Lauren252's Profile

@denisegk - I'm a graduate student in audiology, and I just wanted to clarify about how noise actually damages your hearing. Regardless of how sound is conducted (conventional air conduction or bone conduction), the end organ that receives the sound is the cochlea. Within the cochlea are tiny little "outer hair cells," which are what get damaged with loud noises and can eventually cause hearing loss, tinnitus, and loss of pitch perception. It doesn't really matter whether you wear in-the-ear earphones, or around/over-the-ear headphones.

The biggest issues are really 1) how loud the volume is and 2) how long they are listening for. For example, at a sound level of 91 dBA, people can only really safely listen to music for about 2 hours (and that's if the rest of the day is relatively quiet)!

So, output limiting headphones - or just setting a volume limit on the iPod, etc. - along with reasonable use times are really the best way to go about minimizing hearing loss from noise.

Does that make any sense? I'll spare any more details... I'm just nerding out and excited that people are interested in saving their/their kids' hearing :)

Hm, I really like the bed in the photo above, but not sure that I could actually pull it off in my home (though our styles are rather similar)...

I agree with cacleland that I might feel odd spending so much time in bed :)

I'm a little late responding here, but thank you JessRobinson and b77 for your comments! I'm very much considering some new white bedding :)

Also, b77 - so sorry to hear of your loss. I'm sure that your pup's 19 years were wonderful and he will be missed!

I absolutely love the bedroom in the photo above. I'm always drawn to big, fluffy, white bedding, but I've never bought due to concerns about it staying bright and clean (especially with a crazy Jack Russell who sleeps on it - and she isn't leaving!).

Do any of you think this is a legit concern, or know from experience how white bedding fares?

I mean.... this is absurd and creepy and hilarious. I can't believe it's real.

I think that the renovation is a vast improvement - the ceiling looks much cleaner and fresher, and the entire kitchen is much brighter!

I love the backsplash, but I agree that the color seems a bit out of place. Perhaps simply adding some bright accessories (bowls, vases, stand mixer?) may tie it together and make the color "pop" instead of merely standing out.

Unfortunately, I think I am the opposite! I like everything to be so organized stored away that I dread doing it, and everything ends up in piles on my kitchen island. These piles are the END of me - they drive me totally crazy, but I just can't seem to get rid of the never-ending "to do" piles.

I think I'm going to have to heed some of your advice. I especially like the "pile drawer." Great point that out of sight is equally out of mind as a giant pile on the counter. Now, I just need to figure out what drawer to clear out....

What a great idea! This is something that I may actually try out. I love how personal it becomes with choice of music sheets, paper, etc.

Oh, I love love love Sprout Home (Chicago). It's walkable from where I live, and I end up spending way too much time in there. I've bought a number of plants, and most recently a tree, at Sprout, and the people that work there are wonderful - knowledgeable and obvious plant-lovers. Only problem is that I kind of want to buy/move into the entire store.

I have to shout out to Cabot's Hot Habenero Cheddar cheese.... absolutely delicious on it's own, with crackers, in scrambled eggs....