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Do you remember where you were on Feb. 3rd and 4th, 2002? Yes, that's 10 years ago and I probably will never forget those two days, as they hold special memories for me.

Feb. 3rd was a Sunday night, in fact it was Superbowl Sunday. I was home watching the game alone, since the next day was a big day for me. You see, that night the New England Patriots won their first Superbowl, on a last second field goal -- and I remember jumping around my living room with excitement as my husband slept in the next room (as he's obviously not much of a fan).

The following day, I walked into my new office as it was my first day in business as "Stone Family Chiropractic Center". The fire marshall almost didn't give us our certificate of occupancy, since the water sprinklers weren't spaced properly though-out the office. It was very annoying since it was a chiropractors office prior there prior to us moving in, so things shouldn't have been much different. So they let us open on the condition that someone was there that day fixing the problem. So there I was, open for business at the same time water sprinklers were being installed and re-positioned in the ceiling. By the end of the day, patients had come and gone, we had our sprinkler system correctly in place, and day one was complete.

Three years after that I bought my current office (which was a home at the time) and totally renovated it. We had to put completely tear up the backyard to install two septic tanks, as well as gut the entire inside of the building to make it into an office. Then came the parking lot. What was once a front yard with some trees and a driveway, was totally torn up and a parking lot was created. It cost much more than anticipated and was probably one of the most stressful things I have ever been through, yet somehow I got by.

I was fortunate enough at the time to have a coach in place, who helped me through the stress of dealing with it all and helped me not let it affect my business. We moved into our new building in January 2006. But then came my bike wreck with three broken bones (and missing almost five months of practice) in July 2006. Life always throws us challenges, trying to see how strong we are and how much we could handle. At that point I said "enough" and business and life have been on the upswing ever since.

I'm happy to be celebrating our 10-years in business this week, it's been a great time. I've had great employees, great massage therapists, and great PEAK student interns over the 10 years. Kimberly has been with me for many years and has been a big part of our growth, so thank you. We continue to help more and more people in our community, and I am blessed to be able to do what I do every day. We wouldn't be able to do it without great patients who trust us with their care. So thank you!

Feb. 3rd & 4th 2002 will be great memories for me. Hopefully Feb. 5th 2012 will be as well….

So a recent study by the CDC states that prescription drug overdoses are a U.S. epidemic, with more than 27.000 unintentional drug overdose deaths in the year 2007. While that may be four years ago, that's the most recent study with the paper just being released this week.

Click here for full report

That is an average of one death every 19 minutes. Can you imagine that? It's been driven mostly by opioid analgesics -- more or less pain killers of some sort. The graph that the report has is frightening looking, as it spikes upward the past 37 years, with the biggest growth the past 20 years or so.

People in pain so often turn to pain killers instead of trying other routes. While pain killers can be effective in decreasing pain, death as a side effect is not something that's worth it to me. What about natural alternatives? What about chiropractic? Dietary changes? Exercise? Massage Hydration? Stretching? There so many things that can contribute to a decrease in pain, it is sad that people do turn to drugs and become addicted to them.

Who do you know that has this problem? Please tell them about chiropractic and see if we can help them.

Have you ever thought about going for a swim in 48-degree water? You know, they do those polar bear swims up in Boston, New York, Michigan and other places where it is really cold this time of year, and it's fun tradition to go for a quick dip in the frigid waters of the local lake (or ocean). Well, thanks to a few crazy friends of mine, that tradition was started here in Acworth about 6 years ago, so today was no different. So what do you think I did today? Yup, sure enough I took a dip in Lake Alatoona, at a crisp 48-degree water temperature. Luckily, it was beautiful 60-degree weather outside with sunny skies, so it wasn't as difficult as prior years. And yes, that means I have done this before and when the air is cold, it just makes it that much harder.

I'm not really sure why I do this, I guess its just something fun and crazy and different, and why not start out a new year on that note? This year it was a large crowd, close to 30 or so people who "took the plunge". Proudly enough, I just dipped into my shoulders, while several other people dove in and swam around. I saw no need in actually swimming nor getting my hair wet, and when we all had enough of it, we got out after 30 seconds or so. Of course there were two crazy folks who were trying to be the winner for longest time spent in the lake, and after almost four minutes, we told them they were both winners and out they came.

So heat kind of crazy holiday tradition to you have? Anything that you do that has been passed on from your family, or have you started something new? Did you make any New Year's Resolutions this year? I didn't. Now there are certainly things I could change in my life, but I'm not quite ready to make those changes, and that is something that has to happen in order to make a resolution work. You must be ready for it. Once you are, go ahead and make the commitment. There is no need to wait until Jan. 1st to make a change in your life, any day will be fine. Some days are better than others based on what is happening in your life. but if you choose to make a change, make sure it is deep within your subconscious mind. If you don't truly want or believe in something, it won't happen. Daily affirmations, visualizations, and meditation or prayer can make these changes happen.

Happy New Year, happy swimming, and have a wonderful 2012!

No, this is not about the race held each summer in Marietta, it’s about literally running for the rest of your life. This past weekend I was in Florida and spent time with my father-in-law, who is 84 years old. He is a lifetime runner, and still runs daily, along with going to the gym to swim and lift weights.

We sit and talk about races, speed work, trail runs, running shoes and training schedules. He hasn’t raced in four years, because he is ticked off that he can’t run the 37-minute 10k’s that he could do when he was younger. He said he’s not going to race until he can get his speed back (I love it!). I did elude to the fact that maybe he should race against other 84-year old guys, not someone 20 years younger than him. But he didn’t want to hear that. Did I mention he was fast? And stubborn?

He serves as a role model to me, and proves that being fit will help lead you to a long healthy life. He is not on any medications, very rare for someone in their 80’s. He’s thin, tan, happy and fit. He gets adjusted every now and then, uses the cold laser technology regularly, has a beer each night, and hardly gets massaged.  Yet he keeps on going.

He’s made running part of his lifestyle and because of that, I believe it is allowing him to move these days. I hear too many people tell me that running will ruin my knees and will not allow me to walk later on, and I must disagree. Lack of exercise in your life leads to the sedentary lifestyle, and will make things that much more difficult when you are in your 70’s and 80’s. Exercise does not slow you down, it keeps you moving.

Do you want to be 80 and sitting in a chair or wheelchair all day, or do you want to be 80 and out there running? While there is never any guarantee, I do encourage people to exercise daily (or close to it), and don’t give up.

That is one thing I love about Get Fit Atlanta, and how the group can encourage others to get out there and get fit. Those of you in the group, stick with it….forever. Those not in the group, think about getting involved to make fitness part of your lifestyle.

The other day I heard my dog coughing and vomiting in the other room, so I went to see what was happening and if she was okay. She vomited up a small rock, I'd guess about a little less than an inch in length. Seconds later up came another smaller rock.

Now if I thought like most many people do, my reaction would be "oh no, she's sick, she's vomiting, something's wrong." But instead, I was thankful her body was working properly and she was getting rid of something that shouldn't be inside her in the first place. I'd certainly rather she throw it up than keep it in, letting it travel through her intestines where we don't know what have happened.

Too many parents are under the belief that vomiting is sickness. Yes, it is a sign that something is going on, but it's your body's way of getting rid of unwanted toxins. That is why it's good when you vomit if you had food poisoning. Why would you want those toxins inside, potentially causing further problems?

When the body is working right, vomiting, fever, coughing are all signs of health (believe it or not). Fever kills the invader in your body, while throwing up and coughing are the body's way of clearing things out.

Our society thinks the opposite is true, but I'm sure glad when my body is working well to get rid of what is going on inside. If the body is working to the best of its ability, if it is free of vertebral subluxation and nerve interference, your health potential is optimized. You never know how good you can really feel, and how healthy you can really be, if you have spinal problems and subluxations. Chiropractic can help. Ask us how.