Exposure to cold can cause injury or serious illness such as frostbite or hypothermia. The likelihood of injury or illness depends on factors such as physical activity, clothing, wind, humidity, working and living conditions, and a person's age and state of health. Follow these tips to stay safe in cold weather:

• Dress appropriately before going outdoors. The air temperature does not have to be below freezing for someone to experience cold emergencies such as hypothermia and frostbite. Wind speed can create dangerously cold conditions even when the temperature is not that low.
• Dress in layers so you can adjust to changing conditions. Avoid overdressing or overexertion that can lead to heat illness.
• Most of your body heat is lost through your head so wear a hat, preferably one that covers your ears.
• Mittens provide more warmth to your hands than gloves.
• Wear waterproof, insulated boots to help avoid hypothermia or frostbite by keeping your feet warm and dry and to maintain your footing in ice and snow.
• Get out of wet clothes immediately and warm the core body temperature with a blanket or warm fluids like hot cider or soup.
• Avoid drinking caffeine or alcohol if you expect you or someone you are trying to help has hypothermia or frostbite.
• Recognize the symptoms of hypothermia that can be a serious medical condition: confusion, dizziness, exhaustion and severe shivering. Seek medical attention immediately if you have these symptoms.
• Recognize frostbite warning signs: gray, white or yellow skin discoloration, numbness, waxy feeling skin. Seek medical attention immediately if you have these symptoms.

To learn more about signals of and how to care for cold- or heat-related problems, take a Community First Aid and Safety course from your local Red Cross chapter.

Holiday traveling and winter can be a dangerous combination. Allow extra time when traveling. Monitor weather conditions carefully and adhere to travel advisories.

Keep a winter storm survival kit in your car. This should include blankets, food, flares, chains, gloves and first aid supplies. Visit the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Web site for a more extensive list.

Courtesy of American Red Cross

Move Your Feet to a Jingling Beat!

Imagine the sounds of hundreds of thousands of bells as people throughout the United States run and walk in the Jingle Bell Run/Walk for Arthritis®. Across the country this sound will be heard as people like you tie jingle bells to their shoelaces, don festive costumes and join neighbors in support of the Arthritis Foundation's mission to prevent, control and cure arthritis and related diseases.

The annual Jingle Bell Run/Walk takes place during the holiday season throughout November and December. Choose from a 5K fun run or a 5K fun walk. Wear a seasonal costume and tie some jingling bells to your shoelaces to capture the best of the holiday season.

Get your students excited about this even that you are creating. Come up with teams, prizes, costumes, and design a running course that will be suitable for all your students and even their families to participate. These runs are held all over America to support the Arthritis Foundation, and you too can help out by having your own Jingle Bell Fun Run. Make it support anything you'd like, just remember to have fun, and get everyone around you involved, for this great time.

Do you love teaching golf? Tired of waiting until the hot, clear weather to do so? Well, wait no longer, here is your solution. Develop a rousing game of snow golf. Soft snow, hard compact snow, or even ice, this game can be played. Its just going to take some imagination on your part to create the course.

Anyone can have a casual, fun event, just about anywhere. A can of red paint to mark holes and tees, some makeshift flags and a bit of imagination, and you have a snow-golf course.

Everyone will need snowshoes, but I've played in rubber boots too. Just make sure that we aren't playing in tennis shoes, our feet will get wet while playing this game. Remember, safety first, and make sure everyone has the right outdoor wear. You can play with either colored balls, or larger, rubber balls. On softer snow the regulation balls tend to plug and you can find yourself digging up mouse holes looking for your ball. You can make a local rule to cover lost balls, but you had better bring a few extra balls along, you will need them. A rubber ball on the other hand , although a bit different to hit, will plug less often, and be a lot easier to find. The harder the snow surface the better, but you can get quite a lot of roll on very crusty snow.

Plan as many holes as you like, but keep them short. The game should focus on chipping, since a full shot in snowshoes can be a real challenge. Holes should be laid out to be par 3's or perhaps 2 "short shot" par 4s. You can get as creative or basic as you like. Putting is also not really feasible, but holes can be marked at a user friendly size, and gimmies are common. In this format, a mid iron should do a player for the entire game.

Ok, so it is not real golf, but it's a lot of fun, and your kids should have a blast going against each other. Don't let the snow slow your golf game down. Get out there and start creating your very own snow golf course today!