What would it take to change your life for the better? It may be less than you think—we've got mini-makeovers to help you upgrade everything from your workout to your weekend. #1: New fruits to try.
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| Photo: Thinkstock |
Apple, banana, pear, yawn. These exotic alternatives are packed with vitamins and fabulous new flavor.
Rambutan
Peel off the spiky red covering of this iron-rich Southeast Asian treat to reveal a translucent white orb with a taste that marries grape and watermelon.
Rambutan
Peel off the spiky red covering of this iron-rich Southeast Asian treat to reveal a translucent white orb with a taste that marries grape and watermelon.
Keep Reading: 3 more exotic fruits to try
| Photo: Thinkstock |
When I first heard these personal stories about private parts, the most I could offer my friends was a sympathetic ear (and I know they appreciated that). But after researching a burgeoning area of physical therapy, I now know where to refer these women--and others like them.
Read more about physical therapy for issues like incontinence, pelvic pain and post-partum complications, and find out the two exercises every woman should think about doing to help with problems like these.
 | That is happiness; to be dissolved into something complete and great. — Willa Cather |  |
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| Photo: Thinkstock |
The Secret:
A 2007 study of more than 23,000 Greek adults may have revealed a surprising key to their legendary vigor—the siesta. Compared with those who power through the day, adults who nap for a minimum of 30 minutes at least three times a week have a 37 percent lower risk of dying from heart disease.
The Prescription:
If your work schedule doesn't allow you to pencil in a snooze, nap on weekends—every little bit helps.
The Prescription:
If your work schedule doesn't allow you to pencil in a snooze, nap on weekends—every little bit helps.
Every Monday, we're rounding up things—small and big—that made us stop and think. Today, we were captivated by a paean to postcards, a consciousness-raising moment on Broadway, and more...
"It just might be that the greatest threat to monogamy is the uncritical acceptance of it."
Tracy Clark-Flory, Salon.com sex and relationships writer, on what she learned from Salon's series about monogamy.
"...unlike letters, [post]cards require a verbal concision that can rise to high level of eloquence: brief and heart-breaking glimpses into someone’s existence, in addition to countless amusing and well-told anecdotes."
Poet Charles Simic on the lost art of postcard writing.
"I read Proust first, before Freud...And I think I simply realized that there was nothing, absolutely nothing, more fascinating than human nature. And human relations."
From a 2008 Guardian article about Hanna Segal, psychoanalyst who popularized play therapy for children, who died last week at age 92.
"People generally laud you for raising a well-rounded girl who knows how to wield a baseball bat as well as a princess wand...Watching [Billy Elliott], I started to think about all the useful things I've taught my daughter over the years ...I began to wonder what it might have been like had I had a boy instead. Would I have let him enroll in ballet if he wanted? I like to think so. I hope so.”
Mike Adamick, Jezebel's “Daddy Issues” columnist, on raising a well-rounded boy.
"Most foodies sneer at the word 'fusion'...but in fact, the fusion impulse is the human impulse--to cross over, to integrate two different, sometimes warring worlds, to create a new meaning.”
Todd Kliman, food and wine editor of The Washingtonian, writing about the "authenticity of food" in Lucky Peach.
"It just might be that the greatest threat to monogamy is the uncritical acceptance of it."
Tracy Clark-Flory, Salon.com sex and relationships writer, on what she learned from Salon's series about monogamy.
"...unlike letters, [post]cards require a verbal concision that can rise to high level of eloquence: brief and heart-breaking glimpses into someone’s existence, in addition to countless amusing and well-told anecdotes."
Poet Charles Simic on the lost art of postcard writing.
"I read Proust first, before Freud...And I think I simply realized that there was nothing, absolutely nothing, more fascinating than human nature. And human relations."
From a 2008 Guardian article about Hanna Segal, psychoanalyst who popularized play therapy for children, who died last week at age 92.
"People generally laud you for raising a well-rounded girl who knows how to wield a baseball bat as well as a princess wand...Watching [Billy Elliott], I started to think about all the useful things I've taught my daughter over the years ...I began to wonder what it might have been like had I had a boy instead. Would I have let him enroll in ballet if he wanted? I like to think so. I hope so.”
Mike Adamick, Jezebel's “Daddy Issues” columnist, on raising a well-rounded boy.
"Most foodies sneer at the word 'fusion'...but in fact, the fusion impulse is the human impulse--to cross over, to integrate two different, sometimes warring worlds, to create a new meaning.”
Todd Kliman, food and wine editor of The Washingtonian, writing about the "authenticity of food" in Lucky Peach.
| All that really belongs to us is time; even he who has nothing else has that. — Baltasar Gracian | |
Before we head full speed into the weekend, we're hitting the breaks for a moment to say thank you...
1. Rick Mereki, filmmaker, you make us want to MOVE!
(See the other two short films in this series titled "Move, Eat, Learn" here)
2. History, meet future. At Historypin, web-wanderers can upload and browse beautiful photographs from around the world, and it's all organized by timeline.
3. A construction worker sings Sinatra with a sign that says, "Forget all the noise..." Yes, yes, we think we will.
4. This week's loud round of unifying applause for Representative Gabrielle Giffords.
The very crown of nature's changing year
When all her surging life is at its full.
To me alone it is a time of pause,
A void and silent space between two worlds,
When inspiration lags, and feeling sleeps,
Gathering strength for efforts yet to come.
Here's to happy and restful weekends everyone.
When inspiration lags, and feeling sleeps,
Gathering strength for efforts yet to come.
Here's to happy and restful weekends everyone.
| Photos: Best Life |
If you have a question, send it to us!
Q: How should I handle a midmorning snack attack?
Tracy Gensler, MS, RD, Best Life nutritionist, told us that the best offense is a good defense. We also got her in-the-moment advice for the next time you're going mano-a-mano with the vending machine. After the jump, get Gensler's six-step snack plan.
| Photo: Courtesy of DANNIJO |
Bewildered by the big, chunky bracelets, earrings, and rings seen everywhere from Forever 21 to J.Crew? We asked the sister duo of Jodie and Danielle Snyder behind cult-favorite jewelry line, DANNIJO, how to pull off bold pieces (like their Bea necklace at left).
Their company started as a labor of love after Jodie's visit to Lwala, Kenya for an internship in 2006. She learned about the devastating rate of HIV infection among the villagers after one-third of them were tested by doctors at the nearest hospital--a four hour walk away. Determined to make a difference and build Lwala's first health facility, she co-founded a non-profit and named it after the community (L.W.A.L.A.) giving it the acronym "Live With a LIfe-long Ambition." To raise funds for the cause, Jodie and her sister designed a capsule jewelry collection--a passion they shared as children. The small line was so successful that their charity project quickly turned into big business, resulting in the creation of their attention-grabbing accessories label.
| Where
are the anecdotes about learning to love parts of ourselves not because
of how they look ... but because of how they feel to us — Rebecca Walker | |
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about Life Lift
The Oprah blog is a place where you can find engaging news coverage, fresh inspiration, and the straight talk you've come to count on. A place that
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least in your little corner of it. It's a place that will raise your energy, lower your blood pressure and
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