Insurance will cover surgery

Awesome! (I don't know, all I've been hearing about lately is stuff insurance WON'T cover, so it's good to hear they actually cover important procedures every now and then.)

Good luck, Kathy. That can't have been an easy decision.

Finally caught up. Long weekends always put me behind on the board (I took Friday off to get out of Salem for the weekend).

Calling back to the candy discussion last week, I just tried Maltesers for the first time (a Canadian I work with brings back candy from there all the time) and OMG, SO GOOD! I've always loved Whoppers, but these are so much better. Nom nom nom!

Do not taunt Happy Fun Hat:

Under most circumstances, a metal spike jabbing you in the head is not likely to elicit a smile. Unless, of course, you’re wearing the "Happiness Hat" created by designer Lauren McCarthy. The New York Daily News says McCarthy’s creation includes a sensor to determine whether or not you're smiling. If you're not, the hat jabs you in the head until you do.

[OMG watch the video - this is seriously the most horrifying thing I have ever seen.]

Kathy, it's your body, and -- most important -- YOUR decision. If a doctor/friend/parent/spouse/anyone pushes it on you, guilts you in to it, then yeah, I take a dim view of that.

But you did the research, you know your body, and made the decision that was right for you. And, like -t said, that can't have been an easy decision.

Good job on taking care of yourself!

Okay, has anyone seen Battle of the Blades? I heard about it on NPR and now I'm obsessed with trying to see it

Heh. I heard that story this morning too.

Insurance will cover surgery, but not a diet-food progam that I can't afford to purchase on my own, so I'm going with that.

That's a big consideration. Good luck, Kathy.

Oh dear God - this is horrifying: 'The train took my baby,' mom screams as stroller is dragged

At least the baby was not seriously injured .

Screaming "the train took my baby,'' a mother watched in horror as a CTA train pulled away from a North Side station with her baby and stroller stuck in the doors.

The southbound train dragged the stroller until it hit a barrier at the end of the Morse station and the 22-month-old girl flew onto the tracks, missing the third rail, police said. The mother jumped onto the tracks, scooped up her child and handed her up to someone on the platform, he said.

Swine Flu Fears Lead to Girl-on-Girl Brawl on D Train

After a rough spring that saw as many as 20 to 40 percent of New Yorkers exposed to H1N1, subway riders have resorted to defending themselves with their fists.

Violence struck on a southbound D train Monday morning after two women got into an argument over one's refusal to cover her mouth while coughing. It ended with her spitting on the other, a punch, and the second woman dragging the first to the floor of the car by her hair.

Kathy, from everything I've read and heard, lap-band may well be the safest way to go, especially because it can be adjusted. I know someone who had it done, and she's been happy so far with the results, a couple years now down the line, FWIW. She had plenty of counseling and dietary support all the way through, and I think that's key to making the experience a big success.

[OMG watch the video - this is seriously the most horrifying thing I have ever seen.]

Dear lord, that was hideous.