On Politics and FriendshipsMy abuelita (grandma) in Chile always says never to discuss politics and religion in social gatherings. Not because those topics should not be addressed, but because some rational people become very irrational when it comes to voicing their beliefs. Some people are so set in their ways that they forget to respect others and are very intolerant of dissenting points of view.

She grew up in the 30's and many can find her position quite old fashioned. It was a different world, after all. Being social meant being face-to-face, the gadgets that are a part of our everyday lives would have seemed out of a science fiction novel and people relied on the good old radio to tell them what was going on the world. Yes, it's tempting to dismiss her traditions and views. But during an election year that has centered on very important and very heated issues, I sometimes wish more of us followed her advice.

Related: 8 things NOT to do when your friend votes for that guy

In the age of

By Michelle Cowden

Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead

As someone who believes in the connection between food and disease, I am so excited that a film like Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead attempts to show the masses how a healthy diet can cure an illness. It's a must see movie!!!

Suffering from a rare autoimmune disease disorder, Joe Cross, was tired of taking prescription pills and feeling miserable. Looking at himself in the mirror, his 300+ pound image looked back at him and he longed to be healthy again. Knowing if he kept eating junk food and taking these pills, he was on his way to an early death. Armed with a generator, a juicer, his car, and a desire for a better life, Joe takes an oath to only juice fruits and vegetables for the next 60 days. Unsure if this experiment will work or not, Joe is desperate to feel better.

Traveling cross-country from New York to California, Joe set off on a journey to juice, talk to people about juicing and the negative effects of junk and fast foods on the body. Out of

While it is easy to see the reasons why legal or medical transcription are important, it might be harder to see the reasoning behind sermon transcription. While the action isn't taking place in a courtroom or operating table, religious transcription can be very interesting and rewarding, and it is an invaluable service for religious leaders.

Reach More People
Sermon transcription helps religious leaders reach more people. Not all parishioners are well enough to travel. A transcribed sermon can easily be mailed, emailed or printed and delivered by a friend to anyone in any state.

Also, many religious leaders are finding that posting their sermons online is giving them access to people that otherwise would be unable to attend their services. Would-be parishioners all over the world are able to easily download their sermons months after they're given; meaning that their words touch several times more people than the original recitation did.

Searchable Documents
It's

Posted by Marlene in Friends for Life, Marlene's Feel Good Blog | 0 comments

Cherish Your Old Friends

Here's Something New To Feel Good About Today!

"The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart." ~Elisabeth Foley

If you have a friend from childhood or a friend that you've known for years you'll relate to this post. Why not give them a call today, or even better, plan a time to get together. Old memories are great, new memories are even better. Create some today!

This is me on the right side of the recent photo with my oldest dear friend Shelley. We just spent a few days together on her visit to California.

Take a look at this earlier photo of us many years ago. After graduating from high school, we took an extensive trip through Europe that lasted about 6 weeks. I remember the cost of our round trip ticket from Boston to Rome was an incredible $209.00! We each had $900.00 to spend and Shelley returned home with a

St. Patrick's Day/Lenten Season - Puget Sound, Seattle, WALet there be LightRiver of light in the sky over Riverton, WAPuget Sound, Seattle, WA and South King County, Boeing

Outside of the hugely successful rock duo, B'z, Tak Matsumoto is also an incredible solo artist who is often revered by the likes of Larry Carlton, Steve Vai, Eric Johnson, Robben Ford, Keb Mo, Pat Metheny and even Eric Clapton. Matsumoto's guitar experimentation led him from jazz and blues to hard rock and pop; a journey evident on the new album "Strings of My Soul," out since August 7. The album is the newest release outside Asia after his first solo effort, "Hana," in 2003. He considers this album "a new album of myself" while revisiting all of his past favorites songs.

Tagged as the most notorious guitarist in his homeland, Tak is best known for his tenure in B'z, the most successful Japanese hard/blues rock act to date, with more than 80 million albums sold in the last 20 years. In Japan, they play venues like the Yokohama International Stadium to 140,000 people.

An eclectic mix of jazz, blues and rock, "Strings of My Soul" demonstrates Tak's incredible guitar

by Margie Kelly, Communications Manager

Last month, industry giant Johnson & Johnson made a stunning announcement: it was prepared to eliminate a "most wanted" list of chemicals from its beauty and baby products lines by 2015.

Johnson & Johnson plans to phase out preservatives like quanternium-15, which releases formaldehyde, a known carcinogen, and triclosan, an antibacterial that may harm the human immune system. Another chemical that Johnson & Johnson pledged to eliminate is 1,4 dioxane, which has been linked to increased risk of breast cancer.

Johnson & Johnson contends the chemicals are safe and meet all government standards. However, as Susan Nettesheim, Vice President, Product Stewardship and Toxicology wrote, "…what matters most isn't what we think, it's what the people who use our products think."

For years, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics had been pressuring the company to make the switch. The Campaign's report finding cancer-causing formaldehyde in the

So many homebuyers have made so many mistakes. Myself included when I bought my first home. But I'm not alone - many homebuyers made critical missteps and decisions because you're not informed or don't ask the right questions. They overpaid, overspent, and bought homes they just could not afford. It's been painful to watch because a huge percentage of the home-buying and home-owning problems could have been avoided had those homeowners known what they have now learned the hard way.

Here are 5 missteps I hope you won't be trying to "wish away" when you buy your house!

1. I wish I hadn't borrowed the full amount the bank told me I could afford -This is not the time to buy the most expensive house you can with the money and credit you've got. No, in fact whatever the bank will lend you, take 20% less. Let's say you go to a bank or a mortgage broker to get preapproved for a mortgage. You say, "I want to buy a house; how much of a mortgage will you give me?" In other words, "What