Beauty benchmarks seem to be measured in what size pants you fit into and what designer hand bag you have draped over your rail-thin arm. This is the biggest bunch of crap I have ever heard. In my life.

Last night I went to a meeting about a proposed city ordinance to allow backyard hens in residential areas. Although my city was formerly a farming community, hens and other livestock are currently only allowed in areas zoned for agriculture. I'm interested in having backyard hens myself as a way to live more sustainably and because I feel it would be great for my kids. A teacher who attended the meeting, while pleading her case in favor of the hens, said she's had students that didn't know a hamburger came from cows.

Consumer Reports isn't just for researching your next car purchase or washing machine anymore. That's right, that longtime resource for product reviews has broadened its scope to include health and wellness. In a recent article Consumer Reports tackles the topic of childbirth, concluding that "Too many doctors and hospitals are overusing high-tech procedures."

To eat the candy, or not to eat the candy? That is the question. Halloween is a tough time for anyone trying to avoid sugar and weight gain. My weaknesses are frozen Snickers and M&Ms. It's going to be hard, but I am going to try my best not to eat any Halloween candy this year. I know moderation is best...But, once I start eating the candy, I can't stop. So, I'm making a Halloween Resolution this year, to not eat any candy at all. But, if you're looking for some less radical ways to avoid sugar and stay healthy during Halloween, check out some of these posts...

The Corn Refiners Association currently has two TV commercials abut the consumption of High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS).  In this commercial we view a backyard party where two moms get to talking.

It's time for another edition of Science Medley, your guide to the science posts written by women bloggers. This time we're focusing on science related to the human body. At Aetiology, guest blogger Whitney Baker looks at possible infectious agents for obesity:

I guess most of us either know or have known someone with Alzheimer's. Maybe that person was even a relative. Like many other diseases, Alzheimer's is thought to run in families. That is why when I read that there was a new study linking the long-term use of ibuprofen to a decrease in risk for Alzheimer's, I had to learn more.

I have 20/20 vision...Just as long as my contacts are in my eyes, or my glasses are on my face. So I can totally understand why people are getting Lasik surgery. If I could afford it, I would be jumping on the Lasik surgery bandwagon along with everyone else. There is nothing worse than waking up in the morning and not being able to find your glasses. Did they get knocked off the bedside table? Did you put them in a different spot? Then you blindly feel around the room until you finally find them. Those are the days I wish I could have Lasik surgery.

Do you stress over money? I do. With the way the economy is going, if you're not stressing over money now, you sure could be in the near future. Gas prices are going up, home values are going down, and what money we do have is buying less and less. The thing about stressing over money is...It doesn't pay the bills. What it can do, is make you sick.

There was a lot of news coverage this week, about a court case of a family with a child who appeared to developed Autism after her childhood immunizations...I wondered how this might affect other families dealing with this devastating disease? Also in the blogs, is a petition that women can sign, supporting an end to drive-thru mastectomies. And end they should, this practice is a disgrace, as well as a travesty against women. And, my pet-peeve issue (Gardasil), is also in the news. Autism...

Did you hear the news about the Ricin scare in Las Vegas? What is up with that? Why did it take two weeks before anyone even noticed? Isn't it kinda scary how easy it was for this guy to be hospitalized since February 14th, before anyone found out he had been exposed (and possibly could have exposed others) to Ricin? Man in Critical Condition in Ricin Case

Successful Healthy Living - How I've change my life through motivation, dieting, and yoga.