Women's Well: Let's Discuss All Topics, Hosted by Oiseau

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please keep the boards up and running, I'm taking a short break from journaling/posting for a while, health reasons. xoxoxox oiseau

Yahoo! News
Many women unaware they're pre-diabetic

By LINDA A. JOHNSON, Associated Press WriterTue Sep 26, 8:39 PM ET

Getting fatter around the middle? Have a family history of heart disease or diabetes? You could be headed for the same trouble, especially if you're over 40 and female.

There are no obvious symptoms from high blood sugar or the condition called insulin resistance, so few people realize it is creeping up and putting them on the path to diabetes, heart disease or both.

But insulin resistance, a type of pre-diabetes, is a growing national problem: Some experts believe half of all overweight or obese American adults are insulin-resistant.

Yet, even many women with a family history of heart disease or diabetes don't know they need to eat a healthier diet and get more exercise to avoid those problems — two of the nation's top killers.

"We think this is a very important new issue for women," said Audrey Sheppard, chief executive of the National Women's Health Resource Center. "There's very little awareness."

As women enter the years leading to menopause, the hormonal changes that trigger hot flashes and end menstruation make women more likely to add fat around the waistline than in other places. A key tipoff of looming trouble is a waistline over 34 inches, according to one expert. (For men, it's 40 inches.)

Fat also builds up in the liver and other vital organs, predisposing them to insulin resistance, a condition in which insulin no longer can inject enough glucose into the body's cells for fuel, said Dr. David Katz, co-founder of the Yale Prevention Research Center and author of several books on weight control.

The body's compensatory mechanisms eventually fail, blood pressure rises along with levels of blood sugar and blood fat — making cells even more resistant to insulin. Diabetes, heart disease or both often follow.

"That's the sequence that's occurring in tens of millions of American adults" and an increasing number of children amid the country's obesity epidemic, said Katz. "It's an enormous problem. We're just starting to get doctors' attention."

Besides a family history of heart disease or diabetes, women who had diabetes during pregnancy or who had a baby 9 pounds or heavier are at higher risk of insulin resistance.

Frequent fatigue and cravings for sweets, bread and pasta also may be linked to the problem. But Dr. Henry Kahn, a chronic disease epidemiologist with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said those are vague symptoms that could have other causes.

The women's resource center, based in Red Bank, N.J., has just begun a new public health campaign targeting women aged 40 to 65 because they are at greater risk than others and often hold of the role of Dr. Mom, serving as monitor for the whole family's health.

Besides explaining on its Web site how uncontrolled blood sugar harms the body, the center offers tips for a healthy blood sugar level and suggests questions patients can ask a doctor.

Among research showing the benefits of a healthy lifestyle is a recent CDC study that found modestly overweight adults who worked with nutrition and exercise experts reduced their risk of diabetes by nearly 60 percent over several years, compared with a group that made no changes, said Kahn.

Lalita Kaul, an American Dietetic Association spokeswoman and professor of nutrition at Howard University Medical School, said over the last 25 years, about 70 percent of her patients at risk of diabetes have been able to control their blood sugar with diet and lifestyle changes.

The key diet changes, she said, include eating at least five servings of fruits and vegetables daily; cutting down on sugar and desserts while eating more whole grains; eating less saturated fat and using healthier cooking oils; eating salmon and other fish rich in essential fatty acids a few times a week; and avoiding prepared foods high in sodium, which pushes up blood pressure.

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September 21, 2006
Following The Current
Going With The Flow

The expression going with the flow is a metaphor that applies to navigating a river. When we go with the flow, we follow the current of the river rather than push against it. People who go with the flow may be interpreted as lazy or passive, but to truly go with the flow requires awareness, presence, and the ability to blend one's own energy with the prevailing energy. Going with the flow doesn't mean we toss our oars into the water and kick back in the boat, hoping for the best. Going with the flow means we let go of our individual agenda and notice the play of energy all around us. We tap into that energy and flow with it, which gets us going where we need to go a whole lot faster than resistance will.

Going with the flow doesn't mean that we don't know where we're going; it means that we are open to multiple ways of getting there. We are also open to changing our destination, clinging more to the essence of our goal than to the particulars. We acknowledge that letting go and modifying our plans is part of the process. Going with the flow means that we are aware of an energy that is larger than our small selves and we are open to working with it, not against it.

Many of us are afraid of going with the flow because we don't trust that we will get where we want to go if we do. This causes us to cling to plans that aren't working, stick to routes that are obstructed, and obsess over relationships that aren't fulfilling. When you find yourself stuck in these kinds of patterns, do yourself a favor and open to the flow of what is rather than resisting it. Trust that the big river of your life has a plan for you and let it carry you onward. Throw overboard those things that are weighing you down. Be open to revising your maps. Take a deep breath and move into the current.

Today in History

New Zealand: became the first country to grant women the vote (1893)

The golden age

September 14, 2006
Cleansing Your Power Center
Trusting Your Gut

Gut feelings earn their name from the place in the body where they make themselves known. A pang in your gut when you may be doing the wrong thing, or a vibrant zing when your body approves, can guide you reliably at times when logic fails. Sometimes, when logic prevails, we ignore our gut and live to regret it, understanding later that a rational approach is only one way of determining what is going on in a situation and how we should react.

Our gut resides in the neighborhood of our solar plexus and the third chakra just above your belly button. When it is functioning well, we can trust its guidance and adjust our actions accordingly. Many of us have a tendency to hold in this area of our bodies. We may take shallow breaths that never reach this vital nexus that is the source of our empowerment. It is in this place that we find the courage to act, to reach out into the world and create change. When our power center is out of balance, we are timid and out of sync, wishing we had said something we were only able to phrase later when we were alone; wishing we had acted on an opportunity we didn't see until it was past.

In order to utilize your power center, you may want to focus your attention on it more regularly and make time to care for it. You can begin right now by taking a deep breath into your belly. On the exhale, pull your navel in toward your spine so as to empty out completely before taking another deep breath into your belly. When you empty completely, you release stagnant energy and create more space to be filled with fresh, nourishing breath. The more you practice this simple, cleansing exercise, the more clear and communicative your gut feelings will be and the more comfortable you will feel acting on them.

We Don't Need To Suffer

The idea that we have to suffer or live in poverty in order to be spiritual is an old one and can be found in the belief systems of many philosophies. Most of us carry this idea around subconsciously, and we may be holding ourselves back from financial or emotional well-being, believing that this is what we must do in order to be virtuous, spiritually awake, or feel less guilty for the suffering of others.

While it's true that there can be a spiritual purpose to experiencing a lack of material well-being, it is rarely intended to be a permanent or lifelong experience. What we are meant to find when material or emotional resources are in short supply is that there is more to our lives than the physical realm. Intense relationships and material abundance can distract us from the subtler realm of the spirit, so a time of deficiency can be spiritually awakening. However, once we recognize the realm of spirit, and remember to hold it at the center of our lives, there is no reason to dwell in poverty or emotional isolation. In fact, once our connection to spirit is fully intact, we feel so compelled to share our abundance that lack becomes a thing of the past.

If you find that you are experiencing suffering in some area of your physical life, perhaps your spirit is asking you to look deeper in your search for what you want. For example, if you want money so that you can experience the feeling of security but money keeps eluding you, your spirit may be asking you to understand that security is not to be found through money. Security comes from an unshakable connection to your soul. Once you make that connection, money will probably flow more easily into your life. If relationships elude you, your spirit may be calling you to recognize that the love you seek is not to be found in another person. And yet, ironically, once you find the love, your true love may very well appear. If you feel stuck in suffering to live a spiritual life, try to spend some time writing about it. The root of the problem will appear and it may not be what you expected. Remember, the Universe wants you to be happy.

Monday is America's Labor Day, a tradition that got its start in 1882, when the Central Labor Union of New York proposed a "workingman's holiday." Folks in the union voted "yea," and on Tuesday, September 5--a workday--about 10,000 workers paraded triumphantly in New York City. By 1885, various Labor Day events took place across the nation.

Today, Labor Day is summer's last hurrah. But labor's days past were no picnic. Just a few generations ago, American working men and women (and often children, too) struggled just to get weekends off--let alone a long one. Just a few generations ago, people died when labor struggled. Example: the Pullman railway strike of 1894.

"I Owe My Soul to the Company Store"

Just south of Chicago, the town of Pullman was literally owned by George M. Pullman, manufacturer of the Pullman sleeping car used by railroads. Company brochures painted the town as a workers' paradise, "where all that is ugly and discordant and demoralizing is eliminated, and all that inspires to self-respect is generously provided."

In reality, the company town was just that, run by and for the company as a moneymaking venture. One worker said, "We are born in a Pullman house, fed from the Pullman shop, taught in the Pullman school, catechized in the Pullman church, and when we die we shall be buried in the Pullman cemetery and go to the Pullman hell."

"There Is Nothing to Arbitrate"

When depression struck America in 1893, Pullman slashed wages 25 percent, without reducing rents at company houses or prices at the company store. Some 5,000 workers and their families sank deep into the company's debt.

Finally, in May 1894, the workers went on strike. Pullman closed the plant and rebuffed all requests for arbitration. "There is nothing to arbitrate," he said. Stymied, the union called for a boycott of Pullman cars. Beginning June 26, switchmen refused to attach Pullman cars to trains. When railway officials fired the men, trainmen everywhere walked off the job. Railroad traffic across the country ceased.

Railway officials turned to the federal government for help, and got it in spades. The U.S. attorney general, a former railway lawyer, convinced the federal courts to issue a sweeping injunction against all strike activity, arguing that the strikers had formed an illegal conspiracy in restraint of trade under the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, a law passed, ironically, to combat big business. On July 4, 1894, federal troops descended on Chicago to enforce the injunction.

Out of "Pullman Hell"

In the powder-keg atmosphere that followed, soldiers shot into crowds trying to stop trains, and mobs set hundreds of freight cars alight. The strike collapsed. More ominously for workers, though, companies learned to use injunctions from business-friendly courts as a weapon against labor. One injunction threatened to arrest anyone "inducing or attempting to induce . . . any person or persons to abandon the employment of . . . railway companies."

Yet even as the Pullman strike crumbled, the political winds began to shift. In fact, a federal commission called to investigate the incident blamed the government "for not adequately controlling monopoly and corporations, and for failing to reasonably protect the rights of labor." A new, Progressive era was born out of labor's pains.

Eventually, victories would come: the 8-hour workday, the 5-day workweek, improved working conditions, child labor laws, collective bargaining rights--even a national Labor Day, approved by Congress the same year as the Pullman strike.

Michael Himick
Updated September 4, 2006

Back to school--time to hit the books and get some new learnin'. Today, back to school is a yearly ritual. In the Middle Ages, it was a change in thinking over the course of centuries, when European schoolmen rediscovered the classics and opened new worlds of knowledge for the West.

From Church to University

In Europe before the 12th century, education was mostly a church matter, and most schools were attached to monasteries or cathedrals. Most students were bound to be priests or monks, who needed to be able to read the Bible, copy manuscripts, and sing in the choir. Nobles' sons sat in on classes, but the school system was Catholic all the way.

Modern "universities," which began to develop in the 12th century, grew out of the cathedral schools. Two in particular served as models: the University of Bologna, renowned as the preeminent place to study law, and the University of Paris, which pumped out popes and theologians.

Welcoming churchmen and rich men alike, the new universities lived or died by their faculty's reputation. Famous teachers attracted thousands of students to their lectures and disputations--rhetorical showdowns in which one schoolman would "prove" a thesis, then answer objections put to him by another. All the arguments were in Latin, as was pretty much everything else. The students read Latin texts, listened to Latin lectures, and even chatted about the last night's (or knight's) adventures in Latin.

From Apprentices to Masters

Students generally started when they were 15 or 16. After arranging for lodging--there were no dormitories--freshmen had to find masters to study with. Education was like an apprenticeship. Students would attach themselves to a teacher, who often lectured out of his home. The students' fees paid the teacher's expenses.

The apprenticeship focused on the liberal arts. First came the "trivium" of grammar (including Latin literature), rhetoric (with an emphasis on letter writing), and dialectic (logic and reasoning). Then came the "quadrivium" of arithmetic, geometry, astronomy (mixed with astrology), and music.

After four or five years, a student could take oral exams to become a bachelor (Latin baccalaureus), or "novice." At this point, he was qualified to teach at one of the smaller schools. A doctorate could take several more years--10 in the case of theology, Paris's most difficult doctoral program.

Read the Classics, Change the World

The course of study could be arduous. The first lecture of the day was often at 5:00 a.m., and the last wouldn't end until 12 or 13 hours later. A number of students evidently grew impatient toward the end of the day. A law on the books in Padua prohibited students from pounding on their desks to force the teacher to dismiss class early.

Despite the rigors, thousands of students flocked to the new universities. Education was exciting, thanks partly to the recent recovery of texts by Greek greats like Galen, Hippocrates, and--especially--Aristotle (preserved by Islamic scholars). This classical influx transformed European philosophy and theology, planting seeds that flourished in the centuries to come as the Renaissance, Reformation, and Scientific Revolution. The western world went back to school.

Mark Diller
Updated August 28, 2006

ugust 22, 2006

Welcoming A New Member To Your Family

Just as our inner landscape is constantly shifting and changing in response to the world around us, the dynamics of the families we belong to evolve over time. When we welcome an individual into our family-whether that individual is human or animal-a transformation takes place, a shift in the energy of your family unit. The birth or adoption of a child, the introduction of a spouse or stepparent, or the choice to bring a pet into your home can mark a new direction in the life of the family as a whole. A simple welcoming ritual can serve as the platform upon which every member of the household, old and new, gathers together to joyfully mark this new phase of family life. Encouraging every member of the family to take part in the ritual will foster a sense of unity and help members come together to grow into the new family paradigm as a group.

The transition from one family dynamic to another isn't always straightforward. The needs and desires of new members of a household may not always correspond with those of other members of the household. It is precisely because the introduction of a new family member can interrupt the flow of energy upon which the family previously thrived that it is so important to respect the change and honor the induction of the new addition. When welcoming an adult into your family, a sand ceremony can reinforce each member's individuality and symbolically integrate the newest family member into the whole. During the ceremony, parents, children, and extended relations are given sand of a different color or texture and, one by one, pour it into a thoughtfully chosen container. The rainbow of sand can then be displayed as a reminder of family unanimity. To honor the introduction of a child, parents can hold a ritual during which they formally introduce their child to the other members of the family and invite each to speak a blessing over the child. Welcoming a pet can be as simple as coming together in the presence of your new friend and articulating your intention as a family to provide it with a loving and secure atmosphere in which it can flourish.

As each family is different, you may feel more comfortable using a ritual or ceremony of your own design to welcome the new member of your household. However you choose to honor your new family member, know that your decision to acknowledge the manner in which your household has grown will make the transition a beautiful and memorable event in your family history.

A Life Of Learning

Life is the province of learning, and the wisdom we acquire throughout our lives is the reward of existence. As we traverse the winding roads that lead from birth to death, experience is our patient teacher. We exist, bound to human bodies as we are, to evolve, enrolled by the universe in earth school, an informal and individualized academy of living, being, and changing. Life's lessons can take many forms and present us with many challenges. There are scores of mundane lessons that help us learn to navigate with grace, poise, and tolerance in this world. And there are those once-in-a-lifetime lessons that touch us so deeply that they change the course of our lives. The latter can be heartrending, and we may wander through life as unwilling students for a time. But the quality of our lives is based almost entirely on what we derive from our experiences.

Earth school provides us with an education of the heart and the soul, as well as the intellect. The scope of our instruction is dependent on our ability and readiness to accept the lesson laid out before us in the circumstances we face. When we find ourselves blindsided by life, we are free to choose to close our minds or to view the inbuilt lesson in a narrow-minded way. The notion that existence is a never-ending lesson can be dismaying at times. The courses we undertake in earth school can be painful as well as pleasurable, and as taxing as they are eventually rewarding. However, in every situation, relationship, or encounter, a range of lessons can be unearthed. When we choose to consciously take advantage of each of the lessons we are confronted with, we gradually discover that our previous ideas about love, compassion, resilience, grief, fear, trust, and generosity could have been half-formed.

Ultimately, when we acknowledge that growth is an integral part of life and that attending earth school is the responsibility of every individual, the concept of "life as lesson" no longer chafes. We can openly and joyfully look for the blessing buried in the difficulties we face without feeling that we are trapped in a roller-coaster ride of forced learning. Though we cannot always know when we are experiencing a life lesson, the wisdom we accrue will bless us with the keenest hindsight.

August 16, 2006
Coming Out Of Hiding

There are times in our lives when withdrawing from our social obligations and taking some time to be alone is necessary to rejuvenate our energy and renew our connection to ourselves. However, there are also times when withdrawal is a red flag, indicating an underlying sense of depression or some other problem. We may not even have consciously decided to isolate ourselves but wake up one day to find that we have been spending most of our time alone. Perhaps it's been a long time since friends who used to call have given up. Without anyone inviting us out, we sink deeper into alienation.

The longer our isolation lasts, the harder it becomes to reach out to people. It is as if we have failed to exercise a particular muscle, and now it is so weak we don't know how to use it. Yet, in order to return to a healthy, balanced state of being, that's exactly what we need to do. If you find yourself in this situation, call an understanding friend who will listen to you with compassion, not a defensive friend who may have taken your withdrawal personally. The last thing you need is to be chided; a negative response could intensity your isolation. If you don't have a kind friend you can rely on, call a spiritual counselor or therapist. They may be able to help you determine the underlying cause of your isolation and help you find your way out of it.

When you've been in a pattern of secluding yourself, it can begin to seem impossible that you could reenter the world of friendships, conversations, and group activities, but with time, you will. Most people will understand if you take the time to explain that you've fallen out of touch and would like to reconnect. Take your time and be gentle with yourself, starting with one person and building from there. Try to reach out to one new person every week. Before you know it, you will find yourself back in the company of friends.

going into debt for a small whole house generator which runs off natural gas. With the animals, I can't afford to leave in case of a winter power outage. So far we have been lucky with only a couople two day outages in the winter, but it scares me. Summer, we can make it because of the basement. Winter, not a chance.

Blackout

The Re-Name Game
Time for a new globe?

Is it just us, or do country names change faster than you can say "I need a new globe"? In Asia, there's "Myanmar," whose military rulers say they're "looking for a way to release" democracy advocate Aung San Suu Kyi, whose party won 1990 elections. But the BBC calls that the news from "Burma" (and points out that Burma often says it wants to release Suu Kyi--but that she remains under house arrest).

Meanwhile, in Africa, the "Democratic Republic of the Congo" held its first democratic elections in more than 40 years. But you may remember the country as "Zaire." The current president, Joseph Kabila, came to power in 2001. His dad, Laurent Kabila, held power before him and scrapped the Zaire name, instituted by longtime dictator Mobutu Sese Seko.

Finally, in Europe, Serbia and Montenegro have signed the property settlement in their divorce, which started when Montenegrins voted to secede from "Serbia and Montenegro" in May. Today, don't say "Serbia and Montenegro"--say "Serbia" and "Montenegro."

Can't keep up? Here's a quick, across-the-world tour to help keep you up to date on country names--and to remind us all that today's geopolitical knowledge can quickly become tomorrow's geopolitical nonsense.

Is It Burma or Myanmar?

These days, you're likely to hear more about "Myanmar" than you do about "Burma"--even though they refer to the same Southeast Asian nation. Most American media have made the switch to "Myanmar," the name preferred by the nation's leaders. But others still use the old "Burma" name.

Why? Because the United States, Great Britain, and other western countries haven't recognized the name change. The country was called Burma before the military junta now in control seized power, and the decision to change the name "was not approved by any sitting legislature in Burma."

The country's current leaders point out that they didn't really change the name of the country--they only changed it in English. The British colonial administration called the country Burma when it was running the place. But Myanma has been the name of the country in the Burmese language since it became independent in 1948.

A Couple of Congos

As far back as the 15th century, "Kongo" was the name of an important kingdom in central Africa. Since then, two nations have been known by variations on the "Congo" theme.

One Congo is presently known as the Republic of the Congo. It's also been called French Congo, French Equatorial Africa, the People's Republic of the Congo, or just plain Congo. To the east of that Congo lies the Democratic Republic of the Congo--a.k.a. the DRC. The DRC was known as Zaire from 1971 to 1997. It's also been called Belgian Congo.

So how can you keep the two Congos straight? The Nation-Formerly-Known-as-Zaire is the third largest country in Africa, so it's the Congo you're likely to see first on a map. Its capital is Kinshasa. The smaller, more westerly nation is about the size of Montana. Its capital is Brazzaville.

It's Greek to Me

When Yugoslavia imploded in the early 1990s, six countries eventually emerged. At the United Nations, their ambassadors sit behind nameplates that read "Bosnia and Herzegovina," "Republic of Croatia," "Republic of Montenegro," "Republic of Serbia," "Republic of Slovenia," and "The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia."

That last name has proven quite controversial. The name "Macedonia" is very important to the Greeks, who use it for northern Greece, which abuts--you guessed it--"The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia." The ancient region of Macedonia, the birthplace of Alexander the Great, stretched over the current border between the countries.

In 1991, when they learned that the former Yugoslavians were claiming the name "Macedonia," Greeks took to the streets in protest. Then Greece prevented the new nation from getting accepted into the United Nations as the "Republic of Macedonia." ("The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" was a compromise.) The dispute is unresolved.

Power to the People

Of course, it's an age-old tradition that, after people rise up and kick out their oppressors, they quickly change the names their oppressors gave them. For a few decades, mapmakers could hardly revise their atlases fast enough to keep up with nations shedding colonial names. Rhodesia became Zimbabwe, Ceylon became Sri Lanka, and the French Territory of the Afars and Issas became Djibouti.

Then, in the 1990s, as the communists lost power, another wave of changes rolled across the globe. No one will ever again travel to "Czechoslovakia," for instance. It peacefully disappeared from the map, replaced by the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Draw your maps in pencil, friends--the world changes all the time.

Colleen Kelly
Updated August 3, 2006

Here is a site to send a card to a person in the military. It is absolutely free to send.

http://www.letssaythanks.com/

Daily OM

August 4, 2006
A Citizen Of The World

As the technology of travel grows ever more refined, the world grows smaller. Whereas a journey of a hundred miles once took many days, we can now travel across the globe in mere hours. The four corners of the earth are accessible by plane, train, and ship, and there are few pleasures in life as soul-stirring and transformative as travel. In a new land, the simplest of joys can be profound-meditation takes on a new quality because the energy in which we are immersed is unfamiliar. Our sensory experiences are entirely novel. Yet the relative ease with which we can step out of our own culture in order to explore another means that we are ambassadors representing not only our own way of life but also the culture of the traveler. As a conscious citizen of the world, you can add value to the locales you visit while simultaneously broadening your own perspective.

A truly aware traveler sees each new journey as an opportunity to improve international relations, spread goodness, and gain a greater understanding of humanity. To immerse yourself in foreign cultures is to open your mind to fresh ways of being. Your natural curiosity can help you navigate the subtleties that define a culture. While you may not agree with all the traditions or laws of a country, abiding by them demonstrates that you understand and respect their value. Staying centered in another culture is often simply a matter of learning about your destination, being patient with yourself and others, and accepting that people may treat you as an example of your country's attitudes. New worlds will open to you when you take part in the everyday life of a locale-the reality of a destination is in its markets, its streets, and its people.

Traveling presents a wonderful opportunity to practice being open-minded and grounded. The voyages you make help cultivate a worldwide community in which we as humans can acknowledge and appreciate our differences as much as we recognize and appreciate our similarities. Though you will eventually return home, the positive impression you leave behind will remain as a testament to the respect and amicability that marked your intercultural interactions.

American wag Will Rogers once said, "I never expected to see the day when girls would get sunburned in the places they now do." And he died in 1935, eleven years before the birth of the bikini! Yes, the bikini is 60 years old this summer.

Since the bikini's introduction, bathing suits have gotten positively Roman. At their beloved baths, Romans let it all hang out, or wrapped themselves in scanty straps of cloth or leather for a little exercise support. How'd we get back to that? Here's a "brief" history--a look at how yesterday's big bloomers became today's shrinking briefs. Our story starts outside London, around the time Roman-style baths came back into vogue.

I See London . . .

In the 1660s, after the end of England's bloody civil war, notorious English playboy King Charles II decided it was time for a bath. So he and all his court embraced the idea of a fashionable bathing resort at Tunbridge Wells, just southeast of London. But even a king and a camp full of courtiers couldn't strip down in public.

On the contrary, English bathing suits in the 17th and 18th centuries required enough canvas to launch the Royal Navy. Male bathers wore heavy canvas waistcoats, canvas undershorts and shoes, and a linen cap. Women donned canvas gowns over petticoats that had weights sewn into the hems to keep the skirts from floating up.

A porcelain complexion was de rigueur for both ladies and gentleman (suntans being strictly for peasants). So, in spa towns like Tunbridge Wells and Bath, the fashionable set rode from their lodgings to the baths inside sedan chairs carried by porters. The porters brought men and women into segregated slips--anterooms to the main pool. There, guides led them to stone seats where they could enjoy the mineral water.

I See France . . .

Later, as Napoleon conquered Europe, the upstairs classes began abandoning spa towns for the sea. But a casual dip at a place like Brighton still required a formidable ensemble. Ads show bathing beauties in lace-trimmed dresses (sometimes worn over trousers) with bonnets, shawls, stockings, and shoes. And no respectable woman ventured into the sea without a bathing machine--a horse-drawn cabana where she may have shed an article or two, but not much more.

By the mid-19th century, the working classes were pouring out of smoggy cities for a day of leisure at the beach, too. Men wore a full-length wool unitard, with the (oh my!) arms and upper chest bare. Women struggled into the two-piece belted costumes that had replaced the wool flannel dress. The top was typically square-cut like a sailor's jacket, while the bottom was a generous trouser, courtesy of fashion maverick Amelia Bloomer.

In 1907, Australian swimmer Annette Kellerman horrified Boston beachgoers when she appeared in a one-piece wool swimsuit that ended mid-thigh, resembling a man's bathing suit. Kellerman was arrested. But a year later, every girl was wearing one. Soon, fellas ditched the black unitards and put on brightly hued tank tops and shorts. Gals wore similar two-piece outfits or one-piece tank suits.

I See Everyone's Underpants

Finally, on July 5, 1946, four days after the United States had tested an atom bomb on a chain of islands in the South Pacific, French engineer Louis Reard unveiled a new concept in swimwear: 30 shocking square inches of fabric that "revealed everything about the girl except her mother's maiden name." Reard named his swimsuit the bikini, after the newly radioactive Bikini Atoll, and hired a stripper to model it.

Although actresses like Brigitte Bardot made it famous on film, the bikini stayed on hangers for more than a decade. Spain, Italy, and other countries even banned it from the beach. Then, in 1960, singer Brian Hyland helped market the two-piece with a hit song: "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini." Bikini sales skyrocketed.

Designer Rudi Gernreich tried to one-up the bikini with a topless suit called the monokini in 1964. By the 1970s, the Brazilians were pushing the envelope, too--with the tanga, better known as the thong. Today, covering up at the beach is rare (many European beaches are top-optional), and despite shelves of sunscreen, reports of skin cancer have reached all-time highs. Bathing machine, anyone?

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dog days \DOG-DAYZ\ noun

*1 : the hot sultry period of summer between early July and early September in the northern hemisphere
2 : a period of stagnation or inactivity

Example sentence:
With the steamy dog days upon us, air conditioners are selling like hotcakes.

Did you know?
Dogs aren't the only creatures uncomfortable in oppressive heat, so why does a dog get singled out in "dog days"? The dog here is actually the Dog Star, which is also called "Sirius." The star has long been associated with sultry weather in the northern hemisphere because it rises simultaneously with the sun during the hottest days of summer. In the ancient Greek constellation system, this star (called "Seirios" in Greek) was considered the hound of the hunter Orion and was given the epithet "Kyon," meaning "dog." The Greek writer Plutarch referred to the hot days of summer as "hēmerai kynades" (literally, "dog days") and a Latin translation of this expression as "dies caniculares" is the source of our English phrase.

You Are Not Crazy

Most of us feel a little crazy from time to time. Periods of high stress can make us feel like we're losing it, as can being surrounded by people whose values are very different from our own. Losing a significant relationship and moving into a new life situation are other events that can cause us to feel off kilter. Circumstances like these recur in our lives, and they naturally affect our mental stability. The symptoms of our state of mind can range from having no recollection of putting our car keys where we eventually find them, to wondering if we're seeing things clearly when everyone around us seems to be in denial of what's going on right in front of their eyes. For most of us, the key to survival at times like these is to step back, take a deep breath, and regain our composure. Then we can decide what course of action to take.

Sometimes a time-out does the trick. We take a day off from whatever is making us feel crazy and, like magic, we feel in our right mind again. Talking to an objective friend can also help. We begin to see what it is about the situation that destabilizes us, and we can make changes from there. At other times, if the situation is particularly sticky, we may need to seek professional help. Meeting with someone who understands the way the human mind reacts to stress, loss, and difficulty can make us feel less alone and more supported. A therapist or a spiritual counselor can give us techniques that help bring us back to a sane state of mind so that we can affect useful changes. They can also mirror our basic goodness, helping us to see that we are actually okay.

The main purpose of the wake-up call that feeling crazy provides is to let us know that something in our lives is out of balance. Confirm for yourself that you are capable of creating a sane and peaceful reality for yourself. Try to remember that most people have felt, at one time or another, that they are losing it. You deserve a life that helps you thrive. Try and take some steps today to help you achieve more balance and a little less crazy.

I didn't get to have my lobster...a major power grid went out and the restaurants were out of power as well :(

It was hot hot hot...over 28thousand without electricity for a long time! We turned on the motorhome and stayed cool in it LOL

My adelphia service just came online as well...boy what a birthday LOL I made dinner outside the motorhome like we were camping LOL

Thanx again for your wonderful birthday greetings!