Yesterday I got an email from a friend saying “if you call a company and you reach a customer service representative overseas, ask them to transfer you to an American rep to keep jobs in America.” I replied:  “With all due respect, I find this offensive, ignorant and racist. We’re either all one or we’re not.” Plus, I talk to overseas reps on the phone all the time and, while they may have an accent, their English as a rule is impeccable.  I wonder if, during the call, they are too busy being pissed off talking to a durned foreigner that they just aren’t listening to what is being said to them.  Do you listen carefully to hear what others are saying to you?  Or are you busy correcting or criticizing their English? Continue reading →

I like to do experiments to see how my mind and body reacts to changes. One thing I typically experiment with is how different foods react in my body. Recently, I ate Ramen noodles for 30 days straight, in egg drop soup.  I had not eaten Ramen noodles in about 10 years, but I suddenly had a craving.  And it had to be in the egg drop soup.  I was not surprised at what I found.  My cholesterol went from 172 to 201, my LDL went from 105 to 123 and my sodium went up 2 points.  I had no other salt those 30 days.   My triglycerides doubled from 69 to 138. No more soup for me! Continue reading →

I saw the signs and didn’t know what I was seeing. The little webbing appearing in the corner of the kitchen  and pantry area, also in the garage and back porch. I thought it was somehow related to the moisture of the last year’s rains and just swept it away when I saw it and didn’t think much about it.  Then I began noticing it more. Mike my bug man came this week and told me they were Indian pantry moths.  He told me they were likely in all my cereal goods in the pantry.  But how could that be if I keep all my pantry items in the refrigerator? Continue reading →

This Sunday, July 12th from 9 – 10am for the Sunshine Lecture Series at Yogashakti Mission, Suzanne Richmond will talk about Growing Healthy Veggies and Composting with Worms. “Growing lush and healthy vegetables is quite a challenge on the sandbar that we live on in Florida“, she says. Suzanne has come up with a great idea. She makes and uses self-watering containers (grow boxes) and teaches others how to make them as well.  A favorite fertilizer of hers is worm tea and castings.  Suzanne will be demonstrating the Growbox and will talk about how to use worms to grow a great garden. “Now is the time to plant your Fall Garden”, she says.  These topics and more will be covered at the lecture on Sunday 12 July from 9 – 10 AM at Yogashakti Mission.  All welcome.  Yoga Shakti Mission is located at 3895 Hield Rd NW in Palm Bay, FL 32907, phone 321-725 4024, visit www.yogashakti.org

About Suzanne: Suzanne Richmond discovered super growth of vegetables growing in her self watering containers. Her incredible vegetable garden growing in over 60 Growboxes yields a bounty of excellent quality, fresh food for a fraction of grocery store prices. She teaches Growbox Workshops at her farm in Melbourne. Contact her at srichmond2@cfl.rr.com

Boy, yesterday was a trip! I’ve been overdue in getting papers to my tax accountant and was determined to begin collecting them as soon as I got up.  I’ve been cheerleading myself into it all week, psyching myself up to just jump into it and get it over with.  Finally I woke up yesterday and wanted to do it.  I mean, all it is is pulling papers out of files and copying them but there are lots of them.  And she blithely asked me to include a spreadsheet of my expenses, as if I even know what that is.  Actually, I do know that Excel makes spreadsheets and I knew I had Excel, so I just opened the program and began a new document to see how tough it would be to learn it.  I saw boxes and alphabet, and commands I’ve never seen; plus some I’d seen ages ago – math stuff!    I panicked and called my pal Beth Head who, in 5 minutes walked me through everything I needed to know to start my spreadsheet. Continue reading →

Over the holiday weekend, Facebook friend Will Roadhouse said he was taking this 4th to do a little “house cleaning,” by dropping individuals I feel are a waste of time. One should consider doing this a couple times a year…I do it 4 -5 times:) It eliminates distractions and the F’ups that do not have a positive influence in one’s personal and professional life. He later wrote: I’ve received quite a few emails wondering if I had a bad day? FYI…I don’t have “bad days,” partly because I drop any “knuckle-head” in my personal and professional life. These are individuals that are: arrogant, selfish, rude people that “consistently” make one bad decision after another. I cannot respect anyone who does not show the same respect to themselves or to others. I learned a tough lesson many years ago…these negative influences, over time, can change you! Before you know it, your telling yourself, “this isn’t me???” Those who know me well, know I have ZERO drama in my life, and “professionally” I surround my company with great business partners/clients that are honorable. If you hangout with a bunch of “arrogant dumb-asses,” I will put you in the same category and you will be dropped. I do this every quarter because sometimes it takes 3 months to see someone’s true colors. Many good people rely on me, this ensures I’m focused and happy! Continue reading →

I first came across Andrea’s blog My Chihuahua bites! when I was Googling the words “Andrea’s blog” and “Andrea Leigh”.  No, I’m not weird, that’s my name too and I was excited to see it was a recipe blog.  I like her idea about Tuesdays At The Table and wanted to contribute, so I pulled up my favorite healthy, vegetarian lowfat recipe.  It’s a wrap that I created, trying to duplicate one I got at Mother Earth Market in Ocala, FL.  Mine turned out even  better.  I call it the Carrot Hummus Spinach Wrap. Continue reading →

Wow, I had a real festival of sleep this weekend, something I rarely do.  I am not a recreational sleeper.  My typical routine is to work on the computer until I feel done, then do some yoga stretching and move into the living room to sit in my easy chair (purposely not a recliner!) to read.  Next to the chair, I have a desk with my laptop and phones on it.  So, when I move to the living room, I am in the winding down for the day mode.  This takes a few hours as I read and proof read, because I am also checking Facebook and seeing what my pals have been up to. I do this reading and laptopping for a few hours until I typically fall asleep in my chair. When I wake up usually minutes later, I jump on the couch and pull the indian blanket over me and that’s where I sleep my 3 or 4 hours.  When I wake up,  I do my morning meditation, come in here to do this blog and then I may go back to sleep another hour or two after that.  It is for those final hours that I may actually make it into my bedroom.
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