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

Fewer Boys Born Following 9/11 Attacks

HealthDay News — In the months that followed the 9/11 attacks on the Trade Towers in New York City, pregnant women across the United States lost far more male fetuses than usual and fewer boys were born, researchers report.  In fact, 14 percent more male fetuses were lost in September 2001 than in any other month in the entire six-year study period.

The authors of the new study, appearing online May 24 in the journal BMC Public Health, hypothesize that this may be due to the phenomenon of “communal bereavement,” in which many members of a society grieve together, even if they did not know the actual victims of a disaster.

Forty-Four Percent of Workers Have Gained Weight in Their Current Job,
By Career Builders Survey

The combination of work stress and economic pressures appears to be playing a role in the U.S. labor force’s weight gain. Overall, 44 percent of workers say they have gained weight in their current jobs, up slightly from 43 percent in 2009, according to a new CareerBuilder survey. Nearly one-third (32 percent) of workers say that stress contributed to their weight gain at work. The survey was conducted from February 10 through March 2, 2010 among more than 4,800 workers.

Other factors workers cite for contributing to weight gain in the office include:

* Sitting at a desk most of the day – 49 percent

5 Easy Solutions When Your Kids Lie
By Jean Tracey,
www.KidsDiscuss.com

Does your child tell fibs? Is he getting a reputation for lying? Find out why he lies and how to help him tell the truth.  Excerpt from Back Talk Street and Larry the Liar, page 75. One day Larry, the smallest boy on Back Talk Street, puffed out his chest and walked up to Bubba, Victor, and Peter. Sammy, Larry’s brother, ran down the hill to join them.

‘I wish Sammy would stay home,’ thought Larry.

“What do you two dumbbells want?” asked Victor.

“Sammy and I caught a thirty-pound salmon in Granny Jean’s pond yesterday,” lied Larry.

Tips for saving water in the summer garden
By Oregon State University Extension Office

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Rain actually does “go away” on warm, summer days in the Pacific Northwest, and during this dry time, when vegetables and flowers bask in sunlight, water use and costs can increase substantially. Homeowners can learn to save water and money, however, with help from WaterWise Oregon Gardening, a statewide program of Oregon State University Extension. Online information on how to design and plant water-efficient gardens is available at: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/watershed/waterwise-gardening.

The following tips, compiled by Linda McMahan, horticulturist with the OSU Extension Service, can help conserve water and save on summer water bills as well.

From Evergreen, Portland writer

Out comes a study that I have never thought about, which is, where we get our musical tastes.  Turns out that North Americans like a certain harmony better than South Americans.

HealthDay News-- Searching for some objective ways to understand musical taste, two new studies reveal that harmonic arrangements and rhythm patterns are two critical features that either draw listeners in or drive them away. The first study, from the University of Minnesota and reported in the May 20 issue of Current Biology, found that the musical chords that are the most appealing to American ears are ones where the sequence of notes played are harmonically related to one another.

By Erika Weisensee
Milwaukie Mom

What’s in a name? Naming a child is a momentous decision for parents, a decision that helps define the child’s identity from the very beginning. Names can be beautiful, powerful, traditional, interesting and sometimes just plain out there. The Social Security Administration (SSA) tracks the most popular American baby names and you can search the results online by year from as early as 1879.

The website www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames reveals trends in American boy and girl names over the decades. We Americans tend to stick with our favorite names for a long time. For women’s names, “Mary” topped the list for several decades of the Twentieth Century, with names like “Helen,” ‘Margaret,” “Dorothy,” “Barbara,” “Patricia,” and “Linda” following close behind.

By Heidi von Tagen
Gorgeous Bits Blog,
Portland

It’s casual Friday tomorrow. Jeans at the office. Nice jeans, dark blue, maybe skinny or flared, but definitely not Mom Jeans.  The name horrifies me.

It’s been tossed around these days on What Not to Wear and People Magazine. It’s used to describe that sheath of denim that covers about an inch above a woman’s belly button, the back pockets placed high on a woman’s hips making her ass look about 4 inches higher than it should, a snug but forgiving thigh, and usually pegged at the ankle… ala 80’s.

It’s horrifying because that “cut” of jeans is what I wore most of my life.

Chantelle K. Dockter,
MA Licensed Professional Counselor
CCCOW,

Question: I feel like I am drowning trying to keep all of the responsibilities in my life afloat. I am disorganized, and feel so overwhelmed that I tend to end up doing nothing. Help!

Answer: Okay, before you finish reading my answer, take a deep breath, make a cup of your favorite soothing tea, and sit down with a pen and notepad. I empathize with your plight, as I too often feel behind the ball. Once a person reaches a certain level of being overwhelmed, they tend to shut down and do the opposite of what they need to do: nothing. This leads to further discouragement (once the denial has worn off) which perpetuates the cycle.

Never underestimate the power of a mother’s love.  A new study shows just that.

HealthDay News– A mother’s love can make scrapes feel better and soothe hurt feelings. Now, new research shows that a warm, caring mother can also shield against the ill health effects of growing up poor — protection that can last well into adulthood.  Studies have shown that being poor is associated with a higher risk for heart disease and other mental and physical illnesses throughout the life span. It’s believed that the stress and deprivation of low socioeconomic status causes the immune system to go into overdrive, activating genes and releasing proteins that can cause inflammation throughout the body.

by Sandy, Southern Oregon
Reluctant Entertainer

Graduation. A time of reflection, excitement, sadness, and hope. Hope for the future that as a parent you’ve done the right thing and the best job, in raising your kid, and he will do fine.  It’s graduation time in our household as we get ready to graduate our oldest. Luckily I was on the ball and got my announcements ordered in a timely manner.

By Erin Flesh and Karen Vitt,
pdxneatsheet.com
Portland style, shopping, trends.

Giving someone the cold shoulder just got hot. Dresses, tops and even swimsuits are getting the asymmetrical treatment for Spring 2010 in Portland. More modern than strapless and sexier than a traditional neckline, the one-shoulder silhouette is having a serious fashion moment and local shops are taking notice.

“One-shoulder dresses are classic, but totally fresh and flattering,” said Sarah Bibb, owner of Folly boutique in Northwest Portland, who is a fan of the one-shoulder shape. “They’re like a strapless, but with more security.” 

By “Miss Nelson”,
Salem Elementary Teacher,

As a teacher, I try not to spend too much of my own money on my classroom, but when it comes to new books that the kids are dying to read, I find it hard to resist. One particularly challenging demographic is the reluctant, below-grade-level, male reader. Lots of thought and study has gone into finding solutions to motivate them to dive into a good book, because research tells us that kids need to be reading about two hours a day in order to make one-year’s growth per year.

With that in mind, here are some the books I splurged on because it is so rewarding seeing a string of little boys more excited about books than soccer:

By Erika Weisensee
Milwaukie mom,

This week marked the 30th anniversary of a major event in the Pacific Northwest—an epic natural disaster that made Mt. St. Helens known the world over. For me, the eruption of May 18th, 1980, stands out as the first news event in my memory. I was four years old but would turn five the very next day. I grew up in Clatskanie and as you drive east on Highway 30, in the hills between Clatskanie and Rainier, a clear day offers a stunning view of Mt. St. Helens. I remember that view pre-eruption—the mountain’s majestic peak. Ever since then, the view of that gaping crater is a constant reminder of nature’s power.

Thirty years ago, my parents and grandparents—the entire world in fact— were buzzing about the mountain. The TV was turned to the news. We wore masks on our faces for a few days to avoid breathing in ash. Eventually, my brother and sister and I made up games related to the event. We played “hot lava”—traversing the living room furniture with the shared goal of not touching the floor, the “hot lava.”

By Kelli Warner,
KMTR-TV Morning News anchor, Springfield

I’ve always cherished my friendships with my girlfriends.   But as I get older, (granted, I’m a long way from needing a cane to get around), I’ve begun to take stock in the true gift of those relationships.  I’m talking about friends who have always been there for me through thick or thin.  The kind of friends you turn to when you need to celebrate, whine, vent, seek advice or just share a laugh.

My friend Jennifer has a very sacred place in that circle of confidantes.   She was the one I called when I had my first real “ah ha” moment that I was no longer as young as I used to be.  You know what I’m talking about—that “incident” or experience when you realize you’ve slipped over that “30-something” hill and will soon be landing the plane on runway #40.

It happened while my mom and I were holding a garage sale.

What Can Exercise Do For You?
By Olivia Rossi, RN, MSN, ACSM

I’m here to tell you three things.  The first one you already know, that exercise is good for you.  The second is why it’s good for you, and the third is how to get started.

That exercise is good for you is a given.  We grew up knowing it.  We grew up doing it.  It was an integral part of our day.  It isn’t anymore. We have taken activity out of our lives.  Inactivity is now the norm and has become one of the major risk factors for heart disease, along with diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, stress and high cholesterol.  As a risk factor, it stands alone but inactivity itself can also contribute to the development of other risk factors.  Think of each as a link in a chain, a chain of risk.  Inactivity can lead to obesity which can lead to diabetes.

Evergreen News Note,
Marrying a younger lover is supposed to add youthful zeal and vibrancy to your life.  Now, we hear academic rumors that it may do the opposite by killing you sooner.   (These must be the dangerous young men that some pine after).  Needless to say, the study comes from Germany and is raising eyebrows.  Please read the latest below.

HealthDay News — Women who marry men seven to nine years their junior could be upping their odds of dying sooner, German researchers report.  Tying the knot with a significantly younger guy raises a woman’s risk of death by 20 percent, according to a study published in the May 12 issue of Demography.  Not that marrying much older men is much safer. The study, based on data from nearly two million Danish couples, indicates that marrying an older man might also shorten a woman’s life, and that the healthiest choice for a husband might be a man around a woman’s own age.  “One of the few possible explanations is that couples with younger husbands violate social norms and thus suffer from social sanctions,” Sven Drefahl, from the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) in Rostock, Germany, said in a news release.

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

Parents, are your kids greedy?  If you’re child says “I want, I want, I want” in stores, at TV Ads, or wherever you go, she probably is. Find out what your child really wants and what you can do.

Building Character with An Excerpt from BackTalk Street and “Gretta The Greedy,” page 33

…”That’s a new bike. When did you get it?” asked Thelma.

“This morning. I know how to get everything I want,” bragged Gretta.

“How?” asked Tilly.

“When I watch toy commercials or go to the store with mom, I say, ‘I want this, or Can I have that?’ When I really try hard, I say ‘Please, please, please’ in a very sweet voice. If that doesn’t work, I get mad and pout.”

By Jen Rouse
The Short Years
Oregon Blog

Today I found myself on my hands and knees in a parking lot, searching desperately for a tiny pink rubber seahorse.

It was Evie’s seahorse, and she’d just received it as a prize for her good behavior at the dentist’s office. She isn’t a formal patient of the dentist yet, but she’s so good at charming the staff there that they give her prizes right along with her older sisters.  Oh, but she was overjoyed with that seahorse. She whinnied at an earsplitting pitch, bouncing it up and down in her hand. “Horse! horse! horse!” she chanted, grinning from ear to ear.

And then we went out to the car, and she climbed into her seat all by herself, seahorse in hand. And then she held it out to show it to me one more time, and then it slipped right out of her sticky little fingers, and I tried to grab it, but it was no use. It fell out of the open car door, hit the pavement, bounced once, and disappeared.

Evergreen,
Oregon writer,

Parents often find out about fads when it is too late.   Here is a fad you need to know about — it is called Hookah smoking.  You may have seen these shops pop up all over the Portland Metro area.    It is being sold as harmless, but that is far fromt he truth. HealthDay News reports.

Smoking tobacco with a water pipe is gaining popularity in western countries, and those most likely to indulge are privileged young men who live apart from their parents, a new study finds.Young adults in Montreal who use water pipes, or hookahs, are typically 18- to 20-year-old, English-speaking males who live away from their parents and have a higher household income than non-users, University of Montreal researchers report. Water pipe smokers are also more likely to use other psychoactive drugs, such as marijuana, the study found.

By Erika Weisensee
Milwaukie writing mom,

The recent death of a University of Virginia Lacrosse player, allegedly at the hands of her abusive ex-boyfriend, has placed relationship violence once again in the media spotlight. While dating and domestic violence can happen to anyone, research shows young women are especially vulnerable. Here in Oregon, the need for domestic and dating violence awareness and education has never been so high.

In the past six months, Oregon has seen a startling increase in domestic violence murders—17 just in November and December of ’09. In the first few weeks of 2010, there were five more domestic violence related deaths just in the Portland area.