Our Health: 5 Ways to Get/Stay Healthy in 2010

Thanks to our resident health expert, we now have another resource that all of us can use:   A monthly newsletter published by UCLA Division of Geriatrics-Healthy/Years:  Helping Older Adults Lead Happier, Healthier Lives (http://www.healthy-years.com/)

The five ways to achieve health in this new year are

1) Exercising (no surprise there).  All of us who already exercise on a regular basis, raise hands, please. Oops!  I see that both of my own hands are still on the keyboard--a very bad start.  But many of you are in programs:  Marty and Alice in weight training, Julie in Yoga, Jan in Curves, Joan H. in an exercise routine at the Y, and some on Wii Fitness or step routines. Others are  braving our Arctic temps with walks and still others are braving the 38-degree Florida weather or hiking in Death Valley.  Great examples, all, for those in the group who, like me, are much too lazy for our own good.

2) Understanding body weight, LDL cholesterol, blood pressure and glucose levels and working to move these numbers into acceptable ranges.  My personal downfall is pizza so I have a way to go here.

3)  My personal favorite:  "Strengthen your social networks."  We do that, I think so this way of staying healthy should be easy for all of us.

4)Moderating alcohol consumption.  We've all read about the  benefits of red wine and from the gatherings I've attended, we all heartily agree that this is one way we already practice!  But the 'in moderation' part means only 1 glass per day.    We can all point to days that just demand a little more.  So self discipline is really called for here.

5)  Making sure to track any meds or supplements and checking the list with our favorite MD. 

This newsletter is really informative, and our own Dr. Alice recommends it for accuracy and specific articles for women over 40.   I'm one of those who has subscribed to Bottom Line Health (http://www.bottomlinehealth.com/) for years, but  no more.  I'm switching as per Alice' recommendation.

She's also recommending Vitamin D-3 supplements (as in 2000 IU per day).  According to Alice, a side benefit is an increase in serotonin which lessens any down-in-the-dumps feelings we might be experiencing-especially in this long stretch of  sub-zero wind chills and 4+ feet of snow. I'm following that suggestion as well.

Thanks, Alice.  Lucky for us that you're willing to share your expertise.

Note:  See the change of picture on the blog title.  Sunshine appeared today and made the ice-covered trees glitter-can't pass a scene like that up!

Computers and Cars: Bill Gates and GM Trade Barbs, and We Enjoy the Exchange

Bill Gates Vs General Motors

At the COMDEX computer expo Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and said "If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25 cars that got 1000 miles to the gallon."

In response to Gates' comments, General Motors issued a press release stating:

If GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be driving cars with the following characteristics:

1. For no reason whatsoever your car would crash twice a day.

2. Every time they repainted the lines on the road you would have to buy a new car.

3. Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason, and you would just accept this, restart and drive on.

4. Occasionally, executing a maneuver such as a left turn, would cause your car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case you would have to reinstall the engine.

5. Only one person at a time could use the car, unless you bought "Car95" or "CarNT". But then you would have to buy more seats.

6. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, reliable, five times as fast, and twice as easy to drive, but would only work on five percent of the roads.

7. The oil, water temperature and alternator warning lights would be replaced by a single "general car default" warning light.

8. New seats would force everyone to have the same size butt.

9. The airbag system would say "Are you sure?" before going off.

10. Occasionally for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned the key, and grab hold of the radio antenna.

11. GM would require all car buyers to also purchase a deluxe set of Rand McNally road maps (now a GM subsidiary), even though they neither need them nor want them. Attempting to delete this option would immediately cause the car's performance to diminish by 50% or more. Moreover, GM would become a target for investigation by the Justice Department.

12. Every time GM introduced a new model car buyers would have to learn to drive all over again because none of the controls would operate in the same manner as the old car.

13. You'd press the "start" button to shut off the engine.

Thanks to Linda C. for sending us this.  The source is  on many websites. You can find it by googling "billgates vs cars," as I did to find the source.  The text above comes from http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/ although versions on other sites seem to be the same.

Finally! Time to Read: THE HELP

The Help by Kathryn Stockett (her first novel), Amy Einhorn Books, GP Putnam's Sons, 2009.

Joan H. has sent us her review shown below and encourages us to read The Help.

Set in Jackson,Mississippi in the early 1960's this story centers around the lives of Jackson's black maids. Their love for the white children that they are paid to raise comes back to reward them when one of the grown children (Skeeter) decides to expose how most of the white families treat blacks in the South. This is a book that is difficult to put down until you reach the last page. As the dust jacket explains, this novel describes "the way women-mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends-view one another" and "the lines we abide by, and the ones we don't."  Enjoy and pass it on.

Thanks to Joan H., I have also read the book, have enjoyed it, have been saddened and elated by it,  and have passed it on. A good read.

If you have read and enjoyed- or are touched by- Stockett's first novel, you can contact the author at http://www.kathrynstockett.com/.

Grandma Alert: New Baby Girl

Two days before Christmas, Noelle Joie entered our lives, healthy, happy, beautiful.  Her big sister has reddish-blond hair and blue eyes.  Noelle has dark hair and brown eyes, 7 lb. 14 oz., and 21 1/2" long.

All is well with the CT branch of our family as we celebrate our new arrival!

A Holiday Message for All of Us

Thanks to Joan H., we have a beautiful holiday message.  Just hit on the link below and choose Presentation 2 (Presentation 1 is a slideshow of the same.) Our gratitude to Charles S. Patridge for this moving reminder of our blessings and to Greg O'Brien for the narration.

We all have much to appreciate this season.  Joan H and her entire family (including Dick, Erin, Zack, Eric, Christina, Rowan,  and I) are thankful that Len has returned from Iraq in time for Christmas and for good!  Marty's a new grandma-again;  Pearl's off to a great position with AACU and will be closer to her grandson;  Julie's daughter has graduated with her master's; Kim's moving into her new house;  Dick and I are waiting for our 3rd grandchild to arrive and loving our two who are excited about the holidays this year:  Zack and Rowan.  Claudia and Tom are back in FLA safe and sound. We're thankful again for the special angels who watch over us and those we love.

Your special thoughts at this time of year will be appreciated and posted.  Just email me at smartnsassywoman@gmail.com.

See the  holiday message;  click on http://www.munic.state.ct.us/burlington/count_your_blessings/ and choose Presentation 2.  Have a great holiday!

 Thanks,again,  Joan.

What is census information saying about us and our children?

Some of us qualify as 'baby boomers' since 60 is the cut -off age.  Others of us qualify because we have children who fit the demographic of 42-60.  We have nieces and nephews who are also at the younger end of the 'boomer' range.  Still others qualify because we are sure we feel and look much more like 'boomers' than people in our biological age group!  So for all of us, the information released just recently by the Census Bureau  applies.

• For the first time in 13 years, the U.S. Census Bureau has released a collection of statistics on the Baby Boomer generation, those people ages 42-60 years old in the year 2006.
  
• New population number: There were 77,980,296 Baby Boomers living in the US in 2006 (50.9% women). That number is projected to be 57,793,135 in the year 2030 (an estimated 54.9% will be women).
  
• Where they live: The states with the highest number of people ages 42-60 years were California, Texas, New York, Florida and Pennsylvania. The states with the highest percentage-of-population of Boomers were Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, Montana and Connecticut.
  
• Heritage: Among the Boomers, 89.7% were non-Hispanic and 10.3% were Hispanic.
  
• Education: An educated group, 29.8% were high school graduates, 28.9% had some college and 28.8% had a bachelor’s degree or higher. A much smaller number (12.5%) had less than a high school degree.
  
• Employment: Most Baby Boomers (74.1%) were employed; 22.4% were not in the labor force. The remainder were in military service or unemployed. In the prior 12 months, household income came from earnings (91.8%), retirement income (11.3%), Social Security (10.4%) and food stamps (6.9%).
  
• Housing: Two-thirds were homeowners living in their homes and 25% rented.
  

SOURCE: US Census Bureau (November 2009)

Sent to  us by http://www.boomerauthority.com/.

How did we survive! Children of the 30's, 40's, 50's, 60's, and 70's

Thanks to Joan who sent us this message by Jay Leno.  I think it covers all of us since it's addressed to all of us born in the 30's, 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's.

Enjoy!  And keep them coming, Joan and everyone contributing to the blog. We appreciate it.


TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED THE
1930's, 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's!!

First, we survived being born to mothers
Who smoked and/or drank while they were
Pregnant.
They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing,
Tuna from a can and didn't get tested for diabetes.
Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-base paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles,
Locks on doors or cabinets and when we rode
Our bikes, we had baseball caps not helmets on our heads.

As infants and small children,
We would ride in cars with no car seats,
No booster seats, no seat belts, no air bags, bald tires and sometimes no brakes.
Riding in the back of a pick-up truck on a warm day
Was always a special treat.

We drank water
From the garden hose and not from a bottle.
We shared one soft drink with four friends,
From one bottle and no one actually died from this.
We ate cupcakes, white bread, real butter and bacon.
We drank Kool-Aid made with real white sugar.
And, we weren't overweight.

WHY?

Because we were
Always outside playing...that's why!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day,
As long as we were back when the
Streetlights came on.
No one was able
To reach us all day.. And, we were O..K.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps
And then ride them down the hill, only to find out
We forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes
a few times, we learned to solve the problem.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's and X-boxes.
There were no video games, no 150 channels on cable,
No video movies or DVD's, no surround-sound or CD's,
No cell phones,
No personal computers, no Internet and no chat rooms.

WE HAD FRIENDS

And we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth
And there were no lawsuits from these accidents.
We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt,
And the worms did not live in us
Forever.

We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays,
Made up games with sticks and tennis balls and,
Although we were told it would happen,
We did not put out very many eyes..

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and
Knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just
Walked in and talked to them.

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team.
Those who didn't had to learn to deal
With disappointment.
Imagine that!!

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law
Was unheard of.
They actually sided with the law!

These generations have produced some of the best
Risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever.
The past 50 years
Have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.
We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility,
and we learned how to deal with it all.

If YOU are one of them?

CONGRATULATIONS!

You might want to share this with others

who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the

lawyers and the government regulated so much of our lives

for our own good.

While you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know

how brave and lucky their parents were.

Kind of makes you want to run through the house

with scissors, doesn't it ?

Source:  Jay Leno