Connection
POETRY x
Collection The Road Not Taken By Robert Frost Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.
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Artist Suzanne Ervin
www.semyart.com
239-777-9556
@MUMSHINELOVE
Lizzie is a photographer and posts a photo a day/photo challenge on instagram. She is a mom of two rascally boys who are very often featured! She lives in Christchurch, NZ. http://instagram.com/mumshinelove
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Mission: Sharing the Art of Living with Heart. Create * Conceive * Connect 2 Letter from the Editor News and Celebrations
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3 Heart of Fashion Spring Forward Tips For Men, Fiammisday.com
4 Future is So Bright 5 Out and About Alaska's Kenai Peninsula
7 Ask a Question
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How do I get fit & healthy? Giveaway:
7 Happy Spring
Your Plan for a BALANCED LIFE Book and 52 Tips for New Parents Cards are this months exciting giveaways! Visit our blog or Giveaway page to enter online!
7 Father's Day 8 Friendship for Life Austin & Desmond are best of friends!
8 National Pet Month 9 Art that Inspires
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5 Steps an Artist can do to Inspire others
10 Recipe Corner
Quick & Easy Sourdough Bread
11 Amazing Nature Why Migrate?
12 Tech Tips Graduation all in one Convenient Online Place and Creative Apps
13Featured Foundation Ronald McDonald House
HEARTBEAT CONNECTION MAY 2013
8 Photo Source: jumpingbulldog.wordpress.com
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Are some companies making a difference in the world? At Heartbeat Connection Magazine we discover the answer. Online, we share exclusive company reviews. Be sure to visit us at www.heartbeatmag.com.
Letter from the Editor
May has been full of activities; my kids are getting ready for the end of school and they've had several musical concerts and school tests. I was able to go out to Seattle to be with my five year old nephew during his back surgery. He is making so much progress, they have moved him now to the Seattle Children's Hospital Rehab. We've created a page on Facebook sharing his news at www.facebook.com/austinervinhealing, it is such a blessing to have so many people praying and believing for his recovery. This month's giveaways are Your Plan for a Balanced Life, by James M. Rippie M.D. and 51 Tips for New Parents, by Lynn Gordon. Please make sure to visit the Giveaway section on our website for more details. If you'd like to be a contributor or are interested in advertising, visit our website or send us an email at info@heartbeatmag.com!
With love, Nicole Flothe
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Managing Editor NICOLE FLOTHE Photographer MELINDA NAGY OTERO Photographer JENNY PLOCINSKI Art Director SUZANNE ERVIN Editor CHERYL FLOTHE Cover - Nicholas Coulman Cover Photographer- Sonja Stafford CONNECT www.TWITTER.com/Heartbeat_mag FACEBOOK HEARTBEAT CONNECTION facebook.com/heartbeatconnection
Managing Editor Two roads diverged in a wood and I - I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference. - Robert Frost
This month's cover is my nephew, Nicholas Coulman's, high school senior photo. Photographer Sonja Stafford captures the sweet life through her lens. Providing clients with one of a kind images that will take your breath e Vita Photo Boutique provides all photography services from away. Dolce birth to wedding day. DV specializes in newborn, first-year, high school senior, and wedding portraits throughout Alaska and on the Kenai Peninsula. DV also photographs commercial, real estate, and company events. Read more about Nicholas in the The Future is so Bright story on page 9.
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Lee Heyward - Style with Lee Shelly Aristizabal - You Asked & We Answered Beth Gatrell - Tech Tip of the Week Cheryl Flothe - Out & About, Recipe Corner Cheryl Flothe - Amazing Nature
Spring Forward Tips for Men by Lee Heyward StylewithLee.com
This season it’s easy to add a little punch to your wardrobe with some of spring’s easy trends.
PINK Pink has become a standard issue hue for men. Not every shade will be for you. Choose one that speaks to you for an instant spring update.
STATEMENT EYEWEAR Check out the folding glasses from Prada. They make a statement and are easy to carry in your pocket.
STRIPES This Nautica shirt is a great way to take on stripes this season. Skip the old striped polos of ten years ago in your closet and opt for a modern version with interesting detailing. x
The Children's Fashion Blog Outfit and Kids Style I will be going to a cute show: ARTIGIANATO ePALAZZO that takes place at the Giardino Corsini here in Florence. More than a hundred craftsmen come from our city and various other parts of Italy to present their unique and original creations. My outfit is done, in part, by one of these craftsmen CAFFELATTEACOLAZIONE. Fabrics with natural colors and in tone with the sky in these days … what do you think?? HAVE A SPECIAL SATURDAY!!- Fiammisday.com
HEARTBEAT CONNECTION MAY 2013
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by Cheryl Flothe May is graduation month in Alaska and our family is excited to have two high school graduates this year! Blake Ervin, Editor Nicole Flothe’s nephew, is graduating from Palmer High School; and Nick Coulman, my grandson, graduates from Soldotna High School. Our families are so proud of them! We can’t wait to see what their futures will bring. Good luck and congratulations, Blake & Nick!
Blake and Nick camping at the family mine in Moose Pass. L-R: Hunter Ervin, Corbin Coulman, Blake Ervin, Elise Coulman, Nathan Flothe, Nick Coulman & Jim Flothe.
Blake’s Hockey Team in Palmer, AK. Blake is 2nd from left in the top back row.
Nick Coulman, Kindergarten Grad!
Nick in Pop Carr Football, Soldotna, AK Photographer: Sonja Stafford, Dolce Vita Photo Boutique
Blake Ervin, 2013 Graduate Palmer High School.
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Nick Coulman, 2013 Graduate Soldotna High School.
by Cheryl Flothe
Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula is called Alaska’s Playground for good reason. Whether it’s hiking, fishing, boating, camping, or just exploring; the Kenai Peninsula has it all. Choose your own adventure! Throw in the stunning scenery and you’ll have a memorable visit, especially if you take lots of pictures. The Kenai Peninsula is south of Anchorage on the Seward and Sterling Highways.
Pink salmon are fun to catch near Hope.
Swans in the fall on Tern Lake near Moose Pass.
The AK Railroad runs from Fairbanks to Seward.
Floatplane on Kenai Lake in Cooper Landing.
Fishermen at Lowell Point near Seward.
HEARTBEAT CONNECTION MAY 2013
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On top of Hideout Trail above Skilak Lake.
Hiking Lost Lake Trail near Seward.
Safe bear viewing from a raft on the Kenai River.
The Homer Spit has fishing, camping, and more!
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Visit the Heartbeat Mag Blog to Enter
GIVEAWAY Your Plan for a BALANCED LIFE
by James M. Rippe M.D.
6HEARTBEAT CONNECTION MAY 2013
Salty Dawg Saloon on Homer Spit outside of Homer.
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Tips
for New Parents
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by Lynn Gordon
by Nicole Flothe
by Shelly Aristizabal of Healthy Living Concierge
Health & Wellness Q: How do I get fit & healthy? Springtime is the perfect time of year to commit to a strategic plan to get fit & healthy! You can create a lifestyle that will allow you to remain as youthful as possible for as long as possible! Begin with a positive mental attitude. No matter where you are right now, believe that your ideal weight and level of strength and fitness are obtainable.
Father's Day is a celebration honoring fathers and celebrating fatherhood, paternal bonds, and the influence of fathers in society. Many countries celebrate it on the third Sunday of June, but it is also celebrated widely on other days. Father's Day was made a permanent national holiday when President Richard Nixon signed it into law in 1972. My husband's birthday is 4 days before Father's day so he gets two celebrations within the week. How do you plan on celebrating? Here are a few suggestions I found via Pinterest...
Be sure you pair PMA with an Attitude of Gratitude! Wake up in the morning and say, "I am thankful for my EXCELLENT health, which allows me to do everything I need to do each day!" Decide now that you will DO SOMETHING each day to BE fit & healthy! Take action! Schedule physical activity daily! Plan to make good choices at meal times - focus on lean protein, plenty of fresh fruits & veggies to fuel your body throughout the day! (Just say NO to foods high in sugar & fat.) Remember - it is DECISIONS not conditions that determine your quality of life!
Happy
Spring! 1. Kids Handprint Tracing Craft. 2. Family collage of fingerprints. 3. German Chocolate Cake Sandwich Cookies. 4. Footprint poetry.
“It is spring again. The earth is like a child that knows poems by heart.” ― Rainer Maria Rilke HEARTBEAT CONNECTION MAY 2013
Source: http://pinterest.com/nicoleflothe/fathers-day/
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by Nicole Flothe Desmond is Austin's new friend from Homer, Alaska, they were in Providence together and flew out the same day on separate medical jets to Seattle Children's Hospital. Desmond is in Rehab and doing amazing! Another true Alaskan Miracle boy! During his stay he was able to come and visit Austin. I met Desmond and his sweet mother, Mary, at The Seattle Children's Hospital and learned more about his story.
National Pet Month is a celebration of the benefits that pets bring to people's lives - and vice versa. In the United States it's in May and during the month of April in the United Kingdom.
When Desmond was young he would have chest pain and then have a seizure. His mother took him to get checked and the doctor recommended he take seizure medication. Mary wasn't sure about giving it to him until finally she thought she'd give it a try. This time when Desmond got the chest pain he didn't have a seizure and his heart stopped. He was revived and transported to the hospital where they were unsure how he would recover. He wasn't able to talk or communicate very well at first and now, with Rehab, has much improved.
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My nephew Austin has had many therapy dogs visit him during his hospital stay. As per therapydogcertification.com, 5 benefits of therapy dogs are: Lowering blood pressure Lowering levels of Epinephrine and Norepinephrine Reducing patient anxiety Increasing the level of endorphin Increasing the level of oxytocin
Here are a few pictures of the dogs that visited. Eddie the Yorkie came to say hello! Then Lee Roy and Austin were both happy to see each other. I really enjoyed seeing Abe the Golden Retriever and Austin hold hands! Pets are Amazing!
I was in Seattle for 10 days and was able to spend some quality time getting to know Mary, Desmond and their family. Mary took Tina and I on our first walk around the hospital grounds outside as Desmond was learning how to walk again. She also showed us the Rehab facility that Austin would be moving to soon. After I went home to Florida, Austin was moved to Rehab and was next door neighbors with Desmond for a day. Desmond was doing so well that they have now flown back to Anchorage to continue his Rehab. It was a bittersweet departure but we know they are friends for life!
Updates on Austin Ervin can be found at www.facebook.com/AustinErvinHealing
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Post photos on Social Media Sites Instagram is one of my favorite social media sites to get inspired by artists. I also love to view photos on Facebook and twitter.
by Nicole Flothe This month's featured Artist is Jessica Mack of The Brown Paper Bunny blog. I met her via a blog gift swap and have been inspired by her artwork ever since. Here is a little background about Jessica: she is an Australian illustrator currently living in San Diego, California. She has a penchant for fashion, watercolors, the Sketchbook Project, and a good cup of tea. The Brown Paper Bunny blog is a place where she shares her work, tries new things, and participates in some great projects. What I love about Jessica is how social she is online. I enjoy seeing her updates on her blog, Facebook, Instagram, Viddy, and her recent addition, a sale site with Society 6!
Create Painting Videos
Share Your Artwork on a Blog
Offer Your Work for Sale
Ask People Questions A question Jessica got from one of her readers was great, What's in your kit? She then listed all the things she carrys around with her every day.
HEARTBEAT CONNECTION MAY 2013
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Recipe Corner
by Cheryl Flothe
time. This commodity was so valuable people would walk for miles just to get a starter or to refresh theirs. Back in “the old days,” because starter needed to be kept warm, people carried them in their coats when traveling, or “put them to bed” during cold weather----placing them under the covers so they could be kept warm through body heat! The sourdough starter I have was given to me by a neighbor who received it from someone who had theirs for over 50 years. I passed some down to my son, and he’s been making sourdough pancakes ever since! Recently, he gave me a sourdough bread recipe he found in Alaska Sourdough, by Ruth Allman. This bread was the best sourdough bread I’d ever made, so I’m passing it on to you!
Quick and Easy Sourdough Bread Ingredients: 1 c. sourdough starter 6 c. flour ½ tsp. salt 1 pkg. yeast 2 tbsp. sugar 1-1/2 c. warm water ½ tsp. soda
Directions:
The Sourdough Life Sourdough usually makes people think of Gold Rush miners and the delicious bread and pancakes they made using their carefully guarded sourdough starter. As usual, our assumptions are turned upside down by looking into history. According to the Food History site online, Ancient Egyptians were the first people known to use Sourdough as far back as 1500 BC. They also made beer, often locating the brewery and bakery in the same place! Sourdough was used through the ages, is still used in European rye breads, and continues to be a popular starter for modern bakers. Some people even have 100 year old starters in their refrigerators passed down from friends or family. An old publication I’ve had for years, Sourdough, said this “yeasty starter,” used by old-timers was one of their most precious possessions as yeast supplies might not be available for months or even a year at a
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Add yeast to warm water. Mix in sourdough, 4 cups flour, sugar, and salt. Beat well. Put in greased bowl and let rise in warm place until doubled. Mix soda in 1 cup flour, add to original dough. Knead until satiny and springy to the touch. Cut dough in half and make 2 loaves. Bake in 400 degree oven for 45 minutes. Note: I let my bread rise once more after forming into loaves and it worked great, but my son followed the original recipe and said it turned out well for him. Either way, this is an easy bread recipe.
Visit us online and enjoy our Recipes!
Migrating cranes.
Photo from CloserToNature.com.
Killer whales on the move.
Photo from Bing Images.
by Cheryl Flothe
Each year, millions of animals, birds, and insects migrate thousands of miles north or south in search of conditions that help them live, find food, and breed. It’s a matter of survival! Whales migrate from cooler feeding grounds up north to warmer calving grounds in southern areas and salmon migrate to sea when they are big enough, returning to the streams that spawned them three to five years later. Bird migration is the most noticeable, though. Who hasn’t seen birds flying in massive flocks or in organized formation? The Arctic Tern flies between Alaska and Antarctica each year, while other birds only fly a few thousand miles.
Monarch butterflies during migration. Photo from Bing Images.
overwintering areas, depending on air currents and thermals that enable them to travel so far. Eastern North American monarchs fly south to the Sierra Madre Mountains of Mexico, while those in Western North America go to California. Places where monarchs return every year to overwinter have festivals to honor them and many people travel from far away just to see them! See the attached U.S. Forest Service site below for more information on monarch butterfly migration. http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/monarchbutterfly/migration/index.shtml We know why, when, and where most species migrate; but finding out how instinct guides them in their travels is something we are always studying. Maybe someday we will know---in the meantime, we will continue to be amazed at the migrations that take place every year.
See Wild Birds Unlimited online for more information. http://www.wbu.com/education/birdmigration.html And some insects migrate. One of the most unusual annual migrations is that of North America’s monarch butterfly. They are the only butterfly that makes annual roundtrip migrations. Unlike most insects that overwinter as larvae, Monarchs can’t stand the cold, so they must fly south. Monarchs can fly as far as 3,000 miles to reach their
Artist: Suzanne Ervin - Monarch Butterfly
HEARTBEAT CONNECTION MAY 2013
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Creative Apps by Nicole Flothe
Into Tomorrow's Graduation all in one Convenient Online Place... by Beth Gatrell Whether you are the one graduating or looking for something special for family or friends, Online is where you need to be. Sites like Zazzle, Tiny Prints and Mixbook offer you the ability to create custom announcements along with other fun Graduation items. For party supplies, Oriental Trading has you covered with everything including decorations, tableware, novelty items and more. PartyCity is another great place to look for all things Graduation Party. And if you’re not sure exactly what to do about planning or hosting that party, just check out Ms. Simplicity, Party on Purpose and Pinterest. Searching for an awesome gift? Visit Café Press featuring some neat items customized just for graduates like t-shirts, pillows, coffee mugs, flip-flops, and more. You might also like Gifts for you Now and Christianbook.com. Wishing all the Graduates a great end of their year and good luck … "Into Tomorrow."
Want a few great apps to get your new grad? I found some creative apps I love. Whims is a word graphic app, LoveTime helps you set up special reminder countdowns. BeautifulMess adds sweet fonts to photos, iGreeting provides lovely notes to send out. The Story Jar lets you record a quick story and share it with loved ones! Get Creative and Enjoy! My Creative apps:
To view more information about iPhone apps visit
www.heartbeatmag.com, What's on my iPhone.
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Featured Foundation
by Nicole Flothe My nephew Austin, was transferred this month to the PICU at the Seattle Children's Hospital and there his parents were introduced to the Ronald McDonald House. I've known of the Ronald McDonald House, but never had any experience using their facility or visiting one of their locations. When I flew to Seattle to be with my nephew for his spinal surgery my brother took me on the tour. It was a blessing being so close to the hospital! We would walk each day down the paved nature path and then across the street and arrive at his room within less than 10 minutes. The facility has several floors and the accommodations are set up like a hotel room. They had a free laundry room, a dining area with a common food area, game rooms, movie room, and even 25 cent sodas or waters. All the little things were taken care of so we could focus our time and energy on Austin's care.
The History of the House that Love Built When Philadelphia Eagles tight end, Fred Hill’s 3-yearold daughter, Kim, was being treated for leukemia in 1974, his life changed. He and his wife, Fran, camped out on hospital benches and sat in cramped waiting rooms during Kim’s three years of treatment. The Hills watched other parents and families of seriously
HEARTBEAT CONNECTION APRIL 2013
ill children do the same thing. Many of the families had to travel long distances for their children to receive medical treatment and couldn’t afford hotel rooms. The Hills knew there had to be a solution. Fred's neighbors started a charity called Eagles Fly for Leukemia. And Leonard Tose, owner of the Eagles, not only embraced the charity, but put the full support of the team and his resources behind it. From there the miracle unfolded. Jim Murray, the Eagles’ general manager, was directed to Dr. Audrey Evans, head of the pediatric oncology unit at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Evans had dreamed of a comfortable temporary residence for families of children being treated at her hospital. Jim enlisted Don Tuckerman, from the local McDonald’s advertising agency, who, with the support of McDonald’s Regional Manager Ed Rensi, launched the St. Patrick’s Day Green Milkshake (dubbed the Shamrock Shake) promotion. Funds raised helped buy an old house located near the hospital, which was opened in 1974 as the first Ronald McDonald House. The network of Houses quickly grew after that and today there are more than 305 Ronald McDonald Houses across the world.
www.rmhcseattle.org/
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HEARTBEAT CONNECTION APRIL 2013
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