People spend hours at the gym working to sculpt their bodies into the most esthetically pleasing form they can possibly create. Or they continue to improve their health so they can do the things they enjoy outside the gym. Maybe they are trying to lose lots of weight so they can have a more healthy life, or live longer to enjoy their family and friends. All good reasons to get into shape! But the best reason I've seen in maybe ever is the story of an 81 year old man who, for the love of his wife, started hiking regularly up a steady uphill trail of a mile and a half. He did it because he wanted to be the one to take care of her. When she was just 60 she was diagnosed with Parkinson's.
4 years ago, when he turned 78, he hiked up the trail 39 times. But the next year, at age 79, he matched his age and hiked up the trail 79 times. Last year he did it 83 times at age 80 and this year he was on pace to match his age or better, but there was an early trail closing so he had to settle for 68 climbs. But whatever, he now feels like he is years younger, has lost 60 lbs, and his blood pressure has dropped 20 points, from 160 to 120! But back to his wife and the reason he is doing it. They were high school sweethearts 65 years ago and have been married for 58 years. For a long time she kept doing the things she normally did, until a few years back when she took a turn for the worse. He knew that he wanted to take care of her, but in order to do that, he would have to be fit himself. And with a tip from his son about that hike on the Timpanogos Cave National Monument trail, which is close to his home, that's what he decided to do.
I think of what reasoning came first to this man before he ever thought of the health benefits he would receive for himself. He is a very rare and wonderful person indeed.
But I think that is what most people who do things altruistically find. They find that a stream of unplanned benefits happen as a result of first thinking of others and helping them. But it takes development and the forming of habit to think of others first. I suggest developing it earlier rather than later, because "one morning you'll wake up with more life behind you than in front of you, not being able to understand how it happened!" (Fredrick Backman) And old habits (or non-habits) die hard!
Today is "My Post Monday!", a curation of the week's best original content.It's
all about posts from Crafts to Camping, Wellness to
Wealth, Fashion to Food, and whatever else is on the brain! I
open up with a post of my own and then follow it up with a linky of the
week's top original blog posts! It's all about what the writer thinks,
believes, and
knows--in other words, they are active, writing blogs. If
I happen to find a great original, non-sponsored post, I'll link it up
and share
it with you
here and on Twitter via the #MyPostMonday hashtag! I can miss some amazing posts, but I don't want to!
So, in addition,
if you'd like to link up yourself, you can do that too! I'll visit your
site, comment, promote and publicize! (Affiliate links welcome!)
When I feel at a disadvantage, many times I practice an exercise designed to turn my perceived disadvantages into advantages. It's all about perspective!
For instance, sometimes I get bummed out when I see all of the delicious food that my husband can eat and not gain any weight! If I ate like he did, I would be as wide as I am tall in no time! I am shorter, small-boned, and have a low BMR (basal metabolic rate). What advantages could I possibly see in being short, and not able to eat as much as my husband, since I do LOVE food and could easily eat as much as he does? Here are a some food benefits that I found I have, as a portion-limited, vertically-challenged, horizontally-inclined, way over 40 female: 1) I won't get bored with foods as easily, since I can't eat as much of them. I can spread them out over a longer period of time! 2) Food prep is more convenient for me Since my portions are smaller, I can spend less time in prepping my meals for work because I don't need as much! 3) It's so much cheaper for me to eat! 1500 calories vs. 2600 calories per day definitely adds up over time and an extra 1100 calories a day turns into big money quickly! 4) I have less likelihood of dental disease because with less food in my mouth, there is less exposure to bacteria-feeding foods and sugars.
5) What one meal at a restaurant is for other larger people, can be 2 - 3 meals for me, lots of yummy leftovers! 6) I will be more able to survive the apocalypse because my caloric
requirements to stay alive are much smaller than for someone with a 6"2 frame and a raging BMR. See what I did there? I can pull out some viable benefits from what formerly looked to be an extremely unfair situation. And I can do this with so many other scenarios that I run into. It does take a conscious effort to think about what advantages there are in what looks to be a horrible deal of the deck. But once you start looking at things this way, you will begin to start living your life differently and start taking the things that have been thrown your way and make them work for you. Everything can be used as a stepping stone if you can but look at it that way!
C.S. Lewis stated it this way, "It's not the load that breaks you down, it's the way you carry it." I love that statement! Call it a disadvantage if you want to, but the way you deal with it will make all the difference!
Practice: Take a perceived mishap or disadvantage this week and list at least 4 ways where you see it could become a real advantage!
Today is "My Post Monday!", a curation of the week's best original content.It's
all about posts from Crafts to Camping, Wellness to
Wealth, Fashion to Food, and whatever else is on the brain! I
open up with a post of my own and then follow it up with a linky of the
week's top original blog posts! It's all about what the writer thinks,
believes, and
knows--in other words, they are active, writing blogs. If
I happen to find a great original, non-sponsored post, I'll link it up
and share
it with you
here and on Twitter via the #MyPostMonday hashtag! I can miss some amazing posts, but I don't want to!
So, in addition,
if you'd like to link up yourself, you can do that too! I'll visit your
site, comment, promote and publicize! (Affiliate links welcome!)
The aging process is inevitable, and I started noticing a gradual loosening of the skin in my neck area several years ago, and contrary to my intense hope that it would just go away, it kept getting progressively worse. I saw my mother in me. She was such a beautiful lady, but her neck went before anything else. And when it went, it went pretty quickly. Of course, to me she was still beautiful, knowing what she had accomplished throughout her life, and the sacrifices she made for our family. I believe that aging in a natural fashion is a good thing and a respectable thing. Anyone who has to depend exclusively on their looks to get what they want in life is not in a great situation, in my opinion. Looks are so fleeting. Where there is youth, there is physical attractiveness. Where there is age, there is wisdom, wit, and experience. And you can use those attributes to become even more beautiful than you were when you were younger! Enter Ultherapy, a scientifically proven non-surgical facelift therapy proven to stimulate collagen production, specifically Types 1 & III, the types most often associated with aging. Studies prove that the rate of collagen production after treatment is 42% higher. No downtime. No intense pain. No knife, needles, or guesses. It's done with a very sophisticated ultrasound machine, designed to deliver bursts of ultrasound in very specific areas. The clinician who operates it must be trained and know how to interpret the collagen level readings and how deeply to set the ultrasound waves that stimulate the natural flow of collagen into the skin, creating a rejuvenated look. Because it stimulates the natural process of collagen healing, you won't see the final results for approximately 3 months.
I knew this is what I wanted to experience for myself. It is definitely my kind of natural beautification. Is it affordable? It depends what you call affordable. It is certainly way less expensive than a facelift! I got my treatment done at Xage Medical Spa in Provo, UT and I loved it. I got the neck-only treatment, which is normally $1800, but is deeply discounted through November! How It Went Because there are different kinds of pain tolerances, there are a couple of options when getting the treatment. You can opt to get a simple pain-killer, like Ibuprofen, or you can get a stronger pain-killer. It's your choice. I opted to get the simple pain-killer and it was perfectly great. In addition, the back of my neck got a massage to take my mind of any unpleasantness. It was actually quite pleasant and I enjoyed talking with both clinicians while the treatment was happening. I felt very little discomfort at all! I was so relieved!
Today is Halloween and I'm convinced that the easiest way to make a great costume is with a crazy wig! I realized that today when our middle school principal did it! She basically bought a hot pink wig and wore it. No other costume accessories! I literally didn't recognize her, though, when I saw her!
I like the idea more and more, because sometimes when focusing on everything else, I don't have time to do that thoughtful, original costume, like I thought I originally would. Next year, I'd like to have a wig ready to plop on, just in case my costume plans go awry.
But in reality, wigs have come a long way and are actually something to consider if you have the following hair care dilemmas.
Here I am, just adding some holiday cheer to your month! What would you do with an extra $125? Here's your chance to find out!! One lucky winner will have the chance to win some money for the Holidays. Enter for your chance at a fun and easy giveaway just for showing love on our pages! So head below and enter to win!
Giveaway is open WORLDWIDE and must have a paypal account to accept prize. Giveaway ends on 11/19 at 11:59pm EST. Must be 18+ to enter. Good luck!
Disclosure: All opinions are 100% mine. This giveaway is in no way associated with, sponsored, administered, or endorsed by Facebook, Twitter, Google, Pinterest or any other social media network.All opinions and experiences are Conservamom‘s. Open to World Wide , must be 18+. Confirmed Winner(s) will be contacted through email and have 48 hours to respond before a new winner will be drawn. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law. The sponsor will be responsible for product fulfillment to winner(s) of the giveaway. The disclosure is done in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission 10 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. For questions or to see your product featured in an Event you can contact Elia At Conservamom
This
post was sponsored by Kowa Pharmaceuticals America, Inc. Personal opinions and
thoughts are my own.
I have such fond memories of my grandmother! She was a southern gal and her meals and desserts were delicious! I remember the words of wisdom she gave to me. I clung to them because she loved me unconditionally and her words were straight from the heart! I'm so glad that I had her all the way until I was in my 20's. She lived until she was 92. I believe she had some great genes, but she also took care of herself and was careful to take her medications, including a daily statin for high cholesterol.
Statins are not just for the elderly. For example, I have a friend who lights up a room when she walks in! She's so funny, and can tell a story like nobody else! When she gets off work, she likes to unwind by getting social with friends, eating, and staying out late. However, over time she started gaining weight and wasn't taking care of herself. It all went south one night when she had trouble breathing, started sweating profusely, and had intense vertigo. She went to the doctor and got tested. When the results came back, she found that she had diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and her liver and kidneys were failing.
The doctor told her that if she didn't lose weight, get her diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol under control, she would be dead in a year. Needless to say, she started working on it. She was given a statin to lower her cholesterol, medication for her diabetes, and was told to lose weight, and to stop drinking and smoking. It has been over a year now and she looks and feels fabulous! She took her doctors' advice and lost 69 lbs. She controls her cholesterol with a statin. Her family has been so grateful that she made these changes and has lowered her risk for heart disease and other illnesses.
I was really surprised to find out that more than a few people I know depend on statins to keep themselves within the safe range for high cholesterol. High cholesterol is a silent killer if not kept under control and statins are true miracle workers if you need them.
More than 100 million American Adults have high cholesterol, a major risk factor for heart disease--the leading cause of death in America. To lower cholesterol and help prevent heart disease, doctors often prescribe statin medication. Surprisingly, despite the fact that statins are proven to lower cholesterol and fight heart disease, up to 50% of people stop taking their statins within one year of starting it. This is risky because high cholesterol doesn't just go away. The good news is that there are multiple statins available and by talking to your doctor, it is possible to switch to a statin that fits your individual needs.
To understand why people stop taking their statin, a recent poll of more than 5,000 Americans aged 45+ with high cholesterol took a poll called ACTION: THE Statin Survey, and discovered some interesting findings.
Only one third (33%) of people say their healthcare provider explained why that particular statin was being prescribed when they were first prescribed a statin.
Just 21 percent of patients say that their healthcare provider told them that there are different types of statins available when first prescribed a statin.
Roughly a quarter of patients (24 percent) currently taking a statin say they had challenges with the first statin they took.
Only 18 percent of people say they were told that their prescribed statin medicine could potentially interact with other medications and dietary supplements.
I am proud to support a new educational campaign called Take Cholesterol to Heart to help people understand their treatment options for high cholesterol and motivate them to speak up if they are thinking about stopping their statin. Take Cholesterol to Heart provides great tools and strategies to help people "master the cholesterol conversation" with their doctor. As you may know, there are multiple statin medicines, so it's important to talk regularly with your doctor about your treatment plan, including a statin that is right for you! Regis Philbin, TV legend and heart disease survivor, joined Take Cholesterol to Heart to share his experience having a conversation with his doctor about high cholesterol and finding the right statin for him. Check out his story in this short video:
If you or someone you love takes a statin, please visit TakeCholesterolToHeart.com for a number of helpful resources, including a doctor/patient discussion guide, a quiz on statins and tips for caregivers.
Disclosure: This post
was sponsored by Kowa Pharmaceuticals America, Inc. and should not be construed
to constitute medical advice. My personal story and opinions are my own. I am
not a medical professional and am not qualified to give medical advice. Please
talk with your doctor about your individual medical situation Footnote:
* Harris Poll conducted ACTION: The Statin Survey
(Understanding Patient Adherence
and Concerns with
Statins, and Medication Discussions with
Physicians) online on behalf of Kowa Pharmaceuticals America, Inc., within the
United States from July 7- August 4, 2017, among 5,014 U.S. adults aged 45 or
older, who have been diagnosed with high cholesterol, and have ever used a
statin to treat high cholesterol. This online survey is not based on a
probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can
be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables,
please contact Erin Bittner at W2O Group, 212-301-7226.
On my last "My Post Monday", I was pondering about how personality disorders and mental illnesses affect everyone involved. One of the most common of these is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. It stems from an obsession with being perfect. It's so sad because it robs the victim of time, satisfaction, self-esteem, and happiness. Of course, it's great to be good at something. It's great to be excellent at something, and there are even times to be perfect at something. But my experience is that getting something done at all requires letting go of some things so the task can be completed.
Being chronically late is one symptom of OCD. One tries to get ready as perfectly as possible, it never seems to be achieved, and then comes the never-ending late arrival, or the arrival that never happens. I dealt with it as a kid, and now as an adult. Two different members of my family. Not myself, mind you, someone close to me. As a result, I am always late or going ahead because I don't want to be late. But I am affected by the symptom.
So often we are reaching for that perfect event, evening, dress,
dessert, party, or whatever it might be. When it falls short of our expectations,
we discount it as a failure! Is the picture above anything short of gorgeous?
I would go to a party held here. And especially this time of year! I'd be trying to take a peek out of that top window! Yet look at all of the "flaws!" Flaws are what make us unique,
gorgeous, and US! Celebrate difference and perceived imperfections!
We're all amazing!
Today is "My Post Monday!", a curation of the week's best original content.It's
all about posts from Crafts to Camping, Wellness to
Wealth, Fashion to Food, and whatever else is on the brain! I
open up with a post of my own and then follow it up with a linky of the
week's top original blog posts! It's all about what the writer thinks,
believes, and
knows--in other words, they are active, writing blogs. If
I happen to find a great original, non-sponsored post, I'll link it up
and share
it with you
here and on Twitter via the #MyPostMonday hashtag! I can miss some amazing posts, but I don't want to!
So, in addition,
if you'd like to link up yourself, you can do that too! I'll visit your
site, comment, promote and publicize! (Affiliate links welcome!)
I've been hearing about 4 levels of horror at a nearby underground castle of terror in Salt Lake City. You can indicate which level of horror you want imposed upon yourself, and go from there. I'm sorry, but my days of getting adrenaline rushes from being scared at haunted houses are over! I used to tolerate it, at best. Now I can't even take it! I only wish I could use the excuse that I have to take the grandkids to 'Little Haunts', where things aren't very scary, but I'll have to wait until my sons decide to get married and have kids! Until then, I have nieces and nephews to take! Those of you who have small children or grandchildren, you're lucky! Take them to 'Little Haunts' in Salt Lake City at 'This Is The Place Heritage Park'! They will love it and so will you!
Little Haunts at This Is The Place is
the FUN, and not so scary Halloween Haunts for kids and their families!
Trick or Treat throughout the Village! Ride the trains and ponies, Creature
Encounters, pan for gold and dig for treasure in Prospectors Pit. Hear
Halloween stories from The Story Telling Witch and join us as Alice the Dragon
leads you in the costume parade! You can come with or without a costume.
The Candy Cannon will blast out yummy taffy and there will be face painting,
games like Tug O'War, Stick Pony Racing, Bean Bag toss and much much more! For
more information call: 801.582.1847
Also, this year there is a special coloring contest! Download and print this page and turn it into the "Deseret Hospital" at the Park, with names and phone so the winners can be contacted. One winner from each indicated age group will be chosen and will receive 6 passes to 'Candlelight Christmas', (another amazing event at 'This Is The Place Heritage Park') and an awesome treat bag for the winner! Make sure to mention my blog, A GAL NEEDS...., to receive $2.00 off each ticket purchased!
Now on to the giveaway! 'Little Haunts' is running this weekend and on the 28th. That's it! I've got 6 passes for the 28th, and if you would like to win them, along with 2 scoops of old fashioned candy from the ZCMI store, just enter the easy Rafflecopter below with as many entries as you'd like! The drawing will take place on the 26th and the winner will be notified via e-mail, Twitter, and Facebook. Tickets will be waiting for you at the Ticket Counter at the Park! Be there, and you will be sure to make this Halloween one you and your littles will remember fondly for years to come!
Disclaimer: A GAL NEEDS...did receive complimentary passes for the posting of this review and/or giveaway. This giveaway is in no way associated with Twitter, Facebook, or any other social media outlets. Must be 18+ years of age, one entrant per household. Winner will be selected by random draw via Rafflecopter, and notified on October 26th via e-mail and Twitter. A GAL NEEDS...is not responsible for delivery of prize. U.S. only. You are not eligible to win if you have won something within the past year from 'This Is The Place Heritage Park'. a Rafflecopter giveaway
Sometimes finding a perfect gift for that teen or young adult in your life is rather difficult. Preserving special memories is so important, and there are some great digital tools to do it these days! But sometimes a scrapbook or photo album isn't quite enough. Maybe you know someone who has had an epic sports year or who has had an amazing dance or piano recital. What about a special year, like the year of graduation or the year your son or daughter learned to drive? For those special moments or capsules in time, make up a special display of not only pictures, but uniforms, shirts, programs, hats, or anything else of significance to make up a special memory collage, capturing that special event. For example, my son has always been interested in mixed martial arts and is self-taught! On his own he entered the world of MMA by joining a professional gym with a coach and team. He has trained for almost 8 years and is the proud holder of two belts in two separate weight classes. He is now ranked #1 in his weight class in the state and we are very proud of his accomplishment. We all went to see the fight where he won his 2nd belt. It was an amazing night. We wanted to give him something that would help him remember that night, and also to help him remember the journey to that moment. We did it with a shadow box display. It brought lots of things together into one fun and attractive case.. Here are some steps to consider when putting together a Shadow Box Display:
1) Collect all of the Memorabilia Collect everything surrounding the specific event or time into one place and choose what is the most important. We decided on an event shirt, an event ticket, the program, the event flyer, some pictures, and a poster. We got it all together and had it available for when we got the shadow box.
This site uses both affiliate and non-affiliate links for reference purposes. Thanks for visiting!
2) Decide How Big You'd Like To Go You can get shadow boxes of all different sizes, from small to very large. We wanted our display to be big enough to include the most important parts of the night, yet not so large you couldn't transport it and so we went with a 28" x 24" size. 3) Make a Mock Set-up After selecting the things we thought would represent the event the best, we set it up against the backing the way we thought it should go. By doing this, we found that we needed to resize some of the items so that they would better fit our board, which we did.
4) Attach Items Permanently After deciding the arrangement, we needed to attach everything to the board. We attached the shirt with simple black straight pins which matched the shirt exactly. You can't see them unless you really look hard. We got double sided crafting tape to attach the pictures, poster, flyer, and ticket. In the final cut, there was a total of 9 items we included in the shadow box display.
After we put it all together, we presented it to our son on his birthday. He was so pleased. When I saw how happy he was, I knew we had done something awesome. I asked him if he liked it, and he said it was the most thoughtful thing anyone had ever done for him. It made me kind of tear up!
If you decide to make a Memory Shadow Box, I guarantee it will be a gift that will be treasured for a lifetime!
Something that has been on my mind lately is the many personality disorders that one can end up having. There have been several that have affected me personally over the years. We have OCD, narcissism (which is more than posting lots of selfies on Instagram), Borderline Personality Disorder, Bipolar disorder, and many other dis-orders. All of them are deviations of what is considered to be a healthy, normal outlook on life and the coinciding behaviors. This is OCD Awareness Week, and I'm definitely aware of how much it affects the one who has the disorder as well as the ones living with the person. Not fun. But all of these disorders have to stem from somewhere and that's my quandary. Where do they come from? What causes the disorder in the first place? Are they hereditary, learned, or randomly affecting different individuals with no connection to either genes or environment?
I do believe that childhood is the most prolific learning period in our individual human development. And it is paramount that a child receives the proper modeling, care, nurturing, and everything else to ensure that they have as healthy a mind as they do body.
I've often stated that we are all on the spectrum of different mental illnesses and/or deficiencies. I know that I am probably undiagnosed but register on the spectrum with several stress-related conditions, as well as other disorders. But I can only try and manage my symptoms. I choose to do that with natural methods. Heaven help me if I decided to go on opiates or other self medicating rituals. I have an addictive personality, as evidenced by my 'Design Home' addiction! (Shoutout to all my 'Design Homies!)
In honor of OCD week, I want to find out a little bit more about different mental disorders and how I might better understand them and those who struggle with them! May you have a mentally unencumbered week! Today is "My Post Monday!", a curation of the week's best original content.It's
all about posts from Crafts to Camping, Wellness to
Wealth, Fashion to Food, and whatever else is on the brain! I
open up with a post of my own and then follow it up with a linky of the
week's top original blog posts! It's all about what the writer thinks,
believes, and
knows--in other words, they are active, writing blogs. If
I happen to find a great original, non-sponsored post, I'll link it up
and share
it with you
here and on Twitter via the #MyPostMonday hashtag! I can miss some amazing posts, but I don't want to!
So, in addition,
if you'd like to link up yourself, you can do that too! I'll visit your
site, comment, promote and publicize! (Affiliate links welcome!)
Posts
