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More Sleep Required

Posted on May 30, 2013 12:01 am by TheAngelForever

For years, I have joked that my theme song should be Who Needs Sleep by Barenaked Ladies. I could go to sleep early, but the evening is often when I can get more writing done and spend time with TechyDad while the boys are sleeping. As I work on a more healthy lifestyle, I knew that better eating, exercise, and losing weight were not my only goals. Even when I sleep, I feel tired. Clearly, something is going on with my sleep patterns and I can not simply blame it on the little guy waking up with nightmares and invading our bed.

Disclosure: As a member of the Verizon Lifestyle Bloggers, I recently received an UP by Jawbone (link to information page). The UP allows me to track my activity, sleep, and other items with the app that go along with the device. There was no other compensation. I am a long time Verizon customer, and all opinions are my own.

Every morning, I simply plug my UP band into my smartphone (completely compatible with my RAZR HD) and allow it to synch up. I can check the battery life of the UP and make sure I do not need to take a short time to recharge it.

Once the band is finished, I can remove it from my phone and read up on my sleep patterns from the night and activity from the previous day. The following graph is based on 10,000 steps (about 5 miles) and 8 hours of sleep. Under the graph is a pop up message that you can also check for inspiration and information.

76% seems like I am doing pretty well in the sleep category. Of course, you can look closer at the sleep information provided by the UP. When you see this, especially several days of it, it helps to explain why I always feel like I need more coffee to stay awake.

If you are tired, you are less likely to make other healthy choices. When your body needs sleep, you need to give it sleep. I need sleep and thanks to the UP by Jawbone I am going to work toward this one step at a time so I can feel better. My goal is to no longer feel that this song is my theme:

How are your sleep patterns? Do you know how much sleep you are really getting each night? I know I was very surprised to see multiple wake ups and very little sleep sleep most of the time. With this information, I am ready to work on improving my sleep along with my general health.

Categories:
health awareness me moments Phone Apps Technology

Vive la France dans Epcot

Posted on May 29, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Growing up, I started taking French as my foreign language requirement in school. At the time, a lot of schools in New York did this because we are relatively close to Quebec. I still remember a trip to Epcot when I was in middle school. I fell in love with the Eiffel Tower and saw an item in the gift store in France that I wanted, but I was told to wait. Later on, I still wanted the Eiffel Tower item and my mother let me walk all the way around World Showcase on my own to get the item. While the topic from Focused on the Magic is Celebrate Your Country, I am sharing memories of France at Epcot because of my magical memories there.

Be sure to stop by Focused on the Magic by clicking on the button above to join in the Disney magic this week.

Categories:
Disney travel vacation

Tuesday Tales – Books for Dad on Father’s Day

Posted on May 28, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Red alert, Father’s Day is less than three weeks away! The boys and I typically have a challenging time looking for just the right item to get TechyDad. TechyDad is a geek at heart. He loves science, math, computers, and technology related items. He likes to read, but he is very particular about books.

When Sterling Publishing contacted me about some books that they are featuring for Father’s Day, I knew two of them would be right up TechyDad’s alley. The third, all about golf, is not something my husband would ever read.

Disclosure: I received the following two books from Sterling Publishing to review as possible gifts for Father’s Day. No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

The Space Book – ISBN 9781402780714 – Written by Jim Bell – Sterling Milestones – May 2013 – 528 page hardcover book $29.95

The Space Book is a stunning book that catches your eye the moment you pick it up. Dr. Jim Bell is the President of the Planetary Society and has created a beautiful collection of 250 milestones from the history of space and astronomy. As soon as TechyDad saw the book, he sat on the couch and our nine year old son immediately wanted to browse at the photographs with him. NHL and TechyDad looked briefly at the book together. NHL was able to identify some of the items and noted he’s interested in reading the book together. I have a feeling once school is out this may be a father and son project on nights that they want to take a break from the continued reading of Harry Potter.

As a science teacher, I am in love with the photographs of the spatial items. While I have seen books that talk about space and object found in the universe, they have never been in chronological order with photographs and information about the history of the discovery and more that has been found over time. I definitely believe this book is a stunning coffee table book that would make a nice present for a father or other person that has a deep interest in space.

The New York Times Book of Mathematics – ISBN 9781402793226 – Edited by Gina Kolata with a foreword by Paul Hoffman – Sterling Publishing – June 2013 – 496 page hardcover book $24.95

As I noted before, TechyDad is a geek. He loves to talk about math, numbers, and theories. While I consider myself good with numbers, he can just calculate things in his head without breaking into a sweat or cheating with a calculator. I often hear NHL and TechyDad just chatting about something with math. The two of them love MathDuko puzzles and similar items for a fun activity. Thanks to this, I figured The New York Times Book of Mathematics would be a book TechyDad will enjoy.

As I type this, TechyDad has not had the chance to really sit down and read this book yet. Life has been too hectic, but he did tell me that he is intrigued with the contents of the book. This book is a collection of more than 110 articles that were included in the New York Times between 1892 and 2010. It includes items from a variety of topics including statistics, coincidences, chaos theory, computers, and many more. While browsing through the book, I could almost picture my husband and oldest son having a long winded conversation about some of the topics and debating them with each other. Once he reads the book, an updated review will appear.

Have you ever bought your father a book for Father’s Day? As always, Tuesday Tales is about spreading love for books. Please share what you have read recently. Be sure to link up to your book posts in the comments below. Include something you read on your own, with a child, or someone else.

Categories:
books Educational Tuesday Tales

Thankful on Memorial Day

Posted on May 27, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

There truly is no perfect way to thank all of the amazing men and women in our armed forces. Each time I see someone in uniform, I try to let them know we truly appreciate all that they do and sacrifice with their families for our country. My boys are young, but I want to take some time with them to make sure they know the real reason that we are together as a family instead of at work and in school today. They are old enough to understand that men and women in the uniforms we often see are heroes that give us many of the privileges that we take for granted in America.

While the weather this weekend has been far from perfect (rainy and cold), it was still filled with people that I love. My boys have had a wonderful time seeing their cousins, exploring a new museum, and being kids. We will make sure to remember the do something to say thank you, whether make cards for troops or something else that they can understand.

Once again, on this Memorial Day weekend, we all need to stop and remember the brave individuals in our armed forces. Far too many pay the ultimate price to defend our country and the rights that we often take for granted. To all of those that have served, lost their lives, and the brave families behind them . . . .thank you! All of you are the real reason that we celebrate Memorial Day.

It's Me

Categories:
holidays PSA

Crochet Granny Square Invasion

Posted on May 24, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

I have a confession. I have not picked up my knitting needles since March. It isn’t that my life long love of knitting has gone away. I simply have a new yarn passion. I now consider myself a hooker… –er crocheter. Most evenings, I find myself with my hook in hand working on a project with yarn to decompress at the end of a busy day. Crocheting does not bothering my wrist injury, so it seems to be a better fit in my life right now.

What started as learning how to get a rhythm with crochet and trying a granny square, has warped into a large project that keeps on growing. At first, I used some recycled yarn from another project. Then, I kept adding new colors. To date, I have used eight colors and made 62 squares. Each of the squares is about 7 1/2 inches. I have 10 more squares to make with the colors currently in my house. Here is a peek of what I have done.

As you can see in the photo on the bottom right, the patch work granny square afghan was not big enough. That’s when I went out to add the two new colors seen in the bottom middle. Just to share all of the colors, I put them in a semi-rainbow order to display. I know I am adding a deeper yellow/orange color to the mix and may add a lighter peach/coral color in before connecting them together.

So yes, aside from three small dish cloths, this is my first crochet project. It is a large one, but it will be fun to see finished. Now I just have to get all of the squares set, figure out a pattern, and actually connect them. Oh and that is another debate.

What will my next project be? Well, my little guy has requested a Pete the Cat doll that I found online. If you have any suggestions, I would love to hear patterns that you love. Meanwhile I need to decide, should I make the textured single crochet connect in gray or black?

It's Me