Wellness - #41

1. I visited the Yahoo Green website and discovered that I emit 13.7 tons of carbon dioxide per year (5.7 at home, 8.0 on the road, 0 in the air). The average American emits 9.44 tons per year, so I am a little bit over the norm. I can reduce my carbon footprint by a couple of ways: washing my clothes in cold water, instead of hot; hanging half of my clothes outside on a clothes line, instead of using the dryer; and changing my truck's tires when they are in need of a replacement and getting scheduled oil changes.

2. I have visited the Canino's Farmers Market on Airline several times. They have a variety of produce and it is fairly inexpensive (compared to Krogers). I usually buy onions, bell peppers, lemons, lettuce, cilantro, squash, tomatoes, apples, oranges, melons, beans, & nuts. My bill is never over $20 dollars, which is a great deal!

Wellness #40

1. My BMI was a 29.6 (overweight) :(

2. My daily calorie requirements is 2,592 calories

3. My health age is 30.2 and my life expectancy was 81.1 years

* I wasn't surprised by the results. I know that I am overweight and it is due to a lack of exercise and not eating healthy. I recently bought a treadmill and I told myself that I would use it 3 times a week for an hour each time, but I have yet to get on it. I always find something else that is more important and needs to be taken care of: my baby, dinner, laundry, too tired, etc. My goal is to lose 30+ pounds and practice a healthier lifestyle. I can do without the cookies, chips, chocolates and eat more fruits and vegetables. I try to cook a lot of vegetables for dinner, but I hardly eat any fruits. I prefer to drink my fruits (apple/orange juice), but they usually contain a lot of sugar. I WILL accomplish my goal..... someday. *

Wellness #39

1. I found the website, Nutrition Data, to be useful. I liked the feature that allowed me to look up the nutrition facts for some fast food joints, such as McDonald's and Burger King. I also discovered that a healthy weight range for me is between 118-159 pounds, so I am about 25 pounds overweight (big frown), and my daily energy needs is 2,483 calories. I love to drink the Starbucks Java Chip Frappuccino coffee and discovered that if I select the "light" version over the "regular" version, I can save 75 calories, 15g carbs, & 16g sugars. I have tasted both of them and can't really tell the difference in taste, so the light version will be my selection from now on.

2. This is my Cold Pasta Salad recipe (along with its nutritional info), which is super easy to make and is delicious. If I substitute a 16oz bag of rotini pasta for a 12oz bag, I can save 14g carbs.

Ingredients:

4 Chicken Breasts
3 Medium Cucumbers (diced)
Feta Cheese (2 cups crumbled)
1 Small Can Black Olives (diced)
25 tbsp Kraft Light Done Right Italian Salad Dressing
1 cup cherry tomatoes (halved)
Healthy Harvest Pasta, Rotini, 16 oz

Nutrition Facts
6 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 551.7
Total Fat 22.2 g
Saturated Fat 8.5 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.5 g
Monounsaturated Fat 2.5 g
Cholesterol 72.6 mg
Sodium 1,073.0 mg
Potassium 401.7 mg
Total Carbohydrate 66.6 g
Dietary Fiber 9.8 g
Sugars 5.9 g
Protein 27.6 g
Vitamin A 11.6 %
Vitamin B-12 17.1 %
Vitamin B-6 27.2 %
Vitamin C 16.2 %
Vitamin D 0.0 %
Vitamin E 1.3 %
Calcium 28.6 %
Copper 6.3 %
Folate 48.9 %
Iron 20.2 %
Magnesium 9.4 %
Manganese 6.1 %
Niacin 56.6 %
Pantothenic Acid 11.7 %
Phosphorus 30.5 %
Riboflavin 49.6 %
Selenium 23.0 %
Thiamin 57.1 %
Zinc 13.4 %

Knitting and Crocheting

1. I do not knit or crochet. My grandma used to knit blankets and sweaters, but her hobby never rubbed off on me. If I were to ever knit or crochet, I would make a warm & cozy blanket. I visited the History of Knitting site and it contained a lot of information on knitting. I learned that the oldest form of knitting is called crossed knitting, where the stitches are rotated a half turn. I also discovered that crocheting differs from knitting, because only one loop is active at one time and only one hook is used, as opposed to two needles in knitting.

2. My branch does not have a knititng group.

Coin Collecting

1. I spread out my pocket change and I found a 1942 penny! The back of the coin read -ONE CENT - UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and it contained two feathers on opposite ends. I think it is worth more than 1 cent, probably one dollar. I looked it up on the Historical Image Library, but I could not find it.

2. I searched for a coin dealer in Houston and I found a company called US Coins Inc. They had a lot of coins in their inventory. I browsed their featured coins and was shocked at how much they were selling for! A 1795 Small Eagle Capped Bust $5 coin was selling for $65,000 & an 1893 Morgan Dollar had a price tag of $16,125!! Wow, it is unbelievable how much antique coins cost.

3. I've never been intrigued by coin collecting, so I don't see myself picking up this hobby. But, I will save that 1942 penny, just in case it is worth major bucks in the future!

Zines

1. I didn't know what a zine was until I read the module. I thought this word was pronounced as "sign", but my co-worker Dave said it was "zeen", so I learned something new today. A zine is a homemade magazine or book that includes text or graphic. If I were to make a zine, it would contain my mom's homemade recipes and pictures of the food that she cooks. I've always wanted to make that "book" and pass it on to my sisters, nieces, and daughter. It would be a family cookbook that would be passed on for generations.

2. I think zines inside the library are a good thing. It would reflect other people's opinions, interests, passions, etc. about a particular topic. I don't think cataloging them would be a good idea, but maybe have them out on a table, next to the bookshelf where that topic resides.

Digital Scrapbooking

I visited Scrapblog and created a pink postcard that contained my picture in the middle, a pink gemstone on the right-hand side, the words "oh la la", and a Kiss Me stamp. I tried to copy and paste it to my blog, but it wouldn't let me. So, I couldn't post my layout, but I had a fun time creating it. I think digital scrapbooking is a fun way to organize your pictures and it is less time consuming than doing the manual scrapbooking. Scrapblog lets you post your image to a social website (Facebook, My Space, Flickr, etc.), but I don't know why it wouldn't let me save it to my computer or let me copy & paste it to my blog?