More Friends=More Stress

Spending time on Facebook ranks among the 10 worst activities in terms of unpleasantness and engagement. It was ranked as the least meaninful activity and the one that made people the most unhappy, surpassed only by recovering from illness. That should tell you something!
"Facebook used to be like a great party for all your friends where you can dance, drink and flirt." But now with your mom and dad and boss there the party becomes an anxious event full of potential social landmines. Although Facebook's privacy settings allow users to restrict who viewes their posts, only one third of us take advantage of this feature. I personally like blogging. No Facebook for me!

SUSAN

Hot Chocolate-Food of the gods

From happy childish squeals of delight during a snow storm to a cozy winter corner wrapped in the seductive lusciousness of sweet warmth, nothing touches the heart or belly like a cup of delicious hot chocolate.If you are addicted to chocolate, it's because your body knows a good thing. The healthy benefits from chocolate are derived from high levels of antioxidants that increase nitric oxide levels in the blood vessels, enhancing circulation. Additionally, chocolate reduces blood pressure, heart disease and protects the retina. Enhances moods, stops coughing, increases blood flow to the brain and protects skin against UV damage.Remember, unsweetened organic chocolate is the key.And because earth is the only place you can get chocolate, you may as well stay healthy and stick around to drink more. 

What's Going On?

I went out to the chicken yard yesterday to gather eggs and what do I find? My rooster has a bloody comb. How did this happen I say? Well to explain a roosters comb;the red, fleshy, decoration on a roosters head, his comb, is filled with tiny bood vessels. Any injury can cause bleeding. He may have been fighting with another rooster, since he is one and only afraid not. Or a particularly bossy hen may have not been in the mood for his advances. Now that is more like it. I have 2 hens that are quite aggresive and talk nearly all day. It would be fun to know just exactly what they are saying. In a clean and reasonably dry environment this should heal quickly and other than a bit of scarring, he should be as good as new. Benjamin, I would stay away from those two girls. They are lethal!  You have 18 others that I am sure will accomodate you. Too funny
Bear with me. I have no more room for pictures, and I have to read up on how to accuire more space for pictures

Holidays

It's that time of year again. The time between Thanksgiving and the New Year. Over eating and over indulging. During the six weeks of back to back holidays it's esy to pack on the pounds with all the parties, celebrations and just eating your favorite foods.
Be realistic! This is not the time to begin a new diet. Try to pass up that wonderful pumpkin pie, and assorted cookies, and fruit cake. I always try to bring a healthy dish to the party. Try not to drink your calories. Sugary drinks and forms of alcohol will really put on the pounds. Last but not least, don't skip out on exercise. Between all the celebration and everyday schedules, life can get extra hectic during the holiday season. Maintaining an exercise routine this time of year is very important. Exercise can not only help burn those extra calories you may be consuming, but it's also great for stress release.
Happy holidays!

New Door

If you look closely on the first picture, you can see a new door. Finally we don't have to go out every night and shut the door, and open the door every morning at 6AM. David put in a new door on the left side so the chickens are able to go in and out at their leisure. The big door is closed all day and night except for feeding and gathering eggs. It is working out great for chickens and humans.
The chickens are loving this weather. Humans too!

Dedication To A Life Of Virtue

How much time is necessary to prepare your soul for the reality beyond this one? The short answer is your entire lifetime. There is no point, in other words, where it is okay to stop acting with love, compassion, humility and service to others. Such a personal philosophy of behavior should become a permanent feature of our day to day living if we truly seek redemption. Because to depart from that dedication is to invite evil into your life and your soul. No matter where you are on the spectrum of redemption, it is wise to start now moving in the right direction, because you honestly, can't know how many days you even have remaining in your life on earth. Prepare your physical body to survive the physical world; and prepare your soul to survive the spiritual world. Judgment day will be here before you know it!

Thanksgiving

I love THANKSGIVING. It has everything a great holiday should have. Food food and more FOOD! Thanksgiving, of course, gives us all the opportunity to gather with friends and family to actually reflect on the bounty of our lives. Gratitude is truly one of the most important ingredients for happiness, and Thanksgiving offers just the forum to express those feelings. My late mother always said that without health you have nothing. I fully agree. Every day that I wake up feeling great is another day that I thank God for the blessing of good health. I found a wonderful partner. My life has definately improved substantially. I love you David. My children. What would I do without them. I have been blessed with two of the most kindest and caring people in the world. Jennifer calls me every day and checks in, to which all I can say is thanks. She has 3 boys of her own, that I love dearly, but I am never forgotten. Brad is a great guy. Married now and has a familly of his own. I know that if anything were to happen, the two of them would be here. I love you both!    
Let me just list a few of my things that I am thankful for: Born in the USA,Friends, Love, Music, Blogs, Laughter, Sunshine, Books, Smiles, Hope, Fun, Films, Knowledge,Kindness etc, etc.You see where I am going with this. There is no end to my blessings!

Sometimes I feel like this on a treadmill. It can be boring. I noticed a friend of mine who belongs to the same gym, got to run together. The time just flew by. And one great thing about treadmill running with friends is that you don't have to be the same pace, so you can run with friends who you wouldn't normally run with. Rather than running at a constant pace, I mix up my run with hard and easy segments. It can be as simple as a five minute warm up followed by three sets of four minute intervals. Two minutes of hard running. Two minutes of easy running. Repeat as often as you like. I like to get 4 miles in. So running on a treadmill gives you a chance to lose yourself in the rhythem of your breathing feet or your pounding feet. Try blocking out everything around you and enter a peaceful, relaxing state.  

Susan

How To Take Propolis Chunks 

For those of you wondering what propolis chunks are, let me explain. Propolis chunks are simply raw pieces of bee propolis. Unprocessed, raw and 100% pure, these are the real deal. You simply chew or swallow them whole. One word of caution, propolis is a dark brown substance that can stain your teeth so be careful if chewing the chunks. For general health, I take 2 chunks of raw propolis every day.
Propolis eliminates bacteria. Reseach shows that Propolis kills cold germs and flu. So get started before you feel that cold, or scratchy throat coming on!

Honey Bees

Honey bees are preparing for the winter months by storing as much nectar as possible and evaporaping the moisture within the nectar. They will rearrange the honey stores so the queen will move down to the bottom super. With the bees diligently working to arrange the hive for winter, what do beekeepers need to be aware of within the hive?
When working a beehive, you always tend to notice how many bees are present. The number of bees determines if it is a strong or weak colony. Weaker colonies going into winter will have fewer bees to raise out brood and regulate the temperature within the hive than a strounger colony. Hives typically have thousands of bees within it, so how do you know if it is strong or weak? When looking down into the hive, you can see bees between the frames. For a strong colony going into winter, you want to see 10 or more spaces full of bees. If your hive has fewer than 6 or 7 spaces with bees, combine with another hive to strenthen the colony.With a strong colony and a queen laying in your bottom super, your hive is prepared to battle the winter months. 

 

Fun Weekend

Rainforest Cafe is an unbelievable dining experience. As we entered the mall via the Rainforest Cafe entrance, there was a huge waterfall on the right. They have several mechanical animals stationed throughout the restaurant. There were tropical fish tanks everwhere(good for the Finding Nemo Fans!) Every 30 minutes there is a thunderstorm and the animals do their thing. Great sound effects.
Happy Monday everyone!

The Real Takeaway From The Election

People voted for two symbols. They voted for what they though the candidates stood for. The candidate, Obama was perceived as representing what the government can do for the people. The candidate, Romney, was perceived as representing what people can do for themselves. Obama's victory signifies the acceptance by about half the county that the federal government is a gift giving society. That is its mission. A smaller part of the nation still believes in freedom of the individual, while the larger part believes in what the government can give them.
This is the future we have entered. Here is what we give you. Now you are ours. You belong to us. We will watch you carefully. We will track you and take care of you and decide what is good for you. You have your gifts. Now you owe us. It will be Christmas every day, but the gifts will drop on to the floor in a room where the walls are slowly closing in.
America as we know it is gone!

Tragic Death

Yesterday morning I went to the chicken house as usual. I always feed, and water in the morning. I left the yard with the gate closed and fastened. The wind must have gotten ahold of it, and when I came home yesterday afternoon all the hens and two roosters were out in the yard. It took us the rest of the day to get everyone hearded back in. Foreman our special rooster stays out of the yard and forages for himself and when he is ready in the evening he goes back in the chicken yard. Well, last night I heard this ungodly noise in the chicken house. David proceded to go out, and didn't see a thing. By then the dirty deed was done.This morning while I was doing my routine, I noticed feathers all over the back half of the yard. Foreman must not have gone in  last night and at 9:30 a fox must have come by and consumed him. That's what the noise was all about in the chicken house. I will miss Foreman. He became a pet. I don't know if I will ever have a special rooster like that again. 

Why And When Does It End?

Clock confusion is once again ticking away. Why do we fall back? Does daylight saving time really save energy? Is it bad for you health? The federal government doesn't require U.S. states or territories to observe daylight saving time, which is why residents of Arizona, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Virgin islands, Guan and the Northern Marianas Islands won't need to change their clocks this past weekend. Where it is observed, daylight savings has been known to cause some problems. It's enough to make you wonder why do we use daylight saving time in the first place?
Ben Franklin of "early to bed and early to rise" was apparently the first person to suggest the concept of daylight savings time. If you ask me,  I like for it to stay lighter, longer in the evening because I like a longer day! What is your vote?

Colored Honey Made by Candy-eating French Bees

Beekeepers in northeastern France found themselves in a sticky situation after bees from their hives began producing honey in shades of blue and green, The colored honey cound not be sold because it did not meet France's standards of honey production. It was not obtained from the nectar of plants and it deviates from the standard coloring of honey. That's bad news for a region that produces a thousand tons of honey a year and has already had to cope with a high bee mortality rate and low honey production after a harsh winter. An investigation by beekeepers in the town of Ribeauville uncovered the cause of the problem. Instead of collecting nectar from flowers, local bees were feeding on remnants of colored M&M candy shells, which were being processed by a biogas plant roughly 2.5 miles away. The candy remains will now be stored in a covered hall.

Porter Memorial Baptist Church

Saturday we traveled to Lexington to hear our grandson sing in All- State Choirs. It was a wonderful event enjoyed by all. We were very proud of Dylan for his accomplishment.

Yesterday McNeil Elementary had their Halloween Party. The boys and girls seem to be having fun. Look at all this food. Wow! I would have loved this as a child. Cupcakes, cookies, pizza, fruit, candy etc.The boys and girls had plenty of treats and games. Our grandchildren had a great time as you can see.

The Cat - Cow Stretch

 

Many people think that yoga is just stretching. But while stretching is certainly involved, yoga is really about creating balance in the body through developing both strength and flexibility. This is done through the performance of poses or postures, each of which has specific physical benefits.

Our teacher always decribes the cat portion of a cat-cow stretch as looking like a Halloween Cat. So it seems like an appropriate pose to focus on this week. of course you're going to want to counter it with a few cow poses too. Happy Halloween!