Random Thoughts: January 10, 2008

** I-4, where all that mayhem was in my neck of the woods on Wednesday morning, remains shut down indefinitely. they need to repair the road in the places where the fire *melted* it. there are stories coming out now. like emergency crew members that were terrified while trying to help people because they didn't know if *they* would get run over. these people have a ton of courage. think about it: there was just a wall of smoke & fog. you're driving down the highway at 70mph (or more, in most cases) and without warning, it's like someone threw a blanket over your car. that was what caused the chain reaction pile-up of over *seventy* vehicles. the visibility was so bad that someone had to walk in front of each ambulance at a snail's pace, trying to light the way with a flashlight. that is just crazy.

** i was trying to not doze off at work yesterday -- after December's crazy rush comes slow slow January -- so i was meandering around online. i learned that Buckingham Palace has 775 rooms. whoa.

** did you know that the color red (including pink) has the ability to boost metabolism and raise respiration rates? that yellow & orange encourage healthy eating habits & an optimistic outlook? and purples boost our brain power & your ability to think? on that note: find some ways to add reds to your living area (and anywhere you might exercise!), yellows & oranges to your kitchen & dining room, and purple to your home office area. apparently colors don't just brighten the place up!

** i am just full of trivia lately huh?

** how about another one? apparently if you stand baked potatoes on end in a muffin pan, they'll bake faster. hmmmm...

** it won't come as a shock to some of you that child development still fascinates me, even though i don't do daycare anymore & don't have any kids of my own. anyway, i tend to keep up on this stuff anyway. you may or may not know, that for quite a while, pediatricians have recommended not giving kids certain foods that are common allergens until they are about three years old. i recently read this, which may be of interest to some of you: According to new guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics, there’s no reason to hold off feeding your child peanut butter, nuts, eggs, or fish in order to reduce his risk of developing a food allergy. In the past, pediatricians recommended that children with a family history of allergies shouldn't eat eggs until age 2, and shouldn't eat peanuts, tree nuts, or fish until age 3. But the latest studies haven’t shown that this practice actually prevents allergies—to the contrary, food allergies are on the rise—and some studies suggest that introducing these allergenic foods early may even be protective. The new guidelines say that you can feed your child any foods after 4 to 6 months (except foods that are choking hazards, of course, which include large spoonfuls of peanut butter).

** ok i think this Kaboost thing is pretty darn cool. obviously it's not meant for a child who still needs to be belted into a highchair, but in place of those booster seats you try to strap on your chair? this is awesome!