Bottling Yoga Clothes

I just read my friend Jennifer's post about a Kmart Design stylist outfitting her for a big Blogher event she'll be attending. That got me to thinking about the kind of clothes I like to wear most: Yoga clothes, hands down!!! There is a level of comfort I feel, a feeling of nurturing I get from such clothing -- as if those clothes have a brain that knows and connects with the "inner me" -- especially when wearing my favorite black, comfy yoga pants! :-)

Well, that's my tidbit on clothes! :-)

In Feeling Good in what we Wear,

Penny

Totally Bottling Blendtec's Total Blender

Monday, July 13, 2009Oh my goodness, I'm so excited about Blendtec's Total Blender. During a time when most folks would still be asleep, I was awake and giving my husband a brief demo of this phenomenal machine. This blender has me once again marveling at the power of the human brain.......that has brought the Total Blender into being.

Although my husband has been quite curious about this fine piece of equipment -- but needing to get out the door precisely at the time I was preparing to do an early-morning demo for him, he said, "Penny, I really don't have time for show-n-tell right now." However, unable to contain myself, I excitedly proceeded: "This will ONLY take 24 seconds. Watch how it blends the smoothie in 24 seconds! And, look! It shows you the 24-second countdown right here on its screen" (the section of the blender that was easily seen because of its blue light).

To support the all-Green-Smoothie day my husband wants to have today, I got a head start making the beverages for him last night, via the Total Blender, but then early, early this morning, I ended up combining two of the smoothies in a large cup he could carry out the door with him. To do that, I decided to re-blend. Or, was I just looking for another excuse to blend again with Blendtec's Total Blender?

Blendtec® is not only in the business of making outstanding blenders, but the company really cares about community, too, thus, partnered with BottlingHealth.com to help support our grassroots efforts to share health, such as the Green Smoothie (and more).

Although I've had this high-powered machine for a few weeks, I have been waiting to get closer to a BottlingHealth community event before really delving into it. So, in preparation for a Stretch & Smoothie Clinic Bottling Health will do tomorrow with the Orange Park Gators, it was time to put this machine to the test. The smoothies for my husband became the tool to test it, and I tell you, the Total Blender has already passed with FLYING COLORS.......and I haven't even finished exploring it.

I've only tried the smoothie button so far. I simply turned on the power button, pressed the "Smoothie" button, and viola.......in a mere 24 seconds the Spinach/Banana (with a little strawberry and pineapple) smoothie was so creamy, and then the machine turned off on its own. Sweet! :-)

I'm now off to try the "Whole Juice" feature, which automatically runs for 50 seconds. Eventually, I'll get to each other button (including the "Pulse" button) that awaits me:

~ Ice Cream, Frozen Yogurt

~ Ice Crush, Milk Shake

~ Soups, Syrups, Fondues

~ Sauces, Dips, Dressings, Batters

Another fun feature of the Total Blender is that it shows (on the blue screen) how many times you've blended ingredients. Wow...technology! :-)

Stay tuned for much more about Blendtec's Total Blender. I'm not done with writing about this amazing machine just yet, because Bottling Health is TOTALLY "bottling" this blender and absolutely loving it.

Bottling Father's Day: A Message to my Husband

As always, I was thinking of my WONDERFUL daddy today who moved on 13 years ago to an all-spirit being. It was the day before Father's Day that year when he made that transition. I feel "rich" because of having him as a father. Others say they feel "rich" because they had him as a friend! He truly was an incredible human being! I am GRATEFUL to be his daughter! I love him DEEPLY! xoxoxoxox

After thinking about my dad......and coming upon this old article on CelebratingChildren.com, these words poured out to my husband today.

Collin:

We LOVE you and pray that your role as a father will forever be blessed. May Caleb be inspired by all things positive that you have to offer him, and may he someday stand on your "shoulders" in the most Godly of ways.....when it is his turn to serve as a father!

May you see your fatherhood role as a ministry -- appointed by God -- and blessed with an abundance of love, peace and joy...always!

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your love for us, time with us, energy to us, smiles at us, and laughs with us.

May our love for you be felt ever so deeply today and always!

With All Our Love,

Penny & Caleb
xoxoxoxoxoxox

Bottling Stretching & Smoothies with B-Ball Youth

In June, I did a "Stretch Clinic" with youth in my community who are members of the Orange Park Gators basketball league. The time with the boys went so well, and I'm looking forward to our next session this month. Peaceful Yoga Studio, Yoga Ananda Studio, M Body Yoga and lululemon athletica donated equipment (mats, blocks and straps) for the event. To them, I send love and gratitude!!! Thank you, Bonnie (and Mary) at Peaceful Yoga, Melissa at Yoga Ananda, Mark and Siddie at M Body, and Lisa at lululemon.

After the first session, to the parents of the youth I worked with, I wrote:

Thank you for the opportunity to work with your child on Wednesday evening at the Orange Park Gators' Stretching Clinic. I thoroughly enjoyed working with your sons and appreciated how receptive they were to learning about the benefits of stretching complemented by breathing more deeply. As I mentioned to another parent, it was a nice vibe amongst us, so it made for a lovely evening. They made me laugh with their giggles and other sounds they made when they realized just how tight their shoulders, hips or other bodies parts were! Given that, I think they now better understand the importance and benefits of guided stretching while breathing more deeply into the posture -- but only to their "comfortable edge."

Because we were pressed for time near the end, I didn't get to share more information about the fresh strawberry/banana smoothies I had made for them. I wanted to tell them about the nutrition in this drink that is ideal for the muscles of athletes. It's a nutritious and refreshing beverage to drink in between the games they play at tournaments, etc. Good fuel for them! Just as I talked to the boys about breathing more deeply for healthier bodies, I wanted to explain how we'd get more mileage out of what was in that smoothie versus some other food choices out there. In any event, I heard some good comments about the taste of the smoothie, so I'd say that went over well with them. :-)


Back to the stretching! As you know, the clinic was offered at no cost (and future ones will also be free), but if any of you would like to have your boys stretching on a regular basis in a similar fashion to what we did, I will offer classes to them.

You would be able to sign your child up for:

~ a group class at $10 per child per class (sibling discount available)

~ a 4-week series for a total series cost of $35 per child (a $5 savings; sibling discount available)

~ a 6-week series for a total series cost of $50 per child (a $10 savings; sibling discount available)

~ one-on-one classes (Contact me for rates.)

~ family classes (Contact me for rates.)

The more consistent our young athletes are with a stretching program blended with relaxation, the more flexible they will become. I'd love to assist them along their stretching journey, so please do not hesitate to contact me if I can be of further assistance.

Here they are relaxing at the end of class; we also began with this relaxation posture. The flow of the evening was a blend between "effort" and "ease."

Please feel free to contact me with any questions, thoughts or concerns.

Sincerely,

Penny Powell
penny@bottlinghealth.com

Bottling the Generosity of a Friend

Last Friday, I went to a friend's house to assist her with a computer project she was working on. I entered her home planning to get straight to work, but she said, "No, you have to eat first," as she generously placed a tray on her table, beautifully arranged with a bowl of strawberries, apples and oranges next to a square plate holding a scoop of hummus, a few thin slices of Manna Bread, later followed by a few Go Raw Spirulina cookies. A pot of tea was also on the tray. The camera on my cell phone didn't do the presentation of this lunch justice, but it was the thought and love behind this act of kindness that really mattered -- thus this post!

This meal was compliments of the friend, whom, about year after I had shared many things with her about raw food, really began adopting a raw-vegan lifestyle and then just watched the weight fall off of her. One day, she recently called asking for a raw or close-to-raw bread she could easily to get her hands on to spread a little avocado or hummus on. That's how Manna bread entered her home. Although Manna Bread, baked at a low temperature, is the bread suggested as a transition bread for those new to eating mostly raw food, I still enjoy a few slices every now and then. I smear a little avocado over a slice or two, top it with sprouts and tomato, and enjoy! ;-)

According to Encyclopedia.com, Manna Bread is "said to be a recipe of the Essenes who lived by the Dead Sea around the beginning of the Christian era."

Thank you for your warm hospitality, Cynthia! Continued Blessings to you! ;-) As I mentioned, you definitely have a Bed & Breakfast business in the making! ;-) The food, outside view, fresh breeze blowing through the window, sincere hospitality, etc., were all just delightful. Thank you so very much!

Hugs,

Penny

Bottling the Ocean

Wow, it has been several weeks since I last blogged. I know it's best when blogs are consistently updated, but during those times I attempt to reduce my computer time, my blog suffers. But, my mission to advocate good health still continues, as I've received wonderful related opportunities in my community (away from the computer). ;-)

Recently, after teaching a class for a firm in Jacksonville, I strolled Jax Beach when the class was over, and this picture is what I captured with the camera on my cell phone at about 8:15 or so at night. My walk was so wonderfully therapeutic. I also managed to capture a little video footage which I will continue to try to add to this entry.

Beach Hugs,

Penny

Bottling Changes and New Plans

Happy May 1.

In my last post, I mentioned doing a freshly-squeezed orange juice and water journey for two weeks. As mentioned, my initial plan was to begin today, but on the day I wrote that post, there were still three days left before May 1 arrived, so I thought...why wait?

Turns out, on April 28, I wasn't as prepared as I needed to be to successfully begin the journey. I did well on water for most of the day...waiting too long to shop for the oranges I needed. Plus, I really wanted to try this journey with a citrus juicer, and still needed to get that, too. So, April 28 didn't go quite as planned. The lesson of the day -- "Be well-prepared before starting out with a journey of this kind."

April 29 -- Still didn't have what I needed, but like the day before, I just consumed water up until a certain point. Then, much earlier in the day, I set off to get my organic oranges and citrus juicer. I found great deals on both. I returned home and got right to work prepping for my juicing session. I juiced and then went outside in the sun to drink my glass of freshly made orange juice. Delicious. A few hours later, I sliced and ate (not juiced) two more of these JUICY oranges. (My son has been enjoying them as much as I have.) I did really well with my water and orange juice plan until later in the evening...when I just wanted to chew something. I then decided these days leading up to May 1 were simply "getting me in the mindset" days, so to speak.

April 30 -- By this day, I had figured out that while I wanted to add more oranges into my days, I didn't want to exclusively drink orange juice for the next 14 days -- especially after seeing some wonderful avocados and mangoes when I was out shopping for oranges. I realized I wanted to embrace all of the raw goodness -- although these oranges I have are mighty good.

"God said, 'See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food.' " ~ Genesis 1:29

Yesterday, I contacted a friend of mine and invited her to buddy up for the May 1 journey of all-raw with no flexibility at least for two weeks. She was very open to the idea on such short notice. In fact, she had just come from the grocery store, stocking up on some wonderful fruits and veggies, so she was already prepared without knowing the plan during her time of shopping.

She has a networking event coming up in a couple of weeks...at which time I have some exciting projects coming up, too. I want us to be our best selves for those events, so I think that eating soley what I refer to as "God's foods" over these next few weeks will help us be just that...

...And what a great day to kick-off this "fast" of sorts. May 1.