Saturday, May 25, 2013

Nice Yoga Attire

     I guess if you do not officially teach yoga, or even have a class to go to, I think nice yoga attire, makes doing yoga, more of an inspiration.  I am the type of person who likes to look nice, even if no one is going to see me, except family or people on the street, and I am going to be doing yoga in my living room.  Just kidding.  But, still I do think good feeling and quality yoga or work out clothes can inspire more exercise.  For example, if you are a runner, a new pair of running shoes could be a motivator.
     There is this new yoga material, called supplex, and it is so soft and comfortable.  There is this yoga company, called Beyond Yoga, that is a little expensive, but they do have sales, and their stuff is so nice, beautiful colors, super comfortable, and wash really well.  
     Yoga mats can be found really cheap at places like Marshall's and Ross's.  I have two, and they were each less than ten dollars, if I remember correctly, a dark blue, and a purple.  
     Several years ago, I got some purple five LB hand weights, at Walmart.  One wore out, so I threw it out, and take turns, one arm at a time, which is okay for now.  
     A friend bought me a bolster, for my fiftieth birthday.  It is purple and has a washable exterior, which zips off, and although she payed about fifty dollars on line for it, she and I were both a little disappointed in the size.  It is not like the nice big ones they have at The Yoga Room, in Surfside.  
     And, as for yoga blankets, the striped or eagle ones from Mexico, are exactly what you want.  It is nice to have a few.  Another good thing to have, is pillows, for putting under your back, in a supported fish, or for putting your legs up, for inversions.   
     If you have nice yoga clothing, you can wear them for running errands, around the house, and just about any place, except for work, depending on where you work.  You can wear an attractive pair of yoga pants, like perhaps the kind with slits in the back, with a nice top, rather than a yoga top, when you are around the house, and then you have a nice outfit going on.
     There is never reason to spend a ton of money, that you do not even have to spend, that you do not have period, because you can find beautiful yoga and workout clothing on sale.  Active is a good brand, fit true to size, and their products are great too.  
     The pants I am wearing in the picture, are either Alternative or American Apparel, but I am pretty sure they are made in the U.S.A., another thing I like about Beyond Yoga.  It is a company, which is U.S. made, and I like to buy American made stuff, if possible, to help the economy.  Thanks for reading.  Have a great day.  Namaste.

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Cleansing Bad Vibes

     In order to have good energy and vibes, in your home, you only need a few simple things: 1) clarity and cleanliness, first, 2) white candles, 3) sage smudge sticks, 4) incense or aura casia mist, and 5) good thoughts, positive thinking.  
     Sometimes music can help as well.  Being a musician, I lent my guitar to another lady at the poetry meeting, who sang.  She said my guitar had wonderful energy.  I felt good about that.  I have written so many songs on it, and played so many songs on it, or just played it without singing.
     Surround yourself with positive people, who you can feel comfortable with.  When you are alone, know you are never really alone.  We are all one, and God is always present.  Also, one's own self can be good company, if one learns to love and like oneself.  Of course, excessive loneliness and isolation is not healthy for anyone, no matter how independent they may feel.  We all need friends, and if you ever go through a time, when you are lonely and feel you don't have any, that will change.  Things have a way of cycling around, and our lives are constantly changing.
     The writer's life can be lonely, but it does not have to always be.  I like to have fun as much as anyone.  Also, it is good not to get too much in a habit of isolating.  I do that a lot, and I know it is not the best thing to do, at least not for too long.
     Well, good luck with the cleansing.  Remember to breath and do yoga.  Remember to think of Baba, Jesus, or whoever you see as your own Higher Power. Pause.  HALT, do not get too hungry, angry, lonely or tired.  Resentment is a number one offender, and is like drinking poison, waiting for another to die, only harming oneself.  Much love.  Namaste.

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Fast, Easy, Housekeeping Solutions

     These day, with most people busy and on the go, or days when you just do not feel that great, I have ideas for fast easy housekeeping.
     Whether you live alone or with others, there are drawbacks, and good things as well, since one of my kids is my roommate, I guess I have an advantage.  I can tell him what to do, somewhat, "ha ha," I say, rubbing my hands together, just kidding.
     One good thing to do, is getting of everything you no longer need or want, you know the whole Feng Shui solution deal.  Get rid of things with bad reminders or bad vibes, gifts from people you can no longer stand.  Kidding again, of course.
     If you live with someone, cannot part with anything, your roommate, I mean, then they can keep their junk in their own room only, and maybe when they are away, you can sneak in and throw stuff away, discriminating of course between garbage and important things, but only if they are your kid I suppose.
      Seriously, here's ideas.  Keep the kitchen area uncluttered.  This is more of an uninviting environment for bugs, such as roaches, and easier to wipe down, and easier to cook in.  Keep things organized and in designated areas, such as drawers, cabinets, etc..  Do not keep too many storage containers.  This only encourages more stuff to be obtained or kept, therefore more clutter.
     I suggest recycling, washing dishes right after meals, and taking out food garbage promptly.  We do not waste food, but I mean bones and cores, pits and coffee grounds, that kind of thing.  I make coffee in a French press, so I dispose of coffee grinds outside.  If you have pets, you have to take trash out a lot, but when you have an absence of pets, like me, since mine died, and I keep forgetting they are not going to knock the trash over or jump on the counter and grab a piece of chicken any more, you can not worry as much.
     I suppose you can use those baby proof things, but animals are resourceful when it comes to getting into trash.  I have known cats to open doors and medicine cabinets.  It is really weird.
     Instead of letting the laundry pile up, you can do one small load a day, if you have a machine.  If you do a little of everything every day, rather than waiting for accumulation, it is easier.  My father told me the opposite, but I disagree with that one thing he told me.  That was only when I was a kid, and my mother was away or out of town, and Virgo that I am, I was insisting everyone wash their dishes immediately.  I confess I am still like that.  I guess it is a little weird.
     If you organized your clothing in such a way, that you know where you store everything, it makes it easy to find stuff to wear, and having less clothing, rather than too many, makes it easier to find something to wear, because you know what you own and do not own.
     I like to keep coffee table surfaces clear.  It really makes things more open, and easier for me to function in.  
     While it is good to stock up on food, you can have too much food, and all your money is in the cabinets and refrigerator, so unless you are opening a restaurant, and as long as the supermarket is not really far away, that is not necessary.
     Also, if you have pets, keep your clothing and stuff, put away, so their hair is not on everything.
     I rarely iron, because I just take stuff out of the dryer right away, but sometimes it is necessary and good to iron, because wrinkled clothes look crummy and are not in style, no matter what anyone says.  That is just a lazy person's excuse for not ironing.
     Keeping the vacuum cleaner emptied, air conditioning filters new, and dryer lint free, are good preventative measures.  
     Then comes to outdoor housekeeping, raking, lawn mowing, planting, etc..  I have a guy who mows the lawn and kills the weeds.  I cannot grow anything as of late.  I used to have this great green thumb, but I have seemingly lost my touch with that, so I am not even going to go there.  I do not know what the problem is.  
     It is nice to have an outdoor place to sit, in front and behind your home, if possible, chairs, a table, a little decoration, and zero junk.  
     So much for my great ideas.  Namaste.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

The Lighter Side of Spring and Summer Parties

     I have great ideas for spring parties, or at least dinner parties.  I have lots of room, outdoors I mean, little room, indoors.  Once in a while I throw a little get together indoors, but my home can only hold about eight guests at one time.
     Here are my ideas for leisurely, fun, outdoor kind of summer and spring, parties, get togethers, or what not: I really like wine coolers, which I like to make myself with ice, pinot noir, and some berry based fruit juice. You can also use merlot, cabernet sauvignon, or shiraz if you like those better, but I like pinot noir best.  It is the smoothest in my opinion.  It is kind of like those drinks they have in Mexican restaurants, but I cannot remember what they are called.  I only got up like an hour ago.  Only, they are not as sweet, because they just have a little juice and dry wine.  You can also add a spritzer like club soda or what not.  Mimosas are good too, champagne and orange juice mixed.  I think you could also use a dry white wine, like chardonay, sauvignon blanc or pinot grigiot.  I prefer sauvignon blanc, but if it is not available, I like pinot grigiot, unless it is too cheap, because then it tends to be sour.  I used to buy really cheap wine, but I find that the sulfates are bad as well as the taste, so I think Woodland or Barefoot are pretty good, and only about five dollars for a 750mL bottle, if on sale.  
     Now, for food, pasta salads are a good choice, with lots of colorful bell peppers, tomatoes, olives and feta cheese, with an oil and vinegar or lemon based dressing.  Fruit salads are good as well, and a dash of lemon juice is great with that.
     If you are into herbs and gardening, and I do not mean the Colorado kind by that, you can easily grow parsley, chives, oregano, cilantro, scallions, and my favorite basil, not to leave out sage, which is very bitter, and really best cooked a lot, in very small amounts with meats like sausage or chicken.
     You can grow these herbs outdoors or indoors near a window.  I find them to do best outdoors in the warmer months, near the house, like on a deck or landing, where they will not get dirty or stepped on, but will still get lots of sun.
     You can also make gifts of your herbs.  You can wrap them in a paper towel, and tape it or tie a little ribbon around it.  It is kind of like the aesthetic nature of bringing French bread to a dinner party in a brown paper bag or a bottle of wine in a single wine bag, or a casserole in a basket.
     I guess when it is sunny, you need a canopy, but at this time of year it is not too intense, the whether is perfect.  I did need to cover my head at the pool side bar on the ocean, where my son plays in a band, like in India, because the sun was intense on my head in the afternoon, near the ocean there.  It was still lovely, and I had two vodka tonics with lime.  My brother and niece were with me.  We had a great time.
     So, back to summer and spring parties, as far as decor, I think flowers are nice enough, throw away or vinyl table cloths, are easy enough.  
     Truthfully, I don't really throw parties, like almost never, so don't feel left out if you think I am really throwing these grandiose extravaganzas.  I am not, just kidding really... Kind of like that sketch on SNL they used to have with the two low key women, on the radio station, having Mel Gibson on to talk about making 'ghost on a sick' for Halloween, saying things like, "neat," in a really toned down way.  I guess you had to be there.  
     Still, in all seriousness, I think the ideas I have are good, but certainly nothing no one already thought of.

Monday, May 13, 2013

The Dhuni Was Great But the Bugs Were Bad

     Last night the dhuni was really nice, at the beach, out on the land, but man the bugs were bad.  Everyone was smothering themselves with natural and not natural, maybe harmful insect repellent.  At first I said no to the toxic stuff, but I succumbed to peer pressure, or perhaps it was desperation, from being bit by insects, from head to toe.  
     Once home, I had to take a long hot bath with bath salts, just to get the bug stuff off.  But, I survived.  I think the answer is centinella candles.  
     Still, I enjoyed doing yoga by the water, and breathing, with some other women.  I enjoyed singing, and the whole experience, except for the bugs.  Gees.
     So, today I went to Lowe's Food with my mother, have wanted to for a long time.  I even shopped in the esoteric section, as Alan called it, meaning in translation from Alanese to normal English, the health food soap, lotion, etc..  
     It was a good Mother's Day weekend.  Got to hear my son, David Walsh, in his band he's playing in, at Ocean Annie's.  They were terrific.  I hope to see them again this summer.  
     I feel good about finishing my book.  I feel good about the book, and am looking forward to new endeavors, my music, mainly.  I know it is meaningful when my own book makes me cry, touches me, and I am the one who wrote it.  I never thought that could happen.  I mean, that I would cry about the sad parts of my own book.  I guess it really came from my heart.  I mean I know it did.
     Still watching a lot of news, but it just repeats itself.  No comment at this time.  About news anyway.  No energy for the IRS thing right now, until I get all the information, all the facts, as 'hot' Anderson Cooper says, "keepin' us honest."  Or maybe it's "keepin THEM honest."  Or maybe he does not say it at all anymore, and it is from like four years ago...  The biggest issue is the first amendment thing.  I am concerned about Americans coming to have less freedom of speech, and yet I think it is important to be respectful.  I have a lot of opinions, but again I can't comment until I have the facts.  The news is vague, to say the least.  I think bipartisanship is a good thing, and there is not enough of it in government.  

Friday, May 10, 2013

Hardships of Being a Woman, Independent or Not

     Okay, here goes another blog about staying out of abusive relationships, easier said, than done.  Define abuse, so many kinds.
     I have been on my own a long time, but I have adult sons, sometimes both living home, sometimes just one.  I really do not mind.  The house is a bit small, and I have felt guilty that it was all I could afford, because there is only one bathroom, and one kid has always had to sleep on a futon in the living room, no matter what, if one was still in school, he got the bedroom.  If one was away, and the other not, the one there got the bedroom.  Our place is a two bedroom.  I wish it had three bedrooms, and two bathrooms.  Then life would be perfect.  But, it is good to have gratitude for what one has.
     I am a real neat freak, like everything clean and put away.  I am also legally blind, and if things are out of place, I can trip on them.  I banged the hell out of my leg when a friend, staying with me, left a stool out of place, and I did not see it, completely fell over it, and busted my leg open.
     My kids are good about cooking, washing dishes, wiping down the kitchen.  Ted is pretty good about sweeping and taking out the trash and vacuuming when asked, and does his own laundry.
     They are both good about keeping their designated areas neat and tidy.  The futon serves as a day bed during the day, with colorful Indian spread and pillows.
     I wish I could have afforded a bigger place, but I got a great deal on this one, which I bought several years ago.
     Many years ago, I lived with a guy who did not work, and was a musician, but not an employed one ever.  I worked, payed the bills and did the cooking, shopping and cleaning of the kitchen.  He made coffee in the morning, and washed his own clothes by hand, kind of eccentric, I suppose, and yelled in an 'Aussi' accent to my kids, "did you wash your hands?", each and every time they came out of the bathroom.  But, I will spare you the bitch session I could do.
     When we went out to eat, which was often then, now never, once a month perhaps, I always ended up taking out my credit card. We used to go to this Mexican place, owned by a family from Guadalajara.  The father, the matradi, a really nice fellow who often sat down with us, looked at him one day, when I did so, and said, "this is abuse."
     Of course my ex got extremely defensive, because it was true, but I was allowing myself to be abused, so now I can only blame myself and my naivety, and move on.  I am not my story, anyway.
     The world is very sexist.  If an older woman goes out with a younger man, they call her a cougar, but when the sexes are reversed, it's good for him, go you.  On the other hand, she is called a predator.
     If a guy punches another guy over a woman, he is fighting for her honor with valor. If she slaps a woman over a guy, she is a bitch, according to everyone.  For the record, I once slapped a girl over a guy, and my father condoned it, but that is another story, and a million years ago.  
     When women get in abusive relationships, it is hard to leave, even in situations like the women in Ohio, where they have been abducted and imprisoned.  I mean, he would have killed them, and I really mean especially in situations of imprisonment and kidnapping like that.  Sometimes it is too dangerous or impossible to leave.  Still, whether it be a relationship or an imprisonment, or hostage situation, stockholm syndrome plays a key role.  Stockholm syndrome is when a hostage begins to be brainwashed, and even identify with the person or persons holding them.  They are at the same time fearful of that person, and have become dis-empowered by them completely, and beaten down.  That is what happens in battered women syndrome, as well, stockholm sydrome.
     That black guy, "eatin' his McDonald's" had to break a door down.  He was a true folk hero.  
     Well, that's all folks.  

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Bohemian, not Bourgeois

     When Alan was alive, I was answering some emails about going to yoga, and 'whoosy getting a massage, yada yada...'  He thought it was bourgeois.  Perhaps.  What was really bourgeois, were the lattes and cappuccinos, especially at Starbucks, the grande, vente...  For me, it was always the talle, the smallest and cheapest, of course.
     You know, a lot of things that some people think sound really fun, don't sound that great to me, perhaps because I don't get to, so I think it wouldn't be that fun, like going to stay in your time share with other bourgeois friends.  It sounds exhausting, even if you were somewhere beautiful.  I don't know.
     I guess it might be fun, sipping margaritas, martinis, or what not, by the pool, ocean, or in your condo.  Come to think of it, it does sound kind of fun.
     When I was a kid, we did some traveling.  First I was born in Mexico.  They were living there, but growing up in the south, I went to interesting places with my parents and family, India, on pilgrimage, Florida, New York and Boston to visit family, Fredricksberg, Virginia, the John Brown museum, Washington D.C., metropolitan museums of art, the Norman Rockwell Museum, in the Berkshires, on the way home from music camp, lived in Woodstock N.Y., til I was four.  I never went out west until I grew up, though.  Then I went to California.
      Every summer, we camped in the Blueridge Parkway, The Smokies, where you could get away from the heat and humidity of South Carolina.
     I went to Lander University in Greenwood, South Carolina.  It was kind of a backward town, but I liked it there okay.  I seemed to fit in there, and had lots of friends, but got burned out by the third year, so I moved back to the beach and went to Coastal Carolina.
     My parents had a timeshare kind of place in Hilton Head, for a little while, but they got ripped off on that, and lost it.  
     My mother, and my kids and I even went to Disney Land in Orlando in '02.  it was pretty fun.
     I guess bourgeois things can be fun.  I just couldn't afford to keep running with bourgeois friends, because I had to get the talle, and not the vente, at Starbucks.
     I wish Myrtle Beach was like San Francisco, where even back in '81, you could get a coffee at Tassalahara, a zen Buddhist coffee shop.  I feel like I am so behind the times.  I did not even read Women Who Run With the Wolves, until like a few months ago.  But, I know worse, like people who talk about Louise Haye and rebirthing, like they just heard about it.  How eighties, like iridology, "oh my God, your eyes aren't blue or brown, you're sick.  You are about to keel over...!  OMG, you have a mark, right where the female organs go!..."
     This is all tongue in cheek of course, but I miss Alan and his remarks.  One time he came to the center with my friend Nancy and me.  My son was playing that night.  Some guy had a flat tire, so Nancy was driving and I was in front with her.  We gave him a ride, and he sat in back with Alan.  He was saying how it must be Baba's will...  Alan said, "no it's not.  It just happened."  He was an atheist.  He could not get over the posters of Baba, in my mother's house, that said, "love me, love me more and more..."  For a non-Baba person, that is hard to understand.
     Well, how I went from bourgeois to Baba, I don't know.  Someday, I will write a book, famous words of Alan, like kids, that say the darnedest things...  or 'out of the mouths of babes', as they say.
     But seriously, I mean, am I just kidding myself, that I don't want to be bourgeois?  I mean, I like dryer sheets and fabric softener, Walmart, etc..  Maybe I am a little bourgeois, after all.  OMG!  Walmart, the big evil, how politically incorrect I am!

Monday, May 6, 2013

Clothes

     Like most women, I like to shop, but I do not like to spend a lot, because I have to be careful about money.  However, I admit, I like clothes, although I have gotten rid of half my clothes, if not more this year, when I was going through a Feng Shui frenzy and more interested in having a nice looking home, than having a ton of junk, or interesting treasures.  Either way you look at it, it is still junk.  
     So, I know this might not be interesting to every reader, but I have some good ideas about clothing, I think.
     For a while, I was going through a dance and yoga wear frenzy, and I got a pair of supplex yoga pants, on line, which I like a lot, and they are really good quality.
     At this point, I am not going to any yoga or dance classes, but keep up with yoga at home.  Yoga clothes can be worn any and everywhere.  Well, except if you are going somewhere dressy, unless you wear heals and maybe a long cardigan and flowy scarf or something.
     T-shirts are so necessary, and can be so cheap, although I know that there are some political reasons not to buy overseas clothing, because of the slave labor.  I do buy American made good when I can, however.  Anyway, sometimes tee's and tanks are so cheap, and they are useful.
     The Goodwill has great buys.  I got some amazing brown, swede ankle boots with heals, which lace up.  They were my size, and they are stunning.  
     For only five dollars, I got a flowy purple skirt at Roses', which looks like a ballerina skirt.
     Shopping can be fun.  I heard on the news that online shopping may become taxable, and they are using UPS more than USPS these day, which is okay, but I would like for the U.S. postal service to be patronized.
     I know people who cannot stand to go to stores anymore, but I do not mind, when I can get to them.
     The other day, I wore these seersucker pants, which I got at Goodwill, and a white mesh top, black cotton, thin cardigan, tied at the waste, a peace of beige cloth, from the fabric scraps at Walmart, around my neck as a scarf, and Southpole off-white canvas combat boots.  I went into a place of business, thinking my pants were tacky, but I got a huge compliment on the whole outfit.  I was very pleased.
     In the picture, you can see that my deceased dog, Ruben, is wearing clothes, lol.  It was winter, so my mother made him a jacket out of an orange baby jacket.  I think she still has it, if you have a big dog, that needs a jacket.  Much love to all.
     Guess this was before I Feng Shui'ed my apartment...  As you can see, it's a bit messy in the picture, but not any more...
     For a while, everything I bought, online shopping, was too big, but that was a drag, to have your pants falling down, practically.  I even ended up getting some suspenders.  Well, it was really just one pair of pants, but they are okay with a belt, and they are pretty cute, blue with little red, vintage looking flowers.
     To tag some of my favorite clothing and shoe brands, I like, Jolt, Doublju, Southpole, Lamade, Splendid, Velvet, Cha Cha Vente, Levi's, Hurley, Silver, Beyond Yoga, and more...