Showing posts with label ice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ice. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 14, 2016
Frozen on Ice!
Frozen on Ice!
Back in February, I bought tickets to Disneys Frozen on Ice. That seemed like a blue million years ago and I pretty much forgot all about it until I got the email reminder this week to print my tickets. And today was finally the day to take the kids.
We didnt tell them about it until this morning. Mostly cause I didnt want them asking me for the last 240 nights how many more times they have to sleep until they get to see Frozen. And I guess no one was talking about it at school because Lily never mentioned it.
The kids had a great time. Even Joel and I enjoyed the show. But I have to say that watching Lilys face was probably better than watching the show. The whole experience gave me the Disney bug again. You know, the one where you get the itch to spend thousands of dollars to walk around in the heat and wait in endless lines with a couple whiny kids. Oh wait, I mean, make memories and meet Mickey. Yeah, that bug. Ive got it. Must wait. Will not take kids till they are done with naps. Be strong.
The kids had a great time. Even Joel and I enjoyed the show. But I have to say that watching Lilys face was probably better than watching the show. The whole experience gave me the Disney bug again. You know, the one where you get the itch to spend thousands of dollars to walk around in the heat and wait in endless lines with a couple whiny kids. Oh wait, I mean, make memories and meet Mickey. Yeah, that bug. Ive got it. Must wait. Will not take kids till they are done with naps. Be strong.
Anyhow, we told them this morning about an hour before it was time to leave. Lily got all dressed up in her Elsa dress and when I was fixing her hair into an Elsa braid, Tyler comes over and tells me he wants to wear a costume. Whoops. Did not even think about that. I told him he could wear his fireman costume but he didnt want that. He wanted Spiderman - which barely fit him LAST Halloween. No way to fit in it now. Uhhg. Mommy fail. Fortunately for my guilt-meter he forgot all about wearing a costume a few minutes later and all was good. Whew. Bullet dodged.
We flew out the door and made a pit stop at Crackerbarrel for some pancakes. Then off to the show.
We got to our seats about 5 minutes ahead of show time which was perfect. Any more and I think I would have gone nuts with telling Lily to be patient for just a few more minutes. She wanted to see Elsa NOW.
Our seats were perfect. We were close enough that we could see the characters faces but up high enough to see the whole arena at a glance. And no one was immediately in front of us - we had a completely unobstructed view.
Our seats were perfect. We were close enough that we could see the characters faces but up high enough to see the whole arena at a glance. And no one was immediately in front of us - we had a completely unobstructed view.
The opening number was of lots of Disney characters - but none from Frozen. Lily looked INCREDIBLY disappointed. Wheres Elsa? Wheres Anna?? Mommy??! Where are they?!?!? Relax child. Theyll be here soon.
We bumped in to "Elsa" on the way out. Lily looks up at me and asks if she can give Elsa a hug. I said, "Of course!" and she practically mows some people down trying to make her way through the crowd to hug Elsa (aka some random woman dressed up in an Elsa costume hugging children outside the arena...standing next to two Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles....with a tip bucket in front of them....thats not weird at all...).
Both kids were snoring within minutes of getting on the road after it was all over. Success!
I think I teared up at least 4 times during the show. 1) Lily was freakin cute singing those songs and watching Tyler clap and smile was priceless and 2) I just kept feeling grateful that we can afford to give our kids these memories and that we were taking the time to do it all together as a family. When we were at Crackbarrel, a waitress came up to say hi to our Elsa and comment on her beauty. She was talking about how she remembers getting to see Smurfs on Ice as a kid and how memorable that was her. Then somehow it becomes clear that she has a daughter but will not be taking her to the show. It wasnt like a "poor, poor pitiful me" kind of conversation but I just felt so sorry for that woman who had fond memories of Ice Capades but couldnt give that same gift to her daughter.
We are so lucky.
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Thursday, November 17, 2016
When to Use Ice When to Use Heat
When to Use Ice When to Use Heat
When to Use Ice, When to Use Heat
August 21, 2015 | 126,629 views
http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2015/08/21/cold-heat-therapy.aspx?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=facebookmercola_ranart&utm_campaign=20160522_cold-heat-therapy
By Dr. Mercola
Applying ice or heat can provide relief from injuries, aches, and pains, but they shouldnt be used interchangeably. Generally speaking, ice works well after a sudden injury while heat helps to soothe ongoing muscle aches and pains.
Ice works for injuries because it narrows your blood vessels, which helps prevent blood from accumulating at the site of injury, which will add to inflammation and swelling while delaying healing. This is also why elevation is helpful, since it limits blood flow to the area to minimize swelling.1
A good rule of thumb to remember following an injury is RICE: rest, ice, compression, and elevation. You should generally ice the area for 48 to 72 hours to reduce secondary tissue damage and ease pain.
Ice should be applied for about 20 minutes once an hour. You dont want to use ice longer than this as it could damage your skin or even lead to frostbite. Be sure the ice or gel pack you use can be wrapped around the injured area and even compressed to minimize swelling. Youll want to protect your skin from direct exposure by applying a cloth or towel between your skin and the ice.
When to Use Heat…
For muscle aches and pains, applying a heat pack will help bring blood flow to the area, which promotes healing and soothes pain while increasing flexibility. As blood flow increases, so does the flow of oxygen and nutrients to the area while waste materials are removed.
Heat also works well for joint pain or as a pre-workout warm-up. Hot gel packs or heated water bottles work well for this and dont pose any of the risks of electromagnetic field (EMF) exposure that most electric heating pads do.
Generally speaking, pain that is chronic and does not involve swelling will respond well to heat treatment. As with ice, youll want to use a barrier between the heat and your skin, such as a cloth. Apply the heat for 15 or 20 minutes at a time.
You may also want to try alternating heat and cold, which is a strategy often recommended by physical therapists and trainers. Apply heat for 20 minutes then follow immediately with 20 minutes of cold.
Another Way to Use Heat: Hyperthermic Conditioning
Heat-shock proteins (HSPs) are used by your cells to counteract potentially harmful stimulus. Whenever a cell is exposed to an unfriendly environment, the DNA separates in certain regions and begins to read the genetic code to produce these stress proteins.
HSPs are actually beneficial, helping to both prevent and repair damaged proteins. Heat-shock proteins are induced by heat, and this is one reason why sauna use is so beneficial.
According to Rhonda Perciavalle Patrick, Ph.D., increasing your core temperature for short periods, as is done by using a sauna, may offer dramatic improvements to your athletic performance.
She calls this concept "hyperthermic conditioning," which emerging research suggests has multiple positive effects on your body, from increased endurance to the growth of new brain cells.
Hyperthemic conditioning, or "acclimating yourself to heat independent of aerobic physical activity through sauna use," boosts endurance because it induces adaptations in your body that make it easier for you to perform when your body temperature is elevated.
In short, as your body is subjected to reasonable amounts of heat stress, it gradually becomes acclimated to the heat, prompting a number of beneficial changes to occur in your body.
The Benefits of Sauna Use
As your body adapts to heat stress, these adaptations include increased plasma volume and blood flow to your heart and muscles (which increase athletic endurance) along with increased muscle mass due to greater levels of heat-shock proteins and growth hormone.
In one study, those who had a 30-minute sauna session twice a week for three weeks after their workouts increased their time it took to run until exhaustion by more than 30 percent!2
Daily sauna use has also been shown to cut mens risk of death from fatal heart problems in half, compared to those who only used it once each week.3 Other physiologic adaptations that occur from hyperthermic conditioning include:4
Improved cardiovascular mechanisms and lower heart rate5 | Lower core body temperature during workload | Higher sweat rate and sweat sensitivity as a function of increased thermoregulatory control6 |
Increased blood flow to skeletal muscle (known as muscle perfusion) and other tissues7 | Reduced rate of glycogen depletion due to improved muscle perfusion8 | Increased red blood cell count9 |
Increased efficiency of oxygen transport to muscles10 |
General Sauna Recommendations
Infrared saunas are known for their ability to promote detoxification, as discussed in a previous interview with Dr. Brian Clement, medical director of the Hippocrates Health Institute. By heating your tissues several inches deep, the infrared sauna can enhance your natural metabolic processes and blood circulation.
It also helps oxygenate your tissues. Your skin is a major organ of elimination, but many people do not sweat on a regular basis, thereby forgoing the benefits of this natural detoxification process. Repeated use of the sauna slowly restores skin elimination, which can help reduce your toxic load quite significantly. Many also enjoy saunas for relief of pain and muscle tension.
For all its health benefits, exposing your body to high temperatures should be done with commonsense and caution. If youve never taken a sauna before, start out by spending only a few minutes in there. Try a maximum of four minutes when first starting out.
Then, for each subsequent sauna, add about 30 seconds, and slowly work your way up to somewhere between 15 to 30 minutes. The reason for this is because the detoxification process can, in some cases, be severe, depending on your toxic load. General sauna recommendations are as follows:
- Infrared sauna: 160-180 degrees Fahrenheit, for 15-30 minutes
- Regular (Finnish wet or dry) sauna: 180-190 degrees Fahrenheit, for 10-20 minutes
Additionally, consider the following safety tips at all times:
Avoid using a sauna by yourself; always sauna with a buddy | Always listen to your body when deciding how much heat stress you can tolerate. If youre ill or heat sensitive, decrease the temperature, time spent in the sauna, or both |
Do not use a sauna if youve been drinking alcohol | Be sure to drink plenty of pure water before and after your sauna session. To replace electrolytes, add a pinch of Himalayan pink salt, which is rich in natural microminerals |
Avoid saunas during pregnancy | You may want to rest either sitting or lying down for about 10 minutes afterward |
When to Use Cold-Water Baths…
At the other end of the spectrum, exposing your body to cold temperatures may also have health benefits. For starters, intriguing research suggests heat-shock proteins may also be cold-induced.
In one animal study, cold exposure induced the expression of HSPs in brown fat,11 the implications of which are as yet unknown. Its thought that cold-induced expression of heat-shock proteins may facilitate thermogenesis in beneficial brown fat,12 and, on a much broader scale, that exposing your body to reasonable amounts of both cold and heat stress may actually be beneficial.
Brown fat is a heat-generating type of fat that burns energy instead of storing it, and this may have important implications when it comes to weight loss. In one study, scientists found that they were able to activate brown fat in adult men by exposing them to cold temperatures.13 Swedish research published in 2009 also found that cold temperatures increased the activity in the subjects brown fat regions.14 In fact, cold-induced glucose uptake was increased by a factor of 15.
Based on animal models, researchers estimate that just 50 grams of brown fat (which is less than what most study volunteers have been found to have) could burn about 20 percent of your daily caloric intake—and more if "encouraged."
Regular cold water and ice baths, otherwise known as cold-water immersion or "cryotherapy," is also a popular technique among amateur and professional athletes, as it is thought to help reduce muscle inflammation and pain after exercise, as well as speed recovery time.
Indeed, after analyzing 17 trials involving over 360 people who either rested or immersed themselves in cold water after resistance training, cycling, or running, researchers found the cold-water baths were much more effective in relieving sore muscles one to four days after exercise.15
Most studies on cold-water immersion report no or minimal side effects, so if youre willing to spend 20 minutes or so in a cold tub of water, you may very well find some relief. Of course, common sense must be used. When you immerse yourself in cold water, it will shock your body to some degree, so you need to make sure the water is not too cold and you do not stay in it for too long.
Brief Exposure to Cold Water Might Promote Hardening
Exposing your whole body to cold water for short periods of time is also used to promote "hardening." Hardening is the exposure to a natural stimulus, such as cold water, that results in increased tolerance to stress and/or disease. This was demonstrated by a study involving 10 healthy people who swam regularly in ice-cold water during the winter.16 Following exposure to the cold water, researchers noted:
- "Drastic" decrease in uric acid levels: High levels of uric acid are normally associated with gout, but it has been long known that people with high blood pressure, kidney disease, and people who are overweight often have elevated uric acid levels. When your uric acid level exceeds about 5.5 mg per deciliter, you have an increased risk for a host of diseases including heart disease, fatty liver, obesity, diabetes, hypertension, kidney disease, and more.
- Increase in glutathione: Glutathione is your bodys most powerful antioxidant, which keeps all other antioxidants performing at peak levels.
Personally, I have been experimenting with cold-water immersion for a couple of years. I will go into the shower without allowing it to warm up, and I also go in the ocean without a wet suit on when most people consider it too cold to swim. I have found that if I hold my breath it really helps adjust to the initial shock, and I rapidly acclimate to the cold. I have come to enjoy it and now view it as a form of healthy stress, very similar to exercise.
If you decide to give any type of cold-water immersion a try, be sure to listen to your body and work up to the more advanced techniques gradually. There are a number of different options you can try:
- Place an ice pack on your upper back and upper chest for 30 minutes per day (you can do this while relaxing in front of the TV for example)
- Drink about 500 ml of ice water each morning
- Take cold showers
- Immerse yourself in ice water up to your waist for 10 minutes, three times per week. (Simply fill your tub with cold water and ice cubes)
And remember, you can use hot and cold therapeutically for muscle and joint pain and injuries, respectively. If you have swelling and an acute injury, apply cold using an ice or gel pack for 20 minutes at a time. For chronic aches and pains, use a gel pack or hot water bottle for 20 minutes for relief.
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Monday, August 29, 2016
Roller Skating Ice Skating Part Deux Daddy Dance First snow of 2016
Roller Skating Ice Skating Part Deux Daddy Dance First snow of 2016
We took the kiddos roller skating for the first time while we were still off on the holiday break. We thought that maybe roller skating would be easier for them to do than the ice skating was. Turns out this was partially true.
The wheels on Tylers skates barely rolled (on purpose) so he was mostly just walking around in roller skates. It reminded me of the Fisher Price kind that you attached to your shoes - those things didnt roll either. He did pretty alright.
Lily on the other hand was a bit like watching one of the three stooges. Arms flailing. Legs going in opposite directions. Dive bombing for the railing. I encouraged her to spend her time practicing on the carpet where it want so slick. By the time let the place, she had built up her confidence enough to let go of the railing while on the actual skating rink - even if only for a few seconds at a time.
Lily made a friend while she was there. They were following each other around almost the whole time. I was glad she did. Having another little girl there about the same age kept her entertained and willing to try new things.
We had decided to try the roller skating because Lily was going to be going to an ice skating birthday party and I had wondered if learning to roller skate might help her to ice skate better. I dont know if it did or it didnt but it certainly didnt hurt.
The theme was princess tea party.
These four girls have been in the same class at daycare ever since Lily started going there. Thats Ava, Amaya, Charlotte and, of course, Lily. Amaya, Charlotte and Lily all have birthdays within days of each other.
At the ice skating party, all the kiddos were able to have one of those scooter things, which was really nice. Lily got linked up with one of the young figure skaters who was helping with the party and that girl was racing Lily all over the rink. I think this helped make Lily feel brave. Next thing I know, shes kicked the scooter to curb and is ice skating all around all on her own and having the time of her life! When it was time to go she was begging to come back again another time. I only took video of Lily skating unassisted so unfortunately no photo to show off her skills.
There is an annual Father/Daughter dance which I found out about last year the day after it happened. This year, I was all over it and booked the tickets for Lily and Joel to go.
The day before the dance, Joel asked Lily if she would go on a date with him to a dance. She said yes so the day of the went shopping for a new fancy dress. I had a really hard time finding something. We ended up basically finding an Easter dress for her to wear. We get back home with that and I go looking for her dress shoes to make sure they still fit - uh, yeah, no. They were about 2.5 sizes too small. Whoops. So then we had to go back out again and find her some shoes. She insisted on high heels. Five going on fifteen much?
At the dance, the Prince and his Princess walked down a red carpet and were introduced. Then they went and got their photo taken.
And thats where the Mommys involvement ended. Mommies and brothers had to leave. (So we went on our own date to Wendys - Tylers choice.)
After we left, the Daddies and the Daughters could do a crown craft, have dinner and snacks and of course dance. Two of Lilys friends, Amaya and Charlotte, were at the dance and of course they all three ditched their Daddies for a while and played with each other.
Joel said they had a grand time. Lily had fun playing with her friends and getting dressed up and having a special time without Mommy and Tyler.
We finally (FINALLY - according to the kids) had our first snow fall of this winter season. According to Lily, it has not really been winter until now - when it snowed. We got all of about 1.5-2 inches, but as soon as the kids realized it, they were begging to go outside and play in it. It was 6am. It was dark. We told them they had to wait a little bit.
But once it was light and at least slightly warmer (24 degrees - windchill 11 degrees), we could hold them off no longer. They were pulling their snow gear out and putting it on and pretty much going outside whether we said yes or not.
(Nevermind Tylers pink hat.....he had to borrow Lilys. He somehow only has one hat and it was left at school.)
Joel joined the kiddos outside. I did not. I stayed in drinking coffee and fetching... "Mommy! We need...." "Mommy! Can you get....." Fill in the blank. Plus I was in charge of making sure the hot chocolate was ready when they came back in.
They were throwing snowballs, making snow angels, making a teensy tiny snowman (snow was not very pack-worthy) and then followed up with a more respectable snowman / Olaf impersonation. There was a lot, A LOT, of snow eaten. Particularly by Lily.
The kids lasted a lot longer than I expected. They were out there for about 45 minutes. Definitely the longest stretch ever. And as promised, I was ready with the hot chocolate when they came in. And also prepared for the wet clothes mayhem that follows playing in the snow.
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