Hi Jim: thank you for the link to Charleston Tea Plantation ...I'll definitely order some for Christmas ... I love the taste of green tea. Hubby drinks coffee, but that doesn't appeal to me. A friend sent me a link to how tainted foods from China are, such as contaminated vinegar with anti-freeze (lethal poison). A grandmother in Vietnam was healthy until she turned 98 years old and drank wine tainted with rubbing alcohol ... she became blind & sick and died afterwards. http://www.wired.com/2011/08/china-food-risk/ Pets are also affected by tainted foods from China. From Wikipedia about the 2007 pet food recalls "By the end of March, veterinary organizations reported more than 100 pet deaths amongst nearly 500 cases of kidney failure,[1] with one online database self-reporting as many as 3,600 deaths as of 11 April.[2][3] The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has received reports of several thousand cats and dogs who have died after eating contaminated food .... the actual death toll could potentially reach into the thousands.[6][7] Overall, several major companies have recalled more than 5300 pet food products, with most of the recalls coming from Menu Foods.[4] The contamination was caused by melamine in the affected foods. The Chinese company behind the contaminated wheat gluten has initially denied any involvement in the contamination. Reports of widespread and possibly intentional adulteration of Chinese animal feed with melamine have raised the issue of melamine contamination in the human food supply, both in China and abroad.[11] On 27 April, the U.S. FDA subjected all vegetable proteins imported from China, intended for human or animal consumption, to detention without physical examination, including: wheat gluten, rice gluten, rice protein, rice protein concentrate, corn gluten, corn gluten meal, corn byproducts, soy protein, soy gluten, proteins (includes amino acids and protein hydrosylates), and mung bean protein.[12] In a teleconference with reporters on 1 May, officials from the FDA and U.S. Department of Agriculture said between 2.5 and 3 million people in the United States had consumed chickens that had consumed feed containing contaminated vegetable protein from China.[13] Current research has focused on the combination of melamine and cyanuric acid in causing renal failure. Reports that cyanuric acid may be an independently and potentially widely used adulterant in China have heightened concerns for both pet and human health.[14] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_pet_food_recalls Dr. Oz TV-show tested high arsenic levels in major-brands apple-juice, such as Mott and Minute Maid, with China as their supplier. http://www.doctoroz.com/article/dr-oz-investigates-arsenic-apple-juice The Wall Street Journal has a list of foods most imported from China, here's an excerpt from below link: "Chinese imports dominate some food categories to a striking extent. In a testimony before a subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee in May (pdf), food safety expert Patty Lovera noted that China accounted for 80% of tilapia, 51% of cod, 49% of apple juice, 34% of processed mushrooms, 27% of garlic and 16% of frozen spinach consumed in the U.S. in 2011." Here is a link that might be useful: Wall Street Journal on foods imported from China

The a-line sounds like a good pattern. Not sure of the princess style. I know I can't wear a fitted princess style dress. I made one (didn't finish it) and it looked terrible on me. On another note, I think I read somewhere not to wear pants with front pleats if you have a tummy, but I've tried on flat front pants and they make me look bigger in that area. It has been several years since I've made a dress for myself. I've gotten so used to pants that I'm afraid of how I'll look in a dress LOL. Maybe I should go to the mall and try on some.

I read that if you tug on the hairs that you have in any particular place on your head for 2 minutes tugging forward and backward it helps blood to get to the hair follicles which is increases thickening and growth. Maybe it dislodges or displaces testosterone receptors at least for men. I think women's thinning hair is from a different reason or hormone? Maybe I will try that for my scant eyebrows that I've always had. I used a whole bunch of things for hair growth inadvertently when I was seeking help for my migraines. I use MSM for my leg cramps and my hair is more plentiful. When I was taking a ton of flax oil which was one of the best things for my migraines my hair started growing much more. MSM makes it a bit thicker flax oil made it grow and Sprout like crazy but remain thin. I'll have to look into collagen. I'm glad to hear the Rogaine now works for older women. Best of luck :-).

I have a few of the earlier Halo LEDs 675 lumens) and find them plenty bright for smaller areas. They may seem a bit pricey compared to the no-name cheapies, but I haven't had a failure yet in about 4 years of use. As with most recessed lights, you'd probably want a lot of them for a larger room. Cans aren't so great for room lighting, because they're all direct light, no indirect bouncing off the ceiling. I only use them to keep low ceilings from seeming any lower. Also, be aware that the Halo 600 series efficacy is pretty low for an LED, only 54 lumens per watt for the 2700K. These days most good quality compact fluorescents can do 70+ L/W. Some are over 80 L/W.