Tis the season I am sure you know that different alcoholic beverages have different nutiritional value. I am not going to post about the negative issues on alcohol, we all know that it is not the best thing that we can be including in our diet. There are choices that can be made when you know a few things. I just wanted to remind you of a few things. According to Fitday.com
White table wine (3.5 oz) has 85 calories, 2.7 carbs, and no fat
Reisling (3.5 oz) has 80 calories, 3.7 carbs, and no fat
Gewurztraminer (3.5 oz) has 81 calories, 2.6 carbs, and no fat
Red table wine (3.5 oz) has 87.5 calories, 2.7 carbs, and no fat
Merlot (3.5 oz) has 83.3 calories, 2.5 carbs, and no fat
Zinfandel (3.5 oz) has 88.3 calories, 2.8 carbs, and no fat
Burgundy (3.5 oz) has 86.3 calories, 3.7 carbs, and no fat
Eggnog made with whole milk (8 oz) 306.2 calories, 30.7 grams of carbs, and 17 grams of fat. This is not including the alcohol.
An ounce/shot of brandy has 64.2 calories, 0 carbs, and no fat
Online is telling me that 3.4 oz of champagne has 76 calories, 2 carbs, and no fat
I am not sure what type of champagne that is and I know that I typically drink sparkling wine not champagne. I am just sharing sharing some facts since this is the time of year where many people that don’t usually drink might have a drink or two. One way to assist yourself in avoiding alcohol altogether is to volunteer to be the designated driver. That is an additional incentive to not indulge.
Whatever you do, enjoy, but remember moderation is the key. And be responsible.
I don’t have a special “Holiday Drink” but I always hear about people have special drinks they indulge in over the Holiday season. I would love to hear about your special drink. Leave a comment sharing it with us all.
As you know I post about things other than health, wellness, exercise, and working out. I do try to post helpful things.
Recently we got a box of wrapping paper down and I opened it up and there was a pile of folded kind of crumpled paper. I pulled it out and set it aside. I figured that I saved it to use to re-use for wrapping. But it was so crumbled I didn’t have the heart to try to deal with it at that moment. So as I was wrapping over the next couple of days it dawned on me what that pile of paper really was for—-packing. A couple of years ago I started saving paper that had been used. If it was pretty or I really liked it I save it.
I use my shredder to shred the wrapping paper. When I use those handy gift bags I use the paper shredded instead of using tissue paper. I also use shredding wrapping paper when I am shipping packages (usually in addition to another recycled packing product). I really like this idea of re-using the paper. Other paper that works is the paper that is too small to use to actually wrap a gift. It all looks really pretty and festive once it is shredded. It works really great when you have two sided paper.
I love wrapping paper, but I think it is a huge waste, so if I can re-use something I love it. I save bows to re-use them. Drives my husband crazy It used to drive my husband crazy, but I save them and re-use them. Please don’t be offended if you ever receive a gift from me with a bow taped on the package. That actually means that I recued that bow from being thrown away then loveing stored it and saved it until it had the perfect recepient.
I also don’t usually write on the gift bag or put the stick name tag directly on it. I usually stick the tag on the shredded paper or stick it to itself over the cord/handle of the bag. That way the recipient can use the bag again.
Sometimes these bags can become family traditions. You can use a gift special back to swap back and forth. For years my family had a bag going back and forth. It was a sea of white cartoon rabbits with one rabbit dressed in red and white. It lasted a long time, but eventually it tore and we moved on, but it was fun while it lasted.
Bags, tissue, bows, and shredding aren’t meant to last forever, but if they get more than one use, that is a great thing.
If you really want to be resourceful and “green” you could always give one of those reusable grocery bags as the gift bag, “wrap” the gift it that!
Do you have any wrapping re-use ideas? What works out for you and your family?
Recently I attended a Holiday Party in San Francisco put on by Yelp. It was for all the “Bays”; East Bay, South Bay, North Bay. They always have promotional items and things lying about. I spotted some Laffy Taffy and grabbed a few. Now first let me say, “I know, I know, the ingredients are pretty much everything on my ‘avoid’ list” but I put some in my purse anyway. Even though this is not something you should eat (becuase it is just so fully of stuff that you shouldn’t have) I am so glad I grabbed it, I don’t know whether I was just in a silly mood, but the jokes on them had me laughing so hard that I was tearing up. They are just good old fashion silly jokes. I am thinking that there are some kids out there that will like ’em.
1) How do you get an alien baby to sleep?
1a) You rocket
2) What is a buccaneer?
2a) Expensive corn
3) What is a bunny’s motto?
3a) Don’t frown, be hoppy
4) What is a cat’s favorite color?
4a) Purrrrple
5) Why is it so hot in a stadium after a football game?
5a) All the fans have left
6) Why is a lost dalmation so easily found?
6a) He’s always spotted
7) Why did the boy throw butter out his window?
7a) He wanted to see a butterfly
8) What do you call a cow with a twitch?
8a) Beef jerky
So? Did they make you laugh? Make you smile? Which one was your favorite? Silliness is fun!
I am not a big fan of Thanksgiving. I don’t care for any of the traditional fare; sweet potatoes (especially with marshmallows, what is up with that?), stuffing, dressing, turkey, gravy, cranberries, and pumpkin pie. I don’t get excited for the big dinner. I do, however, like the idea of having a day where we give thanks.
It looks like the United States and Canada are the countries that do the Thanksgiving celebrating. But according to Wiki Grenada and the Netherlands do some celebrating to. The time of celebration was about the harvest, but now, as with a lot of Holidays it has morphed into something else.
I have been blessed with so many things to be thankful for, I make it a point to say thanks everyday. But with a day designated for giving thanks I get to gather with my family near my home in San Jose. Sometimes we get to be with both families, but this year it didn’t work out that way and we are staying local. I am thankful for all my blessings. Including you.
I teach my Nia classes in a studio in San Jose that is next to a pet store. The groomer that works there usually gets there before the shop is open so she sits outside in front waiting. Often she has a puppy or a dog that she has rescued and is trying to adopt out. She seems to be able to rescue them and it works out that she can find someone to adopt them pretty quick.
This time she had her own animals. I heard them yelping and realized they were puppies so I peeked out. Imagine my surprise when I saw a purple puppy with black patches. Her sister was black and pink. They were jumping and yelping and vying for attention. They were obviously cute little girls, but with their bright colors it made them even more adorable.
.
Keep in mind these animals are puppies and you know how puppies are. It was a miracle that they were still long enough to get a shot, but having them be in a particular spot for correct lighting was not possible. In fact I don’t think the little one was still at all. I did not retouch the puppies, but I did blur some of the background.
.
The sun was really bright when it was shining on the purple puppy. The sun almost washed out the purple. It definitely made her color seem less bright.
.
But she was pretty purple. And her sister had a pink muzzle, chest, and pink feet.
It was really cute. They were really cute. Full of energy.
Since it is Halloween, I thought it would be cute to post pictures of Purple and Pink puppies!
On Wednesday, October 28, 2009, TechKaraoke SV and Silicon Valley Tweet-Up joined forces and held one major party at Rosie McCann’s in Santana Row near the heart San Jose. There was talking, dancing, drinking, eating, singing, laughing, networking, and all of it going on at a very high decibel.
Some great prizes were raffled off:
– a bluetooth headset (a Plantronics Discovery 975)
– a portable storage drive from Seagate
– a cookie basket filled with Halloween cookies from Cookies By Design
– Archos/Viliv Mobile Internet Device (MID) powered by the Intel Atom Processor
There was so much excitement about these prizes that I barely heard the numbers being called and I didn’t hear who won anY of the fabulous prizes. This even was also raising money for Anissa Lopez Foundation / George Mark Children’s House.
Michael Brito, the founder of Silicon Valley Tweetup, announced he was leaving Intel for Edelman Digital.
I met several people and connected with some people I have had the privilege of meeting before. I love tweetups because it shows that the internet’s social media network is really a social network. People coming together in real life after having met and communicated via the internet is really an amazing thing. This was the first SV Tweetup that I was able to attend because I didn’t have a class. I think I have missed the ones in the past because I was teaching. I knew I had been missing out, but now I truly understand what I was missing. I am hoping that it will workout that I am available for the next one because I really enjoyed myself at this one. Also, I believe I heard Michael announce it will be a book signing for Shel Israel, but then again, it was so loud I could have heard wrong. You will have to stay tuned to see . . . .
There were a lot of great costumes there, but this was my favorite!
Do you take advantage of the free song that they offer on iTunes. It is a weekly song, but I am not sure when they post it, if it is Monday or Sunday. I don’t always remember to get it, do you? I just now set my calendar to remind me.
I actually haven’t remember that often, I have less than 40 songs, but of those 40 I have six that I absolutely love and listen to over and over. There are more out of the 40 that I like but there are 6 that I think are worth mentioning. And they range across the board and I like them for various reasons. Here they are in no particular order:
Song: Artist:
Neo Violence The Tough Alliance
Mr. Hurricane Beast
Already Home Ha-Ash
Cheater, Cheater Joey & Rory
The Stoop Little Jackie
Wonderful Gary Go
I actually bought the entire Beast CD. It is very moving, I mean, for me, it makes me get up and dance. But not like bounce on your toes disco dance, more like pound-the-ground-get-up-get-down tribal dance or something.
I throw Neo Violence into my Nia routines because it has a very dicernible beat. Very catchy tune. Easy to dance, exercise, and workout too. (So is music from the Beast, but . . . the words might be a bit distracting in a Nia class.)
And the latest is Wonderful by Gary Go, kind of sounds like a lot artists out there now, but I love the words. “Say: ‘I am wonderful.’ You are a miracle.” “Don’t Stop to let it pass you by you gotta look yourself in the eye and say, I am wonderful!” “We are all miracles . . . .we are incredible.” Oh, I just love that!
So, what great find have you downloaded for free off of iTunes? Any you love? Any you would like to tell us about?
Everyone can pretty much go out there and look at all the videos that are posted regarding the Google Wave, but since I have a previous post regarding it, I thought I would add some additional information on my blog that I have since learned. Plus I will link to some of the videos that I have seen.
The first video created by EpipheoStudios.com is a great little explanation of what the wave is. The video is cute. It also sounds like a plea to get an invitation. (Which after watching the Google Wave Overview, I can’t really blame him for begging.)
The next video is from Google and it is almost 8 minutes, but if you watch it, it will have you going, “WHOOOOOAAAAA!”
Here I’ve typed up a summary in case you don’t want to watch the video, but I included a time stamp for each point in case you want to zap to it to see what it is about.
E-mail is 40 years old. Google is trying to “update it”. An e-mail sent is somewhat like a letter. If you send an e-mail to five people there are five copies of the “letter”. But a wave is a “hosted conversation”. There is only one copy and it is in one place. So when people comment on it the comments are stored on one wave and there are not multiple copies floating about. (Time stamp 0:30 of the Google video)
One use could be: You can open a wave to plan a party (Time stamp 0:58). Adding your contacts to the wave allows people to see and comment. You can add a gadget to use it as an invite to a party (Time stamp 1:47) and your invitees can RSVP in the wave. While in the wave you can click on your address which will pop a google map right into your wave (Time stamp 2:19).
After your party, everyone can drag and drop their pictures into the wave (Time stamp 2:39).
You can embed a wave into your blog (Time stamp 3:20)! In an embedded wave comments can be on the blog or the wave (Time stamp 3:35). (UI*)
There is a feature called “Playback” that allows you to see the wave in order of how it was created. So you can see comments added in order even if they were added after a new blip (comment). (Time stamp 4:35)
“Robots” can be added to a wave (Time stamp 5:06). You can tweet and see the people you follow from a wave using a “Robot” (Time stamp 5:25). The video says “Robots can be used to interface with other systems–anything with an API.” (Time stamp 6:41)
There is translation in a wave using Rosy the robot. You can type in English and your contact can receive it in his/her language. (Time stamp 6:49)
*UI = User Interface
Well, if you watched the video, I bet you can see some of the possibilites that the Google Wave has to offer. As the video begins the 80 minute video is mentioned so I am sure that you can imagine there are a lot of other things that wave can do. I will learn about them a little at a time. I am excited about the possibilites.
When I first heard about this I filed it away under “good for big companies”, but as I was watching the video I had some ideas on how I could use it to help grow my business and to help get the word out about Nia. Using the internet to market a local business is very different than using it to market a business where product is shipped or can be downloaded. So this would be a valuable tool . . . . . I can see that now. I am ready to catch the wave!
It really just might be the wave of the future. It is a real time communication tool. Right now it is preview mode – maybe what used to be called beta. You actually have to get an invitation from Google in order to have access to the preview.
Oh, don’t be all jealous, I didn’t get an invitation, I don’t actually have access. I can’t give you first hand screen shots or pictures (which you KNOW I love to do). All I can tell you is that I watched two of their videos and I saw it in action. (SOMEONE I know has it.) I didn’t get to play with it, and that is how I really learn, so bear with me when I try to give you a glimpse of the future wave that is about to wash over us . . . .
This is beyond e-mail and beyond chat. It is beyond whatever type of work sharing program that I have ever seen. It is cool . . . .I think . . . I still need to get my hands on it to see for myself, but the IDEA sounds cool. Well, more accurately, it seems very cool for work situations. I can see how this would have really been awesome when I had a corporate job, but I want to see how it works in the non-corporate-every-day-world.
What is it? Well, from what I understand, it is cloud computing*. The information is stored on a server that people (your contacts) have access to. So instead of e-mail that is downloaded to your computer and instead of web based e-mail which has to be sent and retrieved, it is a bit like chat. Real time. Except with this you can put videos, documents, maps, photos, and text in the “wave”. While you are typing your contact can see it. And, unlike, chat it is recorded, like a . . . .I am not sure what to call it because it can contain documents, videos, text, photos, and maps, so it is recorded like a record of the “meeting” that you had.
Because it is more than a conversation, because like I said (it warrants repeating) it can contain documents, videos, text, photos, and map it can’t really just be called a conversation or an e-mail.
So for example let’s say, you open a wave with a contact and you can start chatting. If you need to you can add a document or whatever. Then you realize that you should have included another contact so you add that person. Well, that person missed half the “conversation”, but . . . . (whoa!) he can go back and re-play it. And it will appear on his computer as it happened. He will see the first portion of the wave, all the way through to the last. If he misses something or wants to jump ahead, there is a scrub bar.
So it can be real time communication and collaboration or people can play it when they need to catch up. It is like an e-mail but organized so it actually makes sense. And to properly use it people could add their two cents into it right where they needed to, or add a document or a video or a photo right in the middle where it might actually make sense, and then there wouldn’t be that annoying forgetting to “reply to all” that we all have either done ourselves or been the non/recipient of.
Whew. It does so much and it is difficult to explain. When it was first explained to me, I was not having any of it. Then when I saw it in action I changed my mind. But I still want to try it as a “layman”, I am not corporate so I am not convinced it has its uses for those of use that don’t have jobs and “teams” to collaborate with.
I am way over my self-imposed word limit and I didn’t even get to tell you some of what I learned. Sigh . . . another blog perhaps.
*Cloud computing is the provision of dynamically scalable and often virtualised resources as a service over the Internet on a utility basis.
A friend recently sent me this via e-mail. There are serveral sites that have it. This is not new or original, but I thought it was cool, so I wanted to share it.
I know it has nothing to do with Nia, or working out, or exercise, or even health but I thought it was cool. I like stuff like this.
Step back from your monitor to see Marilyn Monroe.
When I was getting the picture I was adjusting the size and I found out the bigger the picture the further away you have to stand.
I like this. Do you?
In case you would like to know*:
Albert Einstein
• Born: 14 March 1879
• Birthplace: Ulm, Germany
• Died: 18 April 1955 (heart failure)
• Best Known As: Creator of the theory of relativity
Marilyn Monroe
• Born: 1 June 1926
• Birthplace: Los Angeles, California
• Died: 4 August 1962 (drug overdose)
• Best Known As: Hollywood’s most famous blonde sex symbol
Terre Pruitt's Blog 