Superbowl Sunday is coming right up! Ready for a football term quiz?

February is a special month for football fans in America. The upcoming Super Bowl LVIII will be held on Sunday, February 11, 2024 in Las Vegas. This will be the first Super Bowl to be played in the state of Nevada. Are you familiar with football terms? How about testing yourself on the following football terms? 🏈🏈🏈

 

    1.   _________________ is a tactic used by the defense to disrupt pass attempts by the offense.

 

    2.   What do you call the zone inside the 20-yard line on the opponent's side of the field?  _______________ zone

 

    3.   In gridiron football, “SAFETY” is the position on the (defense   or    offense). *Choose the answer.

 

    4.   When a player touches a loose ball while unsuccessfully attempting to gain possession, we call it to “____________” the ball. It most frequently occurs when a kick or punt returner fails to successfully execute a catch on a free kick or a punt.

  

    5. The ____________ End position is a hybrid between an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. They normally line up next to the offensive tackles on offense.

 

    6.   The line of ______________________ is an imaginary line in football that is parallel to the goal lines and tangent to the nose of the ball laid on the ground and marks the position of the ball at the start of each down.

 

    7.   A “lateral” can be thrown in any direction except …

1.   backwards.

2.   forwards.

3.   parallel to the thrower.

 

 

*source from dictionary.com

 

Answer Keys

    1.  blitz

    2.  red zone

    3.  defense

    4.  muff

    5.  tight

    6.  scrimmage

    🏈🏈7.  forward

Heteronyms

Quite a few English learners find it difficult or confusing to use heteronyms. Heteronyms are two or more words that are spelled identically but have different sounds and meanings, such as tear meaning “rip” (and being pronounced /teər/) and tear meaning “liquid from the eye” (and being pronounced /tɪər/ )

 

Try to fill in the following blanks with heteronyms.

    1.   Phil thought it was time to pop the question to Janet. So he decided to

______________ a nice ______________ to his girl.

*hint: the word begins with the letter “p”

 

 

    2.   More people ______________ in the ______________ than in the mountains.

*hint: the word begins with the letter “d”

 

    3.   The insurance was _______________ for the _____________ in his hospital bed.

*hint: the word begins with the letter “i”

 

    4.   I had to ___________ the _____________ to a series of tests.

*hint: the word begins with the letter “s”

 

    5.   When shot at, the __________  ___________ into the bushes.

*hint:  the word begins with the letter “d”

 

    6.   We must __________ the ____________ furniture shown at the store.

*hint: the word begins with the letter”p”

 

    7.   The bandage was ____________ around the soldier’s _______________.  

*hint: the word begins with the letter “w”

 

    8.   Why don’t you stop by my place this weekend? I ____________ pretty near your house. Let’s just have some beer and watch this popular political _____________ streaming show together.

*hint: the word begins with the letter “l”

 

 

 

 

Answer Keys

1. present /prɪˈzɛnt/ as a verb vs present /ˈprɛz(ə)nt/ as a noun

2. desert / dɪˈzɜːrt/ as a verb vs desert /ˈdɛzərt/ as a noun

3. invalid /ɪnˈvalɪd/ vs invalid /ˈɪnvəlɪd/ both as an adjective

4. subject /səbˈdʒɛkt/ as a verb  vs   subject /ˈsʌbdʒɛkt/ as a noun

5. dove /dʌv/ as a noun  vs  dove /dəʊv/ as a verb in its past tense

6. polish /ˈpɒlɪʃ/ as a verb vs Polish /ˈpəʊlɪʃ/ as a noun

7. wound /waʊnd/ as verb in past participle form vs wound /wuːnd/ as a noun

8. live /lɪv/ as a verb vs live /laɪv/ as an adjective

Herbs, Food Ingredients, and Health Series #4. Coconut Oil

Herbs, Food Ingredients, and Health

It is natural to become physically weaker as one ages. However, it is possible to stay younger and healthier than your physical age by what you eat at your table every day. More and more medical research and studies have shown the medicinal properties and benefits of herbs and healthy diet.

As of this new year of 2024, let us stay healthy by looking into a variety of herbs one by one, their nutrition facts, and healthy diet so that we are able to lead a life with more confidence and constantly get ourselves back on track with aplomb even if we happen to deviate from the optimal state of health.

 

#4. Let’s go cocoNUTS! 😉

Are you a big fan of tropical fruits? Afraid of too much sugar contained in most tropical fruits? Well, today we are going to explore the priceless benefits of this precious tropical fruit COCONUT, which is the edible fruit of the coconut palm (Cocos nucifera), a tree of the palm family.

It has been argued that 1. ____________________, a component in coconut oil, may help boost levels of good cholesterol (i.e., HDL). Participants took 1 tablespoon of coconut oil twice daily for 8 weeks. The findings published in 2018 showed that extra virgin coconut oil’s impact on cholesterol may be similar to that of olive oil.

In addition, virgin coconut oil may have 2. ____________________ properties. Studies (lab experiments with rodents) revealed coconut oil reduces stress resulting from exercise and chronic cold. Researchers believe that virgin coconut oil could be useful in treating some kinds of 3. ________________.  Furthermore, coconut oil has 4. anti-______________ properties, which is the reason behind daily oral treatment called “oil-pulling” using coconut oil preventing/ easing pain inside your mouth (e.g., toothache or infections in gums)

 

**Caveat: In general, the less processed a food is, the more likely it is to offer health benefits, and the same is probably true of coconut oil.

 

Acrostic poem using COCONUT by Jean Lee

 

Celebrate your health

On your table

Captivating drupe

Obliging fruit

Nutty but not crazy

Unbeatable taste

Tender, loving, care

 

 

Interested in visiting/ consulting professional pharmacists at a wonderful compounding pharmacy in California? Here’s the link.

Compounding Pharmacy in Santa Ana, CA

 

 

Answer keys

    1.  MTCs (Medium-chain Triglycerides)

    2.  antioxidant

    3.  depression

    4.  inflammatory

 

Source from Medical News Today

Ready to play the latest word puzzle aired on NPR?

Every answer today is a proper name that starts and ends with the same two letters. As a hint, the answers today are in alphabetical order.

 

Ex. Queen of Ithaca, in Homer's Odyssey --> PENELOPE.

 

1. Capital of the Netherlands

 

2. Member of the Church of England

 

3. Wife of David, and mother of Solomon, in the Bible

 

4. 1942 film starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman

 

5. Largest city on the south island of New Zealand

 

6. Way of connecting local-area computers

 

7. Planet beyond Uranus

 

8. People who live in Dakar in West Africa

 

9. Largest city in Canada

 

10. Capital of Poland, as the Polish spell it

 

 

Answer Keys

1.  Amsterdam

2.  Anglican

3.  Bathsheba

4.  Casablanca

5.  Christchurch

6.  Ethernet

7.  Neptune

8.  Senegalese

9.  Toronto

10.              Warszawa

Herbs, Food Ingredients, and Health #3: FLAXSEEDS!!!

Herbs, Food Ingredients, and Health

 

It is natural to become physically weaker as one ages. However, it is possible to stay younger and healthier than your physical age by what you eat at your table every day. More and more medical research and studies have shown the medicinal properties and benefits of herbs and healthy diet.

 

As of this new year of 2024, let us stay healthy by looking into a variety of herbs one by one, their nutrition facts, and healthy diet so that we are able to lead a life with more confidence and constantly get ourselves back on track with aplomb even if we happen to deviate from the optimal state of health.

 

#3. Flaxseed

As well aware, when women reach their mid-age phase in life, quite a lot of them start to suffer a variety of overwhelming symptoms, such as mood swings, insomnia, hot flushes, night sweats, frequent trips to the bathroom, anxiety attacks, weight gain, difficulty in concentrating, and you name it. Today, we are focusing on “flaxseed”!

 

Flaxseed can be of great help in easing menopause symptoms (listed above)  and promoting long-term health throughout your life as well.

Since flaxseeds are high in 1. phyto-_________________, they could gently and safely balance the 2. _______________ levels without causing any adverse side effects.

Flaxseed is the richest source of 3. _____________ , which are one of the most important components of the plant cell wall. They can have a similar effect to the aforementioned hormone in the human body.

Furthermore, flaxseeds are packed with fiber, magnesium, potassium and manganese as well as minerals, iron and copper.

 

 

 

Answer Keys

    1.  Oestrogen

    2.  Oestrogen

    3.  Lignans

 

 

Acrostic poem using FLAXSEED by Jean Lee

 

Fitness and strength

Longevity

Ambition in life

Xanadu is right here and now

So long as you care for yourself

Engaging your core

Effervescent wit

Do you good for sure

If you are interested in consulting professional pharmacist, here is the link to a wonderful compounding pharmacy in Santa Ana, CA.

Santa Ana Tustin Compounding Pharmacy

Source from https://themuttonclub.com/flaxseed-for-menopause-why-its-great/

 

 

Jean's small thoughts after reading "The Illiterate" by Ágota Kristóf

As I close the book “The Illiterate” by Ágota Kristóf

Jean J. Lee

 

This short memoir of the Hungarian writer Ágota Kristóf titled “The Illiterate” has stolen my heart and soul. Reading the author’s life story, which was full of passion to read and write, I came to realize it could be all our stories. We all have our own mother languages through which we truly define ourselves, create and elaborate our thoughts, reinforce our faith or beliefs, discuss, argue, complain, pray, and above all, to show your love. Then, one day, if life’s journey or destiny happens to take us to some place where our mother tongue is not in use for any reasons that we could wholeheartedly accept or never understand, the world we used to have naturally belonged to is forced to get ready for a drastic change. A handful of exciting days sporadically hidden in the midst of vast, open sea of a new language and culture. Grandparents or parents in the immigrant families feel themselves like the illiterate. They could hardly understand or make themselves understood in the new target language in someone’s else’s land.

 

The author of this book describes her own frustrating circumstance (of a refugee working at a watch manufacturing factory in Switzerland) as a “desert”….”a social desert”…”a cultural desert”. Even everyone there in the beautiful country was warm, kind and smiley to her, she felt the days without understandable words to read or write by herself were dismal and frozen. She decided to begin her battle to conquer the new language (i.e., French) to bear the pain of separation and write about her anger, sorrow, and frustration.   

 

Although I am nobody, I was able to relate to what Agota Kristof meant to say in this book. She says “Naturally, you must write. Then, you must continue to write. Even when it doesn’t interest anyone. Even when you feel that it will never interest anyone.”

 

Today, it is difficult to find people who are truly all ears to what you say and write. Politicians or polemics are no the exceptions. They just speak and impose their opinions in others. They even mute artists by their own language and culture. Are they speaking your language? If so, do you understand what they mean? If not, would you be willing to learn their language and catch their intentions well-equipped with a grand scheme of hidden agenda?

 

No matter where you are or what you do, your life would never be empty as long as you continue to read and write your heart with “patience and obstinance” even if no one is interested in your words.  

Herbs, Food Ingredients, and Health #2: Dates

It is natural to become physically weaker as one ages. However, it is possible to stay younger and healthier than your physical age by what you eat at your table every day. More and more medical research and studies have shown the medicinal properties and benefits of herbs and healthy diet.

 

As of this new year of 2024, let us stay healthy by looking into a variety of herbs one by one, their nutrition facts, and healthy diet so that we are able to lead a life with more confidence and constantly get ourselves back on track with aplomb even if we happen to deviate from the optimal state of health.

 

#2. Dates

Dates are full of several vitamins and minerals. In addition, dates are high in 1. ___________, which benefits your digestive health by preventing constipation. Furthermore, dates are beneficial for 2. _________-pressure control. Fiber slows digestion and may help prevent the levels of 3._____________________ from spiking too high after eating. In other words, dates have a low 4. _________________ index, which measures how quickly your blood sugar rises after eating a certain food.

Also, dates contain several types of 5.___________________that may help prevent the development of certain chronic illnesses, such as heart disease, cancer, dementia, and diabetes. The reason behind these beneficial effects of dates lies in the fact that they are helpful for lowering inflammation and preventing plaques from forming in the brain, which may be important for preventing 6. _____________________’s disease.

 

Ready to include dried dates in your daily snack ideas? You could enjoy some afternoon tea brewed with dried dates (6g), whole wheat grains (30g) & licorice (5g) or a whole wheat bread with dates jam for calming effect for moodiness or ADHD. In case of sleep deprivation, a hot cup of dates tea before your bed time would help you easily fall asleep.

 

 

Answer Keys

    1.  fiber

    2.  blood pressu re 

    3.blood sugar

    4.  glycemic

    5.  antioxidants

    6.  Alzheimer’s

 

Acrostic poem using D-A-T-E-S by Jean Lee

Delightful sweetener

Awesome pick-me-up in your bowl

Therapeutic finger snack

Ethereal taste from mother nature

Scintillating scene-stealer on your table

 

Interested in visiting/ consulting professional pharmacists at a wonderful compounding pharmacy in California? Here’s the link to Santa Ana Tustin Compounding Pharmacy.

compounding pharmacy in Santa Ana, CA

Time to play the word puzzle from NPR! Find the two-word phrase/ name with the initital T and F!

Today's puzzle is sort of a true/false test. Every answer is a familiar two-word phrase or name with the initials T- F-.

 

Ex. Rest for a few minutes --> TAKE FIVE

 

1. The I.R.S.'s 1040, for example

 

2. Like an 800-number telephone call

 

3. Basketball infraction involving unsportsmanlike behavior

 

4. Variant of a sport in which tackling isn't allowed

 

5. African insect that causes sleeping sickness

 

6. Who's said to leave money under a pillow for a child

 

7. Legal entity in which assets are set aside for a loved one

 

8. Two-pronged device to help musicians determine pitch

 

9. Idaho city on the Snake River

 

10. Former "S.N.L." comedian who created "30 Rock"

 

11. Where the action is on a stock exchange

 

12. Amount that a cabbie charges

 

13. What "Tempus fugit" means in English

 

14. Our current year, Two thousand ___

 

 

Answer Keys

    1.  Tax Form    

    2.  Toll Free

    3.  Technical Foul

    4.  Touch Football

    5.  Tsetse Fly

    6.  Tooth Fairy

    7.  Trust Fund

    8.  Tuning Fork

    9.  Twin Falls

    10. Tina Fey

    11.  Trading Floor

    12.  Taxi Fare

    13.  Time Flies!

    14.  Twenty-Four