The Best Anti-Cancer/Anti-Wrinkle Way to Get a Tan

March 31, 2011 By

Could Rhode Island be one of  the first states to ban minors from the tanning beds?

According to a recent study posted on WebMD and The Skin Cancer Foundation: people who use tanning beds have a 74% increased risk for melanoma (skin cancer) compared to people who had never used a tanning bed!  The risk was four times higher among frequent users of high-pressure tanning beds, which emit mostly UVA radiation!

Before I was 20, I went to the tanning bed at least 3 times per week! I was under the blanket belief, it won’t happen to me, but now, as a wife and mom, my priorities have changed. I have had malignant melanoma not once, but twice. The survival rate is only 50% if it spreads into the lymphatic system.  Needless to say, you won’t catch me in a tanning bed.

Here are the ABCDs of Melanoma:

How’s that for a beautiful tan?

You can still get the glow without the radiation or the creepy little eye covers. Here are some of my favorite self-tanning products!
***note, you must exfoliate well and my favorite tip:  put one layer of hand cream on first, let it dry and it will keep your hands from turning orange!
L’Oreal Sublime toilettes,  Bronze One Day Gel and Neutrogena MicroMist self-tanning spray

 

 

What is your opinion on banning minors from tanning beds?  Do you have a friend or relative diagnosed with skin cancer?

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Filed Under: Beauty & Fashion, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

A Not So Radiant Week for Britney Spears

March 31, 2011 By

Britney Spears is being sued for $10 million.  Brand Sense Partners, LLC claims it had a deal with the pop tart in which the company would get 35% of Britney’s profits in return for securing a perfume contract with Elizabeth Arden.Radience perfume

According to the suit,  Britney and her dad defrauded Brand Sense by entering into a secret deal with Elizabeth Arden, allegedly robbing Brand Sense of millions in the marketing of her perfume, Radiance.

The suit claims Brand Sense caught dad, Jamie Spears,  “red-handed” in circumventing their deal.

It’s been a tough week for Spears who announced a tour with singer Enrique Iglesias, who said later on that he would be performing solo.

Filed Under: Allison, The Buzz Tagged With: , , , , ,

Keeping Our Kids Safe

March 31, 2011 By

As a Speech-Language Pathologist specializing in Neurological Rehabilitation, most of my days are consumed with assessing and treating teens and adults that have been affected by brain injuries. Although brain injury can take many forms, one of the most common types is TBI, or Traumatic Brain Injury. A TBI is a blow or jolt to the head or a penetrating head injury that disrupts normal function of the brain. Symptoms include headaches, motor dysfunctions, sensory changes, attention and concentration difficulties, loss of memory, word-finding and fluency issues, among others. Not so fun, huh? How do we keep our kids safe?

Annually there are 500,000 admissions to hospitals due to brain injury. 200 per 100,000 people are affected. The most popular occurrence is among pre-school age children and 15-25 year olds, with falls dominating the younger range and motor vehicle and sports related injuries dominating the teen and young adult ages.

For the pre-school aged child, it is important to follow all car seat safety regulations without fail. These vary from state to state, so check your state laws to keep your kids safe. Ironically, some of these accidents happen outside of the car when kids are not buckled properly into their seats, and then when picked up, fall out. Although personally embarrassing to admit, I had my child strapped into a vibrating chair watching me cook once when the chair vibrated right off the counter. Another child rolled off the middle of my bed while I was standing right next to it trying to change. Thankfully, both were safe and head injury free. However, these are some common pitfalls.  Also try to avoid sharp corners on tables or exposed edges when those little ones are learning to walk. If possible, keep them in a carpeted area during the “new walker” stage. Your kids will fall down and hit their heads. I am not sure how many little raspberries I saw on my boys, but there were plenty. Unless the crying ceases to stop and you notice other changes, they are most likely fine. If you do fear a concussion, contact your pediatrician.

From the ages of three to seven, kids move on to scooters, bikes and more. A helmet should be worn at all times while engaging in these activities. Furthermore, it is important to make your kids aware of local traffic laws. Biking always occurs with traffic, and at this age, preferably on the sidewalk. As they get older, and the bikes get bigger and more advanced, the bike lane is probably most suitable. One common occurrence during our family bike rides is that cars usually fail to see bikes when they are backing out of driveways. So, if your kids are biking on the sidewalk, it is important to talk to them about running cars and noticing brake lights.

On to the teenage years. Of course head injuries from MVA’s (Motor Vehicle Accidents) are quite common and lead in statistics. Always, always, encourage them to wear their seat belts. However, even more disturbing is the increase in sports related head injuries, which account for 21% of all TBIs. Why is the incidence increasing and what can we do about it? Well, one reason is that sports are starting younger and younger and are much more serious than when I was growing up. Tackle football at 8? Club soccer starting at 7? Repeated jolts to the head over time in both of these sports can lead to serious problems.

The American Football Association created a task force to decrease head down contact. Apparently, our helmets have become so padded and feel so safe that kids are often leading into tackles with their head, and repeatedly over time, this can have serious ramifications. At the high school level, 10-15% of athletes sustain concussions and only a fraction of those are receiving proper treatment. Just now, more rules are being made regarding pre and post season physical and cognitive exams to help determine if there is a concussive syndrome that has lead to a mild TBI. Just last week I saw a college athlete in my office from a division II school that had been playing tackle football since he was 8. Again, he has not even gone pro yet and is exhibiting memory loss,  attention and concentration and headaches. He is constantly fatigued and struggling in school.

One common injury in soccer occurs with repeated “heading” of the ball. Sixty percent of college level soccer players reported symptoms of concussion during a single season. There have been some head gears that have been developed to help alleviate this problem, but as of yet, all have been claimed ineffective.

Despite my career, I am not a worrier by nature and encourage my kids to be as physically active as possible. However, I would encourage all parents to think long and hard about at what age and what intensity our kids should be involved in these sports. I have two boys, and we love sports in our house. So I do what I can do to prevent some injuries (i.e. helmets and seat belts), and we have made the decision (despite some protests) not to start tackle football until at least the junior high years. It’s flag until then. Every family is different and certainly starting these sports at an early age does not guarantee a head injury. This is what feels right for us; so do what you can to keep your kids safe and do what feels right for you.

Filed Under: Parenting, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Becoming a pacifier-free toddler

March 30, 2011 By

 

 

Joanna's son at 5 months old & his beloved "binky"

 

I must disclose that we have not broken the pacifier (aka ”a binky”) habit in our household, yet. My son is almost 16 months old and currently uses his binky in the crib and car.  I have also been known to sneak it in my pocket during shopping trips in case of emergency.

I decided it was time to start weaning him off the binky when he recently found one under his crib and had a massive meltdown when I told him it was not the time for his binky. I mean a major tantrum, complete with head-banging on the hardwood floor and juice cups being thrown at the dog.

I’ve asked all of my Mom and Dad friends about how they said goodbye to their kids’ pacifiers. There are a couple different theories that my friends have shared with me regarding becoming binky-free.

My favorite idea is the one my friend Neile shared: cut the tips off all the binkies in the house and quit cold turkey. You’re not the bad guy and you can console your toddler while they lament the loss of their intact binky. Another variety of this theory is to cut off the tips slowly until there isn’t much left for them to “pacify” themselves. I believe our first plan of action will be the first. After all, I live down the street from a 24 hour CVS if we HAD to get a replacement binky. There is an entire web site devoted to this theory, www.bye-bye-binky.com, if you’d like to read more.

Another theory, which would be more appropriate for an older toddler, is the “Binky Fairy.” After discussing the Fairy with your child, you set a night for the Fairy to come and take away all of his or her binkies.  The Fairy leaves a small gift for the child in exchange for all the household binkies. A variation of this theory is for the Fairy to take the binkies to a baby who needs them, maybe a little cousin or friend. Packing up all the binkies before the fairy comes can be a special going away ceremony for your toddler to participate in. I’ve also heard that Santa collects binkies for other little boys and girls during Christmas. Maybe the distraction of all the new toys would help ease the pain? I believe my son is a little too young to understand the Binky Fairy or Santa at this age, but if he was older I would definitely try it out.

These two theories were by far the most widely used in my social circle, but before my husband and I embark on this parenting journey I would love to hear your advice. Did your child use a binky and how did you say goodbye?

Filed Under: Parenting Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Gone, But Not Forgotten

March 30, 2011 By
Paige in Purple
     My baby left me.  Just walked right out of the house in the middle of the night for the desert and dry air of Arizona.  Okay, so it wasn’t quite THAT dramatic….but it sure seemed that way when we were skyping from RI to AZ and she was was more interested in jumping on the couch than talking to her mama!  My husband looked at me as tears started to stream down my cheek.  I quickly wiped them away, so Paige wouldn’t see.
     When My husband suggested he escape the frigid New England air for two weeks to see family in Arizona, I thought it would be a great opportunity for me to get some work done on this website, maybe even catch up on some sleep.  What I hadn’t anticipated was the emotional toll of being away from her and my husband.  Now, I like my alone time.  In fact, for much of our marriage my husband and I have worked different shifts–at times–even in different states.  Heck, even in different countries!  How do you think we’ve managed to stay married so long, moving state to state, job to job?  (I kid.)   But throw the little one in the mix, and that’s a one- two punch this mama just can’t handle.  Seriously, I was a wreck 75% of the time they were gone. 
     They get back tomorrow and I know my heart will skip a beat when I see them at the airport.  Just like it did when I met my husband at that BBQ in college and when I saw the yes sign on that pregnancy test. (oh, yeah…I got those tests, I wasn’t foolin’ around with the plus/ minus nonsense).
     What’s the longest you’ve been away from your kids?  Was it easier or tougher than expected?  Join the conversation…we’d love to hear your thoughts!
Filed Under: Allison, Parenting Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Get More Bang for Your Buck at the Best Restaurants

March 29, 2011 By

 

There’s not much this mama loves more than when it’s restaurant week in Rhode Island.  This little state has so many big offerings when it comes to food, but it often comes with a big price tag too!

Newport Restaurant Week  in RI once again returns, this time, with more than 40 participating restaurants March 25th through April 3rd, 2011. Scallops for dinner

Three-course lunches are just $16, and three-course dinners are $30.  Yum! 

Now…if I can just squeeze in a date night, I’m all set.

Filed Under: Allison, Deals Tagged With: , , , ,

How a Family RV Trip for 6 Became one of our Best Vacations

March 28, 2011 By

Have you ever thought of taking a family vacation in an RV?  Did you end up doing it?  Last year we were coming off the “year of unemployment” and taking the idea of any spending very seriously.  So when April vacation was being considered we tried to think of a fun and inexpensive way to see a lot of places in a week.  We figured it would be wise to stay on the east coast so as to minimize the amount of miles logged and to maximize our destinations.  The first task at hand was finding an RV.  There are websites that exist for just that purpose.  One of the biggest is: Cruise America.  We ended up using Craigslist and found a local man who rents his RV by the week.  Perfect.

The cost for a week using Cruise America for a large 7 person RV is roughly $1050 with mileage costs at about $.32 a mile.  700 miles is easy to do in a week, and that would run another $224.  We paid the private owner from Craigslist $1000 and no mileage fee – just brought it back with a full tank of gas.  One of the options our guy gave us was to rent his kitchen equipment for $150, the items of which he listed in detail.  In an effort to be frugal we passed on the offer and used his list to create our own ‘kitchen to go’.  Personally, I will always prefer my own utensils and pans to someone else’s unless maybe it’s Martha Stewart.  Cruise America offers a Kitchen Kit for $100 and a Personal Kit (towels and a sleeping bag, etc.) for $50.

Our trip began to take shape.  We decided to pick up the RV and leave our car at the owner’s house for the week.  When we arrived to “move in” there was a binder of all kinds of information he’d compiled over the years of renting, and we referenced that often.  At first the rig was very intimidating, especially in its width.  It turned out that the RV was a little on the quirky side maybe due to its older age, and responded to its Master’s Voice better than ours, but we managed.  There were a lot of gadgets and buttons to activate to get a shower, or to cook, so there was a steep learning curve in the beginning.  There’s nothing like a cold shower to motivate one to figure out the system, though.Cold shower

The fun part was narrowing down all the grand ideas we had for our destinations.  The kids lobbied hard for a stop at Hershey Park, PA, so my husband and I wove that into a generally educational itinerary (sneaky, huh?) including Gettysburg, PA and Washington D.C.  We eventually headed back to RI through NYC.  The trick was to find decent RV parks near the cities, and public transportation into them.  We tried RV parks with public bathrooms that had showers and pools, laundry and miniature golf, as well as ones in the dark woods with nothing but water and gas hookups and lots of crickets.  AAA has excellent RV books that tell you just what to expect from each park.  We played a lot of board games at night, and each of us probably read a book or two that week.  All the parks have grills, so cooking was a breeze, and s’mores were the staple dessert.S'mores

If you ask the kids, this trip was epic, and if you ask my husband and me, this is one we would definitely do again.  There’s a lot to be said for staying on terra firma, besides just the significant savings on airfare.

Echo Caverns

Echo Caverns

An interesting road sign could turn into an impromptu adventure, like the awe inspiring Echo Caverns we happened upon, or at least a good ice cream cone.  We’re thinking of a summer RV trip through Canada next.  Well, we’ll see you on the road, and happy trails!

Are there any of you RV adventurers out there with a good tale, tip, or destination to share?  I’d love to hear about it in the comment section below.

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Filed Under: Great Escapes Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Food and Wine – What to Choose

March 28, 2011 By

As a mom, wife and entrepreneur, running around in a million different directions is normal. That’s why when it comes to deciding what wine to pair with my meal, I don’t have a lot of time to consider it. And I figured most other people don’t too.

So whether you’re always in a rush, like me, or simply need help determining what wine to pair with your meal, a few simple guidelines can help you make a deicion more quickly.  These are not rules, and I am a firm believer in drinking what you like, but it is true that certain flavors in wine and food pair better together than others. The idea of pairing wine and food is balance and for the two to complement each other.

Match Food Weight with Wine Weight
If you’re preparing, or buying from the market, a heavy dish (ie., lasagna) then you want to choose a wine of equal weight and body (ie. something heavier). You don’t want to select a wine that is light in body because it won’t stand up to the weight of the food. Remember, lighter foods with lighter bodied wines and heavier foods with more full bodied wines.

Consider Food Preparation and Flavor Profiles
Delicately prepared/flavored foods (ie., steamed, poached) pair best with more delicate wines. And the reverse holds true. Sauce and accompaniments are just as, or even more, important than the actual main component. The dominant flavor or sauce in the dish should match the wine. (For example, if you are having turkey with a dried cherry sauce, the sauce is more important to pair with the wine than the turkey itself.)

Match Sweetness
When pairing sweet dishes with wine, remember that the wine needs to be as sweet as or sweeter than the dish at hand.  If it isn’t, then the food can make the wine taste less fruity and astringent. So while you may love chocolate and Sauvignon Blanc, the two together do not mesh.

Balance Acidity
Foods or dishes that are high in acid (ie., tomato-based dishes) pair best with wines of equal acidity. Again, like sweetness above, the wine will taste bitter if the dish is more acidic than the wine.

Consider Flavor Opposites
If you have a spicy dish, often occurring in Asian or Indian cuisine, consider pairing it with a wine that is sweet. The sweetness of the wine will cool the spiciness of the dish. You can match a spicy dish with a spicy wine (ie., Syrah) but the spice in the wine will accentuate the spice in the dish. So if you like that combination then go for it.

As I always say, don’t fret over food and wine pairings. It should be fun. Good company is the most important, but understanding some of the guidelines of food and wine pairings can make a world of difference. Wine consumed by itself will taste completely different when paired with food.  So, have fun and experiment!

 What are some of your favorite pairings?  Do you have any questions about which foods and wines to put together?  I’d love your feedback!

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Filed Under: Good Eats, Mom Tips Tagged With: , , , , , ,

What is Your Passion?

March 28, 2011 By

Artsy CardsWhat is your passion? Do you have one?  I’m rediscovering mine.  I used to love to do artwork many years ago. But somewhere along the way I started to believe I didn’t have time to be creative.  I was too  busy being a  mom.  If that thought didn’t get me, the “mommy guilt” would. If I couldn’t even manage a daily task of cleaning the house, how could I take time to do art? Do you know that feeling?  Believing that you shouldn’t take time for yourself?

What I found was that by continually ignoring my passions, I lost them. What I was left with was a feeling of emptiness. I felt disconnected to myself.  I used to have a pull toward something I would like to do but I continually denied myself the pleasure of doing it. So you know what happened? Finally the pull stopped happening.  My creative spirit gave up trying to guide me to my passion. Suddenly I didn’t even know what I wanted.  Not only were my passions lost, but I was too.

I was left not only with a feeling of emptiness but also a confusion about my identity. I considered myself an artist who used to do art.  How long can you consider yourself something when you are not even doing it? Now of course I am more than just an artist. Feed Your Soul I am a mom, wife, a therapist, a friend, a sister, a neighbor etc etc.  But art was a way I expressed my “self”. I love that feeling of having an idea and then bringing it to a reality.  Drawing isn’t even only about expressing, it’s also about discovering.  When I draw an object I discover its uniqueness.  I also draw as a way to connect to and discover myself.  So how could I get past the excuses and get back to creating?

First I had to realize that saying “I don’t have time” is a cop out.  We make time for what we think is important. Wasn’t my happiness important?  Also, what role model was I setting for my kids? Did I want my daughters to believe that to be a mother you have to be selfless and give up your passions? No, I want my daughter to be happy and feel they can take care of themselves while also caring for others.

So what am I doing now?  I started doing art.  To help inspire myself I joined an art motivation group. They meet once a month. The only instructions are to create and build something around a particular theme.  I promised myself to forget the guilt (and any other judgments I would normally have) and just do something. I just wanted to focus on the fun of doing art. Guess what? I did it! Was it the best artwork I ever did? No, but it was a start.

Interestingly enough,  I drew eggs.  Eggs are a start to life. Maybe those drawings were a start to feeling more alive.  Passion to me is something that makes you feel alive.  It pulls you toward something you like to do or can learn from. I had felt that following my passion would be selfish.  But actually following our passions isn’t selfish.  When we don’t follow our passion our “aliveness” diminishes. When we do follow our passion it makes us a more “full” person.  When I am more alive and “full” I am better able to help others.

What is your passion?  Are you following it? Or have you forgotten it? It’s not too late. Just start small. Even 15 minutes a day, week or month do something you love in order to start the spark.  This month is my birthday. I’m making a commitment to myself to do at least one piece of artwork a month for a year. Of course I’m using the term “artwork” very loosely here.  I’m focusing more on allowing myself the enjoyment of the process and not as much focus on the greatness of the product. I’m focusing on the fun.  Each month I’ll post my attempts.  Remember: no judgments,  just fun!

What is something you can do once a month? One thing you’ve been meaning to do but just haven’t gotten around to doing?  Let’s start the pact together.  Let’s reignite our passion and find where it leads us.

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Filed Under: Art, Health & Fitness, Passion Tagged With: , , , , ,

What’s the point of Twitter?

March 28, 2011 By

A young computer geek, vintage Joanna circa 1984

 

I signed up for Twitter in January of 2009. I’m a proud computer geek and love to try out everything new on the technology front. I’ve always been an early adopter of all things tech-related. My love of technology started when I was four years old and my family welcomed an Apple IIC into our home. I would wake up at 5am before school to play on it and hone my typing skills.  When the Internet came out, forget it. Countless hours were spent by my friends and I dialing up each other’s computers via a painfully slow dial up speed. I was also the ecstatic owner of a gMail email address when Google first brought them out by invitation only in 2004.

Considering my history, I was a late adopter of Twitter since it was founded three years prior to my first tweet. When I opened an account, I didn’t get the point of “tweeting.”  It appeared to be the same as a Facebook status update and anyways, who was listening to me? I felt like my tweets floated off into a black hole, never to be read. I abandoned my Twitter account until months later, when I discovered I was pregnant.

Suddenly, I recognized that Twitter could be a resource. A tool to connect with people I would have probably never have met in real life but have something in common. In my case it was pregnancy and I found myself tweeting with women who were due around the same time as me.  We compared symptoms and fears, mourned when some lost their babies and celebrated each time a new “Twitter Baby” was born.

Twitter was a huge tool for me as a new mother. While nursing my son every three hours throughout the night, I found comfort in knowing there was bound to be another mom on Twitter at the same time, tweeting from their phone like me. When my c-section incision site seemed to be a little red and inflamed five weeks postpartum, it was a nurse from Twitter that responded to my tweets and encouraged me to call my doctor ASAP. Turns out I had an infection and caught it just in time.

I understand Twitter now and can’t imagine my life without it.  Instead of polling my Facebook friends every time I have a silly question, one tweet can get answers from my “followers” or the general population who may happen to see my tweet in their timeline. I love that Twitter is a place to talk about anything, while I often feel restricted with Facebook.  After all, I’m pretty sure my eighth grade social studies teacher doesn’t want to hear about my son’s diaper rash, but I’m confident that someone on Twitter will have an idea for a cure.

Twitter is a place where,  in 140 characters,  you can send out a thought or question to the over 200 million Twitter users across the World.  You can communicate directly with Lady Gaga or Oprah Winfrey, get customer service help and receive breaking news as it happens. It may not be for everyone, but I love Twitter.  Facebook still has a place in my heart, but Twitter will always be special to me for helping me survive life as a new mother.

What’s been your experience with Twitter?  Either people say they don’t get it…or they love it!  I’d love to hear your feedback in the comment section below.  You can follow me on Twitter at @RiGatorMom, send me a tweet and introduce yourself!

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