120/80

What is Blood pressure? Blood pressure is the force in the arteries when the heart beats this is the systolic pressure and when the heart is at rest that is the diastolic pressure. The American Heart Association (http://www.americanheart.org) states that a normal blood pressure, for adults should 120/80 or lower. Uncontrolled high blood pressure can lead to stroke, heart attack, and heart and/or kidney failure.

Many doctors believe that various factors can lead to hypertension, a reading consistently above 140/90. For many Americans hypertension is a result of being overweight, smoking, drinking alcohol to excess, lack of physical activity, and family history of the condition.

According to the American Heart Association except in a few rare cases, doctors don't know what causes high blood pressure and I am one of the rare cases. When I was first diagnosed, I was very angry and upset. Questions of “Why me” kept creeping into my head. There are still moments that I become discouraged that I need to rely on several medicines to keep my body functioning properly.

When I stopped having a pity party, I suppose that I am thankful that my condition was caught early before any damage was done to my heart and kidneys. As I age, I realize that I have less control over my body. However, I do have control over making healthy choices that will optimistically keep me around for a long time!

During a trip to the Laurel Highlands in the Southwestern part of Pennsylvania my husband and I stayed at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort (http://www.nemacolin.com/)
Nemacolin is a family luxury vacation destination located on 2,800 wooded acres.

While my husband, was attending meetings I took advantage of the Woodlands Spa. I must confess, in the era of personal pampering, I have never had a massage, but decided it was time to take the leap. After a visit to the spa, I settled on a hot stone massage and quickly scheduled an appointment.

It was time for my appointment, and with butterflies in my stomach, I walked through the large wooden doors, and approached the desk and checked myself in. The therapist retrieved me from the quiet area and we made our way to the massage room. Now lying on a heated table, the therapist proceeded to place heated basalt stones in specific points along my spine and under my hands. He then took the flat water-heated stones in his hands and began to give my back a deep massage. All of the apprehension that I was feeling initially, quickly subsided. I was thoroughly enjoying the wonderful sensation of calm and warmth, and I was disappointed that the experience ended so quickly!

My first massage session was fabulous and I would certainly do it again.

U2 will enjoy U23D!

I recently had an opportunity to see U23D at the Whitaker Center. I went with a bit of reservation, but was pleasantly surprised at the intense cinematography U23D had to offer.
This is the first ever live-action 3D concert film and it will keep you engaged from the first song. Members of the band kept it interesting by making good use of the camera, moving toward the audience in such a way that it seemed like they were literally standing before you.

The advanced digital 3D imagery and cutting-edge surround sound technology are coupled for the first time, to bring this concert to life!

You can check out http://www.u23dmovie.com/ to see a trailer of the U23D movie featuring U2 in concert and read about the U23D film.

Visit the Whitaker Center (http://www.whitakercenter.org/home/) for show times and ticket prices.

Snowflakes – winters’ unnoticed secret. . .

Driving to work this morning, the sky was intermittently releasing tiny snowflakes that were clinging to my windshield.

I was humbled as I caught, just for a moment, the delicate detail of those tiny flakes. We’ve all heard that each one is unique, and this morning I noticed just that.

Check out this (http://www.its.caltech.edu/~atomic/snowcrystals/) on-line guide to snowflakes, snow crystals, and other ice phenomena.

This site will help you realize how remarkable and truly complex snowflakes are, and how they are created out of thin air!