Potpourri...

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Did you know Oct 18th was ...

wait for it...

World Menopause Day -- an international call to turn the healthcare spotlight on aging women and make menopausal health a principal research issue.

"While each woman's experience of menopause is unique, one thing is true for all women," Margery L.S. Gass, MD, executive director of the North American Menopause Society, said in a press release to Endocrine Today. "Menopause presents an ideal opportunity for women to evaluate their personal health and improve their lifestyle. Taking informed steps will transform and enhance every woman's sense of well-being, not only around menopause, but for the rest of her life."
In conjunction with World Menopause Day, the International Menopause Society (IMS) released a new study on hot flashes and night sweats, and found that these common symptoms can have a major impact on a woman's life. They can lead to physical discomfort, embarrassment, fatigue, and loss of confidence, causing some women to avoid social outings, the report says.

Gee, I can't imagine why THIS didn't get more press??

Or maybe it did and I just can't remember...

Someone pass me some more gingko biloba!

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At least I'M not afraid of social outings, even if they're by myself.

I recently went to see "The Way", the movie written and directed by Emilio Estevez, starring his father, Martin Sheen and I'm SO glad I did.

If you haven't heard of it, here's a synopsis:

Tom (Sheen) is an American doctor who goes to France following the death of his adult son, killed in the Pyrenees during a storm while walking the Camino de Santiago, a Christian pilgrimage route to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain, also known as the Way of St. James. Tom's purpose is initially to retrieve his son's body. However, in a combination of grief and homage to his son, Tom decides to walk the same ancient spiritual trail where his son died in order to understand his son better. While walking The Camino, Tom meets others from around the world (three in particular), all broken and looking for greater meaning in their lives.
During his travels, Tom discovers the meaning of one of the last things his son said (in a flashback) to his father: that there is a difference between "the life we live and the life we choose."

There are so many ways a movie like this could go wrong...

by being too preachy, too melodramatic, too maudlin, too wordy...

and none of that happened.

It was wonderful and authentic and allows viewers to form their own conclsions about what are intensely interior and private motives and decisions.

HIGHLY recommend - if you like quiet movies that move into your soul and keep working, making you think about them long after you're home.

If car crashes, farting and bathroom jokes about various body parts are more your style, then not so much!

And don't hesitate to go alone... not having to share your popcorn is a treat!

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Come on... don't you think they'd give this story to someone else to cover...

REALLY!?
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How cute is THIS??!

OMG...

major grandmother envy moment...

it will pass...

deep breath; almost gone!

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Thought I'd throw these next three out for the cooks among you.

I'm always amazed at how clever some folks are...

but also grateful that my mind doesn't work along culinary lines - -

I'm tempted enough by boring Pepperidge Farm Lidos; cute things would be the (coronary) death of me!

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And clever ER peeps thinking of pumpkin decorating for the hospital wide contest...

in case you need ideas, I LOVE both of these!

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And I know I've been at the hospital, working in abuse too long, when I see this charming picture and can only think of the 5 yr old little girl who came in for a cold after Halloween a few years ago.

As I was making small talk with her and her mom at the front desk, I asked if she'd had fun the night before.

She said "well not really but I DID get lots of candy".

When I asked her what her costume was, she said "a c0ck fairy".

Thinking I'd misheard her, I asked her to repeat it.

And she did, adding, "you know, the kind that grants wishes with her mouth...that's what Daddy says".

Needless to say, we worked her up for more than a URI.

I haven't been able to see 'fairy 'costumes the same way ever again.

Actually, after 30+ years of working in child abuse, I can't see most anything the same way ever again!
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I LOVE the truth of this - even if, sometimes, I have to think for a few minutes to find it!

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