Boardash: Women for Friday October 30, 2009

Having trouble seeing this email? View the most recent issue or stories from previous issues.

	Today's Healthy Life Daily Video
	How To Sculpt Your Body - Part 3 Of 3 Play Now!

Try BookDaily today. Read for Free.

Women
For You
Friday October 30, 2009

Health and Beauty Tip -- Applying Concealer
Women, teenagers seek arsenic-free water
Annie's Mailbox
Quote of the Day
Advice from Carolyn Hax

Health and Beauty Tip -- Applying Concealer

When applying concealer under your eyes, pat, don't rub. You'll use less and get more out of what you do use.

Comment on this Story | Printer Friendly | | Send Story to a Friend | Top

Women, teenagers seek arsenic-free water

KOLKATA, India (UPI) -- Women and teenagers living on the India-Bangladesh border are becoming arsenic experts in a quest to find cleaner water, a scientist in Kansas says.

The women and teenagers are given testing kits and information about how sediment traits, such as color and texture, can indicate arsenic contamination, said Saugata Datta, who teaches geology at Kansas State University.

"We are targeting the women and children 13 to 15 years old because they are the most available people, more so than the men of the family," Datta said. "These women are not formally educated, but when it comes to this type of suffering, they have a huge voice and they can really articulate the message very clearly to their neighbors and their own families."

Through the research, Datta is trying to understand why and how naturally occurring arsenic seeps into groundwater in the region, the university said in a release Friday. The effects of arsenic build up in the body over time, causing skin lesions, cancer, paralysis and organ failure, he said.

Comment on this Story | Printer Friendly | | Send Story to a Friend | Top

Annie's Mailbox

Kathy Mitchell and Marcy Sugar

Dear Annie: My husband and I have been happily married for 20 years. After the kids were grown, we decided to downsize. We put our home on the market and moved to a different state.

My husband's mother did not want us to move. She started interfering with the real estate office that was showing our house. She was given written warnings to stay away from the property. She then stripped all our perennials and trellises and took the picnic table and hoses -- anything she could get off the property. She left a huge mess, and I had to pay someone to clean it up.

She wouldn't stop, so I finally called law enforcement. Now members of the family have labeled me "psycho" because I filed a complaint, but the local police haven't done anything. Mom continues to arrive at showings and claims she is the caretaker. What can I do to stop this woman without breeding more ill will? -- Fed-Up Psycho

Dear Fed Up: Your mother-in-law's behavior is outrageous. Where is your husband in all this? He should quite firmly inform his mother that her punitive and destructive actions must stop immediately or she risks estrangement from his family. It is obvious that she is so frightened and upset by your departure that she believes her only recourse is sabotage. You both need to reassure her that living elsewhere will not keep you from calling, writing and visiting often. If she is incapable of adjusting, however, suggest she get professional help. It sounds like she could use it.

Dear Annie: I am a 15-year-old freshman. My best friend, "Ella," recently told me she is constantly depressed. She said she's tired of living behind a mask and wants people to understand.

Ella told me she's thought about cutting herself. She is usually a bright and cheery person, so this came as a shock. I can't help thinking maybe I never knew the real girl. She absolutely refuses to talk to her parents because she dislikes them. To me they seem like great parents, but I don't live in her house.

What should I do? I don't want to let Ella down in her time of need -- Trying To Understand

Dear Trying: If Ella won't talk about this with her parents, encourage her to talk to the school counselor, a favorite teacher or other trusted adult. Suggest she get some exercise. It boosts endorphin levels and can make her feel better. You are a good friend to care about Ella's mental health. Both of you can get more information through the teens site at kidshealth.org. You also should discuss this with your own parents so they can help you work on it.

Dear Annie: I need to comment on the letter from "Disheartened in Louisiana," the widow who says all the men she meets want sex, not a relationship. She is either approaching men with the wrong signals or the wrong attitude.

I've searched for a companion for 30 years and have been quite discouraged that the women I meet invariably believe the outrageous falsehood "Disheartened" mentions -- that all men are sexual creeps out for one thing. We are not. We are human beings and do not deserve to be collectively punished this way. I have a strong suspicion "Disheartened" finds what she expects to find. And yet, if men did not show any interest in sex, we'd be labeled gay and rejected.

If she operates by testing men and holding our behavior up to an impossible light, of course we will not wish to have a long-term relationship with her. There is no trust, loyalty or openheartedness in such a woman. -- Much Maligned in Michigan

Dear Michigan: You've made some good points, but you are just as guilty of stereotyping women. After 30 years of looking, you should get some honest opinions from your friends and relatives about your approach and see if you can learn something.

Annie's Mailbox is written by Kathy Mitchell and Marcy Sugar, longtime editors of the Ann Landers column. Please e-mail your questions to anniesmailbox@comcast.net, or write to: Annie's Mailbox, P.O. Box 118190, Chicago, IL 60611. To find out more about Annie's Mailbox, and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

Comment on this Story | Printer Friendly | | Send Story to a Friend | Top

Quote of the Day

Adrienne Gusoff

Shopping is better than sex. If you're not satisfied after shopping you can make an exchange for something you really like.

Comment on this Story | Printer Friendly | | Send Story to a Friend | Top

Advice from Carolyn Hax

Advice columnist Carolyn Hax is famous for her ability to get to the root of people's problems -- not just what they say, but who they are and what they're thinking.

The resulting advice is often ruthless, sometimes controversial, and always hilarious.

See for yourself what great advice Hax has to offer. Subscribe to ArcaMax's Carolyn Hax ezine, and receive her witty, helpful advice free by e-mail!

Subscribe to the Carolyn Hax ezine instantly.

Find out more before subscribing.

-- From the ArcaMax editors