Northwest Gold Coast

Organic Euro Spa, a luxury day spa located at 19655 1st Ave. S., Suite 201 in Normandy Park, Washington, specializes in facials, micro-dermabrasion, sugaring, eyelash perming and tinting, body treatments and massage.

The spa offers the following treatments:

• Eminence Facials – acne, anti-aging, rosacea treatment
• Micro-dermabrasion and chemical peels
• Body treatments – wraps, scrubs and cellulite treatments
• Hair removal – Facial and body waxing, sugaring
• Brazilian sugaring – women only
• Eyelash perming and tinting
• Massage – deep tissue, relaxation, Swedish, Shiatzu, lymphatic and foot

The skin care and beauty services are customized to each individual and address common skin problems such as rosacea, sun damage, acne and aging.  

Customized body treatments are also available to support weight loss and neck or back injury recovery.

In addition, clients benefit from advice regarding how to improve their personal health and beauty through nutrition, special techniques and optimum product application.

Staff are professionally trained, certified and enjoy creating an inviting, comfortable experience for clients.

Owner, Silvia Görög, uses and offers for sale organic products by the world-renown European skincare company Eminence. This skincare line is among the favorites of celebrities like Helen Hunt, Alicia Silverstone, Christina Aguilera, Regis Philbin, and many more.   These high-quality fruit, vegetable and herb-based products are free of parabens, mineral oil, petroleum and sodium laryl sulfate and they smell good enough to eat because they use natural aromatic ingredients such as rose hips, blueberries, lemons, naseberries, stonecrop (an Aloe like succulent) and hot paprika.

Facial clients enjoy classical music and  a view of Northwest evergreens as they relax in the treatment room.

For more information visit www.organiceurospa.com.

Tags: Services by Elizabeth Paulsen
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This school year marks my 18th consecutive year as a parent of students in Highline Public Schools. Over that period of time I have witnessed many changes in curriculum, schedules, staff training and school structures. In my opinion, however, the greatest of these changes has been at the high school level. The transition of Highline’s high schools from large comprehensive high schools to small theme-based schools plus a renewed emphasis on preparing every student for college have introduced a whole new vocabulary to our family and circle of friends.

Over the past five years phrases like “Advisory”, “Portfolio”, “13th Year”, “LAHS” and “CGS” have crept into our home. Ask any high school junior or senior to describe these terms and you will learn that:

• Advisory is a regularly scheduled class period in which each student meets with a small group of peers and one teacher for the purpose of reviewing tips for success in school, college preparation steps and individual progress towards goals.
• Portfolio refers to an electronic collection (could be in the form of a website with attachments or a CD or thumb drive with many files) of an individual student’s cumulative work. Each student is required to develop a portfolio and is trained how to use it to present his/her work to parents, guardians, prospective employers and prospective college entrance professionals.
• 13th Year refers to a graduation requirement in which each student must have a written plan for what he/she will do the year after he/she graduates from high school.
• LAHS or Life After High School refers to a one-day fair-like event in which students can talk to representatives of after high school opportunities such as two and four year colleges, technical institutes, apprenticeships, military and Job Corps.
• CGS is College Goal Sunday. Students attend this event with their parents or guardians to get free help in completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). As a parent who has had to complete the odious form four times and who has many more times to go, I recognize this as a huge help. My first attempt at this form was a mess.

As you read this you may be skeptical and be thinking that these are just new names for things that existed before and that really things are still business as usual. However, as a parent and as a volunteer who works with many high school students from many of the different high schools, I can attest that there is a real change. I see and hear more students with a plan – more students who are moving on to more opportunities straight from high school. Some are choosing two or four year college, others are choosing technical training or apprenticeships while others are choosing military and Job Corps opportunities.

While my observations are anecdotal, reports from the school district confirm what I am seeing. According to Superintendent John Welch’s January 2009 Memorandum to Employees:

The number of students taking the SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test required by many four year colleges and universities) is up significantly for the second year in a row. Over the past two years, an additional 89 students have taken the SAT. That’s like adding another large high school campus to our SAT participation.

More students than ever are taking Advanced Placement classes (credits that transfer to college) in high school. In 2007, 248 students took AP exams. A year later, that number was 376. More students are enrolling in Algebra II (a college prerequisite course).

Though we are not where we want to be, our graduation rate is climbing. In 2008, our on-time graduation rate was 72%; for students who needed more than four years, our graduation rate was 80%.

The numbers of graduates meeting entrance requirements for four-year college have gone up dramatically, from 38% in 2005 to almost 50% in 2007.

So… as you are out and about, I encourage you to ask high school students to share with you their 13th Year Plan. From each student you can expect an articulate and interesting response as more and more students are embracing a vision for their futures.

Tags: Education by Elizabeth Paulsen
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For over 50 years, B & E Meats has been bringing the freshest meats and seafood to the south Puget Sound area.   With locations in Burien and Des Moines, this family owned and operated business began in 1958 with two brothers, Bob and Earl Green.  

Early business wasn’t easy as there was plenty of competition with over 6 meat markets at the time  in the Burien area alone.   Their hard work and determination paid off  and their business quickly grew to open a second store.   After 40 years in the business, they retired, but the company is still family owned and run by Bob’s son and daughter in-law, Jeff and Trisha Green.     Business has continued to be sucessful and grow as loyal customers appreciate the warm and friendly staff and the highest quality meat  products available.

B & E Meats offers a wide range of wonderful and award winning meats, seafood, and jerkys.   Their ground beef comes from Eastern Oregon’s Painted Hills natural beef company where animals are fed only 100% vegetarian diet.   No added hormones or antibiotics are ever used.      B & E also offers many other  fresh products such as a variety of steaks, roasts, pork loin and rib.   Marinated, smoked meats, and poultry are also available as well as their award winning beef jerky.

A special service that makes B & E Meats stand out from other competitors is their custom processing service for game and seafood.   This allows individuals, such as hunters, to bring in their game to be cleaned and processed for them.   With that they offer grinding, cut and wrapping the meat as well as custom sausages and the option of fresh filleting seafood   and smoking salmon.  

For more information on B & E Meats products and services,   visit them at their Burien or Des Moines location, or online at www.bnemeats.com .

Tags: Services, Shopping by Michelle Leonard
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As a warm blooded creature, a passerine (songbird) has a body temperature that varies between 102 degrees Fahrenheit and 112.3 degrees Fahrenheit. During periods of extreme cold, its temperature may drop drastically. How does a bird control its body temperature so it won’t freeze when the ambient temperature plummets below the freezing mark? How does it find warm places to sleep?

A bird’s coat of feathers forms its primary defense against cold. Passerines’ feathers are so thick that very little skin is exposed to air, which prevents body heat from escaping. A system of muscles connected to each feather enables a bird to raise or lower its feathers. When the environmental temperature falls, a bird “fluffs” its feathers much the same as we “fluff” a down jacket increasing the air spaces. The more air spaces, the better the insulation.

Birds have other means of retaining heat. Sometimes a bird draws one leg up into its belly feathers. Ground feeding juncos, sparrows, and some finches lower their bodies to ground level to cover their feet with feathers. You also may see a bird with its head and bill tucked back into its scapulars, or feathers along its shoulder.

A bird can increase its body heat by stimulating muscle activity through shivering. A bird that shakes all over is revving its engine to stay warm.

Some birds – bluebirds and chickadees, for example- sleep in groups on extremely cold nights, transferring heat from one body to the next. In some instances, birds find tree cavities or nest boxes for this sort of group sleeping.

Some species – such as swifts, nighthawks, and hummingbirds – reduce their energy requirements by going into a state of torpor. This lowers their body temperature by several degree to a level near that of the air.

Most birds that come to our backyard feeders stock up on seed and suet shortly before retiring for the night. This fuel stokes their fire so to speak.

About the author: Chris Caviezel loves birds and operates two websites related to caring for wild birds: www.birdfeedersonly.com and www.hummingbirdsonly.com.

Tags: Northwest Wildlife by Chris Caviezel
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