Posts Tagged ‘Nia’
Posted by terrepruitt on January 10, 2012
I think this is one of the most difficult stages of Nia FreeDance. And there is a reason they are numbered one through eight, and I don’t know why I started my postings about them backwards, but when I’m done they will still be here and they will tie together. On its own Stage 6 is a powerful tool, but it can also be applied when dancing Nia FreeDance stage one (FreeDance) and five (Authentic Movement). Stage 6 of Nia FreeDance is witness. We witness our movements. While we are dancing we acknowledge how we are moving. We observe our tendencies. We observe our structure. We are witness to all that our body can and can’t do, yet we do not interfere. We just let go and move. For many Nia FreeDance is a challenge because we are set free to dance without structure, we are set free to move as we sense the music. In stage 6 we do so — move without structure and as our own body senses the music — without interfering or judging. We are to just observe.
While you are dancing and witnessing, interfering would mean to change what you are doing maybe because you judged it to be a certain way. As an example, say you heard a specific stand-out beat in the music and your body sensed it as little hops so you started hopping. As you are hopping you start thinking and judging, you think, “Why am I hopping? I must look silly. No one else is hopping. I should stop.” While there was witnessing (YAY!), there was judging (not yay.) and then as a result interfering (not yay.). Movement was changed because of a judgement. Movement was changed not because your body sensed something maybe a new move from the music it was changed because you judged. This is what Nia FreeDance Stage 6 is about witnessing but NOT interfering or judging.
Even if we observe our tendency to do the same type of move over and over. This witness does not have an opinion, it just observes. If you are dancing just stage 6 of FreeDance then you just keep going. Observe, don’t judge or interfere. Now is not the time to change. Just dance.
This is not an easy stage. It is not easy to witness, just observing and not judge or interfere, but this stage is a huge eye-opener. This stage can tell us many things about our dance and our bodies. We can see our tendencies and our comfort zones. We can learn our strengths and weaknesses. We can embrace the sense of self. This stage is not easy, but it is powerful. It is a great tool in the Nia tool box for both a Nia Practitioner and a Nia Teacher.
So while you are dancing in the shower, in the kitchen, in the living room — wherever it is you get to truly dance — try stage 6 of Nia FreeDance; Witness – Do Not Interfere of Judge. Observe. And see where this takes you. See what you learn. You could learn things like, you don’t allow your neck free movement, your hips don’t get to dance, you are always bent at the knee, you can do a great shimmy, your hands are like graceful birds . . . . so many things. What have you witness in your FreeDance?
Posted in FreeDance, Nia | Tagged: Authentic Movement, Nia, Nia Dance, Nia FreeDance, Nia FreeDance Stage 6, Nia Movement, Nia Practice, Nia practitioner, Nia Teacher, Nia witness | 6 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on January 7, 2012
A while back I did a post about rules of the house. Ha, as I was typing this I just thought of another one. My hubby is not allowed to talk to me when I am doing my Nia bars. If he sees me with my ear buds in and paper in front of me with lines on it he knows I am listening to my Nia music and not to talk to me. Sometimes there are songs that are just not that easy for me to count and when he interrupts me I have to start over. So we have reached an agreement there. Anyway, back to my other post, in that I mentioned not touching the cheese. One of my friends commented that she was going to come out here and she promised not to touch my cheese. I was actually waiting for her to come out here to post this, but that scheduled trip got cancelled and I still feel the need to explain. Her comment had me thinking that she thought I won’t SHARE my cheese. But that is not it at all. If I have a good cheese I will gladly share it with a fellow cheese lover because everything taste better when you share it. I actually mean don’t TOUCH the cheese.
One reason I have been putting off writing this post is I like to post pictures with my posts. So I was going to take pictures of what I am about to explain, but I really didn’t want to waste the cheese. I could not — every time since then that I have had a hunk of cheese, I could not bring myself to touch it! Cheese is made from curdled milk. In some cases they use bacteria to make the cheese. Cheese contains living organisms. With all these facts that make up cheese most cheese tend to mold quite easily and quickly.
It is my experience that the mold begins to grow where the cheese is touched. Go ahead, see for yourself. As I said, I will not sacrifice my cheese to show you pictures of this type of experiment. I know it to be true. Even though you wash your hands before you touch the cheese, you still have bacteria and things on your hand that apparently help the mold grow. Again, this is just what I have experienced. I have found that if the cheese is touched that is where the mold grows. I have found that if the BAG or wrapper in which the cheese is stored is touched and that area touches the cheese that is where the mold grows.
Of course, if cheese is old enough it starts to grow mold on its own, but wherever it is touched it grows faster. Have you experienced this to be true? I have, so that is why there is a “rule” in our house that the cheese cannot be touched. That includes ALL cheese in all forms. You cannot put your hand in a bag of shredded cheese. You can pour a small amount into a bowl (or whatever) and handle it from there using what you want, but hopefully you will end up using all of it. If not, it gets put in a separate bag or container it does not go back in the bag with the rest of the cheese. Tubs of cheese . . . . same thing. Even cream and ricotta, you can’t use a utensil then “double-dip” if the utensil has touched hands or mouth. Mouth is probably even worse than hands touching the cheese.
So, that is the reason for the “Don’t Touch the Cheese” rule in our house. It has nothing to do with sharing. We will gladly share our cheese with you, just don’t HANDLE it!
Are you willing to experiment? Use two pieces of cheese to see if the one you touch goes bad before the one you don’t touch? Let us know? Remember you have to have cheese around your house long enough for this to even happen. Ha, ha! (I know how some of you cheese lovers are!)
Posted in Food | Tagged: all types of cheese, Cheese, cheese lover, Nia, Nia bars, Nia Music, rules of the house, shredded cheese | 20 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on January 5, 2012
The principles of the different belts in Nia provide a foundation for our Nia practice. There are 13 Principles in the Nia White Belt. The fourth principle is FreeDance, this principle has eight stages. Eight things you can focus on that can become a part of FreeDance. When I attended my Nia White Belt Intensive we danced through these stages when we danced FreeDance. Dancing through the stages is something that can be done for fun. It doesn’t have to be because you do Nia. It can help you express yourself by turning on some music and applying the stages to the music. Dancing through the stages is also used as a technique for Nia teachers to become better aquainted with the Nia music. It is a tool that can help in learning a Nia routine. The seventh stage of FreeDance is Choreography, the tagline is: The Accidental “Click”.
I mentioned in my post about the eighth stage of FreeDance, Nia Class – Levels 1, 2, 3, that I often skip over dancing the first six stages of FreeDance when learning a Nia routine. Part of the reason is because I actually forgot about it being a step. I don’t skip them entirely, I do FreeDance about four of the stages to the music, but I don’t do all of them. I do believe that doing all six can be a great tool, so as I mentioned, I am working on implementing this action back into my “learning of a Nia routine”. Today in fact I started employing it with a the next routine I am learning.
Stage 7 of FreeDance, Choreography – The Accidental “Click”, is something that probably happens to all dancers and group fitness teachers alike. It kind of seems to happen in more than just dance actually, but with dancers the “click” is to the music. Often with the eight stages of FreeDance you are using more than one stage at a time. With experiencing the accidental click there is going to be stage two going on. There is going to be a lot of listening. The listening is to ALL of the music; the silences, the beat, the tempo, the instruments, the words the vibrations–all of it. With Nia we are taught to dance to all music, not just the kind that we turn on and can’t help but move too. We are taught to move to music we might not actually like. Many people are the type that when you turn music on something on their body starts moving. A foot might start moving, a head might bob, fingers might tap, this happens often. There seems to be some songs that EVERYBODY moves to, they just can’t help it. But then there is music that often clears the dance floor. The “everybody move to” music is easy to dance to. But the floor clearing kind sometimes can be difficult to dance to. In Nia we are taught to dance to it all. We are taught to listen to it all.
I will be the first to admit that sometimes there are songs I don’t like in a Nia routine. Sometimes there is just one noise that is to incessant or a beat that feels off, whatever the reason, I don’t like it all. Sometimes I like the music but not the moves. Sometimes I just can’t get the choreography and the music to mesh—in my head or in my body, whatever it just doesn’t work. So I keep doing that kata until it “clicks”. Eventually it will because Debbie Rosas Stewart and Carlos AyaRosas are great at creating routines, but sometimes it takes me a bit. The “click” is what state seven is about.
Stage seven is connecting to the sensation of your body. I think that often times I “don’t like it” (it being either the music or the move or whatever it is that is hanging me up) is all in my head. So if and when I stop thinking and get into the sensation of the body, I will find that the moves DO go with the music, I was just thinking they didn’t. Amazing how the thinking gets in the way of moving so often.
Here you have it the seventh stage of Nia FreeDance. Yes, I am posting about them backwards, from 8 to 1. It just happened that way. The days I went to type up a post my eyes fell on “Nia Class – Leve 1, 2, 3 for inspiration. So now I am going through the stages backwards. I bet even if you aren’t trying to learn a dance routine you can think of or recognize things in your life that click. Could be you are trying to remember a way to do something and you do it over and over and keep referring back to the instructions then one day “click”. In Nia it’s Choreography where we eventually find The Accidental “Click”, but in life it could be with anything. “Clicks” happen all the time. Even if you aren’t learning a dance routine, you’re familiar with that click, right?
Posted in FreeDance, Nia | Tagged: 13 White Belt Principles, Accidental click, Carlos AyaRosas, choreography, dance class, dance routine, Debbie Rosas Stewart, Free Dance, freedance, levels of intensity, Nia, Nia choreography, Nia class, Nia Dance, Nia foundation, Nia Practice, Nia routine, Nia student, Nia Teacher, stage eight, Stage seven | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on January 3, 2012
Whew! For some reason I am feeling pressure about my first post in 2012! I feel I need to write more about Nia. Well, more accurately, I would LIKE to write more posts about Nia and my Nia classes, but I don’t have to start out the New Year with a Nia post. I feel pressure to make some grand announcement about something spectacular I plan to achieve in 2012. I have been looking at people’s resolutions. I don’t typically make resolutions. Some of the resolutions I am seeing kind of strike me as odd to be resolutions, yet, at the same time if people really need to declare these things for a new year, then by all means I hope they succeed. Yet, I am still somewhat surprised that people need to resolve to smile at strangers, encourage people to do their best, say thank you, tell their loved ones they love them, stop and smell the roses, etc. I guess we get busy and we forget to do these things, but to me they are just part of life like brushing your teeth so I don’t need to make a new year the time I start to do these. I was watching TMZ (Yeah, sometimes it is all that is on) and the main guy was saying something along the lines of why make resolutions and do it at the start of a new year when you can just do it at anytime of the year. Made me laugh. This year I am going to put some things at the fore front of my life and make sure they come before other things. So I am going to make two resolutions. For some of you, you will think the same as I did in thinking about the stuff I just mentioned. You might think that these are everyday things, and for some they are, but for me I get busy, distracted, lazy, comfortable, don’t-want-to-be-a-bother, or whatever-my-excuse and I don’t always follow through.
My first resolution has to do with my 31 Day Project. Ugh! I started out pretty good with that, but then I went out of town for a weekend and that killed my momentum along with the fact that in December the house gets rearranged AND things come into the house. There are Christmas decorations and gifts and other things to deal with so December was not a smart time for me to start my project. Although it encouraged me to do a couple of things, I did not get all done that I was thinking. So while one of my resolutions will not be to get rid of or fix one thing a day in the year, it is to get organized and to do or complete some of the projects I have sitting around. Some of the projects have been started and some have not, but I am going to get them done this year. With the completion of some of these projects that will help with the “getting rid of” and the organizing. Because as you may know if you have any projects to be done you might have the supplies taking up space and as soon as the project is done you will have that space open. I will do at least one project a month. I don’t have 12 lying around, but I know I have at least three and there are at least nine more that I would love to do.
The other resolution is to connect with my friends, family, and people in general more. I am a home body. Most of the time given a choice between staying at home with my hubby and my cat or getting up, getting ready, fighting the traffic to go out, I am going to stay home. My couch wins out over putting on makeup and “hard pants” anytime. My cat and her meditative purring ALWAYS trumps fighting traffic. Even domestic chores are better to me than traffic. But when I actually force myself out, I have a great time. Early Monday morning I was reading a friend’s blog (Zebra Sounds) and she asked her readers what they wished for in 2012 and as I was typing in the comment box that I wanted to connect more, I realized that I had just closed the Facebook page on the event without saying yes because I really wanted to be home with my hubby more than get ready to go out in the cold. And I realized that it was silly to say “I wish” when it was ME that was in control. So in the comment I announced I was going back to FB to say yes. I went, and of course I had a great time.
I realize that visiting face-to-face is not always possible, especially with one of my best friends who just moved away. So I am allowing phone calls to be part of my “connecting”. Of course seeing someone in person is often better, but sometimes it is not possible. And sometimes I forego the phone call because I want an in person visit, but we can’t work our schedules out so then I don’t get anything at all. Well, I am allowing phone calls to count as connecting because for some of us that is all that we have. I do understand that sometimes a phone call out of the blue is an interruption so I will not get my feelings hurt when someone can’t talk. But at least I will have made the effort to connect.
I am going to continue, as I always do, in 2012 to be grateful and thankful for all of my blessings, to be more positive than negative , to smile at strangers, to encourage people, and to tell my loved ones I love them, but I am also going to try to find the top of my desk. I am also going to try to make room in the corner of my office that is stacked full of stuff. I am also going to get out more and connect with people. I am also going to allow phone calls to be considered a good connection and use the phone when I can’t get in a face-to-face visit. To all of you that succeed at doing these two things, for those of you that consider that them a normal thing, I applaud you. Maybe you can share with me how you manage to make these things a part of your everyday life and I can learn from your tips.
We all have different life styles so our resolutions really can be very different. Somethings that are everyday things for some of us are resolutions for others. Did you make any resolutions? How about goals? Did you set any for 2012?
Posted in Misc | Tagged: 2012, 31 Day Project, Christmas, Christmas decorations, Christmas gifts, connect to friend, face-to-face, Facebook, New Year, New Year's Resolution, Nia, Nia Classes, Nia post, organizations, projects, Resolutions for 2012, special people, Zebra Sounds | 8 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on December 31, 2011
Not all of my posts on my list of Year End Review Of Terre’s 2011 Important Posts are Nia posts, but some of them are, Here are the remaining four of nine that I thought were important enough to re-share. This is the second half of my Year End Review Post. When I wrote it as one post, it just seemed too long so I split it up. Thanks for checking in. As with the first half, I am just going to give a little summary so you can have the main point right here and you don’t have to go to the original post. But if you WANT to go to the original post (and comment even) please do! I am listing these in order of when they were posted.
I think of this post Muscle Weighs More Than Fat as being something we all need to be reminded of. Muscle DOES NOT weigh more than fat. The saying that muscle weighs more is one of those things that a lot of us say, but it is not correct. A pound of muscle weighs as much as a pound of fat. A pound of anything cannot weigh more than a pound of something else. A pound of muscle will take up a lot less room than a pound of fat as you will see in the picture on this post if you click over. 😉
If you are interested in a dance class that is pretty, a class that produces a performance then Nia is probably not what you are looking for. Nia Might Not Be Pretty — To Some. Nia is about authentic movement. Nia is about moving the body the way it was designed to be moved. Not everyBODY can move the way it was designed. There might be injuries, defects, tightness, or just plain ol’ non-use involved so it might not be pretty as we learn to move. But it is beautiful. This post reminds you that it is what it is and what it is not is a performance. A Nia class is freedom of movement, something to be enjoyed from the angle of the participant and not someone watching.
I have a post about listening with love, but the title is Let Love Be Your Ears. Ya know sometimes titles need to intrigue a potential reader, I was hoping that is what this title was. But the post is about listening with love. We all have heard and some of us might try to live by the old “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” But LISTENING with love is different. Not that common of a “golden rule”. We are not always taught we need to love ourselves, so we might not listen as if people are talking to us with love and not accusations and criticisms. This might be something we have to practice. Also listening with love can include giving the person talking a lot of “benefit of the doubt”. Trying to see where they might be coming from.
Another post is about dance being exercise. It is a reminder that you can have fun and get exercise at the same time. Nia is just that!
So that is the last four on my list of posts I think really could use repeating. I know I picked a few because I need to work on some of them/it myself. I hope that you enjoyed either the summary or the posts themselves. I thank you very much for taking the time to read this. If you have been reading my blog and you recognize some of these I thank you. I really appreciate you taking the time to read. If you take the time to read and comment, I am really grateful and I very much appreciate it.
And, of course, I wish you a very happy and safe New Year’s Eve. I wish you many, many, many opportunities to embrace happiness and experience joy in 2012. Happy New Year.
Posted in Exercise and Working Out, Misc, Muscles, Nia | Tagged: 2012, 30 minute meals, dance exercise, fat is light, Happy New Year, listen with love, muscle is heavy, New Year's Eve, Nia, Nia balance, Nia class, Nia exercise, Nia freedom, Nia is for everybody, Nia Movement, Nia participant, Nia posts, Nia Practice, posts about Nia, ten minute exercise, the body's way, Year End Review | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on December 29, 2011
Many bloggers are posting end of the year posts. Some posts are the best, some posts are their favorites, everyone has a different take on it. Some are a review of the year, either in posts or pictures. I thought about doing a post about my favorites, but I was afraid they would all be my Nia posts. As I was going through my posts from the last year I came up with an eclectic bunch . . . . just like my post. I can’t say they are my favorites, but I can say they are ones that I want to point out again. I actually found twenty-three posts that I wanted to re-share. TWENTY-THREE! But that is way too many to summarize and share. I narrowed it down to nine. These nine are ones I think are the most important of the ones I’ve posted this past year. I still think nine is a lot so I am going to do this year in review in two parts. I am just going to give a little summary so you can have the main point right here and you don’t have to go to the original post. But if you WANT to go to the original post (and comment even) please do! I am listing these in order of when they were posted.
One of the most important things I have posted about is Balance. The post is called Nia Balance and I was sharing about how balance was challenging because of my injured toe, but the main point of the post is that balance is really important and that our Nia routines are full of opportunities in which we can practice our balance. Since balance is so important you can practice it throughout your day without really changing the way you do things too much. Balance is so important, especially as we age.
It’s Out There is my post about how great Nia is! Ha, ha! Well it is a little bit about Nia, but a lot about the fact that there are many, many, many other movement forms out there. There are so many different forms of movements that there really has to be something for everyone. Nia is for everyBODY as it was created to move the body in the body’s way, but it is not for everyone. There is something out there for everyone! If you look you can find a class for you!
I posted about Feeling Vs. Sensing. Feeling is emotion. Feelings are how you FEEL. Sensing is what your body does. You FEEL happy. Your body senses heat. You FEEL sad. Your body senses cold. Knowing the difference can help you give your body and/or your emotional self, your spirit the workout it needs.
I made up a list of ten exercises that can be done in ten minutes. There is actually a lot of different ways you can do the list of ten exercises, but the idea was to get a full body workout in ten minutes. The hope was that the ten in ten would be an inspiration and a catalyst for actually doing more.
This past week I had company and they were here through the dinner hour. I didn’t know that they would be here that long so I didn’t have anything planned for dinner that would feed all four of us, but I still wanted to feed my husband when they left. So about the time they were talking about leaving I went into the kitchen. I was in the kitchen all of seven minutes. I washed the rice, turned on the rice maker, chopped the end off the asparagus, rinsed them, put them in a pan then put them in the oven, and dumped the marinated chicken in a pan and put it in the oven. I then set the timer for 20 minutes at which time dinner would be ready. I achieved a 30 minutes meal. All because when I froze the chicken I made a sauce for it at the same time. So when I took it out to defrost it was already marinating or doing so as it defrosted. So it really took seven minutes for me to make dinner. My friends didn’t even miss me because I was only gone seven minutes. This post is about Shopping Step to help Dinner Prep. After shopping before you freeze the meat make your marinade right inside the bag. It has really helped me get dinner ready much faster! Love it!
So this is five on my list out of nine post I think really could use repeating. I hope you check back Saturday to see the rest of the list. I thank you very much for taking the time to read this. If all of these or some of these are “repeats” to you, then I really thank you. Thank you so much for being here. I really appreciate you reading and if you are a commenter . . . I appreciate you even more!!! See you back here on Saturday for the rest of the review of my Year End Review!
Posted in Food, Misc, Nia | Tagged: 30 minute meals, dance exercise, fat is light, listen with love, muscle is heavy, Nia, Nia balance, Nia class, Nia exercise, Nia freedom, Nia is for everybody, Nia Movement, Nia participant, Nia posts, Nia Practice, posts about Nia, ten minute exercise, the body's way, Year End Review | 4 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on December 27, 2011
In Nia there are 13 White Belt Principles. The principles provide a foundation, something we can learn, practice, explore, and build on. One Nia White Belt Principle, Principle number 7 has two parts. The second part of the principle is levels of teaching. I wrote about this when I was sharing about each Nia White Belt Principle. The three levels of teaching come up again as the eighth stage in Nia FreeDance. The eighth stage is Nia Class – Levels 1, 2, 3.
The eight stages of FreeDance are:
1-FreeDance
2-Being Seduced by the Music
3-Feelings and Emotions
4-The Creative Source
5-Authentic Movement
6-Witness
7-Choreography
8-Nia Class – Levels 1, 2, 3
In addition to learning, practicing, exploring and building on the 13 White Belt Principles, Nia teachers are taught to use the eight stages of FreeDance to learn our routines and also to expand our Nia Practice and to have fun with Nia. FreeDancing to the music is often a step I skip. So is might go without saying that dancing the first six stages of FreeDance is something I often don’t do when I learn a routine. I am going to work on using this tool, FreeDance and its stages, to learn my routines going forward. I am also going to use this tool when I go back and practice and delve deeper into the routines I already teach.
In regards to Stage 8 – Nia Class – Levels 1, 2, 3, this is something that Nia teachers need to be able to share in a class. As I stated in my post about the second half of the 7th Nia White Belt Principle, everyone’s levels might be different, but the point is that I need to be able to show you different levels. The move itself does not change, it just might be done bigger or covering more floor. If the move is a cha-cha step, then my level 1 is a cha-cha, as well as my level 2, to make it more challenging in level 3 I don’t change it to a jazz square, I just make it bigger. Or I might even show the example of it being more bouncy. There are different ways to change the level and we all have different levels so we have different needs when it comes to changing the level.
Level 1, 2, and 3 does not necessarily mean “planes” as in low, middle, high, it means level of intensity. Now how “intensity” is interpreted DOES depend on the move. As I just mentioned it could mean bigger or more bouncy. It all depends on the move itself, but either way the spirit and the energy remains the same.
I do find that sometimes I don’t have enough time to show all three levels for all of the moves. Sometimes I just stick to level one if it appears that the move is challenging to most students. Then I might briefly demonstrate level two, but go quickly back to level one because I can sense I am going to be leaving most of the class behind. In that case, what happens is if there is a student that is ready for level three they get their on their own. It is fabulous.
I do think that it is really good for me to continue to remind my students that EVERYBODY has a different level 1, which automatically means that their level 2 is different, which dominoes into the level 3 being different. When playing with dancing freely to music it is fun as a student and a dancer to experiment with different levels of intensity of a move. Sometimes the music dictates the intensity as the music itself might change intensity. Sometimes it is just amusing to change it up to challenge the body, brain, and spirit. So, even as a student of Nia or dancer that dances because you love to move you too can also experience different levels of dancing free. This is a brief look into Nia’s FreeDance and Stage 8 Nia Class – Levels 1, 2, 3.
Ready to turn on some music and dance?
Posted in FreeDance, Nia | Tagged: 13 White Belt Principles, Authentic Movement, dance class, freedance, levels of intensity, Nia, Nia class, Nia Dance, Nia routine, Nia student, Nia Teacher, Nia White Belt Principle #7 | 4 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on December 24, 2011
It is Christmas Eve and while I never really take time off from Nia and being self-employed, I am posting about decorations again. Another post inspired by yet another blog friend. My friend shared her snowmen with us on her blog and I told her I wanted to share ours. I wasn’t sure how, but I took pictures anyway. I was just going to e-mail them to her, but then I thought I should just post them on Facebook. But then I decided that snowmen would be a nice little Christmas Eve post. Some of my favorite decorations that we have are snowmen. We have one set in particular that I always receive compliments on. They were our first set and they are simple and sweet. They always go in the same place every year. Some of our other snowmen migrate around the house. Sometimes I forget where I put what so things are not always the same. But these ones always go in the same spot — basically. They might end up on the left or the right or the center, but they are always on the same shelf.
So funny . . . now that I am actually looking at them while cropping the picture, they aren’t really even snowmen, are they? They were labeled snowmen when I bought them (I think) so I think of them as the family of snowmen. Well, whatever they are they are cute and sparkly!
You might notice that a few of our snowmen are snow angels. I really like that. They are so cute. I actually didn’t put up a set of our hanging snow angels. I didn’t put up a lot this year. When I was decorating I allowed the fact that our tree was dead three days after we bought it to put a damper on my Christmas decorating spirit. I didn’t put as many ornaments on the tree as usual because the more it was touched the more the needles just fell off. I was afraid it wouldn’t last until Christmas. With this being our first Holiday Season without John’s mom, the whole tree thing made me sad. Then since we weren’t going to have anyone over during the Holidays I decided the less I put up, the less I will have to clean around and the less I will have to take down. I do have a goal of “Christmas everywhere you look” so I did that, it is just not as much as usual. But it is just fine. I do “tests” and turn my head this way and that, and YUP! still Christmas wherever I look so it’s grand!
There are snowmen in various spots of the house. I believe last year these (the ones directly to the left, pictured in front of the sleigh) were our latest addition. I do not collect snowmen, nor do I particularly fancy them, there are just some that I see and I like. But I don’t like all snowmen. I like sparkle, glitter, shine, and blue. So I really love that they make so many Chanukah decorations because the color scheme for that seems to be blue! So yay, more blue!
Do you decorate for Christmas? Or for the Holidays that you and your family celebrate?
I wish you a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and peace and joy throughout the year!
Posted in Misc | Tagged: angels, Chanukah decorations, Christams Eve, Christmas, Christmas decorations, Facebook, Facebook Friend, Hanukkah, Hanukkah decorations, Happy Holidays, Nia, snow angels, Snowmen, Snowpeople, Twitter | 10 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on December 22, 2011
I first want to say that Nia in San Jose is on it’s regular schedule even with the surrounding Holidays. Next, I want to say with so much holiday stuff around me it is more fun to post about decorations, cards sent, cards received, gifts given and received, Christmas Trees, ornaments, lights, and the cheer, than about how to exercise “off” those extra calories you might be consuming. It is better to avoid eating too much than to try to work it off. Many websites give you advice on how to avoid over indulging at parties, I posted one myself last year. They are articles of advice on how to keep motivated during the holidays everywhere you turn. As you know I like to post about other things. I love Christmas and all of its decorations and cheer that it brings. I love how people get creative with gifts and decorations. When I first saw this I wanted to post about it. But I often hesitate because I do also want to post about exercises and working out, but this kept popping into my head. I love it that much.
I have a friend I know through blogging. I believe I “met” him on another friend’s blog. I forget exactly how the timeline went but we started following eachother on Twitter and we are friends on Facebook. He is one of those people that seems to be everywhere. I don’t know how he does it, but he comments or “likes” my posts and my photos on several sites. He is one of those people that is very supportive. He is always there to support me in my internet dabblings.
He takes great pictures. I am always amazed at the shots he gets on his morning walks. But the latest photo that had me clapping with glee and I just can’t get out of my head is the photo of his book tree. I keep thinking, “Who would think of that?” Well, the answer is a man that works in a bookstore, but still, I love it. It is so cute and so imaginative. Really why can’t you decorate anything, right. I also kind of think of it as a bit of a joint effort. He, of course, came up with the biggest part, putting it together and stringing it with garland. I just make a tiny suggestion of using paper clips (or a strong wire) to hang the ornaments.
This is one of those things that just makes me happy. Do you have simple things in your life that make you happy and make you smile? This is one of them. Simon is often making me laugh and smile, but I really loved this one and wanted to share. I received permission to post his picture here. You can see it here (click) on one of his blogs.
A note to Simon: Simon, my friend, you are a constant source of smiles and laughter to me. I appreciate how you are always so supportive with your “likes” and comments. I think you are a great photographer and look forward to the pictures of your morning walks and all your pictures. Thank you for this lovely book tree, it makes me giggle when I think about it.
_____________
I hope you all enjoyed his little book tree. I hope that no matter what holiday you celebrate at this time of year you are having a happy and peaceful time. Thanks for being here!
Posted in Misc | Tagged: a book tree, a tree made of books, Christmas, Christmas decorations, Christmas Ornaments, Christmas Tree, Facebook, Facebook Friend, holiday stuff, Holidays, Nia, Nia San Jose, San Jose Nia, Simon's Book Tree, Twitter | 6 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on December 20, 2011
Last Monday on the way home from my Nia Class I stopped at the store to buy a huge bunch of veggies. I was wondering what I was going to cook them in. I needed a new pan. I think that it is perfect acceptable to give pots and pans as a gift — when one asks for it/them. Last Christmas I asked for a pan. A 14 inch fry type pan. I had a really difficult time finding one. I really wonder why it is so hard to find such a large pan. It is not as difficult to find a 12 inch pan and everyone; every store, every brand, EVERYONE has a 10 inch pan. But a 14 inch pan is really difficult to find. Once they go over 12 inches they start measuring by quart it seems. Last year I had to search and search and search but I finally found one. It was great.
A lot of my pans spin on the glass top. The other ones wobble. When pans don’t lie flat on the glass surface they don’t heat very evenly. My 12 inch pan is a wobbler AND a spinner. And it is not as large as I would like. I wanted a 14 inch pan, and as I said I had finally found one. I was so happy when I found it that I asked for it for Christmas. It was 14 inch, it was non-stick, it was affordable. So that was one of my Christmas presents last year. I used it all the time. It was heavy enough that it didn’t spin on the glass top. It was also flat so it didn’t wobble. I used it all the time. A lot of the pictures on my blog of food are in that pan.
But it was affordable and maybe on this side of cheap because after a year it is rusting. This pan did NOT go in the dishwasher. Things that say they are dishwasher safe don’t always last as long when they go through a washing with the tough detergent that goes into dishwashers. Plus I am not even sure this pan would have fit in the dishwasher. So it never went in the dishwasher. Well, it started rusting anyway, so now I can’t use it.
I was on a quest for a new 14 inch pan. I could get another one same as the one I got last year, but then would I be having to buy a new pan every year? Probably. I could get one to match my really nice set, but they are not cheap. So I debated. Buy it not, buy it. I have always wanted it, but it is difficult for me to spend that much on a pan, but once you do, they really last forever. I decided that I would ask for it as a Christmas present. Not a traditional gift. A lot of money for just one thing, but I figured if you added up all the other stuff it would equal about the same.
So, I am happy to report that I will be getting a 14 inch all-clad for Christmas. Just the thought makes me happy. The other day I wanted to cook a huge pan of veggies. As I was adding more and more vegetables, I kept hoping they would all fit. I kept wishing I had a bigger pan. I kept thinking . . . . why is it so hard to find a 14 inch pan? Doesn’t everyone want to cook AT LEAST 14 inches of veggies? I mean a pan full of veggies with a little bit of rice is a great meal. The larger the pan the more veggies. Oooooo! That is exciting! More veggies.
Can’t wait! Can’t wait! Can’t wait. I am so like a kid at Christmas. I love getting surprise gifts. I love getting gifts I know are coming. I love getting gifts I will use all the time. And you know I will use that pan all the time. You know it will become a regular feather on my blog.
What about you? Are you one to ask for something practical for a gift? Are you ok with getting a small appliance or cookware for Christmas?
Posted in Misc | Tagged: 14 inch pan, AllClad, Christmas gift, Monday Nia class, Nia, Nia class, non-stick, practical gift, small appliances | 10 Comments »
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