The world is a scary place, with domestic and international terrorism events, mass shootings, unrest and volatility. Many people have decided to stay close to home – no more venturing out for the activities they once enjoyed in such public venues like sports stadiums, or even fireworks shows. Others have stopped crossing exotic locales off their bucket list, as they fear traveling to foreign countries.
While many of us can accept that this is the world in which we live now, still others have their own personal demons, so today’s current events only exacerbate an underlying condition like depression. While some people strive to keep a disorder like depression to themselves, others elect to see a doctor for psychotherapy, and/or take medication to help them keep their life in balance. Unfortunately, medication is not always the answer for one who has symptoms of depression, and, it is important that the medication be tailored specifically to them, and the medicine-taking regimen be strictly adhered to. For example, going off the medication on a whim or under-dosing of the prescribed meds might cause emotional problems; on the other hand, overdosing is equally problematic. We are all too aware of the statistics on drug-induced accidents, violence, or even suicide, as a result of prescription drug-taking gone horribly wrong.
Preparing food nowadays is so much more complicated than ever before. If you want to eat healthy, it is advisable to check labels closely to fully understand the components of what you will be ingesting. If you simply run into the grocery store and toss a few items in your cart without a care in the world, instead of perusing the product carefully, the old adage of “what you see is what you get” may just apply to you.
Office furniture was staid and boring for decades. Except for the big boss in the corner office, everyone else had a metal desk and a small upholstered chair that rolled on four casters on a plastic mat.
If you are of a certain age, you remember eating white Wonder bread as a kid. Kids liked that soft squishy bread that Mom piled high with peanut butter and jelly. Back in the 60s, the catch phrase for white Wonder Bread was “Wonder helps build strong bodies 12 ways” because this bread was chock full of nutrients. Through the years, Wonder Bread has added to their product line, so, in addition to the classic white bread, you can now get the same texture of bread but in whole grain. Mom is doubly happy to serve it to the kids and it still has that same moist texture that kids loved.
The internet is chock full of helpful hints on how to take care of yourself. You could follow the advice of celebrities on how to stay healthy and fit, or, why not rely on healthy and natural products instead of high-priced products with potentially harmful ingredients which may not get the desired result in the long run? Always bear in mind, that as good as a celebrity looks, that person no doubt has a chef on hand to prepare their meals, a professional makeup artist and hair stylist, as well as a personal trainer to help maintain their fitness routine. You can’t compete with a celebrity, so why not just be YOU and benefit from some of these 
There is a popular expression people often use about “comparing apples to oranges” sometimes it is used in a rather snarky manner, as if to indicate that there are apparent differences between two items – in other words, the distinction is a “no brainer”.
It seems these days you must think about everything that you eat or drink. Back in the day, you ate most meals at home, and, when the family went out for dinner, the last thing you worried about was if you’d come down with botulism, E.coli or listeria symptoms before the evening was over. Now, you must consider everything you put into your mouth. And, then there are the recalls or bulletins about “undeclared allergens” that come to light, long after the product’s expiration date, or after you’ve already ingested them.
Social media assails us every day about what is considered “safe” … coffee’s bad for you today and okay to chug it next week, or eggs cause cholesterol, then more studies say you can eat as many eggs as you want. Many years ago, women were scared by a study that said wearing red lipstick could cause oral cancer, but they refused to give up their tubes of red lipstick so easily. In this ever-evolving list of what you should and should not do, perhaps it is time to take a look at some of the products women use on an everyday basis, and examine if “natural” products are safe or not.
Way back in the 10th century, during the Tang Dynasty, a rather barbaric practice of Chinese foot binding of young girls, aged six years or younger, began. The feet of these poor children were wrapped in tight bandages and broken so they couldn’t grow any bigger. Why would such an atrocity be done you may ask? Well, binding the feet to make them appear tiny and delicate was practiced by wealthy families, as only wealthy families could afford to have the women of the house stay at home and not work. When you saw a Chinese woman with very tiny feet, you instantly recognized that as a status symbol representing prestige, beauty and wealth.