Netflix - Get your videos in the mail

Who needs Blockbuster when you can have videos, DVD's and
games delivered to your home, right in your mailbox. I have
discovered Netflix and am interested in checking them
out. I am horrible when it comes to renting and returning my
videos to the video store and inevitably I always get stuck
paying those darned late fees.

I belong to an online support group and these women have
just been raving about Netflix.

Netflix DVD Rentals. NO LATE FEES; Free Shipping. Try for FREE!

After Mary Kay, but still dressed up

Notice how the make up is toned down just a bit. I have to find a totally non make up one to publish too. If nothing else, I think I learned how to apply make up pretty good huh lol Looking forward to total freedom.

I was a Mary Kay Clown

This is my corpse look ;-) This is so not the normal me. So plastic lookin', but I had to at least put my Mary Kay face out here.

And no, I never wanted to be a director. In fact, hell no lolol.
You just spin your wheels, keep bustin' your butt until you just
can't do it anymore. Some lose their families and friends (who they stalked and were always in the pink bubble - ick!!). I could see myself changing and not for the good. Like Dr. Phil says; "Self Matters". When they talk about "warm chattering" that makes things even worse for the "friend".

So anyway, I wanted to share my corpse pic ;-) lol

Be a Baby Fly Lady

Need to get organized in your life and around your home? She says
the key to getting started is to keep your kitchen sink spotless.
Everything else will just fall into place after that. Join this
excellent, motivational newsgroup for some great inspirational tips
to help you unclutter your life. It has even been rubbing off on
my son. He's in deep trouble if he doesn't put his dirty dishes
in the dishwasher. I even caught him wiping down the bathroom counter
this morning :-)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FlyLadyMentors/

Icicles forming on your house?

You're losing precious heat, but there could be other serious problems as well.
What causes icicles to form on your gutters and end of your roof?

Maternity leave not an option

excuse to miss an exam administered by the Houston Fire Department.

Headline reads: Woman firefighter in Houston forced to take
promotion exam hours after childbirth.

This article was almost too unbelievable. You simply have
to read it for yourself.

By Pam Easton
Associated Press
01/17/2006
HOUSTON (AP) -- A firefighter took a promotion exam just
12 hours after giving birth because of a state law requiring all
promotion candidates to be tested at once.

Beda Kent gave birth Jan. 10, slept for a little more than two
hours and popped some painkillers before taking the exam.
She scored 104 out of 110 and expects to return from
maternity leave in March as a captain with a $6,000 raise.
"I wanted that promotion," Kent said of the job she had
sought for two years. "I feel I was overdue for this promotion."

When she was six months' pregnant, Kent learned the test
would be given on Jan. 11 -- just four days after her due date.
She asked if a proctor could administer the exam at the
hospital if necessary, but was told there could be no exceptions,
except for firefighters on active military duty.

Kent's doctor tried to induce labor on Jan. 4, but discovered
doing so could cause complications and force a Caesarean
birth, with a longer recovery that would take away from
Kent's time to study.

After her daughter was born, Kent left the infant named
Brina Sue at the hospital within hours.Houston Fire Chief
Phil Boriskie had an ambulance on standby at the test site
in case Kent needed it, she said."After a while, it did get to
be uncomfortable, and thank God they did give us 2.5 hours
to take the test because I had to readjust and refocus," Kent
said.

After the exam, Kent's insurance did not allow her to
be readmitted to the hospital so she and her husband
returned every four to five hours to nurse the new baby.
"We made the best of it for the next 36 hours," Kent said.
"It was tough."

Houston Fire Capt. Gilbert Bennett said the rules are
intended to ensure that firefighters don't gain an unfair
advantage by learning about the exam from test-takers,
then taking it later.But Bennett said the fire department
would likely evaluate the regulation. "By all means, we
want what is best for the child and the mom," he said.

Terese Floren, executive director of Women in the Fire
Service Inc., acknowledged that the fire department was
probably powerless because of the law, but said women
shouldn't be forced to choose between having a family
and a career.Kent, who has worked for the Houston Fire
Department for 12 years, opted to take the test because
missing it would have meant waiting at least two years
before the next promotion exam. But, she said, the
department should accommodate those with legitimate
medical excuses."The law said that they didn't have to,
but they could have sent a proctor," Kent said. "The
test is in a sealed envelope. It shouldn't have been a problem."

New Orleans Mardi Gras 2006

The show must go on. I've been to Mardi Gras several times in the
past, but I'm thinking this year will be the most special one ever.
Even though it will be scaled down alot in size, the spirit of
Mardi Gras will live on. I wish I could afford to go this year, as
I'm sure it will be an awesome time of renewal for the residents
of New Orleans after having dealt with the hardships of Hurricane
Katrina. Here is the write up from the New Orleans convention and visitors bureau.

2006 was already primed to be a special year since it marks the 150th anniversary of Mardi Gras parades in New Orleans. Now it has an even greater significance,” said Arthur Hardy, author of the Mardi Gras Guide.

Bad Cholesterol vs. Good Cholesterol

In order to find out your cholesterol level which can lead to
heart disease if not corrected, you need to get a blood test
known as a cholesterol test. You need to fast for 9-12 hours
prior to having your blood sample drawn and sent to the lab
for testing.

LDL (bad cholesterol) is the type of cholesterol which builds
up in the walls of arteries and can clog blood vessels.

HDL (good cholesterol) carries cholesterol away from the walls
of arteries.

The risk factors for Heart Disease are:

• smoking cigarettes
• high blood pressure (140/90 or higher or taking medicine to lower blood pressure
• low hdl cholesterol (HDL-C) level (less than 40 mg/dl)
• Family history of early heart disease (father or brother had heart disease before age 55, or mother or sister had heart disease before age 65)
• Age (you are a man 45 years or older, or you are a woman 55 years or older)

I am a 44 year old female and was at risk, so these are simply guidelines above. The way it has been described to me is that the bad cholesterol is similiar to the placque you find on your teeth. I've read that oatmeal, because of it's sticky texture, grabs the cholesterol on the way out of your body. Here's an article which talks more about what happens when oatmeal travels through your body. But the key or trick is to eat it EVERY DAY!!

Check out Web MD too

How I lowered my Cholesterol

For the past 2 years, my doctor has been closely monitoring my
cholesterol and it seems as though no matter how many pills he
prescribed (of course I'm on lovastatin and zetia at the present
time) my cholesterol was always at dangerous levels. Now I
realize that if I lose some weight, that would probably help, but
I haven't done that yet so that quick fix wasn't happening. I got
tired of yo-yo diets, so when I lose weight this next time, I want
to do it the "right way" (I'm still working on figuring out the right
way, even though I totally believe it has so much to do with
exercise, for me!!).

OK, so this past month, same diagnosis, horrible cholesterol problems. I
decided to try the once a day oatmeal trick, I figured it couldn't hurt and if
the American Heart Association recommended it, why not. So for the past
month, I have been eating a bowl of oatmeal with a few raisins added for
sweetness almost religiously each day and I got great news from my Dr's
office yesterday. The finally tell me, my cholesterol levels are perfect and
whatever I'm doing, I need to keep doing it. Now, who ever said food was
not good for you :-)

Now I can do that and continue to try and make things better in my life along with getting to bed earlier at night. I need to shift my evening online activities to morning w/coffee sessions and then get my much needed rest and spend more time with my son in the morning. Discipline is NOT an easy thing.

National Cholesterol Education Program

CHAOS in your life?

I've decided to try and take care of things in my life. Trying to get things
in order. Do you do these things too?

I read, research, scheme and plan, and then not do too much of what I
had all figured out! I am like that in many other areas of my life, in the
home, in my job, in my quest for losing weight and getting in shape, in
my plans to start my own craft business, to sell my unwanted goods on
EBAY, to have a tag sale in my home, to have dinner ready by 6pm,
etc. She found something which helps people like us! We are called
SHE's = (Sidetracked Home Executives)

We try to do a million things all at once, and be superwoman, and end
up crashing and burning! The idea is to have the "routines" become
habit, that your house seems to clean itself, and you find it infiltrates
other areas of your life, heart, and mind, so that you end up FLYing
(Finally Loving Yourself!) every day!

1st step of her morning routine is to "Get Dressed to the Shoes, face
and hair." This way, you are always ready for anything and not sitting
there, feeling in a slump all day.

Are you living in CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome),
or you just need to organize your life, I think this website and/or
yahoo group might help get us motivated.

I'm a Mary Kay Survivor

Well, it's time for me to return my product back to the company. I gave it
a try and became totally disenchanted rather quickly with this company. I
like to put make up on and help other women put make up on, but I wasn't
interested in all of the phoniness of it all. I have a hard time believing that
these women, in all of there rah-rah sessions, never ever had a down
time. And God forbid if you even breathe a hint of negativity or doubt
about the company, as you are quickly chastized and told you are either
a negative nellie or just not working your business. It's been a slow
process, trying to get through this mess, realizing that I will have lost
alot of money by being a part of this organization. I'll be glad when it's
all over. Getting ready to return my product, hopefully this week.

Sent my stuff back via USPS - 2 boxes for a little over 80.00. So glad
it's out of my life. Just waiting for my small refund check to finally
close that chapter.

Tips for reducing my gas and electric heating bills

Some of the things I have been doing to reduce my home heating bill have been:

1. If you're not using your gas stove every single day, turn off the gas to it if you're able to reach the power source knob easily. It's easy to light the pilot light if and when you might need to use your stove.
2. Turn down the heat on your water heater. No need to run that all day long at the regular temperature. It takes about 15 minutes to heat the water up before you take a shower. Have everyone in your household take showers right about the same time.
3. Do your laundry in cold water.
4. Keep your home temperature set at 55 degrees. Yes, it will be a bit nippy, but you can survive it. As my dad used to say "Put more clothes on" He was such a smart man. I have several blankets I use in my living room during the cold months to snuggle under and I also turn my electric blanket on my bed, about an hour before I go to bed to warm up the sheets. Right before I crawl in, I turn the electric blanket off.
5. I no longer have an alarm clock in my bedroom. I use my cell phone alarm to wake up in the morning. Most cell phones have a snooze feature on the alarms as well. My electric bill has been reduced significantly. I'm vigilant about turning off any lights which are not necessary.
6. My sister recommends using an electric power strip to "shut off" the power source which all of our utilities are on standby anyway. Turn off your computer completely. It's always on standby, but if you don't use it on a daily basis, you're wasting alot of electricity having it "ready" for the big turn on. Unplug that sucker from the wall.
7. If you have a basement which you can live in, move down there for the winter. The earth serves as insulation. You just have to be careful not to turn your temperature down too low because you don't want mold to start growing.
8. If you have more than one refridgerator in your home, try to consolidate and turn it off completely. Refridgerators take alot of energy to run.

I had an excrutiating pain in my side

and the Doctor thinks it's the beginning of pleuresy.......???

Well, I described my symptoms to my girlfriend and she said it was simple
gas. She gave me an old fashioned remedy to try and it seemed to work,
so now I have that pain medicine to use for something else at a later date.
lol

• home remedy and recipe for gas relief:
  
  1 tablespoon of baking soda
  1 juice size glass of warm water (same temp as you would use for alka seltzer)
  
  drink that down in one fell swoop, all of it, every drop (it will taste nasty, but it will cure what ails you for sure)

Now, you will begin to burp and burp and burp, just let it all out and trust me you will feel so much better after having got that gas out of your intestines (intestinal gas). I was only able to belch and sadly, it was funky smelling but you've got to get that out of your system. I had to take about 3 doses over a 2 day period to try and get some relief. It was a horrible smelling burp.

My symptoms in the beginning were; I had this awful pain in my left side and I thought it was the beginning of a kidney infection. Whenever I took a deep breath or coughed, it was very painful. Like I said, the doctor simply sent me away, hoping for the best. Guess I'll have to let him know next time I see him how I "cured" myself. Mind you, I'm sure he won't agree with me, because you know that doctors don't promote homeopathic remedies, but I say, if it works, why not :-)

Get your favorite Dr. Phil book today.......

Dr. Phil, can he help you with a life situation? Be sure to check out his books. Yesterday, Dr. Phil talked about his newest book, Love Smart. This might be a good book to invest in.