Whew! The party was a success. This years theme was kinda, country, cowboy-ish. Amazing since I only have 1 sorta country cd in my home, Shania Twain. I do have some slightly country-ish rocky-blues cds though, Bo Bice (American Idol runner-up), Kenny Wayne Sheppard, Robert Cray and Johnny Lang so I pulled those out for our listening pleasure. Some friends' brought their 1 year old grandson who apparently loves my Putney, who by the way kept trying to walk away from said child but to no avail. and loves Shania Twain! As soon as I put her cd on he came up to the blaster and began dancing and clapping! His little face was so animated. All of us just kept thinking about how the parents of little S. were going to have a heartattack at his love of country music. He seemed to like Robert Cray but shania got him really going. It was the cutest thing I've witnessed in a long, long time. I tried to capture it on my phone but my prowess (or lack of) with technology came shining through. I got about 2 seconds on my phone. Worthless. I was so happy that R. did not show up wearing any Dallas cowboy gear. That'd be sacrilage since this is a 49'er household. He did say he'd thought about it though. The food was faboulous even if I do say so myself. I was able to prepare everything ahead of time which was blissful. I could spend the day of getting the yard finished, the shades & umbrellas up, lighting, tables & chairs, etc. All 6 slabs of baby-backs fit on my grill with room for a hamburger for my mom who decided she didn't eat pork for the day. Nevermind, it's a long story. Anyways, I used 2 of Buck & Judy's Dang Rubs on the ribs. # each of #12, cumin-jalepeno & #23, paprika-cayenne. The day before the party, I sprayed them each with olive oil then sprinkled on the spices, wrapped them each in plastic wrap and stored them in the fridge for a couple of hours. I cooked them covered with foil for about 3 hours at 250 degrees, let them cool before placing them back in the fridge. The day of the party I took the ribs out of the fridge to allow them to return to room temp. I started the grill around 6:30 pm. I placed all 6 slabs on the grill, slathered them with B-B-Q sauce, allowed them to cook for about 5 min. on each side, gave them 5 min. to set and cut them into 2-3 rib pieces. The baked beans were also a great hit with everyone. I doctor them up and slow cook 'em for 12 hours. The beans are done to taste, I measure nothing adding apple cider vinegar, loads of bacon cut into 3's, castup, yellow mustard, molassas, light brown sugar, onions chopped large. Uhhhhhhhhhhh, delicious. Don't tell anyone but I've even warned vegetarians about whats in there and they eat it anyways. We ate so well. There were macaroni salads, fruit salads, fuit & veggie plates, "Angry" mashed potaoes, brownies and of course, my wonderful White Sangria. So much food. I finally have the place back in order and am able to write this all down. Buck & Judy's Dang Rubs are soon going to be available for purchase. The website is all that needs to be finished for them. Of course you'll be able to buy them off of my site as well. I can't wait. I hope you like them as well as I do. I really use them on everything. I made a salmon and sprayed it with olive oil and lightly sprinkled on the #12 and grilled it. Heaven, pure heaven. I have to tell you your gonna love these rubs/spice blends. As for my mom, G. & I were right, it's been gas or heartburn thats been sending her to the hospital these last few times. Wonderful, eh? It's so hard dealing with someone at this age whose clearly losing it mentally. Is sad and we try to not get short with her but it takes all of my strength to hold back. She even began telling a friend at the party about how we (her kids) never call her or go to see her. She's in my home as she's saying this. I even had her spend the night! Oh well, we will never win so time to move on right?!? I go back to work tomorrow. Oh dear. But I can use the workout. I teach World Beat in the morning so I should get a few calories burned off. This Tuesday, my friend Barbara Applebaum is having her 4-week tele-class: how to break the "diet habit" and put you #1 on your to-do list. Check out her site; www.appelbaumwellness.com/healthy-lifestyleand maybe even register for it. Should be very beneficial. Of course my party week is never complete without something breaking down on me. This year it was the drain pump on my washing machine. Lets see, so far my old fridge died 1 week before, new fridge master board dies, swamp cooler dies, now the washer. Oh well, at least when the cooler died it was covered by the home warrenty. One out of 4, not too bad I guess. I think next renewal time I'll add the washer/dryer & fridge. Things just don't seem to last like they used to in the "good ole days." Still haven't put up my current workout routine yet but I promise I will. Stay healthy & happy everyone. Memorial Day next weekend, pull out the white pants! Peace out.
Hello again everyone. Last week completely got away from me. Between Mom going, yet again, into the hospital for no real reason, to dance week at work, finding out yet another dear friend has a serious medical issue and not really being able to do anything to help her, I was shot. So, sorry to have taken so long to get back on the computer but here I am.
Somehow the girls in my piece pulled off another stellar performance for the recital. With only 3-4 times being able to dance together, including the recital itself, they did beautifully and made me so proud. I don't know if anyone video'd it but if they did, I'll get it on here to show you.
Yes, Mom had another guest appearence at the hospital. Again, they found nothing wrong with her. The dementia is really taking hold now I think. She always forgets to take her nitro, which is right by her chair in the living room and instead goes directly to hospital. She told the paramedics to take her to a hospital about 10 miles further away from where she normally goes because she likes the treatment she gets at the ohter one better. She also didn't like people walking past her room. She could see their feet going up & down the hallway and it disturbed her. She couldn't hear it but she could see their feet. Help me, Lord, I'm about to lose it myself.
My sister G. gave the staff at Mom's assisted living facility a severe tongue lashing because they didn't call her until after they had taken Mom to the hospital. They are supposed to contact her while the paramedics are still there to prevent Mom's rediculous desires. Later this week I got a letter from the facility she lives at for a "care-giver" support meeting. G. hasn't said if she got one too or not but I'm guessing it's an affirmative to that question. I just started laughing when I saw the content. I haven't really read it thoroughly though. So, I suppose I should. We all know it's her whacked out mind that makes her say & do the things she does. She never ued to be so mean and self-pitying but it doesn't seem to help lesson the sting of what she says & does any. Maybe going to that support group would do us some good to cope with it. I'll have to think on that.
My oldest, as in how long we've been friends not age, informed me last week that she has what Robin Roberts of GMA had but its been caught much earlier than Ms. Roberts.Myelodysplastic Syndrome or MDS is a blood disorder. Her body isn't making neither the white nor red blood cells. So she needs a bone marrow transplant. As expected, she's pretty freaked out by this. As if she hasn't had enough s__t in her life as of late.
I got the message at my lunch time at work and just layed there on the locker-room floor with tears streaming down my face. I hate that I can't be there for her. She's supposed to let me know if they find a bone marrow donor for her. If not then I will go in to see if I match. I guess the Dr.'s did say that with her heritage, she should be easy to find a match for. I have everything crossed for her. Fingers, toes, eyes, anything I can cross and, oh yes, prayers. I just really wish I could go up and be with her through this. Finances and job, animals, bills, all kinda prevent that from happening. So all I can do is be there when she needs someone to talk to, scream at, cry on. When I did get to talk to her later that evening, she sounded hopeful which helped put me at ease. I hope talking to me helped to put her at ease a little too.
Being there for a freind or family member is something all of us can do. I guess it seems like such a little thing to the one giving the time but I believe to the one recieving it's everything. Reach out to your loved ones people, it'll do you all a great deal of good.
Mother's day is tomorrow for us Americanos and it was yesterday for our Hispanic Mothers. I'll be putting dinner in the crock pot tomorrow morning before heading out to work. I'm making my yummy Yankee Pot Roast for dinner. My brother B. will be bringing salad & dessert. I'll pick up Mom after work on my way home and B. will arrive around 6pm. We'll eat around 6:30pm, sit and veg for awhile and then he'll take Ma back home. Sister G. is taking her out for lunch so she won't be joining us at dinner. She has plans for the evening. Yes, I'll repost my recipie for my pot-roast for ya'll.
B. called me the other day to tell me that he also sent her a dz. red roses in all of our names to her. I thanked him and told how sweet I thought that was to do. (Came as a bit of a surprise!) I'm proud of him. I did offer to share the cost but he said "NO!" Good going B.
My friend D.'s birthday was yesterday and we got together with some of her other friends at Toby Keith's I Love This Bar last night. It was interesting. I'm sure you guessed it was country music, not my fav. but I lasted about 21/2 hours befor checking out. Had one of the largest single liquor cocktails on the rocks there ever. Whew, easily 3x's a shot. Yes, I waited awhile before driving after that thing. I also ate some fried dill pickles. I know, I know, that sounds awful but...OMG! They're outragiously delicious. If you ever get a chance to try some DO IT. I will admit that these were not the best I've had though. But they were "OK." They did the trick.
Another friend from the Bay Area had a birthday yesterday so I'd like to give another shout out to T. Happy days ladies. I love ya both.
My veggie garden is growing like crazy. I see at least 4 yellow squashes growing. I don't really see any zuccchinis forming yet but I am hopeful. Lots and lots of beautiful, huge orangey-yellow flowers on the plants though. My broccoli isn't doing much. I did plant them kinda late but I did just thin the seedilings so who knows, maybe. About 3 of those plants are making a bid to grow bigger. The tomatoe seedinlgs are comin' up but it'll apparently be awhile. Asparagus and thyme and garlic chives doing well.
I did a little reading on veggie plants and found that they prefer to be watered only once a week. A long, deep watering but just the one time per week. So, that's what I've been doing. For about 1 hour/week I put the hose in the bed and leave it running. I move it around every 15 min. or so but thats it. Seems to be working. Yay for me, yah for the veggies! I fed the plants again this week. They like that, or so says the books, once a month. What they hay, if I get some yummy fresh veggies out of this I'll expand my garden for fall planting season.
I'm getting ready this week for the annual party. This year it's (frighteningly) a country theme. After last night I thought about revising but too late now. It'll be fun. I'm grillin' some baby-backs and makin' my famous baked beans. The kind you slow cook for hours and hours and they're thick and dark, dark brown, sweet & savory and of course that amazing white Sangria. I'm gonna double the double batch batch I made last year. That way there'll be plenty for everyone. Although, Ms. K. can't have any this year. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, maybe a regular double batch will do???? Nah, I'll make a quad batch. It's really that good.
Well the pooch is giving me the eye so I need to walk him before it gets too hot out. It's already 81 degrees out and it's only going on 10 am.
Peace out everyone. Oh, I almost forgot, I've changed my workout this month so I'll post the new workout next week for ya. Bye!
|  Whew, it's gettin' hot in he-ah. 11 am and it's 80 degrees out. It's supposed to get up to 98 degrees by the end of the week. I've walked you-know who already and now I need to get to the backyard and see if the damn gazebo is fixable. I know whether it is or not I'll n ever buy another one unless it's a permanent wooden or heavy structural material. Getting ready for the annual party in a couple of weeks. Of course the next Dance Week is in between now and then. Needless to say I'm a little taxed at the moment.
Hydration is a real concern now. Issues surrounding too little hydration include heat exhaustion, heat stroke, and even death. Last year I wrote on the subject of hydration/de-hydration so I'm going to put it on here again for you as a reminder. So here it is for ya.
Waters importance to the body is 2nd only to oxygen in sustaining life. It doesn't provide any energy but it does deliver and distribute nutrients, oxygen, immune cells and hormones as blood plasma as well as remove waste. It does this and much, much more to all of the billions of cells in each of our bodies. Blood also carries away the carbon dioxide and lactic acid formed when nutrients are broken down for cellular energy. Water also helps in regulating the body's temperature. Water conducts heat up to 26 times faster than air, moving warm temperatures away from the core of the body to the peripheral or skin. This helps to produce sweat which goes through the skin through ducts and then cools the body when it evaporates upon hitting the air. Ta-da! See, I've always said sweat is a good thing.
Water is also very critical to blood volume maintenance. Blood volume directly impacts blood pressure so if your blood volume is off so is the pressure and cardiovascular function. Even a dehydration level of only 3% -5% of body weight can result in a compromised cardiovascular function and therefore impact your performance during athletics, especially aerobic sports.
If you're exercising and your body begins to dehydrate and the water is not replenished, the effects due to the blood volume decreasing will be less blood flow to & from the heart and the muscular system reducing the amount of oxygen delivered. The effect will mean more of an anaerobic workload. This will lessen the body s ability to perform as when properly hydrated. Fatigue will set in faster, rate of perceived exertion will rise and lactic acid levels will build quicker.
Can you over-hydrate? The answer to that is YES! Its called hyponatremia or water intoxication. It's better to over-hydrate than dehydrate but it can have its issues. It's really an issue of low sodium levels. Sodium is a very important electrolyte, especially to the muscular and nervous systems. Characteristics of over-hydration include muscular weakness and in-coordination, disorientation and can even lead to seizures and coma. Replenishing the body with sports drinks containing sodium and chloride instead of just water can help prevent the possibilities of hyponatremia. Endurance and ultra athletes are at a greater risk of this problem but non-endurance athletes don't really have much of a danger for it. Good news!
How do you know if your not properly hydrated? One easy way is with your urine. If your urine is clear or light yellow you're doing great. However, if its a bright yellow, amber or greenish color, you can assume that you're dehydrated. Now, if you take vitamins and/or minerals, some of them can affect your urine color and therefore it may not be a good choice for accuracy. So, please, drink plenty of fluids.and preferrably not sugary sodas. For most of us water is the best choice for hydration but other sources include coffee, milk and sports drinks. We'll talk more on these later. Keep exercising and replenishing your fluids, summer's a comin' and it's gonna get hotter. Stay safe.
In this kind of heat that we get around here and the exercise levels here's another great tip for all of us; if you exercise 60 min. or more, you should ingest 7-10 oz. of fluids every 20 min.
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 Holy toledo! This has been a week of severe emotional meltdown. If someone doesn't know about Mondays bombing, they're certainly not going to be reading this newsletter I'm writing. Then the blast in Texas, the ricin-laced letters to our politicians, letter-bomb sent to sherriff, and then to add to all of that, my mom was back in the hospital for a couple of days. We're not sure whats going on but apparently she was dizzy, had a pain in her chest that was on 1 side and then moved to the other side and she was talking gibberish again.
She's really going kinda nuts. She was extremely unhappy that people were walking down the hallway past her room. What?????? She almost had to be restrained in her bed 'cuz she insists on trying to get up all of the time and she's very, very wobbly. She's kinda mean to the staff. It's all so sad. I really think she's gonna need more than assisted living help soon. I'm so not looking forward to this but I don't want her going into a "home" if ya know what I mean. That'll mean she's either with me or my sister and we'll need to get her home care. Wish us luck, folks.
My sis is having a yard sale today & I took over some stuff to purge from my home & shed. She just texted me to ask me come over now. Yikes! I haven't even walked Putney yet. That just won't do will it. Here's my beautiful boy, sacked out on the throw pillows in the living room. He cracks me up. Hmmmmmmm, I wonder how he gained so much weight, (yuck-yuck-yuck!) His nasty hot-spot seems to be finally going down some. At the shot clinic another dog owner told me about a 50-50% apple cider vinegar & water mixture sprayed onto the spot so I've been doing it and it seems to be working. Thank goodness, 'cuz nothing else really seemed to. I tried the cone of shame, which in the 30 seconds he had it on he almost broke everything in the living room, sauve, hot spot juice(?), neosporin, bandages, nothing worked.
He'll just have to get his walk later I guess. Sis needs me. Lord knows, shes been there for me enough. And right now my family means everything to me. So off I go.
My sis sold quite a bit of stuff, I got rid of a few things but we didn't take back much. The Veterans truck is coming by her neighborhood on Mon. so we're just gonna let them have it all, mostly all, and be done with the stuff. so glad to be purged of stuff I haven't used for at least a year and in some cases, haven't seen in over 6 years. There is space in my shed now and in one of my office closets. Yippppeeee! Purged!
Went to a 10 year wedding anniversary of a couple of friends. It was lovely. I met one of their neighbors, quite the character. We ate, danced, got to chat with some more of my friends and didn't discuss work at all. Love that! I was bummed I had to leave fairly early into the night 'cuz I had to work the next morning. All in all a pretty busy weekend for me outside of my home. Unfortunately, I didn't get much done there. Oh well, spilled milk & all.
Well, lets discuss the fear and, most likely, the depression we're all feeling over the events of this past week. It's been an emotionally devastating time for all of us. Not knowing the why's of the actions taken allegedly by these 2 young men, the timeing of the letters to our President and other politicians, the disaster in Texas. Sorry, but I think I get the letter to the Sherriff. Don't get me wrong, I don't condone it but I get it.
It's alright to feel frightened. It's alright to get some help in coping with all of this. Finding a life coach or some other type of therapist doesn't make you a whack-job. We all need some help coping with this insane stuff happening around us. As if life isn't hard enough to cope with. Seeking professional help is a good thing people. Check with your HR dept. at your work. In some cases they have couselling availiable to employees. I know my workplace does. Use it, folks. You'll find it invaluable as you can learn some coping skills to deal with anger, fear, depression, etc. For me, if you see me tapping right, left, right, left fingers, I'm trying to find a calming sense for my brain. If I daze off I'm trying to find a "place" to calm myself. These are skills I learned at a life-coach session. It really helps to talk things out, to get them out and then, not fix the problems, but get ways to deal with them inside yourself.
We'll never really make sense out of these events, at least for myself, I hope to never make sense of it but we can move on. We won't forget but we can continue on with our lives & try to make things better. I still start tearing up from time to time watching the updates, etc. on tv. I want to help heal this broken world and the only way I know how is to continue to dance & teach & express myself through movement. We will laugh again. We will feel somewhat safe again.
By the way, I've finally gotten my current upper body workout on the "Workouts" page. Please feel free to tell me what you think.
Buck & Judy's Dang Rubs are getting closer to being available to buy. He's just finishing up on his website and getting cards made and it'll hit the ground runnin'. All of the FDA approvals & licensings have come through. So keep your britches on & be patient
| | Wow, heavy duty winds came blow'in through, up to 60 MPH, and wrecked my sail shades and gazebo that I had just gotten reset the weekend before! How nice. My gazebo is a mess. Not even sure if it's worth trying to salvage it but I'll get a good idea today if it's at all possible. Ergggg! Keeps me on my toes though. Tippy toes in this case. Wish me luck.
My sis called me this last week and offered to send me our yard guy to spruce up the yard (dirt) for the party as her contribution to the festivities. Yippppeeeee! I love it when she does that. I'm still gonna work back there 'cuz I'm sure some will come back and I'll need to be working on the inside of the house & cooking the week of the party. It also won't hurt to continue burning up the kcals working the back & front yards.
My seedlings are still doing beautifully. I think it might've been weeds that I thought were tomato seedlings 'cuz now there's some little guys comin' up in the same spot. So maybe I didn't drown'em after all.
Putney got his rabies shot this week. They told me he's a little overweight, like mother like dog I guess. We're workin' on it people, so just back off. Just kidding. Looks like we're both on portion control.
As I was writing this weeks blog/newsletter I heard we lost not 1 but 2 icons. I wish them peace and all the love they can hold. I'm leaving the next part as I wrote it originally. I followed it with the 2nd one.
The world lost an icon this last week. I am speaking of Annette Funicello. A very brave woman who suffered MS, a cause I'm pretty passionate about, with grace and dignity.
This disease is such an evil disease. It's so hard to diagnose in people because it can attack in so many different ways. It's never the same in each case. One of my all-time favorite comedians also suffered from this horrible nightmare as well, Richard Pryor.
While in S.F. and working at USF, I met a woman with MS when she came to 1 of my deep water classes. We spoke for awhile and she told me how difficult it was to exercise at certain times and it got me thinking about it. I began to do some research on the disease by contacting the MS Society in the Bay Area. Imagine my surprise when they sent me a couple of exercise videos along with the information & research and I was on the cover and in the videos.
Kinda cool. I'd been hired to perform in a series of videos by
an aquatic equipment company a year or so earlier. Anyways, it gave me the info I needed to go to my boss at USF and ask if I could add a class specifically designed around accommodating people with MS. She said yes and I taught a fabulous group of people for 5 years, until I left "the city." That was, by far, the hardest class for me to leave.
MS strikes the nervous system and it can affect the eyesight or the legs or breathing. You just never know. Sometimes they can go into remission and then without warning they get struck down again. That's why its so hard to diagnose. But taking these folks into slightly deeper water, the properties of the water can effectively increase their strength.
Here come Newton's Laws again. When they would move a good limb through the water, the other limb would just naturally react. Just try moving only 1 leg and you'll see that the other will respond. Of course I had floation belts on them and we had so much fun. I watched some of these very courageous people go from wheelchairs to canes and/or canes to walking free. They felt so free in the water. It was a common occurance for me to cry at some point during the classes. One woman in my class published a photo Journal of her struggles with this disease and having a baby.
The book is titled Seeds of Light, Images Of Healing, by Angelina Hekking. Actually, Angelina Margaretha Antoinetta Hekking. Every time I go through this book I burst into tears. It's an amazing pictorial of her joy and pain while living with MS.
Tai Chi was another form of movement/exercise well suited for those with MS. People with MS said they were much more able to work in the mornings before 11:00am. Heat is a huge issue as that is part of the problem with MS, the heat causing the nerve endings to fry and mis-fire. Granted this is being simply put but it gets the point across. I hope.
The thing with MS is this, the muscles aren't dead, they're atrophied because the signals don't get there. From the brain to the muscles. So, these forms of movement, Aquatics and Tai Chi, cause the atrophied muscles to move in response to other actions thus helping to strengthen the muscles.
Our second loss being the amazingly brilliant comic genius of Jonathon Winters. His humor and wit that inspired so many other comedians, passed away. He could make you cry from laughing so hard and was incredibly quick witted. He was a master at improvisation and mimicry (?) The characters he came up with, along with the facial expressions, were absolutely hysterical. Thank you for your brilliance and the laughter you caused to erupt in me and the many others who got to watch you perform. RIP.
Now for something a little more light-hearted.
This week I up'ed the weight on a couple of my exercises and my quads were killing me the rest of the week. OMG! You can check out my leg workout on the workout page. Remember to check with your physician to make sure you should be doing this kind of workout. Always refer to your physician.
I made a meat sauce yesterday for pasta. Yummy. I'll need to take some in to my friend R. I left her some when she house/pet sat for me one time. Yes, I also left her some pasta but when I got home the only thing gone, and I mean gone, was the sauce! She just ate the sauce! I love her. She has been asking me to make some more ever since so, now that I have she will get some. Yes, I posted the recipe. I added a strange ingredient. Wasn't sure how it would taste but, turns out it's still yummy! Enjoy it and your week.
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| | Yea for me! I finally made it to a full 20 # weight drop. Actually, I made it to 20.5 #'s down. I haven't been this low for years. I guess since my knee got so bad I couldn't do much let alone walk with any sense. I have been doing a happy dance since I got on the only scale I ever use, except of course the one at the Dr.'s office, and broke the big mark yesterday (Thursday). I still have a ways to go but, to have finally gotten to the big 2-0 really feels good, I must admit, I love when guests and employees alike at work, stop me to ask me what I've been doing, that I look "amazing" and 10 years younger, at least. Then I think, whew, I must've really been a moose 'cuz I'm still big, just not as big as I was. Oh well, I still feel really good about myself right now and anyone else may think what they like. I am realistic though. I have a long way to go before I hit amazing but I do look (and feel) better.
Now getting serious about the comments, though I really do appreciate the feedback, I know I don't look "amazing." I have a long way to go before I'll accept that comment. Better, yes, but amamzin, no, not yet. However I am getting closer, every day. That little push over the hump there does help to keep the motivation going. I do have much more energy on a daily basis. I'm able to do more activity wise and my knee doesn't over re-act nearly as much as before. I am seeing some cut in my muscles again. Especially in my shoulders, abs, thighs & calves. Even my shins are cutting. I was making my bud D. laugh last night by flexing my shins, making them dance, if you will. Pretty funny stuff. The push is on, people. Look out, I'm comin'!
In these days of financial woes, of which I am seriously in the throngs of myself, for everyone, pay cuts still not returned to what they were prior to the crash, feelings of being under appreciated by company's, asked to do more for less pay, sometimes someone says something to you that reminds you of why you got into the business in the first place, and it wasn't money. Last night as I was leaving work, a guest stopped me and we began to chat abit. She said that when she got here she so happy to see I was still here. She said that to her, I was an inspiration, that I was "a light" and "a gift". Wow, I almost had to look around to see if she was talking to someone behind me. She started to tear up & I had to tell her not to or I'd start tearing too. This is why I got into this business, for the folks who need us be it physically or emotionally or both, in many cases. I'm obviously still reeling from that encounter. I hope all of the instructors & trainers in the world get that experience. It's worth so much more to me than the $. Thank you.
Okay, garden update. Everything is breaking ground. I'm going to have to pluck out a bunch of the broccoli seedlings to give some the space to grow, 4 yellow squash plant are up as are 4 zucchini. I had 4 tomato seedlings up but I may have drown them 'cuz when I got home last night they had disappeared. What'd I do? If you have any ideas as to what I did wrong, please let me know. Of course, my asparagus and thyme are doing beautifully. I feel like a mom with these plants. I go out and stare at them time & time again. I'm so proud. I hope I don't mess these up. I would love to eat some of these veggies fresh from the garden. Next year I think I'll plant some lettuce & spinach. I also need to plant some basil in with the tomatoes. The basil helps keep pests away from the tomatoes. that is if I didn't drown the poor things.
Hey everybody, I finally got the back of the food combination chart up on page 2 of the Nutrition page. Please feel free to check it out. It's all pretty cool stuff. Yipppeeee!
A friend's birthday was last week and I made her a fresh apple pie. She'd told some time ago that that was her favorite dessert, so there ya go. I used the last of my winter crust that I had in the freezer. She loved it. I used to bake all of the time but have gotten out of the habit since another friend & co-worker and former pro baker began bringing in goodies every day she worked. Yes, I have a winter crust and a summer crust. Why?, you may ask? Well, because the winter crust is way too soft. It's the better of the 2 in my opinion but like I said, too soft when the temps. here are in the 90's & 100's, so I have to use a different crust that holds together better in the hotter months of the year. See, makes perfect sense. Don't get me wrong, I like both of my crusts but the winter one is sooooo good. Oh well, gotta do what I gotta do.
I think I'll have to make another big batch of the winter crust. I was asked to maybe next time, try a cherry pie. Yum. This time I'm going have some. Yes, I make it from fresh cherries too.
While I lived in "the city" I used to go a guy's house with my boyfriend at the time to watch my beloved 49'ers play. I'd always make the pies. This guy offered to stake a business in pie baking for me. I did think about it but knew it would no longer be fun for me and I would have to cut some corners. Just couldn't take that risk so I said "no thanks," to the offer.
I just came home from having lunch with Mom, or Mouse as she's called by me. She's doing well. I took her to the dollar store so she could buy some more circle the word books. Good deed of the day I suppose.
Putney did get his walk today and he was as happy as a clam at high tide. We were gone for about 40 min. He was trotting like a pup. It does make me nuts that he insist on "leaving a message" at each and every pole, shrub and tree.
Ugh. Its Sat. & I just came in from hoeing the backyard some more. If you saw the size of the yard, you'd understand. I've gotten 1/2 of it done. Should able to finish in a couple a weeks. Whew! I've been poked by mesquite branch thorns, broken a couple of fingernails and I'm filthy. Oh well, the pain of trying to make a nice area for my friends. It'll all be worth it in the end.
I can't wait to get into the shower, super-condition my hair and feel like a human again.
It's gonna be a long week next week for me but I'll make it through and be back to ya.
Peace out people.
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Happy springtime everybody. I know the rest of the country is crying foul at Punxetawney Phil because you're all freezing but here in Tucson it's been in the low - mid 80's. Absolutely beautiful so I guess you all need to come for a visit. I've started cleaning up the backyard, getting ready for the annual house party. I've cleared out some parts of the yard, put up the new raised bed and already have some broccoli poking through the soil! It's only been a week! Yum. Not a peep outa the squash, zucchini or tomatoes yet. But I do believe they have a much longer growth period. I can't wait to have at some fresh grown veggies.
I try to pull some weeds outa the front yard everyday. So far, so good. It's lookin' better than it has in the spring in ages. If I manage to keep it up it won't be a ridiculous & daunting task come party time. Once that's all done I'll have to put down some "amaze", a deterrent, & water it down. I try to do that twice a year to prevent new stuff from taking over the yards. Not easy, but I do think it helps. The backyard is the bear though. Ugh! But it's easier doing bit by bit. Should look ok by the party in May. I hope so at least. Don't forget that you can burn quite a few calories doing yard work. I managed to get the lighting back up & running, the sail shades back up and switched out the cording for steel cables which should keep ahold better during rougher, windier weather.
I worked like a dog last week. I was soooooooooo tired. Plus, I took Thursday off 'cuz I got my teeth cleaned. No, my teeth weren't that gross to need a whole day but my pschy & body needed the day off. My sis always laughs at me for taking the entire day off but by the time the day comes I need an extra day to myself. It felt great to not go in. Helps to clear the cobwebs, ya know? My bud D. was not happy with me for not being there. In truth, she understood big time. She's pretty pooped too.
Don't get me wrong, we both love what we do but it can be tack-sing at times. I know, I know, wah-wah-wah!
I fired up the grill the other day and grilled up about 7 pork chops. I added each of the 4 different blends of Buck & Judy's Dang Rub on them. Yummy! No, I didn't eat them all at 1 time. I've actually only eaten 1 chop. But it was so huge that I ate it over 2 dinners. Paired with a nice salad, I was in food heaven.
Buck's getting closer to being ready to sell his rubs on-line and I'll be happy to sell them here at this site. I know you'll love them. He's getting all of the appropriate FDA approval ducks in a row.
Putney got some really long walks this last weekend and he was so happy (and exhausted) about them. He just gets that cute little puppy face on for an 11-13 year old pooch. I do tire of his having to leave a message on each and every bush, shrub, tree and post of some sort.
I've pulled out my ears & tail to wear at work today, being Easter. It's a fun way to remind people of the day. It seems that no matter which of the 2 major religions you are a part of, this time of year is important. Sorry, I don't know about the other religions. But between Passover and Easter there's a hope out there that something can be done for the better. I certainly hope so.
My sis sold her home this last week. It was all kind of a surprise. She's going to move into her daughters condo instead. The condo has been a rental property for about 5 years now since my niece moved to Calif. It's been rough. She couldn't get what she wanted for rent due to the times. Then people were breaking their leases, moving out earlier than expected, no, the place is well kept, then there was a huge legal issue when someone at the management company absconded with the monies from the company and then the company went bankrupt, so now G. will be moving in. She's gonna really make it great. She'll be closer to our Mom (good news or bad we'll have to wait & see) and on my way to work & back.
As I'm sure you can tell, I'm still having a time with this new site, trying to figure this out, so again please be patient and I'll eventually get it all done. In the mean time, enjoy your life be good to yourself and others and stay healthy.
Peace
Last week was pretty packed. I believe it was Monday night when my sis called and asked me who the best sister in the world might be, I just started laughing and then finally uttered, "Why you, G. of course." She agreed with my answer and proceeded to tell me that we (she) got 2 free tickets to see Eric Clapton up in Phoenix on Thurs.. I had tried to use my 2 ticketmaster gift cards to buy us tickets for this exact concert 3 months ago but only had $100.00 worth and it wasn't enough. Ugh! We were both so bummed. But now we got 2 tix for free AND they're on the floor! She called me again Wed. night, again asking who the ever better best sister in the world might be, I replied the same as the first time and she said we got a free hotel room for the night too! AMAZING! I got off early cuz I was working so much I was going overtime, drove to her job and off we went. The Wallflowers opened the concert and they were great as well. When "Slow Hand" himself came on it was electric. He played blues from the Blues Breaker days, acoustic, Cream, Derek & the Dominos, amoung his hits on his own. I cried during "My Fathers Eyes," G. & I both cried during "Tears In Heaven," We sang, danced and had such a great time together. The only problem was the guy sitting next to me. He was rather high-strung and very intense. We got to our seats, which he & his companion were sitting in, to begin with. G. had bought the worlds most expensive Bud and had set it down as most folks tend to do when this guy just barrels through and yup, you guessed it, he knocked the entire 24 oz. beer over. Now he's pissed because he has to buy her another one. He comes back and yells at his companion that he can't get back in without his ticket. I'm serious here people. He was yelling. Now this next part I admit he had a point but he was way over the top and never tried to calmly, respectfully rectify the problem. A woman 2 rows in front of ours felt the impulse to stand and wave the entire concert. Now, there was 1 chair between me & this guy (very grateful for small gifts) and told him that I could see just fine if he wanted to move over but he must've been happier to scream and fester in his anger. We even offered to switch seats with them but no, "I wanna go home!" was his response. I was fine with that frankly, GO! They finally did leave early but not until almost getting, starting, a fight along with the couple next to them against the couple in front of them. Good grief! These folks were older than me. Oh well, some people never grow up. G. & I had a wonderful time in spite of the drama. If Clapton comes to your area, go, go, GO! By the way, his guitarist is one tall drink of water too. Just sayin'. It was so much fun just gettin' outa town, listening to an amazing artist, dancing & singing, laughing etc. It's also an important thing to do for yourself. Just a quick get-away. It helps clear things out of your head. Breaking the the normal pattern of life, work, home, eat, sleep can give you just the right amount of fresh energy to re-kick start your self. We get so caught up in the work pace and taking a little mini vacation can utilize different neural pathways in the brain allowing you to disengage from work. We all need that don't we. Here's a bit from a site I found titled YourWorkPlace, and written by Karen Richardson. www.yourworkplace.ca_
Here’s why you should book that extra day off for your mini vacation
- A mini break can allow you to rethink and prioritize work and life goals and commitments.
- Vacation is just as important as sleep. “Just as lack of sleep impedes your ability to think clearly and act decisively, lack of play time keeps you from taking in information effectively and seeing the totality of a situation,” says Monster contributing writer/blogger Barbara Reinhold. “Every time I have clients who tell me their direct reports are slacking off, I respond with the question, ‘When did you have your last vacation?’”
- By taking part in an activity that uses different pathways of the brain — an activity that “disengages” you from work and reignites that spark in your life, you will return to work with new ideas and a more balanced perspective, according to authors Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz of the book The Power of Full Engagement. Just as athletes need rest to allow for recovery, so do workers need rest from their daily work.
- Manage your energy, not your time. You will be happier and more productive when you disengage periodically and seek renewal.
- Your work performance (and those who have been putting up with your grumpy moods) will thank you.
I did find that I was much happier going back into work after getting out for a night. Even though I had to go to work for a couple hours on both of my days off for a client, I felt refreshed and much more able to cope with the craziness that is work. Now this last week, I got pretty busy again and was way too tired to make it to dance class last night so I'll have to go tomorrow. I've got alot of cleaning and yard work to do this weekend and thankfully, I don't have to go in to work on my days off. Time for what I need to do at home. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! I did discover that I finally broke my weight loss plateau. Yipppeee! I lost another 1/2 # this week too. So, another 21/2 #'s down. Lets keep the momentum going, right? I managed to get in a couple of workouts along with the teaching classes and need to get to class myself. It does feel so good to let go of the reins from time to time and just focus on myself and my own technique. Sometimes trainers/instructors forget to go back to the drawing board, so to speak, and take lessons themselves. Or, they just wait to go a fitness conference and take a bunch of different things at one time, which is fine but I like to use those to get more info and see where I can try something new and really begin to train in it. Much like I did with kettlebells a year ago. Yes, that's kettlebells not kettleballs, people. It just cracks me up when people call it kettleballs. Goofy, but true. Anyways, I went to a conference in town, took a 11/2 hour workshop on kettlebells and liked it. I then signed up for a 5 hour workshop for trainers at a studio in town a month later. I thought it would be a good way to pre-hab my knee. I do still use them today and try to help folks use them correctly. As usual I see alot of interesting variations on the theme as I like to call it. If you don't get my drift, I see horrible form, dangerous form and I feel as a professional, it's my duty to help inform and correct it. I am a little more subtle than it sounds here. I totally disagree with trainers that don't feel any responsibility to correct people that don't pay for their services. Most of the time people are grateful to get the help. Yes, occasionally, I run into someone who doesn't think they need my help, big deal, as I've said before, you can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink. All you can do is try and be genuine about it. I will always try to help if I can. Thats why I got into this business, to help people. And...sometimes people tell how much they appreciate the help and advice on form so to those that don't, a raspberry to you. Just kidding, I'll probably bug ya again, just try to remember it comes from a good place. Well, as you all know Spring has arrived and I will be trying to hula hoe my backyard bit by bit each weekend so that it looks decent (like dirt) for the annual house party/Bar-B-Que in May. I'm also going to put my raised bed garden up this weekend. I'm going to plant some tomatoes, green & yellow squash and I can't remember what other organic seeds I picked up are. My asparagus, thyme and garlic chives have returned from the arctic freeze and seem to be doing well again. I'm sad to say that the dill, basil and tomato from last year didn't make it. They put up a grand fight but alas it just wasn't enough. Sleep well my dears, sleep well. I'm pretty much death to anything that flowers or cactus but I keep trying. House plants I'm great with. Who knows, one day I might finally get lucky. I did plant broccoli at my old apt. before moving to my house. It was quite yummy but I woke one morning to find my then cat C.C. blowing a gasket at the bedroom window along with another sound I just couldn't make out. Turned out the javelina family liked my broccoli too. They got 5 crowns to my 1. Oh well, at least I did get 1. I do love the taste of fresh foods. So much more flavor than from the store. I was trying to go to the farmers market about 7 miles away but it was all so beedin' expensive. I finally stopped going. So I just keep trying to find a way to not kill my plants and grow some of my own veggies. Wish me luck. A friend at work has chickens and right now they're laying eggs like crazy. I've bought a few dozen and he's given me a few. Problem is, I just can't eat that many eggs! I took 1/2 dz. to my mom today. She should enjoy them. They are delish. The temps are getting high but should stick around the mid-70's through most of next week. Hard to believe that only a few short weeks ago we had a blizzard in Tucson. Hmmmm, global warming? Yikes! Things are starting to look pretty good for Buck and Judy's Dang Rubs. Hopefully we'll be able to get them on-line soon. I'll probably begin my own on-line store with them so I will keep you posted. You'll love them, I promise. On a whole other topic, my friend Babara Applebaum's new wellness book, Live In Wellness Now, is about to be released in a couple of weeks. I'm so excited for her. Please look her up if you haven't done so already. www.applebaumwellness.com Best of luck to ya Barb, I'm so happy for you, congrats. I'm kinda excited about Dr. Igor Burdenko being at work this next week. He's here to train a couple more staff on his work. They'll be learning Part 1 of his land and aqua work. He wants to meet with me to give me updates on the work. His new book just came out and he sent all of us Master Trainers a copy. I must admit I haven't had a chance to do anything more than skim through it quickly but I'll get to it eventually. It always makes me smile to hear my name called out in that heavy Russian accent. I am having a bit of trouble trying to add a page onto the nutrition page with the High water content foods. I will figure this out and get it on there but I'm going to put this to bed for now before I throw this thing out the window.Have a fantastic week people. What do ya think of the new site? Peace out
| | Hello everyone, as you can see I've totally re-vamped my website. I sure hope you like the changes I've made. basically, it's still the same just updated. I look forward to your comments on the new look. Hopfully it'll be as good as my changes. Physically, I mean. This site change will allow me to add more to my site & blogs that I just wasn't able to do before so hopefully videos and more can be seen. Last night, Thurs., I took a Master dance class in West/Central African dance at The Movement Shala. I don't know why I wait until a heavy-duty Master class to take a class. It was crowded, hot and fan-tabulous! My knee did take quite a beating and I could only go for the first hour. After that I just had to stop and I & my bud D. left to our respectives abodes. She's also got a knee issue, but not quite as bad as mine. Anyways, it felt so good to give the reins to someone else and just be a participant again. D. & I have both been talking about going back to class and I believe last night will be the impetious to do so. It's hard when you do this work for a living 5 days a week, hour after hour, to go to a class after work. You're both physically and mentally pooped. But, if we keep on each other it'll help. If the energy is like it was last night in the class, it'll help. The instructor is a Master dancer & drummer from Guinea, Fara Tolno and is here teaching both dance & drumming for the weekend. He was amazing, engaging, encouraging and, frankly beautiful to watch dance. I wish I could go again but I really need to be smart here. I haven't done that in awhile and I don't want to knock myself out of the picture again. Trying desparetly to remember that I'm not 17 anymore. Bummer! I have to decide what class each week I'm going to take now. West African, Afro-Brazilian, Belly....what to do, what to do? heck, I wish I could find an adult Ballet class or Jazz but I'll just keep it to the ethnic persuassions for now. Maybe, eventually, I'll be able to take more than 1 a week. That'll depend on my knee, endurance and finances, of course. These things aren't cheap! Decisions, decisions. The good news is my knee was just a bit stiff this morning but it feels great now. I even took the beast for a long walk this afternoon. I'm trying to bring my older blogs into the archives here. I'm not so sure I can but I'm tryin'. So, please be patient with me here. If you know me at all you know I always say "I hate paperwork!" and boy does this relate to that line. I'm still relatively new to the computer and though I'm getting better everyday, I'm such a toddler with it. I'm waiting for support to contact me as to being able to bring them over. I have a bad feeling I can't. I've used Buck & Judy's (not me!) newest spice rub as a seasoning again in my Roasted Butternut Squash this last week. OMG! Delicious people. I used his newest creation woth the star ingredient being espresso. That's right folks, coffee. This is my new favorite. This is no.39. I have some of my squash to some of my friends at work and they were gushing over it. I'm hoping, soon, to be able to offer the rubs on my site. They're so distinct and different. Each one having it's own identity. Uh, amazing. When he gets licensened, it'll be available. Well, I hate talking politics but the sequester is on. I truely believe the, (what is it 86 billion, trillion? ) should come from the *&^@#$ politicians themselves. Cut their paychecks to 1/4 of what they've been getting. They aren't serving us, their serving themselves. Oh, and their big supporters who get all loopholes and the benefits of being in this country, all the while putting all of the burden on the middle & lower classes. They aren't doing their jobs. And, yes, I'm severely angry at the top Republicans. Somehow Mr. Boehner got to thinking he's the President. You're not sir. You are not doing your best for this country and you are not helping those of the majority who elected you (not me), shame on you all. When it appears that the only agenda is to thwart any attempt to help this country, and it's President from the financial, medical mess the majority of the people are in because of "the party" is so shameful. At least it is to me. Now I'm sure the Democrats have to share some of the blame. Noone is without some blame here but I really think this is awful. Stop throwing sand at each other and do what you were all elected to do. Protect this country and it's people. Is there anyone out there who hasn't had their lives touched by cancer? I can't imagine there is. I've lived with it in my life since I was born. My father had been a cancer survivor about 4 years before I was born. He had a stoma, hole in his throat, through which he took in oxygen. It's been rearing itself up in my life ever since. My maternal grandmother had been a breast cancer survivor. My brother-in-law, so many of my friends. I've lost 1 friend to it a couple of years ago and my brother-in-law about 6years ago. Now with the passing of Natalia, though I'm still not sure why she passed on, other friends battling for their lives some winning, some struggling, I'm going crazy. I want to be there for all of my friends but can't be and, frankly, it hurts. I hope you all know, and you know who you are, that my thoughts, prayers and best wishes are for you. My arms are wrapping around you and I'm here for you if you want and/or need me. To scream, cry, talk, listen, whatever. I love you and think of you often. For those of you not dealing with this horrible disease personally, I think of you too. I hope you are well, your family is well and if you know someone who is fighting for their life, reach out to them. Let them know you care. Wow, I got a little deep there. I don't mean to end on a sad note so I'm trying to think of something lite. Oh...here you go, I've decided that for the month of March as part of the 2013 fitness challenge I'm part of, I'm going to take at least 1 dance class a week. Now, lets see if I can't bust this darn plateau I'm on. Wish me luck! So I'll just say ta-ta for now. It's been nuts trying to re-do my entire site in one day. |
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