Today we honor lives changed by the tragedy at Columbine High School 12 years ago. I've been thinking about this all day, literally, all day. I heard the reminder of the date on the news this morning while getting ready for work, it became part of my facebook status a couple hours later, and part of a realization a few hours after that.

You could say that the happenings at Columbine were a result of bullying. Some kid, gets his (or her) giggles from picking on another kid. Most of the time we call it "being mean" and let it pass. Until that first kid, brings a gun into the school THEN it's finally noticed and labeled as "bullying".

Yesterday I had an incident with a co-worker. She's a known "Negative Nelly", constantly has to have everyone's attention, and does it by being the biggest pessimist in the department. When she doesn't get her attention that way, she's rude, inconsiderate, and well... mean.  I already said it- but as adults we call it being a "Negative Nelly"... but really, she's just a bully.

Earlier this week, I overheard a coworker talking to his college daughter on the phone. I missed the entire conversation except when he told her to "be nice". right before he hung up the phone. I said, "you must have been talking to one of the kids", and he went on to explain that his daughter often speaks down to people when she needs help.  She too- is a bully.

My wellness tip this week, is to really take notice of what is going on around you. Notice how your friends speak to others, how your boss speaks to you. Be mindful, that bullying isn't something that stops in high school. And watch your own actions- do you

I know this will come as a suprise to most of you, but, despite the title of this article, I am NOT telling you go go and eat Skittles... although skittles are yummy.

We haven't talked food for a while in the Wellness tips department, so this week, we are!

Stop for a moment, and think about what your dinner or lunch plate looked like today. How many colors did it have? Was it a little too much of one color. It's ok to eat some white foods (bread, potatoes, rice)... but remember these foods have very little nutritional value! So try to add color to your plate to boost nutrition content.

Here are some fun things I do!
*Wilt a couple handfuls of spinach into mashed potatoes
* Use sweet potatoes in place of regular potatoes.
* Have a glass of V8 frusion with dinner for a serving of fruits and veggies!
*Add spinach, mushrooms and onion to your eggs (omlette or scrambled!)

Most importantly this week, just stop and take notice of your plate. Remember your plate should be MOSTLY veggies, with some fruit, starch and protein.

For added ideas- check out websites like eatright.org... or just google things like "colorful diets" or "veg

Today is the American Heart Association's "Start Walking Day"! It occurs the first Wednesday of each April.

Walking is a great, stress free way of getting excercise. This time of year, we are ready to get out and start seeing some sunshine! If you live in the Twin Cities Area, today was the perfect day to start walking!

I got to this post a little late today, so you might not be up for a walk at this point in the day, but start thinking about tomorrow! Make a plan with some co-workers to start walking at lunch time a few times a week! Even a 10 minute walk is a great break in the day.

Taken after a meal, a walk is a great way to boost your metabolism, so get the family and the dog, and go for a post dinner walk tomorrow night!

Get walking, and start enjoying the Spring!

P.s. You may have noticed there wasn't a Wellness Wednesday post from last week. Perhaps the post SHOULD have been... "sometimes you need to learn to say no/take a break/get some down time"...