Our good friends at Washington Wine & Beverage Company are once again supplying the Mill Creek Festival Beer and Wine Garden with some handcrafted local brews served frosty cold, along with some great choices for those who prefer to sip a glass a wine.

The Mill Creek Business Association has proudly produced the Mill Creek Festival for the past 12 years. The festival committee, formed entirely of volunteers from local businesses, devotes countless hours and resources to create an enjoyable event for our patrons and an opportunity for local companies to showcase their services.

The Festival would not be possible without the generous support of our sponsors. Once again, Dan and Sue McNeely of North Creek Roofing are the title sponsors of the event. Please stop by their booth in the middle of Mill Creek Blvd and 161st, as well the booths of all our sponsors for that matter, and thank them for their support. In years that we are able to cover all the festival’s expenses, proceeds are invested back into the community. For example, just this year the Mill Creek Business Association has supported the Mill Creek Santa Parade, the Mill Creek Police Guild, the South Snohomish Honor Guard, the YMCA’s Invest in Youth Campaign, the Mill Creek Food Bank, Jackson High Football and the Mill Creek Forum Summer Concert Series.

Do you ever have a sneaky feeling that you should get your cholesterol checked, or maybe have your glucose level measured, but you just don’t want to take the time to do it?

A visitor to Walgreens Way to Well Health tour bus in Yuba City, California, was too busy to worry about preventative health. He didn’t have insurance to cover it, either. But he took the time to come to the bus to get free health screening tests, and he’s really glad he did.

“He didn’t know what his levels were and didn’t have insurance to go to the doctor, so he was surprised to find that his cholesterol was over 300,” said Karen Mulch, a technician with the health bus. “We like those numbers to be under 200, so we gave him tips on how to decrease it, and literature on how important diet and exercise is. We didn’t expect him to come back, but three days later we had another event and he came back and asked to get checked again. He had changed his diet, so we checked his cholesterol and it was 50 points lower than just three days before! It just shows how changing your diet and doing a bit of exercise can change your levels rather quickly.”

Hey look what I found, my old Juice Man Jr. I bought this guy a few years back when I was doing a juice cleanse. You probably have noticed information and recipes for green juices and smoothies are popping up all over the place and they are becoming a more mainstream approach to healthy eating. I have to be honest, I never took to juicing the way I have to green smoothies.

I drink a smoothie every day. It has become part of my daily routine. I know there are people who love juicing but I found it messy and not as satisfying as having a smoothie. But hey, since I found my juicer when I was cleaning out the cupboards I took it as a sign to give juicing another try.