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“I’m not afraid of heights. Have you seen my shoes?” If you’re a Carrie Bradshaw fan, you’re probably familiar with that quote. What Carrie doesn’t mention, though, is that high heels are more harmful to the health of regular wearers than one may think. According to NBC News, high heels are one of the most common causes of foot pain among women. Wearing high heels forces your ankles to bend forward, like you're standing on your tip toes. It restricts blood circulation in your lower limbs which can lead to spider veins. It can also shorten the muscles in your calves and stiffen your Achilles tendon, leading to pain and muscle spasms. And don’t forget about your knees. According to a study from Stanford University, heels that are 3.5 inches or higher put enough stress on a woman’s knees that it could increase the risk of osteoarthritis. Heels can also cause back problems. For your body to stay balanced on heels, your spine needs to sway unnaturally, which adds stress to the muscles in your spine. This results in a sore lower back. If you’re a high heel wearer and are experiencing some of the above issues, perhaps it is a good idea to see your physician before they get worse. To avoid such issues, NBC advises decreasing the amount of days you wear heels — or change into flats or walking shoes when you leave work. At the end of each day, spend a few minutes stretching your quads, calves and hip flexors. After all, fashion doesn't have to be painful.

Summer classes, or ‘summer school,’ often receive a bad rep. Since I was in elementary school, talk of summer school was everyone’s worst nightmare. Generally speaking, I feel as if it is fair to say that this stigma continued on throughout high school and even college. What no one talks about is the potential to reach goals in a much shorter period of time by adding summer classes every summer. Taking on summer classes is also a great way to keep busy; I know many people that are constantly complaining of being bored in the summer! Take that boredom and make great strides toward your future success. I graduated from Wheeling Park High School in May of 2015. It is now May 2017, and I graduated from Ohio University Magna Cum Laude with a bachelor’s degree in political science with a minor in English. I graduated two years ahead of schedule. Some of this was due to completing many core college classes while enrolled as a senior at Wheeling Park, but I feel as if most of it was due to my summer classes. More than just finishing school early, I learned how to better manage my time to balance my summer work while taking 9-12 hours of classes (some in person and some online). Additionally, I think taking classes also trained my mind to stay prepared and in the zone with school. I maintained good study habits and found it easier to not only keep my priorities straight by doing this, but also earning a high GPA, too. Advice for all high school and college students working on getting a degree: all of the hours add up! Taking a couple of extra classes here and there will help you reach your goals fast and stay motivated!

Those of us who are dog lovers are ready to hang a person who kills a pet from the nearest tree. How bad would you feel if you accidentally poisoned your own dog? The many commonplace foods which are toxic to dogs makes it easy to do just that. Let's start with the one we all know: 1) Chocolate. You may be a chocolaholic, but for your dog it's a big no- no. So if you are munching on chocolate snacks, make sure to put them away. My dog once ate quite a few Hershey kisses, foil and all. We had a very sparkly lawn the next day. The dog survived, but I am still on the guilt trip. 2) No drinking or smoking! Alcohol, hops (an ingredient found in beer) and caffeine can all cause death in a dog. Stick to water. 3) Onions and related products like shallots, scallions and especially garlic. Not just their breath will suffer. 4) Grapes and raisins are a healthy snack for humans but not for our four-legged friends. 5) Raw bread dough. Though this isn't something I imagine someone feeding a dog, but Fido might not be able to resist when it is left on the counter to rise. 6) Avocados. This one is on most lists of foods toxic to dogs. 7) Candy and gum and anything else that uses xylitol as a sweetener. We have all left half a pack of gum lying around. Let's not. 8) Macadamia nuts. Aloha and goodbye to this canine toxin. 9) Raw meat and fish, bones, fat trimmed from meat and raw eggs. Although these might seem like good sources of protein, they are very bad for a dog's digestive system. 10) Persimmons, peaches and plums. The 3 "P" words are prohibited. 11) Salt, baking powder and baking soda. Put these on a high shelf. 12) Apple seeds. Not even if your dog's name is Johnny. This list is far from complete, so when in doubt, look it up or just don't. Dogs get all the nutrients they need from a nice dish of dog food. It's so tempting when they look at you with those big sad eyes. Use your will power and resist. We all know how creative and relentless dogs can be when foraging for food. They need protected against themselves just like toddlers. So keep all of these items out of reach. Let's not send any dog to the rainbow bridge before his or her time.

As many of us start heading outdoors as warm weather approaches for ballgames, picnics, hikes, camping, etc., we need to be mindful of some of the risks that come with it. One that most of us would not give a thought to is Lyme Disease.  Lyme Disease is contracted when you are bitten by a deer tick.  Deer ticks are very tiny in size and most often undetected at the time of the bite.  There are a reported 300,000 new cases each year.  If untreated, this can become a very debilitating illness, not only for humans, but animals also.  Lyme Disease can be very treatable with antibiotics if caught early, but can have very serious, irreversible affects if its not caught and treated.  If you are among the avid outdoorsmen, please watch for any of these common symptoms: Rash – this is the most telltale sign.  It is easily identified as a bull’s eye shaped rash or looks like a target.  It can form anywhere from three to 30 days after the initial bite. Neurological Issues – memory loss, trouble focusing, depression, anxiety, emotional tantrums or total personality changes. Meningitis – swelling of the membrane of your brain. Joint Pain – 60 percent of Lyme Disease sufferers develop joint pain fairly quickly. Flu-like symptoms – body aches, fevers, cold symptoms, just feeling plain lousy. Swollen Lymph Nodes – lymph nodes in the neck area become swollen. Eye Inflammation – some may experience optic inflammation. Eyes swell, look red and become sore and you may experience blurry vision. Fatigue – feeling tired when your body hasn’t been overworked. Heart Palpitations – dizziness will sometimes accompany the heartbeat changes. Hepatitis – dark urine, aching, eye color turning yellow and nausea. Bell’s Palsy – facial muscles start to weaken, but only on one side of the face. Hair loss – some may suffer from hair loss due to the toxins from the Lyme Disease. Watch for any of these symptoms, and if they last for more than a few days, you should see your doctor.  As always, better safe than sorry!

It’s a do or die situation for the Pittsburgh Penguins in tonight’s playoff contest against the Washington Capitals. It is the best of seven games, and when the puck drops at 7:30 p.m. it won’t be long until we know which team will advance to the next round - one step closer to the Stanley Cup. Being born in Pittsburgh and growing up on the outskirts of the city was wonderful.  You had the best of both worlds - what the city people called “country living” if you didn’t live in city limits, to city and inner city life.  It really didn’t matter where you lived, though. Everyone donned the black and gold and displayed it everywhere. You knew what sport was being played by which flag was flying outside of your house or your neighbor’s house. Today, most of the people in the Pittsburgh region (and fans everywhere) are flying a Pittsburgh Penguins flag, wearing their Pens shirts or black and gold gear getting ready for tonight’s game. Some will be waving those Pens towels while others have special rituals believed to help the Pens win. Keep up the good work, fans, because it all boils down to tonight! Let’s go Pens!!!

I recently had the chance to visit wine country in the Lake Erie area with my friends.  We had a wonderful host, Doug, who let us stay in an old boat house that he had renovated into a charming cottage situated directly on Chautauqua Lake.  Chautauqua Lake is an 18-mile long, 2-mile wide lake in western New York near Lake Erie.  It is beautiful, and you could not beat the view from our cottage as we could literally see the lake out of almost every room. We did get off to a bit of a rough start, though, before we even parked our vehicles at our destination.  Doug had instructed us to park in front of a garage on his property.  The problem was that it had rained for six days straight and the garage did not have a paved or graveled driveway.  Basically, we pulled into a yard in front of the garage and sank—it was our “memorable moment” for this trip.  A call to AAA and about an hour later we were pulled out and on our way to explore the area. There are 22 wineries along a 50 mile stretch of road that is known as the Lake Erie Winery Trail.  We managed to visit about 15 of them during our two days in the area and we did a lot of wine tasting.  There are also 30,000 acres of vineyards in the area---it’s all about the grapes!  It’s also a wine lover’s idea of heaven, but there is more to see and do in the area besides visiting the wineries.  There are a lot of quaint, historic little towns along the winery trail whose citizens obviously take pride in preserving the old historic homes in the area. We also paid a visit to Chautauqua Institute, which was founded in 1874 as a teaching camp for Sunday school teachers.  “Camp” is hardly the word to describe the Institute as it is a whole gated community consisting of beautiful old historic homes along scenic Chautauqua Lake.  The Institute still to this day holds conferences, lectures, and provides entertainment to groups and individuals during the summer months.  One of the centerpieces of the Institute is the beautiful, historic Athenaeum Hotel, which still provides lodging, meals, and entertainment to its guests.  Driving down into the Chautauqua Institute community is like taking a step back in time to another era. Despite our little mishap with the truck getting stuck, we had a wonderful time visiting this area of New York and plan on making another trip to restock our wine supply sometime in the future.

Spring has sprung and with that, thoughts usually turn to the end of the school year and deciding on summer vacation destinations. Are you in the market for a tropical locale with sand and surf or do you prefer to spend some time relaxing lakeside, in a hammock, with a good book? If you’re still considering your options, U.S. News & World Report has ranked the best family summer vacations that may help to jumpstart your travel planning. U.S. News considered family-friendly resorts and hotels, attractions that appeal to kids and easy travel itineraries when determining the rankings. The top 15 destinations are as follows: 1. Ocean City 2. Puerto Rico 3. Whistler 4. Niagara Falls 5. Myrtle Beach 6. New York City 7. Bahamas 8. Minneapolis – St. Paul 9. Vail 10. Virginia Beach 11. Hamburg 12. Boston 13. Portland, OR 14. Jackson Hole 15. U.S. Virgin Islands Regardless of the type of destination you’re thinking about for your summer vacation, I am certain there’s something for everyone in the above list. Don’t wait too long to decide and make those reservations, though. It might not seem like it right now, but summer will be over before you know it.

Today is the National Day of Prayer, an annual observance held on the first Thursday in May when individuals of all faiths are asked to join together to pray for our nation. I’m sure you’ve heard of it, but do you know how it came to be? According to nationaldayofprayer.org, the observance is a vital part of our heritage. Since the first call to prayer in 1775, when the Continental Congress asked the colonies to pray for wisdom in forming a nation, the call to prayer has continued through our history, including President Lincoln’s proclamation of a day of “humiliation, fasting and prayer” in 1863. In 1952, a joint resolution by Congress, signed by President Truman, declared an annual National Day of Prayer. In 1988, the law was amended and signed by President Reagan, permanently setting the day as the first Thursday of every May. Each year, the president signs a proclamation, encouraging all Americans to pray on this day. Last year, all 50 state governors plus the governors of several U.S. territories signed similar proclamations. Like Thanksgiving or Christmas, this day has become a national observance placed on all Hallmark calendars and observed annually across the nation. Regardless of your religious affiliation, prayer unites people, provides hope and guidance and is an opportunity to give thanks. Take some time today to pray with your community or on your own – perhaps by attending a service or having some quiet time alone, but consider celebrating the ways in which we can be spiritual. If you’ve been considering rejuvenating your own faith, this may be just what you need.

America is a coffee loving country! We drink 102 billion cups of coffee annually or 280.5 million cups per day.  That’s a lot of coffee.  But Americans aren’t the largest coffee lovers in the world.  The largest coffee consuming country is the Netherlands. The U.S. imports over 27 million 60 kg bags (a little over 132 pounds) of coffee each year. Retail coffee revenues total $36 billion in the U.S. each year.   Thirty-four percent of coffee-drinking Americans prefer gourmet coffee, setting them back an average of $3.28 per cup. The average price for a plain cup of coffee is $1.38. While making coffee at home can be much cheaper per cup, it depends on how you make it. A cup of coffee made with a K-cup is about 66 cents while making it the old fashioned way with a drip pot and a filter, is about 28 cents. Of course, you have to add in the price of the coffee machine and the travel mug (my Yeti was $24.99 but worth every penny). Now let’s talk about the types of coffee available either at home or at a coffee shop. Have you ever walked up to a coffee shop and wondered what the difference is in all those types of coffee being offered? Let’s see there is: American, Cappuccino, Flavored Coffee, White Coffee, Café Latte, Café au Lait, Café Breva, Café Macchiato, Café Latte Fredo, Café Mocha, Espresso, Espresso con Panna, Espresso Granita, Frappe, Turkish/Greek Coffee, Indian (Madras) Filter Coffee, Hammerhead or Shot in the Dark, Iced Coffee, Cuban Coffee, Arabica Coffee, Irish Coffee, Kopi Tubruk, Lungo, Ristretto, Melya, and Vietnamese Coffee. After you decide the type of coffee you want, the next decision is the flavor! The flavors are, obviously, unlimited. One of the best flavored coffees I ever had was at a small coffee shop in Parkersburg, W.Va., close to the hotel where we were staying for a trial we had there. It was peanut butter mocha! I was a little leery of trying peanut butter coffee, but after one cup, I revisited that coffee shop on several more occasions for the peanut butter mocha coffee. By the way, did you know that coffee was “discovered” by a goat herder that noticed his goats became a little over zealous after eating what has come to be known as coffee beans?  What a grand (or should I say, grande) discovery!!

Are you or someone you know a frequent talcum powder user? If so, you NEED to read the following! Inasmuch as there are many senior citizens living the tri-state area, it is important to know some of the risks of injury, death and causes for death of which you many not have heard.  Bordas & Bordas is representing and continues to review potential lawsuits on behalf of individuals who developed cancer after using talcum powder on a daily or weekly basis. The talcum powder in Shower to Shower products that have been on the market for more than 35 years were produced mostly by Johnson & Johnson. Incredibly, Johnson & Johnson knew of the potential life altering problems that talc might cause because its scientists performed studies that linked talc to ovarian cancer, among other things. Unfortunately, Johnson & Johnson, like the cigarette manufacturers, hid the results and distributed misleading information to deceive the public. Talc is a moisture absorbing mineral that is widely used in cosmetics and personal care products. Over the last 40 years, there have been over 23 medical studies that have linked talc to ovarian cancer. In 2006, the World Health Organization classified genital talc as a carcinogen. The American Cancer Society has now advised that there is a 30-40 percent increased risk of ovarian cancer associated with regular talc use. Lawsuits representing patients who have suffered from ovarian cancer have now been filed, and some of these lawsuits have yielded verdicts in excess of $55 million. One of the most recent cases yielded a $72 million verdict. If you’re using talcum powder, beware. If you have suffered cancer from frequent and regular use of products containing talc, particularly products made by Johnson & Johnson, then you may have a claim/cause of action against the company. You should also know that you will not be alone. There are thousands of these cases now being processed by attorneys across the United States, and our firm is one of only a handful of firms that is undertaking review of these cases in the tri-state area.

About a year and a half ago, my daughter brought home a kitten. I didn’t want this kitten.  I KNEW it would end up being mine to take care of after the newness wore off.  As a matter of fact, I wouldn’t even call him by his name, Shadow.  To me, he was “Cat.” Now, why does it seem to be that animals choose to come around the person who really doesn’t want to have anything to do with them?  I mean, Cat was everywhere I was.  I had no peace with Cat around.  Even the bathroom, taking a bath or showering, he would (and still does) stand on the ledge and meow at me.  If I would make the slightest move in the morning, he would jump on my bed and meow. I finally came to the conclusion that this is my lesson on kindness.  As much of a pain he seems to be, this is his way of being kind.  Cat loves me enough to follow me around, wanting my attention.  Maybe he feels I need the kindness he has to offer. Nowadays, when he greets me at the door, I take the time to say hello and pet him.  I acknowledge the fact that he took time away from doing whatever “cat thing” he was doing, to come see me.  He finds me deserving of his time and kindness and, by all means, I am giving it back to him.  After all, why wouldn’t I? You see, there are certain traits that we can learn from animals that would be very useful in regard to humanity.  As much as we are in touch with each other in a technological way, we are lacking greatly on a personal level.  People have become desensitized because of the overuse of cell phones and other devices.  My message…LOOK UP!  Be nice and acknowledge the people that take time from what they are doing to give you kind words.  If someone finds you worthy enough to engage, do yourself a big favor and acknowledge that person back.  It’s good character. Even Cat figured it out without the use of Google.

Hockey, in general, is a game of intensity. It’s fast and it’s rough with a lot of contact between players with maybe a hip check or a punch thrown in, but have you ever noticed how that intensity increases during the playoffs? The action on the ice seems faster, emotions are running high and the level of play seems to skyrocket. The closer you get to the end, the better the games get. And let’s not forget about the fans. They cheer louder and root harder to the point that it seems the arenas are vibrating. For our region, post-season hockey is even more exciting again this year because our very own Pittsburgh Penguins are the defending Stanley Cup champions. Tonight in Round 2, Game 1, the Penguins will take on the Washington Capitals, which will be an action-packed and intriguing contest between the two top teams in the league. Did you know that prior to 1991 the Penguins and Capitals had never met in the Stanley Cup playoffs? Since then, the two sides have met nine times in the postseason with the 10 th being tonight according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Following tonight’s contest, the Pens versus the Capitals schedule is as follows: - Game 2 at Washington: 8 p.m., Saturday - Game 3 at Pittsburgh: 7:30 p.m., Monday, May 1, - Game 4 at Pittsburgh: 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, May 3, - Game 5 at Washington (if necessary): time TBD, Saturday, May 6 - Game 6 at Pittsburgh (if necessary): time TBD, Monday, May 8 - Game 7 at Washington (if necessary): time TBD, Wednesday, May 10 Even if you’re not an avid hockey fan, check out one of the upcoming playoff contests. I bet you’ll be hooked, and at the very least, you’ll have a great time cheering on the Penguins!