The Body

The Government and your Food………

Ok this was just a little too shocking for us NOT to share with you, we found this at “the Blaze” written by Meredith Jessup
New government regulatory crackdowns on certain foods and beverages across the country are forcibly shaping new dietary habits for many Americans. To make things easier, we thought we’d consolidate and break down a number of the bureaucratic overreaches for you.
How is government working to limit your scrumptious individual liberties? Let us count some of the ways…
• As we’ve reported, officials in Boston, Mass., are contemplating a ban on “sugary” beverages from the vending machines of all city municipal buildings in an attempt to whittle down public employees’ waistlines.
• Likewise, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom used his executive order power to ban sodas and other sugary beverages from public building vending machines, replacing them with diet drinks and soy milk products.
• In a separate executive order, the San Francisco Mayor also single-handedly banned the use of city funds to purchase bottled water. “[Bottled water manufacturers] are making huge amounts of money selling God’s natural resources. Sorry, we’re not going to be part of it,” he said.
• In New York, a Brooklyn Democrat introduced a bill in the state legislature earlier this year to ban the use of salt in restaurant cooking.
• The New York Times dubbed the state of California a “national trendsetter in all matters edible” when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill in July to ban trans fats from the state’s 88,000 restaurants.  “Under the new law, trans fats, long linked to health problems, must be excised from restaurant products beginning in 2010, and from all retail baked goods by 2011.”  Other places that have banned trans fats include New York City, Philadelphia, Stamford, Conn., and Montgomery County, Md. — a suburb of Washington, D.C.
• In perhaps one of the most outrageous cases of regulations restricting small business, health officials in Oregon shut down 7-year-old Julie Murphy’s roadside lemonade stand in August for failing to secure a $120 “temporary restaurant” license.
• Kids may also be also be getting the shaft in San Francisco where officials are launching a campaign to ban “Happy Meals” or any other meals that come with a toy.  The so-called “Healthy Meals Incentive” would ban toys if the food contains too much fat, sugar or salt.  It wouldn’t be the first time meal-time toys would be nixed in California; earlier this year, Santa Clara County approved an ordinance “to break the link between unhealthy food and prizes.”
• New York City has banned school bake sale as part of a new wellness policy that also limits options in vending machines and student-run stores.  Proceeds from the ventures generally used to help help finance school-related activities like pep rallies and proms.
• Under state laws in Texas, a single piece of candy landed a 10-year-old Brazos Elementary School student in detention for a week in May.
• In May, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sent this letter to General Mills, warning that the company’s claims about Cheerios helping to lower cholesterol represent “serious violations” of federal law.
• And in the news today, the state of Florida may become the first in the country to ban chocolate milk from public school cafeterias.  The Florida Board of Education voted Tuesday to remove all sugary drinks in schools, including soda and flavored milk.  The board is considering allowing only three types of drinks for younger children—water, unsweetened juice and plain, low-fat milk.  High school students would be allowed diet sodas and other low-calorie drinks.
Are government regulations limiting your right to tasty foods and drinks?  Send me your stories by emailing mjessup@theblaze.com!
Cruisin' Companions

DOODLES

Doodles is a gorgeous, happy little terrier that you may see leaping into the air one moment as if on a pogo stick and then cuddling with a volunteer the next. This sweet, entertaining, bouncy guy walks great on a leash and will jump onto a bench to snuggle up to a volunteer.
On a recent outing to the park, Doodles walked well with other dogs and rode very well in the car. Doodles is a bright, high-energy dog who would excel in obedience training and with an active family who has terrier experience and older or no children. Parson Russell Terriers are very intelligent dogs who thrive when given lots of exercise and mental stimulation.

Are you looking for an adorable companion for long walks and who would be great fun learning tricks and commands in behavior classes? If so, silly little Doodles is your guy! Come meet Doodles at Animal Friends today!

The Body

THON

What Is THON?  The largest student-run philanthropy in the world! The Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, affectionately referred to as THON, is ready to do battle in the fight to conquer childhood cancer.

In 1973, a small group of dedicated Penn State students held the first Dance Marathon. That year, 39 dancer couples participated and raised $2,000. Since then, THON’s presence in the Penn State community has grown exponentially. THON now has 15,000 student volunteers, 700 dancers, and has raised more than $69 million, benefiting The Four Diamonds Fund at Penn State Children’s Hospital.

THON is now a year-long effort that raises funds and awareness for the fight against pediatric cancer. With the support of students from all across the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and THON Alumni all around the world, we continue to make great strides towards finding a cure for all childhood cancers!

The Body

Crunchy Caramel Apple Pie

It’s Apple Pickin’ Time! So what are you going to do with all those Apples???? How about this tasty treat!
ingredients
• 1    recipe Pastry for Single-Crust Pie (see below)
• 1  cup  packed brown sugar
• 1/2  cup  all-purpose flour
• 1/2  cup  quick-cooking rolled oats
• 1/2  cup  butter
• 1/2  cup  granulated sugar
• 3  tablespoons  all-purpose flour
• 1  teaspoon  ground cinnamon
• 1/8  teaspoon  salt
• 6  cups  thinly sliced, peeled cooking apples
• 1/2  cup  chopped pecans
• 1/4  cup  caramel ice-cream topping
directions
1. Prepare Pastry for Single-Crust Pie. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to a 12-inch circle. Transfer pastry to a 9-inch pie plate. Ease pastry into pie plate, being careful not to stretch pastry. Trim; crimp edge as desired.
2. For Crumb Topping, stir together brown sugar, 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, and the oats. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until the topping mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl stir together the granulated sugar, 3 tablespoons flour, the cinnamon, and salt. Add apple slices and gently toss until coated. Transfer apple mixture to the pastry-lined pie plate. Sprinkle Crumb Topping over apple mixture.
4. To prevent overbrowning, cover edge of pie with foil. Bake in a 375 degree F oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes more or until top is golden. Remove from oven; sprinkle pie with pecans, then drizzle with caramel topping. Cool on a wire rack. Makes 8 servings.
Pastry for Single-Crust Pie: In a bowl stir together 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in 1/3 cup shortening until pieces are pea-size. Using 4 to 5 tablespoons cold water total, sprinkle 1 tablespoon of water at a time over the flour mixture, tossing with a fork until all of the dough is moistened. Form dough into a ball.
nutrition facts
• Calories554, Total Fat (g)25, Saturated Fat (g)10, Cholesterol (mg)31, Sodium (mg)260, Carbohydrate (g)81, Fiber (g)3, Protein (g)5, Vitamin A (DV%)11, Vitamin C (DV%)6, Calcium (DV%)3, Iron (DV%)15, Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet
The Machine

Travis Pastrana Sets Fastest Time in Automobile up Notorious Mt. Washington Auto Road at Red Bull Speed Chasers

The 149-year-old Mt. Washington Auto Road has seen the likes of horses and carriages, camels, people, bicycles and most famously, competition race cars. Yesterday, traveling at an average speed of nearly 72 mph in a Vermont SportsCar-prepared, BFGoodrich Tires-shod 2011 Subaru Impreza WRX STI rally car, four-time Rally America National Champion Travis Pastrana made sure the project name, Red Bull Speed Chasers, lived up to its name. He reached the summit faster than anyone else in history by clocking an officially timed run of 6 minutes 20.47 seconds, besting the previous record by more than twenty seconds. Amazingly, Pastrana achieved the impressive time on his first ever high-speed run to the summit. Pastrana has effectively thrown down the gauntlet in advance of the legendary Mt. Washington “Climb to the Clouds” Automobile Hillclimb, which will take place in 2011 after a 10-year hiatus.

The 7.6-mile-long Mt. Washington Auto Road is one of the ultimate challenges for driver and automobile; the serpentine tarmac and gravel road is lined with trees and dangerous drop-offs above the mountain’s tree line as it winds its way to the 6,288 foot summit of the Northeast’s tallest peak. The road, which features more than 100 turns, is mostly paved but features a technical dirt section that is approximately one mile long. The road climbs 4,618 ft from an altitude of 1,527 ft with an average gradient of 11.6%.  We have ridden our bikes up this road and it is intense, can’t imagine making it to the top doing 72 MPH. Go Travis!

The Body

Liquid Bombshell Clothing

Looking for the perfect vintage dress for a special occasion, or maybe a retro cardigan or handbag? Check out Liquid Bombshell, this site is for Femme Fatales of all ages, shapes and sizes, colors and cultures to find their inner vamp.

The fashion range you will find includes Pin Up, Retro, and Rockabilly to Fetish, Goth, and Punk styles.  We recently ordered from this company and have to give it a A+ for customer service. Our order arrived prompt and when we found out we were shipped the wrong size, the correct one was on the way in a flash and the wrong one was shipped back at no cost. We will no doubt order from Liquid Bombshell again.  So many great clothing lines to order from on this site!

Cruisin' Companions

CHUCKLES

Animal Friends has always been known go the extra mile for a pet in need. For Chuckles, a 9-year-old Shepherd/Australian Cattle Dog mix, those extra miles required a plane ticket.

Chuckles was adopted from Animal Friends several years ago. Recently, she moved with her owner to St. Louis, MO. But sometimes, life doesn’t go as planned. That’s when Chuckles’s owner found that he had to move again and ended up in an apartment building that didn’t allow dogs.

Chuckles found herself in a crowded shelter that is forced to euthanize animals to make space. When Animal Friends received a call from the shelter and learned that one of our alumni was stuck 600 miles away from home, staff and volunteers swung into action. Ultimately, they decided that the safest and most efficient way to get Chuckles home was for her to fly, and a plane ticket was purchased in her name.

Chuckles is now awaiting adoption into a loving home. She is gentle, polite, affectionate, and friendly with people and dogs. She knows several commands including “sit,” “paw” and “down.” She is crate trained and housebroken and would make a fantastic companion for just about any family! Inquire about her today at Animal Friends!

Cruisin' Companions

KASITA

I realize I look just a tad grumpy in my picture here, but when you find out how I arrived, you’ll understand. Somebody just left me here outside the volunteer entrance to the shelter. I don’t think I did anything wrong, but for whatever reason I wound up here.
Since nobody provided any background to accompany me, I can’t even tell you what happened to my tail. I still have a bit of one, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to notice that mine doesn’t look like the other cat tails in this place. Lucky for me its loss does not interfere with me in any physical way, and the other cats have been nice about not making fun of me.
I think people are ok. I want to interact with them on my terms. If I want my ears or back scratched, I’ll come over to you. And, at this point, I am definitely not a lap cat. By the way, I really like to be brushed down my back. So if you are in the socialization room with me, please make sure you have a brush or comb handy. See what a polite cat I am; I said please!
Like all the others here, I’m looking for my own home. If you don’t mind me setting the interaction rules, then perhaps I’m the one for you!  Please come meet me at Animal Friends!