Just for fun I'll post in this ancient thread LOL Joyfulguy Your thoughts on Costcos etc. is how I feel about bottled water. Why buy it when it comes free from the tap and has flouride in it to boot. :) My state is ranked very high on cleanest water anyhow. Anyhow as far as the Costco sitch I side with Costco. Of course it is annoying for the purchaser when they don't know the rules. Who's fault that is I won't touch because I myself don't always pay attention to the rules and get caught out there too. Hey it happens. As to why pay someone for the priveledge to shop in their store. For me I'd rather give them $40 bucks a year and save hundreds over that year than give the local markets all my money for less food. Plus I shop less often and don't have to make trips to the local markets to try and find which one has the sales. Just the amount I save in meats alone is worth it. I was sick last month and didn't feel like driving to BJ's and went to the market. I came home with very little and spent so much money. I wished I had just bundled up and took the drive. BJ's around the Holidays is great! I spend $40 to save literally hundreds. There are other things I won't pay for a membership figure why should I pay you just to join but in the case of BJ's etc. I can see the worth and $40 not bad at all. I'm single but I imagine it would be even better for those with children. So will this thread continue to live or will it die again! Its kinda like Jason Vorhees, it just won't die!

@EmmaR -- you are correct. The whole issue of lowering the cholesterol number was to usher in this huge money maker for the drug companies. Now to find that these drugs do NOT do what they were originally supposed to. They will probably just get re-packaged as an anti-fungal, for that is what they are--more or less. GOOD fats ;) are GOOD! Avocado, unrefined coconut oil (I put a big glob in my perked fair trade organic coffee every morning, flax/borage/olive *just don't heat the olive oil, PURE clean butter. (As for pork, I wouldnt touch those poor abused creatures for anything. They pretty much eat nothing but garbage anyway - why would I want that digesting in me?) Choose turkey/chicken sausage and bacon. Just as good. Personally, I try for free range/organic, humanely treated in my beef/fowl/fish choices. Good fats are necessary for brains. So just say no to canola, corn and soy. It's the inflammation that is the kicker for damage done in arteries and heart tissue. (From a diet high in carbs--SUGAR--dairy and no exercise) A surgeon said this: "Let me repeat that: The injury and inflammation in our blood vessels is caused by the low fat diet recommended for years by mainstream medicine. " here:http://www.sott.net/article/242516-Heart-surgeon-speaks-out-on-what-really-causes-heart-disease Having digestive problems from killing off good bacteria causes some really nasty things as well: inflammation, leaky gut, allergies, depression; to name a few. Replace those healthy bacteria *never with the cute little pink ribboned junk yogurt which is ALL sugar!! **Reduce the potatoes, breads, crackers, chips, sugar or remove it all together and let your immune system start working properly again. I take probiotics, kefir and goat yogurt - along with some fermented foods. My sweetener is pure organic leaf stevia. My sweet is 78%+ raw cacao/dark chocolate which I might put in a cup of coffee too. Bison is my first choice for meat. There was a time in my life when I thought: ewwwww. At that time I was on migraine meds, antibiotics for sinus infections (but they are caused by a FUNGUS), birth control pills, steroids for sinuses, IBS/GERD meds (purple pill) and a host of others. I had my gallbladder removed and a malignant melanoma. I was a hot mess and none of those drugs/surgeries did a thing to help. Changing my diet did. In 2005 I went organic. 2009 gluten free. 2010 raw milk. and on...no more drugs. I feel great. And you can, too. Say goodbye to the burgers/fries thru the windows. The pizzas. The popcorn. The sweetened sodas that one popular one may contain HEK293 cells - yech. NO THANKS. These corporations CAN afford to make food with healthier ingredients but the synthetic unknowns are way cheaper. And that is all that matters: MAKING A PROFIT. It is not up to them to educate you. You make the choice. It's all marketing. :)

Carla just because there are high tech means available for identity theft doesn't mean low tech ways aren't being used. Most identity theft still takes place through people's carelessness with their atm cards, social security numbers, receipts,bank statements and what they toss in the trash. A purse is simply the easiest one step way for a thief to get the info and multiple pieces of paperwork to make the job easier. Even if they intend to use the computer to do their misdeeds the paperwork makes it so much easier and less risky. Online bill paying is more secure than paying by check. Why? Because most identity theft is lo-tech. The media just likes the high tech story better so that's what people hear about. Sure there are phishing scams and whatever. Those are real threats but a well informed computer user has ways to protect themselves. It's where low-tech crime comes in that people get stupid. They walk around with a false sense of security. Just as in a "bad" area people will become more careful while feeling "safe" in the "better" area. Crooks know this so they come into the "good" ares to commit their crimes. While Mr. Press is reporting the gang bangers shooting each other in their neighborhoods the rest of the crew is off robbing Mr./Mrs. High End in their favorite bistro. Also if they get caught snatching a purse they do less time than for if caught internet crime. There are identity theft rings that use kids to snatch the purses and pick the pockets. Just like they use kids to run street drugs. Less risk doing big time. My DS is a high tech internet security expert. I've posted warnings he's sent me and those got pooh-poohed by some also. Either you are going to be street-wise on and off the 'puter or you're not. If you're not then one day you may become a victim of crime. Maybe not if you're lucky but you sure increase your chances. So it's kind of silly to justify lax security measures (ie leaving your purse where others can get it) when it's something so easily preventable.

Your stories are making me laugh because our husbands all do the same things! My DH does the laundry, which is very nice, but.... he'll announce that he did do stuff to help out, that he spent all night doing laundry. By that he means he puts a load in, sits in the basement watching TV until it's done, takes it out and puts another load in, watches TV, etc. Sometimes it drives me crazy because I suspect that any one of you would say that you had a lovely relaxing evening, that you watched TV all night and also did a couple loads of laundry (if you even mentioned the laundry part). To DH it's a burdensome night of slavery. :) At least a third of the time when it's his turn to cook dinner, he'll decide that he's going to take us out to eat, to a family restaurant, and isn't that nice of him? Um, no, not really. I just spent the past week with literally almost every waking moment outside of work with an eight year old, and I was really looking forward to a half-hour or hour break of heading off to the bedroom to read while he prepared dinner - not even more time with SS. Maybe I'm not supposed to realize that he's feeling too lazy to cook? :) Don't get me wrong, I love my SS (and my DH) dearly, but SS has been requiring a massive amount of time and attention recently. (This every third weekend thing has been having a really negative effect on him; he needs almost constant reassurance and support. I feel awful for him.) I understand that I am the one who has the job with flexible hours and DH does not. I sat DH down the other week though and asked him flat-out if he felt that someone being home with SS after school (rather than day care) was as important as working, because if he did not feel that way I was headed off to find a job not working from home and he could deal with finding someone to watch SS if he worked late, the scramble of homework, soccer, counseling, dinner prep, etc. I'd had enough of DH wandering in at 6:00 to find dinner on the table, homework done, SS feeling properly secure and cared for, only to announce how tired he was because he'd just worked all day - unlike me, apparently, who got done with work work and immediately switched into the joyous fun of housework and caring for SS.