Know a milk-drinking high school student who deserves to be recognized for his or her excellence in academics, athletics, community service and leadership?
The National Milk Mustache “got milk?®” campaign is looking for entries for the 13th annual Scholar Athlete Milk Mustache of the Year Awards. The SAMMY scholarship rewards recognizes 25 student-athletes who refuel with milk.
Celebrity judges will help select the winners who will receive a $7,500 college scholarship, an awards ceremony at Walt Disney World and an opportunity to appear in their own special Milk Mustache ad.
For complete contest rules and applications log onto http://bodybymilk.com. The contest kicked off Wednesday and ends March 5, 2010.
Next week, Hillsborough County students are out of school all week instead of the traditional partial week during Thanksgiving.
You might find you need to fill some of those extra hours with entertainment to keep the kiddies happy.
Bring them to the Britton 8 theater in South Tampa for $1 movies all day Tuesday.
Aliens in the Attic is playing right now, as well as Whip It and G.I. Joe, The Rise of Cobra.
For adults they are showing Inglourious Basterds, Halloween II and The Hurt Locker, among others.
As of Thursday, Metropolitan Ministries had only 50 percent of the food needed to serve the 29,000 families they expect to feed this holiday season.
At the Tampa Holiday Center alone, they expect 1,500 families to arrive on Monday to collect their Thanksgiving food but are unsure if there will be enough food to go around, spokeswoman Ana Maria Mendez said.
A new government survey shows more people than ever are going hungry. Full Story
If you would like to help, here are the donation sites:
Metropolitan Ministries’ Tampa Holiday Center
2010 N. Florida Ave.
Tampa, FL 33602
Pinellas Holiday Center
Taking it to the Street Ministries
7320 47th St. North
Pinellas Park, FL 33781
Pasco Holiday Center
Joining Hands Community Mission
3214 U.S. Highway 19
Holiday, FL 34691
Plant City Holiday Center
Hope for the Holidays
1722 James L Redman Pkwy
Plant City, FL 33563
Here is when the Thanksgiving meals will be distributed:
Metropolitan Ministries Tampa Thanksgiving Distribution:
Friday, Nov. 20 – Wednesday, Nov. 25, 9 a.m.- 6 p.m.
Pinellas Distribution:
Nov. 20, 21, 23, 24, 10am – 7 p.m.; Nov 22, 2 -7 p.m.
Pasco Distribution:
Nov. 23, 10 a.m.- 5 p.m.
Plant City Distribution:
Nov. 21, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.; Nov. 22, 1-4 p.m.; Nov 23 and 24, 8-11 a.m. and 4-7 p.m.
In case you missed it, a roundup of 10 great deals available right now - no waiting till Black Friday.
Having a baby early for medical reasons is necessary. Having a baby early because it’s more convenient for your mom to come visit is not.
Fewer elective caesarian sections and fewer early inductions are two ways Florida could stop getting an “F” when it comes to babies’ health, one organization says.
The March of Dimes released its second annual Premature Birth Report Card on Tuesday. In it, Florida and 17 other states as well as Puerto Rico got the lowest grade possible for percentage of early deliveries.
“In Florida, the prematurity rate is 13.8 percent for the third year,” said Dr. Lewis Rubin, the Chief of Neonatology at Tampa General Hospital and University of South Florida Health. Rubin is the state spokesman for the March of Dimes organization and studies the effects of stress on the fetus and other factors as the Pamela S. and Leslie M. Muma Endowed Chair in Neonatology at the University of South Florida.
The national rate of premature births was 12.7 percent, statistics through 2007 show. The March of Dimes wants to get that number down to 7.6 percent. They’re focusing on three main contributors to early births: lack of insurance, smoking and choosing to have babies before 39 weeks gestation.
“During the last 25 years, there’s been a 36 percent increase in these late preterm births and that accounts for most of the increase in the premature births overall,” Rubin said. “If we can control late preterm births, that would go a long way to helping the baby, the family and society.”
Funding smoking cessation programs is another way to ensure healthier pregnancies and infants, Rubin said. The Centers for Disease Control said there was a slight uptick in the number of women of child-bearing age in Florida who smoked several times a week, from 19.7 percent in 2007 to 19.8 percent in 2008.
“Either smoking or passive smoking - inhaling second-hand smoke - both contribute to prematurity and low birth rate,” Rubin said.
The new March of Dimes report card found the number of uninsured women in Florida remained 27 percent, citing census information collected from 2006 to 2008 and then again from 2007 to 2009. With the recession, those numbers could climb.
“It is a major concern,” Rubin said.
In the United States, more than 540,000 babies are born early each year, the March of Dimes organization said. Medical care is expensive; the Institute of Medicine found problems resulting from preterm births in the United States cost more than $26 billion each year.
In the March of Dimes report card, no state got an “A” and only Vermont got a “B.” Overall, the nation scored a “D.”
“It’s grim, but it’s also a call to action,” Rubin said.
Dr. John Curran at the University of South Florida agrees. “Literally every week a baby is able to grow within their mother’s belly and not be delivered early, the more the baby’s brain is able to grow and develop, preventing unnecessary health problems at birth and potential future learning problems.”
Read the report.
See how other states did.
If you are going to be out and about on Thanksgiving day, picking up that last minute gallon of milk, make sure you do that shopping at Sweetbay.
If you spend $25 in one transaction, they will give you a coupon for $10 off your next order of $40 or more. The coupon is only good 11/29 - 12/5, so make sure you use it right away.
It’s been 22 years since I last jogged. I’m not kidding. I ran cross country my freshman year of high school, and since then, nada.
I finally decided I had to do something more for my health than just walk around the block at a toddler’s pace. I got home from work on Monday, changed clothes, borrowed my neighbor’s double-jogging stroller and inspired my husband to join me. Our goal was small: jog a half-mile around the block.
A third of a mile later, we were gasping for breath.
But it was a start, and we ended up going around twice, alternating between jogging and walking for about a mile. Then I let the kids out of the stroller and went around twice more with two other moms and their young kids. Altogether, it was about two miles.
We jogged/walked another mile Tuesday, and I’m so out of shape, I’m definitely feeling it in my legs today. But I also feel good.
My neighbor, who is a triathlete, told me about this Web site called The Couch-to-5K Running Plan. I checked it out, and discovered I’m probably doing too much. That was a relief, and gave me some guidance about how I could set a manageable pace – and manageable expectations – for my fitness plan.
I don’t want to run races. I just want to be healthy. My husband had a heart attack when he was 39; I know you can’t take your health for granted. Hopefully, this is just the first step in leading a better lifestyle.
Just for signing up for email alerts from Kohl’s, you can get a free $5 off any purchase coupon.
Five dollars off of something that only costs $5 is free!
There are about ten locations in the West Central Florida area to choose from.
I don’t regularly shop at Kohl’s but browsed their site to see what I could possibly get with the $5 off coupon. I found a 5-pack of headbands for $4, So sinful perfume, a 2-pack of boys sports-theme slipper socks for $5.99, and a Worst Case Scenario survival game for $6.99.
While you’re at it, stop by your local Bath & Body works and use this coupon for a free travel size item from their signature collection. Coupon is good with any purchase.
I got an e-mail last week from a friend of mine that really moved me.
“I have a friend on FB who is spending the month of November doing random acts of kindness,” it read. “Today she sponsored another child in her daughter’s class by paying for his/her field trip.”
It got me thinking about how easy it is to make a difference, and it doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. It also got me thinking about how one person’s Facebook post or tweet or blog can inspire a movement. And that’s what happened here.
Stacie Goucher, a 35-year-old mother of two from Spring Hill, was at her mom’s house this month when her mother handed her an article in The Tampa Tribune. It was an interview with Cami Walker, a multiple sclerosis patient and the author of “29 Gifts: How a Month of Giving Can Change Your Life” (Lifelong Books, $20), who changed her outlook – and her health – after a friend told her to stop feeling sorry for herself and to give away 29 gifts in 29 days.
“I read the article and thought, gosh, that’s the easiest thing to do, and it’s such a simple thing to do,” Goucher said. “I started posting what I was doing as my status on Facebook, and then other people started posting what they were doing.”
Goucher’s friend, Denise Mestanza-Taylor, saw the posting and joined the movement. (Read her blog.)
“I’m all about charity, and I jumped on it,” said Mestanza-Taylor, a mother of two from Land O’ Lakes and the founder of a mommies club with about 80 members.
The good news: The gifts don’t have to cost anything.
“I put a note in my husband’s lunchbox. We’ve been together for 14 years and I’ve never made his lunch,” Mestanza-Taylor laughed
“It’s really awesome,” Goucher said. “I wasn’t really expecting the reaction. I think my first post got 20 comments. I don’t have a lot of money, so I do things that don’t cost a lot but just are simple things.”
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Examples include: write a thank you note to your child’s teacher, let somebody go ahead of you in line or go online to www.letssaythanks.com and send a free card to one of the troops stationed overseas.
Mestanza-Taylor’s kids are inspired to make a difference, too. She’s very creative and designed a paper cornucopia for them to “fill” as they did good deeds.
“I cut out the shapes and all my oldest has to do is write what she did. She had some shoes for just one week, and then they didn’t fit. She had a friend come over, and they were playing dress-up and she gave them to her friend. I had completely forgotten, then later that evening she said, ‘I gave Ellie my shoes, I should write that down for my cornucopia.’ She’s 8 so she can think of these things.
“My youngest is also getting involved. The other day she collected the baby dolls she doesn’t play with anymore and said, ‘Mommy, we can give these to other kids,’ ” Mestanza-Taylor said. “All I told them was when we’re done with this, we’re going to laminate it and you can use it as a placemat. I didn’t promise them movies or Build-a-Bear. That’s all it took.”
Personally, I’m not sure I can do 30 good deeds between now and the end of November, but I can definitely make the commitment to attempt it between now and Christmas. So that’s my goal. What’s yours?
Here are some ideas:
• Participate in Operation Child Child (fill a box or shipment of a box).
• Bring a meal to a fellow mom.
• Buy a Publix brown bag of food at the checkout.
• Donate canned goods to a food drive.
• Donate toiletry items to Metropolitan Ministries.
• At the Starbucks/Dunkin Donuts drive-through, treat the person behind you to a cup of coffee.
• Pass along unwanted coupons to a friend.
• Leave unwanted coupons on the shelves at the supermarket.
• Give you receipt coupons to the next person in line at the checkout.
• Recycle old running shoes at the Running Center on Dale Mabry Highway.
• Donate $1 to Miracle Children’s Network at the checkout.
• Recycle old cell phones.
• Purchase a Scholastic gift certificate in the book order form for your child’s teacher.
• Donate old books, magazines, videos or CDs to the library.
• Donate items to Goodwill.
• Drop some coins in the tip jar at any food service place.
• Send a love note in your children’s and spouses’ lunchboxes.
• Purchase a carwash for the person in line behind you.
• Frame a favorite picture of you and a friend/loved one as give it as a gift.
• Call an old friend to catch up.
• Take a friend to lunch.
• Patronize restaurants holding fundraisers
• Take baked goods to a neighbor.
• Babysit for a friend so she can enjoy a pedicure or date night with hubby.
• Send an e-card, card or a care package to troops deployed overseas.
• Volunteer at your child’s school.
• Print out some of your favorite photos for a friend.
• Buy a newspaper from a street hawker and tell them to keep the change.
• Visit a retirement home.
• Give blood (if you physically can).
From my inbox!
TAMPA – This Friday, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® will be giving away tickets to see the 140th Edition of The Greatest Show On Earth®, Barnum’s FUNundrumSM, a celebration of P. T. Barnum so big, it is an event 200 years in the making. In exchange, they’re asking Bay area residents to donate food to help stock the shelves at Metropolitan Ministries, to feed the needy in our community this holiday season.
Friday, November 20 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., representatives from Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey will be collecting nonperishable food items in exchange for tickets to Opening Night of the circus. A donation of 10 items entitles each consumer to one show ticket, with a limit of four tickets per family, while supplies last. Tickets will be for the Wed. night, Jan. 6, 7:30 p.m. performance only, at the St. Pete Times Forum. Donations will be collected in front of the McDonald’s® Box Office at the St. Pete Times Forum, 401 Channelside Drive, Tampa, 33602, phone: 813-301-6500.
Wi-Fi, flat-screen TVs, 24-hour room service and laptops with Skype. Nope, you’re not taking a vacation at a hotel. You’re about to deliver a baby.
The Bayfront Baby Place at the new All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg opens Dec. 14. I was one of four mommy bloggers who got a sneak peek at the center this week and it has a lot of amenities new parents are sure to love.
For mothers-to-be who are having a rough pregnancy and need to be hospitalized, feel free to bring your favorite nightgowns and food. The $30 million Bayfront Baby Place doubles the number of antepartum suites from six to 12. There’s a shared lounge that features a washer and dryer, a refrigerator and a microwave. As anyone who has had to spend any extended time in the hospital knows, those small comforts can make a world of difference.
The number of labor and delivery rooms stays the same at 13, but at 450 square feet, they are significantly larger than the current ones at nearby Bayfront Medical Center. There’s a pullout couch for Dad, a closet that holds the baby warmer and scale until they’re needed, and medical lights hidden in the ceiling. Wi-Fi lets parents update their Facebook status as their labor progresses in the rooms decorated in tranquil aqua and sand colors.
If Mom needs to have a C-section, there are now four operating rooms instead of just two, and they have nurseries attached to help handle multiple births. Family members can wait in a special lounge that has kids games and television.
In most hospitals, new moms get a minute to see the baby before the newborn is whisked away to be weighed, measured and washed. The Baby Place encourages “kangaroo care,” which gives the mom time to hold the baby and try to nurse, if desired. The Apgar test to evaluate the baby’s physical condition after birth will be performed while on the mom’s chest. If the baby needs to go to the neonatal intensive care unit, it will be in the same building, just a quick elevator ride away. Currently, it’s a 10-minute journey through an underground tunnel to get from the maternity ward at Bayfront Medical Center to All Children’s Hospital, and new moms in wheelchairs have to wait until somebody was available to push them.
The number of recovery rooms increases from 30 to 40, and they feature a baby-shaped sink in each room, curved shelves for flowers, photos and personal items, and access to laptops with Skype so new parents can show off their babes with family and friends around the world. Plus, parents who are starving can order off a limited menu and have food delivered at a time that’s convenient. That’s a huge bonus for all those moms who deliver at 2 a.m.
The Baby Place takes up 90,000 square feet of space on the third floor of the new All Children’s Hospital, and $10 million was spent on equipment, furniture and materials needed to make the nurses’ stations soundproof.
Each year, about 3,400 babies are born at Bayfront Medical Center. As the mommy bloggers joked during the tour, some expectant moms are surely hoping their babes stay put until the new Baby Place opens.
The miracle of birth is always amazing, but one little girl’s entry into this world was even more special than usual.
She had to have surgery halfway through the delivery.
A team of doctors from USF Health and Tampa General Hospital performed their first ex utero interapartum treatment (EXIT), clearing the airway for the baby, who was born with a large benign tumor around her neck and several organs.
A team of more than 20 physicians, nurses and health professionals did two practice runs before they did the procedure Oct. 1. This rare procedure has only been performed about 100 times in the United States, hospital spokeswoman Ellen Fiss said.
They partially delivered the baby via C-section, but kept the oxygen-supplying umbilical cord connected. Then they inserted a breathing tube into the baby and cleared her airway before finishing the delivery and cutting the cord.
“The biggest challenge in this type of procedure is establishing an airway for the fetus while maintaining a steady supply of oxygen so that no neurological damage occurs,” said Valerie Whiteman, the lead USF obstetrician for the delivery.
Everything went well, and the 7-pound, 11-ounce baby was delivered.
“We were all familiar with our roles, our equipment and what steps needed to be taken when,” Whiteman said. “We prepared for the best- and worst-case scenarios. It took teamwork, teamwork and more teamwork.”
The mother is a 31-year-old who lives in Tampa with her husband and two other children. They were able to take the baby home Oct. 12.
The baby has already had one surgery since then to partially remove the tumor, which was attached from her skull to her tongue and surrounded her heart, windpipe and several blood vessels. Doctors operated Oct. 30 to remove the neck portion of the cystic hygroma. A second operation to remove the rest of the tumor in her chest will take place in two or three months.
Charles Paidas, director of the USF Division of Pediatric Surgery, performs a follow-up surgery on the baby. Photo from Tampa General Hospital.
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While Boston Market had their October promotion “Two kids eat free with each adult meal purchased” our family took advantage as often as possible.
It was a godsend for me when I was picking one up from an after-school basketball practice and running the other to a dance rehearsal. In that small window of time, I could run to my nearby Boston Market and grab some dinner that resembled what we’d eat at home.
Most of the time they would get the mac and cheese meal with a side of mac and cheese, but occasionally I was successfull in getting something green on the plate, too.
That all-day everyday promotion ended on October 31st. But you can still feed two with the purchase of an adult entree on Saturdays and Sundays. Just spend the $6 minimum on the adult meal and your kids’ meals will automatically ring up free.
If you don’t have two kids with you and still want to save some money at Boston Market, visit their coupon page for other discounts.
If you have any readers (and I certainly hope you do!) on your holiday shopping list, this Borders coupon may interest you.
For a limited time, get 30% off practically anything in the store.
It excludes magazines and some software and electronics, but most other stuff is fair game.
It’s also good at Waldenbooks, if you happen to be at the mall.
In the old days, when the government or company wanted to let the public know about a recall, it would fax a press release to newsrooms all over the country. Now, they put the information on Twitter, Facebook, Web sites and e-mail alerts. This week, The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission even created a YouTube video to let parents know single and double umbrella strollers made by Maclaren are being recalled after several children had their fingers amputated.
I was home last Friday when I saw my friend’s Facebook update: “wonders why the world’s gone mad in the past 24 hours.” I immediately turned on CNN and found out there was a gunman loose in Orlando. It boggled my mind how social networking has become such a part of my life.
How do you get your news and information now? Do you find out about things through chat rooms, blogs and e-mail more than through television, newspapers and radio?
