The Oregon Women's Report - Women's News from Oregon

HealthDay News,

New research lends weight to the old adage that laughter can be powerful medicine, particularly when it comes to your heart.Two studies presented at the American College of Sports Medicine’s annual meeting in Seattle found that laughter not only can reduce stress, which can damage the heart, it can lead to improved blood flow, which can help ward off high blood pressure.

By Jean Tracy, NW Author
KidsDiscuss.com, Parent Newsletter

Our last blog discussed 3 discipline problems parents have with kids who yell. Did you come up with some solutions? Today we’ll share some of ours.  Do you recall how Drew shouted, “I’m sick and tired of these stupid chores!” Or how Kenzie yelled, “I hate this dinner!” Or how Pete and Peyton screamed about taking turns at the bat?  Franklin P. Jones once said, “You can learn many things from children – how much patience you have, for instance.” As the parent, you have discipline choices for your yellers. Consider the suggestions below:

By Emily from Remodeling this Life
As featured on the 4 Reluctant Entertainers

I can relate to Simple . Frugal . Fabulous!  Can’t you?  I have spent a lot of my adult life reluctant to entertain. I was too caught up in trying to do things “the right way.” I am not the girl who throws parties with perfect china and perfect centerpieces and perfectly put together multi-course meals. I admire that, but it isn’t who I am. I am a simple girl.

By Kay Helbling

Our United States military are remembered worldwide. There are over one thousand different memorial sites in foreign countries honoring America’s overseas wartime service. In the U.S., we have 44 National Memorials. In our state of Oregon there are over 200 memorial sites that show our respect and honor the memory and service of all our veterans. I was astounded by the number…two hundred! I couldn’t remember the last time I recalled having seen a memorial to our soldiers, but they are there.

Over the years, communities across Oregon have stepped forward to remember their war veterans. As you travel across the state, if you look, you will find them. You will find them in gardens, schools, parks, and cemeteries.  You’ll even find them on a football field and at a shopping mall. They are remembered on a flag pole in Astoria, a bridge in Bend, a bell in Eagle Point, an amphitheater in Klamath Falls, swimming pools in La Grande, a cannon in St. Helen’s, and a submarine in Portland. There are statues, brass plaques and engraved stones at locations too numerous to mention. You can even sit on a memorial bench in The Dalles.

From HealthDay News,

President Barack Obama and his family took their time selecting their new dog Bo, and that’s something everyone should do when considering a new pet, says a University of Maryland School of Medicine expert. “There are many health and safety concerns that should be addressed before bringing an animal into the home,” Mary Beth Bollinger, an associate professor of pediatrics and interim chief of the pediatric pulmonology and allergy division, said in news release from the American Osteopathic Association.

5 tips: Bollinger suggested that anyone thinking about getting a pet:

By Erika Weisensee

In his best-selling 1990’s book “Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus,” Dr. John Gray popularized the notion that men need time in “caves” in order to relax and cope with stress. Gray’s description gave guys across the planet (Earth, not Mars) a term that legitimized their need for time alone at the end of a long day.  Now, I don’t have a problem with “cave time.” What I take issue with is the assumption that women don’t also need it. In fact, most women I know would love to retreat to a cave now and then for some solitude.

by Cathy Rae Smith
founder of Culture Magazine

Recently working on a presentation for “Creation of the Other,” I dug deeply into the art form of film. I decided to focus on one filmmaker to illustrate this point, that being Steven Spielberg. Imagine the host of images he has created with such films as Jaws (1975), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), E.T. (1982), Jurassic Park (1993), Schindler’s List (1993), and A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), to cite but a few of the memorable films by this prolific and iconic filmmaker.

When it says don’t feed the birds…don’t feed the birds!

HealthDay News

The younger they were when they started menstruating, the more likely black women were to have suffered childhood sexual abuse, U.S. researchers report. The finding suggests childhood sexual abuse may increase the likelihood of early periods. Researchers looked at more than 35,000 women, aged 21 to 69, taking part in the Black Women’s Health Study and found that 43 percent reported physical abuse and 18 percent reported sexual abuse when they were children.

By Jean Tracy, NW Author
KidsDiscuss.com, Parent Newsletter

Fears paralyze children. If your child has one fear or many, keep reading. Find out what you can do.  Fear in children is normal. But when your child surrenders to imagined fears, you need to help.

True Story with Words to Avoid When Your Child Is Afraid:

“Dalton, 6, and his dad were in the kitchen preparing to have a snack. Dad asked Dalton to hand him a container of yogurt. When Dalton produced cherry flavored yogurt, his dad, said, “I don’t really like cherry. How about bringing me a different flavor?”

HealthDay News,

THURSDAY, May 21 — When dealing with financial worries, some women may actually overspend to try to cheer themselves up, a British survey shows. The poll of 700 women found that 79 percent said they’d go on a shopping spree to give themselves an emotional boost. About 40 percent listed “depression” and 60 percent listed “feeling a bit low” as reasons to go shopping and overspend. Many of the women said shopping has the power to make them feel better.

by Kay Helbling

“For Your Information”, “As Soon As Possible”. Admit it, we’ve all been using shorthand in our communications for years. But, in the world of instant messaging or text messaging, there’s a whole new language that’s spoken. As parents we can feel technology leaving us in the dust. We are losing touch and that can be a bit unsettling.

We know our children can be connecting with strangers daily through Weblogs, Facebooks, or MySpace. Each of these has their own danger zones that need to be met head-on by parents. But, there’s also the communications that happen hourly between your children and their friends. I’m talking about messaging.

A recent study showed that students who spend more time text messaging than they do on homework lose an entire letter grade in knowledge. We have to curb the amount of use, but it’s also a good idea to periodically check what’s being said. Unfortunately, there is an underground text language so most of us wouldn’t understand what they’re saying. Knowing just a bit of the “code” can give us at least enough information to send up any red flags that may need to be raised.

By Erika Weisensee

Take it from a juice lover, when you are really, really parched, nothing tastes quite so good as a cold bottle of juice. I have chugged more Vitamin Water in the past year than I care to admit. These days, grocery stores seem to be spilling over with never-ending varieties of my favorite liquid. I recently tried an acai-blueberry-pomegranate blend that claimed to be loaded with antioxidants. The problem is most juices are also loaded with sugar.

Juice in moderation can be a nutritious part of a healthy diet. But, more than a serving or two per day can quickly cancel out any health benefits gained from drinking juice. Many juices contain as much sugar and nearly as many calories as a regular can of Coke. Dieticians warn some juice is simply “liquid candy.” Even all-natural (no sugar added) juices contain the natural sugar found in fruit.

HealthDay News,

Parents of Hispanic teens in the United States have the most influence on their kids’ decisions about sex, according to a new national survey. The birth rate among teens overall in the United States is rising after 14 years of decline. Among racial and ethnic groups, the rate of teen pregnancy and births is highest among Hispanic teens, with 53 percent of Hispanic females becoming pregnant when they’re teens, according to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy and the National Council of La Raza, which co-sponsored the survey.

By Olivia C. Rossi, RN, MSN, ACSM
Your Personal Trainer

On your way from where you are to where you are going, have you stopped to explore opportunities to be more active and get in some exercise along the way?  As the spring sun entices us back outdoors more regularly, a trip to the park or playground with your children can present you with some activities of your own.  Make your own Par course, or “park course” using stair runs.  Race around the lawn with your child or see who does better on the monkey bars!  Do stand-ups from a park bench holding your child—great for your quadriceps and gluteus muscles, good for your balance and core stability and all the while providing great fun for your passenger!

By Sandy Toes, Shell in Your Pocket.
As featured in 4 Reluctant Entertainers
Real Entertaining for Real People

I have always enjoyed entertaining before I even had kids, but it has evolved and changed over the years. Looking back at my “entertaining” adventures, I have realized that it is not that my cooking tastes better, or that I set a pretty table.  But, my over all attitude towards guests in my home is done with more ease, and the expectations are not so “high.”  I remember when we would have guests over for a Saturday night dinner.  I would start preparing and cleaning on MONDAY!  Yes, I did clean everything including the “underwear” drawer….I had the table set by Thursday, and the water pitcher filled by Friday.

I was a wreck and so was everyone around me.

By Sharon Lacey,
Portland Comedian
www.sharonlaceycomedy.com
www.myspace.com/sharonlacey

Before I began my career as a standup comic, I spent 23 years cloistered away in middle school classrooms.  I naively thought that racism was a thing of the past in America.  That was my hope, and it was easy to hold onto that delusion since I taught in a mostly white school, and live in a mostly white neighborhood.  I’ve been on the road for three years now, traveling all across America, Canada, and beyond. I’ve seen a lot of amazing scenery, met a lot of nice people, done a lot of cool things.  But what I wasn’t prepared for was the harsh reality that there are still people in our great country who are racist.  It’s kind of a dirty little secret.  Not out in the open, where people can see it and defend themselves or fight against it.  Secret.  Hidden away. Alive.

What is wrong is that EVERYONE in the photo is taking the stairs!

By HealthDay News

FRIDAY, May 15 — While the official tally of confirmed U.S. swine flu cases topped 4,700 on Friday, experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now estimate the true number of infections at more than 100,000 nationwide. Also on Friday, health officials announced two new deaths linked to the H1N1 virus, bringing the nationwide total to five.