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

By Erika Weisensee,
Milwaukie book lover

Take it from an avid reader and member of two book clubs, there are a lot of great books out there. When I turn the last page and read the last words of a really good book, I am always sad that the experience is over. On the flip side, it is really disappointing to commit your time to a book that drones on—a book that by page 50 makes you wonder, “Why am I reading this? Will it get any better?”

So how do you choose a great book? Well, it’s easier than you think, but don’t just rely on best sellers lists and book reviews. Here are some ideas for finding literary magic:

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

Eight to ten glasses of water per day.  That’s sixty-four to eighty ounces.  It sounds downright daunting and boring!  Is this the only option?  Of course not.  Seems there is some confusion as to how much we should be drinking and what it should include.

To determine the amount of fluid you require each day, divide your body weight in half, and drink that amount in fluid ounces.  A 120-pound woman, for instance, requires 60 ounces of fluid each day.  This includes all fluids, even coffee.  Does that mean coffee counts toward your daily fluid intake?  “Yes.  All fluids count—plain water, juice, soup, watermelon, and even coffee.  The rumor that coffee dehydrates people lacks scientific evidence.  . . .  Yes, coffee might make you urinate more in 2 hours, but not in 24 hours.  Even during exercise in the heat, athletes can consume coffee and not be concerned about dehydration.”1   A caveat here:  “Alcohol has a diuretic (water losing) effect.  That means the more alcohol you drink, the more fluid you lose.”2   Alcohol in all its forms is one of the fluids that does not count towards your daily intake.

Habits May Keep Couples Together or Tear Them Apart

(HealthDay News) — Marriages can be at risk when one partner is an excessive drinker and/or smoker, but the other isn’t, researchers say.  However, when their drinking and/or smoking habits are similar, both partners remain relatively satisfied with their marriage, according to the study published in a recent edition of the journal Addiction.  Researchers tracked 634 newly married couples for seven years, and at their first, second, fourth and seventh wedding anniversaries, the couples completed questionnaires about their marital satisfaction.

by Cathy Rae Smith
founder of Culture Magazine

There are places in this vast world of ours that simply cause me to linger and soak in the beauty. One of those places is the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. It is resort style that harkens back to the glamour age of ocean liner travel. Built in 1927, it has served as a welcome haven to a glittering host of celebrities and dignitaries over the decades. Known as the Pink Palace, it was the first location to be dubbed the Western White House when President Franklin D. Roosevelt would make extended visits, which included conducting presidential business during his stays.

In my youth, I always loved going out to eat with the family, when I was typically treated to a Shirley Temple “cocktail,” complete with a maraschino cherry skewered by a colorful paper umbrella. Upon her visit to the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, this fanciful drink was initially created there for the child starlet.

Survey Reveals Which Embarrassing Observations Workers are Willing to Point Out to Their Co-Workers

CHICAGO, September 24, 2009 – Nobody likes to point out potentially embarrassing situations, but when faced with them in the office, workers are more likely to address them with their peers than with co-workers in higher or lower positions. More than 4,400 workers participated in a nationwide survey from CareerBuilder in which they were asked, given the following embarrassing situations, which of your co-workers you would tell the following:

1.Your zipper is undone
a. Same level co-worker – 67 percent
b. Lower level co-worker – 62 percent
c. Higher level co-worker – 50 percent

THURSDAY, Sept. 24 HealthDay News:

If you’re middle-aged, you might want to try a little harder to get a good night’s sleep, now that new research suggests the right amount of slumber might keep Alzheimer’s disease at bay. The research was conducted in mice and is preliminary, and it may not apply to humans. Still, the possible link between sleep deprivation and Alzheimer’s raises the prospect of possible treatments that target related pathways in the brain, explained study author Dr. David M. Holtzman, chairman of neurology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

“This might be a way to delay or prevent the disease by doing something in middle life” rather than waiting until something goes wrong, Holtzman said.

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

Whether you’re a single parent, divorced, married, or hoping to be married, please read on. This is for you.

Kids don’t like hearing their parents fight. Fighting means trouble. If your marriage is full of trouble, you can stop. Fighting’s not good for your kids. It’s not good for you. It’s not good for your spouse either. Do you remember your first fight? Perhaps it gives you a headache just thinking about it. Let’s find out how one young couple dealt with their first spat.

By Kay Helbling

With the conviction of Joel Courtney for the kidnap, rape, torture and death of Brook Wilberger, as with all horrific crimes, comes the discussion of the death penalty. There are those who argue for and against it on religious grounds—“eye for an eye” vs. “thou shall not kill”. There are those who argue for and against on practical grounds—“see that he never kills again” vs. “it costs more to go through the many layers of appeal processes than to simply house for life.” All these arguments have merit.

I certainly could pick a side or two I agree with on both a religious or practical argument. However, when placed in a position to defend or advocate for the death penalty, my reasoning is marked by a comment made by a Texas Governor almost a decade ago. He was in a contentious political race and his opponents were using the number of convicts put to death in the Texas prisons as a way to show him as a man with a “dark heart”. 

He commented that it was not about whether he was for or against putting a criminal to death, it was about following the law of the state, and the law in the state of Texas required the death penalty. As he spoke I could see the depth of the pain in his eyes and thought to myself, “These criminals continue their crime spree. Even while in prison they leave a path of pain of the innocent. This Governor is being victimized by having to carry the weight of this man’s life in his hands.”

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

My father’s garden is lush and tropical.  He lives in a tucked-away little town on the Hilo side of the Big Island of Hawai’i called Pahoa.  It’s on the rainy side of the island.  His driveway is long and narrow.  It cuts a slice of paradise through a domestic jungle replete with anthuriums, hibiscus, giant ferns, plumeria, flame red ginger, lilikoi trees and low leaning palms.  I came to visit him and my cousin for two weeks.

Ever the exerciser, I saw an opportunity for an outdoor gym amidst this tropical delight of his garden.  His driveway became my linear track.  I was graced not only by the intoxicating fragrances of the Islands but also by the sounds of Hawai’i, birdsongs whose notes and melodies all seemed to begin with a “K” or an “L” or an “M” or a “P” just like the melifluous names of the islands, the flowers, the mountains and the towns . . . Kaua’i, Kilauea, Kanapali, Lana’i, Maile, Mauna Loa, Pikake, Poipu, Pahoa . . .  I was up each morning at 6:00 o’clock.  I like to be alone with the world for awhile before anyone else is up.  It was delightfully cool and fresh in the early hours, in between the nightly rain and the daily rain.

By Chantelle K. Dockter,
MA, Licensed Professional Counselor
Associate of CCCOW,.

Question: As school is quickly approaching, I am wondering if it is a good idea to pay my kids when they get decent grades. I know a lot of parents who do this, and I am not sure if this is the best approach. What do you think?

Answer: Let me start by saying that I see both sides to the argument, and understand why some parents decide to pay for good grades. However, in the long run, I don’t think that paying kids for grades is a beneficial action. I always tell kids/teens and their parents that kids have two main “jobs”. One is to be the very best student that they can be, and the other is to be a productive member of their household. By working hard at these two jobs, kids become well-rounded, develop a solid work ethic, and begin to understand the idea of priorities. The accomplishment of these two jobs should be a basic understanding between a child or teen and his/her parents from the start.

HealthDay News– Children who grow up in a home without a biological father have sex at a younger age than children raised with their Dad in the picture, and a study now offers a new explanation for why this is true. While previous research focused on environmental factors, researchers in this study, published in the September/October issue of Child Development, focused on genetic influences instead. “Our study found that the association between fathers’ absence and children’s sexuality is best explained by genetic influences, rather than by environmental theories alone,” study author Jane Mendle, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Oregon, said in a news release from the Society for Research in Child Development.

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

Whose fault is it when your child acts helpless? If there’s a person who treats your child like a prince or princess and does too much for your child, tell that person to stop. They’re making your child, weak, dependent, and helpless.

Why Kids Act Helpless

Your Sally wants to get out of chores. She whines, “It’s too much! You make me do everything!” You can’t stand your princess being upset, so you make the bed and put away most of the toys while

Sally drags her feet. Since the whining worked, Sally will whine again to get out of chores. Rescuing your child is a great way to teach helplessness.

THURSDAY, Sept. 17 HealthDay News — Green tea may weaken bones, suggests a U.S. study on mice. Obese and lean mice had different amounts of green tea extract — 0 percent, 1 percent or 2 percent — added to their diets. Previous studies had found that consumption of the equivalent of 1 percent of the extract decreased the risk of cardiovascular disease in Japanese adults and protected obese mice against fatty liver disease.  After mice in the new study had consumed the experimental diet for six weeks, their bones were analyzed for size, mineral content and architecture. Mice that ate a diet that included green tea extract weighed less than those that did not have the extract added to their food. The difference was more pronounced among obese mice, the researchers noted.

Sharon Lacey,
Portland comedian
A funny thing happened on the road to dementia Part 4

I was on my way to a gig in Montana, when I got a text message from a girlhood  friend who lives in Spokane.  She was throwing a party in honor of one of our other childhood friends.

I thought it’d be fun to get together with women I hadn’t seen since high school –  until I found out it was a pool party. Suddenly, all my insecurities about my body came rushing back.  It didn’t matter that I’m a grown woman who can get up on stage and tell jokes to hundreds of strangers every night. There was no way in hell I was going to be caught dead wearing a swimsuit in front of Cheerleader Staci with her perfect, perky little body, or Boy-Magnet Brenda with her sexy boobs, or Creamy Complexion Chrissy, who never had a zit in her life.

SUNDAY, Sept. 13 (HealthDay News) — A new national survey finds that only about one in four U.S. parents say their child’s high school deserves an “A” for its bullying- and violence-prevention efforts. But nearly four in 10 gave an “A” grade for such efforts at their child’s elementary or middle schools.”What this poll shows is that parents are still very concerned about bullying in their schools,” said Dr. Matthew Davis, director of the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health, in a university news release.

By Evergreen,

We need a National Rudeness De-appreciation Week to honor Kayne West, Congressman Wilson, Serena Williams and Roger Federer.

At The MTV awards, rap-star,  Kayne West interrupted the thank you speech of a 19-year old girl to root for the other nominee. During a special Presidential address Congressman Joe Wilson interrupted Obama’s speech by calling him a liar. Both U.S. tennis stars. Serena Williams and Roger Federer, had profanity laced attacks on their judges in an attempt to bully their way to a better ruling.  Where are our manners?

MTV kicked Kayne West out of the awards show.  How about kicking him off the station for a year?  That is real punishment.  Kayne should show his better spirits by appearing jointly with Taylor for a more public resolution and apology.  Kayne could even buy 1000 of Taylor Swift’s CDs and give them out on Time’s Square.   The idea is to build something from what you have destroyed.

by Cathy Rae Smith
founder of Culture Magazine

Recently strolling the chic-chic fashion boutiques on Waikiki’s Kalakakua Avenue, I blissfully soaked up the emergence of fall looks from designers ranging from Max Mara to Dior, with stops at Louis Vuitton and Chanel for good measure. The combination of designer and celebrity provide us with our seasonal updates.

Angelina Jolie appeared at the recent Quentin Tarantino film premiere, Inglourious Basterds starring Brad Pitt, wearing a form fitting black leather dress by Michael Kors. Perusing the fall fashion line up of various designers, this sexy nod to the bod is a dominant look on the runways. Elle magazine cites a black leather dress with cut aways as a hot item, referencing back to vintage ’60s or ’80s dresses. Lacroix inspires looks with black cocktail dresses with a striking accent bow of something like Rapture Rose (see the Pantone color forecasts below). Alexander McQueen goes big on black and white hounds-tooth patterns. Michael Kors also turns out assorted takes on the classic camel coat, transforming it to chic suits as well as the sleek overcoat.