Boo!

Don't want to scare you but...
it's one week till Elections.
Have you read your ballot and stuff? Or just listened to the multitude of political automated calls that have been filling your phone?

Whether or not you feel there is an Inconvenient Truth happenng in the world, did you know that if you trade in a vehicle that gets 18 mpg for a vehicle that gets at least 27 mpg, that it represents a 50% increase in fuel economy? Effectively making $3.00 per gallon back to costing $2.00 once again.
And this week, filling up my junior SUV at Costco gasoline, the lines were out the driveway. It reminded me of the days when there were lines like that for gas rationing--at that was under $1.00 a gallon. Now, if a San Diegan is lucky and shops around, you can get unleaded for $2.29-$2.35 a gallon. GULP. Henry Honda now costs about $35.00 a tank to operate. And I have cut back on my infrequent indulgences in premium just to give Henry a lift.

Health scare of the week: It was not good news to read that up to a third of the causes of attention deficit disorder (Look, a chicken) in the U.S. are caused by the toxic lead of cigarette smoke. Researchers at Cincinatti Children's Hospital gathered random samples of children. They found that kids were four times more likely to develop ADD when their blood samples showed a lead concentration of 2 micrograms per deciliter. The children that were exposed to smoke in the womb (guess that is a womb without a view due to the smoke...but I digress) more than doubled their risks of ADD or ADHD.

Do we need more reasons to quit smoking? However, this sure explains stuff for me (Look, a baby wolf!) since my mother began smoking at age nine. No wonder so many baby boomers are distracted.

Can't just leave you with downer news--research is now stating that chocolate can be good for your skin. Look for chococlate with 60% or more cocoa to help improve blood flow (mine is flowing better now just thinking of dark chocolate), texture and hydration of the skin. S W E E E E T !

And to lose up to 14 lbs. a year, get an extra hour of sleep. (I am liking this new breed of scientists and researchers).

Hey, with that and the elimination of trans-fat in fast foods (so far, in NYC only) we are all going to be happy and healthy.

Votre Sante and pass the Scharfenberger.