Jump to content

Menu

Greta

Members
  • Posts

    8,163
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by Greta

  1. Do Mammograms Hurt?

     

    Short answer:  sometimes no, but sometimes yes.  Mine hurt.  And no I don't mean it was uncomfortable, I mean it HURT.  And they ached for three days afterward.  Three days!  Since my doctor and the tech had told me it wouldn't hurt, I thought the problem was that I was overly sensitive (I do have small, dense breasts so that probably is a factor).  After watching that video, and learning that they use more compression force than what is necessary, and other women have had far worse outcomes than mine (ruptured blood vessels, ruptured cysts, ruptured implants) I learned the problem isn't just me.  The problem is that they give no clear guidelines for how much force is to be used, so it varies from place to place and even technician to technician.  

     

     

    • Like 1
  2. Writing should be done primarily with the hand/wrist. To imagine that one must move one's whole arm and shoulder to write is to be crazy, IMHO.

     

    The first time I read it, I thought "WHAT?  People actually write that way?"  But then when I saw it mentioned a few other places I thought maybe I had missed out on something important!  My handwriting has never been as neat as I would like it to be, and I do tire very quickly.  But I'm going to try Patty Joanna's tip and see if that helps!

     

     

    My old old old 3rd / 4th grade semi-classical teacher tried to get us to do those ovals with our whole arms.  This was accomplished by insisting that we not rest our hand on the paper or move our wrist joints AT ALL.  I was completely incapable of this, and it made me feel utterly incompetent.  I also got poor grades in handwriting.  

     

    However, I was a year younger than most of my class, and not at the developmental level that they were, physically.

     

    So years later, although I never developed the habit of using my whole arm to write, I did develop good handwriting despite that.  When I was ready.

     

     

    Me too.  I remember more than one of my elementary teachers always being on my case because I was so bright and such a good student, if only I had better penmanship....  I really did try, and I think it got better.  I even get compliments on it now.  But it's still not as nice as I'd like it to be.

  3. I took my son for handwriting instruction in about 5th grade. He hated it so! The teacher showed us a couple of things. One was to hold the pen/cil about 1/3 up the length...not to pinch it by the point. This lets you write across a page without lifingbor adjusting your position in the page and speeds things up. It also is less fatiguing.

     

     

     

     

    Oh, that's interesting!  I do tend to hold it right at the point, and with a death grip, which probably explains why my hand/wrist starts to hurt pretty quickly! :lol:  I will work on that.  Thanks!

  4. This this this!

     

    My brother was in this situation with his daughter's mother. This girl was so incredibly violent that she assaulted him through the course of their relationship. One night it got so bad neighbors called the cops. When they showed my brother had visible bruises and scratches while the girl had nothing. They arrested my brother because she started crying and said he grabbed her. They would not believe this tiny girl could have done anything. He could have defended himself but culture has taught him men do not put their hands on women. When he was released she laughed and joked about it. Women take self defense classes and he applaud. Can you imagine a man taking self defense against women?

     

    When this finally came to a head she beat him over the head with a child's ball popper toy and sexually assaulted him. He called the cops finally but even when he told them she sexually assaulted him the cops laughed. It was disgusting. He now has custody of their child and he has never again even dated even though it has been 8 years. He is so mentally destroyed from those 2 years in that relationship. Much like battered women, he found it hard to leave despite our interventions and help.

     

     

    This is awful.  I'm so sorry that happened to him.

    • Like 1
  5. I still have some from my childhood, but they are pretty delicate now so they stay safely in a box in my closet.  

     

    I have a couple of plush otters that my daughter bought for me (I love otters!) which sit in a chair in my bedroom.  But I don't name them or play with them, I just look at them and think they're cute, and remember that my sweet, thoughtful daughter bought them for me.  I also have a beautiful Vermont Teddy Bear that my husband bought me when we first started dating.  It sits on my bookshelf, next to some photos and other mementos, and like the otters, reminds me that I am loved.

     

    When I was a kid, my stuffed animals were very real (alive) to me.  I'm sure most people think it's odd, but I actually think it's kind of sweet that your friend has retained that bit of innocent wonder and imagination from her childhood.  I think the world could use more of that!

    • Like 2
  6. I recently got a book on spencerian handwriting(mostly for me) and from what I've understood so far( haven't gotten very far in it, lol) is that you are supposed to use your whole arm for at least some of the strokes. 

     

    That said, I've always written with my fingers/wrist rather than whole arm. Since reading some of the book though, I've tried incorporating more "whole arm" movement.

     

    I do wonder if whole arm vs wrist/finger writing has an impact on fatigue from writing a lot.

     

     

    How is that process going?  Are you finding it easy or difficult to change?

     

     

    I had wondered about that too because my wrist does start to hurt when I write, and it doesn't take very long for it to happen.

  7. Thanks for sharing your insights, Daria!  I don't remember off-hand where I read that, but I will try to find it.  I'm more than willing to be convinced that it's preferable, or at least acceptable, to write with the muscles of the hand!

  8. I'm not asking about teaching handwriting (which is why I didn't post this on one of the education boards), just about how you write personally.  Do you make the movements which form the letters by using the muscles of your hand and wrist?  Or by using the larger muscles of your arm/shoulder (hand relatively "still")?

     

    I do the former:  the motions come from my hand/wrist.  This is what I've done my whole life.  Not one of my elementary school teachers ever said to do otherwise or attempted to correct me.  It's a pretty ingrained habit and I don't know if I could change it.  But I've read that this is the "wrong" way to do it.

     

    On the other hand, I've read that it's neither "right" nor "wrong" but if you write the way I do, Italic is a good choice for you, while if you write from the shoulder/arm, then Palmer is a good method.

     

    Just curious what the hive thinks of this.   :001_smile:

  9. I actually saw a far worse response from an author once, and it wasn't even a self-published or Kindle-only book.  A reviewer wrote a negative but very fair, very calm review, and the author went ballistic.  Complete with "How dare you question my integrity?" when the reviewer had done no such thing (guilty conscience?).  I mean it was a way over-the-top reaction.  The negative review hadn't convinced me not to buy the book, but the author's reaction to it sure did.  I went looking for it again, but I couldn't find it.  So I've either misremembered which book it was (possible, given my terrible memory) or it got taken down.

     

    I've seen more moderate responses to negative reviews from authors (and honestly, I would put this one in that category too) but it still doesn't sit right.  It seems undignified for an author to respond to reviewers.  I don't know, maybe that's not the right way to put it, but it just feels wrong.  Let the book speak for itself.  Rabidly defending it just comes across as desperate.

     

     

    • Like 1
  10. I'm learning to meditate.  There are a number of techniques and philosophies of meditation out there, and I'm not familiar with all of them.  I'm doing mindfulness meditation, because that's what my therapist recommended for me.  She also recommended this book.  And you can purchase CD's or apps if you're interested.

     

    Getting out into nature helps me as well.  A stroll where I make the decision in advance not to bring my iPod, and listen to what's going on around me instead, is very restorative.  I love watching the birds, or any other wildlife that I'm lucky enough to come across.  It always brings a smile to my face.  (Well, except for that time I got too close to a snake.  But once I was at a safe distance I was laughing hysterically at myself for my overreaction, so I guess it was still a win!)

     

    :grouphug:

    • Like 2
  11. I'm definitely in! I was just about to post a whiny message about how much I hate to cook dinner now that I'm a vegan. I want to cook what I want to cook and not worry about the whiny babies I have to feed. The other day I made a risotto and my dh picked out all the yucky orange things. "Why," I ask. "Because they were orange," he replies.  :001_rolleyes:  Those yucky orange things were butternut squash and it was delicious.

     

     

    It sounds delicious!  I wish you could cook for me - I would be so appreciative of your risotto!  :D

    • Like 1
  12.  

    Funny note:  my oldest son knew I had put out a basket for people to put cards in, but he geniunely thought they would just be cards.  He was astounded when he found a check in the first one!  And the second one too!  And the third!  I have no idea where he was when we went to graduation parties for friends, or if he just completely paid no attention to anything other than signing the card before, but still--it was really funny.  I guess he was definitely not entitled, because he would have been happy with just cards.  Instead, he was so incredulously thrilled, lol.

     

    That is so sweet!   :001_smile:

  13. Thank you all so much for the replies!  The big parties sound like so much fun.  But with most of our family being unable to attend, and with her being an introvert with only a few (but very close) friends, I'm not sure that would work for us.  I should have thought to mention that in the OP.  

     

    But she did think of something that might be better suited to a small group, and to her game-loving personality:  an escape room (followed by dinner).  I think she would really enjoy that.  And we are planning a trip to DC because it's been a lifelong dream of hers to see the Smithsonian (she loves museums, is planning on a career as a museum curator).  But that will just be the three of us, so I was hoping to do something that could include her friends and my parents, at a minimum.  (So, maybe she and her friends would do the escape room, and then the parents and grandparents could join the group for dinner?  Something like that.)

    • Like 2
  14.  

     

    Oh, no!  How did that NOT show up on my search???  Argh!  Looks like that one hasn't been posted in for quite awhile.  So should we "revitalize" it rather than starting a new one?

     

    ETA:  I just saw that the older group's founder hasn't been on the boards since 2014.  So I think it's okay to go ahead with another group, right?

    • Like 1
  15. I don't mind getting solicitation emails, for the most part, because I just delete them and that is that.  I am fine with kids on my kids' team emailing me or calling me or leaving a flyer on my door or whatever, that is fine.

     

    But, and here's the rub, I don't get to decide for other people whether they are willing to have someone they don't know email them (or call them, or come to their house) to ask for money.  I can make that decision for my own private information, but not for someone else's information that they gave to me for a purpose other than inviting solicitation.  Thinking you can make that decision for other people is inconsiderate; insisting that a bunch of kids, who may or may not yet know that it is inconsiderate, do it anyway or suffer punishment, is very poor behavior.

     

     

    Yes, I agree with your point!  I don't see why they couldn't just have the kids email friends and family themselves rather than handing over a list.  

    • Like 2
×
×
  • Create New...