?

Posted in Misc | Tagged: Nia class, Nia Thirteen Joints Exercise, stretch calves, stretch class, stretch hamstrings, stretch triceps, wind releases | Leave a Comment »

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Is Saying, “Too Much!”

Posted by terrepruitt on September 19, 2016

Have you heard that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has banned antibacterial soap? Well, it doesn’t sound as if they are actually banning antibacterial soap and products, they are just banning most of the chemicals found in over-the-counter “consumer antiseptic wash products (including liquid, foam, gel hand soaps, bar soaps, and body washes).” The FDA is stating that “there isn’t enough science to show that over-the-counter (OTC) antibacterial soaps are better at preventing illness than washing with plain soap and water.” There is nothing proving that there is any benefit to using them. You may have heard the debate about antibacterial soap and products actually doing the opposite of helping us stay healthy. Some say that they actually could be making us more sick because they could possibly lead to bacteria that is resistant to antibiotics. Bacteria seems smart in that it gets strong when it comes up against something that is fighting it. In addition to the conclusion that antibacterial soap is not better than washing with regular soap and water, the FDA is saying that the manufacturers of said products have not proven that the products are safe to use over the long term. So, they have ruled that the chemicals used to create such products will be banned.

Many medical professionals and scientists believe that just washing your hands with soap and water will help prevent the spread of germs. Theresa M. Michele, MD, of the FDA’s Division of Nonprescription Drug Products is quoted on the website as saying:

“Following simple handwashing practices is one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of many types of infection and illness at home, at school and elsewhere. We can’t advise this enough. It’s simple, and it works.”

Hand sanitizers and hand wipes, are not affected by this ban. Neither is antibacterial soaps used in hospitals.

According to Wiki:

“Antibacterial soap is a type of cleaning product which contain chemical ingredients that purportedly assist in killing bacteria. Such chemicals frequently include triclosan, triclocarban, and chloroxylenol.”

It looks as if one of the main concerns is a chemical called Triclosan. This is the one that has been shown to affect hormones in animals. Also, this is the one thought to help the bacteria get strong and become resistant to antibiotics. This chemical is used in pesticides along with a host of consumer products. So it seems as if we are being exposed to a lot of it — all the time. So the FDA has decided to have it taken out of the soap.

In addition to Triclosan, there are eighteen other chemicals used in antibacterial soap that are being banned. The documents states:

“SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA, we, or the Agency) is issuing this final rule establishing that certain active ingredients used in over-the-counter (OTC) consumer antiseptic products intended for use with water (referred to throughout this document as consumer antiseptic washes) are not generally recognized as safe and effective (GRAS/GRAE) and are misbranded.”

It appears as if the manufacturers of such products have about a year to comply. But according to many things I have read on the internet many manufacturers are beginning to make the changes now. Could be they are just changing the labels, I mean who really knows with this stuff, right? Not every product is tested. I imagine if making the product without these chemicals is less expensive then with, then yeah, they will change their recipes eventually, since consumers are now being told they are on the non-GRAS list.

So what do you think about this? What do you think about antibacterial soap?

Posted in Misc | Tagged: banned antibacterial soap, chloroxylenol, FDA, FDA's Division of Nonprescription Drug Products, non-GRAE, non-GRAS, over-the-counter consumer antiseptic wash products, resistant to antibiotics, triclocarban, triclosan, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Wiki | 6 Comments »

« Previous Entries

Next Entries »

Terre Pruitt's Blog

In the realm of health, wellness, fitness, and the like, or whatever inspires me.

I teach yoga, Nia, and stretch online!

Email Subscription

My Bloggey Past

******

The days I have posted are highlighted, you can click on one.

Categories

Subscribe

***********************

HelpYouWell’s Tweets

Other Blogs I enjoy