Health Expert The Midlife Gals (r) shares health management news and commentary at HealthCentral.com. HealthCentral.com is one of the top health destinations on the Web, with more than 35 condition-specific, wellness and general health Web properties. http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/55817/index http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/55817/rss self application/xml en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/55817/index http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/55817/54547/kk-resolution Wed, 07 Jan 2009 15:04:00 -0500 The Midlife Gals (r) New Year's Resolutions: 1. STOP SMOKING a. start thinking about stopping smoking b. peruse cessation tools at the drug store c. begin to pity fellow smokers instead of envy them d. take a good whiff of my hair after a cigarette...arrrrrgh! e. remember, smokers are not more fun than nonsmokers f. convince myself that smokers are not more fun g. figure out what to start doing with my hands h. practice doing other things with my... http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/55817/54547/kk-resolution http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/55817/54546/resolution Wed, 07 Jan 2009 15:01:00 -0500 The Midlife Gals (r) NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS I Googled "New Year's Resolution" and this is what it said, "A New Year's Resolution is a commitment that an individual makes to a project or the reforming of a habit, often a lifestyle change that is generally interpreted as advantageous. The name comes from the fact that these commitments normally go into effect on New Year's Day and remain until fulfilled or abandoned."   My problem with smoking is a see-saw of... http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/55817/54546/resolution http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/55817/50784/accoutrements Wed, 03 Dec 2008 16:11:00 -0500 The Midlife Gals (r) Our mother, The Ancient One, had all manner of smoking paraphernalia...no, not THAT kind of smoking...just tobacco and its accompanying holders, lighters, ashtrays and the like.   For many years, she used 4-inch cigarette holders, each with different artistic designs on them...depending on how she felt that day. And, it would be my guess that because she smoked cigarettes without filters and more than a handful a day, she probably felt... http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/55817/50784/accoutrements http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/55817/50782/rude-quitters Wed, 03 Dec 2008 09:10:00 -0500 The Midlife Gals (r) You know who you are. You are worse than the people who never smoked at all. You have a sense of accomplishment that morphed into a god complex sprinkled with glittering arrogance and a turned up nose. You are so proud of yourself that you have to make the world aware of your triumph. Let's see...how does one do that when, really, nobody cares? I know, be really rude to smokers so everybody can see how perfect you are and how stupid the... http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/55817/50782/rude-quitters http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/55817/46939/interview Thu, 30 Oct 2008 15:02:00 -0400 The Midlife Gals (r) KK - "Oh, you're still a smoker, aren't you?"   Stranger - "Well, yes, if you must be so impolite, but how can you tell since I don't have a cigarette in my hand?"   KK - Du'uh...there is an invisible, foul-smelling cloud all around you. May I make a suggestion? This is what Sal used to do after smoking near a group of nonsmokers... She got some cream that she carried in her purse, rubbing it on her hands to cover the smell on... http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/55817/46939/interview http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/55817/46938/timeline Thu, 30 Oct 2008 15:01:00 -0400 The Midlife Gals (r) Let's just start with the year 1938. I don't know why. Some of my details in the following time-line might not be entirely correct, but I don't care so don't send me any hate mail or statements like the guy last week who said, "Get your facts straight." That's just rude. Anyway...   1938Little Boy - "Daddy, what's a cigarette?"Daddy - "Well, son, this country was built on a crop called ‘tobacco' and the Native Americans... http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/55817/46938/timeline http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/55817/43444/starting Fri, 03 Oct 2008 20:13:00 -0400 The Midlife Gals (r) We got a bit of a scare from our Ancient One's doctor a week ago, and I just got up, went to the 7-11 and bought a pack of red Winstons, went out to the deck and had a smoke. I didn't even think about it. I just rose like a person next in line at the DMV and drove like a crash dummy on Valium. After I smoked the cigarette...I felt better, calmer. This is when the plan began. My plan was to have a cigarette only in times of great stress. I... http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/55817/43444/starting http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/55817/43443/stuck-middle Fri, 03 Oct 2008 20:12:00 -0400 The Midlife Gals (r) If you're a smoker, the lyrics to this famous song are meaningful in a completely different way:   "Trying to make some sense of it all,But I can see that it makes no sense at all,Is it cool to go to sleep on the floor,'Cause I don't think that I can take anymoreClowns to the left of me, Jokers to the right, Here I am, stuck in the middle with you."   The clowns to the left of me are the ones who say, "Just have a cigarette. You... http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/55817/43443/stuck-middle http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/55817/38815/smoking Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:35:00 -0400 The Midlife Gals (r) I've discovered that smoking does NOT cause good judgment. I used to think it caused good judgment, but why would I be smoking if that were true. When I was fourteen years old my judgment on just about everything was errant and sporadic at best. Hell, I'd grown up watching adults smoking in my home. Who has better judgment? Would that THAT were true, but as we who have become those adults now know, grown-ups don't know... http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/55817/38815/smoking http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/55817/38814/smoking Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:33:00 -0400 The Midlife Gals (r) “The Washington briefing, hosted by the American Legacy Foundation, addressed the presence of tobacco use in films and its proven influence on teen smoking.   According to the foundation, research shows that images of actors and characters smoking in youth-rated movies influence at least 200,000 American youth to start smoking each year.”   Here is something I find interesting.  How can ‘research’... http://www.healthcentral.com/copd/c/55817/38814/smoking