Curiously Awesome

Scrubs is a website designed to support nurses and health care workers. If this is you, then you owe it to yourself to take a moment and check out this site. It is a refreshingly original and fun site that would be appropriate and useful to nurses at any stage in their career…from student to management.

I had a lot of fun browsing around the site. They have a favorite nurse poll that of course, I couldn’t resist voting in (Carol Hathaway! Yeah!) Her character was always a favorite of mine and seeing her resurrect her old character again a few weeks ago was a rare and appreciated treat for me.

I also enjoyed the Tip Jar where they take a sticky situation and give some suggestions for dealing with it. The current one is about how to deal with an incompetent boss. Again, I couldn’t resist and I added my two cents in the comment section. As I said in my comment, as long as you just concentrate on doing your job as well as you can, any other negative situations will always eventually be corrected.

This is a invaluable site for nurses and I would heartily encourage any readers who are nurses to check it out!

Preparedness is good. But ill-informed preparedness is a waste of time and money. There’s a lot of ill-informed preparedness happening right now.

Let’s talk about all those people buying N95 masks. They think wearing a mask protects them from swine flu. The mainstream media is perpetuating this misinformation.

Did you ever notice that health care workers wear surgical masks that are very similar to the N95 face masks? Have you considered why they are wearing those masks? Are they wearing masks to protect themselves from the patient’s germs? No…they wear those masks to prevent their own germs from harming the patient.

N95 masks have one purpose. To prevent the wearer from infecting others. They work by preventing virus-carrying particles from becoming airborne. If the wearer sneezes or coughs their fluids will be trapped in the mask and will not infect others. These masks have no ability to protect the wearer from other people’s airborne germs.

When you inhale while wearing this mask, the air you’re inhaling enters through gaps on the sides of the mask. Some masks protect you from airborne bacteria and viruses and others protect you from chemical fumes. You need to know what you’re buying and what it’s rated for.

If N95 masks were effective for protecting people from airborne biohazards, then the US Army would use these low-cost N95 masks for their soldiers instead of the more expensive full-face gas masks they use. The reason full-face gas masks are used by soldiers is because they work to protect from airborne contaminants. If your goal is to stay alive, you don’t want a N95 mask.

Ready to talk about all things Manta?

SeaWorld’s Manta, is opening this May! To celebrate, SeaWorld is running an contest where you could win a pass to see Manta at SeaWorld in Orlando.

Visit SeaWorld’s site now and have some fun participating in the six activities they have up right now. For example, take the Manta quiz and test your Manta trivia knowledge. This could be a really fun way to get yourself closer to winning some great prizes. Or, take a picture of yourself displaying “I heart Manta” and upload it to Flickr. Fill a row up with friends and get yourself even closer to cool prizes. This sounds fun…make a short video of yourself talking about how excited you are to ride Manta. Upload it to YouTube and tell SeaWorld about it to get credit toward earning Manta prizes. My kids would love this one…download the Manta Mask from the SeaWorld website, print it out and cut it out…put it on, take a picture, and upload it to Flickr. That’s it! Doesn’t that sound fun? Last but not least, tweet Shamu and tell him how excited you are to visit SeaWorld!

If you complete two of the Manta site activities, you earn one photograph from your Manta ride experience at SeaWorld. If you complete all six of the activities, you’ll go straight to the front of the line when you earn the “Front-of-the-line” pass* at SeaWorld. What a fun way to earn even more fun!

A new study shows that getting at least seven hours of sleep every night can maximize the cancer prevention benefits in active women.

Women between the ages of 18 and 65 who slept at least seven hours per night in addition to getting an hour per day of moderate exercise were 47% less likely to have cancer compared to women who averaged less sleep at the same activity level.

Lack of sleep has been linked to diabetes, stroke, heart disease and depression. It’s rare that one singular action would prevent all disease. A combination of many healthy lifestyle habits results in a much better chance of maintaining good health. Physical activity, a diet consisting of natural foods, and proper stress management are other factors that have a strong influence on one’s health.

Add all of these lifestyle choices to a good night’s sleep and you’ve given your body a fighting chance against modern disease.

I was just browsing a site for a dental spa that is not very far from where I live. We live about 150 miles away from Chicago (where the Mitchel Dental Spa is located). What I was reading on their website was enough to make me think seriously about taking a little day trip to Chicago.

Listen to some of this! Not only is this a great place to go for teeth whitening chicago, but you can also enjoy their refreshment bar, get a massage, and then sit back and enjoy your own personal flat screen TV while you undergo your dental procedures. This dental spa not only offers complete cosmetic dentistry, but they also offer general dentistry treatments like cleanings, fillings, and crowns as well. If a visit to the dentist is not high on your list, why not make it a whole lot more motivating to go by getting a body wrap or a facial while you’re there? I can totally see how this would get people in to see the dentist! I know it would work for me!

I saw some impressive testimonials and also recent press the Mitchel Dental Spa has received from MSNBC and USAToday. This looks like an interesting place!

Hair removal is a fact of life for most people. For many people it is a daily fact of life that takes time and effort to upkeep and manage. If you’ve ever considered permanent hair removal instead of the temporary measures taken in your bathroom every morning, then here is something for you to think about.

Laser Hair Removal is the cutting edge of permanent hair removal techniques. It is quick, painless, and there is no risk of infection associated with these hair removal procedures. This is for both men and women…so let’s talk about permanent back hair removal for just a minute, if you don’t mind.

Something my husband and I remember and laugh about to this day is the time he asked me to use my Epilady on his back. We both thought it sounded like a great idea! Well…not only was it a bad idea, my poor husband was summarily tortured until he finally begged me to quit when I had about half of his back done. Poor guy…until I finally threw that torture device away he would shudder every time he saw it. Imagine how great it would be to get rid of all of that unsightly back hair with permanent laser hair removal.

Why have cancer rates soared over the past century? Genes? Diet? Stress? Environmental toxins? Electromagnetic radiation? Cancer is caused by many factors. Recent statistics have estimated the role of diet and lifestyle and suggest that one-third of the 12 most common types of cancer might be prevented through a healthy diet, physical activity and the maintenance of healthy weight.

The cancers included those of the bowel, breast, gallbladder, kidney, liver, lung, mouth/pharynx/larynx, esophagus, pancreas, prostate, stomach and uterus.

The bottom line is that by making straightforward changes people could reduce the number of cancer cases.

A third of cancer cases are caused by smoking and approximately a third are related to diet and physical activity. That leaves the last third to be attributed to genetics.

The evidence linking diet, physical activity, obesity and cancer is becoming stronger. This report can play a part in people adopting healthier lifestyles.

The report had suggestions for ways to improve your lifestyle. Some include:

• Eat more fruits instead of unhealthy fatty foods
• Check labels to make sure the foods you buy are healthy
• Schools and workplaces should stop providing unhealthy foods
• Bike to work
• Improve access to sporting facilities

Have you ventured into the world of web hosting yet? If not, I have to ask…WHY? There is a huge arena in the world of internet marketing and web hosting is one of the fundamental things that you have to figure out if you are going to participate in this fascinating area of society.

If you are looking for information about web hosting and need to educate yourself about what this is all about, then here is a great place for you to start. Check out any of the extremely informative articles at this website and you will be well on your way to understanding some of the intricacies involved in web hosting. I think this is a very valuable way to learn about all of the details involved in web hosting.

This site rates web hosts based on customer satisfaction, affordability, reliability, and technical support. This is a searchable web hosting directory that will provide complete information on all web hosting providers, their plans, discounts, and actual reviews by real customers. Anyone could benefit from taking a look at this site.

I know a few years ago when I was just getting started with hosting my websites I was so completely clueless it was not even funny. What I would have given to have found a site like this back then…

I am just about to begin a rather stressful period of planning as our family closes in on a combination of 18th birthday and graduation for our oldest son. In approximately 6 weeks we will be getting ready to simultaneously celebrate his high school graduation and ascent into adulthood. Big times coming up, I tell you!

The other day I began to do some online browsing to find some of the items that I am going to need as we begin to prepare for this large party and celebration that we will be hosting that last weekend in May. One thing I think I am going to do is order some graduation announcement postcards to send out. We will be sharing our son’s achievement and also inviting friends and family to join us to celebrate his big day.

The first place I went was VistaPrint. It seems like I can always find what I need there at prices that I can afford. Anyway, I entered “postcard” into their search function and immediately I was presented with the option to either browse their designs or upload my own design. I chose to browse their designs (although the possibility of uploading my own design is very tempting!) and then was directed to enter a keyword to narrow my search. When I entered “graduation” I was then shown several very nice designs from which to choose.

The more I looked, the more I liked what I saw and pretty much decided right then and there that my search was over. These prices are competitive and the items are high quality. If you are looking for postcards to announce or share an event I would recommend that you begin and end your search with VistaPrint. The items are high quality and prices are competitive. Honestly, I don’t see how you could ask for more from an online printing service.

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) statistics show the prevalence of obesity among all age groups and ethnic groups is growing at an alarming rate.

There is a simple way to reduce the excess intake of calories that contributes to obesity. The solution isn’t a new drug either. It is simply to drink more water instead of other beverages.

A study analyzed what children and teens reported they ate and drank over two different days. The result of the data suggests that drinking water instead of sugary drinks could eliminate an average of 235 excess calories every day among children and adolescents.

Encouraging physical activity among children and teens is important. If they were to eliminate extra calories from sugary drinks they might be able to tip the energy balance in a major way.

Approximately 90 % of US young people consume sugar-laden drinks every day. These drinks include soda, fruit drinks, punches, sports drinks and sweetened tea. The calories these drinks contain adds up to approximately 10 percent or more of the their total daily intake.

This study shows what an impact replacing sugar laden beverages with water could have. Changes such as this one might result in significant benefits for the population as a whole.