My latest creation … in pink for Valentine’s Day.
Monthly Archives: January 2013
So very true.
4 Things I’ve Seen People Doing While Driving This Week
(Sorry for the technical difficulties earlier – accidentally published a draft!)
Here are four things I’ve seriously seen people doing while driving this week:
1. This morning after dropping my son off at school, I looked in the rear view mirror and saw a guy shaving with his electric razor while driving (as he was passing the elementary school).
2. Yesterday I saw a gal eating oatmeal (I assume) and using a spoon while driving.
3. Everyday I see a teenager texting while driving on the way to school. (Isn’t there a law about this? They don’t even try to hide it. Scares the heck out of me.)
4. Monday I saw lady putting on mascara while driving. (That would suck to lose an eye for vanity’s sake.)
At some point I assume I’ll see someone doing yoga or lifting weights while driving because they ran short on time.
What’s the worst you’ve seen people do while driving? (Aside from nose picking which is far too obvious – and disgusting.)
Monkey Dog Does the Bacon Boogie
Since I’ve last posted about Monkey Dog, she has seized the following items from the kitchen counter when we weren’t looking: half of a thin crust supreme pizza, a package of flour tortillas, a package of hotdog buns, some cookie dough and Wonderbread, a tub of margarine and two spatulas. Those are just some highlights of these past few weeks.
Her monkey arms and invisible retractable thumbs continue to amaze us. Especially while she is in counter surfing mode.
Not surprisingly, she’s gotten a little chubby. We’ll be contacting Monkey Weight Watchers soon.
In the meantime, check out her Bacon Boogie:
Best thing since … sliced onions
A month ago I stood in the kitchen with mascara running down my face and my eyes burning while I chopped an onion. And because my family doesn’t even bat an eye as I loudly blurt out expletives while attempting anything in the kitchen, it didn’t surprise them when I exclaimed “Surely someone has invented some !@*^$% onion cutting goggles..!?”
I reached into our school supply closet and gave the science lab safety goggles a try. No luck. Duh. But I was determined.
Then, as it happens most of the time when I turn to Amazon looking for whatever I’m hoping that someone has invented, onion cutting glasses do, in fact, exist. This may be old news to you, but it was news to me.
And what better time to share this find than as part of the WordPress Daily Prompt to write about something that I think is the best thing since …well, you know… sliced bread.
So there you have it. Hands down the best new gadget to come into my life … my special onion cutting glasses, in fire engine red. The foam around the eye of the glasses blocks out all vapors. And, as a bonus, I’m always ready for an extreme Airsoft challenge if one occurs in the backyard while I’m chopping onions.
What’s your favorite kitchen gadget?
Weekly Photo Challenge: Illumination
This week’s Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge was to post a photo which represents illumination to me.
This photo is of an uber chic chandelier at a restaurant downtown. (This is how I embarrass friends and family on an ongoing basis – by taking pictures of random things like this which I love.)
So there you have it … my photo for the Illumination Challenge! I would love to have this in my dining room — if only I had the thousands of dollars that would require.
I bet you feel illuminated just by seeing it. Okay, maybe not, but I hope you enjoy the coolness of it.
Do you have a photo that represents illumination to you?
Middle Age: five indicators that you’ve probably arrived.
1. You yearn to be ID’d at the liquor store
2. You must ask the Pizza Delivery guy what the total says on the receipt before you add a tip and sign (especially after dusk).
3. You have actually used a tiny flashlight in a dark restaurant so you could read the menu – even with your glasses.
4.Your stomach has transformed into someone else’s stomach that is much softer. (And pizza doesn’t seem to be helping.)
5. You’re in denial. Today in order to use my new little combo luggage lock I bought for my yoga locker, I had to hide my cheapo reader glasses up on top of the lockers in order to be sure I’d be able to see the combo and get back into my locker after class. (I made sure the two half naked 20 year olds discussing Paris weren’t watching as I reached up to grab them – would have been too humiliating – because Denial isn’t just a river in Egypt.)
Playing the Ukulele By Virgin Ear
My youngest son (my Clone) is taking ukulele lessons (yes, ukulele – ‘ concert ukulele’ actually:) ) lessons from a young gal who is a private instructor. Last night was his first lesson.
After my Clone showed us some chords that he learned, he told us a little about the lesson and the cute, young instructor (my oldest son heard how cute she was and might suddenly be interested in some lessons).
My Clone explained that during the lesson while the instructor was demonstrating a chord and slipped, she said “Oh crap.” She then looked up at him and apologized profusely for saying such a bad word in front of him.
He had a terrific grin on his face as he explained this to his curses-like-a -truck-driver mother.
I asked him if he explained to her why she shouldn’t worry.
His Clone grin grew large enough to reveal his Clone dimples and he explained that he didn’t want to shock her … right off the bat, anyway.
We’ll save that for next week.
Because sometimes a bitch-slap is necessary.
Gaining traction with the law of attraction.
One of my all time favorites, Wayne Dyer. And this is a good quote if you take the time to understand it. Maryanne Williamson talks about this concept as well. Love her too.
I’ve used this concept various times in conversations when people ask me why they repeatedly are drawn to potential mates with the same qualities that don’t always turn out to be great for the kind of relationship they need. Or when they repeatedly get themselves into situations that aren’t ideal. It’s no accident.
Dyer’s book, The Power of Intention, came to me at a time years ago when I really needed a shift in thinking. The book came across my path several times in different ways for a year or so until I realized that the universe must be trying to tell me something, so I gave in and read it. The concepts set me on a new path which I am still refining, and will always be. But I like where it’s going.
A lot of Dyer’s books seem to be the same ideas from this book but repackaged and titled differently. He is a marketing machine to the point of excess, but if you can get past that, he makes a lot of sense. This book is a must read and I reread it regularly. I’ve given it to numerous friends.
I intend to sleep well tonight. It was a hell of a day.
Peace out.
The Truth About Exercise – An Introduction – reposted from thefurfiles.com
Reposted from one of my favorite bloggers! Thefurfiles.com
Great post! http://thefurfiles.com/2013/01/17/the-truth-about-exercise-an-introduction/
Fern has a background in fitness and I will be sharing some of her posts to help people get motivated to exercise. Worth the read.
Excerpt:
The truth is, fitness is just like anything else – you get out of it what you put into it. No one is going to hand you toned muscles, great skin, and a strong heart and lungs on a platter.
It involves making sacrifices, and stepping outside of your comfort zone; it involves sweating, and contorting your body into weird positions; it involves being tired and sometimes sore; it involves not always getting to do what you want, and doing things you may literally hate.
Source: bodyrock.tv.
Another excerpt:
One way is by teaching people that everything adds up. A five minute walk to the car, climbing four flights of stairs, gardening for half an hour, a twenty minute bike ride – put it all together, and you get the amount of exercise you need in one day. In the very least, if you don’t have an hour or two to dedicate specifically to exercising, you can try to get it in spurts.
Another way is by educating people about the best methods of exercising. For example, the trend in fitness these days is anaerobic training – short bursts of high intensity work. This type of activity builds lean muscle mass faster and better than regular cardio, and in turn, it increases one’s metabolism more effectively. This is definitely what you want to do if you are trying to lose weight.
And lastly, the best nugget for me:
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Why do people always think they are so different from everyone else on the planet? Nobody wants to do things that make them feel uncomfortable. Nobody really has the time. It’s whether or not you can endure the discomfort, and whether or not you choose to include it in your life that makes a difference.
Did Buddah have a Napoleon Complex?
“The battlefield is a scene of constant chaos. The winner will be the one who controls that chaos, both his own and the enemies”― Napoleon Bonaparte
I recently discovered this quote and I love it. Just as it applied to the battles that Napoleon’s armies fought, it applies to how we live our lives each day. How we react to chaos, change or loss – anything that rocks our world- and how we choose to process it. It’s only when we rise above the chaos or challenges that we truly win the battles of life … and grow from it as a result.
Buddhist teachings have long taught the value of quieting the mind and experiencing the present amidst chaos.
Tibetan Buddhism describes three gates we must pass through or commitments we must make to help us embrace our moments of chaos as opportunities for growth:
1. Cause no harm: do our best to not cause harm with actions, words or thoughts (to commit to being good to each other).
2. Help others: do our best to keep our hearts and minds open, and nurture our compassion by giving to those in need.
3. Accept impermanence: do our best to embrace the world just as it is, without bias; try to see everything – good and bad – as a way to awaken further.
I will keep these commitments in mind the next time I have a lot on my plate and become ridiculously frustrated by the person in the bank drive-through who won’t commit to a lane (in case a different one opens up faster). And the next time I’m put on hold on the telephone listening to music and being redirected repeatedly. And the next time I judge anyone who doesn’t share my point of view or appreciate the same things that I do.
P.S. Did you know Napoleon was actually above average height for his time? Scientists say he was actually about 5’6, rather than just over 5′ as the compensatory complex has been explained. The average height for an 18th century Frenchman was 5’3″. He was perceived as short because he was most often seen with the Imperial Guard — his bodyguards who were above average height.
Nameste my peeps.
Unfolding Cocoon
Unfolding Cocoon
Fresh start, new beginnings, rebirth,
Physical, mental, external.
Tuning the body,
Clearing the mind,
Prioritizing the other.
Focusing on peace and clarity,
As the cocoon unfolds, little by little.
Fresh start, new beginnings, rebirth.
And that’s my shot at today’s WordPress Daily Challenge on the theme of Starting Over.
What does starting over mean to you?
Twilight zone turned school zone.
As I say often, “You learn something new everyday…” (And as many who know me hear me say even more often, “Every day’s a damn school day.”)
I now better understand the impact that certain infections can have on the elderly and on those with dementia. They can actually cause delirium.
And I now know that 30% to 40% of elderly patients with serious infection don’t exhibit the usual signs of fever due the inability of the immune system to mount a response to infection due to the effects of aging (or in Little Red Riding Hood’s case – Alzheimer’s). (I felt like Velma in a Scooby Doo mystery trying to figure out what was causing her further and furious decline.) If you already have Alzheimer’s, infections can put you into a mental tailspin. This was our week.
Fortunately, after copious amounts of heavy duty antibiotics and eye rolling, Mom was actually able to come back home this afternoon. She smiled at me more today and said many more words to me today than she has in the last few weeks. I even got some bona-fide Mom to daughter smiles which tickled me with delight.
We still will assess where we are with her doctor, but it appears that we have bought a little time for her, avoided the cuckoo’s nest/twilight zone for a bit longer and become better educated in the process.
I also had the privilege of doing a Yoga class today (hallelujah) geared toward technique and theory, which was fabulous. I also got to wear my awesome new yoga pants. And I got to take a lot of deep breaths, which were welcomed.
Oh, and MacGyver discovered a new Chardonnay for me named Irony which seems quite fitting. And it is quite good. MacGyver makes a damn fine Sommelier. Which makes me a damn lucky sidekick.
Overall it was a day of education and progress which is ALWAYS a good thing.
Thanks so much for your support on this journey!
What’s the most ironic wine you’ve ever enjoyed?
life on wry 