My in-laws came over to visit last weekend and they brought with them an article that they had printed out from an email that a friend had sent them. The article said that aspartame in soft drinks was linked to an increase in Multiple Sclerosis. According to the article, it was claiming that when aspartame is heated abouve ninety degrees that it turns ino formaldehyde, and consumption of that can cause Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms.
To be perfectly honest, I was very surprised about that, so I got online to see what I could find out about that claim. According to snopes, it is not true, it is a rumor that has been circulating for a long time now. I guess the enemies of the aspartame industry are responsible for that! But while looking it up, I did find an interesting website that dealt with different aspects of Multiple Sclerosis. It had current Multiple Sclerosis News and tips on Multiple Sclerosis Exercise and diet. I don’t know anyone personally who has Multiple Sclerosis, but I’m hopeful that more medical advances can be made to treat and cure this terrible disease. No one should have to suffer like that.
I can remember when I was a teenager, it was so easy to go to a party where there were drugs and/or alcohol being served to anyone who asked for it.
Even the parents of the teenagers often looked the other way when their kids were partying, saying that they’d rather have them doing it at home where they are safe. Because of that, I have had a difficult time letting my own kids go out to parties; I can remember how wild and crazy they can get!
Teenage drinking is no joke; teen addiction statistics are very scary. They seem to be getting worse than ever. In many ways we think that teens have a better life than we do, and maybe that is part of the problem. Maybe they have too much leisure time!
Fortunately, teen rehab info is an up and coming service that can help address the special needs of a teenager who is addicted to drugs or alcohol. But it truly is a sad statement of the times that we even have a need for teen rehab in the first place!
The subject of over-indulging alcohol is often the butt of many jokes. I found this funny commercial on youtube. I think that it makes a fine point about the dangers of drinking too much!
I come from a long long line of addictive personalities. I can’t think of anyone in my family that isn’t addicted to something! Of course, some addictions are more socially unacceptable than others. Most addictions have some kind of support group that can help people to overcome that particular addiction. Unfortunately, for those with addictive personalities, the addict needs to be addicted to SOMETHING, so it is a matter of re-directing that addiction.
I’m not really sure if society is creating more addicts, or if people are simply becoming more aware of the addictions and doing something about it. I would feel very safe in saying that everyone that I know has at least one person in their family with addiction problems. Unfortunately, most of them don’t admit themselves into any kind of drug rehab or alcohol rehab programs. I was talking to a friend last night about told me that he was going to check into joining a drug treatment program. He says that he’s addicted to pain medications and wants to get off of them and needs help with that. It takes a lot of soul-searching to come to that decision. I wish him the best of luck!
The 4th of July turned out to be a really hot day that didn’t cool off much by the time the fireworks were scheduled to start. The heat made people a bit grumpy, there just didn’t seem to be enough to liquids to keep everyone hydrated, but we all survived.
It was too bad that there were several injuries reported on the news the next day, due to fireworks malfunctioning. It seems to happen each and every year. Such a shame to hear that a day that is supposed to be fun turns out in disaster.
Now that the weather is getting warmer, I notice a lot more young mothers out with their babies in tow. I have to say that it really bothers me how many of them are using strollers to walk with their infants on country roads that are don’t have sidewalks.
What bothers me about it is that most of them are walking on the wrong side of the road. If a passing car or truck kicks up some gravel as they pass, the poor infant is going to get a face full of gravel. That is asking for trouble!
I understand the desire to get some fresh air and enjoy the all-too brief warm summer weather, but if these folks can’t learn to walk on the correct side of the road (facing traffic) then I think that they should just stay in their yards and let the babies play with some baby toys to enjoy the fresh air. They’d be much safer that way.
I’m always amazed when I hear about a friend of mine that passed away. I’m not that old, yet it seems that every few months someone else that I know has passed away. Some from illness, some from accidents. Fortunately for their families, most of them have good life insurance policies to help their loved ones to keep their lives intact.
My wife and I have been reviewing our coverage and have been thinking about getting some term life insurance quotes. The economic times are still too shaky for either one of us to feel comfortable without that safety net. In addidition to funeral insurance I want to get mortgage insurance. If something happens to either one of us, I don’t want the other one to lose the house. That would truly be devestating!
I’ve noticed over the years that I have been able to pick out lots of people who wear contact lenses. I know that they wear them because they don’t want to wear glasses, and I can understand that. But a lot of people who wear the contact lenses sometimes have an irritated look around their eyes. I guess I really can’t describe it; I just seem to know. It makes me think that they are not wearing the right kind, or maybe they aren’t keeping them clean. Perhaps these are the folks who should consider changing to disposable contact lenses.
When I think of th hassle of keeping contacts clean, then buying daily disposable contact lenses make a lot of sense – you don’t have to sanitize them, you just put a new pair on every day and then throw them away.
There is no doubt about it – presbyopia has reared its ugly head in our family. My poor wife has had to correct her vision from single to multifocal and then progressive over the past couple of years. In the past her eye doctor told her that if she wanted to wear contact lenses for distance, she would still need reading glasses. So she said that she is reading almost all day, every day, so what’s the point? My sister tells me that she just heard that there are multifocal contact lenses available on the market now. I’m going to suggest that my wife ask her eye doctor about them! I know she’s tired of wearing glasses!
Jim was telling me that he is looking for the best workout possible to get toned up. He’s not too worried about losing weight because the doctor says that he is within the “normal range” for his height and age. But he found a website that convinced him that he should exercise more. Something about being “skinny fat.” I’ve heard about being able to use a BMI calculator to determine if you need to work out or not, but I’ve never been obsessive about something like that.
My job is so labor intensive with a good variety of types of labor that I’m sure that if I used a body fat calculator I’d be quite happy with the results. I know a lot of people think that I look obese, but that is largely just due to my body type. I’m built like a football player! My wife calls me a “bull.” And that’s in reference to my strength and endurance, not my temperament! Not very many people can keep up with me at work! At the end of my work day, I’m quite tired and pretty much just eat dinner and go to bed soon after!
I’ve been hearing a lot of talk about the new contact lens technology that I’m considering urging my wife to go back to the eye doctor to talk about getting a prescription for the latest contact lenses. She tried wearing contacts back in the early 1980′s and had really bad luck with them. Her astigmatism was really bad, which made it hard for her to remove the lenses. And the floated around on her eyes, which was painful, and made her eyes water and her nose run constantly. She tried them for a couple of years but gave them up when she got pregnant because the doctor advised her not to wear them while she was pregnant. After the baby was born she just didn’t have the time to fool with them, so she gave up.
But now I’m thinking that with the new contact lens technology, she probably can go to the soft lenses which would be a lot less painful to wear. Although I don’t know if she would have the stomach to do what needs to be done to remove them. She gets really weird about her eyes – she can’t even put eyedrops in by herself!
I was really surprised this morning when Brad walked into the Market today. Jerry, Shane, Bob and I were drinking our coffee and talking about the latest gossip (I mean man talk) as we usually do every morning when Brad came in. I hadn’t seen Brad all winter long! I thought he had moved to warmer climates!
I almost didn’t recognize him at first – he looked a lot more muscular than I’ve ever seen him before! Jerry asked what he had been up to and Brad replied “Power 90.” Apparently Brad got involved in an Insanity Workout program in an attempt to build up his physique! I’d have to say that it looks like it worked! He grinned and told us that we should try it too! Well, I’m not inclined to be interested in anything that has the word “Insanity” in it! I think a Slim in 6 workout program is much more my speed!
Seems as if everyone in town has come down with a stomach virus this week! So far no one in my household has caught it, but I suppose it is just a matter of time before we catch it too. The other day I was watching a young mother in a pharmacy dragging her sick children around the store, killing time while their prescriptions were being filled. The kids were touching all kinds of things throughout the store and the mother was putting them back on the shelves. I remember thinking about how the innocent person who comes behind them and buys those items are going to be exposed to whatever illness the kids have! Isn’t it awful, to be thinking of things like that?
Bob called me up last night and told me that his father just passed away. He’s known for a long time that he has been ill, and the day has been coming. So he’s going to be moving to Lexington to be near his mother. She’s getting up in years and he wants to be closer to her. So he’s contacted Chapin Real Estate to help him find a place to live. He doesn’t want to move in with his mother; he knows that the grandchildren would just be too much for her. So he’ll be looking for a good price on Chapin Homes to see if he can accommodate his growing family along with the budget restrictions!
It wasn’t very long ago that I heard that asbestos is still actively mined in some countries. I think I was told that Canada is one of those countries. I’m not sure if that’s true or not, but I was certainly surprised to hear that because asbestos is so closely linked to Mesothelioma Cancer. When my wife was working for the phone company, one year her boss put her in charge of an OSHA inspection that included inspecting the building that she worked in for asbestos. That was when she learned that exposure to asbestos could cause Mesothelioma.
Since then we’ve learned a lot about how millions of people suffer, and die from that horrible cancer. I just can’t imagine that any country would allow mining of asbestos to continue! But apparently asbestos is found in lots of things – from insulation to car brakes! I would think that the scientists could come up with a different product that works as well with fewer health hazards!
I do like my chocolate, and when you throw in some peanut butter, all the better for me. I always have a bag of Reese’s Pieces close by to munch on. I just saw on TV that they are coming out with a dark Reese’s peanut butter and chocolate candy bar. I prefer my milk chocolate, but am always willing to try something new, besides they are now saying that dark chocolate is good for you.
The statistics are indicating that more people are in need of a good quality Private Alcohol Rehab center these days. With the economy in the toilet more people are turning to drugs and alcohol to ease the pain that has been dumped on most of us. The crime rate is on the rise as well due to the economy in crisis. People are getting desperate and we all know that desperate times call for desperate measures.
Drug and Alcohol Treatment Centers are opening up all over and doing a booming business. Dr. Drew and his Celebrity Rehab show on VH1 brought the light to a whole lot of people who where and are in need of a good Drug and Alcohol Rehab. It isn’t just our celebrities that are struggling with addiction issues and problems, but seeing them through their struggle was the incentive that a lot of people needed to step up to the plate and get treatment for themselves, pretty cool huh?
The Internet is a great tool to find the best treatment centers and I would urge anyone to take a look around and see what is out there if they know of someone who needs treatment or if they need treatment for their own addictions before it is too late.
It seems that getting a new tattoo is on many people’s minds for the New Year. I have several friends that are now sporting new “Ink” designs that they had done on New Year’s Eve. Each one said that the studio that they went to was packed with people wanting a new tattoo before the year ended, which is something that I just didn’t seem to think about and it surprised me a bit.
In yesterday’s mail I got a postcard from Ed and Mona. On the front of the card was a photo of the Myrtle Beach Hotel that they were staying in. The back of the card Ed had noted “The weather is here, wish you were great!” Yeah, rub it in Ed! Ed and Mona have been great friends of ours for many years. Not too long ago Mona had a stroke and one of the things that kept her motivated was Ed’s constant support and promise to take her on vacation to an Oceanfront Myrtle Beach Hotel.
They had stayed in one of the Oceanfront Myrtle Beach Hotels many years ago on their honeymoon. So the promise to return back there was a big motivator for Mona to recover. Just the thought of going back there and enjoying the ocean breezes and sunning themselves just a few steps away from the surf was something that Mona talked about frequently.
So my wife helped Ed and Mona plan their trip down there this time to make sure that they had a great time this time too! Along with booking reservations at the Hotel, she booked seats at a a few of the shows and helped them plan out where they can eat and booked their flights to go down there. We even drove them to the airport to see them off! I’m glad they are having a good time.
I’ve noticed that a lot more of my customers have been installing home alarm systems lately. They’ve become nervous due to the recent increase in home and camp burglaries in the area. I can’t really say that I blame them; a lot of them are elderly people who are afraid that not only are they easy targets for criminals to break into their houses but also easy victims for being beaten and perhaps even killed.
Although I have some concerns about how fast the police could actually get to their homes in response to the alarm, I think that it is entirely possible that if a thief DOES break into the house and audible alarms go off, the thief is more likely to leave quickly.