Blog Posts by Nadine Kalinauskas

Kelly McGrevey says the ordeal left her 'shocked and embarassed.' (WKYC screen grab)

We all know that tanning isn't good for us.

But for those trying to make their living in the tanning business — or any business, for that matter — stories like this one are perfect examples of "how not to treat customers." Ever.

A tanning salon in Norton, Ohio, apparently turned away a customer because she was "too fat" to tan there. As if that wasn't bad enough, this was the day after the woman was sold a month-long tanning package amounting to nearly $70.

Kelly McGrevey bought the tanning package at Aloha Tanning last Monday after she was given a quick tour of the salon. She even tanned there in a standup bed.

When she returned the next day, the man at the front desk turned her away.

Also see: Lesbian Catholic school teacher fired after being outed in her mother's obituary

"He said, 'Sorry, but I'm not going to let you tan today because we've just implemented a new policy where anyone over 230 pounds can't go in one of our beds,'" McGrevey tells WKYC-TV. "I was just so shocked and

Read More »from Ohio woman told she’s ‘too fat’ to tan — then denied refund

If your wallet is way too full — and you find yourself wishing your happy hour cocktail had a gemstone in it — a new drink set to be added to the menu at the White Barn Inn in Kennebunk, Maine, this June might be for you.

Named the "Ruby Rose," the drink will be made with Hangar One Vodka, St. Germain’s elderflower liqueur, fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice, a spoonful of rosewater and, oh, a price-tag-boosting 4-carat ruby.

What's the highest price you would ever pay for a cocktail? (Portland Press Herald)"The way we’re going to present it is, it’s going to be in the martini glass," maitre d'hotel Matthew Swinford tells the Portland Press Herald. "And then we're going to pour the martini tableside so they see the gem, and they see the tray — a very high-quality sterling silver tray."

The drink will set you back $40,000. (But hey, at least you get to keep the ruby.)

Also see: Would you pay $13,000 for a cocktail?

The luxury inn is offering the cocktail as a way to honour its 40th anniversary. What started off as a joke — a guest commented that since the ruby is the

Read More »from Sip slowly: ‘Ruby Rose’ cocktail will set you back $40,000

Parents should be the ones lecturing their children for getting detentions, not the reason for getting those detentions in the first place.

But that's just what happened at one Texas school: a kindergarten student is being punished for the (tardy) sins of her parents.

Brooke Loeffler, 6, was given a detention after her parents dropped her off late to Olympia Elementary School in San Antonio, Texas, for the third time this school year.

Six-year-old Brooke Loeffler was given detention because her parents dropped her off late. (KENS5 screen grab)Brooke's mother, Erika, says the punishment is unfair and has even volunteered to "do the time" in her daughter's place.

Brad and Erika Loeffer both work full-time — and have a newborn baby with medical issues. Their repeated tardiness is not something their 6-year-old daughter has any control over, nor is it something the school has much compassion for, they claim.

Also see: Kindergartner suspended for his haircut

"It was my responsibility to get her ready and get her to school," Brad tells KENS5. "I failed that responsibility a couple of times.

Read More »from Parents’ tardiness lands six-year-old child in detention

"Keeping up with the Joneses" might actually boost your personal happiness if "keeping up" means "having more sex than you think your friends are having," claims a new study.

According to research published in the journal Social Indicators Research, there are two aspects to sex-life satisfaction — and one of those is relative.

There's an increase in happiness that comes with sex, but there's also a relative aspect. (Thinkstock)"There is an overall increase in sense of well-being that comes with engaging in sex more frequently, but there’s also this relative aspect to it," says author Tim Wadsworth, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Colorado Boulder.

"Having more sex makes us happy, but thinking that we are having more sex than other people makes us even happier," he adds.

Also see: Dolls with Down syndrome toy company owner and mother faces critics

The researchers looked at more than 15,000 results from the General Social Survey in which respondents were asked about both happiness levels and sexual frequency to determine how having more sex impacted people's

Read More »from The secret to happiness? Believing you have more sex than your friends, study finds

After calling 911 to ask for a divorce, a Pennsylvania woman was cited for disorderly conduct. (Thinkstock)Unhappy in your marriage? Don't try this at home.

A 42-year-old Pennsylvania woman is facing charges because of an inappropriate 911 call.

Her emergency? She wanted a divorce.

The frustrated wife told the dispatcher that she wanted officers to come to her home and grant her a divorce — and make her husband leave the house.

And while affairs of the [broken] heart might seem urgent, 911 dispatchers informed the woman that they could not physically remove her husband from their marital home as no crime had been committed, nor do they handle divorce requests.

Also see: Ten-year-old boy calls 911 to avoid bedtime

The woman, who police have not publicly identified, was cited for disorderly conduct and misusing the Eris County 911 system, the Associated Press reports.

Moral of the story: Emergency divorce police do not exist. If you want a divorce, call a lawyer.

"Perhaps we need a 911 refresher course. 911 is for life-threatening emergencies. Like your house is burning down. Like you see

Read More »from Woman calls 911 because she wants a divorce

They may be skinny and beautiful -- but models are people too. (Getty Images)Modelling may appear to be a glamorous profession, but British models' union Equity is claiming working conditions, instead, have included "treatment of the kind which would be wholly unacceptable in any other profession."

While it may seem obvious to most of us, apparently not every fashion client understands that even pretty skinny people need bathroom breaks.

British Vogue is working with Equity to remedy this.

The fashion authority just signed a new "10-point model protection code" designed to improve working conditions. No more 18-hour days or mandatory nude shots.

Under the new guidelines, models' working days will be limited to 10 hours. They will be given mandatory breaks — at least one every five hours — adequate meals, changing rooms and transportation. Nudity will be agreed upon in advance. Models younger than 16 will not be permitted to represent adult models.

Also see: Britain's Chocolate Boutique Hotel is a chocoholic's dream

The code also states that no model should be

Read More »from British Vogue signs 10-point 'model protection code'

Two per cent of melanoma survivors say they still use tanning beds. (Thinkstock)For some sun lovers, even a bout of skin cancer can't scare them into wearing sunscreen.

According to a study presented on April 8 at the American Association for Cancer Research's annual meeting in Washington D.C., 27 per cent of melanoma survivors regularly skip the sunscreen.

Perhaps even more shocking, 2 per cent of survivors still use tanning beds.

Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer, taking nearly 9,500 lives each year in the U.S.

In Canada, an estimated 970 people died of melanoma in 2012.

Researchers found that, in general, melanoma survivors are more likely to stay in the shade (15.6 per cent of survivors seek refuge from the direct sun, while only 10.5 per cent of the general population do), wear sunscreen and don baseball caps than those without a history of skin cancer.

Still, the discovery that some cancer survivors fail to take proper precautions in the sun, even when faced with the risk of recurrence, is disturbing news.

"We know that melanoma is a malignancy

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For some women, Brandon Cassata's romantic gesture would not go over well. But for the bride-to-be overwhelmed with the details of planning her big day, it might just be the sweetest thing ever.

Fortunately for Cassata, his wife, Mary-Cathrin McCarthy, says her wedding day was "perfect," even though it came as a complete surprise.

The couple from Fort Worth, Texas, were planning a November wedding.

But with the help of his in-laws, Cassata instead threw McCarthy her dream wedding last Saturday -- seven months early.

After a series of stressful wedding-planning events, Cassata wanted to relieve his bride of any further stress.

"I watched the show Bridezillas, and I was like, 'Uh, no, not for me,'" he tells TODAY. "We wanted to take the stress off of her and actually help her out with that, so in that we did."

Cassata knew he was making a risky move, but was confident his fiancée would be up the sudden change of plans.

Also see: Bride didn't know she was getting married until she

Read More »from Groom Brandon Cassata shocks fiancée with surprise wedding