Share & Voice: Pharming Parties

Today I just heard of these things called "Pharming Parties."  Apparently I am behind the ball because I have never heard of them before.  I thought I'd share a video about them.

Pharming Parties are becoming more and more popular among teens.  These parties are when a bunch of people go into their parent's medicine cabinets and grab whatever pills they can get their hands on.  Then, all of the people put the pills in a bag/bowl/dish/whatever, and ingest them to get high.

THIS SCARES ME.  I think it is important to stay on top of these issues and I wonder if many parents know about this.  We can't keep our kids in bubbles, but maybe we should rethink who can get into the medicine cabinets!

Reflection: Weeks 9-12

Where HAS the Time Gone?

I feel like it was only last week when we were all standing in a circle out at Bagley running around like a bunch of crazy people!  I can't believe the semester is almost over (I am excited though).  For only having class once a week, it is amazing all of the topics we have covered and explored on our own.  We started learning about advocacy and really focusing on our Healthy People 2010 objective and THOMAS Bill and are now becoming experts on our topics.

Advocacy and Why it Matters...a lot

When we first started talking about advocacy and our elected officials, I thought, "GREAAAT.  I don't pay attention to politics at all.  Why do I care about my governor?  And how does this pertain to health?"  Well, now I realize that paying attention to politics is an essential part of health education and that they are the people in power who can put health policy into place.  I am beginning to understand that by advocating for health, we can get a lot accomplished.  I am looking forward to seeing how everyone's letters turn out.

Photo Essay

One of my favorite assignments we've done thus far was definitely the Photo Essay.  It was great that we got to present these to the entire class because everyone had something different to share.  I was impressed with the creativity of our classmates!  My photo essay was about hidden treasures that I found in my grandpa's basement.  Man, did I have a blast doing the assignment.  It was such a great trip down memory lane.

A final activity that I want to highlight is the Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change project.  I LOVED picking a SMART Goal and implementing it in my life.  I changed my goal last week and I am working towards meeting it this week.

Bittersweet I'd Say

I am learning to love our environment more and more everyday and I can see SO many people on our campus making an effort to reduce their footprint.  I am excited to continue learning and advocating even after this class is done.  Only a few more weeks people!  Bittersweet.

Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 4: Weekly Update

My SMART goal:  I will drink one bottled beverage per week.

I faced a lot of challenges with this goal because it is a habit of mine to go to the school store and buy a bottled beverage.  I do not drink too much water and I am all about flavor and carbonation.  This was a downfall.  I found myself thirsty and I would walk into the store pick up the drink and only THEN did I realize that I needed to put it back.   I guess I did not realize it was such a habit of mine until now.  I did drink 2 bottled beverages this week.  One was at Thanksgiving, my family had bottles of pop and I just couldn't resist.  Another one was at a sporting event I went to and I bought a bottle of Gatorade.  I realized that I don't have as much willpower as I thought.  HOWEVER, I did find that my success came when I made some yummy iced tea at my apartment and brought it in my stainless steel water bottle.  This helped tremendously because I was able to comply with my goal without compromising the flavor.  (Not that there is anything wrong with some good old H2O).  One strategy that helped me was involving my family and friends by urging them to do the goal with me.  It always helps to do it with a partner.

I felt really guilty when I did have my two bottled beverages.  I felt like the class would be disappointed that I caved to my own desire for some pop.  I felt much better when I started to use my new water bottle more and fill it with yummy juice.  I felt even better when I realized how much CA$H I was saving each day.  Those bottled beverages sure do add up.  

I learned that it takes more will power to succeed than I thought.  I also learned more about myself in that, I had a bad habit that I hadn't even acknowledged before.


I plan to keep my goal the same for next week and I WILL meet it.  Good luck everyone!








Blogged for the Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 4 hosted by Amy@Amy in the Rain.

Eye Opener: Photo Essay

Hidden Treasures

Over Thanksgiving, I was fortunate enough to spend ample time with my crazy, yet adorable family.  I had been thinking about my photo essay over turkey dinner at my grandpa's house when I realized that I was standing on top of a junker's gold mine!  I guess you could say that my grandpa would qualify as a "hoarder."  My family and I dread the day when we have to clean out his house.

However, I decided to take a trip to the basement where years and years of junk has piled up collecting dust.  I found some pretty cool hidden treasures that could be used in many different ways.  I realized that I did not have to go to a thrift store to find my junk because it was right in front of me.  I wanted to take some of this stuff and junk it, but when I came up from the basement, my grandpa was not too happy.  What I saw as an opportunity to reuse old cool junk, he saw as me taking away some of his "treasures," even though he hadn't touched some of them for years!  So, with a little convincing and an extra big smile, I will try to persuade my grandpa into letting me use some of these hidden treasures...

A room made for a treasure hunt. 

Percolator 

Tea Kettle

One of my favorites, broken but still beautiful.  

Glass milk bottles from Bridgeman's

Old School 7up Bottles

"Hey, hey hey!"  It's a Fat Albert lunch box!

My grandma's old clock.  

Bunkbed ladder, great for some throwback shelving, eh?

Besides finding all of these cool things, I had a fun time taking a trip down memory lane.  Of course I stumbled onto some old photo albums, cards, and toys that I played with as a child.  Some of them have more value to me than anyone else in the world.  What ways would you use some of this JUNK?  Next time you take a trip home, take an hour or two to go through basements, closets, and attics.  You might be surprised at what hidden treasures you find and have a great time along the way.