Health care has always been considered a "recession proof" profession, but that may not be the case this time around. A recent survey released by the American Academy of Family Physicians shows that patients are visiting their physicians less and less, even postponing important health screenings like Pap smears and colonoscopies. Appointment cancellations are up, as are the number of uninsured patients visiting the office. All of these trends are quite concerning to family physicians in particular since they are often the ones managing chronic conditions and ensuring patients receive appropriate screening tests. One of the most concerning stats to come out of this survey is that people are stressed out more than ever. Nearly 90% of physicians surveyed said that patients are expressing a concern over how they will pay their bills. And, 87% physicians said they are seeing an increase in patients with signs and symptoms of severe stress. As headache sufferers, you will recognize that stress can be a common trigger for headaches. It can also increase one's risk of a variety of health problems like heart disease. If you are concerned about the rising costs of health care, discuss these concerns with your health care provider and see what he or she can do to help you.

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I walked into the living room to find this. I do believe we must retire the swing due to Lane's new reclining position. I don't think Fisher Price would be too happy.

So I just read my friend Michelle's blog about valet parking at the Phillies field for the families...I am not even going to tell you what I am thinking right now. If you saw what I went through at the Mariners game at Oakland yesterday, you would know why. I was not planning on making the hour long trip to the game, but Rob was starting and I really wanted to go watch him play. A day to relax, sit by myself (sometimes you need a break from the family section, can I get an Amen), soak up some sun and enjoy the game. Well, I should have just turned around when I pulled into the lot. I wanted to park where we parked last year, right next to the entrance and reserved for the families...well I guess the guy working the gate lost the memo. He made me wait for about 20 minutes while he verified that Rob was actually a player and took my drivers licence to verify whatever it was he wanted to verify. I had my parking pass from our home field and even my security badge from Safeco field...Literally the Mariners GM and assistants were behind me and all I could do was pray for patience. I ended up laughing and just thanking the guy for doing such a great job at PROTECTING the lot! A little bit of sarcasm, but I tried to remember that it was nothing personal. I left our house at 11:30, plenty of time to make it to the field 30 min before game time at 1. I wanted to unload Lane, get a Dr. Pepper, give Rob a little wave and watch him take the field. I went flying into the stadium at like 3 minutes till 1, just as he was giving the team high fives and the game was about to start. I had no Dr. Pepper and NO STROLLER. I forgot to mention that I had to return to the car with my stroller b/c the A's stadium is not kid friendly!!!!! OH MY. I have a 22lb butter ball that likes to nap at the games in his stroller. Do you see where this is going.

I enter the stadium and take my seat. The visiting team's family section is right above the 3rd base dugout...OK is a red flag going off in your head as well!?! FOUL BALLS come flying through there at like 100 miles an hour. So Rob had the guy leave me tickets up high and behind the net. That was really sweet but Lane was so antsy, I had to get up and take him for a stroll. Oh wait, that's right. My stroller is in the car. This was not a normal, every day, tired fuss. It was like a visitor from the dark side crawled into his body and had a party. He threw a fit like I have never seen. I tried everything. The only thing he wanted to do was take a bottle, but not while I was sitting, oh no, we had to walk. He wanted to recline in the stroller and pass out to thoughts of milk and bitter biscuits. Sorry hunny, mama's arms are as good as it gets for now. I don't think I have walked held him while he ate in months. He is a good 10lbs heavier than the last time. And he suddenly forgot how to hold his bottle. So, I held it...this one LAST time. He took about 10 sips and was out like a light. Finally some peace! Other than the fact my arms were about to fall off, and Lane had his motion detector on (couldn't sit), I was happy.

10 minutes later...
By the way, did I mention that there was a game being played? Well, I must have had a sign on me that said..."Please help". I had about 10 people, no joke, come up to me and offer parenting advice. "You cant give in...gotta be consistent...that diaper bag will hurt your back...does he eat that whole bottle...how long did you breastfeed...so you are a players wife huh, cuz no one else would be here alone with a baby...can I buy you a beer...etc." Now these were people who reeked of beer and tanning oil...some I am pretty sure did not have kids. I just smiled and reminded myself that I love Jesus and Jesus would not want me to kill this person.

Until...
Finally I snapped. Last straw. A man approached me, drunk as can be and wanted to look at Lane sleeping. I calmly asked the man to not touch him (HE IS SLEEPING!!! and he is not in a petting zoo), and I was trying to watch the guy at bat. (MY HUSBAND OF COURSE) He must have had a wax build up in the ears b/c he didn't hear my request. He pulled Lane's hat away from his face and I gave him a look of death. I can normally deal with drunks at the games, but something about having a baby makes the mother lion in you come alive. Sober fans are awesome, drunk fans...not so much. I asked him to move from in front of me (in a not so nice tone) and he said something to me that I will not repeat. In the past, I would have said something back and been really upset, but something inside of me actually felt sorry for him and I felt a little sad as he walked away. I wish I would have been a little nicer. I said a little prayer, hoping to feel the arms of comfort for both me and the drunk man, I felt it, but I am not sure he did. I guess point of my story is that I will be more aware of how to avoid situations before they even arise. I should have just walked away to begin with. I am still getting the hang of motherhood, especially motherhood at ballparks...

The rest of the day was awesome...Last night, Rob and I started a sermon series on the book of Ruth. I am excited to see what we learn! I hope y'all have a great day and thank you for reading my long post.

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The recent ruling by a vaccine court involved in vaccine damage litigation regarding causation between vaccinations such the MMR, and the vaccine ingredient thimerosal (mercury) and autism as being without merit or not showing enough scientific evidence is both tragic and misleading. It is tragic because for years families have sought restitution for their families' emotional and financial suffering in caring for what they know is a vaccine damaged child. It is misleading because the traditional medical community will use this decision to put forth their mantra that vaccinations for ALL children at the current schedule (approximately 24 vaccines before the age of 2) regardless of a childs hereditary or genetic variances is completely safe, and any indication of toxicity or link to childhood neurological problems is unwarranted.

This commentary is not an attack against vaccines in general. The argument is always brought up that vaccines have saved thousands of lives not only here in the United States, but across the world, and to go without vaccines would endanger thousands of other children. Both of these statements can be viewed as accurate. Most of us who speak out about the vaccine and autism connection have never advocated the elimination of childhood vaccines, or indicated that vaccines are the only cause of autism. We all know that vaccines in the history of medicine have contributed to preventing and reducing infectious disease. Enough said. Vaccines are not going away, nor should they.

The deeper issue is that certain vaccines are associated with a risk of adverse reactions that can impair certain individuals neurologically seizures, motor dysfunction, paralysis, and even death. The Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) would not exist and record data on adverse vaccine reactions on a yearly basis - if vaccines did not have the potential to cause problems. Someone can debate all they want about the risks, percentages, actual cases, etc., but the fact remains vaccines carry a risk for adverse side effects.

The vaccine court determined that there was not enough scientific evidence to indicate vaccines were a cause of three different childrens autism. No one disputes that vaccines can have side effects such as fever, shock, brain inflammation, and even death in some circumstances with the brain inflammation leading to temporary or permanent neurological deficits. Less than a year ago another vaccine court ruled that a young girl by the name of Hannah Poling became autistic after receiving a series of vaccines. However, the vaccine autism critics point out that this only occurred because Hannah was found to have an underlying metabolic abnormality that likely predisposed her to a vaccine adverse reaction. In this scenario the court acknowledged that the vaccines exacerbated an underlying medical problem. What is missing in the current decision is the language of contributed to, or a childs regression into autism. The vaccines in these three cases may not have been the cause, but they certainly could have contributed to the childs development of what is classified as autism characteristics.

I have been in medical practice for over 11 years. For the past decade I have helped evaluate the medical issues of children on the autism-spectrum, and provided biomedical treatment to support their health and well-being. In this time, I have had the opportunity to interview families from across the United States and abroad. I have seen kids of all shapes, sizes, colors and socioeconomic backgrounds. I have seen kids who appeared delayed from birth, and others who regressed into autism slowly starting around the age of 2 years, children who became autistic because of natural infections, and a few who even became autistic who never had been vaccinated.

Tragically, I have also seen children who became autistic within days of their 15 to 18 months vaccines usually after a combination of the MMR and others. In one case, a parent described taking her child to the pediatrician for an early morning office visit for immunizations, and by the time the father got home that evening the girl was spinning in circles, hand-flapping, and not responding to her name. Essentially, she disappeared into the world of isolation and odd behavior what we all in the medical community refer to as autism. In many cases, a typically developing child social, engaged, happy, healthy and thriving develops severe digestive problems almost immediately after their MMR vaccine. With this also comes regression of normal typical behavior to the autistic characteristics of isolation, loss of language, and others.

What is sad and frightening is so many of the stories that these parents tell are very similar. Their child was developing normally many have video and pictures to prove it and suddenly their child (within 3 weeks to 3 months) are completely changed commonly associated with their 1-1/2 year vaccines. It doesnt take a genius to figure out that commonality of stories from families of different socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds over many, many years holds some validity in the realm of probability. In many of these cases, the main connecting mechanism was childhood vaccines.

Of course, there are variables in this population. I do not feel that vaccines are the sole contributor to all childrens autism. As I have mentioned before, I have seen children with varying medical backgrounds where the link to vaccines or other environmental causes is not clear cut. However, in a vast majority of kids who fit the regressive pattern of autism where normal development both physically, verbally and cognitively are being met and suddenly the child completely changes in a short period of time. The adverse reactions to vaccine(s) are to blame at least this is my medical opinion.

The argument isnt whether vaccines cause, contribute to, potentiate, etc. ALL cases of autism, but is it possible that for some children who may carry unique biochemical imbalances, along with genetic variances as was the case with Hannah Poling are more susceptible to adverse vaccine reactions. Logic tends to dictate - Yes! It is plausible because nothing in medicine is 100% effective or 100% without risk including vaccines.

The medical authorities, vaccine courts, or other naysayers regarding adverse vaccine reactions and autism can argue all they want about there being no link. The reality is these decisions are being determined in the courtroom, and we all know that a court ruling is not always indicative of absolute guilt or innocence reference the case of O.J. Simpsons murder trial. I think we can all agree the legal decision didnt match what we all suspected was the truth.

The fact is that thousands of parents who have lived through the fear and devastation know the truth of seeing their child disappear into autism in some cases almost overnight and are now living a nightmare of emotional, physical and financial stress to care for their child. They know what they saw, and they know what kind of child they had before that fateful day at the pediatricians office. For over a decade, I have heard these stories through their words and seen the pictures and videos of a once normal child.

The link of vaccines to autism is real. Not in all cases, but in a significant amount. My heart goes out to those families who have dealt with such trauma and frustration. Because of this current court ruling once again they are left to fend for themselves as their voices go unheard by the system that encouraged, persuaded, and even intimidated them to vaccinate in the first place.

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I think I found my baggage last night, but the funny thing is, I didnt even know it was missing. Earlier this week I had lunch with several former colleagues, all working moms themselves. We got to talking about the differences between working mothers and SAHMs, and it starting to come out that all these very accomplished women who seemed to have it all together were dragging around an enormous amount of guilt because they had chosen to go back to work. It was the most depressing lunch ever. I had to admit to the group that I felt guilt that I didnt feel guilty. Except for the occasional day when my daughter seems close to coming down with a major bug, I have never felt guilty about dropping her off at child care. She loves it. I love it. I firmly believe both of us are better off with the arrangement we have. I might feel a little sad when there are tears at drop off, but I never would have called it guilt.

That all changed last night. I had a rare evening work commitment, and my husband had to pick our daughter up, which he has only done a handful of times (our child care center is at my office). When I got home and peppered him with questions about how the evening had gone, he happened to mention in passing that he had gotten to the center late, 6:05, in fact. 6:05?!?!!! My mind raced. What horrible thing had happened at his office, what terrible traffic jam, weather condition, or state of emergency had kept him from reaching our daughter before the center closed. His answers were underwhelming to say the least. It was pretty routine stuff. And yet, he shrugged it off. I, on the other hand, fought off tears feeling that I had let my daughter down because not only wasnt I there for her, but I clearly hadnt sent a suitable replacement. My mind raced to think of all the evening events or business travel I might have scheduled but now would clearly have to cancel because I simply cannot let that happen again. The guilt flooded me again this morning when I apologized to the center director and the teacher who had to stay late. Im sure those five minutes of my daughters life have come and gone unnoticed to her, but I think they permanently opened a window of self awareness for me that will stay open for some time. Now if I could only get my husband to carry that baggage every now and again, would it lighten my load or would it simply compound it.

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We were so pleased to have Howard as a panelist at our Business Wire Conference Series for Public Relations, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications Professionals speaking on the topic of the Social Media revolution. Howard provided our members with insights on the opportunities and benefits of reaching and engaging with this audience and did so with the authority of a person who has been part of this revolution from the start.

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I wrote in my lasting posting that the backlash over Johnson Johnson's onlie Motrin ad seemed like old news already, however, commentary on this still continues. According to a blog posting by Jeremiah Owyang, a Senior Analyst at Forrester Research (Note: The book "Groundswell" was written by two of his colleagues), Johnson Johnson is missing an opportunity in the aftermath of the Motrin backlash. Owyang states in his blog that online traffic interest in Motrin has spiked in the weeks following the flap over the ad, but as of Dec. 4th the Motrin.com homepage still had an apology dated from Nov 20th. He goes on to state that "rather than wallow in sorrow, Motrin should leverage global interest in its brand. Rather than telling customers what pains them, Motrin should benefit from word of mouth by asking the community what pains you?".

To Owyang's entire posting, go to http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2008/12/04/how-motrin-should-respond-to-the-groundswell/

Owyang certainly makes a good point. While the backlash and the interest it stirred seem like unintended consequenced of Motrin's ad, the mobilized and engaged group of moms it generated is now a potentially great resource that they should be tapping into.

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Its been some time since I posted any interviews with business professionals. Its high time I got back to it, dont you think? Recently I met a Smart Woman Online in the coaching business - over the water in the UK. She has some interesting perspectives that might just help some of you position yourselves for greater success in 2009. Yes, you will be successful. It takes work and persistence - two qualities we businesswomen do not shy away from.
Read what Lynette Allen says...and visit her website/blog for more information:
Yvonne: Hi, Lynette. Youre a s business coach in the UK. Since I’m in the U.S., I wonder...do you think women are different in each location, or are women all the same, everywhere? If you have clients from around...the world or just around Essex, where you are, how are they different and how are they the same? (understand that I tell people women are an enormous, powerful group to market to - but you have to approach us each as individuals, and allow us to reach out to our family and friends for the connection; do you agree?)
Lynette: I coach women from around the world, places such as Greece, Italy, Spain, Canada, America, as well as those closer to home in London, and it has always surprised me how the issues they face are always the same.
The women I coach come to me because theyre overwhelmed, because theyve taken on more than they can chew in terms of time and energy. Women to a lot of people, they give emotionally and physically.They give with their time, their humour, their patience, their skills and they care so much about those around them, they can leave themselves a little drained to say the least. Inevitably a woman will phone me when shes thinking work mode, shell want to grow her business but maybe unsure how to do it; shell want to be more productive but is uncertain why she isnt already productive when shes working so much; shell want to learn how to say to the things that drain her and how to walk away without the guilt attached.

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Advertising Agency has been in the talk to business, on talk to media. The whole idea of a brief, with its ‘single most important point’, is the notion that were we’re saying one thing to people in a clever, engaging way.
Ads tell. Instruct. They are emotional. The best of the bunch are compelling without overtly selling. Ads still invoke imagery, emotion, humor, storytelling, intrigue, and perspective – all for the purpose of getting noticed (and selling product though thats rarely the overt goal of an ad).
But it used to be a lot easier to get noticed. Fragmentation has made the role of the media department a lot harder. And Web 2.0 has made people take notice and think different because people are going to platforms (Facebook, YouTube, Twitter) that dont talk to them, but let them do all the talking.
So whats new is that the internet is about conversations. And thats no longer telling. You cant repeat a single most important point and be in a conversation, even if youre being funny.
And yet, theres still a need for advertising that breaks through and informs.
Think about it this way: if youll allow me to call whats going on a conversation, then it follows that no one will engage in conversation with a perfect stranger. No one will engage with a brand in the digital world they dont already know.
At our agency, we proudly suggest that we Talk Human. That means conversations, and it means listening.
But all conversations start with someone speaking first. The conversations are then picked up in other places, molded, pushed, and prodded.
Thats the theory.

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"I have a reaction to that as a consumer advocate and an advertiser. What in heaven's name made you think you could monetize the real estate in which somebody is breaking up with their girlfriend?" Ted McConnell

That's right. McConnell, general manager-interactive marketing and innovation at Procter Gamble Co., is bucking the social media conversation, especially as it pertains to social networks like Facebook. According to AdAge, he doesn't want to invest in advertising dollars where people are trying to talk to someone, saying "we hijack their conversations, their own thoughts and feelings, and try to monetize it.

He's mostly right. Companies that push and prod their way into personal spaces can be annoying (it became the death knell for AOL chat for those who remember), especially when the intent is to overtly or covertly steal them away to see a sales pitch.

Most don't mind the overt promoters so much (as long as they can be unfollowed on Twitter or assigned to junk mail). It's the covert operations, shrouded in idealism, that makes some people wonder.

Where McConnell might be right.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to read between the lines. More than one social media expert has caused a raised eyebrow after offering up a few runaway comments and quips.

"The critics don't pay my bills."

"By elevating my personal brand, more people will read my blog when I write about my client."

"I engage them in conversations with the hope they click on my signature, which takes them to my client."

"They probably wont answer you, but thats okay. All you want to do is appear like you have a relationship with them to enhance your credibility."

Keep in mind, these are the same folks who claim it's not about the money. They generally promote authenticity and transparency, state that their purpose is to shape social media for no other intent than to move their industry forward, and encourage that everyone should engage in social media just like they do.

Yet, if you read between the lines, you learn that the only reason critics (not trolls, mind you) are shunned is because they might hurt the bottom line. Whereas critical review tends to be more welcome in academics because the pursuit is about truth and knowledge over personal brand.

Or, you might learn some public relations professionals are pushing press releases as posts. Or, that online conversationalists really want you to buy a duck. Or, that someone's popularity was contrived from the very start.

This isn't the only area where McConnell may be right. He seems to be right that the infinitely thin targeting is creepy; limitless inventory will dampen publisher profits (until value finally beats reach, assuming it ever does); and that just because it moves, doesn't mean you have to monetize it. Don't misunderstand him. For all the criticisms, Procter Gamble won't leave Facebook all together, because he does see value in social media. He just seems to see that the value is being applied to the wrong places.

Where McConnell might be wrong.

For all his good points, McConnell questions whether social media is media. Yet, it is a medium, even if it is different from other mediums.

Where he seems most mistaken is that it's not the participation that makes it media as much as it is the platform where that participation occurs. You also can't discount that tremendous number of voyeurs who treat the participation of others as their preferred consumption. And, in order to support these public platforms, someone has to make a nickel sooner or later (people generally accept this, especially when they have the choice of ad supported or premium ad-free services).

Besides, we've monetized almost everything anyway. Take a walk outside sometime and you can see it. People break up under billboards that line our horizon all the time. However, other than that small discrepancy, McConnell seems to touch on a subject that needs to be touched on. You see, while people might break up under billboards, those billboards don't generally shout down that they can help.

Online, they certainly seem to, especially when a marriage counselor, divorce attorney, fashion consultant, and dating service all become part of the break-up conversation between two people. Is that what people really want? I dunno. Maybe. Maybe not.

Similar posts: motrin

I use to keep my husband awake at night scratching myself, he thought he was on a massage bed the bed was always moving. I use to bandage myself up Bob it was ssssoooooo bad I would bleed on the sheets and ooze I know it sounds disgusting the reason I am telling you this is so you can know I really have been there, the allergy then started attacking my lungs and I developed etaceria which is a allergy inside the body I removed all colorants and preservatives from my diet Bob, drank water and tried to eat as many fresh fruit and veggies as possible of course still steak, chicken etc as well.

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