Anti-Cancer Movie Poster

Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare

The Challenge of Aging

"Choose one of the following topics to write a post about...'

I chose to do: 
"Do you have a Will? 
Why is it important to make a will?  
What is a living will?  
What information is available online to help your classmates create a will?
Write this post to inform your readers why a Will is important and what resources are available to them."

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"Do you have a Will?"
When my husband and I were first married we didn't have a Will. We didn't really see the immediate need for one. It was just the two of us, we had just moved from San Diego, CA to Bremerton, WA. We lived on a military base, drove safely, didn't drink a lot or do drugs, had no major health issues, and neither of us had really experienced any MAJOR event that would make us push to do a Will immediately. Sure, we talked about doing one. But it was casual conversation - "Is there anything that you'd like to have go to a certain person after you die?" That kind of thing.

We didn't get serious about making a Will until after our 2nd child was born and we bought a house. Then we knew it was time to make a plan. Not for us, but for our KIDS. We didn't want them to get "caught in the crossfire" of the aftermath of our passing. We had seen that happen before with other family members and friends. People don't think straight after losing a loved one. Greed, fear, grief - all of these things cloud a persons mind and then they aren't able to see what really needs to be done. We wanted to make sure that our children (or significant other) were taken care of.

"Why is it important to make a Will?"
It's important to make a will so that the people (and things) that you leave behind are taken care of. Everyone should have one but ESPECIALLY people who have children, property, investments, etc. Without a will how are the people you leave behind supposed to know what you wanted done with your assets?

"What is a Living Will?"
A "Living Will" or otherwise known as an "Advance Directive" is a specific Will that is put into place in the event that the person holding the Will can no longer make decisions for themselves. 
It can contain information like: a medical directive that states that no extra measures are to be taken in saving said person's life once their heart stops beating (no CPR, no breathing machines, etc).
Another form of a Living Will is one that assigns a Health Proxy or Power of Attorney in the event that the holder can no longer make decisions.

"What information is available online to help your classmates create a Will?"
There are a lot of websites that offer services in helping you make a Will. When we decided to do our will we used a website online. http://www.uslegalforms.com We got BOTH of our Wills through this site. It was very informative and thorough. We paid a little more to have them go over it and draw it up through all the right legal laws and channels. They then send you either a digital copy (or mail you a printed if you want) and then you take it to a Notary and sign it. BAM! You now have a legal Will.
A lot of lawyers will also offer a free consultation in helping you decide which types of Wills and programs are best for you and/or your family.

The science of sex appeal or the miracle of life...

I watched the videos from: 

• http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-shows/other-shows/videos/other-shows-science-of-sex-appeal-videos.htm

In a photo test: 8 out of 10 people found the ones with more symmetrical faces to be more attractive.

The human body can recognize the scent of a relative. Evolutionary tactic to avoid mating with a relative.

Women are more choosier about their mate than men.

Women prefer more masculine looking men when they are ovulating and more feminine looking men when they are not. Women are more likely to be prone to promiscuity because of the biological need to find a good mate.

There are certain body shapes that are more attractive to the various sexes. Pictures of different people and body types, are shown to various participants and their eye movements are tracked to see where on the bodies they linger the most.

Do humans mate for life? When your body is designed to "stray", is mating for life a real thing? Humans are special because we form long-term bonds. A "monogamy hormone" called Vasopressin is produced in monogamous animals/people.

A woman's monthly cycle changes the sound of her voice and therefore changes her attractiveness to males. 

Men were given a low dose (gas) of 'copulance' while being asked to rate photos of women, the results were pretty interesting - they found almost all the photos, even the notedly unattractive ones to be highly rated.

While searching for your desired partner, you may have to "settle" for someone "in your league".

Men tend to choose women with higher, sweeter voice and Women tend to chose men who have a deeper, stronger voice.

Bodies that have more movement (hip sway) in women and broader shoulders in men tend to be more attractive to the opposite sex.

There are different brain systems for love and for lust. You can lust after someone and not be in love with them and you can be in love with someone and never have had sex with them before.

Testosterone and Dopamine affect the way we go after a mate and how we act when we are with a mate.

Women tend to change their flirtation techniques (subconsciously) when they are in their ovulation cycle. Women who are ovulating and have a steady partner tend to flirt the most and show the most skin.

When a woman is ovulating certain male scents are more attractive than others. 

Why do we choose the partner that we do?  We tend to de-value ourselves and shoot "too high" in trying to find a mate. We end up settling to someone that is closer to what/who we are.

We walk differently when we know that we are being watched. We tend to "perform" more when we know that someone of the opposite sex is watching us.

Facial recognition software shows us that we tend to not be attracted to people that we are related to. Our brains use both smell and sight to help us avoid mating with people that might give us unhealthy offspring (incest awareness).

Environmental Health Videos

After going to the website listed above there were MORE than "8 short videos" that were posted. So, I just picked the 8 that appealed the most to me:

#1 - "Global Warming 101" talks about how the global temperature has risen over the last century by 1.2-1.4 degrees farenheit. We produce more toxic gasses and use more resources which all traps in the 'greenhouse gasses', which warms the Earth.

#2 -  "Garbage Island" talks about an "island" that is in the Pacific ocean that is made up completely of TRASH. The estimate the size of this island to be double the size of Texas. This trash makes it way to this certain area of the ocean by the current patterns that are pulled from ALL over the world. The video talks about how "we are eating our own garbage" - plastic doesn't biodegrade (it only photodegrades, and not completely), smaller animals eat the tiny bits of plastic, larger animals eat those animals and then we eat the larger animals.

#3 - "Story of Stuff" talks about how "stuff moves through a system" - Extraction -> Production -> Distribution -> Consumption -> Disposal - All together these things are called "Materials Economy". It talks about how corporations have basically brainwashed society into believing that we NEED stuff. That, without STUFF we are worthless.

#4 - "The Most Terrifying Video You Will Ever See" - The man in this video shows us a 'chart' using a Punnett Square. Using this technique he shows us how our actions vs. various circumstances will affect our future.

#5 - "Population Growth" - talks about how quickly the world's human population grows and the affect it will have on the environment.

#6 - "The Story of Bottled Water" -  talks about the cost involved in bottling water: the waste, the cost, the production, etc. 1/3 of all bottled water that's manufactured in the US is TAP water.

#7 - "The girl who silenced the world in 5 minutes" - is about a 12 year old girl who flys 5,000 miles to speak at a convention. She talks about how we need to help save the planet and conserve our resources to preserve the future for our children and our children's children.

#8 - "Saving Valentina" - is a video about a group of people that were out on a boat doing research on whales when they came across a humpback whale that had been almost fully entangled in a fisherman's net. The great whale was SO entangled (and had been for a long time) that she was exhausted and near death. The crew spent all day cutting the netting away from her and freeing her back into the ocean.

Personal Safety: Digital Safety Assignment. "Social Media Safety"

Reflection on "Bully" the movie

Last week in my Health 100 class we watched "Bully" the movie.

'Bully' is a documentary on the bullying in our schools. A film crew followed around a handful of school age students for an entire school year, documenting their experiences with bullying and interviewing their parents and school faulty on the subject.

This film was incredibly hard to watch. But it is one that I wish they would show to all 6th grade and up classes. Every parent and educator should see this film as well. It is truly an eye-opener!
You can view the film on Netflix, Amazon, YouTube and other sites. 

There is also a website dedicated to the desire to end bullying. http://www.thebullyproject.com/ 

You can sign up for free and pledge to help end bullying! I did!

Here's the trailer for the movie:

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My reaction to the film - I took notes throughout it. A lot of these might not make sense unless you have seen the movie...

Oklahoma - Kelby. She was a cutter, and attempted suicide 3 times due to bullying because she is gay. I bet (hope) this school has changed a lot since this movie.

Kelby has a philosophy about the rain: "You know what my philosophy about rain is? You know when people can’t hold it anymore, they cry? The world is taking so much in, it can’t hold anymore. That’s why it rains. Because it’s letting go.”

Kelby wanted to stand up, not run and be the one that made the change. When she returned the next year to school everyone shunned her. She and her family decided then that it was time to move. 

"It took me a while to realize that you can't change it all at once. It's going to take multiple people, at separate stage's of people's lives, talking and making a difference. It's not just gonna take me." - Kelby.

Kelby went on to petition to have the rating of the movie changed from R to PG-13 so that it could be shown at schools across the nation.

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Murray High School - Ty Long. He hung himself after being constantly bullied.

Found some interesting info on the back-story of Ty here:  http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/bulle/2012/03/bully_documentary_lee_hirsch_s_film_dangerously_oversimplifies_the_connection_between_bullying_and_suicide_.html

Vickie Reed, the school superintendent was giving a statement on "if the school was a 'haven' for bullies", her response "...is it a major overarching concern in our high school? No, it is not." I found this interesting because when she said "no, it is not"  she was actually nodding her head up and down! Body language tells a LOT.

At a town hall meeting, Jeff Johnson asks, "If bartenders are responsible for a drunk that goes out and kills an innocent person, how come the bullies are not responsible for the death of this precious child?"

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Alex: 

"How was your day?" -Alex's mom.

"Good, no one did anything to me today..." - Alex

"This high schooler was strangling me, but I think he was just messing around." -Alex

Alex's sister picks on him a LOT and his parents do nothing. They place a lot on his shoulders but don't seem to really help him.

After seeing some really bad things happen on Alex's bus ride home one day, the film crew decided to intervene and show the footage to Alex's parents and school staff. 

One thing I didn't understand was why the bus driver just let it continue. The footage shows her looking up and seeing it all happen and she does nothing! Say something! Pull over! Call some parents! Be the Adult! It was SOOO frustrating!!

Alex's parents go into the school to talk to the principal. The Principal's solution was to move Alex to another bus.

"I've been on that route... They are just good as gold..." - Principal. (Of COURSE they are! The darn principal is on the bus! Duh, they are going to behave with that kind of authority figure on there!) At this point the principal pulls out photos of her own grand kids and starts to make it about HER.

"It seems to me that if it's a few kids the, you take away the few kids." - Alex's mom.

"You'll just have to trust me that we'll take care of that other child... I'm sorry about this, but we will take care of it." - Principal

"What did she say when we were leaving, 'we'll take care of it'? I'm pretty sure that's what she said in the fall. She politicianed us! She's not going to do anything." - Alex's mom.

Alex is brought into the assistant Principal's office after his parents came to see the school:

"How do you know that I haven't done anything? Did he do that again after I talked to him? I did talk to him, and he didn't do that again, did he?" -assistant principal.
"No but he has done other things since then..." -Alex

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Ja'meya: Was bullied and one day she snapped & brought her mom's gun on the school bus. She was charged with 22 counts of kidnappings and 22 counts of aggravated assault. 44 counts against her. 2 years in Psych ward, charges were dropped. 
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Ty Field, Oklahoma: shot himself.
On the way to funeral service you hear his father tell his mother, "You can do it. I don't want to, either. You're right here, you're in my arms. We'll tuck him in one more time. Put him to bed. Tuck the baby in one more time..." Heart-wrenching.
One of Ty's best friends was a pal bearer.
"We're just a couple of simple people. You know, we're nobodies. I guarantee you if some politicians kid did this because he was getting picked on in a public school, you know, there'd would be a law tomorrow. There'd be changes made tomorrow. You know? We're nobody. But we love each other and we loved our son." Ty's dad.
Stand For The Silent - Tyler's family started this movement. They go and speak at events/schools about the effects of bullying and how to stop it.
"I will fight bullying forever because my son will be 11 years old FOREVER." Tyler's dad.

A short documentary for Ty Smalley and the Stand for the Silent organization:

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I was bullied as a kid. I was called names and made fun of a LOT because I was heavier than them and poorer than them and just plain "different".

I was bullied by my PSYCHOLOGIST. I was 9, 10, 11, 12 years old. I was made to clean her office, bathroom, dog and whatever else she wanted me to when she didn't feel like 'counseling' me. My parents were divorced and she made my dad feel like it was "ok to do" because of financial/payment issues. It went on for a few years before I finally told my dad I didn't want to go there anymore.

Bullying need not be the 'epidemic' that it has become. I talk to my kids on a regular basis to find out how they are doing/ being treated in school and how they are treating others. My oldest son is special needs and I know how cruel kids can be.

Parents need to talk to their children so that their children know that they can talk to them and other adults. Educators and the like need to be educated in the signs and symptoms of depression and bullying. 

Be aware of your surroundings and stand-up for the people around you!

Be the difference!

Aha Moments from Chapters 2, 3, 7, 8 & 16

We were asked to pick out 4 'Ah-Ha'! moments from each one of the listed chapters...

Chapter 2: "Stress: The Constant Challenge"

• Your liver release extra sugar into the bloodstream to boost energy to help you get through stressful situations and aid in the "fight or flight" response.
• Your personality affects how you perceive and react to stressors in your life. This explains how some people handle stress better than others!
• The 'American Psychology Association' states that at least %43 of Adults suffer from stress-related issues.
• Altruism has many positive side effects on your health and stress. It can help build a better immune system, increase your self-worth & self-esteem, relaxation responses and mental health! It's good for your health to be happy and help others!

Chapter 3: "Psychological Health"

• Self-Actualization is when you have finally fulfilled most of your human potential: Being able to see things for what they really are, accept the things that you cannot change and move forward, be completely independent (socially, emotionally and intellectually), be genuine in who you are and what you do, have the capacity for all kinds of intimacy and be creative.
• "Never seeking help for personal problems does not prove that you are psychologically healthy, anymore than seeking help proves that you are mentally ill. Unhappy people may avoid seeking help for many reasons, and severely disturbed people may not even realize that they need help." (pg. 49, Health 100)
• You should learn to recognize your own defense mechanisms. Most people don't even know what they are anymore because they have turned into habits.
• College life offer the perfect opportunity to combat loneliness. You are surrounded by other students on a regular basis. Reach out, make a friend! Our class should be particularly easy because it's a "Learning Community" - the same students in BOTH classes.
• Chose a mental health professor carefully! 
• When I was younger my parents had me seeing a counselor because they were getting a divorce and feared how I would handle it (being so young, yet very impressionable). Later, years after my parents' divorce, I still saw said counselor. She would take out my parents not paying her, on me and was very mentally and emotionally abusive. I find it very hard to trust most Psych professionals now.

Chapter 7: "The Use and Abuse of Psychoactive Drugs"

• In regards to sex addictions, the chemicals that your brain produce while having sex become the very thing that your body becomes addicted to.
• Young people are more at risk to do drugs and become addicts because of social pressures, home life, and well, just being teens.
• Makers of street drugs aren't held to any kind of safety regulations. Because of this the drugs they make are often contaminated or even poisonous.
• In regards to the "dose-response function" (the relationship between the drug taken, the type and the intensity of it's effect). I really always thought that one of the reasons why people continuously went back to a drug was because they more they took, they stronger the effect. This was an interesting revelation.
• Statistic: For every acre of forest used to grow marijuana, 10 acres are damaged by toxic chemicals and pesticides that are used to protect the plants and ward off/kill local deer and bears. 

Chapter 8: "Alcohol & Tobacco"

• If an alcoholic beverage says that it's "100 proof" then it contains %50 alcohol by volume. That's it's "proof value."
• Carbonation and sugar increase the rate of alcohol absorption in the body.
• Smoking kills 440,000 people a year.
• More than 17 million Americans are heavy drinkers.
• Tobacco smoke is made up of hundreds of different chemicals. Some of which are KNOWN to cause cancer and death (poisonous).

Chapter 16: "Personal Safety"

• In 2008, 43,000+ Americans were killed and 2.5 million were injured in motor vehicle crashes.
• Most rape victims are attacked by someone that they personally know.
• Child abuse is often unreported. Surveys suggest that as many as %27 of women and %16 of men were sexually abused as children. 
• An estimated 150,000-200,000 new cases of child sexual abuse occur each year.
• When helping to give emergency care make sure that the scene is safe for you and the injured person. Conduct a quick visual examination of the victim, call for help and provide emergency first aid.

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Movie Advertisement for "Food Inc"

I had seen this movie several times before but it never seems to NOT shock me and ask me to question the impact I have on the world around me.

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Stress and Psychological wellness assignment

For this assignment I chose "The Fun Theory".
The video in the blog was great! I saw something similar, live, at a mall in Seattle!
I liked the video so much that I went to YouTube and looked for more! There were so many, but I think my favorite was this one:

It made me smile and it was awesome to watch people go and gather trash from the surrounding area just so that they could hear the bin make the noise again!

I believe that people, at their core, want to do the right thing and be inner-directed as opposed to other-directed. When you do the right thing you aren't bringing on unnecessary stress. In fact, it's a form of eustress!
Being able to bring down your stress levels, and recognize your stressors in any way you can, will help you to achieve homeostasis which is what every person should strive for. Having fun & being social (one of the 6 dimensions of wellness) can actually help you avoid, fight off and cope with things like depression, self-esteem issues, anxiety, various social phobias and more!

An article I found online actually talks about how the act of simply smiling more can help reduce stress!

"It sounds like the most useless advice imaginable: Just put on a happy face. Conventional wisdom is that smiling is an effect of feeling happy, rather than the other way around. Simply smiling in stressful situations can’t possibly make you feel any better, right?

Wrong. A fascinating new study by University of Kansas psychologists that will soon be published in the journal Psychological Science indicates that, in some circumstances, smiling can actually reduce stress and help us feel better." - Joseph Stromberg

Read more: http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/science/2012/07/simply-smiling-can-actually-reduce-stress/#ixzz2fyNODJWO 

How to get rid of those pesky Adipose cells!!

I think it's quite obvious from my blog's name and it's background image that I am a 'Doctor Who' fan. That being said, because we just finished the chapter on "Weight Management" in my Health 100 class I thought I would share this amusing tid-bit with you all...

And to keep it relevant to my health class, per our textbook:
"Most of the fat in the body is stored in fat cells, or adipose tissue, located under the skin (subcutaneous fat) and around major organs (visceral fat or intra-abdominal fat). People have a genetically determined number of fat cells, but these cells can increase or decrease in size depending on several factors, including age, sex, metabolism, diet, and activity level. The primary source of excess body fat is excess calories expended in metabolism, physical activity, and exercise."
("Health 100 - Health Education/Fitness" 12th Edition, pg. 264.)

Nutritional Journal Assignment

 I chose to use 'MyFitnessPal' for this assignment because I already have an account and use it. I like how it tracks everything!

Carbohydrates:

1) 100 grams of Carbohydrates consumed in one day.

2) 400 calories were Carbohydrates

3) 39% of all calories contributed were from Carbohydrates

4) I am below the daily recommendation for carbs. I wouldn't say that I am on a "low carb diet" but I definitely tend to eat fewer carbs then is recommended.

5) Most of my carbohydrate intake comes from complex and simple carbohydrates. The big ones of the day being the apple and the Quesadilla.

Fats:

1) 48 grams of fats consumed

2) 432 calories were fats

3) 42% of all calories contributed were from Fats

4) My fats were higher than the daily recommended values. Although they were on par for my plan on MFP (see table below). The things that I ate that had the most fat in them were the quesadilla (probably the cheese), the greek yogurt (milk fats) and the almonds. I think the one that is probably the "worst" for me and therefore could be cut out/down would be the Quesadilla - maybe use a lower fat/ fat free cheese.

5) My cholesterol for the day was 120mg, well below the recommended amount.

Protein:

1) 55 grams

2) 220 calories

3) 22% of my calories contributed were proteins

4) My total protein contribution is within the normal range. 

Vitamins/Minerals:

1) I like to eat a large variety of items. My levels vary every day. I take multi-vitamins and other supplements everyday because I know that my diet, at it's core, sucks. 

2)  I consumed 4.15 grams of salt. According to MFP I need to take in more sodium.

3) The quesadilla, pita-pal mix and pretzels were the highest in salt. I could use a different cheese on the quesadilla and buy a different pretzel/lower sodium version.

What 'MyFitnessPal' thinks my diet should look like:

This exercise was definitely a bit of an 'eye-opener'. I have used this program many times in the past (and currently when I remember to use it) but I have not done the percentages and a deeper look into each category. 

One of the biggest things I see when I track my foods is that I, surprisingly, don't eat ENOUGH food. Sounds weird right? You would think that the thing to do in order to lose weight is to not eat as much! But that is very very wrong. I learned that the hard way! Now I know that you have to eat to keep your metabolism in motion.

A friend told me once that you metabolism is like the giant wheel on The Price is Right. The wheel won't move with you spinning it (eating) and it stays in motion by you continuing to spin it. 

So now I try to eat MORE, smaller meals/snacks throughout the day. I also have made a big effort to eat more fruits and vegetables!

Exercise Routine

Exercise Routine!

This came, in part, by a workout that one of my trainers gave me a few months ago. It's easy to follow and gets the job done!

Monday: (arms, chest, core)

·         Warm-Up:  20 Minutes of Cardio activity (running, exercise bike, jogging – anything that gets your heart rate up!) and 15 push-ups

·         Routine/Circuit:  (3 sets)

o    Chair Dips – sit on the edge of a chair/bench. Grab the front of your chair so that your fingers are underneath the seat. Use your arms to lower your body in front of the seat until your shoulders and elbows are the same height.  20

o    Bicep Curls – Using 5-10lb weight, do 20 per arm (40 total)

o    Chest Press – Lie on your back. Hold a weight in each hand, elbows bent, hands by your shoulders with your palms facing each other. Push the weight toward the sky while rotating your arms so that your palms are facing your feet when fully extended. 20

·         Cool-Down: Stretch/ do yoga for 10-20 minutes.

Tuesday: (butt, legs, core)

·         Warm-Up: 20 minutes of Cardio activity of your choice

·         Routine/Circuit:  (3 sets)

o    Crunches – 35

o    Reverse curls – lie on your back with your arms at your side. Pick your legs up so that your lower body is then at a right angle. Lift your butt 2-4inches off of the floor and lower it. 35

o    Squats – Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, hands at your sides. ‘Sit back’ like you’re sitting onto a chair, while lifting your arms in front of you. Do 20.

o    Lunges – Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, hands on your hips. Step forward with your left leg until your left thigh is parallel to the floor. Stand back up and do your right leg. 20

o    Dead Lifts – Get a 3-8lb weight for each hand. Stand with your arms hanging in front of your body (like a zombie). Bend forward from your waist until your hands touch the floor. 25

·         Cool-Down: Stretch/ do yoga for 10-20minutes

Wednesday:

·         Warm-up: 20 minutes of Cardio activity of your choice.

·         Free time: Work on your weakness day! Pick an area you want to focus on and do that days workout.

·         Cool-Down: Stretch/ do yoga for 10-20 minutes

Thursday: (back, shoulders)

·         Warm-up: 20 minutes of cardio activity of your choice

·         Routine/Circuit: (2 sets)

o    Jumping jacks – hold 1-3lb weight in each hand. 25

o    Shoulder presses – Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, holding a 3-5lb weight in each hand. Bend your arms and place your hands next to your shoulders with your palms facing forward. Raise your arms up and slowly back down. 20

o    Lateral raises – stand with your feet shoulder width apart, holding your weight in each hand. Turn your palms toward each other, then push your arms straight to the sky until they shoulder height. Slowly lower them. 20

o    Front raises – Stand with your hands by your sides, holding your weight in each hand, raise your right hand in front of you and then slowly lower it. Then raise your left hand and slowly lower it. 40, 20 per arm.

·         Cool-Down: Stretch/ do yoga for 10-20 minutes.

Friday: (butt, legs, core)

·         Warm-up: 20 minutes of cardio activity of your choice

·         Routine/Circuit:

o    Donkeys – Get on all fours. Bring your knee into your chest and then kick it straight out and up. Switch legs. 30, 15 each leg.

o    Squats - – Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, hands at your sides. ‘Sit back’ like you’re sitting onto a chair, while lifting your arms in front of you. Do 20.

o    Oblique Twists – Lie on your back with your knees bent, hands behind your head. Lift your head and shoulders off of the floor as you rotate your torso to the right. Do the other side. 40, 20 each side.

o    Pelvic lifts – Lie on your back with your knees bent, arms to your sides. Lift your butt up to the ceiling then slowly back down to the floor. 20.

·         Cool-Down: Stretch/ do yoga for 10-20 minutes.

Saturday:

·         Get out and do something! Go swimming for 60+ minutes, go hiking, running, bicycling… Anything, just get moving!!

Sunday:

·         Rest. Maybe stretch/ do yoga.

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I find myself reading this post whenever I need help in re-focusing my goals:

Intro!

Hi all!

My name is Crystal K. I am married to an amazing man, Stephen. We have known each other for 18 years and have been married for 11 of them!

My husband did 12 years in the US Navy on Nuclear Submarines and is now Active Duty Reserves in the Air Force and works a 'civilian' job.

I am a stay at home mom to 4 boys - 10, 8 and twin 4 year olds. The twins go to preschool on my school (college) days and the older two are in 4th grade and 3rd grade. My oldest son is on the Autism spectrum.

In my spare time, which isn't much, I like to cook, bake, read, garden, craft and watch tv & movies! I recently got done turning 46lbs of concord grapes into jam! Woooooo!!!