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November 10, 2011

Call it Black Thursday. . .

Good news for those who overindulge at the Thanksgiving table this year. . .just put your sweats and track shoes on and head over to WalMart for a marathon sprint beginning, not Friday, by Thursday night. Just make sure you burn more calories than bucks.

Amplify’d from money.cnn.com

Wal-Mart unveils Black Friday circular: See the deals

WalMart released its much-anticipated Black Friday circular and announced plans to open at 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- They may as well call it Black Thursday. Joining a slew of other national retailers, Wal-Mart said it too will open its doors nationwide on Thanksgiving night.

Starting at 10 p.m., Wal-Mart is offering doorbuster deals on toys, clothes and home accessories like $5 Barbies marked down from $19, jeans for less than $10, children's pajamas sets for $4.47 and a Black & Decker Coffeemaker for $9.44.

Then at midnight, the retailer said it will begin discounting electronics as well. Deals include a Samsung 51-inch plasma TV for $498 down from $649, a Kodak 14 megapixel camera for $49 and a Magellan GPS for $69, marked down from $89.

Read more at money.cnn.com
 

November 9, 2011

Christmas Tree "Tax". . .

This borders on the issue of separation of church and state. . .but no worries in my house, since we already stick to hypo-allergenic, non-flammable artificial trees that we can reuse year after year and don't have to water.

Amplify’d from abcnews.go.com
nm fake vs real tree 101224 main Blowback for Obama on Christmas Tree Tax

Starting today, the government is imposing a 15-cent fee on most fresh-cut Christmas trees, but before critics compare President Obama to the Grinch, officials want to explain this is a growers’ arrangement to boost tree sales. And they insist it is not a “tax.”

As the holidays approach, imported fresh trees will be assessed as they cross the border, and American growers will ante up in February for each fresh-cut Christmas tree sold. Small growers and all-organic tree farms will be exempt.

The money all goes to a marketing board being set up for the tree growers’ industry, just like the “Got Milk” dairy marketing campaign and the beef industry’s “What’s for Dinner” commercials, both examples of what officials call highly successful advertising efforts which boosted sales and consumption.

Read more at abcnews.go.com
 

October 31, 2011

Macy's to open at midnight Thanksgiving Day

Personally, I will be snuggled up asleep at midnight and saving my money for Cyber Monday shopping in my bunny slippers . . .get real folks there will be better sales later. You can get a coffee maker today at Sam's Club for less than 40% off Macy's midnight Black Friday price.

Amplify’d from www.ajc.com

Macy's to open at midnight Thanksgiving Day

NEW YORK — Macy's Inc. says it will open all of its namesake stores at midnight following Thanksgiving for the first time, becoming the latest retailer to extend hours on the traditional kickoff to the holiday season.

Target Corp. announced Friday that it was also opening its doors at midnight for the first time ever and will be offering Black Friday specials starting at that time. It also plans to stay open 23 hours. Last year, the discounter had opened its stores at 4 a.m.

"People want to shop through the night," said Martine Reardon, Macy's executive vice president of marketing. She noted the expanded hours were in response to customers' requests.

Reardon also offered a sneak peak at some of the deals shoppers can find starting at midnight following their turkey dinner: 40 percent off select coffee makers, tea kettles and espresso makers, and a $65 Justin Bieber limited-edition fragrance gift set, which includes a 3.4 ounce eau de parfum spray and the singer's new holiday CD. Macy's is also discounting Rampage boots to $19.99, down from $49 to $59.

Read more at www.ajc.com
 

October 28, 2011

Don't Let Food Allergies Make Your Halloween Scary

As a mother of a child with milk and wheat allergies, I'm glad to see a story about how to get through Halloween. We face the same dilemma on other holidays such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentines and Easter, especially with the schools where parents bring in home baked treats and goodie bags. It isn't easy!

Amplify’d from www.foxnews.com

Don't Let Food Allergies Make Your Halloween Scary

hallpump.jpg

Here are some tips and strategies that may help to reduce the risks during Halloween if you have children and adolescents with food allergies or asthma:

• Discard foods, candies, sweets that have been prepared in neighbor’s or friends homes.

• If food or candy is not wrapped with labels, take a pass. And when in doubt, throw it out!

• Before the Halloween holiday, consider pre-giving “safe” snacks to your friends and neighbors ahead of time for your child. This will help you and your child feel more comfortable and at ease.

• Instead of giving out only food and candies, consider having alternatives: themes, games, pumpkin carving and costumes.

• Did you know that smaller sized candy for Halloween may contain different ingredients than their regular sized counter parts?

• Teach your child to politely say no to home baked cakes and cookies, especially when the ingredients cannot be 100 percent confirmed.

• Have an early pre-Halloween dinner for your child with a food allergy. This may help to reduce temptation to try unknown or un-labeled foods.

• Keep safe snacks on hand and with you.

• Bring emergency medications such as asthma inhalers if prescribed, during trick or treating events. Remember, asthma can be a risk for more severe reactions to food allergens. Have an asthma action plan in place for optimal control now, and throughout the year.

Read more at www.foxnews.com
 

October 26, 2011

eBook lending: Libraries go digital

Can't wait for our local library to start up their ebooks. This is a great resource and it avoids all the hassles with lost books. I actually had to replace a book for a public school library which my son supposedly checked out but never brought home. He loves my Kindle so ebooks are it for us.

Amplify’d from www.cnn.com

eBook lending: Libraries go digital

As more paperless novels begin to appear in public library catalogs, some worry they will replace books.

(CNN) -- Board a bus or a train today and chances are you'll see several people with eReaders in hand. While most probably bought their electronic books on a popular website, you may find a few who borrowed the paperless books from the library.

While the majority of eBooks sold today are bought by individual readers, a growing number of the paperless books are winding up in public library catalogs.

Read more at www.cnn.com

Jack the Cat Found at JFK Airport

Finally some feel good news!

Amplify’d from abcnews.go.com

Jack the Cat Found at JFK Airport

ht cat missing jfk thg 110830 wblog Jack the Cat Found at JFK Airport

Jack the cat, who has been missing for over seven weeks after getting lost in the American Airlines baggage check area at New York’s JFK airport, has been found.

“American Airlines is happy to announce that Jack the Cat has been found safe and well at JFK airport. American’s team of airport employees have been focused on the search effort since Jack escaped on August 25, 2011. Jack was found in the customs room and was immediately taken by team members to a local veterinarian. The vet has advised that Jack is doing well at present,”

a statement on the airline’s Facebook page read.

Jack’s owner, Karen Pascoe, was immediately informed Tuesday that her pet was found, and according to the statement American will fly Jack to California to be reunited with his owner.

Read more at abcnews.go.com
 

October 19, 2011

Facebook Friend Numbers Linked to Brain Size

In other words, having lots of friends on FB gives you a swelled head. . .hmmm wonder what having thousands of followers on Twitter does?

Amplify’d from abcnews.go.com

Facebook Friend Numbers Linked to Brain Size

The more Facebook friends you have, the bigger bits of your brain are, British neuroscientists say.

Using brain imaging, researchers from University College London found that brain areas linked to social skills were larger in college students with sprawling social networks than in Facebook users with fewer friends. The team also found a strong correlation between the size of students’ online and offline social circles.

“Online social networks are massively influential, yet we understand very little about the impact they have on our brains,” study co-author Geraint Rees said in a statement. “This has led to a lot of unsupported speculation that the Internet is somehow bad for us.”

Indeed, some experts fear the Internet is slowly draining its users’ intellect and imagination. But its effects on cognitive and social development remain largely unknown.

Read more at abcnews.go.com
 

October 18, 2011

Senator: Halt Ban on Over-Counter Asthma Inhaler

HFA prescription inhalers are three or more times expensive than the prior generic CFC inhalers and many asthma sufferers cannot afford them. Until they get a generic HFA inhaler on the market the cost may be prohibitive.

Amplify’d from www.foxnews.com

DeMint Tries to Halt Ban on Over-the-Counter Asthma Inhaler

Sen. Jim DeMint is trying to stop the federal government from banning a popular over-the-counter asthma inhaler, introducing an amendment that would yank funding for the ban set to go into effect in January.

The Food and Drug Administration rule would take off the shelves the epinephrine asthma inhaler known as Primatene Mist. The product is currently the only FDA-approved over-the-counter inhaler and is being banned because it uses something called chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) as a propellant -- the substance is considered harmful to the ozone layer. 

In lieu of Primatene Mist, the FDA has suggested users of the product get a prescription for sanctioned inhalers, such as those that use an "environmentally friendly" propellant known as HFA. 

A group called the National Campaign to Save CFC Asthma Inhalers has also complained that some people will end up finding out they need a prescription in the middle of an attack, adding that many asthma sufferers prefer Primatene Mist to other products

Read more at www.foxnews.com
 

October 17, 2011

Facebook 'social energy' app tracks kw usage

Get Real FB!

Amplify’d from www.cnn.com

Facebook, OPOWER partner on 'social energy' app

An upcoming Facebook app from OPOWER lets you compete to use less energy than your friends.

(CNN) -- Add energy consumption to the laundry list of things you can share with online friends on Facebook.

The hope is to get friends to compete against each other to use less energy, and to hold each other accountable for energy-use-reduction goals, said Ogi Kavazovic, a spokesman for OPOWER.

"A person in London could compete in energy usage with a person in California," he said.

A feature called "Friend Rank" lets Facebook friends see who in their social network uses the least energy per day. Another lets the app's users compare themselves to people who have similar-sized homes. The app also will let people compare their energy use with the Facebook community at large.

Read more at www.cnn.com
 

Kids as young as 4 can have ADHD

They can show the symptoms even younger than that, but it's very hard to distinguish between a hyper toddler and a child with ADHD.

Amplify’d from thechart.blogs.cnn.com
Kids as young as 4 can have ADHD

The American Academy of Pediatrics has broadened its guidelines for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, expanding the age range for diagnosis and treatment to ages 4 through 18.

While the previous guidelines, from 2000 and 2001, targeted children ages 6 to 12, the new report covers children from preschool to the end of high school. This is based on recent evidence that supports including preschool children and adolescents in ADHD diagnosis and treatment management.

Although Posner views the guidelines for preschoolers positively, Dr. Claudia Gold, a pediatrician and child mental health, expert is concerned that they will lead to more overdiagnosis and overmedication in the preschool group. In fact, a 2010 study found that there are already nearly 1 million children with a misdiagnosis of ADHD. In her opinion, below age 6 is too soon for ADHD medications.

Read more at thechart.blogs.cnn.com
 

October 14, 2011

Free Apps Turn an Android Into Apple iPhone 4S

Dude get a Droid!

Amplify’d from www.foxnews.com

6 Free Apps to Turn an Android Phone Into an Apple iPhone 4S

The iPhone 4S and its new iOS 5 operating system offer a host of new features, including Siri voice control, a Cards app for sending paper greetings in the mail, Reminders that help keep you up-to-date, and Find my Friends for tracking people down. Fortunately, Android users don’t have to feel left out, as there are a host of third-party apps that bring this functionality to Google’s mobile OS.

But Postagram, a free app that’s available in the Android Market, been providing this very service for quite some time now—and at a cheaper rate, too. For 99 cents per Postagram sent, you choose a photo to mail and the service prints the image out on thick, glossy photo paper at a 300 dpi resolution, which pops out of the card as a 3 x 3 inch print. You can even add a custom 140-character message along with the photo if you wish.

Cards Alternative: Postagram
Siri Alternative: Vlingo

Tell Vlingo to “Text Chris; Where are you?” or “Find French restaurants,” then sit back and watch as it does exactly what you want. Get the app for free on the Android Market.

iMessage Alternative: Whatsapp Messenger

Ditch your carrier’s exorbitant SMS plans and send messages, pictures, audio notes, and video messages over 3G or Wi-Fi with the free Whatsapp Messenger. Like BlackBerry Messenger (and iMessage), the app lets you know when your note has been sent and exactly when the person on the other end has seen it.

Reminders Alternative: Astrid Tasks

Astrid Tasks is the most popular to-do list for Android, and its best add-on feature is Astrid Locale. The app contains powerful organization tools to begin with—reminders, list organization, deadlines, sorting, and audio or vibration alerts—but Astrid Locale throws in the last essential—location-based tasks—into the mix. The only downside is having to shell out $1.49 for the upgrade.

Read more at www.foxnews.com
 

October 13, 2011

Money Can't Buy Love. . .

It shouldn't take a University to figure this out. Less can always be more. God always give you what you Need, not what you think you Want!

Amplify’d from abcnews.go.com

Can't Buy Love: Materialism Kills Marriages

PHOTO:Ā Studies show that being materialistic increases the likelihood of marital difficulties and dissatisfaction.



Focusing too heavily on the "for richer" part of the nuptial vows could spell disaster for a marriage, according to research published today by Brigham Young University.


"Our study found that materialism was associated with spouses having lower levels of responsiveness and less emotional maturity. Materialism was also linked to less effective communication, higher levels of negative conflict, lower relationship satisfaction, and less marriage stability," said Jason Carroll, a BYU professor of family life in Provo, Utah, and lead author of the study.

The Things That Money Just Can't Buy

"People who are materialistic tend to be narcissistic and concerned with impressing people,"
"They have a tendency to be anxious, depressed, have relatively poor relationship skills and have low self-esteem.
Read more at abcnews.go.com
 

October 10, 2011

Columbus Day: 5 Things You Didn’t Know

Fun Facts

Amplify’d from abcnews.go.com

Columbus Day: 5 Things You Didn’t Know

1.   When the  Columbus Day Holiday Began

But the first known Columbus Day celebration in the U.S. took place in New York City in 1792, long before it became a national holiday.
Columbus’ Journal Was Intended for an Audience
In that sense, it’s entirely possible that these journals were embellished, with some facts manipulated in Columbus’ favor.
Columbus’ Bones Are Still Shrouded in Mystery

It’s still unclear where Columbus’ bones were finally laid to rest.

Pope Rejected Bid for Columbus’ Sainthood

In 1882 the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic men’s fraternity, supported Italian Americans who rallied for Columbus to be recognized as a saint because they said he had brought Christianity to the Indians. Pope Leo XIII, however, rejected that request because Columbus had an illegitimate son with Beatriz Enríquez de Harana, his mistress.

Columbus Brought Citrus to the New World
In 1493, the year of Columbus’s second voyage, he brought citrus fruit seeds to the West Indies and the trees ended up in the West Indies, Mexico, and Florida.
Read more at abcnews.go.com
 

September 26, 2011

Amazon Tablet Launch!

If it's up to Amazon's usual standards and $250 or less, I'm there.

Amplify’d from www.foxnews.com

Amazon's Wednesday Tablet Launch a Threat to Apple's iPad, Analysts Say

Amazon.com, which revolutionized reading with its Kindle e-reader, is expected to unveil a tablet computer this week that analysts say will seriously challenge Apple's market dominating iPad.

It will be a 7-inch device with a full color, touch screen, run on Google's Android software and cost $250, the blog said, well below the price of the least expensive iPad.

Amazon website AFP
See more at www.foxnews.com

September 21, 2011

New #Facebook Changes #dislike

Good thing I already had my Google+ set up and ready to go. . .thanks for giving me the push Facebook. I decide who's most important in my life, I want a chronological timeline/news feed and ' "if I want to hide posts from someone, I will.” '

Amplify’d from abcnews.go.com

Facebook Changes Look — and Everyone Hates New Ticker

Take a look at your Facebook page today, and let us know if you laughed or smashed your screen. Facebook has changed its look, adding a “top story” listing of the newest postings by your online friends, and the reaction is … well, not warm.

The” top stories” on each person’s page, automatically generated by Facebook, are marked with a with a blue triangle. But some users are already taking exception to being told what they should consider the highest priority posts from their friends.  One annoyed comment on the Facebook blog: “Quite frankly I don’t want Facebook deciding who is most important in my life. I want my news feed to just go chronologically and if I want to hide posts from someone, I will. Stop changing.”

“News Feed will act more like your own personal newspaper,” said Tonkelowitz. “You won’t have to worry about missing important stuff. All your news will be in a single stream with the most interesting stories featured at the top.”

The “top story” on my own page was a one-liner from an old college friend: “Packing my FB bags and headed for Google+. This sucks.”

Actually, it will now be easier for him to do that. Google+, the social-networking service Google launched over the summer, is now open to anyone who wants to join. In its start-up phase, one could only join if invited by someone who already belonged. The strategy worked: in its first month Google+ claimed 20 million members.

Read more at abcnews.go.com
 

September 17, 2011

Is Overweight the New Normal Weight?

This is the second time in a week that Foxnews has posted a photo showing an individual on a scale weighing less than 100 pounds in association with an article on obesity.



Even in kilos the photo shows a person weighing only 132 pounds and I'm pretty sure the scale isn't measured in stones, which would equate to 840 pounds.

Amplify’d from www.foxnews.com

Is Overweight the New Normal Weight?

A new report issued last week warned us that, if trends in the U.S. waistline continue as they are, 50 percent of our population would be obese by 2030. There are many reasons why overweight and obesity are such problems right now. Some research suggests that we’ve grown more comfortable being overweight and that being overweight has become “normal,” while being of an ideal weight may appear to be “underweight.”

While national surveys show that 67 percent of Americans are overweight or obese, a new survey of 1,000 Americans by Russell Research commissioned by Pollock Communications, showed only 52 percent of Americans believe they are overweight. This lack of reality around body weight and diet is considered to be one of the many barriers in the nation’s growing obesity epidemic. We’ve become more “numb” to overweight and obesity because it’s everywhere; a person who is of normal weight actually appears to be the one who doesn’t fit in anymore.

Read more at www.foxnews.com
 

September 14, 2011

Health care billing reform or insurance nightmare?

Somehow I don't think this is going to help!

Amplify’d from www.wallstreetjournal.com

Walked Into a Lamppost? Hurt While Crocheting? Help Is on the Way

New Medical-Billing System Provides Precision; Nine Codes for Macaw Mishaps

Today, hospitals and doctors use a system of about 18,000 codes to describe medical services in bills they send to insurers. Apparently, that doesn't allow for quite enough nuance.

A new federally mandated version will expand the number to around 140,000—adding codes that describe precisely what bone was broken, or which artery is receiving a stent.

It will also have a code for recording that a patient's injury occurred in a chicken coop. (See code.)

Some codes could seem downright insulting: R46.1 is "bizarre personal appearance (see code)," while R46.0 is "very low level of personal hygiene (see code)."

It's not clear how many klutzes want to notify their insurers that a doctor visit was a W22.02XA, "walked into lamppost, initial encounter" (or, for that matter, a W22.02XD, "walked into lamppost, subsequent encounter").

Why are there codes for injuries received while sewing, ironing, playing a brass instrument, crocheting, doing handcrafts, or knitting—but not while shopping, wonders Rhonda Buckholtz, who does ICD-10 training for the American Academy of Professional Coders, a credentialing organization.

Read more at www.wallstreetjournal.com
 

September 12, 2011

SpongeBob makes Preschoolers Slower Thinkers

You have to wonder. . .it's on all the time and it can't be good when your going on 16yo still watches the show with her 9yo brother.

Amplify’d from abcnews.go.com

Watching SpongeBob Squarepants Makes Preschoolers Slower Thinkers, Study Finds

PHOTO:Ā Mindy, SpongeBob and Patrick are shown in a scene from


He may be one of the longest-running, best-loved cartoons in Nickelodeon history, but SpongeBob SquarePants is getting no love from child psychologists.


According to research published Monday in the journal Pediatrics, watching fast-paced cartoons like SpongeBob, even for just a few minutes, hinders abstract thinking, short-term memory and impulse control in preschoolers.


Study authors note that it's hard to say what it was about the adventures of this friendly kitchen sponge that seemed to have such an immediate negative effect on kids, but they suspected it was the fantastical events and rapid pacing of the show. By contrast, the PBS show was slower and exhibited real life events about a preschool-age boy.

Read more at abcnews.go.com
 

September 8, 2011

More News About the Origin of Autism

I have to take issue with this study, since I have a boy and a girl with autism, neither has an enlarged brain and neither has an improperly functioning immune system. It's genetic. We're not looking for a cure, we need treatments and services, which we pay for OOP because we can't get them any other way.

Amplify’d from www.foxnews.com

More News About the Origin of Autism

Researchers at the UC Davis’s MIND Institute have been studying the brain growth, environmental exposure and genetic make-up of 350 children since 2006 as part of the Autism Phenome Project.



So far, they have identified two different strains of autism. One group of children--all boys--had enlarged brains, and most regressed into autism within 18 months, while another group all appeared to have improperly functioning immune systems that contributed to their autism.
Read more at www.foxnews.com
 

Weight Watchers Members Lose Twice as Much

I've been a WW advocate for nearly 16 years, so I love these types of stories. It's not a diet, it's a way of life.

Amplify’d from abcnews.go.com

Weight Watchers Members Lose Twice as Much Weight as Other Dieters

PHOTO:Ā Weight Watchers Food product - pasta.


Weight Watchers' approach to dieting seems to tighten the belt more than other approaches to weight loss, according to a new study published in the Lancet.


The new research, which was funded by Weight Watchers International but conducted by the U.K. Medical Research Council, compared 772 overweight and obese adults in Australia, Germany and the U.K. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either 12 months of standard health care or a 12-month free membership to Weight Watchers.


"Our studies didn't compare different commercial weight-loss programs, but did test the general concept of whether the various schemes available might work better than the current standard care," Dr. Susan Jebb, lead author of the study, said during a presentation at the International Congress on Obesity. "Regardless of which commercial program people opt for, it's having a weekly weigh-in and support that seems to work. People are more likely to stick at it."

Read more at abcnews.go.com
 

September 1, 2011

Apple loses another iPhone prototype in another bar

Was it perhaps an iBar?

Amplify’d from www.cnn.com

Again? Apple reportedly loses another iPhone prototype in another bar

An Apple employee reportedly left an iPhone prototype at Cava22, a Mexican restaurant and bar in San Francisco.

(CNN) -- Here's a theory: Maybe there's some sort of connection between drinking and losing things?

Exhibit A: Last year, an Apple employee reportedly left a pre-release version of the iPhone 4 in a German beer hall in Silicon Valley. The gadget blog Gizmodo proceeded to buy the phone for $5,000 and splashed the details all over the Internet.

And exhibit B: Another Apple employee this summer appears to have left a prototype iPhone in a Mexican bar and restaurant in San Francisco's Mission District, according to a report on Wednesday from the tech site CNET.

Read more at www.cnn.com
 

Introducing the Apple iPlank

Next time try eBay!

Amplify’d from blogs.ajc.com

Introducing the Apple iPlank

The Smoking Gun provides the details: Ashley McDowell, from Spartanburg, S.C., was at the fast food restaurant when two men asked her if she wanted to buy an iPad. They showed her a brand new iPad and told her they’d give her one just like it for $300.

She talked them down to $180 and they gave her a FedEx box from the trunk of their Impala.

Lo and behold, when she opened the box, she found out she was an iDiot.

Instead of a much-beloved tablet computer, she was the proud owner of a piece of wood painted black and adorned with Apple and Best Buy stickers.

iHope she got a receipt.
See more at blogs.ajc.com
 

August 30, 2011

Boy ‘too noisy to play outside’

If an average 4yo is too noisy I can only imaging what they would say about my #ASD 9.5yo Tazmanian Devil. Absolutely ridiculous!

Amplify’d from www.iol.co.za

Boy ‘too noisy to play outside’

iol pic bp playtime

Like most boys his age, Alfie Lansdell can spend hours playing happily in his garden.

But playtime could soon be over for the boisterous four-year-old after a neighbour complained to council officials that he was too noisy.

As a result, his parents have been warned that if he doesn’t keep quiet, they will be issued with an abatement order and could face a £5 000 fine.

Alfie, who starts primary school next month, has always played in the 8ft by 8ft front garden at the family’s end-of-terrace home without a problem until now.

But the letter from the council’s environmental health team claims he is a “noise nuisance”.

Read more at www.iol.co.za
 

August 22, 2011

New swing set for child with autism

We have kept our cedar play set long past the time our autistic son stopped climbing the tower and using the slide and sandbox because swinging has always been a calming mechanism for him to.

Amplify’d from couriernews.suntimes.com


Contractor pushes new swing set for child with autism

Story Image

SOUTH ELGIN — A local contractor has coordinated the donation of a new swing set for a South Elgin resident with autism spectrum disorder. Family and friends celebrated the gift Sunday when it was installed at the home of Summer Sosa and her children, Jordee and Drewn.

Burke, who has known the family for more than a decade, said that as an infant, Jordee cried 24 hours per day. Social, communicative and emotional challenges are still present, but swinging outside is a major comfort and daily ritual for Jordee, Sosa said.

Recently, however, the original wooden set Jordee enjoyed for several years grew wobbly and unstable. Paul Sayers of Elgin was hired to work on the home’s bathroom and he said he knew the set’s days were numbered.

So Sayers began a fundraising crusade. Using Facebook and word on the street, he asked for community support. Home Depot in Elgin donated materials, and several business associates gave cash or in-kind donations, too. Piece by piece, Sayers had $400 worth of materials, so he donated his labor and enlisted some friends to help him build it.

The swing set had been a major calming mechanism for her, her mother said.

“She goes out in the morning, swings until lunch, comes in and eats, and then goes back out til dinner,” Sosa said.

Read more at couriernews.suntimes.com