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Less Invasive, More Affordable Cosmetic Surgery and Skin Care
February 26, 2008
Host: Anti-Aging Psychologist Dr. Michael Brickey
Expert Guest: Dermatologist Dr. James Fairfield
Broadcast: 1-28-08 on webtalkradio.net where the latest shows are broadcast and posted as podcasts
Dr. Fairfield is author of Erase the Years: How Today's Cosmetic Procedures are a Fountain of Youth. He leads a thriving dermatology practice in Philadelphia. He has a weekly radio program, Erase the Years. He certifies physicians around the country in the use of cosmetic lasers and works closely with the University of Pennsylvania in the treatment of malignant melanoma. The Consumer's Research Council recognized him as one of the nation's top physicians. His website is http://www.cmderm.com/
TRANSCRIPT ©Michael Brickey–excerpts permitted with attribution
MB: This is Dr. Michael Brickey with Ageless Lifestyle Radio, cutting-edge thinking for being youthful at every age. On each program I interview experts on what it takes to live longer, healthier, and happier. Our program takes a holistic approach in addressing anti-aging psychology, medicine, alternative medicine, fitness, nutrition, and wellness. Our emphasis is on innovative thinking and practices that have solid data and results. Today's expert guest is Dr. James Fairfield. Dr. Fairfield is author of Erase the Years: How Today's Cosmetic Procedures are a Fountain of Youth. He leads a thriving dermatology practice in the Philadelphia area, has a weekly radio program, "Erase the Years," and he certifies physicians around the country in use of cosmetic lasers. The Consumer's Research Council recognized him as one of the nation's top physicians. Dr. Fairfield, let's start with a huge breakthrough treatment in dermatology – Fraxel laser treatment. What is Fraxel treatment?
JF: Fraxel laser actually pioneered what is known also as fractionating laser treatments, in which little spikules or spikes of laser energy penetrate the skin – very, very much like the gardening shows you've seen that aerate your lawn with like spikes in them – go through the skin. The breakthrough is that the technology is the laser light is attracted to water. So these microthermal zones, microscopic little treatment zones, leave the surface skin alone because there is no water there. And the damage to the skin is in fact a coagulation of the collagen in the epidermis and the epidermal and dermal junction, and in the dermis itself. The treatment is done via computer so the energy is laid down in a computerized array, much like pixels in a photograph. It's done in a series, so in any particular treatment, the operator might choose 17 to 23% of coverage, allowing then about 80% of the normal skin to do the exchange. Within two to three days, the coagulated spikule of collagen is replaced by brand new collagen. You take a 61-year-old and he then, at this site, has brand new dermis and epidermis. A series of treatments then, of course, get you towards 100%. The effect is a transformation underneath that affects the surface by getting rid of brown spots, breaking up blood vessels on the surface of the skin, and ultimately an amazing tightening of the skin, so that the skin is lifted and tightened.
MB: I understand that it can even get the color back in the scar area?
JF: To a certain extent. The color cell is called the melanocyte. Melanocytes are mobile cells. If you picture these microthermal zones targeting the scar tissue itself and coagulating it, the neighboring melanocytes are capable of migrating across the defect and populating that area. The scar itself also is softened, and the in the course of months that follow, the elastic tissue is laid down and the scar is elevated. This thing is now the gold standard for the treatment of acne scars.
MB: So somebody with severe pock marks from acne or smallpox or something could actually have those pretty well erased?
JF: The depressions are the best kind of scars to eradicate, of course – the shallow hollows, the depressions of chicken pox or of acne itself. The – what we call ice pick scars – those are treated differently. We basically remove them with a very tiny circular scalpel called a punch. The body fills it right in. So the ice pick scars are modified that way, but all of the other shallow scars and rather deep scars are actually elevated by the Fraxel laser.
MB: Is this pretty painless? Are people getting an anesthesia shot?
JF: The computer generates the energy based on the square inches of each person's different face, and the measurements taken by the machine prior to the treatment onset, so the entire face then, for an hour prior to the procedure, we coat it with an ointment that is a very potent topical anesthetic. It is a heat reaction, so the sensation is that of heat, little spikes of heat that are just momentary, only when the laser fires. The person then holds a vacuum hose – well, it's actually not a vacuum hose; it's a blower hose – that blows refrigerated air. Whenever it gets a little too warm, you simply point it at the spot and eradicate the heat sensation. I myself have had six of these. I am 61. And three or four months later, my clients who have not seen me before-
MB: They didn't recognize you?
JF: They – well, if they've never seen me before, will place my age between 48 and 54.
MB: Wow.
JF: That's how much significant tightening there is, eradication of the brown spots, tightening of the pores – it is rather amazing. And the condition women get called melasma, the mask of pregnancy – this breaks all of that up, the resident cells that are manufacturing the color are broken up and the skin returns to a normal color.
MB: Is this replacing what we used to call facelifts?
JF: It is an adjunct. I have had clients come in who were troubled by sagging jowls and they had such terrible skin quality due to smoking and excessive sun and whatnot, and they recommended to them that we improve their skin first and see what happens, and we'd undergo a Fraxel series. And sure enough, at the end of the Fraxel series, they really didn't need a facelift.
MB: Wow.
JF: This is useful also for what we crepiness of the neck, the décolleté area with all of the brown spots and very thin skin that one sees in the sunnier climates, and of course where you see a lot of aging changes, the back of the hands and forearms – the Fraxel's fair game for all of that. We also use it for stretch marks, because it can thicken those up again, and for surgical scars.
MB: With a facelift, you've got swelling and weeks of recovery. With this, there's practically no recovery, just a bit of redness the next day, or…?
JF: From personal experience, I would have a treatment in the morning, see clients in the afternoon, and be accused of being out in the sun and not listening to my own advice. So yes, there is puffiness, but it's not true swelling. By that night, my face would feel warm. I've break up a pack of peas, frozen peas, and hold them on my face, sleep elevated for the next three nights to keep the puffiness to a minimum. But I'd be back in action the next day. We treat models who have a photo shoot within three days and they're fine.
MB: Is there anything else that would be helpful for us to know about Fraxel treatments?
JF: Very much so. The Fraxel is the gold standard, the Reliance Fraxel machine. One of the best – I've been doing lasers for 26 years. I was trained by Leon Goldman, who was the father of medical lasers, the very crude, old CO2 lasers of the 1980's – I've never seen technology like this. And one of the best indicators that you have a winner is that imitators pop up all over the place. And if the other laser companies, especially the ones that have what we call multi-platform boxes in which the purchaser buys a single unit and then gets different hand pieces that ostensibly perform different functions – and rapidly there were appearing fractionating hand pieces on these things, which wavelengths didn't approach the wavelength necessary to do what the true Fraxel does. I would recommend, having a lot of laser experience, that you stick with the actual original Fraxel. They have gone to an upgraded version called the Fraxel SR1500, better known as the Fraxel Refresh or something like that, and they're now coming out with a new one that is a combination of fractionating laser and resurfacing. And the catchword of the day nowadays is nonablative. Nobody has the time to be down from work, so nonablative – that's what the Fraxel is. When they introduced this newest version, they did introduce some ablation. But it's so scattered and so minor that it triggers tremendous skin tightening with very, very little downtime. Not much more than the original Fraxel. So it's a good, good product.
MB: So it's like a brand new then?
JF: Fraxel is a brand name.
MB: How would a patient know if his dermatologist was really experienced, or whether you were his first laser patient, and better to go with someone with a little more experience?
JF: Ask for referrals. Ask for names of clients who would be willing to talk to them about their procedure. The experienced physician has plenty of those who are just back-flip happy to give their testimonials. I have clients here who are at the ready to speak to anybody. That's a wonderful sign that you have a physician that really knows what he's doing or she's doing. It's a great way to get some assurance that you're in the right place.
MB: So physicians are allowed to do testimonials?
JF: Oh, absolutely. I use them constantly, because what others say about you is far more powerful than anything you could say about yourself. We use those in all of our marketing pieces, on our website. We rarely send anything out that does not contain at least one testimonial.
MB: Now, one of the things fascinating about you, Dr. Fairfield, is that you've tried virtually all of the treatments on yourself-
JF: I have.
MB: Including recently doing liposuction on yourself?
JF: I sure did. There's a reason for that. Number one, I – you know, at 61 I need some help. I'm a fly fisherman. I've been a pilot in the past. I've been exposed to a lot of ultraviolet damage, and especially the most damaging ray, which is ultraviolet A light. People are unaware of that. It's present year-round and it does most of the deeper damage to the skin. So I actually needed some help. And as far as the liposuction I did, it was done in conjunction with four of my expert laser staff. This was done with the newest device on the market, even newer than the Fraxel, called SmartLipo – laser-assisted liposuction. SmartLipo is also a trade name. And in this case, what one does is inflate the fat layer with lidocaine, epinephrine, and a buffered solution, basically a bag of numbing medicine that is introduced under the skin through a previously numbed-up spot. There's a larger cannula introduced and you blow up the fat. You basically make it tumescent. That's the word – tumescent. And it makes the fat easier to extract. But the magic of lipo is that this very thin cannula is introduced. The cannula is no more than 2 mm wide. It might be 15 inches long, but it's very tiny. You put it through a tiny 2-mm punch hole and it's a YAG laser that then vaporizes and liquefies the fat, the fat cells, so the fat never comes back. But the most important difference is that it treats the underside of the dermis, the underside of the skin at the dermal fat layer. This triggers a consequent contraction of the skin over a period of weeks so that when you are done, your skin is not hanging in loose folks, as one sees after traditional liposuction. Now, this occurs whether or not you – say you have a small area, like under the next or in the jowl area, that's all you do. You just do the SmartLipo and then aspirate the liquid. But if, as in my case, I had significant love handles – of course, nobody loves love handles. The love handles had some substantial fat underneath, so we did the SmartLipo treatment to treat the underside of the skin and vaporize the top 10 mm or so of fat, and then introduced a larger cannula to vacuum out the rest of the fat, down to the muscle layer. The nurses were a bit, shall we say, tentative in their approach to that part. So I said, "Hey, give me that thing," and I put on a pair of sterile gloves and had at it!
MB: Wow.
JF: And they said, "How can you do that?" And I said, "It doesn't hurt. I'm as numb as they can be." And I showed them what kind of power is necessary is go after serious fat removal. And one by one, they got the idea, and then they finished me off. They did my flanks and all the way to my spine. And today – oh, I had a full schedule the next day, by the way.
MB: Wow.
JF: You wear a compressive garment, and I swear there was no discomfort. The feeling is one of having had a good workout at the gym. That's about it.
MB: So the SmartLipo compared to the lipo that we see on the TV makeover programs – we've got a smaller wand, we've got less folds of skin afterwards. Are there other differences?
JF: Well, it's done in an outpatient setting. This is serious, because in the news, of course, we've had far too many deaths reported from liposuction, and the deaths uniformly are done in the hospital under general anesthesia, usually done with multiple procedures, such as liposuction, breast reduction or augmentation, and perhaps even an eyebrow lift or something – it's far too long under anesthesia. And with liposuction, there's a significant exchange of fluids. You put a bunch in and then you suck it all out. The electrolytes get out of whack. Young people – people in their 30s – have died on the table from this. They couldn't get it back. The safety of SmartLipo, laser-assisted liposuction, is that you're not tempted to go and treat multiple areas. It takes too long. So you pick – we segmented into areas such as the upper abdomen and the lower abdomen, plus the love handles, upper inner thighs, knees, saddlebags, and a new term I learned from my staff called "bra fat." I had no idea what that was. But they object to the indentation create by their bras. And it is due to fat that is between the skin and the back. And of course, you take out a wide swatch gently of just a centimeter or two of fat, and then the bra does not indent, of course, so much. And it's very popular. And it's a wonderful way to tighten up that turkey-wattle neck. You introduce the cannula of the SmartLipo just under the chin through a tiny hole and vaporize the fat right under the jaw line and up into the jowls. And then take and just run it underneath all that loose, flappy skin, put on a compressive garment that goes up over the head for a couple of weeks, and that neck skin tightens right up beautifully and you look just tremendously younger.
MB: So the SmartLipo is infinitely safer, much quicker recovery, and you don't have the folds of skin hanging down.
JF: The folds of skin obviate the need for a tummy tuck. You don't need it.
MB: Wonderful. So now you can look your patients in the face – look them in the eye, rather – and say, "It doesn't hurt." Is there anything else you learned from doing these procedures on yourself?
JF: Yes. Safety, efficacy, and proof. We're big on absolutely being our best advertisements for what we do. And when I tell a client in a consultation – when they ask me, "Well, what does that feel like? What do clients say?" I say, "Well, I've had it done. This is what it's all about." And I tell them my story. And the credibility from that alone – now, as an aside, prior to doing the SmartLipo, we did a fair amount of what is called mesotherapy. Mesotherapy is an injection series of fat-dissolving natural products – one's a soy product and the other's a bile salt – that dissolves fat, and it's very effective. The problem is it's done in a series, and not all clients really respond very well to it. So for years, I had one side done. I had my left side of my abdomen and love handles treated with mesotherapy, and that was quite flat. The other side hung over the belt. And so when a client was interested in mesotherapy and wondered if it worked, I'd just pull my coat aside and say, "See?" And there's no better testimonial than that. It was obvious it worked. Similarly with Fraxel, I've had one of my staff Fraxel my right hand. The left hand has – really, years ago – lost all of its elastic tissue. I can pull the skin up and make a pup tent that stays.
MB: Entertain the grandkids, huh?
JF: The skin is thin enough you can see through it. You can see the tendons. On my right hand, the skin is thicker, you cannot see the tendons, and when I pick that skin up, it snaps back like a 17-year-old's. There's nothing more effective than showing somebody something like that to convince them that, yeah, wow, this thing really works.
MB: The meso you're talking about is spelled M-E-S-O?
JF: Mesotherapy, yes. The French originated this years and years ago and it's really – a lot of homeopathic remedies are injected in the face, for instance, for rejuvenating the face. And then the science morphed over to removing fat. And the solution for fat removal became sodium deoxycholate, which is a bile salt, and phosphatidyl choline, which is an emulsifier, really – it's a soy product. Sort of like throwing dish detergent on a place with some grease on it – you've seen it sort of bead up and go away? Well, that's how that works. And when the fat would be dissolved, the lymphatics then would pick up the fat, and of course the cells would be destroyed. It was quite effective. But this SmartLipo, of course, it's a one-shot deal. You do not need the series of treatments. You know, you wear your garment. You are done, and it's just wonderful.
MB: Do you still do mesotherapy, then?
JF: We offer it. Some people are really skittish about lasers or injections – they don't like the idea of having a numbing medicine put in them, but they'll tolerate the fire ants of the little tiny-tiny needles of mesotherapy. So we still offer it, but we do recommend the SmartLipo as a quicker alternative.
MB: Any other reasons that some patients might prefer more traditional surgeries or treatments?
JF: Well, of course, somebody who's in their 70s or 80s who has had significant sun damage – for instance, who has lived at the shore or who has a long history of smoking -may have wrinkles and sagging to the extent that none of our lasers could really do justice to the skin. They'd really need a standard facelift. They need tissue removed. So that's a more traditional approach. The unfortunate thing about traditional facelifts is that it's actually in the wrong direction. It's in the direction toward the ear, and almost in parallel to the ground, which gives that wind-tunnel look to those you've seen with facelifts, or at least to those you've seen who've had too many facelifts. I won't mention names of any celebrities because we happen to know that they – a couple are clients of ours and they really do regret having had the traditional facelift. But it is the option for somebody with really too much baggy skin, if you will. The other areas where traditional approaches are still done, although new ways of doing it, are breast augmentation – anything involving hospitalization – breast reduction, tummy tucks, those things. Those are pretty much standard bread and butter for the plastic surgery folks, although the breast augmentation science has really taken a turn to being able to be done without any evidence of scarring whatsoever. It's a far neater procedure.
MB: For most people – are we no longer talking about facelifts, but rather the treatments, the Fraxel laser treatments, too?
JF: Now, Fraxel will tighten the skin. Those are new treatments. Botox, Restylane, you know, the fillers – those are the old standards. They're still extremely popular and have a definite daily place in our practice.
MB: So you still sometimes recommend to people to get facelifts?
JF: Yes. Somebody might come in and want my mini-facelift, which we call the Aesthetic Quick Lift. The Aesthetic Quick Lift is my modification of the – if you were to Google "S-lift," you would see a certain kind of facelift, and that's at a more natural angle. It's more of a 45-degree angle vertically. After all, when we lose our collagen and we lose our elastic tissue due to aging and sun damage, the direction is down, not toward the nose. So obviously, the direction to reverse the look is to go back up. And the S-lift is – it's called S-lift because of the shape of the tiny little scar that circles the ear, comes from behind the ear, follows along directly in front of the ear, disappears under and behind the earlobe. But in that procedure, what we do is do a circular, elevating suture under the skin – not putting tension on the skin, but putting tension on the fascia, which is the tough, saran wrap-like membrane over the fat. It's a circular suture directed toward the chin and directed upward in an angle of about 45 degrees toward the top of the ear. Now, when that's pulled tight and knotted, it elevated the jowls, elevates and sharpens the jaw line itself. And then a subsequent U-shaped loop is taken down under the skin and sewn in to – in a circular fashion – to the platysma muscle of the neck. Now we're getting kind of medical here, but the platysma muscle is what you – if you were to grimace your neck, is what pulls the skin up tight. And it lies just under the fat of the skin of the neck. And if you put that little loop of skin into the fascia of that muscle and pull it up, again, toward the front of the ear on both sides, it tightens up the turkey neck. So now you have somebody who had jowls and a loose neck, walking out two hours later with an elevated mid-face, sharp jaw line, and no turkey neck – the neck looks absolutely normal.
MB: Wow.
JF: Now, of course, this results in redundant skin. We've moved the deeper tissues, and now the skin where the incision was made in front of the ear is now laying on top of the ear. And we simply trim that away and use tiny little sutures to reattach it right along that little fold right in front of the ear. And that scar disappears within weeks to months. You'd never know it happened. And these people go back to work in a day or two.
MB: So only your doctor knows, huh?
JF: Yeah, how about that?
MB: Let me take a break here. This is America's Anti-Aging Psychologist, Dr. Michael Brickey, with Ageless Lifestyles Radio, your source for cutting-edge thinking on being youthful at every age. Today's expert guest is Erase the Years dermatologist, Dr. James Fairfield. His website is http://www.cmderm.com/. The CM is for Central Montgomery, referring to Montgomery County, a suburb of Philadelphia, and the Derm, of course, for Dermatology. His website has lots of information, free reports, his blog, and the media section has a link to his fascinating radio podcast that I highly recommend. Information on Anti-Aging Psychology and my free Defy Aging Newsletter is at DrBrickey.com, or you can just go to NotAging.com and it'll take you to DrBrickey.com. Dr. Fairfield, is treating cellulite different from treating fat deposits?
JF: Absolutely. Cellulite is not excessive fat. It has the appearance of it because there are bumps, but what we're really looking at is an optical illusion. Our skin is suspended on our muscles by fibrous tissue called myocutaneous fiber and cellulite or cellulite, however it's pronounced – and it varies across the country – is a process of shortening of these little fibrils due to inflammation which nobody understands. It is poorly worked out. There have been no solutions as to what – no information about what causes the inflammation or what one can do to treat it. So the problem is really retraction, much like a guide wire would pull down on a tent, rather than excessive fat. And we have been experimenting with the SmartLipo. Think of it this way. If you just take the SmartLipo laser and traverse along, just under the skin, the area of cellulite bumps – it looks like bubble wrap – and break up those little shortened myocutaneous filaments, the skin pops right up, absolutely pops right up. And then it looks nice and smooth and normal. Now, the only issue is only a certain percentage of myocutaneous fibrils are affected. And the question is, is over the long term, will the process continue? Will the client develop more shortened fibrils and need the procedure again? That has not – you know, the machine hasn't been out that long; we have not had the chance to really evaluate it over the long term.
MB: Fascinating. Have there been advances in treating varicose veins?
JF: Varicose veins are interesting because there are a complex of veins called feeder veins or reticular veins. Those are the bigger, bluer ones. They respond extremely well to sclerotherapy. They're a variety of sclerosis – those are the chemicals used to inject into the vein to make it collapse. I prefer saline, normal saline – not normal saline, it's 23.4% hypertonic saline, and it basically – it's a very physical reaction. It buns the interior of the vessel, the vessel swells itself shut, and the little PacMan cells called macrophages come along and chew up the dead vein and cart it off – very effective. However, most women and men don't have just blue veins. They have these starbursts and arcades of red veins – little tiny, tiny, less than a millimeter red devils, that really people hate the most, typically appearing on a woman's thigh in an arc or combined with blue and red. They're very picturesque. Breakthrough now is the YAG laser, which will target the red in the blood, in the vessel. Laser lights divide it up into different wavelengths – that's what makes laser a laser and not just a light bulb. A light bulb has multiple wavelengths; a laser has a singular wavelength. It's colonnaded to come out in a parallel fashion and then focused, much the way we as kids used to focus our magnifying glass and fry ants on the sidewalk – except that the sunlight was not a singular wavelength. The laser is much more powerful than is a singular wavelength. Well, each wavelength has what is called a chromophore, that to which it's attracted. So you'll have a green light laser that's attracted to red, and we use green light lasers then for the red in the vessels on the face. The 1064 or YAG laser, we use to target the red in the hemoglobin, in the blood, inside the vessel. And all that one has to do is pass that wand over normal skin and nothing happens, but the second it hits a vein, all that energy is absorbed because it's red inside and it's a heat reaction instantly and it cooks the vein, bakes it. And then again, the same process of healing. The macrophages, or the little cells that clean up debris, come along and clean up the mess, and you are vein-free. Now, I say "mess" – postoperatively you don't see much, because all of this is happening microscopically.
MB: Sounds like it would make a great video game, too.
JF: You know, that sounds like a fun game.
MB: Are there any other cosmetic advances you can tell us about?
JF: There are some substantial changes in the area of holistic wellness. And I really liked your opener to your show where you talked about your holistic approach, talking about wellness itself. And that's how we have structured our practice. We call our consult, for instance, a "skin wellness evaluation." We got away from the old consult word because it's all about wellness of the skin, and there's so many variables affecting the skin. There are free radicals that one gets from the outside and free radicals one gets from your diet. And all of these set up inflammation, and we happen to believe that inflammation is the cornerstone of most skin disorders or skin diseases. And so the breakthroughs have been in the area of – now these are two words that are new to your listeners, probably – cosmeceuticals and nutraceuticals. And a cosmeceutical is nothing more than a product that you apply to your face, much like, say, Eucerin from the drugstore. It's a cream. The difference being, these companies that sell them to us, these are medical grade bioactive products that actually produce results, and they produce results rather rapidly. There is a DNA repair cream that will actually produce discernable results in repairing sun-damaged skin within four months. That's without any other treatment – just the person putting it on twice a day. There's Vitamin C products that actually do work. The problem with over-the-counter Vitamin C creams is that Vitamin C is extremely unstable and is usually useless by the time it gets to your skin, or if that doesn't happen, your skin takes care of it. So the cosmeceuticals are tremendous advances in products that actually work, available only, again, in physicians' offices that have the knowledge to use them and use them properly.
MB: Those are literally prescriptions, then?
JF: Well, one could not – like I could not prescribe, say, Citrix, and have the person go down to the drugstore and get it. We have to obtain it from the company and sell it ourselves. And so what we have done is we've decided what we want to accomplish with our topical products, and typically we will formulate them to accompany, augment and prepare the skin for laser procedures, and also have a whole group for those who really would prefer not having procedures at all and still want results. Well, fortunately we can with these cosmeceuticals. Now, the newest kid on the block are the nutraceuticals. These are vitamin combinations, essential minerals and other products, coenzymes and all of these things, specifically designed to assist the skin in eradication of free radicals and in promotion of healthy oxygenation, healthy blood flow, and restoration of normal skin function, all from within by a pill you take just like any other vitamin pill. So these are very strong advances in the field. And fortunately, doctors are starting to pay attention to it.
MB: Wonderful.
JF: I mean, you've probably been ahead of the curve on that one.
MB: Trying to be, yeah. Any predictions about where dermatology will be in the next ten to twenty years?
JF: I believe that there'll be a trending away from insurance-based practices for general dermatology. I think the influence of the insurance companies in mandating what you can and cannot do, arbitrarily changing your prescriptions without your knowledge, frustrating your results that way – dermatologists are just dropping insurance companies and going to a fee-for-service practice model, which is a better business model anyway, and let the market decide. I see increased research and development in heritable skin disorders. Dermatology has always been big at the NIH and in other research centers; all the tertiary medical schools that have dermatology program are very big into skin research, and especially in the area of heritable skin disorders. These are terrible things and very much in need of solving. And then in the cosmetic realm, I see more further inroads developing into more targeted responses to specific problems – for instance, like the Fraxel targets specific problems, the SmartLipo targets specific problems – all with minimal downside, minimal discomfort, minimal marks or bruising, minimal downtime. Those are the things I see. Obviously there's a huge market. I'm one of the boomers, I'm leading the wave. Hot behind me for the next ten to fifteen years, there's going to be a lot of people interested. So the market's there and you can bet industry's going to be paying attention.
MB: It's an exciting time to be a dermatologist.
JF: I think so, yeah.
MB: I know from listening to some of your radio programs that you have a very sophisticated assessment process. Who's inappropriate for cosmetic surgery?
JF: That's a great question. We bump into this on occasion, and it's primarily those with inappropriate expectations. And I can expand on that. Usually you can reframe the expectations. I have a phrase I actually use with clients. "You know, my job is to lower your expectations until I can meet them." And if they're with it, they'll appreciate that. And then we actually break down what it is that bugs them the most, and then I tell them if we could wave a magic wand, make that go away suddenly, what would be the next thing that would bother you? And we develop a list, and it's a realistic list. And then we, of course, 'fess up to the limitations of what we can do and what we can't do. And then it comes out that, you know, all they want is improvement. Well, that's a good client. However, those who have imaginary ugliness – those are dangerous people. And I don't mean dangerous to us; I mean dangerous to themselves. There's nothing you can do for them that will help them appreciate a change. They think of themselves psychologically as ugly, no matter what you say to them or what you do. I don't operate on them. I won't touch them, because they need help from a different direction. And then, of course, the absolute worst client would be those who have a serious, real body dysmorphic disorder. And those are dangerous not only to themselves, but to anybody who operates on them – because they get hostile. You could move their nose over to the left side of their cheek and they wouldn't notice it. And those are people you really have to watch out for, and they're rare, fortunately. Most people are reasonable. You can usually talk them into understanding, you know, we are not faith healers. We are helpers. We are their most trusted advisors. We can improve their skin, we can improve their perception of themselves, make a huge difference in how they look, and actually roll the clock ten to fifteen years. But you know, in terms of turning them into something that they've never been – forget it. It doesn't happen.
MB: So it's a process of identifying the rare cases of people who would never be happy, and otherwise adjusting expectations and developing a good relationship.
JF: Relationship and trust, absolutely. It's all about that.
MB: Except for injuries and cancers and birth defects – and even then, only some of those – cosmetic surgery is an out-of-pocket expense. How much does it cost?
JF: Oh, somewhere between – I mean, products, you could buy some products for $50 to $200, and you can end up having a SmartLipo of a large area for $6,000. You could have a series of laser hair removal, if it was a large enough area that might take eight treatments in eight months, might get you up towards $8,000. But not much more than that.
MB: So a series of half a dozen Fraxel treatments…?
JF: A series of Fraxel comes in around – actually, Fraxel runs between – it depends on where you are in the country – between $1,200 and $1,500 a treatment, in that range. What we do is for control of what they're using on their face, we give them about $400 worth of our products to use during the Fraxel treatment, and a full set of material to use after their treatments, so that we can optimize their results. We like that control over what they're putting on, and frequently asking them, "Bring in the bag of stuff you've gotten from Macy's and Penney's and the CVS and the thrift store," and they'll come in with this horrendous bag of stuff that is absolutely useless. And you know, we hearken to that when – after we, one day, we're telling a person, you know, "Now, you put this on in the morning, put this on in the evening, and your sunscreen, and you're good to go." And they said, "That's all? And when do I put on my…?" And they name five more things. And that's when we went, uh-oh, we better put a lid on this or we're going to get conflicting results. So we make them stop everything they use at home.
MB: But you want to make sure they have every chance of getting great results.
JF: Absolutely! I mean, they're laying down the big bucks. We don't want to be dumb about it and not know what it is they're putting on at home – because that's our bad if we don't find that out.
MB: Now an awful lot of people shower every day, and I noticed you advised northerners not to shower every day in the winter. Why is that?
JF: The dead skin layer plus your natural oils form a film. If you want to remove your dead skin layer, just take a piece of scotch tape, lay it on your skin gently, and pull it off. You just pulled the dead skin layer right off. Now, in the northern climates, we have no humidity right now. And for a period of time, the ambient air gets its water from the drywall, from the furniture, the carpets and whatnot, but come January through March, it comes out of people. Unfortunately, people, when they start to get itchy from dry skin, think of course, "Gosh, I've got something." And so what do they do? They wash more. The use of wash clothes, loofah sponges, scrubbing mitts, and abrasive cleansers is an absolute no-no. You need your dead skin layer. In the winter time, you're not out there grubbing in the garden. You're not dirty. And I quite frankly, I tell them, you know, whatever runs past your back and your legs from when you shampoo and you wash the odor areas – the rest of it's just water washing. That's plenty. And then you pat dry – no chafing. You don't want to remove that dead skin layer. And then slop on a good quality moisturizer. And in this case, it doesn't have to be medical grade. You can buy the cheapest thing on the market. None of them work in the bottle. They only work on your skin. So I tell them, "Get it on." And then the other time where this infernal itch hits is when they take their clothes off at night – the back of the hips, the back of the arms, the ankles and the legs. You sit there on the edge of the bed, scratching and scratching and scratching. I tell them to hold off, put more moisturizer on – whatever you like, whatever's cheapest from Costco or Sam's Club or whatever. Put it on and let it evaporate. It'll cool your skin. Your skin will thank you. And you will have helped repair your dead skin layer. Because if you shower and shower aggressively, absolutely your skin will microscopically look like the Utah mud flats, all cracked and fissured, and you're asking for trouble. That saran-wrapped layer of skin and oil is your best barrier against evaporation, penetration by bacteria and all sorts of other toxins.
MB: So it's going to keep you healthier as well and fight off diseases.
JF: Absolutely.
MB: There's so many skin care products. How does a person sort through all the hype and find the products that are best for them and appropriate for their budget?
JF: It all depends on what they're after. As I just mentioned, moisturizers in the wintertime – pick the one you like. Try a few. Now the creams – if you have skin that's already itching and burning, even to the point where water even burns a little, a cream is going to really annoy you, because they have alcohols in them. So you may want to move over to an ointment which is more petrolatum-based. I've even had people just put some water on their skin, take a thin film of Vaseline and just smear it around. Makes a mess out of their clothes but the skin likes it. But moving on up, if somebody wants something that will change the biology of the skin, then they have to go to the medical grade products available in a physician's office. Barring that, it's pretty much potluck on the shelves of department stores and the drugstores. And I would really counsel people to be careful there, because the hype is huge. Wrinkle creams are the rage. You can't open a web browser without being hit by, you know, all these Botox alternatives, these creams that are supposed to work as well. Well, as an experiment, I went ahead and bought one. Turned out it was the Book of the Month Club. Not really, but it was a Cream of the Month Club – because I bought one, got a little bottle. Next month, another little bottle arrived, my credit card got whacked again. It was a marketing scheme. So I stopped with the program but I used the product on my face. And what it did was it tightened it. It was like putting shellac on, and of course the wrinkles disappeared. By the end of the day, it had worn off; the wrinkles were back. So it's pretty much hype.
MB: And there you are, trying the products on yourself again.
JF: I had to know. I absolutely had to know.
MB: What would you say are the biggest myths or scams in skincare treatments and products?
JF: That's a tough one because what I – the position I take is one that comes more from experience. The position a newbie might take would come from a representative from a laser company or from a product company. I would say the biggest scam being pushed on the clients today are the anti-wrinkle creams. When they ask me about it, I say, "You want no wrinkles on your face for tonight? Just give it a good smack. It'll swell up and there won't be a wrinkle on the site." Because it's edema – swelling produces no wrinkles. I know it comes across as a bit smart, but these are clients that are kind of used to me. They get the point not to fall for these things. There are lasers out there that are just some of the greatest cons perpetrated on people completely. For instance, years ago the IPL machine was very popular for hair removal. Well, it doesn't work. It does remove hair but it's like a long wax job. Your hair will come back, because it's a light bulb with a filter on it – the intense pulse light, IPL. So they're now fading into the past, like the CO laser faded into the past because it left people scarred and red and messy for months. No more belt sanders on the surface – everything's done from inside out. There are other typing lasers that I call GP machines. There are a lot of doctors getting into the cosmetic business, simply because it's a lucrative market. If you check the credentials of a lot of the doctors, you'll find out they're just GPs. And I can say this because I'm board-certified in both dermatology and family practice. And what I knew as a family practitioner about skin was zero. But they're getting into it. I know an anesthesiologist, absolutely hasn't seen an awake patient in his entire career, has been passing gas all his life-
MB: Oh.
JF: Sorry about that one. And he has opened a mini-spa and puts himself out as a cosmetic doctor. How can that be? You know, the listening public has to be very prudent in who they choose. Plastic surgeons love to be in the OR, but they will have an office full of machines and lasers and highly-trained people doing a lot of good things, so they, by and large, are safe people. Cosmetic dermatologists have taken the time to actually study the skin and they understand the skin biology. Chances are, if they've got a decent bedside manner, they'll be fine. But you have to watch out for the other ones. Now, there is a disclaimer to that. I graduated from medical school in 1975. None of this was in vogue, very little of it was known. So everything I've learned in the cosmetic field has come through postgraduate education. And I've made sure to make sure I have been educated and trained by the best. I've flown to Canada, I've flown all over the place to get the perfect training for various types of procedures I want to perform. And I get certified, and now I'm certifying others. But there's an argument to be said that if you have a local family doctor who's really sharp and has done his homework and gone and gotten all that training, he is an MD or a DO and is arguably okay for the average cosmetic stuff, like Botox and the fillers and some laser work. So I don't mean to diss people. I just mean to tell listeners to be very, very careful.
MB: Well, you can certainly look for the board certifications.
JF: Absolutely.
MB: But what exactly is the difference between plastic surgery and dermatology?
JF: It's pure training. Dermatology is the science of the skin itself. We're the only ones who know anything at all about the biology, function, and histopathology of the skin. We know – in our training, we actually read our own biopsies. So when we look at the skin, we can actually visualize what it looks like inside. And so when we pick a laser or pick a procedure and when we operate on the skin, we're finessing it. I use plastic surgery closure techniques. I can close an ear that is completely split in half by an earring and you cannot see the scar. That is what dermatology is. Dermatology focuses on that huge organ, the biggest organ on the body, called the skin, and of course, the subcutaneous tissue is part of it. A plastic surgeon – his training takes him through general surgery first, so they're taking out appendixes, gallbladders, colons, and doing all the regular stuff. Then they get additional training, typically in the movement of large, bulky masses of tissue. That's what is required in burn centers. That's what required in reconstruction of birth defects. These people are the artists that will restore terrible, terrible deformities and give somebody their looks back, reattach a hand. There are subspecialties within plastic surgery – but they are surgeons and they do prefer to be in the operating room. Do they understand skin? Not any better than any other doctor. Only the dermatologist really, really understands skin. But I'm not going to do the breast augmentation. I'm not a general surgeon trained as a plastic surgeon. So have at it, guys. You know, they can do it.
MB: So they're better at the big sculptures.
JF: Yeah, and I'm after the finessing.
MB: Well, Dr. Fairfield, I think you've frustrated a lot of our listeners because they would love to have you as their dermatologist and may not be ready to fly to Philadelphia to see you. I really appreciate you being on the program and sharing your depth of knowledge with us. Well done. People often ask me if I think cosmetic surgery is a good idea. I have several takes on that. First, if you are passionate, if you are enthusiastic, if you are a caring person, most people aren't going to care very much how many wrinkles you have. I think good examples of that are Ruth Gordon and George Burns. Most of us, however, don't have such winning personalities, and it's true that people do judge a book by its cover. So it behooves us to look as good as we possibly can. There are a lot of ways to look our best without lasers and without surgery, and we certainly want to pursue those first. And if we're still not happy with the results, it's worth considering cosmetic surgeries or lasers. The facelifts of the past, particularly multiple facelifts, often looked very unnatural, giving that wind-tunnel effect. The good news that we heard today is that the treatments are not only looking much more natural, but also less invasive and safer. And for those who don't want to pursue lasers or surgery, there's cosmeceuticals and nutraceuticals, the more effective skin lotions and creams, to help people's skin look as natural as possible. Finally, there's the caveat that not all doctors are Dr. Fairfields, with his experience and knowledge and thoroughness, so you do have to do your homework. There are risks. But the bottom line is that this is an exciting time. We have new developments every few years and a lot more resources and choices on how to take good care of ourselves and help us look our best. This is America's Anti-Aging Psychologist, Dr. Michael Brickey, with Ageless Lifestyles Radio, your source for cutting-edge thinking on being youthful at every age. Today's expert guest is Erase the Years dermatologist, Dr. James Fairfield. His website is http://www.cmderm.com/. The CM is for Central Montgomery, referring to Montgomery County, a suburb of Philadelphia, and the Derm, of course, for Dermatology. His website has lots of information, free reports, his blog, and the media section has a link to his fascinating radio podcast that I highly recommend. Information on Anti-Aging Psychology and my free Defy Aging Newsletter is at DrBrickey.com, or you can just go to NotAging.com and it'll take you to DrBrickey.com. I'd love to get your feedback and comments. Send them to email@example.com.


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YAO 2017: 23rd Young Atomic Opticians conference
July 16, 2017 to July 21, 2017 (past)
Location: École Normale Supérieure (ENS ULM), Paris
The Young Atom Optician conference (YAO) is an annual international meeting of young researchers in the field of quantum optics, quantum computation, and quantum gases. The conference has been hosted by research institutes all over Europe and is organized by local PhD students. It gives PhD and Master students the chance to present their research work to an audience of peers and the opportunity to discuss with fellow students in an international lively atmosphere. In 2017, YAO will be hosted by students from the Laboratoire Kastler Brossel (LKB) and the Institut d'Optique.

subset: commoncrawl


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This week's challenge: Sketch Challenge! Use this sketch to make any Christmas, Holiday, or Winter card. The heart represents an embellishment, so you can use whatever you want for that.
Since I made making tags one of my resolutions for 2010, here's my first one. I had a mini craft crisis, I ran out of white thread. So I switched to red...but that also meant I had to make all of my cards match the red this week! :) I do plan on going to Joann's soon, so I will have plenty of white thread.
Paper: Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses
Stamps: CC Designs, sentiment is PTI
Snowflake Punches, PTI Buttons, Copics, and Crystal Stickles
Paper: Eskimo Kisses
Stamps: Amuse
Snowflake Punches, CTMH Brads, PTI Buttons, and Crystal Stickles
Mr. Linky Note: Please link directly to the blog post or gallery page where we can view/comment on your creation and not just the generic link to your blog. To get the full url, click the title of your blog post (which will load a page that has just that post on it), then copy and paste the URL into the Mr. Linky form. Thanks and please still post a comment so I know you added a card!
Everyone have a fabulous Sunday!


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And you can probably add more.
Life in general can suck any person into a vortex of uncertainty from which escape seems impossible!
Breaking Free examines the reality of this incompleteness - why it is and how we can break free to live a life that is complete and satisfying; far beyond the emptiness of the life into which we were born.
Breaking Free will bring God into your situation and you will discover what it is to Abide in Him (John 15). He alone is The Way to freedom!
Geoff will share from his own life's experience:
When we look back over the years, it is clearly evident that only God could have provided Geoff Hopson's "chance" encounters with wonderful Christian teachers such as Bob Hobson and Dr Michael Wells, who not only helped him discover the incompleteness in his own life, but also became friends and mentors to him.
What followed was a remarkable journey of faith and a personal relationship with Christ that set Geoff free. During Geoff's time as Principal at Capernwray Torchbearers Bible School in Moss Vale NSW, and later as pastor to a rural congregation, a vision was forming to share his Christian life discoveries with others, who like him, had struggled in their Christian journey; and like him wanted to Break Free!
In 2000, through God's remarkable provision and a giant step of faith by Geoff and his family, Mount Alford Lodge was acquired. Thrtough God's continuing provision it has developed into a beautiful retreat where "the weary can find rest" and teh ministry of Abiding Life Discoveries Australia (ALDA) can continue to share the life changing thruths of a life Abiding in Him.
Breaking Free is based on very sound Biblical principles originally formatted by Dr Michael Wells from his experiencess over 30 years of ministry in over 180 countries across more than 90 denominations (www.abidinglife.com). It begins and ends with Jesus Christ as revealed in John 15.
Your Road to Discovery:
Along this journey of discovery, some of tyhe fundamentals we'll explore include;
Does your way work? - It's okay not to be okay! - Why things don't work out! - How does God become real? - Can I hear God speak? - Where is God when I need Him? - Why we are like we are! - How can we become what we would like to be? - Is it possible to start again? - Abiding in Jesus!
Breaking Free - My Journey With God - Fri 11 to Sun 13 May, 2016
Breaking Free - Transforming My Humanity - Fri 22 to Sun 24 July, 2016
Breaking Free - My Relationship With God - Fri 11 to Sun 13 Nov, 2016
A fee of $175.00 per person includes two nights twin share ensuited accommodation at Mount Alford Lodge (all bed linen, towels etc included), all meals and refreshments from Friday dinner to Sunday lunch, all sessions with study notes.
For further enquiries contact:
Abiding Life Discoveries Australia
c/- Mount Alford Lodge
1269 Mount Alford Road, Mount Alford QLD
(P.O. Box 225, Boonah QLD 4310)
Ph: 5463 0999
E: firstname.lastname@example.com
W: www.mountalfordlodge.com.au


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Product Name
Precision Swiss Turning Parts For Optical Communication Industry
Main Process
CNC Swiss Turning
Stainless Steel 316L
Surface Treatment
Not Applicable
Connectors For Optical Communication Industry
Brother, Citizen, Miyano, Feeler, Haas, Star CNC Turning Machine
Part Diameter of Swiss Turning Parts
Max 250mm
Part Length of Swiss Turning Parts
Max 500mm
Tolerances of Swiss Turning Parts
Straightness : ± 0.005mm
Advantages of Swiss Turning
Surface finish can be excellent and often eliminates the need for grinding
can make complex parts using simultaneous operations
particularly effective for long and slender turned parts
Cost-effective , especially for quantities over 5,000
Industry Standards
ISO 9001:2015 – Certified
Quality Documentation
Inspection Report
Production Volume
Specialty Production Shop
Secondary Services Offered
Lead Times Available
Quoted on job by job basis
Materials (Metals)
Alloy Steels (4130, 4140)
Materials (Plastic Polymers)
ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene)
Industry Focus
Intended Applications
Needle Valves
Precision Electronic Hardware
Standoffs (hex, round, square
Contacts used in connectors
Watch parts
Long medical devices and implants
A variety of connecting components for aerospace and electronics
File Formats
PDF (Preferred format, however 3D models are helpful in addition)
Swiss Turning Parts, Swiss Turning Services, Swiss Turning China, Swiss Turning Machining, Swiss Turned Parts, Swiss Turning Components,
Swiss Turning Factories, Swiss Turning, Turning Sensor, Turning Machining, Swiss Turning Connectors
Having been dedicated to precision machined parts for years, Gensun Precision Machining is equipped with many professional factories producing the most quality products for you. If you are searching for precision swiss turning parts for optical communication industry, we must be your best choice. With many companies and shops spread around the world, we warmly welcome you to try our good services.


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These plaids carry traditional lines and colors that make them an obvious choice for Christmas. The wired edge lends it a versatile range of uses from wrapping gifts, decking out wreaths, and making gigantic bows that hold their loops.
This luxurious ribbon has a smooth, glossy finish on both sides, hence the "double faced" name. It comes in a range of sizes from 1/8 inch wide all the way to 4 inch and the color selection is second to none.
The classic ribbed look on grosgrain ribbons finds its way onto belts, watch bands and tuxedo lapels all over the world. We carry over 70 colors and sizes up to 4 inch wide. A mainstay ribbon that's great for making cheerleading bows!
If you need a wired ribbon but can't compromise on luxury, our wired double faced satin ribbon is essential. Featuring the same polyester finish as its non-wired cousin, this wired ribbon is perfect for carrying bow loops with flair.
These versatile grosgrain ribbons are accented by three monochromatic stripes in up to ten colors that are complemented by a white background. One of our top selling grosgrain ribbons, it is ideally suited as cheerleading ribbon.
These large black & white and red & check patterns create a classy impact on any craft project. But its wired edge makes it especially well suited for the holidays when used to make elegant bows for wrapping gifts or even on a wreath.
When nothing less than the best will do, our luxious satin ribbon features plush, shimmering double sided satin in 50 luscious colors like dore gray, carmandy, and malibu. Order by the yard or whole spools in seven convenient sizes.
If you're looking for a true velvet ribbon, the soft, well, velvety kind, then this 100% polyester ribbon is called for.
Available in 7/8", 1-1/2" and 2" wide, 10 yard spools.
Whether you call it organza or organdy, this is another mainstay in the ribbon world and features a sheer, crisp fabric made of a thin nylon weave. Larger spools of 100 yard length are available in the 1-1/2" width.
This ribbon is made from an elegant taffeta weave sporting a classic gingham check pattern. It is a versatile ribbon available in a variety of sizes and colors making it suitable for a wide range of use.
A wider cousin of our Metallic Curling ribbon, this metallic ribbon is made from polypropylene which gives it a smooth, shiny surface that will make any craft project shine, and it's available in classic Christmas colors for the holidays.
More than ordinary, this single sided satin ribbon has countless uses in embroidery, crafting, sewing and more. Available in a range of sizes in over thirty colors, the 100 yard spools let you get busy crafting instead of shopping.
Ideal for bows and wrapping gifts, this ribbon is made in the USA from an iridescent material that gives a characteristic sheen and has wired edges making it a versatile workhorse for the holiday season.
When you need a gleaming, metallic ribbon to really make an impact on luxury gift items, this ribbon will hold up to the job. Available in sizes as thin as 1/8 of an inch all the way to 1-1/2 inch wide in gold and silver.
With shimmering satin on each edge, and a sheer organza center, this ribbon provides an ideal balance between solid and sheer elements. Four convenient sizes give ample room for flexible design.
This outdoor florist ribbon has an embossed texture giving it a satin feel and is made of 100% polyester. It is ideal for use as a florist ribbons.
This grosgrain ribbon featuring the classic polka dot pattern is at home whether as part of playful, highbrow fashion or in livening up your scrapbook. Available in over 25 vivid colors and a range of sizes, you really can't go wrong.
When it comes to weddings, these corsage ribbons are truly mainstay items. Boasting metallic and iridescent accents, these sheer ribbons are great year around for everything from wedding favors to holiday crafts.
This metallic ribbon gleams in the light in true metallic gold and silver hues while its sheer body doesn't hide your centerpiece or gift item. Its wired edge helps it to hold its shape as you shape the perfect bow.
Nothing says daring like neon. Whether you're making a fashion statement or looking for a way to add energy to your craft project, these grosgrain ribbons come in a wide array of sizes all the way to 3" and come in four electric colors.
Also known as faille, the bengaline material this ribbon is made from has a strong, ribbed texture making it a great choice when you need something durable in your craft project. It's wired edge also makes it a great choice for making bows.
Add a playful yet rich accent to your boutique crafts project or wedding embellishments with this picot-edge satin ribbon. The picot-edge helps to create a charming feathered look that brings out the brilliance of over 25 colors.
Streamline your shopping process for satin ribbon with these sample books of 131 color swatches of our double faced satin ribbon. Feel the quality in your own hands with samples of actual 5/8" wide ribbon pieces, as well as a few longer pieces in wider widths.
For crafting and trimming with flair, this features double sided satin with a gold or silver metallic edge. Available in 1/8 and 3/8 inch widths, it comes in seasonal and year-round colors such as red, wine and ivory.
A smaller-dotted cousin of polka dots, these Swiss dots carry over five centuries of history with this classic print on polyester grosgrain ribbon. It comes in 3/8" & 5/8" widths in over 15 colors.
With this unique blend of satin sheen and iridescence, it's easy to get lost in its ever-shifting metallic colors. The wired edge nicely complements the metallic hues and help to make this a great choice for making bows for the holidays.
Having a natural sparkle, this ribbon is ideal if you're looking for a higher quality tulle for your project. It comes in a variety of unique colors and is made from a flame retardant material. Avaialble in 6 inch and 54 inch bolts.
Make shopping for our deluxe double faced satin ribbon a breeze with samples of all 50 colors. The 1" wide samples make color-matching a breeze! Included you'll find 9" long samples of apple & champagne in four sizes.
A mainstay when you need to add flare to your project while keeping a certain familiarity, these classic designer plaids will fit right in.
A traditional choice for the classy wedding, our tulle ribbon is available in widths ranging from 6" all the way to 54" and comes in 20 beautiful colors. Use it for pew bows, bridal dresses, bridal bouquets, and decorating the aisles and staircases.
Ideal for wrapping gifts during the holidays, this striped ribbon keeps with tradition with its classic holiday reds and greens. Accented with a gold trim, it makes a great centerpiece for any holiday-themed decoration.
If you're looking for a reference book that has all the colors on offer for our grosgrain ribbon, then this is it. These swatch cards have 70 color samples on offer including wide pieces of red to really feel the quality in your hands. Shipped free!
If you're looking for a cute way to liven up your gift for a newborn in the family, this will do wonders! Boy or girl, this 3/8" wide grosgrain ribbon comes in traditional blue and pink.
When you want to add a special touch to wedding decor or gift items, these organdy pouches have drawstrings to easily tie them closed and are great when you want the favor or gift to show through the sheer bag.
A 100% polyester ribbon featuring bold and beautiful fall colors on a check patterned twill weave.
This classy, yet trendy, 1-1/2" grosgrain ribbon comes in three eye-catching colors. The chevron pattern is printed horizontally across the ribbon instead of length-wise.
This fun and colorful grosgrain ribbon has a reversible polka dot pattern printed on both sides of the ribbon. Comes in 1" & 1-1/2" widths and up to 9 colors.
A 100% polyester double faced satin ribbon made in Brazil that is shinier than our regular double faced satin making it ideally suited for use as high end florist ribbon.
Take your plain clothing or home decor item to the extraordinary by embellishing it with this flowery lace. Available in black, white and ivory, these laces come in up to 100 yard spools for your convenience.
A strong choice for making bows with, this metallic ribbon features prominent woven edging in six different styles.
A large check pattern adorns the length of this ribbon down a center stripe flanked by a satin edge on each side of this 100% polyester ribbon.
A mini check pattern runs down the length of this satin edge ribbon made from 100% polyester.
Features a reversible pattern of stars that are woven into the fabric, and not printed, giving a lasting look that doesn't fade.
Added by popular demand, these quality grosgrain ribbons are made in the USA and boast a classic set of nautical-themed stripes in a range of sizes including 3/8, 7/8 and 1-1/2 inch wide.
This wired metallic ribbon can hold up to whatever task you throw at it, with its abstract web lending itself to a variety of uses and décor. It is available in gold and silver in 2-1/2 inch wide spools.
A classic St. Patrick's print containing white text & clovers print on green double faced satin ribbon. Printed on a single side, this ribbon is offered in the 1-1/2" width.
A lovely addition to any animal-themed collection, this iconic zebra print on grosgrain ribbon comes in a range of sizes up to 2-1/4" wide.


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Create an Account - Increase your productivity, customize your experience, and engage in information you care about.
Get contact information for the Community Development Division and also find out about when you might need a building permit.
Whether you've come to our site for specific assistance with your business relocation or expansion, or you're just shopping for a potential location to put down some roots, Nebraska's Northwest Development Corporation is here to help.


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SYNCOPATED CLASSIC – The lost work of a 1920s jazz composer
Created by Greg Ruby
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Cultural and Linguistic Competence Coordinators' Network For State, and Territorial Behavioral Health Services (State CLC Coordinators' Network)
Introduction and Rationale
The growing diversity of the nation and the greater awareness of the role of culture in effective behavioral health service delivery are stimulating the need for thoughtful, strategic planning to promote and advance cultural and linguistic competence at the state behavioral health systems level. However, the implementation of meaningful system change is a challenging process because of the complexity and enormity of the task, attitudinal resistance, and limited resources devoted to cultural and linguistic competence and the elimination of racial and ethnic disparities. Indeed, the promotion and advancement of cultural and linguistic competence requires a transformation of the system that few are prepared to address. Some state and territorial mental health and substance abuse and addictions departments have established dedicated positions or personnel to promote and advance appropriate services for the multicultural populations of that state or territory. Other public systems that provide mental health services such as child welfare or justice have also developed dedicated positions or personnel for the same purpose. These persons are faced with tremendous responsibilities, but often find themselves without the full extent of support that is needed to be successful. The Cultural and Linguistic Competence Coordinators' Network for State and Territorial Behavioral Health Services (State CLC Coordinators' Network) will address this growing need for information sharing and support.
To establish a network among state and territorial behavioral health system cultural and linguistic competence coordinators to promote growth in management skills, enrich cultural knowledge, and provide an avenue for peer support. Additionally, this network will facilitate stronger links to state tribal liaisons and state child, youth and family directors within state and territorial systems.
Members of the network will include managers of cultural and linguistic competence or multicultural services, tribal liaisons, and other key personnel who are addressing racial/ethnic/cultural disparities in state or territorial behavioral health systems. Similarly any person with related functions at the state or territorial l level who addresses the behavioral health needs of children and youth within or external to the mental health department. (This addition is included in recognition that in some states the responsibility for mental health services for children and youth is located in a structure other than the mental health department.)
The National Center for Cultural Competence of the Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development and NASMHPD provide mechanisms for support and technical assistance for cultural and linguistic competence coordinators. This is consistent with the Systems of Care approach to service delivery and with NASMHPD's Position Statement on Culturally Competent and Linguistically Appropriate Mental Health Services (June 6, 2000). Although specific job titles vary, the short name for this group will be The State CLC Coordinators' Network.
The network may include such activities as topical conference calls with guest presenters, peer-to-peer conference calls, list serv for problem-solving and resource and information exchange. Other activities may be possible as the group evolves.
The network will be having four calls in 2019, which will happen on:
- Tuesday, March 19, from 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM ET
- Tuesday, June 11, from 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM ET
- Tuesday, September 17, from 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM ET
- Tuesday, December 10, from 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM ET
Additional Resources
Position Statement on Culturally Competent and Lingusitically Appropriate Mental Health Services
Cultural Competency: Measurement as a Strategy for Moving Knowlege into Practice in State Mental Health Systems
The National Center for Cultural Competence of the Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development
NASMHPD Liaisons:
Kathy Parker, M.A.
Director of Human Resources & Administration
Phone: (703) 682-5192
Email: email@example.com
Leah Holmes Bonilla, M.A.
Senior Training and Technical Assistance Advisor
Phone: (703) 682-5196
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development Liasion:
Sherry Peters, M.S.W., A.C.S.W.
Adjunct Faculty
Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development
3300 Whitehaven Street, NW
Suite 3300
Washington, DC 20007
Phone: (202) 687-7157
Fax: (202) 687-1954
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com


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Asset Acceptance was founded in 1962 by Rufus H. (Bud) Reitzel, Jr. in Detroit under the forerunner name Lee Acceptance Company for the purpose of purchasing and collecting charged-off consumer receivables.
Nathaniel F. (Brad) Bradley IV, current Chairman and onetime President and Chief Executive Officer, joined the Company in 1979 as a collector.
Lee Acceptance Company became incorporated as Lee Acceptance Corp. in 1982. Asset Acceptance Corp. was formed in 1994, replacing Lee Acceptance Corp.
The Company opened its first satellite office in 1997, in Southfield, Michigan. The next year, the Company opened an office near Cleveland, Ohio - its first outside Michigan. In 2001, the Company's expansion proceeded to Tampa, Florida.
In 2002, Asset Acceptance Corp. merged with and into the newly formed Asset Acceptance LLC. The Company relocated its Southfield, Michigan office to Wixom, Michigan that year. Expansion continued through acquisitions of offices in White Marsh, Maryland and San Antonio, Texas from other accounts receivable management companies.
Asset Acceptance Capital Corp. was formed in 2003, and Brad Bradley was named Chief Executive Officer of the Company. The Company expanded to Phoenix, Arizona and Chicago, Illinois through further acquisitions that year.
Public offering
In 2004, Asset Acceptance Capital Corp. became publicly traded through an initial public offering and became listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange. More expansion followed that year, with the opening of stand-alone legal offices in Woodbury, New Jersey and Plantation, Florida.
The Company moved into its current corporate headquarters location in Warren, Michigan in 2005. That same year, Asset Acceptance opened another stand-alone legal office in Richmond, Virginia.
Founder retires
Bud Reitzel, the Chairman and founder of Asset Acceptance, retired in 2006. The Board of Directors then named Brad Bradley Chairman of the Board.
Also in 2006, Asset Acceptance acquired the nation's leading purchaser of healthcare receivables, Premium Asset Recovery Corporation (PARC), in Deerfield Beach, Florida. Asset Acceptance Capital Corp. later exited the healthcare debt purchasing sector in 2010.
In 2007, the Company consolidated its Wixom, Michigan and White Marsh, Maryland offices.
Forward Vision
On January 1, 2009, Chief Operating Officer Rion Needs succeeded Brad Bradley as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, in line with a succession plan approved by the Board of Directors. Brad Bradley remains non-executive Chairman of the Board. Mr. Needs joined Asset Acceptance in mid-2007 following more than 22 years with American Express.
In 2010, the Company established a new business unit called Legal Recovery Solutions, LLC., located in New Freedom, Pennsylvania. Asset Acceptance consolidated its stand-alone legal office in Towson, Maryland and closed its Chicago, Illinois Call Center location.
On June 13, 2013, Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ:ECPG) closed its acquisition of Asset Acceptance Capital Corp. All operating subsidiaries of Asset Acceptance are now part of Encore Capital Group. Combined, Encore and Asset Acceptance have purchased over 60 million individual consumer accounts, including credit card, telecommunications, consumer loans and other related assets, with a face value of over $130 billion.


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I have looked high and low on the internet to find an author to whom I can attribute the piece I quote below entitled An Analogy for the Angry Caregiver. I have been unsuccessful. But, I can tell you that I found it on Hubpages.com, while I was looking for material about caregivers. I think many of you will relate to the analogy, and I (like the author) hope none of you will be offended by her/his words and ideas and by my posting them.
Many caregivers here at Care Cure Community, through their threads and posts have already identified these family, friend, associate, and acquaintance "types" and have more experience with them then they care to have had. Many of these "types" don't show themselves to us until there is a crisis and we recognize a side to them that we didn't know existed. We are disappointed in these people, because we thought we could expect more or better from them, but we are also disappointed in ourselves because we were not good judges about involving these people in our lives in the first place. These "types" of people exist in everyone's life and always will…it is human nature. We cannot change that. We can only change ourselves, our perceptions, our attitudes, our reactions, and the degree to which we will let these "types" bring hurt, discomfort, "ain't fair blues," bitterness, anger, self loathing, and self pity into our lives.
All of us who are caregivers to a loved one have experienced tragedy, change and loss, and because of these we grieve. I think we rarely get through all the stages of grief to acceptance. We cope and adapt. We live life with a different normality, but do we ever accept? Each of us has to explore this territory on our own, there are few maps and guides to follow on this journey.
NL (GJ's wife and caregiver)
An Analogy for the Angry Caregiver
"Now, I hate to compare it to this, but the following is an accurate analogy nonetheless. At the very least I hope you get a chuckle from it and aren't offended.
Let's say the loved and cherished family dog isn't feeling well and takes a big poo in the middle of the living room. There will be the family member who rises to the challenge and begins cleaning up the mess and taking care of the dog who he/she loves dearly. (Caregiver)
The responsible and loving person above will not likely be joined by any others in the room. No, these people are content to let you clean up the dog poo all by yourself. You know the types:
Type 1:
In the beginning some may pretend to not even see or smell the giant pile of poo in the middle of the room. (Those around you who use denial to get out of doing the work, or they use it because they can't face the truth because it hurts too much. These individuals are good at making up their own truths and they also tend to bug the _ _ _ _ out of the caregiver with stupid questions.)
Type 2:
Others may leave the room hurriedly to avoid having to look you in the eye and face their own guilty conscience because they don't want to clean up the poo. They run out saying, "I'm too busy. My spouse won't let me clean up the poo. I have a stressful job and don't have time left to devote to helping you comfort the puppy and clean up the poo." (These are usually siblings it would seem. Though many can't help if they aren't living nearby.)
Type 3:
And rest-assured others will thank you AFTER you have finished the job...but certainly keep their distance during the time when you could have used an extra roll of paper towels or bottle of carpet cleaner rather than their profuse thanks. (Distant relatives that could have called more often or offered to make phone calls for you -something, anything to take part of the burden off the caretaker's shoulders.)
Type 4:
And you'll have friends, lots of them, that tell you how great a job you are doing cleaning up poo and caring for puppy. They also let you know they don't think they could ever clean up after their puppy if it got sick and made a mess like that. They'd have to give that puppy to someone else that could take care of it better than they could. (People who are thanking their lucky stars they don't have to trade places with you. They generally mean well and are only trying to comfort you. These people are good company for an occasional dinner or drink when you can talk one of the other types above into caregiving for a night. Ha!)
Well, I guess by now you are chuckling knowingly or you are offended that the above analogy does compare the loved one receiving care to a puppy...but puppies are the best and we have four -so I hope you aren't offended."


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The Computer – A Modern Learning Tool The inventions and ideas of many mathematicians and scientist led to the development of the computer. Today, computers can handle vast amounts of facts and figures and solve complicated problems at incredibly high speeds. Computers are used in many walks of life; business and industry; government and law enforcement; the military; engineering; the sciences; the fine arts; manufacturing sales and service repairs, they are also used in schools. In the 1960s, mathematician Patrick Suppes began work to adapt the computer to a new task.
He believed that computers could be programmed to teach children skills in such schools subjects as English and Mathematics. By the mid – 1970s, it was the beginning to look as if the computer had been just another educational fad. Around that time, however, a little-noticed revolution was beginning. Chips, similar to the ones control handheld calculators had become quite cheap and readily available. Digital computers solve problems and do other tasks by counting, comparing and rearranging digits in arithmetic/logic unit. Digital computers vary widely in size.
Microcomputers is a small computer system that can arrange from desk-top size to pocket size, they are also called as personal computers. Although digital computers differ greatly in size they all have five basic parts: input equipment, main memory, the control unit, arithmetic/logic unit, output equipment. All data handled by digital computers, including words, are in form of digits. But the computers use only the two digits of binary number system – that is, 0 and 1. Different combinations of 0's and 1's represent letters and the various decimal numerals.


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2990 11" Engineer Black
The 2990 Engineer in Black Harness is a classic Red Wing Shoes Engineer boot and is made in Red Wing, Minnesota. The Red Wing Engineer boot was developed for America's railroad engineers in the early 20th century. Its an all-leather Engineer boot used to protect the engineer's feet from from the hazards in locomotive cabins. The Red Wing 2990 Engineer boot has split at the top of the shaft that allowed the engineer to bend during work. The Engineer first appeared in the catalog of 1941 as style number 919. The shoe was presented as the ideal boot for engineers as well as truck drivers. This black Red Wing Engineer is made from Harness leather, a natural, heavyweight, full-grain leather with a unique combination of oil and wax.
The Red Wing 2990 Engineer boothas a Nitrile Cork Sole and is also available in Amber Harness Leather.
- Black Harness leather (Oil Tanned)
- Nitrile Cord sole
- Width D (Medium)
- Product Care: All Natural Boot Oil, Leather Cleaner


text: One of my best friends and favorite couple Lydia and Phil asked me to snap some photos of the lovely Veda. I mean this kid makes me want to kick lydia in the shin and run off with her. She is SO stinkin' cute… I just melt when I see her. Lydia is a super talented graphic designer who just so happen to make this site!!! Www.lydiareynolds.com¬†And Phil¬†tattoos¬†at the Austin Tatto company.


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More Articles
SMART notebook software is a general class of educational and learning software programs for the classroom. Repairing SMART notebook files on your computer is necessary after hard drive problems, malicious files or user error result in one or more of the system software files becoming corrupted. Repair the file using the disk repair tools in your operating system.
Click "Start," type "cmd" in the "Search" box and press "Enter."
Type "chkdsk c: /r" and press "Enter," commanding the computer to repair disk errors on the "C" drive containing your SMART files.
Press "Y" to confirm.
Restart the computer. The disk will be repaired as the system boots up, restoring your SMART files.


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Losing Weight does not necessarily mean running on a lot of machines and sweating your body out. The powering pushups can also be replaced with an effortless way to lose weight. The effortless ways to lose weight; Sounds fishy, but it's certainly true.
Here are the 10 tricks that you can employ in your daily routine to lose weight without making heavy efforts:
1. Drink a glass of water before eating a meal:
Drinking a glass of water before each meal keeps you hydrated and makes you feel full almost instantly. This prevents you from overeating most of the times. It is certainly one of the best tricks to lose weight without putting in extra efforts.
2. Swap the basic contents of the meal:
If you choose vinaigrette dressing in place of Green Goddess, you can simply save a lot of calories. The same results from choosing fresh fruits over the dried fruits.
3. Try eating dark chocolate for dessert:
Try to cut down on the cookie dessert or other normal desserts. Opting for a dark chocolate as dessert definitely helps you to monitor the weight without making any effort. It may not feel so good in the beginning but with time, you seem to make adjustments with the temptation for sugar.
4. Be consistent with the amount of food you eat:
Overeating is the major cause for putting on weight. If you become consistent with the portions of food you eat every time, it can considerably help in cutting down the weight without worrying too much about sweating your way out.
5. Try to move after you eat food:
The moment you finish eating food, you should move your body and not just sit at one place wondering about the taste of the food. You should go for a short walk after finishing the dinner/lunch. It not only burns some calories but also keeps the laziness away.
6. Try avoiding soda drinks:
Some drinks prove to be the major culprits when it comes to increasing the calorie count. It includes the likes of daily soda, morning juice or a glass of beer at the dinner table. Try to stick to water and you can flavor it with fresh cucumber and other veggies in order to diverse its taste.
7. Do not prolong your hunger for very long:
Some people believe that they can lose a lot of calories by just ignoring to eat food and go on dieting. It can usually backfire as dieting only results in malnutrition and not cutting down the weight. Hence, you should not go hungry for very long.
8. Try eating fiber rich foods:
The fiber rich foods are very good at digestion. Especially in the evenings, people should prefer to have a fiber diet in order to keep away from extra calories. Oatmeal is the perfect example of consuming fiber food. It also keeps away the calorie count from a person's body.
9. Eat a light dinner:
It is advised to eat lesser in the evening dinner before going to the bed. Eating a lot in the night can not only be hard for the body to digest the food but it can also bring problems in sleeping patterns, in turn increasing the weight by a fair bit.
10. Get better sleep:
Sleeping pattern and sleeping hours are very important as far as the controlling of weight is concerned. A proper sleep can keep away the accumulation of extra calories to creep into the body. Getting a better sleep is one of the best ways to reduce weight without making major efforts.


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Friday, 17 October 2008
Lately, as She Walks to Work
Lately, as she walks to work, she is beginning to see more of a bounce in her step. She believes in everything: gods, ghosts, miracles, curses. But she believes that everything exists within our minds, or not at all. In recent years she has become lazy and permissive with her own mind, leaving her natural pessimistic ghoul unchallenged and free to rush about in a murderous frenzy. This horrible ghoul had convinced her of all sorts of retched untruths, like nothing ever changes, nothing is really worth the effort, anything she tries will not be good enough, and worst of all, that it is too late for her, that she has missed her opportunities and wasted her life. But lately, as she walks to work, she has been wittingly reaching out to her younger self in an attempt to recover; to rescue and reclaim. Lately as she walks to work, she is holding her shoulders a little higher than before; smiling at strangers; taking deep breaths; and beginning to realize the ridiculousness of this Ghoul's ideas.
Wednesday, 15 October 2008
She Sells Omniscience by the Seashore
i've been toying with this demented little excercise in my head recently, as i walk to work. you see, i've so very many wee ideas, and so very many wee worries pin-wheeling around in my big, blustery noggin, that i rarely make anything out of anything and spend a lot of time spinning about like a tether ball after the recess bell sounds. the older i grow, however, the more i feel a need to pick up my sticks and try to build a little something. and what i really need to begin such an endeavor is perspective. a pair of magic specs to help me see all the sticks and know which way to bend in order to lift them. which brings me to the afore mentioned excercise. i've decided to appoint myself the omniscient narrotor of my own story. to write and think of myself in the third person as often as possible. not a judgmental narrator, mind you, but a kind and gentle guide, like those nice old british men with deep, candied voices who narrated the children's specials i grew up with.
it seems a bit batty, I know, but i really think it may be benificial to my plight. i'll fiddle with it for a spell and let you know. if all goes well, my next entry will likely begin with "she".
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Earlier this year we attended the IPMI Institute HR conference in Miami. We sat down with 10 HR executives from various industries and exchanged insights on what is going on in their world and how behavioral science can help.The following overarching themes kept coming up:
- Organizations are finding cultural change hard
- They have not had significant success at engaging their employees
- They don't have the bandwidth to prioritize employee communications—although they know doing so is important
Some insight from our behavioral and communication teams: if you can dial in communication, you can make change easier and increase employee engagement.
Now you are probably thinking, "OK, great! But how do I do that!?"
The key is a proper campaign, engaging design, and the application of behavioral science. Here are five tips on effectively communicating your HR initiatives to your employees.
1. First, let them know what you're sending immediately.
Your employees are busy—they don't have time for everything. It's easy for your communications to get muddled in the backlog of all they receive daily. If they can identify the subject and urgency of the communication before they open it, you are more likely to get their attention.
For instance, we recently designed a campaign that divided the client's email communications into four categories: Action Required, Urgent, Information Update, and Chat. Each category aligned with the overall brand we had built but had its own color, icon, and messaging. The categories were designed to cascade information of varying levels of importance to the field so that employees knew instantly whether the email was a "drop everything and get on the phone" kind of message or a team barbecue announcement
2. Tell a story.
Knowing the "why" behind an organizational change or decision helps make a communication engaging and motivating. The story behind the "why" helps legitimize the decisions to the audience. Think: Who was involved? What did they do? Why did they do it?
In many cases, a story is more powerful than data. Data is important, but using the story behind the data to back it up can make the information significantly more powerful. Keep in mind that this isn't applicable to everything: in immediate action and high-urgency situations, keep it brief and get to the point.
3. Validate with expertise.
People are more likely to buy into something if they see that an expert backs it—quotes, studies, and data will increase your effectiveness. If you have a source, use it. Including quotes from key upper-level personnel can also help validate your communication and drive increased buy-in or action from your audience. Think of it this way: when your teacher tells you to do something, it's easy to ignore, but when the principal gets called in, it's all hands on deck.
4. Be concise (decrease cognitive load).
People become overwhelmed and shut down when you try to convey too much at once, so focus on the key information and cut the fluff. To create a successful cognitive communication, you need to simplify and reduce. Ask yourself: Do I absolutely need to convey this information now? Break complex information down into simpler, easier-to-manage bits.
A cascading communication campaign can be very helpful in accomplishing this. Before sending out any communications, storyboard exactly what you will be sending, when you will send it, and what media you will use. A simple postcard drop at employees' desks announcing a new program can be just as effective as a three-hour workshop if designed well.
For more information on cognitive load, click here: http://bit.ly/2kNGKc9
5. Make it personal.
We are needy; we like to be catered to—tap into that. People are more likely to engage with something if they believe it has been designed specifically for them. Engage your employees by making it about them. Behavioral tip: Personalization can be part of the story!
To engage your audience, consider including how the subject you are communicating about will affect someone and their role. In addition, make it from you: sign the communication (digitally is OK) and include your name and position—this validates that it is from you, for them.
This is just the tip of the iceberg in effective communication.
Email us for a free quick reference guide to employee communication or a free consultation to help you apply these concepts to your communications: firstname.lastname@example.com.
Cover Photo by José Martín Ramírez C on Unsplash


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Our Traditions… What are yours?
Traditions are everywhere during the holidays and we are no exception. Though some may find our traditions silly or unique, they are ours and we will continue them for years to come; passing them to our children and our children's children.
What Are They?
Well, I've touched on this as well as reasons for and the importance of traditions in another post you can find HERE. Today I want to tell you about a few we have in our family and I would love, love, LOVE to hear some of yours so comment below or send me a message!!
Reason For Our Traditions
Honestly, some of our traditions started by accident and continued from there. Perhaps it was a treat and was asked for year after year. Perhaps it was something we just always did naturally as the night wore on…
Whatever the reason, I'm glad we have traditions to pass down to our children that show compromise, love and a willingness to come together no matter the circumstances. My and my husband's families are quite different, but we've been able to blend them so that each of our traditions are still present for everyone to enjoy.
Importance Of Tradition
I've touched on this in a previous post as well, but the importance of tradition for us is massive. We are able to bring things to light that our children may not have known about their families, the differences as well as the similarities. It teaches them that even though we come from different families, we've come together as one to share in the events that we believe are special to us. Not just the ones that appear during Christmas or Thanksgiving, but during any time of the year.
What stories can you tell your children about these traditions that they didn't know about? Do they know how they started? Who started them and what they stand for?
Some Of Our Traditions
Here is the part you've been dying to know, I'm sure.
Since it is the holidays, I'll focus on those and perhaps I'll update this throughout the year with our others as they happen.
Every year on thanksgiving we spend time with our family, usually his side because mine is larger and everyone has their own things going on. We usually host, but this year his little brother hosted and it was wonderful. We had a great time with our nieces and their side of the family.
When all the eating is done and cleanup is finished, everyone had gone home. We settle down with some hot chocolate (glass bottles of Coca-cola for my husband) and put our Christmas tree up while we listen to Christmas music.
Yes, I know its still Thanksgiving and we are very thankful. Thankful that we have each other present to participate in this tradition that been in my life since before I was born. My children are experiencing something I loved as a child.
Now here is what you've all been waiting for, right?
With our two families coming togethers and some other complications, we have 3-4 Christmas celebrations beside our own. We schedule a day to meet with all my sisters for a sister Christmas, which is scheduled whenever we can get six sisters together. We see my parents on Christmas Eve, his family on Christmas day, and my family has an extended family party too.
But that's not what I wanted to tell you about. One of our traditions came by accident when our middle sister couldn't think of what she wanted for Christmas. My parents would ask her and she would say she didn't know.
So, my dad being him, did something that would create the best tradition we have ever had. That one act had created years of creative enjoyment for all his daughters to enjoy and it will continue for years to come.
What is it, you ask? What did he do that would spiral us into a creative tradition that we all love? Well, he grabbed a large box, some rubber bands, and one of those rectangular fruitcakes. He taped the fruitcake to the rubber bands, stapled the rubber bands to the inside of the box, wrapped it and had fun asking people to guess what was inside it whenever they came over.
To be honest, I thought it was a bunch of small bouncy balls, but the great thing was that we all laughed when we found out what was inside. And don't worry, that wasn't the only gift she received that year.
The Christmas Fruitcake:
That was the year of 1998 and every year since it is passed to another sister to disguise and re-gift to another sister for the next year. Yep, it's the same one from 1998 and yes, it's been wrapped multiple times in plastic wrap and duct tape.
It's one of the things we look forward to every year and gives us another reason to see each other, cause really? Who wouldn't want to see what you could do with a fruitcake.
If you're interested in seeing what we've done with this fruitcake, you can check out my Patreon Page. I update it every year with the latest disguise. We couldn't remember all of them when I decided to start keeping track, but will from now on.
To not leave you hanging, I'll give you a few things we've done.
~ It's been baked into a birthday cake (my and my twins birthday is close to Christmas)
~ It's been put in a bear you have to squeeze for it to poop it out.
~ It's been literally mailed to another sister
~ Buried in a box of coal (I was the lucky one to get that one!)
~ Buried in a box of Crackers (They had snacks for a long time!)
What are Your Traditions?
I would love to hear about your family traditions! Do you have something unique that you pass around as we do?


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This will REALLY make liberal heads explode!
A Gallup poll released moments ago found more Americans consider Fox News their main source for news than any other news outlet in the nation:
Television is the main place Americans say they turn to for news about current events (55%), leading the Internet, at 21%. Nine percent say newspapers or other print publications are their main news source, followed by radio, at 6%.
And who came in first amongst television news providers?
Fox is considered the number one news source by eight percent of respondents. CNN was second at seven percent.
Meanwhile, look at ABC, MNSBC, NBC, and PBS with only one percent, and CBS below that.
As far as other media, eighteen percent of respondents said "Internet/Computer/Online (non-specific)."
Only six percent said newspapers with the New York Times getting only one percent.
Yes, eight times as many respondents declared Fox News as their main source of information as compared to the Times.
This is true of NPR which also garnered only one percent.
Liberal heads are going to spin!
(HT @lachlan)