Strawberry Festival at Summerlin

Summerlin will be hosting a Strawberry Festival on May 7th at 4pm.  This event will be held at Gardens Park.  Eat, Drink, Bake, and more with Strawberries at this annual festival.  This festival is great for the whole family, and it will be a nice day to get out.  You can find out more information at Summerlink. 

   Strawberry Festival

Tuesday, May 7, 4 p.m.
Gardens Park

Summerlin residents are invited to celebrate the strawberry season at the Gardens Park Farmers Market on Tuesday, May 7 from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Summerlin Strawberry Festival.  Eat it.  Drink it.  Bake it.  Toss it.  Roll it.  Run with it.  Sing about it.  You name it, we will do it…all with strawberries in mind!  There will be various contests each with a strawberry theme, including a strawberry toss, shortcake eating challenge, and a relay race.  Attendees will also enjoy a bounce house, face painter, and lively tunes that are sure to get you dancing to a strawberry-beat.  So mark your calendars and plan to attend the Summerlin Strawberry Festival at the Gardens Park Farmers Market.  For more information, please call 341-5500.

How to Make Cut Flowers Last?

Do you buy flowers from the store for your home?  Here are five great ways to make cut flowers last longer in your home display.  You can learn more great home tips from apartment therapy.

1. Put freshly picked flowers in water immediately and leave them for at least 5 hours before arranging them, a process calling conditioning. 
2. If your flowers come from your garden and not from the florist, make your own preservative, like this one from One Good thing by Jillee.  
3. Alternatively, add 2 tablespoons of white vinegar to the water and stir. The vinegar will help prevent the growth of bacteria.
4. If you have a favorite flower you use often, look online for a flower-specific tips. For example, hydrangeas last longer if you gently smash the end of each stem and immerse them in ice water before arranging. Hollow-stemmed flowers like delphiniums do well if you turn the flowers upside down, fill the stems with water, and seal them with a wet cotton ball before arranging. Poppies, and other flowers that ooze sap, last longer if you first immerse the bottom 2 inches of their stems in boiling water for 10 seconds.  
5. Have a gunky, narrow-necked vase that's hard to clean? Try this tip from Real Simple: fill it with crushed shells from hardboiled eggs, a drop of dishwashing soap, and warm water, and swirl. Rinse thoroughly with hot water, and the next arrangement you put in will last a bit longer.

Ten Tips to Eat Healthy

  Are you trying to live a healthier lifestyle?  Check out these great tips on how to eat healthy!  What are your healthy eating tips? Check out more tips at Clarke.

1. Eat a good breakfast - Studies show that skipping breakfast detracts from scholastic achievement. When there isn’t time to sit down and enjoy your morning meal, grab a bagel, piece of fruit, and some juice. Most of these items can be easily stored in your residence hall room.
2. If you must eat fast foods, choose wisely - Choose pizza with half the cheese, a regular size roast beef sandwich, baked potato, or green salad with reduced calorie dressing. Limit high fat offerings like French fries, fried chicken, or fish sandwiches and watch out for salad dressing!
3. Keep healthy snacks on hand - This way, if hunger strikes during a late night study session, you won’t be tempted by vending machine candy, chips, or ice cream. Possibilities include fresh or dried fruit, pretzels, unbuttered popcorn, rice cakes, or whole wheat crackers. If you have a refrigerator, consider raw vegetables with low-fat yogurt or cottage cheese dip.
4. Eat plenty of foods rich in calcium - People in their early twenties need to be building up stores of calcium in their bodies to prevent osteoporosis later in life. If you don’t like milk, try to include ample amounts of low-fat yogurt, low-fat cheese, and green leafy vegetables in your diet.
5. If you need to lose weight, do it sensibly - Starvation and/or diets that offer a quick fix usually backfire and are harmful. There is no truth to the theories that suggest eating foods in any particular combination will promote weight loss. The only safe way to lose weight, feel good while doing it, and keep it off, is to eat a balanced diet and exercise.
6. Limit your sugar intake - Sugar provides calories in your diet but few other nutrients, and it contributes significantly to tooth decay. Use it sparingly and consider sweetening coffee, tea, cereal, and fruit with diet sweeteners instead.
7. Visit the salad bar - The dining hall salad bar can be either an asset or a detriment to your diet depending on how you choose from it. Of course, leafy greens, raw vegetables, and fresh fruits are beneficial. But, if you choose a lot of creamy dressings, bacon bits, and mayonnaise-based salads, the calories and fat may equal or even exceed those of a burger and fries—so choose wisely!
8. Limit your alcohol intake - If you drink alcohol, keep in mind that it supplies calories but no nutritional value. A light beer, a glass of wine, or an ounce of liquor each has about 100 calories. There may also be health problems associated with drinking alcohol.
9. Drink lots of water - Your body needs at least eight glasses a day, and, if you exercise vigorously, you may need more. To remind yourself, carry a water bottle along to class and keep it handy during late night study sessions.
10. Enjoy your food - Food is a lot more than nourishment for our bodies, so take the time to enjoy and savor it!

Four Ways to De-Stress At Work

Work can stress anyone out.  These are four great items to help you de-stress while you are working on that last minute project at the office.  You can learn more great health tips on apartment therapy. 

Everyone has to deal with stress at one time or another, so having a few tools inside the desk to pull out for a stress-break can be helpful (as well as giving your eyes a break from the computer screen). These are quick, easy, and not to mention fun ways to relax yourself throughout the day.




Knock Out Desktop Punching Bag
$29.99
We're not going to judge if you're imagining a horrible boss as you punch away. It's amazing how getting a little adrenaline going and hitting something (versus someone) can feel so liberating and help reduce your stress levels. Just be careful not to get too into it and start cursing out loud for all your coworkers to hear.




 

Resistance Bands
$15.79
These little resistance bands are so small you can keep them in your pocket and carry them throughout the work day. We would recommend taking your hands out of your pockets while you're working out your hands, fingers, and forearms. Comes in packs of 5 color coded resistance levels.




 

Thera-Flex Therapy Putty
$6.46
Squeeze away your stress, no matter the shape and pattern. Or make a putty figurine of your boss to squish at your command. Odorless and non-sticky, make sure to keep it fresh and clean by storing it in its air tight container. Comes in multiple sizes.







 

Chinese Medicine Balls
$13.68
Harness the power of the far east with a traditional Chinese stress reliever, hand exerciser, and agility builder. Fit the two balls in your hand and rotate them around in circles. The trick is to do so without the balls ever coming into contact with each other. Practice and work your way up in ball size and rotation speed until you're the (zen) master of your workspace.

Have a Make Your Own Party!

Are you looking for a great party idea?  Check out these build your own foods for a great party theme. Tacos, baked potatoes, and pizza are just some of the build your own ideas you can try.  Keep reading to learn more, and you can also check out The Kitchn for more information.

We don't know why, but there is something universally appealing about customizing your own meal — which makes a build-your-own bar an easy dinner or dessert option for you and a fun party experience for your guests. From a baked potato bar to an avocado party, here are nine ideas for fun meals that your guests assemble themselves.

• 1 Taco Bar: A party classic. Put out a spread of warm tortillas, salsas and the fillings of your choice, from barbacoa beef to a vegan roasted vegetable and cabbage slaw combo.

• 2 BLT Party: Cook up a batch of bacon in the oven, borrow a few extra toasters, make a couple types of fancy mayonnaise, and you have a fun and different way to feed a crowd.

• 3 Baked Potato Bar: Bake a bunch of potatoes and lay out toppings like chili, cheese, cooked vegetables, sour cream and herbs for guests to build their ideal stuffed potato.


• 4 Pizza Party: If you're entertaining just a few people, everyone can make their own personal pizza; otherwise just let people take turns devising combinations from a spread of meats, vegetables, cheeses and sauces.




Party Idea! A Build-Your-Own Bánh Mì Sandwich Bar


• 5 Bánh Mì Bar: These intensely flavorful Vietnamese sandwiches make for a different and totally delicious spread. Baguettes, fresh herbs, pickled vegetables, an array of Vietnamese-style proteins and a few condiments are all you need.


• 6 Avocado Bar: Take advantage of the fact that everything tastes better stuffed into an avocado with this unique party idea: Lay out ripe avocado halves and a variety of toppings for guests to mix as they like.


• 7 Polenta Bar: A more low-key alternative to Faith's incredible Italian polenta board party is hosting a polenta bar, with everyone getting a bowl of polenta and their choice of an array of toppings.


• 8 Crêpe Party: A pile of warm crêpes, a pot of hot coffee and a myriad of syrups, jams, sauces, fruits, yogurts, nuts and treats to make your dream creation — what more do you need?
• 9 Ice Cream Sundae Bar: Another classic. It's hard not to feel like a kid again when presented with ice cream, hot fudge, butterscotch, sprinkles and whipped cream.