Movie Time: Family friendly

"It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see." - Henry David Thoreau

It's the midst of winter, (48 days until spring) and it means freezing cold weather and rain. So I've compiled a list of movies to keep the winter blues away. All these movies are family friendly and perfect for those gloomy days where all you need is a smile and a laugh. 


Family friendly 


Tangled (2010)
The more Disney princess movies that are released the harder it has been for me to watch them. But I think Tangled was immaculate. The dialogue was cute and the story line gave me butterflies. Tangled was taken from the old mother goose tail of Rapunzel but with it's Disney twist. Rapunzel locked away in her tower finds the opportunity to escape to see the "starts" on her birthday when a young ruffian climbs into her tower to escape authorities. The two then go on a crazy adventure running from the bad guys and all the while catching the love bug. An adorable movie that will make you laugh and smile. 





Oliver and Company (1988)
One of my favorites! A kitten (Oliver), abandoned to roam the streets of New York city finds itself tangled up with a group of street dogs. Jenny, a young girl and her chauffeur Winston find Oliver and bring him into their home. Oliver becomes torn between being with his dog friends on the street and living with a human child who loves him. Charming music plays as the characters sing and run all over New York, very catchy.




The Parent Trap (1998)
Stuck at summer camp Annie and Hallie find each other under the oddest of circumstances. They're twins. They have never met before but are determined to unravel the missing pieces to their lives which they never really thought they had missing. This warm movie is filled with laughs and surprises. The main character's are played by a young Lindsey Lohan who outdid herself.




Fun Test:

Close your eyes and think about nothing but smiling. How long does it take until you feel happiness creep across your face?

Twitter

Facebook

Nutrition: The Junk - Food

It has all been said before, don't eat this, don't eat that. You know what I'm talking about. And no I'm not going to advocate or tell you what to do but I am going to let you know what you are eating when you pick up those around town favorites.

First off, let me explain what a calorie is. As we go throughout our day doing simple things like brushing our teeth or walking to the car we burn energy. Calories are the amount of energy in a piece of food that we are putting back into our bodies. Now if we eat too many calories, more than we burn off in a day, then the extra energy can be stored as fat.  There are different kinds of calories and many things that can effect what happens to that energy once it enters our bodies.

This is a rather short version of the process of what calories are. If you would like a more detailed description of what calories are there is a link at the end of the blog.

Foods that are high in fat and high in calories can give anyone a huge number of complications with their health. And simply, it's time to take action. If you eat foods that are high in fat, sugar and calories you are at risk for problems, no matter if you are a healthy weight or not.

Daily Nutrition Guidelines For Women

Recommendations	Women under 50	Women over 50
Calories	2,000	2,000 or less
Protein	50g	50g or less
Fat	65g or less	65g or less
Carbs	304g	304g
Fiber	25g-35g	25g-35g
Cholesterol	300mg or less	300mg or less
Iron	18mg	8mg
Sodium	2,300mg or less	1,500mg or less
Calcium	1,000mg	1,200mg

For Men

Recommendations	Men over 24
Calories	2,700
Protein	63g
Fat	88g or less
Carbs	410g
Fiber	25g-35g
Cholesterol	300mg or less
Iron	8mg
Sodium	2,300mg or less
Calcium	1,000mg

Now back to food. It is never easy to become aware of what exactly we are eating, but it is possible. An easy way to remember that the low-fat yogurt with the delicious berries' instead of the box of waffles is to write it on the top of your grocery list. If you never use a grocery list, it may be a good idea to start. When you create a grocery list it forces you to be more aware of what you are purchasing. And take a moment to look at the back of the box. Poptart's come in packages of two, and each Poptart has a surprising amount of calories, that I myself never would have guessed.

Challenge
Next time you go to the store pick three items you usually purchase (potato chips, cheese, juices) and look at their sugar and fat content compared to what is recommended daily. Then decide if that's what you want your beautiful body to be running on.

Links, Sources:

What is a calorie? http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005/healthieryou/html/chapter5.html

Nutrition charts: http://www.easy-weightloss-tips.com/weightlossfacts-3.html

Nutrition: The Junk - Drinks

A ship in harbor is safe - but that is not what ships are for.  ~John A. Shedd, Salt from My Attic

Put down the soda. That extra sugar add's up pretty quickly, and truthfully does it quench your thirst or hunger for sugar? Although water may seem bland it can give you energy. It's common to drink the 12oz caffeinated drink to get you through the next hour, but it is more effective to drink a glass of water. Not only does it not slow you down with artificial chemicals and sugar but it most certainly lasts longer than a quick fix energy drink. Drinking 6-8 glasses of water every day will boost your energy, stamina and overall happiness. And who doesn't want all three of those?

*3

*1

I know drinking 6-8 glasses of water a day seems like a lot. It means a few more trips to the bathroom, but even if you swap one soda a day for a glass of water you can improve your health. And if truthfully, you would rather have the health problems then drink boring flavorless water here are some other great alternatives: *2

- Water with cut up slices of fruits or vegetables; lemons, strawberrys, watermelons or cucumbers. 

- All natural Green Tea (not the Lipton or Arizona) 

- Tonic and Lime (without the gin) 

- Red Wine (But limited to 4oz don't get carried away! Remember it's just a substitute for taste) 

- Vegetable blend (blend your vegetables together to be creative and healthy) 

- Soy milk (Not as bad as popular belief, try something new.) 

- Coffee (without cream, milk or sugar) 

Recipe *4

Broccoli Blueberry Smoothie 

For one smoothie combine 

• 1 cup of frozen blueberries
• 1/2 cup of steamed broccoli
• 1 cup of 100 percent cranberry juice
• 1/2 cup of low-fat plain yogurt

Sweet Veggie Smoothie

For one smoothie combine

• 1 cup apple juice
• 1 cup of sliced apple (sweet tasting apples are better)
• 1/4 cup applesauce
• 1/2 cup sliced carrots
• 1/2 cup of cucumber (peeled and sliced)
• 2 cups of ice
• a dash of nutmeg or cinnamon (optional)

Why not go out on a limb?  Isn't that where the fruit is?  ~Frank Scully

References: 

Pictures

1. http://www.sugarstacks.com/beverages.htm

2. http://www.everydayhealth.com/photogallery/soda-alternatives.aspx?xid=tw_weightloss_20120109_soda#/slide-1

3. http://www.thatsfit.ca/2010/06/18/refreshing-summer-drink-how-to-make-healthy-cucumber-water/
4. http://www.smoothieweb.com/category/vegetable-smoothies/

CAREgiver of the Year 2011: Stephanie Aspen

Stephanie Aspen

CAREgiver of the year is a person who exhibits excellence and dedication for their services to elderly clients in their local communities. Stephanie Aspen was nominated for her dedication and high standard of performance.
---

It is with great pleasure that we, at Home Instead Senior Care, located in Medford, Oregon, nominate Stephanie Aspen as the 2011 CAREGiver of the Year. Stephanie has been a full-time employee with us since December 2010. Prior to joining our team here in Medford, she worked for the Tempe, Arizona Home Instead Senior Care office for about a year. Stephanie is known for her high standard of performance. She cares for her clients and family members with respect and dignity and is a great asset to our team as well as to the seniors in our community.

Stephanie has a passion for the seniors. Not only is she a full-time CAREGiver, she is a wife of 21yrs, a mother of 6 children and a grandmother of 5. She also met the needs of her father’s cancer, caring for him for 4 years. Aside from being a natural caregiver, Stephanie loves reading “anything,” especially historical books. She enjoys hiking, fishing and visiting Alaska. Her favorite past time is having game night with her friends and family. 

Stephanie is well known throughout Home Instead Senior Care for her compassion and energy. She is always courteous and helpful to others. She is highly respected by her peers and appreciated by her clients because of the way she treats others. Stephanie adapts herself to meet the specific needs of each client she has been assigned to. This shows our clients requests her specifically, whether she has been with them long term or just one shift. She is seen as a very positive person of our team! Stephanie is efficient and thorough in her work. The combination of her high ethical standards and experience enables her to be an excellent mentor to other CAREGivers. She is highly respected by those with whom she comes in contact and is an exemplary role model to others. Stephanie represents our Medford franchise office well as she strives for excellence in caring for our clients.

Stephanie’s involvement with Home Instead Senior Care is a testimony to her sense of compassion. She shows great concern for the welfare of others and is actively involved in finding solutions to difficult challenges. Stephanie provides excellent care to her clients, often going the extra step to make sure her clients and family members are comfortable and secure. Her life is an example of what we believe, “To us, it’s personal.” Stephanie says, “I enjoy working for Home Instead because I get to meet some very interesting clients and I enjoy their company.” She will do anything she can to make her clients more comfortable.

She is a true humanitarian. The energy and enthusiasm with which she goes about her life are remarkable. Stephanie emulates warmth, humility and compassion as she serves others and always expresses appreciation to others for their efforts. Thank you for considering Stephanie for the 2011 CAREGiver of the Year.

Sincerely,

Medford, OR office staff

Why do they use so much perfume?

Why do our elderly always have a strong smell? whether that's in their house, car or on their bodies, senior's tend to use too much air freshers. There's an interesting logic behind the smell of grandma's house. In a way it's not just because she's aging in the way we think. As our bodies get older our senses do too. Our olfactory lobes, which are above our nose, shown in the picture,  process what we smell. People, usually over 60, start to loose the ability to distinguish smells and find it hard to distinguish them all together.

In a study done at the University of Colorado Denver, published in an issue of the Neurobiology of Aging they found a confirmed difference in the ability for young adults ability to distinguish two smell's compared to those over the age of 60. The smell's blended together for those over 60 years old. If you would like to read more about this study click the SienceDaily link below. And next time there's the strong smell at your loved ones house, remember and be sensitive to the idea that they may simply not notice.



ScienceDaily
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111110130104.htm

University of Colorado Denver. "Elderly lose ability to distinguish between odors, researcher finds; Smells blend together, pose hazards." ScienceDaily, 10 Nov. 2011. Web. 9 Jan. 2012. 

Nancy E. Rawson, George Gomez, Beverly J. Cowart, Andres Kriete, Edmund Pribitkin, Diego Restrepo. Age-associated loss of selectivity in human olfactory sensory neurons. Neurobiology of Aging, 2011; DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2011.09.036

Lung Cancer: What is it and how do you detect it

Having a loved one myself pass from lung cancer due to smoking; here is some information on the different types of lung cancer, what you can do to prevent it and overall symptoms.

What exactly is lung cancer? and How do the lungs work? This short video answers those questions perfectly.



The three basic types of lung cancer are:

Adenocarcinomas: This type is the most common, up to 50% of cases. It can be caused by, like many other lung cancers, smoking. Smoking which can affect both the smoker and non-smoker.
Bronchioloalveolar carcinoma: A subtype of andencarcinomas often develops in many places in the lungs.
Squamous cell carcinomas: Currently accounts for 30% of lung cancers, but it used to outweigh the andenocarcinomas. Are generally, and frequently in the central chest area.
Large cell carcinomas: Is a tumor on the lungs, and is the least common type of lung cancer.

Symptoms: Symptoms can be hard to detect, but be aware of the list of possible signs of lung cancer listed in this video.



Fun Fact:
In french 'to smoke' is 'fumer' pronounced few-meh.