Grab Bag Lonely $yber-Heart:
I’m not making this up…… there could be $10,000 in it for YOU…
“Chas” is a real, live 40 year-old San Francisco man in search of a wife.
Chas is witty. Chas is wise. But Chas is single.
To remedy his misfortune, he has decided to elicit the help of the internet, and all the potential matchmakers out there who might find his Cinderella.
Here’s how Chas explains it all on his “About” page at www.hookchasup.com:
What is this?
It’s simple. Introduce me to the girl I end up marrying, and I’ll give you ten grand.
Sounds kinda sketchy.
Fair enough. Basically, I work a lot and never had much luck with online dating. I figured, why not create a site where I’m the only guy.
Why $10,000?
If this helps me find a soulmate, it’ll be worth bazillions. But I don’t have bazillions. $10K seemed to say, “I’m serious but not insane.”
40 and still single? Hmm.
Thanks to a decade of “life coaching” and some insightful relationships, I can honestly say I’m ready to start a family. For realz.
Hit the site and read through the few pages Chas has decided to offer as a window into who he is… I find it funny, and oddly touching…. but maybe that’s just me.
Grab Bag Bag the Big C:
40 years ago President Nixon declared a war on cancer.
How’s that working for us?
Not so great. Sadly, only a few select cancer treatments have made some strides, but words like “cure” and “prevention” are virtually stalled in the discussion thus far. Total cancer rates have risen in those four decades, some dramatically ….. (hello, thyroid).
What really irkes me is that the mainstream medical community, as a whole, lacks the cojones 
to advocate getting serious about potential environmental exposure. Does it lack empirical evidence? Yes. Studies on these issues are increasing, but the subject is akin to an Escher drawing…. what are we looking at and where is it coming from??
On the other hand, can any research facility currently tell us what causes cancer? With very few exceptions, the answer is No.
So let’s get proactive while the guys and gals in the white coats untease this mammoth snarled mass.
In my “can’t hurt” scenario, your doctors would advocate reducing your exposure to at least SOME of the toxins lurking under your sink, in your fridge, and on your bathroom counter. I mean, why the heck not? There are cleaner, less toxic, and potentially less harmful alternatives.
I’ll be devil’s advocate for a moment…what if I’m wrong and that’s not it? What if we discover that cancer comes from, say, bug bites? Well, no harm done... will you suffer a terrible injustice or danger if you don’t eat hot dogs or you change your body lotion to a chemical-free variety?
The prosecution rests.
The list and links below are part of a larger and more comprehensive approach to the topic, found at PreventCancer.com, the website of the Prevent Cancer Coalition:
Cosmetics, foods, even milk may contain contaminants not listed on their labels. Find out who’s influencing U. S. product safety laws.
General Information
General Information
Milk: Banned in Europe Beef: Banned in Europe Dirty Dozen Consumer Products Dirty Dozen Risk Factors for Breast Cancer Cosmetics and Personal Care
(I also hope you will look at THIS link which gives a great explanation of what to look for when shopping for cosmetics.)
Food and Beverages
Milk and Hormones Meat and Hormones Hotdogs and Nitrites Food , Beverages, Pesticides Food Irradiation Household Products
Carcinogens at Home Cleaning Products Risks Insecticides: Scourge Pesticides used at Home Ingredients in Household Products Safe Alternative Household Products
And here are 12 suggestions from Dr. Mercola that you can do right now to optimize your chances of dominating the cancer battle:
- Normalize your vitamin D levels with safe amounts of sun exposure. This works primarily by optimizing your vitamin D level. Ideally, monitor your vitamin D levels throughout the year.
- Control your insulin levels by limiting your intake of processed foods and sugars/fructose as much as possible.
- Get appropriate amounts of animal-based omega-3 fats.
- Get appropriate exercise. One of the primary reasons exercise works is that it drives your insulin levels down. Controlling insulin levels is one of the most powerful ways to reduce your cancer risks.
- Eat according to your nutritional type. The potent anti-cancer effects of this principle are very much underappreciated. When we treat cancer patients in our clinic this is one of the most powerful anti-cancer strategies we have.
- Have a tool to permanently erase the neurological short-circuiting that can activate cancer genes. Even the CDC states that 85 percent of disease is caused by emotions. It is likely that this factor may be more important than all the other physical ones listed here, so make sure this is addressed. My particular favorite tool for this purpose, as you may know, is the Emotional Freedom Technique.
- Only 25 percent of people eat enough vegetables, so by all means eat as many vegetables as you are comfortable with. Ideally, they should be fresh and organic. Cruciferous vegetables in particular have been identified as having potent anti-cancer properties. Remember that carb nutritional types may need up to 300 percent more vegetables than protein nutritional types.
- Maintain an ideal body weight.
- Get enough high-quality sleep.
- Reduce your exposure to environmental toxins like pesticides, household chemical cleaners, synthetic air fresheners and air pollution.
- Reduce your use of cell phones and other wireless technologies, and implement as many safety strategies as possible if/when you cannot avoid their use.
- Boil, poach or steam your foods, rather than frying or charbroiling them.
Grab Bag De-Clutter Part 1:
Spring cleaning? Did someone say spring cleaning? Admit it, the wintery cobwebs, the musty residue and the unnecessary clutter in your closets, drawers and corners is begging to be ousted and/or re-ordered.
Just two tips each week for the next three weeks should make it manageable.
1. • Ready to clean house on a room/closet/cupboard/set of drawers?? Snap a photo first. The “after” photo will be quite rewarding.
(Good heavens… who ARE these people? But I guess the “afters” do look better… I’ll bet you can do WAY better than this…)
Before
After
Before
After
Before
After
Before
After
2. • Give each family member a covered bin (maybe laundry basket size?) in the garage or basement to keep treasured keepsakes. When it gets full, edit, or decide if a second bin is warranted.
Grab Bag 1st Dibs:
So those de-cluttering images were traumatic. On to yummy things to clutter up your empty closets….
When the economy blossoms this spring (maybe wishful thinking, but let’s put it out there…), and you’re in the market for, say, a fabulous coffee table to MAKE your seating area shine, or a GORGEOUS vintage dress for your upcoming
39th 
birthday,
or perhaps a work of art to beautify your bungalow, there may be no better site than this mammoth “portal” called
1stDibs.com.
“The Dibster” (we’re really good friends, in my own mind) is a gathering place for some of the finest purveyors of antiques, works of art, jewelry and vintage clothing. Register your email and a password and the prices will be revealed to you (in some cases, you’ll need to provide your own smelling salts).
Not everything is priced in the stratosphere, but everything IS unique and quite beautiful. AND.. you can search just store wares local to you (especially handy when looking for a set of dining room chairs… shipping gets a bit nasty when they come from, say, London to LA).
They ALSO profile up and coming talent and special exhibitions for fashion, jewelry, art and antiques as well.
FLASH…. FEEL GOOD MOMENT… nearly everything here is vintage/antique…. making you the ULTIMATE RECYCLER!
Grab Bag Better Eating Habits:
Real Food Has Curves, a new book written by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough, offers a 7-step plan for weaning yourself off processed foods:
• Seek true satisfaction. Enjoy genuine flavors, rather than fat, sugar, and salt added to mask the metallic taste of chemical additives.
• Read labels wisely. You can find food with “real” ingredients in the supermarket if you read labels carefully.
• Relish what’s on your plate. Devote time solely to enjoying the pleasures of eating.
• Wean yourself off excess salt, fat, and sugar. You can also cook with smaller amounts of these ingredients by using natural substitutes like strong spices.
• Give your palate time to change. You’ll gradually lose your taste for excessively sweet and salty foods.
• Go for high-quality foods. Look for products that contain the least amount of processed ingredients.
• Treat yourself well by not skipping meals. Try eating three meals a day at fairly regular times, plus a mid-afternoon snack.
Grab Bag Brain Game:
What type of ghost are you? Type the words to eliminate the ghosts…. before they eliminate you…
Grab Bag Funny Stuff:
Some of you who have never visited a Walmart may think these photos are falsified, or at the very least a set-up. I am here to testify that, having some experience within the walls of a 203,000 square foot beauty of a Wal-Mart, these are TOTALLY believable. I suggest you enlarge the view so all captions will be readable… (but the images might be overwhelmingly disturbing in a larger dimension!) To enlarge, hold down the Apple (command) key on a Mac or the Control key on a PC while hitting the + key.
LK's Grab Bag 
OH LORD- where do I begin?
-LOVE Chaz! He’s adorable.
-The “After” closet?? ewww. What’s with all the mismatched hangers? Also, they forgot to throw out the green vest. Who puts socks in with their bras?? double ewww. (Ok, so I put socks IN my bra once, but that was a loooong loooong time ago 🙂 )
-Wallmart- can’t believe those photos are real! “a big pink garbage bag filled with creamed corn and doorknobs”??! Now that’s a look.
-Lastly, 1st Dibs- so weird – just committed to putting it in my “Bookmarks Toolbar” this morning. Look out 1st Dibs!
Great post, as always 🙂
xx S.P.
I am so with you on the “After” closet. Give me 30 minutes in there and…. it would be empty, I guess. Don’t see much there to keep, but to each his/her own.
Socks with the bras, dogs and cats, living together, what is the world coming to?? And the upgrade from the socks IN the bra are those gel-filled “chicken cutlets”… I didn’t see THOSE in the drawers. She’s probably a full-breasted, messy woman.
1stDibs…. such a find! Dibsed it 1st!! There is much there I could see gracing Slim Paley, methinks, right?
Cheers, my blogging buddy 🙂
LOVE the Chas contest and I want 10k. I’ve got a friend to submit that would be perfect for him. I know they both love music and monkeys, match made in heaven! The only issue is his name. I can’t help but think of a certain other Chas…..
Go, Ronda, Go! You and I will get to be Godmothers to their children… deal??