Stay Warm for Winter Workouts

Just because it's cold out doesn't mean you need to hibernate like a bear cuddled in blankets in front of the TV. Sure, that's perfectly fine and wonderful when there's a blizzard or icy roads in your neighborhood, but if you have the motivation and proper gear, you can get in just as good a workout in the cold as you would in the sunny, Summer months!

Click 'more' for some tips to stay warm and safe when working out in the chill zone...

Thank You, Waimanalo Elementary and Intermediate School!

Today the Ask, Listen, Learn team was in Waimanalo, Hawaii at Waimanalo Elementary and Intermediate School with Congresswoman Mazie Hirono. We enjoyed speaking to the kids about the importance of staying active and making good decisions.

Thank you to all the kids who played our Xavix game and answered questions to take home t-shirts and sunglasses! We hope you all remember to say 'Yes' to a healthy lifestyle, and 'No' to underage drinking!

Photo: Edward T. Morita

Contest for North Carolina middle schoolers!

The NC Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission (NCABC) and its educational and prevention website, www.ACTnowNC.org, are excited to sponsor the first annual Middle School Poster Contest.

The goal of the contest is to get students thinking, talking (and drawing!) about the dangers of underage drinking. Students from across North Carolina are encouraged to enter artwork that creatively expresses their interpretation of the contest's theme: “Most don't, and I won't!”

We commend our friends at the NCABC for this effort! It's a great opportunity for youth to get involved!

Appreciate your Valentines today!

Some folks may feel bitter on Valentine's Day, and at times the pink and red heart explosions everywhere may seem a little much…but think about when you were a kid in elementary school. Remember making your shoebox 'mailbox' decorated with your name and hearts to put on your desk for all of your classmates to put Valentines in? It's the one day of the year where almost everyone is supposed to say nice things to you! Whether it's “Thanks for being a good friend,” “You rock my world,” or “You're prettier than a dozen roses,” today is a day to appreciate the good qualities of the people in your life.

If you haven't had time to buy a card or want to make some with your kids, here are some last-minute inspirations from ideas we found on the web. What do you think?!

Butterfly

Alligator

Bunny

Want beautiful V-Day treats with less guilt?

Valentine's Day is tomorrow! Cookies and candies are the norm, which gives you all the more reason to try something new and different, and hopefully healthier, too!

How about strawberries and parfait? Lemon bars, miniature lemon & cranberry scones, or apple cinnamon oatmeal cookies, all made with fresh fruit? For a low-fat alternative to heavy cream, take a peek at these ideas.

Make this a fun activity for the entire family; just be sure to be careful in the kitchen!

Photos: Strawberries, Scones

Why don't we hand MOM the playbook and whistle?

Team sports and other athletic activities can be fun for the whole family to watch and enjoy. But what about parent participation? Moms can pack a team snack for half time, make cheering signs for the game, give a warm hug to make a sprained ankle feel better, but it's not likely that she'll be on the sidelines in the middle of the team huddle calling plays. A blog post entitled, “Why Don't More Moms Coach?” on The New York Time's blog “Motherlode, Adventures in Parenting”  stated that only about 4% of young boys' teams have women coaches, and only about 10% of girls' teams.

Most women are strong, organized, and smart leaders of their families in their home and in the workplace, so why don't they take on coaching positions?

Well, if you look at a couple famous women coaches, they will tell you the career move was not an easy one. An article in Time Magazine, “Where Are the Women Coaches?” noted stories of Karen Tessmer, women's basketball head coach at Massachusetts' Worcester State College, who ran practice while carrying her baby daughter on her back. Dena Evans, who coached Stanford's cross-country team, would meander the sidelines of meets in chilly Midwestern towns and breast-feed her baby beneath a tree. She'd then worry about her child's crying affecting her runners' concentration.

Though women have made huge strides in the athletic world decades after the institution of Title IX, the leadership in this arena still lags...

Julie Foudy: Choose to Matter

Guest post from Julie Foudy: I love playing sports for a long list of reasons, but I especially love sports because they help define who we are:

• Sports give you confidence.


• Sports give you strength.


• Sports give you a voice (hence, the nickname Loudy Foudy). :)


• Sports teach teamwork and leadership.

Yet too often we focus on the win/loss column without recognizing that the real beauty of sports resides in the fact that sports shape our character.