by aschortinghouse | Jun 27, 2019
Use sparklers in an open area and keep pets and small children away. Photo by John Paul Tyrone Fernandez
Sparklers and fireworks have often been a highlight of celebrations throughout the summer months. While enjoying your summer celebrations, it is important to know that Florida has strict firework laws. According to the South Walton Fire District’s July 4th PSA Transcript, under current Florida law, only sparklers approved by the Florida Division of State Fire Marshal are legal to use. A person responsible for illegally setting off fireworks may be charged with a first-degree misdemeanor. The State Fire Marshal’s website is home to a list of approved sparklers which you can here.
SAFETY FIRST
While many do not view sparklers as extremely dangerous, they still have the potential to be very dangerous. If you are enjoying approved sparklers at home, use the 5 following tips to help prioritize safety while enjoying the holiday.
- Use sparklers in an open area and keep pets and small children away
- Keep a water hose or fire extinguisher nearby for emergencies.
- Do not carry or store sparklers in pockets.
- Purchase sparklers from a licensed vendor.
- Use a bucket of water to collect the used sparklers. Sparklers may cause fires if not thoroughly extinguished.
FIREWORK SHOWS
Consider taking your family to a professional fireworks show this year. Photo by Peter Spencer
4th of July firework shows are exciting for people of all ages to watch. However, fireworks can be very costly, dangerous to setup and most require special permits in certain settings and conditions. Consider taking your family to a professional fireworks show in your area. Make it a family tradition, complete with a family picnic for the evening. Often times, churches and civic organizations will provide professional firework displays with free food for the entire family, just to keep everyone safe for the evening.
There are numerous professional fireworks shows put on throughout the Florida Panhandle. Click here for a list of firework shows on the 4th of July. Be safe and enjoy the beautiful Florida weather!
Happy Independence Day!
REFERENCES
by Rachel Pienta | Jun 7, 2019
Hurricane Michael was the first ever Category 5 hurricane on record to impact the Florida Panhandle.
Are you ready? The 2019 Atlantic hurricane season began June 1. The official hurricane weather season continues until November 30, 2019. For Florida residents, it is never too early and not too late to prepare for this year’s hurricane season. NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center released a forecast prediction reporting a 40% chance of a “near-normal” Atlantic hurricane season and a 30% chance “above normal” indicating a range of 4-8 hurricanes, including 2-4 hurricanes of category 3 or higher. With this information provided as a means to increase disaster preparedness awareness, it is imperative that our families take action now to minimize the anxiety, stress, and hardships that occur when a disaster strikes. The following information details three family-friendly disaster preparedness activities to complete during the month of June to be hurricane ready for the 2019 season followed by useful informational links.
Build a Disaster Preparedness Bucket
The contents of a disaster bucket assembled by Wakulla County Emergency Management Director Jennifer Nagy.
One annual activity that families can do together is “build a disaster preparedness bucket.” Families may prepare large plastic storage containers with lids for hurricane snacks and other necessary items. In a storm situation where conditions may require you to move to safety, preparing a 5 gallon bucket with a lid full of recommended essential items will provide a portable, easy-to-store alternative that the whole family can use. Buckets may be purchased at local hardware or home improvement stores. In your area, organizations like your local city or county emergency management department or the Red Cross may offer a bucket giveaway program with pre-stocked disaster preparedness kits.
Talk About Your Communications Plan
As a family, decide who will be the point of contact for all members to contact in case of emergency. This activity is an excellent way to engage your child in critical thinking and problem solving. The person or people should be located outside the impacted area – a grandparent or other relative or family friend in another state would be one possibility. Provide each family member with a laminated contact list – with emails, phone numbers, and addresses – that can be kept in disaster preparedness kits, saved in phones, or stored in wallets and backpacks. Local business supply stores, mail or copy centers in your area may offer laminating services to make waterproof contact lists for safe storage and easy reference.
Have a “Meals To Ready” Taste Test Dinner
After a disaster, your family may be without power for several days or longer. To enjoy safe, hot meals, one option is “meals ready to eat” also known as MREs. MREs are a complete, filling & nutritious way to feed your family. MREs can be purchased online or in the camping section of stores like Bass Pro or Wal-Mart. These meals have a long shelf life and can be stored for months until needed. Some MREs include built-in heaters while others require boiling water to prepare. Camping MREs tend to be an entrée only. Military style MREs will have most, if not all, of the following components: entrée, side dish, bread, spread, dessert, cold drink mix, instant coffee, spoon, condiments, napkin, moist towelette, and a flameless ration heater.
Completing an MRE taste test as a family planning activity will help you determine which products your children will eat when the time comes to use the MREs. The taste test can be fun for the whole family – have everyone taste and then rate each meal or meal component on a scale of 1 to 5 – with 5 being the best possible in flavor and food quality. When you get ready to purchase a supply of MREs, you will know whether your family is going to prefer lasagna to white chicken chili and can shop with confidence!
For more information about hurricane season preparation or 4-H programs in your county, please contact your local UF IFAS County Extension Office, or visit http://florida4h.org.
Resources
by Yolanda Goode | Mar 15, 2019
Are you physically or mentally running on E?
Are you racing “90 to nothing” in your daily life? until something forces us to hit the brakes or the emergency brake is applied. Instead of clearing our plates, we add sideboards onto them so that we can accept more.
We wear many hats outside of work such as a family member, caregiver, volunteer, student, etc. Some days we find ourselves in foul moods where we lack comprehension, patience, and focus. Is it because we are hangry (hungry + angry) or just plain ole tired? You’ve heard the saying; “you can’t squeeze blood from a turnip”… or is that a beet?…LoL, you get the point. How do we avoid the breakdown that can and will happen if we keep pushing ourselves without intentional refueling?
Here are several tips to help you stay fueled and refreshed:
- Block scheduling: I shared a photo of a tool that I use, but you use what works for you. The key thing is for you to understand where you can capture time for yourself to refuel.
- Rest: Sleep on a regular schedule and take breaks during the day.
- Eat well: physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
- Have some fun: You are encouraged to have fun. Adulting is tough.
- Take lunch: Go visit a local library, museum, or sit in your car at a local park.
- Vacation: Plan for it, and take it. But leave some recovery time, so you are not rushing back to work the next day. Another option is weekend trips or a day-cations while kid(s) are at school.
- Nurture your hobbies: When was the last time you ____________?
- Guard your time: Once you’ve blocked it out, it’s yours. Don’t let others guilt you into giving it back.
Slowly implement some of these tips into your life, and remember an empty tank is just that. Empty. You will be more productive by taking care of you, and you’ll be better able to wear all those hats.
by Marie Arick | Mar 11, 2019
4-H Food Challenge Mystery Basket
Being creative in the kitchen…using a surprise set of ingredients…making a tasty dish…frequent watcher of The Food Network? Then the 4-H Food Challenge camp is the summer day camp for you!
Take a Sneak Peek
Here’s a sample list of possible ingredients in the Fruit & Vegetable category:
- 4 medium potatoes
- 1 cup carrots, sliced
- 1 cup of celery, sliced
- 1 ½ cups green bell pepper strips
- 1/3 cup onions, sliced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tomato, cut into wedges
- 3 tablespoons of canola oil, divided
- ½ cup of water
- 2 tablespoons of low sodium soy sauce
- 1 ½ teaspoons of cornstarch
Any idea what you’d prepare? What would you name your dish?
Participants in the 4-H Food Challenge camp will work in teams with 3 to 4 members. Teams will be presented with:
- a food category
- a set of mystery ingredients
- 40 minutes to create a dish, prepare a presentation about their dish, and clean their work area
When time is up, teams will present their creation to a panel of judges describing their collaboration in creating the dish, food safety practices used by the team, how they worked together, and finally, a description of the dish including some nutrition information.
We all eat, so food safety and preparation are skills that we all need. 4-H Food Challenge campers will learn those skills along with nutrition knowledge, teamwork and presentation skills. Look for this day camp opportunity in your local UF/IFAS Extension 4-H program this summer, and join us in putting our skills to the test!
*The 4-H Food Challenge is loosely based on The Food Network show “Chopped” and adapted from the Texas 4-H Food Challenge Contest.
by Prudence Caskey | Jan 22, 2019
Imagine this…an appointment runs long, you skip lunch and end up snacking the rest of the day. That leads to eating dinner very late and you feeling like your whole diet and commitment to eating better in 2019 is blown! Don’t toss in the towel and give up; each new morning brings a new day and a fresh start and a chance to start over.
One of the most important skills youth learn and practice in 4-H is goal setting behavior. Here are some ways to help make goals more achievable for you and the youth in your life:
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Youth are most motivated when they set their own goals.
Make goals S.M.A.R.T.
- Goals should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Tangible
- Develop an Action Plan
- Write goals down
- Have an action plan to track progress
- Reflect along the way
- Make your goals present in your daily activities
- Put a reminder note on your mirror
- Set a reminder alarm on your phone
- Get an accountability partner
- Find someone you can trust to report your progress
- Check in an chat
Nothing matches the look on a face when a goal is reached!
My son is my physical activity accountability partner, and he and I walk together. Sometimes he has to drag me out of the house, and sometimes I have to get him motivated to go – whatever it takes to meet your goals.
Remember, every day is new with the opportunity to start fresh each day. Make a New Day Resolution to achieve your goals. If you fell off the wagon yesterday, let it go. Best wishes for a great new year and for every new day you have!
For more information on 4-H in your county, contact your local UF/IFAS Extension office.
Resources: How Setting Goals Helps Teens Succeed
by Melanie Taylor | Jan 11, 2019
Be mindful and enjoy the moment.
Now that the busy holiday season is over, it’s a time to reflect on the past but prepare and refocus for the new year ahead. As we focus on the new year, it is always refreshing to have a clean slate. As the year begins to unfold, there are tips to help you manage your day-to-day stress levels. It begins with mindfulness.
What is mindfulness?
Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way; on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally.” Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn (1991)
Mindfulness is best thought of as a way of being rather than an activity Almost any activity can be carried out with mindful awareness.
Three Key Features of Mindful Awareness:
- Purpose – intentionally and purposefully directing your attention rather than letting it wander.
- Presence – being fully engaged with and attentive to the present moment. Thoughts about the past and future that arise are recognized simply as thoughts occurring in the present.
- Acceptance – being non-judgmental toward whatever arises in the moment. This means that sensations, thoughts, and emotions are not judged as good or bad, pleasant or unpleasant; they are simply noticed as “happening” and observed until they eventually pass (Naik, Harris and Forthun 2016).
Mindfulness is a mind-body practice that has been found to benefit both psychological and physical health. The primary psychological change that occurs during mindfulness practice is an increased awareness of thoughts, feelings, and sensations in the present moment. Over time, mindfulness practice can help you to become aware of the space between noticing experiences and reacting to them by letting you slow down and observe the processes of your mind (Black 2010).
The ultimate goal of mindfulness practice is for you to take advantage of this space so you can make more intentional decisions – to wake up from living life on autopilot, based on unproductive habits of mind
(Black 2010; Walach et al. 2007).
According to the American Psychological Association, some empirically supported benefits of mindfulness include the following (Davis & Hayes 2011):
Psychological Benefits
- Increased awareness of one’s mind
- Significantly reduced stress, anxiety, and negative emotions
- Increased control over ruminative thinking (a major cause and symptom of depression and anxiety)
- Increased mental flexibility and focus
- More working memory
- Decreased distracting thoughts
- Decreased emotional reactivity
- Increased capacity for intentional, responsive behaviors
- Increased empathy, compassion and conscientiousness of other’s emotions
Physiological Benefits
- Enhanced immune system functioning
- Increased brain density and neural integration in areas responsible for positive emotions, self-regulation, and long-term planning
- Lowered blood pressure
- Lowered levels of blood cortisol (a major stress hormone)
- Greater resistance to stress-related illnesses such as heart disease
Spiritual Benefits
- Increased self-insight and self-acceptance
- Increased acceptance of others
- Increased compassion and empathy
- Increased sense of morality, intuition, and courage to change
- Increased control over automatic behaviors
- Increased self-discipline
The question is, how many of us would like to benefit from mindfulness if it provides these positive benefits? All of us should strive to lower our stress level and enjoy our daily lives with a more positive attitude and more attentiveness. So, how can we incorporate this into our lives? The majority of this practice is about familiarizing yourself with what it feels like to be mindful, and getting better at “remembering” to maintain mindful awareness.
Experiment with creating your own mindfulness practices throughout your day. Being mindful of the sensation on the soles of your feet as you walk to your car or the taste and texture of your morning coffee can transform routine moments into deeply satisfying practices. However, having a ritualized and structured practice can be beneficial. To find out more about practicing mindfulness and how to incorporate a more structured practice in your life visit read Mindfulness: An Introduction.
Sources: Mindfulness: An Introduction. 2013, 2016. Retrieved from the UF/IFAS Extension Electronic Data Information System: https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fy1381. Publication #FCS2335
