Well, I guess I won't be joining you ladies. I haven't traded with anyone in the group before. Sandy has sent me something, and I've been in a swap group with Hazelnutbunny, but haven't swapped with either of them personally (at least I don't think I sent Sandy anything in trade for what she so graciously sent me - if I did Sandy, let the other Carol know)....so.....I have a proposition..... Since I really want to be in on the cookbook/food/goodies swap and join you fun sounding bunch of ladies, does anyone want to swap with 2 people? The one you get from the swap and with ME? THEN I will have a recorded swap with a group member and I can join you! Woohoo! Just think - double your pleasure, double for fun, with lots of stuff, lots of stuff, yum yum yum! lol If no one wants to - or if the hostess would prefer that I don't crash her reign - I'll understand, tuck my tail between my legs and start chanting 'no one loves me, everyone hates me, i'll just go eat worms!'....and sit in the corner for a while. Someone asked me where I work....I'm an LPN in a Veteran's Hospital, and yes, I have had plenty of things happen while I've been here. Especially since I went to the psych ward about 5 years ago. My first 12 years I spent on med/surg.....some good things happened there too. Like the night this really crotchety old coot got ticked off about something. I was in his room and he grabbed his urinal to empty it and left the room. I called after him that he had a bathroom there in his room, and he kept walking. The charge nurse was standing at the counter on the OUTSIDE of the nurses station, she had just reached over the counter and answered the phone. As I stood at his door calling to him, he walked passed her and without missing a step, raised his urinal and emptied down her back! Since she was someone I not only wasn't friends with, I actually couldn't stand her - I thought this was too too funny. She did not share my opinion. Oh, by the way, he was on the medical floor because he had gotten sick while on one of the psych wards....go figure! Maybe he thought she had moles/voles. LOL. Well, will get out of here for tonight. I still have cartoon to send out to soldiers, clothes to fold for my grandaughter that is going home tomorrow (sniff sniff) and have to be to work in 5 hours. Woe is me! Have a great day everyone Carol B

You can sell books on eBay, Half.com, Amazon and other places online. Check out the websites for more information. Of course there is no guaranteed of a sale. You are using these places just as a marketplace, not selling to them directly. And there is always a listing cost. You could also swap your books with others at market.swap, paperbackswap, bookmooch, titletrader, etc. Also check your local bookstores, I sell or trade my books at my local bookstore. Clare

I'm not too sure I deserve any "thanks" for agreeing to the NIH studies. Frankly, I'm scared. I just know deep inside there's a responsibility that's been given to me along with the opportunity of relief. I'm not the only woman out there wondering why being in the same room with her active grandkids, or those darn TV commercials where the sound gets louder, or having somebody I love try to give me a hug, or a cool breeze across my skin on a hot July day or swallowing a spoonful of ice cream to moisten my ever dry mouth (dry mouth = Sjogren's) causes indescribable pain deep in my body that doesn't go away for hours & I end up a shivering, quaking mess sitting on the side of my bed rocking back/forth screaming. From personal experience, I know that many doctors will tell these woman the pain is imaginary, or worse, that they should be seeing a shrink & not a neuro doctor. Soon, the person suffering feels crazy & a vicious cycle begins. They start avoiding situations that have started the horrible pain in the past & their lives get smaller & smaller. Anyway, if I can provide spinal fluid, blood, EMGs, etc. that smart folks find useful to learn more about this condition then I'm obligated. My doctor said he believes, with treatments from several specialties, they can lower my overall pain levels significantly from the current daily averages of 6-9 to a 3-4. That, folks, is a miracle & so I signed my name on the line agreeing to participate in the NIH studies. I would, of course, receive the same treatments even if I didn't sign but there's that nagging obligation thing... But, I'm human & scared. The tests will cause more, hopefully, short-term pain & I'm trying to get my mind wrapped around voluntarily doing something that causes more pain. /tricia

I said I liked vintage cookbooks and those appliance and products booklets from the 40s and 50s - so Yes! nearly-new, not-so-new and new-once-upon-a-time are fine with me. Teresa