Helpful Job Hunting Tips- Getting Through the Hard Times

Not to reiterate bad news, but the economy is still taking a beating. Sometimes job experience is not enough to and a position with a company, especially for the older population. However, there is help out there. I recently read a great article from CNN.com that was loaded with valuable job search information. Some tidbits included:

Whittle down your experience

One of the biggest obstacles for older workers is that they may be overqualified for jobs they’re applying to. So, whittle down your resume to what’s really important.

• Focus on the last ten years. Stress money earned for the company, costs eliminated or time saved. And share only those qualifications that match the job opening. Don’t talk at length about your vast experience. Focus on what you can do for your employer.
• Leave off school graduation dates. Don’t start your resume with dates and leave off the date you graduated from high school or college.
• Fill work gaps with volunteering and consulting. Try to avoid gaps in your work history too. To make up for long gaps, consider volunteering or doing some pro-bono consulting work.

There was a lot more helpful advice listed in the article. I thought that no matter how old you are, the advice given in the article was very helpful. If you are looking for work, try to stay positive. With some hard work something is sure to come your way.

Save Our Parks!

Don't let this beauty disappear...

One of my favorite things about living in the Hudson Valley region is our proximity to amazing state parks and historic sites. Every summer I look forward to hiking the park trails and just getting out after a long winter hibernation. So today, when I looked the Times Herald Record’s cover story, I couldn’t believe it. NYS wants to begin closing down certain state parks. The Hudson Valley has not had it easy these past few years and I don’t see how this would make things any better. I am going to try to do everything I can to try to stop this from happening and I encourage everyone who reads this blog to do the same. You can start by logging on to Facebook and searching for the group: “Save Minnewaska.” If you don’t have a Facebook, write to your congressman. Keep these historic and beautiful parks open for future generations.

Natural Beauty Secrets

Did you read our February cover story on  Kerhonkson resident, Katharine Phillips L’ Heureux? L’ Heureux created a beauty empire using organic ingredients called Kahina Giving Beauty. Katharine has an interesting tale to tell and according to our Art Director, Leslie, who has tried her products says they work extremely well. In fact, one day I noticed that Leslie’s skin was literally glowing. That’s enough proof for me to believe in the power of organic ingredients and ten I started thinking about other organic products and beauty treatments.

Newest Trend in Beauty?

My mom told me about using olive oil as a beauty treatment for your hands and I even know people who use it on their faces. They swear their skin has never felt more nourished or soft. I myself have tried taking a break from everyday cleansers to try the natural route to give my skin a break. I’ve tried  fruit scrubs that are made from finely ground materials such as oatmeal. Do this gently though. When using grainy scrubs, they may be too harsh to use on the delicate skin of your face. Do you have any natural beauty treatments you’ve tried? Share them with us. Also speaking of beauty treatments, don’t forget to enter our Mommy Makeover Contest!

High blood pressure is highly ignored

A critical new report from the prestigious  Institute of Medicine declares high blood pressure in the U.S. to be a neglected disease and that nearly one in three adults has hypertension, and it’s on the rise. Doctors and patients are not treating it aggressively even though it is the nation’s second-leading cause of death. This is surprising because it is relatively simple to prevent and treat. You can read the rest of the article here, but let us know what you think. Are you surprised by these findings? If you were diagnosed with hypertension would you insist that your doctor treat it aggressively? I was very surprised that these health conditions are often overlooked, especially if it can be changed with simple lifestyle changes.

Get ready to explore!

Now that spring is coming, it’s the perfect time to start planning your outdoor activities. Working here at Hudson Valley Life our staff is exposed to so many great Hudson Valley activities, clubs, groups and organizations and we love to share them with our readers. One organization we have come across recently is Exploritas.                                              

The website describes Exploritas as participants who are curious, adventuresome and open to experiencing the world through learning and travel.  According to Exploritas, you can “choose from nearly 8,000 educational adventures a year in more than 90 countries. From single-day Day of Discovery programs near you to overnight programs in cities and locations around the United States and the world, you’re sure to find an Exploritas adventure that captures your interest, dreams and desires.” 

There are plenty of local Hudson Valley locations and activities to choose from. Get out and explore our beautiful region. 

Support Our Local Farms

I suppose I am being a bit over eager especially when we are in the midst of a blizzard, but spring is coming! It will be here before we know it and that means time for fresh air and farmer’s markets. I became addicted last year to visiting farm markets on the weekends to buy some fresh fruits and veggies for the week. It’s not always an easy choice to make, but it helps out the Hudson Valley community by supporting local farms and farmers.  I use localharvest.org to find local farmer market’s in my area.

There are also many resources out there that can help you learn about how you can help local farms. This Saturday at the East Fishkill Community Library there will be an informational session on a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) forming at Johnson Farm in Hopewell Junction. CSA’s consists of a community of individuals who pledge support to a farm operation so that the farmland becomes, either legally or spiritually, the community’s farm, with the growers and consumers providing mutual support and sharing the risks and benefits of food production. Presenters Dave Koehler and Jen Nolan will talk about the group and the opportunity to participate in this new form of agriculture. You can register here.

Enjoy the spring and healthy eating.

Time Travel is Real! Kind Of…

Are there any other fans of the tv show Lost out there? I am. I was preparing myself last night for the première of the show’s sixth and final season and I couldn’t wait to find out what has happened to my favorite characters. If you watch the show you know that it focuses heavily of the concept of time travel through flashbacks and flashforwards’. I have always thought this was a fascinating subject. That’s why when I saw this article yesterday, I couldn’t help but write about it.

The article stated that, “when people think back to the past or look toward the future, their body language reflects their sense of time travel, a new study suggests. Researchers at the University of Aberdeen fitted subjects with motion sensors and asked them to imagine events in the future or the past. The bodies of those who thought about the future actually moved forward. Those who thought about the past swayed backward.”

This definitely makes sense. When I shared this news with the staff, our office manager started nodding immediately and said, “Yeah, I can see that. When my grandma would all tell us stories about her past, she would lean back in her chair almost as if she was trying to go back in time.” Try observing someone telling a story about their past or their future and see what they do. Does this story ring true?

Exercise your brain and body to age better

Do you have a fear of growing older? Some people do, but aging does not have to be something to fear. There are many ways to improve your way of life as you age. After attending the “Smart Brian, Strong Brain, Fit Brain” at Rockland Community College this past week I learned a lot about the brain as it ages and what you can do to slow the process. As I explained in last week’s blog, participants in the program will be given access to the CogniFit training program that sharpens fourteen areas of brain function including memory, hand eye coordination, and driving skills for a period of 18mths. The program is free for 500 residents of Rockland county, but if you are interested in the program you can out for information at Cognifit’s website.  It is so important to keep your brain fit and active, and now there is four new studies out that show that exercise can also help improve these skills.

The four studies were published in the Archives of Internal Medicine on Monday. ”One of the studies found that women who exercised more during middle age — defined as an average age of 60 by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School — were less likely after 70 to develop chronic diseases, heart surgery or any physical, cognitive or mental impairments. Another study found that a year of resistance training, once or twice a week, improved older women’s attention spans and conflict resolution skills. A third found that adults aged 55 and older who engaged in moderate or high physical activity were less likely to become cognitively impaired than their couch-potato equivalents. And women aged 65 or older who took part in an exercise program for 18 months appeared to have denser bones and a reduced risk of falls than women the same age who followed a less intense “wellness” program, a fourth study showed.”

Doctors have told us this information for years and I think it’s time to listen. Are you ready to start exercising your brain and body? I hope you do! Here’s to your health.

“Smart Brain, Strong Brain, Fit Brain”

There are so many great events that occur in and around the Hudson Valley that it can be hard to keep up. We have recently discovered an event in Rockland County that sounds amazing! On January 26th at 10:30am, Rockland County Community College will be hosting an eighteen month brain fitness program. The program will be called “Smart Brain, Strong Brain, Fit Brain.” They are still looking for participants and it sounds like a once and a lifetime opportunity. Five hundred Rockland residents over the age of 62 are eligible to participate, and all are welcome to learn about the program, and to sign up to participate. 

Participants will be given access to the CogniFit training program that sharpens fourteen areas of brain function including memory, hand eye coordination, and driving skills. Participants may use the program at their home computer, a computer anywhere in the world they may travel, with family, at senior centers, or at any of several designated venues throughout the County. Computers will be provided at the designated sites.  Plans are being made so that participants, who cannot travel to designated sites and have no computer at home, will be loaned a computer. The brain fitness program is made possible by a grant awarded to the Mental Health Association of Rockland County by the New York State Department of Aging, and by CogniFit, a brain training company. 

 “The goal is that all older adults have the opportunity to take part in this program. Not only are we hoping that brain fitness will increase with use of the program, but that older adults will become more computer literate and less isolated. We are not excluding any applicants because they have no computer, or because they have never used a computer,” says Dr. Karen Oates, Director of the Mental Health Association of Rockland County. 

I signed up to attend the event and I can’t wait to learn more. If you would like to register you can do so here.

Help for Haiti

When I was in my community service club in college, we used to say the expression: “Think Globally, Act Locally.” A lot of organizations use this expression as well, but today I found myself thinking of that very  expression when I turned on my computer and started reading the articles about the devastating earthquake in Haiti.

It just makes you think about how lucky you really are. I also couldn’t help but shake the sadness I felt while I was reading the article. I think we should all start to “Think Globally, Act Globally.” The people of Haiti are going to need a tremendous amount of help. Let’s try to think globally and give our part to help them.