What bothers me even more is the airbrushing. People (read: men) have no idea what women actually look like. Even thin women have cellulite. Most people don't have perfect, airbrushed skin. I once had a boyfriend comment on the veins on my breasts! I guess the women in "men's magazines" get their veins (and stretch marks) airbrushed out!

Sushipup1, I think we emailed each other when I first got my puppy-- when you looked at his pedigree, you said he was related to one of your dogs! Thank you for the Red Barn link. I have seen those at the store and wondered how long it would take my dog to work through them, as he makes fast work for PB and other goodies in a Kong unless frozen. Do you freeze yours? We have bought the marrow bones empty and filled them ourselves, but he never chews on the actual marrow and just gets the filling-- then he is done! Oakley, I started to look online to see if I could find someone who sells real rawhide. So interesting-- I never knew about that! That would be ideal. I haven't found a source yet but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist! I keep wondering about bones from the butcher-- that since the ones from the store (made in USA) make him sick, would they also be too rich? BeaglesDIB, where do you get the pig feet? Are there various forms of them in the way they are sold? (As in, frozen?) Annie, oh no! That is both sort of funny and scary! Must have been cute to see your dog with such a big chew-- only an unexpected ending! Sheila, I will try those out! Do I just ask for "marrow bones"? Cyn-- very interesting! Are those a specialty item? Do you only let them chew for so long and then take them away? Lascatx, if they weren't so $$, I would not expect them to last, either! But at $6 a day I'd be spending close to $200 on chews alone! He could easily eat a bully a day. We used to give our dogs rawhide all the time and they were fine-- but now the Internet has scared me into avoiding them for my current dog. He does have a big variety of toys but he is mostly interested in doing surgery on the stuffed ones and has not too much interest in the other ones unless we are actually playing or training. I am teaching how to retrieve a toy and then drop it in his toy box. I am hoping he will be the one animal in this house to clean up after himself! The small humans aren't doing so great with that with their things! Tibbrix-- I'm still experimenting with those. He never touches the deer antler that isn't split and liked the elk one more that WAS split-- though he didn't chew it too much . . .and it was $25! 4Heidedesign, I looked up the toy and found it was a Nylabone chew. I haven't yet tried Nylabone for him but I will. Thank you everyone!

lol - Lars, 'Sexy and I Know It' is a song on one of my exercise playlists, specifically one where I'm doing an incline hike on the treadmill. I dislike most cardio (especially that one), but know I have to do it and music helps, so I developed a bunch of playlists that go along with different workouts. That song in particular has a good beat for what I'm doing, and never fails to make me giggle inside, which takes my focus off of the exercise for a few minutes and gets me through it!

Lately I have bought whole frozen okra, but sliced frozen okra is less work. Here's the recipe that I use now - I have altered this recipe over the years to suit my taste: Seafood Gumbo 1-1/2 pounds okra, sliced into 1/4” thick pieces (fresh or frozen) 2 tbsp canola oil 2 cups chopped celery 1 large onion, finely chopped 1 green bell pepper, finely chopped 4-5 large cloves of garlic, minced 2 tbsp grape seed oil (or canola) 8 cups water 4 tsp vegetable soup base (can use vegetable cubes) 2 tbsp clam or crab soup base, or to taste 1/3 cup grape seed (or canola or avocado) oil 1/3 cup flour 3-4 bay leaves 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (or 1 tbsp dried basil) 1-1/2 tsp chopped fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried thyme) 4 tsp chopped fresh oregano (or 2 tsp dried oregano) 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley (do not substitute dried for this one) 4-6 Serrano (or Thai) chilies, seeds removed, finely chopped 1 tbsp filé powder 1 10 oz. can chopped tomatoes, drained 1-1/2 pounds King Crab legs (or 1 pound lump crab meat) 1 pound shrimp, shelled and de-veined 1/2 pound bay scallops or clam or oyster meat 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste 4 cups cooked rice Sauté the okra in a small amount of oil in an iron skillet for 8 minutes on high heat and then about 7 minutes more on medium heat, or until the stringiness is gone. Set aside. Note: Do not substitute olive oil in this recipe. Sauté the celery, onions, bell pepper, and garlic in 2 tbsp oil until the onions are translucent. I usually start the celery first for a minute, and then I add the onions and bell pepper and sauté those for a couple of minutes and add the garlic last. This way the garlic will not burn and not turn bitter. I sauté with the garlic only about 1 minute. You can then store these on top of the okra. In a large saucepan or stockpot, make a roux with the 1/3 cup grape seed (or canola) oil, and 1/3 cup flour. Cook the roux until it is a deep reddish brown—this will be just a few minutes past the “peanut butter” color stage. Add more oil, if needed. The roux should have the consistency of yogurt and be fairly easy to stir at this point so that you do not burn it. Add the tomatoes and cook until all liquid has been absorbed and the mixture is thickened into a paste. Add the filé, basil, oregano, and thyme and cook about 5 minutes more. It will be a very thick paste at this point, similar to a choux or puff paste. Add the water slowly, stirring constantly, and then add the bay leaves and bouillon. Stir until the bouillon has dissolved, and then add the sautéed vegetables, including the okra, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer covered for about 30 minutes. This is a good time to start making the rice. Just before you are ready to serve, add the crab, shrimp, parsley, and scallops, and cook for 5 minutes more, or until the scallops are done. Check the seasoning, and add a dash of cayenne, Tabasco sauce, chili paste if it is not hot enough. It should be slightly salty, as the rice will require a bit of salt, but be careful not to overdo the salt—this will ruin the flavor. You can always add a tiny bit of salt at the table. If you are using pre-cooked shrimp, add them only at the time of serving, and store leftover shrimp separately. Serve in large, deep soup bowls over rice. You may want to offer Tabasco or chili paste for those who want more pepper flavor, but I don’t find this necessary. If you use Thai chili peppers, it will be hot enough. If you use milder peppers, you may have to increase the quantity. When I make quantities that I expect to freeze, I always store the leftovers in individual containers of whatever amount I want to reheat at one time. Gumbo can be reheated once, but not twice. Yield: 4 quarts, or 8 large (2 cup) servings, not including rice Variations Many people like to add chopped Andouille sausage to gumbo, but I reserve that for jambalaya. You can make your own fish stock in place of water and bouillon, but this dish is already enough work as it is. However, if you boil your own shrimp and crab, use the water that you boil them in for some of the water in this recipe. You can still intensify the flavor by adding the bouillon.