But on this summer day, in the 108 degree heated room, my third eye lay centered and calm. As I waited for the 26 poses of Bikram at Pura Vida yoga to start, with sweat already dripping down my brow, my mind flashed back to a vision of me being told by the kindergarden teacher to lay down on my blue mat for nap time.  All of the other five year-olds were already down for the count. But I was so scared to rest. Why? I am still not sure. Perhaps because closing my eyes in a room where I couldn’t observe what was going on around me was the root of my anxiety.  Back then, I was fearful of everything and everyone. An abnormally conscientious soul for a child of that age, I acted as if I was five going on 5-0.

Now I am centered and calm as I lay on my mat without a care in the world. I am a 3-5 year old woman going on five.  Child’s pose is a sacred position in yoga. The little girl who once hated laying down on the plastic blue mats  in kindergarden now loves to lay down in a room full of strangers on her big girl yoga mat.

I may not be able to reclaim my woeful childhood. But I hope to share my youthful adulthood joy now with others.  What is your favorite yoga pose and why?

I dedicate this poem….to each and everyone of you, whether you have lost a job or a friend in hopes that you will find the silver lining.  A job can be replaced, a loved one can not.

Ode to Unemployment

My friend, you greeted me each morning with a latte and a copy machine,

You motivated me to punch digits into my computer screen.

And when we had breaks from the workplace drama, we laughed,

We surfed together, about coworkers; we quaffed.

And then one day, promotion came,

Here I sat on my stiff plastic chair frame.

Playing the same damn family cubicle game.

But my position upgrade you promised was still unseen.

No matter how many text messages I sent,

You were truly becoming a mentor to which I was not keen.

You gave me such woe, texting a reply:

“My office in ten, please stop by.”

One auspicious day, feeling just like a John Doe,

You simply said to me, “Pack your bags and go.”

I realized then, you were not my friend,

I was just your dividend.

Your career crutch until the bitter end.

How did I ever cause you that much woe?

Was I simply your financial foe or was this a matter of status quo,

Why the hell you let me go, I guess I will never know.

~by Rachel Ruff of Pinkmixer

www.youtube.com/watch?v=LssWNhytOEY

Pinkmixer bikes over to Coors Field in Denver, Colorado to enjoy a Cubs vs. Rockies baseball game with beer, bratwurst and peanuts.  Watch as Chef Ruff tries to boost peanut sales.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgGa9nmWBuE

How do wiggling your toes stand for willpower and spinning your head until you are dizzy stand for grace? When you step into Stacey Lei Krauss’s uniquely choreographed willPower & grace™ class you’ll know! Class requirements: no shoes, black attire, a sense of humor and a desire to develop willpower and grace.

Watch with wonder as I step barefoot, and baffled, into Stacey’s class at Pura Vida club to show you a must-add to your physical regimen.

willPower & grace™ isn’t just a class, it’s a life discipline, for me that means in the kitchen too. My goal: to get those beautiful guns Stacey has for biceps, so I can lift my black & white cookies to my mouth as a well deserved treat! I guarantee after ten classes you will start to see the results.

To find out more about willPower & grace™ visit: www.willpowerfit.com and to re-hydrate grab some coconut water by Vita Coco: www.vitacoco.com

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xGIDSl1_fc

Chef Ruff hits the Hotel Monaco to mound the cream puffs into a magnificent croquembouche wedding cake.  Look up the recipe under the cake or pastry categories.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZX8YO5NWZGs

Chef Ruff spoofs on ABC’s The Bachelor “On the Wings of Love” season finale.  Watch the drama unfold and Chef Ruff get into character as Vienna, Tenley, Rozlyn, Ali and Michelle.  Chef Ruff offers Jake a cookie to help with his decision.  Will his decision be sugar or spice?  Recipe located in cookie category or search site for cookies.

I give up all conversation with these two after repeated attempts to discuss food and drink at the annual Polo Classic.  I was covering the event for the Examiner.  Thankfully, I found my human counterparts much more willing to talk about the fine cuisine on display that day.

B is for BLING!

My “milk” moustache here was caused by some amazing grass…read on:

Cherry Creek’s Whole Foods store was recently sampling the “Amazing Grass” Green SuperFood chocolate drink powder in the form of a wheat grass shake. I summoned my gag reflex as I took a swig, yet something amazing happened as the powder’s name implies. After I chugged my grass I guffawed at this remarkable flavor and immediate energy boost.

As a friend once responded to my wheatgrass smoothie recipe on Facebook, “If I want to eat grass Ruff, I’ll go chew on my front lawn.” But once he tried it, he said it was amazing.

So before you forgo this post and head to the Examiner gardening section, I assure you that the grassy taste disappears within a sea of chocolate and banana froth. Yet you still ingest all of the photochemical and antioxidant properties so heralded in wheat grass.

An amazing product that packs the nutritional equivalent of nuclear fusion.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=aICg6O04wIw