Community Blog

I went and watched Toy Story 3 with a child that I was babysitting last night. I was impressed with the movie. It took me through a roller coaster of emotions. I even cried at one part. This prequel is about how Andy is preparing for college so he has to give his toys away. Woody and Buzz realize this and the story is about their adventures at their new home. The graphics were absolutely amazing along with the story line. My hats are off to everyone involved with this movie. I probably will go see and see it again. If you still are not sure, trust me. You will be thanking me later. Check out a clip of the excitement below:

Would you call yourself a patient person? About 3 years ago I would have said no with confidence. I moved 100 plus miles per hour. If someone couldn’t answer my question within a minute of asking it, I would jump to something else. My mom would always tell me to slow down and I would tell her what’s the point. Then I decided to try yoga and that’s when I learned the beauty of slowing down. Yoga taught me a lot of patience that I have today because I wanted to be able to do all the moves right away, but that’s impossible. It takes a lot of practice and discipline. I have transferred the lessons of patience into my everyday life too. Below are some tips that I used to help me become the patient person I am today:

• Take a step back from the situation before reacting
• Deep breaths
• Count to 10
• Laugh about it
• Talk to a friend

My favorite tip out all of these is deep breaths. I breath in calming thoughts and breath out the chaos. It really helps calm me down and focus on what is really going on . How do you get patience?

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Growing up I never had a lot of breakouts until I was about 18 and then it went away a few years later. I am 26 now and started breaking out last year. I went and saw the dermatologist and she gave me some tips that said I had to do in order to get clear skin again. I will admit I rarely washed my face before I went to bed and I never used sunscreen. When I told her this she said ” I am not suggesting , but telling you that you need to take better care of your skin.” I have been following her tips for the past 3 months and they really have helped my skin look a lot better. Below are the 5 tips that I have incorporated into my regime that I suggest for everyone:

1. Wash your face before you go to bed.
   
2. Wear sunscreen.
3. Eat foods high in Omega-3’s.
4. Stay hydrated.
5. Use retinoid.

These seem pretty simple, but for me it’s always the simple things that I forget the most. I know sometimes we all have those late nights where we just want to get in bed without doing anything. I keep makeup remover clothes in my night stand, so if I am that lazy I can at least wipe off my makeup. It is better than going to bed with makeup on. To stay hydrated I try and drink at least 2 liters of water a day. I got retinoid cream from the local pharmacy; I like to use Olay. What other skin care tips do you have to share?

Photo courtesy of Perfecto Insecto

This Saturday you can sail the Bama Belle on the Jack Warner River. There will be free food and drinks provided on the boat. They will begin boarding at 7:30pm. Happy hour is until 8:30pm. Dinner will be served around 8:45pm and the full bar opens at 9:45pm. The event is going to be a blast! They are going to have 2 different DJ’s on the 2 decks. The upper deck will have R&B and hip-hop and the lower deck will have line dancing, Chicago style stepping and some great oldies. I love to dance to all types of music, so I can’t wait to get the best of both worlds in one night.

They recommend dress classy with a casual/comfy feel. To find out about getting tickets call 205-339-1108 for more information.

Have you ever been on the Bama Belle before?

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I went to Hokkaido Japanese Restaurant the other night and the food was delicious! The restaurant is located on 15th Street. They not only serve sushi but they also serve chicken, lobster, and steak from the grill.  I had the vegetarian Hibachi and tasted my friends avocado roll which was really good. Everyone that I went with were very please with their dishes. The chefs are very entertaining. The atmosphere is fun and the restaurant is very clean. For dessert I had a scoop of the ginger ice cream and a scoop of the chocolate as well. It was plenty for 3 of us to share. And it was a perfect ending to the meal. We will definitely be going back again when we want Japanese food.

What is your favorite Japanese restaurant in town?

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If you are job searching or just started your first job. I have been working for more than 3 years in corporate America and there is nothing worse than when someone wears something inappropriate on the job. If you have to ask yourself more than twice if it’s appropriate, you should probably wear something else. I have seen people come in everything from sweat pants to jeans with holes in the rear.

I have decided to list a few Work-drobe rules that will benefit all the newbies out there.

• Don’t wear shorts that are more than 2 inches above your knees.
• Don’t wear t-shirts that have inappropriate verbiage.
• Don’t wear shirts or dresses that are too low cut. If it’s questionable then put a tank top on underneath.
• Don’t wear your workout clothes.
• Don’t wear your bedroom/house slippers.

I know some of these things may seem common sense, but you will be very surprised. I have seen people wear all of the things that I have listed above. What other Work-drobe “No-No’s” do you have to share?

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There are so many articles floating out there about exercising. Exercising has become a huge passion of mine. I have loved fitness ever since I was younger. I have tried numerous diets, workout trends, and cleanses. I will say the only thing that has really worked is a well balanced diet with regular exercise. This doesn’t mean you have to eat tasteless healthy food, it just means you have to watch your proportions. I eat whatever I am craving. If I want French fries, I will eat them. Instead of over indulging and getting a large I get a small or kids size.

I was talking to one of my friends because she was complaining about her weight. I couldn’t believe some of the things that she believed. Some of the myths that she really believed were if she lifted weights she would bulk up, her weight had to do with her genetics and that she was already too muscular. These are ALL FALSE. When women feel like they are super muscular in certain spots, but it’s usually more fat than muscle. Weight training is vital to a good program because muscle helps you burn more calories throughout the day.

What other fitness myths have you heard before?

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I finally gave in and decided to take my little cousin to watch The Karate Kid this past weekend at Hollywood 16. The movie was very cute and definitely tweaked to match today’s society. I am still biased there is nothing like Daniel son and Mr. Miyagi; that was a true classic. Will Smith’s son, Jaden Smith, does an amazing job. When he cries in one of the scenes you can just feel his pain. It reminded me of Will Smith in the Pursuit of Happiness.

If you have a young person in your family or babysitting this is a great movie to go and see. I probably would have waited until it came on television if it wasn’t for my younger cousin. Check out one of the trailers below:

Have you seen this movie?

Have you ever tried a Brownie Pillow Cookie?  I’d never had one until I ran across the recipe for them on Bakerella.  They are truly heavenly!  If you love chewy cookies loaded with chocolate then you’ll enjoy making a batch of these.   They’re chocolate chip cookies with a hidden surprise of brownie in the middle.  Try them and let me know what you think.

July 4th Tuscaloosa County Park and Recreation Authority is hosting the biggest Independence Day celebration in West Alabama. Independence Day is celebrated due to the victory over England in the revolutionary war, which won America its Freedom.  The events will start promptly at 6pm and end at 9pm, culminating with a fireworks extravaganza.

The event will take place at Sokol Park; the event is open and free to the public. There will be live music, including two youth bands Eat My Beats,  Alabama Blues Project, and headlining the event will be Southern Distortion.

Sponsors for the event include: Walter Energy, Nucor Steel, Buffalo Rock Pepsi, Clear Channel Radio, MVUA-TV, The Tuscaloosa News, Weatherford Printing Company and Bank of Tuscaloosa.

The event has an assortment of fun activities for the kids including sack races, water balloon toss, and the infamous rock climbing wall.

The 4th of July only comes once a year, so get out there and enjoy it. Sokol Park is conveniently located only 7 miles north of University Downs

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