Author: Susan Sorensen

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Living

Back Porch: Color me nervous

My friend Erin has a real knack for color. Whenever I’m at her place, I marvel over the fact that not only did she paint the walls in a high-traffic downstairs room deep pink, but that they don’t look completely ridiculous. And then there’s a green room, which flows seamlessly into a yellow space.

Once upon a time, I decided we too could use a little yellow in our abode. I’ve always considered it a cheerful color, and thought I’d be doing everyone a favor by applying a coat of happiness to our foyer walls. I imagined folks walking through the front door and, without understanding why, forgetting all their woes and smiling.

Shortly after cleaning the yellow from my brushes, I came across a study that claimed the use of too much of the wrong yellow could cause people to become uneasy and aggressive. I don’t recall any knock-down-drag-outs in our entryway, but I do remember that the walls made me sick—literally. 

O.K., part of the problem might have been that I was a few months pregnant with our first child and suffering from such dreadful all-day sickness that even the smell of soap made me nauseated. The fact remained, though, that whenever I entered my own home, there was a decent chance that the sight of my freshly painted, very bright yellow walls would cause a mad dash for the loo.

Eventually I sweet-talked my husband into re-painting the space beige. And pale blue is as crazy as I’ve dared go, wall-color-wise, since.

It’s not that I don’t like color. On the contrary; our home is rife with it. Just not applied directly to the walls. Yet whenever I tire of a room, I know that a couple gallons of paint are the cheapest, simplest and most satisfying way to transform a dull space.

So I optimistically head for the paint store. And once inside, I’m immediately drawn to the reds, oranges and purples. These are colors of paint that I’ve never actually purchased, but do have a thick stack of sample cards of, should I every have a hankering for a Mango Tango bathroom. 

After a recent week of snow, ice and cold forced me to spend an inordinate amount of time indoors—surrounded by my uninspired walls—I decided that four years is long enough to think about what color to paint one’s living room. I needed to act.

I knew from all those afternoons spent ogling Nate Berkus on “Oprah” that I’d be happier with my paint job if I first selected a focal point—a piece of furniture, a pillow, rug or drapery fabric—and attempted to match my paint to that. After much deliberation, I decided to be bold. I would find a hue to complement the red in my favorite reading chair. 

The next morning I was on my way out the door, large chair cushion in hand, when my husband asked where I was going. I ‘fessed up, causing him to stop mid-whip in his pancake batter preparation. “Two words for you,” he said. “Yellow foyer.”

Ah, yes. The vomit-inducing entryway.

Maybe, I thought, it’d be best if I hold off on any paint shopping until I consult with my color whiz pal Erin. Besides, the ice is mostly melted outside, and the thermometer’s supposed to hit 60 degrees in a couple days. I really should forget about the inside of our house and focus on the garden instead.

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Living

Get Real: Breathing easier

The place is perfect. Right size, great neighborhood, fair price. It’s spotless. The walls are freshly painted and the carpet’s brand new. Close your eyes and you can imagine the entire family gathered ‘round the spectacular fireplace on cold winter evenings.

Where do we sign? you ask the real estate agent.

Slow down there, partner. You might want to take a deep breath before you commit. Not too deep, though. The Environmental Protection Agency says this abode may be hazardous to your health.

Turns out the air inside most homes is two to five times as polluted as the air outside. Oh, and by the way, we’re currently taking in a couple tablespoons of contaminants every day, thanks to that poor indoor air quality (IAQ).

How is it possible that sleeping in your own bed might be worse for you than inhaling nasty ol’ truck- and factory-polluted air on some big city street corner? Well, take a good look around. Use cleaning products? How ‘bout that carpeting? Then there’s the fireplace, stove and heater. And have you read the fine print on those paint, varnish and grout containers? They all can release vapors and particles that we inhale or absorb through our skin.  

Time to deep-six buying a house and invest in a nice yurt on a deserted island? Not necessarily.

Your first look at any dwelling should be done with your nose, says Tom Kavounas, owner of Albemarle Heating & Air and Airflow Diagnostics. “When you walk into a house from outside, take a deep breath. If you smell any kind of damp odor, there’s most likely mold, caused by moisture intrusion.”

Beyond giving a sniff, hire a home inspector to check out crawl spaces and basements—breeding grounds for dampness and mold. Downspouts and gutters are crucial, especially if the house is built in a dip of any sort.

And have the inspector give the HVAC system, and its filters, the once-over. “It seems that we rarely open the windows these days,” says Kavounas, “so most of the air we’re breathing goes through the heating and air conditioning unit.” Pollutants such as pollen, plant and mold spores, pet dander, lint and bacteria must be removed and fresh air circulated.

If a house is improperly ventilated, its vapor barriers poorly installed or the duct work bad, all the dehumidifiers in the world may not solve a dampness problem. Throw in some leaky ducts, and pretty soon “you’re sucking bad air and moisture from a moldy crawlspace, and pumping it into the house,” possibly exposing your family to all manner of contaminants, which can lead to eye irritation, asthma and even cancer. Also make certain that gas furnaces, water heaters, clothes dryers and fireplaces are ventilated to the outdoors.

If a standard inspection doesn’t ease your worries, you can hire a company like Airflow Diagnostics to test the air itself; this costs $125, and gives you levels for VOCs (volatile organic compounds), particulates, radon, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, temperature and humidity in the house. The company also tests for duct leakage and does thermal imaging to see if there’s moisture hiding in walls, floors or roof.

Finally, make sure air from the garage isn’t invading your castle. “A detached garage is best,” advises Kavounas, because carbon monoxide, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides and soot are all unhealthy—not to mention other chemicals that are often stored there. If it’s attached, make certain there’s a good seal between house and garage.

What if you’re unhappy with what an inspector or IAQ test reveals? Consider it a bargaining chip. Either get the seller to take care of the problems, or negotiate for a lower selling price so you can fix it yourself.

“We feel like our home is a safe place, but it may not be,” Kavounas says. “People drink bottled water and eat organic food, but they have no idea that they’re breathing bad air inside their own homes.”

Categories
Living

Back Porch: Cleanliness is next to craziness

The largest and most elaborately wrapped box under this year’s Christmas tree had my name on it. It was from my husband. And on December 25, I opened it with as much gusto as our 6-year-old. I turned positively giddy when I glimpsed what was inside: a vacuum cleaner.

Not any old vacuum cleaner. It was a Roomba, a robotic floor sweeper that I’d been salivating over forever.

Most of the women I know would have coldcocked their husbands with the Roomba had they awoken to find it beneath the tree on Christmas morn. (Thou shalt not buy thy wife cleaning equipment on major holidays has to be close to No. 1 on the Ten Commandments for Husbands.) My first thought? C’mon, let’s get these darned presents unwrapped already so I can charge this sucker up and put it to work. 

While the Roomba energized itself, I gathered all the discarded wrapping paper and took out the trash. Then I made the beds, unloaded the dishwasher, scooped the cat box and ran a load of laundry—all before breakfast.

Yes, my name is Susan and I’m a cleanaholic.

I haven’t always been this way. I clearly remember an out-of-town guest visiting me many years ago and pointing out that the dirty dishes had been stacked in my sink for so long they’d begun to mold. Oh, and by the way, there wasn’t a single clean glass, bowl or plate in the cupboard. Well, wash one, I told my visitor. And while you’re at it, please toss those take-out containers filled with unidentifiable, but fuzzy and foul smelling, substances.

That was then. Nowadays, I’m a less-svelte version of the red-haired Desperate Housewife; a somewhat saner incarnation of Monk; a better accessorized Felix Unger. My surfaces always shine, my drawers are carefully organized and my shelves are never in disarray. I spend hours in Aisles 13 and 14 at Lowe’s, considering all the baskets, bins and containers in which to neatly store our stuff. I live to peruse the cleaning products at Target—just to make certain nobody’s manufactured something fabulous without letting me in on it. It’s pathetic. And I can’t stop myself.

Sure, I’ve hired housekeepers. But I spent so much time “picking up” before they arrived—and then redoing what I felt they neglected—that it cost me more in time than I could afford.

It finally got to the point that on January 1, instead of committing to lose the usual 10 pounds, I resolved to lighten up around the house. I started small, ignoring the dirty laundry piled in the middle of one daughter’s bedroom floor. Eventually, she’ll run out of clean underwear and be forced to carry the entire lot downstairs to the laundry room, right? And who cares that my other daughter hasn’t made her bed in a week? She’s just going to have to unmake it come bedtime.

Walk by the pet hair tumbleweeds, I tell myself daily. Forget about the smudges on the black dining room chairs. Recap the toothpaste and leave the remaining clutter on the counter in the kids’ bathroom.

But as I head toward my desk, I can’t help but notice Roomba’s green light; I’m charged up, it says, and eager to collect all the schmutz that’s accumulated on your floors. I turn him loose, and his loudish whir makes me happier than any CD in my collection.

Then I do something I’ve been fighting for weeks—I Google for Scooba, Roomba’s mop-wielding sidekick. In addition to sweeping, it lays down liquid and washes and dries the floor. With Valentine’s Day only a few weeks away, I know my husband will appreciate me letting him know that if he acts fast, he can pick up a Scooba for the rock-bottom price of $174, shipping included.  

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News

What about next year?

Wouldn’t it be nice to wake up on Black Friday and know you have more than $2.78 to spend on each person on your holiday gift list? Barring an unexpected inheritance, a decent weekend in Atlantic City or a call from “Deal or No Deal,” odds are good that this year isn’t that year. But what about 2007? In the words of Cinderella’s fairy godmother, it’s possible (with a little self-control, that is. Eek!).

Less is more

Keep track of how much you spend on coffee during a typical week. Ditto for lunch, post-work drinks and dinners out. Multiply the total by 52. Halve that amount and you’ll probably have a pretty good gift budget. If you’re able to completely forego coffee and liquor, brown bag your lunch and cook dinner at home, you can pop for even better presents. Assuming, of course, that you can find someone else to foot the rehab bill for caffeine and alcohol withdrawal.

Bank it

Make a list of everyone you want to buy for and decide how much you want to spend on each of them. Add it up and divide by 12. Write down that number and stick it on the bathroom mirror, refrigerator and anyplace else where you’ll be forced to look at it several times a day. That’s the amount of money you need to deposit into a special account—preferably one that’ll earn you decent interest—every month. No withdrawals allowed until November 2007.

Change’ll do you good

Ever see the episode of “Oprah” where a family collects enough money to buy a car by tossing pocket change into a jar for a few years? You’ve got it easy—you’re just looking to save enough dough for Christmas presents. Here’s what you do: Find a large bowl or jar. Place it in a prominent place in your bedroom. Dump all the change in your pocket, wallet, purse or backpack into it every night before going to bed. Do not “borrow” from it, no matter how desperate you are for a double espresso. Use the time you’d normally be out drinking with friends to sort and roll all your change.

The sooner the better

Rather than cough up hundreds (thousands?) of dollars during a few weeks next December, buy a gift or two every month throughout the year. Start soon. Preferably immediately after December 25, when plenty of good stuff is 75 percent off. Sure, this sounds an awful lot like something your mother might do. But who gives better gifts than Mom? And imagine how much money you’ll save if you scoop up something at every post-holiday sale, as well as the Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day blow-outs. Plan now for all the swell things you’ll do next December instead of waiting in line at the mall.

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News

Present danger

’Tis the season to buy. And buy and buy and buy. Who cares if nobody on your gift list needs anything? And never mind that you don’t have the means to pay for all those overpriced goods anyway. But hey, we’re not here to talk you out of giving. We like presents. 
How’s about trying this, though: Forget about maxing out your credit cards on a load of nary-used stuff. Instead, make something for Mom this year. Or do a favor for your best friend. Or spend some quality time with Grandma.

No, we haven’t gone all Oprah-meets-Martha on you. (Well, O.K., maybe a little.) But we promise that the following list of do-it-yourself gift ideas—21 of them!—won’t be a complete waste of time. For starters, they’ll keep more of that cash in the pockets of its rightful owner: you. Even better, they might provide an opportunity to give someone a present that’ll actually mean something—a present that’s useful, isn’t the wrong color and won’t become outdated. So drop the attitude already, and fire up that glue gun.  

Hostess with the mostest

Everybody loves a party—as long as someone else throws it. That’s where you come in. Offer to take charge of a gathering—birthday, anniversary, the UVA-Tech game. Send the invites and shop for food and beverages. Deck the halls and clean the joint up. Of course you’ll need a budget from the giftee, who, alas, gets stuck with the bill. But let him know you’re willing to do all the pre-, during- and post-party scut work—gratis. Heck, you’ll even scour the town for Chippendale types if the occasion calls for it. That’s how much you care.

Timeless

We know you have no interest in wasting an unseasonably warm January day at the grocery store, doing yard work and painting the bathroom. It is, however, the season of giving. With that in mind, put together some good old-fashioned coupon books. Offer to rake leaves, babysit or clean toilets. Face it: The gift of your time—so others can go hiking or to the movies—is more valuable than three dozen of those cloying aromatherapy relaxation candles you were fixing to dole out.

Bead it

Necklaces, bracelets and earrings, oh my. No, we’re not suggesting you paw through the “15 items for $5” bin at Claire’s. It’s custom-made baubles or nothing, baby. Whadaya mean you don’t even know how to thread a needle? Sounds like it’s time for somebody to score a spot in the basic beading workshop at Studio Baboo on the Downtown Mall. It’ll run you $25, but you’ll come away with lots of know-how and some fine-looking jewelry. And if you’re inspired to try a wire-wrapped pendant class, flower workshop or Japanese beaded braiding class, all the better.  

Drive, she said

Some days it’s a struggle to get from here to there. More so for some than others. So why not offer to schlep your niece to her ballet lessons? Or take your best friend’s son to his soccer match. Maybe Granddad needs a lift to his hearing-aid appointments. Your mom could certainly use some help hauling your bratty step-siblings around town. Possible unexpected upside? A new skill. Like tying ballet slippers onto a restless 6-year-old, or conversing in a shout with certain family members. (That would be the step-siblings, of course.)

Art in the box

Head for Michael’s, Target, K-mart, Wal-Mart and The Dollar Store in search of paint, crayons, colored pencils, stickers, glitter glue, felt, construction paper, stencils…well, you get the idea. None of this stuff’ll run you more than a couple bucks per item, so you can pop for a wide variety of materials for the budding Picassos in your life. Throw it all in a hand-decorated box and add a bow. Revel in the look of pure delight on nieces’ and nephews’ faces. Completely disregard the panic their parents display. Refuse to entertain suggestions that the art box be stored and used at your place.

Fleeced

Baby, it’s cold outside. Not much you can do about that. But with a few yards of polar fleece (the lightweight micro stuff works best), a yardstick, fabric pen and a pair of scissors, you can warm the necks of everyone on your list. Lay the fleece out on a table, good side down. Do a shot of tequila. Decide how long and wide you want your scarf to be. Measure out a rectangle with the proper dimensions, leaving about 6" extra 3" of fringe on each end. Do another shot. Cut out the scarf and add fringe. (Fleece doesn’t fray, so you don’t have to worry about finishing any edges.) Get a bandage to staunch the blood flow from the fingers you’ve sliced because you’re drunk. Take some time to sober up; don’t bleed on the presents. Make several scarves of differing lengths and patterns. Roll up each one and tie it with a ribbon. Place the entire collection in a fancy basket. Have a glass of water.

Where have all the flowers gone?

The trees are bare and the ground is frozen. The world is a pretty dreary place. You, however, have the power to sell spring to even the most Eeyorish of your pals. Comb the aisles at Target, T.J. Maxx and Marshalls. Your prey? Interesting and colorful empty vessels like pots, oversized coffee cups, jars, canisters, vases and bowls. Fill each of your finds with potting soil, taking time between fillings to craft a mudpie or two. Add bulbs or plants such as impatiens or begonias, which will bloom all winter in a sunny spot. Type or write care instructions in a fancy font on a pretty piece of paper. Attach it to the plant’s container with a bow. 

A spoonful of chocolate

Frigid days and nights mean one thing. Actually, they mean lots of things. But when the temps drop, warm beverages come to mind. The more chocolatey, the better. And that’s where spoons come in. Yes, spoons! Buy a bunch of them. Plastic will work, but we recommend metal spoons because, well, plastic’s tacky. Stock up on chocolate and extracts or liqueurs. Melt the chocolate. (Hint: it liquefies better at lower temperatures in a double boiler or a bowl suspended over a pot of boiling water.) Add whatever you want to spice it up (peppermint? Kahlua?). Dip your spoons in the chocolate. Let them dry. Dip them again. Quickly coat them with colored sprinkles or crushed candies. Eat your fill of said sprinkles or candies. Then lick the bowl. Now that you’re slightly nauseated, wrap the spoons in colored cellophane. Tie a bundled bunch with a ribbon. Place in a decorative mug, and deliver with a side of powdered cocoa, coffee or something stronger. Isn’t gift-giving fun? And caloric, too!

Tacky

Sad but true, we can’t resist those fabric-covered, ribbon-crossed bulletin boards in the Pottery Barn Kids catalog that seems to arrive in our mail every other week. But who says you have to pay those ridiculous Pottery Barn prices? Instead, buy a cheapo bulletin board at your favorite discount store. You’ll also need enough fabric to cover it, as well as several yards of ribbon. A hammer, glue, paint and paint brushes will come in handy too. Pull the frame off the bulletin board, using your hammer (or brute strength). Cover the board with fabric, overlapping it about two inches. Glue the fabric to the edges of the bulletin board. Stripe the ribbon diagonally across the board, and glue it down at the edges. Paint the frame of the bulletin board to coordinate with the ribbon and fabric. Reattach it with small nails or a hot glue gun. Jam some images of Jesse McCartney beneath the ribbons. Viola! ’Tween girl nirvana.

Photo finish

Face it, we never tire of looking at the mugs of those we love. (Well, there was that rather unflattering haircut your boyfriend sported a few years back after an unfortunate incident with a razor and a dare-happy pal.) Barring any image-marring disasters, a family photograph is as close to a sure thing, giftwise, as you’ll find this holiday season. Once you’ve captured the perfect shot, custom frame it. By custom, we mean buy one of those inexpensive numbers from a craft or discount store. Then distinguish it with sea glass, buttons, puzzle pieces, snippets of poetry or anything else you fancy. Insert photo. Not the crafty type? Peruse the frame offerings at antique and second-hand stores. 

Skill set

You may think you’re talent-free, but we think you’re being modest—or lazy. Isn’t it about time you teach your stepson to play the piano or the guitar? Or school your best friend’s kid in the fine arts of baseball, basketball or soccer? Create a coupon book good for six cooking lessons from Chef You. Offer to teach your mom how to paint. Give Dad some pointers on taking a decent photograph. Maybe your roommate wants to learn to dance, ice skate, rollerblade, ski or skateboard. How cool would it be to see your 75-year-old grandmother up on a jet ski, zipping around Lake Anna? O.K., bad idea. Perhaps a tutorial on navigating the Internet is more Granny’s speed.

You’re soaking in it

Muslin, oatmeal and essential oils may not sound like the makings for a pampering, take-you-away kind of gift, but trust us. Lay out several small squares of muslin and add a couple tablespoons of oatmeal mixed well with a few drops of an appealing essential oil. Secure the packets. Display them in a decorative box or mug. Advise the recipient to drop one bag into running bathwater. Suggest she queue up some Johnny Hartman and pour a glass of Chianti.  Include a “Do Not Disturb” sign for the bathroom door. Double her pleasure and include a coupon for a post-bath foot massage—by John Grisham. Kidding.

A touch of glass

One person’s therapy is another’s handmade gift. Or so we tell ourselves whenever we wander into The Glass Palette on Fifth Street. Sign up for one of the ongoing classes, and you’ll get the scoop on fusing, slumping, glass cutting and design, while using different shapes, sizes and colors of glass to create everything from jewelry and hair accessories to picture frames and stained glass. At $200 and up, the tuition is pretty steep for some, but you’ll walk away wiser and with a piece of giftable art to show for it. You’re also welcome to walk in anytime and have a go at making something a bit simpler, which’ll run you anywhere from $12 for a pair of earrings to $60 for a set of four 10′ plates.

Jarheads

At a recent craft fair we noticed a mason jar layered with sugar, flour and chocolate chips. A cute tag let us know that the “cookies in a jar” could be had for a scant $10. We’re no Alan Greenspan, but coughing up that much money for about 50 cents worth of ingredients seems economically unsound. Besides, you can do it yourself for a lot less—money, that is. The amount of mess is completely up to you. Layer a clear, one-liter jar with ¾ cup packed brown sugar, ¼ cup white sugar, 1 ½ cups mini M&Ms or chocolate chips and a mixture of 2 cups all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking soda and ¼ teaspoon salt. Attach a card with the following instructions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Empty the jar’s contents into a bowl and mix until everything is well combined. Add ¾ cup softened butter or margarine, one egg and one teaspoon vanilla extract. Shape the dough into one-inch balls and place them two inches apart on a greased baking sheet. Slightly flatten the balls and bake for 10 to 14 minutes. Makes two dozen cookies and a swell gift.
 
Basket cases

Thanks to the Internal Revenue Service, goody bags were history at this year’s Academy Awards ceremony. Fortunately, the IRS has no say about who gets what at your house this December. And who doesn’t love a grab-bag filled with unexpected treasures? When putting one of these beauties together, your first stop should be Sam’s Club, where you’ll find a mess of bulk items that can be easily divvied up among the bags or baskets.  Don’t shy away from possible treasures at the Salvation Army or Goodwill. Take the time to peruse the offerings at The Dollar Store, Marshalls, T.J. Maxx and other discount emporiums. Do not bust into the massive bag of M&Ms you’ve just purchased. Wipe out the rest of the Halloween candy instead. 

Word

Where have all the handwritten letters gone? Nowadays communication’s all about e-mail, text messaging and IM-ing. Stop the madness! Invest in a good pen and some high-quality paper. Take a load off in a comfortable chair beneath a good light. Write. Here, we’ll get you started: “Dear Whomever.” Let Whomever know how much he means to you. Bring up that time you drove cross-country together, sampling corned-beef hash at all the diners of America. Oh, yeah: Tell him how much you love him.

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Take charge

Spend some time in Tom Henzey’s dojo, and you’ll quickly realize that the message he imparts to women in his self-defense classes at 7 Tigers Tae Kwon Do is a simple one: Protecting yourself should be instinctive, reflexive and as natural as breathing. “Your instincts will keep you alive,” says the straight-talking black belt. “Unfortunately, people in this city are often lulled into thinking it’s Mayberry, and they let their guard down. You can’t stick your head in the sand and pretend predators are only in the big cities.”

   Henzey says it is important to have a plan of action in mind before you’re attacked. “You need to resolve that you’re going to do something, and it has to be effective,” he says. The following photographs feature 7 Tigers students Chris Morris, Barbara Maxwell and Megan Grimes simulating threatening situations that women may encounter, and some of the moves they can use to stop their attacker so they can escape.

   While the photos are a good place to start, the most effective way to protect yourself from an attacker is to learn the moves from a trained professional. See the sidebar on page 21 for local self-defense resources.

 

Break the hold

A favored move of many attackers is a choke hold, which Chris puts on Barbara in photo 1. Choking is an act of dominance, and an attacker often will shake his victim’s head from side to side so she will resist, which makes him more agitated. “You have to get him off your head before your oxygen is cut off and your vision gets fuzzy. You need to keep your wits about you and act immediately,” Henzey says.

   Although women have been told to go for the groin, this can be a mistake, because “these guys know what they’re doing and may have a groin cup on.” If he’s got his hands around your neck and is within arm’s reach, jam your fingers into his voicebox, as Barbara does in photo 2. A poke to the eye (photo 3) is also effective.

 

Go for the soft spots

If you are attacked, Henzey advises zeroing in on areas of a man’s body that you can damage. Kick him in the shin or knee, as Barbara does in this photo, or stomp on his foot. “You may just get one shot, so it’s got to be effective. And once you break free, run. You do not want to go toe-to-toe with the guy,” Henzey says. If you’re going to yell for help, don’t scream “help”; yell “fire” instead. Draw attention to yourself. If people hear “help,” they may not want to get involved or they might assume somebody else will come to your aid.

 

Make a rear exit

If someone grabs you from behind, as Chris does to Barbara in photo 1, you shouldn’t have to think. “Thought slows everything down; self-defense needs to become a habit,” Henzey says. Instead, immediately thrust your butt backwards (photo 2), into the attacker’s intestines, which is very painful. Aim well, though, because “if the guy has a big gut, it won’t do you any good to hit it,” Henzey cautions. “It’ll be like smashing a pillow.”

 

Bring him to his knees

Chris is about to backhand Megan in photo 1, but Megan, in photo 2, quickly moves into a hold that both stops him and prevents him from getting away. In photo 3, Megan brings Chris down and knees him in the intestines, which allows her to run. No matter what you’ve heard or read, it is important to do something, emphasizes Henzey. “The person who forced himself on you will be there forever,” he says. “Even if you only slap him, you’ve at least fought back; you’ll know you’ve hit him and hurt him. By inaction on our part we empower these guys and we’re intimidated by them.”

 

Stop, drop and stun

Another good move is to drop, break the hold and throw your elbows back into your attacker’s ribs. Or throw your head back and smash him in the face, as Barbara does in this picture. With either move, you’ll stun him, he’ll release you and you can take off. You can also grab an attacker’s crotch and shake it as hard as possible.

 

Do some leg work

As a rule, men have more upper body strength than women. But from the waist down a woman is equal to a man in strength, Henzey explains. “Not only do legs have twice the reach and five times the power of a fist, but with training, legs will move 60 to 90 miles an hour.” When Chris comes at Megan with a knife (photo 1), she throws a crescent (or circle) kick to his forearm (photo 2), which opens his hand and forces him to drop the weapon.

 

 

LEARN THE MOVES

Where you can learn more about self-defense7 Tigers Tae Kwan Do’s self-defense class offers women the chance to try out moves on a man. Offered Mondays 7:30-9pm. $30 for six classes (and t-shirt). 2335 Seminole Ln. Call 296-9933 or visit 7tigers-jidokwan.com for more information.

Athletes in Motion (AIM) specializes in after-school programs for students but also offers an adult self-defense class, usually held at Jack Jouett Middle School. Next class tentatively slated for summer. Call 800-323-3755 or visit www.aimusainc.com/ SelfDefense/SelfDefenseHome.html.

PVCC’s Center for Training and Workforce Development will begin a self-defense class on March 22 at the International Black Belt Center of Virginia off 29N near Pier 1. Class meets Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7:30-9pm. For more information call 962-5354 or visit www.pvcc.edu/cftwd/ and look for the Spring Schedule.

The Sexual Assault Resource Agency usually offers a Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) class. No upcoming classes are scheduled, but to stay current on scheduling call 295-7273 or visit www.sexualassaultresources.org/rad.html.

The UVA Police offer a RAD class with 12 hours of training in personal safety, including the opportunity to test your moves on an “attacker” in protective gear. Cost is $25 for four weekly three-hour classes. To schedule, get a group of 10 together and call Becky Campbell at 924-8845, or call to get on a waiting list for the next grouping. For more information visit www.virginia.edu/uvapolice.