Obesity And Healthcare Costs

Posted by random olio

Obesity and money. Two topics that can be taboo to talk about in our society. Yet they should not be. We should be able to talk about our financial future and our bodies, our health, or lack thereof. These past few years I have become hardcore about my health; what I eat and what I put into my body. I would also add that I have become adamant about what goes into my body via my mind too. I want Chris to make this print for the wall when you come in our front door:

“You are responsible for the energy you bring into this home.”

I think we are all responsible (or need to be) for what we allow into our thoughts, how we treat our bodies, and how we treat others. It all starts with respect. This article I read recently really opened my thought. It is not an article as much as it is an infographic on obesity and healthcare costs.

image from infographic

It is hard for me to even explain here, so you’ll have to click the above link to look at the charts and graphs of obesity costs. It shows me that we have our work cut out for us. How did this happen? How have we as a country become so obese? How has it become the fastest growing healthcare challenge? What are we going to do about it?

My hope is that we start by putting down our iPhones and computers. Actually bring the iPhone, I do not care, just get outside with it and start to move, and move, and move. And stop eating fast food, and processed foods, and preservatives. And start eating natural fruits and vegetables. And start caring about the energy that you bring into your home. This body has to serve us, it has to support us.

Do you think about the energy you bring into your day? Into your job? Your home? Your body?

Ms. Magazine Turns 40

Posted by random olio

I am a feminist. I believe in any initiative that fights for and honors the rights for women. I first became passionate about women’s issues in college, and that is when I started reading Ms. Magazine. There were times when I might have considered myself a feminazi. For those of you that have not heard that term, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines it as: “an extreme or militant feminist.”

I no longer consider myself a feminazi, I no longer have a shaved head, and I do not talk about women’s issues in every other conversation, but the passion is still deep inside me. I crave equality for all women. I want a world where a woman feels safe, has the right to decide what to do with her body, receives equal pay, is not abused, is not owned, and is not discriminated against. I appreciate the work that The Girl Effect, National Organization of Women (NOW), Girls, Inc, to name a few do to help empower women and young girls to grow up and stay strong women.

Ms. Magazine was created to bring the women’s movement to print, and I think the fact that it is still in print may mean women still need the printed word to inspire and invigorate their daily life. A quote from Gloria Steinem explains a bit of why Ms. Magazine started:

“I realized as a journalist that there really was nothing for women to read that was controlled by women, and this caused me along with a number of other women to start Ms. Magazine.”

So Happy Birthday Ms. Magazine. Kudos to having Wonder Woman on your first cover. Hopefully over the years all the hard work you have put into publishing Ms. Magazine have inspired women to be powerful superheros and badass wonder women!

Banned: Texting while walking

Posted by random olio

I keep meaning to write about texting. It came to me the other day – just a random thought while working – that kids today probably do not pass notes, they text during class. Someone told me that phones are not allowed in classrooms, but I know that most school kids know how to text without even looking at the phone screen or keyboard. So I imagine it is happening under desks and in pockets. Gosh, how that makes me feel old. The art and design of letters, color, drawings, and fold of the paper is lost. Now, the passed note is replaced with: “ROTFLMAO” – for those of you that need a translation: “Rolling on the floor laughing my ass off.” We have turned plain English words into acronyms. Why? Is it because it is easier? We are lazy? Who knows! I just hope that those who grew up sending 1000 text messages a day are still able to formulate real sentences.

Which is why I find the story about a town in New Jersey bizarre. Individuals walking in Fort Lee, New Jersey will have to stop to text, following the passage of a law that imposes $85 fines on walkers caught texting. I am not against a city putting such a ban in place. I just am fascinated that it is what was needed for those with texting addictions. What does that say about how engaged we are with our phones, apps, emails, and texts that we cannot even watch to ensure that we can make it safely across the street. What is interesting is that the ban is connected to texting, but really a person could be watching a YouTube video, playing Scrabble, updating Facebook all while walking. We are so connected to the Inter-world, that we cannot seem to disconnect in the outer world.

Be sure to look at the end of this Huffington Post article that has quite a few videos of individuals texting (we assume they are texting, maybe they just saw something funny on Facebook) while walking and what happens to them.

Do not even get me started on texting and driving. So I guess I will leave you by saying: *”SSEWBA”

Enjoy your day – and keep your head up!

*Someday Soon, Everything Will Be Acronyms

Are Women Paid Fairly?

Posted by random olio

I am a bit cranky about this…yesterday I was reading the Daily Worth newsletter. Often I scan through their emails quickly and move on, but this time I read it entirely. It was about a bill that is being voted in on Congress today on the Paycheck Fairness Act. I wonder if this Act is going to pass, I want it to, but many news articles mention that it is not going to pass. How is that possible?

I am appalled. Come on folks it is 2012 and women STILL have to fight to have equal wages. Seriously? What a joke. Just like this Daily Worth poll, I had no idea that this Act was even up for vote. If we knew, would more women back and fight it? Yes, I think so. Why do we even have to fight this? If we are truly all created equal, why do we need to fight for workplace equality? Does it mean men add something to the job that women are not capable of doing? The last time I checked the only thing a man could do better was pee standing up. Was there something else I was missing?

As you can tell I am seriously appalled that Congress has to even waste time on this – it should have been passed years ago. It makes me question all the other things that might still be unequal for women. Are women still looked at as not strong enough? What other biases exist about women that still need to be expunged?

I need help with this, I am really struggling to see the bigger picture of why this is even a conversation. Thoughts?

Ads and Blogger Awards

Posted by random olio

So I just learned that you might be seeing ads on my blog. (From what I can tell it happens when you click into the complete blog post.) In further researching, I found that I can remove it by paying WordPress a yearly fee, but I decided — forget that. Instead, I am going to self-host my blog and in turn have the ability to have many other options, widgets, and resources. Instead of just self-hosting my blog I have decided to also change the look and feel of Random Olio and get rid of those annoying ads.

Thanks to WordPress the ads just started appearing. No notification, I just found these details about these ads on their website. So far I have seen a few YouTube video ads and I have been told there has also been a pest control video too. Thank you for your patience and for ignoring these annoying ads until I can finish the upgrade to my site!

On a different note, I was nominated for the Lovely Blogger award, by: World on a Platter and for a 2nd time the Versatile Blogger award, this time by: The Usual Bliss. Thank you both for the nominations! I thought I would handle the response here in a combined post. So 5 more things about me (sorry I am breaking the rules, I am supposed to have 7 things, but I am trying to keep it short).

I do not cook. I do not really know how. After 5 summers of 4-H baking I would call myself a baker.
I am direct and sometimes have no sensor whatsoever.
I will stand up for those I love, so do mess with those dear to me.
I love babies. I do not have one of my own yet, but am addicted to precious little babies.
I am a sucker for anything with salt on it. Sorry sugar, you play 2nd fiddle.

I already nominated folks in this post, but will add a few more for the Lovely Blogger Award:

Roost

not without salt (such a clever name)

Paper Morning

Design Crush

Side of the Road Sessions (mentioned in older post, but the site is newly redesigned and launched!)