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Archive for the ‘Misc’ Category

Getting To Know You

Posted by terrepruitt on August 4, 2015

Wow. I just noticed, it has been a bit since I posted a post of body facts. The first post was Human Body Fantastic in 2011 and then the post called Body Facts in 2013. I am sure you are ready for more. I mean it is not like you have this incredible place at your finger tips where you can look up this information. Ha, ha, ha. Ok, it is more like why would you just randomly look up this information, right? But sometimes it is just fun to learn some fact about the body. Something that you may never have thought of if someone hadn’t have told you. Don’t you think? Here ya go . . . interesting things about the body. Keep in mind that these are general facts. There is always going to be exceptions to the rules (facts).

—There are fourteen bones in the human face
—The human foot has 26 bones, 33 joints, 107 ligaments, 19 muscles and tendons
—Of the 206 bones in the adult human body, more than half (106) are in the hands and feet
—The pelvis is made up of six bones joined firmly together (two ilium bones, two ischium bones, and two pubic bones)
—The femur or thigh bone is the longest bone in the body, making up almost one quarter of the body’s total height
—The femur is (generally) the strongest bone in the body
—The biggest muscle in the body is the gluteus maximus
—The gluteus maximus is (generally) also the most superficial
—An estimated 2 million blood cells die per second in the human body
—An estimated 2 million blood cells are born per second in the human body
—Blood volume makes up approximately eight per cent of your body weight
—About 55 percent of blood is comprised of plasma, of which 90 per cent is water
—The brain is part of the nervous system
—Neurons send signals through the nervous system
—The human brain has approximately 100 billion neurons
—The human spinal cord has about 13.5 millions neurons
—The nervous system can transmit signals at speeds of 100 meters (328 feet) per second
—Exteroceptors – a type of nerve receptor gather information from the outside world.
—There are 100,000 – 200,000 exteroceptors in the sole of each foot.
—Tonsils are part of the body’s immune system
—Tears and mucus contain an enzyme (lysozyme) that breaks down the cell wall of many bacteria
—Teeth are living organs and contain blood vessels and nerves under the dentin in a soft region known as the pulp.
—The average human mouth produces about two liters (approximately equal to 1/2 gallon or 8 cups) of saliva every day
—The stomach of an adult can hold about 1.5 liters of material
—The adult body takes in and breathes out about 6 liters of air each minute while at rest
—At rest, a person usually breaths between 12 and 15 times a minute

So, what do you think? I think some of it is interesting stuff. The body is so fascinating. Science and the way we figure things out is fascinating, too. Were any of these facts new to you? Which one fascinates you the most?

Posted in Misc | Tagged: Body Facts, bones in the body, gluteus maximus, Human Body Fantastic, nerve receptors, nervous system | 4 Comments »

Now, Not The Future

Posted by terrepruitt on August 1, 2015

I admit, I am challenged with living in the NOW. I have posted about it before in my Still Practicing Living in the Moment post. It is a constant practice. The idea of multi-tasking does not help. It takes the focus off of what you are doing because your attention is split, and I talked about that in my post “Multitasking”. There are so many things that remind me to live in the present. There are always memes showing up on my Facebook Newsfeed. There are even Bible verses. Nia used to stand for Now I Am, which I was taught meant to focus on the present, to move and dance in the moment. But still, I often don’t pay attention to the moment. When I am not living in the moment sometimes it causes me to worry or feel anxious. When I have a lot to do, a lot to get done, that is when I am most thinking about doing the next thing. I am especially anxious for the future right now. It is like when you have a vacation planned and you can’t wait for it to get here. I can’t wait for our cats isolation period to be over with.

We brought them home on Saturday, July 4, 2015. For a day or two Smokey was fine but then we noticed her starting to rub her ears a lot. She was rubbing and scratching them bloody. Then I noticed Esmeralda had scabby ears. As I mentioned in my other post it didn’t really hit us that we needed to go to the vet until a Saturday. We couldn’t get in to a vet (I called five) until Monday (July 13th). The culture wasn’t back until Tuesday, the 21st. John was wonderful and picked up the meds that evening on his way home from work. So we could start administering right away.

It was on the 13th that we locked them in one room. Now we have to give them meds until the August 19th. We have an appointment with the vet on August 10th. The vet will take samples at that time. While we are waiting for the culture to come back (10 to 14 days) we will be finishing up the 30 days of medication.

We are excitedly waiting for the 19ths when we will be done with 30 days of medication. But what if the culture doesn’t come back negative? OH MAN! What if we have to go more isolation time and more culture time and expense? AHHHH! What if ONE culture is negative and the other one positive? What if we go bat guano crazy before the 19th?

So I am having a difficult time living in the now. I have a ton of stuff to do and I feel as if I can’t really concentrate or enjoy (whatever should apply) because I am so wanting this whole thing to be over. I want the cats to be able to free, plus I really just want to get back to living our regular lives. This whole process is a pain in the ass.

I know I need to just focus on the moment. It really does make things better. It allows me to get more out of what I am doing. I allows me to enjoy the present. It helps me to not worry and be anxious. But damn it is a challenge!

Can you share a story of a situation when you were looking forward to the end and anxious about it at the same time? Have you ever had this happen where you are not living in the moment?

Posted in Cats, Misc, Teagan and Nessa | Tagged: anxious, bat guano crazy, bible verses, cata isolation, culture, Facebook memes, Living in the moment, living in the now, Nia, Nia class, Now I Am, ringworm | 2 Comments »

Icy Feet

Posted by terrepruitt on July 21, 2015

It has been really hot here. Now, if you want to comment and tell me how hot it has been in your area, cool. In our area, the older homes don’t have air conditioning. We really don’t need them. Not really. I mean when it is hot here is usually cools down at night. With fans and open windows most people can get the house cooled down. But there are usually a few times a year when the night does not cool down. If the temperatures don’t drop at night then we don’t have our natural air conditioner and then it makes the next day really hot. And sometimes it is very hot, too hot to sleep. Well, I wrote a post a couple of years ago in July on how I was able to cool down enough to sleep. Although that method works GREAT for me, I won’t do it. Right now when we are all trying to take super short showers, I am not going to use that method. It involves taking a quick rinse to let the cool water cool me off, then not drying off. That is more water than I want to use. But, that is not to say I am not using water to cool me off. But the water I am using in my current cooling off method is a lot less. I am using ice. I put a handful of ice in a sandwich sized zip lock and put it at the end of the bed. Ahhhh.

So, I put the bag of ice on a towel at the end of the bed. Often times the bag is actually too cold to rest my feet directly on it so I use a portion of the towel to separate my feet from the bag. It really cools me off. If you have read a few of my posts you will know how precious I think sleep it. I love my sleep. I think it is very important. I don’t like missing out on sleep because it is too hot.

Sometimes you might even be able to FALL asleep, but then wake up because it is too hot. Well, with that bag of ice there you can just wiggle your feet around onto the coolness and go right back to sleep. Even as the ice melts it is usually cooler than the hot air.

Just like hot water bottles, I bet there is something out there being sold that would be like a baggie full of ice. I know they have Chillows, which are ice packs you put on your pillows. In fact, you can even use an ice pack for your feet, right? I don’t want to because I prefer not to put my feet on ice packs I will be using in my coolers. Even though my feet are clean, I don’t want to do that. I could have a designated “foot” ice pack, but, the baggie is easier.

Then after the ice has melted, I use it to water my plants. So that is my current method for keeping cool, how about you? What do you do to keep yourself cool? How do you help yourself stay cool enough to sleep?

Posted in Misc | Tagged: Chillow, cool down to sleep, good sleep, hot weather, ice in a baggie | Leave a Comment »

A Puzzle And Two Websites

Posted by terrepruitt on June 25, 2015

I am venturing a declaration, that we have all heard that exercising the brain helps it. Whether it helps stave off memory loss, helps keep our memory sharp, or just helps keep our brain sharp, I bet we have all heard “exercising” it helps. I bet one of the “exercises” you’ve heard suggested is puzzles. Brain puzzles, as an example and as suggested in my last post. Well, as I was trying to come up with a picture for the post, I was thinking I wanted to have a Nia puzzle. I came across a cool website where you can create a word search puzzle. I quickly decided NOT to use the puzzle I made as a picture because I wanted to make it a blog post! I decided to make a picture for that last post, so I turned to another website that I have been using lately to create collages. So this post is like a “Three-fer”, a puzzle, the website where you can create your own puzzle, and the website where you can create collages.

And, yes, you can Google all of this for yourself, but you know me, I like to share. I know that I learn things from blogs I read. I learn things that are common knowledge to a lot of people, but are new to me, so I like to share because I have faith that sometimes I am sharing something new to someone!

So, here is the Nia Word Search Puzzle. The words all have to do with Nia:

Aikido – one of the nine movement forms
Awareness – a goal of Nia, to bring awareness to your body, awareness to your movements
Cardio – what Nia is, it is a cardio dance workout
Chakras – energy points danced in Nia
Crawling – one of the Nia 5 Stages, and something sometimes included in Floorplay
Creeping – one of the Nia 5 Stages, and something sometimes included in Floorplay
Dance – what Nia is
Embryonic – one of the Nia 5 Stages, and something sometimes included in Floorplay
Exercise – what Nia is
Fitness – what Nia encourages
Flexibility – one of the Nia 5 Sensations, something you will experience in a Nia class
FreeDance – a technique/practice used in Nia
Jazz – one of the nine movement forms
Joyful – what Nia can help you feel
Mindfulness – a goal of Nia, to bring mindfulness to your movements, mindfulness to your body
Mobility – one of the Nia 5 Sensations, something you will experience in a Nia class
Movement – something we do in a Nia class
Nia – the Technique, the form of cardio dance
RAW – a technique/practice used by Nia teachers when learning a Nia routine/music
Stability – one of the Nia 5 Sensations, something you will experience in a Nia class
Strength – one of the Nia 5 Sensations, something you will experience in a Nia class
Technique – Nia Technique
Workout – what Nia is, it is a cardio dance workout
Yoga – one of the nine movement forms

The website to make your own is: http://puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com/code/BuildWordSearch.asp

The collages are super easy to make, you just drag the photos you want to your browser. You can pick a background if you want. You can turn the photos, you can resize them, you can bring them to the front or the back. All basic things. I have several of these types of applications on my iPhone, but I didn’t have anything, but MS Word on my computer. So this website is a great help to me. Easy, quick, and free. And I am not loading my photos onto their site. Website for the collages is: http://www.photocollage.net/

Yay! Exercise your brain! Go create stuff!

The solution is at on my website (click here).

Posted in Misc, Nia | Tagged: Aikido, brain puzzles, cardio dance exercise, chakras, Discovery Education, Free Dance, freedance, memory loss, Nia, Nia 5 Sensations, Nia 5 Stages, Nia Technique, Word Search Puzzle | Leave a Comment »

Seven Possibly Memory Helpers

Posted by terrepruitt on June 23, 2015

I think that with our busy life styles and the fact that there are multiple ways to communicate and multiple devices that which can draw our attention we might feel very forgetful at times. But really how can we forget what we never really (REALLY) paid attention to? Sometimes I am on autopilot . . . my muscles can do things while I am not even paying much attention to the task. While I am brushing my teeth I might be thinking about what I am going to wear. While I am gathering my clothes, I could be thinking about the next task. While I am getting dressed I could be thinking about the Nia routine I am going to teach. I grab my phone and put it in my purse while I am thinking about something else. Then I step outside and wonder, “Do I have my phone?” Then I blame it on my memory. I FORGOT I grabbed it and stuck it in my purse. But I don’t always believe it is memory, I think it is more that I wasn’t paying attention to the fact that I put my phone in my purse. I really believe that so much multi-tasking makes us believe we have bad memories. Or the fact that we have so much on our minds already, makes us think we have bad memories. But whatever the case, I know that I don’t mind doing things thought to help our brains remember. There is advice out there on ways to improve your memory or prevent memory loss.

The Mayo Clinic has a list of seven things to help the memory. I bet you have heard them before, but . . . I also bet it doesn’t hurt to be reminded:

1-Stimulate your brain and memory by staying mentally active.

Reading, doing brain puzzles, driving a different route to a familiar place, or learning how to play a musical instrument are ways to keep that brain active. The idea would not necessarily be for you to play a concert or a recital, but the act of learning keeps that brain stimulated.

2-Being social not only helps your brain, but it can help stave off depression and stress. If you are lucky enough to be social with close friends then it is a huge benefit to your well-being.

3-Being organized is a great way to help keep the “I forget everything” feeling at bay. If you have a calendar to keep track of appointments and social events that helps you stay on track. Also if yourliving space is organized you won’t find yourself misplacing things. Certain things you use often or need on your way out should have a place; keys and wallet, for example. If you always put them in one spot you won’t wonder where they are when you are about to walk out the door.

Being organized can also help you focus as you will not be wondering around looking for your keys you will know exactly where they are and be able to be aware.

4-Getting enough good quality sleep. I believe sleep is good for so many things. This is the time that our body gets to rest from the go-go-go of the day. It is also a time where our mind, emotions, and self get to rest. We are bombarded all day long with so many things . . . it is nice to let our bodies rest.

5-Eating healthy food. Our bodies need nutrients to run properly so a healthy diet will help our brain function.

6-Exercising is also thought to help keep memory loss at bay. This is due to the fact that exercise helps so many systems. If your body is healthy this could contribute to a healthy brain/memory. If the physical activity you do is something that requires skill, then you are putting your brain to work and that could be a double whammy. If the exercise you do is something that you really like, then that could contribute to your mental well-being and that could be one way that exercise helps.

7-“Manage chronic conditions

Follow your doctor’s treatment recommendations for any chronic conditions, such as depression or kidney or thyroid problems. The better you take care of yourself, the better your memory is likely to be. In addition, review your medications with your doctor regularly. Various medications can impact memory.”

As you probably know, the brain is still a large mystery. Science learns more everyday, but the cause of memory loss and diseases like Alzheimer’s are still unknown. So they come up with a list of things we can do that they think might help.

And Yup, heard them before, right? But . . . how many of them do you do? Do you think that these things can perhaps help your memory?

Posted in Misc | Tagged: brain games, brain stimulation, healthy diet, Mayo Clinic, memory helpers, memory loss, multi-tasking, Nia class, Nia routine, socialization | 2 Comments »

My Failed Stovetop Pizza

Posted by terrepruitt on June 16, 2015

If you haven’t seen this and you are interested in making pizza on your stovetop in 20 minutes, I suggest you go check out the video. It looks pretty cool. It looks fast. It looks easy. It looks yummy. It looks like you must have a pan you can vent. It also REALLY looks like the pan should be non-stick. I really wanted to try this because I would much rather eat pizza with dough that I make than other pizza. But I am not really good with pizza dough. Yes, I know it is easy, you know why? Because people TELL me it is, not because it ACTUALLY IS. I cannot make a pizza that is round for nothing. I cannot make the pizza come out even/level. One side tends to rise more than the other. My pizza tastes good, but it pretty much always LOOKS like a reject pizza. And then there is the dough and it so sticky and messy, so you might realize the HUGE appeal this pizza had (notice tense) to me. I thought I had a vented lid. I do! I thought it would fit one of my non-stick pans. It does not. It thought I could make it in a pan that does not have that non-stick coating. I am not convinced I can. But I made a HUGE error – aside from the pan. So I can’t say for certain (can you?) that the regular pan won’t work. I tried this stovetop pizza and here is the result.

First of all notice the difference between my pizza dough/crust and the one in the video. This SHOULD have been a HUGE sign to me, but it was not. I also should NOT have been attempting this really late at night. Since it is a 20 minute pizza I thought I could do it in 30 minutes or so. My plan was to do it earlier, but sometimes the day just escapes me. So I was starting this new thing for dinner at 8:30 pm. NOT A GOOD IDEA! So in my rush I forgot — prepare to giggle — the yeast. Yup. I measured it out and everything, but then I forgot to put it in the darn pan. And of course I realized that the SECOND I put ALL of the other ingredients on the pizza. I looked at the little bowl full of measured out yeast and —- GRRR!

I used red sauce, mushrooms, turkey sausage, and cheese for toppings.

The recipe doesn’t say medium heat but somewhere in the comments that is revealed, but I didn’t read the whole sentence! (Eyes rolling). It is medium heat while the vent is closed, then when you open the vents, turn it to low heat. So I cooked it at medium the entire time and the dough would not come out of the pan. I bet it might have, if I would have lowered the temperature. So you obviously understand I am not saying this recipe does not work. I am saying, “Hello, here is my complete and utter failure at attempting this recipe.” And I should say “recipe” because I left out a key ingredient and cooked it at the wrong temperature!

I am just sharing because I told a friend I would write a blog post, plus I am hoping that someone who has tried it will let me know and give me some tips. Do you think if I use the correct temperature (medium THEN LOW) It will work in a regular pan? One that is not non-stick? My lid doesn’t fit any of my non-stick pans.

So, SNAP! What does one feed herself and her hungry hubby at 9:00 pm when the planned dinner totally fails? I made pizza rice. Yup, sounds ridiculous and I never would have done it if I hadn’t been at a loss.

I just scraped the ingredients off of the stuck-to-the-pan-dough (a bit of dough came up with it) and put it over some leftover rice that we had. Yup, I put a bit of dough on the rice with the sauce, mushrooms, meat, and cheese. And that was our entrée. It didn’t taste bad at all. It was rice instead of dough, but it was kinda odd. My hubby liked it. But he loves rice. He likes rice better than pasta. He likes rice better than bread. So he enjoyed the “pizza” on the rice. I might have liked it better if it wasn’t a huge blaring symbol of my failed meal. 🙂 Also, I was afraid that I had totally ruined my pan. But I let it soak overnight and the stuck on crust came off.

So . . . have you tried this pizza? Can it be made in a regular (not non-stick) pan? Are you going to try it? Let us know how it comes out! I will attempt this again – correctly.

Posted in Entertainment, Food | Tagged: 20 minute pizza, dinner fail, non-stick pan, pizza crust, pizza dough, pizza rice, stovetop pizza, the chef's toolbox | 2 Comments »

Re-visiting Our Yard

Posted by terrepruitt on June 13, 2015

I love our yard. It is very small, but often very full of activity. This year we have new visitors to our yard. I know that we have had one once or twice, that I have seen, in the past. But this year they are regular visitors. They might have been regular visitors for some years now, but they are very shy so perhaps we just didn’t see them before. I’ve only seen them twice in years past, as I said. Since they are shy I don’t have any good pictures of them. The second we approach any window they are gone. But our hummingbirds are very brave this year. I can walk right up to the window where the feeder hangs about six inches away and the birds will just sit there. They seem fearless. And we have one that is the largest one I have ever seen visit our yard. This past week we had a little bit of rain. First it started off here as a mist, then the drops came, but it was a very gentle rain. Oh my, you should have heard and seen the yard. There were so many birds it in. They seemed so happy. They were just jumping around from place to place. It was a nice sight to see. I love that we have so much entertainment in our yard.

The new visitors are orioles. There seems to be at least four. There are two brightly colored ones and to “dingy” ones. They barely look yellow. One of the dingy ones has a bad leg. I say that because as she perches on anything there is something that hangs down. And she doesn’t perch well. She rocks on the feeders unless she is situated just right. When she is on one of our towers she hunkers down on it.

At first they knocked the yellow flower out of the hummingbird feeder. But once we saw them feeding on the hummingbird feeders we removed a flower from each feeder.

I think the new birds might be affecting our hummingbird population in regards to how many we get visiting the feeders in our yard. But that is ok. They need to eat too.

This is why I recently posted Outside Yoga – Easier Said Than Done because we have so much bird activity. I get distracted. Birds are fascinating. The blue jays rarely just pick a nut. They will land and pick up a nut, then put it down. Then pick up another nut, then put it down. It looks sometimes as if they are shaking it, but I am not sure. Then they will pick up another one and put it down. I’ve seen one bird do that a dozen times. I am so curious as to why. I have my ideas as to why, but I would love so much for them to be able to tell me.

The collage with the orioles makes me squint because of the out of focus, faded pictures where the oriole has his back to the camera. They are that way because I was taking it far from a way and through a dirty window and through a screen. The orioles are very skittish. The blurry photo where his coloring is bright was from very far away and as soon as he noticed me he was gone. The one of the oriole in the tree, that is the less-than-brightly-colored female.

The mourning dove has been trying to get to that feeder for days now. And I say “trying to get” because I have never seen it IN the feeder. It flies up to the top of it and that is as far as we have seen it get. But perhaps when we are not looking it actually makes it to the bottom to get the seed. Tonight my husband and I watched its progress. The mourning doves are skittish, too, but I think her having won such a hard battle she was not going to just fly away.

Our yard is small, but we are blessed with visiting birds. What’s in your yard? Do you have a flower garden? Do you have a vegetable garden? Do you have birds that visit?

Posted in Birds, Misc | Tagged: garden, hummingbird feeder, Hummingbirds, mourning dove, orioles, Outside Yoga, yard animals, yard birds | 2 Comments »

Have A Klip And A Smile

Posted by terrepruitt on June 2, 2015

This past weekend there was a festival in one of the cities near us. It was the Milpitas International BBQ & Festival. It was very small which was kind of nice because it wasn’t as crowded as some of the festivals get. There was a stage at each end. One stage had kids performing. It was really cool. The first band we saw as we walked up to the festival looked as if the singer and two guitar players were kids, but I think the drummer was an adult. The other band we saw as we were walking out looked like only the singer was a kid . . . but I only glanced up quick once and didn’t stop to look. But I was impressed by the kids. So, I just wanted to mention that because I love that the kids have a place to perform. But what I am really writing about is one of the vendors was selling animal ears. On my first pass, I thought they were cute, but I thought an almost 50 year old should not be walking around in animals ears. Also, I didn’t want people to think I am a furry. I don’t dress like an animal. I don’t pretend I am an animal. I don’t want to be an animal. I don’t want an animal avatar or persona. So, I walked right by the booth. But . . . as I was walking around I kept seeing them. At one point I looked up and for the smallest fraction of a second I thought the woman walking past me had “real” furry ears. The vendor did a tremendous job of matching the ears to the woman’s hair. And she did that with most of the women we saw. So, I went back and got some ears.

I was amazed at how well the vendor matched all the different hair colors. There were little girls who went for the brightly colored sparkly ones, but it seems as if the teenagers and up, opted for ones that matched, blended, or “went with” their hair.

If you see pictures of me with ears on, I am not a furry. They are just cute. They are fun to wear. It is just like if I wore a flower in my hair that does not make me a plant. 🙂

When I first saw them I thought they were a headband, but they are not, they are separate. The ears are sewn onto those bendable barrettes. To hold them on more securely you put a bobby pin across the barrette. I wore mine teaching two separate Nia classes on two separate days and they stayed in place each time. I had to adjust some of my arm movements though because I am not used to having furry ears. My hand had to go very wide around my head in that move where you circle your head with your hand!

I found that after wearing them, once I take them off my head feels lighter.

I get a kick out of driving and seeing the corner of my right ear in my rearview mirror.

They also compel people to talk to you . . . so that is nice. It is fun to see their faces, for a split second their face seems to register confusion — just the quickest second — then their eyes light up, possibly with the silliness of it or the fact that for a second they thought a woman had furry ears. Then their face breaks into a smile and it almost seems like they are speaking before they realize it. Strangers sparking up a conversation is fun.

Today I wore them to my Nia class. Afterwards I went to the store. I would HIGHLY recommend getting some ears. I was walking down the aisle and a young man working at stocking a refrigerated case looked at me and smiled – it was a nice friendly customer service smile, but then just as he was turning away he turned back doing a double-take and his face broke into a HUGE smile. Again . . . not sure if it is because he didn’t notice the ears at first, then he did or what it is. But it is WAY worth any type of feeling of I-am-too-old-to-be-sporty-fake-furry-ears.

Also, we live near a fire station and the store we go to is frequented by Firemen. They have never talked to me before, but today they did. I had just taught two classes, so I was not looking very “fresh” – let’s say – but who doesn’t want to talk to a person wearing furry ears?

So . . . there you have it. I have ears and they are basically a hair accessory, to add some fun. And they are bringing smiles to people faces and that really is one of the BEST things ever.

So . . . have I talked you into it? Are you going to order some ears?

Posted in Misc | Tagged: art and wine festival, conversation starter, festival, furry animal ears, hair accessory, kids bands, kritterklips, Milpitas International BBQ & Festival, Nia class, Nia Technique, summer festivals | 4 Comments »

Following Up, It’s A Tradition

Posted by terrepruitt on May 28, 2015

Sometimes I post things that are not in the realm of health, wellness, fitness, and the like, or even what inspires me. Some things I am just sharing. Some things I may write about, because of that “thing”, when you write about it and the act of writing is like therapy. Sometimes, once I bring something up I feel that it is good form to post a follow up of said “thing”. In April I wrote a post sharing that I was kind of sad because I was ending a tradition that had been going on for about fourteen years. It was a collection type of tradition. Where I was a subscriber to an annual ornament. The ornaments were spectacular when we started buying them in 2000, but since then the quality has gone down considerably. In all fairness, I do believe that the price has remained the same or close to it, so I guess that is something. But, the way they are made, now, it is no longer worth the price. I had been thinking of cancelling for a few years, but I was reluctant to let the tradition go. Our Christmas tree is full of Lenox ornaments and it was a joy to collect them. So I was sad to feel the need to stop, but the last ornament I received was THAT bad. I sent the company a letter of cancellation explaining how I used to love their product and I thought it was well made, but that stopped being true years ago.

Here is the reply. They acknowledge having received my request for cancellation. But then the letter goes onto say they are happy that I am still interested in their company and product. They extended an invitation for me to visit them online to view thousands of gifts and things. Ha, clearly they didn’t read the reason for my cancellation. I don’t think that I would be interested in buying something from them for a gift considering I think the quality is bad. If I bought something from them for a gift, I would hope the receiver never read my blog otherwise they would know that I bought them a gift of poor quality. I believe, sadly, that they just have this form letter they send out no matter the reason for cancellation. So, I guess it all goes together. The quality of their product has declined over the years and it seems pretty obvious that they do not care what their departing customers think.

I can imagine that they know the quality has declined so they don’t even bother listening to people expressing that opinion. Of course, that is just a thought. I don’t know. All I know is that their reply did not address my opinion on the quality of the ornaments I have received from them in the past few years.

Oh, well, there are many, many, many other companies that make beautiful ornaments. So . . . that is where I will go to spend my money for gifts and ornaments.

Well, that is it, I was just giving you the update.

Have you ever been the recipient of a form letter that seems to indicate your communication was not actually read?

Posted in Misc | Tagged: Christmas ornament, collections, Lenox, writing therapy | 2 Comments »

Outside Yoga – Easier Said Than Done

Posted by terrepruitt on May 23, 2015

I decided to go outside today to do some asana. I needed to get some sun on my hair because yesterday I put developer on it. I thought that I could get two things done at the same time: sun on my hair and yoga practice. Usually I think to do this when it is way too hot and my preparation for going outside takes longer than I actually last outside. Today, I kept that in mind. But I could tell there was a breeze outside, so I thought it would be ok. Also, it was the latter part of the day so the sun wouldn’t be beating down on me directly or for that long. So, I went outside. I had a list of yoga poses that I was going to do. It went pretty well, except for a few things.

The list starts out with standing poses. I realized that our windows would serve as a mirror in case I wanted to do some X-Ray Anatomy and check my alignment. Both proper alignment and improper alignment. Sometimes it is helpful for me to do the pose incorrectly so I can sense it and see it, and then teach to it better. So, the reflection was great today.

But . . . . my mat got hot. I would move to step into a pose and the mat was too hot. I could stay, it cooled down eventually, but it would leave my foot burning. A distraction I decided I didn’t want after a few poses. So I got a towel. Ok. Solved that little issue.

I did good on the standing poses. I was aware of the unhappy birds. I would see one come flying into the yard, and swoop out. I figured they had their eyes on the feeder and were heading in then they saw me and would pull up at the last minute. There was a bunch of tweeting, chittering, and squawking going on. I even managed to stay in Anjaneyasana longer than I intended. I was just about to move out of it when two little birds landed close to me. One on the bird bath and the other on the brass ornament we have out there. I stayed because I didn’t want to move and scare them. This was a momentary distraction. But I managed to stay pretty much focused.

The list of asana, then goes over some prone poses. Again, not too bad. I was able to ignore the bugs crawling around on the ground, while I was on my belly. . . for the most part. They were just ants. I was even so focused that I only allowed the multitude of strawberries to distract me for a moment. There are A LOT of strawberries out there. So tiny and bright red!

Then I got to the supine poses. As I was lying there looking up at the sky I noticed the wispy clouds. So I just stayed there a moment in Supta Baddha Konasana looking at them. As I watched they disappeared. I thought, “Well, that was so pretty, but I better get back to my poses.” Then I realized I could just stay in the Reclined Bound Angle and enjoy the sky for a bit. So I did. Then a cloud started to form and I thought, “Ooooo, what a cool video that would make.” So I jumped up to get my phone. I came back to my mat and got back into the pose and waited. Then I felt like I really wasn’t doing yoga or getting the point to it, if I were in a pose but holding my camera. So I put it down. I finished my list with focus.

THEN, I shot more video.

I am gonna share, you might not be able to appreciate the beauty of the day, but perhaps. The first one might even be able to be used as a little respite from a busy day.

The other two are me just pointing the camera in the general direction of the bird. I couldn’t actually see what I was videoing because of the sun. But it turns out in the second one, I actually captured the hummingbird on top of the stand. You MIGHT be able to see him. Then he flies toward the lemon tree, I think he was not happy that he had not intimidated me enough to go away. Then he flew off in a huff! Or he could have been upset because I moved one of the feeders.

I enjoyed my yard and got some yoga in. Oh, and let’s not forget, hopefully the sun helped my dingy hair color! Hopefully you will enjoy a bit of my yard, too.

Do you ever manage to get any yoga done outside?

Posted in Misc | Tagged: asanas, developer for hair, hair product, Hummingbirds, Low Lunge, Nia, prone poses, Reclined Bound Angle, standing poses, supine poses, X-Ray Anatomy, Yoga, Yoga Practice | 2 Comments »

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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!

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