Monday, March 31, 2014

JANE JET... Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed!

Thanks to Greta and Carol, Jane Jet looks a lot more secure and happy than the way they found her... and we've got the pic to prove it ................................................ At first, thought they were talking about the great 'Joan' Jet, but looked back and it is the great 'Jane' Jet. :)

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Carol's new Puppy... Too cute for words
Yorkshire Terrier No matter how many people or animals in the house, Yorkies will assert themselves, involving themselves in lots of hi-jinks that are mostly amusing and fun. This assertiveness usually comes across as self-confidence, not aggressiveness. They get along very well with other dogs and easily adapt to family life. Yorkshire Terrier Everyday life with a Yorkie Dogster

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

.... for Jan  Aloe Blacc - Wake Me Up 
Feeling my way through the darkness
Guided by a beating heart
I can't tell where the journey will end
But I know where to start

They tell me I'm too young to understand
They say I'm caught up in a dream
Well life will pass me by if I don't open up my eyes
Well that's fine by me

So wake me up when it's all over
When I'm wiser and I'm older
All this time I was finding myself
And I didn't know I was lost

I tried carrying the weight of the world
But I only have two hands
Hope I get the chance to travel the world
But I don't have any plans

Wish that I could stay forever this young
Not afraid to close my eyes
Life's a game made for everyone
And love is the prize

So wake me up when it's all over
When I'm wiser and I'm older
All this time I was finding myself
And I didn't know I was lost

Didn't know I was lost
I didn't know I was lost
I didn't know I was lost
I didn't know

Adding a song that I recently fell in love with too...

Saturday, March 8, 2014

TAI CHI BENEFITS... written by Solar

I recently found my way back to the Martial Arts a few years ago, and now back to them in a big way: I keep the Mind, Body, and Spirit on a healthy level by practicing Tai Chi, a gentle one for slow movements and deliberate focus and meditation
A more demanding fast one for cardiovascular workouts. Both employ more movement of body parts than swimming believe that swimming uses about 65% of the body, while Tai Chi utilizes much more. . Along with Tai Chi the practice Qi Gong ( meditation) provide stress relieving tools that are on the cutting edge of science and the most effective stress-management exercise in the world. That is saying a lot since 70-80% of illnesses are stress related. . Looking back to 2,000 years ago when it started by doing an 18 stretching movement that was taught to monks, then grew Tai Chi. I mostly use the Kuang Ping Yang style 64 movement long form. It is worth stating that all Tai Chi styles are powerful health and wellness techniques. . We know that worrying too much can cause an ulcer, that chronic anxiety can lead to skin rashes — or all the way to an early grave due to a heart attack. So what was ancient healing in China is cutting age to modern medicine in the west: Welcome Back to the future!
What many western hospital are considering cutting edge treatments for treating cancer, can be found in the 800–year old Taoist Canon at the Simonton Cancer Center. Mental imagery exercises are successfully used to help sufferers live nearly twice as long as their peers who don’ t use imagery techniques. The Taoist Canon wrote of thousands of visualization techniques to heal various conditions’. . Phil Jackson, coach of “Da Bulls” used a form of this — Zen meditation –.and took the multi-personalities of Michael Jordan, Dennis Rodman and others to being one of the great basketball teams. . I strongly suggest to those that need daily relief from pain or want to get back to a normal life to start using Tai Chi — super easy, even for those that are restricted in any way. It can drastically reduce high blood pressure, relieves arthritis, help control and lower diabetes. Insomnia and much more. . The second part and complimentary daily exercise, that im fairly new to, Acupressure, a form of acupuncture that one can do on oneself. Whenever I have some body part that is hurting or sore in any way, I look up the point where to press on my self to get the relief that I need. No pain pills are needed or wanted for headaches, back aches, or anything. Acupressure is another Ancient Chinese discovery that is now being used in the West. It was discovered when some soldier was hit by some blunt instrument, stone, or spear. While talking to the doctors about the injury they often made comments about some other part of the body that was problematic or in chronic pain, but suddenly stopped. Little by little these doctors discovered that by using acupressure on some part of the body, the pain disappeared or the patient was greatly relieved. I have used both Tai Chi and acupressure to get a good night sleep. I'm off all sleeping pills that I have taken for years (I still get insomnia once or twice a week, but not 5-6 times per wk). . My primary Doctor at the VA can’t believe that I don’t need to take 6 pills of Gabapentin per day. Now I only take two at bed time and will be going down to one in a couple of wks, then maybe none? . Not only that, I have been getting 1 to 4 shots in my lumbar and other areas for a degenerative disc disease for the last 12 years, and for sciatic pain. Due to the Tai Chi, Qi gong meditations, and acupressure, I won’t need any for a long, long time. . The Tai Chi helped strengthen my overall bone structure. Thanks to the acupressure points, and specific stretches that I learned by trial and error I don’t need to get any shots at all. . Although Tai Chi is a formidable self defense type of martial art what is the most beneficial aspect of it is the healing and meditating process used by breathing in the proper way. That is the secret to our health problems: The way that we breath and the way that we move our body to get healthy, and stay healthy. . When we have an illness, an arm that hurts, a leg muscle that is sore, this is blocking the energy flow in that part of the body. By doing gentle stretching in preparation for the gentle movements of Tai-Chi the energy blockage is released allowing a balance of ying and yang. . When we don’t breath properly the atoms in our body squeeze together, tightening us up. When we breath properly the atoms and cells separate from one another.
I see this as a very positive way for the people of the future to take care of themselves and not give away their savings to the health and insurance industry. . If Tai Chi came in a pill form it would be all over TV and the magazines offering a fast cure at Walgreens at a very high cost. But its not. Itis free and fun. Any one can do it whether you are in a wheel chair or just doing it for the fun of it. . By using these simple tools — a sitting meditation, gentle warm up exercises (moving meditation), or Tai Chi (another form of moving meditation) we can learn to control or eliminate many illnesses in adults and children — such as Autism, Alzheimer’s, sciatic pain, epilepsy and, I dare say, almost anything that is wrong with you. It will also get you to eat the right things because you will naturally want to do it. . There is much, much more but you all know how I hate long posts, so I’m off to the park for my daily tune-up of Ta –Chi. I even have the energy to play a little basketball with the kids, or do 100-130 pushups afterwards. I do get a little tired around the middle of the day. It can’t stop my lower back problems, or old age. But it can delay the processes and let us enjoy it a little more. After a 10-minute catnap I’m good until bedtime.
Get American kids off Ritalin, get rid of those doctor bills, high insurance payments, prescription drugs — and get them on to TCM: Traditional Chinese Medicine and herbs. Numerous studies have been done by our doctors, scientists and universities to reveal the advantages that come along with the fun of doing Tai-Chi. Tai Chi Video