Curiously Awesome

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Summer is a great time to think about visiting Branson, Missouri. If you haven’t been there, then I would encourage you to consider a family getaway to this exciting area. There is something for everyone here so you really can’t go wrong. You’ve got two great choices in Branson…and they are the Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing and the Hilton Branson Convention Center Hotel. Either of these hotels would be a treat to stay at.

My hubby would be there for the golf of course…me, I’d be taking in the shops and boutiques. The kids…there’s plenty for them to do and see as well. The theme parks and entertainment options in Branson are limitless! The one time we were there, I recall everyone being very happy with the things we found to see and do. As long as hubby has a golf course and I can find a museum or boutique we’re good!

I was just reading about some awesome packages offered at the Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing. Listen to these! There is a “Golf Package,” a “Third Night on Us Package,” and even a “Romance Package.” Are these enough to entice you?

Let’s see…a good itinerary for us would be:

• Golf
• Shop
• Golf
• Shop
• Eat
• Shop
• Golf
• Play
• Eat

How does that sound?

It seems that every summer at least one of my kids battles swimmer’s ear.

Swimmer’s ear is an inflammation of the outer ear canal. Symptoms include itching, pain, and temporary hearing loss. Water in the ear is usually noticed after swimming. There may also be an infection in the outer ear that appears later. Grasp the outer ear and pull it forward gently. If this hurts, you more than likely have swimmer’s ear. Here are some natural remedies to try:

Isopropyl alcohol will kill bacteria and help to evaporate moisture in the ear canal.

Apple cider vinegar is a good preventative measure. If you notice that water is remaining trapped in your ears, place 3-4 drops of apple cider vinegar in your ears to guard against future infection.

Place a hair dryer set to low about an arm’s length from the ear and move it back and forth. The warm air will evaporate water in the ear.

Full strength white vinegar dropped into the ear every two hours. This will help bacterial and fungal infections.

Make a 50/50 mixture of isopropyl alcohol and distilled white vinegar. The alcohol will kill germs and evaporate water. Use several drops after swimming.

Keep ears dry while healing. Use ear plugs or Vaseline-coated cotton balls when swimming or showering.

Like contests? Like winning? Who doesn’t!

Here’s an easy one with some great prizes. Blu World is sponsoring a BluFrog contest with five great grand prizes. See if any of these interest you (I don’t see how they couldn’t…):

1) BlueGamer Ultimate Gaming Package
2) Happy Blu Year New York
3) Blullapalooza Chicago
4) Blu Streak Orlando
5) Extreme Blu Aspen

I am definitely entering with the hope of winning the Happy Blu Year New York package. I would absolutely be thrilled to be the grand prize winner of that trip.

Entering is so easy. There are three ways to enter and each entrant can enter up to three times. Either leave a comment on the Blu Blog or Twitter Tweet an announcement about the contest and which prize you want to win or write a post about the contest on your blog and comment about your blog post. See? I told you it was easy.

The contest is going on from now until July 17…so there is not that much time to get going with your entries. This is one of those things that is just so easy to do that you have to wonder why everyone wouldn’t enter to win one of these great grand prizes.

Throw a salsa party and invite your friends to experience joys of healthy living. Healthy living doesn’t have to be drab and boring…by eating foods like salsa we can include great tasting, nutrient packed food in the diet…and by dancing the salsa dance we can get some exercise that is not only beneficial but enjoyable as well.

Set out three or four varieties of homemade salsa, yummy eats to put it on, music, and someone who knows how to salsa dance. Your guests will enjoy one of the healthiest foods on earth and learn an exercise that is entertaining.

Salsa is the bestselling condiment in North America because of its great taste and its healthful composition. Salsa can liven up almost anything. Salsa also contains ingredients that keep aging, cancer and degenerative diseases away.

Salsa dancing helps keep the body trim. It increases muscle mass, boosts endurance, and expands range of motion. Salsa dancing can expend up to 420 calories an hour…and it is low impact as well. Dancing the night away can burn more calories per hour than riding a bike or swimming.

Have fun eating and dancing the night away!

Have you looked into webhosting lately? If not, you may want to take a quick peek at some of these links I’m throwing your way. Webhosting has come a long way over the last few years and there have been many technological improvements that customers definitely want to have available for them from their web host. You really should take a look at this site, especially if you are shopping for a new web host.

I was just reading around on the Webhosting Geeks site and found their blog to be interesting and informative. I especially liked their blog because it was full of a lot of useful information. For example…have you considered how Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is connected with your choice of web host? If you think about this, it really is important to consider how your web host will help you optimize your websites for the best SEO possible. I was reading some great SEO tips on their blog.

There are many web hosts available…but you need to make sure that the web host you choose has your best interests in mind. Do your research and be sure you choose the best one for your needs. If you don’t have a reliable web host, your website and your rankings will suffer.

Researchers have recently found that black pepper can reduce the perception of pain, reduce inflammation, and fight arthritis. Other studies show black pepper can block complications from diabetes, act as an antioxidant and fight off colon cancer. Black pepper improves digestion and frees nutrients for absorption within the body. It stimulates amino-acid transporters in the intestinal lining, regulates enzymes that metabolize nutritional substances, and inhibits the removal of substances from cells.

Before the invention of modernmedicines and drugs people kept themselves well through the use of natural substances. The New Testament of the Bible tells of the gold, frankincense and myrrh brought by the Maji to the infant Jesus. This tells us that frankincense and myrrh, substances from trees, were compared to gold. Black pepper has played a similarly important role throughout history and has been prized since ancient times. It was so valued that it was used as a currency and offering. Taxes and ransoms could be paid in black pepper.

My kids love fireflies…in fact it isn’t really and truly summer where we live until the fireflies come out at night…and that isn’t until the nights stay consistently in the 60s. This year we are a long way away from this it seems…temperatures have been so chilly!

But anyway…I digress.

I just heard about a contest with a grand prize of a $10,000 scholarship. How to enter? Name a cute little firefly! How fun is that? Kroger food stores are holding this contest. Parents can help Comforts baby formula name its cute little firefly mascot and you have a chance to win a $10,000 college scholarship.

Conforts for Baby formula is fortified with iron and is considered a complete source of protein for the first year. It contains those important lipids necessary for mental and visual development. It also has some of the natural nutrients found in breastmilk. No worries about where it’s made either…right here in the US.

I’m horrible with names…it’s amazing that we settled on names for all of our kids…but this sounds like fun. I would name the firefly “Flit.” Cute? Fitting? I think so. What would you name the firefly? Well…think up a name and go to the site and enter the contest. The winning entry will be announced after September 21, 2009.

Cinnamon may be the world’s oldest spice. In ancient times, Cinnamon was an expensive luxury that was used as an aphrodisiac. It was more expensive than silver and many people used it as currency.
Cinnamon was also used to treat colds, coughing and sore throats. Burning Cinnamon was thought to cleanse the air. Modern research has found that this ancient spice is very good for your health.

A study conducted in Sweden showed that eating a meal laced with cinnamon lowers the food’s effects on the blood’s sugar levels. The test included 14 people…half of them were given normal rice pudding and the other half had rice pudding with cinnamon. They repeated the test again with the same results. The researchers believe that cinnamon may slow down part of the digestion process giving the body more time to break up the carbohydrates.

Another test conducted in Copenhagen has found that cinnamon mixed with honey can reduce pain associated with arthritis. The study was conducted on 200 arthritis suffers who were given a honey and cinnamon mixture before they ate breakfast. All of the patients reported an improvement in their pain management. 73 of the patients reported relief from all pain within a month.

These tests are not conclusive…but anything that produces a positive result in these diseases is worth trying.

Hey nurses! It’s almost summer…how is your scrubs selection? Have you considered that it might be a fun idea to update your scrubs wardrobe and incorporate a few fun new items for the coming summer season? If I was a nurse, I would totally be doing this for every season just to keep things refreshed and interesting.

Now…I’m not talking about throwing everything out and buying a whole new nursing wardrobe, but finding a few fresh pieces might make a big difference. I was just reading about how this can really help keep a nurse motivated on the Scrubs website. By the way…have you seen this site? It was created with the nurse in mind and is a great source of support, inspiration, and information for anyone in the nursing profession.

For instance, the “Wake Up Looking Younger” article that I found was full of great information that anyone could benefit from, really. It had five points that should be done daily to make sure that you are presenting your best (and youngest looking) face to the world…whether you’re pulling a double shift or what the situation might be. Simple things like washing your face properly and moisturizing were covered in the article. I also found an article about taking care of your fingernails (especially when they are subjected to the rigors of nursing) that would be helpful to many people.

This site is a must-see for anyone in the nursing profession.

Almost a quarter of cancers could be prevented by changing diet and exercise. There is not evidence that links diet, physical activity, obesity and cancer. This leads to the conclusion that living a healthier lifestyle will reduce cancer risk.

According to the report, 24 percent of cancers could be prevented by making lifestyle changes. The study concludes that 11 percent of prostate cancers; 47 percent of stomach cancers; 15 percent of liver cancers; 24 percent of kidney cancers; 36 percent of lung cancers; 38 percent of breast cancers; 39 percent of pancreatic cancers; 69 percent of esophageal cancers; 21 percent of gall bladder cancers; 45 percent of bowel cancers; 47 percent of stomach cancers; 63 percent of mouth, pharyngeal and laryngeal cancers; and 70 percent of uterine cancers could be eliminated.

The report makes recommendations of ways that everyone can help reduce rates of cancer. It encourages bans on unhealthy foods, encourages physical activity, and urges the reading of food labels.