Julie Callaway » Beauty and Health

Doppleganger

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 03:50:43 +0000

Found this photo of a lady while I was surfing around a bunch of different sites this morning looking for a new hairstyle. The strange thing about it is that she looks just like my sister, Amy. My sister has not yet “gone grey,” but if she did, I know that she and the person in this photo could pass as twins!

Choice or not

admin — Thu, 28 May 2009 18:40:37 +0000

There has always been controversy surrounding whether being straight or gay is a “choice” or biological. I was interested this past week to be reading several articles regarding recent scientific evidence that supports that sexual orientation is a biological event. One such article was in Time.com, which talks about what the gay brain looks like. Another, similar article was in the US News and World Report.

My personal feelings have always been that it is nature, not nurture that determines sexual orientation. I wish that people would just “get over it” and treat gay people with the same respect that they treat straight people. I know that some of the larger objections have simply been that they take offense at those who go above board with public displays of affection, but to be fair, that offense is committed by a lot of straight people, too. I can hardly walk down the aisles of the local Wal-Mart without finding myself walking behind a straight couple where the man reaches behind the woman and pinches her butt. I find that very offensive!

Snacks

admin — Sat, 16 May 2009 18:38:24 +0000

I can’t remember what day it was, but recently I was watching a morning news program for a few minutes and they were talking about healthy food. The expert of the day was telling the audience that the 100 calorie snack packs were not good for you… I don’t remember what the reason was because I immediately started remembering how a couple of months ago on the same show there was a different food expert who was raving about the 100 calorie snack packs. I don’t know if they are good or bad, I’m no expert, but I don’t make a habit of buying a lot and eating a lot of them.

Having said that, I DO keep some in the house for the rare occasion that I have the craving for a small snack. I know the unit price is more expensive, but in the long run it is better than buying a large bag of something and then only eating a little bit and throwing the rest away because it goes stale. And it’s better for you than opening a large bag and eating the whole thing because you don’t want to waste food by letting it go stale! So, I think that the 100 calorie snack packs are a good thing if used in moderation. I just enjoyed a 100 calorie Hostess carrot cake snack pack. It was yummy and I don’t feel guilty at all!

Paradox

admin — Mon, 04 May 2009 18:36:38 +0000

Healthy foods make me ill
I’m a paradox. If it is supposed to be good for you, it makes me ill. I can’t tolerate olives, or olive oil, consuming either makes me ill for days on end. You would not believe how hard it is to go out to eat nowadays because of that – so many restaurants now are trying to convert to “healthy” cooking, which involves cooking with olive oil! There have been times when I’ve been out with friends and we’ve gone into a restaurant they all want to try out and there turns out to be absolutely not one single thing on the menu I can eat – every single thing has been prepared with olive oil! And it is embarrassing to go to church pot-luck dinners and have to ask everyone if any dishes had been prepared with olives or olive oil. Of course then EVERYONE wants to know details of EXACTLY what happens when I eat it – very annoying.

And don’t even get me started on the smell of lavender – the plant that is supposed to relax you and help you fall asleep. One whiff of that and I’m running for the bathroom to toss my cookies!

Sometimes I think my body hates me!

Weird foot ailment

admin — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 18:29:36 +0000

The strangest thing happened last night – I got up in the middle of the night to get a drink of water and my right foot felt weird – it felt like I was walking with a pebble in my shoe. But I was barefoot! I don’t know what in the world is causing that feeling. I felt around my foot and I can feel something inside my foot around the base of one of my toes. So, I’m going to have to give the doctor a call and order up some X-rays or MRIs and see what is there that shouldn’t be there, and find out what to do about it! That’s a scary thing, having something inside me that doesn’t belong there! I hope it’s just a benign thing like a bone spur!

Muffins or bagels?

admin — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 18:25:54 +0000

Several years ago the “big hype” was about how people who are concerned about their health should eat bagels for breakfast. Somehow bagels were considered to be “good for you.” The only way I could ever enjoy eating a bagel was if it was loaded up with cream cheese. I have to admit that the fat free cream cheese on the market is very tasty, so that health issue of too much fat in cream cheese is a moot point in this post. Fat free cream cheese on a bagel tastes pretty good. But I have noticed that it is very hard to get a nice soft bagel – most of them are about as hard as a rock! And to be honest, I really don’t enjoy eating rocks! And I’ve noticed that every time I eat a bagel, when I go look at myself in a mirror and smile there is a ton of bagel and cream cheese smiling back at me, stuck between my teeth! Not a pretty sight!

I much prefer eating muffins – they are softer and easier to eat and require no cream cheese. And muffins do not get stuck between my teeth! So if the choice is between a bagel and a muffin, give me a muffin! Unless, of course it is a crummy bran muffin that tastes terrible. I like lemon poppy seed muffins, or cranberry orange muffins the best!

Drinking water

admin — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 18:22:35 +0000

I was reading an article on the LATimes website that a recent study of bottled water has shown that in many cases the bottled water is no safer than regular tap water. The article did not say what brands of water was tested (and I sure wish it HAD said that) but it indicated that in the ten brands tested there were contaminants such as bacteria and 38 chemicals. The chemicals include caffeine, acetaminophen, fertilizer, solvents, plastic ingredients and strontium (which are radioactive.)

That freaks me out! Bottled water with strontium in it? I’m not sure I’ll ever buy bottled water again! I think I’m better off buying soda if I’m “out and about” and thirsty and without my own refreshment!

Spare keys

admin — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 00:21:37 +0000

A couple of months ago my best friend and I decided it was a good idea to give each other a set of keys to each other’s houses and cars. Well, it’s a good thing we did! She called me this morning and said she was sick as a dog and would I please come get her and bring her to my place for a few days until she got better. She said she was too sick to even get out of bed to come to the door when I got there. So I was really glad that I had a set of keys to her place so I could let myself in! I had to pack her clothes (not too many because we are the same size and I figured she could just wear my stuff) and medicines (that was the most important stuff) and then bring her back to my place. I tucked her into the bed in the spare bedroom and am “playing nursemaid.” I think she has the flu, poor thing. I’m glad I got my flu shot!

Black Friday madness

admin — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 00:26:15 +0000

I am so glad that I stayed home today and cleaned house instead of going out into that insanity that is called “Black Friday.” I heard on the news that in New York there was a crowd of shoppers so eager to get into their Wal-Mart that they broke down the doors and stampeded over a Wal-Mart employee, who was trampled to death by the crowd! That is absolutely crazy and stupid, and I think that this is a very good reason to stop holding “Black Friday” sales in the future. There really is no need of this insanity! Stores can hold good sales without all of this craziness going on, for crying out loud! There has got to be a better way!

Going bananas

admin — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 11:17:18 +0000

I was reading on the Time.com website that there is a shortage of bananas in Japan because of the popularity of a new diet fad called the morning banana diet. The “diet” consists of eating one (or as many as you want) bananas for breakfast with a glass of water, and eating anything you want for lunch and dinner (as long as you skip dessert) and you have to go to bed before midnight. People seem to think this diet works, so they are buying up bananas as soon as they reach the store shelves! I haven’t noticed a shortage of bananas around here yet, I wonder if the fad will hit here too!