A Big Pink Butt

Friends and Kitties!

Sheebie here.

I'd like to start by apologizing for dropping off of the commenting merry-go-round; I couldn't sustain it any longer.  Please know I still read approximately elebenty hundred blogs daily and if you suddenly, out of the blue, feel a snarky comment--it's mine!  I just sent it to you via brain waves instead of the internets.  Since Scott "gifted" me with a FitBit in December and our trip to Hawaii (where I climbed two volcanoes and realized I needed to step it up for next time) I've gotten serious about working out which consumes a couple of hours daily; time that I used to spend sitting and doing social media stuff.

I have discovered I love being active, again.  I don't know what the heck happened because I used to do aerobics and walk and lift weights, but after we moved to Nevada I became a slug, I think in large part because of the crazy shift work I did to begin with and then inactivity became habit.

Yoga started the ball rolling in 2013.  Breaking my kneecap set me back for a few months, but the silver lining was learning patience in dealing with injury and to be okay with not being "perfect".  (Which is a huge part of a yoga practice--acceptance--just being happy with what is.  It's harder than hell some days and usually only happens for a few minutes at a time.  Small steps.)  I absolutely look forward to every class I attend and never fail to do something great--maybe a really pleasurable stretch--and the feeling I get from class is euphoric, I can't put it any better than that.  You know the pleasure you get in your mouth from a delicious piece of chocolate?  It's like that, throughout your entire body.  For an HOUR.

And that damned FitBit...ruling my life...but I gotta say the thing is a wonderful tool.  There are real concrete results.  My resting heart rate is 10 bpm less, I have more energy, I can eat more (and have lost a bit of weight!) and I--for the first time in my life--can jog, comfortably, for a few minutes at a time.  I am amazed at myself, who knew?  There have been some unexpected benefits from all the walking and leg strength, too; my practice has progressed beyond my wildest expectations.  I'll be exploring this pose for a good long while before I feel confident, but I got UP and that's a major win right there.

I'm gonna use this one for a Sunday Selfie, even though I had to utilize the Hubby as the photographer:

Running Man Pose, or Eka Pada Koundinyanasana 

Eka = One,  Pada = Foot,  Koundinya  = the Sage Koundinya ,  Asana = Pose

(the link has a lovely photo of the pose)

Scott also kindly took a photograph highlighting my big pink butt.

You are Welcome.

Happy Sunday!

XX  Sheebie  XX

Join the fun at The Cat On My Head!

Sunday Selfie Duo!

Kitties!

Sheebie here.

OK, so technically this isn't a selfie, but dammit, this is me and my pal Carolyn on top of Koko Head Crater and we were so happy to have made it to the top!

This is the trail head, there are about 1050 "steps" to the top.  In reality, it's wayWayWAY more steps than that...

...because each "step" is a railroad tie from the old military train tracks up to the summit and requires two or more actual strides to traverse.  Some sadistic bastard helpful person marked them out in sets of hundreds.  

It's amazing how high up you are at the finish,  You're so busy climbing over the ties, scaling the bridge (with nothing underneath it!), and clambering up the 50-degree incline at the end that you lose track of how far up you've gone.

It was a phenomenal hike, and I'd do it again in a minute.  Well, honestly, make that two hours...that's how long it took us to get up and down again.  There was one quite elderly gentleman who did two round trips in the time it took us to go once...he was a monster!  Evidently I have some endurance work to do...

Happy Sunday!

XX  Sheebie  XX

Visit The Cat On My Head to join the fun!

My Nemesis

Friends and Kitties!

Sheebie here.

The Fitbit I received for Catmas continues to goad me off my butt.

I am lucky enough to get in a couple of long walks on shift at work, doing plant checks, and on my days off I cruise the neighborhood for exercise.  It's great, except for one thing--the drastic elevation change, no matter where I go--we live in a valley.  Which means hills...

Like this one!

  There's a nice park with benches halfway up the mountain--that's today's destination.

Part way up, looking back.  It's a total of fourteen flights of stairs to the top.  And yes, I'm huffing and puffing by the time I reach the top. 

But the view, holy cats, it's so worth the work.

Beyond the mountains it was cloudy and raining in California; from here I can see the weather coming in for hours before it actually arrives.  Not that the rain makes it here, much--but that just leaves more sunny days for adding steps on my Fitbit, right?

Happy Thursday!

XX  Sheebie  XX

And So it Continues...

Friends and Kitties!

Sheebie here.

So, today I had a flat tire, was almost late for work, Felix is still sick, Sweet Pea and CC are sneezing like crazy.  Salem has the trots (pee-yoo!) and somebody sprayed the back of the sofa.  Not only did I have zero time for photos I don't have the gumption for a "real" post, for which I am sorry because creating a happy post always cheers me up.

HOWEVER.

I had a great yoga class before the flat tire.  I finally got up into a forearm stand!

I was almost late to work.

Felix is improving, and the vet gave us a HUGE bottle of medicine, enough for the entire Ailing Horde, for only $16.

Maybe Salem will lose an ounce along with her appetite.  

The sofa atrocity--well, no silver lining there, I'm afraid.  At least it's vinyl!

And I guess this post perked me up after all; counting your blessings usually does.

Maybe I'll drag out the real camera tomorrow for some fun and make it up to all of you--deal?

 Happy Tuesday!

XX  Sheebie  XX

Squattin' Sheebie

Friends and Kitties!

Sheebie here.

Seeing how today (January 31) is my birthday--how the hell did I get to be 53?--I thought it was only appropriate to express my feelings on ageing in a Squatting Selfie:

The Rebel

Scott and I were out for a walk this past week and you all know how I am about signs and disobedience, I couldn't pass this one up.  Also, I was all ready to climb the fence but there were too many cars going by.  Next time...

Happy Birthday to Me Sunday!

XX  Sheebie  XX

Visit more fun Sunday Selfies at The Cat on My Head!

Electronic Slave

Friends and Kitties!

Sheebie here.

The following photo is:

a) not K-Rated (safe for Young Kittens), and

b) brought to you by the World's Most Evil holiday gift--a FitBit.

Hubby purchased both of us FitBit trackers a couple of weeks before Christmas and since neither of us are into delayed gratification we put 'em on right away...and life as we know it has changed.

Who woulda thunk that this little gadget would transform us into competitive raging stepping monsters?  Ten times a day (at least) we tot up our stats; heart rate, steps, active time, even who SLEPT better!  It make our Scrabble games look tame by comparison*.  We want our numbers to go from orange to green and get those little smiley faces on the phone app as soon as we hit our goals...apparently we are both quite easily motivated by imaginary electronic things.

It's insane, but in a good way.

Because the amount of laziness in our lives has had the damning light of true sloth shined upon it:  we were couch spuds--yes, even ME-- and we have started to change that.  Hence this photo, taken while we were out accumulating steps towards our daily totals--a.k.a. a walk on the bike path.  No longer do I sit in a boneless slump at work for hours on end, my little alarm goes off and I'm up and about, churning out some more mileage (I know all the long ways around both plants now) even if I'm only marching around the room in circles.  Scott is wearing a path in the grass up through the park and back, and he detests walking as a form of exercise.  But he's doing it.  Amazing.

Anyhoo, I've wanted a picture of myself being all defiant with this sign for some time now.  

I wonder, can I get a smiley face on my FitBit app for fulfilled photo ops?

Happy Sunday!

XX  Sheebie  XX

*we're on our third board

This is my contribution to the Sunday Selfie blog hop, sponsored by:

 The Cat on My Head.

Sheebie Sunday Selfie

Kitties!

Sheebie (aka The Mommy) here.

Consider this:

PERSPECTIVE. 

Same alignment, different view.

Look at something in a new way today.

Happy Sunday!

XX  Sheebie  XX

click HERE for more fun selfies!

Stormy Sheebie

Friends and Kitties!

Sheebie here.

One of the things I love best about desert weather is monsoon season.  Because your line of sight goes all the way to the horizon (or the mountains, whichever comes first) the opportunity to watch thunderstorms is just awesome.  I snapped a few photos at work a couple of weeks ago on two different nights.  They're phone photos so not the best quality, but I think you'll get the idea...

This first shot was taken from the roof of the ozone building at the plant directly adjacent to Lake Mead.  The storm that's off in the distance is about 50 miles (80 km) away, over the Spring Mountains.

This one was taken the next night from the plant in Henderson.  The rain has completely obscured The Strip and the Spring Mountains beyond, about 35 miles away.  We had a real gully washer that evening at my house, over a third of an inch in thirty minutes...the water was roaring down the streets and according to Scott, the cats were under the beds!

The rain rarely lasts long though; it moved out in time for sunset.

Gorgeous, right?

Happy Saturday and Caturday!

XX  Sheebie  XX

Sunday With Sheebie

Kitties!

We ask you: is this our Mommy, or a pretzel?

This yoga business is getting out of hand--pretty soon she'll be able to bathe like us!

This is our entry for the Sunday Selfie Blog Hop,

 sponsored by The Cat on My Head

and now, a message from our Mommy:

Friends!

Sheebie here.

As you can see, I'm progressing with my practice.  I made a commitment to attend three classes a week this year and as a result I'm accomplishing things I never thought I'd be capable of doing.  Not only with difficult (for me) asanas, but mental benefits as well.  There's something wonderful about not thinking for an hour and a half, losing my sense of self, simply moving and breathing.  It's addictive, and it carries into other areas of life.  I sleep better, think more, and let things go a little easier.  I enjoy the challenge immensely.  This pose--astavakrasana--has plenty of room to grow, in fact last week was the very first time I've been able to get my butt off the floor sideways, ever.  However, this doesn't mean that I've mastered anything, that isn't why I practice.  I do yoga because every day it's different.  Each pose always has a little something to extend, explore, breathe into.  I'll never be done, never finished, either physically or mentally, and this is the most important thing I've learned.  It is humbling. 

Which is why I occasionally feel a wee tad weird posting photos of myself; it wars with my pride of accomplishment.  Well, we see who won the battle this time...if only to document that, years on in my dotage, that I actually did this, once!

Namaste, and Happy Sunday!

XX  Sheebie and the Kats  XX

Courtney Act!

Kitties!

Sheebie here...courtney act*of taking a photo!

Although not technically a selfie, I thought it was interesting enough to use for The Cat on My Head's Sunday Selfie Blog Hop.  

And of what was I taking a picture?

This little building's sign, advising people of electrical hazards--and you all know how much I enjoy defying signs--naturally I disobeyed, touched the building, and lived to tell the tale. (BTW, that's not me in the second photo, it's my equally daredevil hostess!)

I'm a rebel on two continents!

Happy Sunday!

XX  Sheebie  XX

 *court in ee act = caught in the act.   Say it out loud!

Thankful Thursday

Friends and Kitties!!!

Sheebie here, with an abject apology for our extended absence.

I've been sick.  I caught a small head cold on the flight to Finland, no big deal, it didn't get in the way of having an absolutely fabulous trip and enjoying myself to the max...it was the flight home that killed me and I've been prostrated in bed for three days hacking my lungs out with what I'm pretty sure was bronchitis.  I'm up and on the mend now, and dying to weed through my photos and FB page to record my adventure properly...all in good time.

The Cats were suitably miffed at me when I got home although Rupert DID sleep on my face the first night!  (He usually resides on my chesticles.).  Scott was happy to have me home and has been an absolute star taking care of me...and the Horde...I'm just a little bit jealous how they didn't miss me so much!  Although Scott said around the ninth or tenth day there was some testiness amongst the ranks.

Anyway, sorry about the radio silence and I'll get on the stick soon with photos and more!

Happy Thursday!

XX. Sheebie. XX

Perched

Friends and Kitties!

Remember that article that used to run (maybe it still does) in Reader's Digest; "Boy, Was My Face Red"--relating various embarrassing incidents?

Well, here's one for you, literal and metaphorical:

Moral of the story--don't demo an arm balance pose for your spouse when they have a camera in hand!  

 Thank goodness he wasn't behind me...

This is my Sunday Selfie entry!

Happy Sunday!

XX  Sheebie  XX

Saturday and Sunday with Sheebie

Friends and Kitties!

Sheebie here.

Saturday is my Birthday (52!) so I'm going to be lazy and do just one post for the weekend and call it good.

But I have some fun photos from the visit to see my folks and Shadow which I hope will tide you all over until Monday!

Dad and Mom out in the back yard, talking to Shadow, who is exploring.

Inspection.

An unwilling family portrait!

The unwillingness continues:  Me, molesting Shadow.  She is Mightily Displeased.

these damn people...

Shadow in action, giving up the loves:

or click HERE

Last but not least, home-made chocolate Birthday Cake for my Dad!

Have a Happy Weekend!

XX  Sheebie  XX

Secrets, Revealed!

Kitties!

Sheebie here, with answers to the burning questions of yesterday's post.

1.  When and where was this photo was taken?  1999, in the kitchen at our old house back in Illinois.

two)  Is that Mommy's natural hair color?  I think it might be!  Honestly, until I went gray I don't think I had a natural color.  

Q.  Are those ears for real?  Of course they are!

&.  Just how bad was her eyesight?  I had terrible vision before I had lasik surgery in 2001--everything was a blur a foot beyond my face, if that.  To this day I occasionally reach for my glasses first thing in the morning out of habit.

3.  Were Chuck's eyes blue or green?  They were a beautiful light ice blue, almost gray.  He was genetically deaf and had the dirtiest ears I've ever seen--he got Q-tipped often.

2$)  Was he a snuggler?  No, but he never objected to being held.  He especially liked having his neck hummed on.  I think the vibration was novel and pleasing as he'd settle in for a nice neck-munching session.

6.  Who was he staring down?  The Baby!  We had just rescued her.

twelveteen.  and...why don't we have houseplants any more?  D'UH.

We only had Chuckles for five years (he was probably in his teens when we got him) before he succumbed to renal failure.  In that time he destroyed countless knick-knacks and savaged shoes by the dozen.  (You could watch him and just SEE the wheels turning while he planned his next escapade!)  He sang whenever he was lonely and couldn't see anyone because he couldn't hear where we were...and he slept, every night, in his own private beddy on the refrigerator--when we moved the first thing we did was show him his bed on the new fridge and he was home.  He smelled wonderful.  He was a Great Cat, and we miss him still.  I treasure the photo of us together.

Happy Sunday!

XX  Sheebie  XX

About Time

Friends and Kitties!

Sheebie here.

I have to apologize for the extended blogcation...I just sorta kinda turned off all my devices (even my e-reader!) for over a week and I'm here to tell you, it was nice.  We had long-time comfortable friends to stay (for longer than expected--good times), cooked and consumed much food, napped, and talked.

Practiced having fun.  But now it's back to the grind.

However, I've decided on a new word for 2015:

I'm going to slow down, and take my Word for 2014--content--a little further.

This year's Word is "Savor".

Life, food, relationships, moments.

Wish me luck...

Happy Sunday!

XX  Sheebie  XX

pee ess:  The Horde will be back on Monday!

Snuggling with Sheebie

Friends and Kitties!

We're joining the Sunday Selfie Blog Hop:

Sheebie here, with a kinda-sorta snuggling selfie.

As you can see, I never lack for feline company.  

I'd like to apologize for not commenting on as many blogs as often lately--the pure-D fact is that I'm burned out.  Don't worry, I'm not considering stopping blogging because I'm incapable of shutting up but I wanted to let y'all know that we still make the rounds and enjoy reading every day.  

Thanks for all the nice comments on my yoga post!  I'd like to encourage all of you to give it a try sometime, even if you have a disability you can benefit from seated poses either on the floor or in a chair.  What I'm doing is the result of a year of practice and I never, in my wildest dreams, thought I'd be capable of the flexibility I've achieved--not to mention the wonderful feeling of mental centeredness that lasts far beyond the actual routine.  Scott practices regularly as well which helps him cope with his arthritis.  He uses a series of DVDs put out by a yogi named Peggy Cappy, and she is great; each pose/asana has variations according to your physical ability.  (She has stuff on YouTube, check it out!)

Scott and I have gone back into the kitchen and have been chef-ing up a storm lately.  Neither one of us cares for restaurant--or even prepared--food any more (flatus, anyone?) so out of self-preservation we've re-divvied up the household chores and I've made time to bake and cook.  It's funny, I wander into the kitchen thinking I'm "just going to do thus-and-such" and HOURS later I stagger out, laden with loaves, meals, and sides.  Scott, who up until recently was indifferent to my cooking (he used to be the chef) is now actually requesting certain dishes!  It's very fulfilling to prepare something nourishing for someone you love.  Even if it's yourself--we all have to eat.

On that note, I had a request for my pretzel roll recipe and it's at the end of the post.  I've  tweaked it a little to suit our taste, but the unaltered recipe can be found HERE--as well as lots of other excellent cooking ideas.  I find they are best eaten the day you make them (they take about 2 hours start to finish) or frozen then zapped in the microwave.  We always have some in the freezer, they are our go-to for sandwiches.

So, you have your instructions for the week:

1. stretch

2.  eat well

3. love yourself

Happy Sunday!

XX  Sheebie  XX

WHOLE WHEAT PRETZEL ROLLS

Ingredients:
1 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons molasses
1 packet active dry yeast (2-1/2 tsp)
2 tablespoons coconut oil (or other fat)
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 cup bread flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup baking soda
Pretzel salt or coarse ground sea salt, for sprinkling

Directions:
In a small saucepan, heat the milk, 1/2 cup water, sugar and molasses to 105 to 110 degrees F. Add to the bowl of a stand mixer. Sprinkle the yeast over the water mixture and wait 10-15 minutes until the yeast blooms.

Combine flours in a mixing bowl.

Add the flour mixture to the bowl with the blooming yeast, and then add in the coconut oil. Mix on medium speed until the dough has come together and is smooth and elastic in texture and pulling away from the sides of the bowl, 5 to 7 minutes.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured cutting board and form into a ball. Cut into 12 equal pieces. Using your hands, roll each piece into a ball and place onto a lightly floured surface. Cover with a dish cloth and let them rest in a warm place for 12 to 15 minutes.

Once rested, flour your work surface again and form the balls into flat discs, about 3" across. Place back in the warm spot and let rest for another 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Place one oven rack high and one low. Line 2  baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper.

In a large pot, bring 8 cups water to a boil, and then add the baking soda. In batches (3 or 4), place the discs in the water and cook for 30 seconds on each side.

Using a slotted spatula, remove the buns and place onto the prepared baking sheets. Sprinkle with pretzel salt as they come out of the water to ensure the salt sticks. Then cut 3 diagonal slits on top of the bread, not too deep.

Bake for 10 to 13 minutes, rotating between the top and bottom racks of the oven halfway through the cooking.

Enjoy!

Merde!

Friends and Kitties!

The feces has hit the fan here at work tonight. 

**BUSY**

I'm earning my pay...so no post, sorry!

I have some fun kitty picture for Monday already in the pipeline, so we'll see ya tomorrow.

Happy Sunday!

XX  Sheebie  XX

Sunday with Sheebie

Friends and Kitties!

Sheebie here.

It's been nearly a year since I was able to resume exercising after fracturing my kneecap.  You never realize how much effort it takes to simply move across the room until you break something important.  Overall, I'd say the rehab has been more painful than the actual injury--limping and favoring one side of my body for several months atrophied the muscles and tendons on my left side visibly.  Seriously, my pants were looser on my left leg than my right, and I had (still have, occasionally) chronic lower back pain from the unevenness in my frame.  

Last year I started practicing yoga, and I'd been at it about twelve weeks when I had my accident in May.  I enjoyed it so much though that I knew I'd resume it just as soon as I could, and when I went down to Arizona to visit my parents the following October I went to a couple of classes with my Mom (thanks Mom!) and that got the ball rolling for me again.  As long as I respected my knee's edge I was safe.  And oh, how I love it.  The past year has been a revelation in what my body can do--me, almost 52, learning to do a headstand in the middle of the room!  I am amazed and proud of myself.  I've gone at least twice a week for an entire year now and I'm happy to report that my knee is at 100%, and the back/hip pain no longer distracts me enough to deter a good night's sleep or a long walk.  I go to a great studio with small classes and wonderful teachers where there's lots of hands-on adjustments and feedback--it's an incredibly warm and nurturing place for the body and soul.

On the days I don't go to a formal class I like to practice at home, even if it's only for twenty minutes because 1) it's so energizing, and 2) I know that if I don't keep my hip limber I'll suffer that evening--pain is such a powerful motivator!

So I thought I'd toot my own horn for 90 seconds and do a Sun Salutation for you.

Notice my Helper?

or click HERE

It gives me such joy to practice.

Thanks for letting me share!

XX  Sheebie  SS

Cloudy Day

Friends and Kitties!

Sheebie here.

So, Saturday I went for a walk up the Big Hill* to the water tank in my neighborhood.  It was cloudy and cool(ish) and when I got to the top I thought to myself:  "Sheeb, this vista would make a good photo for your Sunday post--there's rain in the distance and the colors aren't all bleached out from the sun".

*click*

Did I do good?

Happy Sunday!

XX  Sheebie  XX

*11% grade; it's killer!

Rebel, Rebel

Friends and Kitties!  

Sheebie here.

The weather has been mighty fine here*, and I've resumed my daily walks--which means more signs for me to discover and disobey!

This one was just begging to be violated.

So I did!

And, seeing how this is such a wonderful photo of myself, I'm linking it with The Cat on My Head's Sunday Selfies!  I think the squint, scowl, and especially the double chin(s) are stunning.  

Thank you.

Happy Sunday!

XX  Sheebie  XX

*i.e. below 90℉