Tips to Keep Veterans Healthy

A few days ago, Emily over at Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance Blog  e-mailed me and asked to do a guest post on my blog, well I am new to the blogger world and accepted! Emily is very passionate about veterans and their families and helping them learn about health risks many veterans are faced with or could possibly be faced with.

I am a granddaughter, niece, and will eventually be a wife to a veteran, any type of information to help my family and yours, I am sure will be very helpful. Maybe not today, but in the future.

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Veterans are typically fit and healthy, but throughout the course of their jobs they come into contact with harmful substances and outdoor elements that compromise their health. It is important to keep veterans healthy when they return from war and minimize the exposure to environmental hazards. Let’s take a look at some of the hazards that veterans can be exposed at home and how they can be eliminated.

Eliminate Exposure to Asbestos
Many people were exposed to asbestos while on naval ships in the military. This exposure can lead to mesothelioma 10 to 50 years after the initial exposure. Veterans need regular checkups to ensure that asbestos has not been inhaled and trapped in the tissue linings. Even if veterans were not exposed during the military, they may take jobs in construction or live in dilapidated homes that may increase exposure to asbestos. Eliminate exposure to prevent cancer development.

Eat Healthy
Eat healthy food full of antioxidants to prevent a host of illnesses. Cancer, obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes are all health risks for veterans who do not eat healthy. Veterans must make a concerted effort to eat healthy and prevent illnesses from developing. Five servings of fruits and vegetables will fight free radicals and help to keep mental and physical health in check.

Exercise and Get an Annual Physical
Exercise daily and get an annual physical to stay healthy. Exercise is recommended to prevent cancer, heart disease, obesity, and diabetes. Believe it or not, it also is effective in regulating mood. Exercise 30 minutes per day to prevent illnesses from developing.

Protect Hearing
In combat; veterans are exposed to loud noises that could potentially damage the ears. After they return home, they must protect their ears from loud noises by wearing protective earmuffs or earplugs. Protection will prevent hearing problems later in life.

Stay Fit and Healthy With a Few Simple Tips
Every veteran should stay fit and healthy by following these few simple steps. Veterans served our country and deserve to have a long life without significant health problems. Try the tips and increase the longevity of your life for your friends, family, and peers.

I hope this information from Emily will help a family out there seeking information. If you have any questions I am sure Emily will not mind you e-mailing her at ewalsh@mesothelioma.com.

Thank you again Emily for all the great information!

Follow Friend Friday!

My First Blog Hop! :)

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Day 1 of 365.. a day late.

My first post of 2013!

I am very anxious for this year, a lot of crazy things will be occurring and I can't wait to blog about them to keep me sane, busy, and inspire others. I am super excited because I had Kristen over at WTF design this awesome blog design for me!

A few of my resolutions for 2013.. which I think are very achievable, since I have such a hard time keeping them.. include:

1. LIVE LIKE HE DEPLOYS TOMORROW:

With Cory in the military, deployment is sometimes inevitable & we have never experienced a long deployment, but it is very possible. A few months ago he got a call and had to report less then 4 hours later on base for a deployment with an unknown end date. Granted we knew a little bit, but it was so sudden, unexpected, and we were not ready at all for this. This little deployment opened our eyes and got us talking about things we need to put in place in case this ever happens again. He is in the reserves and we live a few hours from his base so we need to prepare ourselves for calls like this in the future, especially if he is gone for an extended period of time.

I want to live each day like he will leave for a year tomorrow. I want to make sure everything in place so we are not caught off guard. I want to REALLY enjoy the little things and the big things together. I want him to know that if he leaves he is leaving behind a fiance that is semi-prepared (can you ever really be prepared for deployment?).

I want to know that when he gets that call I will be ready, he will be ready, our family will be ready.

2. LEARN TO LET LITTLE THINGS GO, AND DO LESS WORRYING.

Sorry, I do not have a link for this.

Honestly. This says it all. I want to do all the above. I need to do all of the above!


3. PLAN OUR WEDDING!

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Cory and I are getting married in August 2014, so I have some time to plan our wedding, but really need to start getting to the nitty gritty of everything. And I am a HUGE Pinterest fan, I can not get enough of pinning things for our wedding. I need to get more organized and start putting our ideas together. I made a binder when we got engaged, so I just need to start putting everything in it. I am hoping by this time next year the wedding is planned or close to being planned so we can relax and enjoy the last few months leading up to the big day!

4. FOCUS ON OUR HEALTH

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My family is pretty health for the most part. But..

Cory is trying to gain more weight and muscle, and

I am trying to lose a few pounds before my best friend's wedding in May!

not a great combination at all.
But we both respect each others goals, and help each other be happier and healthier. I am hoping in the next few months Cory and I get on track with our health goals and start to meet them and accomplish them, small steps at a time. We don't eat out much at all unless it's our occasional date night and we really don't go crazy with our selections off the menu.

We just snack.. all the time. and our soda intake is awful! I know it's something we can quit and work on but it's the convenience of having them available right there! But I hope to get us on a healthier track and start to see progress in each other, with the help of each other.

5. THIS BLOG

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I am very excited to start the new year with this blog, I have been blog stalking for a while and trying to work up the courage to start my own, and figure out what I should blog about. I love the blogs I come across and follow, and I hope that over the next year people will feel the same about my blog too! I am hoping to get everything updated and finalized by the end of January, fingers crossed! :) and thanks to a few supporters I am beyond excited to get started.

I feel like there are million other goals, resolutions & projects I want to do this year. The norm: organize my life, stop procrastinating, start a hobby, and make more time for family and friends  but I have 365 days to do it, a brand new chapter. a brand new, clean, empty calendar to fill. so exhilarating.

So here is to 2013, a brand new chapter for many of us.

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Wedding Night.

My first post. I have sat here in front of this computer for days weeks trying to figure out something to write to start this blog: about me, why i want to blog, anything.. well Monday I stumbled across this Pinterest (which I am insanely addicted to) pin about "Waiting till the Wedding Night - Getting Married the Right Way" Article Here 

And since I will be getting married soon everything wedding catches my eye. As I read this article I began to realize this isn't really what I expected.. only because you barely ever hear about a couple waiting until their wedding night, which is not a bad thing at all. But with a world full of "sex" everywhere you turn, it was 'nice' to read a story about a couple doing everything the right way. What I was expecting was tips or a story about the moments after the night of bliss was over, what I got was a shocking realization about the morning after your wedding, something I am sure many of us never think about, I know I haven't. Even though the article's main topic was abstinence -- I got something different out of the article. The author and his wife's story of the morning after their wedding was both sad and real for so many couples. I have been to many weddings where there is an open bar, and as a guest it was amazing! - but as I am beginning to plan, I am realizing it is also expensive. My fiance and I have discussed many options for our reception, since my fiance does not drink.. ever really (me on the other hand, have an obsession of wine) we are choosing the cheaper route ( beer, wine, and signature drinks thanks to Pinterest again). Why? because when you plan your wedding and you see the cost of everything it takes to have a beautiful wedding the last thing you want is to wake up the next morning and not remember a thing about the night before--

• One: not only was it because it was YOU and your now HUSBAND's big day where you shared with your family and friends your vows to one another, and spent hundreds or thousands (depending on the wedding) on everything to make this day special and perfect for the everyone including yourselves.
• Two: how sad is it to have to babysit your husband on your wedding night, a night that is supposed to mean so much to the both of you. 
• Three: who wants to wake up with a hangover? and many people leave right for their honeymoon the morning after, I couldn't imagine being on a plane hungover, let alone getting from the hotel to the airport while cursing the sun for being up and making your headache ten times worse

I am sure many wives could care less about what their husband does after the exchanging of the vows as long as he showed up and got dressed. But many of us wait our whole lives for this day, we plan for months or years and pray everything goes well. The last thing I or we want to worry about is getting drunk or our husbands getting drunk and the aftermath of the night of drinking.  My heart reaches out to those who have had to go through it. I am extremely grateful for my fiance and his decision not to drink, not only on our wedding day but in general; I get the real him and he gets the real me. Not the emotional or angry alter-ego of our drunk selves. 

After this article I couldn't wait to tell Cory, I had so much emotion in telling him. I felt like the bride in the article. Cory completely agreed with me, it was sad, but it happens and it happens often. I can not wait to marry my best friend, my soul mate; I can't to see his face when he gets to see me for the first time in my dress (well my moms dress!), I get butterflies just thinking about our first kiss as Mr. and Mrs. Overly. I couldn't imagine not remembering the little, special details about my wedding day because I wanted oh lets say an hour at most because I am a little weight of drinking fun. 

Sorry for the rant. but it just makes my heart sad. And I am sure there are plenty of soon to be brides and grooms who can relate.

xoxo, jess.