Q: You might want to blame yourself for your mother's drug abuse. You might think your behavior or attitude drove her to use drugs. This is not your fault. Remember that you are the child. You are your mother's responsibility, not the other way around. Addiction is a disease. Even your mother, on her own, cannot stop the vicious cycle of drug addiction. She needs professional help to get better. Blaming yourself isn't healthy or helpful. Instead, take the time to do self-care and nurture yourself. What you are going through can be devastating, but taking care of yourself can help you better care for her. More than 30 million Americans are fighting drug and alcohol addictions. This means that there are millions of teens or young adults like you who may have a mother with a drug problem. You are not alone. There are many resources to help you get through this. You can visit the Narcotics Anonymous website to look up meetings for Narateen groups, which are support groups for teens who have family members or friends with addictions. If your mother has a drug addiction, you could be at greater risk for drug abuse in the future. Your mother's drug problem can make life very unhappy and unstable at home. You may be tempted to cope by using alcohol or drugs. It doesn't have to be that way. You can stop the cycle. Find healthier ways of coping, such as: Acknowledge your feelings instead of trying to numb them Call a friend when you feel upset Exercise Get a hobby Volunteer in your local community Turn to your spiritual or religious faith Turn to new role models, such as teachers, coaches, or group leaders Join the D.A.R.E. (Drug and Alcohol Resistance Education) group at your school Dealing with your mother's drug use on your own may cause you to deal with your emotions in some unhealthy ways. Instead of trying to deal with your feelings on your own, share your thoughts and feelings with people you trust. Don't bottle up your feelings. Feeling shame or embarrassment about your mother's addiction is a common response that keeps many adolescents from speaking up. Carefully screen your friends to decide who will be less judgmental and most supportive of you. You may start the conversation by saying something like "So, the other day, I found drugs in my mom's room. I don't know what to do..." Prepare yourself for the consequences if you talk to an adult at your school. Teacher or school counselors will not be able to keep it a secret. They are generally required to report such information to the local authorities in order to protect you.
A: Know it's not your fault. Know that you are not alone. Don't think this has to be your fate, too. Talk to friends or a counselor.

Q: These are the products that are most likely to be genetically modified. Crops that are genetically modified include soy, corn, canola, sugar beets, cotton, Hawaiian papaya, zucchini and yellow summer squash, and alfalfa. Soy is not limited to actual soybeans. See How to Live With a Soy Allergy for more information on avoiding soy products. Make sure that your soy milk, edamame, and tofu have a 100% certified organic label. Corn includes corn flour, meal, oil, starch, gluten, and syrup. Canola oil is also known as Rapeseed oil. This ingredient can be found in a lot of processed foods. If you usually use Canola oil for cooking, try using olive oil instead. Sugar beets are found in any sugar that is not 100% cane sugar. Make sure you read the label. Cottonseed oil is a common ingredient in vegetable oil. shortening, and margarine. Many dairy products contain GMOs. Some farmers inject their cows with a genetically modified hormones rBGH/rBST and/or are fed genetically modified grains. You should look for dairy products that say rBGH or rBST free. Hawaiian papayas are genetically modified. You should buy papayas grown in other regions like the Caribbean. We usually do not directly ingest alfalfa. Alfalfa is grown to feed dairy cows and other animals. Both organic alfalfa and genetically engineered alfalfa are grown. You can avoid genetically engineered alfalfa by eating grass fed meat and dairy products that are 100% certified organic. Not only are the actual crops genetically modified, but an ingredient that is derived from the crop is genetically modified as well. If you are buying processed foods, you should read the food label and avoid any of these ingredients: amino acids (synthetic form, not naturally occurring in protein), aspartame, ascorbic acid (synthetic vitamin c), sodium ascorbate, citric acid, sodium citrate, ethanol, natural and artificial flavorings,high fructose corn syrup, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, lactic acid, maltodextrins, molasses, monosodium glutamate, sucrose, textured vegetable protein, xantham gum, vitamins, and yeast products. About 75% of processed foods at the grocery store contain these ingredients. This includes foods like soda, cookies, bread, and chips. You can avoid these derivatives by cooking your food from scratch and carefully buying your food. There is no way for you to know every food that contains GMOs. If you are unsure, you should consult a GMO food guide. The Center for Food Safety has created an iPhone and Android app that can help you avoid GMOs when you are shopping. You can also download or use their online guide. If you eat out, you should ask the manager or your waitress if they use organic ingredients or if they use GMO ingredients. If they do not use organic foods, you should avoid tofu, edamame, corn tortillas, corn chips, and any other products that contain corn or soy. Most of the items containing sugar will contain GMO derivatives. You should also ask what type of oil is used for cooking. If they say vegetable oil, margarine, cottonseed oil, or corn oil, ask if they can cook your food with olive oil instead.
A: Become familiar with high-risk crops. Be aware of ingredients derived from GMO crops. Use a shopping guide. Be careful when you eat at a restaurant.

Q: This technique works great with rough or reclaimed wood. The finished product will look rustic, and will look like the wood of a barn. Because this technique is designed to create a rustic look, you almost never have to sand. The roughness of the wood actually adds to the final, barn-like, product. The wood does not need to be perfectly clean, but if it's very dirty, wash it with soapy water. Let it dry completely before you begin painting. It is best to pour the paint on the center of the wood. Start with a small amount, and add more if necessary. You can use any type of paint with this technique, although most people find latex paint the easiest to work with. Add water if the paint is too thick. Adding water will also make it easier to drag the paint across the wood. Spread the paint across the wood, into the grain, and let it soak into the grooves. If you want a light coat of paint, you can spread the paint out thinly. For more coverage, don't spread the paint as widely. Repeat this step to fill in blank areas. Let the piece sit overnight, and then check it. The paint may take longer to dry in areas where you applied thick layers of paint. Make sure it is completely dry, and not tacky to the touch, before you move the wood. If you want the wood to have more coverage, or a brighter finish, add more paint and scrape it across the wood. Add as many layers as you like, but remember that the more paint you apply, the less the wood will show through.
A:
Use the paint and drag technique to create a rustic look. Pour a small amount of paint directly onto the wood. Use a wide putty knife, or scraper to drag the paint across the wood. Let the wood dry for at least 12 hours. Repeat as necessary.