Welcome back to Tri-County Woman Magazine the area's only publication specifically for the women who live and/or work in and around Orange, Ulster and Dutchess Counties. We missed you while you were away! Unfortunately, there have been lots of stories on the news about young women who have been killed recently. From teens Amber Dubois and Chelsea King who left for school one day and never returned, to Yeardley Love who was beaten to death by her estranged boyfriend a few weeks before her graduation from the University of Virginia and Laura Garza who was last seen in a NYC nightclub, too many women's lives are being shortened. Sure stranger awareness is important, but statistics show that most female victims of violence are attacked by people they know. Think your teen daughter would never be a victim of violence? Read "When Romance Rages: Recognizing and Preventing Teen Battering" to see the signs you could be missing. On a lighter note, since summer is here, there are lots of things to do in and around the Hudson Valley. Check out our calendar of upcoming local June events for a listing of area activities. And on the off chance that you encounter any rude servers or cashiers during your travels, check out tips on what you can do to handle rude service professionals. Did I mention you can now follow us on Twitter (@tricountywoman) or check out my "Notes from a Tri-County Woman" blog? Wouldn't want you to miss anything... Until next time... Felicia Hodges - Editor

Handling Rude Service Professionals by Felicia Hodges A few weeks ago, I ended up in a local but unfamiliar supermarket to pick up eggs and milk. Although I greeted my cashier with a warm “hello,” she practically threw the pen I needed to sign my check down the conveyer belt and then deliberately placed the receipt underneath my outstretched palm. “Have a nice day,” I said as I scooped up my bag. She literally grunted. Most people have probably come in contact with a less than friendly cashier, waitress or salesclerk at one time or another. But is really rude when your server doesn’t smile, or are we expecting too much? Read More...

Beautiful Biceps in 10-Minutes a Day by Felicia Hodges Remember the math teacher whose upper arms swung from side to side as she wrote word problems on the board? When you were younger, you may have wondered how something like that could happen to an upper arm. But now that you are older and busier, it’s become less of a mystery because your arms are starting to jiggle a bit, too. Luckily, flabby upper arms don’t have to be a permanent condition. With regular exercise, you can tone your arms right back to the firmness you had back in the day. Read More...

Love and Marriage Facts and Figures From Around the World by Judy Lewis Think you know about love and marriage? Try these facts on for size: *Until the 15th century, only kings wore diamonds, as a symbol of strength, courage, and invincibility. In India, where the diamond was first discovered it was valued more for its magic than its beauty and was believed to protect the wearer from fire, snakes, illnesses, thieves and great evil. Read More...

When Romance Rages: Recognizing and Preventing Teen Battering by Felicia Hodges Most people who knew Lisa Geldon* when she was 17-years-old knew her as a bright, quiet girl who played flute in the marching band, was involved in school government and had stared in several productions by the drama club. What they didn’t know was that her boyfriend Sam* often slapped her, pulled her hair and once forced her to have sex with him. “I never told anyone, not my parents, not my sister or any of my friends,” Lisa, who is now 26, says. According to Dr. Virginia Feldman, a pediatrician who heads both the Child Abuse Team and the Family Violence Task Force in Portland, Oregon, Lisa is far from a minority. Read More...   © 2010 Tigerlily Communications