Mini-Experiment: 1 Month Without TV

In all honesty, this experiment happened by accident! My husband and I had signed up for a great cable package when we moved in July 2012. One year later, the price of that package went up by $40/month! We decided we didn't watch enough television to pay that much per month, so we cancelled our cable, with the understanding that we would get an HD antenna for the TV. That way we could still watch our local channels, which is pretty much all we'd watched when we had cable anyway.

Days turned into weeks after we cancelled our cable; still no HD antenna. I was having a lot of trouble with fibromyalgia flare-ups, my teacher-husband's school year was starting, and we were just generally busy. About two weeks after we cancelled cable, I realized two things:

1. I missed my local ABC station team (WCPO) and the Good Morning America and ABC World News Tonight teams like crazy! I had gotten so used to starting every morning with them, that they'd become like a second family; not to mention the fact that I'd grown up watching Diane Sawyer and seeing her giant poster downtown for the seven years I lived in Louisville, KY. I had been tweeting with them almost every day and had actually developed Twitter relationships with some of the local anchors and reporters, as well as a few people at the national level at ABC. It felt like I was missing something without them in my day.
2. My anxiety level was nowhere near as high as it had been when I was watching the news every day. It's not like I didn't know what was going on; I read the ABC app headlines and stories every day, but did not watch one news video. No war in Syria videos with dead bodies, no anxiety-filled potential Korean attack videos, no celebrity gossip videos, none of it. And I was calmer and happier without all of that horrible footage inundating my home.

So, time went on. And then football season started. I am the biggest football fan ever, so that's when I drove my husband to Best Buy and we chose an HD antenna! I was so excited to see everyone at WCPO and ABC again! It felt like I was seeing friends I hadn't seen in a month! And my anxiety went through the roof.

This mini-experiment was an accident, but I learned so much about myself both during it and in the few weeks since it's been over. I grew up without television, not getting one in my house until I was 16. Since that time, I have loved TV, almost feeling like I'm making up for lost time! But at what cost?

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi

5 Things Fibromyalgia Books Don't Tell You

There are many books and articles out there that tell you lots of things about fibromyalgia. Here are five very important things you should know:

1. Mood disorders come with fibromyalgia. You don't necessarily have a bad mood because you're irate about being in pain all the time. One of my doctors is amazing and she published this article about diagnosing fibromyalgia and how mood disorders are often co-morbid with fibromyalgia. I used to be diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Then I saw this awesome doctor and we talked for two and a half hours. She came up with bipolar II--a much more fitting diagnosis than GAD.

2. Some days you'd rather not be productive than actually be productive. It's way easier to sit on your butt and not do something than do something and hurt so much you have to quit. Quitting sucks. That's the hard truth of it. It's horrible. And people with fibromyalgia have to quit a lot of things they used to do: sports, work, going out, things they loved doing. Some days it's too hard to have to quit again. And you'd rather sit the day out. Just let it go by without quitting anything. Some days that's easier.

3. You start relying on things you never thought you would care about. I cancelled my cable about a month ago. We didn't need it and we were paying way too much for it. Before that, I watched "Good Morning America" every morning. And then I didn't watch it for a month. You wouldn't believe how much I missed starting my morning with Robin, Sam, Josh, and Lara. It had become a part of my days. I tweeted GMA and they tweeted me back. There was some part of me that had gotten to "know" them. I know it sounds stupid, but I needed them. We got an HD tuner over the weekend and today I got to watch GMA again! It was so good to see them again!

4. You will have to fight for your relationships. I got engaged after I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. I asked my new fiancé if he'd thought about what it would be like to live with someone with a chronic pain condition or not. He said that he had and he was willing and happy to be with me. So, I thought that was it. But now that we're married, I want so much more to be the best wife ever. And I'm not the wife I want to be. It changes our relationship--he's a caretaker as much as he is a husband. And that's not the husband I want him to have to be. We fight for our relationship every day.

5. You will be angry and scared and upset more than you will be happy--but when you're happy, you will be happy. There are so many days that will suck more than you can every imagine. But when you get a good day, you will be over the moon, I promise! You will try to pack it as full as you can of everything you need to do: errands, phone calls, cooking, cleaning, and tons of other things! And you'll be so happy and so full of energy and life! And then the next day, you are going to hurt so much and be back where you were before your great day. But those days are so worth it! And you'll learn now to not completely pack your day full to the point of exhaustion!

Be happy, be healthy (as much as you can), and keep smiling!

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi

Social Media and Philanthropy

Social media has become a part of what I do every day. I started my ChickOpinion blog in late August. I started my Twitter account somewhere around that time, too. It seemed to be going well, so I started ChickOpinion.com in late October. That is also going well.

Andrew Springer explaining our engagement photo!

I've been going nuts on Twitter lately, trying to get my name (well, ChickOpinion's name) out there. In the last week alone, I've been tweeted by Ginger Zee (meteorologist for Good Morning America), four of the local ABC news anchors and reporters, the local ABC station, CNN Presents, Sam Champion (meteorologist for GMA), a few writers for different newspapers, Anderson Live, Project Runway, Andrew Springer (social media strategist for GMA and ABC News), Tyra Banks, Jo-Ann Stores, Dan Harris (anchor for GMA), The Katie Show, and Lara Spencer. Today one of our engagement photos was on GMA Live because I tweeted it to them. One of my tweets was also on Anderson Live earlier this week, but wasn't read on air.

It's been a little bit insane, but here's why I'm glad it's happened: I want to make a difference. We're coming up on the one year anniversary of my getting diagnosed with fibromyalgia. It has been an interesting year: diagnosed with fibro in January, narcolepsy in April, graduated from college in May, got engaged in June, moved to Florence, KY in July, my fiancé started a new job in August, I started volunteering for the Obama campaign in September, and I've been working on my blog/website all fall. I don't have a job. I can work pretty hard (seated, not standing) for about three or four hours and then I have to take a break. I am definitely not the only one in this position. People all over the country (especially women) struggle with this.

I want to create a nonprofit organization, called "FibroPhilanthropy." One of the best things for my pain is to make and give things to people who need them. Two weeks after Superstorm Sandy, my mom and I sent 15 hats and 25 scarves to the victims in New Jersey. My mom makes adorable little kid hats and I knit and sew, so we got busy! I loved spending my time making things for people I knew would be so grateful for them. It was the best couple of weeks I've had in the last year--I was happy, my pain was manageable because I wasn't having to move around much, and I was helping people. 

With FibroPhilanthropy I want to make it possible for fibromyalgia patients to make things (scarves, hats, blankets, clothes, sweaters, anything else people can make) for disaster relief to send to victims of natural disasters. Patients all across the country can make anything, we can collect the items, and then the second a natural disaster happens, we send everything we have to the victims. Then we start all over again! If it's a nonprofit, we can be exempt from taxes but still take donations, so the materials and postage could be paid for by the organization. I know first-hand that most fibro patients can't afford to do this on their own.

I know I've been a little over the top lately with the tweeting, but it's one way to get people all over the country to see what I already have on my site and, now that I'm posting this, what I want to do in the future. Maybe we can raise enough awareness that we can get the funding we need to start this nonprofit organization and be ready to have a batch of warm items ready to send out by the time the next natural disaster happens.

Please share this, email it, retweet it, favorite it, or whatever you need to do on the social media platform you use to raise awareness of this idea. I would love to get as many people involved as possible so we can help everyone we possibly can!

"Be the change you wish to be in the world." --Gandhi

Mannequins that "See" You?

Kitten snuggle time. :)

Good morning! I can't tell you how happy I am to be writing this early in the morning! I quit my pain meds last night and I was shocked when I heard my fiancé's alarm go off this morning at 5am. I haven't heard it in a month! I got to spend the morning with him while he got ready to go teach. I haven't done that in so long. My kittens and I got to have snuggle time while I watched Good Morning America while it happened (not tevoed!).

The down side of all this "awakeness" is that I'm seeing a lot more. The first thing I said when I sat up in bed this morning was, "Omigosh. Apparently I didn't do laundry last week." Josh laughed and said, "I mentioned that multiple times." Oops. Then, I walked into the kitchen and realized that the floor needs to be washed. And the counters need to be washed. And the sinks. I guess I haven't done anything for the last month!

I'm awake and don't feel groggy, but I still am having vision problems. Also, not surprisingly, the pain has come back with a vengeance. But I am in such a great mood, I don't really care. I am coherent, I got to kiss my fiancé goodbye, and I can remember things! I was definitely right: not having something for a month makes you so much more thankful for it!

So, I guess in line with my "name" being "ChickOpinion" I should have an opinion today about something on the news. Here you go!

There has been a development in technology that is hitting the stores. This BusinessWeek article explains the EyeSee, a mannequin that uses facial recognition technology with a camera through a pupil in the mannequin's eye to collect shopper demographic information so the store better understand its customers. Does this sound creepy to anyone besides me?

While the article claims that the mannequin doesn't store any images or data, I call bulls#!t. I don't believe that at all. If you stop to look at a dress or top on a mannequin it's taking in all of your visual data. The fact that the above-mentioned article mentions this has already changed store displays and layouts means that it obviously stores and assimilates data for a certain amount of time. What's keeping the store from downloading those images and data?

I like the person in the article who says, "If you go on Facebook...you can see exactly what information they're going to collect and what they're going to do with it. If you're walking into a store, where's the choice?" Agreed! I have not given any of the stores I go to permission to take my image. The article also mentions that the company responsible for these EyeSee mannequins is also working on "ears" for the mannequins so they can eavesdrop on what the shoppers looking at the display are saying. Wow. That's not an insane invasion of privacy at all...*sarcasm*

So, I think the moral of this story is, if you see a mannequin with a pupil and you don't want to have your image recorded, cover your face. As for me, I think I'll be utilizing fake mustaches and lots of hats.

Well, maybe it's not really my look...

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi

Should Tackle Football Be Banned?

One of the news stories getting the most attention in the twitter world this morning is a GMA story about a retired doctor who has said that it is "a moral imperitive that we at least begin the process of ending this game" in high schools. The game he was talking about? Football! This doctor, Dr. Paul Butler, says that the research is too obvious that football is a dangerous game for underage kids to be playing.

ESPN says that some of the blows that even high schoolers can take to the head are the equivalent of getting hit in the skull with a sledgehammer.

This is what happens when you marry outside your team...

Even players like Tom Brady are advocating for new rules and safer equipment for players, as seen in this absolutely hilarious NFL Evolution commercial!

Here is the twitter conversation on GMA's status about this. No one, at least in this twitter feed, is interested in banning football! It's fascinating to me that the research obviously says that kids are getting hurt by the tackling, but people love football so much they don't want to stop it. Do these people love the sport more than their kids?

I love football! Any of you who know me know that I am a massive Patriots fan. My fiancé and I are such big football fans that we had our engagement photos done in our jerseys (we love our quarterbacks: Brady and Rodgers)! But when we have kids, if tackle football is still being played in youth leagues and high schools, I'm not sure if we will allow them to play. I played flag football and touch football growing up--I didn't really play tackle until college (full disclosure: I had to quit the team before we played a game). I had an absolute blast playing touch and flag. We had a youth flag football league in my town and it was fun--and safe.

There are also a lot of other sports that are available to kids: track, soccer (heading is under fire, too, though), volleyball, field hockey, basketball, etc. I am very aware that all of these sports have athletes in them who get hurt. The difference to me is that the premise of these sports is not to intentionally run into other players. It happens, sure, but it's not the point of these games.

So, what do you think? Is it worth risking your son or daughter's life or brain function so we can continue to watch tackle football in high schools? Please weigh in!

We want YOU to share your opinion!

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi

All photos by Bailey Richards.

Women's Reactions to Presidential Debate

This morning, like every morning, I watched "Good Morning America." Not surprisingly, last night's presidential debate was the top story. Interestingly, both Elizabeth Vargas (in for Robin Roberts) and Lara Spencer said that they were a little "taken aback" by both candidates' demeanors. Vargas said, "As a woman...it was a little much. The interrupting and talking over [each other] drove me a little crazy." George Stephanopoulos replied, "A point I've heard a lot. A lot of women turned off by that." Later in the show when Vargas was talking to the political analysts about the debate, she said, "Lara and I were talking, Beanna and I were talking, a lot of other women are agreeing with this assessment...they both seemed a tad aggressive, overly aggressive toward each other." Matthew Dowd, one of the political contributors replied, "You have to be strong and forceful without offending people." Vargas countered, "When they're both trying to get the female vote, I wondered if they alienated a lot of the women out there."

I have been accused of being one-sided in my presentations of political issues, so I immediately turned to Fox News. Fox was not talking about women's reactions to the debate at all. Frank Luntz was talking to "undecided" voters in Nevada and all but one said that Romney was "substantive," "pleasantly surprising," and "believable." The man who didn't say something "nice" about Romney said he was "average." Luntz ignored that man and, with a gesture of an open hand, asked the seven or so voters who said positive things about Romney why they liked what they heard. They gave their reasons and Luntz listened with eye contact and head nodding. Luntz then turned to the man who had said what he had heard was "average," pointed with a finger, not an open face-up palm, at him, and said, "Now you didn't hear that. Why." It was hardly a question. Luntz turned away with his eyes on the floor and didn't respond to the voter's answer, which was, "I didn't hear anything new." Needless to say, Luntz's obvious disregard for a voter who isn't sure if Romney is our country's savior or not really turned me off.

In terms of what I heard on the news, as a woman, I appreciate that ABC actually talked about the women's opinions. I'm not sure if I agree with it, but at least they talked about it. Fox didn't. I actually went to foxnews.com to see if they had any women's reactions that maybe I had missed; they didn't have one story on women in regards to the debate.

In terms of what I saw in the debate last night, as a woman, I didn't see anything wrong with the candidates' demeanors at all. I like the fact that Obama pushed the envelope. He was aggressive. He did interrupt Romney to correct his statements that were blatant lies. I want a President and a Commander-in-Chief who is aggressive. It is hardwired in women to want someone who will protect us, and I think Obama will protect me and my rights.

As a woman, what offended me most last night was Romney still not saying whether he would have signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act or not. The fact that Romney will not say that women deserve to earn the same pay that men earn for doing the same job is extremely offensive to me. Why should I believe in someone who doesn't believe in my rights as a woman? Why should I vote for someone who doesn't necessarily think that men and I should have equal pay for equal work?

Wow--"equal pay for equal work..." That echoes the civil rights movement. We are still having to fight for civil rights even now in the 21st century. To me, this is an incredibly sad reality. How is it possible that the same demographic that runs around thinking that America is the best country in the world is also the same demographic that supports a candidate who will not commit to equal rights for women? We are not the #1 country in the world, if I can't expect the same treatment that men receive. We are not the best country in the world, if I still have to be concerned about my future children having equal rights.

Come on, America. Let's support a candidate who supports our country's women. Women are 51% of this country's vote. How is it possible in the 21st century that a candidate who doesn't support over half of the country's voters, even has a shot at taking the White House? Let's have some pride.

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi

How Much Do Celebrities Spend on Their Looks?

This morning on "Good Morning America" there was a story about Britney Spears's spending habits. Although it was not the focus of the story, they mentioned that she spends around $2,595 per year on hair and makeup. This reminded me of a story from a few months ago on how much Kate Middleton spends on her look. I became intrigued by how much celebrities spend on their hair and makeup alone. I'm not including their personal fitness training fees or their diets. Check out some of these figures:

Celebrity Yearly Expenditures on Hair and Makeup

Britney Spears
$2,595 - hair and makeup
Total: $2,595

Kate Middleton*
$18,760 - hair (blow drys, low lights, and cuts)
$1,206 - makeup
$4,000 - skin care
$3,484 - nails
$2,832 - spray tans
*I think to assume that she wears the same fragrance every day is misleading, so I did not include that expense. Also, her orthodontic treatment was a one-time occurrence, so I didn't include that either. She probably gets regular whitening treatments, but I haven't found a story on that.
Total: $30,282

Kim Kardashian*
$13,918 - hair sessions (Philip Wolff is her stylist and she has to keep her extensions "in tip top condition." Let's assume that she gets her extensions fixed every three weeks: $13,918 per year.)
$1,285 - 24-karat gold facials
$9,636 - Fraxel laser treatment (I couldn't get a good idea of how often Kim gets these, but on this Cincinnati Fraxel site, it says that "3 to 6 treatments spaced one to two weeks apart" should do the trick. Let's assume that Kim only has 3 treatments at $3,212 per treatment: $9,636.)
$1,500 - eyelash extensions (Kim did confirm that she wears permanent mink eyelash extensions.)
$4,224 - body scrubs at the Four Seasons spa
$3,360 - mud wraps at the spa (I assumed that Kim has her mud wraps done at the same spa as her body scrubs. This is the "Body Treatments" page with prices of the Four Seasons spa site.)
$3,672 - nails (The site I cited at the beginning of this says that a nail session is 95 pounds. Assuming she goes for bi-weekly sessions, the yearly total would be $3,672.)
*I used the Google conversion calculator from pounds to dollars, since this site is in pounds.
Note: This doesn't include any makeup products or makeup sessions, which, according to this site can apparently go for $4,000 each.
Total: $37,595

Jennifer Aniston*
$7,973 - hair sessions
$49,206 - makeup (I did the math with her getting only one professional make-up session per month and buying the products three times per year.)
$10,704 - skin care (facials and "Purple Bag" products)
$1,920 - eyebrow treatments (I did not include the initial $120 fee, because I assume she has already had it. I assume she goes for an $80 treatment biweekly.)
$1,080 - spray tanning
*I did not include the speculative nose job costs. They weren't concrete, and they also are a one time occurrence. Well, I guess a two time occurrence for her!
Note: Manicures weren't mentioned in this article, and I couldn't find out where Aniston gets her nails done.
Total: $70,883

The grand total of these four celebrities' hair and makeup costs is...drumroll, please...$141,355.

This is absolutely fascinating to me. I decided to look at what I spend per year on my own hair and makeup.
$180 - hair ($30 per haircut. 6 per year.)
$4 - Herbal Essences styling mousse
$4 - Maybelline mascara
$9 - L'Oreal eyeshadow
$5 - Revlon eyeliner
$36 - Neutrogena concealer ($9 each. 4 per year.)
$36 - Maybelline Fit foundation ($6 each. 6 per year.)
$59 - Clarins moisturizer (I use it every other day at most, so it lasts forever!)
Total: $333

I am amazed! I had no idea I spend this much on my looks. I don't get my nails done (I got acrylics done 5 years ago), I don't dye my hair (again, only once in my life), and I don't pay for eyebrow treatments (another one of those things I tried once).

It is obvious that I am not "required" by society to look the way celebrities look. Whenever they show up on the red carpet, or anywhere else for that matter, they're expected to look a certain way. If they didn't, they would get completely destroyed in the media. But is it worth spending over $30,000 per year on hair and makeup? Does it make a difference? I think this might be the topic of my second social mini-experiment sometime soon.

I think this is something that "normal" women and girls really need to realize: we don't have $30,000 every year to spend on our looks. So why do we put ourselves under so much pressure to look like celebrities? If it really does take this much money to look that good, then why do we even try to compare? Magazines are full of "Get This Celebrity's Look For Less" articles, but most of those still cost a significant amount of money. For example, this Camilla Belle "Look for Less" was still about $92.

Look at yourself in the mirror today and smile. You look great!

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi

Reflection and Inspiration

Before I get started with the post I was planning on writing, I want to take a moment to mention the attack on the U.S. consolate in Libya overnight. Our ambassador to Libya and three other Americans were killed in an attack by angry Muslims. They were upset by a film made by a Hollywod director (now in hiding, for good reason) that depicts Mohammad as a womanizer and a fraud.

There are two very interesting things I take from this story:
1) According to Good Morning America this morning, the director meant for this movie to be "provocative". I think this might have gone too far, though. I haven't seen the movie or trailer, for that matter, but if people are getting killed over it...that's crazy. I'm all for freedom of speech, but intentionaly portraying an incredibly well-known and influential prophet in a negative light seems like it's just asking for trouble--and recognition. Shock value films, outfits, and statements need to be looked at for the reasons they're made. This film was made to "show the destructive ideology of Islam," according to the above story. When making something like this, it is probably wise to think about how much it might help people understand Islam and how much it is going to piss people off.
2) It was not reported how many Muslims were killed; only how many Americans were killed.

Thinking of the families of those victims.

The story I originally wanted to talk about today is Aimee Copeland's amazing road to recovery. She was on "Katie" yesterday and she is fantastic! She is such an inspiration. Having chronic pain really pales in comparison when you watch this beautiful woman walk out on a walker with no hands, no left leg, and a prosthetic right leg. Through this entire process, she has had an amazing attitude! One of my favorite things she said yesterday was (not an exact quote, because I can't remember it perfectly), "I don't say I'm disabled; I say I have different abilities." How inspiring is that?! I feel like those of us with chronic health issues need to really look at what she is doing and saying and say, "I can do this!" I know there are many people with chronic health issues who do great, and I do pretty well some days. It's just nice to have someone to inspire you on the down days. It's amazing that she is only a year older than I am--I know it might sound funny because we are so close in age, but I admire her! She is definitely going on my personal hero list; hope she goes on yours, too! 

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi