Results matching “tea” from Jeanette Hada's Wellness and Happiness Blog

As I sit under the warmth of the much appreciated kotatsu (heater table) with my daughter sleeping peacefully in my arms, I can't believe a half year has already passed since living in our home.  For nearly three weeks two months ago, we dealt with uncomfortably cold weather and met with the challenges of staying warm in an older (109 yrs old) home while making an effort to keep the PG&E expenses down.  With all my complaining and grouching, our last two bills came in under $100 dollars!  Even while living in our tiny condo, our electricity bill usually fluctuated around $150.

I've really come to love this house with it's beautifully painted rooms.  Naoki finished the Venetian plaster in the sun room and recently the star room.  He did a wonderful job and they look wonderful and bring a warmer feeling to the house.   

Life has been busy with family and business.  We've been blessed in both areas.  Naoki's mother and sister came for a brief nine day stay. They really enjoyed all the tasty fruit (navel oranges, pummelos, fuji apples, and oro blancos) that are in season from the farmers market in Campbell.  I made a garlicky spinach pasta with fresh Meyer lemons from our yard one night.  It came out very well, though I would have liked it to be spicier...recipe to follow.

In business, I feel very fortunate and again blessed to be working with so many incredible people.  My listing in San Bruno thankfully sold and the seller is buying a lovely place to call home in Sacramento.  Four deals have closed this year so far and with another in escrow, there is much to be appeciative for.  Although the news is always painting a bleak outlook, they are usually behind in reporting how things are looking up.

Back to talking about home...  We have nearly 50 fruit plants/trees in our yard now.  The potatoes are sprouting in the crop circle Naoki made.  The blossoms are radiant on Aislee's white peach / white nectarine tree and on the Georgia Peach tree we adopted from a home in Palo Alto.  I'm looking forward to making fruit pies if the fat squirrels don't get to them first.

The old avocado tree that came with this house bears California Diablo avocados.  They're smoother and creamier than Hass and have a thinner skin.  They take two weeks to ripen once picked from the tree.  Hopefully we'll have more growing as I love avocado sandwiches on toasted bread with Japanese mayonnaise (Kewpie brand) and slices of cold cucumber! So good!!  I could go off on a tangent when it comes to avocados...  Actually it looks like I did.

Ok, on to the pasta recipe -

Boil your preferred pasta al dente (slightly undercooked) as you'll be adding it to another pan to mix in with the garlic lemon sauce.

1. In a large sauce pan drizzle a tablespoon of grapeseed oil (olive oil is fine too) and a pat of butter, heat on medium flame.
2. Add crushed garlic, approximately 5 - 7 cloves
3. Sprinkle a teaspoon (or more depending on your heat preference) of red pepper flakes
4. Add a few pinches of salt to meld flavors, more can be added later to adjust
5. Careful not to burn the garlic, give your mixture a few pushes around your pan.
6. Once garlic is crisp, add spinach and pasta.
7. Mix everything well til spinach is cooked, adding a touch more oil or butter as needed.
8. Finally add thinly sliced lemon wedges of one lemon or juice lemon and add it's zest.

 

As a parent-to-be, I'm both concerned and torn over when and what to vaccinate. I understand that we need to protect our children from illnesses and disease, but don't feel comfortable taking everything a doctor says as truth (perhaps, it is as they know it, they've been known to be wrong before), it seems negligent to leave the safety and well-being of my baby without doing more research.

So far, since I plan to work from home and will not have our daughter in daycare, we will have her immunizations start at age 2. We'll request vaccines to be free of Thimerosal and order them ahead of time and have her shots spaced apart. This is thinking way ahead. Hopefully by the time she's due for her vaccinations, most of this mess will have been sorted through.

"If a dirty bomb exposed a large segment of US citizens simultaneously to Hepatitis B, Hepatitis A, Pertussis, Tetanus, Diptheria, Haemophilous Influenza B, 3 strains of Polio viruses, 3 strains of Influenza viruses, Measles, Mumps and Rubella viruses, the Chickenpox Virus, and 7 strains of Streptococcus Bacteria, we would declare a national emergency. We would call it an " Extreme Act of BIO-TERRORISM" . The public outcry would be immense and our government would act accordingly. And yet, those are the very organisms that we inject through vaccines into our babies and our small children, with immature, undeveloped immune systems. Many are given all at the same time. But, instead of BIO-TERRORISM we call it protection. Reflect a Moment on that Irony." -Dr. Sherri Tenpenny

In recent news: Families will make case for vaccine link to autism
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080512/ap_on_re_us/autism_court_case

After an excellent appointment with my midwife's assistant/doula in Menlo Park, my friend and I headed to downtown Los Altos to indulge in something light and sweet at Satura Bakery. If you've not yet been, I highly suggest taking a trip there on a Thursday afternoon. After eating one of the best choux creams in my life, we walked over to the farmers market. This is one of the rare markets that stays open later in the day. We sampled different types of flavorful cherries that were sweet and not the least bit sour, hearty Jersey Brand milk cheeses, super sweet sweet peas, and dark juicy red strawberries. I left with five small, but crisp and sweet, organic white peaches from Kashiwase Farms, organic Spring Hill Farms garlic curds (made from fresh mozzarella), and also one of their pesto jack blocks, melt-in-your-mouth roasted rosemary fingerling potatoes (we ate those there), and a small basket of unusually pointy, but remarkably sweet strawberries!! Oh, and I also purchased five of Satura's choux creams for Naoki -- three vanilla and two green tea flavored. Forgive all of these foodcentric posts. Occupying my mind most of the time is food, house hunting for friends/clients and ourselves, and this baby.

I came across this wonderful organization that supplies discounted groceries to families and seniors. They do not require meeting any particular criteria; however, they are still working on nationwide deliveries. According to the organization, the food provided is of restaurant and high grade quality.

The cost of groceries has risen significantly since last year due to the economy. Below is a short news clip on how you can reduce how much you spend at the stores (though I believe most people know these tips already...).

Angel Food Ministries is a non-profit, non-denominational organization dedicated to providing grocery relief and financial support to communities throughout the United States.

Blessings by the box

Angel Food's groceries are sold in a quantity that can fit into a medium-sized box at $30 per unit. Each month's menu is different than the previous month and consists of both fresh and frozen items with an average retail value of approximately $50. Comparison shopping has been done across the country in various communities using a wide range of retail grocery stores and has resulted in the same food items costing from between $42 and $78.

Generally, one unit of food assists in feeding a family of four for about one week or a single senior citizen for almost a month. The food is all the same high quality one would purchase at a grocery store. There are no second-hand items, no damaged or out-dated goods, no dented cans without labels, no day-old breads and no produce that is almost too ripe. Also offered are specialty boxes such as steaks, chicken and pork. Many participants in this bonus program appreciate the expanded choices. Additionally, there is no limit to the number of units or bonus foods an individual can purchase, and there are no applications to complete or qualifications to which participants must adhere. Angel Food Ministries, like most all other retail grocery stores, also participates in the U.S. Food Stamp program, using the Off-Line Food Stamp Voucher system.

It's both a Bargain and a Blessing!

just mix all ingredients and bake it at 350 F for 45 minutes.

----------------
I hadn't seen my friend in two years, so this get-together was a very special one.  It was our first time meeting her absolutely charming, talented and interesting husband.  It was a blessing to meet a couple that pair together so well.  Both are musically inclined, share a passion for traveling and fine food, as well as seem to be very in love with each other (after being together for 10 years).


~ pictures to follow at http://jeanette.hada.us

I had an informal loan consultation with a lovely couple last night.  Thankfully I was sitting down most of the time as hours before I had taken quite a fall and ripped a nasty hole in my pants.  Lesson learned...no running across the street during the rain while holding a heavy bag of Chinese food wearing 3.5" heels.  Luckily I fell on my knees instead of my stomach or face.  A very nice woman and elderly man picked me up while won ton soup ran out of my bag and off my pants.  The funny elderly man picked a dime up that was also soaked in soup and asked if was mine.  Still in shock I took it and thanked them both.  Of course, it would be my luck that I fell at a busy intersection in front of the huge window of Wells Fargo Bank which is located on the corner near my office.

This morning I woke up sore with the blanket stuck to my bloodied knee.  I think I'll invest in some flat shoes and knee pads...

I will smother my boo boo with Emprizone, an aloe based gel.  Thankfully it doesn't burn and seems to heal my injuries rather quickly.

Please note: It looks like I have chicken skin in the photo below, but those are badly bruised hair follicles. yes, gross, but true.

Ever since returning from Taiwan in 2005, I've really enjoyed the ritual of having a cup of tea after dinner. There was a particular mulberry tea from there that I loved, but finished off within the first few weeks after our return. If I have the chance to visit again, I will make a special trip to purchase the same brand again. Other mulberry teas just don't seem to have that same deep flavor. Mulberry leaf tea is known to be good for lowering blood pressure and maintaining blood sugar levels.

The tea I had this evening was made with ginseng and dried pink rose hips. I was a little put off when I first opened the teabag as it smelled like potpourri, but after brewing it for a few minutes it made the prettiest and most aromatic cup of tea. Rose hips are high in vitamin C and can also be eaten. The ginseng teabag that you add separately has a flavor that takes getting used to. It's definitely an earthy tasting brew.

We just arrived in Japan yesterday after a long journey by car, plane, speedboat, and minivan!

Our first place to visit was my in-laws in Mie. My lovely mother-in-law, Misako-san, prepared a wonderful assortment of dishes of different types of sashimi, homegrown edamame (soybeans), lots of fresh vine-ripened veggies from their garden, and mixed rice loaded with yummy bits of shitake mushroom, tofu, and other greens. In addition to their green tea, they also have a huge garden of tomatoes, cucumbers, shiso (a type of basil), grapes, and much more.

For breakfast this morning, we had grilled mochi (rice cakes) wrapped in seaweed, miso (w/tofu, seaweed, and more mushrooms), fishcake stuffed with cucumber, and more melon and white peaches...yum!

For the past few months there have been numerous (but not new) reports on the benefits of drinking tea, especially the green kind! Naoki's family has a beautiful green tea farm in Mie, Japan and they are ready to ship 2007 spring leaves. The cut off date to order will be this Thursday, May 10.

This green tea tastes different and has a sweeter and fresher flavor than what is available in most stores here. It can be cold brewed as well as served hot. Please allow boiled water to cool for a few minutes before adding the delicate tea leaves to prevent burning, which can alter the taste. Hadaseicha's tea is dark green in color, has a bold taste and was carefully harvested by Naoki's parents. Orders are available only once a year and large orders can be stored in the freezer to preserve freshness. My mother likes to order the teabags in bulk and repackage them to give as gifts to her health-conscious clients.

This is "omurice" (Japanese-style omelette rice topped with demiglace sauce) from Clover Bakery in San Jose.

Last night I found two teabags of my favorite organic mulberry tea and enjoyed it alongside my pastries filled with spicy fish roe (mentaiko) this afternoon. The flavors brought back memories of our travels to Taiwan and Japan two years ago. Taipei is where I purchased this wonderful tea. Naoki and I often ate Japanese style pastries/bread while we were running around Japan hosting presentations and promoting our business.

To get the most out of iron supplements, avoid
taking them with coffee, tea or milk. These beverages
contain substances that can inhibit the absorption of iron.

Wait 90 minutes or more to drink coffee, tea or milk,
after taking the iron.

Top 10 tips for new speakers and presenters
Posted by Allen Stern 02/05/2007

As you grow your web application and become successful, conferences and other venues might ask you to speak about yourself, your site and your success to their audiences. As I have sat through thousands of presentations both at work and at events, I thought I would share 10 tips for presentation effectiveness. This is not an exhaustive list but by doing these 10 things, you will absolutely increase your effectiveness of giving presentations. Some of this comes from listening/watching CEO presentations where they have only mere minutes (5-7) to get their audience engaged and excited.

Tip 1: Leave out the PowerPoint effects
This is probably the most important tip of all. Why? Because each of these effects take time and can provide severe distraction for your audience. The most recent example I have of this is at AlwaysOn in NYC when the CEO of Payperpost presented. He had 6 minutes for his presentation and clocking the effects, he lost 81 seconds waiting for the next screen to load. Are the effects cool? Sure, but leave them at home.

Tip 2: Verify your presentation works
When I give presentations, whether they are to my team, or to a large conference, I always have my presentation on multiple media formats. I am a bit over the edge but you can never be prepared enough. Just providing it to the conference planner is not enough. I usually store the presentation on a remote file server, and a usb stick drive as well. So total of 3 places including my laptop makes certain that I will always be ready. You should be ready too. Remember someone might want to ask you later about your presentation so having it locally will help afterwards.

Tip 3: Be relevant
Make sure the presentation fits the audience. If you are speaking to a group of young women entrepreneurs, tailor your presentation so they get excited. If you are speaking to young kids, don't bore them with a speech showing your service working with elderly folks. Remember that it is all about tip 4... engagement!

Tip 4: Engage the audience immediately
Two presentations at AlwaysOn did a good job of immediate engagement. Unfortunately I was unable to get the company name of the first but they used the ding-dong sound from the TV show 24 to get attendees to pay attention. Great job because when they showed the clock like on the TV show, they kept the clock accurate. 3-4 times overall for 10-15 seconds but the audience laughed and was engaged. The other presentation was from ClipSync's CEO. He brought in a story from his days playing basketball in Israel which drew in the audience. Once he moved to the discussion of his service, the person sitting next to me asked, "why did he talk about basketball, I don't get it?" So I am assuming more than just this one person didn't get it. Make sure they get it.

Tip 5: Provide multiple means for contact
Offer attendees multiple ways to contact you. Where possible stay after the presentation for on-site questions. Offer a phone number and an email address for other contacts.

Sophie's beautiful mother recently ordered us a bazooka-load of these delicious organic, sundried dates from Oasis Garden Farms!

When I was younger, my friend's mother used to make the most amazing homemade chicken soup and used these types of dates to give it a touch of sweetness. The dates also flavor tea in the most remarkable way too. What's special about the dates we received is that they're organic, do not contain sulphur, and their huge size. Most of the ones sold in markets are small and have a tiny seed, whereas you can tell that these were allowed to grow to full size before harvesting.

Please contact me via email if you would be interested in ordering any of these dates. You can learn more about these special fruit (sometimes known as "jujube" Chinese, "daechu" Korean, or "natsume" Japanese) on Wikipedia!

I've watched "The Secret" DVD three times now (actually 2.5 times - the first time was on our Alaskan cruise in their theatre. I'd fallen asleep after staying up late one too many nights in a row.) Every time I've watched it, I've come away with something new. All of it good in my opinion.

This documentary-style movie stirred up a lot of buzz within our group of friends, colleagues and also online with many of the Yahoo Groups I'm a part of. If you haven't seen it yet, it's something I would highly recommend be watched to my family and friends.

If you live nearby me (in San Jose, California) and are interested in watching it, please let me know. You can also go online and view it yourself for $4.95 at http://www.theSecret.tv or purchase it via that site or at Amazon.

Ok, not the best picture, but this cranberry/orange relish is delicious with turkey. The color is off in this photo and it's actually a deep dark red with flecks of orange.

I used two containers of fresh cranberries, one navel orange cut into small pieces, xylitol, and pure blackberry honey. All of the fruit and honey is organic. After using the chop feature on the blender, I stored the contents in a jar for this Thursday's Thanksgiving dinner. Cinnamon, nutmeg, and/or a light dash of ground clove can be added.

To keep from overeating during the holidays, I'll usually have a light meal two hours before consisting of food that I'm used to eating on a daily basis, such as brown rice, fish or chicken and a dark green veggie on the side. When we arrive at my family's place, I'll use a small plate to keep portions under control. If I'm too lazy to fill a second serving, I've probably had enough to eat.

My sweet-loving family also always have a variety of desserts to gorge upon. Mom's pecan pie is my weakness, so I'll have a sliver and a nice hot cup of cinnamon tea to accompany it. This time I'll bring a lovely chocolate port from Sonoma Port Works (I blogged about this earlier) for my sister. It's heavenly drizzled on vanilla bean ice cream.

I'm not sure how clearly you can see these photos (taken with a Treo phone), but the tiny dinosaur looking creatures in the first photo are parrotlet hatchlings and the second is of Green Cheek Conures. They're different than Lucky, who is a "Yellow Sided Fancy Green Cheek Conure". His coloring is a mutation (a good kind of mutation that is..).

After spending time at the birdshow, we came home with Lucky's new toys and immediately showered and washed the clothes we attended the show in. We then washed all of his goodies and set them outside to dry.

Our friend Chie purchased a conure of her own. She found Takeshi, a Rosie Fronted Conure, from one of the breeders at the show. We helped her find a suitable cage, which needed to be large enough for him to roam around in, a large play gym made from a manzanita tree branch, and a Happy Hut for him to sleep in.

This is news to celebrate! Send me an email from now until the end of the year and I'll send you great health information and a free piece of my favorite dark chocolate :) jeanette337 at gmail dot com or visit my site and complete a contact form for two pieces of dark chocolate!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

By Maggie Fox, Health and Science EditorTue Nov 14, 6:38 PM ET

They were so addicted, they just could not give up their favorite daily snack -- not even in the interest of science.

But chocolate lovers who flunked out of a Johns Hopkins University study on aspirin and heart disease helped researchers stumble on an explanation of why a little chocolate a day can cut the risk of heart attack.

This past weekend was spent looking for multiple unit properties to both and live and invest in. After viewing about eight different places, I came home feeling very thankful for our tiny (but well kept and quiet) home. We'd like to find a place with a good school district, and possibly upgrade the property to include eco and health friendly flooring, paint, and water filteration systems.

It seems a million dollars doesn't get you very much in the Bay Area these days. That's not exactly our budget, but it's the going rate for many of the plex properties in the 40 year old range in the South Bay.

Please read on if you would like a list of valuable real estate resources.

Making a Difference One Person at a Time

The Starfish Story:

There once was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work. One day he was walking along the shore, as he looked down the beach, he saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself to think of someone who would dance to the day. So he began to walk faster to catch up. As he got closer, he saw that it was a young man, and the young man wasn’t dancing, but instead he was reaching down to the shore, picking up something, and very gently throwing it into the ocean. As he got closer he called out, “Good morning, what are you doing?” The young man paused, looked up and replied, “Throwing starfish into the ocean.” “I guess I should have asked; why are you throwing starfish in the ocean?” “The sun is up and the tide is going out. And if I don’t throw them then they’ll die.” “But, young man, don’t you realize that there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it. You can’t possibly make a difference!” The young man listened politely, then bent down, picked another starfish and threw it into the sea, past the breaking waves and said, “It made a difference for that one.”

-Author Unknown-

There is something special in each and every one of us. We have all been gifted with the ability to make a difference. And if we can become aware of that gift, we gain through the strength of our visions, the power to shape the future. We must each find our starfish, and if we throw our stars wisely and well, the world will be blessed.

It pains me to write about this subject, as I find it difficult to maintain composure as an adult when discussing the subject of ..well, flatulence. You know, passing the gas, tooting, cutting the cheese, etc. I could go on, but then the point of this blog entry would be lost.

Many of us have issues with digestion, either with acid reflux (heartburn), gas of some sort, constipation and/or diarrhea. Going from an unhealthy diet of junk/fast food to a super healthy eating plan can also cause an "uproar" in our system. What may be lacking are the necessary and beneficial enzymes need to properly breakdown our food, as well as a quality probiotic supplement to assist with the complete digestive process.