Some Hidden Choices in Breast Reduction by Natasha Singer, which is most insultingly a part of The New York Times' "The Price of Beauty" series, explored the different options women are offered - and not offered - after a mastectomy. I'm sure that readers will be shocked - shocked! - to hear that women are not always informed of the different types of breast reconstructions available because some procedures are less profitable for doctors and hospitals than others. Profit above women's health? Who wouldda thunk it? Sigh.

Some people decide by the number on the scale. For others, it’s the recognition that their thighs are rubbing together, their boobs feel like over-cooked matzo balls, and the reluctant realization that their fat jeans are well on the way to becoming their skinny jeans. Monday December 29th, was my day of reckoning. I met three out of my four personal diet determinators,and that was it. No more pretending I could eat what I wanted without consequences. I was looking at the consequences.

Have art, illustrations and photos that you want to share, or even sell? A site you might take a look at is Red Bubble. The site claims to have shipped 114,000 items of art to 71 different countries in the last few months.

It's New Year's resolution time and while I don't believe in resolutions, I do believe in figuring out where I am and where I want to be. I don't always do it on January 1st - I usually procrastinate and wind up evaluating stuff in April. (I'm much better at procrastination than I should be, particularly when it comes to tasks that improve my own personal life. I'm much better at completing work assignments or tasks that will help improve somebody else's life.)

It's that time year again where with hearts full of inspiration and hope millions of people sit down and make a list of New Year's Resolutions. We fire up the engines and charge head first into a fresh start, a clean slate, a New Year, and it will be different this time gosh darnnit! However, as usual there is a big ole deja vu sitting just around the bend waiting for us to slip up, fail, and give up once again. Then we try it all over again next year.

At the end of December, The New York Times ran two articles two days in a row about flight attendants. In the first, Katherine Zoepf profiled young women from Arab countries who left home to become flight attendants for Etihad, an airline based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The next day, Ann Hood (who will be my writing workshop instructor next semester - very exciting!) penned an op-ed looking back fondly on her days as a TWA flight attendant and the pride that airlines had in serving customers well.

With so many people in need, so many problems in the world, how do you pick the things you give to, the people you help? I tend to pick organizatons that I think will do something I approve of with my money: Global Giving, Heifer International and the like. One woman decided to get very specific on her blog and she managed to help raise enough money to allow some friends of hers to avoid foreclosure and stay in their home.

Does it really matter if the AP Editors say that the number one business story of the year is the Wall Street Turmoil while the folks at Time say it's Bernie Madoff's $50 Ponzi Scheme,and the powers that be at

In an economy marked by rampant layoffs and the slow death of entire industries, many adults are wondering if now is the time to go back to school for further technical training, to finish a bachelor's degree, or to pursue a graduate or professional degree. The answer? It depends. It depends on your reason for going back to school. To update your skills?

The other day while I was spending some time on LinkedIn I saw the name of a college friend based in St. Louis. He is someone that I have been out of touch with for many years and it's great fun to be back in touch. One of the best benefits of social media. He works as a freelancer for television  news and  in his email back to me he said while 2008 was a very bad year for people in the freelance television news business, he was heading to Chicago to be the official Christmas Jew for one of the network's midwest bureaus.  He was hoping it would be a slow news day.

No one can argue that 2008 was a historical (and in some cases better spelled as hysterical) year for the economy, the financial markets, and layoffs. Never before did it almost seem more secure to be self-employed than bringing home a paycheck. Layoffs can be difficult enough to navigate. After all they do rank on that top ten stressful life events list. Add to that the holidays and all they bring in terms of visits with friends and family and spending and it can be a volatile mix.

In my last post I wanted to demonstrate that personal narratives can have an educational and even a healing effect; not just for the storyteller but the recipient of the story as well. That led to the next question. How does a country express the narratives of its people? Who gets to share that story and how is it held in trust for the future?