Piffle and Prattle

WHAT'S NEXT - A TSUNAMI

2010-04-04T16:35:00.000-07:00

Southern California is such a great place to live (NOT!).

Such an exciting year with our ferocious fires, tenacious floods, unyielding landslides and today, we are again so lucky that we are getting to experience the ride of the 7.2 earthquake out of Baja California, Mexico. So, is a tsunami next?

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Maps/region/N_America_eqs.php

Even though we are a good distance from the epicenter, the sounds and effects linger. Car alarms are blasting, sirens are blaring, neighbors are congregating and all the local TV channels are in full chatter.

This quake was deep into the earth so it came through our place in a rolling motion lasting a good 30 seconds. The whole house swayed as if someone were holding us in their hand and rocking us while in a rocking chair. Had our pool been full like it should have been, it would have overflowed and filled our back patio. The news has tons of pictures coming in of other peoples pools experience the same thing.

Is this a wake up call? Ya! I lived in Northern California in 1989 for the 7.1 Loma Prieta quake. We were less than 20 miles from the epicenter of this one. Being from the Rocky Mountains, this was a completely foreign experience for me and it was not a good experience. That quake was a rolling quake and felt like we were on a conveyor belt with a roller coming up and down under us. Our house had minor structure damage compared to others. We lost some our crystal and china, but everybody was safe. There were minor aftershocks for a few weeks and the feelings of shakiness and instability lasted for months.

I then moved to Los Angeles in 1994 just in time to experience the 6.7 Northridge earthquake. I certainly wasn't prepared for that one either. And it was so different than the Loma Prieta quake. The Northridge quake was a shaker not a roller and so much more intense. The aftershocks for this one lasted for months as well.

Because California has little quakes all the time it is so easy to forget that "the big one" could just be around the corner and being prepared for it just hasn't had any priority. It is so easy to watch the other parts of the world experience earthquakes and remain blind to the fact that we live on huge active faults and have another one hit us and be quite damaging.

So, as hard as it is to admit it's time to stop playing Russian roulette and get prepared.

MORE ON CHANGE...

2010-03-21T18:35:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'm going to follow along with this train of thought that was introduced in the MyWireWorks Blog , regarding change.

This concept of 'change' and what it all really relates to has just sort of started to snowball through my thoughts, so I'm gonna prattle about it here.

I'm not sure that I had every really put much thought into the enormity of the meaning of change because of course change is just part of life...in actuality that is what 'life' means to me. Life is forever changing. It is just a natural occurrence but looking at it a little differently today, I've realized that there are so many different levels of change. And with some changes come consequences. And this change can be a good thing or a not such a good thing.

Last weekend we painted our living room. This was a good change and had good little changes related to it. Like I had to pack up all the junk in the space and it made me realize how much stuff I hang on to that really doesn't have any value to me. So I gave some stuff away...see a good thing came from it. There is a list of good things that came from that action.

On the reverse side, some change is not so good even though some people may think it is. For example, and here's my real beef that seems to keep getting my goat every day, is the change in the government. Change that overall isn't really good for the greatest number of people.

Okay, so there has been a ton of changes going on with this health care bill and all. I for one, am not happy that this particular bill passed and I am going to be forced to purchase something that I didn't agree to. But what REALLY gets me is that it doesn't apply to those that passed it. If these laws that our congress pass are always so great, how come they don't apply to them? Here's a change that appears to be good on all levels, but I think that we are going to learn over the next few months that it isn't so good. And again, when I ponder upon this concept of change and all its levels just regarding this aspect...scary comes to mind.

RAIN RAIN GO AWAY...

2010-01-20T14:41:00.000-08:00

Rain rain go away come again another day...Enough already!

Yes, California needs the rain, but Almighty One, couldn't you have spread it out over time? I realize that in my previous post I was thanking You for the rain, but it's okay to spread it out over weeks or months.

In looking out my windows I've got to admit that I'm a little worried as I see my flower beds overflowing and my pool has reached the top of the tiles which means it only has 3" to go before it overflows. And where is that water going to go. Right now it looks like it may be coming in my back door.
I'm on alert

PEPE LE PEEEEWWW

2010-01-17T18:02:00.000-08:00

Alright already, I see absolutely no reason on earth for the creation of the SKUNK! They may be cute and cuddly looking, but really, what value is this creature other than to let us know that there are smells worse than body odors. Honestly, did God create them as a practical joke on us. Well, I for one have maxed out on this joke!

Geez, since the fires this last year, which seems to have driven much of the wildlife into our residential area, we have had the honor of experiencing the skunks lovely 'perfume' (not!) around our house on the average of once a week. Some nights it's like they sprayed our back wall. Even with all the windows closed it seems to permeate the walls. Thank goodness we have two different kinds of air cleaners to help get the smell out in a shorter amount of time.

It is said that a skunks smell can be described as a combination of the odors of rotten eggs, garlic and burnt rubber. Let me say, I would rather smell any one of those as compared to the smell of skunk. It is so eye burning and seems to linger for days. I wish I could go outside and spray the air with some air freshener. Does anybody know of any such thing?

According to Wikipedia a skunk carries just enough of the chemical for five or six uses—about 15 cc—and requires some ten days to produce another supply. So if this is true then we must have a pack of these critters roaming the neighborhood since the spraying is at least every 7 days. I'm a little concerned about the numbers of skunks currently in our neighborhood because it is said that the female will give birth to 5-10 per litter. Ugh, this is not good news come spring.

Two nights ago we had a spraying that permeated the house and the odor managed to stay in the cars parked outside. Driving to work in the morning was such a delight (not!). Even when I got back home there was a slight smell remaining in the air. Again this morning we were honored with this lovely fragrance surrounding our house.

As of this afternoon I would like to thank God for providing us with rain this evening so as to wash those smells away.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

2010-01-01T15:07:00.000-08:00

And my hopes are that it is a great New and Prosperous Year for all!

I am SO happy to say goodbye to 2009. I for one, had a really rough 2009. The last 8 months have been exceedingly rough and as much as I would LOVE to complain about it here in depth, I realize that many others have also had hard times and I will just wish them to have a better New Year as well.

I will however just mention the loss of my beloved pet. On November 11th we finally had to put down my 12 year old Shih Tzu - Booboo. It ripped my heart out to do this. It was a really good thing that we had the puppy at home to lessen the blow. I cried for a week and I am crying just writing this. Here is my tribute to her...

Of course, life goes on but, for me, with moments of insanity. As I said it was a good thing that I had puppy BB to turn to, but she just wasn't completely filling that loss void.

SO..... we got another puppy!!!!!!! Meet Bella... a pound in a half when we brought her home...

Now weighing in at 3 pounds.

OMG, like I said, I was experiencing some insanity and now I am suffering the consequences of it. I love these two puppies, but they ARE PUPPIES!!

I don't know how breeders do it, these two are a complete handful. It's just like having twins. When one gets something, the other has to have it. When one wakes up (at 6:00 AM) the other wakes up and they have to wrestle, whine and bark, and there is not stopping it. When one is bad the other is bad (eating their pee pee pads, peeing on the blankets...and more). I don't remember Booboo being such a pickle when she was small, but these two will leave lasting memories for me.

That's all for the moment.

INTRODUCING BABY "BEA"

2009-10-14T12:40:00.001-07:00

We have welcomed a new member to our house and I am introducing her to you! Here is Baby Bea. We actually resuced this little Shih Tzu three weeks ago when (just before we left on vacation). She came with a poop caked butt and intestional parasites, but I fell in love with her right away. She was so docile when I brought her home. Figured she would be sort of quiet and shy....BOY WAS I WRONG! She is 9 weeks old today, healthy and full of piss and vinegar. She may only be 2 pounds but she thinks she's 10 pounds and queen of the world. We got her paper trained as long as she's in an enclosed space, but let her out onto the carpet and she thinks it's one huge pee pad.

In this first pic, when I brought her home at 7 weeks, she fits into my husbands hand and weighed in at 1.03 pds.

The Baby at 8 weeks, 1. 6 pounds!

Here she is at 9 weeks old, taking two hands to hold and weighs almost 2 pounds. Cute huh?

VIRGINIA VACATION

2009-10-13T10:00:00.000-07:00

va.ca.tion [vey-key-shuh n ] noun - a period of time used for suspension of work, study, or other activity, usually used for rest, recreation, or travel; freedom or release from duty, business, or other responsibilities.

Vacations can be such a wonderful invigorating time. At times they seem to be life saving, which was the case for my husband and I. We adventured off to the beautiful state of Virginia and spend 5 days visiting with some wonderful friends and taking in some of the sights. Getting out of California and going somewhere that offered clean air, blue skies and really nice people was a great use of time. The last two months have been a real challenge for us physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. This recent trip was as good as going on a religious retreat! We were very lucky and had great weather. We love the seasonal changes in VA at this time of year.

We drove from central VA up towards Washington D.C. partially traveling on the Blue Ridge Parkway but at the end we detoured off to go to the Luray Caverns just north of Harrisonburg. WOW, what a natural beauty. One should definitely experience going to one of these caverns. The beauty is awesome. Here are a few of the pictures my husband took from inside the caverns. We have another 200+ but this gives you an idea.

Hope you enjoyed lookng at a few of these pics, quite an incredible sight.

We are now back in CA, where today we are dealing with the rain, that has brought on the mudslides. Such a lively state to live in...fires, mudslides, earthquakes, riots, bankruptcy...geez who wouldn't want to live here!?

Oh well, thank goodness for digital cameras!! Having all the wonderful pictures of our adventure and being able to pull the up on the computer at any moment makes for a nice getaway from the bleakness of outdoors.

MY POLITICAL STANCE

2009-09-13T13:56:00.000-07:00

I gotta start this posting off by saying that for most of my life I have been a fence sitter when it came to politics. And my interest and attention to what was happening in the world much beyond my own environment was just about as pitiful. If something wasn't effecting me directly then I really didn't pay much attention. I see this as pretty much how a large percentage of the population is even today. So I certainly wasn't in that pond alone.

However, the events of September 11, 2001 rocked my universe and woke me up. For the first year I pretty much lived my life in fear and isolation. I didn't venture from my home much further than the grocery store. I didn't go anywhere and I didn't do much of anything. I lived that first year on the couch in my living room and listened to all the various news channels for at least 12 hours a day. NOT a very healthy lifestyle.

Over the next few years I managed to worked my way out of that trap (with the help of my husband and a few really good friends) and began paying attention to what was happening beyond my walls. Now listening to the news so obsessively really isn't very healthy but it did help to the degree that I figured out that I actually have viewpoints and opinions about some of the things that I heard and that I saw going on around me. For the first time in my adult life I actually became interested in politics, and this interest brought on a whole new set of fears. Which group of politicos should I align myself with? Most of my family are staunch Democrats, but I find their obsessive one track thinking on most issues, not to my liking. And I find that the few Republican's that I know to be a little fixed on the "we are always right" is also not to my liking.

So, I decided to join the ranks of "independents" or maybe even the "libertarians". I do not feel that I can give allegiance to any one party as I have disagreements all of them. I am an issue-alist (my own word). One issue that I feel strongly about may align with the Republican views, and another may align with the Democrat view. However lately it seems that I align more with the Libertarian!

Being of the Baby Boomer generation I certainly am not in agreement with some of the recent proposed Congressional changes. I believe that change is needed especially in the health care field, but to completely abort a system that is already in place (and works on some degree) to put in something that is basically untried would be a disaster of magnitude.

I watched the news yesterday to hear about the 9/12 Project march on Washington DC. I found it uplifting to see that there are so many others with a similar views. I'm not quite up to the point of going out to join up with them, but I do emotionally support these views. I truly hope that our Congress can look past their own stuck views and REALLY look at what's best for this country. I fear for the future of my daughter and grandson if the people that are representing my interests in Washington can't look past their own noses.

09-09-09 Clock

2009-09-09T21:09:00.000-07:00

HOUSE ARREST

2009-09-08T17:08:00.000-07:00

OMG! Imprisoned within the walls of my own home. Confined mainly to the bedroom or be consumed by smoke...not a great life the last 8 days!

On the afternoon of August 27, I heard on the radio news about a brush fire that was burning in the Angeles National Forest. I wasn't overly concerned about it because of the distance it was from our place. It was somewhere around 15-20 miles from us.

I fell asleep that night on the couch but woke up around 3:00 am with the air in the room reeking of smoke. The experience was similar to having your head stuck in the fireplace after the fire was put out....s t i n k y!! It seems our house has a few more leaks than I thought and I discovered that the worst places were the front door and the fireplace.

After figuring out where the main source of leakage was, I got the bright idea, at 3:15 am to stuff the frame around the front door (which we had taken the molding off of to replace the whole door....oh sooooo many months ago) with rags as I had no tape to seal it off at the time. (What a pretty picture this made!) And then I closed the doors to the back of the house and tried to get some sleep.

I managed to get myself up and moving around 9:00 and found that my husband had turned the hepa filter and ozone filter on high to try to get the smell out before leaving for work. This so so worked and I thought that I would open the doors to try to air the place out since it looked like a nice day with the blue skies and all.

NOPE...the air outside was as bad as inside, despite the blue sky. The thing that one couldn't tell by looking out the window was that the temperature was already over 90 degrees at 10 o'clock in the morning. No air was moving (actually thank God), zippo humidity... and hot, hot, hot!

I knew that I had to adventure out to the hardward store to get some tape to seal the leaky areas. So I found a bandana that I soaked in water, wrapped it around my nose and mouth and adventured out. I did lower it from my face when I got to the store so that I wouldn't be mistaken for someone with ill intent.

I took my camera with me and here are a few of the pics I got of the sky above and around our house:

This last picture has an airplane in the center of it which helps put a size perspective on these pictures.

So, continuing on to the weekend, it all continued to move westward towards our house. The fire was double and tripling in size each day. The winds continued to blow the smoke in our direction at night. The tempature remained HOT and dry. I took this picture in the middle of the day so that I could document what our thermostat (which was in the shade) was showing. Outside temp at 3:10 pm was 103 degrees in the shade with a 19 % humidity. Ugh!!! These temps required us to have our air conditioning running almost all the time. Nights would cool off to the 80's. This particular week was like living in the deserts.

My husband was way more daring than I, plus he doesn't have the same breathing problems that I do, and he adventured out several nights to get a few of the night shots of what it looked like from our point of view. Here are some of those shots:

This is just a small collection of the photos taken on this Sunday night. My husband reeked of smoke when he came back to the house and I made him take his clothes off and leave them outside. He truly smelled like he had rolled around in the fireplace.

On Monday the fires had moved within a mile of our house. Evacuations were taking place just down the street. We did not ever receive the mandatory evac but when you looked out onto our street you could see that a very large percentage of the neighborhood had left. For us we really had nowhere to go. My daughter who lives not far was also in the line of fire, so that left her out and my mother-in-laws house, which was about 12 miles away, but was out of the question because I am ghastly allergic to cats and she has 5. I had thought about taking a trip up the coast earlier in the week, but as it got closer to the house, the anxiety set in and there was no going anywhere.

So, as the reports showed the fire getting closer at a quick pace, I called my husband to come home from work. He, again went out to take some pictures of the fire that was on the hill just behind our house (about a quarter of a mile away).

To say that we are thankful that this moved away from our house is an understatement. This was not a pleasant experience and for now it's past but left many reminders of what was.

Today is September 8th, 13 days after this ordeal started and the first day that we really have been able to have the doors open. There are lots of things to clean up that still smell of smoke and cars that still need to be empty. We are alive and as safe as can be at the moment.

In closing I just wanted to pass along a few shots that we got of the sun setting in the west the last few days as the fire moved in that direction and filled the skies with dust.

FLAVORS OF ARTIST

2009-05-25T10:02:00.000-07:00

ARTIST - what comes to your mind when you hear this word?

This past weekend I spent a great portion of my time photographing my wire jewelry for my website. While taking these photos I couldn't help but admire my own work on some of the pieces that I designed. Some of the pieces just kinda hum to me, they are really quite aesthetic. I'm thinking that my love of those pieces is probably why they haven't sold (put thats fodder for another posting).

After shooting some 800 pictures (gotta love the digital), I then had to take the time to go through them all and decided which to keep for processing. Talk about time consuming. I took about 5 shots of each piece to be sure that I got a "real good" one. Well, it seems I created and even bigger problem in that most all the pictures turned out pretty dang good and I had to spend way more time deciding which was "the best". At this point I am only half way through sorting and then comes the time needed to process. This was definitely NOT a weekend project. I reckon that this will take me at the least a month to work all through with all the other things I do on a daily basis.

In the middle of this work we took time out to visit my mother-in-law. She had called and said that she and a friend had wanted to see the new metal pens that my husband and made. These are high end exclusive made pens so any opportunity to get them out into view was great. My husbands mom said that she would like to take them to a meeting she had on Tuesday to help network for us and how could we not jump at this chance. She and her friend spent 3 hours admiring them and talking about the uniqueness and artistry put into each piece. In the end, they ended up purchasing five for themselves. I was thrilled beyond believe, and to say my husband was shocked is putting it mildly.

However, the point that I was leading up to with this prattle is that it made me starting thinking about the word "artist" and concepts and understandings attached to it.

In growing up, for me anyway, the word "artist" was only associated with a painter or a sculptor. It was not until way later in life that I realized that this word applies to so many other talents.

My definition of an "artist" is ANY person who produces works, in any field, that is aesthetic and enriches the lives of those that see it. An artist is one who is able, by virtue of imaginati0n, talent or skill to create their own aesthetic piece of work and bring joy to others.
I have a love for creating aesthetic things. My current active love is into creating jewelry pieces, creating etched glass pieces, and to turning wood into useful things for others to enjoy.

I have found in several of my friends have these creative passions as well and I want to pay tribute to them and acknowledge them here for the "artists" that they are...

My first acknowledgement goes out to my husband. Though he will not fully acknowledge his artistic abilities, he has many. He to is a woodturner, though a beginner, he has made some beautiful things. That talent has led him to the new project of making metal pens as mentioned earlier. Watch for his products to appear at www.exclusivepens.com.

My second acknowledgment and tribute is out to my friend Dickie who designs and creates the most gorgeous quilts. I love quilts and always wished I had the ability and patients to make them. And Dickie's quilts have my full admiration and take my breathe away. The colors are so vibrant, the artistry is so exquisite and the workmanship is superb. I am not surprised that her quilts are so aesthetic, because aesthetic is her M.O. Her photography is this way, her home is this way, her dress is this way and even her cooking projects this. This person exudes "artist". Check out this picture of my favorite quilt and check out others at her site at www.dragonquilter.com

My next tribute goes to my friend Linda who's talent with a brush makes me so envious I could cry. After raising her family (and then some) she re-discovered her incredible ability to bring life to life on a canvas. Below is one of my favorite (actually one of many) pieces that Linda has given life to...so life like. She my fit into my original understanding of the work "artist" but her talents do not start and stop with just painting. She, too is an incredible photographer. Check out her work at www.lindakipsey.com

I want to also acknowledge Linda's husband, Darrell for his contribution to "artistry" in the world which is shown in the incredible woodworking that he has left in many a home over many a year. Anybody who makes others home's more beautiful because of their artistry in the finished woodworking has my awe, and Darrell has left many with his talents.

Another friend that I call and artist is my friend Carol. She is an artist in the kitchen. She can make a healthy meal seem like a five star restaurant main dish. Healthy eating isn't usually fun, in my household anyway, but eating it made and served by Carol is fine dining at it's best.

My whole point of this blog is just to totally and completely acknowledge all "artist". Whether your an actor, painter, musician, photographer, cook, or seamstress, your talents make you an "artist" in your field of love and creation.

THE CHANGING SKY

2009-05-04T15:33:00.000-07:00

I so love the beauty of the changing sky. Here are some photos of a resent sky scene before a storm.

SO MUCH FOR BEING REGULAR

2009-05-04T15:20:00.000-07:00

Okay, so much for blogging regularly. I guess that I didn't really get motivated to blog about my dieting because truthfully it has been pretty rollercoastering. I have days that are so perfect, then the next day will be not so perfect. It seems that the the success of it all just goes along with the success and failures of each day. Since I'm trying to take this all one day at a time it follows along with the ups and downs of each day...up and down.

I have a part-time job outside of the home and I seem to do worse on the days that I have to go into the office...to many temptations. I had this great idea to try to cut down on my intake and then on the next day the scale showed I had gained a pound. Jeez, can't seem to win.

So, I'm still plugging along day by day with all the ups and downs and I'll report back when I have the total handle on this.

THE DIFFERENCE

2009-04-20T16:30:00.000-07:00

EATING RAW??

Now that I am embarking on this "new lifestyle" of trying to eat healthier, I noticed that some words relating to other eating lifestyles keep popping up in my mind. I've heard them and figured that I knew what they were about but now I know that I never really grasped the difference in them. So, I decided to look up some terms that have been thrown at me and try to really get what the differences are with each one and share this with you.

First we have “the vegetarian” - a person who does not eat or believe in eating meat, fish, fowl, or, in some cases, any food derived from animals, as eggs or cheese, but subsists on vegetables, fruits, nuts, grain, etc. One who hold that vegetables and fruits are the only proper food to eat. This is pretty much my understanding of what a vegetarian believed. I tried this way of life many years ago but found it hard because I love eggs and I love meat.

Next we have "the vegan" - a strict vegetarian who eats plant products only, especially one who uses no products derived from animals (no eggs, no cheese, etc.). I love to buy things that say they are all vegan because they are usually quite tasty, but again I found that this was hard to be completely honest with doing because I couldn't be a vegetarian, so to being a strict vegetarian...it just wouldn't ever happen.

Next we have the "gluten free follower" - which is the person that follows the belief of removing gluten from their daily diet. Gluten is the protein part of various grains such as, rye, wheat, barley, corn and such. It's used as an adhesive and as a flour substitute, giving it the gluey, stick texture. Many people have bad physical reactions to this protein (celiac disease), therefore, they follow the gluten free diet eliminating this protein from there foods.

This is one subject - gluten free - that I was confused on. I thought that it went along with the Vegan concept until I had a friend and her blog writings make it clearer to me. Please check out my blog list for more information and connections to this subject. With all the things I got going on with me I wouldn't swear that this isn't just another thing eating away at me, but I figure that since I'm doing the raw foods thing, for the most part this will fix itself.

So, lastly we have the "raw food diet" (the winner for me) - which has a person eating mainly, fruits, veggies, nuts and seeds. I guess as in the vegetarian lifestyle with the vegan as the purist, you could have the strict raw food lifestyle as well. But for me, I find that a little diary, fish and a little chicken now and then seems to help with a little extra protein and the handles the "can't have" aspect of dieting.

I've looked at these lifestyles listed here and as you can see, the raw food lifestyle is the thing happening now. Can't say it will last because I'm a creature of habit and lazy on top of it. And I find package food and fast food restaurants easier, BUT, right now I'm feeling overall better, and hopefully that will inspire me to change my habits and continue on with this program.

RAW FOOD DIET WEEK 1

2009-04-20T13:59:00.000-07:00

Okay, I made it successfully through the first week with a 4 pound weight loss. The weight loss was great, but surviving was greater. Didn't make it through the week doing totally raw, but close! I did end the week, last night, eating popcorn (another vice) but NO PEPSI! It tasted soooo good.

BUT, this morning I had such a hangover and a huge headache...felt like a steam roller made several passes across my head, and maybe even sat parked there for a few hours...not good!

I've been off packaged and processed foods for a week and I guess that my body is much happier without them because it sure did protest with putting it back in. I wondered how long it would take to detox from the years and years of abuse. Seems that eating the Phi Plus and drinking the Monavie Acai berry juice made the process a little quicker than expected.

I've had a friend pitching the Monavie Acai juice to me for months and having had years of things pitched to me and for several years now have resisted any communication whatsoever. Recently my attitude became "ya ya" whatever. Finally, because she managed to push the right button...my weight.. I told here I'd give it shot. With the first bottle I didn't really notice any difference with much except that I did notice that I wasn't as sore getting up in the mornings. She encouraged me to go for the second bottle but this time I did it with a change in the eating habits...definite difference. I certainly have more energy and am able to do without the afternoon naps now.

I'm pretty sure that this all relates together and can't give any one thing all the credit but in combination they are all working pretty darn good. I'll let you all know after another week.

GOING RAW

2009-04-18T12:46:00.000-07:00

All Aboard!

Alright, I'm shooting for eating Raw (or as close to it as I can get). What this means is that I'm working on cleaning up me terrible eating habits and I'm going to cut out all processed and packaged foods. I'm cutting out Pepsi, Hot Pockets, donuts, rice and bread (except for the veggie pizza with my husband on Friday night - it's like a date thing that can't (shouldn't) be given up).

So you ask, where did this crazy idea come from...well here's the track on it.

Last year, or at least I think it was since it seems the older I get the harder it is to remember, I was watching The Tyra Banks Show and 'Diet Wars' was the topic of the day. In this episode Tyra choose three teams with two women to go on three different diet programs for 3 month time period. Tyra then matched them up with three diet gurus. The teams were to compete against each other to see which team would lose the most weight on that particular program. The guru whose team lost the most weight after three months would win.
The first team was lead by Dr. Ian Smith author of The Fat Smash Diet. The second team was lead by Jillian Michaels who is known for her connection to The Biggest Loser. And the third team was with Alissa Cohen and the Raw Food Diet. The results were mixed for each of the programs and their results. Jillian's people didn't do so great because her program obviously puts a good amount of emphasis on exercise, and I know for me that being so overweight that without someone behind me to keep me going at it, exercise is ALWAYS the first thing that "I don't have time to do".

Anyway, the jest of it is that I found that concept of the Raw Food Diet interested me. I looked into it and at that time thought that I would like to try this but with all that was going on for me at the time, I put it on the back burner. Well, that burner has brought it to a boil and I'm reaching out to grab it. A couple of weeks ago someone told me about this snack food called Phi Plus which they purchased online. It is a mixture of nuts, seeds, fruits and such. I decided to try it and after using it just for a snack for three days, I noticed a HUGE difference in my overall well being.

So, I decided to take it one step further and to try going completely raw. I started this cycle on Monday and with the exception of a little chicken in my salad at lunch and the bite of pumpkin bread, I had a good day. Tuesday was a little tougher cuz I had popcorn and a diet Pepsi (my vice). Wednesday was better but still had that chicken in the salad and had my last diet Pepsi.
I decided that since I had finished of the case of Pepsi, I wouldn't buy anymore. I've been off it for three days now (ugh, this is the hardest).

Well now, here it is Saturday and I've been (mostly) on the program for 5 days. I've lost 4 pounds and for the first time in 14 years, I actually slept through the night. I actually do feel better and have more energy. I'm going to keep a running blog on this so it helps keep me in line and to let the world unknown, keep tabs with me as well.

Until the next posting....yummy yummy carrots ...as Bugs Bunny would say "ah, what's up doc"!

www.gethealthygoraw.wholefoodfarmacy.com

A CULT

2009-03-31T21:07:00.000-07:00

What does the word "Cult" mean to you? Let me share my thoughts on it with you.

Monday, while recovering from my vacation I tuned into Oprah. Her topic for the days show had her inside the recently raided Yearning for Zion Polygamist Ranch. While I was watching her talk with the members it struck me as interesting how often the word 'cult' came up. It wasn't necessarily Oprah referring to this group as a "cult" but she would refer to the fact that "others" thought of them as a cult. And there seemed to be such emphasis on it as a negative thing.

I find it extremely interesting that there is such a negative connotation connected to this word when it is a associated with religious beliefs and often unpopular political beliefs.

My belief is that when someone doesn't really understand someone else's beliefs, then there becomes this need to put those beliefs into that "bad cult" category. This is really sad.

There seems to be such a misunderstanding of just the word "cult" in itself and the media sure likes to keep it alive with the negative connotation attached.

Isn't it also interesting that in the common or popular usage, "cult" has a positive connotation such as when it relates to fan followers. How about the cults that follow music groups, these aren't "bad cults" because people understand this passion and devotion. One would not think of the cult of art fanatics as being bad, or how about those cult sports groups. Heaven forbid us for ever thinking of those groups as "bad".

Everyone has a viewpoint on what's good or bad and these viewpoints often come from agreement with the media or another person that we look up to, I'm just pushing for the concept that one makes takes the viewpoint with understanding.

Check out Wikipedia for info on this, and also dictionary.com which is where I took my definitions from for the "Word of the Week".

WHERE'S THE CASH?

2009-03-10T19:33:00.001-07:00

Do you remember that old Arby's commercial "Where's the Beef?" Well, my question is "Where's the Cash?"

I want to know how in the world, we (the Average Joe Americans) are going to REALLY pay for all the wonderful programs that our Congress and new President have put out there in the name of "help"?

"Change" was promised and they sure are delivering on that promise, I'm just not sure that this kind of change is really going to be good.

Let me just take a moment to look at this - $152 billion (Bush stimulus), $700 billion plus $783 billion (so far for Obama) and now another $480 billion up for approval, this amount of money is almost beyond comprehension. Where and how is this amount ever going to be repaid?

"Where's the Cash?" How is this all really going to be paid back? My thought on it is that those in Congress don't really care because they'll all be dead and gone by the time the real crunch hits. They just want to get there pet programs funded and if they don't jump on it now, Americans might wake up and see what is really happening and they will have lost out on the chance at their own pork portion.

Looking back just two years ago I felt that my retirement years would be comfortable. I was visualizing my husband and I having a nice comfortable house, a little money in the bank and money coming in, so as not to have to worry about living. Now, in truth, I'm a hell of a lot more worried about it. Listening to the news is pretty gloom and doom.

Over the last few weeks I've really tried to cut back on the amount of news that I listen to, watch or read because I find it quite stressful. As in, I get a specific physical response in the body that disturbs my normal physiological equilibrium. I used to just get eye twitches when I would get stressed, but now a whole new realm of aches and pains have entered the scene.

I know that I am not alone in my stress world, and I know that to get past it I'll have to stop listening to the negatives. It's hard to try to be positive, but I also know that for myself and for all of us, we have to change our own OP basis and look how to out create it.

Here's to our success in moving in new directions!

OBSESSION WITH "OCTOMOM"

2009-03-02T14:31:00.002-08:00

What is it that is making people so obsessed with "Octomom"-Nadya Suleman the mother of the octupulets? Are people so very interested in this person because they can't decide if she is crazy or crafty? Is she a women who is a victim of her past or just very clever and manipulative about her future? Should we pity her or scorn her? Should she be coddled or condemned?

Well, I wanted to get some other views about this women and her situation because it seemed like from all the media obsession, there was only negative feelings for this women.
So, during this past week I ran a little experiment to see where people stood and what they thought about this mom and her situation. I wanted to get some positive feedback so that I could have a balance of viewpoints to evaluate.

So here is what I did: Everywhere I went I would work the question "so, what do you think of Octomom" into the conversation and see what reactions and comments I could get from others.
I put this question out to middle class ladies, working moms, working dads, single guys, young, old and even various nationalities. I put it out in the work place, in the grocery store line, to bank tellers, to my manicurist and stylist.

And the results of this little experiment - ALL negative responses. Geez, it was like throwing gas on an already burning fire. Every discussion stoked up the passion and anger that people are feeling towards this women. Yet there seems to be an obsession with discussing her and reading stories written about her.

My experiment proved to me that women for the most part seemed more infuriated than men. They are angry because she is pretending to really care about her kids, when she clearly is just thinking about herself. The majority of women (who are working moms) are enraged that they are having to work to support their kids and that this women has successfully worked the system to her advantage (disability, welfare) and is getting away with it. Many women commented on the fact that she used her "savings" to pay for another round of IVF instead of paying for food and shelter for her kids. And not one women that I entered into conversation with felt that this women should be allowed to keep all these kids because she clearly was not responsible for the first 6 she had.

As for the male response, it was mostly that "she's crazy". The guys comments dealt with issues of responsibility and finances. For the most part they are pissed that their taxes are paying for this women and her kids and what is she doing to contribute.

I gotta say that this was an interesting week. I've loved the passion that came with these discussions. I just wish that the passion and obsessions could go to better causes. Giving so much attention to such a self-centered, selfish person is so wasted.

Word of the Week

2009-02-23T13:50:00.000-08:00

Okay, it's time, I am coming out of the closet on this matter and openly admitting that I am a true historical romance novel junkie! I admit that this is not an issue that I have openly admitted to in the past because the snickers and hehe haha's are embarrassing and hard to hear. But what the heck, I can do it here, cuz I don't have to actually hear these sounds or see others laugh out loud.

So, with that out in the open, I am going to prattle a little bit about it and how the addiction began.

While I was growing up, through high school, college and for some years after that you couldn't get me to read a book (pleasure or otherwise) if my life depended on it. I don't remember reading books in grade school even though I suppose I had to have done it. But I remember clearly my high school days and all the shenanigans I would go through to get out of reading anything. Thank the reading gods for Cliffsnotes and a sister who was a bookworm!

But one day, in my mid 30's, while on vacation, I was lounging at pool side chatting with another lady who was also soaking up the rays. I noticed that she was reading a book, a book mind you that stood out to me, because, at the time it looked like the worlds thickest book. So, just to be nice and to have some idle chit chat going, I asked if it was good. Well, she went off into a 15 minute litany about the whole story. Amazingly, she hooked me into the story, it's characters and some of the adventures that took place and I listened intently for the full time. She asked me if I would be interested in reading it. She said had got the book from someone else and that she was almost done with it and wanted to know if I would like to have it. I said sure (what the heck, it was free) and made arrangements with her to pick it up the next day. That was the beginning of my addition.

For the next week, you couldn't get the book out of my hands. I loved it and actually read it from start to finish. I remember clearly what book it was because it was actually the first SciFi book that I had ever read. It was "Battlefield Earth" by L. Ron Hubbard.

After I got home from that vacation I was talking to a friend and mentioned that I had actually read a complete book for the enjoyment of it for the first time ever. After she stopped laughing at me, she mentioned that she had just finished a book that she enjoyed and wanted to know if I would want it. Again, it was free, so what the heck, it took it. I remember this book as well, because it was my first romance novel ever. It was by LaVyrle Spencer "Twice Loved". This is where the real addiction began because I read all that she had written then went off onto reading people that reviewed her writings, and on and on and on.

One of the really cool things that came from this addiction was that I ended up getting closer to my mom because she too shared this love for romance novels and we would share books. My mom loved good mystery books as well so she introduced me to Nora Roberts who seems to have a never ending amount of books to chose from. But, authors like Linda Lael Miller, with her time travel books will always be my favorite.

Another cool thing about these books is that I've learned almost a whole new language just by having to look up new words with each new book. Check out the "Word of the Week". This is one of those new words that I learned this week. Not like I would be able to use it in my every day speech, but I feel just a little smarter knowing it.

So there you have it, my prattle on my love for romance novels.

The Lilies

2009-02-20T14:52:00.000-08:00

Aren't getting flowers from someone a wonderful thing?

I got this bouquet of lilies on Valentine's Day from my husband. This year he broke down and ordered flowers from ProFlowers.com, which is not normal for him and I really appreciate the adventure into a new realm.

Now don't get me wrong, my husband can be quite romantic. Back in our earlier years he use to send me a picture of a rose from a snapshot that he took from some garden every day. He also occasionally brings home a huge bouquet from the local florist. But to order online, sight unseen, from a company that he's never done business with before...this was new!

When I got home from work they were sitting on the front porch. When I picked up the box to take inside I noticed that it reeked of cigarette smoke. This was not a good thing and I was worried that the flowers might as well, thank goodness they didn't. However when I opened up the box I was a little bummed out because the bundle seemed a little small and lacking in comparison to the usual full bouquets I received. I know I seem to be a little petty and ungrateful here, but the way that they promote this service on the radio, I guess I was just expecting more.

So, I dutifully put them in water and set them on the table where they looked a little colorless and lonely. You know how it is when you put flowers on the table they usually seem to light up the area. Well, this day, and this bunch just didn't quite produce that same effect.

I called my husband to tell him they arrived and to thank him for them. I pretended I was thrilled, but at that point I was a little bit disappointed. Now I know that this was pretty selfish and really inconsiderate of me considering I didn't really do anything for him. I seem to be into a depression these days on the whole "I gotta give somebody something because it is that time of year" not because I WANT to but because I HAVE to. (This is a subject for a whole posting in itself). But on with the tale...

Thank you husband and forgive my ungratefulness!

IDIOT DRIVERS

2009-02-17T17:10:00.000-08:00

Something worth pondering for today: Are there actually more idiot drivers on the road when the weather is bad, or am I just more aware of idiot drivers when the weather is bad?

This thought came to me, this morning as I was driving to work in the pouring rain on a busy business street, and some idiot blasts past me going at least 45 in a 30 mph zone with traffic that was barely moving at 25 mph.

So, was I more aware of him because my senses were heightened because of the slippery road, or are there these drivers out there driving like this everyday, and I just haven't really paid attention to it?

I know that I am aware of the idiots on the freeway, because there seems to be an abundance of them here in California. Hey, we've just got an abundance of people to begin with, and we are noted for our weekly televised high speed chases, so there's no hope for it. But on the surface streets, I just haven't been so aware of it. Guess I'll just have to work on this one.

Just Tooooo Cute To Pass Up

2009-02-15T12:16:00.000-08:00

I just learned about this website, and being a huge dog lover, couldn't pass up giving them a plug. http://ihasahotdog.com/

WHY PIFFLE AND PRATTLE?

2009-02-15T07:49:00.001-08:00

Why would I choose to name my blog "Piffle and Prattle" you ask? Because my other choices, like spit and spew, rant and rave, babbles and prattles, bitch and moan, rantings of a baby boomer, just somehow didn't seem totally appropriate or were already taken.

My decision to create a blog was self serving. The last four years have been a total and complete roller coaster ride for me emotionally, physically and spiritually. I am a middle aged women suffering from symptoms that I know millions of others are suffering from as well. I'm sagging where I don't want to sag, and can't seem to get myself motivated enough to get out and exercise. I cry when I don't want to be crying, at the drop of the hat over the stupidest things. I would rather curl up on the couch with a book, or just watch TV than go anywhere or be with anybody. Basically, there are more days than I'd like to admit to, that I'd just like to not be around.

I want to bitch and moan about all my woes, but I know that nobody really wants to just listen. I want to rant and rave about so many things that I feel are unfair and unjust, but I feel that nobody really cares how I feel. Have you ever been talking to someone about how you feel, really pouring your heart out and their cell phone rings and they walk away to answer it? Have you ever been expressing some emotions about something to someone and you get the "ya ya, I got one better" thrown at you? How about the times you are told you are wrong for feeling the way you do? Have you ever had your opinion asked about something and as your expressing yourself the other person walks away because they saw somebody else they wanted to talk to?

I've felt squashed from having experienced all of the above situations. I hate it when I'm talking to someone and thinking that they are listening and caring about what I'm saying, but after a few moments they are distracted by something or someone else (which apparently is more important than what I'm saying or feeling). This makes me feel so small and unimportant and that what I feel and have to say is of no value. So for me personally, it's safer to clam up and internalize and thus adds fuel to the emotional, physical and spiritual demise of life.

HENCE, the creation of Piffle and Prattle. By creating this blog I decided that I could and would spew out my thoughts and feelings and in so doing it gets it out of my space, relieves some of the pressure and I don't have to be face to face with anybody to feel any rejection. Of course, I hope that there is someone else out in the world that can also relate to this and can know they aren't alone. Whew! Feeling better already!

THE BEGINNING

2009-02-14T17:33:00.001-08:00

Alright world, this is the beginning of my adventure into the world of blogging.

Gotta start off by saying that getting this blog set up hasn't been quite as easy as I let myself believe that it would be. I started at 11:00 this morning and here it is headed towards 6:00 pm and I still don't totally know what/ and how it all works. I've built a website in the past using FrontPage so I thought that I was a little familiar with html, but I'm wanting things to move and act a certain way and it just ain't happening.

Now, I do realize that part of the problem is my own lack of knowledge in this area but the part that has been driving me totally crazy is trying to work around all the security stuff that my husband has put on my computer. He is a true geek when it comes to computers and I love him dearly and I know that what he has done to protect our systems is needed but working around it sometimes is a pain in the rear end.

Not to long ago my husband was working on a friends system which had a nasty, hard to find virus which dealt with a rootkit which is malware and which consists of a program (or combination of several programs) designed to hide or obscure the fact that a system has been compromised (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rootkit). It took him hours to discover this problem which came about because the friend opened an attachment in his email (tsk tsk..bad boy should know better!). I know that this friend had been warned about opening attachments within the email but now that he lost everything on his system, guess that it more real to him.

Now I want to be upset that I have all these extra challenges to using my own system because of his stupidity, but in truth, I'm glad it happened to him and not me.
Remember: DON'T OPEN ATTACHMENTS IN YOUR EMAILS.

Okay, so some of my final thoughts and comments (for today anyway) on this matter would be that it really really pisses me off that the few evil criminals in the world have to ruin it for so many others. Lately, I've had to deal with a criminal mind in my own space and I keep having people remind me that "what goes around comes around" and I keep saying "ya, I know" but I'd like to be there to see it happen, but I'm pretty sure that this wish isn't going to get granted.

So with that, as the sun sets, I will end off on my first blogging experience and ride off into the sunset for the day. Okay, so I'll at least get to look out the window at it and enjoy!