Memorial Day Weekend 2012 - Being Active

On typically nice weekends such as Memorial Day weekend, it's always nice to find ways to be physically active outdoors or in your community.  There are all sorts of free activities that you can take part in.  Here are some websites containing events locally for North Eastern IL and South Eastern WI this memorial day weekend: http://www.visitlakecounty.org/events.cfm, http://www.markcz.com/events/, http://www.wistravel.com/events_in_wisconsin/.  Beware of those unhealthy choices, such as hot dogs and ice cream.  It's ok to enjoy a little, but it is easy to binge on these holidays.  Be careful of your portion sizes, and if you have the option of having food containing less calories and are just healthier in general, don't be afraid to make the best choice!

If the big crowds are not your thing, try a day at the forest preserves in the area.  The nice thing about the area that we live in is that there are many preserves with nice trails.  If you do plan to to go a park, be sure to load up on sunscreen, bug spray, and watch out for ticks.  Last year about this time, I had the unfortunate event of finding a tick attached to me after a visit to the preserve.  It is good to wear long pants and a baseball cap.  You won't be able to completely avoid them, but you are less likely to find them on you if you do take some extra precautions.  You want to stay away from tall grasses because that is where they like to hide.  Staying on the path will help you to avoid that.  After your visit, be sure to check under your clothes when you arrive home and have someone check your hair.  If you do happen to find a tick on you, there are proper methods for removal. Check out http://firstaid.webmd.com/tc/how-to-remove-a-tick-overview.  You will want to keep an eye on the bitten area to make sure that it does not become infected or appear irregular.  This may take a couple of days.  Be sure to call your doctor if you have any doubts.  If the area is red and you can see where the tick was attached, there tends to be more concern then if you cannot see where you were bitten at all.

This weekend, I intend to do some shopping and to also hang out with my hubby and friends at an amusement park.  A lot of walking.  Great way to burn calories. Much more fun when you have more than one purpose, I think.  My exercising regime was also very lax this week, so I also plan to workout a little more this weekend to make up for my lack of working out.  I have been experiencing a headache the last two days, so I'm hoping that it will not prevent me from accomplishing things this weekend.  I'm greatly looking forward to getting some vitamin D naturally through the sun. I hope you all have a wonderful time this memorial day weekend and take advantage of the many opportunities to be active and healthy.