Skin

It’s amazing how taking care of your skin can make you feel so much better. Personally I don’t wear makeup very often. It seems to be more trouble than it’s worth. I will wear makeup to work, though. When I get home from work, nothing makes me feel better than taking my shoes off and washing my face with a good face wash or cleanser. Tend skin? Skin care? It's one of the best things you can do for yourself!





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Branson

In my opinion, Branson Missouri doesn’t get enough credit. While their tourist attractions certainly don’t have the same sparkle as some places, they aren’t boring or terrible. A vacation to Branson is a fraction of the cost of a vacation to most other domestic or international tourist attractions, like Disney World, but can be just as much fun! Even kids can enjoy a trip to Branson. A vacation is what you make it, and if you want to save money and still have a good time, Branson just might be the way to go. Check out Shoji’s bathrooms or the Dancing Fountains. Kids may also enjoy riding the “ducks”, an amphibious vehicle once used by the US Army that can travel on both land and water.

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reflections on this week

Many things have happened in my life this past week. For starters, I began my job at Office Depot in Lee's Summit. I don't have a lot to say about that. It seems to be a good job, although I haven't seen anything yet that would lead me to call it a great job.

We did a Vacation Bible School in my church, which was lots of fun. I was in charge of the music and the games. We really had all kinds of kids who came out to learn about Jesus. My pastor's wife wrote the curriculum this year, and it was an absolutely fantastic curriculum. We (the church) are all encouraging her to sell it publicly on her husband's website.

On the last evening of VBS, during the last prayer, all the students and teachers stood in a circle and held hands. As we did that, I thought of the ironies of the students on each side of me...

Holdng my right hand was Daisy*. Daisy is three, almost four, years old, and really quite mature for her age. She's very outgoing and will get along with almost anyone. She finds abundant joy in the tiniest things and will befriend almost anyone. She is very teachable and very eager to learn. In spite of being the youngest student in her VBS class, she's usually the first one to answer a question. She's an ideal student.

Holding my left hand was Linda*. Linda is ten years old and in fourth grade. She has ADHD and cannot hold still for anything. She will commonly interrupt the teacher while the teacher is teaching a lesson. If she is given a challenge at which she might not succeed, she will cry. Even when we are praying, she is still jumping up and down, looking at the other people in the room, and perhaps trying to whisper to others in the room. She will often distract other students - during songs, during lessons, during crafts, whenever. If she doesn't get her way, she will cry. If she feels that he has been treated unfairly, she will cry. If she doesn't want to do something, she cries. If she wants attention, she cries. She is, to say the least, a difficult student.

And as I pondered this, I thought, you know, God loves both these kids equally. God loves Daisy because she is His little girl, with the sweet smile, and so God has blessed her with the gift of befriending other people (even complete strangers!), even as a three year old! And God loves Linda because Linda is also His little girl, with an abounding energy. Even if some things are difficult for her, God still has a really awesome plan for Linda. And the amazing thing is, God loves Daisy and Linda exactly the same. As a teacher, it's easy for me to prefer Daisy, because she is obviously easier to teach! Or, perhaps, it would be easy to prefer Linda, because she always has lots of energy. But God doesn't prefer either of them. He doesn't love either of them more than the other.

Kinda boggles my mind when I think about it relative to myself. There is nothing I can say or do to make God love me any more or less. I could be like Mother Teresa, having done lots of great things for God's kingdom, and that wouldn't make God love me any more. Or I could be like Osama Bin Laden, having committed so many sins against God, and he wouldn't love me any less. Obviously those are extreme examples, but it's still amazing - nothing I ever say or do will change God's love for me. How awesome!


*Names have been changed.

European travel

Most of you know I love to travel, but I've never been to Europe. I'd certainly love to visit someday - Europe is so full of history and culture. When you're traveling, particularly overseas, it is much easier to travel if you make reservations for your airplane tickets, rental cars, and hotels in advance. But when you're traveling, particularly oversas, it can be a challenge to make reservations for hotels in advance!

Enter easytobook.com! At this website, you can find and reserve rooms at a number of hotels in select European cities. After your stay, you can rate the hotel (one star - five stars) and before you book, you can read others' ratings of the hotel. You can see the hotels on maps explaining the hotels' locations relative to other famous landmarks or tourist sites in that city. You can view the cost in US Dollars, Euros, or British Pounds.

So, for example, you can go to easytobook.com to book hotels in Rome, the heart of Italy and Italian culture! Or, you can book hotels in Barcelona, where you could see fine Spanish culture at its best! You can even book a hotel in Amsterdam, where you could see hundreds of famous paintings.

This is a sponsored post.

Bloggerwave

Recently I began posting for a company called Bloggerwave. So far, Bloggerwave is probably my favorite pay-to-blog company for a few reasons:

1. They will approve your blog quickly and will respond with equal speed to any help/tech support emails.
2. Their website is well-designed and very user-friendly.
3. Competition on their site is minimal; I’ve had no problems getting posts.
4. There is no limit to the number of opportunities that a blogger can accept.
5. Payment is made via Paypal.

So – do it! Sign up for Bloggerwave! You know you want to!

This post is sponsored by Bloggerwave.

Paintball

I’ve never been paintballing, but when I was in college, I knew several people who loved to play paintball every weekend. I’d love to try it sometime. One of these days I will get together my friends and a few Spyder paintball guns, and go to the paintball range off of I-70. We could also go to the nearby paintball store or shop online to buy Spyder VS3 and Spyder Pilot paintball guns. Then we could go to my friend’s house – he owns a few acres of land – and we could play Spyder paintball there. I don’t know much about paintball, but I do want to try it sometime. I think it would be a great way to get to know new friends and to bond with old friends.

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PaperBackSwap

I love books. I love reading. I love libraries. But there's just something about owning a book that is fantastic. I've really spent far too much money over the years purchasing books that I probably could have gotten from the library.

Recently I discovered PaperBackSwap. I haven't signed up for this webite yet, but I certainly have considered it. Its name defines its purpose: You sign up for the website, list the paperbacks that you have, and then swap with other people to get new paperbacks.

I haven't signed up for it yet, but I am sorely tempted! What is it about owning a book, about holding a book that is entirely yours, that is just magical? What is the wonder of just holding a book in your hands? It's an amazing thing, really.

People from Tulsa are certainly unique...

So today I was perusing the news online, as usual, when I came across this story on CNN.com:
Contest winner has 5 years to claim 50-year-old buried car

Well, my family is kinda crazy about cars - I even have some cousins and a great-uncle who collect Hudsons and have at least 90 as of the last count. So I clicked on the story and read this:

"TULSA, Oklahoma (AP) -- R.E. Humbertson, wherever you are, you are the winner of "Miss Belvedere," the rusty 1957 Plymouth hauled from its leaky vault last week after being buried for a half century...

When the car was buried in 1957, hundreds of people submitted guesses on what Tulsa's population, which was around 250,000 in 1957, would be in 2007. Humbertson's guess of 384,743 was only slightly off the official U.S. Census count of 382,457."

How crazy is that? The car DEFINITELY looks like it has been buried for 50 years! It's very rusty! But 1957 was a good year for Plymouths. If R.E. Humbertson claims his car, I bet he could sell the parts (or maybe even the whole car) for a decent price at an antique car show. Some people who restore old cars will pay quite a bit for original parts.

So, best of luck to you, Mr. (or Ms.) R.E. Humbertson, or your closest living relative. This certainly looks like a unique prize, and a story that you will be telling for years to come!

Digital Photo Frames

Have you ever owned a digital picture frame? They're pretty neat! With the simplest digital frames, you can record your voice along with storing a photo. Some of the newer digital frames have a small memory card inside (usually 128 or 256 mb) and display digital images of a number of photos. The photos can rotate every few seconds, or they can change every time you press a button. Digital photo frames are a great way to display a large number of photos! When you don't know which photograph to put in the frame, you can use a digital photo frame to store several photographs instead! Technology provides a great solution to an age-old problem!
Digital frames are also great for parties, weddings, and other events that might include photographs. Leave a dozen photos in the frame and your visitors can watch a slideshow of your photos!
Visit digitalframez.com to buy your own digital photo frame!

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Australia

When I was on the Anastasis, I knew several people who were from Australia or New Zealand. I've never been to Australia, but I'd like to visit someday. You know I love to travel! I especially love to visit "uncommon" places. Most people who travel overseas like to visit the U.K., or France, maybe Spain or Germany. I have gone to Asia and Africa, and loved it. I still want to go back to Asia and Africa, and I'd also like to go to Sout America and Australia.

One of the biggest challenges to overseas travel is finding a hotel. It's so helpful to have websites that can help me find cheap hotels in Sydney or another faraway city. Sydney would be a great Australian city to visit. I could vist the famous opera house, or learn about Australian government. Plus it wouldn't be a long drive to go on a "safari" to see the flora and fauna of Australia. But the best part is that there are lots of hotels in Sydney.

Saving money is so important when I'm traveling! And saving money on a Sydney vaation starts with finding a good deal on an airline ticket and a cheap Sydney hotel. Isn't the Internet great?

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finding nemo...

Tonight my family is watching Finding Nemo. It's broadcast on ABC. It's a pretty good movie - among the better of Disney's recent movies. The latest Disney movies just aren't the same as the early Disney movies. But some are still good.

What are your favorite Disney movies? Or your favorite kids' movies in general?

Aloha!

So, most of you know I like to travel - scratch that, I LOVE to travel! I've been to southeast Asia twice, to Central America once, to West Africa once (for seven months!), and to almost every state in the continental 48. I've never been to Europe, though I'd love to go there someday. I abolutely LOVED the temperate climate of southeast Asia and west Africa.

Believe it or not, despite all my travels, I've never been to Hawaii! I would sure love to go, though! If I went to Hawaii, I would want to rent a vacation cottage on the beach so that I could listen to the waves as I went to sleep at night. Also, I'd be right next to the beach! Even if it wasn't a swimming beach (due to rip tides and such), I could still go wading in the evening and walk along the sand.

Hawaii is filled with such beautiful flora and fauna that I know I would not be able to tolerate a hotel. It would be so much better to rent a vacation condo on the beach and be so close to nature. Plus, vacation cottages are so much better for the environment than large, impersonal hotels. Even aesthetically, vacation cottages are much more appealing! I hope that when I have a chance to visit Hawaii, I can rent a vacation cottage!

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Employed!

Great news! I've now joined the ranks of the gainfully employed! Yesterday I was officially offered the job at Office Depot, which of course I accepted.

I went out today to buy clothes for the "uniform". I start on Monday, so hopefully I'll be able to give you an update then!

Coupons

More and more lately, I do a lot of my shopping online. While I still may run to the grocery store or supermarket for necessities, I’ve found that I can get lower prices for many items online. But I’ve also found that that price can go even lower! Usually I just google the website I am shopping at, but today I found this website that offers online shopping coupons. I checked it out, and it’s really pretty neat. All your coupon codes are all in one place. They cover LOTS of websites – probably all the major shopping websites in existence. That means you can find everything from Office Depot coupons to CompUSA coupons to Target coupons. Best of all, you don’t have to pay for their coupons! You can’t get better than that!

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Sheridan's Frozen Custard, Independence, MO

I just wanted to remember to include this little post with my opinion of Sheridan's Frozen Custard on Noland Road in Independence, MO. I've liked Sheridan's, up until recently. Their ice cream is good, and they have lots of options at a lower price (for example, it's cheaper to get plain frozen custard). Recently, Sheridan's teamed up with KMBC-9 News of Kansas City to give away free ice cream. Of course I went to Sheridan's to get free ice cream.

Well, I must say I was VERY disappointed. I don't even work in food service, and I can think of at least a dozen ways they could have operated more smoothly. The line was long and I had to wait over an hour to get my ice cream, because their computer deleted my order (along with a dozen others) and the employees did not believe me when I told them I had already ordered. I asked for custard with cookie dough bits, but I got Reese's Piece's bits instead - which could have been fatal if I had a peanut allergy. Their whole system was slow and ineffective, and frankly I'm not sure if I will ever go back there. I reccommend that everyone out there think carefully before they choose to visit Sheridan's Frozen Custard on Noland Road in Independence, MO. It may not be the best choice of dessert stores.

Note: Dear Custard's Last Stand, why don't you open a store in Independence? I would certainly choose CLS over Sheridan's any day!

Note: This note only applies to the Sheridan's Frozen Custard on Noland Road in Independence, Missouri. I hope that other Sheridan's Restaurants are better.

007 extraordinaire

Readers, have you ever thought about being a spy? I have – or at least, I’ve thought about being a criminologist. I’m a pretty big fan of shows like CSI, and I think it would be really awesome to have a job that was full of science like those jobs. It’s neat to see all the stuff they do in the lab – fingerprints, DNA, and so much more. But I think it’s also neat to see the stuff they do out in the field.

So if I was a spy, it’s pretty tempting to say I’d have all the cool James Bond-ish gadgets. But I think that a big part of being a spy is blending in to all the people around you without being noticed. So if I had anything, maybe I’d need a costume designer or something like that to help me wear the right “look”. Also I might need a makeup artist too, to help me with the same thing. And I’d need some acting lessons, because I would have to be really believable at whoever I’m pretending to be. I’d need a big rolodex full of connections among the people I’m spying on. I would have to know, among those people, who I could trust (informants) and who I couldn’t. Cool job, huh?

USA Networks will have a show about spies coming soon! Click here to find out more:
USA Network's Burn Notice



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Do you ever just think this guy is nuts?

Castro vows U.S. will never have Cuba

Seriously... This guy just needs to stop.
He must be incredibly paranoid that the U.S. or another Western nation will invade and take over Cuba. Why else would he say things like this? And really, would he be paranoid if he didn't know, on some level, that what he was doing was wrong?

He's 80 years old and, he may not be able to face it, but he's dying. He's incredibly power-drunk and he's learned to brain-wash his citizens by controlling the media. It's such a shame. I can't imagine what his eternal justice will be.

Tutoring

I’m not a parent, but I am a teacher, with state certificates in four subjects and ages ranging from first grade through graduation. One major problem with public schools nowadays is the increased class sizes and increased pressure on teachers, preventing the teachers from spending as much time as they need to with each student. Some students will pick up a concept quickly, while others will take awhile longer to learn the same concept. Teachers can no longer afford to slow down the entire class to meet the speed of the two or three slowest students in the class. If child is struggling with reading and is not getting the help he needs in school, you should seek out a reading tutorlike the reading tutors at Score. A tutor will work with your child at his pace and help him to catch up with the rest of his class. Reading is such an important subject. If your child does not become a master reader, it could have consequences later on in his education. Do him a favor today and your contact a tutor like Score, and you will be thankful for it later.


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A life I never imagined...

So you probably noticed that my posts over the last few days have been fairly impersonal. Truth is, last week was so amazing that I have needed some time to absorb it all!

I got a call on Thursday asking me to come in to Office Depot for an interview. Of course I agreed, because I need a job and that means following up on every lead. But I wasn't too excited. This particular job would be at the Office Depot in the next town over, so there would be a commute. I have a college degree, but it would only be a job as a cashier. And it's only part-time, with hourly pay. Not much to get excited about, I thought!

Well, it's a good thing I went to that interview! Yes, it's a part-time job, and yes, it's only a cashier position, but Office Depot is one of the only corporations (along with FedEx an Starbucks) that provides benefits (medical, dental, vision, and life) to their part time employees. Plus I was called for the interview because the general manager of this store (who, by the way, seems really nice!) likes my resume and generally likes to promote from within his store.

So it's only part time, but it will provide some money, and benefits. I'll have the rest of the time to earn money online and to pursue a writing career. I'm just thrilled at how this turned out! I never imagined that I would wind up working at Office Depot - especially as a career! - but I couldn't wish for anything better!

The American Fantasy Football League

I used to be good friends with a guy who was FANATICAL about fantasy sports. Whether it was fantasy football, fantasy baseball, or fantasy basketball, he could not let a day pass without checking on his fantasy teams. The American Fantasy Football League is an elite, high-class venue where you can win PRIZES for playing fantasy football! If you enjoy fantasy football, why not enjoy it and win prizes at the same time? How cool is that?

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making money while blogging?

You've probably noticed a number of posts on my blog that are labeled "sponsored posts". If you haven't figured it out yet, I'm trying my hand at earning some money by blogging. It IS possible, and I will probably soon be links so that YOU can try your hand at earning money while blogging! In the meantime, I hope you'll stick with me while I figure it out. I'm figuring out what's good and what's bad, and I'll pass my findings on to you! Have a great day, and hopefully soon we will all be earning money blogging!

Online dating... why I haven't tried it yet (and don't really plan on it)

I found this article today on ABCNEWS.com about online dating. It seems like online dating is the "big" thing nowadays. You sign up for one of those dating websites, like match.com or eharmony.com, and find your "knight in shining armor", just waiting at the other end of your computer. But I just don't get it... I mean, I know there are some couples who have met online, married, and been successful, and I'm not questioning that. I don't get why people are flocking in droves to these online websites. It seems to me that, at best, online dating is a risky gamble. Like this article discusses, it is far too easy to be someone you're not when you're online. You can find pictures online (or scan photos from magazines), you can say you are 20 years younger than you are, you can claim to be an astronaut or a doctor or a nuclear physicist when you're really an unemployed mechanic. Women, especially, who sign up for these sites are putting themselves at risk, I think. I mean, I have no idea who that person on the other end of my instant message really is. And when I go confessing all my deep dark secrets to him, he will gain an unfair amount of power over me.

Whatever happened to the "good old days", where people met at churches or concerts or even clubs? I don't think there is any shortage of eligible bachelors nearby, and I certainly don't think I need to look to the internet to find my soul mate. What a shame, that so many people are so desperate for marriage that they will settle for a guy (or girl) that they don't really know much about.

hotel reservations

There are many ways to make a hotel reservation nowadays. Most hotels still accept the "old standard" of a phone call, but more and more hotels are requiring an online reservation. Though you can reserve a room on most hotel chain websites, smart shoppers will look for a travel website like hotelreservations.com. You can reserve airline tickets, cars, hotels, vacation rentals, and more. It makes me want to travel again! (Maybe hotelreservations.com will pay to send me on a vacation!) :)

Hotelreservations.com also has a tool for reserving cruises - very neato! You can research your destination, and you can also research to find information for your next ROAD TRIP! Who doesn't love a good road trip? They have special prices on group bookings. You can even view the website in your language and currency of choice.

Perhaps the best part of it - you can get a $100 rebate for reserving a hotel or something else for your vacation through hotelreservations.com. So, when you are getting ready for your next vacation, take a look at hotelreservations.com. You never know - you just might find a pleasant surprise!



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merchantcircle.com

So this blog is about a really unique form of yellow pages. It's a search directory of businesses. You can only submit your website to this directory if you are a business. It's called merchantcircle.com. I did a couple of searches on this site, and I was surprised by the number of listings. I did a search for "ice cream" in the city where I grew up, and found ads for WW Ice Cream, a really popular ice cream parlor among the high school kids in our town. I also found ads for Maggie Moo's and Sheridan's Frozen Custard, plus many more. It's really an impressive site! If you're a business owner and trying to increase traffic to your store or resaurant, I definitely reccommend trying this out!



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Here's a blog that is entirely about my city. I'm from Kansas City, Missouri, whch is a pretty neat place to live, and even a neat place to visit. Since we're in the Midwest, there are a lot of cocerts and conferences that come through our are. We also have a lot of neat history from this area. The Three Trails started here, and lots of famous people are from Kansas City, including Walt Disney. Several famous companies were founded here as well, including AMC Theaters and H&R Block. Also nearby Independence, the home of Harry Truman. We have several neat museums to visit, including the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and the Kansas City Museum. You'll never have a boring day here!



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today's news

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Big Paw Designs

Who doesn't love a cute puppy? Who also doesn't love anything made for a cute puppy? Big Paw designs is out now with free e-cards featuring adorable puppies, perfect for cheering up your friends!



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Dog and Cat ecards

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site meter page hits

If you look at the right-hand column of my blog, you'll notice that I have a SiteMeter Hit Counter installed. I love having this little thing. It's fun to see how many hits I get in a day, or where the ISPs of my hits are located. It's also pretty neat to see the entry pages, exit pages, out clicks, and so on.

I've noticed a funny trend lately. While I was in Africa, my daily hits were steadily increasing. Even after I returned, the number of daily hits remained at a steady level - around 35-40 per day. But in the past month, my number of daily hits been steadily decreasing. The only explanation I can find for this is that I'm not living overseas anymore!

So - all you people who quit coming to my blog - come back! My hit counter needs you! If I get more hits, I can get more offers for advertisements and, beyond that, don't you think all the stuff I write is just totally interesting?

codeamber ticker

I've no doubt you've noticed that I now have a ticker for codeamber.org scrolling across the top of my screen. I have a very specific reason for this. Codeamber.org is a website that promotes the Amber Alert system. You're probably familiar with this system. It's named after 9-year-old Amber Hagerman, who was brutally kidnapped and murdered. Amber Alerts are called soon after the disappearance of a child, and notify all the local radio and television stations of that child's disappearance, plus some info about the child and/or abuductor, if it is available.

This system has spread quite a bit. I remember when I worked at Fazoli's, we would get Amber Alerts on our fax machine. Through codeamber.org, you can sign up to have free Amber Alert text messages sent to your cell phone or email address. You can also get one of these tickers to put on your website. More than likely, there's an advertisement for codeamber.org scrolling in that ticker right now. However, if there is an Amber Alert ANYWHERE in the country, it will appear in that ticker. You can click on the ticker to be connected to more info about the Amber Alert, and maybe you can be the person who calls in a tip that saves a child's life.

If you suspect that you have seen a missing child, you can call your local police department or report the sighting to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children by going to missingkids.com or calling 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).

To get your own website ticker or to sign up for free email or text message Amber Alerts, click here to go to codeamber.org.

news update: really REALLY old whale!

Today it was revealed that a whale, caught off the Alaskan coast about a month ago by Aleutian hunters, held a surprising - maybe even shocking - clue to his age. Embedded in his blubber was the fragment of a weapon used over one hundred years ago! The weapon, called a bomb lance, is what I would call an early spear gun. This particular bomb lance was patented in 1879, and phased out in 1885, meaning that this whale was shot in a whale hunt before 1890 (at the latest)! Isn't it amazing what history will reveal to us? I'm just awed by the majestic world around me, more and more so everyday.

okay... some html issues...

Alright... I'm sure you can tell that the html thing isn't totally finished yet. That photo to the right is not sized right... you can see exactly one right shoulder, one fraction of a right arm, and about six braids. It's getting late, so I may not be able to fix everything tonight, but rest assured that it will all be spiffied up tomorrow. Later!

i signed up for pay per post!

So the first of many things I wanted to tell you is that I signed up for PayPerPost. I'm not sure if I will like it or not, but I'll definitely find out. What I definitely know is that I will like having a source of income! Being unemployed is no fun, and I got to thinking a few days ago that, if I do PPP, I can earn at least a little bit of money! I doubt it will be enough to live off of, but it will be enough to put gas in my car and go out to lunch every now and then. And, with Redbox coming into my neighborhood, I will also be able to rent a movie here and there. Generally I think doing PPP will provide me with some "fun" money and give me a lot more flexibility while I am looking for a job!
If you're interested in earning money with PayPerPost, click here: ads on blogs.
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random ramblings

I have so many thoughts and so many things I want to post about tonight that my mind is just overflowing.

I also want to update the template on this blog.

So the next couple of hours, at least, will be all kinds of craziness on this blog! Probably the next couple of days!

Hang in there, loyal readers, for the many wonderful things to come! :)

sugar pills

Most of my friends know that I'm pretty skeptical of alternative medicines. I'm a strong believer in science - in fact, I think I'm such a passionate believer in science that I have a unique perspective on medicine in general. I think preventative medicine is great - but I also think that 90% of preventative medicine is a healthy diet and exercise. Generally I don't think there is anything wrong with taking herbal supplements, as long you are under a doctor's supervision. At various times, vitamin E, vitamin A, or vitamin C has been proven to help people. It's debatable if echinasea actually helps cure a cold, but I'm about as likely as the next person to take it if I get a cold. It's cheap and, if you take the correct dosages under a doctor's supervision, it's basically harmless. You know what? I'm a skeptic, but I am open to alternative medicines. I think, though, that without substantial scientific proof, these medicines should be very low cost, and should be taken under the supervision of a licensed medical doctor.

Recently I saw this story on ABC's 20/20. It's a story about a company called Mannatech which makes pills called Ambrotose. These pills are glyconutrients - a fancy name for sugar pills - which are implied to be a cure-all for basically every disease imaginable. The story profiles a girl named Angie Rhoads. Oddly enough, I knew Angie in college. She also attended Central Missouri State University but was a year younger than me. We were involved in some of the same activities, including a Christian parachurch organization. Today, she has a malignant brain tumor and, instead of receiving chemo and radiation, she's taking Ambrotose and gambling on its success. Never mind that it costs hundreds of dollars a month. In my opinion, Ambrotose is nothing but snake oil. My prayers are with Angie, because it seems like she's making a huge mistake, and I'm grieved that she is putting God's face on a product like this.

Another sugar-pill snake oil that I've noticed lately is called Reliv. Like other similar frauds, Reliv costs several hundred dollars each month. Reliv adds the nutrients to your diet that you desperately need, but which you cannot get through any other source. Gimme a break. Now I will admit that I take a multivitamin every day, but I don't spend more than $1.50 or so each month on that. And even if I didn't take a multivitamin, I still believe it is possible to achieve a balanced diet without any overpriced supplements.

There are hundreds of bloggers on the 'net touting the benefits of Reliv. Here's one gal claiming that Reliv cured her anxiety attacks and heart problems, helped her recover quickly from a car accident, cured certain female infections, and have led to better sleep and more energy. I don't buy it. IF - and this is a huge if - IF this pill was truly such a magical cure-all, the scientific field would have learned about about it and be touting its benefits by now.

The power of the mind is great. Just look at the control group in studies - often the placebo group will see the same results as the test group. This is known as the placebo effect. I think that's all the Reliv people are seeing! Unfortunately the "placebo effect" can only go so far. It can't cure advanced cancer or many chronic diseases. And it makes me furious that these companies are claiming that they can.

BLOGGIES!!!!!!!!!

I don't know why I just posted that.