Back to School: Food and Obesity

Back to school ads are in all the local newspapers.  The grocery store ads have individually wrapped junk food at special prices, and frozen dinners as 2fers.  These are the items that bring shoppers in the doors.   As we head into the season known as ‘back to school’, let’s talk food.

Why are we an obese country?

A Health Economist article’s reasons for obesity:

• Decreased real cost of food-few go without food because of funds.
• Women in the work force leading to fewer meals cooked in the home-fast food here we come.
• Decreased activity-no more playing outside with video games, and a TV in every kid’s room.

The researchers suggested that one way to combat the problem of obesity would be to tax junk food.  But I agree with the author of the article:  who would decide what counted for junk food?  Little Debbie?

FAST FOOD: photo by Chrisian Cable

So we’ve recognized for a number of years that obesity in the developed world, the US in particular, is a major problem.  It is well known that obesity and an increasing body mass index contributes to the risks of type 2 diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease and some cancers.

Our Kids and Obesity: What to do?

The Government and private industry preventing obesity proposals:

• Washington is requiring body mass index or BMI included in all patient records by 2014-in other words, they want to know how fat we are
• Let’s not forget the folks who want to take the toy out of McDonald’s Happy Meals.
• Retail grocers have developed a nutritional scoring system that ranks thousands of foods on a scale of 1 to 100.  This number will be placed on the shelf label letting consumers know how their choices rank.
• Some food chains are hiring nutritionists to roam the aisles and for a fee offer personalized recommendations on selecting healthier foods according to this article in the Wall Street Journal.

What are you and I going to do about obesity in our own families?

• Buy fresh fruits and vegetables grown locally, they are usually cheaper, more nutritious and taste better.
• If you must buy foods such as potato chips, at least buy the cheapest per ounce.  Stay away from those little packages of individually wrapped portions, just bag them yourself.
• Say no to chips, etc.  Buy an apple to pack in that lunch box.
• If you are going to buy sugary cereal, at least buy the cheapest and go heavy on the low fat milk in the bowl. Pour it up and insist on an empty bowl afterward, with no milk left behind-we don’t get enough calcium on most days.
• Plan.  Plan.  Then plan some more so you don’t find yourself in the drive thru line at a fa(s)t food joint.  Life can be hectic.  Life with a family-brutally hectic.  You have to decide what that means for you, but it’s worth some thought.  On those horrid mid week nights when you can’t face meal prep, drag out the hotdogs and frozen French fries.  Sure, choose the low fat, low nitrite varieties, but have your version of a throw down meal in your freezer at all times.  Make it a party.  You will have saved money, time and you should even give yourself a pat on the back for staying the course.
• Part of that planning mentioned above also involves knowing what you need from the grocer before you get there.  Make a menu for the week ahead.
• Have your own ‘pantry’ list of things you know your family will eat and never run out of those things.

Use these ideas to make your own WAR on obesity!

Reader Questions:

What are you doing to help your family eat more healthily?

What are the ways you do this and be frugal at the same time?

FDL

FDL blogs about organization and home management-FAST at  Fast Declutter Your Home.

Frugal Living is Just a Matter of Managing Your Money Intelligently

Most people waste a lot of money because they don’t think about their spending. Then, when it comes time to spend money on something they really want, like buying a home or a family vacation, they don’t have the money to do it because they’ve squandered so much in their day-to-day lives.

Creating Everyday Savings

If you just change your habits and lifestyle in a few simple ways, you’ll be surprised at just how much you can save in your personal finances by adopting these tips.

Cooking at Home

Don’t eat out very often. If you looked at how much you spend every year eating out, you’d probably be shocked. The average American lays out around $2,000 dollars every year just on eating out. Going to restaurants is an expense most of us can do without, especially when it comes to eating at fast-food places. It’s much, much cheaper (not to mention healthier and better for your waistline) to eat at home.

When you are eating at home, try to stay away from pre-prepared foods and make it yourself with fresh ingredients from scratch. Planning a weekly menu is key, along with take a day like Sunday to cook a bunch of meals ahead of time to freeze and have ready for the following week. You will save not only time and money, but you will also be eating healthier.

Grocery Savings

Plan your food budget in advance before you go shopping – this way you will only get the things you need and not splurge on added, unnecessary expenses. Use coupons from the newspaper or from advertising flyers that come in the mail and buy what is on sale at your local store. Buying in bulk is always cheaper unless you are not going to be able to use it all – if you are throwing away half of a bulk item, you really should look at how a smaller amount is less expensive in the long run.

Eating Out Frugally

If you must eat in a restaurant, plan for it and employ a couple of easy techniques to spend less.

• Drink water instead of ordering soda or an alcoholic drink.
• Instead of ordering two dinners, buy one dinner and an appetizer and then split the dinner. Most restaurant portions are big enough for two anyway.
• If you must have two dinners, start your meal with a salad and the complimentary bread, then eat your veggies or other sides. Start on your entree last. The chances are you may be full by the time you’re attacking that steak or plate of lasagna, so you won’t be able to finish it. This will lead to a nice take-out box for tomorrow’s lunch.

And last, but not least, skip the dessert. Most restaurant desserts are too expensive. Pick up some fresh fruit or frozen yogurt on your way home for a less costly, more healthy dessert!

Smart Shopping


Don’t insist on buying new items from name-brand stores like big name department stores. Go to stores that carry top-quality items at reduced prices. Or, shop at places like Goodwill or used clothing stores and thrift stores. You can often find exactly what you want in decent condition for a fraction of what you’d pay for something that’s new.

You can also help unclutter a friend or family member’s closet or storage room by e-mailing them to see if they have something you need that they’re not using. Garage sales on the weekends are also fun, and it’s good exercise. You can really wind up saving some serious cash, assuming that you don’t get tempted to buy something you don’t really need just because it’s a great deal.

There are also a great websites, like Craigslist and Freecycle, that enable you to share your cast-offs with others or find some no longer wanted items that will also help you save.

If you can change your buying and spending habits just a little bit and learn to manage your money wisely, then you can get into the groove of living frugally and find that you’ll always have the few extras bucks you need to live well without feel deprived.

Your Top Ways to Save

What ways do you save money when it comes to shopping for groceries or other household or personal necessities?

About the Author:

This guest post is by Vern, a student currently studying everything to do with finance for his New York mortgage test this fall.

Most of you have figured out by now, that I am an easy going, live and let live guy.

I am hard to get ruffled.  I am called easy-going,  implacable, and probably boring….

However, reading an article in the Wall Street Journal, entitled, “Will Buffett-Gates Pledge Really Help the Poor”,  increased my blood pressure.  Those around me were probably worried I might have an  MI when my brow wrinkled, and I had a barely perceptible frown.

Why giving Billions is Bad….

Robert Frank in his WSJ article, discusses the concerns of Pablo Eisenberg, that this giving of billions by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett will  increase the disparity between the haves and the have-nots.  That it will actually hurt the poor for Bill and Warren to give such huge amounts of money away.

Now, Mr Frank is an accomplished writer and author.  And, having written a line or two, I know a hook when I see one.  But this one worked.  I had to finish the article.  And to Mr Franks credit, I even had to go to the original by Mr Eisenberg, linked in his story.  The quoted original story was written in the Chronicle of Philanthropy.  (In south Georgia, we would probably call it the “Charity Times-Union” or something similarly rednecky…)

Now I am sure that Mr Eisenberg is a nice man, ” a gentleman” as the little ole ladies around here call ‘em.  But, I couldn’t help but think, “This is crazy!”  “What is this world coming to?” And even, “I can’t believe this is not an article written by Andy Breitbart, just to get himself on Fox News again.”

Now before I get accused of mis-quoting, or taking this out of context, here is a copied and pasted bullet point from the article published in the July 21-2010, “Journal of Philanthropy“.  It is the third bullet point in his reasoning behind the idea that giving away billions will lead to the poor getting poorer, and the rich getting richer.  Please go read the whole article by Mr Eisenberg, so you get this in the proper “frame” of his mind.

And I quote Mr Eisenberg’s article:

• “What steps will be taken to ensure public accountability? Will the funds that are steered into new or existing foundations follow the Gateses’ approach, namely grant-making institutions governed by a very few family members that, in a real sense, are not really publicly accountable? Do we want an explosion of these tax-exempt oligarchic entities with huge assets that can help set public priorities without public discussion or a political process? Would this be a healthy development for democracy? If not, what can be done to mitigate the potential undemocratic nature of these new mega-foundations?”

Now why does this bother me:  To quote Shakespeare, let me count the ways….

1. The obvious effort to continue to judge what is an “acceptable” charity and what is not.
2. The idea that a public entity needs to be developed to decide where a private charity gives away their money.
3. The ludicrous notion that money given to a hospital, university, or museum, is money that can’t help the poor.

Forgive me for thinking that educating a poor person, so they can better feed their families, and get a higher paid job that will result in a huge boom in self-esteem-can be better than just throwing money towards poverty.  I thought we all learned after welfare reform that the “Great Society” was a failed experiment at social engineering.  All the social workers I know, believe the work, training, and education incentives being used now, are a much needed improvement over just sending a check to a  drop-out mom of three.

Forgive me for thinking  money that allows kids from the poor public schools to go to the art museum,  that then inspires one child to become the next Picasso-is not a blessing.

Forgive me for thinking money given to a research hospital, that discovers the vaccine for AIDS, won’t help poor people all over the world.

And forgive me for thinking that in this country, when I decide to give away my hard-earned money, that I can give it to anyone I damn well please.

The Charity Czar

And finally, Forgive me for thinking that in a democracy, we don’t need a “Charity Czar” to decide what is a good charity  and what is an unacceptable one.  I can see it now, when a Democrat is in office, Acorn, Planned Parenthood, and any number of left-leaning 501 c 3′s have the Gov’ment Seal of Approval.

Then when a Republican gets elected, the new “Charity Czar” publishes their list in the official organ of approved charities: The NRA, the Right to Life, and the Baptist Foundation for Good Works, all have their hand out.

And it will be fun to watch, when the Metropolitan Museum, Harvard University, and Johns Hopkins, not to mention the American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association change their director every 4-8 years, depending on who wins the White House…..”I am sorry John, I know you have raised 4 billion dollars in the last four years, but we have a conservative in the White House now,  so you’ve got to go!”

(Now before the two people that actually go to the link and read the original article say, “Mr Eisenberg didn’t mention Charity Czar!” please understand, that is my description of  what the “public entity” might be, that he felt needed to opine on what is an acceptable charity.)

Forgive me for this rant, but something about this just got under my skin.  And I feel a lot better for getting it off my chest.

What do you think?

Do we need a political approval of where our philanthropic efforts are directed? ( Now I know, just having a process for getting registered as a charity adds a degree of politics to the matter, but for the most part, the process has not been “politicized”.)

Let me know your thoughts, and thanks to Mr Robert Frank  at the WSJ for getting my blood pressure up today.  At least my staff knew I was still breathing….

An elderly patient was talking away-she apologized almost immediately for her chattering.  “I am home alone most days, and a little nervous about being here for THIS.”

I prefer talk over dead-quite during an exam, so I was not bothered.

As she was scooting down the table (guys you will have to ask the girl in your life why they scoot down),  she said, “This wouldn’t be so hard if you weren’t so young and good looking!”

Now, my assistant, who has been with me for years, and is my same age, couldn’t silence her snickering.  I shot her a dirty look and reminded her about her paycheck- unsigned on my desk.

She, of course laughed and ignored me, as usual.  No, nurses, I don’t have the great doctor syndrome- my lovely, nurse wife beat that out of me years ago.

My point is, (yes I do have one), is that perspective changes your view of the world. And no, I am not talking about the perspective of someone in stirrups.  But, in this case,  the perspective of an 85+ year old lady who lived alone.

Any guy that was under 75 and didn’t look like a mass murderer, was young and good looking to her.  She would have talked to anyone that stopped and showed her a little courtesy.

Now you might think, listening to little old ladies would get old after 25 plus years of practicing medicine.  That I am disparaging her comments.

Just the opposite.  She was a delight, (and not JUST because she thought I was young and handsome…) and profound in her pronouncements.

And believe me, folks who live past 85 and are still graced with a sharp mind, usually have a sharp wit, and an opinion to go with it.  And in her case, spiced with a little blue language, I am sure she learned from her late husband!

Folks her age, don’t care much what other people think- about their speaking their minds.  They feel they have earned the right.  Earned it by getting up and getting dressed everyday for many decades.  Keeping a house, paying taxes, raising kids, and burying a husband.

Sometime during the exam,  she began waxing philosophically about war. Her late husband had fought in combat in World War II, and was sometimes “difficult” when he had too much to drink-that means abusive, in little old lady speak-but she still loved him and missed him.

She said, when she was younger, and her husband to be,  was in uniform, war seemed glorious, and the patriotic thing.  Now, she had many grandsons, and great grandsons, and she didn’t think war was ever a good thing.  Every time she heard on the news about another casualty in the middle-east-she saw those kids.

And she thought we needed to quit fighting and bring the boys (and girls, I reminded her) home.

Now I am considered conservative, and am always supportive of the men and women who serve in the military.   My father also served in the Pacific during World War II,  and I know he fought a few demons during the remainder of his life.

And I am too far away from what is going on in Afghanistan to know the details-the intelligence, and complex issue that is terrorism.  But this proud lady was quite certain she was right.

And I can’t, with certainty, say she is wrong.

Don’t ask me what this has to do with personal finance, I can’t say.  But this lady moved my heart, with her concern about nameless and faceless  young men losing their lives, and I just felt I needed to share.

So let’s get started.

Personal Finance:

Mrs Frugal at “Cool to be Frugal” writes on ways to improve your savings-great tips-especially the one on naming the savings account with its goal.

Foreigner’s Finances, Austin writes on the pro’s and con’s on online banking/vs brick and mortar banks.

Len Penzo, let’s the big-spenders with small man parts have it-read it and laugh-I did!

Red, at “The Girl With the Red Balloon, has true confession about why she is in debt, and what she woulda, coulda done different!  Please read this if you are borrowing money for college.

The Ultimate Money Blog, has the Yakezie personal finance bloggers carnival this week-check it out!

Home Management/Lifestyle Hacks

The Saved Quarter has written about de-cluttering the hall closet.  Simplify/simplify/simplify does make life calmer!

Speaking of Clutter, The Fast Declutter Blog, has tips on organizing-to keep from forgetting-uhhh, what was I saying???

Mighty Bargain Hunter writes about tipping! As the father of a former server-hear-hear!

Blogging Info:

Kikolani has this post about the new Digg-I was just getting a handle on the old Digg.  I have been added to the beta testing group-known as Digg alpha v4 (wuwt)-so let me know if you are also in the new-Digg-so we can Digg each other….

Kristi also has an article about “comment luv” and other marketing strategies at Famous Bloggers-great info to help with your blog.

And check out this post of 100 writing tips from top bloggers.

Enjoy the reads, and have a great week!

About the only subject that has been researched more by psychologists than the money/happiness question, might be the genes versus environment question.

There are two more research reports out, according to Laura Rowley, writing for Yahoo Finance.  We can add those to the big pile of studies that already exist.

Let’s don’t blame the researchers-they have to publish or perish.  We probably paid for the studies with part of the 700 billion in federal stimulus money. Does that make you Happy?

Now I wonder who did the first study, of money versus happiness?

Stone Age Happiness:

“Honey, are you happy?”   “I will be when I finish cleaning this mastodon, shut up and hand me that sharp stone over there.”  I wonder if “happy” was a consideration, when you were worried about eating, or being eaten?

Happiness in the Roman Empire:

Do you think the gladiator, facing the lion worried a lot about happiness, or was he just hoping the lion was happy, cause of yesterday’s two-legged meal.

Happiness in the Dark Ages:

The peasant, hauling peat for the fire, trying to smoke enough herring so his kids wouldn’t starve during the long winters off the North Sea-did he have a lot of time to contemplate happiness while his stomach growled?

Happiness in Modern Times:

Only when we have leisure time, do we spend a lot of our life contemplating happiness.  We can have endless arguments.  We can publish piles of studies, after talking with the Rich, the Super Rich, or the homeless.  We fight over whether the study was biased, the questions were misleading, or the results met statistical significance.

But I think most research such as the article above confirms:

Higher income/wealth, can help  you  to be satisfied-re your life station, your successes, your reaching a certain status in your family, your neighborhood, your co-workers and your community.

Having Money doesn’t correlate so well with whether we “enjoyed” the day yesterday.  Did we laugh with our family, enjoy the interaction of our co-workers, make someone else smile.

What I can guarantee you is, that working hard for your money, but then squandering it, will make you extremely unhappy.

Who can be Happy, when they wonder where they will find the money to pay their bills?

Who can be Happy, when they are not answering the phone, because they know it is a collector, trying to make their boss happy?

Who can be Happy, when all you do is fight with your spouse about money?

Who can be Happy, when you think of all the bad choices you made with your money decisions?

My advice, while you are reading all the research, to decide if you are happy:

At least take care of the dollars you work so hard for.  The more money you have left over at the end of the month, is money that can make you happy, if you will let it..

That happiness might be from:

• giving food to the less fortunate, going on a mission trip, or funding a scholarship!
• being able to travel to a relatives funeral, help your child go to college, or buy a new home.
• eating caviar while sipping Dom Perignon, Veuve Cliquot, or Cristal!

That is what managing your money properly gives you, CHOICES.  Having Choices can (not will) make you HAPPY!

Reader Questions:

What are your thoughts about money and happiness, (or genes vs environment if you want to start a fuss?)

Do you think having more money will make you happy?

Do want to do one more study, regarding nurses and happiness????

We have discussed stocks, and how stock exchanges were begun.  Recent news’ stories have noted that new stock offerings, known as Initial Public Offerings,  (IPO’s), are starting to rebound this year, for the first time since the recession begin.  The experts say this is a good sign that the stock market may finally be in a recovery mode.  As private companies, have to see a big payoff- to go to the trouble.

Now let’s see how a company goes public, and gets listed on the stock exchange.

The Purple Haze Condom Company, we  introduced recently, is back in the news.

We discussed the company selling bonds  to generate capital to build a new factory.

Let’s remember, the company CEO is John Dick- is also the company founder and largest stockholder.  He is  third generation in the condom business, with Grandpa Dick founding the company, just as World War II ended-making a killing.

John Dick III, MBA, has inherited the company and is ready for the spotlight.  He has completed the new condom  factory, paid with their recent bond offering. His new condoms are selling like hotcakes.

His scientists invented a new condom that release medication that improves enjoyment for women.   Ladies all over the world are insisting on the use of this new condom, even after menopause.  Kosmo was calling it the Viagra condom, while even the Puffington Post was writing a piece about the-”Remarkable Rubber Rebound!”.

Meanwhile, back at Mr Dicks current secret location:

So Mr Dick, while flying back from Costa Rica, with his “Assistant” says, “Ms Washington, can you get this knot out of my shoulders-I am sooo stiff,  uhh, from golf, and I am a little old for acrobatics….”  “And did I tell you how many of our new medicated condoms we are selling- the profits are exploding-I think we need to go public!”

“But Mr Dick, I thought this was our little secret?”

“Not that, honey-buns, I mean we need to sell shares of  The Purple Haze Condom Company stock to the public.  I bet we can raise another $500 million-I will be able to trade this G-5  jet in for one of those airliners like Sergey B, and Mark C.”

So when the CEO arrives back at the office, he starts the proceedings to initiate an IPO-or initial public offering.  An IPO is the selling of stock of a private company to the public.  He gets investment bankers to study the books and decide how many shares might sell, and at what price.  The investment bankers that help with that process get first dibs on the stock, along with their wealthy clients and hedge fund buddies.

With the recent publicity of the Ladies Viagra Condom, the IPO (initial public offering) is over-subscribed.

“What does over-prescribed mean, Mr Dick?” said his assistant.  “I thought prescribing was something your doctor did when the condoms broke!”

“Hush your mouth, Ms Washington! You know our condoms don’t break! (much…)  Over-subscribed, not prescribed!  It means we have more buyers that want the stock,  than we have shares!  We can increase our offering price, and I can be even richer!”  Everyone seems to want to own stock in the company that makes the Ladies Viagra Condom!

He currently owns 90 % of the company, and since he wants to keep control, he only sells the 40% to the public.  He will be worth at least $100,000,000 plus by the end of the day.

(I wonder if someone will remind him to save a little of his new money, just in case he runs over a fireplug, and get’s hit with his own golf club.)

So let’s review some terminology involved in a company issuing stock to the public:

• Shares outstanding: how many shares of The Purple Haze Condom Company are available to the public.  Many times the company is still partially owned by founders-and those shares are not for sale.
• Market capitalization:  Usually known as “market cap”. The number of shares multiplied by the stock price on any  given day-the market cap of the Purple Haze is 1 billion- 10 million shares going for 100 bucks a share. That puts it at the low-end of a mid-cap or medium sized public company.  (For a recent example of market cap-BP lost over 70 billion in market cap over the first 8 weeks of the oil spill.
• Stock Exchange-when a company issues stock, they can choose which exchange to be listed-as long as they meet certain guidelines such as stock price and market cap.  That is where the stock is bought or sold. The major stock exchanges in the US are the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), and  the NASDAQ exchange.

Since Mr Dick wants to be the Steve Job’s of the condom kingdom, he lists his company on NASDAQ, like Apple.  The new stock symbol is SEX.  As we leave Mr Dick’s office, he is on the phone arguing with the Time Square Billboard Company, about whether he can put a photo of his condom on his ad, or just a picture of the package!

Reader Questions:

Have you ever bought an IPO stock?

Have you purchased any single company stocks, and how did you do-did you make or lose money?

What terminology in the stock market keeps you confused?

Kevin Tofel, at GigaOm has written a post about identity theft.  After a good bit of hand-wringing, and probably 4 letter words- he found out the unexpected charges were by one of his children.  Please check out the post for details.

It seems one of his kids was ordering goldfish food for a free Goldfish app/game for their iPod.  The child didn’t know there was a charge for all that fish food/bowl cleaner, etc.

Of course good ol Dad, in the face of all the hoopla about hacking at the iTunes store, assumed he’d been hacked-and had the charges reversed, password changed, and all those things you do when you think someone has scammed your account.

I think the money/ID theft lessons he and his kid learned are worth repeating here:

1. Don’t leave an open credit card on your accounts.  Most of us are guilty of this, with the excuse it saves time.  But how much time will you spend trying to get your money back when someone does hack into your account.
2. Make sure you teach your children that even “free” online games, can have hidden in-app charges. (nothin in life is free!)
3. Check out the safety options available at the iTunes store, to keep minors from making un-authorized charges.

Reader Questions:

Do you allow your children access to your iTunes store account?

Do they have their own account, and if so, how do you fund it?

For something different, I thought I would do a money savings round-up.   I scanned the web for deals, coupons, and discounts on common grocery, department, or other retail stores.  But remember, only buy what you need, and make sure you have planned the spending.

A discount is not a discount, if you don’t need the item.

Not Made of Money has this weeks Publix deals!

For Walgreen’s Deals, check this post! And for Staples, this one, both at Deal Seeking Mom.

Rite Aid Neutrogena Clinicals Deal from Money Saving Madness.

Free Chips and Queso at Chili’s from Bargain Brianna.

At Mom’s Need To Know comes this list for  Harris Teeter for this week.

What I have been reading:

At Early Retirement Extreme-check out Jacob’s post about clutter!

Money Funk writes about keeping your pets flee from fees, I mean free of fees, no I mean free of fleas!!!

Punch Debt in the Face, appreciates the small things-some not so small!

Engineer Your Finances has a giveaway-check it out!

Kelly at The Centsible Life, tells us Passport fees are going up.  If you need one- hurry!

The Saved Quarter has a list of “Best Posts” from the Yakezie Group of Personal Finance Bloggers-thanks for including me!

Thanks for being a reader!

One of the reasons you should always need to be nice to nurses, and police officers, is that eventually, you’ll need ‘em.  We all get sick, even the healthiest among us, will age.  And the chances of living your whole life, without being exposed to a crime-or stopped for speeding, is just about zero.

My son-in-law had to be hospitalized at St Mary’s in Athens, GA, with complications after recent back surgery.  I want to give a shout-out to the ER nurses, the ER Doc, and the nurses on the 6th floor for their compassion and care.

And no, they didn’t know a blogger with a national audience was in the ER waiting room-along with the pregnant girls, moaning with ROM, the softball, and work injured, and a few crack-heads, looking after one of their own (just a clinical observation-no facts here).

An ER on Friday night here, is an ER on Friday night-like anywhere in the US.

And just a warning to those nurses in Athens-my son-in-law is a police officer-so be extra nice.  He may be the smiling face asking for your Drivers License and insurance card, when you are running late for your next shift….. Thanks again!

Now for the Round-up of great nursing reads:

For a discussion on privacy and grief-check out this article by JParadisi RN. Having practiced medicine for 25 years in the same town, I have read far too many obituaries of patients.  The advantage of small towns you can send a card, flowers, or attend a service, and no one has a second thought about HIPAA.  Everyone assumes you know what is going on.

Sean at My Strong Medicine blasts the spot reducing myth.  Dammit, I was trying to get rid of the bags under my eyes…..

Man Nurse Diaries, has a thought provoking article about self-titration of hypertensive (blood pressure) meds.  I think that makes great common sense.  But it does require the patient to be able to, and comply with home blood pressure monitoring, and having a simple sliding scale type treatment plan.  It has worked in diabetes care for years!

Emergiblog has the 5th Anniversary Edition of Change of Shift! Congrats, Kim on your support of nurses in the blogging world!

At Your Cervix, explains why it takes an hour to get Tylenol in a hospital. Couldn’t have said it better!

Nurse XY has a post about the “S” word-and no you will have to go to his site to see what “S” means.

And for another take on privacy in medicine, see Aburdity is the New Reality by A Nurse and Her Camera.

Have a Great Week!