It's that time of year .... Picture of Lyme Disease Rash

Unfortunately, it's that time of year for ticks and those of us in the Northeast are at a high risk. I for one, cannot stand those little, discusting things -- my skin is crawling just writing this. I think it must be arachnophobia (yes, they are in the arachnid family).

I recently had a deer tick on me a couple years ago. Deer ticks are the nasty ones that transmit Lyme Disease. The second I saw it I freaked out. Luckily, my daughter was home to remove it for me. I'm surprised it didn't "wash" away with the sudden onset of sweat that poured off me.

Ironically, I didn't acquire this tick by working out in my yard. I acquired it by walking next door to my neighbor's on a windy day.

I did not get the bulls-eye rash like my husband did (in the picture), but I took the antibiotic as a precaution.

According to the CDC, the rash only occurs in "70-80% of infected persons". If you know you have been bit by a lyme-disease-transmitting tick, you may want to be aware of symptoms including headache, muscle or joint aches, fever, chills, fatigue, and swollen lymph nodes.

The rash in the picture was diagnosed by a doctor.

There is lots of information available on Lyme Disease at http://www.ilads.org/

UPDATE: I'm one of the lucky ones didn't take enough antibiotics and for a long enough time and Lyme Disease turned into Chronic Lyme Disease for me. Since my original infection that I don't know how/when I got, I've now had the "Lyme Flu," a couple times. I now know when it's the Lyme Flu vs. a regular old flu. We don't typically have flus in the summer - they typically start in the fall. Last summer I was, again, bit by a tick and three days later I became sick with a 'flu.' In the course of about three hours, I started with a scratchy, sore throat and was full-blown with migrating joint aches, that seemed more intense in my neck and knees, and a fever of 101 degrees. I felt awful, but since I had antibiotics  I took them and by the next morning, I was able to function. This happened in June and then again after a bite in October. Both times, symptoms were lessened after taking antibiotics.

There is lots of information available on Lyme Disease at http://www.ilads.org/

Just a Thought.....Fears and Phobias

Merriam-Webster defines fear and phobia as: "fear - an unpleasant often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger" and "phobia - an exaggerated usually inexplicable and illogical fear of a particular object, class of objects, or situation".
Translated, fears would be healthy emotions that warn us of impending danger and phobias would be unhealthy emotions that are irrational, unfounded and interfere with our lives.

EXAMPLE: A fear might be, not getting into an elevator with a person you instinctively think you cannot trust. A phobia might be, never getting into an elevator for fear it will fall to the bottom or the door might never open.

Bristol Palin on Abstinence

Bristol Palin, the teenage daughter of the vice-presidential candidate, Sarah Palin, had a baby boy just four months ago. As seen on GMA on May 6, she has teamed up with the Candie's Foundation to help prevent teen pregnancy by advocating abstinence.

I'm sure preaching abstinence is a good thing to do and I'm 100% behind that , BUT there has to be a lot that goes along with it to be effective such as educating your child about sex, and the responsibilities and consequences that go along with it. Educating your child about what to do when the "right time" does come along is extremely important, because certainly it will come along eventually. I guess what I'm saying is, "educate about sex, preach abstinence and hand out condoms when the time is right." Talk with your kids and let them know you're there for them. As a parent, sometimes we need to be supportive even when it feels wrong.

I wonder -- Could Bristol Palin's young son be a good example of what happens when a parent preaches abstinence only?

Perez Hilton is really Mario Armando Lavandeira

I have to say that when I was watching "Perez Hilton" question Miss California at the Miss USA pageant, I thought, "hmmmmm....is this Paris Hilton's gay brother?" Of course I Googled him and found his real name is Mario Armando Lavandeira. Why is the media staying so closed mouth about who he really is? According to Wikipedia, it looks like the only reason anyone knows who he is, is because he has "outed" gay celebrities and sheds many celebrities in a negative light. A celebrity bashing website...how sad!

How to Increase Your Twitter Followers

How to Increase Your Twitter Followers

Twitter is the new rage. You are probably hearing it mentioned everywhere you turn; on the news, talk shows, websites and in magazine articles. At first glance, it appears to be a ridiculous service, as did MySpace and Facebook when they were first introduced. There is even a "Twitch-hiker" who is hitch-hiking across the world using Twitter to find transportation and a place to stay.

A good way to increase your Twitter followers is to join Tweeter Getter. This works in a similar way to how network marketing works. When you join, you automatically follow the six people ahead of you. When people join after you, they follow you and the five people ahead of you. They are not charging a fee at this time. It is definitely worth checking out. This link will bring you to a page where you will follow me and can start getting lots of followers http://tweetergetter.com/lydiablogg

Another way to increase your followers is to choose a random person (maybe someone who follows you or that you follow) and follow their followers. To do this, choose the random person and click on their "picture". This will bring you to their page. On the right side, click on "followers" and it will show you everyone who is following them. Click on "follow" beside those names. Proper "twittiquette" is when someone follows you, you should follow them back. It seems you will get about 25 - 50% of the number you follow to follow you back.

A third way to increase your Twitter followers is to join TweepMe. TweepMe is a brand new service that launched St. Patrick's Day, March 17, 2009. If you want to gather followers quickly this is a great way to do so, although they are now charging a fee. When you join, you are automatically followed by all the other members and you follow the other members back. Check them out at www.tweepme.com

I will add other ways to quickly obtain Twitter followers as I find them.


*As of right now (April 7, 2009 at 9:45AM), I can see these services have caused my followers to grow exponentially. 24 hours ago I had 398 followers. Right now I have 482. This of course, is a gain of 84 followers in a 24 hour period.

UPDATE Today, May 5, 2009 2,740 followers.

*If you do not want lots of followers or to follow lots of others for some reason, do not use these services.

*You might want to go into your Twitter "settings" and "notices" and shut off "Email when someone starts following me" and "Email when I receive a direct message". Your mailbox might fill up quickly if you do not uncheck these.

Annie Duke on Ellen

I just happened to see Annie Duke on Ellen along with the clip of Joan Rivers on Celebrity Apprentice saying that all poker players are trash. I know that lots of those things are said/done to get the ratings up, but come on, Annie Duke is a lovely woman! Annie, you were very impressive not allowing her to get a reaction out of you -- keep up the good work!

Do you ChaCha?

No, I'm not talking about Dancing with the Stars. www.chacha.com is a website the answers questions in real-time. You can ask any question and it is immediately answered. This looks like it would be especially helpful when traveling. Check it out!