Bridal Diapers? Is this a TREND or a JOKE? How Far Could You Go, Diaper Industry?

I was in the kitchen preparing lunch and talking to my parrot who always says “I love you,” a totally self-esteem boosting conversation. Suddenly, the music on the radio stopped, the alarm sounded and a very manly, deep voice announced an approaching storm in our area. Then the music started again for a moment, but stopped for a commercial break. A happy female voice announced:
Bridal Diapers!!! I was so shocked, I don’t recall the rest of the advertising!
I thought I didn’t hear well… bridal diapers? I always had a “thing” against the diaper industry and their constant pushing diapers at both the beginning of life (I see five-years old in diapers) and the end of life, when depends are more and more viewed as a normal way of life! I see more and more advertising for depends featuring 50-year old women. I have noticed the tendency is to make it main-stream and acceptable to wear diapers or absorbent pads at any age! The reason: convenience. For instance, you are gambling! God forbid you loose your spot in the game! Wouldn’t you rather pee and poop in your pants? Really!

The National Incontinence web site (www.nationalincontinence.com) gives a comprehensive list of possible medical reason, and suggested people see their doctors. Some of these medical conditions are: Urinary track infections, prostate problems, eating certain foods, taking certain medications such as antidepressants, Alzheimer and dementia, etc.
The site also mentions KEGELS Exercises, which in my opinion are the first line of defense against adult incontinence.
I am not going to get into a detailed explanation of how Kegel exercises work, but I will give the KEY to know you could be sure you “got it,” you do it correctly. Once you “get it,” it could be done at any time, anywhere. To encourage women to do their Kegel exercises regularly, I will also mention that there is a BONUS:
since they make your pelvic muscle strong, they will improve your sexual life.

Here is the key to successful Kegels:
Next time you go to the bathroom, stop your flow of urine mid-stream, tightening the muscles in your pelvic floor. If your flow of urine stops, you are using the correct muscles.
Hold a few seconds and then let go and empty your bladder completely.
This is a good way to make sure you use the correct muscles for your Kegel exercises. Identifying these muscles is the key to successfully strengthening the muscles involved in the control of your bladder and therefore avoiding incontinence while enhancing your sexual life.
IMPORTANT: The example of stopping your urine flow mid-stream was ONLY to explain how you determine that you use the correct muscles. After you learn and feel which muscles you are using, do the Kegels on an empty bladder.

Reading on the topic of diapers and why would brides wear them, I found out that bridal shops already offer them!!! The reason being that the dresses are so complex and hard to handle in the bathroom, for safety and convenience, bridal diapers are offered for safety and convenience, for the peace of mind of the bride that she may pee in her bridal diaper while delivering her vows! What could be more romantic and reassuring?
These “bridal diapers are probably “depends” at double price because they were elevated to the title of bridal, which implies a sense of joy and overall happiness.

I could imagine a couple leaving the wedding party in their decorated car, with the common sign “Just married,” and the bride, hardly waiting to get to the hotel room, not as much to consummate the long anticipated act of making love to her husband for the first time, but rather to get in the hotel bathroom, take off the complex outfit and throw away the dirty diaper and quickly shower before the groom expresses a desire to shower together and she smells of urine…

Oh well… the scenario of the “after wearing a bridal diaper,” seems more complex than just drinking less water before you go to church!

A few hours ago, after I heard the radio advertising, and filled with outrage I started to research the topic of potty training, diapers, the psychology of children, when is the best time to potty train and why…I just spend hours on the topic and just realized now I know so much on it, I could right another article and help mothers who are in the process of potty training their toddlers and help them through this stage which as I recall from personal experience could be stressful.
As a mother who potty trained two children, wrote a personalized book for each and has a MS and Counseling and Clinical Psychology, I could offer a few suggestions on potty training babies and toddlers in another article and hopefully help a few mothers.
If you are a mother and feel such an article could be helpful, please let me know.
If anyone has heard about bridal diapers, or used them, please share your story. This site remains open and respectful of all ideas as our belief is that only by staying flexible and open minded we learn and become more valuable human beings.
Thank you for reading and commenting on our topics.
Knowledge is power!
Rodica M.

What’s in Your Refrigerator? Our weekly leftovers yummy recipe: Angel Hair

It’s that time of the week when we check our refrigerator to determine what needs to be discarded and what could become the main ingredient in a yummy dish!

This week’s main leftover ingredient is Angel Hair Pasta!
I also have 6 meat balls, 1/2 of cream cheese and there are other ingredients at hand, which are not left overs, but which will enhance our dish!
These ingredients are:
1 cup Sour Cream
1/2 Onion
Fresh dill and basil from the garden
Smoked cedar cheese or cheese you have available.

Preparation:

Chop the onion, dill, basil.
Mix well:
The cream cheese with the sour cream, add the cooked meat balls, cut in quarters.
Add to this mixture the chopped onion, dill and basil.
Mix everything well with the angel hair pasta.
Place mixture in buttered oven-proof dish.
Top with shredded smoked cedar cheese and more dill and basil.
Bake 20 minutes at 350.
Serve hot:) Excellent next day too, re-heated

Substitutes: if you don’t have meat balls, add bacon or any meat. You may also add a beaten egg to the pasta composition.

IRS SCAMS! Bogus phone calls and emails! Who Is Uncle Sam?

Many, many, MANY years ago, when I came to the U.S. from Europe, my first job was in the insurance industry, of which I knew nothing at the time, but passed a test which showed “potential.” In the process of being trained as an insurance agent, I was using a scripted presentation with all my “prospects.” It didn’t take me long to notice that all of them expressed an undeniable interest when, following my script, which I didn’t understand, I asked them:

” How do you like to give half of what you make to Uncle Sam?”

The look on their face was self-explanatory. They didn’t even have to speak, to say: “NO! We don’t want to give 50% to Uncle Sam!”

This single line was by far my key to becoming a successful sales person. However, I wished I knew who was uncle Sam and how come all of them seem to have the same uncle… or was Sam a common name… Half into my training, I dared ask my boss, who was the mysterious Uncle Sam and why did all my clients have an Uncle Sam, and most importantly, why would they have to give 50% to this Uncle. The explanation was long and I fully understood it when I filed my first tax return.

Many years have passed since, and as time went by, I also learned popular sayings, such as, “Only two things are certain, taxes and death,” and others, but they are irrelevant for this post which hopefully will help us recognize and avoid IRS scams, known to be one of the most prolific and dangerous. What is relevant is that taxes and IRS are to be taken seriously. This is one of the reasons the scam is still going strong, taking advantage of people’s good faith and willingness to do right.

The IRS has seen approximately a 400 % increase in incidents of phishing and malware for the 2016 tax season. In other words, the chance that a fake IRS agent will try to scam you is high. It happened to me yesterday and like most unpleasant events, I didn’t think it could, until it did!
Fortunately, I have heard detailed descriptions of the IRS scams so many times that I didn’t panic and reported the incident with the hope that those in charge will take adequate measures and protect us.

In short, here’s what happened:

I received a call and the caller id indicated a Washington, D.C. area code (202)
As a rule, I don’t answer calls if I don’t know the callers because if it’s legitimate, they will leave a message. This caller left a message… I guess, the rule is that there is no rule!

I listened to the message, and just as the “Scam Fighters” on the evening news warned, the man who left the message used threatening language, meant to trigger anxiety in even the most laid back person… What IF?

Here are a few of the words the impersonator used:

‘You are the primary suspect… a time sensitive matter… you or your attorney must call me back immediately, or there will be legal consequences…’
While the IRS “agent” repeated the phone number where I was supposed to call back, he never stated his name or a badge number. Unfortunately, even if he would have, the mention of a name or badge number are also known scams meant to gain the trust of the prospective victim.

Instead of calling the area code (202) supposedly an IRS phone number, I emailed and filed complaints with several agencies which protect us.

I’m sharing the information in hopes, IF it happens to you, having it handy will save time and make reporting the scam easier.
I emailed phishing@irs.gov
Filed an online complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) which protects consumers
You might also contact The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA)
Whether you email, file a complaint or write a letter, write in the SUBJECT LINE:
IRS IMPERSONATION SCAM REPORTING

The web site which has updated information is:
http://www.irs.gov

IMPORTANT WARNING:
The crooks continue to change their operation procedures. We already know about sites that imitate the original web sites, but the nuances are so small, we might not notice them!

It’s all in a dot or the lack of it!

For instance, THE ONLY DIFFERENCE between the real IRS web site, and a fake one (which was discovered and taken down) was . (A DOT!!!) The real web site had a dot: irs.gov
while the fake site didn’t:irsgov!!!

KEEP IT SIMPLE!

If you receive a call and don’t answer it, if you don’t recognize who is the caller, the impostor will eventually go away. At least you will have time to think if the call makes sense.

If you receive an email, don’t click on any links, thus eliminating the possibility to end up on a fake site.

As a general rule, such serious matters are not discussed via phone calls and emails, but through mail and most likely, certified mail, which is proof of receipt.

As I was doing research for this post, to make sure I provide you with real and up-to-date information, I came across a NEW IRS type of scam, which in my opinion has the potential to be more dangerous than any of the ones we are already aware of and as a result, we know how to protect ourselves.

The NEW SCAM targets the TAX PREPARERS!!!

As I understand, it comes as an email asking our accountant, who prepared our taxes, to update their e-file(s).

Since I was declared by the IRS agent impersonator who called me from DC “the primary suspect,” of a fictitious crime, I want to live up to his expectations…it seems, the title bestowed upon me, implies certain sophistication and knowledge of the topic discussed. I hope, I am not disappointing.

If you would like to ADD any details, or share a pertinent story, please do so. Unfortunately, this is a process which is continuously changing and to stay safe, we need to be aware and alert.
Have a blessed weekend and stay safe!

HOPE!

The mountain I climb
Overwhelms me…
I cannot see the peak!
Fog covers the Sun.
I could only hope it exists
Past the clouds.
And I climb,
And I climb,
And I climb…
I have hope!
Ice winds hit me
Storms tear me apart…
And I fall,
And I fall,
And I fall!
I am tired.
I am in pain.
I’m disoriented,
But never give up!
And again,
I climb,
And I climb,
And I climb,
Again, and again, and again:
NEVER QUIT,
Confident I will reach
Past the clouds
And see the Sun at last!
Wise people say:
H-Have
O-Only
P-Positive
E-Expectations

I get up and
continue to climb!