CPRMom

I love getting comments on my blog. Occasionally I comment on other people's blogs. It's a good thing. Most bloggers get spam, totally off-topic comments. We all deal with it. We just delete and carry on. What gets irritating a nice valuable comments that contain links to someone else's website. When I post a comment on someone else's blog I don't put in links to my blog, website or business. It makes me come across as only posting to promote my own site. And when others folks do that on my blog it makes their perfectly good comment look like spam. And then that really nice comment never gets published. Most blog sites have a box to input your website or blog when submitting a comment. That's where your website or blog should be posted. Adding relevant on-topic links to a different website, like www.heart.org for the American Heart Association website are okay as sometimes we want to share something that ties in to the post. However several hy...

I had a great question at a program I did for my local Mended Hearts chapter the other night. Can a rescuer with a pacemaker or ICD (Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator) safely operate an AED? And the answer is .... Yes! When I'm short on time my go-to source for answers to questions I'm not 100% sure on is one of the online instructor forums I belong to. There are a lot of really smart and knowledgeable folks in the group. One member even did a bit of research for me and provided this great link to Daily Living with an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator . She even called Medtronic to ask. I'll be updating this post when I have a chance to call them myself later today. But AED's are safe and easy to use, even if the rescuer has a pacemaker or ICD. 5/17 update: I called Medtronic, the folks who make the Lifepack 1000 AED. AED's are safe to use by rescuers with a pacemaker or ICD. They don't have anything in writing on it, but the rep on th...

Here's the 2013 line up for $1 Summer Movies at Regal Cinemas. All films are on Tuesday & Wednesday beginning at 10am. I added the dates for the Newington Regal Cinema 2013 Regal Summer Movie Express http://www.regmovies.com/Movies/Summer-Movie-Express Week Title Rating Time 6/19 The Three Stooges PG 10am 6/19 Ice Age: Continental Drift PG 10am 6/25 - 6/26 Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days PG 10am 6/25 - 6/26 Parental Guidance PG 10am 7/2 - 7/3 Mr. Poppers' Penguins PG 10am 7/2 - 7/3 Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked G 10am 7/9 - 7/10 Monte Carlo PG 10am 7/9 - 7/10 Rio G 10am 7/16 - 7/17 Coraline PG 10am 7/16 - 7/17 ParaNorman PG 10am 7/23 - 7/24 Dr. Seuss' The Lorax PG 10am 7/23 - 7/24 Big Miracle PG 10am 7/30 - 7/31 Yogi Bear PG 10am 7/30 - 7/31 Journey 2: The Mysterious Island PG 10am 8/6 - 8/7 Racing Stripes PG 10am 8/6 - 8/7 Happy Feet Too P...

So this is the post I started on Friday, and then got busy and now here it is Monday. A few weeks ago I received an email from someone needing CPR AED certification quickly. This happens a lot for me. Sometimes deadlines or card expiration dates creep up quickly and suddenly folks realize that their certification card has expired and they either can't work or turn in their re-licensing paperwork without a valid card. The challenge was - all my upcoming classes before the date she needed it by were full. I also don't have a lot of available time. sigh My business is feast or famine, ... seriously. I'm either popular or I'm not. Since the courses lead to 2 year certification people only come looking for me once every 2 years. Right now I'm super popular. It's exciting and its overwhelming. Because not only do I run my small business; I have 4 children, a part-time job I love and a small content/writing business. Oh and I volunteer WAAAAYYYYYY too m...

My business phone is my cell phone. It looks like this one: Except mine has scratches and dings in it. And a pretty wacky eclectic background. I don't always answer my phone. As a business I should try to answer it every time it rings. If you're in business and reading this you're thinking.... "she's wacked going to lose business.... why doesn't she answer her phone?". But sometimes I'm not in a good spot to answer my phone. I could be in the car driving (a not-so-secret secret: I have 4 kids, I do a lot of driving in the afternoons & evening shuttling my kids to their various activities) . I can't look up information about an upcoming class, take a course registration, or take information if I'm driving. I could be in a class. I can't talk on the phone if I'm teaching. I could be at home. I do answer the phone when I'm home, but I don't always have it in my hand or pocket. If I'm in my basement...

A while back I wrote a post about my new Road ID. As I begin training for this year's race season I made sure I had my Road ID and am doing my best to remember to where it. Why do I feel that I need to wear ID when I work out? If you follow the link in my previous blog post you'll read about the bicyclist who was found unresponsive on the side of the road, with no ID. No one knew who he was for at least a day. That was a wake up call for me. I walk pretty regularly. I'm not a runner, but I began competitive race walking last year. I enjoy it and it's good exercise. Yesterday I walked on a road I'm not normally on, but had time to kill while my van was being repaired. It's a road heavily traveled by very large trucks. What would have happened if the truck swerved into the shoulder? What would have happened if I tripped and fell when traffic was heavy? I don't carry my wallet or purse when I walk. My Road ID has my information and my husba...

I read a great article this morning in one of the CPR First Aid Instructor forums I belong to; Unmasking the Certification Mill Problem published in Occupational Health and Safety . This is a topic I'm pretty passionate about. Online-only CPR and First Aid certification websites are scams. They promise "nationally accepted" certification that you take in your home and you can print your card on your own printer. Unfortunately most employers and licensing boards will not accept these cards. Why? Because there is no hands-on component to the course. I did a quick search on my blog and discovered over the past 4 years I've written on this topic a few times. Starting with Online CPR First Aid courses in 2009, I've written Be wary of some online BLS courses , False CPR certification , Video or computer based training versus learning it the old fashioned way , and I received this comment... . On my Coastal CPR & First Aid Blog I've posted What is o...