Happy Halloween!

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I would like to take this time to wish everyone a HAPPY HALLOWEEN! One of my favourite days of the year! In light of this special day, I feel a festive post would be appropriate. Did you know that Halloween candy sales average about 2 billion dollars annually in the United States? More specifically, chocolate candy bars are the most sought after trick-or-treat candy. The chocolate bar that is the most popular just so happens to be my personal favourite… Snickers!

Hope everyone has a great Halloween!

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Bringing Home the Gold!

The Vancouver 2010 Olympic medals are a true work of art worth highlighting. It took a lot of time and effort - 402 days (2817 hours) – to complete all 615. They are one of the heaviest medals in Olympic history tipping the scale at approximately 500-576 grams each. Did you know the process involved:

- 1 year of planning, innovation, and prototype design

- 34 Mint engineers, engravers, dye technicians, machinists and production experts

- Over 30 steps

In addition, each medal was struck with 1900 tons of pressure, which is the equivalent weight of 760 cars stacked one on top of the other! To learn more about these masterpieces click here to view videos and take an in depth look at the production process. These medals are remarkable and best of luck to all Canadian athletes competing to win such a work of art!

Exercise Some Cleanliness Please!

It is no shocker that the gym is not the cleanest place on earth and Men’s Health has driven that point home in their latest magazine issue. When describing the “Average Guy”, they state that

33% of men do not wipe down gym equipment after using it!

Along with many other disturbing facts, they have warned us that the gym equipment with the most germs are the dumbbells & stationary bike seats. So be sure to wipe those bad boys down before using them because there is a good chance whoever last used them didn’t.

If the exerciser who neglected to remove the sweat from the machine is attractive, perhaps try asking him/her to clean it. That sweaty, uncleanly individual just might be the future love of you life. Why? Check this out:

50% of men think the gym is a better place to pick up than a bar

I have provided a clip to help improve your gym “pick up” skills. I would like to stress that one of the tips is to wipe down equipment… and I strongly agree with that point.

I Don't See Your Name On It...

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It took me a very long time for me to like my name. Why? Because there was never any personalized products with “Kaleigh” written on them. If you were one of the kids in school who were jealous of the kids with their pencils that had their name on them… I felt your pain. Now, I enjoy having a name that not everyone has or a name not popular enough to make the personalized products cut off. To predict the personalized pencils of the future, I have supplied a list of the top 10 baby names (girl and boy) of 2009 from Baby Center.

1) Ethan / Isabella

2) Noah / Emma

3) Jacob / Olivia

4) Aiden / Ava

5) Jackson / Sophia

6) Logan / Madison

7) Jack / Chloe

8) Ryan / Abigail

9) Matthew / Addison

10) Jayden / Emily

Special mention to the following people:

18) Elizabeth

23) Sarah

31) Kaylee AND 53) Kayleigh (not my spelling but still kind of made the list!)

47) Savannah (who would have thought? Mom, you are a forward thinker...)

67) Alexandra

PS: Jaclyn & Kristen... looks like you didn't make the cut. Better luck next year :)

Click Here to see where you rank...

Picture This!

Photo by Bernardo Medina

I have always been a fan of National Geographic photography, so when I was searching for a new desktop wallpaper for my computer I naturally went to their website to see what was there. I came across the 2009 Ultimate Photo Contest and was blown away by the finalists. There were 6 categories: Inspiration/Keep Going, Animals/Wildlife, Nature, People/Cultures, Travel, and Weather. The GRAND PRIZE winner was the Inspiration/Keep Going photo at the top of the post. I have also added the winners of each category below because they are all worth taking a look at. Outstanding work! What are your thoughts?

Weather

Photo by Frederick Abels

Travel

Photo by Glenn Traver

People/Cultures

Photo by Bernardo Medina

Nature

Photo by Tracy Hagen

Animals/Wildlife

Photo by Ruston Agte

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Sarah Jane supporting the CIBC Run for the Cure :)

As you may know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. What you might not know is that, According to the Canadian Cancer Society breast cancer is the most common cancer among Canadian women (excluding non-melanoma skin cancer).

In 2009: 22, 700 women and 180 men will be diagnosed with it.

Doctor Kristi Funk, who has appeared on many television shows but most recently The View, has some statistics about how weight gain increases your risk. The following numbers relate to the amount of weight you have gained since high school:

-Lost or gained 4 lbs = no increased risk

-Gained 10 lbs = 10% increase

-Gained 10-20 lbs = 20 % increase

-Gained 20-30 lbs = 60% increase

If you have gained 40 pounds since high school you have increased your chances of getting breast cancer by 50%!

In addition to living a health active lifestyle to help decrease your risk, Dr. Funk suggests green tea. She claims that drinking 3 cups of green tea a day will reduce your chances of breast cancer by 50%...so drink up folks!

10 Most Expensive Cities in the World!

Global Property Guide has produced a list of the 10 most expensive cities to live in based on the “average price of a 120 sq. m., good-condition high-end used apartment in the city centres of more than 110 cities around the world”. Can you predict who came out on top?

The pricing is given in U.S. dollars. Here are the results:

1) Monte Carlo ($47, 578)

2) Moscow ($20, 835)

3) London ($20, 756)

4) Tokyo ($17, 998)

5) Hong Kong ($16, 125)

6) New York ($14, 898)

7) Paris ($12, 122)

8) Singapore ($9, 701)

9) Rome ($9, 166)

10) Mumbai ($9,163).

Cities that ranked as the least expensive include:

112) Cairo ($574)

111) Bangalore ($657)