Graduations

Yesterday, I was honoured to participate in a high school awards assembly and in the evening grade 12 graduation. During the awards assembly, it was my honour to present an award to the outstanding grade nine student from last year who was the best musician. The award has been named for me. It is an honour to be recognized while still a live. Usually, this happens when you are no longer able to enjoy the moment. I told my husband that he will have to attend when I am not longer able to be present.

A little while ago a fellow blogger and friend posted some information about high heels and their extremes. Well, we saw them in action at the actual graduation- one young girl fell- not hurt. She did not land on the bottom step properly and leather soles are very different from athletic shoes. Another young lady, landed on a step with the edge of her heel and it broke off, the presenter had to get the heel for her and help her down the rest of the stairs. One more young girl tripped by no serious problems.

I used to tell my students to practise walking in their shoes because they would feel different and they are not so easy to walk in and proved by many models who fall on runways. Non of the staff fell, we are more cautious although I did notice some of the young women had very high narrow heels. I think that they probably changed their shoes as soon as possible. I can not imagine spending all day in them.

Looking forward to next year's graduation and seeing many students who I first taught in grade 9 go across the stage.

Memories of cooking

Found a course that would suit me: " Stories from Your Kitchen". This weekend, there will be a workshop which combines recipes and writing. The recipes are a launching point for memories and I would agree that certain foods take me back to the kitchen of my youth. Weekends baking cakes, my mother made a cake every weekend and no mixes for her and most of the time no recipes- she just knew what was needed by sight, touch and texture. It was amazing and helped make me a good baker. I know when more liquid or dry ingredients are needed by sight, touch and texture. Also, we did not use any electric mixers-you can develop very strong arms baking without today's appliances. I miss her strudels, Christmas baking which would start in November and take a couple Saturdays to complete because she made a wonderful variety. It was necessary to hide the cookies or we would well before Christmas.
Picnics or visits to the a beach which she loved included chicken schnitzel and potato salad and the cake of course.
I don't think that I need the course to get me started but it is interesting to reflect about the memories that emerge.

Tango for exercise

Now that we are all watching Dancing with the Stars (sad that Cloris Leachman was eliminated-but I was not watching or voting so I did not help her), and You Say you can Dance and other similar shows- I have lost track), the Tango is becoming a craze for seniors who would like to regain lost balance.
Lack of balance is a problem for seniors and some of them are turning to Tango lessons for help. After reading an article in yesterday's National Post, it seems that taking Tango lessons is much more fun than regular exercise which is just as beneficial. Women attending the tango lessons replaced their sweats and sensible shoes with dresses, jewellery and heels. That counts me out. I gave up heels many years ago when I first started working and found that I preferred comfortable shoes to aching feet after a day of standing.
Many years ago, I tried dancerize for exercise when it first came out and found out that it really was not for me. I could not figure out the routines quickly enough. Hi or low impact fitness classes are my speed. When this warm weather ends and I can not get out everyday for some tennis- yes you read correctly, still playing tennis outdoors, I will head back to the gym. A group of us are making sure that we enjoy everyday in the fine weather that we are experiencing.
Guess the message from the article is that you can Tango or walk or as Nike says Just do it but make sure that you keep moving so that you don't loose your balance and fall.

History

Another lifetime ago, I studied history and yesterday history was made! There were comments last night that we will all remember where we were when we found out that yes we can- people can create a movement. We know this from the past and other grass roots movements but there were people who worried that the Bradley Effect might take place or that the polls were not accurate and that McCain who was Bush's man might actually win.

I must say that McCain was gracious in defeat, a wonderful example of how to acknowledge your opponent's achievement graciously and to move on. McCain has given much to his country even if I do not always agree with all his principles but he does have principles.

There was a striking contrast in the crowds that gathered for McCain and for Obama. Obama as he acknowledged in his speech, ( yes I stayed up that late!) has many challenges ahead of him. His transition team will hit the ground running today. I do not envy him and the others the work ahead of them. I think that Obama is hoping to establish some kind of Peace Core and also national core- I do not remember what the organization that works within the United States boundaries trying to help U. S. citizens is, I am sure that it will experience a revival.

We are going to experience interesting times and have a window on history.

Fast Food Slows Down

Have you ever wondered what would happen to a MacDonald's hamburger is you just left it on a shelf? Karen Hanrahan did just that. She bought a a hamburger at a Chicago area McDonald's in 1996. Consumer awareness of environmental issues and organic foods have grown at the cost of fast food's esteem. Meanwhile, the number of Internet users has expanded exponentially. what has not changed much over the past dozen years is Hanrahan's hamburger.
Recently, Hanrahan posted her favourite prop for her nutrition lectures, the hamburger from 1996 on www.bestwellnessconsultant.com.
When she bought the hamburger, she took it home and put it on a plate without the bun and then stored it in her cupboard. Later she transferred the hamburger to a plastic sandwich box. She has done nothing to preserve the hamburger! She uses the hamburger in her presentations to prove that McDonalds is serving food that has no nutrition. Mcdonald's is not amused.
Wonder how long it will take for some scientists to discover her website and decide to study the hamburger. (Maybe McDonald's will consider doing the study.) I am not a fan of McDonalds anymore which does not mean that I don't crave a quarter pounder once in a while but I also realize that the many calories that it offers are not good for my figure or health. Like to spread my calorie intact out over the day and stop my hips from spreading more than they are. However, McDonalds is serving food with too many calories! Those are not the only issues that I have with McDonalds but that is another entry.
Hanrahan is a Shaklee product sales person-personally, I question the use of vitamins that are not in food. We should attempt to eat foods that provide our dietary needs and if possible not use vitamin supplements.
Some food for thought!

Crickets for lunch?

I love to try new foods and will try most things once but having tried blue cheese- sorry never again. I also have quite a collection of recipes and cookbooks but one that I do not plan to add to she shelf is The Eat-a-Bug Cookbook http://www.olympus.net/dggordon/EatABug.htmby Seattle entomologist David George Gordon who believes that omnivores should open their minds to what Gordon euphemistically calls "charismatic micro fauna". Occasionally, David George teams up with chef Meeru Dhalwala to cook and preach the Eat-a-bug gospel, most recently at the Vancouver bookstore Barbara-Jo's Books to Cooks. (Wonder if my friend Krista attended?)
"We have an real inordinate distaste for insects," Gorden says of North American consumers. Bugs, he points out are packed with protein, amino acids and vitamins. And while it takes 100 pounds of grain to produce 16 pounds of steak, the same amount of grain will produce 50 pounds of crickets. In terms of environmental impact, "Eating a bug is the equivalent of riding a bicycle," Dhalwala says, paraphrasing an article from The New York Times, "Eating beef is the equivalent of driving a big SUV?"
Wonder how many of us will be convinced to eat a beetle for the environment?
November is prime time for grasshoppers, katydids, saturniid moth pupae, termites, ants cockroaches, scorpions, meal worms wax moth larvae, sow bugs and by crickets! Yum! You don't have to hunt the bugs- there are companies that raise them commercially: Grubco; Waxworms Inc; Hatari Invertebrates and Hot Lix. Have to watch for the IPO for these companies, their time will come.

Want to live longer?

Want to know what research has revelled is the secret to a long life? Good old fashioned hard work. "I was right- hard work never killed anyone!' According to a study published in the September issue of Health Psychology and conducted by Howard Friedman and Margaret Kern at the University of California at Riverside, highly conscientious individuals live an average of two to four years longer than their sedentary, unmotivated counterparts. Top achievers, such as Olympic athletes, corporate executives and world leaders, have the highest life expectancy, followed by the well-organized and reliable.
Why are conscientious people living longer? Because they make better choices in most areas of their life-from better health habit to less risk taking. Conscientious individuals are less likely to smoke or drink to excess; they're the type to insist on a helmet( yes, I have a yellow one) and avoid swimming with sharks.
Not only do they have healthier habits but they also gravitate toward healthier psychological environments and therefore tend to have more stable jobs, more stable marriages and the kinds of social relationships that are known to protect health and promote longevity.
Being a Type A personality is not bad. Those who tend to live longer are people who are able to take control of their lives and accomplish the things they want, are motivated, and can form stable relationships in doing that- it doesn't really matter who much work they have.
Have to get back to work.