I made it! I swam a mile! March 22, 2004! I'm over 50 and over 200 lbs, so that is a triumph for me! I've been swimming since late January. I worked up to a half mile and now I'm up to a mile! It took me 40 minutes, but not bad for someone who quit smoking in June. Also to burn fat, you don't want to be in a fast heart-target range. I was at 195lbs. when I first quit smoking and I want to get down below 200 as a goal for the time being-then work on losing more. Being over 200 is no fun. I 5'4", but have always been solid and muscular, medium boned. Still, I need to be thinner for my highth. I swim 3 nights and one weekend day a week. I work 2 jobs, so every night I'm not working the 2nd job, I have made it part of my routine to spend an hour in the water! I keep reading more and more that exercise is a key to almost everything...less cancer, less heart problems, better everything...just MOVE and SWEAT at least 3 or more times a week. So my lungs are getting stronger, my stamina is increasing and my muscle mass is increasing to help my metabolism burn more fat! I sure do sleep good - I go to sleep earlier too! ha ha! You guys have helped to keep me motivated! I really appreciate hearing all your feedback and reading what keeps you motivated!! June

Man did I ever start something with the Indonesian Peanut Butter Chicken. :) Too funny! Here is my recipe in case anyone wants to try it: INDONESIAN CHICKEN SATE WITH PEANUT SAUCE 2 whole chicken breasts (I usually triple the recipe) 1 clove garlic, crushed 1/2 tsp curry powder 1/2 tsp cumin powder 1/2 tsp chili powder 1 tbsp lemon juice 2 tbsps soy sauce 4 tbsp chicken bouillon broth Mix everything but the chicken breasts in a bowl. Use this as a marinade over the chicken. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours. Remove the chicken from the marinade (reservind the marinade). Bake in oven 350F (I use clay pieces to cook my chicken on - really good results). If on clay, no need to turn. PEANUT SAUCE (If you triple the recipe for the chicken/marinade, then triple the peanut sauce. 2 tbsp vegetable oil 2 shallots (I don't use this) 1 tbsp brown sugar 1/3 cup smooth or crunchy peanut butter 2/3 cup water 3 tbsp whipping cream (I use 2% milk) Pour the reserved marinade in a pan, add the peanut sauce ingredients and thicken. Serve marinade over chicken and rice. I like to saute some nuts. It's good to put sauted peppers on top. It's delicious. Tell me if you try it. ---------------------------- Jess, that was a good website. Carol

Msgirl: mineral oil is effective in controlling rose-scale pest. Khalid asked excellent questions in his thread "organic treatment ...", so I re-post some info. here. Johnson Baby oil is the same as mineral oil, except it reeks of perfume. Very effective against thrips and scale according to the New Zealand research (see Khalid's thread). http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/3453227/organic-treatment-against-pests-and-fungus-in-zone-9a?n=40 "Mineral oils sprayed onto citrus trees can control a wide range of pests, including mites, aphids, psyllids, leafminers and scale. The control effect of the oil is mainly by suffocation, when the oil moves into the spiracles (breathing holes) of the insects. Recently, it has been shown that the oil also controls insects by modifying their behavior. For example, female leafminers do not lay eggs on leaves where there are oil deposits. Mineral oil may also reduce the level of transmission of virus diseases by aphids Advantages of Oil Spray Oils have several advantages compared to chemical insecticides. Their main benefit is that they are broad-spectrum. They control a wide range of pests, as well as fungus diseases such as black spot and greasy spot. They are even effective against the eggs of aphids, mites and some moths. Furthermore, they are easy to handle and relatively safe to the grower applying them. They dissipate quickly after spraying. Mineral oils also kill any algae growing on the trees and fruit, leaving them clean." http://www.agnet.org/library.php?func=view&id=20110711110304

Thank you, Jess and Khalid for your comforting words. I went to the PA (physician assistant) on Jan 20. He checked my ears and found the right ear badly blocked, same with the left ear. When the cold virus attacks the body, it inflames the Eustachian tube. Some info. from Mayo clinic: "With plugged ears, your eustachian tubes — which run between the middle of your ears and the back of your nose — become obstructed. You may experience a feeling of fullness or pressure in your ears. You may also have ear pain, dizziness and muffled hearing. As swelling from the cold subsides, the obstruction usually resolves." My experience is very much like what the below doc. went through: http://www.healthxchange.com.sg/healthyliving/SpecialFocus/Pages/a-common-cold-can-cause-vertigo.aspx " Dr Young, 33, started an otherwise ordinary day with a mild sore throat and a runny nose – like he was coming down with a cold. However, by the third evening, he started to feel light-headed and awoke the following morning with severe vertigo. He felt as if the room was spinning around him. “For the first two days after the vertigo set in, I couldn’t eat, drink, turn my head or even move my eyes from side to side without vomiting or feeling the room spin around me,” he said. It turns out that Dr Young had labyrinthitis, a condition where the labyrinth (the inner ear) is inflamed and not functioning normally. Dr Young, an infectious disease specialist from Britain who works at a local hospital, self-medicated with vestibular suppressants and anti-emetics. These are prescription drugs to suppress dizziness and nausea. “But they had little effect." he said. “The acute vertigo usually lasts from a few days to two weeks. As it resolves, the patient experiences slight imbalance or unsteadiness while walking. This rehabilitation phase may last for one or two months. The hearing function may or may not fully recover. The recovery period is fastest during the first month but the patient may still recover up to six months after the onset of the disease,” said Dr Tan. Labyrinthitis is often spontaneous and idiopathic but can occur after a cold, flu or upper respiratory tract infection (URTI). “These infections don’t usually affect the inner ear. More often, in URTIs, the middle ear is affected when bacteria and nasal secretions pass through the eustachian tubes to the middle ear causing fluid accumulation. A bad middle ear infection can lead to the spread of infection to the brain, or in rare cases, labyrinthitis as well,” said Dr Tan. **** From Straw, the P.A. who examined my ears recommended an MRI of the brain (magnetic resonance imaging scan) to show the inflammation. The cost? $1,000. I said, "NO way, I'm going to rinse my ears with hydrogen peroxide". I went home, fill a glass-dropper with hydrogen peroxide, rinsed my left ear. That cleared out completely. The right ear which bled, I had to rinse it 3 times with hydroxide peroxide ... and my vertigo went away !! I was able to stretch my head backward in all directions. Hydrogen peroxide kills all three: bacteria, fungi, and virus.