Don't Get Sick!

Wow Thanksgiving has already come and gone. Can you believe its less than a month until Christmas? It's a stressful time of year sometimes and too many friends and family are getting sick and missing out on the fun and festivities of this time of year. It's also a bummer if we miss out on a long hard day at work because we've got a migraine and the sniffles. Not too many people understand that we can prevent colds. Keep these tips in mind as you go on your day, especially this time of year. It's frustrating when you're sick. You can't enjoy the time spent with family as much as you'd like to. Here's how to prevent a cold.

1. Keep stress level low - Stop putting yourself in charge of everything. Don't pile your to-do list so much. You'll seriously topple over. What keeps you the busiest this time of year? Delegate it out. You don't have to put off something if it stresses you out, just get someone to help you.

2. Do some water aerobics - Okay, maybe not water aerobics if its -34 degrees F outside but exercise keeps you healthy and you should be out on your feet doing something. Walk up the stairs as opposed to an escalator or elevator at the mall or work. Ride your bike to the grocery store. You could even *gasp* run or walk for 30 minutes a day. I know, I know. You're no Arnold Schwarzenegger.

3. Candy = bad - It seems like a bad season to say this but we really need to cut back on the sweets. We shoved it in our mouths at Halloween so now we need to take a break and limit ourselves. It's one of those "quick energizers" so energy from candy/sodas/sugar wears off fast and could stress us out.

4. ZZZzzzzz.... - GET ENOUGH SLEEP. Get as much as you can. Your body charges itself while you sleep. If you're up on your feet or watching late night Telly, you're not giving your body the time it needs to re-energize itself.

5. Wash hands - It sounds cliche, but it's not. Do it for the sake of getting/spreading germs. Keep your sink handle and bathroom door knob clean as well.

6. Echinacea and Goldenseal - I've been taking Echinacea since my mom shoved it down my throat because I had a raspy voice. These 2 will help with symptoms and build immunity against competing bacteria that might get you sick.

7. Z-z-z-z-z-Zinc! - Do you get enough of it? Probably not. Zinc can be taken in forms of calcium-magnesium-zinc capsules and even lozenges. Take it. It's good for your body.

(Tips taken from eHow)

Reckless Driving

First of all, she was holding her phone with her shoulder when she turned her little red Cavalier onto the main street I was on. I could tell she was arguing with whom ever she was speaking to onto the phone because of the wide hand gestures and angry facial expressions she was giving out when I viewed her through my rear view mirror. Next thing I knew, she had moved over to the middle lane and sped past me. I don't know. Something about these kinds of drivers makes me a little mad. I look forward and she stops, not even at the light. She's about 40 feet from the turn, which I found she had been close to missing and stopped in the middle of the road to move over quickly. I was too close to wait for her to move over so I go ahead and pull in. She decides she would get in behind me and I see she stalls mid-lane, 2 or 3 cars behind her. She's still arguing on the phone, maybe a little more mad because of her current situation. She turns on her emergency lights as she fumbles for the key and starts it back up again so she could pull up behind me to turn.

Okay, to wrap up this vent, we really need to watch what we do on the roads, guys. I'm talking "techies", Generation Y's, Millennials. This girl was so close to being hit so many times today. We've been so wrapped up in the latest technology that we're taking it to places that it really shouldn't be messed with. Scrolling through your iPod or iPhone looking for songs or texting while driving really should not be happening. Too many things go on in front of you and really it kills your response time if something or someone were to jump out in front of you. Trust me, it has happened to me before, several times. In neighborhoods, in YOUR neighborhood, it is the worst. Keep an eye out for children. A short text message, even a tweet, is not worth a child's life.

So to end on a better note, there is hope for us! Haha. Remember bluetooth headsets? Yeahhhh. Those still exist and they still WORK. They might not be the fanciest looking thing ever but they are a great investment so we can keep our eyes and hands focused on driving. Holding a phone with your shoulder is dangerous. It limits your eyesight. Even just holding a phone with your hand is dangerous. We need to make sure we can have full control of the car. Are you looking to buy a new car? Check into bluetooth enabled cars. In the Fiesta, I a phone pad and the phone call will play through the speakers. It even has a little mic on the roof by the console light. It is extremely handy. If you're not looking into getting a car anytime soon, look into bluetooth enabled GPS's. Before I had the Fiesta, I would use my Garmin to answer calls.

Also, answer text messages when your car is stopped, whether it be at a light or at your destination. Texting is terrible to do when driving because you are staring at something other than the road.

It's really a great investment to look into bluetooth enabled devices. We need to do whatever we can to keep the roads safe. It's not just children's and other's lives we're saving. We are also saving our own.

Box o' Jane Crap Contest! Redux!

It's that time of year again! My 2 year anniversary is quickly gaining on us and its time for me to do some cleaning around my room. It's JANE BOX OF CRAP BOX THING CONTEST TIME!

Again, if you've ever participated in Woot's BOC giveaways, you know where I got the idea from. You don't have to pay shipping though! Here's the updated rules.



RULES!

1. Each entry is $1 USD
2. Up to 10 entries per person, please. If you WANT to give $100, by all means, feel free! You will only be given 10 entries though.
3. To enter, email me at jane.ds.tv[at]gmail.com telling me your screenname from where I know you, PayPal email address and how much you are entering. Entries due by October 24th.
4. PayPal payments only accepted.
5. Once payment has been received, please tell me the numbers you would like to be added to the drawing. (Example - You entered $5 in the drawing and your lucky numbers are 3, 18, 472, 94, and 44927. I will enter those numbers into the drawing! If you numbers have already been taken, I'll let you know to choose again.)
6. Winner will be randomly selected live on JustinTV on October 25, 2009 (my anniversary!).
7. Need not to be present to win. Just make sure I have your email address!
8. Everyone is invited to win!


Box is filled with tons of goodies, including a duct tape wallet made by yours truly! Winner will also receive a FREE JaneTV mug.

Again, email me for entries, and if you have any questions!


Also! Follow me on Twitter, add me on Facebook, and watch my YouTube vids!

Happy Cursive Day

The video will speak for itself.

World Habitat Day

Did you know:

- About 95 million people, one third of the nation, have housing problems including a high-cost burden, overcrowding, poor quality shelter and homelessness. (National Low Income Housing Coalition: 2004)

- UN-Habitat has reported that because of poor living conditions, women living in slums are more likely to contract HIV/AIDS than their rural counterparts, and children in slums are more likely to die from water-borne and respiratory illness. (UN-HABITAT: 2006)

- The number of low-income families that lack safe and affordable housing is related to the number of children that suffer from asthma, viral infections, anemia, stunted growth and other health problems. About 21,000 children have stunted growth attributable to the lack of stable housing; 10,000 children between the ages of 4 and 9 are hospitalized for asthma attacks each year because of cockroach infestation at home; and more than 180 children die each year in house fires attributable to faulty electrical heating and electrical equipment. (Sandel, et al: 1999)

These are very real situations going on in not just the United States but all over the world. Many people are living in, and some not even in unsuitable housing that you can't even consider a "home".

I have teamed up with Habitat for Humanity to help spread the word about World Habitat Day. The United Nations has designated the first Monday of October (this year it is October 5th, 2009) to be the day of awareness toward human habitat. You might remember back in my Fiesta Movement Mission #4 when I volunteered at a ReStore. This really got me hooked onto the organization and what it stands for.



This year Habitat for Humanity is holding a photo petition to raise awareness. President Obama, in a speech, said that "it all starts at home." What better way to raise awareness that human health and well-being starts with having a simple, decent place to live than to create a petition based on this phrase? Habitat's goal is to collect 500 photos on their Flickr group so that they may present the photos as a petition to deliver to the White House in honor of World Habitat Day 2009.

Remember to educate others and educate yourself about Habitat for Humanity's goal. Check out their resources and find ways to help out the world, starting with your own community. There might be people in your workplace, at your school, behind you in the grocery store checkout line, that might be struggling with their housing situation and nobody knows about it. We need a way to show those people that we care and we want to help.

Want to help from right where you're sitting? Donate today to Habitat for Humanity and help families build a better life.




Join Habitat for Humanity’s photo petition! Habitat needs our help to remind President Obama that human health and well-being starts with having a simple, decent place to live. Join me in reminding the U.S. government that “It all starts at home.” Visit http://www.habitat.org/gov/take_action/WHD_Photo_Petition.aspx, and follow the instructions to post your photo to Flickr.
If you submit your photo by September 25, 2009, Habitat will deliver your photo to the White House in honor of World Habitat Day 2009.

World Habitat Day info: http://worldhabitatdaynews.com/
Habitat for Humanity homepage: http://www.habitat.org
Habitat for Humanity Twitter page: http://twitter.com/Habitat_org
Habitat for Humanity Flickr group: http://www.flickr.com/groups/1190924@N23/
Habitat for Humanity Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/habitat

Mission 5 is in the works.

ADVENTURE MONTH IS ON US. Goodness gracious I cannot believe I actually picked this months mission. I'm nervous more about my ankles breaking rather than the act of it.

You'll find out soon what I'm to do in a week from today.

I never really got to chat about Mission 4. It went great! I had a blast helping out Habitat for Humanity...behind the scenes! I grabbed a couple buddies and we went and volunteered 4 hours at the H4H ReStore to clean/build/move things, pretty much whatever or where ever they needed us! Click here to see the video and pictures from it all.

I started school up again. I'm only taking 2 classes, Principles of Marketing and Keyboarding (aka. Typing). Both are great classes and things I'm actually interested in. I'm about 4 weeks ahead on the lessons in my keyboarding software so I don't really have to worry about that. Marketing is extremely interested and I can now see where I my fascination of customers/trends/demographics is going to be focused on once I graduate and get situated!

Which reminds me.... I have homework to do.

Alright, time for another entry of Nostalgic Jane. (Go back to Entry 1)

Entry 11: February 8, 2005
I just remembered another thing that happened between Daniel and me. It was my turn, one summer day, to pick the game to play. Well, being the girly-girl I was, I decided we should have a wedding. The boys groaned. I don't know how but I persuaded them to be part of my wedding. Jeffery decided to be the preacher, Daniel was forced to be the groom, and I, of course, volunteered to be the bride.

Setting up for the wedding wasn't very hard. We decided to have the wedding in Jeffery's next-door neighbor's front yard since she had pretty flowers in her garden.

Jeffery and Daniel stood at the garden as I slowly walked up to them holding a bouquet of dandilions. Jeffery cleared his throat and began, "Dearly loved, we are here today so Daniel and Jane can get married..." He paused while I giggled. "Um...do you guys have rings?" he looked at us.

"Yeah." Daniel tied a piece of grass into a circle. I did the same.

"Okay. Now give each other your rings." I handed my ring to Daniel as I tried to put mine on but it broke.

"Oh well." I shrugged.

"Okay." Jeffery grinned. "You have to kiss the bride!"

Daniel looked at me wide-eyed and blushing as I kissed him on the cheek.

New Starbucks Pricing

Yes, due to the economy we knew it was bound to happen. We just didn't want it to come this soon. Starbucks' popular beverages will be changing in price, some going up, some going down.

Here's some, not all, of what will be changing.


- Hot Brewed coffee - (T) -10 cents (G) 0 cents (V) +10 cents
- Iced Coffee - (T) -15 cents (G) +5 cents (V) +10 cents
- Latte - (T) -5 cents (G) +10 cents (V) 0 cents
- Mocha/Vanilla Latte - (T) +5 cents (G) +20 cents (V) +10 cents
- Caramel Macchiato - (T) +10 cents (G) +25 cents (V) +25 cents
- White Mocha - (T) +5 cents (G) +20 cents (V) +5 cents
- Coffee/Vanilla Bean frappuccino - (T) +5 cents (G) +15 cents (V) +5 cents
- Caramel/Mocha/Strawberrys&Cream frappuccino - (T) +10 cents (G) +10 cents (V) +25 cents
- Iced Tea - (T) -5 cents (G) +10 cents (V) +15 cents
- Add espresso shot - +15 cents
- Add soy, breve, dairy - +10 cents
- Add syrup - +10 cents

Like I said, this isn't the full list, it's just what I believe are the popular drinks for today. Yes, I know its frustrating but Starbucks isn't the only corporation having to change their pricing due to the economy.

There are many ways you can still save at Starbucks though. Remember the Gold Card? It gets you a year-long 10% discount off anything in the store (not including newspapers and gift cards) from the day you purchase it. Plus Starbucks will send little surprises as long as you register the card. Sometimes its a free drink on your birthday, a coupon to try one of our new beverages, maybe even a reload of your card! Even if you just have a regular Starbucks gift card, REGISTER IT! If you lose it, you'll be able to get it back, PLUS you get free syrups and milk upgrades (soy, breve, specialty milk) in your drink, and 2 free hours of wifi!

Alright, now to the mellowness that Jane used to be! (Nostalgic Jane starts here)

Entry 10: January 28, 2005
Mika silently walked down the hallway as her schoolmates rushed by her, too busy to notice the new student.
"I hate this," was all she kept saying to herself.
She passed a group of sophomore girls who snickered and teased her while she passed.
"I hate this."
She passed by a boy getting beat up by older students.
"I hate this."
She passed by the classroom where the SCRABBLE club played every Thursday.
"I hate this."
She got bumped into a wall while a boy ran past because he forgot his calculator in Algebra 3.
"I hate this," she said picking up her supplies that fell.
She stood up, turned, and fled. She ran fast. Past the classrooms, the bullies, and the teasers. She ran past the stress, the confusion, and the feelings of being alone. She ran far. She ran home.