What Are You Doing Next?: March 2011

Friday, March 4, 2011

Cheeseburger, Cheeseburger, Cheeseburger

Wednesday was the 175th anniversary of the signing of the Texas Declaration of Independence. On March 1st five delegates to the Texas Convention of 1836 were selected to draft the declaration, and they literally wrote it overnight. They had to hurry; Santa Ana was attacking the Alamo. The Declaration was signed on March 2, 1836, and the rest is Texas history.

The first line of the Declaration is pretty powerful stuff:

“When a government has ceased to protect the lives, liberty and property of the people, from whom its legitimate powers are derived, and for the advancement of whose happiness it was instituted, and so far from being a guarantee for the enjoyment of those inestimable and inalienable rights, becomes an instrument in the hands of evil rulers for their oppression. . . ”

The Republic of Texas joined the Union on December 29, 1845, as the 28th state. And Texas has been declaring its independence ever since. After reading more state history, I have to conclude that Texans have always wanted things their own way and always stood up for themselves. The state is a special place geographically, historically and demographically, with at least a little of what is special in all the other parts of the nation. We have mountains, ocean, beaches, deserts, great rivers and lakes, forests, swamps, and natural resources. We can boast having major centers of commerce, industry, and education. Need I even mention football?

Texans have a right to be proud of their state and its rich history. I guess that explains the importance of having a state sandwich. . . . . .

State Sandwich: From the Star-Telegram, Monday, February 28, 2011.

Designating the hamburger as the state sandwich of Texas sounds like a simple measure. But state Rep. Dan Flynn, R-Van, may have bitten off more than he can chew.
His resolution states that Fletcher Davis of Athens "developed the new sandwich" at his lunch counter in the late 1800s. Other U.S. cities, including New Haven, Conn., and Seymour, Wis., insist that the burger was born within their borders. Four years ago, a Terrell state representative started a national ruckus by filing a resolution claiming the hamburger title for Athens. [Governor] Perry signed it, but the debate rages on.

So when Texas school phys ed, art and music programs are slip-sliding their way onto the chopping block, we have legislators working to establish the hamburger as our state sandwich. I think we’ve got some cheeseburgers in the State Legislature.

Donna

Read More:

The Texas Declaration of Independence
Texas State History

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7 Tips to Get You Started Walking

From prevention.com

Start with the right equipment.

When it comes to walking, shoes are your most important walking gear. To get off on the right foot, you'll want to be sure to protect your feet, legs and back (their all connected) with sturdy strolling shoes. They'll protect you from pavement pounding injuries so you won't get sidelined. If your sneakers are more than six months old it's time for a new pair.

Have a plan.

People who follow a formal walking program are more likely to stick to their goals than those who just say they'll walk most days of the week. Check out our walking calendars. You'll find plans for beginner walkers, weight loss, half-marathon and marathon training, as well as tons of information about walking.

Know your zone.

Whether you use a heart rate monitor or a 1-to-10 self-rating scale, exercising at the right intensity will help you lose weight and get fit faster. Maintaining your walks at a fat burning and fitness-building zone will increase your results.

Reward yourself.

Healthy fitness-related treats are a great way to keep you motivated on your walking program. A new pair of shoes, workout pants, and even socks, are all perfect and appropriate rewards. Plan to positively reinforce yourself with some sort of gift for every month of fitness walking you successfully complete.

Plan alternatives.

On days when the going gets tough--get creative. If you can't make your regular 30-minute walk, break it up into doable chunks. Do 10 minutes in the morning, 10 at lunch and 10 after dinner. Don't let the weather keep you down either--walk at the mall, on a gym treadmill, or pop in a DVD.

Get support.

Working out with a buddy may up your chances of success by making exercise feel easier. When 24 women walked or ran on a treadmill, those who received positive feedback such as "Great job," "Keep going," or "Excellent work" reported their workouts felt easier compared with women who received no encouraging words. The Bloomsburg University researchers weren't sure whether the cheerleading motivated exercisers or distracted them from discomfort. Even if your buddy isn't available during exercise--ask for friends and family to cheer you on.

Listen to your body.

If you find yourself feeling overly fatigued, or if you have a fever--stay home. Fitness walking when you aren't well will only make you feel worse. If you rest, you'll get back on your feet faster. While you're walking, it's normal to feel some discomfort as you push your body out of its comfort zone. As long as you feel good, go for it, but if you experience pain, nausea, or dizziness, you need to back off.

Read the entire article at:

http://www.prevention.com/cda/article/ready-set-walk/a77188dc78803110VgnVCM10000013281eac____/fitness/walking/getting.started

11 Tips for Living With Chronic Pain from WebMD

For the full article, please check out: http://www.webmd.com/pain-management/11-tips-for-living-with-chronic-pain

1. Learn deep breathing or meditation to help with chronic pain relief.

These are techniques that help your body relax, which eases pain. Tension and tightness seep from muscles as they receive a quiet message to relax.

2. Reduce stress in your life. Stress intensifies chronic pain.

Negative emotions like depression, anxiety, stress, and anger can increase the body's sensitivity to pain. By learning to take control of stress, you can find chronic pain relief.

3. Boost chronic pain relief with the natural endorphins from exercise.

Endorphins are brain chemicals that help improve your mood while also blocking pain signals. Exercise has another pain-reducing effect -- it strengthens muscles, helping prevent reinjury and further pain.

4. Cut back on alcohol, which can worsen sleep problems.

Pain makes sleep difficult, and alcohol can make sleep problems worse. If you're living with chronic pain, drinking less or no alcohol can improve your quality of life.

5. Join a support group. Meet others living with chronic pain.

When you're with people who understand what you're going through, you feel less alone. You also benefit from their wisdom in coping with the pain.

6. Don't smoke.

Smoking can worsen painful circulation problems and increase risk of heart disease.

7. Track your pain level and activities every day.

To effectively treat your pain, your doctor needs to know how you've been feeling between visits. Keeping a log or journal of your daily "pain score" will help you track your pain.

8. Learn biofeedback to decrease pain severity.

Through biofeedback, it's possible to consciously control various body functions. It may sound like science fiction, but there is good evidence that biofeedback works -- and that it's not hard to master.

9. Get a massage for chronic pain relief.

Massage can help reduce stress and relieve tension -- and is being used by people living with all sorts of chronic pain, including back and neck pain.

10. Eat a healthy diet if you're living with chronic pain.

A well-balanced diet is important in many ways -- aiding your digestive process, reducing heart disease risk, keeping weight under control, and improving blood sugar levels.

11. Find ways to distract yourself so you enjoy life more.

When you focus on pain, it makes it worse rather than better. Instead, find something you like doing -- an activity that keeps you busy and thinking about things besides your pain. You might not be able to avoid pain, but you can take control of your life.

Heart-healthy diet: 7 steps to prevent heart disease

The following is an excerpt from MayoClinic.com Tools for healthier lives. You can read the entire article, with menu ideas, at: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/heart-healthy-diet/NU00196

Changing your eating habits can be tough. Start with these seven strategies to kick-start your way toward a heart-healthy diet.

Although you might know eating certain foods can increase your heart disease risk, it's often tough to change your eating habits. Whether you have years of unhealthy eating under your belt or you simply want to fine-tune your diet, here are seven heart-healthy diet tips. Once you know which foods to eat more of and which foods to limit, you'll be on your way toward a heart-healthy diet.

1. Limit unhealthy fats and cholesterol.

2. Choose low-fat protein sources.

3. Eat more vegetables and fruits.

4. Select whole grains.

5. Reduce the salt in your food.

6. Practice moderation.

7. Plan ahead: Creating daily menus.

You know what foods to feature in your heart-healthy diet and which ones to limit. Now it's time to put your plans into action.

Create daily menus using the six strategies listed above. When selecting foods for each meal and snack, emphasize vegetables, fruits and whole grains. Choose lean protein sources and limit high-fat and salty foods. Watch your portion sizes and add variety to your menu choices. For example, if you have grilled salmon one evening, try a black bean burger the next night. This helps ensure that you'll get all of the nutrients your body needs. Variety also makes your meals and snacks more interesting.

Incorporate these seven tips into your life, and you'll continue to find that heart-healthy eating is both doable and enjoyable. With planning and a few simple substitutions, you can eat with your heart in mind.

Amazing Heart Facts

Originally appeared on the NOVA Web site Cut to the Heart.

Sure, you know how to steal hearts, win hearts, and break hearts. But how much do you really know about your heart and how it works? Read on to your heart's content!

Put your hand on your heart. Did you place your hand on the left side of your chest? Many people do, but the heart is actually located almost in the center of the chest, between the lungs. It's tipped slightly so that a part of it sticks out and taps against the left side of the chest, which is what makes it seem as though it is located there.
Hold out your hand and make a fist. If you're a kid, your heart is about the same size as your fist, and if you're an adult, it's about the same size as two fists.
Your heart beats about 100,000 times in one day and about 35 million times in a year. During an average lifetime, the human heart will beat more than 2.5 billion times.
Give a tennis ball a good, hard squeeze. You're using about the same amount of force your heart uses to pump blood out to the body. Even at rest, the muscles of the heart work hard—twice as hard as the leg muscles of a person sprinting.
Feel your pulse by placing two fingers at pulse points on your neck or wrists. The pulse you feel is blood stopping and starting as it moves through your arteries. As a kid, your resting pulse might range from 90 to 120 beats per minute. As an adult, your pulse rate slows to an average of 72 beats per minute.
The aorta, the largest artery in the body, is almost the diameter of a garden hose. Capillaries, on the other hand, are so small that it takes ten of them to equal the thickness of a human hair.
Your body has about 5.6 liters (6 quarts) of blood. This 5.6 liters of blood circulates through the body three times every minute. In one day, the blood travels a total of 19,000 km (12,000 miles)—that's four times the distance across the US from coast to coast.
The heart pumps about 1 million barrels of blood during an average lifetime—that's enough to fill more than 3 super tankers.
lub-DUB, lub-DUB, lub-DUB. Sound familiar? If you listen to your heart beat, you'll hear two sounds. These "lub" and "DUB" sounds are made by the heart valves as they open and close. See the valves in action.

Who Knew?

COFFEE FILTERS

Coffee filters...who knew! And you can buy 1,000 at the Dollar Tree for almost nothing.

1. Cover bowls or dishes when cooking in the microwave. Coffee filters make excellent covers.

2. Clean windows and mirrors. Coffee filters are lint-free so they'll leave windows sparkling.

3. Protect your china. Separate your good dishes by putting a coffee filter between each dish.

4. Filter broken cork from wine. If you break the cork when opening a wine bottle, filter the wine through a coffee filter.

5. Protect a cast-iron skillet. Place a coffee filter in the skillet to absorb moisture and prevent rust. Place between pans when storing to prevent damage to non-stick surfaces.

6. Apply shoe polish. Ball up a lint-free coffee filter.

7. Recycle frying oil. After frying, strain oil through a sieve lined with a coffee filter.

8. Weigh chopped foods. Place chopped ingredients in a coffee filter on a kitchen scale.

9. Hold tacos. Coffee filters make convenient wrappers for messy foods.

10. Stop the soil from leaking out of a plant pot. Line a plant pot with a coffee filter to prevent the soil from going through the drainage holes.

11. Prevent a Popsicle from dripping. Poke one or two holes as needed in a coffee filter.

12. Do you think we used expensive strips to wax eyebrows? Use strips of coffee filters.

13. Put a few in a plate and put your fried bacon, French fries, chicken fingers, etc on them. Soaks out all the grease.

14. Keep in the bathroom. They make great "razor nick fixers."

OH, AND THEY'RE GREAT TO USE IN YOUR COFFEE MAKERS!

Old habits are hard to break—even after 6 months of retirement.

When you finally sit down after making dinner and cleaning up the kitchen afterward, do you want to fasten your seatbelt?

Do you still keep all your makeup and toiletries in clear Ziploc bags?

Do you wake up at 2:00 AM and look around the room to determine whether you’re in Germany or Japan?

When you run into an old friend at the store, after the hugs and how are ya's, do you ask: “So where are we going to eat?”

Do you still store items in your suitcase and worse – is your suitcase still open on the floor of your bedroom?

Are you still prowling through the “trial sizes” section at the store, searching for little sample sizes of shampoo, conditioner, and body lotions for your Ziploc bags?

To save time in the morning do you still line up your toiletries on the bathroom counter in the order that you apply them?

Do you hide little portions of food in your purse in case you get hungry during the night?

Do you carry clean Ziploc bags in your purse in case you want to hide some food there?

When you empty a soda or water bottle, do you think for a moment about what wine will match it?

Are you having trouble keeping track of what day it is because you don’t divide the week into three-on/four-off series anymore?

Do you have cravings for regional foods – like sake, glühwein, and Beaujolais Nouveau?

If you’ve got some old flying habits that you’d like to share with our readers, email me at: donna.hodgson@gmail.com and I’ll add them to the list.