Program on Omega 3 Fatty Acids

A House Hold Inventory Can Save You In Many Ways

In researching for a program on Creating House Hold Inventories, I learned that a house hold inventory is important for more than being able to prove a loss.    

Having a good inventory will help you with:

• making a will or trust 
• establishing your wishes for disbursing personal property
• preparing your taxes
• passing an audit
• obtaining warranty repairs 
• determining your net worth

 If you get in the habit of updating the inventory when you make a purchase, you might reap the extra benefit of having the information you need at your fingertips if an item needs a warranty repair.

 According to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (2012):

• Fifty-nine percent of consumers do not have a list of their possessions.

• For the ones who have a list of inventories, there were many inventory list inadequacies:

    – 48% do not have receipts,

    – 27% do not have photos of their inventories, and

    – 28% do not have a backup copy of the inventory that is kept at a location outside the home.

There are apps to help you or you can create a computer spread sheet or a handwritten form.  It is best to start with the basic information for the majority of items and then add additional information later.  The information you need for every item is:

• the item name
• original price
• quantity of goods
• serial numbers
• year purchased

  If you are doing this on a computer you can even add images of your product and receipt

Additional information that may be helpful:

• room location
• current value
• replacement cost
• model number
• place of purchase
• location of receipt
• condition
• expected life
• depreciation

There are booklets available from insurance companies, forms on the internet, and even new apps for cell phones to help you.  If you rent, an inventory is even more important because the value of your personal possessions determines the amount of insurance you buy.

My inventory is very out dated, so I have decided to start from scratch, and work on it a little each week.  Who knows, I may find some valuable items that I forgot about.

Tips to keep your kids safe at Halloween

Whether you’re goblin or ghoul, vampire or witch, poor costume choices and face paint allergies can haunt you long after Halloween if they cause injury.
Here are some tips taken from the “lucky 13” guidelines from FDA, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

1. Wear costumes made of fire-retardant materials; look for “flame resistant” on the label. If you make your costume, use flame-resistant fabrics such as polyester or nylon.
2. Wear bright, reflective costumes or add strips of reflective tape so you’ll be more visible; make sure the costumes aren’t so long that you’re in danger of tripping.
3. Wear makeup and hats rather than masks that can obscure your vision.
4. Test the makeup you plan to use by putting a small amount on the arm of the person who will be wearing it a couple of days in advance. If a rash, redness, swelling, or other signs of irritation develop where the makeup was applied, that's a sign of a possible allergy.
5. Don’t wear decorative contact lenses unless you have seen an eye care professional and gotten a proper lens fitting and instructions for using the lenses.

Safe Treats

Eating sweet treats is also a big part of the fun on Halloween. If you’re trick-or-treating, health and safety experts say you should remember these tips:

• Don’t eat candy until it has been inspected at home.
• Trick-or-treaters should eat a snack before heading out, so they won’t be tempted to nibble on treats that haven’t been inspected.
• Tell children not to accept—or eat—anything that isn’t commercially wrapped.
• Parents of very young children should remove any choking hazards such as gum, peanuts, hard candies, or small toys.
• Inspect commercially wrapped treats for signs of tampering, such as an unusual appearance or discoloration, tiny pinholes, or tears in wrappers. Throw away anything that looks suspicious.

Decorative Contact Lenses Can Injure Eyesight

FDA joins eye care professionals—including the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus, the Contact Lens Association of Ophthalmologists and the American Optometric Association—in discouraging consumers from using decorative contact lenses.

These experts warn that buying any kind of contact lenses without an examination and a prescription from an eye care professional can cause serious eye disorders and infections, which may lead to permanent vision loss. Despite the fact that it’s illegal to sell decorative contact lenses without a valid prescription, FDA says the lenses are sold on the Internet and in retail shops and salons—particularly around Halloween.

The decorative lenses make the wearer’s eyes appear to glow in the dark, create the illusion of vertical “cat eyes,” or change the wearer’s eye color.

"Although unauthorized use of decorative contact lenses is a concern year-round, Halloween is the time when people may be inclined to use them, perhaps as costume accessories," says FDA eye expert Bernard Lepri, O.D., M.S., M.Ed.. "What troubles us is when they are bought and used without a valid prescription, without the involvement of a qualified eye care professional, or without appropriate follow-up care. This can lead to significant risks of eye injuries, including blindness."

NMSU Food Protection: Del Monte Fresh Produce N.A. Inc., Recalls Limited...

This fruit was sold in convenience stores



NMSU Food Protection: Del Monte Fresh Produce N.A. Inc., Recalls Limited...: Del Monte Fresh Produce N.A., Inc., (“Del Monte Fresh”) is initiating a voluntary recall of Granny Smith green apples because they have the ...

Take Steps Now to Prevent Flu Later

It is that time of year.  The weather is changing and soon we will be spending more time indoors.  Flu season will be here before we know it.  The Center for Disease Control recommends 3 steps to prevent the flu.  The second is washing hands often.  The third is avoiding contact with people who have the flu and avoiding touching things they have touched.  Wash door knobs and light switches often.

The number one prevention step is getting the flu shot.  You must get a new one every year.  The shots are meant to combat the virus strains that are thought to be the most prevalent for the upcoming season.  The flu shot must be taken before you become sick with the flu, so now is the perfect time.

Here is some more information about flu prevention from the CDC.


CDC Flu Prevention

Program on Household Inventories

If you house was broken into and several small items taken, do you have a way to prove what you owned for the police and insurance company?  A Household inventory can help do this whether you are dealing with a break-in or larger disaster, but over 50% of US families have not taken the time to create one.  The inventory can help you save money on insurance and plan your future too.  Learn how to get started and tips for making it easier during a workshop on October 21^st at 1:00 p.m. at the Extension Office.

October Do One Thing

The "Do One Thing" to be prepared for an emergency this month discusses the need to have flashlights available including a battery operated lantern.  Be sure to check often to make sure the batteries are still charged.  Rechargeable batteries are a good investment.  New on the market are solar chargers for batteries.  Lithium batteries are more expensive, but they last longer.  Take a few minutes to check your flashlights this month.

A Defination of Mindfulness

Mindfulness just keeps popping up.  This week I have been viewing some of the videos in the free mindfulness summit and then today I opened a newsletter from my insurance company and found an article about Mindfulness.  Here is a portion of their article that describes mindfulness.   You can visit the Berkley site to learn more.

Does this sound familiar? You’re at work, longing for a vacation. Then, while on vacation, you’re dreading all the tasks piling up at work. How about this? You’re rehashing yesterday’s argument while driving, so you miss your turn.  In both situations, you’re creating unneeded stress by focusing on the future or the past, but not the present. Over time, these thinking habits create so much stress that your health begins to suffer. Fortunately, there is a way to break these habits and focus your mind on what’s really happening—in this moment, the present. It’s called mindfulness.

Mindfulness means paying attention to whatever is happening in your body, mind, and surroundings as it happens, and not judging it as good or bad. It

takes practice, but once you’ve learned to use this powerful technique, your stress level lowers, and that benefits your health. 

It is not too late to join the mindfulness summit.  This summit is free.

The Greater Good Science Center 

Tips For Keeping Your Family Exercising Together

Today we held our 6th Annual Get Moving Quay County Fun Run/Walk.  The committee's morning started early as we set up while trying to decide if we should cancel.   At 6:00 a.m. there was plenty of lightening and heavy rain just North of town.  The rain in town was much less.  But we were blessed around 7:00 as people started arriving with big smiles on their faces and the rain let up.  We had great music to keep everyone pumped.  After the start of the event, I moved to an intersection to stop traffic as the participants came by.  It was a great place to be, because I could see all of the families that walked the course.  The goal of this event was to get families to be more active and it was successful.  There were a lot of families walking past me.  Many of the participants thank me as they pasted.    I found these tips on keeping your family active from Food and Health Communications Inc.

These 4 tips will help your family develop a fun exercise routine, together.

Tip #1: Consider Your Interests
If you have a child who is firmly against playing basketball, then trying to form a family basketball team is probably not in the cards for you. Save your energy and skip that battle, looking instead for something that everyone might enjoy. Brainstorm ideas as a family, writing out each contribution, and then narrow the list from there. Some possible family exercise activities include touring the neighborhood on our bikes and/or scooters, building obstacle courses in the backyard or living room and then timing each other as we race through them, going for a jog on a nearby nature path, setting up a weightlifting routine with water bottles and canned goods instead of actual weights, planning and then completing a “boot camp” regimen with a different person leading each set of exercises, playing “giant” soccer with a tennis ball instead of a soccer ball (you feel like a giant with such a tiny ball, and the smaller size calls for more precise maneuvering), etc. Have fun and be creative!

Tip #2: Mix it Up
Don’t let your routine become a rut. There are lots of fun things to do together, so be sure to mix up your plans once in a while. These can be tiny changes, like switching from sit-ups to planks once a week, or you can do something completely different every once in a while, like playing tennis with your tennis ball instead of “giant” soccer. Be sure to keep it fresh and check in with the rest of your family to make sure that everyone is still having fun.

Tip #3: Take a Break
Every once in a while, you will need to skip a workout. Perhaps someone in your family is under the weather, at an after-school activity, or needs to study for an exam. Go ahead and take a break. If these breaks start to be called for too frequently, then you might need to rework your routine/expectations.

Tip #4: Stay Committed
It’s important to stay committed to your new routine or every excuse will become a reason to skip a workout. If the fun of your games and programs isn’t reward enough, consider setting up a reward system for each workout.  Once you have logged in a certain amount of miles on your bike, treat yourself to a new bike accessory.  Other fun ways to track progress include setting up a chart with each family member’s name on it, then marking each day of the month. Every day that a family member exercises, he or she gets a sticker to put on the chart. Or you can offer a “get out of ____ chore free” card to the person who is most enthusiastic about the workouts of the week. Play around and figure out what works best for your family.