Ha, that's actually a really good poem. :D My kids think it is weird that I have put thought to what I want to be called when a grandmother, so I don't talk about it anymore. Signed, milovany (coughgrammytobecough)

I saw that yesterday and very much appreciated it. Agree that it's sad that it has be to written as a law, but such it is. I wish my state, too, would follow suit. I'm part of a local FB community group and people get SO up in arms about leaving kids in cars at the grocery store. Many have said they wouldn't wait one minute to call the police if they saw young children left alone in a car (some say they'd wait a few minutes and then call if no one came, or wait for the parent to come back and then lecture them on their parenting skills/judgment). It's freaky. This is what I read at the end of an article on Utah's law yesterday and I wholeheartedly concur: “Unless there is real evidence of abuse, a simple decision like a parent leaving their kid in the car while they run into a store doesn’t give a concerned citizen the right to start legal proceedings against a family,†[author Lenore Skenazy] says. “Often the thinking is, it’s better to place a child in foster care than allow her parent to let her sleep in a car,†she added. “Yes, anything can happen ... but I hate the idea that imagination becomes the basis of law.â€

Thanks for the app information. I promise, the sisters at St. John's don't test their monastery-made products on their goats (or chickens, or dogs, or cats). ;) She is, Laura. She's been there for about 18 months now.

I use the cucumber aloe one but I think they'd all have the same texture. I love the cucumber aloe, though. Crisp and clean. I have actually tried! I don't think they post them ... maybe they're too humble and unvain to acknowledge the praise (opposite of me). :D

Kristen, you're in Washington, right? Drive to Goldendale and purchase the moisturizer from the nuns at St. John's Orthodox Monastery. It's $7.95 for the larger of the two containers (4 oz, I think). I even priced it with shipping once and as far as I remember, it was still less than half what I had been paying for my Burt's Bees moisturizer. It's delish. It's rich and creamy, not greasy at all (my pet peeve with all natural moisturizers) and it's all natural ;-). Really, I searched around for a long time, and I'm sold for life. Get two, and then have a gyro and some baklava. And say hi to my daughter :)

You may have more going for you than I did. I was used to doing a salt water flush, which is drinking a quart of water with (I think?) a tablespoon of sea salt in it all within 10 minutes or so. I did that here and there for a couple of years before the colonoscopy, for different reasons. So drinking the colonoscopy prep drink wasn't that hard for me -- I chug like Patty Joanna says -- it was the last lemon-flavored swallow at the end of the long chug that made me gag; I didn't taste the lemon while chugging. But what I am meaning to say is that since you probably don't have a history of drinking a large amount of a salty drink in a short time like I did, the lemon may not bother you as much.

Anything unflavoured. It was the fake lemon flavoring that almost did me in.

Waiting until I'm physically hungry and stopping before I'm full/stuffed (i.e., until just satisfied) worksfor me -- when I do it. That's the hard part, but I have lost 30-35 pounds (down to my regular weight) three different times in my life doing this. I need to make it a lifestyle to make the weight loss stick,and that's where I struggle, but it does work for me when I'm consistent. To me, it's the normal, designed way of eating so it's the only thing that's going to work for me long term. Last fall I ordered a four month program on this very thing, at the website www.ThinWithin.com. I'm still working through these weekly lessons.

Try calling them out on social media. Worked for me! We give them our e-mail address when we sign up for a card and then the library will send out notices related to the account. The problem was, they would send out a "coming due" notice two or three days ahead of time, but then didn't send out overdue notices until about 10 days after the fact. By then, with a 50 book limit at .20 per day, I could owe $100. I'm usually really good at keeping up, but as you know, sometimes life happens. I figured if they can program their e-mail system to send notices at two or three days before, and 10 days after, they could certainly add a day-after-due notice in the mix. I had mentioned this to the desk people before (small town, they know me) without any change, but then I kindly mentioned this change in our newspaper's comment section (at the end of an article about the library), and within days I got a call that they were changing the policy and would now send out notices the day after books haven't been returned. Ours, either. *Shrug* They know I use one card for all kids and they even gave me a second card for one random kid so I could check out more. If I had to use a different card for each kid, I'd quit going to the library. I don't want to manage that many different online accounts to see what's due when.

You know what surprised me when I watched the first seasons (until Anthony Edwards left the show) at this thread's borning? I had it in my mind that Carter and Lucy had a relationship, something more going on than that one-time makeout session in the treatment room. I thought they were a couple when she left the show. Shocker! I kept waiting and waiting for their relationship to develop, and then boom, she was gone.

I enjoyed the season finale, too, but I really liked the episode prior, giving us Deja's background. Nearing the end of that episode, I thought Randall and Beth might find a way to have both Deja and her mom live with them, or with their financial help and care (to help get the mom in a good place). As for the finale, I love how they brought the future snippets in. It will be interesting to see what brings Toby to the place portrayed. I like that Kevin may find a peaceful, good relationship with Beth's cousin. And the Tess/Randall thing really opens up a lot of questions!

Everything you said here is kinda the opposite of what I've said above. In the OP, I said outright that it was not an issue with the insurance company, but with the doctor and hospital's coding of the procedure. Several times in the OP and responses I've I said I don't dispute paying for the removal and biopsy; that I knew going in that if anything was found, we would pay for those things. It's the procedure -- the colonoscopy -- that I don't understand paying for when it was preventative/screening, since I was asymptomatic. We're told over and over that we should get a colonoscopy at around 50, and that (to make that easier/more frequent) they will be coded as preventative because of the good that they do and so that more people get them as a result. So I don't understand being charged for that. The dispute has been on the hospital's desk for a month and a half or more now, which hopefully is good news. They try to answer all such disputes within a month and I got a letter after the first 30 days saying they were still looking into it. I really feel like it's something I will press if they come back saying that a colonoscopy that was originally preventative will be billed as diagnostic if anything is found. The point of the preventative is TO find something (if something is there) so it can be taken care of at an early, pre-cancerous stage rather than later as Stage III or Stage IV cancer.

I don't mind at all that they removed the polyp. I knew going into it that they would if they found anything, and that this removal and biopsy would be billed under our deductible (although I'm questioning that a little bit, too, since that's also "preventative" -- preventing cancer by removing the polyp). But what I'm disputing is the screening procedure itself (the colonoscopy). A first time screening colonoscopy when one is asymptomatic is a preventative procedure and per the ACA should be covered, from what I understand. If I look at the entire bill for the procedures (colonoscopy + removal + biopsy), the colonoscopy makes for about 65%-70% of the total costs if I am recalling the math correctly. I received two separate billing notices (one for the colonoscopy and one for the removal/biopsy). It's the colonoscopy costs that should be covered. Nothing changed the fact that the reason for having the colonoscopy in the first place was screening/preventative.

Congratulations! Can I tell my favorite FLL/FTC story? When my son was about 12 years old, he was on an FLL robotics team. They divied up the required tasks and he and his partner were in charge of programming the robot to use a ball to knock over some bowling pins in the far corner of the board. The obvious MO was to have the 'bot go down the length of the board, over a little bit, and then roll the ball toward the pins They worked on that for awhile without much success when my son said, "We should catapult the ball over there." He was really kinda kidding, but then they started trying some things. I was a coach and suggested they get back on task at first, but they actually got it to work and we were cracking up! It was a kick to watch, partly because it was such an unexpected move for the robot to go just a few inches, stop and turn toward the pins, and then heave the ball through the air. They used the maneuver at the regionals competition and while (if I'm remembering correctly) they didn't knock over all the pins, their team won that day. At the awards ceremony at the end, the judges had invented a Judge's Award just for them, "Best Use of a Catapult." They got a trophy and certificate for that and the pictures of them smiling and holding their awards is so awesome. Anyway, good memories. Hope it goes well for your son's team today!!

I've read a variety of estimates and 50% or more wouldn't be out of the range of possibility for a minimum. I like the bait and switch analogy. It just seems so weird to me. Prevent: = if you find something, you can prevent something more serious from developing (if you don't find anything, what are you preventing? Nothing, you're just kind of sighing a sigh of relief). Diagnostic = determining what it is if something is already wrong with you. That's what diagnosis means. Someone I know had blood in his stool, therefore his colonoscopy was diagnostic. They had to diagnose the problem.

I have talked to them. They say it's up to the doctor and hospital. If the hospital comes back with an unfavorable decision, I may contact them again.

Exactly. Honestly, I probably wouldn't have had the procedure done if insurance wasn't going to cover it. But insurance does cover a preventative colonoscopy now so that people will get them done. If they're not going to be covered by insurance, fewer people will get them done, effecting a result that they say they're trying to avoid (costly procedures later if the polyp develops into cancer, or some such thing).

Like I said, that I get. I will pay for anything related to the polyp, its removal, and the testing. What I'm disputing is the charge for the colonoscopy, not the removal or the biopsy.

So I'm almost 52 and put off having a colonoscopy for a couple of years, until last December. I had just started seeing a new PCP (a naturopath) in November and she wanted both a mammogram (also something I'd never had) and colonoscopy for baseline information. I wasn't having any issues whatsoever but I finally gave in and had the procedures.These were both preventative/screening tests covered by insurance. The results of the mammogram were great (no issues). I had the colonoscopy after that, and had one small polyp that they removed during the procedure. When I got the insurance billing back, it showed that they had processed the colonoscopy as diagnostic, instead of preventative, because of the polyp that they removed. Apparently the type of procedure changed while I was under, on the table. That meant I owed several hundred dollars because we hadn't met our deductible yet. Does this make sense to you? I thought the point of a preventative procedure was to screen for any issues to catch them before they got to be huge problems. I get that I owe for the removal of the polyps -- that I'm fine with. That billing came from the doctor's office. But the colonoscopy billing came from the hospital where the procedure occurred, and I just don't understand it becoming a diagnostic procedure instead of a preventative one just because they found something. Is it only preventative if they don't find something? That doesn't seem plausible to me. I have a dispute registered with the hospital and they are looking into it but I thought I'd get some feedback here to see if I'm just way off in thinking that the colonoscopy (not the polyp removal) should have been processed as a preventative procedure, at no cost to me. Thoughts? ETA - By the way, it's not the insurance company who created the situation. They said they just processed the codes given to them by the hospital and doctor's office. It's was the doctor's office that changed the coding from preventative to diagnostic, and that's what the hospital is checking into.

From the Eastern Orthodox perspective: 1. Do you generally have a positive or negative view of Eve? How might you describe her? As above, sympathetic and not negative (who am I to judge?). 2. Do you think she was a historical or mythical figure? Or something else? Historical as well as symbolic. 3. If you had to give a really short summary of Eve’s role in your belief system, what would you say? Adam and Eve are the starting point for humankind. He is a type of Christ and she is a type of the Mother of God (who are known in Orthodox theology, among other things, as The New Adam and The New Eve). While they are guilty of their sin, only they are guilty of the sin of breaking the prescribed fast in the garden. Humankind suffers the consequence of that sin (death), but it does not share in the guilt. There is no original sin in Orthodoxy, instead, each human is guilty of their own sin. But in the Orthodox phronema, more than being remembered as the first humans to sin, Adam and Eve are remembered as the first redeemed, the first saved. This is evidenced in icons in which we find Adam and Eve and in the phraseology of the services where they are mentioned. They are seen, for example, being pulled out of the tomb in the icon of the Resurrection of Christ; Christ came to trample down death by death, beginning with theirs. 4. Anything else you want to say about her? I like the name "Eve" and wish it didn't have the negative connotation that it does. Eve (and Adam) represent us all -- we fall, we get up again, we keep going.

We went to the New England coast last September for our 25th and it was just lovely. We drove into the mountains of New Hampshire one day, spent some days just lazing around on the beach (our Airbnb was just across the street from the beach access point), and did a city day with private boat tour of Saco Bay in Portland, ME one day.

I've been reading several books recently that talk about what you mentioned, Greta, that you can do an intense workout for an hour a day 3-5 times a week, but if you're sedentary the rest of the time, you're not doing much good longevity/health wise. The books I'm reading are about just being up and about most of the time throughout the day -- not even walking. I'm hoping a tracker will come out that counts how many minutes you're up on your feet, and how many times you move from sitting or lying down to standing, each day. From what I understand, there are a lot of studies coming out about how just being "up and at 'em," as my dad used to say, provides wonderful health benefits. For example, one book recommended trying to go from sitting to standing 30 times a day; there's something to moving the body against gravity like that that is beneficial. (This isn't instead of Official Exercise, that can be included, too). A lot of the research is based on John Glenn's return to space as an older adult and how that affected him physically compared to his younger counterparts. The pull of gravity on our bodies is a great thing, and the higher the head, and the less the external support (chair, bed), the better. I'm really coming to believe that one of the worst health practices in our culture is sitting so much throughout the day.

Welllll, speaking as an Airbnb superhost (in fact, it's midnight thirty or so and I just got home about 45 minutes ago from cleaning it for my guests tomorrow), I think it's a fabulous option. Of course, I can't say what all hosts are like, but I do believe the vast majority of hosts are very, very into making their guests stay an excellent one. Maybe I'm biased as a host that operates that way. I have picked people up from the airport shuttle a couple of times, I always have a pastry from a local bakery on the counter when guests arrive, and offer a giftcard to a locally owned restaurant with multi-night stays. I clean thoroughly every time. Mine is a studio apartment (with a second bedroom add-on option), so it's a completely self contained unit. My guests don't at all feel like they're in someone else's home. The apartment IS attached to a house in which I have regular monthly renters, but the apartment itself is very private. I have hosted people from Germany, France, Great Britain, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Ukraine, Canada, and Italy (that I can remember off the top of my head), as well as from a wide variety of places around the USA. It's been pretty cool. You mentioned regulations and that Airbnbs aren't regulated -- in many places there are regulations, some quite stringent. In some places, they're more relaxed and in some places, there are none at all. We're in the latter category at present. No, Airbnbs don't have sprinkler systems or fire suppression doors, and we serve food that may have been (gasp!) made in our own non-commercial kitchen, etc., but I guess I figure -- people know that going into the deal. They WANT to stay in a home type situation rather than a hotel. They have made that choice and they know what goes along with that choice. I have also traveled using Airbnb and love it. I've found some really great places. Only once did we choose the share-a-space option but that was by mistake. I thought it was an apartment. I didn't like going that route, but as a young vagabond, I can see the appeal (lower cost + more interaction with people). In some situations (San Francisco, for one), we didn't stay in an Airbnb because they got pretty expensive fast with exorbitant cleaning fees. If anyone who is not already an Airbnb member wants a link which, if used to register, will give you $40 off a qualifying ($75+) stay, PM me and I'll get that to you. I don't know if I'm allowed to posted it here.

I'm going to go back and read the comments later because this is my hair, too. What I've settled on for now is Suave Coconut Conditioner and LA Looks gel. Maybe more expensive products would work but I don't want to spend a lot of money on my hair. I think maybe the combing should stop. I don't ever comb or brush my hair, wet or dry. What I do, if even needed (and it's usually not needed) is to run my fingers through my hair when I'm rinsing out the conditioner, spreading my fingers far apart. After I do this, I rinse some more without touching the hair too very much so that the curls can form naturally. The final thing I do is bend over is shake my head without touching my hair. Once out of the shower, I tied it up in a large square I made out of an old T-shirt for awhile. When I put the gel in, I don't run my fingers through again. The curls are forming by this time and you don't want to disrupt that.

Double post.