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Mindless eating is getting the best of me. I am smart, intelligent, bright. I love exercise. I have a strong work ethic. I've spent most of my life in one driven situation or another. Corporate America, education, art, the kitchen.

Maybe it's what I don't have that's driven me toward raw cashews, popcorn, ice cream, peanut butter . . . all, when I'm not doing what I think I should be doing. Maybe I don't know how to relax, maybe that's the problem. Maybe I feel I should always be busy. Downtime has no place in my beautifully, well-ordered life without kids, without friends, well, that's not true. I do have friends, but not friends that I feel I would call on in a pinch. I don't really like pinches and have spent all these years preparing myself not to have any. Is there any pinch that can be controlled, other than paying the rent, bills? I mean, certainly not health, if I'm going to walk out the door and get hit by a car or fall prey to a vicious, ravenous cell eating cancer there's nothing I can do about that. Right? And, who should I bother to sit by my bed? Yes, I would sit by someone's bed. I love the elderly, always have. It doesn't really matter that I've got one foot in the grave myself at this point. I still need to understand this stuff.

It all depends on my attitude, right? Determined intent, praying boldly as Pastor Osteen would preach or Xerox-Positive as in deny everything in favor of a postive charge on a cloned piece of Sunshine. Well, I do all that. I'm so positive that when I sit down in front of Law and Order, I positively eat all that Edy's Drumstick ice cream after I temper it in the microwave and find that it has dripped on my t-shirt as I savor tiny spoonfuls. I do everything in tiny amounts. I eat Raw cashews one at a time, chew the one until there is nothing left, after I bite into it in more places than anyone could ever imagine, then swallow the sweetness before I engage in the next.

Peanut butter isn't quite so lucky. Anything could happen. I might find a cookie, not a chocolate chip one because, now, chocolate gives me heartburn, especially at night. Doesn't have to be really late night. I just have to be sitting on the blue couch and thinking of twilight. So, it's probably a peanut butter cookie, but they never have enough peanut butter in them, so I add peanut butter, the creamy kind. Of course, this is Organic Peanut butter. I learned the difference between natural and organic a long time ago. Sometimes I think what a waste of money since I hate myself for this mindless eating.

Sometimes I envision what a beautiful body I'd have if I caught this monster and strangled him. It's probably a her, a him wouldn't be this thoughtful, wouldn't give such attention to this type of detail. Either way, whether it's a he or a she, it feels like death. Any suggestions to help cure me of this syndrome?

A Leonardo Da Vinci self-portrait is in critical condition, and there might not be anything experts can do to fix it.

Restoration experts recently conducted tests on the red chalk drawing depicting the bearded genius in his sixties, which was made in the early 1500s. The self-portrait developed red blotches, funghi and spots over its delicately rendered face; most believe the damage occurred while the work was accidentally exposed to sunlight while being framed for an exhibition in 1929. The diagnosis: "Foxing," an art restoration term for marks that shouldn't be there. The foxing may have developed from the oxidation of Da Vinci's pigment or from fungus developing in the paper.


This undated handout photo of a self-portrait of da Vinci (circa 1516) opened at the Museum of Science in Boston in 1997. The exhibit, called "Leonardo da Vinci: Scientist, Inventor, Artist", was the only U.S. stop on its international tour (AP Photo/Leonardo da Vinci).



Yet the most devastating aspect of the prognosis is that the small work, which measures a mere 13.2 by 8.5 inches, is in such bad condition that any attempt to save it could very possible destroy it. Thus scientists and restorators are left with an epic dilemma of whether or not to intervene that seems like it came out of an episode of ER.

Restorators decided to exercise caution before taking action. "Because this is a masterpiece, prudence has prevailed. It's scary to deal with a work of art of this magnitude and uniqueness," Maria Cristina Misiti, head of Italy's Central Institute for Restoration and Conservation of Archival and Book Patrimony, explained in the Chicago Tribune. Experts are extremely hesitant to attempt to restore the piece in case it could be ruined forever, so they will keep the image out of sight in order to preserve what remains.

See what's being said about the art world. More to come!