I've read that too, about airline pilots. There are also stories about people going off aspartame for months and then ingesting a little bit and getting quite ill. Having been off it for one year now, I'm scared of the stuff. I quickly gulped some green tea recently, thinking it was "regular" when it was diet tea. Within moments, I got that aspartame aftertaste in my mouth and felt a little "off." The feeling eventually passed but man, I stay away from that stuff. It's addictive, too. I had a most difficult time quitting and had to do so "cold turkey." These days, I drink lots of Brita water. I wonder what other people drink? I'm trying to stay away from sugary drinks and I won't drink anything diet. What's left? Rose

DEFINATELY have a histopath done! We are treating a dog at school for a non-healing wound associated with a surgery to remove a mammary mass. The vet told the owner that the mass was a benign cyst, but *never submitted the mass for histopath!* Most likely this dog has an aggressive form of mammary carcinoma, and the owners would have had a chance to save her if they knew and could have done chemotherapy. Now it is too late, and pending OUR pathology report, she will be euthanized if it is indeed what we suspect. In the meantime, the poor dog had to endure 2 surgeries at her regular vet (one for the original mass, one to remove a large lymph node, which amazingly was also NOT submitted for histo), 6 weeks of antibiotics when the surgery site became necrotic and infected (mammary tumors love to cause necrosis), and now the entire mammary chain on the afected side is huge and lumpy (most likely the aggressive spread of the cancer). She is on pain control of course, but she is spending her last days at a vet hospital in a cage instead of at home getting spoiled by her family. It stinks. Moral of the story- NEVER allow a vet to remove a mass without some type of diagnosis! They could do a cytology or histo, just do *something.* It could save your pet's life!

Spaying is a procedure wherein the pet is desexed - ovaries and uterus removed. Spading is a different procedure that involves using a shovel (spade) to dig a hole in a garden, bed, or (usually back) yard and burying the pet up to it's neck to prevent it from catting around. Once the oestrus cycle has ended, the pet is usually dug up and allowed to return to its normal habits. Some animal rites activists might frown on the practice of spading, but then they frown a lot anyway. You can't blame the tom for doing what toms do when you also allow your cat to prowl the neighborhood. Most litters born to roaming cats and living wild die horrific deaths, not to mention the terror they rain down on all types of small animals. Kittens are killed and eaten by hawks, eagles, owls, fox, coons, coyotes, snakes ......., and adult cats are prey to many larger meat eaters, including owls, eagles, coyotes, wild dogs, ........ It's simply very wrong and irresponsible to allow your pets to run wild and breed indiscriminately. If you can't afford to have your pet spayed/ neutered to prevent unwanted litters, you can't afford a pet. Al

Khalid: I agree on that. I quit my job as a computer-programmer to stay home and take care of my family ... best choice ever ! I treasure every minute with my kid, since the day she was born. Lots of people advance professionally but don't take the time to mature spiritually or emotionally. Good choices guide us toward the right path which leads to heaven & eternal life. One of the book I read was a comparative study between Western vs. Eastern on marriage. The West focuses on "Love as a feeling", people get married out of "romantic-love", or "being in love", then divorce when the feeling is gone !! In contrast, Eastern countries get married on "choice", the parents choose the mate for one's son or daughter. Psychologists did a survey: those who were pre-arranged to be married end up happier and stay with each other MORE SO than those got married through feelings of "being-in-love". Why? Because they form good habits of choosing love everyday, rather than do things only when they feel like it. The minute they don't feel attracted to their spouse, they find someone else. When people base things on "feelings", they become fickle, unstable, weaker, and betray each other. Only in my 50's that I realize love is a choice, rather than a feeling. I was in "mutual-in-love" relationships when I was young .. it lasted 1 year the max, typical of "in-love" relationship ... like sweet frosting on a cake, but the cake crumbles. Love is a choice builds a solid cake, and the frosting is a by-product of the loving actions. It's stronger than "love as feelings" because the commitment lasts forever. An excerpt from below link on making choices to love our spouse better: "Love is a choice, not a feeling or an emotion. It’s a decision you make every day of your life. Even when your mate doesn’t take out the trash, or spends too much time at the mall, or when poor financial decisions set you back—you can still decide to love. Love is for better or worse. And when you choose not to love, you’ve given up and given in." http://tinybuddha.com/blog/love-is-a-choice-30-ways-to-love-in-action/ The Bible, and what Jesus taught also point to Love as a choice, rather than a feeling. “just as the Father has loved me, I have also loved you; remain in my love.” (John 15:9) John 13:34-35 “I give you a new commandment—to love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 Everyone will know by this that you are my disciples—if you have love for one another.” John 15:12-13 “My commandment is this—to love one another just as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love than this—that one lays down his life for his friends.” Luke 6:27-28 “But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you.28 Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. Deuteronomy 30:19 “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! http://www.redeemingmarriages.com/love-is-more-than-a-feeling-its-also-a-choice/