This blog is fictional in nature, based on the stories and the references in the books from Leichelle. Though from time to time I will post current events and discussions. All material used is referenced to its respective authors and owners. The opinions, views, and comments expressed on this site are of the individual's making them. The fictional content might not reflect the views of Leichelle.
Hey My Favorite Knowledge Gourmets!
Well I know I am not the first to say it and I won't be the last...but humans have definitely lost the art of original creativity. I guess the years of MTV and reality shows have made every brain dead and forgotten what true entertainment is. Did we just talk about entertainment people not taking risks just a few weeks ago?? Well the death by sequel and remake seem to be on the up rise. Now I am not downing all remakes....some of them need to be done. The top ones on my list
1. The Firm
2. The Matrix Reloaded (though I LOVE the freeway sequence)
3. For the Roses/Come Spring (based on J. Garwood's awesome books)
4. Dune
5. Starship Troopers
Remakes or Sequels that we could have done without or are not necessary
1. Clash of the Titans
2. Ghostbusters
3. The Matrix Revolutions
4. Point Break
5. Honey We Shrunk Ourselves
6. Avatar 2 & 3 (I mean really?)
That's my short list off the top of my head while sitting here trying to not be too critical since I am not a movie maker or script writer...but people please. Does the industry think we are all stupid? Really! If you are going to charge me $15 at least let me come away with good memories and something I might recommend or even buy when it comes out on Blu-Ray. I am sure that if you do a search on the internet you'll find plenty of lists of what should be remade and what should be touched since its a classic. Of course bring a movie into the current times isn't always bad...I do find myself getting a great laugh when I see old technology that many are scratching their heads over what is that.
With that said, I am actually looking forward to the remake of the Magnificent Seven!!! Yes sir and Yes ma'am! Check out the trailer and tell me what you think!! Magnificent Seven Trailer Click Here
Another remake, especially for those of use who read the books is Tarzan! Here's another Wow oh Wow trailer! The Legend of Tarzan Click Here Alright people let's get cooking and be creative and imaginative today!
The Chef
Hello Everybody!
Whew...what in the world happened to April!?! Did someone accidentally hit the fast-forward button? Some get their foot off the gas pedal and slow things down a bit, please!! I am just not quite ready for summer...yesh!
Today Autism in on the table. I always believed it was all those crazy pregnant women that wouldn't give up their coffee that caused autism. I never believed that faker that said it was vaccinations, boy was that a fiasco! Any way here some more information to keep you in the know.
Until next time my knowledge gourmets,
The Chef
To Vaccinate or Not: Calming Worried Parents
Arthur L. Caplan, PhD; Paul A. Offit, MD
Close Up With Paul Offit
Arthur L. Caplan, PhD: Welcome
to Close-Up With Art Caplan. I am very excited today to have as my
guest Dr. Paul Offit, Head of Infectious Diseases at the Children's
Hospital of Philadelphia. Thank you so much for coming. Paul A. Offit, MD: Thank you, Art. Dr. Caplan: It's
fair to say that, in my view, Paul is the leading advocate and has done
more for promoting vaccination than anybody else I know in the world.
He has been a staunch advocate of helping kids receive necessary
vaccines and has been a pioneer himself in vaccine research.
Calming a Parent's Vaccine Fears
Dr. Caplan: In
your experience, what can be done to calm parents who are worried and
hear such things as, "My child got sick after a vaccination"? Putting
aside the lack of merit behind some of those fears, how do you calm a
parent down? Dr. Offit: A fear was raised originally in
the late 1990s and early 2000s that vaccines caused autism. Fair enough.
From the parent standpoint, my child was fine, he or she got a vaccine,
and now my child is showing signs and symptoms consistent with autism.
Could vaccines have done it?
The good news is that this is an
answerable question. It has been answered in a scientific venue. Tens of
millions of dollars have been spent by public health and academic
professionals to try and answer this question: If you receive a vaccine,
are you at greater risk for autism than if you don't receive a vaccine?
Now we can comfortably say to parents that those 2 things are not
causally associated. Vaccines don't cause autism. Dr. Caplan: So we have a mountain of evidence? Dr. Offit: Yes.
The problem isn't that parents have the questions. It's fair that they
have the questions. Nor is the problem that people haven't responded
with millions of dollars to answer the question. They have answered the
question. So, what now? Why, with all that information on hand, can't we
convince people?
I don't think it's a lot of people, but some
people simply have the fear, and it's hard to make the fear go away. In
part, it is because we haven't identified a clear cause or causes for
autism. We don't have a definitive cure for autism, so that keeps the
fear running.
Consider diabetes in the 1800s, when people didn't
know what caused it. There were many thoughts about what caused it, and
many thoughts about what could cure it. When Banting and Best discovered
insulin and we knew the cause of diabetes, and how to cure it, all of
the myths disappeared. For something like autism, that may be what it's
going to take. Dr. Caplan: Do you think that it would help
to say to a parent that there are suggestions that older parents are
more likely to have a child with autism, or that environmental toxins
might be associated with autism? I have seen these things explored as
causes of autism. Would it calm their fears to say that there may be
other factors that we are chasing besides vaccines as causes of autism? Dr. Offit: You
can certainly say that, with respect to environmental factors, vaccines
are clearly the best studied, and many factors have been looked at in
autism research that make sense and are confluent. Clearly, there is a
genetic predisposition for autism. If you look at the proteins that
those genes make -- the so-called developmental proteins -- they are
often expressed in the first or early second trimester. Environmental
factors, such as valproic acid, thalidomide, or rubella virus, increase
the risk for autism because they affect the child in utero.
Eric Courchesne and colleagues[1]
at the University of California, San Diego, showed that there are
folding abnormalities in the brain. You can actually see the foldings in
utero by looking at the child's brain, so it's all consistent.
When you have autism, you are born with autism. There is no changing that, and to some people, that is helpful to know.
Responding to "That's Too Many Vaccines"
Dr. Caplan: What about parents who are worried about their child receiving too many vaccines at once? How do we handle that concern? Dr. Offit: I
don't care how sophisticated you are about virology or microbiology or
immunology -- when you watch your child lie down on that white paper and
receive as many as 5 injections at once, it looks like it's too much.
When
you are in the womb, you are in a sterile environment. When you enter
the birth canal and the world, you are not, and very quickly there are
trillions of bacteria on the surface of your body. I'm not trying to
sound like Carl Sagan, but you have about 100,000 trillion (1014)
bacteria on the surface of your body. You actually have more bacteria
on the surface of your body than the number of cells in your body.
We
have a way of carrying bacteria from one place to the next, and to
which you make an immune response. Adults typically make as much as 5 g
of secretory immunoglobulin A and immunoglobulin G daily to make sure
that those bacteria stay at the mucosal surface.
One
single bacterium out of the trillions of bacteria on your mucosal
surfaces has between 2000 and 6000 immunologic components. If you add up
all of the immunologic components in vaccines that are given in the
first few years of life, it comes to about 160. It's literally a drop in
the ocean of what you encounter and manage everyday, but you don't see
that. Dr. Caplan: When the parent comes in and says, "I'm
worried about too many vaccines," and then goes home and lets the child
crawl on the floor or lets the dog lick the child, is that worth
pointing out to them? They are not exposed only to what is there
naturally, but they are exposed to lots of agents in the ordinary course
of wandering around the house. Dr. Offit: And that is
good, because it educates the immune system away from this Th2 response
toward the so-called Th1 response. It makes you less likely to be
allergic as you get older. That actually helps, but if people really
want to scare themselves, they should take a cotton swab and swab the
inside of the child's nose, put it on a wet-mount microscope slide, and
look at it. If it's teeming with bacteria to which your child makes an
immune response, that's a greater challenge than what you ever receive
in a vaccine. Dr. Caplan: So those metaphors could help. Dr. Offit: I think so, yes.
A Lose/Lose Situation for Clinicians
Dr. Caplan: Here
is another issue. Many doctors and nurses have had people come in and
say, "I don't want to vaccinate." What can we do with them? Should we
say, "Stop coming here," or should we try to work with them? Should we
say, "We will stretch out the vaccine schedule"? What's your view about
that? Dr. Offit: I feel
sorry for the private practicing clinician, my wife being one of them.
It's a lose/lose situation. On the one hand, the doctor can say, "I'm
going to do the best I can to give this child whatever vaccines I can,"
knowing that you are sending the child away less than fully vaccinated,
and knowing that this is going to be a progressively more dangerous
world where there is a greater incidence of measles, whooping cough, and
bacterial meningitis. Dr. Caplan: We have had outbreaks of all those diseases in the past year. Dr. Offit: Now,
you know you are practicing substandard care. You know you are putting
the child at risk, and so it's hard for doctors. But on the other hand,
they can say, "If I don't at least try and play it the parent's way,
where does the person go then? Do they just go to a chiropractor who is
perfectly willing to not vaccinate their children, or to another doctor
who is willing to give them no vaccines?"
I
have seen my wife progress through this, and she has gone 180° toward
the opposite view. She is far more passionate. She says, "Let me love
your child. Don't put me in a position where I have to practice
substandard care. Don't put me in a position where I'm sending your
child out into this world that is becoming progressively more dangerous,
where they can get pneumococcal disease or varicella and suffer that.
Don't put me in that position. It's like coming to me and saying, 'I
love my child, but I don't trust car seats.'" Dr. Caplan: I like that "let me love your child" angle. It
makes an alliance with the parents. What about when a child who hasn't
been vaccinated comes to the clinic? Do you say, "Don't mix with the
other patients in the waiting room"?
Do Parents Have a Responsibility to Others?
Dr. Offit: That's a good question: Do you have a responsibility to the waiting room?
In
the measles outbreak in San Diego that occurred a few years ago, that
is exactly what happened. The mother didn't vaccinate her children, and
she took her children to Switzerland. The 7-year-old got measles, came
back, and was sitting in the waiting room. The mother didn't know what
it was. She had never seen measles before.
The
child had fever and a rash, and was exposing everybody else in the
waiting room. Three of the children in the waiting room were less than 1
year of age and hadn't yet been vaccinated. All were severely infected
with measles, were admitted to the hospital, and one almost died. The
mother of the child who almost died said, "She made a decision for me."
Did she have a right to make that decision? Dr. Caplan: Ethically,
it may be important to let people know you vaccinate not only to
protect your own child, but also to protect your neighbor, and I don't
think people understand that clearly. Sometimes it seems that it is all
self-interest. Dr. Offit: Do we have a responsibility to
our neighbor? Is it our inalienable right to catch and transmit a
potentially fatal infection? I would like to think that the answer is
no. Dr. Caplan: Pushing
that a little further, there have been movements in several states --
Rhode Island, for example -- mandating flu vaccines for pre-kindergarten
and daycare, saying that children can't go to these places unless they
are vaccinated. I think it includes the teachers now as well. Is this a
good idea? Should we push harder for that kind of requirement? Dr. Offit: You
are seeing what has happened. Before the 1970s, there were medical
exemptions to vaccination, but no philosophical or religious exemptions.
Those were established in the 1970s and 1980s, so now 41 states have
religious exemptions, and 20 states have philosophical exemptions to
vaccines. Dr. Caplan: "Philosophical" just means "I don't like it." Dr. Offit: I'm not sure. It never made much sense to me. Dr. Caplan: As a philosopher, it seems to me it is a deep philosophical objection. Dr. Offit: Philo means love, and sophia means wisdom. Where is the wisdom that says not getting a vaccine is better than getting one?
We
are seeing the consequences of those exemptions. When we see such
outbreaks as measles or whooping cough, invariably they are centered on
groups of people who have chosen to not vaccinate their children. Not
only do they serve as a reservoir for the children to become infected,
but they infect members of the surrounding community, so now we are
starting to see pushback. There was an article in JAMA Pediatrics[2] on this topic, and we are seeing legislation not for expanding those exemptions, but for contracting them. Dr. Caplan: It
seems to me that it still can be respectful of somebody's right to
choose if you say you have to watch a video program about vaccines or
certify that your doctor discussed the risks and benefits with you. I
don't think those requirements are too intrusive into somebody's
liberty. Dr. Offit: My problem is this: Is it your right
to choose to put your child at risk and those who are going to come in
contact with your child? On the one hand, we are trained as physicians
to be open to all attitudes and beliefs. On the other hand, we watch
children come into our hospitals. Every year, at least 1 will die of an
infectious disease, and when you watch that happen -- when you watch a
child get flu, for example, and come into the hospital initially on
face-mask oxygen, and go onto a ventilator, and then an oscillator, and
then a heart/lung machine, and then die -- you see those parents slowly
watch their child fall off a cliff. When another parent comes to you a
week later and says, "I don't want to give my child a flu vaccine," it's
very hard to be passionate and say, "It's your right to choose." I just
don't feel that way.
Expand Vaccines for Pregnant Women
Dr. Caplan: We
have spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to manage resistance,
fears, and doubts. Where are we going? What is coming down the line?
Are we going to continue to give vaccines through needles? Are we going
to have the same array of vaccines, or are new ones imminent? What does
the future hold with respect to vaccination? Dr. Offit: I
predict that the next great platform will be the pregnancy platform.
You are already seeing it to some extent. We now give the whooping cough
vaccine in the third trimester of pregnancy to try and prevent the
deaths of 20-30 children every year from whooping cough, all of whom are
less than 2 months of age. That is the only way to prevent that. Dr. Caplan: And they die because they don't have any immunity to it? Dr. Offit: That's
right. They are too young to have developed an active immune response,
and too young to be vaccinated. The first vaccine is given at 2 months
of age, so that is why we give pregnant women a pertussis vaccine. We
give the flu vaccine primarily to protect the mother who is pregnant and
who has a 7-fold increased risk of developing pneumonia and dying of it
than if she was not pregnant. We could have a meningococcal vaccine in
pregnancy to avoid the need for the meningococcal vaccine that is given
in the first year of life. I would like to think that down the line, we
will have a respiratory syncytial virus vaccine that is given during
pregnancy. Dr. Caplan: Those are disorders that people often mistake for the flu. Dr. Offit: Another
disease is group B streptococcus. All of those would be reasonable
vaccines to give to pregnant women, and they would benefit the newborns. Dr. Caplan: There
is more to be said here, but hopefully we have provided some useful
information, solid tips, and maybe even some management strategies to
those in the field who are trying to engage vaccination.
Thank you
for all of the work you have done to promote vaccination and grapple
with these questions in public. You have been a great example to
physicians who say to me often, how do I engage? What do I do? You
write, you speak, you go toe-to-toe with critics on national television
or at a local high school assembly. You have shown a clear-cut path as
to how that should be done.
So the email from the concerned mom basically states, "If you have a penis, pee in the bathroom with the urinals. If you have a vagina use the appropriate bathroom. Urinating according to how you "feel" is not something I should be teaching my impressionable children. Of course when our sons start getting sodomized and our daughters raped we'll see what our fellow transgenders have to say then."
From Concerned Mom
So there you have it ladies and gentlemen. Concerned mom is in support of North Carolina and is asking others to help her with this ever evolving issue. Maybe we don't need public restrooms anymore....maybe the route to go is making sure you go before you leave the house will become the new norm.
Also remember we are to treat everyone fairly. We should never discriminate, even if we don't agree. You might think all penises should be with other penises and the same for the female genitalia but we are living in a world where the fight against labels and people with evil hearts and intentions, so we must all be careful. Arm yourself with knowledge and information. Below I have put the ACLU has to say. Decide for yourselves.
Alright people keep those Hot Potato Topics coming! And if you're looking for something new to add to your blog listing, check out Finances Are Us and stay informed. This week they will discussing retirement.
Yours in the Kitchen,
The Chef
Open Letter to Schools about Restroom and Locker Room Access for Transgender Students
This open letter to principals and superintendents explains why
public schools have a legal obligation to allow transgender students to
use restrooms and locker rooms that correspond with their gender
identity.
Re: Transgender students’ access to sex
-segregated facilities
Dear Principal or Superintendent:
You have been presented with this letter because at least one of your schools may be denying transgender students access to the same restrooms and facilities used by other students that correspond to their gender identity. The school’s decision to exclude transgender boys from the boys’ facilities and transgender girls from the girls’ facilities harms transgender students by
stigmatizing them and impairing their ability to participate fully at school and to enjoy a safe learning environment. I write to in form you that allowing transgender students to access restrooms and other sex-segregated
facilities that correspond to the gender they live every day not only is in the
best interest of the students, but also is required by federal antidiscrimination
law.
Background
A transgender person is someone whose gender identity is different from the
sex they were assigned at birth. For example, a transgender boy is a person
who was assigned the sex female at birth, but his gender identity is male.
Gender identity is a person’s deeply held sense of their own gender.
Medical opinion is unequivocal that gender identity is not a choice.
Many people in school or even before they reach school age have and express a clearly established gender identity that is different from the sex they were assigned at birth.
Requiring transgender students to use the restrooms that correspond with the sex they were assigned at birth, instead of the gender they live every day,
or requiring them to use separate single user restrooms, is profoundly harmful.
Excluding transgender students from the same restrooms used by other students that correspond to their gender identity sends a message to transgender students and their peers that transgender students
should be treated differently and that their mere presence in
the same facilities used by their peers is unacceptable. When transgender students are required to use separate facilities, it does not go unnoticed by other students. Being separated from other students in this way would be damaging to anyone, but it is especially harmful for transgender children. Transgender children are at heightened risk of stress and victimization by other children and adults, and those stressors can lead to problems in adulthood including post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, and suicidality.
2
In addition, requiring transgender students to use single user restrooms can cause a host of problems because those facilities may be far from classrooms, causing students to be late for class after using the restroom. Students often try not to use the restroom even though they need to leading to painful urinary tract infections or other problems to avoid being tardy or being forced to use restrooms that do not correspond to their gender identity. Your school or school district’s refusal to allow transgender students to use the appropriate facilities harms their health and well being and disregards widely accepted standards of medical care for transgender people. It also violates federal antidiscrimination law, as explained below.
Legal Analysis
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (“Title IX”) prohibits
discrimination based on sex in any education program, such as a public
school, that receives federal financial assistance.
3
Federal courts have ruled that Title IX’s prohibition on discrimination “on the basis of sex” protects students from discrimination based on their gender identity, gender nonconformity, or transgender status.
4
Likewise, many courts have also recognized that discrimination against transgender people is sex discrimination under other federal laws.
5
Additionally, many states explicitly prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity.
Read entire letter at
https://www.aclu.org/letter/open-letter-schools-about-restroom-and-locker-room-access-transgender-students
Thrifting is a fun and responsible way to make the most from your
shopping dollar. Not only can thrifting provide unique, rare, and
vintage accessories for your wardrobe and home, it is a form of
recycling that reduces environmental waste and sweatshop labor. Make the
most of your thrifting trips by learning how, where, and when to do
your shopping.
Part 1
Shopping at Thrift Stores
1
Decide what you are looking for. Listing is a handy way of establishing shopping goals. Also consider the following:[1]
It is often best to have a "master list" and then create a smaller list of short term goals that need to be addressed first.
Be prepared to search. Some thrift stores are well-organized by
gender, size, type of item, or other metrics. Others are a free-for-all
of bins and warehouse space. Dress appropriately and be prepared to
sort, lift, tug, and push your way through second-hand items
2
Try things on. Without trying clothing on, it's difficult to tell whether it is worth your money.[2][3]
Ask for a fitting room with a mirror or a convenient restroom.
Dress in form fitting attire in case a fitting room is not
available. That way you can try on clothing over your existing clothes.
3
Assess quality. Thrift store items are purchased "as
is"; therefore, it is important to look all purchases over thoroughly
before committing to a purchase. Some things to look for are:[4]
If looking at clothing, check seams, cuffs and collars for wear and
damage. Also look for staining around the neck, armpit, and inseam.
For furniture, make sure that it is sturdy and does not require repairs you are unable to provide.
For appliances, ask to plug the item in to make sure it works before purchasing.
Check the washing instructions. Getting a silk shirt for $3 dollars
initially looks like a great deal; however, when you consider that it's
"dry clean only," the savings aren't nearly so great.
4
Have vision. Part of thrift shopping is having a
basic idea in mind but being open to opportunities when you find them.
Consider the following:[5]
Recognize when a clothing item could be repaired or resized with minimal tailoring.
Have a style and color scheme in mind for each room you are
decorating. This ensures consistency of theme and avoids impulse
purchases.
Listen to your gut. Sometimes you may come across an item that you
weren't looking for but which is unique, classic, and perfect for a
place in your home.
5
Set shopping limits. You never know what you'll find thrift shopping and the temptation to impulse buy is strong. Ways to avoid over-purchasing are:[6][7]
Go shopping with a price limit in mind and stick to it. This may be a
limit you set per item, or for the overall trip, but the idea is to
remain mindful of how much you are spending.
Don't buy it unless you love it. If you are on the fence about
something, take another spin around the store and think about it. If you
come back and aren't committed, it wasn't meant to be.
Part 2
Thrifting Tips and Tricks
1
Use your smart phone. This works great for vintage or
antique items when you are not sure an item is worth the price listed.
Go to Google or eBay and see what it would retail for elsewhere.[8]
2
Shop for sales. Many stores like Goodwill have weekly
"Tag sales," where items with a certain color tag go on sale. Other
stores have clearance racks or do periodic sales to clear out inventory.
Some larger volume stores even do sales by the pound for items like
clothes and linens.[9]
Don't be afraid to haggle. Did you just miss a sale on a large item
purchase? Are you making multiple purchases and want to round off the
total? Don't be afraid to ask for reasonable accommodation, especially
if you are a regular customer.
Don't believe the "SOLD" sign. Sometimes the item is already paid
for; however, often people say they will come back for something then
find something else they like better at a different store. If you see
something you love with a sold sign, talk to an employee and/or manager.
It's possible the item has been sitting like that for days and no one
remember to remove the sign.
Always ask for a discount. Does the item in question have a few
flaws that are worth a discount? Is the store running a sale that day?
If you are buying sale items, often employees can extend the sale to the
rest of the items in your purchase.
3
Look for "best value" items. Some types show up in
thrift shops looking kind worn out or dated. Other items are donated
regularly and you'd never know they were used or second-hand. Look
particularly for the items below:[10]
Belts: Accessories like belts are one of the first items to get
decommissioned from a wardrobe when styles change. An advantage to belts
is that, with a little creativity, the buckles can be replaced and a
strip of plain leather doesn't really go out of style.[11]
Shoes: Decent leather shoes command steep prices in most retail
stores, so when you can pick up gently used ones at a thrift store for
90% less, it's a significant savings for your budget. Plus with a little
oil and polish, they can look brand new.[12]
Furniture: Often stores like Rooms-to-Go and Target will donate last
season's merchandise to area thrift stores for tax purposes. In
addition, vintage furniture can be recovered, repainted, or
reupholstered with new fabric to look like a chic DIY dream.[13]
Jeans: New branded jeans can run from $50 to upwards of $200 dollars
while shopping for next-to-new, second-hand jeans usually means paying
$10-25 a pair. Especially after Christmas, it's easy to find them with
tags still intact.
4
Talk to thrift store employees. The people who work in thrift stores are a wealth of information. Things to ask about are:
What days do shipments arrive? Employees can tell you what days they get new items in and when things go on sale.
Who are they partnered with? They can tell you whether their store
has a donation program with a larger retain store where they take
possession of clearance items from a prior season.
Have you seen [x] item? If you are a regular customer and make
donations, thrift stores will often let you know via phone or email when
a specific item you are looking for comes it.
5
Know how to spot a bargain. People often send items to thrift stores not knowing their actual value. Consider the following when thrift shopping:
Brand warranties: Some appliances and kitchen tools have lifetime
warranties. For example, Le Creuset cookware is ensured against rust
along with other cosmetic issues. Proof of purchase is not required to
send an item back to the factory and receive a replacement, free of
charge.
Antiques and hidden treasures. Despite wear and condition, items
often go to thrift stores that are invaluable, based on their rarity and
place within history. If you suspect you've found such an antique, use a
smart phone to look for it online and see the price tag other sellers
have placed on it.
Part 3
Finding Thrift Stores
1
Search online. Many thrift stores have websites that
will show up in a basic search. Also consider using thethriftshopper.com
to find smaller, independent stores along with larger stores in your
area.
2
Consider location. The types of residents living
around a thrift store can be a good indicator of the sort of items and
level of quality you can expect from a thrift store. For example:[14][15]
Thrift stores in more affluent neighborhoods have better quality
furnishings than thrift stores in other parts of town. Also, residents
in affluent areas are more likely to redecorate based on style and not
necessity, meaning that it can be easier to find matching items of good
quality.
Thrift stores near college campuses are always stocking name brand clothing.
3
Thrift on vacation if possible. This works best when
vacationing with a car. Especially if you are visiting a large city,
larger volume thrift stores tend to offer a wider selection of items,
often of better quality. there's also the chance that trends in the area
you are visiting are different than where you are from, and you could
find unique and eclectic items.[16]
4
Utilize other discount shopping venues. Thrift stores are not the only source of bargain shopping.
Flea markets. Show up early-- 6am is a good estimate. Do a
sweep for furniture items first, picking and choosing what you want.
Don't be afraid to haggle, but be fair to the seller. Once you've found
furniture and larger items, load them and look for smaller items--
furniture, accessories, clothing, etc.[17]
Consignment stores. These are a type of second hand store that
purchases clothing from sellers as opposed to selling donations. This
makes them more expensive than thrift stores, but they are a dependable
source of well-made, discounted, name brand clothing that is in fashion
at the time of purchase.
Neighborhood yard sales. While yard sales occur in every city almost
every weekend, in order to maximize shopping and save time, look for
neighborhood yard sales. These often take place in a single location,
like a church or school, or span several blocks, with people selling
from their own yards. These are a great way to find furniture and
antiques.
Estate sales. The ultimate source for gently used antiques, ranging
from furniture and dishes, to jewelry and quilts. These take place
literally on the "estate" where a person lived and require a little more
foreknowledge and research in order to get the best deals.[18]
Part 4
Creating a Thrifting Schedule
1
Get on email lists and shop online when possible.
Most chain thrift outlets like Goodwill and the Salvation Army will put
you on a mailing list for coupon and sale opportunities.
These same stores often take pictures of furniture and other "in
demand" items and post them online. Reviewing online offerings before
shopping can save you trips around town.
2
Shop seasonally. Anticipate what people will be
turning out of their closets at certain times during the year. When
planning your thrifting trips, for certain items, consider the
following:
Shop for summer clothes in the fall when people are thinning out
their warm weather clothes in favor of sweaters and coats. The same goes
for getting winter clothes in the spring.
Look for kitchen items and accessories after college graduations.
When students are done with school, they often move back home or to a
new city for employment, leaving behind many gently-used kitchen items,
lamps, bedding items, etc.
Look for furniture during the summer and early fall. More people get
married during the summer than any other time of year and often have
duplicate furniture items that wind up at thrift stores.
3
Have a weekly rotation. Looking to get the best deals
that thrifting has to offer? Create a weekly rotation for thrifting,
centered around when new shipments arrive at each store. Other things to
consider are:[19]
Shop early. If you want to get first pick, arrive as the store opens.
Shop late. On sale days, some stores are looking to clear out all
items on sale, and will offer deeper discounts just before closing.
Warnings
Wash then wear. Thrift stores are required to wash clothing before
it goes on the rack. However, it is necessary to wash or dry clean all
linens, clothing and blankets before use. This ensures health and safety
against illness.
Avoid personal products. Be careful purchasing undergarments or body
products at thrift stores. Also remember that makeup items, even if
sealed, have an expiration date. Cream blushes and foundation, depending
on age, can go rancid without being opened. Never purchase items that
are already open, as makeup can cause and/or spread infections.[20]
So I got a side email asking me where are the recipes if this is a kitchen of sorts...so ever at the service of my readers, once a month we'll highlight a different recipe, food group or in season food item. Sorry in advance to my vegan and vegetarian friends. We will start with something safe and fun, like avocados. We'll see how this little experiment in the kitchen goes!
The Chef
After
all, these green fruits are jam-packed with minerals that help fight
infection, support our heart and also protects our cells, according to
the Washington Post.
They're also good sources of fiber and protein, while being low in
cholesterol and sugar. Avocados also have a reputation as being full of
those good fats, which help our bodies take in all those other
good-for-you nutrients.
But don't put baby, aka avocado, in corner, aka just a guacamole recipe. They're actually great cooking and baking substitutes.
Don't believe it? Well, here's some avocado ice cream.
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To eat as dessert after some avocado fries.
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Or
maybe you don't know if you want hummus or guacamole. Why not add
avocados right into the hummus recipe for creamy deliciousness?
Instead of heavy and unhealthy cream and butter in your pasta sauce, substitute avocado.
View photos
Source:
Maybe instead of potato skins, you top some avocado halves with chili and cheese?
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Or bake avocado into a healthy little muffin!
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Or use the creamy texture to create an indulgent chocolate dessert.
Or spread some avocado love on a hot dog.
Here's an idea: Bake brownies with av in them. (Then maybe add some avocado ice cream on top?)
View photos
Source:
But if chocolate isn't your thing, try out this avocado cheesecake.
View photos
Source:
Avocado also really enhances already delicious risotto.
Hello Beautiful People,
Well our discussion about interracial relationships really touched a lot of cords and it shows that when we boil it all down to what really matters, individuals just want to be loved and treated with respect. Many of you felt the heart brokenness of 'Just Want 2B Loved' that stated no one in her racial group was asking her out. She would constantly try to give the brothers first dibs for her time but none seem to be interested. When she finally opened the door to men that were interested all of a sudden her phone started to blow up. Unfortunately the brothers that were calling weren't calling to ask her out but to chastise her for supposedly selling out. I am happy to report she put her haters in their place and she is now engaged to a great guy from Spain. She promises to keep me posted which means I'll keep you posted too!
I also loved the dad that chimed in and said he didn't care if the guy was purple or polka-dot, just as long as he treated his great treasure, his daughter, right and special as he and his wife have always done.
So with that said it seems love and taking risks are tied together. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? But I thing the growing numbers of unhappy people stem from no one takes risks anymore. Where are the stories of the men that have to fight down their nervousness to ask the girl out on a date? What happened to the women that leave the love notes in the man's lunchbox to remind them how special they are to them? Sure we live in the day of emails and texts but we don't risk any more. We play things a little to safe. I drop money in the beggar's cup but do I stop and see what I could truly do to help that person. That would mean I would have to take a risk. The world is playing things a little too safe and many are going unloved, unwanted, unfulfilled.
Think about recent movies, television shows, or even books we are enjoying. Yeah, some are good and keep your interested but something is missing. The new #StarWars movie could have been so much more. Even though it was enjoyable a great much was missed out on because no one took a risk especially since the books that had done quite will with the loyal fan base would have given an excellent amount of material to pull from and make an truly awesome experience. Some of the fans of the show #SleepyHollow voice this as well. The Powers That Be didn't trust in their fans so they didn't take the risk they should have taken with their main characters. Just a side note: I didn't always watch the show but I did feel Ichabod not kissing Abby was a HUGE mistake...I mean really everyone saw they were connected and you don't spend that much time with someone, going literally to hell and back and not become bonded. Lastly I think of the growing Interracial Romance genre. Gone are the days of romance only being about the twenty-something, size 3, blonde falling for the six foot seven Greek god of a man with all the attributes we all pray for. We got books about curvy women, older women, ex-cons, and motorcycle gangs. Paranormal is also not just about those of the lily white hue either. People are taking risk.
That is why I enjoy what gets cooked here. WE all take a risk, commenting, offering advice, disagreeing and agreeing with each other. Dialogue is opened up and information is exchanged. May we continue to take risk, do the right thing and make our world better.
Okay people get out their and love someone, whether it be in word or deed, let's put some positive energy into the world and take a risk. There is someone I see everyday on my way to the office...I am going to start there.
The Chef
Well I thought I'd wrap this month up with some relationship quotes...
alas we all can use a good laugh, even in the mist of our tears to help us realize that it truly isn't the end of the world and that each day is a new opportunity to live and love.
All right time to get back to cooking,
The Chef
"You don't need someone to complete you. You only need someone to accept you completely."
"The best thing in life is finding someone who knows all your flaws and mistakes and weaknesses and still thinks you are completely amazing."
"A relationship without trust is like a car without gas. You can stay in it all you want, but you won't go anywhere."
"A true relationship is someone who accepts your past, supports your present, loves you and encourages your future."
"If you carry the bricks from your past relationship, you will end up building the same house."
"The best relationships are the ones you never expected to be in, the ones you never saw coming."
"Good relationships don't just happen. They take time, patience and two people who truly want to be together."
"We fall in love by chance, we stay in love by choice."
"I love you not only for what you are but for what I am when I am with you."
Hey my people
I thought this was great for those of you still trying to get it right for V day!
So pay attention, take good notes! Can't wait to hear how you all celebrated. Looking for the success stories and the not-so-successful tales of love!
Yours in the kitchen,
The Chef
Love's in the air....yes, that means a lot of ya'll getting ready to get crazy and let your horniness show! Not judging or hating just observing....somebody got to make sure the pot doesn't boil over.
Anyway as you get ready to love the one you're with and knock da' boots, enjoy this fun read that I saw while delayed at the airport.
Can't wait to get back to my kitchen,
The Chef,
Love the One You're With? Or Choose the One You Love?
How going with the flow can get you into the wrong relationship
Are you looking for love or waiting for love to find you?
If you’re a quiet introvert who prefers sitting in the corner, and if
you’re accustomed to feeling like you’re always overlooked, having the
high beams of an extrovert’s attention turned on you can be flattering,
if not blinding. It’s hard not to be drawn in when the center of
attention wants to share the spotlight with you, and it’s hard to resist
a forceful personality reaching out and pulling you in.
On one hand, this is fine. Many introverts are not comfortable being
the pursuer in relationships. Dan, a 44-year-old computer tech who
married an extrovert he met on the job, says, “Given that I was/am also shy with women, dating an introverted
woman would have been difficult and long. Actually the dating wouldn’t
have been bad, getting around to asking her out would have been long and
difficult.”
Ray-Mel, who was first pursued by his wife, says, “I think someone who approaches someone else is by nature extroverted. . . .
Recovering from a rejection isn’t as difficult as it is for someone who
is more introverted and finds it hard enough to make an approach at
all.”
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with recognizing you’re not the
pursuer type. It’s the kind of self-knowledge that can put you on the
path to a happy ending. Many of the introverts I spoke to said that they
did tend to be the pursued rather than the pursuer, but some also
realized that it meant they didn’t always make conscious choices in
their relationships. “I’m very shy and too afraid of embarrassment
to put myself out there,” says 17-year-old Niza. And so even though
she’s not interested in super-friendly guys who have lots and lots of
friends everywhere, she usually ends up with talkative extroverts.
“Which is probably why we didn’t work out,” she says. “I always get
bored or aggravated with the person and dump him.”
Because of our tendency to let others take the lead, we are at risk
of being sucked into relationships we might not have chosen if we’d
given it more thought.
We’ve already talked about why introverts can be appealing to
extroverts: We let them have the spotlight, we listen to them, and the
rapt attention we are capable of providing (or at least faking) is
irresistible to an attention-hungry extrovert. And some extroverts
genuinely need us (whether or not they’re aware of it) to help them slow
down sometimes. “It’s easy for her to get pulled a thousand ways by
people,” says Nancy about her “large-and-in-charge” wife. “To have
someone who can be quiet with her is really a healthy thing for her.”
All this is 100 percent A-OK. If you find nourishment in the energy
of an extrovert, if you enjoy basking in a reflected spotlight, if you
are endlessly entertained by extroverted antics, or any of the other
myriad reasons you might be drawn to extroverts, then let that extrovert
woo you and enjoy.
All I suggest is that if you are going to be drawn into an
extrovert’s whirl, be sure you do it consciously and for the right
reasons. Don’t just fall in love with someone loving you, if you know
what I mean. Actually, that’s probably good advice for anyone, introvert
or extrovert. But because introverts are less likely to stick their
necks out to make connections, we can be more easily drawn into an
extrovert’s attention without considering whether it’s the kind of
attention that feeds our souls.
Among the risks of letting the extrovert choose you is that after the
initial thrill of your undivided attention wanes, the extrovert might
wait for something more exciting to happen, leading to hurtful
disappointment. Or you might learn that you enjoy all that fuss and
bother only to a degree and after a while find yourself wondering
irritably why this bundle of noise and energy doesn’t just calm down and
read a book or something. (Granted, you might grumble about that
sometimes even if the relationship is generally successful. Just as your
extrovert might sometimes wish you would put out a little more energy
around people. No relationship is without frustrations, and that’s fine,
if they’re fleeting.) You might tire of sharing your loved one with his
or her three hundred closest friends. You might get tired of being
dragged to parties, or your extrovert might get tired of having to be
the engine of your mutual social life.
You might even find you feel threatened by your outgoing extrovert’s easy charms with strangers. In an online essay, “6 Things Every Extrovert Secretly Has to Deal With,”
extroverted writer Macy Santo Domingo complains that “People will often
assume you’re flirting,” even when you are just being your ordinary,
outgoing extroverted self. This is a problem for her, she continues,
when her friendliness is “misinterpreted as something more, especially
when the person you are talking to gets offended that you are not, in
fact, hitting on them.”
Some extroverts might have a flirtatious manner that they have
trouble turning off whether or not they intend to flirt. While this
might be a little irritating for the extrovert, it can feel deeply
threatening for an introverted partner who perceives flirtation and its attendant attention differently.
Of course, you also have to trust your gut because while it could be
your extrovert is just being friendly, it also could be genuine
flirtation. If it is flirtatiousness, use your gut again to determine
whether it’s all in fun or an actual threat. And regardless of whether
it’s a genuine threat or not, if you dislike it and the extrovert is
unwilling to ratchet it back for your peace of mind, then you get to
decide if you’re OK with this in your relationship.
If any of these relationship breakdowns happen, it’s important to
remind yourself that it’s just part of finding your way to love. An
extrovert might choose you, but you always have the option to opt out if
the fit is wrong. If the extrovert you were dating ultimately found you
dull, don’t take his or her word for it without first asking yourself
what this person’s criteria for “interesting” are. They might be
entirely different from your own, and entirely different from the person
you want to be. In other words, you’re not dull just because this
person thinks you are.
Actually, the person might be reacting to something that has little
to do with you. My friend Carol Lennox, LPC, a therapist in Austin,
Texas, points out that problems in the relationship often trace back to childhood
stuff. An extrovert who was neglected as a child might be drawn to
introverts because that lack of attention feels familiar, she says.
“This hooks into the childhood pain and makes them angry at the
introvert, who may be simply being themselves.”
In his classic self-help book, Getting the Love You Want: A Guide for Couples,
Harville Hendrix points out that most of us look for mates who are like
the people who raised us, in order to do it right this time. “Our old brain . . . is trying to recreate the environment
of childhood. And the reason the old brain is trying to resurrect the
past is not a matter of habit or blind compulsion but of a compelling
need to heal old childhood wounds.”
In that case, by choosing you, the other person may be subconsciously
opting in to a relationship that has problems built right into it from
the get-go. And you may or may not be doing the same thing, depending on
whether you are genuinely attracted to the relationship or if you just
allowed yourself to get sucked into it.
Sound like pretty heavy stuff? Well, there’s not a lot in the world
that’s heavier than choosing the person with whom we feel safe to be
ourselves, which is one good reason to wait until we have a reasonably
mature view of our needs and wants before we set our life-love path.
Getting to know oneself that well can be a long and difficult process,
often learned through a lot of trial and error, which in relationships
can also mean an awful lot of hurt.
If you frequently find yourself in relationships with friends or
lovers who make you feel small and less-than, or if you find yourself
frequently exhausted in the relationship from the effort of maintaining a
persona the other person expects, maybe you’re letting others choose
you rather than choosing to be with people who make you feel wonderful.
It might be time to step back and think a little bit: What do you want
in a relationship, and is that what you are finding? Are you settling
for not-quite-right relationships because they find you?
Note that anything you buy from Amazon by clicking through from
this blog post will earn me a few cents. Or you can support your local
independent bookstore; click here to find an indie bookstore near you. Want to hang out with a bunch of cool introverts? Join us on my Facebook page. Or follow me on Twitter or Instagram.
1Decide what you are looking for. Listing is a handy way of establishing shopping goals. Also consider the following:[1]
2
3Assess quality. Thrift store items are purchased "as is"; therefore, it is important to look all purchases over thoroughly before committing to a purchase. Some things to look for are:[4]
4Have vision. Part of thrift shopping is having a basic idea in mind but being open to opportunities when you find them. Consider the following:[5]
5Set shopping limits. You never know what you'll find thrift shopping and the temptation to impulse buy is strong. Ways to avoid over-purchasing are:[6][7]
1Use your smart phone. This works great for vintage or antique items when you are not sure an item is worth the price listed. Go to Google or eBay and see what it would retail for elsewhere.[8]
2Shop for sales. Many stores like Goodwill have weekly "Tag sales," where items with a certain color tag go on sale. Other stores have clearance racks or do periodic sales to clear out inventory. Some larger volume stores even do sales by the pound for items like clothes and linens.[9]
3Look for "best value" items. Some types show up in thrift shops looking kind worn out or dated. Other items are donated regularly and you'd never know they were used or second-hand. Look particularly for the items below:[10]
4Talk to thrift store employees. The people who work in thrift stores are a wealth of information. Things to ask about are:
5Know how to spot a bargain. People often send items to thrift stores not knowing their actual value. Consider the following when thrift shopping:
1Search online. Many thrift stores have websites that will show up in a basic search. Also consider using thethriftshopper.com to find smaller, independent stores along with larger stores in your area.
2Consider location. The types of residents living around a thrift store can be a good indicator of the sort of items and level of quality you can expect from a thrift store. For example:[14][15]
3Thrift on vacation if possible. This works best when vacationing with a car. Especially if you are visiting a large city, larger volume thrift stores tend to offer a wider selection of items, often of better quality. there's also the chance that trends in the area you are visiting are different than where you are from, and you could find unique and eclectic items.[16]
4Utilize other discount shopping venues. Thrift stores are not the only source of bargain shopping.
1Get on email lists and shop online when possible. Most chain thrift outlets like Goodwill and the Salvation Army will put you on a mailing list for coupon and sale opportunities.
2Shop seasonally. Anticipate what people will be turning out of their closets at certain times during the year. When planning your thrifting trips, for certain items, consider the following:
3Have a weekly rotation. Looking to get the best deals that thrifting has to offer? Create a weekly rotation for thrifting, centered around when new shipments arrive at each store. Other things to consider are:[19]
Click the link below!