I consider myself musically hip, but am out of the loop on Miley and Jonas. I only see Miley in the paper, as I hardly watch TV. My teenager can't stand her. I'm not a fan of cookie-cutter teeny bopper music so I don't see myself buying a Miley CD for my youngest. Although she loves the Cinderella Barbie music she got for Xmas (ick!) and the Backyardigans CD. Other than that, whenever I turn on my music, which ranges from classical, to middle eastern, to latin, to rock, to hip hop...she lights up and moves to all of them. I would prefer her listening to sounds from all over the world instead of Britney clones.

I've cut coffee from my day, and like tea...but am getting bored with tea. What healthy, hot drinks do you like?

I'm looking for cute, chic, funky shoes to wear to work and that I can wear with jeans. It seems all the ones I fall in love with are over $100. Like the Coach clogs or the Michael Kors beige mule/pumps. Do you have any favorite online shoe shops that are in $50-$100 range? I scoured DSW and Macy's already.

You sound like an awesome Dad! It also sounds like you are doing A LOT already to counter the situation. I think the burnout could pass when she stops the breastfeeding, and more so as the kids grow and are able to do more for themselves. Maybe a warm, sunny vacation from the cold could help put her in a better state of mind? Even if you go with the kids, a change of scenery can do wonders for the spirit.

60! I am 5'2. It took me 2 years to lose it. Gained 40 the second time...and have lost 50 now.

I've never heard of cutepdf...what is that? I was going to say you could either buy Adobe Acrobat, or at the very least, Adobe Distiller which allows you to convert a postscript file into a PDF. If you have Illustrator, you can save the document as a PDF. But if you have Acrobat, that would allow you to print to PDF from most applications.

Hey! I bought another pair at Marshall's today for $17. Yay! Tried on a skinny black dress...but that will have to wait. Now I have to get my rings resized, a new jacket, a new belt... etc. etc.

another case is my mom. She went to the dr. for 2 years trying to correct her lazy eye. I talked her into acupuncture. She found an American trained MD/Acupunturist and her lazy eye improved over several weeks. On her last session, the Dr/Acu was out of town and she had a Korean-trained acupuncturist who used extra long needles, and more that time. Her eyes have been normal for the past 5 years.

Is that documented evidence for the public to learn? No. But it still worked.

Anonymous wrote:Zumbamama I have a question for you. I am in very open to acupuncture though I have never tried it. My question is, for something like tight muscles (shoulder, neck, back area) and pain in that area, does acupuncture work like massage to loosen the muscle, or just mask the pain? I assume acupuncture may increase circulation, reduce the inflammation, etc. - so in that way it would actually treat some of the pain. Is that right?

Yes, it can get rid of pain. But as with any health practice, you need someone who knows what they are doing. You are right about the increase in circulation and reducing inflammation. I would talk about chi flow, but I know I will probably just get a bunch of rolling eyes....better to speak to an actual acupuncturist. Personally, I would rather try a few needles and nip the pain in the bud than dull it for a few hours with Vicodin.

My approach to pain is acupuncture, massage, spinal alignment, yoga, rest, hydrotherapy, ROUTINE stretching and hydration. Sometimes I can knock out my pain with a massage and dip in the jacuzi, sometimes it needs the whole works. That's just me though! I recommend all the above!

It does suck that it is so expensive though...I hear ya.

There is tons of evidence, whether one chooses to acknowledge it or not. I have enough personal experience from having acupuncture and having pain meds to know that it works for many, many things.

I was happy to read this article, maybe my friends will listen to me now when I tell them to try acupuncture.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/feb/01/military-turns-to-acupuncture-for-war-zone-care/

Those artificial sweeteners taste awful to me...does anyone else get that weird after taste? I'd rather use a miniscule amount of organic sugar.

I have it....that's why I'm on DCUM all day. Both my daughters had it too...looks like 2 -3 days.

Get this, I went to ROSS and it looked like they were having a going-out-of-business sale, although it wasn't advertised. Anyway, I found a cute pair of boot-cut jeans in the junior section for $10, so I bought 2.

aww...so sweet! Well, we are not living in poverty and can afford to live in a nice neighborhood with great schools, even if it means being extremely frugal. I actually used to be a lot more materialistic before I had kids, but once I had them I slowly turned into my mom/grandmother, seeing sensibility in their, excuse the expression, "third world" survival techniques.