July 31, 2008
My girls and I have recently had the opportunity to try out a new video. Pretend with Miss Kim is a creative movement DVD for preschoolers. “Miss Kim” uses the children’s imaginations to get them moving, by pretending that they’re part of a variety of scenarios.
We were a little surprised, initially, at how short the video is – only about fifteen minutes. This short length has definite advantages, though. Little ones with short attention spans don’t get bored with it. And letting the children use it doesn’t put them in front of the television for a lengthy period of time.
The video is divided into eight segments, each one a different scenario. Some of these may seem silly to adults watching, but the children (more accustomed to using their imaginations!) love them. They dip their toes into imaginary water, paint with imaginary brushes, and enjoy an imaginary picnic. They become beautiful ballerinas, and are coated with butter as imaginary popcorn. These imaginary scenarios, and others like them, get the children pointing and flexing their toes, turning their feet out like ballerinas in first position, skipping, and more, without even realizing it!
My five-year-old enjoyed participating as she watched the video. My just-turned-one-year-old (who is barely walking) is not playing along yet, but this does capture and hold her attention. I’m sure she’ll be dipping her toes in the water soon! 
July 30, 2008
It’s time for the Bloggy Giveaways carnival again! I’m not giving anything away this time because I can’t deal with the onslaught of comments, etc. that a contest of that magnitude carries, but there are hundreds of contests, so check it out: Bloggy Giveaways.
And let’s dream a little. If we could create our own giveaways to enter, what would we want them to be giving away? Gold anklets? Or how ’bout a little bigger? Diamonds? Nice, but not for me. (I’m not big on jewelry, for myself.) Honestly, the Amazon gift cards and Paperbackswap points are some of my favorites! I always have mile-long wish lists. lol But I like to try for big stuff, too – video cameras, mp3 players, that sort of thing. One of the current giveaways is for a Hotsling baby sling; I’d love to win that – it’s even an XS!
July 30, 2008
I’ve been pretty bad about blogging over the last few weeks. The reason? Life got pretty crazy around here all of a sudden! My husband got a new job, which he got almost overnight after it became available. He starts on Monday. We’re excited about it, but it feels like we’re caught up in a whirlwind! Meanwhile, I have at least one review I need to post, but I’m having trouble getting enough time to sit down and type up a blog post that requires significant mental effort.
July 26, 2008
I’ve been on this mental “kick” lately of trying to think of alternatives for things – unorthodox uses for particular items, or unorthodox items for particular uses. (These “outside-the-box” options can make it easier to find what one needs at a thrift store or yard sale, and/or to find something attractive that meets the need.) I am wondering what you all use, have used, or have seen used as computer desks, that was not specifically intended as a computer desk. For instance, my mom had this piece of furniture – I guess you’d call it a hutch – that had a part that opened up almost like a rolltop desk. My dad used that open-out place for his laptop. I just have a desk at the moment, although it isn’t large enough to be intended as a computer desk. (It’s just a small one, like a student would use at home.) It works fine for a laptop, without taking up a lot of space, but it doesn’t leave much writing surface. (If it had one of those pull-out writing surfaces, it would be perfect!) Other ideas?
July 22, 2008
A fellow blogger once said: “The problem with Conventional Wisdom is that by using it, you are actually deferring your thinking to someone else.” In this case, conventional wisdom says to always, always, always wear sunblock to protect your skin from the sun’s harmful UV rays. Even the CBS television network has been telling us to wear sunblock (because “CBS cares”). So what’s the problem?
Well, most of us probably don’t really get enough vitamin D. Very small amounts of vitamin D are available through our diets (more, if you eat a lot of oily fish, but most Americans don’t), but not enough to meet our optimum health needs. For most of us, our primary source of vitamin D is the production of it in our skin. This takes place when certain sterols in our skin are acted on by certain UV rays! There are three types of UV rays. (The difference is the wavelengths of the various types.) UVC rays don’t penetrate the earth’s atmosphere, though, so we are only concerned with UVA and UVB rays. (UVB rays also don’t readily filter through things like clouds and glass.) Although both can cause skin damage, UVB rays are the ones primarily responsible for sunburn. (Many sun protection products don’t even block UVA rays.) They also play a primary role in the development of skin cancers, including mesothelioma. Oops, wrong cancer; I mean melanoma.
So we have a dilemma: do we block the UV rays and decrease the risk of developing skin cancer, but fail to obtain the vitamin D we need for optimum health; or do we allow the UV rays through, take the increased risk of skin cancer, and get plenty of vitamin D? (And we’re not even touching the question of what all those chemicals in the sunblock do to your body when absorbed by the skin!) Personally, I don’t think it makes sense to use sunblock for everyday sun exposure. This routine sun exposure is exposure the body is designed to handle – in fact, designed to need. If you’re going to be getting excessive sun exposure – say, from a day at the beach – that’s another matter (although you do still have to weigh the risks of the chemicals as part of the equation).  But Americans’ obsession with “sun protection” just may be doing more harm than good. (I challenge you to take a look at the symptoms of vitamin D deficiency, particularly as linked to depression and cancer.)
(reading chronologically)
