Wondering what kind of bike would suit your lifestyle and needs best? Read on to narrow your selection, and then head for the nearest bike store!

Option #1: The Cruiser. Price range: $200-550. Best for: Cruising around town in your shades, looking cool and laid back. This line of bikes offers a stylish, retro look with modern comfort and convenience. Boulder, Colorado-based Schwinn, one of the main manufacturers of cruiser-type bikes, fashions their line of cruisers after classic designs from the 40s and 50s. Buy one for your honey and you can take romantic, easy spins on the bike paths together after work. Cruisers tend to be heavy and slow, so part of the price you pay is for the inherent coolness factor of the bike!

Option #2: The Comfort/Hybrid. Price range: $150-$700. Best for: City and campus riding with an attitude. These bikes are built for comfort and convenience in the city or on paved bike paths. At the upper end, you can find rides that have front and rear suspension, cushy saddles and multiple gears. The lower end will buy you a bike that will still look cool, but may only feature one speed and no fancy suspension systems. These bikes are lighter and faster than cruisers, making them a more sensible choice for daily commuting.

Option #3: The Road Bike. Price range: $500-$4,000+ Best for: People who want to spend many miles pushing the pedals and exploring paved roads all over the country. If you simply want easy city transportation, skip spending the money on a road bike – especially at the higher end. You don’t want to come back from work or shopping and find your slick new toy stolen! That being said, paved roads are perfect for long, meditative spins with gorgeous scenery, or for those who dig riding up plenty of challenging hills – and coasting down.

Option #4: The Mountain Bike. Price range: $400-$4,000+ Best for: Those interested in checking out trails. Don’t drop a huge wad of cash on a super-nice mountain bike unless you plan to never ride it around town – you might as well put a sign on it saying, “steal me!” That being said, if you are interested in honing your skills on singletrack, make sure you spend a decent amount (i.e. at least $750 or so) on your bike – you will get what you pay for! Though mountain bikers certainly deal with a number of access issues, plenty of fun and challenging trails and back roads await exploration.

Look into service plans at local shops, and also be aware of price comparisons – sometimes you can save a significant amount of money if you shop around. If you really don’t care (or don’t want to care) about what kind of a bike you buy, you can likely pick up a cheap set of used wheels from the classified ads or even at local bike shops. Whichever option you decide to go with, you should make sure that you purchase a sturdy bike lock along with it, and always lock up your bike!

What do you do about a headache? Notice that a quick reaction is to think of pills like aspirin, acetominophen, or ibuprofen. It is no surprise. We want instant relief. We know that thousands of good scientists have spenthundreds of years and billions of dollars to create these solutions. Theyhave spent billions of dollars to advertise them to us, and we have paidbillions in response.

Why do many cultures continue to use their own curatives despite wide availability of these Western headache drugs? Other methods work, too! Of course, headaches are only an example — choose your own favorite ailment and the same will hold true. The term ‘holistic” implies that a person’s whole being is considered when making a proper diagnosis and treatment. Part of consideration when treating an ailment, therefore, is that person’s emotional, social and physical circumstances — the cultural package.

Do your health care practitioners ever seem to consider these factors deeply? Chances are, if they do, many assumptions are made, or you offered them the unsolicited information. Who, you ask, can really ascertain your Whole health? Perhaps your doctor knows some of your physical health conditions, your dentist has lots of records regarding your teeth, your gynecologist or urologist can recall a bit of your sexual history, and your therapist, family and friends can account for part of your mental/emotionalstate of being. You will never get them all into one room, though, toclearly characterize your whole health for you. Even if you will, and evenif your strong belief is natural or holistic methods, what kind of advantage can you expect inviting plus to them your chiropractor, massage therapist, herbalist, and yoga instructor all in the same room? Your health is not a arithmetic sum of all their knowledge. It is your and only your responsibility.

When considering a task, especially one with the gravity of your ownpersonal health care, you would be wise to apply order for the sake ofclarity. An interesting and revealing manner to view your health carechoices is by degree of naturalness.

Preventive    Passive     No invasion
Involuntarymechanisms    E.g., reflexes, subconscious reactions
(Avoiding hazards)
Active     No invasion
Voluntarydecisions    E.g., exercise
(Preserving or restoring naturalconditions)
Curative    External  Minimal invasion    E.g., physical therapy
(Affecting the body’s environment)
Internal  Moderate invasion    E.g., acupuncture
(Aiming the body’s self-healingmechanism)
Corrective    Drugs and Exposures    Intensive invasion    E.g., pills, injections, implants, radiation therapy
(Affecting the body’s functions)
Surgery    Maximal invasion    Operations
(Affecting the body’s structure)

This hierarchy creates a framework for personal health care strategy. The most desirable personal health care strategy will correspond to the mostnaturally effective methods available. That is, earlier the form oftreatment is in the list, the better off the “patient”. Let us also add the caveats: better techniques truly affect the problem (not the symptoms),and they avoid or minimize causing other health problems (side effects).

In general, you will note that, as you go down the list, not only do thetechniques become invasive, more risky procedures, requiring involvement ofmore people in the process. They also tend to increase the cost.

Let’s analyze the table. You might think of this list as a slipperyslope you walk down: a false step near the top will cause you to fall to alower level If you fail to gain footing there, you will drop to the nextlevel, and so on. You will quickly see that it behooves you to operate asclose to the top of the list as possible. Down the hill your controldecreases and your dependence increases.

Of course, the topmost category “Preventive - Passive” appears to be out ofyour control. On second look, though, you must consider that these self-regulating functions are based on the design of the human body and inreality might deviate from normal due to deviation from naturally intendedbody’s milieu interior.

Used extensively since well before the birth of Christ, clary is an herb whose name is from the Latin word clarus or clear. Other popular names include Clear Eye or Bright Eyes, because the seeds have been used for clearing the sight. Looking through a book for an herbal remedy for eye irritation, you’ll read that for ages, people have been putting clary seeds into their eyes for vision problems. You might wonder how putting a seed into your eye can remove the debris from your eye? Because a decoction of the seeds is mucilaginous, it was thought that foreign matter would stick to it when used in an eyewash. Although this is an old, traditional use of clary, some herbalists still recommend using a clary eyewash. If you’d like to try it sometime, soak six or seven seeds in boiled water until they swell and become mucilaginous. Using a cotton swab, carefully place one seed in the corner of the eye. When the seed is removed, it’s said the foreign material will be too.

As it was commonly used in beer and wine, it probably did more to blur the vision than clear it. This Mediterranean native herb, first introduced into English cultivation in the mid 1500s, was used by German wine merchants who, after infusing it with elder flowers, added it to Rhine wines to create the equivalent of Muscatel. Still called Muscatel Sage in Germany, it was also used as a substitute for hops, to sophisticate beer and give it considerable bitterness and intoxicating properties.

Clary is also reputed to have antispasmodic, astringent and carminative properties. Herbalists recommend an infusion of clary for digestive pains and as a kidney tonic. A nice mix for stomach upsets is clary leaves and chamomile flowers. The famous herbalist, Culpepper, also recommends applying a mucilage of seeds to swellings and tumors, and to draw splinters and thorns from the flesh. Make a salve with clary leaves boiled in hot vinegar, with honey added to the correct consistency for hot inflammation and boils before they rupture. Jamaican natives to cure stings of scorpions used a decoction of leaves boiled in coconut oil.

While menstruation is not an ailment, the accompanying pain and discomfort can be addressed effectively with clary. Drink honey water with three drops of clary oil at the onset of menstruation, when the pain is at its worst. Sometimes a second dose is necessary a few hours later, but normally the initial dose lifts pain and also the heavy, depressing feeling. If an oral dose is not desirable, blend some clary oil with vegetable oil and massage the lower abdomen, inner thighs and lower back instead. During labor, use a hot compress doused with clary oil applied to the lower abdomen to reduce pain.

For “morning after” heaviness, take two or three drops of clary oil in honey water to clear the head. Clary is one of the essential oils that excites the senses and registers in the brain as a “turn-on,” so it is used successfully as an aphrodisiac. To create a light, euphoric atmosphere for a party, sprinkle clary oil around the room or put a few drops in a bowl of warm water.

Fresh or dried leaves can be used in the same way as garden sage for culinary purposes, and the flowers also make a lovely garnish. Culpepper says fresh clary leaves, dipped in batter, then fried, makes a dish, “not unpleasant to any and exceedingly profitable.” Commercial food manufacturers use clary oil to flavor beverages, baked goods, puddings, candies and liqueurs.

Clary is commonly used in aromatherapy, with a strong fragrance like that of balsam. The flowers mix well with other herbs in sachets or potpourris, and its aroma blends well with lavender, bee balm and jasmine. Clary is cultivated commercially for its essential oil, and used as a fixative in perfumes, to scent colognes, creams, detergents, lotions, perfumes and soaps. Because of its astringent properties, an infusion of clary makes a good skin-freshening lotion. To kill bad breath, use a few drops of clary oil as an effective mouthwash. And, for an acute attack of depression, take a bath with clary oil in the water. Put a cranky child who’s just thrown a tantrum in a clary bath for 10 minutes and see the difference in attitude!

A striking herbaceous plant, clary sage is classified both as biennial and perennial. It can develop in a year’s time from a tiny seedling to a three- or four-foot high plant with a two-foot spread. It requires little water or attention and is adaptable to temperatures below zero. Clary blooms in early summer with small lilac or light blue flowers surrounded by pink, purple or white bracts. It likes a sunny, well-drained location. In a bed filled with old-fashioned, early blooming plants such as roses, foxgloves, Canterbury bells, hollyhocks, delphiniums, dill, fennel, larkspur and others, clary is a great back-of-the-border plant that gives height and color for almost a full month. Once flowers start to look shabby and tan at the edges, cut flowering stems back to encourage vigor. This also helps to avoid large numbers of seedlings germinating at the base of plants. Propagation is easily accomplished from seeds, sown in autumn or spring.

1)You can add/delete other ingredients you may have around that haven’t been mentioned.

2)Plain water is just fine to mix the ingredients with for cleansing purposes however, other liguids may be mentioned in the recipe like milk or lemon etc. as optional.

3)Most all of these recipes can be stored without refrigeration as they are composed of dry ingredients unless otherwise noted (ie: herbs used are all dry form not fresh. So, feel free to whip one up, tie a ribbon onto it and give it as a gift to someone!

Here is what you will need:

A Glass Container, Jar, Jelly Jar, Ceramic or Porcelin Container. Glass baby food jars work great. You must have a lid!

A Coffee Grinder, or Food Processor, or Mortar and Pestle. (Using a mortar and pestle takes awhile, and some ingredients may not break down so well with this method. However, it can also be a very therapeutic thing to do if you have the time and patience.)

A clean spoon to stir and place cleanser into a container.

How to do it:
Grind all ingredients INDIVIDUALLY either in a grinder, processor or by hand and THEN blend in the proportions given. Once blended, you may add essential oil (suggestions noted), and bottle it. Liquid is added per usage at the time you are actually washing your face. You may use plain water, or combine with the liquid suggestions given. You can make cleansers up ahead of time and and if kept sealed in a cool dry spot, they will stay fresh for about 6 months. If kept in the refrigerator they will last almost indefinately. By preparing ahead of time you will always have some available and can portion out what you will use each week.

NOTE:Amounts are given in parts so that you can make as little or as much as you need without having to really calculate precisely. Substitute your unit of measure for the word “Part” in the recipes. (I.E. 1 tablespoon of herb, 2 tablespoons of oats, 3 tablespoons dry milk and so on. If you were using a cup measure it would be 1 cup herb, 2 cups oats and so on…). Specific ingredients will be given in the individual recipes, choose one to make, or make all of them!

Good General Purpose Cleanser
3 Part: Steelcut or whole oats
3 Part: Organic dried milk or goat milk
2 Part: Lavander flowers
2 Part: Comfrey root
Suggestions: Add 2 drops lavander oil to every 4 oz. of dry recipe, mix and bottle. For washing use water, milk, or green tea.

To Cleanse and Exfoliate
3 Part: Steelcut or whole oats
3 Part: Organic dried milk or goat milk
1 Part: Sea Salt
1 Part: Rosemary
1 Part: Orange Peel
1 Part: Fennel seed
Suggestions: Add 2 rosemary orange oil to every 4 oz. of dry recipe, mix and bottle. For washing use water, milk, or herbal tea.

To Cleanse and Moisturize
3 Part: Steel cut or whole oats
3 Part: Organic dried milk or goat milk
1 Part: Rosepetals
1 Part: Chamomile flowers
1 Part: Calendula flowers
1 Part: Slippery elm bark
Suggestions: Add 2 drops rose or chamomile oil to every 4 oz. of dry mixture and bottle. For washing use water, milk, or warmed honey.

To Cleanse and Combat Oily Skin
3 Part: Steel cut or whole oats
1 Part: Fullers Earth or kaolin clay
1 Part: Brewers yeast
1 Part: Grapefruit or lemon Peel
2 Part: Calendula Flowers
2 Part: Peppermint leaves
Suggestions: Add 2 drops peppermint or grapefruit oil to every 4 oz. of dry mixture and bottle. For washing use water, witch hazel bark decoction, or green tea.

To Cleanse and Lighten Skin
3 Part: Steelcut oats or whole oats
2 Part: Organic dried milk or goat milk
1 Part: Chamomile flowers
1 Part: Lemon peel
1 Part: Elderflowers
2 Part: Almonds
Suggestions: Add 2 drops rose oil to every 4 oz. of dry mixture and bottle. For washing use water, milk, or herbal tea.

To Nourish and Clarify Skin

2 Part: Steelcut oats or whole oats
3 Part: Organic dried milk or goat milk
1 Part: Sage leaves
2 Part: Lavender flowers
1 Part: Kelp
1 Part: Green Clay
Suggestions: Add 2 drops rose geranium oil to every 4 oz. of dry mixture and bottle. For washing use water, milk, or nettles tea.

Anthrax is a spore-forming bacteria known as bacillus anthracis that infects both domesticated and wild herbivore animals such as cattle, sheep, or goats. There are three forms of this disease: cutaneous, inhalation, and gastrointestinal.

The cutaneous, or skin infection form of the disease is the most common type of anthrax and is caused by handling infected material from an animal such as hides, hair, or wool. It usually enters through a cut in the skin near the face, neck, or arms where they are exposed and can take two to seven days to incubate. At first the exposed skin area will itch, with a small bump occurring; this becomes filled with fluid and eventually forms an ulcer with a black (necrotic) center. Swelling of the lymph glands under the arm can also occur as the disease advances. This form is highly treatable with antibiotics; if it is not treated, 1 in 20 individuals will die from it.

Respiratory anthrax is normally caused by inhaling spore-laden dust near areas where material from infected animals is handled. It has symptoms that can resemble a cold or flu, including fever, chills, cough, mild chest pain, and shortness of breath. This form must be treated quickly with antibiotics in order to arrest the disease, which can progress to shock, respiratory problems, and even death within 3 to 5 days if the disease is untreated. The survival rate is higher if the person is treated early and aggressively with antibiotics after exposure.

Intestinal anthrax is usually caused by eating undercooked meat from infected animals. The symptoms resemble food poisoning, and include nausea, vomiting, fever, diarrhea and can progress to vomiting blood. It causes mortality in about half of the people who contract it, but it rarely occurs in humans.

Normally human cases of anthrax are very rare in the United States (1/100,000) since the number of infected livestock is almost nonexistent due to mandatory vaccination against this disease. It is more common in areas such as Southern and Eastern Europe, Asia, African, the Middle East, the Caribbean, and South and Central America.

How is it treated?

The antibiotics penicillin and doxycycline are used to treat anthrax, but Cipro is the current FDA approved medication to treat post-exposure to inhalation anthrax, the most deadly form of the disease.

There is also a vaccine created by Biosport Corporation which has been available since 1970. It is 93% effective in protecting humans against anthrax, and is currently available to people considered at high risk for infection: workers in laboratories with occupational exposure, veterinarians and animal handlers who must work oversees in countries that contain infected animals, and military personnel who are deployed in countries that have this biological warfare capability.

The vaccine must be given at least four weeks before initial exposure to be effective. The immunization consists of three injections given under the skin, given 2 weeks apart, then followed by three other injections given at 6, 12, and 18 months. Annual boosters of the vaccine are recommended after the initial course of vaccination

If a person is exposed to anthrax, they will be given the vaccine, then started on an immediate course of antibiotics to help prevent the disease or make its course less serious.

This wonderful little pungent herb garlic most recognize from the use of the cloves, or root of the plant, although the flowers are an excellent addition to your fresh salad. The healthiest form of garlic is of course fresh. Freeze dried and processed forms of garlic have lost most of their health benefits through the fermentation process.

Through history garlic has been used for a number of cures. History shows us that the Egyptians used garlic to treat wounds and intestinal parasites. Folk remedies use garlic to treat everything from pinworms to dysentery. But in today’s modern fast paced world the emphasis of garlic has been publicized with its values to aid the cardiovascular and immune systems of the body.

Many studies have been conducted on the use of garlic and its healing properties. It has been proven to lower blood pressure and reduces cholesterol levels in the blood stream. The compounds in garlic lower the blood pressure raising hormones therefore lowering your over all blood pressure. It stimulates the gall bladder causing a release of bile and decreases production of cholesterol in the liver. Another compound in garlic also aids in preventing hardening of the arteries and strokes with its blood thinning capabilities.

Garlic’s ability to boost the immune system is another bonus to its use. It stimulates the white blood cells and the T-helper cells which are the center of your immune system. Due to it’s immune building properties and ability to clear mucus from the lungs it is believed to also aid in viral infections in the upper respiratory system.

How does garlic do all this wonderful work? There are two major active ingredients found in the garlic bulb. Allicin, an odorless relative to the amino acid cysteine and Ajoene, the property that aids in the thinning of blood. Allicin is the ingredient that gives garlic its distinct aroma. It’s a sulfur-containing compound and contains most of the healing properties and antibiotic effects within its structure. These compounds are more prominent in fresh garlic than those that are freeze dried or fermented.

It is very important that you read the labels of your garlic when purchasing it. Check the list of active ingredients and compare styles and varieties to benefit the most from your purchase. For convenience sake garlic is packaged in a variety of herbal supplements, even the odorless variety in order to be less offensive to friends, co-workers and family. There is no true proven recommended daily intake amounts. Keep in mind that a low long-term dose would be for a preventive method, while a higher short term burst would be for treatment.

As with any supplement learn all your facts before mixing with other medications. Adverse and serious reactions can occur even though garlic is a natural and herbal product. Precautions on amounts to use during pregnancy are advised, as large doses have been known to stimulate the uterus. And due to the blood thinning properties use cautiously if you take anti-coagulant medications.

There you have a quick overview of the how’s and why’s of garlic’s benefits. Hopefully this will aid in your research and decisions to add garlic to your daily routine.

Food variety is key to maintaining our energy, sleep patterns, moods and lowering those junk food spending habits. To ensure we have covered the nutritional bases each day, we should eat a large variety of energy and nutrient packed foods including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, colorful salads, legumes, seeds, nuts, meat and dairy products. Variety also means eating something raw at each meal–raw nuts or seeds, a celery stalk or salsa.

Eating appropriately sized meals so you feel full for three hours after each meal and not hungry before then is also important. This means our appetite-control hormones are balanced and we won’t crave foods we don’t need, nor will we feel compelled to binge.

Benefits of Breakfast
There is much wisdom in the adage that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Refuelling in the morning when we wake up is important. A good night’s sleep will raise dopamine and cortisol hormonal levels which help wake us up in the morning. Then while brushing teeth and changing clothes, we’re using a short-term fat storage fuel mix of glycogen stored in our muscles and liver to get us physically going. By mid-morning these stores are running out of gas and energy levels fade. We know the feeling–drowsiness, irritability, making lots of mistakes and clumsiness. The right foods for breakfast is one answer to fighting depression, stress, lack of energy, concentration and an inability to fall asleep quickly at night.

Dr. Wayne Callaway at George Washington University observes that breakfast increases the metabolic rate by 25 percent and made the participants in his study feel good. The best energy-boosting breakfasts include one part protein to two parts complex carbohydrates with some omega-3 essential fatty acids. If you exercise before hitting the breakfast table, the best energy-boosting breakfast is one part protein to four parts complex carbohydrates, again, with omega-3 fats.

Lunch and Dinner
Lunch should be eaten around noon, or two hours after a mid-morning snack. Whether we’re at school, skipping school, working outdoors, at home, eating at a restaurant or whatever, this is the meal at which we should eat more lean protein and complex carbohydrates that are as close to the raw state as possible.

If we’re taking a lunch break in school, by the time we head for the lockers, exchange notes, gossip, by a bus pass, go to the washroom and start to dig into our lunchbags, 10 to 15 minutes may have passed. Raw salads, steamed vegetables and a lean source of protein (yogurt, tofu, lean cuts of meat, milk, cheese) contain enzymes which help speed up digestion before the blood supply is forced to head north to the brain when classes resume after lunch.

Dinner needs to give us a greater proportion of carbohydrates than lunch, a moderate amount of protein, some fat to help digestion and lots of natural fiber. Late night cravings for sweet and creamy foods like ice cream or salty-greasy foods like potato chips or pizza are most common if we skip dinner or the dinner nutritional content is not all that great. Late night cravings also happen if we avoid lunch or eat too many sugary foods throughout the day. These cravings are mostly conditioned responses: the more often we snack at night, the stronger our bodies cravings for late night snacking.

Eating before 7:30pm means our glycogen storage tanks are full before 10pm, which allows our body to make hormones and the regenerative growth hormone (GH) to be secreted while we sleep (that’s the time we get most of our physical growth). This also gives us the tendency to sleep without refuelling during the night. If we eat later than 7:30pm, insulin levels will still be high when we go to bed. High insulin levels, unfortunately, dirve down melatonin and GH levels, so we’re looking older with build up of toxins and we’re not growing in the ways we’re supposed to. Melatonin is a strong anti-cancer hormone and is also a powerful antioxidant.

If you have after school activities that prevent you from eating regular dinners before 7:30pm, the best solution is to eat half of the meal well before the activity starts, then the other half afterwards. For those trying to make the transition of snacking right before bedtime to eating a healthy dinner, we suggest replacing junk foods with something high in complex carbohydrates (important that they are complex carbos, not simple sugars so you don’t get high insuline levels) that’ll make you drowsy, and adding a potassium-rich food.

Some examples of such foods are whole wheat bread with sliced ripe bananas, tomato and lettuce salad with a warm dressing, avocado with lemon or lime, avocado with parsley and warm milk, microwaved asparagus with canned tuna mixed with cream cheese, raw unsalted nuts, crisp jicama matchsticks with a cucumber and mint raita (raita=blended with yogurt) and for some test kitchen staff, cold tomato slices topped with polenta seems to work really well.

When you get a muscle pull or joint sprain, follow the RICE technique: Rest….Ice….Compression….

Rest. Take it easy for a while. Stay off of the injured area if at all possible–at least 1 to 2 days depending on the severity. You have sustained an injury and your body needs to start the repair process. The recovery time is dramatically reduced and most complete if you rest the area. One reason some people keep getting the same injury in the same place repeatedly is failure to let the injury “fully” heal.

Ice is nice. When your body sustains an injury, it responds by flushing blood to the injured area and promoting swelling to the surrounding tissue or joint. You need to try to prevent or at least reduce the swelling. For the first 2 days, try to ice the injured area for 10 to 15 minutes each hour. I know it sounds like a nuisance, but make a strong effort. You’ll recover more quickly if you do. After the first 2 critical days, apply ice for 15 to 20 minutes 3 times a day. Just like taking medicine; morning, noon and night is best. Continue the ice for as long as you have the pain and/or swelling. Heating pads definitely feel good, but the heat promotes swelling. So wait until all the swelling goes down and the pain is eliminated before you start with the heat.

Compression. If you have to walk or use the injured area, it helps to wrap it with an elastic bandage (like Ace wraps) or some kind of compression sleeve. The compression adds support to the injured area. Be careful, though, to not wrap it too tight and cut off your circulation which will give a false sense of security. You still need to rest the injury before resuming your normal activities.Elevation. The idea behind elevating the injured area (at or above the level of your heart) is again to reduce swelling. Any area below your heart level gets a vigorous blood pump.Okay, that’s the RICE technique. Now, you’re probably telling me there’s no way you can take 2 to 4 days off from doing everything to follow this regiment exactly. Well…you’re right. Probably nobody can and does. However, the more closely you follow this “ideal”, the more quickly your injury will heal.Now for the “how to get back” process. After about 2 days of complete rest, try moving the muscle or joint to get back your full range of motion. Easy stretching of the area is also good for the range of motion and eliminating any scar tissue buildup. After the swelling/pain is gone and you get back full range of motion, start light exercises to fully strengthen the injured area.

How can you prevent getting muscle pulls and joint sprains? Before you go “all out” in an activity, warm up first. Gradually get to your “all out” level of effort. Stretching is also important to keep ligaments, tendons and muscles from getting injured. Some people don’t think you need to stretch before the exercise. I stretch both before and after. Stretching before prepares my muscles for work, and stretching after loosens them up and starts the recovery process.Cross training also helps reduce the occurrence of injuries. For example, instead of running all the time, work in some bike riding or swimming. This cross training reduces joint and muscle strain and lets you maintain your aerobic conditioning.

Finally, use the correct gear. It’s not wise to run outside in shorts and a t-shirt when it’s 40 degrees. You’re just asking for a pulled muscle. The use of appropriate jogging shoes takes a lot of stress off those knees. Use what our modern technology has given us.

Most important, don’t overtrain and definitely don’t ignore minor aches and pains. Those little aches and pains, if felt over 3 or 4 consecutive days, is a definite sign of a possible impending injury. Take this sign for what it means, REST and/or BACK OFF THE INTENSITY. Listen to your body!

First Aid Kits for home and travel, business and sports, auto and roadside, ets.

I’ve spent a lot of time on elevators.

I’ve spent a lot of time waiting for elevators.

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about elevators.

You might say I get a little preoccupied.

There are some optimists among us who believe if you were in a free-falling elevator, the way to survive the fall would be to jump in the air at the exact moment you are about to hit bottom.

I overheard this while I was riding in an elevator at the World Trade Center. I overheard this from a group of eighth graders who were screaming and arguing about it on the same elevator I was on.

They were on a field trip.

I was not on a field trip.

“Would, too!” said the girl with the purple streak in her hair.

“My brother said it’s true,” agreed her friend dressed all in black.

“Let’s all jump at the same time,” said the boy with the gold earring in his eyebrow.

“Cool!” they all agreed.

I got off on an earlier floor than originally planned, wondering if I was ever like that when I was a teenager and also wondering if it’s painful to have your eyebrow pierced and how I would look with purple hair.

Their teacher looked at me in an apologetic way as I made my premature departure. As the elevator door closed behind me, I heard the teacher say, “If one of you so much as lifts one foot, you will be suspended for life!” I think she meant it. She was louder than the kids were. I could hear her voice after the elevator door closed and the elevator continued its descent.

I know for a fact that these future citizens of America were optimists. I asked an elevator repairman one day when the elevators in my building were being “maintained.” Regular elevator maintenance helps relax me. This was information I needed to know.

The repairman said he got his information from a very reliable source: his boss! And every smart employee knows better than to argue with the boss because he’s always right.

According to this repairman, after free falling for three seconds, the elevator would reach a speed of 96 feet per second. He was very specific about 96 feet per second. He was drawing this explanation on his clipboard for me with arrows. I was very impressed. An upward leap would achieve a speed of 14 feet per second. He knew this number was accurate, too. You’d still be going downward at 82 feet per second. One way or another, you’d still be smashed upon impact.

This well-informed repairman used flat-as-a-pancake as his description. He scribbled a lot of lines on his explanation worksheet and drew a line to the word, “SPLAT!” He also mentioned a squished bug on your windshield. And he was very sure of his numbers. He took his hands and smashed them together for effect when he said, “Flat-as-a-pancake. Smooshed.”

And I believed him.

Even IF you were able to instantly accelerate upward at 96 feet per second, which you can’t, unless you have superhuman powers or a speed pack attached to your back, as the elevator was free falling down its shaft, you would still be smashed upon impact. Flat-as-a-pancake. Smooshed. Squished like a bug.

As I spend my days writing, I think about things like free falling elevators.

I have found there is a strange similarity between writing and elevators. Like the ascent of the elevator, writing can be so head-filling, so stomach-losing, so totally speed-zone-wonderful that it just doesn’t matter what anyone says or does; I’m not getting off the elevator.

And sometimes, when that phone call or letter comes telling me that someone wants to print my work, I feel like I can fly right through the roof.

But sometimes, as I drop the envelope with my writing into the mailbox, I wonder whether I’ll be able to increase my upward speed enough so when the rejection letter comes, I won’t be left flat-as-a-pancake, smooshed, squished like a bug.

I also think about earthquakes and tsunamis.

Pulmicort Respules by Astra Zeneca treats asthma in children from 12 months to eight years of age. It is the first and only nebulized corticosteroid therapy. Prior to Pulmicort Respules anti-inflammatory treatment options for a young child was limited. Corticosteroid therapy was only available for children age four and older in an inhaler form. A problem with inhaler therapy for young children is it is hard for them to actuate the medication due to decreased fine motor coordination. A difficulty in timing inhalation also makes it hard to guarantee the proper amount of medication enters the lungs with each dose.
These new medications have the potential of providing more effective and convenient treatments. The combined therapy approach of Adviar Diskus may decrease the number of medications an asthmatic must take daily. Pulmicort Respules will provide another available treatment option for children. For more information, speak to your primary care provider or contact the pharmaceutical companies directly.