Posted by terrepruitt on May 31, 2013
It is the end of May. Wow! May 31, 2013. I am still adding to my Goodie Jar. It has a lot of good stuff in it. Good things. I can’t wait to read it. I am excited. I am still using different colored paper and some prints even.
I hope that you are blessed and able to put some good things in your jar.
How is it going? Is your jar filling up?
Posted in Good Things in the Goodie Jar | Tagged: colored paper, good things jar, Goodie Jar, May 2013 | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on May 24, 2013
Still adding to my good things jar. Et tu? Recently I received a card from a friend and she put stickers on the envelope. Yes, even in our 40s we are putting stickers on envelopes! LOVE IT! Often times I peel the stickers off and stick them on something else so I get to enjoy them long after the envelope is thrown away. This time I decided to cut them out and put them in my goodie jar.
Yes to me it was a good (actually GREAT) thing that my friend sent me a card. And I love the extra added joy of stickers so I just cut them out to be added to my jar! When my hubby and I go through the jar at the end of the year I will pull the stickers out and they are their own documentation of a good thing! It is like a double bonus. I get the joy of the sticker AND I am reminded that someone loves me and sent me a card! AWESOME!
What about you? What good things are you putting in your jar to remind you of the good things?
Posted in Good Things in the Goodie Jar | Tagged: et tu, good things jar, Goodie Jar, Goodie Jar check in, stickers | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on May 23, 2013
A friend of my communicated with me that the company she worked for was going to be volunteering at RAFT. She asked me if I wanted to join them. I didn’t know what RAFT was. So I looked it up online and I saw what it stood for so I said yes. RAFT is Resource Area For Teaching. I showed up not knowing what they really did. I didn’t look at the website beyond the meaning of the acronym. After listening to the short orientation about what RAFT is I was very impressed. I was excited to learn that there is this type resource available to teachers. I know many teachers work way more than the school day hours and put a lot of their own money into supplies. I thought that RAFT might be something to help them out. RAFT is as a non-profit organization that supplies teachers with Idea Sheets, materials and other resources. RAFT also holds workshop for Educators.
RAFT understands that the hands on approach is a very powerful way to learn. Their mission is to “inspire the joy and discovery of learning” through hands on learning. The website has hundreds of “Idea Sheets” that teachers can print at no charge. These sheets are guides on lessons that correlate to the subjects and things that need to be taught in California. But anyone teaching kids can use them because they are on a variety of subjects. The sheets can be searched by subject or grade/level. The sheets state the materials needed, how to assemble the learning tool, the grade it corresponds to as well as the California Standard, the science behind it and alternative lessons that can be taught. Some of the idea sheets also have actual kits you can purchase through RAFT. But you can always obtain the materials yourself. Some things needed could be stuff you have around your house.
RAFT receives surplus “stuff” from businesses and they create learning tools from these spare parts. These are the Activity Kits that can be purchased. It is really cool because RAFT takes stuff that businesses more than likely would just be throwing away and they create a learning project from it. I thought that was so cool. RAFT is recycling by using things in a different way than was originally intended. When I was there we were using a CD/DVD Spindle, a CD/DVD, a CD/DVD case to create kits. We kept saying as we were assembling the kits that we would have to see what it was that we were putting together, but then we never did. And I was at the front of the assembly line so I don’t even know what else was in it except I saw sticks, straws, and string. I looked online and I don’t see the kit available yet so I can’t try to figure it out from the website.
In addition to the Idea Sheets, Activity Kits, workshops, and mentoring RAFT also has common classroom supplies available to teachers as a discount. So overall RAFT sounds like a great resource for teachers. I love that RAFT uses stuff that would just end up in the garbage. That the materials they are keeping out of the landfills actually go to making a project for children to learn from is just super delicious icing on the cake! Then having all of this help teachers. I was just so excited and impressed I had to share. I didn’t know this place, this type of thing existed. I am really glad I agreed to volunteer even though I had no idea what it was about.
If you teach kids I hope that you will take a moment to look at this GREAT resource that is available to you.
Did you know about RAFT? Have you ever used one of their Idea Sheets?
Posted in Helpful Hints, Misc | Tagged: Activity Kits, California Education Standards, classroom supplies, hands on learning, Idea Sheets, lesson plans, RAFT, teacher mentoring, teacher resource | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on May 21, 2013
My husband works with Little Sheba the Hug Pug. They both are a part of a very dog friendly company. Actually the company is pet friendly. But the main pet around is dogs and the main dog breed is pug! Every year Little Sheba and her little brother, Rio Bravo, participate in the Los Altos Pet Parade. The owners of the company gather all their pug friends to walk as a group. This past weekend was the 66th Annual Los Altos Pet Parade. My hubby was thrilled to have been asked to walk a bit with Rio and he asked me to come along. I kept thinking of it as a pug parade. Then even as I remembered it was a PET parade I was somewhat surprised to see chickens, lizards, cats, bees, and various other pets along the route. I was so busy taking pictures of the pugs, I didn’t take any pictures of the other pets except the chickens.
I was kinda on the sidelines taking the pictures and letting all the pug parents get the best positions for shots of the pug children. I didn’t want to get in the way of that. They were eagerly documenting the event. Such proud happy parents. Here are a couple of images where all the pugs were at attention due to a promise of a treat.
I was able to get in a quick shot while Rio and Sheba happen to be next to John.
Rio and Sheba were ready to go.
They were a group of seven pugs. (I didn’t get them all in this shot.)
In addition to trying to stay out of the way, I was walking and snapping, I was not focusing on the people holding the leashes and I did not get many full bodies in the shot. I did concentrate a few shots on my hubby because he was really very excited and honored to walk his little buddy in the parade. So I wanted to make sure I got a few to document that. But still I didn’t do a great job with that, but I managed to at least get a few. Here are some of the photos I was able to get.
Since we live in a neighborhood where it often sounds as if some of the dog owners don’t spend a lot of time with their dogs I was really happy to see so many proud dog owners strutting around with their beautiful and really well-behaved dogs. I actually only saw ONE dog out of at least a hundred, that seemed to think he needed to bark at every dog that walked by as if he was possessed. And, as you would expect from a dog with that behavior the owner just dragged him off without any instruction or conversation. Sad to say, no lesson learned there.
Participating in the parade were big dogs, little dogs, medium sized dogs, old dogs, young dogs, you name it a lot of different types of dogs. As, I said, it was nice to see them all so happy and getting along. It was obvious they knew they were the stars and the parade was in their honor as very loved pets!
Maybe next year you will bring your pet down to the pet parade. Or if not just come watch. Wouldn’t you like to spend the morning in beautiful Los Altos watching a parade of pets? C’mon it’s fun!
Posted in Misc | Tagged: dog breeds, dog owners, Hug pug, Little Sheba, Los Altos Pet Parade, pugs, Rio Bravo, well- behaved dogs, www.HugPug.com | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on May 17, 2013
Yowza! I almost forgot about my Friday Goodie Jar Check In. I remember last night just as I was falling asleep and I thought I would do it when I got home. This morning I was volunteering at a REALLY cool place I didn’t even know existed until this week when I was invited to join the volunteer group.
I was going to write about it in this post, but I think it deserves a post of its own. You know me (maybe, from my posts?), you know when I get excited about something I want to share and I thing this place is worth sharing in a blog post!
I got home a little later than I expected. But here I am posting the check in. Are you still with me? Are you still putting notes of good things in your Goodie Jar? I am!
Posted in Good Things in the Goodie Jar | Tagged: good things, good things jar, Goodie Jar check in, volunteering | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on May 16, 2013
Recently I was doing some quick cleaning. As I started I felt an itch on my arm but I had just started cleaning and I was on a roll so I didn’t want to stop and look so, I kept cleaning. I have kept my box of essential oils on my coffee table for ease of use, so as I was moving them to clean the table I remembered that one of them states it helps with bug bites. I assumed without looking at my arm that it was a bug that had bit me. It kept itching! So I decided to sit down to find the one that helps. I had to read every bottle. I don’t yet know which oil does what so I have to read each bottle each time I want to use one. I found it. It is Eucalyptus Oil. I put it on the spot and the itch stopped instantly. IMMEDIATELY!!!!! I was a little taken a back. It was amazing. I tipped the bottle onto my arm again. I wanted that effect to last!
According to the bottle it says:
“Fantastic on skin ailments such as burns, blisters, wounds, insect bites, lice and skin infections, as well as to combat the effects of colds and the flu. There is also a history of Eucalyptus essential oil being applied to sore muscles and joints.”
I thought it was pretty cool that I remembered an essential oil would help with the bite. I also thought is was really cool that it took the itching away instantly. I am not sure if the swelling went down and the bite disappeared faster, but I do know the itching stopped and that is huge to me. I mean I have had bites before and because they continue to itch I continue to scratch them and I know that does not help them go away any faster. So this was great to me.
Other common uses for eucalyptus oil are for allergies, asthma, bronchitis, congestion, cough, emphysema, hay fever, pneumonia, and poison ivy.
I have not tried Eucalyptus Oil for any of the other things listed on the bottle. I have also not tried if for most of the things listed as common uses. I usually just breathe it in. I have allergies and hay fever, so I think of it as helping clear my sinuses a bit.
As to the other uses I can not attest, I am not an essential oil expert nor a medical professional. I am not stating here that eucalyptus oil will assist with or cure any of the issues as stated under common uses or any of the things on the bottle. I am just here telling you what I used it for and how amazed I was at the result. It was great. The itch was gone!
Eucalyptus oil is also associated with opening and/or balancing the Heart Chakra as I mentioned in my post Chakras and Single Essential Oils, you can read that post by clicking here.
So there you have one of my experiences with essential oils.
How about you? Have you had an experience with eucalyptus oil you want to share?
Posted in Essential Oils, Misc | Tagged: Allergies, balancing chakras, blended frozen fruit, essential oils, eucalyptus oil, hay fever, heart chakra, help with colds and flus, insect bites, skin ailments | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on May 10, 2013
If I had started the Good Things Jar at the beginning of the year we would be at Goodie Jar – Check In #19, but I didn’t start my good things jar until February 2013 so we are only at Goodie Jar – Check In #15. And yes, life gets busy and we forget to focus on the good things, that is why we have a check in.
Some of my notes are pretty small. I like to use colorful paper!
How is your week going? Did you have a chance to note a good thing and put it in your Good Things Jar? Now is your chance!
Posted in Good Things in the Goodie Jar, Misc | Tagged: good things, good things jar, Goodie Jar – Check In #15, oodie Jar | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on May 7, 2013
There is such a thin line in regards to so many things. I recently was listening to a song called “The Thin Line Between Love And Hate.” and while I don’t necessarily believe that, I do believe there is a thin line between being positive and being in denial and being realistic and being negative. Well, maybe the line is not so thin, but there is a difference. I believe that a positive attitude can help with a lot of things. It can help make a situation better. It can defuse a situation. It can allow for more positive things to happen. It can heal. But at the same time it is important to not be in denial of a situation. 
Even if there is acknowledgement at some point and then you chose to never look at the situation again because you are concentrating on being positive. I think that is somewhat ok. As long as you know somewhere deep inside and can face it when and if you need to. Then, there is also being realistic. With some things you just have to face the facts. It is good to know what is going on. It is important to know the situation, but that doesn’t mean you are being negative. There could be a situation in which it is important to look at the facts and make decisions based on those facts even if those “facts” are actually POSSIBLE consequences or outcomes. Even if they are less than favorable. I choose to be realistic, but then not dwell on it. I think dwelling on the less than favorable stuff becomes negative. And negativity doesn’t really get you anywhere. It blocks positive energy. To me, it thwarts your power. But again . . . there are fine lines between all of this. And everyone has different limits. It is so difficult to know people’s limits and their lines.
There could be a situation where you happen to be with the person at their point of being so positive you might think they are in denial. Sometimes you have to wait these times out to see. Sometimes it could be that the person will just function better being in that constant endless state of denial. Sometimes they are just doing what they feel they need to do to get through the situation. Sometimes they know, but they are being positive.
And it could also be that you happen to be with the person in their state of recognizing and coming to terms with reality and it might appear as if they are super duper negative. I like to wait that out a bit too. I am usually so eager to be the cheerleader and start with the “positives” but I also think it is good to be realistic, but I don’t like to “stay” there. In some instances, I feel that I need to not contribute to the reality and just let them state their beliefs or facts they know to be true.
It is all so interesting the human psyche. Whew. At times it is difficult to know when to be positive, when to support the denial, and when to contribute to the reality. I rarely believe in dwelling on the negative, but you might catch me in a moment where I am facing the reality of it and think that I am negative, but give me a few minutes and I am sure I will get back to the positive!
Do you know what I mean? Ever been in a situation where you have to stop and think about which state you will be in; positive, denial, realistic, or negative? Ever have to decide where you need to be to be the most helpful?
Posted in Misc | Tagged: being positive, cheerleader, negative attitude, negativity, Positive attitude, positive energy, realistic outlook, state of denial, thin line | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on May 3, 2013
It’s Friday. That means a lot of things, huh? One think it means over here on Terre Pruitt’s Blog is Goodie Jar check in! Are you filling up that jar with all the good things going on in your life? Believe me, I know that some times there are things that are not good and we can let them take over our outlook, our attitudes, our lives OR we can find the good things. I really cannot deny the good even where there are not good things. Even if I have to turn to my friends to celebrate their good things . . . . there are good things!
But . . . that is my belief and how I feel about things. I think there is ALWAYS something at least one good thing about . . . so I choose to focus on that/them. And since they are good I am writing them down and putting them in a jar! I actually put at least three good things in my jar this week and only one of them was Nia related. LOL!
How are you doing? Do you have the “good thing” attitude?
Posted in Good Things in the Goodie Jar | Tagged: believe in good things, celebrate life, good attitude, good outlook, good things, good things jar, Goodie Jar, Nia | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on May 2, 2013
Sometimes when I am looking for information about something, I find information about other things. Sometimes one little piece of information makes me curious and so I go looking to check on it and then I find other things that have me curious. Sometimes it takes me a long time to write a post. I get into a mode where I am just looking at more stuff and more stuff. Fascinating. And as I always say about the internet if you find one thing to support something you will find another thing that doesn’t. Sometimes it is frustrating because you don’t know what to believe. But somethings are nice in that they are general facts and not too many people are going to argue with them. I was on my way to learn something and found out these things in the process:
—The esophagus is approximately 10 inches long.
—The esophagus is about the diameter of a quarter.
—The “walls” of the esophagus is about the width of three pennies.
—Adults eat about 1102.31 pounds of food a year.
—There is a bone that is hardly larger than a grain of rice. It is in the ear.
—The smallest muscle is an ear muscle, the stapedius
—Ears and the end of the nose are made up of cartilage.
—It takes fewer muscles to smile than frown, 20 versus 40.
—The sartorius is the longest muscle in the body. It rotates the thigh outwards and bends the knee as it runs down from the outside of the hip to the inside of the knee.
—There are about 5 million red blood cells, 300,000 platelets, and 10,000 white blood cells in a tiny drop of blood.
—Red blood cells, which carry oxygen to the tissues
—Platelets, smaller cells that help blood to clot
—White blood cells, which fight infections
—It takes about one minute for red blood cells to circle the whole body.
—Red blood cells make about 250,000 round trips of the body before they die.
—Red blood cells live about four months.
—The right lung is slightly larger than the left.
—The skin secretes antibacterial substances. These substances explain why you don’t wake up in the mornings with a layer of mold growing on your skin.
—The spinal cord is approximately 15 or so inches to 19 or so inches long.
—The spinal cord is about 2.54 to 3 (or so inches) in diameter.
—The spinal cord is a cylindrical structure of nervous tissue composed of white and gray matter.
Some things you learn and then forget so it is interesting to happen upon the facts again. Or when having a discussion with someone you find yourself looking things up to help further the discussion. Either way to me it is fascinating. I have shared my fascination before in my post Human Body Fantastic you can check that out by clicking here if you want. It has different body facts.
I gathered the facts noted in this post from Body Worlds 2 body fact sheet, the University of South Florida’s website, and Neuroscience Online.
Well, maybe you learned something. Maybe you didn’t. Maybe you were reminded by of something. Either way, I hope you were fascinated.
Don’t you find the body amazing?
Posted in Misc | Tagged: antibacterial substances, Body Worlds 2, esophagus, gray matter, Human body facts, Neuroscience Online, platelets, red blood cells, spinal cord, the sartorius, the stapedius, University of South Florida's, white blood cells, white matter | 2 Comments »
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