Hi there!
I have two questions:

1) has anyone ever tried Soap Nuts for washing their clothes? http://www.inasoapnutshell.com/

I haven't tried them yet, but i might give them a go tonight. i'm hoping they will be a cheaper and natural alternative to regular detergents.

2) I'm trying to go more healthy on a budget, i checked the tags and there were some great tips there, but i was wondering if anyone knows any good recipes using tinned lentils? i'm a lentil beginner so i'm using tinned ones for now then maybe move on to soaking my own. i read that they don't lose much nutritional value through this?
So, beginners recipes for cheap lentil dishes (i'm neither vegan nor vegetarian, but i can't afford good quality meat so i don't buy it.)
and any other cheap healthy things you can recommend would be awesome :)

I couldn't find information on this from the tags.

Long story short, I drank too much wine last night and I'm hungover. Please help me. :( Any natural remedies??? (My head kills.)

my ankle hurts. it's been hurting for a while and i've been ignoring it. i have a ridiculously high pain tolerance (examples are: i broke my wrist and continued to play basketball, MAKING shots, etc LOL-not once but twice! and i broke a bone in my foot playing soccer and never knew it til about 2 years later when I had an xray on my toe...and the doc was like "oh so did you know you broke a bone in your foot, i am guessing you didn't know since it healed crooked as if it was never in a cast." Hmm, interesting LOL.)

So all that being said, i tend to downplay any injuries or problems and not really feel a lot of pain or complain about stuff.

but MAN my ankle hurts!! and i've had ankle problems on and off for years-since high school basketball, i used to have to wrap my ankle before games because I twisted it so often...and then when K and I were dating I broke it...and it's the same bone/place that is killing me, so I suppose at some point I need to go get it checked out. Blah. Keith thinks it's my ligament, which it probably is, from running so much lately...i really don't want to have to start wrapping my ankle before running, and i admit that i am loathe to get it looked at for fear they will tell me i can't run anymore :(

in other news, it was a GREAT mairi day today, FINALLY, after WEEKS, my choofygirl was HERE, all day long-a few minor blips but she quickly was able to calm down before any tears, hysterics, meltdowns or anything ensued.

a few times when she was getting tired or to the point that would inevitably in weeks past led to the point of no return ie meltdown land, she simply snuggled close for an ear break.

so i will give it more than 2 days before declaring "this is it!" but i am thinking so.

ran for 80 minutes today @ the gym. mairi got her haircut. we went to the amerks game. that's the summary of my day :)

now to bed so i can get up for pilates, gross. LOL

Interview with An-Magrith Erlandsen in her studio about Tarot of the Pomegranate! See and hear about An-Magrith's larger than life Tarot oil paintings. See the work in progress "The Hanged Man", and close ups of some of her finest Major Arcana Tarot paintings.
This Saturday, Nov. 21st at 6:30 pm on Comcast 77/Broadstripe 23 or streaming live at www.scantv.org. There is also a preview clip on the blog www.agirlonamissiontvblog.com

hi all,
since i have neither the time nor the money to do much holiday shopping (or thinking-about) this year, i'm planning to crock up a bunch of chutneys, butters (apple, pear, etc.), and granolas as gifts. i know the community has a 'holiday' tag, but it's mostly meals... i'm looking for something that will divide, package, and present nicely. anyone have any favorite recipes?

Right now, Ian is on a plane at DFW, heading home. I am so excited. If I was a dog, I'd be getting my nose rubbed in my own pee. He's been out of town the last three weeks, though we are fortunate that he has been able to come home for the weekends. Madison, WI, Dallas, LA, they all suck. With next week being Thanksgiving, we're really hoping that he won't get shipped out again until at least the week after.

The nature of his job requires a lot of travel and while we both accept this since he makes the stupid money when he is able to find work and with the economy having been thrown into the shitter, it's been nearly a year since he's actually had a contract. Before the recession froze up all of the solid gigs he had coming down the pipeline, we were planning on having me quit The Bank and stay home to homeschool Jonas and resume working on The Great American Smut Novel. That didn't pan out of course and we've been thanking our lucky stars that my job at The Bank has been stable and keeping us afloat (though definitely ass clenchingly close to not floating). Now things are starting to thaw which is great cause it means we can shelve conversations like "When do we consider selling the boat," but it comes with the price of him being shipped all over the fricking country. Under the best circumstances this can be challenging for us (we're weenies in love, leave us alone you heartless bastard) but right now it's been pretty brutal. With less than two months since the baby's passing, we're still fumbling around in the thick fog of grief. Distance adds another challenge to coping.

I get so nervous when he's traveling. Logically I know that he's most likely safe and he'll be in more danger next week when he climbs up on the roof to give the evil eye to a weak spot causing a leak in our laundry room, but I've never been good about having him in transit. And now that my confidence in the goodness of the universe has been completely undermined, I find myself reverting to old anxieties about everyone I love dying. After my dad died just a scant four months after my first real boyfriend passed, my friends and I called one another almost obsessively to make sure that we'd made it home okay. I started dating Rob just months later and would spiral into psychoses if he'd go MIA for even a few hours. And he's kind of a douche (well, and sixteen) , so he'd go MIA a lot.

This mania feels so uncomfortably familiar and I am once again reminded how fortunate I am that I am marrying Ian and not anybody else on the whole planet. Once he understood why I would get so distant and emotional during his travels, he started doing everything he could to set me at ease. In fact, he just texted me to let me know that he got loaded onto the plane and will, like always, turn on his phone the second that he is allowed and send me a text to let me know that he's back on land safely. I always get those two texts each time he flies, and I always hold my breath between them.

I leave to pick him up from the airport in about four and a half hours. In the meantime, I will be alternately surrounding myself with and distracting myself from worry. It will be as if I am working in conjunction with the flight crew and those pesky laws of physics to keep the plane in the air when it is supposed to be in the air, and make it land safely, on time, and without incident.

Does anyone here follow the "Traditional Foods" diet? I've wanted to try it since my kids were infants but I'm wondering if it is as time consuming as it seems (dual parent working household) and if it was very expensive? I am so crappy at projecting expenses or knowing what to expect.

Also, any suggestions on super cheap places to get things like krill oil and butter oil? I'm in New Jersey, United States if that matters - internet sites are more than welcome. I am pretty overwhelmed compairing prices by googling stuff.

ETA:http://www.westonaprice.org/ I meant this, I forgot where I was posting

When you are reading for someone else, do you explain to them the meaning of every individual card as you deal it? Do you explain the meaning of every position of your layout, and then explain how it influences the meaning of the card? Or do you just jump straight in with the interpretation, and only start going back over individual cards and their positions if further explanation is necessary?

Personally, I'm a jumper. I give the interpretation of what I see. If further clarification is needed, then I go in deeper. For example, if someone asks if they should start a new project, and I say yes, now is a good time, and they seem hesitant, then I will point to the Empress in the East position (it's a layout I designed myself yonks ago; I can elaborate further if you wish) and explain that the Empress represents fertility, look at her swollen belly, look at the lush greenery around her and the pomegranates on her frock; she's on the horizon, you're walking towards her, she is in your place of vision at the moment, ripe for bringing into being.

Rainbow Illusions:
Sociological Side Effects from Traumatic Brain Injuries with Communication Deficits

In the cold morning a woman walks into a hospital aided by a security guard. Another injury added to the list after a long rainy night. The injury was from an assault. This assault created a severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). This injury was not just physically endangering but would also require continuous therapy for social and psychological skills to be re-developed and assigned to the variety of experiences that daily life will offer. Physical therapy is critical to begin as soon as possible after initial medical care. What most people do not realize is this person also will need behavioral and cognitive therapy to help re-instate into the society outside the rehabilitation center. As the rain clears, swelling decreases, personality changes will happen. Regardless on the severity of the TBI to the body, behaviors and personality changes can occur from nearly none to complex and complete changes. These are not just on a psychological level of post-traumatic stress or anxiety but to the level it will change everything on the reactions and choices of the patient.

What is a TBI? According to the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control “a traumatic brain injury (TBI) is caused by a blow or jolt to the head or a penetrating head injury that disrupts the normal function of the brain. Not all blows or jolts to the head result in a TBI. The severity of a TBI may range from “mild,” i.e., a brief change in mental status or consciousness to “severe,” i.e., an extended period of unconsciousness or amnesia after the injury.”

After 2 years from an accident, there is evidence that the quality of life and ability to thrive in daily living has been connected to the psychosocial and physical variables. This can be seen through the ability one has to reassign their position in the working, academic and interpersonal relationships. Directly or indirectly each of us may encounter people who have or may one day have an experience that will result with a TBI. Falls and auto accidents are the 2 top reasons for someone to experience a TBI. It is thought that 2-3% of the American population is currently living with a long-term or lifelong need for help to perform daily activities. Around 1.4 million people will seek medical care for a TBI each year. The impact of these injuries is hindering in social setting as well as with physical or mental demands of daily life. Mild TBI may also contribute to problems with memory, attention and judgment. Areas of life most profoundly influenced by the psychological changes are work production, family relationships, and social interactions. The social interaction is also a base of support for patients to continue long-term medical and formal rehabilitation.
A major barrier of recovering from TBI is seen by community reintegration of the patient. The fractured communication skills can be seen as a serious impact on psychosocial reintegration. TBI manifestation of communication deficits in basic linguistic processes are the minority. The majority of the effects can be noticed in the difficulties patients have in the use of language. Some of the problems that are most commonly noticed are: taking turns, acknowledging and referring to others, slow response time to reply, often multiple repetition of same or similar discussions or sentences. Other communication deficits that have been noted are sentence pauses in mid thought, changing focus of the conversation in midsentence and impairments in conversational structures on topics. Excessive information at times is one of these signs. It is often like the novice cooks who believe a wee bit more garlic is needed then adds more basil to offset it and then forgets and adds more garlic. The continuous flow can become excessive and repetitive. This social integration skill can be hindered greatly even as a result of a mild TBI.

In the text book barriers by class, race and economic status are clearly defined. The status of being able to communicate can cross and create barriers among the work, social and family dynamics. This has been found to help lead to social isolation, poor judgment on activities and frustration that will result in behaviors that may make the work or social environment change the position of the patient.

Many cognitive therapists are shifting focus from the linguistic side of communication to a discourse. With a naturally-occurring communication between the therapist and the patient to allow the skills to be developed from the ability of the patient to build on the linguistic, cognitive and social presence already developed. This helps prevent retro-learning and plateaus to happen too often in the cognitive therapy. The benefit of the discourse therapy is the family support and care giver support. It is important for the patient to be involved in communications at all level to retrain and strengthen the cognitive functions of communication. By the social support of family and friends the therapists will be able to look for deficits and try to fill in the mending brain with the proper tools to function in society at large.

The communication frustration can be seen in many other aspects of personality. Violence, emotional outbreaks, isolation, excessive non-sense communication will hinder the patient’s choice to continue psychological, cognitive and psychosocial therapies. This characteristic of TBI often is seen in the degree of the work by the vocational or level of position in which the patient will be able to get and maintain long term. Often patients get in low paying and/or vocational labor jobs due to the open expression of frustration and the deficits in communication with others in professional aspects of daily living.
The communication factors are seen as one of the top issues for TBI patients to face more difficulties in social reintegration. Thomas Galski suggests “TBIs tended to be significantly slower in initiation than normal controls as well as wordier but slower to the point due to inclusion of irrelevancies (`empty speech’ ) and an unorganized manner of expression; they also experienced more difficulty in catching and rectifying their errors.” These problems may show the lack of understanding and empathy from the society at large for ones who are unable to communicate at the expected level and in the expected way. The social protocols of general conversations are weakly, if at all, acknowledged by the skills of a patient suffering the cognitive effects of a TBI. This frustration is accepted too by the people who come in contact for the TBI patient. Interpersonal guidelines are not usually followed by the patient and many people find communicating with the patient as tiresome, too inconsistent to follow or clearly understand, motivated against norms for conveying information or socializing with general public or professional environments.

The conclusion many reports and researches have shown is the sociological norms with a TBI patient is often like that of communicating with someone who is just learning the language. An overall understanding could be made that when one does not show cultural reasons for not following social norms, that the isolation and frustration can be felt by all parties involved in the reintegration process of a TBI patient back into society at large. The environmental and physical conditions have proven to come secondary to the motivation or rejection of long term treatment and therapies. The support by family, friends and social interactions are the stimulus to keep TBI patients working on cognitive and communication for further reintegration back into their daily life and society.

Bibliography
(2009, March 18). What is Traumatic brain injury?. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/tbi/TBI.htm

Sennyey, A. (n.d.). The Role of the speech-pathologist on traumatic. Retrieved from: http://neuroc99.sld.cu/text/rehabTBI.htm

J. M. van Velzen, C. A. M. van Bennekom, M. J. A. Edelaar, J. K. Sluiter, M. H. W. Frings-Dresen. (2009) How many people return to work after acquired brain injury?: A systematic review. Brain Injury 23:6, 473-488

H. M. Seeley, S. Kirker, C. Harkin, C. Dias, H. Richards, J. D. Pickard, P. J. Hutchinson. (2009) Head injury rehabilitation: the role of a neurotrauma clinic. British Journal of Neurosurgery 23:5, 530-537

M. Desouza, MRCP, M. Sycamore, S. Little, S. G. B. Kirker. (2007) The Papworth Early Rehabilitation Programme: Vocational outcomes. Disability & Rehabilitation 29:8, 671-677

Paul W. Power, David B. Hershenson. (2003) Work adjustment and readjustment of persons with mid-career onset traumatic brain injury. Brain Injury 17:12, 1021-1034

D. W. K. Man, A. S. F. Tam, E. P. Y. Li. (2003) Exploring self-concepts of persons with brain injury. Brain Injury 17:9, 775-788

Deborah J Hellawell, Brian Pentland. (2001) Relatives' reports of long term problems following traumatic brain injury or subarachnoid haemorrhage. Disability & Rehabilitation 23:7, 300-305

Langlois JA, Rutland-Brown W, Thomas KE. (2004) Traumatic brain injury in the United States: emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and deaths. Atlanta (GA): Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control

Thurman D, Alverson C, Dunn K, Guerrero J, Sniezek J. (1999) Traumatic brain injury in the United States: a public health perspective. Journal of Head Trauma and Rehabilitation 14(6):602–15.

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. (2002) Traumatic brain injury: hope through research. Bethesda (MD): National Institutes of Health; Feb. NIH Publication No.: 02–158.

Finkelstein E, Corso P, Miller T and associates. (2006) The Incidence and Economic Burden of Injuries in the United States. New York (NY): Oxford University Press

So she got it cut. I almost cancelled, LOL. I was so sad, and I usually make fun of sentimental crap like this, bwahhahaha. that's what I get!!!

She was literally just vibrating with excitement ALL day, sooooo happy and looking forward to it, i didn't realize how unhappy she was with her hair, which sounds sort of funny but hey i know i feel crappy when my hair isn't how i like it, so i assume it could be the same for an almost five year old! after the haircut she was so happy and bouncing around and stuff, she couldn't take her eyes off her hair in the salon, LMAO.

We went back to Sweet and Sassy, which is a boutique salon for little girls only in Pittsford, it's adorable and just such fun, she loevs it. They have a runway there they can walk when they are done, LOL, and other stuff.

On to the pics...her curls are even more curlicious!

( Short hair! )

I'm not sure the "one year in Florida" plan is actually going to come to fruition. We've both changed our focus a little since coming back from NY and me starting this temp. job and such. It started with a resume-request from one of O's friends, for a position in Palo Alto, CA. This is the same company he was considering during the summer, but we ruled it out because of location. Now, however, we're starting to wonder if we need to change location because let's face it - things have not been all that promising for us here in Florida. We'd both been hoping this possible position was in the company's DC-area office, but it turned out to also be in CA.

However, the company does have a similar (though not identical) position in their DC office. This realization got some wheels turning for both of us, and we're both feeling like maybe that area is the way to go. If anywhere is going to have a decent job market at all, it's going to be that area first. And we have friends there. And the seasons, while much milder than NY, still change there. And it's closer to NY. And there are long-term opportunities there in fields we both desperately want to get into.

And it's not on the west coast, which is looking to be our other major option. If we have to do that, we will. But neither of us want to, particularly. (The thought of it still makes me want to cry; I'm just afraid of closing any doors right now.)


I am posting this as a desperate plea for prayers/positive thoughts/etc. Please keep us in your thoughts in the coming weeks as we try to put this new plan in motion. Please pray that this works out for us in the way we are hoping. I am praying as hard as I can, myself.

hahayouredead is the winner of Round 180 - Remembrance. Congratulations!!



Round 181
Topic: Baby!
Deadline: Wednesday, November 25th

( Round 182's topic will be... )

Happy Snapshot Hunting!


I would also like to take this opportunity to invite you, the members of snapshot_hunter to join a new community. It's called snapshot_talk and it's only for the members of this community. ( about snapshot_talk ) Hope to see you over there!

Hey everyone, I am extremely allergic to... everything... from birth I had a blood diseas that well now makes me so allergic to things sometimes I have just... overlooked my allergies for a long time. Thing is the other day I wanted to try this toner on my face and neck. It was a tomato based toner and well the result has been pretty tragic. I have used toners before and they have never burnt my skin... this one not only gave my face a nice little allergy that is taking DAYS to clean up but also burn't a bit behind my ear... it has been rather painful and I was wondering if there was anything natural that I can put on there to ease the pain or should IO just let it be... funny thing is I didn't feel too much until I scratched my skin off in class by misatke... it's not a big burn and it seems to be healing but it still pretty sore, half of it is hidden by my hair.

Anything that will help ease it a bit?

TIA!

A friend just asked me, "What are your reasons for not vaccinating? Aren't you concerned about getting other children sick by not vaccinating your own?"

She's honestly curious, and I don't want to screw this up.
I'm a new mom and new to natural living, and I'd love to get others' thoughts and "one-liners" so that I don't ramble on forever with her without being efficient and effective.

Any words of wisdom or links to articles that might help me?

Thanks in advance!

Ontario teacher quarantined with TB.

I am strongly considering never leaving the house again.

I just received another birth announcement. No, it didn't come unexpectedly, but still... It was one of my 'to go -list', and so it hurts. A bit...A lot, really . Now I am just waiting for one more healthy born baby and things might get calm for a while. I hope that this calmness will also bring ME some peace.

Nothing's worse than trying to cope with something, when everybody around you seems to be in the same situation, but on the other side of the 'luck-line'. For the time when I was due three more people were with me waiting for their babies. All three had healthy babies. Not me. I didn't even get a 'sick' baby. I got no baby at all.

Around this time, about a month after my due date, two of my colleagues are due. And so, here I am again... Waiting for their good news, while I, well... we already know.
Lies, the one who graciously sent me the birth announcement of her first son Mathias, dumped everybody back in august, by -supposingly- going home for holidays, but never coming back. Behind everybody's back she sold her whole household, got on the plane and resigned the moment she got in Belgium. Why so sneaky? Because she' s a hypochondriac and she knew that people (my boss) wouldn't accept her silly games anymore. I wondered why she then got pregnant in the first place, knowing she'd freak out about her health situation in the local circumstances she was living. Anyway, she choose to be selfish. And she has her baby. Because that's how life works.

The one left standing is Mariella, my other colleague. She makes me even more upset than Lies. Mariella got pregnant unexpectedly, and it was/is clear to all of us that her baby is very much unwanted. During these whole 9 months she showed no interest whatsoever to that growing creature in her belly. When I asked her when was her last menstruation date she had no idea and had to call her husband to find out (I asked her because there were serious doubts about her due date). When she was 7 months pregnant, and I 8 months, we coincidentally ended up in the waiting room at the same time. She saw the pregnancy book I was reading and asked if she could have a look. Sho told me she hadn't bought a single book on pregnancy. She's now in Peru, her home country, where she'll give birth. In March she should get back to the DR, to finish her contract. They have actually considered dumping the baby in Peru with relatives, so she could peacefully finish her contract here, and go back three months later. The other option is that a relative joins them hereto. In a nutshell, she's not thinking taking care of that baby. These things might still change as soon as she's got the angel in her hands, but still... Am I allowed to say that I want to kill her?! Because, obviously.. she WILL have her baby, healthy and all... again...because that's how life works!

After Mariella's baby has come to the world, I am confident my 'angustia' will be over. Yes, more people are pregnant, but no one I have hard feelings to. All in all, I believe everybody deserves his or her baby. It's just that I didn't deserve to lose my baby.

I am not sure whether it's this period of waiting that got me the way I feel right now, or whether it's just another thing of the whole coping process, but I am having nightmares - Every.Single.Night. And always about the same thing: A relative I love, mostly my sister, is in danger and I must rescue her or she will die. I never even get to the saving point, but it never gets to the dying point either, though. In my dreams this person is also always a 'child-version' of the person I dream of. Last night my sister was about 3-4 years old.


Something positive?
* I am getting back a certain routine when it comes to work.
* I left the house yesterday to go fishing with Pablo. He seemed happy that I'd joined him. And I read a few chapters of my book.
* While being in the car with Waris we were talking about Santa Claus, Saint Nicolaus (Sinterklaas - San Nicolas in spanish), Papa Noel (FR) and it made me so confused with all these languages (and no less that we are really talking about two different guys here) that I ended up calling our holy guy 'Papanicolao' -> pap smear test.

I didn't think I'd ever say it, but I wish I could go and see my shrink today. I could use one of her painful massages.

I'm at a point where if I buy new, I buy organic clothes because I know too much about how fabric is made to buy conventional cotton. And sometimes I see cute printed organic shirts with like "recycle" or other messages screen printed on.

My dad gave me an article about water-based inks used in screen printing and I was surprised to learn they are really bad ecologically, even worse than conventional plastisol inks. So I started to wonder if that's something other people actually think about when they buy their clothes. I see printed organic cotton or hemp shirts in the store and I wonder about the inks they use and if it is counter acting the point of the shirt.

How much weight do you put on such things like ink when you are purchasing clothes? I know a lot of us only shop thrift, but if you are looking at new stuff, what do you think?

Like, if there is an organic shirt but it's printed with conventional ink, would it keep you from buying it? Or if you had the option between a shirt with conventional plastisol ink vs PVC-free plastisol ink, would you definitely want the PVC-free plastisol printed organic shirt? I was really surprised to find out that plastisol inks are really low maintenance for clean up and there is hardly any waste product at all because the surplus ink can be put back in a container and used again and it won't dry out.

It's random, I know, but I was just wondering where other people draw the line.