Justin Trudeau is pretty sure disgruntled American voters will not move to Canada

Throughout the past months of election campaigning in America, a quite alarming number of Americans have applied for Canadian visas with the intention of moving to Canada if Donald Trump gets elected president. And even a small number of people who object to Hillary Clinton being elected. I don't think any previous American election has been so extremely divisive. The various campaigns have become like enemy camps with mudslinging, offensive rhetoric the choice of weapons. I always thought Hillary had class but even she has resorted to retaliation. I don't think she had much choice in the matter if she intended to survive Trump's character assassination.

 Now the the final two contenders are almost neck in neck in the polls. It is strange how the tide of public opinion swells, ebbs and flows; sometimes it can turn on a few well placed phrases or accusations. But Trudeau was right, the flow of requests for visas has slowed down.

 Perhaps American citizens are readying themselves to accept the inevitable. What a horrible thought.

'Ergo, the mineshaft'

Have you ever picked yourself up so many times from a knockout blow, a tragedy or an extreme low point that you suddenly find you don't have the strength to try one more time? Where do you go from there ?
Well meaning people will tell you to keep trying, praying or smiling;  every cloud has a silver lining. They are usually people for whom everything is going great.
I was probably one of them, once upon a time, when life was wonderful and I couldn't put a foot wrong...worked hard, played hard and raised a lovely family. I did everything that was expected of me and more. And I reaped the rewards of a well planned life that seemed perfect . And I am sure I told more than a few unhappy souls to keep their chins up and keep on trucking. But I saw their life from my advantageous viewpoint; my blithe, blissful, rainbow colored viewpoint where nothing could be that bad.
Not that I haven't proactively helped friends or family when they were down on their luck or in trouble; loaned money, given moral support, a job and a place to stay. But those experiences never prepared me for where I am today.
When I became ill, I thought I could still cope, even though I knew it was progressive and I would not get well, and to top that off, I was losing my sight. But when you are ill, you do not make the soundest of judgments and you are not at your peak performance. And the people who lean and depend upon you start to unconsciously distance themselves.
While I was wallowing in my own dilemmas, my husband contracted heart disease, had a heart attack, prostate cancer, and later, stage four kidney cancer while I was already caring for an invalid mother. And my beautiful daughter was diagnosed with an incurable kidney disease and required a transplant. That's the tip of the ice-burg. More terribly sad events continued to occur in my extended family.
But my immediate concerns were my husband , mother and daughter. My husband, who had always been vigorous and healthy, became a stranger who gradually withdrew to a place where no one could reach him. Our relationship had been in trouble for some time because I was ill and that turned him away from me. But this new self imposed isolation from family was something none of us could deal with. It affected all areas of his life and the family's. He became careless and apathetic about his work, his family and friends. He made reckless decisions and reckless investments, much to our detriment.
Meanwhile, my mother tried to take her own life twice last year. She was lonely and tired of  living with pain. I got her out of the mental facility, where she had been automatically transferred after she had regained consciousness in the hospital, by telling them I would keep a constant watch over her. I could not leave her in such a place.
My daughter's kidney transplant began to fail. And around the same time, her twin 16 year old sons decided to live with their biological father who drank heavily and had been known to use drugs, skirt the law and associate with a very fast and dangerous group of individuals. It was more than she could cope with and she had an emotional breakdown from the worry and stress, complicated by the looming specter of dialysis once more.
 My attempts to bring the boys back into the family fold have been fairly successful but I had to talk to and associate with my daughter's ex husband to get his co-operation and permission to visit them at his home and she viewed that as betrayal on my part. Now she is facing another transplant and needs her family but won't let me near her.
My husband's heart is now fragile and failing and there is not much they can do for him so he has become morose and depressed. He has strict orders to remain calm and keep his physical activity to as little as possible. To him, it is a period of 'just waiting to die'.
So here I sit, listing my woes and feeling like I am at the bottom of a mine shaft with no ladder and a pile of boulders on my chest.
I am no longer well enough to keep on trucking or looking for the silver lining. Or even to pull myself up by my boot straps and  stop whining. Whining is my thing now.  I indulge.
 I think if I wasn't so fatigued, I would, seriously, escape to some peaceful oasis, where only the sounds of lapping water and birds singing break the silence. I try to retain my sense of humor but at this point, I think even that is leaching away.
I will keep that lovely, serene haven in my mind and perhaps wishing will get me there one day. In the meantime, reality keeps butting in and puts me back down in the mine shaft, wondering, where do I go from here?
Have you had experiences that beat you down and murdered your spirit ? How did you survive them?


Shaft Dweller

'Ergo, the mineshaft'

Have you ever picked yourself up so many times from a knockout blow, a tragedy or an extreme low point that you suddenly find you don't have the strength to try one more time? Where do you go from there ?
Well meaning people will tell you to keep trying, praying or smiling;  every cloud has a silver lining. They are usually people for whom everything is going great.
I was probably one of them, once upon a time, when life was wonderful and I couldn't put a foot wrong...worked hard, played hard and raised a lovely family. I did everything that was expected of me and more. And I reaped the rewards of a well planned life that seemed perfect . And I am sure I told more than a few unhappy souls to keep their chins up and keep on trucking. But I saw their life from my advantageous viewpoint; my blithe, blissful, rainbow colored viewpoint where nothing could be that bad.
Not that I haven't proactively helped friends or family when they were down on their luck or in trouble; loaned money, given moral support, a job and a place to stay. But those experiences never prepared me for where I am today.
When I became ill, I thought I could still cope, even though I knew it was progressive and I would not get well, and to top that off, I was losing my sight. But when you are ill, you do not make the soundest of judgments and you are not at your peak performance. And the people who lean and depend upon you start to unconsciously distance themselves.
While I was wallowing in my own dilemmas, my husband contracted heart disease, had a heart attack, prostate cancer, and later, stage four kidney cancer while I was already caring for an invalid mother. And my beautiful daughter was diagnosed with an incurable kidney disease and required a transplant. That's the tip of the ice-burg. More terribly sad events continued to occur in my extended family.
But my immediate concerns were my husband , mother and daughter. My husband, who had always been vigorous and healthy, became a stranger who gradually withdrew to a place where no one could reach him. Our relationship had been in trouble for some time because I was ill and that turned him away from me. But this new self imposed isolation from family was something none of us could deal with. It affected all areas of his life and the family's. He became careless and apathetic about his work, his family and friends. He made reckless decisions and reckless investments, much to our detriment.
Meanwhile, my mother tried to take her own life twice last year. She was lonely and tired of  living with pain. I got her out of the mental facility, where she had been automatically transferred after she had regained consciousness in the hospital, by telling them I would keep a constant watch over her. I could not leave her in such a place.
My daughter's kidney transplant began to fail. And around the same time, her twin 16 year old sons decided to live with their biological father who drank heavily and had been known to use drugs, skirt the law and associate with a very fast and dangerous group of individuals. It was more than she could cope with and she had an emotional breakdown from the worry and stress, complicated by the looming specter of dialysis once more.
 My attempts to bring the boys back into the family fold have been fairly successful but I had to talk to and associate with my daughter's ex husband to get his co-operation and permission to visit them at his home and she viewed that as betrayal on my part. Now she is facing another transplant and needs her family but won't let me near her.
My husband's heart is now fragile and failing and there is not much they can do for him so he has become morose and depressed. He has strict orders to remain calm and keep his physical activity to as little as possible. To him, it is a period of 'just waiting to die'.
So here I sit, listing my woes and feeling like I am at the bottom of a mine shaft with no ladder and a pile of boulders on my chest.
I am no longer well enough to keep on trucking or looking for the silver lining. Or even to pull myself up by my boot straps and  stop whining. Whining is my thing now.  I indulge.
 I think if I wasn't so fatigued, I would, seriously, escape to some peaceful oasis, where only the sounds of lapping water and birds singing break the silence. I try to retain my sense of humor but at this point, I think even that is leaching away.
I will keep that lovely, serene haven in my mind and perhaps wishing will get me there one day. In the meantime, reality keeps butting in and puts me back down in the mine shaft, wondering, where do I go from here?
Have you had experiences that beat you down and murdered your spirit ? How did you survive them?


Shaft Dweller

Bad Parenting

Please do not follow these examples even though you're sorely tempted

Maxy sez : Beat Your Sugar Addiction to Manage Diabetes

By Wyatt Myers | Medically reviewed by Pat F. Bass III, MD, MPH
Are unbearable starch and sugar cravings hampering your efforts at type 2 diabetes management? Try these strategies to beat your sweet tooth.

When you have diabetes, you know that one of the most important components of a type 2 diabetes management plan is eating a healthy diet. Granted, this is important for everyone, but with diabetes you have more on the line, day in and day out.

For many people with and without diabetes, sugar cravings stand in the way of health goals. Beating a sugar addiction may be the first step you need to take to achieve success.

“Studies have shown that people who eat a lot of sugar tend to crave more of it — it actually changes the brain chemistry to make us desire more,” says Amber Taylor, MD, director of the Diabetes Center at Mercy Hospital in Baltimore. “Most people who change their diets to avoid starch and sugar have a hard time for the first few weeks.”

Easier said than done, though, right? To beat sugar addiction and overcome sugar cravings, there are a number of strategies that can help you make healthier food choices and steer your glucose levels and overall health in the right direction. Here’s how.

Breaking Off Your Love Affair With Sugar
The first good decision you can make, says Ann Fittante, RD, a certified diabetes educator with the Swedish Medical Center in Seattle, is to eat smaller meals and snacks at regular intervals throughout the day. “Spacing out meals and snacks throughout the day can satisfy physiological hunger, which can decrease cravings and bingeing on unhealthy foods,” she says.

What you choose to eat during those meals and snacks also makes a big difference in fighting off those sugar cravings. Fittante recommends consuming healthy fats, proteins, whole grains, beans, and other high-fiber carbohydrates, including fruits and vegetables and avoiding unhealthy refined carbohydrates. “Adding a good source of protein or a healthy fat with carbohydrates can decrease hunger and increase satiety — fruit and nuts or cheese and crackers,” she suggests.

In essence, these food choices leave you more satisfied for longer and better able to win the tug of war between diabetes and sugar. “Healthier, whole-food choices, over time, will help quench sugar and starch cravings as your blood sugar and insulin levels stabilize,” says Samantha Heller, RD, the clinical nutrition coordinator at the Cancer Care Center at Griffin Hospital in Derby, Conn. “Healthy carbohydrates like whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and legumes help keep blood sugars from jumping on the roller coaster of highs and lows that refined carbs do. White flour, sodas, sweets, junk, and fast foods wreak havoc with blood sugar, insulin, weight, and energy levels.”

Sweat Out Your Sugar Addiction
Another way to make type 2 diabetes management easier and fight off sugar cravings is to focus on exercise. And it doesn’t have to be full-on, hard-core workouts, either. A recent study published in the journal Appetite found that, among regular chocolate eaters, those who went on a brisk, 15-minute walk before they were offered chocolate ate about half as much as those who simply rested for 15 minutes before indulging.

“Exercise is one of the key elements to staying healthy with diabetes, no matter what type you have,” says Sarah Yandall, RD, CDE, a dietitian and diabetes educator with the Detroit Medical Center's Children's Hospital of Michigan. “It helps your body to use insulin more efficiently, helps lower blood glucose levels, and helps to keep your heart healthy. Exercise also helps you to maintain a healthy weight, which helps with insulin resistance.”


Eating right and getting regular exercise — a winning combination for diabetes and overall good health.

Roast Pork with Rosemary Italian Style

Here's a roast for all seasons! Capture authentic Italian taste with a blend of rosemary and garlic for pork with unforgettable flavor.Italian Roast Pork with Rosemary
Prep  time 10 minutes       Total 1  hour 30 minutes    serving varies

1     pork loin roast, 2 1/2 to 3 pounds
2     tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
4     garlic cloves
1     teaspoon salt
1     teaspoon pepper
2     tablespoons butter or margarine 
1     small onion, chopped (1/4 cup) 
1/4     cup olive or vegetable oil

1 .   Heat oven to 350ºF. Trim fat from pork. Finely chop rosemary and garlic together. Make 8 to 10 deep cuts, about 2 inches apart, in pork, using sharp knife. Insert small amounts of garlic mixture in cuts. Sprinkle salt and pepper over pork.
2 .   Melt butter in shallow roasting pan in oven. Sprinkle onion over butter. Place pork in pan; drizzle with oil. Insert meat themometer so tip is in center of thickest part of pork and does not rest in fat. roast uncovered 50 to 60 minutes or until thermometer reads 155°F. Cover with tent of aluminum foil and let stand 15 to 20 minutes or until thermometer reads 160°F. (Temperature will continue to rise about 5°F, and pork will be eaiser to carve.

Heart healthy

Chili-Mac Soup

                                    Chili-Mac Soup
Prep :20 minutes           Total : 45 minutes              Serves 4 to 6
Hamburger Helper makes this easy, hearty soup a go-to weeknight dinner.

1     pound  lean (at least 80%) ground beef 
1     medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup) 
1/4  cup chopped green bell pepper
5     cups hot water 
1     box Hamburger Helper  chili macaroni
1     teaspoon chili powder
1/2   teaspoon garlic salt
2     cups diced tomatoes (from 28-ounce can) 
1     can (11 ounce) whole kernel corn with red and green peppers, undrained
2    tablespoons sliced pitted ripe olives

1 .   In 4-quart Dutch oven, cook beef, onion and bell pepper over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is thoroughly cooked; drain.
2 .   Stir in hot water, sauce mix (from Hamburger Helper box), chili powder, garlic salt and tomatoes. Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally.
3 .   Reduce heat; cover and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in uncooked pasta (from Hamburger Helper box), corn and olives. Cover; cook 10 minutes longer.
 Tips :
Ladle this soup over a mound of corn chips and shredded taco cheese, or sprinkle each serving of soup with corn chips or coarsely crushed tortilla chips.

You can use 1 cup of Green Giant® Valley Fresh Steamers Niblets  frozen corn instead of the canned corn.
Heart healthy 

Donald Trump Junior and the Skittles Tweet that gobsmacked the world



Job and free tract of land in paradise ...Interested?

The Farmer's Daughter Country Market is offering land and a job to anyone willing to relocate. Of course, there are a few catches, but the near-paradise location might be worth it. Cape Breton is a small island at the eastern end of Nova Scotia. It features all four seasons, the population (as or 2001) is just under 150,000 and the community is true to its small town roots.

The Farmer's Daughter Country Market, a bakery and general store, is a staple of this hidden paradise and it is looking to expand. They have everything they need, except people.
After hiring all the qualified locals in need of a job, the business put out a nearly too-good-to-be-true call for help on Facebook.
Anyone willing to relocate (and meet the needs and qualifications of the store) will be offered a job and two acres of land to live on.

However, since the town is not qualified for the Foreign Worker Program, it can take only people who are legally authorized to work in Canada (just a few extra steps for any foreigner who really really wants the job).
For more information about the requirements, check out the Farmer's Daughter Country Market's Facebook page. Earth has many hidden paradises. This definitely qualifies as one.

 

Bobbi Kristina Brown's partner loses wrongful death case

Bobbi Kristina Brown's partner, Nick Gordon, has lost a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the estate of Whitney Houston's late daughter.

A Georgia judge upheld the plaintiff's case against Gordon as he repeatedly failed to meet court deadlines. The lawsuit alleged that Gordon physically abused Brown and took money from her estate without her permission.
Brown, 22, died in August 2015, several months after being found unresponsive in a bath at her suburban Atlanta home.
R David Ware, a lawyer for the Brown estate conservator, said outside court. "The court agrees with us, by striking Mr Gordon's answer that he is legally responsible for her death." No lawyer was listed for Gordon in online court records. Two attorneys who are defending him against any criminal allegations said they were not involved in the case.
Gordon has missed court appearances twice, which meant Brown's conservator won by default, according to Fulton County Superior Court Judge T Jackson Bedford. No criminal charges have been filed against Gordon. A jury trial will be set to determine how much Gordon will be required to pay in damages, the judge's order stated.
Brown was the only daughter of  Whitney Houston and R&B singer Bobby Brown.
She died at a hospice in July 2015, six months after she was found unresponsive in a bath.
Brown's death was a result of immersion in water and drug intoxication, according to medical records. An autopsy showed Brown had morphine, marijuana, alcohol and prescription drugs in her body at the time of her death, but the cause of death was "undetermined."
The lawsuit, which was filed in 2015, sought $50m in damages. The conservator of Brown's estate first filed a $10m lawsuit after Brown was moved to a hospice, alleging that Gordon fraudulently claimed to be Brown's husband in order to access her multimillion-dollar inheritance. The lawsuit was later amended to include an allegation of wrongful death, seeking additional damages.

Bobbi Kristina's mother, Whitney Houston, was found dead in a bathtub in Los Angeles in 2012

Whitney Houston took Gordon into her home at age 12, according to the reality television series, The Houstons: On Our Own. He lived with the family for years before he and Brown began a romantic relationship.

Houston was found dead in a hotel bath in Los Angeles in 2012. Brown was the sole heir to Houston's estate and, eerily, died in exactly the same manner as her mother.
The question remains, who will next inherit this tragically cursed estate? And will the curse haunt the next heir?

* Is Polyamory the future of love and commitment ??

The sexual revolution has been evolving since the sixties and we are entering a new phase which still  breaches certain moral and ethical values for some people, in spite of our more liberal views. But we don't make snap judgements these days about alternate lifestyles. Even if we don't embrace them, we certainly are more accepting than our parents. Have you even heard of polyamory ?
Well, let me clarify: - The practice, state or ability of having more than one sexual loving relationship at the same time, with the full knowledge and consent of all partners involved ... in Latin it literally means 'many loves'.  It is unlike polygamy, which involves one man and several female partners.
This is the definition used by California polyamorist Morning Glory Zell, who coined the term in the early 1980's. Polyamory differs from adultery because all the partners know about each others' lovers, so there is not secrecy or betrayal.

As a child Franklin Veaux recalls hearing his school teacher read a story about a princess who had a tantalizing dilemma. Two male suitors had been wooing her and she had to choose between them. Franklin wondered why she could not choose both.
This early insight was revealing. Franklin has to this day never stuck to one relationship at a time. “I have never been in a monogamous relationship in my life. When I was in high school I took two dates to my senior prom. I lost my virginity as a threesome.”
Today he lives with his long-term girlfriend in a home he shares with her other boyfriend. Occasionally his partner’s teenage daughter also stays over. He is also in four other long-distance relationships, people he sees with varying degrees of frequency. Confused yet?
Franklin and his girlfriends are what’s called polyamorous or “poly” as the community tends to call it. It simply means you ( male or female) can be in more than one relationship, with the full support and trust of however many partners they choose to have.

Polyamory does not feature in any census tick box but anecdotal evidence suggests that it is on the rise. Some are even calling for it to be recognized by law following the legalization of gay marriage in the US. This raises the question of whether the future of love may be very different from our current conceptions of romance.                    

Monogamy and marriage are now considered the norm, but it wasn't always that way.

But love has always been the same, right? A man falls for a woman, they get married, pop out a few children and stay together in a harmonious and monogamous relationship for life.

Sorry romantics. This wasn’t, and still isn’t, always the picture of love. Polygamy – where more than one spouse is allowed – was the norm for many of our hunter-gatherer ancestors. Monogamy started flourishing when our ancestors began to settle down. A preference for it then appears to have arisen, among many other reasons, for economic purposes.

It made it easier for fathers to divide and share valuable commodities such as land with their children. Monogamy later got hijacked by romantic love of idealistic 19th Century Victorians. “The idea of sexual exclusivity started emerging fairly late in the game,” says professor of law Hadar Aviram at UC Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco, US.
Even today monogamy is the minority relationship style around the world. Cultural estimates suggest that as many as 83% of societies around the world allow polygamy.


 In the last two decades, sociologists, legal scholars and the public have shown great interest towards polyamory and it’s making them reassess the very nature of romance.
Talking to poly individuals makes it quickly apparent that there is no one way to be poly. There are no immediate rules. Some people, like Franklin have live-in partners with additional liaisons outside the home. Others have a mixture of short and long-term relationships.


Some live in a big group with their partners and their partner’s other partner(s), so called “family style polyamory”. You get the idea. The one thing they all have in common is openness, understanding, trust and acceptance from all involved.
As you might imagine these kinds of relationships take a lot of work to maintain, so being poly is far from an easy option. For starters, to keep more than one relationship going, small logistical matters require a lot of communication. “Our relationships are a lot more challenging,” says Eve Rickert, one of Franklin’s long distance partners and co-author of their polyamory book More than Two.
Terri Conley from the University of Michigan, initially struggled to get her research published due what she felt was a pervasive bias in favour of monogamy. Her research is revealing – there are some clear benefits to polyamory.
To start with, in a 2014 review paper Conley found that polyamorous people tend to maintain more friendships as they keep a wider social network. They are also less likely to cut off contact after a break-up.
Monogamous couples on the other hand, often withdraw from their friends in the first, loved-up stages of their relationship.
Conley also found that individuals in poly relationships are better at communicating and that jealousy is often lower. In new research, not yet published, she even discovered that overall relationship satisfaction can be higher in poly relationships.
Nor do they seem more likely to spread sexually transmitted diseases. Indeed, an anonymous online study revealed that openly non-monogamous people are more likely to practice safe sex than cheating individuals in seemingly monogamous relationships.
Taking all her findings into consideration, Conley says that married monogamous couples could learn from a poly way of life. They could use using similar ways to communicate and resolve conflict for example. “The idea is that we put too much stress on marriage and need to give it more oxygen by giving people more resources,” she says. “A lot of the strategies used in poly relationships can map onto suggestions of how we improve marriage.”
Social stigmas
Unfortunately, poly individuals face many stigmas and one of the biggest misconceptions is that it's all about sex. More partners means more bed-hopping, right? This is a common view, much to Franklin and Eve’s despair.
“I have been in committed long-term relationships that span decades,” Franklin explains. “There are easier ways to find sex if sex is what you’re interested in.”
Eve agrees. “Poly is a lot of work. Having a lifestyle where you enjoy casual sex and hook-ups is a lot less work than maintaining five current long-term relationships.” In poly relationships people aren’t simply after a romp in the dark, but they make emotional and loving commitments to each other, taking in the good and the bad.
In her research Conley also came across other more subtle stigmas. “People have the sense that monogamous individuals are seen as better, that people are more committed to each other,” she says. People even perceived monogamous individuals as being better at very arbitrary things, such as walking their dogs, paying taxes on time and that they are more likely to floss their teeth.


These are similar to the kind of stigmas single people face. This all points to the fact that there is an intense “pressure to pair”. Monogamy is surrounded by a glowing halo and anyone who deviates from this norm seems to be viewed negatively, says Conley.                
The problem is that these judgements do not only affect the adults in polyamorous relationships, but it seeps into their children. Maria Pallotta-Chiarolli of Deakin University in Australia, has done extensive research looking into the well-being of children in poly families, and says the main issue is what’s referred to as “the deficit model”. This simply means outsiders believe that children are affected by their parents’ lifestyle in a negative way, which is not necessarily the case.
“Research shows that most children are really happy growing up with lots of adults, in fact most kids love it,” Pallotta-Chiarolli says. They benefit from added support and time from any additional parental role within their family unit. “These children are more insightful and wise, and open to understanding diversity and many forms of religion and culture.”
“The children see parents organizing employment, health care, making lunch,” she continues. “For them they see the whole gamut of living in a family, but externally, [many] think polyamory is all about orgies, and that’s really hard for the kids.”
None of which is to say poly families are always perfect – they face similar struggles that any family might face. Eve, for instance, still lives with her husband as a life partner, but is no longer romantically involved with him. Then, as well as Franklin, she has been dating another woman for four years. Franklin also divorced his first wife of 18 years. Like any relationship, break-ups can be difficult, and they are even more complicated if children are involved.

All the evidence suggests that the children of poly families are generally happy and well-adjusted, though they may be conscious of the stigma (Credit: Olivia Howitt)

These types of stigmas will be difficult to overcome, in part because these family units are not supported by any legal recognition Regardless, any type of judgement from the outside world can put an unwelcome strain on polyamorous families. If the children underperform at school it’s often attributed to the fact that their parents are living in a non-monogamous relationship.
Aviram spoke to numerous poly activists in research looking into whether polyamorous marriage might ever legally be possible. A 2012 survey of 4,000 polyamorous people revealed that about 76% of the respondents would be interested in legal marriage if it were available.
This appetite for legal poly marriage may have arisen as a result of the support given to same-sex marriage, which is now a legal right in the US. The truth is that implementing poly marriage would be complicated, in part because there are so many different types of poly relationships. “No poly family is like the others,” Aviram says.
That being said, the family style units – where everyone is a member of the household with no relationships outside – should work remarkably like a conventional marriage, she says.
For polyamory to be protected by law it will first have to be considered an orientation in the way that homosexually is. If, legally speaking, it is seen as an orientation, then the reasoning goes that poly individuals would be protected by similar anti-discriminatory laws.


Sexual orientation is defined as attraction to either the same sex, the opposite sex or both sexes – but it could be broadened to include other sexual preferences that are entwined with identity. This echoes what many poly activists say, “They tell you they have an innate sense that they are wired this way. That this is a natural way of being for them.” If that is the case, these groups should receive special anti-discriminatory protection under law as well, according to Aviram.

That some people choose polyamory in order not to cheat on their partner brings to light a striking contradiction about monogamy in the west: adultery is rife. One analyst pointed out the irony that mainstream media almost accept affairs as a social norm. “But when it comes to ethical non-monogamous relationships… this is considered [abnormal].”
Aside from that, most people are not monogamous in the true sense of the word: staying with one partner for life. You only need to look at divorce rates to see that about one-third of us practice what is referred to as “serial monogamy”, where we change partners over time.
This all points the fact that there’s not just one set way for love between individuals to be expressed. What works for one person or society may not work for another. Relationships are eclectic and diverse, and while legal recognition for polyamory may be a long way off, we are gaining greater awareness of love in all its many forms - and presently it's in an amorphous, shape shifting state. Kids growing up right now have more options, more lifestyles to choose from. Who know where the future of love and commitment is headed.

Maxy sez :How to Handle High Blood Sugar

 By Joy Pape, FNP-C, CDE

Q: I test my blood sugar regularly, but my result is often higher than my target range.  What should I do when my test result is too high?

A: When your blood sugar is too high, before making a decision on what to do, it’s important to first understand why it may be high. There are many reasons your blood sugar may be higher than your target range. In my experience, a lot of people think it’s related to what they ate. This may be true — but it’s usually not all about food. Managing diabetes is really a balancing act. A balance of what you eat, how active you are, the medications you take, what time of day it is, and, most important, how your body responds. After all, everyone is different. And the American Diabetes Association recommends treatment should be individualized, which means your diabetes care plan should be tailored to you.

Back to the question, “What should I do?”

Take some time to think and answer the following questions.

What did I eat last?
When did I eat last?
Have I been active?
What medicine am I taking?
Did I take my medicine?
What time of the day is it?
What did I eat last?

Certain types of foods raise your blood sugar more than others. For example, foods high in carbohydrates raise your blood sugar more than protein-rich or higher fat foods. What did you last eat before you tested your blood sugar? If the food was high in carbohydrates, lowering your carbohydrate intake could be helpful.

When did I eat last?

If you check your blood sugar one to two hours after you eat, you might find it’s higher than if you check your blood sugar four hours after you eat. You should have different goals for your blood sugar before and after you eat.

If it’s early in the morning, and you haven’t eaten since the night before, don’t be surprised if your blood sugar is higher than it was when you went to bed. Hormones are at work at night and in the early morning that can raise your blood sugar. If this is the case for you, it may mean you need to talk with your diabetes care team about treatment options, such as a change in your eating, medicine, and/or activity plan.

Have I been active?

Being active can lower your blood sugar. If you haven’t been very active, your blood sugar can be higher. Get active. Find something you like to do and will do to be more active. You may very well see your number go down. If you’re taking medicine that can cause low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) talk with your diabetes care team about how to best prevent low blood sugars during or after activity.

What medicine am I taking?

Not all people who have diabetes take medication to help lower blood sugar. If you aren’t taking medicine, you may need to. If you are, it may be that you need more, either a higher dose of the medicine you take or perhaps another type of medicine. Do not make changes in medicine without first discussing with your diabetes care team.

Did I take my medicine?

If you have been prescribed medicine and your blood sugar is high, you may not have taken your medicine. This can happen for many reasons. Do you forget to take your medicine? If this happens often, perhaps you need to change the time you take your medicine to a time you can and do remember to take them. If you have a smartphone, you can set the alarm to remind yourself. Is it difficult to afford your medicine? If so, you may need a different kind of medicine you can afford or learn more about a program that may be available to help you pay for your medicine. Discuss these issues with your diabetes care team before making changes.

What is the time of day?

It may be that your blood sugar is high all the time or perhaps just at a certain time of the day. If it’s high all of the time, you most likely need an overall tune up — changes in your food, activity, and medicine plan. If just at a certain time of the day, you may just need to work on making adjustments for that time of day, such as your early morning blood sugars, which may include making changes to your medicine. If it’s after a certain meal of the day, perhaps just decreasing the amount of food you eat at that meal can help.

If you’ve been experiencing high blood sugar, your homework should include taking notes, either handwritten or electronically, on your blood sugar levels and how your food, exercise, and medicine may have affected your results. With your information in hand, have the conversation with your diabetes care team so that together you can come up with a blood sugar management plan just for YOU.

The Obama's Essence photo shoot thrills romantics

A romantic magazine photoshoot of Barack and Michelle Obama has left the internet swooning. America's first couple look very much in love as they pose for intimate pictures in Essence, a black women's lifestyle publication.

The president and first lady spoke about their legacy for October's special issue.

But it is the affectionate, gauzy images that have sent pulses racing on social media.

While this new picture of the Obamas may inspire many a tweet, it's important to remember it's not the only bit of #RelationshipGoals coming from the couple over Barack's eight years in office.
They've never been shy about showing their affection for one another – from a moment on the "kiss cam" at a U.S. men's basketball game and their loving embrace after he was reelected in 2012 (an image that became one of the most retweeted of all time) to Barack's star-studded surprise 55th birthday party thrown by Michelle. 

The First Lady, who has been an outspoken advocate of fitness and healthy eating, said the couple are proudest of their impact on African-American children.

"I think when it comes to black kids, it means something for them to have spent most of their life seeing the family in the White House look like them," she said.

"It matters. All the future work that Barack talked about, I think over these last few years, we've kind of knocked the ceiling of limitation off the roofs of many young

kids.

Asked about what memories he will take with him when he leaves the White House, President Obama spoke of time spent with his family.

"Some of my fondest memories of the White House are just being with the girls on a summer night and walking the dogs around the South Lawn, talking and listening to them, trying to get Bo [the dog] to move", he said.

The interview reveals the Obamas as a down to earth loving couple and proud parents but the presidential persona re-asserts itself when he states,

"I can unequivocally say that America is better off now than we were when we came into office. By almost every economic measure, we're better off. But having said that, we still have a lot of work to do."

The mysterious wedding gift

[Photo: Kathy and Brandon Gunn]

Kathy and Brandon Gunn have been married for nine years, but until recently they still had one unopened wedding present sitting in their closet.

The unassuming white box came from their Aunt Alison with a letter labelled “Do not open until 1st disagreement.”

In a Facebook post that has since gone viral, Kathy admits that there have been “plenty of disagreements, arguments and slammed doors” since their wedding day. Yet despite this, the box remained unopened, gathering dust in various closets over the nine years and three moves.

“I honestly think that we both avoided turning to the box, because it would have symbolized our failure,” she wrote. “To us, it would have meant that we didn’t have what it takes to make our marriage work — and we’re both too stubborn and determined for that. “

Instead, the box forced the couple to reassess the situation during each disagreement — “Was it really time to open the box? What if this isn’t our worst fight? What if there’s a worse one ahead of us and we don’t have our box!“

While discussing wedding gift ideas for an upcoming wedding they were attending, the couple finally decided it was time.

Inside the box, they found two wine glasses, a vase and a collection of bath products. There were also two bundles of cash wrapped in hand-written notes addressed to Kathy and Brandon. 

Kathy’s note read “go get a pizza, shrimp or something you both like” and told her to get a bath ready. Brandon’s note instructed him to buy flowers and a bottle of wine.

Solid advice there, Aunt Alison. But the most valuable gift in the box was what it had done for their marriage.

“It somehow taught us about tolerance, understanding, compromise and patience,” Kathy wrote. “Our marriage strengthened as we became best friends, partners, and teammates.”

What do you think of this wedding gift?





Yuuuuummy lemons



Aunt Jeannie ---Baby Tries Pickles For The First Time. His Reaction Is HILARIOUS.--From the Cubs

Meet Lukas, an adorable little baby boy. 
During this video, you will see Lukas trying pickles. It is really hard to tell if Lukas hates pickles or if he loves them. What do you think? 
Watch this adorable video here. Also, share this cute video with your friends on Facebook. 
Enjoy! 

This will make you smile  .
Love the Cubs
Jonny , Sha , Jenny , Man Carano

Chris , Sheryl , Bubba  Landrieu

Have  a nice Labor Day 

Maxy sez : 7 Unusual Signs of Type 2 Diabetes

 By Amy Gorin  Reviewed by Erin Palinski-Wade, RD, CDE
Strange Symptoms That May Signal Diabetes

When you have type 2 diabetes, it’s important to be diagnosed as early as possible, since untreated symptoms can lead to dangerous — and sometimes irreversible — damage to the eyes, nerves, and kidneys. Common symptoms include fatigue, lethargy, confusion, nausea, and increased urination, says David Bradley, MD, assistant professor of endocrinology, diabetes, and metabolism at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus. But those aren’t the only signs that may signal type 2 diabetes — there are several more unusual symptoms that many people don’t commonly associate with the disease. It’s important to be aware of them, especially if you have a family history of diabetes: If one or both parents has type 2, then you have an increased chance of developing the disease yourself.

So that you know what to be on the lookout for, we consulted the experts, who told us about seven unusual symptoms of diabetes. If you experience one or more of them, consult your doctor as soon as possible.

Blurry Vision

If you’re having trouble reading street signs, your glasses may not be the problem. Although later-stage diabetes can cause permanent eye damage, blurry vision that arises in the early stages of the disease may be reversible. “A person with diabetes may experience blurred vision because of fluid level fluctuations that cause the eye to swell,” says Erika Villanueva, MD, an endocrinologist and clinical instructor of Medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City. High blood-sugar levels cause fluid levels in some tissues to drop, including the lenses of your eyes.

Your Skin Looks and Feels Weird

When blood-sugar levels are heightened, the kidneys eliminate excess sugar through the urine, which results in increased urination and loss of fluid. “The subsequent dehydration causes increased thirst, and may cause itchy skin,” says Dr. Villanueva. You might also notice darkening in the body’s folds and creases (such as the armpits, groin, and neck). These velvety patches are caused by insulin resistance. Extra insulin circulating in the body may trigger skin cells to rapidly reproduce, and the new cells have more melanin (or pigment), resulting in a patch of skin that's darker than the skin surrounding it.

A Wound That Won’t Heal

A slow-to-heal cut or bug bite can be a red flag for diabetes. Hyperglycemia (aka high blood sugar) decreases the amount of oxygen that can be delivered to wounds through the bloodstream, slowing the healing process and lowering the immune system. “I had a client who was diagnosed with diabetes after she had a mosquito bite that turned into a sore that wouldn't heal,” says Rachael Hartley, RD, CDE, a dietitian in private practice in Columbia, South Carolina. This effect on immunity may also lead to more frequent colds and illness.

Frequent Yeast Infections or Jock Itch

Yeast thrives on glucose, and blood levels of glucose are consistently elevated in a person with diabetes, notes Villanueva. This is why women with diabetes are prone to chronic yeast infections, and men are more likely to develop jock itch. Yeast can grow in other areas, too — creating itchy rashes in skin folds, such as under the breasts, and between fingers and toes.

Problems in the Bedroom

Diabetes can cause a decrease in sexual function in both men and women. Men may experience erectile dysfunction, while women may have vaginal dryness and problems with arousal. This is because high blood-sugar levels can damage blood vessels and nerves that you need to work properly for sexual response, explains Hope Scott Paul, MS, a Certified Diabetes Educator in Murrysville, Pennsylvania. Nerves control the body’s response to sexual stimuli, signaling an increase in blood flow to the genitals; damage to these areas contributes to sexual dysfunction.

Restless Sleep

Diabetes doesn’t only lead to dangerous spikes in blood sugar, but can cause dips — known as hypoglycemia — as well. Nighttime hypoglycemia may cause nighttime sweats, as well as vivid dreams. “I’ve heard these described as horrible nightmares,” says Paul. If hypoglycemia is suspected, it’s important to test blood-sugar levels and follow the 15/15 rule if numbers are low: Experts recommend having a 15-gram serving of carbohydrates, such as 4 ounces of fruit juice or 2 tablespoons of raisins, then waiting 15 minutes before retesting numbers. Those with diabetes may need to consult a doctor immediately, as dangerously low blood-sugar levels can lead to serious complications, and can even be life threatening if not addressed properly.

And if you're a frequent napper, the habit could be increasing your risk for developing diabetes. 2015 research published in Diabetologia found that regularly taking a nap an hour or longer raises risk of type 2 diabetes by 46 percent.

You’re Losing Weight

This may sound like good news, but if you’ve recently dropped a significant amount of weight without trying — or perhaps even while eating more than usual — it may be a sign of diabetes. “Insulin resistance causes sugar to stay stuck in the bloodstream rather than being moved into cells for energy storage,” says Hartley. “With diabetes, your body also loses sugar through urination. Because sugar is a source of energy, or calories, this can lead to weight loss.”

Alzheimer's Breakthrough ... Hope at Last



© Provided by The Telegraph

The first drug that can prevent Alzheimer’s disease is finally on the horizon after scientists proved they can clear the sticky plaques from the brain which cause dementia and halt mental decline. Hailed as the "best news" in dementia research for 25 years, the breakthrough is said to be a potential "game changer" for people with Alzheimer’s.

Scientists said they were amazed to find that patients treated with the highest dose of the antibody drug aducanumab experienced an almost complete clearance of the amyloid plaques that prevent brain cells communicating, leading to irreversible memory loss and cognitive decline. Crucially they also found that after six months of the treatment, patients stopped deteriorating compared with those taking a placebo, suggesting that their dementia had been halted.

If shown to be effective in larger trials, the first drug to prevent dementia could be available in just a few years.

"The results of this clinical study make us optimistic that we can potentially make a great step forward in treating Alzheimer's disease," said Prof Roger Nitsch, at the Institute for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Zurich.

“In the high dose group the amyloid has almost completely disappeared. The effect size of this drug is unprecedented.

“Despite it being a small sample there appeared to be a slowing of cognitive decline and functional decline. The group with a high degree of amyloid removal were basically stable. If we could reproduce this it would be terrific.”

Dr. Alfred Sandrock, from the Massachusetts-based biotech company Biogen, which is hoping to bring the drug to market, said: “This is the best news that we have had in our 25 years and it brings new hope to patients with this disease.”

The most common kind of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease, but scientists have been unable to reach consensus about the cause of the condition, and despite more than 400 drug trials, nothing has been shown to combat disease. The last Alzheimer's drug licensed in the U.K. became available more than a decade ago. Current treatments can reduce symptoms to some extent but doctors have nothing that can halt or slow progression of the disease.

Not only does the new study suggest a treatment for the disease, but shows that the build-up of amyloid plaque in the brain is likely to be to blame. Aducanumab is a treatment made up of antibodies, tiny y-shaped proteins that latch on to dangerous substances in the body, acting like flags, showing the immune system what to clear away.

Scientists tested various human immune cells with amyloid in a laboratory until they found one which produced an antibody that broke up the plaques. They then cloned it in large numbers for the new therapy, which is given intravenously just once a month.

In the trial, which was reported in the journal Nature, scientists tested varying levels of the drug over a year, as well as giving one group a placebo. They found that more amyloid was removed as the dose increased. Brain scans of those given the highest dose shown virtually no amyloid left at all.

The drug is likely to be most effective for patients in the very earliest stages of Alzheimer’s disease, or those who have not yet begun to show symptoms. Several universities are working on early blood tests for dementia which could pick the disease up a decade or more before the first physical signs appear. Dementia experts and charities said that the breakthrough offered real hope for the future treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.

There are now two large phase-three clinical studies taking place to further evaluate safety and efficacy on a total of 2,700 patients with early-stage Alzheimer's disease and researchers are currently recruiting British participants.

"These results provide tantalizing evidence that a new class of drug to treat the disease may be on the horizon,” said Dr. David Reynolds, chief scientific officer at Alzheimer's Research U.K.

"The findings suggest that aducanumab may slow memory and thinking decline in people with early Alzheimer's and, although the analysis is only exploratory in this early trial, it paints a positive picture for ongoing trials with the drug."

Although some people on the trial experienced side effects such as headaches, scientists believe that adjusting the dose may alleviate problems. Prof David Allsop, Professor of Neuroscience, University of Lancaster, said: “This study shows convincingly that it is possible to reduce the extent of amyloid plaque formation in the brains of people with very early signs of dementia.

Encouragingly, this treatment also appeared to slow memory decline, demonstrating that amyloid formation is a direct or indirect cause of memory loss. This has been suspected for some time, but has never been proven in humans.

“These findings could be a game changer if the effects on memory decline can be confirmed in more extensive follow-on studies.”

The Alzheimer's Society said the "most compelling" evidence from the trial was the fact that more amyloid was cleared when patients took higher doses of the drug.

Dr. James Pickett, head of research at the charity, said: "No existing treatments for Alzheimer's directly interfere with the disease process, and so a drug that actually slows the progress of the disease by clearing amyloid would be a significant step.

Richard Morris, Professor of Neuroscience at the  University of Edinburgh, said: “We cannot yet say we have a cure for Alzheimer's, as this is only a first step … but the importance of this first step cannot be understated.

“Let’s keep our fingers crossed for success in the next steps.”