Blog Posts by The_Stir

alcoholIt's an all-too-familiar story. Teenager gets some freedom. Teenager gets drunk. Teenager dies from alcohol poisoning while his helpless friends watch.

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This is what happens when we make kids so scared of getting caught with alcohol that they're terrified to calls us when something goes wrong. This is what Brett Finbloom's family is living with today. They were supposed to be saying goodbye as he left for college. Instead they're saying goodbye forever. And it all could have been prevented with just one phone call ... if only the teenagers in that room weren't terrified that they were going to get in trouble.

Parents! If this isn't a sign that we need to change the whole discussion about alcohol, I don't know what is.

Ironically, Brett's friends needn't have worried about getting in trouble. They live in Indiana, a state where an underage drinker who calls for assistance for a friend is given

mom baby after c-sectionWhen I was pregnant with my twins, I remember so many people automatically thinking I was going to get a c-section. Friends, particularly those without children, would casually note that I would deliver my baby by cesarean. That wasn't my plan -- I knew twins could be delivered vaginally. Though I did end up with a c-section after getting preeclampsia/HELLP syndrome.

I was lucky and I made it to 36 weeks. My babies were considered late-term preemies, and while we did have some challenges, we all ended up healthy. Late-term preemies tend to sleep through feedings and you have to wake them so they eat and thrive. I know many women who had preemies -- babies born weighing just one pound -- and their outcomes were filled with many struggles, serious complications, and heartbreakingly some babies didn't survive.

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This is why people cannot understand why any woman would want to risk baby's health and

Bloomingdale's, $32As the Summer Olympics have captured hearts and spirits around the world, we are grateful for the inspiration, patriotic pride, and sense of oneness in the world they provide. However, the biggest gift the 2012 games may have given the world is even more significant for many -- the revival of the scrunchie.

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Yes, it's true, those adorable, powerful little gymnasts just may have given women around the world the most perfect present -- permission to wear scrunchies again. They sported them during their daring routines, and people took note. On Twitter and in print, fashion followers everywhere are debating if the scrunchie is indeed going to make a mainstream fashion comeback, and more importantly, if it should.

Some are adamantly resisting their greatness, but I for one, say the return of the scrunchie is long overdue.

More from The Stir: Should U.S. Olympic

kitchen knife

So I was perusing this fun little post on Six Common Kitchen Injuries today. Emergency Room professionals were asked what kinds of kitchen injuries they see most often -- and what people should do about them. Gee, it brought back such memories. Ah, what fun times I've had, mauling myself while cooking. The blood, the burns, the tears. It's been real.

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I'm not sure how I haven't ended up in the emergency room by now. My son has -- but I'll get to that later. Let me tell you about my sad history with knives.

It started when I was 13 and my parents brought home a giant wheel of sheep's milk cheese. I decided the best way to cut myself a slice would be to cut across the top with a steak knife. I was very clever to hold onto the other side of the cheese with my other hand so that when my knife inevitably slipped it would sink right into the side of my thumb. Nice! This was right before

I'm not sure I've met someone who hasn't been on a diet or, at the very least, tried to alter their eating habits to lose a few pounds. As I get older, I watch more and more of my friends succumb to the dreaded "after 30" pudge.

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Dieting is nothing new to me. I've had thyroid issues since my early 20s and have gained and lost 60 pounds with each pregnancy. When I get pregnant, it's like my body wants to make sure every precious calorie is used ... for my butt.

But with diets come the dreaded weight loss plateau. All the things that once worked for you leave the scale at the exact same number, week after week.

How do you get past a weight loss plateau? Let's find out.

First, we must understand a weight loss plateau.

While to me, it seems patently unfair, it's really that our bodies have adjusted to eating less and exercising more (really, that's the secret to dieting). That helps a

woman with pinocchio noseNo matter how well we feel, there always seems to be room for improvement. One fewer cold a year. One less headache. Just a little less stress. Believe it or not, all of that might be possible if we were to put an end to a pesky little habit ... No, not smoking, eating junk food, or missing out on sleep in order to catch up with our DVRs. We'd do well to quit lying!

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At the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, researchers said that in a small group of 18- to 71-year-olds, health improved when people abstained from lying. Specifically, they had four fewer mental-health complaints (like feeling tense or melancholy) and three fewer physical complaints (sore throats and headaches) than the people who were free to throw out falsehoods as they pleased. Crazy!

Actually, it doesn't strike me as all that surprising, given what we know about the connection between

popcornMmm, the smell of hot buttered popcorn. Doesn't it just make you want to pop some ... Alzheimer's meds?! Might not be a bad idea: According to the latest research, "chronic" exposure to the artificial butter flavoring found in microwave and movie popcorn can worsen the effects of brain proteins linked to Alzheimer's disease. Yum, yum. Give me some?

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The culprit here is diacetyl, an ingredient commonly used to give a "buttery taste and aroma" to (in addition to popcorn) margarines, candy, chips, and more, and the risk is greatest for people who work in places like microwave popcorn factories. (Phew! Guess it's a good thing I didn't get that job after all!) But the fact that there's any risk at all (and, by the way, diacetyl has been linked to asthma, too) begs the question: Why is this stuff still on the market?!

Seriously. It's been years since I've eaten artificially-flavored microwave or movie popcorn

tan linesWhat would you do if your 15-year-old developed an obsession with spray tanning? Hang on, let me define "obsession" for you: 4 hours of spray-tanning every morning. $600 spent on spray tanning supplies every month. People shouting, "Oompa Loompa" on the street.

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I'm guessing you would've somehow addressed the issue before your kid turned burnt orange, right? See, 15-year-old Hannah Norman's parents didn't do that. And I don't get it. As the mom of a tween (so help me!) daughter, I'm beginning to understand the tricky parental balancing act of raising an adolescent: You want them to express themselves and encourage their individuality and make their own mistakes, but sometimes you HAVE to step in, don't you? Before things get too out of hand?

Hannah's parents didn't do that. In fact, her fitness instructor dad bought her a spray-tan machine for her bedroom and paid for her habit. Meanwhile, poor Hannah was