Just a bit of food for thought, the drug companies that are trying to get a "new" drug approved by the FDA are the same drug companies that are PAYING for that testing process. Quite frankly, I don't trust any of them. Plants were created for a purpose, many of them do have healing properties that those drug companies some people put so much stock in would go to any lengths to keep people from learning about or believing in. Tell me, what would happen if the world was to find out that ACV could help with Acid Reflux and/or chronic indigestion? *Grins* Exactly. They'd stop buying "the purple pill" and start buying ACV. Personally, I trust the products that God made before I'd trust those which are man made. ACV is made from apples. The "mother" mentioned in this thread are simply vital nutrients and minerals our bodies benefit from which are lost in the pasteurization process of the "grocery store" brands. ACV is acidic by nature, but when your body burns it, the ash created by the process of converting it to calories is "Base" in nature, which balances out the body's Ph. There ARE health benefits of ACV, many. But you'll never see a "clinical trial" of ACV. Why? Well think about it. Who pays the bills in a clinical trial? What drug company would want it proven clinically that ACV does the same thing as their "wonder pill?" Not to mention many prescription drugs are based after that which occurs naturally in nature. Personally, I have taken ACV for over 3 years now. I have gone from a jean size 24 to a jean size 8. But you must remember that no "weight loss" product, no exercise, nothing works overnight. It is a gradual process. My advice? If you're going to try ACV, then make a commitment to stay on it for at least 3 months. That's how long it took before I began to see results. The first thing I noticed was that my craving for junk food began to wane. I began to crave healthy food. I began to drink more water, I began to get full faster. I had more energy, I felt better. But I've also not been sick in 3 years. I've had kids with bad colds standing over me while I'm kneeling down at work and coughing right in my face, and not gotten sick. No stuffy noses, no sore throats, no flu. The only time I had a problem was when I stopped taking it for a few months. I didn't realize how much ACV doing for me until then. I was miserable, I just felt like crap. And within that 2 month time frame, I gradually began to go back to eating junk. Within a few weeks of going back on ACV, I felt much, much better. Most of the weight loss I experienced occurred during the first 6 months, mainly during a 2-3 month time frame. Within a few months, I'd noticed that my clothes were a bit big. 6 months after beginning, I went up and tried on clothes to find that I was a size 10. Concerned that there might be another reason for my weight loss I went to the doctor, and was told that I was in perfect...

me, you are a gal(?) after my own heart. I have always run my plants dry, I've always been a poor waterer. When I say poor I mean in winter with 18% humidity indoors, my plants dry out quickly. I also grow most of my plants in open, dry media. The upside to letting plants dry out is less root rot, less fungal/bacterial problems. The downside is stress, which produces failure to flower. I have never lost a plant to lack of water, but I have lost flowers. If water is minimum at a time when new growths are maturing and should be setting spikes or buds, you can loose your flowers. I completely agree with Howard regarding roots. I don't worry about what is going on deep in the pot. I've repotted plants with tons of healthy roots growing off what appears to have been rotted roots. If the plant is growing well, the roots are always being made and I don't worry about the old ones. When dividing plants, you will get new roots off old bulbs which had no roots at all. I believe most people over-water and over-fuss. Unless growth is rapid and continuous, you can run into problems with regular watering. I agree that plants seem to fare better with dry-out periods and less watering. Very good observations...... Jane

I've heard that old saw for years, too. Leno makes cracks about British teeth so much that I wonder about his obsession - maybe he's been surrounded by American celebrities for too long. I took the OP to mean that we Americans are, in general, overly concerned about superficial appearances. If the media and online forums are truly representative of our thinking, then I'd have to say Oakleyok is correct and I agree that it would be nicer if folks could just overlook imperfections and not judge so harshly. For two years I suffered with painful braces in high school, only to have my upper front teeth shift together after the braces were removed. It's not very obvious, but I've thought about trying to correct them. Every time I look into braces, I find something far more pressing on which to spend the money. As for whitening, my teeth are already sensitive and wearing those white strips makes them more so. My (adult) dd wanted to have her teeth whitened at the dentist's office, since hers were discolored from too much fluouride and antibiotics during childhood. Afterwards, they looked nice but she said, "Never again!" I do wish that some people (not on this forum - referring to IRL or other sites) would not be so very harsh about other's appearances. I do not recall my grandmother, or her contemporaries, being at all worried about wearing sleeveless dresses in the summer even though they'd all developed soft, comfy laps and arms for cuddling. These days, even women who are fit and healthy feel anxious about exposing their arms if they're not completely taut. After years of limited mobility brought about by many (sometimes botched) surgeries and a few accidents, I am most definitely plus size. It's astonishing the comments that some people have made, often pretending to be "helpful." I'd love to be more at home in my own skin, and I envy that trait in others. Instead, I compare my aging, fluffy self to my younger self (thin enough that I worked as a model for local stores in my teens) and often feel as if I shouldn't leave the house for fear of disgusting someone with my orthopedic shoes, avoirdupois and ivory (not white) teeth.

but you can certainly understand the original poster's not wanting to prepare her home for viewing by a potential buyer only to discover the person couldn't possibly be a buyer, just someone using her home as entertainment. (& if I had my very nice upscale home on the market & my agent told me that the person who wanted to see it had said the exact words you used, I'd decline the showing rather than "spend my time" preparing the home for someone who "didn't know if he was buying anything".) Yes, I certainly see the sellers POV, only clarifying the seller with those restrictions may lose a buyer. I wonder why a seller wants to take that chance in this market. When I had my "very nice upscale home on the market" I never prescreened any showing. I left that to the agent who was spending more time showing than I was preparing. As the owner, one can always decline a showing but IMHO it is foolish to be too selective. Doesn't everyone not know if they are a buyer when they view a house, if ones knows beforehand, why bother viewing the house? Am I missing something here? But, as I said, I've never been declined a viewing or even asked to submit a letter before viewing. I usually go directly to the listing agent to view a property and never ask an agent to drive me around, just meet me at the front door to open it. I've never contacted an agent to view a house as entertainment, too much work for me. I can get my viewing entertainment at Open Houses, but lately I don't even go to those.