Pencil Thin

As a child and teenager my Mom and Grandma avidly watched “All My Children”. I carried this family tradition well into my college years and never missed an episode. After becoming a Mom I let my guilty passions like this go in favor of those of my children. I really don’t have to do this thanks to Soaps.com. On this great site I can catch up on all my favorite shows including: All My Children One Life to Live, and even Ugly Betty. Knowing what is going on in Pine Valley has never been easier. You can check out prior episodes, read spoilers, or celebrity gossip. Thanks to this site I feel like I never missed a single twist or turn in the life of Erica Kane!

Are thinking about all those little or big things that you would like to do this spring to spruce up you house? Then now is a good time to start looking into a Home Equity Loan. Home equity loans are great way to free up some extra cash to make those improvements. Rates for home equity loans continue to be great making those improvements more affordable than ever!

We are being hit with a strong blast of winter weather. School is closed today because of the frigid temperatures and blowing and drifting snow. There are many warnings on the radio and television about the wind chill. My son wanted to know what the “wind chill” was and why we should care about it so I decided to investigate. Wikipedia defines it as:

“…the apparent temperature felt on exposed skin due to the combination of air temperature and wind speed. Except at higher temperatures, where wind chill is considered less important, the wind chill temperature (often incorrectly called the “wind chill factor”) is always lower than the air temperature. The concept of wind chill is of particular significance in very cold climates such as the Arctic and Antarctic, at high altitude, at high speeds, or in very high winds. It is of great importance to the survival of humans and animals, and can even affect machinery and heating systems.”

So BUNDLE up!

BuzzMarketing is a fantastic new book written by Mark Hughes. If the name Mark Hughes doesn’t ring a bell it will. Mark Hughes is the man who headed a campaign that put Half.com on the map. This unique marketing campaign successfully resulted in the renaming of Halfway, Oregon to Half.com, Oregon! The marketing techniques employed by Mark Hughes have forever changed the way we view marketing of business and services. The ideas and innovations Mark Hughes has developed will work for any business large or small. If you want to know more about BuzzMarketing beyond this incredible book you can sign up to listen to this incredibly motivational speaker in person! Learn first hand the techniques to motivate an entire town! The possibilities are endless for your business thanks to this incredible man!

One of the many great aspects I love about WordPress is being able to plug widgets into my templates. Widgets are a fun way to put a personal and interactive spin on the look and feel of your WordPress blog. There are a number of free widgets out there few however offer great stuff like free money making content! OddBallAuctions has introduced a fun and free widget that also generates extra income! This widget features 5-10 funny auctions occurring of Ebay each day. You not only entertain your readers with this great content but also earn money for every click from your site. What a great way to monetize your blog and offer your readers unique and ever changing content with ease!

For many people the idea of marrying a wealthy person is very important. For others the idea of Dating Millionaires is overwhelming and they merely aim to meet someone who shares common interests and values. In our world today people connect in variety of ways. Online services continue to grow in popularity as a way for singles of all walks of life to meet and fall in love. Choosing a service depends on the type of individual you are looking to meet. DateaMillionaire.com has single millionaires looking to meet other singles people of similar backgrounds for a potential relationship. If dating a millionaire sounds appealing to you then this is the place you want to be.

With the recent problems with online social communities it is important to keep your kids and yourself safe. These are some good tips for posting content online:

Establish rules for online use with your kids and be diligent.

Screen what your kids plan to post before they post it. Seemingly innocuous information, such as a school mascot and town photo, could be put together to reveal where the author goes to school.

Ask yourself (and instruct your kids to do the same) if you are you comfortable showing any of the content to a stranger. If in doubt, have them take it out.

Evaluate the blogging service and find out if it offers private, password-protected blogs.

Save the Web address of your child’s blog and review it on a regular basis.

Check out other blogs to find positive examples for your kids to emulate.

There are times when you feel so worn out that you don’t know whether to laugh or cry. Today laughing seemed to be in order so I checked out some funny videos t Jokeroo.com. It is amazing what a little laughter can do for your entire outlook on the day. There are a ton of great videos on this site so everyone is sure to find something that brings a smile to their face. You owe it to yourself to spend a few minutes today engaged in silliness and Jokeroo is the place to do it!
a

After a week and a half of sleepless nights I could use a good laugh and others must see that in me. A friend just sent me an email with a link to funny videos. It was exactly whaft I needed today. While everyone napped I spent quite a few minutes watching some of the funniest videos I have seen it a while. Surprisingly, I feel better and more rested. They say laughter is the best medicine and there must be some truth to it!

We were at the ER again last night with our littlest guy and also on Saturday. What WAS NOT Croup on Saturday had become Croup by Sunday night or rather Monday morning. Poor little man because there really is nothing you can do for him other than love on him. So Pencil Thin will be a little “thin” on the great health tips I strive to bring you each day. I am battling whatever this bug is that has infected our family myself. My DH has thus far escaped the hacking cough and draining sinuses. Hopefully, he evades it totally. I have had enough sickness in the last two weeks!

Many women who have experienced Motherhood can attest to the fact that you are never the same after having a child. This is true not only mentally but physically for many of us. Pregnancy does a number on those once tight stomach muscles. Add in surgery such as a C-section and you can exercise forever and never see a flat stomach again. One option to bring back that body you remember is to go to Rodeo Drive Plastic Surgery for a . When diet and exercise fail surgery can give you the results you want. Being a Mommy doesn’t mean you have to have a “Mommy pouch” forever.

You have heard of it but what really is windburn? I went looking and found these answers on my good friend Wikipedia:

“Windburn is a skin burn condition where wind removes the top layer of oil from the skin. The lack of oil causes excessive dryness of the skin, leading to redness and a burning feeling. Redness and burning are also common symptoms of a sunburn, so the two conditions are often mistaken for each other.

Pure windburn is usually not protected against by sunscreen effectively, since wind exposure will chap the skin even without the sun exposure. However, the moisturization agent in sunscreens does help windburns, and windburn does not seem to have the long term damage effect of the sun.”

Winter dries out my skin something terrible. I am not a fan of smelly lotions or soaks so I went looking for other tips to ease dry skin. These are just a few you might try:

For very dry hands, try this for a night: Apply a thin layer of petroleum jelly, and wear thin cotton gloves to bed.

Wrap 1 cup( ) of oatmeal in a cotton cloth and boil as you would to cook it. Use this as a sponge and bathe in cool water without soap.

Thick, greasy moisturizers are usually the most effective eg. Put petroleum jelly on your hands, covered with cotton gloves at night

Moisturizers that have lactic acid or urea in them can pull water into the skin

Use a hand moisturizer after each hand washing.

Nothing can brighten your spirits on a dark winter day like some fresh springy flowers. Just a little taste of the beautiful spring that is still a few months away can make a dreary winter more tolerable. Give yourself a little treat and to your home and brighten things up. Dotflowers has gorgeous flowers for any occasion or just because. The gift of flowers is a great pick me up for anyone. Imagine a beautiful bouquet of Gerbera daisies sitting on you table right now. Doesn’t that make you smile? Now imagine the smile on a friend or loved one’s face when they receive and unexpected floral gift fresh from Dotflowers today. What a thoughtful gift that would make!

Many people mistakenly say they have the “flu” when they actually have the common cold. The flu has a few distinct symptoms that distinguish it from a cold or something like food poisoning.

Symptoms of the flu:

* Body aches
* Chills
* Dry cough
* Extreme fatique and/or weakness
* Fever
* Headache
* Sore throat
* Stuffy nose

The following is an important thing to not about the flu: symptoms such as nausea and diarhhea almost never occur when the flu is present. True influenza is not what many people refer to as the “stomach flu”.

It really is common sense in this day and age to avoid secondhand smoke. If you need more reasons to avoid it here are a few. Your heart and body will thank you for thinking of them!

Secondhand smoke exposure causes disease and premature death in children and adults who do not smoke. Secondhand smoke contains hundreds of chemicals known to be toxic or carcinogenic, including formaldehyde, benzene, vinyl chloride, arsenic ammonia and hydrogen cyanide.3

Secondhand smoke causes approximately 3,400 lung cancer deaths and 22,700-69,600 heart disease deaths in adult nonsmokers in the United States each year.4

A study found that nonsmokers exposed to environmental smoke were 25 percent more likely to have coronary heart diseases

Stretching before activity or really anytime is VERY good for you. Stretching has a number of benefits. Be sure that you know how to stretch properly to avoid injury. These are some great benefits of stretching:

enhanced physical fitness
enhanced ability to learn and perform skilled movements
increased mental and physical relaxation
enhanced development of body awareness
reduced risk of injury to joints, muscles, and tendons
reduced muscular soreness
reduced muscular tension

This describes the second type of cough. Obviously you should have a consult with your doctor for any cough that concerns you or persists. This is just information for you to consider and not a means of diagnosing.

The second type are the dry, hard, irritating type, which are so annoying, and can keep you awake at night and can make your chest muscles ache with coughing.

A cough suppressant will help to calm the cough down, by suppressing it. This will help you to get on with your life, and make the cough far less troublesome.

If you use the other sort of cough medicine it will do nothing.

After having spent the morning at the ER with my little one having croup ruled out I thought I would investigate coughs. There are apparently 2 types of coughs. This is the first type:

These are the chesty, loose, phlegmy type.

This cough is doing you good, and should be encouraged to bring up more phlegm.
An expectorant will help to loosen and thin the phlegm, so that it is easier to cough-up. This will help to get rid of the phlegm on your chest, which can get infected if it collects in your lungs.
If you use the other sort of cough medicine it will encourage the phlegm to collect on your chest, and increase the chances of infection turning this to bronchitis or pneumonia. This is not a good idea.

This is another dessert option that goes against the grain. It is possible to put together great tasting low fat desserts. Remember though that you can still kill your waistline if you over indulge in any of these.

BELGIAN WAFFLE DESSERT

An excellent choice for a brunch dessert. The berries provide an added bonus of 2 grams of fiber per serving.

2 1/4 c. cold 2% low-fat milk
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. grated lemon peel
1 pkg. (4 serving size) Jell-O Vanilla Flavor Sugar Free Instant Pudding and Pie Filling
1 c. thawed Cool Whip Lite Whipped Topping
1 pt. (about 2 c.) strawberries, quartered
1/2 pt. (about 1 c.) raspberries
1/2 pt. (about 1 c.) blueberries or blackberries
10 sm. frozen Belgian or reg. waffles, toasted

Pour milk, lemon juice and lemon peel into large mixing bowl. Add pudding mix. Beat with wire whisk until well blended, 1 to 23 minutes. Gently stir in whipped topping. Refrigerate.

Mix fruit in bowl; refrigerate.

Poor posture is a huge contributor to many of our aches and pains. Correct posture is a simple but very important way to keep the many intricate structures in the back and spine healthy. It is much more than cosmetic—good posture and back support are critical to reducing the incidence and levels of back pain and neck pain. Back support is especially important for patients who spend many hours sitting in an office chair or standing throughout the day. I often wonder at the end of the day why I hurt. But, in reality I spend very little time practicing good posture.

I know these words don’t seem to go together but they do. This is a delicious low fat dessert that tastes surprisingly like the real deal. It is almost guiltless dessert and that is what we all need!
Eclair Dessert
2 pkg. (4 servings) Sugar free pudding
2 c. (1/2%) low fat milk
3 c. whip topping
10 whole graham crackers

Line 15 x 13 pan with 5 whole graham crackers. Mix pudding with 2 cups milk. Beat until thick. Fold in whip topping. Pour 1/2 of pudding over bottom layer of graham crackers. Add the other 5 graham crackers on top of pudding. Pour rest of pudding on top and top with topping.

These are some great choices for healthy snacks. It is so easy to pick up a cookie but these are just as quick and easy. Try to keep some on hand to steer you away from less healthy options.

* Raw vegetables, such as celery, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, green pepper, green beans, cucumbers, mushrooms or zucchini may be served with a lowfat dip.
* Fresh fruit in season, cut in slices or halves, such as apples, oranges, bananas, peaches, grapefruit, grapes, melons, pears, plums or strawberries.
* Lowfat quick breads and muffins, such as pumpkin, zucchini, banana or bran.
* Non-sugared cereals, snack mixes made with popcorn and whole grain cereal.
* Lowfat yogurt with fresh, frozen or canned fruit.
* Shakes with lowfat milk or yogurt and fruit.
* Unsweetened fruit juices.

I have been getting tons of headaches lately. I believe they are tension related. In an effort to find out what is causing them I looked up this information on tension headaches. I thought maybe someone else out there might be rubbing their temples as well

As defined by the International Headache Society, “a tension type headache is just the opposite of migraine. That is, the pain is on both sides of the head, is pressing and steady, rather than pulsating, is usually mild and does not cause incapacity and, is not worsened by ordinary daily activities. There is no associated nausea or sensitivity to light and noise.”

Yes, I love hockey! This is a little known, but true, fact about me that will come as a surprise to many of my friends who read “Pencil Thin”. My husband and I over the years have made it a point to take in local hockey games frequently. With little children it has not been as easy to get out to a game. I can however get my hockey “fix” on the NHL Forums boards. This is the single largest hockey forum around and is continuing to grow every day. Fans of all types have been meeting here for over 5 years to discuss their love of the game. A friendly community where everyone is welcome from the novice hockey lover to the trivia expert NHL Forums is the place to connect with other fans!

Our home is on its second round of battling bronchitis and colds this winter. In the spirit of fighting the good fight I thought I would put forth some tips to that might fight off those nasty colds. It seems that your mom was right and chicken soup actually does help!

Rest. Rest is important especially when you have a fever.

Drink plenty of fluids. Fluids will help loosen mucus in your nose and chest.

Chicken soup.There are many chicken soup remedies. A doctor at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach offered the first modern evidence that chicken soup provides cold relief.

Stop smoking and avoid secondhand smoke. Cigarette smoke is a respiratory irritant.

Gargle with warm salt water. Gargling a few times a day can relieve a sore throat.

Saline nose drops. Help moisten the irritated skin and help to loosen mucus.

When it comes to controlling hunger there are a number of products on the market. It is hard to know what to choose amidst the myriad of choices. The hoodia diet pill has recently received a great deal of positive press on shows such as Oprah, The Today Show, and 60 minutes. This product works naturally to control hunger and makes getting that perfect body much easier than going it alone.

Nothing tastes better on a cold day than a warm meal. To me that often equates to stews or soups with some really great bread. Chicken Pot Pie is a nice combination of the two but can often be high in fat. This is a nice low fat recipe.
INGREDIENTS:

* 2 cups chopped cooked chicken (white meat)
* 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
* 1 10.75-ounce can 98% fat-free, reduced-sodium condensed mushroom soup
* 1 cup reduced fat all-purpose baking mix
* 1/2 cup fat free milk
* 1 egg

PREPARATION:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine chicken, frozen vegetables and undiluted soup in an 8 x 8-inch baking dish. Whisk baking mix, milk and egg together until blended. Pour over chicken and vegetables. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the top is golden.

When it comes to choosing the perfect gym there are a few key points to consider. Remember that most gyms require and annual commitment so it is very important you choose carefully before signing a contract.

1. Weight Training Equipment
Make sure they have the weight training equipment you need. Look for a variety of weight training machines such as Hammer Strength, Cybex and Nautilus.

2. Cardio Machines
Make sure they have a wide variety of cardio machines which should include:

* Elliptical Machines
* Treadmills
* Stationary Bikes
* Stair Climbers
* Rowing Machines
* Spinning Bikes

Look at the current machines and see if they look new and fresh or old and used.

3. Cleanliness of Facility
Is there dust all over the equipment? How about wrappers, bottles and other trash on the ground? Look at the overall cleanliness of the gym.

4. Observe the staff & trainers
Is there adequate staff in the gym. How many trainers are currently available? How do the trainers look?

5. Locker Rooms
Make sure they have enough lockers and storage space for your belongings. Do they have locks or do you need to bring one?

6. Child Care
Check and see if they have adequate child care facilities and how the facilities look.

7. Tanning Facilities
If you tan, check and see how many beds they have available. Are the tanning beds stand up beds or lay down beds? How old are the tanning bulbs?

8. Hours of Operation
How long is the gym open on the weekdays and weekends?

9. Access to Other Gyms
Do they have other gyms in the area? If so, can you workout at any of those gyms or do you need a special membership to access them all?

10. Ask for a Complimentary Workout
If they don’t offer this, move onto another gym.

If you are involved in any kind of physical exercise then you likely have at one time or another sprained something. Sprains to me are more troublesome than a broken bone because it seems you can easily injure the area again with the slightest misstep. Caring for a sprain requires a few simple steps (after consulting your doctor):

For immediate pain relief:

1. If the pain or swelling is intense, or if you are not sure, you may have a fracture. In this case go to your the emergency room immediately.
2. Rest and elevation. Reduce weight-bearing activities (use crutches).
3. Elevate the leg to help reduce swelling. Apply ice to the ankle for 30 minutes every two hours, for the first three days. Then apply mild moist heat twice daily for 30 minutes. Heat must be mild!
4. Apply mild compression to the ankle with a 3-inch elastic bandage. This will support the ankle ligaments and reduce swelling. Compression must be mild (do not apply so tight that it will reduce circulation).
5. After two days, your ankle should be less painful, and the swelling and discolorations should be going away.

When you are planning a memorable bachelorette party it sometimes means taking things to the next level. You may be searching for everything from tiaras to gag gifts. Running from store to store isn’t convenient nor does it allow the privacy you sometimes want for those “special gifts”.

Now you can find everything you need or could imagine in the area of at Bachelorette.com. Bachelorette.com is dedicated to customer service and offering a superior selection of bachelorette party supplies and offer 5 different delivery options. With over 600 party supplies on hand there is no need to look further!

You hear it everywhere – “drink 8-10 glasses of water a day”. But do you know why? I assume it was so fill me up so to speak

These are some good reasons to fill ‘er up:

1. Water flushes toxins from your body – Ewww reason enough for me!

2. Promotes healthy skin – I could use a nice glow now.

3. Helps you loose weight – Did you say loose weight?

4. Is good for your heart

5. Is good for your joints – acts a cushion

6. Keeps “things” moving through your system

7. Regulates your body temperature

8. Keeps you well

Did you know most of us are actually dehydrated? Drinking water is essential to healthy living. So let’s all go grab a glass before we take another step.

Green Veggies offer us an incredible array of health benefits. Getting in your daily quota need not be a challenge with a few simple changes like adding a healthy salad or substituting a green veggie for the starch you might have with you evening meal. When you consider these fantastic benefits it is an easy choice we often forget to make!

Green Veggies are:
1.Rich in antioxidants.
2.Contain varying amounts of many phytochemicals- like Vitamin C, flavonoids and carotenoids.
3.Contain fibre
4.Folate, B group Vitamins
5.Vitamin K and minerals such as iron, potassium and calcium.

Looking great goes a long way towards feeling great, lifting your spirits, and letting your inner beauty shine forth. Building a great wardrobe is one simple step you can take towards looking your best. This can seem overwhelming with all the merchandise on the market today. Starting with a few quality pieces is key to building a wardrobe that will literally carry you from season to season for years to come.

When you want an inside track on incredible multi-season wardrobe builders such as handbags and accessories the answers are just a click away at The Divas Dreams blog. This blog by Belisi on multi-seasonal fashion is an incredible fashion resource written by experts in the world of fashion. Give yourself a few luxury pieces and experience the remarkable style that is Belisi.

These are some heart healthy tips. For more information as always consult your doctor. You are you best defense against heart disease.

1. FOLLOW A HEART HEALTHY DIET
A. Limit intake of trans fats and hydrogenated oils found in margarine, fast food, fried food, etc.

B. Limit refined sugar intake from cakes, cookies, candy, etc.

C. Use extra virgin olive oil and garlic in cooking – they can lower cholesterol

D. Add Omega 3 Fatty Acids to your diet – the best source is Fish Oil

2. EXERCISE REGULARLY
A. Try to exercise 3-4 times per week, for at least a half hour at a time.

B. Keep your routine going, and start off slow.

C. Always stretch before and after training.

D. Keep yourself hydrated and rest between sets.

3. HEALTHY LIFESTYLE

A. Stop smoking and avoid smoke

B. Limit your intake of alcohol

C. Try to reduce stress and anxiety

D. Keep your weight within recommended limits

4. KEEP TABS ON BLOOD INDICATORS OF DEVELOPING HEART DISEASE

A. cholesterol
B. triglyceride (fat) levels
C. homocysteine levels
D. C Reactive Protein levels

Have you found yourself in a financial bind and don’t know where to turn? If you need money for an expense that cannot wait until your next paycheck then a payday loan is an option. Choosing the right lender can seem confusing. But, PayDayCashAdvanceLoans is here to help with unbiased information and tools to assist you in finding the perfect payday cash lender. This is the perfect way to find the fast payday loan you need today!

Thus far today I am not starting the day off well. Sleeplessness have led to me to the PopTarts. PopTarts are 200 calories each!

Yikes, I had one at 4:00 AM when I was up with DS #1 to feed him. I had PopTart #2 at 7:00 AM when I was up with DS#2 giving him cold medicine. This is 1/3 of my caloric goal for the day. I guess I better get it together huh?? Or walk a WHOLE LOT later on.

It is amazing what a little exercise can do for your entire outlook on the world. I finally put forth the effort to get moving again this last week. Not only do I feel more positive about myself but I am feeling less stressed in general.

Despite ongoing months of sleepless nights that led me to believe I would only be more exhausted if I were to exercise, I feel very energetic. For those of you who don’t know I am the proud Mom of two little men. The oldest is 7 and the newest member of our family is 5.5 months old. The latter of these two has yet to decide that an entire night of sleeping suits his very high needs self leaving his Mum rather worn out.

So far the exercise is all good and gives me a well deserved break from the kidlets!

Who among the ladies here on Pencil Thin did not play with dolls? This something that I believe we are for the most part naturally inclined to do. The enthusiasm I held for my “doll family” carried on into my preteen years. As a Mom of boys, whom I adore and love beyond words, there is little opportunity to engage in this activity with my sons. This does not however mean that there isn’t still that small yearning to every so often have some “girly” things around. It is the fantasy play of childhood that prepares us to be the Mothers we are today.

Recently I discovered a fun way to have that “girly” time by making dolls online. The DollPlace allows the little girl in all of us to enjoy once again the fun of Dress Up Games on your computer. This fun interactive site is the place to let your creativity run wild. Whether you just want to play around with creating different looks and styles of dolls or are in search of the perfect avatar for forum use this is the site for you.

I spent time creating many different dolls to use in formats. I now have unique looking dolls for each of my instant messaging services as well as the many different forums that I frequent. MySpace users will also find these a fun and unique way to dress up their sites. You can even animate these cute little dolls for that special effect you are looking for. This is a fun activity for little girls to enjoy creating dolls with Mom or Dad. If you find you have a particular talent for creating these little beauties there are a number of contests you can enter them in.

Everyone needs a place to call there own. Half.com had the incredible goal of getting their spot on the map in the literal sense. To accomplish this task required and expert in the field of marketing. Just one name rose to the top of the list – Mark Hughes. Mr. Hughes successfully led the town of Halfway, Oregon to be renamed Half.com, Oregon. Recognizing his skills and knowledge could benefit the world Mark Hughes wrote a book called BuzzMarketing. The success and popularity of this books have made him an incredible successful marketing speaker, teaching people around the globe how to launch similar successful campaigns. Mark Hughes provides his audience and readers with powerful information to realize their marketing goals and grow their business into the future.

I am striving to be honest with myself by sharing with the world why I may or may not be achieving my nutritional goals. Putting what you eat out there for the world to read can feel a little risky but I think it is important. If you think I am making errors in judgment by all means fire away (nicely)!

Breakfast
Blueberry bagel w/butter – 275 calories
Coffee w/ creamer – 60 calories

Lunch
Oatmeal w/walnuts – 200 calories
Toast – 150 calories
H2O – 16 oz

Snack
Light Cookies – 130 calories
H20 – 16 oz

Dinner
Burger
Baked Fries
H2O – all total 600 calories

Snack
FF Sherbet – 200 calories

Total Calories 1550- 1600

Upgrading from dial-up internet service is the best thing our family has done in the last several months. So many people hesitate to do this because they mistakenly believe it costs more than they are spending now. In our situation this change has saved us several hundred dollars a year. By having broadband service we were able to get rid of our expensive landline telephone service and switch to VOIP. We found a cheap broadband deal for residential customers and have never been happier with this combination.

Eclipse offers unbeatable value for residential broadband subscribers offering not only 30 days of free service with a subscription but also a free wireless router. These two bonuses coupled with the incredible value in broadband service offered by Eclipse second to none in the industry! I am so happy with the superiority of broadband internet that having extra cash in our pockets is just icing on the cake!

This is a great low fat dinner that we enjoy often. I like to offset this with a healthy salad or some fruit. Lowfat tortillas are a good choice to bring the fat down even more. I like to cook batches of chicken ahead of time and keep them in pre-measured packages in the freezer so this is a snap to throw together.

INGREDIENTS:

* 4 corn tortillas
* 1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken (skinless, white meat)
* 1/2 cup black beans
* 1/2 cup sweet corn
* 1 cup medium or hot salsa
* 1 cup plain low fat yogurt
* 1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream
* 1/2 cup reduced fat shredded Jack cheese

PREPARATION:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Coat an 8-inch by 8-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Warm tortillas according to instructions on package. Mix salsa, yogurt and sour cream and spoon half the salsa mixture into the chicken, beans and corn. Blend well.

Divide chicken mixture among the tortillas. Carefully roll tortillas and place them seam down in the baking dish. Spoon remaining salsa mixture over the tortillas. Sprinkle cheese on top. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

It is important that your MySpace location show the world in a creative and inviting way what you are all about. Banners and graphics are a great and eye catching way to do this. These are the little personal touches that will draw readers and build your community. There is now a quick and simple way to add these features using Web 2.0 graphics creator software adding banners to your Myspace Backgrounds has never been easier. It is as simple as a few clicks to add great banners and graphics to your MySpace comments and pages. Make your MySpace show off your personality today!

I am here to tell you that I am a worrier. You wouldn’t know it but my little mind is often just whirling with analysis of the complexities of my life, the lives of others, and the “what ifs” of the world. I believe this is a learned pattern from my childhood but don’t tell my Mom, it would make her worry.

Worrying is habit I am trying to break- but it is hard. My husband is one person I could take lessons from his motto is “it will be ok”! To which I always respond “but what if it is not”? Worrying has a place in every life and when approached appropriately there is help for the compulsive worriers of the world like myself.

I recently read an article in the February 2006 issue of Shape magazine that addressed worrying. The author, Sarah Robbins, suggests the following four tips to reign in your worrying habit. She suggests that worrying be scheduled. Use this time to journal all the things whirling in your mind. From this list, categorize your worries as either productive or unproductive.

If the worry is something you can do something about to act on then it is a productive issue to be concerned with. Those that you can do nothing about are unproductive and are something you need to make peace with. You have to put these worries in a place that allows to you to move beyond them. Those worries to which action can have an impact are productive worries and are something that you have control over. These are the issues that you should focus on acting upon. Focus you mind on actions that are constructive and you will find yourself feeling more in control and worrying less.

Ok, I fess up I haven’t been trying very hard at all the last week. As I sat mindlessly eating my third monster sized chocolate covered graham cracker in a row yesterday I realized that I am not working this at all lately. I actually weigh 5 lbs more than I did after having kidlet #2 and that is just wrong.

So I am making myself accountable to the world and have decided to make a daily post of what I am consuming and whether I exercised or not. Feel free to badger or praise me as you see fit.

(Remember I have feeling too!)

I am going to call these my “Accountability Posts”

To loose one pound of unwanted fat requires that you burn or end of with a deficit of approximately 3,500- 4,000 calories. Remember however it is possible to “loose” a pound and still be just as “fat”. Loosing water weight is not the same as loosing fat.

So how do we burn off this fat? Sitting on you rump burns about 50 calories per hour. So obviously the first key is to get moving. You could theoretically continue to eat the same number of calories but increase your activity level significantly enough to burn say 500 more calories a day. For those just getting into exercise this might not be the most prudent path and would likely lead to injury and over doing it.

So that leads us back to square one that all of us truly know – limit calories and increase activity and gradually build up to a moderate to intense fitness routine.

This is the season for colds. Everyone I know is either suffering from one or getting or one. There is a big misconception among many people that cold can be fixed or cured by simply going to the doctor and getting an antibiotic. This simply is not true. Viruses are not effected by antibiotics. Antibiotic resistant diseases are on the rise because of this thinking. What does help a cold are some very basic things:

• Topical and oral decongestants
• Saltwater nose drops (made from a teaspoon of salt and eight ounces of warm water) may be soothing every few hours.
• Warm humidified air can alleviate congestion.
• Increase fluid intake
• Get plenty of bedrest.

THIS IS NOT A COLD SEE YOUR DOCTOR:

1.A fever greater than 101 degrees F (38.3 degrees C), accompanied by shaking, chills and coughing up thick phlegm (especially if greenish or foul-smelling)

2. Sharp chest pain when you take a deep breath