Tag: friends

FOX 11: Katie Coombs talks “Uncommon Sense”

CourtneyOOctober 28, 2015Comments OffConversations

RENO, Nev. – Katie Coombs, host of “Uncommon Sense,” announced today that she and co-host Debbie McCarthy have joined the America Matters Radio team, broadcasting live on KCKQ-AM 1180. The show will air on Fridays from 2-4 p.m. Listeners are encouraged to call in and participate during the show.

“I’m excited to start this new journey with America Matters Media,” said Coombs. “The live format is a great way to start a conversation with our listeners and I look forward to creating a kind of “Uncommon Sense” community with all of the great people in Reno and beyond.”

“Uncommon Sense” addresses anything and everything related to families, parenting and children. Coombs and her guests discuss current events and trends and their effects on our society as a whole and our individual families. Through her show, Coombs shares her knowledge and advice with respect to today’s issues, focusing on family values and parental leadership, through the use of common sense.

“With our world moving 100 miles a minute, it’s great to have the opportunity to sit down for two hours and hash out the issues, talk about what’s really happening and how all of it effects us day-to-day,” said Coombs.
In addition to her radio show, Coombs also writes a weekly column in the Reno-Gazette Journal, is a contributing author to “Reno Moms Blog” and Reno Magazine, manages an ongoing blog, and actively engages her listeners in conversation forums through various mediums. Coombs has earned a reputation in the community for her humor on parenting, family-oriented philosophies and current events. With “Uncommon Sense,” Coombs engages her community with interesting guests that offer listeners advice and tips to help with raising a family in today’s diverse world.

Christy

CourtneyOMay 18, 2015Comments OffConversations

Hi Katie,

First of all – thank you for sharing your story.

My name is Christy and I’m from St. Louis.

I feel that I have always been somewhat fit – but I don’t seem to feel that great. No major health issues, I just don’t think my quality of life is what it could be.

After reading your article, I am going to commit to doing what you did. I have quite the sweet tooth and although that will be a tough one, I want to feel good more than I want the sugar.

To give you a bit of info – I’m 53, 5’9 and weigh about 155. People tell me I’m skinny, but you know, I don’t have the energy or stamina I wish that I had. Honestly, I don’t think I look that thin – at least not by a healthy standard.

I am going to – beginning right now – cut out sugar and cut out bread.

I’m training for a 1/2 marathon with my nephew in October, so the exercise part is in check.

What is not in check – and why I would like your input   – is this –  WHAT DO YOU EAT? I guess what I would like from you is a sample menu of what foods you eat that leave you with having the energy to do your exercise routines, and feeling satisfied.

I would like to lose some weight, but more that that goal, I want to feel energetic and fit.

Unlike you, I don’t have any kids, so honestly, there is no excuse for me not being in amazing shape. I work full time and seem to come home from work, turn on the television and the night is shot.

Do you by chance have a book that would have this info in it?

Proof is in the pudding and you look great. Any tips you can send my way are appreciated. I looked up Dr. Dunlap, and although I cannot come to Nevada to see a doctor, I can certainly take away your tips. I asked my doctor this year if he thought an annual check-up is a good idea. He said no – not really – they just want your money.

I agree with your train of thought. Preventative health is just as important as treating real time illness. My mom is a diabetic – I don’t want to follow suit if I can help it.

Thank you Katie and keep up the great work.
Christy

Christy,

Thanks for sharing your story. My diet is so boring it might seem unsustainable but I have followed it for so long now I don’t even think about it.

Breakfast – Protein shake if I work out which holds me over to lunch. Banana and a hard boiled egg if I don’t work out

Lunch – Protein and vegetable

Dinner – Protein and vegetable

The Paleo cookbooks have great recipes to spice things up a bit. I don’t follow Paleo 100% as I do eat some dairy.

I have two things I cheat with occasionally – Starbucks Mocha and popcorn. That’s it. Otherwise I stay away from carbs and sugar. I eat fruit but very moderately as it has sugar so you want to be careful there. It took me about a month to cut out sugar and stop the withdrawals. Then the benefits of feeling great started kicking in and I don’t think about it much anymore. Occasionally I will eat something the kids bake but it usually makes me sick which is a great motivator not to touch it.

Good luck on your journey. Check in anytime you want!

Katie Coombs

I’d Rather Not Be Right

CourtneyOJuly 30, 2014Comments OffBlog

We were talking about the way that different people deal with conflict and she said “you have to choose to either be right or to be intimate.” The statement resonated with me as I looked at different aspects of my life.

I wasn’t raised in a world of right and wrong like so many people were. I hear people all of the time say things like “you are right, I was wrong,” and I never really understand it. We all bring different perspectives to the table and nobody is ever truly right or truly wrong. One of the hardest questions I have ever been asked in my life by a very intelligent friend was “what was your 50 percent responsibility to your divorce?” It’s not that I didn’t feel responsible for my divorce, but at the time I was angry and sad and it was easier to point fingers than look inside myself for that answer. Once I answered it in my own heart and mind, it allowed me to have a closer relationship than I would have otherwise with my ex-husband. I chose to be intimate instead of right.

I watch all of the political fighting going on in our world today and the same thing comes to mind. What if the two sides stopped focusing on being right, and instead focused on getting along and building their relationships? Not only would the politicians benefit from living this way, but the whole world would be a more functional place. Everyone is focused on which side is “right,” rather than forging intimate relationships for the good of all. The social media sites are full of people screaming at one another about why they are right rather than people seeking common ground to find solutions. It is happening right now in the Gaza Strip and clearly it is time to admit that nobody is going to agree on who is right but perhaps they should figure out how to stop the killing of innocent people.

I sat my kids down last week and asked them what this meant to them. Would they rather be right or have close relationships with one another? It stopped them all in their tracks. The last few days when a small argument has ensued, I have asked them if they want to be right or close rather than try to intervene and determine who is at fault. My daughters, all on their own, found a solution to sharing some shirts they both like to wear but had been arguing over for several months. My younger daughter, who would admit her stubbornness and feistiness, is now keeping all of the shirts in her sister’s room since she knows she can borrow them at any time. They chose to be close, rather than focus on who was right and who was wrong. No more fighting and everyone felt good, not right.

This little sentence is changing my entire perspective. I would always rather be close than be right. People that are right just end up right. They end up alone and isolated. I don’t know if they even feel good being “right” once they have established in their own minds that they are indeed “right.” The people that they have made feel “wrong” have a lost a pound of their flesh and a part of their soul because they realize they can’t be close to the “right” person.

I’d rather not be right. I choose intimate relationships where people can make mistakes and learn and grow and compromise. Try asking your kids if they would rather be right or close the next time a fight ensues. It might just change your life, and theirs as well.

A Few Thoughts to the Graduating Class of 2014

CourtneyOJune 12, 2014Comments OffBlog

Congratulations to all of you as you finish your high school career and prepare for the next step in your life. Hopefully, you are stepping. Either stepping out of the door to go work and find a place of your own or going on to some type of higher education so that you can feed yourself and your family someday. The generation before you has relied heavily on their parents to take care of them and many of them still live at home at 25 or 30 years old. No matter how you were raised, you need to snicker and tell yourself you aren’t going to expect your Mom and Dad to fund your every meal anymore.

This has been a tricky time to grow up. Since you were about 10 years old, a little company called Apple began producing phones that put the internet in your hands and completely changed the way you communicate with your friends and even your parents. You need to know that if you really want to succeed in life, you are going to have to learn to communicate looking people in the eye. You can’t text an employer your answers in the middle of an interview and you can’t dance with your partner over the phone. I suggest you take every class you can and even read books on communication to help you overcome what this technology has done to you.

The whole time you have been on this planet, you have been handed trophies and ribbons for every sport you participated in. We have not helped you at all by doing this. You will not get awards ever again without earning them the hard way and this may seem unfair to you when you look at your dresser that is right now covered in bobble head trophies. Those trophies were handed to you just because your parents signed you up. The rest of your life you will have to achieve certain goals and criteria to be awarded. Like it or not, that’s the way it is and you would do your own future children lots of good if you work to eliminate this trophy practice.

You have seen things on the internet that were way too mature for your eyes and try not to let this scar your future relationships. Whether you are male or female, you have to treat people with respect in order to get that third or second date. Don’t be afraid to hold a door open for a woman, young men. If she gets offended, she just might not be the right one for you. Chivalry is an important part of finding the right partner and don’t let our current society talk you out of it. Your table manners really matter. Practice them right now if you haven’t before and learn how to set a table and when to use a salad fork. There will always be something very attractive about well-mannered people.

You have been unfairly judged by test scores more than any generation before you. Your success will be directly correlated to how hard you work and well you treat the people you work with. Yes, you will need to read or write but don’t think that your Map Testing scores from 6th grade are going to ever play a role in your future. They aren’t. You will now be placed according to your common sense, work ethic, and overall personality instead of some number on paper. The faster you figure this out the more likely you are to succeed.

Even though adults have told you how amazing you are your entire life, the faster you accept that you are just like everyone else the better things will go for you. You can prevent tremendous amounts of future anxiety and social blunders if you treat everyone equally and also don’t expect the world to bow down to your amazing self. You are just a person with strengths and weaknesses like everyone else. Nobody owes you anything and you do not deserve a certain lifestyle or car or house. You will have to work hard for those things no matter how amazing you think you are.

If your over-bearing parents try to step in and tell your future employers or college professors how to treat you, do everyone a favor and say no the first time it comes up. Your parents may have unfortunately been such good friends with you for so long that they can’t stand to see you suffer. It’s ok if you suffer a little bit and it’s ok to tell your parents that you are an adult and you don’t need their intervention. The faster you become independent from them the better you will feel about yourself. But you should still call them and say hello and I love you from time to time. They worked hard to get you this far.

And finally, to those really smart graduates who didn’t enjoy high school because they weren’t in the “cool” crowd, I have excellent news for you. Those people that thought they were better than you and even made you feel small are about to start the journey to their 10 year high school reunion. When they arrive, they are going to look a little weathered and you are going to look sharp. You “nerds” as they called you, will be the future doctors, lawyers, scientists, and accountants that will make this world go around. The “proud” crowd will be working for you and high school was the time they peaked in life. You don’t want to peak at 18. Shoot for 40 or even 50! Your hard work and studying will pay off in a way that will have made all those awkward years of high school well worth it. Plus, you are the ones that gave the graduation speeches and ran off with all of the scholarship money.

Good luck to all of you. You have a little bit to overcome from the things that existed when you were born, but it can be done. I’m counting on you as there are too many baby boomers to take care of and we need your help. I’ve given up on most of the 25-30 year olds so I’m holding out hope for you.