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VISION:
Better Tomorrows' vision is that all communities are strong, healthy, and comprised of people who are self-sufficient and successful.

MISSION:
Better Tomorrows’ mission is to empower individuals, families, and neighborhoods to thrive.

WHAT WE DO:
The Better Tomorrows impact-driven social service model is aimed at fostering economic stability, educational success, healthy lifestyles and strong communities. By providing a continuum of direct support to affordable housing residents and the neighboring communities, Better Tomorrows’ place-based programming and case management build safe and nurturing environments and uplift youth, adults, families, and seniors.

Thursday, September 30, 2010

CLOROX VERSUS PEROXIDE

Did you know bleach was invented in the late 40's? It's chlorine, folks! And it was used to kill our Troops. Peroxide was invented during WWI in the 20's. It was used to save and help cleanse the needs of our troops and hospitals.

Please think about this:

1. Take one capful (the little white cap that comes with the bottle) and hold in your mouth for 10 minutes daily, then spit it out. No more canker sores, and your teeth will be whiter without expensive pastes. Use it instead of mouthwash.

2. Let your toothbrushes soak in a cup of peroxide to keep them free of germs.

3. Clean your counters and table tops with peroxide to kill germs and leave a fresh smell. Simply put a little on your dishrag when you wipe, or spray it on the counters.

4. After rinsing off your wooden cutting board, pour peroxide on it to kill salmonella and other bacteria.

5. Spray a 50/50 mixture of peroxide and water on your feet to remove fungus (especially the toes) every night and let dry.

6. Soak any infections or cuts in 3% peroxide for five to ten minutes several times a day.

7. Fill a spray bottle with a 50/50 mixture of peroxide and Water and keep it in every bathroom to disinfect without Harming your septic system like bleach or most other Disinfectants will.

8. Tilt your head back and spray into nostrils with your 50/50 mixture whenever you have a cold, plugged sinus. It will bubble and help to kill the bacteria. Hold for a few minutes, and then blow your nose into a tissue.

9. If you have a terrible toothache and cannot get to a dentist right away, put a capful of 3% peroxide into your mouth and hold it for ten minutes several times a day. The pain will lessen greatly.

10. And of course, if you like a natural look to your hair, spray the 50/50 solution on your wet hair after a shower and comb it through. You will not have the peroxide-burnt blonde hair like the hair dye packages but more natural highlights if your hair is a light brown, reddish, or dirty blonde. It also lightens gradually, so it's not a drastic change.

11. Put half a bottle of peroxide in your bath to help get rid of boils, fungus, or other skin infections.

12. You can also add a cup of peroxide instead of bleach to a load of whites in your laundry to whiten them. If there is blood on clothing, pour it directly on the soiled spot. Let it sit for a minute, then rub it and rinse with cold water. Repeat if necessary.

13. Use peroxide to clean my mirrors. There is no smearing.

14. Another place it's great is in the bathroom, if someone has been careless & has peed on the floor around the toilet & it's begun to smell of urine. Just put some peroxide in a spray bottle & spray. In the blink of any eye all the smell will be gone & the bacteria eliminated!


Pass it on! Clorox vs peroxide VERY interesting and inexpensive.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

September Birthday Party

Horseshoes, Shuffleboard & Hopscotch - oh my! ;)

Thursday, September 23, 2010

The Best Time to Avoid a Heart Attack

The following article was found on the Doctor Oz website:

It’s probably no surprise in this overscheduled world of ours, that our bodies stick to a pretty rigid rhythm themselves. And understanding our internal clocks gives us the power to do everything we can to stay healthy, and, in some cases, stay alive. Here’s what you need to know to stop the #1 killer of women—heart disease—from stopping you.

Here are 3 reasons heart attacks are 3 times more likely to strike in the morning than the evening:

1. Blood pressure is highest in the morning because it rises quickly to get you ready for the day. In fact, your heart needs 50% more blood to go from being asleep to being awake, and as that blood pulses through your blood vessels, the increased pressure can tear the vessel lining.
2. Blood vessels are thicker in the morning. Just as our muscles and joints feel stiffer when we get up, our blood vessels are thicker and more rigid. It’s harder for them to bend and flex, which makes them more likely to build up plaque; combine that with high blood pressure, and it’s a recipe for artery rupture.
3. Blood is thicker in the morning. The platelets in our blood, which help it clot, are stickier in the morning and more likely to stick to blood vessel walls, plus the system that combats blood clots is not as active in the am. And when stickier blood hits the scars and tears caused by high blood pressure and stiff arteries, clots form, and the stage for a heart attack is set.

3 Easy Things You Can Do To Prevent a Morning Heart Attack


1. Take most of your meds at night.


* Blood pressure-lowering medications can ward off the morning pressure rise when you take them before bed.
* Meds to lower cholesterol also work better when taken at night, because the liver likes to make extra cholesterol while you sleep. Keeping your cholesterol down in the morning will help reduce the fragility of any plaque build-up in the arteries.
* Baby aspirin, which thins the blood and make it less likely to clot, can help your blood flow better in the morning when taken just before bed.
* Magnesium (500mg) taken before bed will help your blood vessels relax and open up. Pair it with 1,000 milligrams of calcium to keep the magnesium from causing runny stools and help stabilize plaque in the arteries.

2. Floss at night


Gum disease is a leading cause of inflammation in the body, and inflammation makes it more likely that plaque in your blood vessels will rupture. The best time to fight gum disease and inflammation is at night when the body slows the production of saliva giving bacteria the chance to run wild. Flossing at night keeps bacteria in check and your gums and blood vessels healthier.

3. Get a good night’s sleep

Poor sleep raises your blood pressure (and nightmares may increase your heart rate and stiffness in your blood vessels), so take a little time to get a peaceful 7 to 8 hours each night. Try these tricks:

* Get 20 minutes of sun daily to increase melatonin (the sleep hormone) at night.

* Try a little lemon balm. One study found that it improved anxiety, nervousness, and sleep disturbances in 90% of patients.

* Listen to relaxing music at night, which has been shown to reduce your heart rate and blood pressure and may help decrease nightmares.


The original article can be found here

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

FREE restaurant gift certificates

Enter to Win a $50 Gift Certificate and to Receive Your Exclusive Online Promotions

Go to www.poconoliving.net

In the top right hand corner, enter your email address then click enter to submit your entry.

GOOD LUCK!

RedPlum's Dash for Deals

RedPlum is offering new coupons/deals everyday on their website. Be sure to check it out daily and print any coupons you might use.

CLICK HERE FOR THE REDPLUM WEBSITE

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

25 Best Nutrition Secrets

Found this fantastic article on Yahoo.com..very much worth the read.

Sarah Palin is on a diet. So is Barack Obama, Glenn Beck, Oprah Winfrey, Lady Gaga, Peyton Manning, the pitching staff of the Texas Rangers, all the judges on America’s Got Talent, and the entire cast of Glee. In fact, from Chris Rock to Kid Rock to The Rock, everyone you can name is on a diet.

And so are you.

How can I be so sure? Because a “diet” isn’t something you go on and go off of, like a prescription. A diet is what you eat, day in and day out, whether you planned to eat that way or not. So when people ask me what kind of “diet” they should follow, I always tell them to follow the one they’re already on—the way you like to eat is the way you should eat. In researching the Eat This, Not That! book series and seeing people lose 10, 20, 30 pounds or more effortlessly, I've learned that if you want to make big changes to your health, forget about following somebody else’s diet. Just make a bunch of little changes to the diet you’re already following. Believe me, it’s the best way to get results. Below, I’ve listed the 25 best new nutritional tweaks you can make that will improve the way you look and feel—fast and forever!

Coffee1. Drink a second cup of coffee. It might lower your risk of adult-onset diabetes, according to a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

2. Keep serving dishes off the table. Researchers have found that when people are served individual plates, as opposed to empty plates with a platter of food in the middle of the table, they eat up to 35 percent less!

3. Think before you drink. The average person drinks more than 400 calories a day--double what he or she used to--and alone gets around 10 teaspoons of added sugar every single day from soft drinks. Swap out sweetened teas and sodas for no-cal drinks and you could lose up to 40 pounds in a single year! (To see more proof of how wayward beverages can utterly destroy your diet, check out the 20 Worst Drinks in America. Many of these drinks contain more than a day's worth of calories, sugar and fat!)

4. Practice total recall. British scientists found that people who thought about their last meal before snacking ate 30 percent fewer calories that those who didn't stop to think. The theory: Remembering what you had for lunch might remind you of how satiating the food was, which then makes you less likely to binge on your afternoon snack.

5. Eat protein at every meal. Dieters who eat the most protein tend to lose more weight while feeling less deprived than those who eat the least protein. It appears that protein is the best nutrient for jumpstarting your metabolism, squashing your appetite, and helping you eat less at subsequent meals.

Protein

6. Choose whole-grain bread. Eating whole grains (versus refined-grain or white bread) has been linked to lower risks of cancer and heart disease.

7. Think fish. Consuming two 4- to 6-ounce servings of oily fish a week will sharpen your mind. Among the best: salmon, tuna, herring, mackerel, and trout. They're high in docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which may reduce your risk of Alzheimer's. Study participants who had high blood levels of DHA also performed better on noverbal reasoning tests and showed better mental flexibility, working memory, and vocabulary than those with lower levels.

8. Sign up for weight-loss e-mails. Daily e-mails (or tweets) that contain weight-loss advice remind you of your goals and help you drop pounds, researchers from Canada found. We're partial to our own Eat This, Not That! newsletter, and to the instant weight-loss secrets you'll get when you follow me on Twitter here.

9. Cut portions by a quarter. Pennsylvania State University researchers discovered that by simply reducing meal portions 25 percent, people ate 10 percent fewer calories—without feeling any hungrier. Serving yourself? Think about what looks like a reasonable portion, then take at least one-quarter less than that. (By the way, studies show today's restaurant servings are 2 to 5 times bigger than what the government recommends!)

10. Turn off the TV. Scientists at the University of Massachusetts found that people who watch TV during a meal consume, on average, 288 more calories than those who don't eat with the tube on.

11. Put your fork down when you chew. Or take a sip of water between each bite—eating slowly can boost levels of two hormones that make you feel fuller, Greek researchers found.

12. Choose rye (not wheat) bread for breakfast toast. Swedish researchers found that rye eaters were more full 8 hours after breakfast than wheat-bread eaters, thanks to rye's high fiber content and minimal effect on blood sugar. As a result you'll want to snack less and eat less for lunch.Veggies

13. Eat a handful of fruit and vegetables a day. In one study, people who ate four or five servings scored higher on cognitive tests than those who consumed less than one serving. (Remember: Salad isn't always the healthy choice. Check out 20 Salads Worse Than a Whopper to see what I mean. You'll be shocked.)

14. Sip green tea. It might help you build a strong skeleton, say researchers in China, and help protect you from broken bones when you're older. And one study found that it helps fight bad breath, too.

15. Work out before lunch or dinner. Doing so will make the meals you eat right afterward more filling, according to British researchers—meaning you'll eat fewer calories throughout the day.

16. Hung over? Choose asparagus. When South Korean researchers exposed a group of human liver cells to asparagus extract, it suppressed free radicals and more than doubled the activity of two enzymes that metabolize alcohol. That means you'll feel like yourself again twice as quickly.

17. Sleep 8 hours a night. Too much or too little shut-eye can add extra pounds, say Wake Forest University researchers. Not there yet? Try these 7 simple strategies for longer, deeper sleep.

Miso Soup18 Discover miso soup. Brown wakame seaweed (used in miso soup) can help lower your blood pressure, especially if your levels are already high, say researchers at the University of North Carolina.

19. Drink two glasses of milk daily. People who drink the most milk have about a 16 percent lower risk of heart disease than people who drink the least. (I recommend nonfat or 1 percent milk.)

20. Take a zinc supplement. Just 15 milligrams of zinc a day (the amount found in a Centrum Ultra multivitamin, for example) will motivate your immune cells to produce more of a protein that fights off bacterial infections.

21. Go ahead, eat your favorite foods. Good eating doesn't need to be about deprivation—it's about making smart choices. Why eat a 1,000-calorie cheeseburger if a 500-calorie burger will satisfy you just the same? The bottom line: Eat foods that you enjoy, just not too much of them.

22. Choose foods with the fewest ingredients. There are now more than 3,000 ingredients on the FDA's list of safe food additives—and any of these preservatives, artificial sweeteners and colorings and flavor enhancers could end up on your plate. Do you really know what these chemicals will do to your waistline or health? Of course not. Here's a rule of thumb: If a 7-year-old can't pronounce it, you don't want to eat it.

23. Snack on popcorn. In a 2009 study, people who ate 1 cup of microwave popcorn 30 minutes before lunch consumed 105 fewer calories at the meal. Just choose the kind without butter.

24. Or snack on walnuts. Eating a handful of walnuts each day may boost your HDL (good) cholesterol fastest, while lowering your LDL (bad) cholesterol.

25. ScrambleEggs your breakfast. People who ate eggs in the morning instead of a bagel consumed 264 fewer calories the rest of the day, according to a Saint Louis University study. That’s because protein is more filling than carbs.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

September Schedule

NEW CLASS!!!! NAVIGATING THE INTERNET

Having trouble finding information on the Internet? Too much information to sort through before finding what you’re looking for? This class will teach you how to filter out the garbage and improve your chances of finding the exact information you need on the World Wide Web.

Classes on 9/1, 9/9 & 9/29. Come once, twice or even three times if you want but you must sign-up. Sign-up sheets on bulletin board outside the Computer Learning Center.
_____________________________________________________
Weds. September 1:
9:15-12:00 Open Lab

1:15-2:15 Navigating the Internet – see above for details

2:30-4:45 Open Lab

Thurs. September 2:
9:15-12:00 Open Lab

1:15-2:15 Home Users Club – Meet in the Community Room

2:15-4:45 Open Lab

Tues. September 7:
9:15-12:00 One-on-One By Appointment Only

2:00-4:45 Open Lab

Weds. September 8:
9:15-12:00 Open Lab

1:15-2:15 Typing Class – Learn the Keyboard!

2:15-4:45 Open Lab

Thurs. September 9:
9:15-12:00 Open Lab

1:15-2:15 Navigating the Internet – see above for details

2:15-4:45 Open Lab

Tues. September 14: CLOSED

Weds. September 15:
CLOSED

Thurs. September 16: CLOSED

Tues. September 21:
9:15-12:00 One-on-One By Appointment Only

1:15-4:45 Open Lab

Weds. September 22:
9:15-12:00 Open Lab

1:15-2:15 Newsletter Class – Help with the monthly newsletter insert, flyers and bulletin board items. Sign-up sheet on bulletin board.

2:15-4:45 Open Lab

Thurs. September 23:
9:15-12:00 Open Lab

2:00 Monthly Birthday Party – Meet in the Community Room

3:15-4:45 Literati Challenge - Sign-up sheet on bulletin board.

Tues. September 28:
9:15-12:00 One-on-One By Appointment Only

1:15-4:45 Open Lab

Weds. September 29:
9:15-12:00 Open Lab

1:15-2:15 Navigating the Internet – see above for details

2:15-4:45 Open Lab

Thurs. September 30:

9:15-12:00 Open Lab

1:15-2:15 English As A Second Language

2:15-4:45 Open Lab
_______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________
September One-on-One Appointment Dates
Tuesday: 9/7, 9/21, 9/28
The sign-up sheet for one-on-one appointments is on the bulletin board outside the Computer Learning Center. Sign-up sheet for September will be posted on August 31st at 5:00 pm
_______________________________________________________
SCHEDULE CHANGE
The Computer Learning Center will be CLOSED Tuesday September 14th, Wednesday September 15th and Thursday September 16th.