fall in memphis

it's fall. and it's cooling off here. we are still trying to get organized in this house. but we absolutely love it. today in school we learned about birth control pills. they change the way you metabolize carbohydrates, and the way you store energy (you store more energy in adipose tissue and use less of it ... aka... it makes you gain weight). they alter mood, can cause hypnosis (which is helpful in balancing PMS mood swings) and can cause depression. they also affect blood pressure and the way that your blood clots (which can cause heart disease and blood clots which can lead to stroke. so if you smoke too then you multiply your risks for heart disease, myocardial infarction (heart attack) and stroke). But they don't cause cancer! if you already have breast cancer then it can make it worse, but they absolutely do not cause cancer. these are not necessarily common side effects, but they can definitely occur.

we also learned that estrogen is the drug in the body that helps to regulate bone growth. it is the drug that stops the growing of bones. that's why you eventually stop growing taller. since women have a lot more estrogen, their bones stop growing sooner than men in most cases. in men, testosterone must be converted into estrogen in the body in order to affect the bone growth. this is why men usually grow taller than women.

alright, i'm going to go find our den.