Motivational Musing ~

In Need of An Exercise Plan?
Juggle Talk

Juggling - a highly aerobic activity - increases the heart and respiration rate, and it’s a very cool way to exercise.

The repetitive motion of juggling builds and tones muscles that aren’t ordinarily used in our daily lives. Jugglers are generally fit, lean and muscular. (Sounds good to me.) Juggling also exercises your brain - so much so that studies have shown that those who juggle have more gray matter. Juggling also develops hand eye coordination.  All the skills that you learn from juggling are transferable and can be applied to other sports! 

The repetitive patterns take concentration and can help to relieve you of stress.  It’s a kind of meditation.  Jugglers have described going into states of bliss, near-disembodiment and tranquility. 

Juggling takes time to learn, but it’s well worth the effort. You can do it almost anywhere, it’s inexpensive, it’s non-competitive, and age doesn’t matter.  Juggling is a great confidence builder, and rest assured, you’ll be the life of the party. 

A Little Juggling History

Thousands of years ago, people in Ancient Egypt, Greece, China and other parts of Asia juggled rocks, plates, balls and other objects.

During medieval times, jugglers traveled throughout Europe, from town to town, performing their juggling tricks for money. And the English were so into it that they gave their top juggler a title - King of Jugglers - and he (a male dominated profession) would perform juggling tricks for the royals!

In the late 1800s, juggling made its way to the United States, and jugglers became an integral part of circuses and traveling shows. Around the same time, rubber was invented, so jugglers started using rubber balls.

By the time the 20th Century rolled around, jugglers developed different styles and performed their tricks with clubs, guns, chairs and cannon balls.

A Word from Our Lady

Guns aside, I’m going to give it a juggle. Sounds more like play to me! And, who knows – if all else fails, maybe I’ll join the circus.
And you?

Here are some links to help us get started.
How to juggle.
Join a juggling club.
In need of rubber balls or bean bags. Let's shop.
Does juggling make your brain grow? Read this!

Read about Our Lady of Weight Loss (and Janice Taylor) in ... PERSONAL JOURNEY LADY LUCK - Holy inspiration! by Stephanie Sloane ... Read on.

 

 

 

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Righteous Recipe ~ HONEY Glazed Sweet Potato - an easy and delectable holiday treat.

 

 

Ingredients: 2 lbs. sweet potatoes or yams 2/3 cup orange juice 1/3 cup honey 1Tablespoon cornstarch 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 Tablespoon butter or margarine

Instructions: Wash and pierce potatoes or yams. Place on a piece of heavy-duty foil and bake at 375°F for 40 to 50 minutes until just tender. Cool, peel and cut into 1-1/2 inch pieces. Spray 8x8-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Place cooked potatoes or yams in dish; set aside. In small pan, combine orange juice, honey, cornstarch, ginger, nutmeg and salt. Stir until smooth. Cook over medium-high heat stirring until thick and mixture begins to boil. Stir and cook for one minute. Remove from heat and stir in butter. | Pour over potatoes or yams stirring to coat. Bake at 350°F for 25 to 30 minutes until hot and potatoes are tender.

Dear OLofWL, How I bake acorn squash - use ice pick, stab it all over (after washing it), wrap in white paper towel, put on microwave proof plate, put in micro on high for about 6 minutes, let cool about 5 minutes, comes with everything nice, steaming hot, after cutting, put seeds in container, wash, spread on pan in oven, toast about 10 minutes at 400, a few handfuls are very filling, you can add spices or cinnamon or whatever. Better than cooking it for 2 hours in an oven!! ps, I lost some more weight, 262 to 154 now, and I'm vey happy wearing size 14-16. A lot better than size 4X/26. I like your weekly newsletters and creatively, nice green lady this time. ~ JT, Aloha, Oregon

Thanks JT from Aloha, And a hearty Congrats on your weight loss! Let us know when you hit the 100 mark and we'll dedicate a Kick to you and send a prize! ~ OLofWL

Want to whip up another dish?
Send Our Lady your favorite recipe! Keep them easy, low-cal and FUN.

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Fruitful Contest - Who is Billy Blanks? (Hint: think exercise)

The 23rd to enlighten Our Lady wins a prize! Write Our Lady.

JOIN now! It's fun, fab and FREE

Last week's Fruitful query: NAME THIS CHARACTER - In 1958, Procter & Gamble first introduced a well-muscled bald character who cleans everything very well. Who is he? ... Mr. CLEAN. and the winner is: Sed S., Hometon, OR

A.Pie bets it's Mr. Clean. "I think that fat and clutter must go together. The fatter I was, the more junk I had in my life. I have filled 2 dumpsters in the last 2 years. I've lost 36 lbs. and a total of 15 inches!!!!! Now! that's cleaning up!"

IVPatti from Medford, Oregon writes, "Mr. Clean!  Used to be my fave buff man since I was so dang anal in that area--I was a royal pain in the butt, actually, to everyone but myself.  Now that I'm over the hill I've lightened up considerably and it's so fun still being clean, but relaxed...yeah!"

Peg G. from Santa Margarita, California remembers, "That guy is Mr. Clean. He also had a very cool earring, if I remember correctly."

Lu confesses, "It's Mr. Clean and I wish he would come to my house! It's a mess!"

Write Our Lady.

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Chewing the Fat - How you doin'? Write Our Lady.
If you've written and your letter has not been published, it's probably coming down the pike and will be in next week's KICK or the week after! NOTE: If your letter and/or Weighty Confession and/or Righteous Recipe are published, you will receive an Our Lady of Weight Loss prize! Be sure to send your mailing address with your email.

Dear OLofWL, I'm hoping you and my fellow subscribers to Our Lady will have some ideas for me to plan a dinner for my best bud. She has struggled with weight loss for some 25+ years, tried the Atkins program and lost 80 lbs! then came to a standstill, she is currently on the "Neanderthin" program and is doing splendidly. We try to get together with our spouses for a dinner party twice a month which we bring our own steaks and a veg or salad. Last week she prepared an Italian dinner for us from start to finish and it was as usual, scrumptious. I want to plan a whole dinner (starting with or'drvs) around what she can eat which is very limited - meat, veg, seeds, and fruit, no sugar, no dairy, no starch! She is a wonderful cook and all round beautiful person and I'd like to set her back on her tush by doing something supportive and nice for her! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! ~ Thanx, Susan

Dear Susan, You are, indeed, a good and thoughtful friend. I took a poke around - and for those who are not familiar with the Neanderthin plan, here is a link to a fairly good explanation. (Neanderthin Program.) I also found two links to sites that feature interesting low-carb recipes and they include vegetable recipes. (OLofWL is believes that fruits and vegetables are an important part of a healthy food plan.) Site 1: Site 2. If any Kick members have any great Neanderthin recipes, I'll be happy to post and send on to Susan. Thanks all! ~ OLofWL

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Dear OLofWL, I too tried the squash recipie.  Very good.  A good housekeeping website is www.flylady.net.  Check it out. ~ Kate S., Saint Paul, MN

Dear Kate, Thanks for the tip. I've heard good things about flylady. I'm passing it on. ~ OLofWL

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Dear OLofWL, When my kids got to the age that they bought gifts for me there were always gifts of candy or heart shaped cookies. I had a heart-to-heart with them and
told them that I didn't need anything that would put more weight on me. (They do not like sweets.) As much as I appreciated the gesture, I told them to stop. I told them the rules. I don't want anything I have to eat or dust. Now I get flowers for every event. Sometimes even a plant for the yard. For Father's Day (because we have been without Dad and husband for 7 years-he died in 1998), I received a facial from the twins and flowers. How cool is that? Thanks for Kick in the Tush. ~ AnnieP.

Dear AnnieP., Good for you. I love your rule and think I will embroider it into a pillow! You're inspired another pious project. "I don't want anything I have to eat or dust." Very cool, indeed! ~ OLofWL