Anorexia and bulimia

1. Anorexia and bulimia

This girl thinks Marilyn Monroe is great. She hates Kate Moss. She thinks Kate Moss is thinner than she is. The girl with anorexia is convinced that she is fat even though she is not. She is so fixed in this belief that it seems like she is being stubborn, or stupid. In fact she has her back to the wall. She has to be the thinnest person in the world. It’s the only way she can survive. She’s on a knife edge. Too fat and she has to face the world. Too thin and she dies. Being in the world is so awful she would rather die.

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2. Anorexia and bulimia

This girl would rather die than eat a cheese sandwich. It’s not that she isn’t hungry. She is starving. It’s that if she eats she will put on weight. If she puts on weight she will go totally out of control. She will grow and grow and grow. And everything that she is terrified of will happen. The girl with anorexia nervosa doesn’t have a problem with being fat. She has a problem with being woman-sized. Becoming a woman means growing up, leaving home, trying to have relationships but not rupturing family links. This is frightening for everyone. For her it is petrifying. Starving makes time stand still.

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3. Anorexia and bulimia

If this girl thought she was going to put on weight she would throw up. She wants to be thin. She wants to eat. Women with bulimia binge and may then vomit. They feel they cannot control life. They are taken over by the urge to eat. They cannot stop themselves. So they make themselves sick. If they didn’t, they’d get fat and they couldn’t bear that. The girl with bulimia is in a no-win situation. She has two intense and conflicting desires. Vomiting is the only way she can either protect her low weight, if she has anorexia nervosa, or avoid becoming really fat if she has bulimia nervosa.

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4. Anorexia and bulimia

If you are what you eat then this girl is nothing. She used to eat a bowl of cereal a day. Now she can manage half a carrot. When she starves herself she is somebody. Her behaviour fills those around her with fear and frustration. They cannot understand why she won’t eat. They say, ‘It’s easy, all you have to do is pick up a knife and fork’. She can’t get them to understand. It is hard to explain the fear she has. How can she tell them she would rather die than be a normal adult weight and shape?

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5. Anorexia and bulimia

When she looks in the mirror this girl sees a fatty. She is blind to the hip bones and the ribs. She sees the slightly swollen belly. The bud of a breast. The curve of a thigh. And they disgust her. As she disgusts herself when she eats a cream cake. As they make her want to be sick. Or hide. Under huge jumpers, massive coats. Invisible and shrinking under layers of cloth. As she jogs on the spot she mutters her mantra: 'when I don't eat I am in control', 'when I am thin I am safe'.

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FACTS ABOUT ANOREXIA AND BULIMIA

What are anorexia and bulimia?
Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are the two main eating disorders. People with anorexia have extreme weight loss as a result of very strict dieting. Some people may also make themselves sick, abuse laxatives or do excessive exercise to try and lose weight. In spite of this extreme weight loss, people with anorexia believe they are fat and are terrified of becoming what is in fact a normal weight or shape. About four out of ten people with fully established anorexia make a full recovery, and others improve. Only about three in ten continue to have major long-term illness. Untreated, about 15 per cent of all sufferers will die from the disorder within 20 years of its onset.

People with bulimia nervosa crave food and binge eat, though they are not emaciated. Afterwards they make themselves sick or misuse laxatives to get the food out of their bodies. Sufferers are very afraid of becoming fat.

Who has anorexia or bulimia?

Anorexia nervosa most commonly starts in the mid-teens. About one in a hundred 16 to 18 year olds has the illness. It is much more common in girls. Bulimia nervosa usually starts when people are a little older, but is again more common in girls. Bulimia is more common than anorexia, although people with anorexia in particular do not always ask for treatment.

Occasionally men develop eating disorders, but anorexia nervosa is rare. Male development in puberty is very different from that of females. Related bodily concerns are different and less often lead to the extremes of dieting which commonly precede anorexia nervosa.

What causes eating disorders?

Eating disorders may develop partly in response to difficult life experiences such as abuse or social pressures arising in puberty and in growing up. They are also more common in cultures where it is considered desirable to be slim. Genetic factors seem to be important, especially in anorexia. Sometimes people with an eating disorder are depressed, and they may have obsessions.

What treatments are available?

Mental health professionals need a variety of skills to treat people with eating disorders. A doctor can help diagnose the illness and any associated physical problems resulting from it. In both anorexia nervosa and bulimia, self-help strategies can be very helpful. If this approach does not work, health professionals may suggest a course of psychotherapy. If someone has lost a dangerous amount of weight, the first step will be to help the person start to regain that weight in order to survive. Some people with anorexia may need to be admitted to hospital and the nursing staff has an important role in supporting the patient in the early stages of treatment. Psychological and psychotherapy skills are also necessary at this acute stage, so that the mental health team can begin to understand why the illness developed and how to help the person to overcome it.

In anorexia, this talking treatment will involve the individual with the illness and sometimes other family members. The long-term aim will be to help that person change their attitude, behaviour and ways of thinking, and enable them to cope with the strains of life without the illness as a protection. Shorter-term expert talking treatments and also specific cognitive behavioural treatments are often effective with bulimia nervosa.

What can society do?

We can strive better to understand the distress that underlies and drives these disorders. We can provide access to such information and develop health promotion campaigns aimed at teenagers and young people. Information on how to cope with feelings and fears about growth or about being too fat is useful. We can offer more support in secondary schools and user-friendly services for troubled teenagers.

What is the difference between anorexia and bulimia?

People who have anorexia starve themselves, avoid high-calorie foods and exercise constantly. People who have bulimia eat large amounts of food, but they throw up soon after eating, or take laxatives or diuretics (water pills) to keep from gaining weight. People who have bulimia don't usually lose as much weight as people who have anorexia.

All kind of facts

Useless facts: Diet Coke was only invented in 1982.

Statistics: The tip of a 1/3 inch long hour-hand on a wristwatch travels at 0.00000275 mph.

Interesting? Titanic was running at 22 knots when she hit the iceberg.

Movies: At least one of a pair of identical twins is born evil.

...Or so tv tells me

Each year over $2,000,000,000 worth of Halloween candy is sold.

Candy facts: 

Mmm... can`t wait

Sugar: Sugar, the only taste we are born craving!

-_- ?! : A law in Fairbanks, Alaska, does not allow moose to have sex on city streets.

Dumb facts: Cat urine glows under a black-light.

Silly: The longest recorded flight of a chicken is 13 seconds!

Random: Pinocchio is Italian for "pine eye".

Penguins: 1. Penguins are birds. 

2. Penguins don't fly. Penguins swim.
3. Penguins lay eggs.
4. Most penguin chicks have fluffy feathers.

Amazing: A crocodile always grows new teeth to replace the old teeth!

Amazing Eh?

? : Taphephobia is the fear of being buried alive!

Alcohol: 1. President Lincoln, when informed that General Grant drank whiskey while leading his troops, reportedly replied "Find out the name of the brand so I can give it to my other generals."

2. Being intoxicated had desirable spiritual significance to the ancient Egyptians. They often gave their children names like "How Drunk is Keops" or "How Intoxicated is Hathor."

Texas: Texas covers 275,416 square miles

...Well its bigger then my backyard

Titanic facts: The Titanic had only 20 life boats.

Stupid! :Right-handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left-handed people.

Odd: Butterflies taste with their feet.

Males, on average, think about sex every 7 seconds.

Strange: A cockroach will live nine days without his head before it starves to death.

Attitude sayings

A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.  ~Herm Albright, quoted in Reader's Digest, June 1995


Attitudes are contagious.  Are yours worth catching?  ~Dennis and Wendy Mannering


Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine.  ~Anthony J. D'Angelo, The College Blue Book


If you don't get everything you want, think of the things you don't get that you don't want.  ~Oscar Wilde


Life is a shipwreck but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats.  ~Voltaire


I had the blues because I had no shoes until upon the street, I met a man who had no feet.  ~Ancient Persian Saying


If you don't think every day is a good day, just try missing one.  ~Cavett Robert


It's so hard when I have to, and so easy when I want to.  ~Annie Gottlier


Oh, my friend, it's not what they take away from you that counts.  It's what you do with what you have left.  ~Hubert Humphrey


Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.  ~Winston Churchill


Every day may not be good, but there's something good in every day.  ~Author Unknown


There are exactly as many special occasions in life as we choose to celebrate.  ~Robert Brault,


The sun shines and warms and lights us and we have no curiosity to know why this is so; but we ask the reason of all evil, of pain, and hunger, and mosquitoes and silly people.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson


A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly.  You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.  ~Roald Dahl


To be interested in the changing seasons is a happier state of mind than to be hopelessly in love with spring.  ~George Santayana


Happiness is an attitude.  We either make ourselves miserable, or happy and strong.  The amount of work is the same.  ~Francesca Reigler


If you don't like something change it; if you can't change it, change the way you think about it.  ~Mary Engelbreit


So often time it happens, we all live our life in chains, and we never even know we have the key.  ~The Eagles, "Already Gone"


He who has so little knowledge of human nature as to seek happiness by changing anything but his own disposition will waste his life in fruitless efforts.  ~Samuel Johnson


I've decided that the stuff falling through the cracks is confetti and I'm having a party!  ~Betsy Cañas Garmon


The only people who find what they are looking for in life are the fault finders.  ~Foster's Law


Think big thoughts but relish small pleasures.  ~H. Jackson Brown, Jr., Life's Little Instruction Book


Every thought is a seed.  If you plant crab apples, don't count on harvesting Golden Delicious.  ~Bill Meyer


We find things where we look for them, which is why I never look for a golf ball out of bounds.  ~Robert Brault


We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.  ~Oscar Wilde,Lady Windermere's Fan, 1893


Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.  ~Attributed to both Jonathan Swift and Benjamin Franklin


To be upset over what you don't have is to waste what you do have.  ~Ken S. Keyes, Jr., Handbook to Higher Consciousness


Defeat is not bitter unless you swallow it.  ~Joe Clark


The only disability in life is a bad attitude.  ~Scott Hamilton


If you aren't fired with enthusiasm, you will be fired with enthusiasm.  ~Vince Lombardi


My riches consist not in the extent of my possessions, but in the fewness of my wants.  ~J. Brotherton


There is nothing so easy but that it becomes difficult when you do it reluctantly.  ~Publius Terentius Afer


I don't like that man.  I must get to know him better.  ~Abraham Lincoln


Just because you're miserable doesn't mean you can't enjoy your life.  ~Annette Goodheart


In the depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer.  ~Albert Camus, Lyrical and Critical Essays


Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful.  ~Buddha


There are no menial jobs, only menial attitudes.  ~William J. Bennett, The Book of Virtues


I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow.  ~Abraham Lincoln


Being in a good frame of mind helps keep one in the picture of health.  ~Author Unknown


Got no checkbooks, got no banks,
Still I'd like to express my thanks -
I got the sun in the morning and the moon at night.
~Irving Berlin, "I Got the Sun in the Morning," 1946

10 Things You Need to Know About Breasts

1. Breasts can start growing as early as age 10 and don't stop until your early 20's.
2. Breasts have been overly sexualized in Western culture making them too big a part of a girls physical identity.
3. Breasts have a biological purpose - for feeding babies.
4. Having a baby changes ones breasts forever, and many women get larger (but much less perky) breasts after pregnancy.
5. During puberty breasts can develop rapidly causing discomfort, sensitivity and even stretch marks .
6. Larger breasts do not make a girl more feminine, sexier or better.
7. Very large breasts can cause back pain and poor posture.
8. Bras are more than just underwear, they are necessary to keep your breasts supported and to stop injury to the breast tissue while playing sports..
9. Breast cancer is rare in teen aged girls but it is important to get used to checking your breasts for lumps and irregularities as soon as you start having your period - this is especially important if you have a family history of breast cancer.
10. All breasts, no matter what size and no matter what guys may say, are beautiful and amazing to the opposite sex!

10 tasty, easy and healthy breakfast ideas

• Too sugary or carb-filled. Pancakes, waffles, toast, donuts, pastries, scones, bagels, pies, sugar cereals, breakfast bars, muffins (which, let’s face it, are usually just cake). I’m not anti-carb, but the problem with many breakfasts is that they are low in fat and protein, and nothing but empty carb calories. This starts your day with a high blood-sugar level, which your body will quickly adjust for and drop, and you’ll be on a roller-coaster blood-sugar ride all day.
• Too fatty. Fried eggs, sausages, bacon, cream cheese on your bagels, cheesy omelets,  hash browns, anything English or Scottish.

What does that leave us with? Actually, there are a lot of options. The 10 below are just a few ideas, but I’m sure you can think of many more. Look for protein without too much saturated fat. Look for whole-grain carbs. Look for low-fat dairy or soy options. Look for fiber and nutrients.

But how do you find the time? You make the time. Get up 15 minutes earlier. Pack something to eat on the road or when you first get to work. Prepare it the night before if necessary. I recommend the first option — waking a little earlier — as it’s nice to be able to have a nice cup of tea or coffee with your breakfast, relaxing before the rush of the day starts.

Oatmeal, flaxseed, blueberries & almonds. To me, this is the perfect breakfast. Steel-cut oatmeal is probably the healthier choice, but if you are in a hurry, the instant kind will do fine (it doesn’t have as much fiber, but the other ingredients make up for that). After microwaving the oatmeal, add ground flaxseed, frozen blueberries, sliced almonds. You can add a little cinnamon and honey (not a lot) if you’re using the non-instant oatmeal. That’s four power foods, full of fiber and nutrients and protein and good fats, with only a couple of minutes of prep time. And very tasty!

Kashi Golean Crunch. Actually, any whole-grain, high-fiber cereal is a good choice, but I mention this particular one because it’s a favorite of mine. It has a high amount of protein and fiber, low sugar. Add low-fat milk or soy milk (which has 1/3 the saturated fat of 1% milk), perhaps some berries if you like.

Scrambled tofu. Healthier than scrambled eggs. Add some onions, green peppers or other veggies, some light soy sauce or tamari, maybe some garlic powder, and black pepper, stir-fry with a little olive oil. Eat with whole-grain toast. Fast and delicious.

Fresh berries, yogurt, granola. Get low-fat yogurt (not non-fat, as it often has too much sugar) or soy yogurt, cut up some berries or other fruits, add some healthy cereal.

Grapefruit with whole-wheat toast & almond butter. Add a little sugar on top of the grapefruit, and it’s actually pretty good. The almond butter is healthier than peanut-butter, with lots of good protein to fill you up.

Fresh fruit salad. Cut up some apples, melons, berries, oranges, pears, bananas, grapes … any or all or whatever your favorite fruits are. Add a little bit of lime or lemon juice. Perfect.

Protein shake with extras. I use soy protein powder, but whey works well too. Blend up with low-fat milk or soy milk, some frozen blueberries, and perhaps some almond butter or oatmeal. That may sound weird, but it’s actually pretty good, and pretty filling. A little ground flax seed works well too.

Eggs with peppers. I’m not a fan of eggs, but many people love them. Egg whites are healthier than whole eggs. Scramble with a little olive oil, red and green bell peppers, maybe broccoli, onions, black pepper. Goes well with whole-wheat toast.

Cottage cheese and fruit. Get low-fat cottage cheese. Add any kind of fruit. Apples, citrus, berries.

Gibb’s muffins & jam. While most muffins you buy at a coffee shop or grocery store are just empty carbs with lots of fat (basically, cake), this is a delicious recipe with lots of fiber and nutrition. Bake them the night before, and they’re perfect in the morning (and for days to come). A little honey or jam makes them perfect.

How to improve your look in a short time

There are never enough hours in the day, and with today's hectic schedules, that means something's got to give--and more often than not it's your beauty routine. Whether you've overslept or have a last-minute party to attend, fast beauty moves with a big impact are essential. The secret: Always be prepared. With the right products and tools already on hand, you'll never be left scrambling while the clock's ticking. Make those precious minutes count with these simple tips, tools and techniques.

* BEAUTY DILEMMA You're racing the clock to get to work on time--and you still haven't put on any makeup.

Fast fix :When you're running late you want products that you can apply in minutes and on the go, if necessary. Spend your time wisely by focusing on just a few key cosmetics to be used in all the right places. First up, a concealer, applied anywhere that redness or discoloration needs to be camouflaged. Next, curl your lashes with an eyelash curler to perk up tired lids. Add one swipe of no-run mascara to upper lashes only and finish with cream blush, rubbed with your fingers onto the apples of your cheeks and then dabbed onto your lips for a hint of color.

* BEAUTY DILEMMA Your hair looks a bit worse for wear--and you've got no time to wash it.

Fast fix You don't have to be stuck with less-than-stellar locks if you're short on time. Instead of washing and blow-drying it, use a little hair powder (even baby powder) on dry strands. Apply close to the scalp or sprinkle on a brush and comb through. The powder will absorb your hair's excess oil and make it look less greasy.

Getting hair up and off your face can instantly make you look more pulled together. If your hair is long, twist the back up and pin it to hold. And don't overlook the ponytail, pulled up high or in a low chignon; it's easy and lends polish. Just make sure to smooth the ends with no more than a dime-sized drop of styling cream or glossing serum. For shorter hair, part it on the side and tuck behind the ears. Clip on a stylish barrette or pull on a colorful headband for a fun and fast hair fix.

* BEAUTY DILEMMA A very noticeable pimple has erupted--just in time for a big event.

Fast fix Face it--there's no right time for a skin flare-up. "For a blemish, the ideal remedy is a color corrector that will help neutralize the red," Dorf says. Use the corrective concealer sparingly just over the red areas to even out the color; then, using a brush, lightly pat a regular concealer (in a shade similar to your skin color) on top of that. These two products combined will offset and help correct the color of any problem spots. For staying power, finish with a light dusting of loose powder tapped over the area.

* BEAUTY DILEMMA You made it to that lunch-hour Spinning class, but it left you with little time to beautify before heading back to the office.

Fast fix Start by washing your face with a pre-moistened cleansing cloth to get rid of pore-clogging dirt, oil and sweat. Then apply a tinted moisturizer. This complements your natural, after-gym flush, giving you an even healthier glow. Use a concealer under the eyes to brighten and finish with a swipe of glossy lip color.

* BEAUTY DILEMMA You just got a call to confirm your attendance at an after-work party--you know, the one you'd completely forgotten about.

Fast fix "For a last-minute soiree, there's nothing that creates a sultry look quicker than the smoky eye," Dorf says. All you need is a blending brush and a dark eye shadow in a shade like deep brown, navy or steel. Smudge the shadow onto your upper and lower lash line and flare out around the corners for a dramatic evening look. Add a dusting of allover radiance-boosting powder and a swipe of dramatic lipstick with a touch of sparkle.

Speed tools: you need Eye brush and shadow.

* BEAUTY DILEMMA You have no time to get your nails done--but need them to look manicured ASAP.

Fast fix You can pull off groomed nails in no time; the key is to use sheer, light and fast-drying products. First, remove any old chipped polish with polish-remover wipes (keep these stashed in your purse or desk drawer). Then paint on just one layer of sheer polish (colors like champagne, beige and pale pink work best) and, if you have time, one layer of topcoat--both of the fast-drying variety. Some products even have the color and the topcoat in one.

RELATED ARTICLE: FAST AND FABULOUS

Here, the quickest beauty fixes, from salons and spas nationwide:

The blowout There are an abundance of walk-in salons where you can get your hair sleek in a relatively short amount of time--and at a reasonable price. You don't have to have your hair washed either; just ask the stylist to spray it damp.

The fast tan When you're feeling pale, a quick self-tanning treatment might be just what you need. Many salons offer spray-on tan treatments that take just minutes to apply and dry; you can be in and out in as little as 15 minutes. 

10 tips for `11

If you feel like a change for the New Year, why not try some of these top tips for a healthier, more beautiful 2011.

1. Exfoliate

By regularly exfoliating, you remove the outer layer of rough, dead skin to reveal the newer skin underneath.
Pores are unclogged, keeping skin clean and reducing breakouts of acne. You should exfoliate after cleansing your skin and moisturise afterwards as exfoliating can dry out the skin.

2. Moisturise

Dry skin can lead to the development of wrinkles and ageing. Moisturising regularly prevents skin from drying out and improves skin texture, tone and can even cover up imperfections.
Choose a moisturiser that suits you.
For example, if you suffer from dry skin, select and oil-based moisturiser that will keep your skin moist. If you have oily-skin, choose an oil-free, water-based moisturiser that won't clog your pores.

3. Drink plenty of water

Drink 6-8 glasses of water every day to help with weight regulation, preventing muscle strains, keeping memory sharp and anti-ageing.

4. Quit smoking

It has often been said that smoking is the number one reason for premature ageing. Regular smokers can suffer from poor complexion, wrinkly or leathery skin, dull and lifeless hair and even hair loss.
Quit smoking to get rid of all the harmful toxins pouring into your body.

5. Exercise

Exercise is vital to a healthier and more beautiful lifestyle. Combined with a sensible diet, exercise will help weight loss and improve your appearance. Exercise is also proven to help with anti-ageing as it increases energy levels, flexibility and reduces stress.

6. Eat Fruit and Vegetables

Citrus fruits are high in vitamin C which is essential in any skincare regime as it is required for the production of collagen which reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. It also reduces acne, blemishes and improves skin texture.

7. Sleep well

Lack of sleep causes circles around your eyes and wrinkles. Getting a decent night's sleep (7-8 hours) will reduce stress and leave you feeling energetic and looking good.

8. Remove make up

If you wear makeup during the day, you must remove it before you go to sleep. If you leave makeup on overnight it will prevent your skin from breathing and can result in irritation and breakouts.
Use a facial cleanser and eye makeup remover to get the job done; baby wipes are insufficient as they will not fully remove makeup.

9. Relax

Stress makes your perspiration more acidic which will contribute to acne breakouts and skin blemishes. It can also leave you looking tired and can lead to premature ageing.
Relax by doing something you enjoy every day.

10. Choose the right shampoo

Make sure you choose a shampoo to suit your hair type, i.e. normal, oily, curly or coloured hair.

Shampoo not only cleans, but also treats your hair according to what you need so if necessary ask your hairdresser what type of hair you have.

Shared wisdom

Striving for excellence motivates you; striving for perfection is demoralizing.  ~Harriet Braiker


Certain flaws are necessary for the whole.  It would seem strange if old friends lacked certain quirks.  ~Goethe


No one is perfect... that's why pencils have erasers.  ~Author Unknown


Nothing that is complete breathes.  ~Antonio Porchia,Voces, 1943, translated from Spanish by W.S. Merwin


A man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault.  ~John Henry Newman


Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering.
There is a crack in everything,
That's how the light gets in.
~Leonard Cohen


To escape criticism - do nothing, say nothing, be nothing.  ~Elbert Hubbard


Only in grammar can you be more than perfect.  ~William Safire


Sometimes... when you hold out for everything, you walk away with nothing.  ~From the television show Ally McBeal


Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best.  ~Henry van Dyke


Ideals are like stars; you will not succeed in touching them with your hands.  But like the seafaring man on the desert of waters, you choose them as your guides, and following them you will reach your destiny.  ~Carl Schurz, address, Faneuil Hall, Boston, 1859


Gold cannot be pure, and people cannot be perfect.  ~Chinese Proverb


Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without.  ~Confucius, Analects


The most difficult part of attaining perfection is finding something to do for an encore.  ~Author Unknown


When you aim for perfection, you discover it's a moving target.  ~George Fisher


Once you accept the fact that you're not perfect, then you develop some confidence.  ~Rosalynn Carter


There are no perfect men in this world, only perfect intentions.  ~Pen Densham,Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves


The imperfections of a man, his frailties, his faults, are just as important as his virtues.  You can't separate them.  They're wedded.  ~Henry Miller


Does "anal-retentive" have a hyphen?  ~Alison Bechdel, 1990 Dykes to Watch Out For calendar  (Thanks, Chelsea)


The human story does not always unfold like a mathematical calculation on the principle that two and two make four.  Sometimes in life they make five or minus three; and sometimes the blackboard topples down in the middle of the sum and leaves the class in disorder and the pedagogue with a black eye.  ~Winston Churchill


The closest to perfection a person ever comes is when he fills out a job application form.  ~Stanley J. Randall


They say that nobody is perfect.  Then they tell you practice makes perfect.  I wish they'd make up their minds.  ~Wilt Chamberlain


Always live up to your standards - by lowering them, if necessary.  ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Second Neurotic's Notebook, 1966


He who hath not a dram of folly in his mixture hath pounds of much worse matter in his composition.  ~Charles Lamb


Even the best needles are not sharp at both ends.  ~Chinese Proverb


Bachelors' wives and old maids' children are always perfect.  ~Nicholas Chamfort


The pursuit of perfection, then, is the pursuit of sweetness and light.  ~Matthew Arnold


I want to stay as close to the edge as I can without going over.  Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can't see from the center.  ~Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.,Player Piano


Unless I accept my faults I will most certainly doubt my virtues.  ~Hugh Prather


Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.  ~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry


Striving to better, oft we mar what's well.  ~William Shakespeare, King Lear, 1605


Have no fear of perfection - you'll never reach it.  ~Salvador Dali


All of us failed to match our dreams of perfection.  ~William Faulkner


A good garden may have some weeds.  ~Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia, 1732


Perfection is not attainable.  But if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence.  ~Vince Lombardi


I cling to my imperfection, as the very essence of my being.  ~Anatole France (Jacques Anatole François Thibault), The Garden of Epicurus, 1894


He that will have a perfect brother must resign himself to remain brotherless.  ~Italian Proverb


You see, when weaving a blanket, an Indian woman leaves a flaw in the weaving of that blanket to let the soul out.  ~Martha Graham


One minute was enough, Tyler said, a person had to work hard for it, but a minute of perfection was worth the effort.  A moment was the most you could ever expect from perfection.  ~Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club


When nobody around you seems to measure up, it's time to check your yardstick.  ~Bill Lemley


Living up to ideals is like doing everyday work with your Sunday clothes on.  ~Ed Howe


Try as hard as we may for perfection, the net result of our labors is an amazing variety of imperfectness.  We are surprised at our own versatility in being able to fail in so many different ways.  ~Samuel McChord Crothers

The fun facts of life

A person can not fold a normal size piece of paper in half more than 8 times.

There are just over 300 million cell phones used daily in the United States alone.

A shrimps heart is in it’s head.

Kissing is actually healthier than shaking someones hand.

Natural pearls will melt in vinegar.

An olive tree can live up to 1500 years.

Cleopatra married two of her  brothers.

Ants can’t shut their eyes.

On a Canadian two dollar bill, the flag flying over the Parliament Building looks like  an American flag.

Men’s shirts have the buttons on the right, while women shirts have the buttons on the left.

Chewing gum will help reduce tears when cutting an onion.

Red wine will spoil if exposed to light.  Hence the tinted bottles.

The day after Thanksgiving is the busiest day for plumbers.  (In the U.S. of course.)

Studies have proven that cold showers actually stimulate your sex drive.

Coffee beans are not beans at all, rather fruit pits.

Fortune cookies were invented in America in 1918, by Charles Jung.

Scuba divers can not pass gas at depth deeper than 33 feet.

The Mona Lisa has no eyebrows.  It was the fashion then, to shave them off.

The average American consumes enough caffeine in one year to kill a horse.

Henry Ford produced the model-T  in black.  Because black paint at the time was the fastest to dry.

The word “Naked” means, unprotected.  The word “Nude” means unclothed.