Whatever happened to all the great pictures that we used to take? I miss that. I miss taking pictures and making memories that I could stick in a photo album until the end of forever. It's crazy... I still take my camera most everywhere I go, but I don't have the nerve to pull it out and tell everyone to "say cheese!"

Note to self:

Take more pictures you silly girl!!!

It doesn't matter who you are, this affects you.

"If You Forget Me"

I want you to know
one thing.

You know how this is:
if I look
at the crystal moon, at the red branch
of the slow autumn at my window,
if I touch
near the fire
the impalpable ash
or the wrinkled body of the log,
everything carries me to you,
as if everything that exists,
aromas, light, metals,
were little boats
that sail
toward those isles of yours that wait for me.

Well, now,
if little by little you stop loving me
I shall stop loving you little by little.

If suddenly
you forget me
do not look for me,
for I shall already have forgotten you.

If you think it long and mad,
the wind of banners
that passes through my life,
and you decide
to leave me at the shore
of the heart where I have roots,
remember
that on that day,
at that hour,
I shall lift my arms
and my roots will set off
to seek another land.

But
if each day,
each hour,
you feel that you are destined for me
with implacable sweetness,
if each day a flower
climbs up to your lips to seek me,
ah my love, ah my own,
in me all that fire is repeated,
in me nothing is extinguished or forgotten,
my love feeds on your love, beloved,
and as long as you live it will be in your arms
without leaving mine.

by Pablo Neruda

The worst things you can do to your body...

Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S. Along with other forms of tobacco, it kills more than 400,000 Americans each year. It contributes to many cases of cancer, mainly of the lungs and other organs, as well as cardiovascular disease. Although smoking poses major health risks, that doesn't seem to stop enough people. In 2004, more than 20f the U.S. population smoked.



More than 60f the U.S. population, 20 years old and older, are obese. Deaths due to poor nutrition and lack of exercise are increasing. Every year about 400,000 people die from one or both. It is difficult to separate the two categories because they usually both result in obesity. That doesn't mean you can eat what you want and simply exercise more, or vice versa. For proper health, you must have a balance of each.



In 2004, only about 30f Americans took part in some form of regular leisure-time physical activity. The rest were sedentary. Getting plenty of exercise will improve heart conditions, give you more energy and help you sleep well at night. It correlates directly with obesity problems, and each year the combination of lack of exercise and poor nutrition kill about 400,000 people a year, with the numbers rapidly increasing.



Almost 100,000 deaths were caused by misuse of alcohol in 2004. Abusing the booze can give you liver cirrhosis or cancer. If that isn't enough to kill you, it also increases your chances of fatal accidents--for instance, in a car or drowning. In 2004, about 20f adults had five or more drinks in one day at least once in the past year. Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis killed almost 30,000 Americans, while there were about 20,000 alcohol-induced deaths that don't include accidents or homicides.



About 80,000 Americans die each year from some type of infectious illness (not including HIV), and some of them could possibly be prevented. Many infection-control measures, like immunizations, prevent about 100 million other infections. Infections, like influenza and pneumonia, used to be the leading cause of death in the United States and are still a large threat, especially to people with prior health problems.



We can't help but be exposed to toxins, whether it's at the job, in the environment or in the food we eat and drink. But they account for about 60,000 deaths among Americans each year. They can include exposure to dyes, mineral dust, and air pollutants that contribute to problems like allergies and asthma. But even more seemingly innocuous products, like some makes of paraffin candle, contain carcinogens.



If you aren't using protection during sex, you're increasing your risk of death. Each year about 20,000 people die in the U.S. from preventable sexual diseases, and millions more are infected with a sexually transmitted disease. The two leading STDs are HIV, with an estimated number of 14,000 deaths in 2002, and hepatitis, with about 5,800 deaths that year.





Millions of Americans have serious drug problems, and almost 15,000 die annually from illicit drug use. There's a reason why drugs are regulated: They are harmful and potentially fatal, not to mention addictive. Drugs increase your chances of being in an automobile accident and contracting HIV and other STDs.

According to the American Cancer Society, almost 8,000 people will die from melanoma, the deadly skin cancer associated with tanning. Tanning wasn't on the CDC's list of top actual causes of death, but we included it because of rising cases of melanoma. There aren't studies that prove tanning is the result of the increase in deaths, but we do know there is a correlation.

brought to you by www.forbes.com