Archive for the ‘Misc’ Category
Posted by terrepruitt on November 22, 2012
I have so much to be thankful for I work on giving thanks all year long. I tell the people who I am thankful for that I appreciate them. I do feel so much gratitude that I don’t feel bad taking one of my posts for sharing some things and people who I am thankful for. Why not, right? It is my blog and Thursday happens to be one of the days I post. And since Thanksgiving is set up to occur on Thursdays it just happens that I will be posting on that day.
I did have a conversation recently with my Nia students and we agreed that it would be nice if the United States celebrated Thanksgiving in October as our Canadian neighbors do. We were talking about how it would be beneficial to have the Holidays spread out a bit. Having more time in between Thanksgiving and Christmas could ease some stress. It wouldn’t be one big rush. Plus the fact that not all of the days off from work would be so close together. Sounds like a good idea.
As I type this (a bit before Thanksgiving) what is really in the front of my mind to be thankful for is my Nia Students. I am very grateful to them for holding space for me while I took the Nia Blue Belt Training, the next level of Nia. As a dance exercise teacher there is a fear that students won’t come back if a class is cancelled. It takes commitment to come to a class day after day and week after week and sometimes once that habit is broken it is easy to let it go. So knowing that my students are committed to Nia and to supporting me really helped me let go of the fact that I had to cancel my classes and it allowed me to really BE where I needed to be.
I am also very thankful for the people involved with my Nia Blue Belt. I am thankful for the organizer. She kindly kept in communication with me when I didn’t know if I should sign up for the intensive because my mom had been having health issues and at one point she was going to be scheduled for a major (MAJOR, MAJOR) surgery the very week of the intensive. She let me know that I could register as close as 30 days prior. 
I have huge gratitude towards the Nia Trainers who each have their own story, one flying from Hurricane Sandy to come teach us, and the other having had a bee sting, a car accident, and surgery. And the class, my fellow Blue Belts. Some of the trainees are actually other belts retaking the blue, but they will be fellow blues to me. I appreciate the warm and welcoming space that was created and held. There were many people going through personal situations and they were able to step into the space strong and ready to learn. They put the issues aside and focused and made it through. Thank you so much, Blues!
My husband was so great during the entire week of training. I am a firm believer that the body and brain needs nutrients throughout the day so I make sure that I make him lunch every night. He is one of those worker-people that will just power through his day not giving a thought to food. So it is really important that he have lunch right there to eat. During the intense week he made sure to make his own lunch (AND DINNER) because he knew that if he didn’t I would. He helped it feel as if I were on vacation from my home duties. This helped tremendously.
I am very thankful for my mom’s health. She has been going through some issues this past year and true to my mom she has stumped her doctors. At first they didn’t know what exactly was going on, then every time they had a treatment plan it would change because my mom does not follow text books or protocols. She had a stricture in her throat which led to the discovery of lung cancer. And over the past year has had surgery three times none of which were the one that was planned to fix her throat. That surgery was to be a major surgery. And by some miracle (the doctors are amazed) that surgery is no longer needed and her cancer was removed along with a lobe of her lung. She is almost back to normal. She just needs to work on getting used to have less lung. I am very thankful for her health. It was a very long, stressful year.
My friends are always on the top of the list of blessings I am thankful for. I am always amazed at the wonderful people who I have that love and support me. And I am eternally grateful. I am grateful for my family. I am grateful for Nia. It is an amazing practice and through it I have met even more amazing people.
I hope that those of you that celebrate Thanksgiving have a very Happy One. And I invite everyone to take a moment to think of something they are thankful for. Anything you care to share that you are thankful for?
Posted in Misc | Tagged: Blue Belt Intensive, Blue Belt Training, Canadian Thanksgiving, cancer, Christmas, dance class, dance exercise, gratitude, lung cancer, Nia, Nia Blue Belt, Nia class, Nia students, Nia trainers, Practice, Thanksgiving 2012 | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on November 10, 2012
Ok, so just like the Green Smoothie kick I am a little behind on the olive oil sprayers. I have seen them for a long time, but I thought they were just regular pump sprayers, which is fine, I could do that, but I have a little bottle that does a great job for me. It “pours” a drop at a time. But being in that HUGE warehouse store recently I decided to grab a package of the Misto sprayers. They came in a two pack. So as I often am late to the party, I JUST got them. These things are cool. Although they might be a little leaky, it is still cool to get the misty spray of an aerosol without the added chemicals that they put in the aerosol cans. I am not sure what it is — probably the additional chemicals they put in the cans — but when I used one of those “cooking sprays” like Pam the pan gets this weird coating on it that won’t come off. My first thought is, “Dang I don’t want that weird coating on my dishes.” But then I get that “D’oh!” moment and realize I don’t want that weird coating in my body. I don’t even know what it is, but it DOES NOT COME OFF. So now with the sprayer I am getting a nice mist and no weird coating I have to try to wrestling off of the pan.
When I was excitedly sharing information of this new-to-me spray bottle with my friend, she laughed at me and said they had been around for a long time, but I did start my story with that same statement. I had explained that I had seen them for a long time, but never bothered. The path of our conversation lead to the stuff that coats the dishes when other cooking spray is used. So I was happy to know it was not just my imagination or my sub par dishwashing skills. After having noticed that weird coating, I was buying Trader Joe’s Olive Oil spray which does not leave a weird coating on things, but still has additional chemicals in it.
This pump and spray Misto is cool. I like it. I prefer a sprayer because not only do I use it to “oil” my pans, but I use it to dress my salad. I just use olive oil and vinegar on my salad so it is so nice to not have to pour. My little bottle works good, but so does the sprayer! Then, of course, I also use it to spritz the veggies as I am cooking them. I feel I use a lot less oil with the sprayer!
Since the package came with two I will probably use the other one for vinegar that way I can just completely spritz my salad.
So I know I am late on actually using one of these, do any of you have an oil sprayer? Do you have a sprayer that you use for something other than oil or vinegar? What do you use it for?
Posted in Misc | Tagged: aerosol cans, green smoothie, Misto, Oil wrestling, olive oil sprayers, Pam Cooking Spray, spritz the veggies, Trader Joe's, warehouse store, Wrestling With The Oil | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on November 6, 2012
I love teaching Nia, but it does not earn as much as my corporate job. I have always loved shopping for Christmas presents. I am a catalog shopper. My hubby and I tend to watch the same movies over and over, so while we are watching V For Vendetta for the 50th time, I will thumb through a catalog. Plus at one time catalog shopping was not that common and very unique items could be acquired that way. Now with the internet you can get anything from anywhere so many things are not as unique. I don’t shop that much any longer. My friends, family, and I are very blessed and we have enough, so I don’t buy them all the cute decorations any longer. I try to stick to stuff that will be used, sometimes I really feel strongly about something that might not rank up there in usefulness so I succumb, but mostly we try to keep it useful. I am not one to go out and do my shopping all at once. To me that makes it a chore. I like to do my shopping throughout the year. So I just look and if I see something that I think someone will like, I get it. For me that also helps out with the I-don’t-make-corporate-bucks because it spreads the cost out over the year. One problem with shopping all year long is I don’t have a lot of space to put stuff because I have so much stuff. So I end up putting it in odd places wherever it will fit. Yes, I have forgotten about things. Just recently I gave someone a birthday present I bought for her years ago because I forgot about it. Found it. Forgot about it. Found it again . . . and you get the picture. Which leads me to my point — yes, I have a point! Instead of keeping a list of what I have gotten over the year I have been taking pictures. I am finding this to be much easier to keep track. I can just glance at the picture and remember exactly what I got for whom.
I must not have taken very good notes in the past because I would look at the list and think, “What? What kind of ‘funny T-shirt’ did I get him?” Then I would have to go look at the actual shirt to know which one I got so I didn’t buy the same thing. I mean I bought it once it would make sense that I would be attracted to it again right. And yes, you would think I could remember what I bought, but sometimes if stuff is on sale you buy it, then months later you remember you like it but forgot you bought it. So I am finding that this picture record keeping is working very well.
For some people I buy a few things, so I just piled it all together and took the picture and labeled that picture “So and so”. So now I know if I am “done” with that person’s give buying or if I want to get a few more things. Then I have all the pictures in one folder on my computer and I just pop in there to see, “Did I by her something already or not?” So much easier than trying to decipher my list.
Also with the picture I can snap a shot of where I have hidden the item so I won’t forget that either! Yeah, I have done that too, I know I have purchased it but I can’t remember where I stashed it. Yeah, I should just clean out a closet and have a designated space, but . . . . for now I have adopted this new method that seems to be working just great!
Do you shop early for Christmas gifts? Are you a Christmas Eve shopper? Do spread out your gift buying?
Posted in Misc | Tagged: 5th of November, catalog shopper, Christmas gifts, Christmas presents, Christmas shopping, corporate job, keeping track of gifts, Nia, Nia Teacher, V for Vendetta | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on October 30, 2012
Ok, so no criminal acts have been committed, but I do hate when my produce goes bad. I get a box of organic produce delivered, plus, as I have mentioned there is a fabulous produce department on my way home from my Nia class on Tuesdays so sometimes I end up with a lot of produce. Since I didn’t go to the store and pick out the produce that comes in the box sometimes I put the veggies in my vegetable bin and forget what is there. I know that I have it because I took it out of the box and took a picture of it, but then some might get pushed to the bottom of the drawer. Or I can even go to the store and buy something and then forget about it. Especially if it is an ingredient in a recipe and I make the recipe and have left overs of that ingredient. Sometimes I forget I have an entire bag of, oh let’s say, cilantro. So it ends up going bad. I do not like to waste food so to have it just sit and get spoiled in my fridge really is annoying.
My refrigerator even has see-through drawers which helps, but sometimes they are kinda jammed packed (I say kinda because I try not to JAM my vegetables in so as not to damage them, but they can still get pretty full) and I can’t see all that it is there. So I think I am going to have to start keeping a list on the fridge. Silly I know, I can just look in the drawers and see, but I don’t wanna have to rummage around in there every time I am thinking about what to cook for dinner. Plus if I see the list over and over I will remember I have to cook/eat what is on there. Sometimes I will remember that I have a vegetable that I should use, but then the day will go on and for some reason I will get the idea to make a different veggie. Then rushing around to make dinner I forget 
about my original plan and the vegetable that should be used first and I just grab and go with my last thought. Then later —- sometimes way too much later — I remember the veggie I should have used. With the list I will be reminded when I am ready to start cooking and I won’t have to rummage and it will be right there. And I can cross off the vegetables as they get used.
Also, some of the vegetables from the farmer’s market are too big for the drawers so they are on top on a shelf and sometimes they get pushed to the back. With the lists it won’t matter because I will know they are there. Now I need to make sure I keep the lists updated. I might end up getting one of those shiny plastic coated board things where you can write and erase. Yeah, because there is not enough “stuff” on my fridge!
So do you ever forget you have a vegetable in the fridge and it goes bad before you eat it? Do you have a method to help you keep that from happening?
Posted in Misc | Tagged: bad vegetables, criminal acts, Farmer Market, forgetful, Nia class, Nia Jam, Nia on Tuesdays, organic produce | 4 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on October 20, 2012
People ask me about my blender. Just this week we were talking about super blenders after our Nia class. A lot of people are interested in making green smoothies. I was never interested in them because they sound so gross and the ones I had seen looked gross. I also really like to EAT my fruits and veggies and felt I was eating enough, but I realized I could use more in my diet. Eating more is sometimes difficult and that is why people have been making and drinking smoothies for so long. It is a great way to get some additional vegetables in your diet. I chose the Blendtec for a few reasons. I started looking at it because it was on sale at Costco. From there I started looking at prices on the internet. I found that I could get a Blendtec for less than a Vitamix. That was a big selling point to me, but not the only one. I did more research. The decision will just come down to what you prefer. In addition to the Blendtec being less expensive I feel the one I got at Costco was a great deal. At Costco they sell the blender and two containers/jars for less than the price I’ve seen elsewhere for the blend with just one container/jar .
To save you time, nutshell list:
–two jars; WildSide and FourSide
–easy to clean “buttons”
–it fits under most cabinets (Company claim)
–no tamping
–preset buttons/controls
–variable speed buttons/controls
–pulse button/control
–3 HP
If you are looking at buying one of these super blenders you might notice that not only are the blenders different but the containers they sell are different. They have tall ones, short ones, round ones, square ones . . . all types. With the Blendtec you can buy the blender with what they call the FourSide Jar or the blender with the WildSide Jar. Now I didn’t know the difference and I didn’t know if I would want both jars, but when I saw that the jar alone was $100 and that Costco was selling the blender with BOTH containers for less than what I was seeing it cost for the blender with one container, I thought that was a good deal. (I am now seeing the same deal on Amazon so if you don’t belong to Costco you can get the same deal on Amazon.)
Now the bummer to me was that this one was only sold in black. All of my appliances are white and I would have loved to have a white one, but I wasn’t planning on leaving it on my counter anyway so I didn’t want to spend the extra money for white.
The features on the Blendtec that sold me were the “buttons”. I am an old school girl so I like to be able to control things and I think knobs are better than those electronic squishy “buttons”. With the knob on the Vitamix I was assuming I could get better control over the speed of the blender. But then I realized, I don’t need more control. What I need is not to have a knob that I have to clean under, on, and around. The Blendtec has been amazing in how easy it is to clean. I always seem to drip green smoothie all down the front so every time I do I am thankful I don’t have knobs and “real” buttons to clean all around.
The Blendtec is shorter than the Vitamix and will fit under most cabinets. Even though I was not planning on leaving mine out on the counter, being a shorter blender means it would fit IN the cabinet better. Being a shorter blender also means it is easier to use because you can add things easier, as in you don’t have to get the step stool to reach the top of the container! 🙂
The real thing that sold me is the information I read which said you don’t need a tamper with the WildSide Jar. Now, I am not certain, but I think the Blendtec containers don’t need tamping because the lids are vented so I think the air gets in there and that does the job of tamping. I liked the idea of just turning the blender on and letting it do its thing.
That is another thing, in addition to not tamping, the Blendtec has push-and-go buttons. You just push the button for what you want and it does it itself. I decided I didn’t need the control of doing it myself and if I do, the Blendtec has variable speed buttons and a pulse. So I can turn on the blender to whatever speed I want or pulse it. So I still have the control if I want.
Also the Blendtec has more horsepower than the Vitamix, that might be another reason a tamper is not required.
Please keep in mind I am comparing base models. There are a lot of different models that are high-end and professional, but I was just looking at the two comparable models and these are the things that “sold” me on the Blendtec.
I would love to learn more about the Vitamix if you have one and you would like to share? Any of you out there wanting to get a super blender? Do any of these things sound like features you’d like?
Posted in Misc | Tagged: Amazon, Blendtec, Costco, FourSide Jar, green smoothies, horsepower, Nia, Nia class, super blender, tamper, tamping, Vitamix, WildSide Jar | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on October 11, 2012
A few things I have learned having a super blender and making smoothies. I really wish I would have had the presence of mind during some of these lessons to have taken pictures because I know that being able to see for yourself would have really helped bring the lesson home for you.
I learned kale is really bitter.
I’ve had kale cooked as part of my meal. I have had kale in a salad, but for some reason kale in a smoothie is really bitter. It could be that I used A LOT.
I learned a banana should be peeled before freezing.
One night I decided I wanted to try the frozen banana that everyone was talking about was so wonderful in a smoothie. So I put a banana in the freezer. The next day it was frozen solid. It can’t be peeled. I left it to defrost on my counter and it couldn’t be peeled after that either. It kind of just poured from the peel into a container. I refroze it and used it the next day.
I learned not to use more water and/or soap than the instructions instruct you to use when cleaning the blender.
I decided that I wanted the blender to get the lid clean too, so I put a lot of water in it and a lot of soup. I am not sure that the lid was even secured because it blew off the blender and the water went straight up in the air then landed all over my counter. And it was magic water because it seemed as if it doubled in volume.
I learned cucumbers do really mellow out the bitter flavors.
I have not used as much kale as that one time, but I have used it and every time I do I think the smoothie is going to be too bitter, but when there is a cucumber involved it is not. I really like cucumbers in my smoothies.
I learned protein powder also helps mellow out the flavors.
Protein powder DOES make the smoothie chalky and I have not had the desire to drink a completely chalky smoothie so I have not added a whole scoop. But even a half makes it chalky. I always taste the smoothie before I add the powder and yup, it makes it chalky, but I think maybe chalky is a flavor because the bitterness of some vegetables are mellowed with the powder.
I have confirmed (because I heard it before I started making them) that smoothies taste better cold.
I was drinking them without ice, then I remembered I had read that they are better cold and so I added ice. Yes they are. Although the other day it was chilly here and the thought of ice in the smoothie made me dread wanting to drink one. So I didn’t have a smoothie in the morning after my Nia class. But then as the day wore on it warmed up a bit so I had one later.
So, do you have anything you have learned making smoothies that you can share with me so I don’t have to learn the hard way? Do you have any things to share about a super blender?
Posted in Misc, Smoothies | Tagged: cucumber smoothies, frozen banana, green smoothies, Kale, mask the bitter, Nia, Nia class, protein powder | 6 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on September 1, 2012
At the end of July I thought it would be nice to switch things up during the month of August. My idea was triggered by comments from people talking about the scale not changing. It seemed that the scale not budging at all for one day affected the people’s moods. So I thought perhaps a break from the scale would be something some people would benefit from. I planned the challenge to be 21 days and 30 days so that both timeframes would land on a day that I post. I post on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. I managed to post about the challenge on the 21st, but I didn’t post about it on the 30th. On the 30th I thought about it, then forgot about it, then thought about it when I was more than halfway done with my post about one of Nia’s 52 Moves – Knee Sweeps and didn’t have time to measure. It takes more time to strip down and measure than it does to hop on the scale, huh? Well, how did you do if you did? Did you see a change in your measurements? Did you also keep track of your weight at day one and day 21/30?
For me it turned out to be necessary to go the 30 days. At 21 days, I wasn’t seeing a good change, but by 31 (as I said, on Thursday the 30th I didn’t measure because time got away from me) I saw a good change. What I didn’t do at 21 days was get on the scale, I was thinking the point was to avoid the scale, but now I am thinking it might have been nice to have a comparison. Perhaps you thought of that option. I did not until today.
I also learned that I need to be a little more specific on my notes of where I am measuring. I know I made a point to instruct you to make notes, and I did, I just need to make better notes. For one place I said something like, “3.25 inches below the dot.” Well, when I wrote that note I must have had a clear idea on what “the dot” was, but 20 days later I had no idea. I laughed at that and hoped you make better notes on the “landmarks”.
So here ends the challenge, but of course you are free to stay off the scale and/or add measuring to your routine. The real point is to not let the scale frustrate you and to remember it does not always tell the whole story. There are other things to help complete the story; mirrors, measurements, clothes, people, etc. Of course, not everyone allows the scale to frustrate them, I understand that, I was trying to present a way to help some from getting frustrated. And maybe just another way to see things.
So how did you do? Did you see a change via measurements? Did you learn anything (as I shared with you what I learned)? Would you rather use a scale or a tape measure? Or both?
Posted in Misc | Tagged: 30 day challenge, Knee Sweeps, measurement change, measurements vs. weight, Nia, Nia routine, Nia's 52 Moves, tape measure, weight change | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on August 25, 2012
I cannot believe it has been over a month since I was driving around to the Community Centers of San Jose that offer Group Ex classes checking out their floors! Since we do Nia bare footed I wanted to see what community centers have dance studios. While I was looking for the community centers is when I first noticed the painted utility boxes around. I can’t believe it has been over a month since I was driving from my Nia class in Willow Glen and I noticed someone painting the utility box that I pass all the time. Over a month ago! Wow. Time goes so fast. I was hoping to have more pictures of more boxes, but I haven’t seen any since then. I must not be in the areas where there are boxes — could also be that I am a little distracted and not noticing the boxes. Sigh. Anyway . . . I think the artist might have completed painting these boxes in one day. I am not certain because I didn’t drive by again until the following Monday and I didn’t stop to take pictures until a week after I first stopped. I was just waiting to post because I didn’t want to have the utility box posts right in a row. I don’t mind having Nia posts, or exercise posts, or food posts consecutively, I just didn’t want to have utility box posts one after the other. Before I knew it, it has been a month. Wow.
The first picture is a shot of the front of the boxes together straight on. The next “picture” is a collage (obviously) of pictures of different angles so you can somewhat see the side of the boxes. The second collage is pictures of the back of the boxes and the little label disclosing the artist and the sponsor.
Looks as if the birds are driving around in San Jose. These boxes are on Bird Avenue so I think it makes total sense that birds are driving cars, vans, motorcycles, sports cars, and delivery trucks.
You might have noticed that the artist incorporated the vent on the back of the box painting it as if it is the back of a truck. Cute. You may also have noticed that one truck seems to be carrying eggs. I think Mr. Willis is showing his sense of humor by having a bird drive around as either an egg delivery service or perhaps a pickup service.
It is quite a cheery little mural. Also very responsible. You might not be able to see, but all of the birds on scooters or motorcycles have on helmets. It is a law in California that you have to wear a helmet, so it is good of the artist to have legally correct drivers. I am not sure that any birds have been ticketed for not doing so, but it is still a good idea!
So what do you think? Cute, huh? Have you seen any painted utility boxes in your area? If you have I would love to see. Send me a picture with some information and I can post it.
Posted in Misc | Tagged: art box sponsor, City of San Jose, City of San Jose Group Ex, community center classes, Councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio, dance classes, dance floors, dance studio, Group Ex Classes, Group Ex teacher, helmet law, Nia, Nia class, Nia Dance, Nia exercise, Nia San Jose, San Jose Art Project, Scott Willis, Utility Box Art, Willow Glen, Willow Glen Nia | 5 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on August 21, 2012
So if you are participating in the little challenge of not getting on the scale for either 21 days or 30 days, today is the 21st day. I assigned 21 days so that is would land on a posting day (I post Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays). I will let you know that due to more “stuff” as I had posted about before, I got off to a late start on my own challenge! So how is it going for you? Has it been a challenge to stay off the scale? Have you noticed that you are not obsessing about the number the scale displays because you are not looking at it? Now the thing with measuring with a measuring tape instead of scale means you need to keep doing what you’re doing. So if you were doing some type of cardio three times a week and adding some strength training in and weighing yourself, looking for that number to change when you stop using the scale it doesn’t mean to stop doing the other stuff. It is just a different way to track progress. And for some it could be a little bit of a reprieve IF they allow the scale to affect their mood. I found it funny that today on FaceBook someone posted about the scale stealing motivation and she reminded people it doesn’t tell the whole story. That is what I am saying too. That is why I thought it would be nice to change it up.
I know that some people don’t even have a scale. Some people don’t even use one. Everyone is different. I just hear a lot about people being upset because they didn’t lose a pound “today” and they’ve been trying so hard. So I think that maybe for those people it is nice to try a different way to track progress.
My schedule is a bit “off” this month as I am spending time dealing with “stuff” and I have picked up a lot of classes that I am subbing for the City of San Jose. I picked up eleven classes which is great but I have not been able to concentrate as much on my resistance training as I would like. My numbers did not change as much as I was hoping to see when I thought of this challenge. What about you? Did you see a change in numbers? Are you stopping at day 21 or going to continue on and see what 30 days will do?
Not only do I have the added class times to do I have a little bit of added prep time for each class and the travel time to and from each class. Since I am subbing in Nia for other classes such as Zumba, Zumba Gold, Pilates, Kick Boxing, and Cardio Toning, I do try to pick Nia routines that will fit. I am not changing Nia to fit the class, because I explained how that turned out in a post earlier this month, but I do try to pick routines that might fit a little better. With a Zumba Gold class I might do a Nia routine that is a bit mellow or doesn’t have a lot of bow stances. And with subbing a Zumba class I might put together a lot of the higher energy “get moving songs”. So all of that cuts into my plan. But I’m going to buckle down a bit because I have some stuff that I needed to get done this month behind me. I am going to keep up with this little challenge myself and see where that tape leads me.
Well? How are you still with me? Are doing the challenge? How is it going? Doing it for 21 days? Doing it for 30 days?
Posted in Misc | Tagged: 21 day challenge, 30 day challenge, body measurements, Bow Stance, cardio, cardio exercise, Cardio Toning, City of San Jose, Facebook, Kick Boxing, measuring tape, Nia routines, Nia San Jose, Pilates, resistance training, San Jose Nia, scale, scale challenge, tape measure, weight, Zumba, Zumba Gold | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on August 16, 2012
Recently 30 seconds into the second song in my Nia Class, one of my students stopped dancing and started to limp away. I asked her what was up and she replied that she got a bee sting on her foot. I asked if it just happened now (during the class) because she had appeared to be moving fine during the first song — but then again, the first song in the Nia routine we were doing is basically whole foot stances. She had said it had happened over the weekend. She said that she was hoping she could dance, but the sting got too aggravated. After class one of my other students inquired as to why the student left. She had not heard the exchange between me and bee-stung person. I told her that her fellow student had been stung by a bee over the weekend but had hoped to be able to dance but could not. The inquiring student said, “Oh I wish I would have heard because she might want to try meat tenderizer.” Huh? So that started a whole conversation about her having been told to use meat tenderizer on a bee sting.
My student related the story where she and her son had been walking down the street in Palo Alto (a city in near San Fransisco) and she had been stung by a bee. She said since it happened right there on the street others had observed the incident. She said one woman offered the suggestion of putting meat tenderizertenderizer on the sting. She said the woman was a nurse. I asked my student if the meat tenderizer worked. She said it did, she said she didn’t know why, but it did.
Times like that is when I truly LOVE wireless devices that can instantly connect me to the answers to “Why?/How?” I had to look it up. WHY would MEAT TENDERIZER work on a bee sting?
The first site that came up stated that bee stings are acidic and the meat tenderizer is alkaline so it works to counteract the acidity of the sting. At the time that is all that I read. Good enough for me. Just a quick answer as to why. In researching it for this post it appears that this treatment of the symptoms of a sting is an old home remedy.
The information on the internet states to mix the meat tenderizer with water to form a paste, apply it to the stung area so that it covers the entire area, and leave it on for 10 to 20 minutes. Then wash it off and apply ice.
Some information stated that mixing the meat tenderizer with vinegar is another option.
Several sites state it is the papain in the meat tenderizer. Papain is a natural enzyme that works to break down the protein in the venom. It is suggested that a meat tenderizer without this enzyme would not work.
Some sites indicated that this remedy used to relieve the symptoms of a bee sting will work for other stings (wasp, jelly fish) and bites as well. Of course — as stated this remedy would just relieve minor symptoms of a sting. If there is a chance of an allergic reaction medical attention should be obtained.
Also . . . more stuff I learned while researching the meat tenderizer for a bee sting is that the stinger should not be removed with tweezers. I saw many instructions stating to SCRAP it out. The suggestion is to use a credit card or a metal blade. The idea is that pulling the stinger out might just cause MORE venom to be pushed into the victim and the scraping will get it all out. I would have just pulled it out with my finger nails or tweezers.
I found all of this very interesting. I know many people who have been stung by bees and they might know this information. I know many people who have not been stung by bees and they might want to know this information. I don’t actually have meat tenderizer in my pantry. I am not one that cooks meat without it having been marinated and I believe the marinades work to tenderize the meat. But if you do happen to get stung by a bee and have meat tenderizer in your pantry maybe you would like to give it a try.
Have you ever been stung by a bee? What did you do? If you get stung might you try meat tenderizer on the sting?
Posted in Helpful Hints, Misc | Tagged: acidic, alkaline, bee sting, bee sting symptoms, meat tenderizer, Nia class, Nia routing, Nia Song, San Francisco Bay Area, San Francisco Bay Area Nia, stances | Leave a Comment »
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