Doctors Have Different Opinions About the Mystery Illness

Teens in a small town in Texas have been stricken with a mysterious illness. Symptoms include uncontrollable tics, both physical and verbal. What is causing this disease? The answer to that question depends on which doctor you ask. A growing group of teenagers who live in LeRoy, New York, have been stricken with a mysterious illness. The teens, (who are mostly girls), were all in good health until they suddenly started experiencing uncontrollable body movements, tic, and verbal outbursts (that are similar to what one would see in a person who has Tourette syndrome). The teens attended LeRoy Junior-Senior High … Continue reading

Brockovich Investigates Mystery Illness

Teenagers in LeRoy, New York, have become stricken with an illness that has not been entirely explained. A doctor is calling it a “conversion disorder”, but the teens, and their parents, do not feel that this is correct. Environmental activist Erin Brockovich is now investigating the situation. There is something seriously strange happening in LeRoy, New York. Teenagers are getting seriously sick, without having anything in their medical history that would explain the sudden onset of their illness. The parents of the teens, and the teens themselves, are very upset, and demanding more answers about what, exactly, happened. Thera Sanchez … Continue reading

Can I Call Myself a Frugalista? A bit of Frugalista Gossip

When I started writing for the families.com Frugal blog, I decided to take a frugal fashion angle as my girl Mary Ann Romans seems to have the rest of the category well under control. After a little talk, we decided that I fit the frugalista mold and so, my “frugalista” blog posts were born. So a week or so ago, I got an email warning that there was a lawyer serving anyone who called themselves a “frugalista” telling them to cease using the term. (I never did get the warning myself.) I decided to put the phrase on hold and … Continue reading

Damp, Mold, and Mental Health

A recent study from the Brown University School of Medicine looked at a possible link between damp, moldy homes and emotional problems like depression. Researchers looked at living conditions and health conditions in several cities around Europe, including Bonn, Germany, Budapest, Hungary, and Geneva Switzerland. Their data came from World Health Organization surveys performed in 2002 and 2003. Nearly six thousand men and women from households around Europe were asked about their health, including any diagnosis of depression in the last year. Participants were chosen at random, divided equally between men and women, and ranged in age from 18 to … Continue reading

My Favorite Halloween Couple Costumes: Spookiest Costumes

I didn’t exactly set out intending to do a My Favorite Halloween Couple Costumes series, but that’s what happened. I’ve covered funniest, sexiest, period, and classic characters costumes. I have one final category left: spookiest. I’ve never dressed up as anything spooky for Halloween. I have a sneaking suspicion neither has Wayne. (I know he hasn’t since we’ve been together, but I can’t vouch for when he was a wee thing.) It might be fun to break out of our molds and try something completely different though. Here’s the costumes I could see us doing that with: • Ghostly Gentleman … Continue reading

Does Your Home have Mold?

Okay, I know what you’re thinking: Yuck! I agree. Unfortunately, hot humid weather can be problematic for homes and other structures that are prone to mold. If you’ve ever had a mold problem, you may be confident that it’s been cleared up. It’s important to continue checking often to ensure that mold does not return. The sooner it’s found, the better chance you have of getting rid of it. It also helps to treat suspect areas before mold begins to grow. If mildew is a problem, treat those areas regularly as well. Bleach and bleach based products are your friend. … Continue reading

Our Condo Story Part 3… The Conclusion

Part 1 covered our pursuit of our dream of homeownership and Part 2 touched on the horrors of mold. Okay, so listen what happened next… The water damage was along our common wall so we notified our neighbors. They were not having any leak problems. We thought the water must be coming from the roof since there wasn’t any other places it could have come from. We’d had over a month straight of rainy days. With everything that had happened so far, we were not excited about going into the attic. We thought either we’d find a body, drugs or … Continue reading

Our Condo Story Part 2… The Money Pit

Our first problem with our new home was worked out thanks to our new exterminator friends. Our condo was affectionately referred to as the money pit from this point out. We updated our kitchen and proceeded to work on the bathrooms. So far everything was looking beautiful and new. But there was a problem. When we pulled out the counter where the sink was, there was black mold and rot on the floor! We then had a new floor put down. There was an issue with the caulking though. It wasn’t drying. We switched to baths thinking it didn’t have … Continue reading

Using Play Doh to Teach Preschool Lessons

Play Doh is one of my favorite preschool activity toys and art mediums. Mashing the dough can creating people, ice cream cones, pizza, and animals, is as much fun for me as the kids.  I am not sure what came first, the lessons I developed using Play Doh or my desire to play and the need to make it count as part of my lesson plan.  Nonetheless, I have come up with a way to play and learn.  Now, when my husband comes home and finds Play Doh mashed in the carpet its all good. In all seriousness, using a … Continue reading

Going After a Dream

Having a home business may set you on the path to your dream. However, are there times a home business can distract you from your dreams? You may have started a home business to follow a dream but ended up on a different path due to demand or the inability to afford the intended plan. You may have followed the dream to work from home but the work is not your cup of tea. Perhaps, you started a business to fund your dream and you are spending so much time funding it your dream got pushed aside. The next step … Continue reading