Florida Creative Living Magazine by Florida Creative Living Magazine

November - December 2011

Florida Creative Living | For All Ages!

Creative Living Florida

November - December 2011 2nd ISSUE

Sections

15-16 37 Front Cover Topics

15-16 Are the Holidays Too Materialistic? : The Gift of Holiday Tradition

The Love of Giving : A Chelesa Krost Story

Featured Business : Fisher Bee Honey

Bonding With Grandparents : The Benefits

Why is November 11th an Important Date?: A Day to Remember

In Every Issue

65 4

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Florida Creative Living

Artist Corner Artwork created by artist - pg 54 Band Directory List of Florida Bands - pg 54 Business Directory List of Florida Businesses - pg 55 Chefâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Delight Low-fat, Gluten Free, Diabetic, easy to make friendly recipes - pgs 56 Community Spotlight Florida businesses news - pg 57 Va Memoirs Featured stories of Veterans - pg 65

November - December 2011

Florida Creative Living | For All Ages!

Kids & Teens November - December 2011 2nd ISSUE

12 17 News School Based Mentoring Program For Middle School Students | pgs 12-13 5 Tips for Teen Entrepreneurs Starting a Business | pg 14 Are the Holidays Too Marterialistic? The Gift of Holiday Tradition | pgs 15-16 Healthy Habits Getting in the Holiday Spirit Having Positive Emotions| pgs 17-18

Sports 5 Reasons Girls Should Play Sports Building Self-Confidence | pgs 23 Eating for Sports Healthy Eating Guide | pgs 24-25 Techno & Science What is a Gene? The Blueprints of Life | pgs 25-26 Does Eating Turkey Make Me Sleepy? Avoiding Drowsiness | pg 27

The Story on Self-Esteem Dealing With Feelings| pgs 18-19

Staying Safe 5 Ways to Get Drivers to Stop Texting The Subtle Approach | pg 28

Myths About Acne Skin Issues | pg 20

Protecting Your Online Identity and Reputation Things to Consider | pgs 29-30

5 Ways to Fight the Flu Keeping Your Immune System Strong | pg 21

Doodle Corner Maze, Word Search, and More... Activity Center | pgs 30- 33

Be a Fit Kid Tips for a Healthy Body | pgs 22-23

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Comic Corner The Adventures of Foxy The Fox and Croaky! Comic Fun | pg 34 November - December 2011

November - December 2011

Florida Creative Living | For All Ages!

Adult Living November - December 2011 2nd ISSUE

61 News The Love of Giving A Chelesa Krost Story | pg 37

Sports Becoming a Triathlete Some Basic Equipment Requirements | pgs 49-50

Save the Bees... Save the planet Educating People on Honey Bees | pg 38

The Many Benefits Martial Arts For the Mind, Body, Spirit | pgs 50-51

Scrap Fabulous Designer Handbags | pg 39

Crossword & Sudoku Fun Time for a Break! | pgs 52-53

Home Financial Woes? How to Talk to Kids When Money Is Tight | pgs 40-41

Technology Technology of Tomorrow | pgs 58-59

Bonding With Grandparents The Benefits| pg 42

Entertainment Dinosaur World Plant City, Florida| pgs 61

How to Find Fun at Home During the Holidays Building Family Traditions | pg 44

St. Pete Aquarium Saint Petersburg, Florida| pgs 62

Is the Magic of Gardening Dying a Slow Death? The Need for Gardening Education | pg 45

Glazer Children’s Museum Tampa, Florida| pgs 63

Health Back Pain’s Newly Discovered Cause! Denlinger’s Discovery | pg 46

Mote Aquarium Sarasota, Florida| pgs 64

How You Can Become Stress Free in Seven Days Seven Tips to Follow | pg 47

VA Memoirs Why Is November 11th an Important Day? A Day to Remember | pg 65

Everlasting Youth - Everlasting Happiness Know Your Body | pgs 48-49 8

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Florida Creative Living

November - December 2011

Florida Creative Living | For All Ages!

Creative Living Florida

A BRIEF WORD FROM THE PUBLISHER

h, the smell of the Holiday Season is right around the corner. This is the time of year when cooler weather, family gatherings, and home cooked meals are my favorite. Holidays are a time to reflect on your blessings and be thankful for what you do have in life, and not worry so much on materialistic items. View pg 15 on, “Are the Holidays Too Materialistic”? This Holiday Season take time to volunteer to help feed the homeless or the less unfortunate. If you do, your spirit will feel a sense of satisfaction then any present could. God rewards all that help the poor! View pg 57 to see where Florida Creative Living will be volunteering this Thanksgiving. Please don’t forget to like us on our facebook page to stay updated with latest news from Florida Creative Living. Also don’t forget to donate to win a Circus Sarasota pendant and an autograph T-shirt from the Legendary Aerialist Dolly Jacobs! View page 57 for further details. Florida Creative Living wish’s all of our readers a Happy Veterans Day, Thanksgiving and a Merry Christmas.

Susan Gulash | susan@floridacreativeliving.com Florida Creative Living is a full-size, full-color, bi-monthly, online interactive magazine published six times a year by Gulash Graphics. It is distributed free of charge and no content is allowed to be reproduced in whole or part without written permission from Florida Creative Living. This publication is not responsible for statements made by advertisers or writers and is not necessarily the opinion of Florida Creative Living. Typographical errors, and the accuracy of information supplied by advertisers, or the action of the advertisers are not the publication and its publisher responsibility. Editorial submissions are welcome. Publisher reserves the right to reject or edit for length and clarity all submissions.

Florida Creative Living

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O: 813.994.5110 C: 813.458.1098 F: 813.200.1002

susan@FloridaCreativeLiving.com

For Advertising Information Call or scan our image to the right.

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November - December 2011

s d i K

& Teens Section

Kids & Teens | NEWS

School Based Mentoring Program For Middle School Students

he purpose of the SCFLâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s school based mentoring program is to provide middle school students with extensive involvement and support that is not already apparent in their lives. The mentor based interaction that will be generated by this program will provide a platform that deters juvenile delinquency, decreases dropout rates, and prevents gang involvement. Simply, by giving additional encouragement and personal contact to these students our group can guide them to a life of growth and achievement.

Students are first referred to us by school staff (guidance counselors and teachers) whom believe these students are at risk of criminal or delinquent activities, academic failure, or succumbing to negative influences. We act quickly to these deteriorating behaviors as it may severely increase the likelihood that these students engage in drugs, alcohol, violence, promiscuous behavior, and other potentially harmful activities.

child to adolescent is one of the most influential periods in their critical development. Unfortunately, everyday very bright and driven kids slip through the cracks. We provide children between 6th and 8th grade guidance that will improve academic capability, decrease disciplinary malfeasance, and help deter negative influences. By establishing progressive relationships and getting involved inside and outside of the classroom we are offering hope and a positive future for our students. We let them know we are there, monitoring grades and disciplinary action (referrals, suspensions, detentions), and want them to succeed. The SCFL believes that tracking the students in these areas creates accountability.

Sports Camp for Life school based program reinforces good habits and constantly intervenes in the studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; lives. This formula of personal interaction and monitoring should improve academic achievement, comprehension, and relationships with peers, teachers, and family members. Most of all, by allowing Nevertheless, this program addresses the most serious issue students to share their achievements with a positive adult in the lives of these students. The SCFL believes that the lack role model, students become more motivated and excited of an adult role model is the single most significant factor that to do better in their lives. advances negative societal behavior. The deficiency of adult CONTINUE TO NEXT PAGE involvement in the classroom or personal life can lead an impressionable kid astray, especially, since the transition from

For All Ages! |

Florida Creative Living

November - December 2011

Kids & Teens | NEWS Key Elements to the program:

Healthy messages to adolescents about their behaviors and interactions

Strengthened relationships with adult role models; parents, coaches, teachers, mentors and community leaders

Development in literacy, comprehension, work readiness and social skills

Opportunities to serve others and build self-esteem

Personal accountability for their decisions and actions

Goal setting (short and long term) documented and tracked

Academic improvement and disciplinary measures decreased

Better decision making Mentoring Program locations:

Louise R. Johnson Middle School Carlos Haile Middle School Electa Lee Middle School Lincoln Middle School Buffalo Creek Middle School R. Dan Nolan Middle School Booker Middle School

2121 26th Ave. E. 9501 SR 64 East 4000 53rd Ave. W. 305 17th Street E. 7320 69th Street E 6615 Greenbrook Blvd. 2250 Myrtle Street

November - December 2011

Bradenton, Fl 34208 Bradenton, Fl 34212 Bradenton, Fl 34210 Palmetto, Fl 34221 Palmetto, Fl 34221 Lakewood Ranch, Fl 34202 Sarasota, Fl 34234

Florida Creative Living | For All Ages!

Kids & Teens | NEWS

5 Tips for

Teen Entrepreneurs

sTARTING A BUSINESS

Reviewed by: Neil Izenberg, MD

3. Advertise. Print flyers describing the services your business offers. List your rates and your phone number or email address. (Check with your parents before you do this, of course!) Drop off a flyer at every house in your neighborhood. Give some to parents to take to work. Ask local stores or coffee shops if you can post a flyer on their community notice board (if you do this, Here are 5 tips on starting your make a bunch of tabs along the bottom with the service you own business: offer and a phone number, so people can tear one off instead of taking the entire flyer). 1. Identify a need. Think about the kinds of services that might do well in your area. If you You also might be able to use sites like CraigsList to advertise live in a suburb and your neighbors commute your services — as well as look for customers who might need long distances to work, they may need dog you. If you do look for opportunities online, though, keep a walking help. Pet sitting is another good line parent involved in what you’re doing. of business during the summer or over the holidays when people travel. If there are lots 4. Organize your work. Once you have clients, you’ll need to of senior citizens in your area, a computer help keep track of them. You don’t want to forget to walk someone’s business might do well. dog because you were feeding someone else’s fish. Buy a calendar and write down every job you do each day and the Keep your ears open for opportunities. If you time you’ll do it. Keeping a calendar also reminds you of how have your license and you hear your mom’s many times you provided a service so you can bill your clients. friend talking about how her kids need to be A parent, teacher, or school counselor can help you get started picked up at the same time from different on business planning. Who knows, your business may grow so places, suggest she hire you to help. You also fast that you’ll have to hire friends to help! can offer to pick up anything from groceries to dry cleaning, or clean anything from windows 5. CYB: Cover Your Business. If you drive for work, you’ll want to cars. to be sure you have insurance — especially if you’ll be driving other people’s cars or transporting their kids. You’ll also need 2. Set a price for services. Once you know what to look into any coverage you might need for taking care of you want to do, figure out how much to charge. other people’s property or pets. Ask a parent, school counselor, Search online to see what others charge for the or teacher for advice. service you plan to provide. Teens often have an advantage: Less experience means you may With a little preparation, running your own business can bring be able to charge less, making your business great rewards, in both money and experience. more competitive. ®

t’s harder to find jobs in today’s tough economy. If you need to earn money over the summer or after school, why not become your own boss?

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November - December 2011

Kids & Teens | NEWS

Are the Holidays

Too Materialistic?

The Gift of Holiday Tradition Reviewed by: D’Arcy Lyness, PhD t’s the day after Thanksgiving and Emily is in the mall stressing out about finding the perfect gift for her best friend, Sam. She and Sam set aside a day every holiday season to exchange presents. But this year Emily can’t find anything affordable that she thinks Sam would like. So this year Emily decides she’ll make her own gifts.

have high expectations of what’s in that beautifully wrapped box — and that can set anyone up for disappointment.

Lots of people feel stressed out about buying and giving gifts around the holidays. Even before the economy took a nosedive, lots of teens thought the holidays were too materialistic and more about the gifts than the feelings behind them. The Tradition of Holiday Gifts

The advertisements we see around the holidays also can help foster unrealistic expectations. With all the pressure to buy the perfect gifts, get the perfect outfit, have the perfect party, and get along perfectly with our perfect families and friends, it’s hard for reality to measure up.

Why do people give gifts in the first place? Throughout the world, many cultures mark special holidays with gifts and food. Holiday traditions bring people together and allow us to feel a part of family and community. The gifts and food that we share are all about expressing a sense of gratitude, joy, and abundance. The gifts of a few generations ago were probably more humble and homemade. Even the people who could afford extravagant presents probably didn’t do as much buying and spending as we do today. Our culture has grown more commercial, and gift giving has become a booming industry. Sometimes the original meaning behind the tradition gets lost, and the gift giving takes on a life of its own.

When the materialistic aspects of the holiday overshadow its meaning, that can leave people feeling empty and wishing for something more. It’s no wonder that we often hear about people having the “holiday blues” - feeling sad or empty instead of happy and fulfilled.

Not all people think the holidays are too materialistic, of course. Most appreciate the traditional aspects of the holidays, like getting together and celebrating with friends and family. And some love shopping and are just fine with all the giving and receiving. But if you’re feeling a little hollow about the holidays, what can you do? One way to take back the holiday spirit is to focus on traditions and service — and on putting real meaning into your giving. The Gift of Holiday Tradition Many families have traditions they look forward to each year. Katie and her family attend their Christmas Eve church service and then head to her aunt’s house to enjoy the rest of the evening with hot chocolate, eggnog, and stories. Katie says they tell stories in the den with the Christmas tree lights twinkling to put them in the cheery Christmas spirit. On Christmas morning, the family gathers at Katie’s grandmother’s house and opens presents.

Not only is the pressure on to spend money on the right present, but many people also find that when “Our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day family tradition is the one gifts become the focal point of a holiday, it puts too thing I can’t wait for all year!” Katie says. “I must admit, though, that much emphasis on receiving, too. It’s all too easy to CONTINUE TO NEXT PAGE

Novemver - Decemver 2011

Florida Creative Living | For All Ages!

stress in their lives for one day.”

Kids & Teens | NEWS it’s the presents that make me excited.” Although Katie loves giving and receiving gifts, the family traditions help her keep a healthy perspective on presents. Traditions that center on family or friends can be a great way to knock those presents out of their starring role and put meaning back into the holidays. Here are a couple of ideas: •Decide which family traditions you love the most. What can you do to put more emphasis on them? If you love the tradition of lighting the menorah, get together as a group to make your own candles. If you enjoy the family trip to pick out a tree, make it an all-day event where you head to a tree farm to choose your own. •Find out what the holidays mean to others. Talk to a grandparent, parent, uncle, or aunt about how they spent the holidays growing up. Some holiday traditions that used to be strong — such as neighborhood caroling — are all but lost today. Maybe you’d like to revive some of these as a way to share some holiday spirit with your family, friends, or community. •Build some new traditions. If you don’t have any family traditions, it’s never too late to start. Get together around activities that you all enjoy, such as cooking or ice skating. Serving Others For lots of people, the holidays are about helping the less fortunate. Rather than buying presents for each other, a group of friends in a Vermont snowboard squad like to go to their local homeless shelter and give the homeless a day to remember. They begin preparing at the start of the snow season by asking people who come to the mountain to bring old winter gear like jackets, boots, gloves, and hats. Then the group visits the shelter to distribute the gear — along with a little extra. Says Jay, 18, one of the organizers, “We tell them, ‘Now you guys are coming with us and we’re going to teach you how to ski or snowboard all day for free.’ It’s awesome to know that we are able to take their minds off the

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to give homemade gifts and create original presents. Not feeling too For this group, working together to creative? These days, a gift of time is help the homeless makes their bonds often more precious and meaningful stronger. They feel like a part of each than a store-bought item: coupons other’s lives in a meaningful way. for babysitting or car washing can be big hits with parents. It may sound trite until you try it, but doing something for charity can really •Shop at an alternative gift fair. Lots help you feel better about the whole of communities hold fairs where you experience of giving. That’s because can buy gifts of a donation to causes it benefits for the giver as well as the your family and friends care about. recipient: You’re left with a feeling of Others offer actual gifts that are made belonging and being connected. by people with special needs. Choose to help an organization or group that fits with your values and the things you believe in. If you love children, buy a present for a child in need. If animals are your thing, talk to your local animal shelter — many distribute staples like pet food to low-income pet owners over the holidays and need volunteers to help. If you miss a grandparent and would like to spend time with the elderly, help out at a nursing home over the holidays. Or share a special skill. If you’re good with your hands, you can help build or refurbish housing for people in need. Gifts With Meaning Melissa likes to make individual photo albums for each of her friends. “I know this takes a lot of time, but I do it because I love to sit with my friends and watch them smiling and laughing over the fun times we’ve had together,” Melissa says. Amy, one of Melissa’s friends, received one of these scrapbooks during the holiday season last year. She says the scrapbook was really touching. “I thought it was so cool how Melissa sat down for hours and put thought into making my present.” Do you feel like the surprise and excitement of gift giving that you remember from childhood is missing now that you’re older? If you’re among the many people who feel they’re buying their holiday spirit, what can you do to take back the real enjoyment of the season?

•Give gifts that have special significance. Your dad may be thrilled when you present him with a carefully researched and beautifully drawn family tree. Your grandmother may really welcome the gift of your time to help her learn how to use a computer. Or your little sister may really want to learn how to knit. These days, when everyone’s so stretched, a gift of time can actually be more meaningful than one that costs big bucks. Not all store-bought gifts are bad, of course. Shopping can be stressful for some, but for others, it’s all about convenience. For Jay, spending money means saving time: “I find it easy buying a gift because once I see something I think the guys will like, I can buy one for each of them,” he says. This approach wouldn’t work for Melissa, who likes creating unique gifts, but it shows how everyone is different when it comes to gift giving. One key to a relaxing and meaningful holiday is finding what works best for you, both in terms of gift giving and other holiday traditions. Putting some thought into what the holidays mean to you and then focusing your energies on those aspects that leave you feeling most fulfilled can help you let go of the stuff that may be stressing you out.

Here are some ideas for putting meaning back into giving: •Get creative. It’s a great way to express yourself and feel fulfilled. Design your own holiday cards (or your family’s cards), decorate your home, or bake something delicious to share (baked goods make great gifts, too). Make a pact

November - December 2011

Kids & Teens | HEALTHLY HABITS

Getting in the

Holiday Spirit Having Positive Emotions Reviewed by: Steven Dowshen, MD

e hear so much about holiday stress that it can be easy to lose sight of what the holidays really should be: fun, joyful, and a little big magical.

So how can we capture the excitement? One way is to think of holiday preparation as fun — something to be enjoyed as much as the actual holidays themselves. Preparation is about more than just planning and scheduling. It’s also about getting our spirits ready and open to the joy that’s possible, then creating that joy (for ourselves and others) through our actions. Anticipate Your Holiday Mood. . . Looking forward to something fun — and getting caught up in preparing

for it — is where good feelings begin. Expecting good things puts us in a happy, excited mood. And when we feel happy and excited, we can actually create the good experiences we want.

time to think about what might make a special holiday season for you, your family, and friends. but knowing that you’re worthy of being loved and accepted.

It’s easy for positive emotions to build and grow. That’s one reason why the holiday spirit is so contagious. When one person is happy, it can lift the spirits of others. They in turn pass this happiness on, and it all keeps going like a game of happy tag. It’s no surprise that people say they wish the holiday mood could continue all year.

. . .Then Make It Happen! Start preparing as the season approaches. Play your favorite music to get in the holiday spirit. Decorate in some special way. Are there things you like to have in your room, your home, or maybe a piece of clothing that’s become your own personal “holiday tradition”?

Being in a spectacularly great mood doesn’t mean there has to be a spectacular event to look forward to. In fact, it’s often the simple things that are the most meaningful and create the most joy for people.

When you’re in the spirit, start thinking about activities that get the people you know in a holiday mood. Plan to spread out these activities over the coming weeks.

So what mood do you want to create To create feelings of joy or happiness, this holiday? Is it one of joy and fun? you might want to plan activities that Peace and love? Giving and sharing? It’s make people laugh, such as a White

November - December 2011

Florida Creative Living | For All Ages!

Kids & Teens | HEALTHY HABITS

Make Your Mood Contagious It’s no fun if you’re the only one expecting good things from the holidays — so get the people around you into the spirit too. Is someone in your family prone to the holiday blues? What can you do to invite that person to join in your preparations in a sensitive, gentle way that lifts the person’s spirits?

Elephant gift swap, or give them a chance caring for others, creating surprises, to sing, like a caroling expedition. and planning or attending parties and get-togethers are all ways to share the Another feeling that captures the spirit spirit and joy of the holidays. Happiness of the holidays is love. Put some real love is contagious and it multiplies. The into your giving by making your own gifts. more joy you give to others, the more Holiday traditions of giving and sharing joy you feel don’t have to mean presents, of course. It doesn’t matter which holiday Small kindnesses bring hope, comfort, and So How Does It Feel? you celebrate. Creating a positive happiness to others, whether it’s donating Preparing for the holidays can help you mood for yourself and making good toys for less fortunate kids or being good to learn about yourself. It’s a chance things happen as a result applies to company for elderly people. to get in touch with what makes you any situation. So create your own feel happy and fulfilled; to learn which holiday tradition: preparing to feel Maybe you want to strengthen feelings of things put you in a great mood. It’s joyful and fulfilled. spirituality and peace. Attending services also an opportunity to see how a good or observing religious customs at home mood affects your actions and outlook. The Nemours Foundation/ can help you feel more connected to your Are you smiling more? Being just a little ©1995-2011. ® . Reprinted with permission. KidsHealth spiritual side. kinder to your kid brother or sister? Complaining less about homework Taking part in traditions, visiting people, and minor everyday hassles?

The Story on Self-Esteem Dealing With Feelings Reviewed by: David V. Sheslow, PhD

ou can’t touch it, but it affects how you feel. You can’t see it, but it’s there when you look at yourself in the mirror. You can’t hear it, but it’s there every time you talk about yourself. What is this important but mysterious thing? It’s your self-esteem!

What Is Self-Esteem? To understand self-esteem, it helps to break the term into two words. Let’s take a look at the word esteem (say: ess-teem) first. Esteem is a fancy word for thinking that someone or something is important or valuing that person or thing. For example, if you really admire your friend’s dad because he volunteers at the fire department, it means you hold him in high esteem. And the special trophy for the most valuable player on a team is often called an esteemed trophy. This means the trophy stands for an important accomplishment.

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And self means, well, yourself! So put the two words together and it’s easier to see what self-esteem is. It’s how much you value yourself and how important you think you are. It’s how you see yourself and how you feel about your achievements. Self-esteem isn’t bragging about how great you are. It’s more like quietly knowing that you’re worth a lot (priceless, in fact!). It’s not about thinking you’re perfect — because nobody is — but knowing that you’re worthy of being loved and accepted. Why Self-Esteem Is Important Self-esteem isn’t like a cool pair of sneakers that you’d love to have but don’t have to have. A kid needs to have self-esteem. Good self-esteem is

November - December 2011

important because it helps you to hold your head high and feel proud of yourself and what you can do. It gives you the courage to try new things and the power to believe in yourself. It lets you respect yourself, even when you make mistakes. And when you respect yourself, adults and other kids usually respect you, too. Having good self-esteem is also the ticket to making good choices about your mind and body. If you think you’re important, you’ll be less likely to follow the crowd if your friends are doing something dumb or dangerous. If you have good self-esteem, you know that you’re smart enough to make your own decisions. You value your safety, your feelings, your health — your whole self! Good self-esteem helps you know that every part of you is worth caring for and protecting.

How Kids Get Self-Esteem Babies don’t see themselves in a good or bad way. They don’t think “I’m great!” when they let out a big burp or worry “Oh, no, this diaper makes my legs look weird!” Instead, people around a baby help him or her develop self-esteem. How? By encouraging the baby when he or she learns to crawl, walk, or talk. They often say, “Good job. Good for you!” When people take good care of a baby, that also helps him or her feel lovable and valuable. As kids get older, they can have a bigger role in developing their self-esteem. Achievements — like getting a good grade on a test or making the All-Star soccer team — are things kids can be proud of. So are having a good sense of humor or being a good friend. A kid’s family and other people in his or her life — like coaches, teammates, and classmates — also can boost his or her selfesteem. They can help a kid figure out how to do things or notice his or her good qualities. They can believe in the kid and encourage him or her to try again when something doesn’t go right the first time. It’s all part of kids learning to see themselves in a positive way, to feel proud of what they’ve done, and to be confident that there’s a lot more they can do. A Little on Low Self-Esteem Maybe you know kids with low self-esteem who don’t think very highly of themselves or seem to criticize themselves too much. Or maybe you have low self-esteem and don’t always feel very good about yourself or think you’re important. Sometimes a kid will have low self-esteem if his mother or father doesn’t encourage him enough or if there is a lot of yelling at home. Other times, a kid’s self-esteem can be hurt in the classroom. A teacher may make a kid feel dumb or perhaps there is a bully who says hurtful things. For some kids, classes at school can seem so hard that they can’t keep up or get the grades they’d hoped for. This can make them feel bad about themselves and hurt their self-esteem. Their self-esteem will improve when a teacher, tutor, or counselor encourages them, is patient, and helps them get back on track with learning. When they start to do well, their self-esteem will skyrocket! And some kids have good self-esteem but

Kids & Teens | HEALTHY HABITS then something happens to change that. For example: •If a kid moves and doesn’t make friends right away at the new school, he or she might start to feel bad. •Kids whose parents divorce also may find that this can affect self-esteem. They may feel unlovable or to blame for the divorce. •A kid who feels too fat or too thin may start thinking that means he or she isn’t good enough. •A kid who’s dealing with an illness, such as cancer, diabetes, or asthma, might feel different and less confident than before.

building your self-esteem. In the meantime, here are a few things that you can try to increase your selfesteem: • Make a list of the stuff you’re good at. It can be anything from drawing or singing to playing a sport or telling a good joke. If you’re having trouble with your list, ask your mom or dad to help you with it. Then add a few things to the list that you’d like to be good at. Your mom or dad can help you plan a way to work on those skills or talents. • Give yourself three compliments every day. Don’t just say, “I’m so great.” Be specific about something good about yourself, like, “I was a good friend to Jill today” or “I did better on that test than I thought I would.” While you’re at it, before you go to bed every night, list three things in your day that really made you happy. • Remember that your body is your own, no matter what shape, size, or color it is. If you are worried about your weight or size, you can check with your doctor to make sure that things are OK. Remind yourself of things about your body that are cool, like, “My legs are strong and I can skate really well.”

•Even going through the body changes of puberty — something that everybody does — can affect a kid’s self-esteem. Boosting Your Self-Esteem Of course it’s OK to have ups and downs in your feelings, but having low self-esteem isn’t OK. Feeling like you’re not important can make you sad and can keep you from trying new things. It can keep you from making friends or hurt how you do at school. Having strong self-esteem is also a very big part of growing up. As you get older and face tough decisions — especially under peer pressure — the more self-esteem you have, the better. It’s important to know you’re worth a lot. If you think you might have low selfesteem, try talking to an adult you trust about it. He or she may be able to help you come up with some good ideas for

November - December 2011

• Remember that there are things about yourself you can’t change. You should accept and love these things — such as skin color and shoe size — because they are part of you. • When you hear negative comments in your head, tell yourself to stop. When you do this, you take the power away from the voice inside that discourages you. By focusing on the good things you do and all your great qualities, you learn to love and accept yourself — the main ingredients for strong selfesteem! Even if you’ve got room for improvement (and who doesn’t?), realizing that you’re valuable and important helps your self-esteem to shine. ©1995-2011. The Nemours Foundation/ KidsHealth®. Reprinted with permission.

Florida Creative Living | For All Ages!

Kids & Teens | HEALTHY HABITS

Skin Issues

Reviewed by: Patrice Hyde, MD

o you think you already know all there is to know about acne? You may be surprised that some of the things you’ve heard about acne — like what causes it and how to deal with it — aren’t actually true. Keep reading to find out some fast facts.

Myth #4: Don’t wear makeup if you want clear skin. Fact: As long as you choose cosmetics that are nonacnegenic or noncomedogenic, they shouldn’t cause breakouts. In fact, some concealers now contain benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid, which help to fight acne. You can also try tinted benzoyl peroxide creams that hide pimples while helping treat them.

Myth #1: Tanning clears up skin. Fact: Although a tan may temporarily mask acne, the sun can make the skin dry and irritated, leading to more breakouts in the future. In fact, there’s no link between sun exposure and acne prevention, but the sun’s rays can cause premature aging and skin cancer. Always protect your skin by choosing a sunscreen of at least SPF (sun protection factor) 15 that says noncomedogenic or nonacnegenic on the label, which means it won’t clog pores.

If you’ve had moderate to severe acne, though, talk to your doctor or dermatologist about the best cosmetics to use — he or she may recommend avoiding cosmetics altogether or only using certain brands so you’re acne isn’t aggravated.

Myth #2: The more you wash your face, the fewer breakouts you’ll have. Fact: Although washing your face helps to remove dirt and oil from your pores, washing too much can lead to dryness and irritation, causing more breakouts. Also, avoid scrubbing your face, which can irritate the skin. As a general rule, wash your face twice a day with mild soap and water in a circular motion and gently pat dry when you’re done.

Myth #5: If you keep getting breakouts, it helps to use more acne medication until the breakouts stop. Fact: Because acne medication contains drying agents like benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid, using too much medication may cause overdrying, leading to irritation and more blemishes.

And even if a product is labeled nonacnegenic or noncomedogenic, you should stop using it and talk to your doctor if you notice that it’s irritating your skin or seems to cause breakouts.

If over-the-counter acne medication doesn’t seem to work on your acne, it’s a good idea to talk to your doctor or dermatologist. Myth #3: Popping pimples will help them go away Also, if you’re taking a prescription acne medication, make sure faster. you follow your doctor’s instructions — some medications may Fact: Popping a pimple may make it seem less noticeable take up to 8 weeks to make a significant difference. temporarily, but popping can cause it to stay around longer. By squeezing pimples and zits, you can actually push bacteria, dead skin cells, and oil further into the skin, causing more swelling and redness — and sometimes causing a red or brown mark or scar to form. Sometimes marks can last ©1995-2011. The Nemours Foundation/ KidsHealth®. Reprinted with permission. for many months and true scars (dents and pits) will last forever. 20 For All Ages! | Florida Creative Living November - December 2011

Kids & Teens | HEALTHY HABITS

5 Ways to Fight the Flu Keeping Your Immune System Strong

Reviewed by: Elana Pearl Ben-Joseph, MD

T these tips:

he flu is annoying enough on its own. So it doesn’t help that flu season falls at one of the most exciting times of the year. To avoid missing out on sports events, Halloween parties, Thanksgiving feasts, and holiday fun, follow

3. Keep your distance if someone is sick (coughing, sneezing, etc.). Flu viruses travel through the air, so try to stay away from people who look sick. Of course, people who have the flu virus don’t always look sick. That’s where vaccines and hand washing come in.

It’s also a good idea to avoid touching your nose, eyes, and mouth — three places flu viruses can easily enter the body.

4. Cough or sneeze into a tissue or your elbow — not into 1. Get the flu vaccine. It’s the best way your hands. That way, you’re not spreading the virus when you touch to protect yourself against the flu. Hate shots? Most teens can get the flu vaccine as a nasal spray. Getting vaccinated doesn’t just protect your own health. It also helps the people around you because there’s less chance you’ll catch the flu and pass it on.

2. Wash your hands often. In addition to getting the flu vaccine, hand washing is an important line of defense against germs like flu viruses. Why? The body takes about 2 weeks to build immunity after a flu vaccine — and even a vaccine isn’t foolproof if a new strain of virus starts making the rounds. Hand washing also helps protect against other germs and illnesses that there aren’t vaccines for, like the common cold. Wash your hands after using the bathroom; after coughing or sneezing; before putting in or removing contact lenses; before using makeup; and before eating, serving, or preparing food. The great thing about hand washing is it’s easy protection. So get in the habit of washing your hands when you come home from school, the mall, a movie, or anywhere else where you’re around a lot of people.

surfaces that other people may touch too.

5. Stay home if you have the flu. You don’t want to pass your germs to someone else. And staying home is a great excuse to curl up and watch your favorite movie, play video games, or read. Rest can help the body recover faster. You also can fight the flu on a daily basis by keeping your immune system strong. Some great immune boosters are getting enough sleep, eating healthy foods (including five or more servings of fruits and veggies a day!), drinking plenty of fluids, and getting regular exercise.

Don’t let the flu mess with your fall and winter fun. Fight back!

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Kids & Teens | HEATHLY HABITS

Be a Fit Kid

Tips For a Healthy Body

Reviewed by: Mary L. Gavin, MD

here’s a lot of discussion these days about fit kids. People who care (parents, doctors, teachers, and others) want to know how to help kids be more fit.

Being fit is a way of saying a person eats well, gets a lot of physical activity (exercise), and has a healthy weight. If you’re fit, your body works well, feels good, and can do all the things you want to do, like run around with your friends. Some steps only parents can take — such as serving healthy meals or deciding to take the family on a nature hike. But kids can take charge, too, when it comes to health. Here are five rules to live by, if you’re a kid who wants to be fit. The trick is to follow these rules most of the time, knowing that some days (like your birthday) might call for cake and ice cream.

Eat a Variety of Foods, Especially Fruits and Vegetables

You may have a favorite food, but the best choice is to eat a variety. If you eat different foods, you’re more likely to get the nutrients your body needs. Taste new foods and old ones 22

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you haven’t tried for a while. Some foods, such as green veggies, are more pleasing the older you get. Shoot for at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day — two fruits and three vegetables.

•2 cups (about half a liter) of low-fat or nonfat milk •1 slice cheddar cheese •½ cup (small container) of yogurt

You probably will want something Here’s one combination that might other than milk or water once in work for you: a while, so it’s OK to have 100% juice, too. But try to limit sugary •at breakfast: ½ cup (about 4 large) drinks, like sodas, juice cocktails, strawberries on your cereal and fruit punches. They contain •with lunch: 6 baby carrots a lot of added sugar. Sugar just •for a snack: an apple adds calories, not important •with dinner: ½ cup broccoli (about nutrients. 2 big spears) and 1 cup of salad

Listen to Your Body Drink Water and Milk Most What does it feel like to be full? Often When you’re eating, notice When you’re really thirsty, cold water is the No. 1 thirst-quencher. And there’s a reason your school cafeteria offers cartons of milk. Kids need calcium to build strong bones, and milk is a great source of this mineral. How much do kids need? If you are younger than 9 years old, drink 2 cups of milk a day, or its equivalent. Aim for 3 cups of milk per day, or its equivalent. You can mix it up by having milk and some other calcium-rich dairy foods. Here’s one combination:

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how your body feels and when your stomach feels comfortably full. Sometimes, people eat too much because they don’t notice when they need to stop eating. Eating too much can make you feel uncomfortable and, over a period of time, can lead to unhealthy weight gain.

Limit Screen Time

What’s screen time? It’s the amount of time you spend watching TV or DVDs, playing

Limit Screen Time

What’s screen time? It’s the amount of time you spend watching TV or DVDs, playing video games (console systems or handheld games), and using the computer. The more time you spend on these sitting-down activities, the less time available for active stuff, like basketball, bike riding, and swimming. Try to spend no more than 2 hours a day on screen time, not counting computer use related to school.

Kids & Teens | HEALTHY HABITS kickball, or dancing. Ask your parents to help you do your favorite activities regularly. Find ways to be active every day. You might even write down a list of fun stuff to do, so you can refer to it when your mom or dad says it’s time to stop watching TV or playing computer games!

Speaking of parents, they can be a big help if you want to be a fit kid. For instance, they can stock the house with healthy foods and plan physical activities for the family. Tell your parents about these five steps you want to take and maybe you can teach them a thing or two. If you’re a Be Active One job you have as a kid — and it’s fit kid, why shouldn’t you have a fit mom and a fit dad? a fun one — is that you get to figure ©1995-2011. The Nemours Foundation/KidsHealth®. Reprinted with permission. out which activities you like best. Not everyone loves baseball or soccer. Kids & Teens | SPORTS Maybe your passion is karate, or

5 Reasons Girls Should Play

Sports Building Self-Confidence Reviewed by: Mary L. Gavin, MD

hy play sports? You might say “to get exercise” and you’d be right. To have fun? That’s true, too. But there’s more. In fact, there are at least 5 more reasons. According to the Women’s Sports Foundation, girls who play sports get a lot more than just fit.

1.Girls who play sports do better in school. You might think that athletics will take up all your study time. But research shows that girls who play sports do better in school than those who don’t. Exercise improves learning, memory, and concentration, which can give active girls an advantage in the classroom.

2.Girls who play sports learn teamwork and goal-setting skills. Sports teaches valuable life skills. When you working with coaches, trainers, and teammates to win games and achieve goals, you’re learning how to be successful. Those skills will serve you well at work and in family life.

3.Sports are good for a girl’s health. In addition to being fit and maintaining a healthy weight, girls who play sports are also less likely to smoke. And later in life, girls who exercise are less likely to get breast cancer or osteoporosis. 4.Playing sports boosts self-confidence. Girls who play sports feel better about themselves. Why? It builds confidence when you know you can practice, improve, and achieve your goals. Sports are also a feel-good activity because they help girls get in shape, maintain a healthy weight, and make new friends. 5.Exercise cuts the pressure. Playing sports can lessen

stress and help you feel a little happier. How? The brain chemicals released during exercise improve a person’s mood. Friends are another mood-lifter. And being on a team creates tight bonds between friends. It’s good to know your teammates will support you — both on and off the field! ©1995-2011. The Nemours Foundation/KidsHealth®. Reprinted with permission.

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Eating for Sports

Kids & Teens | SPORTS

healthy Eating guide Reviewed by: Mary L. Gavin, MD

hen you play a sport, you make sure you have the equipment you need, like your glove for baseball, cleats for soccer, and hightop sneakers for basketball. You couldn’t play the game very well without this gear. But how do you help your game from the inside out? You shouldn’t go swallowing a pair of shin guards, that’s for sure! But you should consider swallowing some healthy food packed with the nutrients you need. The right foods and drinks can help you be a better athlete. Professional athletes know this is true. In fact, many professional teams employ dietitians and nutritionists — people who know a lot about healthy eating — to help players choose the best foods. Read on to learn how kid athletes can use nutrition to their advantage, just like the pros. Covering the Bases All kids need to eat a variety of healthy foods, and athletes are no different. Everybody needs foods that include: •protein (found in meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, beans, nuts, and dairy foods) •carbohydrates (fruits, vegetables, and whole grains are the best sources) •vitamins (as found in fruits and vegetables, for instance) and minerals like calcium (found in dairy products) Kids need some fat, too, but that’s not usually difficult to get. It’s found in meats,

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cheeses, nuts, oils, and butter, just to nutrients for kids — especially name a few. athletes. Calcium builds strong bones, which are less likely to Consuming Calories at a Clip break under the stress and strain So what makes athletes different of heavy activity. You’ll find calcium when it comes to eating? The main in dairy products, like milk, yogurt, thing is that athletes might need more and cheese. Other good sources food. Why? They burn more calories include dark, green leafy vegetables by practicing and playing so much. and calcium-fortified products, like orange juice. School-age kids (ages 6 to 12) generally need between 1,600 and 2,200 It’s important to include iron-rich calories a day. An athlete who is more foods in your diet, such as meat, active than a typical active kid might dried beans, and fortified cereals. need to eat more. Calorie needs go Without enough iron, kids might up during puberty, so that can make a get tired more easily. Girls who difference, too. have gotten their periods lose some iron every month through their But each kid is different. It’s important menstrual flow and active kids lose to consider how much time you iron through their sweat — weird! actually spend being active and training for your sport. Attending a Kid Athletes Don’t Diet soccer practice can be an intense or It’s not usually healthy for kids to go light workout, depending on a variety on diets — to lose or gain weight. of factors. Do you practice 2 hours a Coaches or teammates who say you week or 12? It will make a difference. have to go on a diet are probably giving you bad advice. Talk these If you’re interested, your mom or dad issues over with your mom or dad can help you keep a food journal for a and your doctor, if necessary. few days to get an idea of how much you’re eating and if you’re getting the Some sports emphasize large or nutrients you need. Usually, though, small body sizes, but kids can play kids do fine just eating a balanced diet sports like gymnastics or football of healthy meals and snacks. If you’re without going to extremes to lose or concerned about your weight or your gain weight. In fact, because kids are diet, you might want to talk with your still growing it’s important to let your doctor or a dietitian who specializes in body grow to the height it was meant helping athletes. to be and dieting can jeopardize that if it’s not healthy. Calcium and Iron Calcium and iron are two important A balanced diet can give an active,

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growing body all the protein it needs. Some strategies, such as high-protein diets or protein supplements, can cause serious problems, like kidney damage. Skipping meals, eliminating certain food groups, or going on fasts (not eating at all or eating very little) can be harmful to kids. A sports drink is OK once in a while, but remember that these drinks have a lot of sugar and calories. Water is still the best drink for your Being busy can make it difficult to eat regular body and it contains no calories. You may want to choose a sports drink meals, so talk with your mom or dad about how if you are exercising vigorously for more than an hour or in really hot to handle meals when you’re at practice or a weather. game. When you can, try to eat dinners at home. Research shows kids eat healthier when they Time to Practice or Compete regularly share meals with their families. When it’s time to practice or play, you’ll get energy from the foods you’ve been eating all week. But it’s still a good idea to eat well on that day. If Bring on the Liquids you’re going to eat a meal, have it 2 to 4 hours before practice or game You’ve probably seen athletes drinking water time. If you have a full stomach, your body will need to spend energy when there is a break in the action. That’s digesting food, leaving less for you to use in your game or practice. The because athletes need water before, during, best pre-game meal includes carbohydrates and protein for energy, but and after exercise. When people sweat, they is low in fat and fiber, which can slow digestion. lose water through their skin. Sweating cools the But you don’t want to be hungry either. Bring a snack, especially for body down, but if you lose too much water this long practices, competitions, or all-day events. Half a sandwich, fresh or way, you could get dehydrated. dried fruit, or a small handful of nuts are all good snacks. Sports bars, or energy bars, are convenient, but they aren’t necessary for athletes. You If you get dehydrated you won’t feel well or can get the same energy from healthy foods. perform well. Serious dehydration can make you sick enough that you’d need to go to the Avoid sugary stuff like sodas or candy bars right before you practice emergency department for treatment. or compete. You might get a little energy boost, but it will fade fast, leaving you feeling drained. But eating and drinking the right stuff will Drinking before, during, and after exercising (or help you play your best. Now, go out there and have a great season! an event) is the best way to stay hydrated. Don’t ® wait until you’re thirsty. Water is the best choice. ©1995-2011.The Nemours Foundation/KidsHealth . Reprinted with permission. Fruit juice mixed with water is another refreshing drink. But avoid sodas, especially caffeinated ones.

Kids & Teens | SPORTS

Kids & Teens | TECHNO & SCIENCE

What Is a Gene? The Blueprints of life

Reviewed by: Louis E. Bartoshesky, MD, MPH

he doorbell rings. Busy in the kitchen fixing dinner, Nancy’s dad calls out, “Answer the door, Nancy! My hands are full!” Nancy opens the front door, and suddenly a bunch of people she hasn’t seen in 3 years pour into the house.

Nancy makes a dash to the kitchen, wondering, “Huh? Aunt Rita’s grandmother? Runs in the family? Basketball? What are they talking about?”

Genes (say: jeenz), that’s what they’re talking about. Genes are the things that play an important role in determining physical traits — how we look — and lots of other stuff about us. They carry information that helps make you who you are: curly or straight hair, long or short legs, Aunt Rita hands Nancy a wrapped package and even how you might smile or laugh, are all passed through generations says, “Well, look at you! How you’ve grown. And of your family in genes. you’ve got such beautiful red, curly hair! It runs in the family, you know. You look just like my Keep reading to learn more about genes and how they work. grandmother!” Uncle Michael adds, “And she’s going to be tall, like her father. Only 9 years old, What Is a Gene? Each cell in the human body contains about 25,000 to 35,000 genes, and she looks like a basketball player already!”

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Kids & Teens | TECHNO & SCIENCE which carry information that go toward determining your traits (say: trates). Traits are characteristics you inherit from your parents; this means your parents pass some of their characteristics on to you through genes. For example, if both of your parents have green eyes, you might inherit the trait of green eyes from them. Or if your mom has freckles, you might inherit that trait and wind up with a freckled face. And genes aren’t just in humans — all animals and plants have genes, too.

biological parents has two copies of each of their genes, and each parent passes along just one copy to make up the genes you have. Genes that are passed on to you determine many of your traits, such as your hair color and skin color. Maybe Nancy’s mother has one gene for brown hair and one for red hair, and she passed the red hair gene on to Nancy. If her father has two genes for red hair, that could explain her red hair. Nancy ended up with two genes for red hair, one from each of her parents.

You can see genes at work if you think about all the breeds of dogs there are. They all have the genes that make them dogs instead of cats, fish, or people. But those same genes that make a dog a dog also make different dog traits. So some breeds are small and others Genes hang out all lined up on thread-like things called are big. Some have long fur and others have short fur. Dalmatians chromosomes (say: kro-moh-somes). Chromosomes have genes for white fur and black spots, and toy poodles have genes come in pairs, and there are hundreds, sometimes that make them small with curly fur. You get the idea! thousands, of genes in one chromosome. The chromosomes and genes are made of DNA, When There Are Problems With Genes which is short for deoxyribonucleic (say: Scientists are very busy studying genes. What do dee-ox-see-ri-bo-nyoo-clay-ik) acid. the proteins that each gene makes actually do in the body? What illnesses are caused by Chromosomes are found inside genes that don’t work right? Researchers cells, the very small units that make think genes that have changed in some up all living things. A cell is so tiny way, also known as altered (or mutated) that you can only see it through genes, may be partly to blame for lung the lens of a strong microscope, problems, cancer, and many other and there are billions of cells illnesses. in your body. Most cells have one nucleus (say: noo-cleeTake the gene that helps the body make us). The nucleus, which is sort hemoglobin (say: hee-muh-glow-bin), of egg-shaped, is like the brain for example. Hemoglobin is an important of the cell. It tells every part of protein that is needed for red blood cells the cell what to do. How does to carry oxygen throughout the body. If the nucleus know so much? It parents pass on altered hemoglobin genes contains our chromosomes and to their child, the child may only be able genes. As tiny as it is, the nucleus to make a type of hemoglobin that doesn’t has more information in it than the work properly. This can cause a condition biggest dictionary you’ve ever seen. known as anemia (say: uh-nee-mee-uh), a condition in which a person has fewer healthy In humans, a cell nucleus contains 46 red blood cells. individual chromosomes or 23 pairs of chromosomes (chromosomes come in pairs, Anemias that are inherited can sometimes be serious enough remember? 23 x 2 = 46). Half of these chromosomes to require long-term medical care. Sickle cell anemia is one kind of come from one parent and half come from the other anemia that is passed on through genes from parents to children. parent. Twenty two of the pairs appear identical (these are called autosomes); the other two chromosomes Cystic fibrosis (say: sis-tick fi-bro-sus), or CF, is another illness that are called sex chromosomes — X and Y. Females have some kids inherit. Parents with the CF gene can pass it on to their 2 X chromosomes; males have one X and one Y. But kids. People who have CF often have trouble breathing because their not every living thing has 46 chromosomes inside bodies make a lot of mucus (say: myoo-kus) — the slimy stuff that of its cells. For instance, a fruit fly cell only has four comes out of your nose when you blow — that gets stuck in the chromosomes! lungs. They will need treatment throughout their lives to keep their lungs as healthy as possible. How Do Genes Work? Each gene has a special job to do. It carries blueprints What Is Gene Therapy? — the instructions — for making proteins (say: pro- Gene therapy uses the technology of genetic engineering to cure or teens) in the cell. Proteins are the building blocks for treat a disease caused by a gene that has changed in some way. This everything in your body. Bones and teeth, hair and is a new kind of medicine, and scientists are still doing experiments earlobes, muscles and blood, all are made up of proteins to see if it works. One method they are trying is replacing sick genes (as well as other stuff). Those proteins help our bodies with healthy ones. Gene therapy trials — where the research is grow, work properly, and stay healthy. Scientists today tested on people — and other research may lead to new ways to estimate that each gene in the body may make as many treat or even prevent many diseases. as 10 different proteins. That’s over 300,000 proteins! Like chromosomes, genes come in pairs. Each of your ©1995-2011.TheNemoursFoundation/KidsHealth®.Reprintedwithpermission.

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Kids & Teens | TECHNO & SCIENCE

ing t a E Does rkey Tu Me e k a M

? y p e Sle Avoiding Drowsiness

Reviewed by: Steven Dowshen, MD

ou’ve been looking forward to Thanksgiving dinner all year — turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. Mmmmmm! But after you finish that second helping of turkey with gravy, you start to feel a little sleepy.

Blame It On Blood Flow Most scientists think that there’s a different reason why eating a special meal might make you drowsy. Eating a big Thanksgiving dinner causes increased blood flow to the stomach (needed to help digest the meal) and less blood flow to the brain.

As your Uncle George starts to explain why eating turkey Avoiding Drowsiness makes people so tired, you suddenly feel like curling up in So just how do you avoid that sleepy feeling on Turkey Day? front of the TV and napping until next Thanksgiving. But is •Eat small, healthy meals (try to limit junk foods) throughout gobbling up all that turkey really to blame? the day before you sit down for your big meal — don’t starve yourself in anticipation of the feast to come. The Usual Suspect: L-tryptophan Not exactly. Here’s why: Turkey meat contains a lot of an amino acid called L-tryptophan (say: el-trip-teh-fan). Amino •Have small portions of foods that are part of your acids are the “building blocks” for the proteins that make Thanksgiving meal (including whatever veggies are on the up our muscles and other important parts of our bodies. table). (L-tryptophan is just one kind of amino acid — there are •Drink water and take breaks while you are eating to see how many different kinds of amino acids in the foods we eat.) full you’ve become. When we eat foods that contain L-tryptophan, this amino acid travels in the blood from the digestive system and later •Stop eating once you’re full — there will always be leftovers enters the brain. The brain then changes the L-tryptophan tomorrow. into another chemical called serotonin (say: sare-uh-toh•Finally, take a walk outside afterward to digest your meal. nin). Serotonin calms us down and helps us sleep. This will make you feel better than crashing on the couch. But scientists now know that L-tryptophan can really only Follow these tips and have a Happy Thanksgiving — gobble, make a person tired right away if it is eaten or taken by gobble! itself without any amino acids. And the protein in turkey ©1995-2011. The Nemours Foundation/KidsHealth®. contains plenty of other amino acids! Reprinted with permission.

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Kids & Teens | STAYING SAFE

s r e v i r D t e G o t s y a W 5 to e The Subtl

Approach

Reviewed by: D’Arcy Lyness, PhD

ore and more passengers are speaking up about texting and driving. If a texting driver is making you nervous but you’re not sure how to bring the topic up, here are some ideas:

The direct approach. Say, “I’m sorry, but I get really nervous when people text and drive.” Wait to see how the person responds. Most people will admit it’s probably not a good idea or they’ll at least put down the phone. The subtle approach. If you don’t feel comfortable telling a driver to quit texting outright, try hinting:”Would you like me to type for you since you’re driving?” Or, since more states are handing out tickets for texting and driving, you could say, “I’ve seen a lot of cops out today, you might not want to text right now.” Or point out things the driver has missed seeing (or narrowly missed hitting). As in, “Did you see that dog/kid/overturned bank truck?” If you know the person your driver is texting, ask the driver to hand over the phone so you can say something. Then send a message that says, “Driving, talk to you later.”

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If your driver teases you about being nervous, it’s the perfect opener to say, “Yeah, texting and driving freaks me out. You never know if the person in front or behind is doing it too.” The “Wow, look at that bad driver!” approach. Point out drivers who wander into the next lane, drive 45 on the highway, run a stop sign, or stop at a green light. Then make guesses about who they’re texting. Or make up a variation on the punch buggy game, awarding points each time you see a driver who seems to be texting (this has the added benefit of forcing your own driver to focus on the surroundings, not the screen). The group approach. If your whole group thinks a driver is a hazard, make a plan together. Take away the driver’s car keys: It’s what you’re supposed to do with drunk drivers, and studies show that texting drivers are even more dangerous. Or agree not to ride with that person. If several people boycott a driver, he or she will get the message. The life-saving approach. If someone continues to text and drive or mocks you for worrying about it, avoid riding with that person. Let texting drivers know you’re cutting them off (if you

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feel comfortable doing so) — a little shame makes people think twice about bad habits. Or say something like, “My dad told me I can’t ride with you because he says you text and drive.” Speaking of parents: As we all know, it’s not just young drivers who text. If you’re stuck in a car with an adult who is texting (or tweeting or emailing) behind the wheel, be direct and tell them to stop. Most adults know that parents are constantly telling kids not to text and drive, so they should feel embarrassed enough to put down the phone. If a driver absolutely won’t stop texting or laughs at you for being nervous, don’t argue. The last thing anyone needs is a roadraging, texting driver. Get out the car as soon as you can. Next time that driver offers to give you a ride, say, “no, thanks.”

Kids & Teens | STAYING SAFE

Protecting Your Online Identity and Reputation Things to Consider

Reviewed by: Steven Dowshen, MD

shley is a high-school junior in Illinois. She and her friends use MySpace to communicate, but she’s very careful about the information, pictures, and comments she sends and posts — even though her profile is set to private. She knows that nothing is ever really private online.

characteristics are part of the fun of an online life. You can change your look or the way you act and present yourself to others, and you can learn more about things that interest you. And, just as in real life, you can take steps to help make sure you stay in control.

Things to Consider Here are some things to consider to “I know teens who have gotten kicked off safeguard your online identity and their sports teams because of pictures and reputation: inappropriate material they have on their profiles,” she says. Remember that nothing is temporary online. The virtual world is full of Her advice is simple: “Be smart about opportunities to interact and share what you put on the Internet, because you with people around the world. It’s also never know who is looking at what you a place where nothing is temporary and have on there.” there are no “take-backs.” A lot of what you do and say online can be retrieved From the first time you log on to a social online even if you delete it — and it’s networking site like Facebook or MySpace, a breeze for others to copy, save, and pick a screen name for instant messaging forward your information. (IM), or post to a blog on your favorite band, you’re creating an online identity. Mark your profiles as private. Anyone who accesses your profile on a social Your online identity may be different from networking site can copy or screenyour real-world identity — the way your capture information and photos that you friends, parents, and teachers think of you may not want the world to see. Don’t — and some parts of it may be entirely rely on the site’s default settings. Read made up. Maybe you’re a little shy in real each site’s instructions or guidelines to life, but online you’re a jokester and your make sure you’re doing everything you avatar is a famous comedian. Maybe your can to keep your material private. classmates think of you as a soccer star, Safeguard your passwords and change but online you indulge your passion for them frequently. If someone logs on chess and environmentalism. to a site and pretends to be you, they Playing around and trying on different can trash your identity. Pick passwords

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that no one will guess (don’t use your favorite band or your dog’s birthday; try thinking of two utterly random nouns and mixing in a random number), and change them often. Never share them with anyone other than your parents or a trusted adult. Not even your best friend, boyfriend, or girlfriend should know your private passwords! Don’t post inappropriate or sexually provocative pictures or comments. Things that seem funny or cool to you right now might not seem so cool years from now — or when a teacher, admissions officer, or potential employer sees them. A good rule of thumb is: if you’d feel weird if your grandmother, coach, or best friend’s parents saw it, it’s probably not a good thing to post. Even if it’s on a private page, it could be hacked or copied and forwarded. Don’t respond to inappropriate requests. Research shows that a high percentage of teens receive inappropriate messages and solicitations when they’re online. These can be scary, strange, and even embarrassing. If you feel harassed by a stranger or a friend online, tell an adult you trust immediately. It is never a good

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Kids & Teens | STAYING SAFE

dropping random comments when we’re not face to face with someone can hurt just as much, if not more. And it can damage how others see you if they find out. A good rule to remember: if you wouldn’t say it, show it, or do it in person, you probably don’t want to online.

idea to respond. Responding is only likely to make things worse, and might result in you saying something you wish you hadn’t.

Learn about copyrights. It’s a good idea to learn about copyright laws and make sure you don’t post, share, or distribute copyrighted images, songs, or files. Sure, you want to share them, but you don’t want to accidentally do anything illegal that can come back to haunt you later.

You can report inappropriate behavior or concerns at www.cybertipline.org [please note: By clicking on this link, you will be leaving our website]. Take a breather to avoid “flaming.” File this one under “nothing’s temporary online”: If you get the urge to fire off an angry IM or comment on a message board or blog, it’s a good idea to wait a few minutes, calm down, and remember that the comments may stay up (with your screen name right there) long after you’ve regained your temper and maybe changed your mind. You might feel anonymous or disguised in chat rooms, social networks, or other sites — and this could lead to mean, insulting, or abusive comments toward someone else, or sharing pictures and comments you may later regret. We’ve all heard of cyberbullying, but most people think online bullying is something people do intentionally. But sharing stuff or

Check yourself. Chances are, you’ve already checked your “digital footprint” — nearly half of all online users do. Try typing your screen name or email address into a search engine and see what comes up. That’s one way to get a sense of what others see as your online identity. Take it offline. In general, if you have questions about the trail you’re leaving online, don’t be afraid to ask a trusted adult. Sure, you might know more about the online world than a lot of adults do, but they have life experience that can help. Your online identity and reputation are shaped in much the same way as your real-life identity, except that when you’re online you don’t always get a chance to explain your tone or what you mean. Thinking before you post and following the same rules for responsible behavior online as you do offline can help you avoid leaving an online identity trail you regret.

Kids & Teens | DOODLE CORNER Start Here

Can you help the pilgrim catch his Thanksgiving dinner?

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November - December 2011

End Here

Kids & Teens | DOODLE CORNER

The Christmas Story Word Search Puzzle

jesus

angel

kings

mary

manger

ass

star

joseph

birthday

shepherds

stable

November - December 2011

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Kids & Teens | DOODLE CORNER

Thanksgiving & Christmas Connect -The- Dots

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November - December 2011

Doodle Pad

Kids & Teens | DOODLE CORNER

Holiday Memories!

Draw us a picture of your Thanksgiving or Christmas vacation to be featured in our next issue. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t forget to send in your favorite memory of Summer 2011 to be featured in our May/June 2012 issue, and a chance to win a $25 E-Gift card from Toys R Us. For further details, please click here.

November - December 2011

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Kids & Teens | DOODLE CORNER

The Adventures of Foxy The Fox and Croaky

View our January/February issue to see what adventures Foxy and Croaky go on next. 34

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Adult Living Section

November - December 2011

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The

Adult Living |NEWS

Love of Giving A Chelsea Krost Story

By Susan Gulash

Stay Up to date with Chelsea visit: www.chelseakrost.com

h, memories! Do you remember the days of your roaring twenties, not to be confused with the era, but a time when you were just starting out in life and had not figured out what your future would be?

When asked, about what they accomplished in their twenties most people say, “went to college, got a job, got married, had kids, etc.” Personally I finished college, got married, had two kids, and finally started my Graphic Design Firm. I recently had the opportunity to interview twenty year old Chelsea Krost, who in my opinion is a remarkable young lady. Take a moment and close your eyes. Imagine yourself having a Radio Show, writting a book, being a field reporter for a number of media outlets, covering a Presidential inauguration, a spokesperson for a major company, and being an advocate for many charities, all before the age of twenty. Chelsea has done all this before she reached twenty. You maybe saying, “Wow! That’s very impressive. She was just lucky.” That maybe some what true, luck does play a part but given the opportunities that came her way, with her determination, hard work, and blessings from above she accomplished all of the above.

book called, “NINETEEN”. This book is a reflection of her Teenage experience. It discusses sexting, cyber bullying, self esteem, depression, body image, mean girls and boy troubles. Chelsea gives you insight on ever changing challenges that teenagers face today. This book is a must for teens, parents, and grandparents of teenagers. You can pick up copy of NINETEEN just in time for the holidays on Amazon and Barnes & Nobles. Chelsea is currently active with a number of charities, including SOS Children’s Villages, The Pajama Program, The Unicorn Foundation, Africa Heart, and Dream Sponsors Inc.. You would think with the radio show and being an advocate for charities she wouldn’t have any time left for anything else. Even with Chelsea’s busy schedule she attends Marymount College in New York City. Like I always say to family and friends, “Dreams are a mere whisper from God.” We all can take note that Chelsea is listening to God and she is following her dreams.

For the last few years, Chelsea has been on a crusade to fulfill her passion of helping others through the media. She had an idea back at the age of sixteen to start a Teen Show in which she established the tagline, “Our Voice, Our Opinion, Our Time To Talk.” As a teenager, she felt inspired by her life experiences and everyday challenges to establish a voice for teens by providing them with a safe outlet to discuss their problems and hear advice from many experts on teen pressure. When asked, “who are your biggest listeners?” Chelsea replied, “Believe it or not it’s the parent’s, and grandparents of teenagers.” Back in February of this year, Chelsea had released her first

While reading this article, it doesn’t matter if you are twenty or eighty, if you follow this simple rule and that is , “You are only as old as you think you are if you haven’t lived out your dreams.” So, if you have a desire that is burning in your heart, get up and put that idea into motion, and don’t think that you are too old or too young that it can never happen. Look at Chelsea she is living proof that dreams can happen. In the words of Chelsea Krost, “ The Challenge of the unknown and of turning my dreams into reality is exhilarating. I want to continue to be a role model for young adults to realize that they too can achieve their dreams when they follow their passion, surround themselves with positive people, and never stop believing in their potential. I have never been afraid of hard work, and I don’t expect anything to be handed to me. However, if I were offered my own TV show, I wouldn’t exactly say ‘No!’”

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Adult Living |NEWS

Planet! Save the beesâ&#x20AC;ŚSave the Pla

id you know that without the honey bee our world would be a totally different place? The honey bee is responsible for about 80% of the pollination that flower rely on.

Orange Blossom, Galberry, Palmetto, and Brazilian Pepper. For those of you that like the comb, we do comb honey as well. We also have creamed honey. Some people refer to this as whipped or spun. Those flavors include our Orange Blossom honey, as well honey infused with Cinnamon, Raspberry, and Wasabi. We are currently working on adding Chocolate and We are a family owned and operated business Hot Peppers to those flavors as well. that believes in living a life that honors our creator. We are trying to do our part to Fisher Honey Bees is also a distributor for the Naked Bee educate and inform people about the honey products. These products are 70% organic. Some of those bee and all of the benefits that Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s creation products include: body wash, hand lotion, sun screen, hand has to offer. We are members of the Tampa soap, hair products, and even hand sanitizer. Fisher Honey Bay Beekeepers Association as well as the Bees is also available for presentations and educational Florida State Beekeepers Association. Jonathan opportunities for schools, libraries, social groups, and special is also participating in the Master Beekeeping events. We have spoken to many groups from the age of 5 up, Program offered through the state. Sometimes and have been involved in The Great American Teach-In. bees find themselves in the wrong place and we help to rescue them and provide them a Did you know that raw honey is both antiviral and antibacterial? manageable home that they can be productive Did you know that honey can help you sleep? There are many in with having to be destroyed. benefits in using raw honey and you get the added bonus of it being local. You can find many more facts about the benefits of We believe in beekeeping without any chemicals using honey on our website: www.fisherhoneybees.com and working in cooperation with nature and helping the bees. When we do extract honey Each one of our family members has a part in providing you we always make sure to leave enough on the these products that we are proud to offer, and products that hive for them to eat and be healthy, and are we believe in and use personally. By Jonathan Fisher careful to only take the excess. Have a BEE-utiful Day! And we pray it will be sweet as honey! We provide raw, local honey in Wildflower, View pg 10 for Fisher Honey Bees ad.

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Adult Living |NEWS

Scrap Fabulous started sewing when as a child my mother would give me scraps of fabric and I learned to sew little doll clothes. They were very happy times for me so naturally kept up the hobby as I grew. I took home economics in school (do they still have these in schools today?) and that further made me determined to start sewing my own clothes. I eventually started quilting and that gave me such gratification that I continued to teach myself everything about it.

I made quite a few quilts as presents for new babies and my family. It was just a few years ago that I saw in one of my books a pattern for a beautiful quilted tote bag. I did not want to buy any more fabric as my closets were all filled with fabric (Mom said go shop in your own closets!) so I sewed scraps all together in a patchwork of beautiful colors and made the bag out of that. I gave that bag to my daughter, Abigail. Then I made another, and another, and another! Friends started asking

me for bags! I then thought I could make up my own patterns. Abigail helped me design one little bag and then I just started coming up with more and more ideas. I started adding embellishments to the bags and this is how the whole business started! I continue to sew bags now and always find such satisfaction in making new and unique bags. I sell them down at Mallory Square in Key West when I can and am quite happy to make up customized bags. By Sessie Welzien

If you are looking for that special holiday gift that is one of a kind, look no more email Sessie at sewfast321@aol.com to receive your customized bag just in time for the holidayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. To view more of Sessie purses, please visit our artist corner on page 54.

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Adult Living |HOME

Financial Woes? How to Talk to Kids When Money Is Tight

Reviewed by: Michelle New, PhD

verybody’s talking about money these days: House prices are going down; more families are facing foreclosure on their mortgages; gas prices, energy prices, and grocery bills are all going up — and uncertainty over when things will take a turn for the better is making everyone tighten their belts.

But how do parents explain this to their fashion-conscious middle-school kids? How about teens with dreams of out-ofstate college or a new car?

What to Say

Be honest with your children — but don’t tell them more than they need to know. Avoid overloading older kids with too many details or worries that might scare them. Stick to brief explanations and be clear about changes made to the family budget. Even young kids are brand- and consumeraware these days, so don’t expect them to volunteer to scale back on their treats or activities right away. But if you want to encourage budgeting behavior, offer incentives to get kids on board. Knowing what you want to say, what changes will be made — and how those changes will affect each child — can help make this a little easier.

Talking to Younger Kids

Ali is 6. Her best friend just got a new doll for her birthday — the expensive kind that

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you know you can’t afford. Ali starts Talking to Preteens to whine, “I never get anything I Catelyn, 11, is going to another birthday want. It’s not fair...” party. It’s a sleepover and she’s given you a list — birthday gift for her friend, It’s hard to keep your cool when new pajamas, and a new sleeping bag. you’re working hard to keep the She insists her friends will all laugh at family afloat or stressed out because her if she brings the old sleeping bag the bank has threatened foreclosure. again — it’s so last year. And 12-yearTake a deep breath and stay calm. If old Brandon wants a new skateboard necessary, tell your child that you’ll and those cool new skate shoes. How talk about it later, then be sure to do you tell them that your family can’t set aside time to do so. afford all of these new things without scaring them? Remind yourself that it’s OK to reject pleas and set limits. You’re not Kids this age may not be interested in depriving your children — you’re the global economy or why money is teaching them important lessons tight, but they can be told that there about delaying gratification, earning is a limited amount of money in the treats and rewards, and how family family budget. Do not cave into their finances work. After all, food and every whim, and instead encourage rent come before toys. kids to plan ahead for new purchases. Preteens are old enough to save money When you’re ready, tell your child from a weekly allowance or earn it by that you cannot buy new toys right doing chores around the house, raking now, but perhaps the toys can be put leaves, or shoveling snow around the on a wish list for the next birthday, neighborhood. Christmas, Hanukkah, or other giftgiving occasion. When talking to your kids, let them know that they’re not alone in their If you can afford it, offer a small desires. Say how you feel when you reward in exchange for good see something that you want, but can’t behavior or keeping the bedroom purchase it right away. Explain that straight. Short-term rewards, such everyone in the family has to cut down as stickers or tokens, can keep on spending — including you — and younger kids motivated. Financial remind them that, if they’re motivated, incentives can help older kids earn you can work together to help them try money toward their goals while to earn money and work toward their teaching them valuable lessons goals. about saving.

November - December 2011

Talking to Teenagers

so that everyone knows what is expected Jaime, 16, needs a car to drive to school. Or of them. does he? He may roll his eyes when you tell him that you walked or rode a bus to school, What Else You Can Do but challenging him to find a cost-effective, Manage stress levels. Get support — environmentally friendly way to get around yours is not the only family going through town may appeal to his ambition of living a hard times. Try joining a support group more “green” lifestyle. Likewise, suggesting or other social network in your area. that he save up for that big-ticket item — Support groups are offered through and seeing his goal through — will help him local hospitals, churches, synagogues, feel more empowered as he moves toward libraries, and schools. If you feel that stress or anxiety is really starting to take adulthood. its toll, tell your doctor, who may be able Through part-time jobs or regular babysitting, to put you in touch with counselors or teens can earn money outside the home and suggest therapeutic strategies — such as relaxation techniques, exercise, or yoga cover many of their own expenses. — that can help you feel better and learn to manage your stress. Making Rules Stick Family meetings are a great way to establish these new rules, even if they’re temporary Learn to say “no.” Sometimes parents say “yes” to their kids before figuring until family finances are in better shape. out how they’ll afford a new expense. Explain the new rules and also new Even if you agreed to something, you can opportunities for earning privileges and explain that you made a mistake and — treats. Make it fun: challenge kids to come up in order to be a financially responsible with family-friendly, cost-effective activities family — everyone must forego certain treats for a while. that everyone will enjoy. Once you’ve had “the talk” with your Explore fun, low-cost activities. Challenge kids, keep a list posted — perhaps on the your family to create memories without refrigerator door — of the new house rules visiting a mall or a store. Some ideas: bike

November - December 2011

Adult Living |HOME riding together, going to a park, visiting yard sales, free movie nights, concerts, library events, museums and other local art, cultural, or sporting events. Get kids involved. Do kids get an allowance they can save up? Can they earn money or points toward back-to-school items? Older kids might look into helping pay for college by saving money or applying for scholarships, loans, or grants. Encouraging kids to find creative ways to save or make money not only helps them feel empowered — it helps them feel like they’re doing their part to help out.

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s t n e r a p n a r G h t i Bonding W The Benefits

Reviewed by: Steven Dowshen, MD f you’ve ever turned to your parents or your partner’s parents for help and support with child-rearing, you know how wonderful grandparents can be. Although physical distance and parenting differences can come between grandparents, their children, and their grandchildren, encouraging a close relationship can benefit everyone involved.

The Benefits of Bonding With Grandparents Establishing a bond with grandparents can benefit kids in many ways. Grandparents can be great role models and influences, and they can provide a sense of cultural heritage and family history. Grandparents provide their grandkids with love, have their best interests at heart, and can make them feel safe.

trip can help your child regard that time as special.

Stay in touch with technology. Use the telephone and email to talk,

write, and send pictures and sound files of your kids to grandparents. If they don’t own a computer, send videos of the kids in action. Or have a grandparent record a reading of a favorite story and play it for your child at bedtime. Say cheese. Post snapshots of grandparents in your home and point them out to your kids often. Or keep family pictures in a special photo album and page through it while naming the family members.

Sound mail call. Kids love receiving mail. So send grandparents a box of stationery and postcards and some stamps and ask them to write regularly. Another way to encourage communication is to have your child write letters every week on the same day — both kids and grandparents will anticipate the regular communication.

Pass it on. Many grandparents have hobbies or special skills — such as knitting, woodworking, or cooking — that they’d love to pass on to their grandchildren. Grandparents also encourage a child’s healthy Provide kids with the time and tools needed to learn these skills from their development. Overnight trips to Grandma’s grandparents. house, for example, may be less traumatic than sleepovers with peers and can help kids develop Chart a family tree. Both younger and older kids enjoy learning about independence. Another benefit — grandparents their ancestors and relatives. Encourage grandparents to share stories of their may have lots of time to spend playing and reading families. You can even provide paper and drawing supplies so they can chart the to kids. Such dedicated attention only improves a family tree. child’s developmental and learning skills. Tips for Staying in Touch

Safety Away From Home

In today’s world, though, families may be scattered across the country, and jam-packed school and work schedules may interfere with regular time with grandparents. Despite physical distance or busy schedules, you can encourage your kids to develop a closer bond with their grandparents. Try these tips:

Whether grandparents live nearby or you’re planning to visit, don’t forget to make safety a priority. Grandparents may not be accustomed to having young kids in the house, and the presence of household dangers could mar visits with trips to the emergency room.

Use a household safety checklist and collaborate with the grandparents to childproof the home, ensuring that dangerous items and substances — such as cleaning products, medications, razors, and knives — are out of reach or locked in a cabinet. Consider walking through the home with the grandparents to address Visit often. If your child’s grandparents live any potential safety hazards. They may not realize that small or breakable items nearby, make an effort to carve time out of your busy pose a choking or safety risk. schedule for regular visits. Encourage grandparents to drop by your home, too. Plan regular trips to see Taking these precautions ahead of time can free kids and grandparents to make out-of-town grandmas and grandpas. Even if visits the most of their special time together. are infrequent, anticipating and planning the next ®

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Adult Living |HOME

How to Find Fun at Home During the Holidays Building Family Traditions

ll too often, the holidays are times when families don’t spend enough time at home. This may sound ridiculous because holidays are supposed to be centered around the home and the family unit. Nevertheless, with shopping and everything else needing to be done at the holiday time, it can be difficult for families to find things to do at home.

holiday music in your home may sound a little ridiculous to you. However, the sound of the holiday music can bring out the bonding in everyone. You can play board games with your family while listening to holiday music and eating holiday cookies. Your kids will love it!

The truth is that the average family must make an effort to stay home and find things that are fun to do at home. When you do stay in more, you will realize your family is happier and not nearly as stressed out! Use these tips to help spur your memory and figure out exactly what you can do this Christmas season.

If you love to entertain, having a party is also a great way to have fun at home. You can throw a big bash, or only have a few friends over for appetizers and eggnog. Having a holiday party is perfect because your home is likely already decorated. So, all you need to do is pick up a few food choices and make some phone calls. Of course, if you want, you can always just create a small holiday party for your children and your spouse. You can sip eggnog by the tree and sit on the floor reading stories all night. Anything you can do to help your family develop great holiday memories is a good thing.

Family Traditions

One of the easiest ways to have fun at home during the holidays is to participate in family traditions. Many families have certain activities they do each holiday season. Some will help decorate the house with holiday decor together. Others will choose to hunt for a live Christmas tree together. No matter what you do as a family, you can guarantee that spending time together and in your home will make you feel great this holiday season. If you don’t have any specific family traditions yet, you can always make this season the one where you create some great ones. There are no rules on this front, so just be creative and have fun!

Parties

So make an effort to stay home more this holiday season. Find things that make your family happy and try them. You just might find that you would rather stay home than go out!

About the Author Jaci Rae is a best-selling author and author of Shop for a Day with Jaci Rae You Can Get Something for Music Another way you can have fun at home during the holidays Nothing and Collista’s Search for the True Meaning is by getting in the holiday mood. One of the best ways of Christmas. http://www.shopforaday.com to get into the holiday mood is by playing music. Playing 44

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g in n e d r a G f o ic g a M e Is th Dying a Slow Death? ardening The Need for G

ecently, a well-known gardener who has an outstanding gardening blog wrote a post saying that she had received an assignment to write an article for the magazine entitled Washington Home and Garden. In her post this gardener invited suggestions, comments, and ideas from her readers on topics that “they” would write about for a magazine with an “upscale suburban readership.” The following represents my comments to this post.

Congratulations. Since variety is the spice of life, I am going to write from an entirely different perspective than the views articulated by your other commenters (who, by the way, made some excellent suggestions and comments) :-)

The Gardening Imagination

I am very concerned that certain rock solid, healthy, meaningful, productive, rewarding, and therapeutic activities such as gardening are dying a slow death. Let me explain. Right now in our country there are millions upon millions of people who have gardens. Thousands of these individuals will go out-of-state to visit other well-known gardens and countless others will go online everyday to read about gardening. These people have what I call “the gardening imagination.” These are the people who have been bitten by the “gardening bug.”

Education

farmer/gardener who is in his 50s or 60s and who fondly remembers getting involved in gardening at seven or eight years old because he “wanted to garden badly.” Does anyone out there get ANY indication, with extremely few exceptions, that the youth of today want to “garden badly”? My sense is that the vast majority of today’s young people don’t want to do much of “anything” badly except drive around with their friends, watch TV, party with their friends, listen to music on their iPods, talk on their cell phones for hours with their friends, play online games, and “hang” with their friends.

The Blind Leading the Blind

Perhaps I am missing something here but what in the world is so “special” about doing absolutely nothing that can be called productive or meaningful with your friends? To me, this is just an extreme example of the “blind leading the blind.” The result: many, if not most of our young people are stayingnaway from healthy, outdoor physical activities (such as gardening) similar to the way they would avoid the plague. Let me state the obvious: this is NOT progress, this is NOT healthy, and this is NOT making a meaningful contribution to society. It is, however, to use a gardening term, a great example of “horse manure.”

The Need for Gardening Education

Perhaps you can address the points made above with a post on your blog or with an article in a magazine. The reality of the situation, however, is this: if the “older” generation does not make a gigantic effort to teach today’s youth about gardens and gardening, then today’s young people will NEVER discover the magic about working with their hands in the soil and they will NEVER feel and experience the special “connection with the earth” that is intrinsic to gardening. In short, without such an extensive educational effort, the “magic of the garden” will have lost its appeal with our youth. And when this happens, there will be no opening for a “garden writer” at Washington Home and Garden or anywhere else.

With such a vibrant gardening “base,” you may About the Author ask, where’s the evidence that gardening is Denny Soinski, Ph.D, writes articles about outside metal statues and sculptures, dying a slow death? Please continue reading for garden decor, gardening, and bronze garden statuaries and sculptures. Denny invites you to take a look at his retail garden decor website, the answer to this question. water fountains and garden decorations right away! The Desire To Involve Yourself in Gardening Anything, including gardening, needs to be passed on to future generations if it is to survive and prosper. I recently read a blog post about a

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Adult Living |HEALTH

Back Pain’s Newly Discovered Cause Denlinger’s Discovery

his article is about a cause of back pain which most people, including doctors, don’t understand.

This back pain cause is not disease such as cancer or arthritis. It is not injury such as falling off a ladder. Also, it is not a mentally caused pain... it is a very real pain.

the height to the thickness of a column. A summary of this formula is that the thinner a column or post, as compared to its height, the more likely it will fail (ie, break) by bending rather than by crushing. Also, if the column has supports in the middle to keep it from bending, it will be able to carry a much heavier load.

Here’s an experiment you can do. get a long, skinny twig from a tree or bush. Stand it up on a table vertically and push down on the top with a finger. Feel how easily it bends. If you push too hard it will break. Next, place your other hand on the side to keep it from You can cause pain by using, or bending so much and press down on not using, your voluntary muscles the top again. Feel how much stronger incorrectly. By using one hand to the twig is now. bend the fingers of your other hand backward you can cause pain. This You can see an example of this principle is an example of incorrectly using applied in daily life by looking at a very voluntary muscles and causing pain. tall television transmission tower. Typically these towers have wires, called This discovery, called Denlinger’s guy wires, going from the middle (often Discovery(TM), is about another from quarter, half and three quarter cause of pain throughout the human points or more) down to the ground. body and how to fix it. Denlinger’s These guy wires keep the tower from Discovery came about by applying bending in the middle, so it can carry a engineering basics to the human body. load to a much greater height. Using these engineering basics one can also increase the load carrying The spine in the lower back of the capability of the body. In this article human body has voluntary muscles we’ll only look at one function, of which can act like guy wires to keep the spine from bending from side to side. several functions, of the back. Looking in the Doctor’s Bible, “Gray’s In 1759 a Switzerland born scientist Anatomy”, you can see these muscles named Leonardo Euler (1707-1783) in one of the drawings looking at the developed the first, most basic rear of the body. These muscles are formulas about the relationship of called “quadratus lumborum” (they are This back pain is caused by incorrect use of voluntary muscles. Voluntary muscles are muscles you can control. Do this. Lift your arm. There you used voluntary muscles.

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November - December 2011

shown in a posterior view of the back and described in the section on Deep Muscles of the Abdomen). Correctly using these voluntary guy-wire-type muscles per Euler’s formulas could fix a problem called scoliosis. Currently doctors use braces and even surgery to correct scoliosis. As long as the muscles and nerves are in place and not damaged and the person is willing and able to learn how to use them and s/he then trains his or her guy-wire-type muscles the scoliosis problem could be fixed by correct use of voluntary muscles. The same basic principle of preventing too much bending, using other muscles, can be applied in another direction to strengthen the spine by preventing too much curve forward and backward. There are other engineering basics which can be applied to the back and other parts of the human body which will be covered in other articles. About the Author Denlinger studied structural engineering while earning an architectural degree from Carnegie-Mellon University. Later he encountered severe physical pains which he handled by applying engineering basics to the human body. He taught his discoveries to friends who also experienced benefits. Now he is an author and publisher. He expanded his discoveries and calls it: Denlinger’s Discovery. More about Denlinger is available at www.NeckBackFootPain. com and www.FootArch.com .

Adult Living |HEALTH

How You Can

Become

Stress Free

in Seven Days Seven Tips to Follow

tress is a chronic condition. It’s all around you; in your workplace, social life, and even in your home. When left to run its course, stress can intensify into chronic frustration, grief, anxiety, and depression.

Stress is a mental condition generally brought on by worrying about things you cannot change and/or feeling overwhelmed by a situation. It can erode your sense of self, and adversely affect your blood pressure and even your mental stability.

differently? What is their attitude? What language do they use? Are they trained and experienced? Study their habits, ask them how they do it, learn from the best stressmanagers, and copy what they do.

4. Practice breathing techniques.

You can trick your body into relaxing by using this breathing technique: Breathe in slowly for a count of 7; then breathe out for a count of 11. Repeat the 7-11 breathing until your heart rate slows down, your sweaty palms dry, and you start to feel better.

Stress, however, can be positive. Some folks actually thrive on 5. Put a stop to stressful thoughts. stress. The more pressure they are under to perform, the better As stress is a mind manipulator, you can tangle yourself up in stress they do! knots just by thinking thoughts like: “If this happens, then that might happen, and then we’re all up the creek!” Most of these things never Stress, although often caused by external forces, is nurtured and happen, so why waste all that energy worrying needlessly? Put a magnified in the mind. Let’s examine what you can do to decrease, stop to stressful thoughts; cut them off as soon as they pop up! Even and even eliminate, it. It can be managed! There are several ways if you have a ‘legitimate’ cause to worry, ask yourself: “what can one you can do this yourself. Consider this your: ounce of my worry do to prevent it or fix it?”

Seven-day Stress Eliminating Course.

6. Isolate your trigger points and hot spots.

Here are seven simple steps to follow, one for each day: 1. Acknowledge that stress is good.

Make your own list of stress trigger points or hot spots. Be specific. Do presentations, interviews, meetings, feedbacks, tight deadlines trigger stress for you? Then identify specifics. For instance, do only presentations to a certain audience get you worked up? Is one type of project more stressful than another? Do you drink too much coffee? Once you have identified your stress factors, you can then take the appropriate steps to reduce them. Do you need to learn some new skills? Do you need extra resources? Do you need to switch to decaf?

Make stress your friend! Your body reacts to stress either by fighting it or fleeing from it. Identify your responses to stress. The extra energy you feel in fighting it can be re-channeled to enhance your performance at the right moment. Consider this; no top sportsman is ever totally relaxed before a big competition. Use your stress wisely to push yourself that little bit harder when it counts most. On the other hand, ignoring problems by fleeing from the 7. Take care of your body! situation will also affect your well-being. Try and identify how you Lack of sleep, poor diet and no exercise will add to your distress! This, can constructively alter your situation. although obvious, is all too often ignored as a stress management technique. Be good to your body. Give it rest, good nutrition, and go 2. Avoid stress spewers. out and enjoy life! Stressed people spew out stress words and thoughts indiscriminately. They like to talk about their problems and, before you know it you About the Author are affected, too! Identify the ones that affect you! They include the Ann Stewart is an inspirational writer with the emphasis on healing. doom and gloom media warnings of what may – never – happen! “With Wings As Eagles” is an awesome testimony of God’s healing Protect yourself by recognizing stress in others and limiting your power. Individually, however, we also have a role to play in keeping contact with them. the temple of the Holy Spirit in the best physical condition. Youth Makeover is full of practical Health Tips: http://youthmakeover.com 3. Learn from the best. http://lifealteringwords.com http://lifealteringwords.com/withWhen others in your environment are not coping well, identify wings-as-eagles the ones who keep calm under pressure. What are they doing

November - December 2011

Florida Creative Living | For All Ages!

h t u o Y g n i t Everlas s s e n i p p a H g n Everlasti

Adult Living |HEALTH

Know Your Body ll of us wish to hold on to youth and the energy and zing associated with it. We all crave for it. But are we doing enough except applying a brighter make-up and dyeing grey hair? Maybe not. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t you think you should get moving? Here are a few ways with the help of which we can stay young for a long, long time to come!

Watch your Thyroid

Know Your Body

Liver and Blood

Before we start exercising to shed flab, we should find out the root cause of the problem so that we can win the battle of the bulge. The excess flab may be due to poor metabolism. Our appetite is controlled by hormones produced by our body and certain chemicals produced by our brains. We should strive to balance our hormones and consume omegas, pumpkin oil, hemp oil, flaxseed oil as they help reduce fat.

Check Inflammation

Thyroid is the master metabolic regulator. Its malfunctioning leads to a gamut of problems like depression, anxiety, infertility, pregnancy complications, dry skin and hair, high cholesterol, heart trouble, joint pain and menstrual irregularities. Consume cabbage, sweet potato, corn and pearl millet to boost thyroid functioning. To detoxify our liver, we should consume soy protein, whey water, broccoli, pomegranate, phytonutrients and grape seed extract.

Watch What You Eat

Keeping a watch on what exactly we are eating is extremely important to our overall well being. We should ban processed food from our diet and go for natural foods. Organic extracts should be consumed on a regular basis. Consume all plant food colors possible in a balanced manner.

Inflammation is our bodyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s natural reaction to injury or infection. Inflammation may sometimes lead to weight No Ill Feelings gain, which gives rise to lethargy, high blood sugar Hatred or ill feelings towards others reflects on our face. If we levels and hormonal imbalances. This can be checked delete the bad memories, we would regain a childlike state of by consuming naturally processed grape seed extract happiness. (an excellent antioxidant), green tea extract and mineral extracts. Keep the Child in You Alive Never get into the comfort zone. Never think that there is nothing Combat Oxidative Stress else to do. We should keep the child in us alive by constantly Oxidative stress can occur either due to a decrease in indulging in meaningful activities that makes us happy. Keep on antioxidant level or due to an excess of free radicals or developing new hobbies. both. If the living condition surrounding us is polluted or unhygienic, we are working in stressful conditions Focus on De-Stressing and not drinking enough water, we might be victims Stress can arise from three factors. Genetic Disposition: We of oxidative stress. It can cause cellular damage, thus may be prone to certain genetic disorders like diabetes and accelerating wrinkling and hair loss and might also result hypertension. We should be very cautious about such problems in diabetes and weight gain. To combat this, we should and be aware of every minute change that our body displays. If increase intake of colorful plant food, green tea and our family history confirms such genetic tendencies, we should herbal tea to fight it. be very regular with our check-ups.

For All Ages! |

Florida Creative Living

November - December 2011

Adult Living |HEALTH

Friends

Friends, who really care, are life long assets of an individual. They have the ability to make things better for you just by their physical presence beside Lifestyle: Lifestyle disorders arise from negative you. Just by taking a look at their smiling faces, you would have a feeling habits like smoking, consumption of alcohol, that your worries are fading away. watching too much TV and not eating on time. These result in stress. We should abhor Chuck the Routine these habits and focus on being physically Life is not just about getting up in the morning, doing the same old stuff active which would help in burning calories all day and then going off to sleep. Instead, listen to some heart warming and staying fit. Environment: Our offices, our music, watch a dance performance or go for a drive. Set aside time for homes, the pollution, our relationships etc. daily exercise and relaxation. Do some stretching initially followed by deep creates our environment. We should try to breathing for five minutes and then meditation. This goes a long way in find out what exactly is pulling us down and relieving mental stress. then try to find a solution by talking to our peers and well wishers. Always try to look at Sleep Tight Lack of sleep reflects on our face. It makes us age faster. We should try to the brighter side of things. sleep for at least six hours every night. And don’t forget to dream big! When under stress, the adrenal gland in All the Best !!! our body produces cortisol, a hormone that increases our blood sugar and insulin levels and About the Author slows down the burning of fat. Stress increases Vaishali Parekh - I am a Nutritionist by profession and foodie by nature. The inflammation which causes weight gain around prime object of my website http://www.indian-cooking.info is to globalize the waist. We should fight stress by trying to Indian Cuisine. My articles would not only be related to recipes but would also cater to good and healthy lifestyle. keep our mind free from negatives.

Adult Living |SPORTS

Becoming a Triathlete Some Basic Equipment Requirements

triathlon is one of the most demanding sports there is but the sense of accomplishment and achievement experienced once you’ve completed one, far outweighs the time, effort energy and dedication required for it’s preparation - not to mention the long term bragging rights!

Once you’ve decided to compete in your first triathlon, you will need to put your money where your mouth is and commit by purchasing the gear required. Once all the equipment has been bought, there is no going back, well there is but the guilt associated with all that equipment rotting away in your garage staring you in the face every time you go to mow the lawn could be overwhelming!

So, you’ve committed. What do you need. Well, here is a general rundown on the equipment required.

The Swim

Typical requirements for the swim are a cap, swimming goggles, a nose clip and a swim suit or wetsuit. Generally, participants are required to wear a swimming cap provided by the event organisers, they are usually bright in colour for safety reasons and can be different colours to signify different categories. Ordinary wetsuits designed for snorkelling etc will not provide optimum benefits in a triathlon because the sleeves restrict the arm movements to prevent a comfortable stroke during the swim. Triathlon wetsuits are customized to the needs of a triathlete and include softer, more pliable rubber around the shoulder area, or are sleeveless. they also have longer zippers and can have wrist and ankle zippers to facilitate faster removal during the transition. Triathlon wetsuit also have a smooth delicate surface to reduce water friction and allow a faster speed through the water.

November - December 2011

Florida Creative Living | For All Ages!

Adult Living |SPORTS

The Cycle

The obvious main component for the cycle is the bike. The triathlon bike is a variant of the road bike and the most significant difference is the addition of tri-bars or aero-bars. Because triathletes cannot draft as can be done in cycling events, aerodynamics plays a large part in the cycling leg of the triathlon. Frame tubes are oval rather than round and the wheels may have fewer spokes or even be carbon fibre tri spokes or discs. Tri bikes are very similar to time trial bikes. This is just a general view of the more obvious equipment required to compete in a triathlon. Tri-bars or aero-bars are handlebars designed to reduce the wind drag Of course, to begin, you don’t need the most on a cyclist. They are attached to the handlebars and have rests for the expensive bike with the carbon fibre frame or to riders forearms while the hands are stretched forward to hold the centre have your brake and chain cables running inside bars. This keeps the elbows closer to the body and lowers the torso to the tubing, these modifications are for a later allow for better aerodynamics. date when you too have become obsessed with shaving seconds of PBs. For now, decide you Triathletes tend to become obsessed with aerodynamics in their quest are going to compete in one, target a specific to improve speed and performance with the result that manufacturers triathlon as your first, and arrange a training are concentrating more and more on improving triathlon bikes for the schedule to suit. It is a good idea to join a club as disconcerting triathlete. training with others will allow you to learn and get you out on those days that you would prefer Of course , other equipment required include the cycle helmet, the cycling to sit in front of the telly than go on a 40k cycle. clothing and triathlon shoes. Triathlon shoes are similar to cycling shoes Above all, have fun. Good luck and ENJOY! in that they have automatic binding cleats that allow them to clip into the pedals. Tri shoes are optimized for this approach in that they may About the Author be padded to allow the athlete more comfort while not wearing socks Online Ironman operates http://www. after the swim, they may have holes in them to allow the water from the onlineironman.com , an online resource for swim to drain easily, and may have only one or two velcro straps instead those training for and competing in Triathlon of three to allow for ease of fastening while cycling. and Ironman competitions

The Many Benefits of Martial Arts For the Mind, Body, and Spirit

few years ago I started to wonder if martial arts would be something I could do and benefit from. I knew next to nothing about it except maybe some fragmented memories of scenes from the movie The Karate Kid. But I knew I wanted to be able to defend myself in case anything ever happened. I didn’t really even know what “anything” was; I just knew I wanted to have more confidence. I also thought that maybe karate would instill some much-needed discipline in me. Finally, I figured it would be a better and more interesting way to

A 50

For All Ages! |

Florida Creative Living

exercise than moving weights up and If I thought I was going to be able down at the gym and running on a to fend off a would-be mugger treadmill like a hamster. with a knife after a few karate sessions, I was sorely mistaken. I So I took the plunge. I signed up for Kenpo soon realized that if I was to expect Karate at the local dojo (which literally tangible results, I was going to need means “place of the Way”, or “place of to dedicate myself for a while and practice”). I had no idea how many other develop infinite patience. benefits karate offered. But it dawned on me that anything I started to learn how to defend myself worthwhile takes hard work and indeed, but I also learned that taking on time, so I hunkered down and something like karate is less a project and started training regularly. I soon more a journey. I also learned I needed realized that what I thought was some serious patience. going to take months was really

November - December 2011

perform each of the moves properly, you need to have supreme control over your mind as well as your body. This takes years of practice, but even the novice benefits from each going to take years. So my patience attempt. developed. My confidence continued to grow, My muscles developed too. In fact, I but not just confidence in fighting, was sore in places that I didn’t even but confidence in my physical know existed. From my thumbs to abilities, and each time I train, my my ribs, I found muscles that hadn’t confidence develops even further. ever been flexed before. After a half I have more faith in myself, I trust a year I started getting into the best myself more. shape of my life, and I had hardly noticed because I was concentrating Another benefit of training in the martial arts is that one begins to on learning the craft. grasp the difference between the My discipline began to grow as well. goal and the journey, and why the Often I just didn’t want to go, but I latter is so much more important. forced myself and always felt better In this day and age of hyperconsumerism and quick fixes and for it afterward, always. Our sensei (teacher) is a blackbelt and former TV, it’s easy to think that the goal military man, so his brand of teaching is everything, regardless of how certainly involves discipline, but you get there. Capitalism stresses never more than anyone can handle. achievement and profits at the Moreover, to learn the various karate expense of the process. TV shows moves and forms, I began to develop and commercials wrap everything discipline over every miniscule up neatly and cleanly by the end, movement of my body. And to without much real struggle. And

Adult Living |SPORTS

we are bombarded with advertisements of immediate relief or riches or good looks if we “just buy this product”. But what about the process? What about the journey? What about the lifestyle? Everyone’s in such a rush to get somewhere or get something that many of us Westerners miss our own lives and each of the present moments because we’re so concerned with the future. Training in karate slows one’s life down a bit. It teaches one how to enjoy the process, not the goal. It’s a life long study, and no one reaches blackbelt status quickly. That’s the way it should be. Once you learn to enjoy the process, to enjoy the intrinsic goodness of practicing and training, you begin to grasp one key to life. The journey is more important than the goal.

About the Author

Jason OConnor owns and operates Oak Web Works, LLC and also runs the Matthews Martial Arts website. www.oakwebworks. com, www.matthewskenpo.com

November - December 2011

Florida Creative Living | For All Ages!

Adult Living | CROSSWORD & SUDOKU FUN

Across

Crossword Puzzle

1. Keyboard instrument 6. Military bugle call 10. Large musical insrument 14. Improvise 15. Redact 16. Jug 17. Incline 18. Musical symbol 19. Rant 20. Observe 21. Was seated 23. Possessed 25. Regret 26. Marinated meat on a skewer 28. Muffle 30. Rim 33. Consumed 34. Swerve 35. Soreness 36. Prong 38. High-pitched musical instrument 42. Unwell 43. Occurrence 45. Seed case 46. Stringed instrument 49. Apiece 50. Exchanged goods for money 51. Appropriate 53. Digit 54. Merely 55. Backchat 58. Hasten 60. Historic period 61. Part of the nect of a guitar 63. Indicating maiden name 64. Separates musical notes on a stave 67. Kind of star 69. Sodium chloride 71. Freight 73. Fresh 74. Genealogical diagram 75. Headdress 76. Musical instrument of Ancient Greece

Down

1. Route between mountains 2. Not in active use 3. Succulent plant 4. Pinch 5. Corpulent 6. Provisional 7. Fuss 8. Spongy tissue is plants 9. Firm 10. Possessive pronoun 11. Prize 12. Variety show 13. Clean with the bill 22. Let up 24. Lacking hearing

26. Knowledge and understanding 27. Below 29. Hole punching tool 30. Long narrative poem 31. Open river valley in the hills 32. Part of a fish 37. Meet 39. Once__ a time 40. Peal 41. Miniature whirlpool 44. In that place 47. Back muscle 48. Sports tournament

50. A source of oil 52. Faithful 55. Hackneyed 56. Acute pain 57. Not at all 59. Right-hand page 62. Edible root 64. Boast 65. City, site of the Taj Mahal 66. Horseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s coat color 68. Wonderment 70. Romanian currency 72. Melody

View our next issue for the correct answers to this Crossword puzzle. 52

For All Ages! |

Florida Creative Living

November - December 2011

Sudoku

Adult Living | CROSSWORD & SUDOKU FUN A sudoku puzzle is a logic puzzle which is solved using logic and reasoning. Though the number of squares in the grid may vary, a standard Sudoku puzzle is a 9x9 grid divided into nine 3x3 blocks in which some of the numbers are given. The object of the puzzle is to fill in the rest of the grid using only the numbers 1 through 9 so that no number repeats in any block, row or column. The difficulty is determined by how many and which numbers are given and where they are placed in the grid and can range from very easy to extremely challenging. Though sudoku puzzles generally use numbers as symbols, no mathematical skills are required to solve the puzzle. View our next issue for the correct answers to this Sudoku puzzle.

Answer Guide Sept. - Oct. Issue

Crossword Puzzle

Sudoku

November - December 2011

Florida Creative Living | For All Ages!

Adult Living | ARTIST CORNER Sessie Welzien

Sessie Welzien

Artwork Title: Square Coin Purses Price: $12

Artwork Title: Round Coin Purses Price: $15

Contact: Sessie by email at sewfast321@aol.com to purchase your customized purse.

Sessie Welzien

Artwork Title: Purses Price: $20

Artwork Title: Purses Price: $40

Contact: Sessie by email at sewfast321@aol.com to purchase your customized purse.

Abigail White

Artwork Title: Yellow Habitat Home Large Giclee size 26x39 Price: $500.00 Small Giclee 12” x18” Price: $149.00

Artwork Title: Purple Habitat Home Large Giclee size 26x39 Price: $500.00 Small Giclee 12” x18” Price: $149.00

View more sizes and prices at www.ColorsOfWhite.com/prints

Location: Key West, FL

Abigail White

Adult Living |BAND DIRECTORY

Location: Key West, FL

Artwork Title: Habitat’s Bayside Landing Large Giclee size 26x39 Price: $500.00 Small Giclee 12” x18” Price: $149.00

Tampa’s Arlington Road Band Classic Rock & Roll Blues Country

View more sizes and prices at www.ColorsOfWhite.com/prints All proceeds from Abigail White prints, benefit Habitat for Humanity of Key West & Lower FL Keys. Please contact opsdirector@ habitatlowerkeys.org to order.

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November - December 2011

Location: Land O’ Lakes, FL Manager: Chuck Johnson Email: branchwoodvideo@hotmail.com

Phone: 813.948.6814

Bradenton, Florida Bankers Life & Casualty Company Bradenton, FL Insurance

O: 941.730.8243

Adult Living | BUSINESS DIRECTORY MJ Real Estate

Lutz, FL Real Estate Agency

O: 813.948.6814 C: 813.376.8646

gatica6@hotmail.com

Sports Camp for Life Bradenton, FL Activity Center

O: 941.527.0148 www.sportscampforlife.org

GF JoeTM Gluten Free Bakery Clearwater., FL Bakery

O: 727.264.1333 www.gfjoe.com

Land O’ Lakes, Florida Fisher Honey Bees Land O’ Lakes, FL

Honey Supplier

O: 813.748.6339 www.fisherhoneybees.com

The Pier Aquarium

St. Pete., FL Non-Profit Organization

Motorhead Mobile Mechanic

O: 727.803.9799 ext. 207 www.pieraquarium.org

Lutz, FL Mechanic

O: 813.458.0334

www.motorheadmechanic.com

Clearwater, Florida

Saint Pete., Florida

Miami, Florida Sweet Treats by Marta Miami, FL Bakery

O: 917.846.2212 www.sweettreattables.com

Orlando, Florida

Sarasota, Florida Mote Aquarium

Sarasota, FL Non-Profit Organization

O: 941.388.4441 www.mote.org

Tampa, Florida

Ingenium Research Boutique

Glazer Children’s Museum

O: 407.309.2742 www.ingeniumresearch.com

O: 813.443.3861 www.glazermuseum.org

Orlando, FL

Marketing

Plant City, Florida

Tampa, FL Non-Profit Organization

Wellington, Florida

Sweet Whimsy

Dinosaur World

W4CY Radio

O: 813.244.3582 www.oursweetwhimsy.com

O: 813.717.9865 www.dinosaurworld.com

O: 561.506.4031 www.w4cy.com

Land O’ Lakes, FL Custom Pendants

Plant City, FL Attractions

Wellington, FL Internet Radio

Port St. Lucie, Florida

wesley chapel, Florida

Gulash Graphics

Simply Saltsational

Sports & Field

O: 813.994.5110 C: 813.458.1098

O: 772.475.7408 www.simplysaltsational.com

O: 813.948.5500 www.948.5500

Lutz, Florida Lutz, FL Design Firm

www.gulashgraphics.com

Port Saint Lucie, FL Spa/Beauty

November - December 2011

Wesley Chapel, FL Recreation

Florida Creative Living | For All Ages!

Adult Living | Chefâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Delight Ingredients 3 cups all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons pumkin pie spice 2 teaspoons baking soda 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 3 cups granulated sugar 1 can (15 ounces) LIBBYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 100% Pure Pumpkin 4 large eggs 1 cup vegetable oil 1/2 cup orange juice or water Instructions 1. Preheat the oven to 3750F. Grease and flour two 9 x 5-inch loaf pans. 2. Combine flour, pumkin pie spice, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Combine sugar, pumpkin, eggs, oil and juice in large mixer bowl; beat until just blended. Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture; stir just until moistened. Pour batter into pans. 3. Bake for 60 to 65 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Recipe makes two loaves. See directions below to make White Icing.

Ingredients

1/2 cups of Granulated Sugar 1 1/3 cups butter or margarine 2 eggs 2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 3/4 teaspoon salt

Ingredients White Icing

2 large egg whites 3 cups confectioners sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 3750F. 2. In a large bowl, combine sugar and butter or margarine and beat with an electric mixer until creamy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, blending well after each addition. Add vanilla, scraping down the sides of the bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and salt. Add flour mixture to butter mixture one cup at a time, and blend until all the flour mixture is incorporated. Roll into 1-inch balls, and place on an ungreased cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 10-15 minutes until the bottoms turn light brown. Let stand for 5 minutes before removing to cool on a wire rack. Frost with White Icing Frosting for Cookies.

White Icing Take egg white and whisk well. Sift and add confectioners sugar 1/2 cup at a time, adding in gradually. Stir quickly and decorate cookies. *Be careful, icing dries quickly!

For All Ages! |

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November - December 2011

Adult Living | COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT

Kingdom Worship Center in Tampa, Florida is looking for you to help Sponsor a needy Familes for Day of Thanks. With your donation of $20 it insures that 2 families will have a great Thanksgiving. As a valued sponsor you are eligible for a 7 days, 6 nights resort stay in beautiful Orlando. For further details please visit www.kwctoday.com or click on image above. Florida Creative Living is raffling, 3 Circus Sarasota pendants and one signed T-shirt from Legendary Aerialist Dolly Jacobs to help with their Big Top Education and Laughter Unlimited programs. Tickets are sold online for $5 dollars each.* Florida Creative Living goal is to reach $3,000. Pendant designed by Jan Ward. Owner and Creator of Sweet Whimsy

* Once you purchase your tickets via the Paypal Donate button, you will receive your raffle ticket number(s) shortly after via email â&#x20AC;&#x201C; within a few hours. Raffle ends February 1, 2012 . Winners will be notified by email by February 2, 2012. If you have any questions, or comments please contact us at raffle@floridacreativeliving.com

November - December 2011

Florida Creative Living | For All Ages!

Adult Living |TECHNOLOGY

The Technology Of TOMORROW “On Target” Video Game Urinal

Set back into each urinal is a pressure-sensitive display, which activates an interactive game when used. This game includes sounds and images, bringing entertainment value to where you’d least expect. It will most likely will be installed in airports and schools “ with the functional purpose of improving hygiene”. Designer: Marcel Neundorfer

Lean, Mean, Green Machine This racing bike is sure to turn heads whether you’re tearing up the asphalt or carrying it inhand. This concept by Allen Chester G. Zhang was designed to be easily transported between work and play. It can be stowed quickly as it folds at the center to create a barely-there yet aesthetically pleasing accessory. Unfold to expose it’s natural suspension shape and gear-to-gear spokeless wheels. Florescent cooper-zinc components add not only it’s aesthetic appeal but the rider’s safety. The color choices on this model are a beautiful combination. 58

For All Ages! |

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November - December 2011

Designer: Allen Chester G. Zhang

Tech that lets you connect with kids...

Adult Living | TECHNOLOGY

We have all seen the nature shows where the baby deer wanders too far from its mom and gets pounced on by some hidden predator. Well aside from opposable thumbs, moms have a new way to differentiate themselves from our mammalian brethren. The “Link” Child Locator is a device that takes a page from the movie Alien, in that it allows for the tracking of your spawn as they hide in the clothing racks at your local Gap store. The product has 2 components, a bracelet worn by the child that contains a transmitter module that works at a range of up to 100’, and a watch-style bracelet worn by the parent that receives the child’s signal indicates its direction and distance on a small LCD display. Hideand-seek will never be the same.

Designer: Continuum Studio

The Future Fridge The goal of the In My Fridge project is to simplify the process of food management by focusing on the technical & communicative aspects of the refrigerator. Using new RFID (Radio-Frequency-Identification) technology, the fridge is equipped with readers that collect data about quality, quantity, expiration date, & even recipes & presents it on a unique touch-screen interactive display. The user experience is quite uncommon & even has a 3D feature that allows the user to see the contents of the fridge without opening the door! Designers: Fabian Kreuzer & Markus Lorenz Schilling Click here to see video of the Future Fridge

November - December 2011

Florida Creative Living | For All Ages!

For All Ages! |

Florida Creative Living

November - December 2011

Adult Living | ENTERTAINMENT

DINOSAUR

WORLD PLANT CITY, FL

View pg 7 for Dinosaur World ad.

Hours:

MAJOR DINOSAUR EXPANSION OPENING IN FALL

inosaur World in Plant City, Florida broke

groundÂ with a major new expansion last year with completion set for late Fall of 2011. This includes a 12 acres expansion of everything dinosaur! A 22,000 square foot building will house a new indoor Prehistoric Museum, giftshop and office space. There will be more parking added to accommodate the growing number of educational groups and buses. More bathrooms will be installed. A new dinosaur playground will be unveiled as well as more picnic areas. And of course new dinosaurs will be moving in to show off the new entrance and gateway to the dinosaur walk. The new Florida expansion will be open in Fall of 2011. Dinosaur World will remain open during the expansion process.

Dinosaur World is an outdoor dinosaur museum with over 150 life size dinosaurs. Other exhibits include a Fossil Dig where guests sift thru sand in search of authentic fossils to take home, Boneyard where a life size dinosaur can be unearthed, Prehistoric Museum housing fossils, Movie Cave showing educational dinosaur movies, Carnivore Boardwalk showing predator vs. prey, Deinonychus Island full of raptors, playgrounds, picnic areas, giftshops and more.

Visit www.dinosaurworld.com for further information.

Dinosaur World Florida is open every day from 9:00 am - 6:00 pm During November, December and January we are open from 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Directions:

5145 Harvey Tew Road Plant City, Florida 33565

Admission:

Adults- $12.75 plus tax Children ages 3-12- $9.75 plus tax Seniors over 60- $10.75 plus tax Friendly pets on leashes - free!

Events:

November 6th, 13th & 20th Grandparents are FREE

November - December 2011

November 11th Veterans are FREE Florida Creative Living | For All Ages!

Adult Living | ENTERTAINMENT

SECRETS OF THE SEA Officials of The Pier Aquarium MADEIRA BEACH, FL

View pg 10 for St. Pete Aquarium ad.

Secrets of the Sea to be Tampa Bay’s Newest Attraction Lari Johnson, chair of the Relocation Committee, John’s Pass Village Facility to Open 12-12-12 recognized key contributors to the design and branding of Secrets of the Sea: Exhibit Design firms Hands On, Inc. and MAM Exhibit Design, and Aqua Marketing Madeira Beach, FL (Oct. 4, 2011) – Secrets of the Sea, a Communications, Inc. She also acknowledged the major new visitor attraction combining realtime marine cadre of professionals who have donated hundreds of research and hands-on experiences with living marine hours of expertise and labor in these first stages of the exhibits, will open at John’s Pass Village in December planning and design of the new attraction. 2012. Officials of The Pier Aquarium revealed the name and design of their cuttingedge facility in ceremonies Madeira Beach Mayor Travis Palladeno welcomed the today at the new location on Gulf Blvd and 129th Avenue new ocean-themed attraction as the perfect addition East in Madeira Beach, FL. to enhance John’s Pass Village, one of Tampa Bay’s most visited destinations. He noted that the Secrets of the Sea Marine Exploration Center and accessible waterfront location, convenient parking and Aquarium will occupy 12,500 sq. ft. on two levels of the wide array of dining and shopping opportunities newest building in the John’s Pass Village complex. More combine to make John’s Pass Village a must-visit than 250,000 visitors are expected to visit Secrets of the destination for tourists and local residents. Sea in its first year generating more than $8 million into the local economy. In April, after several years of researching and planning an expansion, Pier Aquarium officials announced E. Howard Rutherford, president and CEO, unveiled the the move to Madeira Beach to create a larger, more name and logo and previewed floor plans and exhibits research-oriented marine discovery center. to a large audience of dignitaries and supporters. “We are creating a new visitor experience about our planet’s marine environment that will reveal the intriguing For further information about Secrets of the Sea mysteries of the ocean, both above and below the please contact Emily Stehle, APR at (727) 803-9799, water. Secrets of the Sea Marine Exploration Center ext. 207 or by email at estehle@pieraquarium.org and Aquarium will be a living research facility providing the public with direct contact with scientists, live experiments and marine discoveries found nowhere else,” said Rutherford. 62

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November - December 2011

Adult Living | ENTERTAINMENT

GLAZER CHILDREN’S MUSEUM TAMPA, FL

View pg 7 for Glazer Children’s Museum ad.

Glazer Children’s Museum Hosts Sunshine Sundays for Sunday morning of the month, from 10 AM – 12:30 PM. The program will continue all year long, as part Children with Special Needs of our ongoing commitment to serve every child in the n July 31, the Museum hosted its first Sunshine Sunday – a morning especially for children with special needs and their families. We welcomed over 70 people to visit the Museum in a quiet, adapted and sensory friendly space. Families got the chance to experience exhibits, but also talk with staff from various support agencies, meet some Superheroes from Costumers with a Cause, and get photos with Kellie Lightbourne, Mrs. North American Galaxy. Families shared with us ways to make the Museum even more accessible for children and families, while playing and having a great time.

One parent commented, “You put on a wonderful day today. I have nothing but the highest praise for your staff members who showed each and every child that he or she was loved and treated each parent with the highest respect.” Another sated, “Every single staff member we encountered took the time to speak to my son. They addressed their questions to him, and not over his head at me, as a lot of people do when facing a child in a wheelchair.” Sunshine Sundays began with discussions of the need for a quieter time for families with special needs to visit the Museum. For children with mobility impairments, or children with sensory integration impairments, the Museum can be a stressful and difficult place to visit when it is crowded. Education department staff and members of the Museum’s Board set about forming a “Circle of Friends” – members of support agencies and community advocates – who are informing our choices, programming and decisions regarding Sunshine Sundays. Sunshine Sundays are held every other month, on the last

Tampa Bay area. Admission for Sunshine Sundays is $5 per person for non-members, and free for members. Admission is from 10-12:30 only, with normal admission when the Museum reopens at 1:00 PM. If you would like to learn more about our special needs initiatives, please visit our webpage at www. glazermuseum.org.

Other Events:

November 1 - December 31 Adventures wit Clifford The Big Red DogTM November 1 Two Dollar Target Days November 8 Brownie Badge Workshops November 15 Tiger Cub Scout Workshops December 6 Two Dollar Target Days

November - December 2011

Florida Creative Living | For All Ages!

MOTE AQUARIUM

Adult Living | ENTERTAINMENT

SARASOTA, FL

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Seabird Spectacular

Mote Aquarium Introduces Penguin Island to Sarasota www.penguinisland.net

aybe it’s because they walk so funny; or maybe it’s their dashing sense of style — whatever the reason, penguins are some of the world’s most captivating creatures. Mote Aquarium visitors can see six black-footed penguins in person during a new limited-time exhibit called Penguin Island.

From November 2011 through February 2012, visitors can meet and learn more about these black-tie guests during daily visits and special meet-and-greet opportunities. Penguins might seem like exotic tourists for sunny Southwest Florida, but not all penguins live in chilly climates. The black-footed penguins at Mote Aquarium are native to South Africa, where the ocean currents are cold and the climate is moderate. Endangered in the wild, black-footed penguins (Spheniscus demersus) face some of the same threats as marine life in the Gulf of Mexico — lack of food due to overfishing and environmental changes, oil pollution, habitat destruction and sea-level rise. By showcasing a faraway species that faces the same risks as many of the marine animals in our own Gulf, Mote hopes to highlight the importance of working globally for marine conservation. Plus, we might add, penguins are just plain cool! Visiting Penguin Island is included with general admission to Mote Aquarium. Mote Aquarium brings oceans to life for all ages by showcasing sharks, fish of all shapes and sizes, sea turtles, manatees, touch pools and much more. Mote’s exhibits spotlight the cutting-edge research of the adjoining Mote Marine Laboratory. Mote Aquarium is open 365 days per year at 1600 Ken Thompson Parkway in Sarasota, Fla. Admission is $17 for adults, $16 for seniors (over 65), $12 for kids (ages 4-12) and free for kids ages 3 and younger. Mote Members always get in free. Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium, 1600 Ken Thompson Parkway, Sarasota 941-388-4441, info@mote.org , www.mote.org, www.mote.org/facebook

For All Ages! |

Florida Creative Living

November - December 2011

Penguin Events in November

Nov. 5 Family Festival

Mote’s Penguin Party Family Festival will celebrate the opening of Penguin Island with fun and educational activities for the whole family (or colony, if you’re a penguin). The event takes place from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 5 in Mote Aquarium’s Courtyard. Visiting Penguin Island and attending the festival is free with paid Aquarium admission: $17 for adults, $16 for seniors (over 65), $12 for kids (ages 4-12) and free for children 3 and younger. Bring the kids for a photo op with Percy, Penguin Island’s mascot.

Nov. 8 Flick

Burns Court Cinema will host a viewing of the award-winning documentary “City Slickers” to celebrate Mote’s new penguin pals. “City Slickers” is the story of black-footed penguins and people competing for suburban habitat in South Africa, the penguins’ native home. The documentary takes viewers on a funny and emotional roller-coaster ride, exploring the relationship between humans and these plucky seabirds. Enjoy cocktails and hors d’oeuvres at 6 p.m. before the movie starts at 7:30. Burns Court is located at 506 Burns Lane in Sarasota. Tickets are $30 each and can be purchased now by contacting Stacy Alexander at 941-3884441, ext. 509, or stacyalexander@mote. org.

Nov. 18 Frolic

Pinstripes & Penguins, Mote’s signature penguin dance party, starts at 7 p.m. on Nov. 18 at Mote Aquarium. Guests can dress up in their finest party clothes and kick up their heels to the music of The Boneshakers. In addition to partying with Percy and his pals, guests will enjoy cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and entertainment by acrobats and street performers. Tickets are $50 per person. Get your ticket today at www.mote.org/ pinstripesandpenguins. For questions, please contact Stacy Alexander at 941-388-4441, ext. 509, or stacyalexander@ mote.org

Adult Living | VA Memoirs

Why Why is is November November 11th 11th an an Important Important Day? Day? A Day to Remember

ovember 11, is Veterans Day.

Bet that have slipped past many who read this. It is the same every year however I do not recall a tremendous amount of fan fare or many lining up to honor those who have served both in peace and war time. However the date still stands and is on your calendar so to remind you that freedom is not always free. One of the items that stand out in my mind is the ‘Wall” which is present in Washington. D.C.. The ‘wall” as we call it, has a lot of names on it. To many in fact. I wish we could erase so many of those names however that is not reality. George Jones, a renowned country and western singer has a song out which was sent to me recently. The title was ’50.000 Names Upon The Wall” . The song, refers to the Viet Nam ‘wall’ in Washington. In reality there are a lot more then 50.000.

parade but the words tell it all. The ‘wall’ is a place of honor dedicated to those men and women who served during the conflict and paid the ultimate price. It was a divisive war , one which took a toll on our country not to be soon dismissed in the minds of many. Therefore it is important that this Veterans Day when we go about out daily tasks, I do hope that we would take a moment to pause and remember all those who have served, especially those who did not have an opportunity to climb on that plane in Saigon and return home. In the words of Major Mike O’Donnell who said: “If you are able, save for them a place inside of you and save one backward glance when you are leaving for the places they can no longer go. Be not ashamed to say you loved them, though you may or may not have always. Take what they have taught you with their dying and keep it with your own.” Major O Donnell was killed in Viet Nam in February 7, 1968.

So on this Veterans Day when you observe someone who has served just tell them ‘Thank You’ for what they have done.

Many will look down and say nothing at all. . Many will seemed surprised and many will simply tell you that serving was the right thing to do and they were glad to serve their country. Actually there are more then 58.000 names now But in the end when they walk away, it will mean a lot. and that far to many. You need to listen to it. The song will most likely not make the top of the hit

by Chuck Johnson .. U.S.Army/ MSG (Ret)

November - December 2011

Florida Creative Living | For All Ages!