Michelle

My place is too far and I may live even further by then... but check your PM's, I have suggestions.

Wow! That doesn't sound like fun. You're too young for menopause, but those symptoms sound a lot like menopause has been described to me. My vote goes for getting checked out again, and by a different doctor, if you can. I was on the pill once - it was so long ago, I don't remember what it was called - I discontinued it after about a month because it made me feel awful. I also used Norplant for a few years, but discontinued that because getting my period only about twice a year seemed like a bad idea. Wonderfully convenient, but a bad idea overall. I don't trust anything that messes with the hormones that much. Not necessarily true - I had the procedure done under the age of 25 and I did not have 3 children. (I have two.) The doctor resisted and I really had to argue a bit to talk her into performing the procedure, but I think she just wanted to make sure I'd considered the implications seriously and that I just wasn't looking for "easy" birth control. Everyone kept saying "But what if you remarry and your new husband wants more kids? What if you change your mind?" Ugh. (No, I've never regretted the decision.) Again, my vote goes to seeing a different doctor, if the current one won't help you.

I've done it! I feel like a weirdo admitting it... but yeah, I've oil pulled. I heard about it from a friend that claims he'd cured a dental issue with oil pulling. At the time, I had a tooth bothering me. It honestly sounded like a load of crap, but I was in a lot of pain and was desperate for a fix that didn't involve a big fat dental bill, so I gave it a shot. I can't tell you if it was the oil pulling that fixed me up or something else that I tried (I also made a compress with some herbal goodies) but I can tell you that my toothache I'd been advised to get a root canal for went away and hasn't come back. I can also tell you that my teeth and gums were cleaner and looked healthier after than I'd ever seen before. So, I still do it, but not every day... probably more like a couple times a month, when I think about it. It seems to do good things for my oral health. The experience is not nearly as ing as you'd think. After a couple of swishes, saliva mixes with the oil and the consistency becomes less like oil. By the time you spit it out 20 minutes later, you can hardly tell that it was oil originally. I use olive oil or coconut oil, but I don't think the oil type matters much. The other health claims are new to me. I'd be tempted to try it more often for a while, just to see how I feel. Worst thing that could happen is I'd feel ridiculous for 15 to 20 minutes at a time.

I use rolled oats (sometimes reduced to a coarse flour with help from the blender) to help my burgers stick together. The trick with using rolled oats is to let your mixture sit for a bit, so the oats have time to soak up the moisture and become soft.

... and follows it all up with a long hot bath with his bong... Good article.

1. Exfoliate. Get yourself a loofah and use it on the area daily, whether you shave/clip that day or not. They make special little round loofahs for the face that are a little easier to manage than the big bath-sized ones. 2. Moisturize. For best results, do it immediately after you exfoliate when the skin is still wet. Ingrowns seem to happen more often in dry skin. Use a little coconut oil or whatever your favorite moisturizer is. That's it! Once daily in the morning ought to be enough, but if you're still having problems you could do once in the morning and once at night. I'm not sure what's in the toner you mentioned, but if it's got alcohol then it'll dry the skin and may make the problem worse.

Wonder how many studies like this will have to be published before the people who don't care "because they like cheeseburgers" will start to listen? I was looking for a news article to present in my Biology class - I think this is going to be the one!

This is the first that I've heard of moose hot dogs. Or half the items that Vegan Joe mentioned, for that matter. Needless to say... never tried them, never intend to.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b14/purplekoala/vbb/merlin-balcony.jpghttp://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b14/purplekoala/vbb/balcony.jpg These are the plants on my balcony. The first picture is my cat posing next to the only plant that is currently edible, my green onions. He likes to taste test them once in a while. Some of the other plants are potentially edible; there are some strawberry plants mixed in with the flowers in one of the pots and the plant at the far end is a very small banana tree. Indoors and not pictured, I have a rosemary tree, an agave plant, and an aloe vera plant. And I'm very proud of the fact that I haven't killed any of these plants. Yeah! (I have a long dark history of not being able to keep plants alive for long...)

That Pumpkin Raisin Bread recipe looks especially good.

Car pushing is fun! Biggest I've pushed so far by myself was just a 1993 Lincoln Town Car. And it wasn't for a competition, my friend just needed it out of the road and into a parking lot. Actually, I've never pushed a car for a competition, I've just had a lot of friends over the years with unreliable vehicles.

I'm not handing anything out. I used to, but I could never predict how much to buy. I'd always end up turning kids away halfway through the evening, or I'd be stuck with a bunch of candy left over and I just don't want that temptation. Instead, I'll be attending a costume party at a biker bar.

Ha! Cute. My cat can't open the container, but he'll reach into a can of kitty treats, pull one out, and put it into his mouth using his paw. He can also open the door to let himself inside from the balcony, as long as it's not locked. I think a lot of animals are smarter than most people give them credit for.

Leo

Welcome, neighbor.

Happy Birthday, Zack!

Sweet!

A diploma in "Travel and Tourism" from a silly little business college. Licensed Massage Therapist with 5yrs experience (and completed my state's requisite massage education program) Currently working on a BS in Psychology, minor in Business Administration. (and planning on grad school)

I'm not a guy, but I am a massage therapist. My personal theory is this: In this country, we tend to be very hands-off socially. We tend not to greet our friends with a warm hug and a kiss on the cheek(s) like is customary in other countries, in fact in many circles I think that'd earn you a punch in the face. We don't hold hands when we walk down the street with our friends and there is sometimes a lack of physical affection within our family relationships as well. Most of us keep a circle of personal space around us at all times, with the exception of handshaking and... sex. (or kissing, or snuggling, or foreplay... you get the idea.) So, our minds tend to associate any kind of touch that's not a handshake with... sex. Add some nudity to that, and you've got an instant case of misplaced arousal, especially if you're new to massage. (I'd say "erection" but it does happen to women too, it's just not visibly obvious with us.) Despite the fact that there's absolutely nothing sexual about my massage, I've had a few clients who've run into this problem. I'm not easily offended and honestly don't think much of it, but they seem to be quite embarrassed. Most of the massage therapists I've talked to share my attitude - that it's no big deal and nothing to be embarrassed about. Definitely not a big enough deal to be avoiding your massages! This problem usually doesn't come up (pun intended) after the first few sessions, as the body gets accustomed to a non-sexual touch. If time and familiarity doesn't resolve it, some of my male friends say they routinely "take care of things" before a massage.

No idea why it's always so cool to see someone I know personally on TV or in a movie... but it is! Nice!

If she wears a helmet, is that still technically naked? Or no? Very interesting woman.

I almost never get really sick. I think the last time was about three or four years ago when I had a severe case of bronchitis or maybe pneumonia that knocked me out for a couple weeks. At the time, about half of the people who worked in the building where I worked were out sick with some sort of respiratory infection. (and that was pre-vegan for me, I think) Since then, I'll sometimes get a few symptoms, usually a scratchy throat or headache or muscle aches, if I haven't been eating and sleeping right or if I've been exposed to dust or sick people. It's all mild, never incapacitating, and it goes away in a day or so. I read somewhere that it may be good for the immune system to get a workout once in a while and that we may occasionally become ill for that purpose. Kind of like a little fire drill for the body to exercise the immune system and make sure everything runs smoothly.. Makes sense to me, although I'd prefer not to get sick ever. If I can find where I read it, I'll post a link.

OOH! Hawaii! This looks like a lot of fun!

We're OK! We were without power until this morning, though. From what I've read, over half of the area is still without power. Thankfully we had a cold front come through right after, so we were comfortable even without the air conditioner. Cell phone service was spotty and unreliable. I didn't get a photo of it, but when the grocery stores re-opened there was a very long line in the parking lot just to get in the store. I keep food & water for emergencies, so I didn't stand in that line. The lines at the gas stations were 30+ cars deep and the few gas stations that were open were running out of fuel. We're just north of Houston and about 75 miles from the beach in Galveston, but we still got hit fairly hard. My son's school is cancelled until next week. Mine is cancelled until at least tomorrow. A few photos we took on Saturday: Here's the view from our balcony. Not much damage here, besides branches and leaves all over the place, but we were very nervous about those trees! Some of the big ones were leaning rather far in the direction of our apartment. http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b14/purplekoala/ike/DSCF0227.jpg An uprooted tree, about a half a block away: http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b14/purplekoala/ike/DSCF0179.jpg A torn up sign and leaning lightpost, a block away in the other direction: http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b14/purplekoala/ike/DSCF0208.jpg Within a block of home: http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b14/purplekoala/ike/DSCF0183.jpg This one just missed a house: http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b14/purplekoala/ike/DSCF0197.jpg The storage place across the street. They lost most of their fence, plus had a roof lift off one building and land on top of the other one: http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b14/purplekoala/ike/DSCF0178.jpg A very cool photo my son took: http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b14/purplekoala/ike/DSCF0228.jpg

How does one distinguish rotten durian from fresh durian? (Just wondering...)