Holland America Cruises...

Ready to cruise 🚢 ? I had no experience on Holland, but had taken 10 Carnival cruises or more!

When I learned that HAL (Holland America Line) was part of Carnival, my joy was palpable and now I want to only travel this wonderful, amazing, caring cruise line because other cruise lines (not mentioning because of legal purposes) had bad food, over-crowded lines, under-par service and were in need of remodeling! The Nieuw Statendam was a brand new ship but exceeded my expectations and the Godmother is Oprah, what more could you want? A great experience was had by all and I personally did not want to leave the ship. And we didn’t! The group of Oprah Magazine Insiders, dignitiaries from the Bahamas, Carnival and Holland Cruises came on board after the shipped docked and the guests departed. We/I were honored to stay for the dedication of the ship by Presidents, the Captain, original engineer and of course, even OPRAH when she “christened” the ship. The privilege of the dedication and meeting/joining with 2500 like-minded people for an enlightening week of Conversations with Oprah, Author reviews, yoga, meditation, spa and excellent dining was perfect for R&R, fun and unplugging from every day routine to recharge my batteries…. next time who knows where we will go…but I’ll be there!

Cruise with Oprah!

Leaving in 4 sleeps as of 1/26/2019, if I can sleep with the excitement of the best cruise of my life! I am going on the Holland America Line new cruise ship, Nieuw Statendam with Ms. Winfrey herself on the amazing cruise! Her and Gayle King, BFFs, are hosting a “girls getaway” and I’m bringing my BFF, Sheri Turechek who I’ve know. Since childhood In COnnecticut and we can’t wait! As a Brand Ambassador for www.O,TheOprah Magazine I love ❤️ the products they send me and blog, post and share on all social media the OMagInsiders are the best supportive and empowering women, and one man, I’ve ever met!

I am representing #AD Talbots, wearing #sponsored outfits while on board as well as being a model in the Cruise Fashion Show! Styling by Adam Glassman and their partnership of his collaboration of a gorgeous collection for TalbotsXOMag, with 30% of the proceeds going to Dress for Success, we will rock the ship! Oh Yeah that’s good, as Oprah would say

O, The Oprah Magazine staff and 27 “#OMagInsiders”, like me, will be on board to have fun, experience the Caribbean while floating on yoga mats, listening to authors and O Editors and a show with the O of O herself, Ms. Oprah Winfrey. My dream is to meet Oprah and hear her ask me the poignant question, in O fashion, " Why? What is your why?”

Well, YOU, what is YOUR WHY? My why is that life is not perfect and no one is perfect so be the best you can be. Yoga is called a practice, not a perfection, and with grace and humility I help others find their potential, be as healthy as they can be and love themselves, while practicing myself. When I know that my students have overcome excrutiating pain or gratefully or humbly changed themselves, written their story, moved on from relationships or jobs that did not serve them, fell in love, made more money or whatever they want, I know for sure that I have helped them manifest their dreams.

Follow my Instagram for photos and details of the HAL Cruise to the Caribbean, Jan. 30, 2019

Some comments below from my www.instagram.com/Efruithandler/

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efruithandler

I’m so excited for the cruise! I’m wearing a beautiful #Ad@Talbotsofficial outfit as I pack for the @hal cruise 🚢 Oprah and Gayle’s Girls Getaway!

One of my favorite things is yoga and it will be on deck and at the private Caribbean island. I am confident my #Talbots#Sponsored Anchor sweater and slimming jeans are perfect for sailing away. Spoiler alert: I’m modeling with other #OMagInsiders in the “Love That!” Adam Glassman collection #TalbotsXOMag! I know for sure there is fun and amazing stories to follow. I ❤️ giving and 30% of the collections’ net proceeds go directly to Dress for Success, empowering women to achieve independence in work and life. You can help plus look amazing by shopping @Talbots for #talbotsxomag 🙏Namaste ♥️

To Vaccine or Not?

Who believes in the flu shot? No one wants the risk of the vaccines yet everyone wants to be healthy and it is recommended for influenza vaccination. Check with your doctor, American Center for Disease Control and know your regions flu cases.

A few things are new this season:

  • Flu vaccines have been updated to better match circulating viruses [the B/Victoria component was changed and the influenza A(H3N2) component was updated].

  • For the 2018-2019 season, the nasal spray flu vaccine (live attenuated influenza vaccine or “LAIV”) is again a recommended option for influenza vaccination of persons for whom it is otherwise appropriate. The nasal spray is approved for use in non-pregnant individuals, 2 to 49 years old. There is a precaution against the use of LAIV for people with certain underlying medical conditions. All LAIV will be quadrivalent (four-component).

  • Most regular-dose egg-based flu shots will be quadrivalent.

  • All recombinant vaccine will be quadrivalent. (No trivalent recombinant vaccine will be available this season.)

  • Cell-grown flu vaccine will be quadrivalent. For this vaccine, the influenza A(H3N2) and both influenza B reference viruses will be cell-derived, and the influenza A(H1N1) will be egg-derived. All these reference viruses will be grown in cells to produce the components of Flucelvax.

  • No intradermal flu vaccine will be available.

  • The age recommendation for “Fluarix Quadrivalent” was changed from 3 years and older to 6 months and older after the annual recommendations were published last season to be consistent with Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved labeling.

  • The age recommendation for Afluria Quadrivalent was changed from 18 years and older to 5 years and older after the annual recommendations were published last season to be consistent with Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved labeling.

  • Baloxavir marboxil (trade name Xofluza®) is a new influenza single-dose antiviral drug approved October 24, 2018 by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Baloxavir is approved for the treatment of acute uncomplicated flu in people 12 years and older who have had flu symptoms for less than 48 hours. More information is available: Influenza Antiviral Drug Baloxavir Marboxil.

What flu vaccines are recommended this season?

For the 2018-2019 flu season, providers may choose to administer any licensed, age-appropriate flu vaccine (IIV, RIV4, or LAIV4).

Options this season include:

There is a table showing all flu vaccines that are FDA-approved for use in the United States during the 2018-2019 season.

What viruses will the 2018-2019 flu vaccines protect against?

There are many different flu viruses and they are constantly changing. The composition of U.S. flu vaccines is reviewed annually and updated as needed to match circulating flu viruses. Flu vaccines protect against the three or four viruses (depending on vaccine) that research suggests will be most common. For 2018-2019, trivalent (three-component) vaccines are recommended to contain:

  • A/Michigan/45/2015 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus

  • A/Singapore/INFIMH-16-0019/2016 A(H3N2)-like virus (updated)

  • B/Colorado/06/2017-like (Victoria lineage) virus (updated)

Quadrivalent (four-component) vaccines, which protect against a second lineage of B viruses, are recommended to contain:

  • the three recommended viruses above, plus B/Phuket/3073/2013-like (Yamagata lineage) virus

When should I get vaccinated?

You should get a flu vaccine before flu begins spreading in your community. It takes about two weeks after vaccination for antibodies that protect against flu to develop in the body, so make plans to get vaccinated early in fall, before flu season begins. CDC recommends that people get a flu vaccine by the end of October. Getting vaccinated later, however, can still be beneficial and vaccination should continue to be offered throughout flu season, even into January or later.

Children who need two doses of vaccine to be protected should start the vaccination process sooner, because the two doses must be given at least four weeks apart.

Can I get a flu vaccine if I am allergic to eggs?

The recommendations for people with egg allergies are the same as last season.

  • People who have experienced only hives after exposure to egg can get any licensed flu vaccine that is otherwise appropriate for their age and health.

  • People who have symptoms other than hives after exposure to eggs, such as angioedema, respiratory distress, lightheadedness, or recurrent emesis; or who have needed epinephrine or another emergency medical intervention, can also get any licensed flu vaccine that is otherwise appropriate for their age and health, but the vaccine should be given in a medical setting and be supervised by a health care provider who is able to recognize and manage severe allergic conditions. (Settings include hospitals, clinics, health departments, and physician offices). People with egg allergies no longer have to wait 30 minutes after receiving their vaccine.

New Year's Resolutions

Although New Year’s Eve is looming with fireworks, the brightest light shines on the New Year being born. Rebirth, Renew and Reinvent for yourself is my New Year’s Resolution way before the time most people are settling in with champagne, lobster and caviar wishes. Maybe its because I have accepted being single, a widow to be exact, and my purpose for “Peace on Earth”.

I am truly grateful for the family and friends I have and have chosen as well as tindered into my life. Challenging myself and others on SM (social media), I collaborated with like-minded fitness and nutrition professionals motivating and empowering with daily encouraging posts! The commitment clearly motivated me to lose weight and work out daily before the broken promises of resolutions. I learned it helps me to be in service to others and ok to fall, get back up. “What if I fall? Well, what if you fly? Full circle to being single, it is different in the digital dating, so choose to be happy, date like it’s a job interview(s), or “pet your cat and drink wine in yoga pants”. #Sorrynotsorry the latter is not my choice!

Yoga keeps my spirit up like warrior pose. I rise up and root down, inhaling and exhaling with the sounds of an ocean and open my heart, core, inner being ending with meditation, svasana. The changes in my mind and cells are felt every day so keep practicing because you don’t have to perfect. Maybe you already are, OM NAHEEM NAHMA, you are and always will be perfect and connected with your source, stay present and enjoy the moment you are in. Worrying and fear do not stop things from happening, accepting you are where you are supposed to be creates a mindset to move forward with is meant for you. Namaste…