National Breast Cancer Awareness Month: October 2012

Breast Cancer.  Those two words will take your breath away.  Those two words will make you stop what you are doing.  Those two words.....kill.

We are coming up on Breast Cancer Awareness Month (October 2012) and there are some facts that just need to be known:  Thank you to BreastCancer.org for this information:

• About 1 in 8 U.S. women (just under 12%) will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime.
• In 2011, an estimated 230,480 new cases of invasive breast cancer were expected to be diagnosed in women in the U.S., along with 57,650 new cases of non-invasive (in situ) breast cancer.
• About 2,140 new cases of invasive breast cancer were expected to be diagnosed in men in 2011. A man’s lifetime risk of breast cancer is about 1 in 1,000.
• From 1999 to 2005, breast cancer incidence rates in the U.S. decreased by about 2% per year. The decrease was seen only in women aged 50 and older. One theory is that this decrease was partially due to the reduced use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) by women after the results of a large study called the Women’s Health Initiative were published in 2002. These results suggested a connection between HRT and increased breast cancer risk.
• About 39,520 women in the U.S. were expected to die in 2011 from breast cancer, though death rates have been decreasing since 1990 — especially in women under 50. These decreases are thought to be the result of treatment advances, earlier detection through screening, and increased awareness.
• For women in the U.S., breast cancer death rates are higher than those for any other cancer, besides lung cancer.
• Besides skin cancer, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among American women. Just under 30% of cancers in women are breast cancers.
• White women are slightly more likely to develop breast cancer than African-American women. However, in women under 45, breast cancer is more common in African-American women than white women. Overall, African-American women are more llkely to die of breast cancer. Asian, Hispanic, and Native-American women have a lower risk of developing and dying from breast cancer.
• In 2011, there were more than 2.6 million breast cancer survivors in the US.
• A woman’s risk of breast cancer approximately doubles if she has a first-degree relative (mother, sister, daughter) who has been diagnosed with breast cancer. About 15% of women who get breast cancer have a family member diagnosed with it.
• About 5-10% of breast cancers can be linked to gene mutations (abnormal changes) inherited from one’s mother or father. Mutations of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes are the most common. Women with these mutations have up to an 80% risk of developing breast cancer during their lifetime, and they are more likely to be diagnosed at a younger age (before menopause). An increased ovarian cancer risk is also associated with these genetic mutations.
• In men, about 1 in 10 breast cancers are believed to be due to BRCA2 mutations, and even fewer cases to BRCA1 mutations.
• About 85% of breast cancers occur in women who have no family history of breast cancer. These occur due to genetic mutations that happen as a result of the aging process and life in general, rather than inherited mutations.
• The most significant risk factors for breast cancer are gender (being a woman) and age (growing older).

Thank you Awareness Ribbon Gifts 

Jimmy's Tavern, Pueblo West, Colorado is dedicating October to Breast Cancer.  Donations can be given there and special events to raise money during this month.  More details to come so keep checking back.



Pink ribbon day is October 1st.  Show your support.  

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Myth #4: Passing the breathalyzer

You aren't drunk you are just feeling good.  I'm not as think as you drunk I am, right?  You've driven many times "tipsy" without any problems.  

What you need to consider is this:

• You have been very lucky to not have been caught and your luck may be running out.
• You are not considering that wonderful malfunction of a tail light that may go out while driving.
• You are not considering the other person on the road who is also "tipsy" that may run into you.
• You are not considering the road side block that was set up while you were drinking.

Okay, so you haven't considered this BUT you can pass the roadside exam...you can play it cool.  I was fortunate to be a part of a training for new DUI police officers.  Yes, I was given alcohol over a period of time so they could practice recognizing the signs of a driver who has been drinking.  (Fun for me).  For about three hours we sit in a room and drink (all of which is being documented so they know exactly how much we have drank).  There was about six of us in the "class" and we entertained ourselves playing drinking games.  Once our time was up we were taken into the training room and put through a series of roadside exams.  I'm a friendly kind of gal, I was pleasant.  (I have done this twice and changed up my thought process but I will explain that later).  We did not know the results of our breathalyzer going into the training.  Each group of "trainee's" took us through the roadside tests.  I passed with flying colors...or so I thought.  When the training was over each group of trainee's (about six groups, four to a group) were given the results.  I was going to jail.  NO WAY!!  I passed each test, I was pleasant...what the heck!  When my results for the breathalyzer was announced I had a blood alcohol count of .09%....I was legally drunk.  (and here I thought I was in the clear...didn't feel drunk plus these were rookie DUI cops in training...oops).

So my next time doing this I'll show them.  I decide to drink "just enough" alcohol so they could smell it but not be drunk.  I also decided I would not be a jerk but I wasn't going to be "pleasant" as I was last time.  I'm the smart one, right.  I have to admit I had a whole lot of fun doing this.  Being "obnoxious" (which really comes as a second nature to me) and not be drunk...I got this covered.  Results are in and I'm smirking because five of the six groups were taking me to jail...haha joke is on them.  Blood alcohol level........ is .06%......WHAT!!!!!  That is just over the DWAI (Driving While Ability Impaired).  

Okay, so I can't pass a roadside but I've heard there are ways to beat a breathalyzer so I can fail the roadside and still pass the breathalyzer so who cares right?  Here's a few:

1. Chewing gum:  Okay, this may "mask" the odor of alcohol but does not, I repeat, DOES NOT, change your blood alcohol level in the breathalyzer.
2. Placing a penny under your tongue:  Gotta love this urban legend.  A smart, or sober, person can rationally figure out why this would not work.  It was believed that the "high copper" in pennies would beat the breathalyzer....pennies, since the 1980's are 97% zinc.
3. Drink Zima:  Okay, Zima doesn't "smell" like alcohol so they may not suspect it immediately but Zima has alcohol in it and that is what the breathalyzer reads.  
4. Belching into the breathalyzer:  Sorry guys but the University of Wisconsin study discovered belching had no effect on breath analysis test results even when subjects belched directly into the instrument.

So how do you beat a roadside test or breathalyzer?  Don't drink and drive, that's how.

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Myth #3: Sleeping it off

You are out with your friends and one of them drinks a bit much.  You get them home, get them inside, get them to their room and toss them on the bed to sleep it off.  If you are nice you put a bottle of aspirin and a glass of water next to the bed.  


Here is what the problem is:
Alcohol Poisoning!

So what is alcohol poisoning?  According to WebMD: 

"The buzz you get from a relatively small amount of social drinking is actually the body’s first warning sign that you’ve had enough. But if you pound back alcohol, you can quickly overwhelm your body’s ability to absorb it. Taken quickly enough, a surprisingly small quantity of alcohol shuts down the respiratory center of the brain. When this happens, a person stops breathing." 

According to College Drinking: 

What Happens to Your Body When You Get Alcohol Poisoning?

Alcohol depresses nerves that control involuntary actions such as breathing and the gag reflex (which prevents choking). A fatal dose of alcohol will eventually stop these functions. It is common for someone who drank excessive alcohol to vomit since alcohol is an irritant to the stomach. There is then the danger of choking on vomit, which could cause death by asphyxiation in a person who is not conscious because of intoxication. You should also know that a person's blood alcohol concentration (BAC) can continue to rise even while he or she is passed out. Even after a person stops drinking, alcohol in the stomach and intestine continues to enter the bloodstream and circulate throughout the body. It is dangerous to assume the person will be fine by sleeping it off.

So what should you do?  No, drawing a mustache on them with permanent marker is not the answer (although it is fun).  

• If they start to vomit while "passed out" or if their breathing becomes irregular call for help immediately!
• If their breathing is good and they are not vomiting place them on the be ON THEIR SIDE.  The reason for this is it reduces the chance of asphyxiation IF they do vomit.  
• Don't leave a drunk passed out alone.  Stay there and check on them; their breathing and heartbeat are important vitals to check.  Low body temperatures and low blood sugars are a sign of alcohol poisoning and can lead to seizures.

Know your limits.  It's okay to cut loose and have a great time but be careful.  If you do "overdo it" make sure you are with someone who will look after you.  If you party with someone who sometimes over does it...know what you need to do to keep them safe.

Drink to have a good time but be safe.  Like Jimmy's Tavern on Facebook.

Myth 2 about drinking: Coffee will sober you up

We've all seen it on the big screen.  We all want it to be true but I'm sorry it is not.  If you are the designated driver please do not think you can drink all night and have a few cups of coffee to sober you up for the ride home.


The dangers of this:  It makes you more alert so you will think you are sober and able to drive.  As the Mayo Clinic states:

"Coffee's about as helpful as a cold shower or a brisk walk in sobering you up. That is, it's not helpful at all!"

According to Bill Hendrick (WebMD Health News): Gulping down coffee won’t sober you up if you’re drunk, but it may make you awake enough to be dangerous, new research suggests.

Researchers draw that conclusion from laboratory experiments on mice, in which caffeine made drunken rodents more alert but didn’t reverse learning problems caused by alcohol. 
Their study is published in the journal Behavioral Neuroscience.
“The myth about coffee’s sobering powers is particularly important to debunk because the co-use of caffeine and alcohol could actually lead to poor decisions with disastrous outcomes,” Thomas Gould, PhD, of Temple University and one of the study authors, says in a news release. “People who have consumed only alcohol, who feel tired and intoxicated, may be more likely to acknowledge that they are drunk.”
Gould tells WebMD in an email that "coffee may reduce the sedative effects of alcohol, which could give the false impression that people are not as intoxicated as they really are."

So what does sober you up?  TIME and of course stop drinking.  Remember what we see in the movies isn't real.  Be safe when you are drinking, be safe when you are driving and never combine the two.

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How to sing Karaoke!

Singing Karaoke....it is either one of the best things you do or the most terrifying things you won't do.  I will tell you this....when you get the courage to go up there and sing AND you have fun doing it...it doesn't matter how you sound.  


For those of you who are still worried about it here's a few things you can do to prepare for your Karaoke debut.

1. Sing whenever and wherever you can:  To begin with....you know the old saying about singing in the shower....JUST DO IT!
2. Sing with confidence!  Remember, Karaoke is a SHOW.  Have fun and enjoy the environment.  Each person that is up there.....had their first time also!
3. Stand up straight.  It will be easier to sing if you are standing up straight.  Remember your mother telling you this while you were growing up?  Great time to do this as it will help you sing and it helps you with confidence.
4. Leave your shyness at the door.  Have a drink to relax, breath to relax but standing at the mic you cannot be shy.  If you are shy....your singing will not be confident.  Belt it out.  Who cares how you sound as long as you are having fun.
5. Practice.  Find songs that you know and love.  Sing them in the car, in the shower or wherever the mood strikes you.  Find a few songs you love and get those down.  Don't try a "new" song your first time up there.

With all of these tips there is one thing in common:  FUN FUN FUN!!!  

If you need encouragement...bring friends up to the stage with you BUT YOU HOLD THE MIC!!  Most Karaoke DJ's will also help....they want you to have fun so you tell everyone about them.

You only live once, right?  Get busy living or get busy dying (Shawshank Redemption).

Good luck!! 

Please tell me about your first Karaoke experience and what helped you get over the fear of singing....you may just help someone out who needs a little bit of encouragement or assistance!

Jimmy's Tavern:  Karaoke Tuesday and Saturday Nights

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5 Myths of drinking alchol: Myth 1 Aspirin before drinking will stop a hangover

We are all looking for that one thing that makes hangovers go away.

We are all looking for ways to "care" for a drunk.

We are all looking for ways to sober up so we can drive.

We are all looking for ways to "beat" the Breathalyzer.




Gotta love myths...they give us hope but that is just about all they give us.  BUT...some myths can actually kill you.....read to protect yourself.

Drinking Myth about taking an aspirin before you start drinking will keep you from getting a hangover:

Take an aspirin before you start drinking to stop a hangover:  I don't know about you but I have yet to hear that aspirin was developed and later learned that it cures a hangover.  I can see how this became about....hangovers cause headaches, aspirin helps with headaches. Helps, does not prevent.  Hangover headaches are a form of brain dehydration...what do you do for dehydration?  DRINK WATER!  If you are planning a night out....alternate alcohol with water and it will reduce your chances of getting that dreaded hangover headache the next day.....if you still have one...drink water.

What not to do by John Hopkins Medicine:

Here's some advice on what not to do after an evening where you've over-done it:

• Avoid further alcohol ("hair of the dog") - this will only increase your misery.
• Avoid further dehydration by consciously working yourself to keep down liquids (other than alcohol!) - water, chicken soup, Gatorade - whatever works for you.
• Avoid acetaminophen (Tylenol) at all costs-it can over-tax your already hard-working liver, leading to dangerous swelling or even liver failure.
• Avoid unpalatable "recipes" combining such ingredients as eggs, raw fish, Tabasco, and sausage. You wouldn't eat like that when you are at your best, so what makes you think you'll stomach it when you're hungover?

Stay tuned for more hangover and alcohol myths.

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What do you do to stop or cure a hangover?

Cheers! Where you are only a stranger once

We all have that one place where we can get away....where we are always welcome.  A place where we have no worries...only good times.  No thoughts of the boss, no thoughts of the responsibility if you are the boss, no children, no bills....just a place where everyone is glad you came.  Click here

It is normal that at home.....not everything is perfect.  At home there are things that you do wrong.  A friend of mine talked about how her husband told her one day that she didn't load the dishwasher right.  (He regretted that because she stepped back and said please show me....and while he was "showing" her she left him to do it.....for a month)  Another friend told me her husband complained about how she ate her taco....she ate her taco wrong.  


It is also normal that when you have children.....nothing is normal.  Some days you just scratch your head and wonder who these little "angel" are.

AND...the most normal thing is looking at the clock waiting for quitting time.  The afternoon moves so slowly.  

You have to find your escape.  Some escape in a world of books where you can go anywhere, be anybody you want.  Some go shopping.  Some go workout.  Some head to their local tavern where "everyone is the same" and where everyone knows your name.

No matter what you do.....just do it.  Escape from the world and go where everyone is glad you came.  

If you are in the Pueblo County (Colorado) vicinity Jimmy's Tavern invites you to come in and find your escape there.  I can personally tell you that you are only a stranger one time.  The staff is friendly, the owner is wonderful and the customers....they are the best.  They are always running fundraising events for non-profits (try your skill...if you can accomplish the goal you get a free shot).



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Tuesday and Saturday:  Karaoke
Friday Nights:  Live music

It just doesn't get any better than this 

Labor Day and what it means

Yes it means a three day weekend for most
Yes it means an excuse to Barbecue, go out of town, party, etc.
Yes it means relaxing

But what does it really mean?

• First off it is always the first Monday of September.
• It was made into an official holiday in 1894.
• It is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of the American Workers.
• And, sadly, it marks the end of summer.

We often forget "why" we have a three day weekend and just focus on the fact that we have one. 

This Labor Day take a moment to give tribute to American Workers!  They are the foundation of our Country.

Flag compliments of Freedom Consignment & Antiques

So whether you are having a barbecue, going out to a bar, staying home and relaxing, cleaning your house or going out of town let's remember why we have Labor Day and thank all of our American workers......and if you are one of them:  Thank you!

Here is a tribute from an American Legend about America...please watch this video


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