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Archive for the ‘Misc’ Category

No Work, It’s A Holiday!

Posted by terrepruitt on March 31, 2015

Sadly there is no Nia Class today, Tuesday, March 31, 2015. The city of San Jose is closed so the San Jose Park and Recreation Community Centers are closed. It is a State Holiday. It is Cesar Chavez Day. It is a Holiday in California, Colorado, and Texas. March 31 is Cesar Chavez’s birthday. He was born in Yuma, Arizona in 1927. He was 66 years old when he died in his apartment in a small village near his place of birth, San Luis, Arizona in 1993. It was in August 2000 that the bill for a holiday to be on his birthday was signed into law, by Governor Gray Davis. Cesar Chavez Day was to be a holiday starting in 2001.

Before becoming the infamous voice for farm workers and their families, he was in the U.S. Navy in World War II. He is famous for the formation of the United Farm Workers Organizing Committee, in 1966. This committee was created by bringing two groups together, the National Farm Workers Association (which he helped form) and the Filipinos of the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee. Cesar Chavez was responsible for a huge strike of grape farm workers and a multi-year boycott on grapes. This resulted in union contracts being accepted by grape growers. He was a civil rights activist.

He worked for the rights of American Farm workers. His methods, thought to be aggressive by some, emphasized non-violence. He protested the use of toxic pesticides on grapes, for higher wages and safe working conditions for farm workers, and to promote the principle of nonviolence in regards to the strikes. Several of his protests were done by fasting. One of his protest – a fast – lasted 25 days. He fought for human rights.

According to the website Cesar E. Chavez National Holiday:

“In 1966 Cesar Chavez led a 340-mile march from Delano to Sacramento calling on state government to pass laws which would permit farm workers to organize into a union and allow collective bargaining agreements.”

And according to Wiki, while he held office in the United Farm Workers Organizing Committee, he was “committed to restricting immigration”. With workers coming to the United States from Mexico it undermined all of his efforts to better conditions for the American Farm Worker.

President Clinton presented Cesar Chavez’s widow, Helen Chavez with the Medal of Freedom at a White House ceremony on August 8, 1994.

President Barack Obama’s famous campaign slogan of “Yes, one can,” might sound familiar to some as it was originally the slogan for the United Farm Workers Organizing Committee that Cesar Chavez co-founded. “Sí, se puede.”

I am sad on this day of celebrating the man who fought for better wages and conditions for workers, I have to miss a day of work. But I can still dance. And perhaps raise a toast of wine to Mr. Chavez (in keeping with the grape theme).

His work benefited American Farm Workers not just those in California, Texas, and Colorado.

Do you have any special plans for Cesar Chavez Day?

Many things bear his name in California:

(per Wiki)

Parks–

Plaza de César Chávez (San Jose)
Cesar E. Chavez Plaza (Sacramento)
César E. Chávez Waterfront Park (San Diego)
César E. Chávez Park (Delano)
César Chávez Park (Berkeley)
César E. Chávez Park (Modesto and Colton)
César Chávez Community Center (Riverside) (2060 University Ave, also known as the César Chávez Auditorium)
Cesar E Chavez Park (LongBeach)
Cesar E. Chavez National Monument (Keene)

Major streets–

Avenida Cesar Chavez (Los Angeles) (formerly Brooklyn Avenue, Macy Street and part of Sunset Boulevard)
Calle César Chávez (Santa Barbara) (formerly South Salsipuedes Street)
César Chávez Drive (Oxnard) (newer street planned to commemorate César Chávez)
César E. Chávez Parkway (San Diego) (formerly Crosby Street)
César Chávez Street (Brawley) (formerly North 10th Street)
César Chávez Street (San Francisco) (formerly Army Street)

Libraries–

Maywood César Chávez Library (Maywood)
César E. Chávez Branch Library (Oakland)
Cesár Chávez Public Library (Salinas)
César Chávez Central Library (Stockton)
Cesar Chavez Library (Perris and San Jose)

Schools–

Chávez High School (Delano and Santa Ana)
César Chávez Learning Academies (San Fernando)
Cesar Chavez High School (Stockton)
César E. Chávez School for Social Change (Santa Cruz)
César Chávez Middle School (San Bernardino)
César Chávez Middle School (Hayward)
Cesar Chavez Elementary School (Calexico, Coachella, Corona, Davis, Greenfield, Oxnard, Salinas, San Francisco, and San Jose)
César E. Chávez Elementary School (Norwalk)
César Chávez Elementary School (Oxnard) (formerly Juanita Elementary School)
Cesar E. Chavez Academy (East Palo Alto and Madera)
Cesar Chavez Elementary School (San Diego)
Cesar E. Chavez Elementary School (Bell Gardens)
César Estrada Chávez Dual Language Immersion School (Santa Barbara)
Cesar Chavez Continuation High School (Compton
Cesar E. Chavez Middle School (Planada)

César Chávez Student Center, University of California, Berkeley (Berkeley)
César E. Chávez Student Services Center, Southwestern College (Chula Vista)
César Chávez Campus of the Fresno Adult School (Fresno)
UCLA César E. Chávez Department of Chicana & Chicano Studies (Los Angeles)
César E. Chávez Campus of San Diego Continuing Education (San Diego)
César Chávez Student Center, San Francisco State University (San Francisco)
César Chávez Building (A building), Santa Ana College (Santa Ana)

Posted in Misc | Tagged: Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee, American Farm Workers, boycott on grapes, Cesar Chavez Day, Cesar Chavez Elementary School, civil rights activist, grape farm workers, Medal of Freedom, National Farm Workers Association, Nia class, President Barack Obama's, President Clinton, San Jose Group Ex, San Jose Nia, United Farm Workers Organizing Committee | Leave a Comment »

This Is Where I Ended Up

Posted by terrepruitt on March 21, 2015

So here it is again, the day I consider to be the first day of spring. Yes, I am a bit off from tradition, but this is the day of new beginnings for me seventeen years ago. As I mentioned two years ago on this date, it is our wedding anniversary. Pretty exciting. Although this year he is sick and I am very grumpy about it! I despise being sick. And I have too much to do to be sick. And I am thinking I am getting sick because I am sooooo grumpy. Argh. All I can think about is being sick for the very first Nia Event I am producing and then I get even more grumpy. Argh. We didn’t do anything for our anniversary because he is sick and I don’t want to get sick. So we did nothing. I didn’t even cook a special dinner because I didn’t think he would enjoy it very much because he is sick. So . . . Happy Anniversary to us.

Good thing, I know he will be around a month or so from now because that is when we will probably finally have time to celebrate. My dinner plan was a roast. I don’t think I have ever cooked a roast. If I have, it has been so long I don’t remember how I did it. What are your favorite recipes? Would you share? It would be nice to make him a really nice, super yummy roast when he can taste. I think our roasts are in the 2.5 to 3 pound range.

I did go outside in the yard today and cut these beauties. My favorite rose bush has at least a dozen buds on it so next week I will have a house full of flowers. That is awesome. Our yard smells like roses. And when we open the door the house smells like roses. So next week, when I cut them and bring them all in the house will smell like roses. Yay!

I have actually started typing three different posts and this is where I ended up. I came up with two different ideas, but I kept coming back to this. The roses are beautiful and they smell great. I am happy to have them and my hubby. I am lucky to have both.

Since I am not a gardener I do marvel at the fact that my rose bush looks like it is dead and it will never come back then without me doing anything and almost (almost but not quite) without me noticing there are at least a dozen buds on it. I do tend to notice because, like I said, it looks dead so I look at it with sorrow. Then I forget about it for a day or two and then when I look at it again, it seems to be fine. After I trimmed off the dead or dying flowers today there is still a lot of buds. Awesome.

Happy Anniversary, Hubby! Here’s to your roast we have yet to have!

So what did you do (yesterday) on the first day of Spring? What did you do today?

Posted in Misc | Tagged: anniversary celebration, dead rose bush, first day of spring, Happy Anniversary, March 21, roast recipe, rose buds, Roses, sick, special roast | 6 Comments »

Alzheimer’s And A Suicide

Posted by terrepruitt on March 19, 2015

Possible Alzheimer’s Treatment:

I recently posted a bit about Alzheimer’s. I found the video very interesting and wanted to share. Now some interesting information came across my Facebook News Feed today. It is very “untested”, but, as I said, interesting. Remember, if you happened to see, the post with the Alzheimer’s video said that there is are certain protein fragments that are abnormal and their accumulation in the brain kills the brain cells with the result being Alzheimer’s. Well some researchers in Australia think they can use “a non-invasive ultrasound technology” to destroy the “neurotoxic amyloid plaques” thought to cause Alzheimer’s. They tested it on mice and the memory of the mice improved and there was no damage to the healthy brain tissue. The test results were that 75% of the mice got their memory back. Now . . . from what I understand this “breakthrough” is far from any actual practical application but it is pretty interesting if not amazing!

There has to be a start somewhere. So this COULD be the baby step to an actual cure.

Simple Show of Caring:

Another thing that came across my news feed that I thought was interesting — well, sweet is more accurate — is this thing that three mothers did in Palo Alto. Apparently last week there was a suicide. A teen used a Caltrain train to kill himself. The Channel 7 website states: “A teenager was fatally struck by Caltrain in Palo Alto Monday morning.

Caltrain officials say the teen was hit after he intentionally walked on to the tracks.

The student was a 15-year-old sophomore from Palo Alto High School.”

As often happens when someone in a small community kills themselves it affects everyone in that small community. I am not saying that the city of Palo Alto is the “small community” I am saying that Palo Alto High School is the small community. And what some mothers did was something simple and easy, but I think and hope it is having a big effect on the high schoolers in that small community. The mothers hung up pieces of paper shaped like hearts on trees to let the students know that there are people who care. The hearts had messages written on them. The notes ranged from “wishes” to words of encouragement. To me it sounds like a wonderful idea. So sweet in its simplicity. While I was reading the article and as I started typing this post I was thinking about how it would help the people feeling sad (confused/alone/whatever feeling they are having) because of the suicide. As I am typing just now it occurred to me that it MIGHT even help someone else who might be contemplating suicide themselves. They might read the notes or see the hearts and begin to understand that people do care. I don’t know. I was so much loving the idea of the care and concern BECAUSE of the suicide I didn’t even think of it helping possibly prevent one. I really like that thought.

I cannot imagine what the family of the child is going through. But I hope that the love the community is showing helps somehow.

Just two things that I saw this week. One I found interesting, one I found sweet. I know we all don’t see the same things all the time, so I thought I would share.

What do you think? Do you think the Australian researchers treatment sounds promising? Do you love the idea of the hanging heart notes?

Posted in Misc | Tagged: Alzheimer's, Alzheimer’s video, Caltrain, Channel 7 website, destroy cause of Alzheimer’s, Facebook Newsfeed, hanging heart notes, mothers in Palo Alto, non-invasive ultrasound, Palo Alto High School, paper shaped like hearts, Possible Alzheimer’s Treatment, protein fragments, researchers in Australia | Leave a Comment »

Saint Patrick’s Day In The World And Beyond

Posted by terrepruitt on March 17, 2015

Saint Patrick’s Day. I assume that I learned about him and the reason for the day of celebration at some point in my life, but it is not one of those things I kept in my memory. So I checked out what Wiki has to say about it. I am often amazed at what things started out to be and how they evolved. Are you familiar with Saint Patrick’s Day? I know it to be a “Drinking Holiday”. I tell everyone I see to be careful — often times they reply, “I don’t drink.” And I remind them that it does not matter if THEY drink others do and so it does a body good to be careful. I remember this is the day that started my love for bagels. I had never liked bagels and especially cream cheese. Then one Saint Patrick’s Day the company I was working for at the time brought in some green bagels. I thought that was super funny so I tried one. So began my love affair with bagels and cream cheese. I don’t remember if the cream cheese was green, but the bagels were. So what is Saint Patrick’s Day?

Well, according to Wiki Saint Patrick’s Day is celebrated on the day that the patron saint of Ireland, Saint Patrick died. It is also known as “the Feast of Saint Patrick” and “the Day of the Festival of Patrick”.

In the early 17th century is “was made an official Christian feast day” and anything one gives up for lent can be consumed on this day. So lent takes the day off on Saint Patrick’s Day. Which could be why Saint Patrick’s Day has the reputation as a “Drinking Holiday”.

It could be that I don’t know a lot about Saint Patrick because it sounds as if the information we have is not very concrete. The three left clover is thought to have been used by Saint Patrick to explain the Holy Trinity. And green was originally used in association with Saint Patrick but then someone started using blue but then it went back to green.

There are big celebrations held throughout the world to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day which is really a celebration of a man whose mission was to bring Christianity to Ireland. There are even celebrations “out of this world” as there has been Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations on the International Space Station by some of the Astronauts. (Click here to see Cady Coleman play an Irish Tune, 2011). Seems as if one of the biggest “Drinking Holidays” in the United States started out as a religious holiday.

Which reminds me of something I heard on the radio this morning. The DJ’s were having a contest to see who knew the top five most popular drinking holidays in the United States. There was a survey done by Yahoo of 2,000 adults in the United States. The survey was called “Alcohol and America”.

The results of the top five most popular drinking days are:
1. New Year’s Eve
2. Christmas
3. Fourth of July
4. St. Patrick’s Day
5. Thanksgiving

It took a few callers for this list to be guessed. Because Cinco De Mayo was one of the ones guessed first.

Well, I hope everyone had a Happy and Safe Saint Patrick’s Day. And if you were like me you learned a little something.

What did you do today? Did you wear green? Did you eat any green food?

Posted in Misc | Tagged: Alcohol and America, Cady Coleman, Christianity to Ireland, Drinking Holiday, green bagels, International Space Station, patron saint of Ireland, Saint Patrick's Day, St Patty's Day, Wiki, Yahoo | Leave a Comment »

Bad Day

Posted by terrepruitt on March 12, 2015

So, tomorrow is Friday the 13th. It is a bad day. Gotta stay in bed. Can’t do anything. Bad luck. Hate it. All of these things I have heard about the day had me thinking, “Why?” I use the term “luck” as in, I’ll say, “Good luck,” but I am not so much a believer in luck. I don’t associate good luck or bad luck with a number or a day. I have heard about Friday the 13th being “bad” for as long as I can remember, but I have no idea why. Do you? What is Friday with the number 13 attached to it such a bullied day? Well, I still can’t tell you for certain.

The information I found doesn’t say for sure why people dislike / are afraid of / dread / whatever the case may be Friday’s numbered 13. In fact, it could just be a “Western Culture” thing. Because according to Wiki, “Spanish speaking countries and Greeks” consider Tuesdays numbered 13 to be “bad luck” days. Wiki states that “an estimated 17 to 21 million people in the United States are affected by a fear of this day”. The estimation is coming from the Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute in Asheville, North Carolina.

I know some people see the number 13 as a bad luck number, but I don’t understand why it is so particularly bothersome on Friday. Some information points to the 13 apostles and Christ being crucified on Friday. But, that idea makes my brain hurt because I – personally – don’t associate religion and superstition.

It does seem as if this idea of Friday the 13th being a bad day is fading away . . . but even if people don’t really believe it to be a bad day, people still mention it. It is as if, for many of us, the thought – whether we believe it or not – is engrained in our minds. It is almost a habit that sometimes people say it. I know I have experienced people saying something about it then when I say, “I don’t have any ill will towards the day.” Their faces kind of scrunch up as they realize they don’t either and it was just out of a silly habit that they mentioned it.

Although I do understand that people might have phobia regarding the number 13 or Friday 13th, I am more just talking about the superstition and trying to pinpoint where that came from. Because . . . as I said, I have heard that all my life. My mother used to say her father was very superstitious and would do things that amaze me. One thing she said he did (or didn’t do) was regarding leaving the house. Once you left the house you couldn’t go back. That always amazed me because I am always having to go back. I have gotten a little bit better, but I know there was a time where I was convinced my poor cat just thought that was how someone left the house (leave, come back, leave). I never left the house without coming back for a very long period of time. Now, I can tell you the last time I did it because it was just this week, but I hadn’t done it in a long time.

I sometimes think superstitions stem from results of things happening that you wouldn’t want to happen. Like ladders falling on people so the superstition of it being “bad luck” to walk under a ladder was born. Or a hat being sat on when it was on the bed, so the superstition of “bad luck” resulting from putting a hat on a bed. Perhaps things that were bad that happened on a Friday were just more evident because there isn’t work the next day so people dwell on it more than if it happened on a Tuesday and people were busy with their work and lives? And 13 just got thrown in there for good measure because of that being a “bad luck” number?

What do you feel about Friday the 13th? Do you have a story about how it came about as a “bad luck” day? Do you do things differently on Fridays that are 13s?

Posted in Misc | Tagged: 13 apostle, antiquated superstition, bad luck, Friday the 13th, Good Friday, good luck, phobias, Stress Management Center, triskaidekaphobia | 2 Comments »

One Saving I Could Do Without

Posted by terrepruitt on March 10, 2015

In March of 2010 I wrote a post about Daylight Saving Time. First, as a reminder it is Daylight Saving(no s) Time. You can check out that post by clicking HERE. It just has some facts I gathered from the internet about Daylight Saving Time. Basically it hasn’t always been around, it went away, it came back, then after 21 years the government extended it in 2007. The government made it start sooner and end later. Instead of starting the first Sunday of April and ending the last Sunday of October, it now starts the second weekend of March and ends the first Sunday of November. I am not a fan. I do not like to lose an hour of sleep. If you read my blog at all, you pretty much know I am a “night person” so when it is DAYLIGHT at 9:00 AT NIGHT, it is really difficult for me to even think about going to bed at a decent hour. IT IS STILL LIGHT OUT! So . . . it is daytime. So . . . whatever . . . I don’t like a lot of things, I just live with them. But what I don’t understand is I hear so many other people voice their dislike for it, too. Why do we still do it? What is up with Daylight Saving Time?

If you are looking for answers you won’t find them there. I wasn’t even planning on bringing this up but someone posted a funny video to my Facebook Timeline this morning and I remembered I had saved a link to an article about it. Before my Nia and yoga class today I watched the video. Even though I watched the video I didn’t think about the lost hour or the DAYLIGHT at night. I laughed it off. But then on my way to my Nia class, as I was stopped at a stop light, the bank clock said 7:32. REALLY? UGH! Then when I looked up at the dance studio clock IT said 7:42. Sigh. Seems as if I was not going to be able to forget that it was AN HOUR earlier. And the funny thing is — all of a sudden, I felt tired. I yawned.

So, needing something to post on my blog today, I read the article (the one I save the linked for) “5 myths about daylight saving time”. Click here to go there. MORE information regarding the absurdity of Daylight Saving Time. Really . . . WHY DO WE HAVE IT STILL? Are you of the belief it is or was for the farmers? Well both the video I saw this morning (although it was a comedy video) and the post on the Washington Post said it was not for the farmers. In fact, the article claims that farmers were AGAINST it. They don’t like it.

The article is about 5 Myths of DST. The first one was the farmers theory. The second one is that it makes us healthier having that extra daylight when actually the sleep disruption and the changing of the time makes us more prone to automobile accidents. Some data has indicated that male suicide increases and the change has an adverse affect on people with mental health problems. Some physicians even think it can trigger cluster headaches.

The third one is the energy myth. That was the reason for its extension. (The article says it was extending in 2005. That was when the act was passed. We didn’t actually put the extension into practice until 2007.) The article also sites a study where Indiana’s government thought the residents would save $7 million in electricity costs, but it ended up costing the residents $9 million MORE. So not only was there no savings it cost MORE!

The fourth one is it increases revenue for businesses. Well, that is why I thought “they” (the government) did it. More sales. And while that sounds true – from the article – it also state that not ALL businesses benefit. The Air Transport Association estimated that the change for the extension would cost $147 million (holy carp!) because of the extra scheduling that has to be done to keep the flights all running smoothly with the rest of the world.

And the last myth is an argument about “Standard Time” not being actually “standard” because it is for less months out of the year than Daylight Saving Time.

So what do YOU think? Like it? Hate it? Love the light later? Don’t like it being so dark in the morning? Miss the lost hour of sleep? Feeling sick? Feeling disoriented?

Posted in Misc | Tagged: 5 myths, Daylight Saving Time, Daylight Savings Time, DST, Facebook, Nia, Nia class, Standard Time, Washington Post, Yoga | 2 Comments »

Goodie Jar Share

Posted by terrepruitt on March 7, 2015

I am still doing my Goodie Jar, are you? I know there are a ton of versions out there. Some people have “Happiness Jars” or “Smile Jars”. Some people have a goal of putting something in the jar every day. Some people’s goals are for once a week. Of course, none of the “rules” matter really, except the one that motivates you to remember your blessings. That is really the point. To have a little reminder of the blessings or things that make you happy, things that make life worth living. There is so much going on in the world and in our lives it is sometimes easy to get distracted. The jar — however you utilize it, is just a way of reminding yourself about the good. Good things in the Goodie Jar.

My hubby and I are using ours. I have Christmas wrapping paper cut up. And some other pretty wrapping paper. We have little sheets of note paper. All kinds of papers to use. Plus we both are putting our tickets in there. We have been blessed with Sharks tickets so those go in the Goodie Jar – win or lose, because a night out with each other is a WIN for us! It turns out that the San Jose Sharks lost, but it was a really exciting game. Or . . . to me it was. I know that people who go to more games than me might have a different opinion, but I thought it was exciting. I am much better at actually tracking the puck. I still “lose” it sometimes, but not as much as my first game. Hockey is so much more exciting and action packed than baseball.

Then there is our trip a couple of weekends ago. That is DEFINITELY a Goodie Jar item. That was a well needed trip. And it was so wonderful. The weather was awesome. I bet if we had gone this weekend it would have been too hot for me. It seems the weather is warming up here.

Then there is our beef. That is always a good Goodie Jar item. I have explained before how lucky I am that my hubby will eat pretty much anything. And he loves beef. So he has been pretty good about my experimenting with cooking the grass-fed beef we bought. It cooks so differently than regular beef. It is just mind-blowing. I was in a rush tonight as the game started 30 minutes earlier than I realized. I put the steak in a really hot oven and hoped for the best. It cooked well even though it didn’t look cooked–as usual. The flavor was meat, which I don’t prefer, but . . . it was dinner. And dinner helps us not need to eat the food at the game.

I still have Nia students in my Nia classes. The San Jose City Nia classes are really going well.

So many things to be thankful for. So many things that will bring a smile to my face at the end of the year! Filling up that jar! Yipee! It is really nice to have something to document the smiles.

Well? Are you doing a jar? What type? What are your “rules”? Got any good things you want to share?

Posted in Misc | Tagged: Christmas, good things jar, Goodie Jar, grass-fed beef, group exercise, Happines Jar, Napa, Nia Classes, Nia students, San Jose City Nia classes, San Jose Sharks, Smile Jar, wine tasting vacation | 2 Comments »

Thankful For A Fly

Posted by terrepruitt on March 5, 2015

Sigh! I am a bit distracted lately. I have this Special Nia Event that I am promoting and it has me thinking about it a lot. So today I found myself grateful for a fly. Ewwww. I hate flies. They gross me out. Especially those ones that BUZZ loudly. They just fly around making all types of racket! I have a habit of leaving the door open when I go outside. I usually am going to “just be a moment”, but then it turns into longer. Or even when it really is just a moment, a fly always seems to come right in. Argh! Today after my Nia class I had a meeting about another Nia workshop and then I went to the store. When I drove into the garage I was thinking about the meeting, happy and confident it went well. I felt as if we had an idea of where we were going. That felt good. Then I opened the door and walked into the kitchen. The kitchen was a mess so the workshop was swooshed out of my brain and I immediately (after turning of the alarm) began to clean the kitchen. In an effort to clear some of the clutter I had all over the place, I decided to take something out into the garage. Here is when I encountered the fly for which I am grateful.

I stepped out of the kitchen with items in hand. As I began to put them on the shelf I heard that awful buzz of a fly. I turned quickly to shut the screen door which I had left open because that is my habit – I was just going to put something on a shelf – really fast. After I found room to put the items down I thought, “What if I open the garage door? Would the fly go out? Could I herd him outside?” So I opened the door. I spotted the fly and moved toward him at which point I lost sight of him but I was hoping I would kind of swish him out anyway and then I felt him on my hand. EWWWWWWW! I hate that! Icky! I touched the fly. I managed not to do the ewww-I-touched-a-bug-crazy-dance but I still was grossed out. But I also felt that he did go outside.

So I turned around to go back into the house. As I was walking towards the door I noticed an empty spot on the floor and I thought, “Huh we are out of that. Good thing I just went to the store and bought some.” Ahhhh. I had forgotten my groceries in the car. I had forgotten the groceries entirely! I completely forgot about them. I was focused on the progress I felt we made at my meeting, when I pulled into the garage. I wasn’t thinking about groceries. Then the kitchen mess sucked me in. It didn’t ever occur to me I had just gone shopping and had groceries. Geez!

So I turned around to get the groceries out of the car. I found myself grateful for that icky fly. Then I found myself rolling my eyes because I NEVER in a MILLION YEARS would have thought that I would have ever thought, “Oh, I am grateful for a fly.” But I was grateful for that fly. If I wouldn’t have stopped to get him out of the garage I would have left my groceries in my trunk and they would have gotten icky. I didn’t have any meat or dairy, but my veggies would have gotten wilted.

Ha, so there you have my day. And the my story about being grateful for a fly. (Ewww!) Who would have thought?

Please tell me you forget things, too. What have you forgotten lately? What are you grateful for?

Posted in Misc | Tagged: buzzing fly, messy kitchen, Nia class, Nia workshop, Special Nia event | 2 Comments »

Cute Idea To Avoid Stains

Posted by terrepruitt on February 28, 2015

You might have seen my recent post where I was excitedly jumping up and down because of a recent mini-vacation my husband and I took. (If you didn’t you can see it by clicking here) I am still kind of floating on that “vacation high”. So yummy. I was looking through my pictures and I noticed a few shots of the little toiletry basket the have in the room of the bed and breakfast. I thought, “Why did I take pictures of that?” I had to think about it for a second then I remembered I was impressed with the BLACK towel that was in the basket. It actually said, “makeup” on it. Totally makes sense. I don’t wear that much makeup that soap and water doesn’t take care of it. Plus I don’t use anything waterproof. But I have experienced makeup that has not come out of cream colored towels so I thought a BLACK towel is a perfect solution. That is says “makeup” right on it is a nice little way to encourage guests to use IT when drying their face or wiping their hands during or after make up application. Black towels will hide any dark makeup that refused to come out during laundering and stain the towel.

A quick search on the internet revealed that there are several types of little black towels that have the work “makeup” on them. I clicked on a few links and the name Turkish Towel Company came up a few times. I also saw some little black ones that say “cosmetics”. I also saw a website where a savvy shopper bought some black wash clothes on sale (for much less than what I was seeing the other towels priced at) and had her mom embroider them with the word “makeup”. That seems to be the least expensive route. I am not really in the market for “makeup towels”. Sometimes I think things are cool/interesting/good ideas but I don’t want them or need them. As I said my makeup is not so tough that soap and water doesn’t just take it right off my face. So when I dry my face there is not enough residue black stuff to stain my towels. Although, that same savvy shopper was planning on putting them in stockings or including them as part of gifts. Now THAT is a good idea! Cute and useful stocking stuffers!

There really is a product for everything out there, huh? It always amazes me. So much stuff out there. So many great ideas (and some not so great ideas) for products!

I was a little disappointed last weekend, though when I used it one night and didn’t get a replacement. But . . . perhaps they didn’t have that many and they need to be laundered separately from the white towels. No biggie, it didn’t really matter, I was just a little surprised it wasn’t replaced. I still think it is a great idea to save the rest of your towels from getting stained.

Have you ever seen black “makeup” towels before? Can you see a use for them? They are a pretty good idea, huh?

Posted in Misc | Tagged: bed and breakfast, good ideas, makeup towels, Napa, stocking stuffers, The Napa Inn, Turkish Towel Company, useful products, vacation | Leave a Comment »

Long Over-Due Vacation

Posted by terrepruitt on February 24, 2015

I love being a Nia teacher and teaching Nia classes, however, it nets more of a “cosmic salary” than one that allows for vacations. The last time we went on vacation was before I lost my corporate job. We took a BIG vacation in 2006 and 2007. We have been to my father’s house, which is pretty close to a vacation because we don’t do any household chores and we just relax in a BEAUTIFUL lake community. But I still work. Since I only teach six classes a week, it might appear as if I only work six hours a week, but I am always writing a blog post or learning a routine, checking e-mails and creating flyers and marketing material. So when the idea to go away for a weekend to celebrate my husband’s birthday was suggested it sounded intriguing. We thought about Napa. We like bed and breakfasts. I found one for less than the cost of many hotels in that area. So we decided to go! For my hubby’s birthday we spent a wonderful weekend in Napa. We had such a good time I wanted to share a story or two and few pictures. It has been a long time since we vacationed!

My hubby gave himself a birthday present of taking three days off from work! Good boy. Did I catch him working during the weekend? Well, I shouldn’t be a tattler. His first day off was Friday. I taught my Nia class in the morning then at 1:30 we were off to the land of the vines! We arrived about 3:30 and were able to check in. It was a cute little room. Which I did not think to take pictures of until we were on our way out so . . . the room is not as spiffy in these shots as it is when you first arrive. It was a perfectly fine room for the price. It even had a little fridge! I love that because we always have leftovers.

We didn’t make reservations for dinner on any night so John looked at Yelp for places that were closest to the place we were staying. We like to be able to walk to downtown Napa. The very closest place was Tarla. I would DRIVE from home to eat there. It was that good. We called first but we were told that a party of two did not need reservations. So when we walked in and he asked I said we were told we didn’t need any. But then I also said that if it would get us in faster we would be a party of four and I patted the arm of the man standing next to me. 🙂 So that couple was whisked off to there seats. As the host was telling us how long our wait would be (10 to 15 minutes — no biggie!), the man came back out and told the host that we could sit with them! How FUN! We ended up having a great time with a great couple. It was really nice. The man owns Wine Country Helicopters. I would have loved to book a tour, but I didn’t think my hubby would do that. But now that he knows the owner he said he might. So next time! Dinner was really yummy and the company was great.

Saturday was our wine shuttle tour. Where we were surprised to be with ten other people. But they were all great so we had a really nice time. We met three young attorneys, a mother-son-daughter trio, and a foursome of “mom friends”. It was really nice. The weather was perfect. We actually didn’t end up with a lot of wine because three out of the five stops we had made we had said seven years ago that we never needed to visit them again. And we were right! We didn’t actually get to the ONE winery that we wanted to go to.

So that was the trip we made on Saturday. We drove out to the winery we (I) wanted to visit. Then we dropped off the car and headed back to town to hit a restaurant and some of the wine rooms. The first “room” we came to was Prime Cellars tasting room. We had a GREAT time with the young woman (Christine) pouring the wine. She poured, we purchased . . . it was a nice visit. We ate at the Bounty Hunter – the only place I will order a pulled pork sandwich. Although it is in a different location than when we last visited, it is still a nice place to eat with great food.

We stopped at Tarla on our way back to the room. The bartender made me one of her own concoctions — which tasted a bit like a Moscow Mule with out the heat. We had a snack then headed back to our room.

The weather was GREAT all weekend. A bit windy on Sunday, but that is ok. The sun was shining and the sky was blue. It was fantastic. I am going to sub as much as I can so that I can get us back up there before 2021! It is such a great place to visit! My hubby said he had a GREAT birthday weekend and that is what is most important.

Happy Birthday, Hubby!

Have you ever been to Napa? Do you have wine tasting in your area? Do you go?

Posted in Misc | Tagged: Bed and Breakfasts, cosmic salary, downtown Napa, Napa, Napa Hotels, Nia, Nia class, Nia Teacher, Prime Cellars, pulled pork, Tarla, The Bounty Hunger, vacations, Wine Country Helicopters, wine shuttle tour, wine tours | 6 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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