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Staying Healthy: Spend time outdoors
Spring Weather! Today it is supposed to be almost 80 in NE Ohio. Beautiful words to my soul. After a long winter a day like today is a perfect opportunity to break routine and get outdoors! Being outdoors has many health benefits, from breathing fresh air to taking in the sun. A little sunshine feels great, can help lift feelings of depression, and is a great source of Vitamin D, so long as you protect yourself with sunscreen. Being outdoors in good weather also encourages physical activity. Try to spend time outdoors as often as you can. Read a book or newspaper outdoors on your lunch break. Or take a…
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Happy 10 Year Anniversary!
Hubs and I celebrated 10 years of marriage this past week. Ten years! That seems huge to me, in this age of short term relationships, marriages falling apart, rampant-divorce. I can’t wait till we hit our 20 year anniversary and then our 30th, 40th, 50th but for now I can’t help but look back at the past ten and smile. 10 Random Facts: Hubs and I danced to Susan Ashton’s Spinning Like A Wheel “This is good, and this is strong. So hold to me and I’ll belong to you.” Great lyrics to an unknown love song. Hubs and I met at our mutual friends’ wedding in October of 1996. We didn’t…
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Help Your Child Feel Healthy!
The American Heart Association recommends that children and teenagers get at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity every day. My kindergartner’s teacher mentioned to me that *C* is the most in-tune and capable of learning right after some rigorous activity. She has witnessed first hand, in particular with him, how when he gets rid of pent up energy he is ready to sit down and stay on task. Occasionally, if all of the students are a bit hyper she has them do a few jumping jacks beside their desks. Then they sit back down and jump back into work. It goes to show how in-sync our bodies are. Even the brain craves motion, movement and…
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A Minute out of the Norm: Take A Hike
This past Sunday I could feel the monotony of our weekend settling in. Soccer was Saturday; Church on Sunday; No school, no major running around to be done. I was quite content to sit in the family room and read. My boys though were at each other like cats and dogs. It was getting cool out so it was not quite as comfortable to sit outside and play. We had… aghast… a possible case of the Autumn Doldrums. With Hubby deployed it is not as easy to pack the kids up and get moving, but it is so very necessary. So we packed a couple water bottles. Put on our…
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Bring On the Family and Friends, Serve Beef Brisket
Not that I understand it… Summer is coming to a close. The school supplies have arrived, many summer vacations are now history and family and friends are gathering to squeeze one more weekend together outside in the sun and fun. While time is being spent outside, let your oven slowly cook up a great dinner. A slow cooked Brisket of Beef serves a crowd and compliments all summer vegetables.If you have canned tomatoes, or if they are heavy on the vine, and need to be savored, here is the opportunity one more time! 1 qt canned tomatoes or 8 large vine ripe tomatoes, skinned (See Tomato Basil Salad)or 1 28…
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The Weekend Getaway
Recently, our kids and grandkids decided that we all needed a weekend getaway! We found a state park with a wonderful old inn that was a short drive (less than 200 miles) for all the family to meet and the facilities were great for the entire crew. Pokagon State Park is at the intersection of I-69 and I-80/90 and is only about 3 hours from Wright Patterson AFB, OH, 3.5 hours from Great Lakes Naval Training Center,IL and 2.5 hours from Selfridge Air National Guard Base, MI. The park had hiking trails, a horse barn for saddle enthusiasts, an indoor pool to entertain the younger set, a game room with…
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Hiking Avalanche Lake Trail in Glacier National Park
This summer we went to Montana for a niece’s wedding in Great Falls. We had a wonderful family time at the wedding and tacked on a few extra days to spend at Glacier National Park! What a great place to hike and the views were tremendous! We are so blessed with National Parks and this one was gorgeous! Our niece had worked up in the park for a time and gave us her favorite trail to hike–Avalanche Lake; so off we went after a bit of map research. We found out that the trail was about 2.5 miles one way and of course it was above 5,000 feet (thin air…
