Good Afternoon Dear Reader:

Happy Labor Day! It is my wish that neither you nor I actually labor today. Hats off to the employers who have the same value system. I am always interested in the annual list of the best 100 companies in America for whom to work. The values of those employers are focused not just on competitive salaries, safe workplaces and good employment practices, but nurturing their employees and supporting them to the extent that many provide not only onsite fitness facilities, but day care as well.

Those same companies also provide leave for the father as well as the mother when there is a birth or an adoption. Maybe one day, all employers will realize that perks like these build huge loyalty from employees and lead to a satisfied, stable and productive workforce.

Take care of your SELF…

I am a regular subscriber to SELF Magazine because it is filled with really great information on health, fitness and emotional well-being with a fashion forward look. There are always success stories of women who have overcome health challenges. In the September issue, there is an excellent feature about young healthy, active women whose lives were changed by heart disease, “My heart broke”, page 146, by Marisa Cohen.

These symptoms of heart disease should send you running to your doctor:

Heart Attack:

• Tightness, pain in center of chest
• Pain in shoulders, arms, back, neck, teeth, jaw or abdomen
• Shortness of breath
• Anxiety, dizziness, sweating, nausea, vomiting or both
• Unexplained or unusual fatigue

Stroke:

• Numbness/weakness in face, arm or leg (esp. one side)
  

  Visit The American Heart Association, www.heart.org

• Trouble speaking/understanding
• Trouble seeing in one or both eyes
• Dizziness, nausea, loss of coordination
• Severe headache
• Chest pain/breathlessness

Aneurysm:

• Sudden and severe headache/pain above/behind the eye
• Weakness/paralysis on one side of the face
• Dilated pupils/changes in vision, including light sensitivity
• Nausea/vomiting
• Stiff neck
• Loss of consciousness or disorientation

Many of these symptoms are present with all three conditions. Know them and don’t take a chance.

This month’s Consumer Reports, October 2010, also has an excellent article, “Surviving a heart attack”, page 38, which includes information about aspirin for your heart. According to Dr. Steven Nissen, of the Cleveland Clinic, your best response, in addition to getting to an emergency room is to swallow an uncoated 325-milligram aspirin tablet during a heart attack or suspected one. Not a bad addition to our make-up bag.

I am a long-time subscriber to Consumer Reports and never make a major purchase without consulting either their annual yearbook you get with your subscription or their online resource. Their repair record for almost all auto makes and models goes back five or more years so when purchasing a used car, you know where to look for trouble spots.

The October issues features a guide to saving energy and one tip I think most parents can use is to turn off devices that draw power when they are in a standby mode. Video games are a major offender. Turning them completely off can save as much as $125 a year. A one-year subscription which gets you online access as well is only $29.

Join us for Christmas Markets!

If you can slip away, come join me for our wonderful Girlfriends’ European Christmas Market Tour, Dec. 1-9 to Austria, Germany and Switzerland. We have 29 fun ladies from ages 30 to 78 and would love to have you come, too! If you have frequent flyer miles you may be able to use those as well and knock about $900 off the price of the trip. For details, click on TRIPS at the left!

Have a wonderful Labor Day!

Diane

Good Morning Dear Reader:

If you have been reading my posts for a while you know by now that many times my (mis)adventures have been a result of my “creative” method of tackling a problem. Even as a young child, I always looked for more interesting ways to accomplish tasks. I remember one of my early inventions was a series of lawn rakes tied together that I had planned to use to triple the amount of pine straw I could collect in every swoop of the rake. Unfortunately, once tied together, the rakes would have required a 250 pound man to drag anywhere. Thus, the invention of a huge labor-saving device was thwarted.

Later on, my mother entrusted me with the highly glamorous job of cleaning the bathroom. Her cleaning product of choice was powered Ajax. After a few futile attempts to get any real action out of that powdered product, I had a brainstorm. Looking around the bathroom shelves, I commandeered bubble bath, a dab of toothpaste and a good shake of mother’s dusting powder.

I had some powerful action going, until she poked her head in the bathroom to check on my progress. Her first clue there was a problem was the mountain of bubbles flowing over the edge of the toilet. Then there was the trail of Cashmere Bouquet dusting powder across the room. I didn’t have to clean the bathroom for a while after that. Other consequences of the event have been repressed and I am still working on that with my therapist.

Unfortunately, my mother’s short-sightedness has ultimately cost us a fortune. Little did she know at the time that I had invented Scrubbing Bubbles.

I was reminded of that experience yesterday as I attempted to mop the dusty tile on my back porch. I started with a large bucket of water and a dab of dishwashing liquid with pathetic results. Ah, not enough soap, easy solution—more detergent.

This is where my plan went astray. I have always belonged to the school of, “if a little is good, a lot more is better”. This an excellent philosophy when considering things like money, chocolate, clothes and shoes—not so good with water and dish detergent.

As I dumped a large bucket filled with water and detergent onto the slick ceramic tile I quickly discovered that old slick flip flops can become powerful gliders. Actually they can become out of control powerful guiders. After a few attempts to escape the slippery slick, I resigned myself to wait it out.

Eventually, my husband wandered out of his man cave upstairs for a half-time snack. He took one look, shook his head and for the 537^th time, and rescued me. (Yes, he does keep count.)

Who’s in your family tree?

If you are interested in tracking your family history, the Internet has a wealth of information at your fingertips. For a fee, Ancestry.com, with four billion records and Genealogybank.com, a great newspaper collection, are valuable resources. The free site, Pilot.familysearch.org covers the U.S. and other countries. Read more in Allure Magazine, September 2010, from Emily Hsieh, page 104.

Have a wonderful holiday weekend and come back Monday!

Diane

Good Morning Dear Reader:

This morning I found myself pouring over the” Flavor” section of the Houston Chronicle where every recipe just sounded amazing. I should not have been hungry because at the time I was stuffing my mouth with some leftover cranberry pancakes I had stored in the freezer. Did I tell you I had topped them with fresh peaches and blueberries? I was enjoying this feast while reading the recipes and cookbook reviews and I could just taste the Crunchy Sesame Chicken Wings and the Carrot Cake with Pineapple. It is the curse of being a foodie.

No matter what social scientists say, I contend that all people fall into two groups, foodies and non-foodies. It is easy to tell the two apart. Foodies love food. When they are not eating they are talking about food. When they are not talking about food, they are reading about food or watching the Food Channel, planning their menu, a trip to the grocery store or a restaurant.

Non-foodies can take or leave food. Sometimes they go so far as to forget to eat. This is a concept so foreign to me that I simply cannot even imagine how that could be possible. The only time I can think of that I might have forgotten to eat was when I was giving birth. That would make only twice in my life that I was not either eating or meal planning. As it happened, I had to have two C-sections and I do remember waking up from the anesthetic and first asking, “boy or girl?” (these were the olden days before sonograms), and then “could I please have a chocolate pie?”.

You can always tell when a non-foodie is under stress. Their weight begins to plummet and they refuse all offers of food, no matter how enticing it may be to a foodie. When a foodie is under stress, the reverse is true. Our weight begins to inch up and we become one of H.E.B.’s most popular customers. Blue Bell Creamery in particular loves us. Somewhere in our history, food and comfort were married and divorce is not even a possibility.

Unlike other opposites, we foodies embrace our non-foodie friends as we marvel at their iron will power and pathetic appetites. Besides, they are the perfect buddy with whom to share a luscious dessert because we already know, one bite and they’re done.

Movie Alert…

For those of us who love George Clooney, his latest movie The American, is getting great reviews and 3 and 1/2 stars out of 4. In it he plays an assassin who is depressed and lonely. I am never depressed or lonely watching George. Just a warning from the reviewer, this movie does contain some violence, sexual content and nudity. So I’ll be seeing you there?

Have a lovely Wednesday and come back tomorrow!

Diane

Did I tell you I was a bird watcher? These are my favorite.

Good Afternoon Dear Reader:

Today I tackled a project that I have been avoiding for quite some time–weeding my flower beds. There was a point, 3 or so months ago when they looked just great. We had weeded, mulched and planted some great hot summer plants. Over the past few months everything has deteriorated, except for the weeds which have grown spectacularly. In fact, they were so lush, it was difficult in some spots to see the original shrubs.

Today, I just could not look at it one more minute. I assembled my tools:  rake, 2 sets of clippers, garden gloves, sunscreen, not so glamorous sun hat, large garbage can and Barry White.

I cranked up Barry and I boogied a little and snatched out weeds a little. I even did one small fire ant dance. Ultimately, I hauled out 3 garbage bags of weeds, lantana that never lived up to it’s promise and a small mountain of pine straw. I must say the flower beds look much better. I must also say that I cannot raise my right arm above my waist. Barry and I may not be dancing for awhile and the next door neighbors who observed my contortions think that is really a good thing.

What I do have is a bumper crop of cuttings from hydrangeas gone wild and coleus that threatened to take over the neighborhood. While they are rooting, I’m going to be looking for something I can trade them for with the neighbors–like margaritas or a nice chocolate pie. Offers?

Coldwater Creek is the place!

I had a chance to pop into Coldwater Creek this week and I was most impressed with the great sale they have going on. Besides reductions of up to 60% on a ton of cute clothes, they have some great bargains on decorator items for your home.

$49.99 bracelets!!!!

In the new fall merchandise, I fell in love with the gorgeous bracelets with slices of geodes at $49.99, just stunning. Also their scarves for fall have delicate pleating and fringe that really set them apart from the thousands of others in the stores. Check them out!

Reduced to $18.99

Who knew fiber was so important?

We already know that fiber is very important in our daily diets, but now new research shows that it is even more important when we are recovering from any bacterial infections. That includes fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains–like artichokes, lima beans, blackberries, oranges, flaxseed, pears and more.

The soluble fiber changes immune cells from being pro-inflammatory warrioers to anti-inflammatory peace-keeper cells says Dr. Gregory Freund of the University of Illinois. It also boosts the production of the protein interleukin-4, which stimulates the body’s infection-fighting T-cells.

Chocolate to love!

Yum-Yum!

You know I love chocolate, but most chocolate (that’s any good) has a lot of sugar in it as well, which is not the best for us. Until this week, I had never found any sugar-free chocolate worth eating–rejoice!!!! Dove has done it! Their new line of sugar-free chocolates is divine and I promise you cannot tell the difference. I have only had the chocolate peanut butter creams, but I am certain the entire line is just as good. These come about 12-15 to a bag on the candy aisle. I found mine at HEB.

Have yourself a delicious weekend and come back Monday!!!!

Diane

Good Afternoon Dear Reader:

After being out of town for a week, I returned to find a mountain of mail including all the great magazines I dearly love. Although reading them is never a chore, there have been so many good articles that I have found myself progressing at a snail’s pace–don’t you just hate that trail of slime? For me it is more like a trail of subscription cards.

The prices to subscribe are just fantastic with great incentives for adding gift subscriptions. I am sure I probably mentioned that Better Homes and Gardens has an offer for 3 subscriptions for $15, and it is one of the most well-rounded magazines out there. There are bargains, check the Internet for your favorites.

Drowning in pictures (this is not about The Titanic)

I love making pictures so I have lots of them. The ones choking up my computer’s hard drive don’t take up much space at the house, but those prints from years of family photography are just waiting and waiting for me to do something with them.

I have even gone so far as to purchase frames. They too are waiting. I was not sure exactly what I was waiting for until I saw this terrific article, ” Walls That Talk“, in Martha Stewart Living, the September issue, page 98.

The four-page spread is the step-by-step process that MSL’s Editorial Director Gael Towey used to  sort, size and shift family photos to create a beautiful two-story wall collection. Where I found hope for my own eclectic hodge-podge of photos was in the photos that Towey used for her wall display. They were a mixture of professional studio shots, Brownie camera photos, and even children’s art.

They began with about 100 photos of their life as a family, editing down to what they felt were the best of their collection. They then photocopied the pictures. The photocopies were then pasted on larger sheets of white paper to represent the size frame and mat that would be appropriate. Using removable tape, they began attaching them to the wall and moving them around before they committed to a final plan.

Ultimately, they had their photos framed and in their case (with their budget ) hired a professional to do the actual hanging. My husband has a hammar, a level and I can give orders all day long. There is some question as to how long he would be taking them…

There is a better way! And better photos!

Good ideas:

1. There is no need to follow a timeline. By mixing it up, it becomes more interesting.

2.  It’s okay to mix black and white old photos with new color ones.

3.  Even though many frames were different, they were all in a dark wood tone.

4.  Most photos were matted in the same shade of white/ivory.

5. Photos with the same theme can be used to create a collage–sports, hugging, pets, etc.

For more great ideas about hanging photos and art, go to marthastewart.com/photo-displays

You heard it here!

Check out the feature on page 90 in Martha Stewart Living–”Tied and True”, using handmade tassels to dress up everyday objects. The instructions are simple if you want to make them yourself or you can simply purchase them at places like JoAnn’s Fabrics or Hobby Lobby. The article shows them on baskets, hand towels, throws and pillows,window shades and bookmarks–great ideas.

You can save 74% on a subscription to MSL and get a year’s worth of her beautiful magazine, Everyday Food for $24!

Have a wonderful, creative day!

Diane

P.S. We have 27 adorable, fun ladies going on our Girlfriends’ European Christmas Market Trip, come with us!!! Click on Trips at left for details!

Good Afternoon Dear Reader:

I have some exciting news to report. Just as I was on the verge of giving up on finding a truly sweet, well-done romantic comedy, I found Leap Year. As far as I am concerned, we’ve been experiencing a rather dry spell in that genre lately. Mama Mia and It’s Complicated were two movies which were very well done (both with the amazing Meryl Streep). Since then, all my hopes have been dashed by many mediocre attempted romantic comedies.I had such hopes for Date Night, but it fell just a little short.

Leap Year received a lukewarm review in the newspaper and was gone from the theater before I had a chance to decide for myself. I am a huge Amy Adams fan after Enchanted (pure pleasure), Julie and Julia, June Bug and Sunshine Cleaning, not to mention Charlie Wilson’s War and probably more!

If you love the predictable, but always happy ending, the scenery of the beautiful country of Ireland, quirky characters and great chemistry, run right out and rent Leap Year!

Jeggings on sale!

It is rare to find one of the hottest new looks of the season on sale already, but Dillard’s has jumped the gun with a big mark down on jeggings capris by that great company, HUE. I found them in both faded and dark blue marked from $30 to $9. What a great deal!

Cranberry Pancakes–a recipe at last!

I am sure you remember how much I loved the cranberry pancakes in Nantucket (of course you do!). I have been looking for a recipe ever since I discovered you can buy them frozen in the grocery store. My dilemna was how to prepare them so they come out tender and not mushy or explode. Finally, I found a recipe online that allowed me to re-create that amazing and healthy taste sensation!

You can use your favorite pancake mix or this delicious one I found at Food.com with rave reviews:

To prepare fresh or frozen cranberries, take about 1 cup and bring about 2 inches of water to a boil in a saucepan. Add cranberries and boil for 1 and 1/2 minutes. Drain and allow to cool.

These were so yummy!

For batter:

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 pinch salt

1 tsp. vanilla

3 eggs

4 T. melted butter

2 and 1/4 cups of milk ( I think I used a bit more. I like mine light and thin)

Mix well. I use Pam in my skillet and when it is hot, pour in batter in size and shapes you prefer. I really love to make mine in elephants and puppy dogs when time allows, but on Saturday, I just did boring circles. After pouring in your batter, drop cranberries individually onto your pancake. When the bottom side begins to brown, turn, brown the other side and serve with warm maple syrup. Fantastic! These freeze well, if there are any left!

I must mention that one cannot engage in creative cooking without truly getting into one’s work. My accomplices insisted on an after photo.

Why yes, I do buy Shout by the gallon!

Have a splendid day and attempt to stay cool!

Diane

Good Afternoon  Dear Reader:

I am afraid I am drowning in a sea of freshly-printed fashion magazines and, and well, how can I say it? There’s good news and then there’s bad news. The good news is that many of the looks from last season are still in style and our favorites— like khaki pants, jeans, cardigans, cropped pants and scarves are everywhere. You already know that you must have either spots or scales—leopard, snakeskin or such, somewhere on your body.

In footwear, boots are very hot and the bootie heel (imagine that a short boot and a stiletto mated) is just huge. The look that is new is the bootie with a huge wedge heel. I know that it will be  flattering to someone, but not me. There is such variety in the shoe styles for fall that I think everyone can find something to love. The loafer is back looking a bit more sophisticated and streamlined, and in lots of colors. Toes are round or pointed. Heels are stilettos or kitten.

Now for the bad news. the hot jeans for fall are skinny. This is not good news, girls. The photos in the magazines of the jeans they describe as being relaxed and curvy, show a model about 5′11 who weighs 100 pounds. I don’t know about you, but I have tried on skinny jeans. I’ve seen sausages with more room in the casing than I had in those pants.

The other look that I will be avoiding is socks with heels. Page after page in the new Lucky magazine features models in great looking outfits with high heels and socks. Just for your benefit, in case you have not seen the magazine, I made some photos. You have no idea what a sacrifice it was to make those photos. Have you ever tried to photograph your own foot? It is not easy. I tried leaning over, propping my foot up on the bar , the table and a chair. I may be seeing a chiropractor later today. I do hope you appreciate the sacrifices I make so you can stay on the cutting edge of fashion.

Lucky Beauty Editor Jean Godfrey-June is simply over the top about the new Burt’s Bees’ Milk & Honey Body Lotion. At $8 and available everywhere, it stands up nicely to other beauty products reviewed in the range of $60+. She insists one application leaves your skin soft and supple even 24 hours later.

It’s Real Simple to me

The September issue of Real Simple has a fun article, 6 Uses for a sock.  Some of those include filling it with rice and essential oil and microwaving for a mini-heating pad, using it over a broom handle to dust difficult to reach places, filled with beans and secured to stop drafts under a door and my personal favorite, using it as a decorative carrier for a wine bottle. Somehow, I think my sock missed the mark on this one.

If you are contemplating decorating or redecorating your home, you can find inspiration at www.Houzz.com. This site is a compilation of more than 40,000 images submitted by decorators, architects and users. Real Simple, page 60.

Have a simply splendid day!

Diane

Good Morning Dear Reader:

Finally, it’s Friday! The rain that was forecast never materialized and the steam heat is still with us. I have to remind myself that this humidity is really fabulous for my skin, but I really can’t see it for all the SWEAT!

Trip drastically reduced!

Drastically Reduced (not me, I wish!)

Pardon my raving about the China trip yesterday. Can you tell I am excited? Last night I received an alert that the 12-day Imperial Jewels of China trip with Viking has dropped from over $3200 to $2499. That is 3 days in Beijing, 3 days in Shanghai, and a 6 day river cruise. The hotels are the Ritz-Carltons. Wow!

Weekend Movie Alert!

You know I have been anxious to see Eat Pray Love after reading the book by Elizabeth Gilbert last year. The movie is out today and the review in theHouston Chronicle is a bit lukewarm. The author, Mick LaSalle,  found the love affair with James Franco obligatory ( please obligate me), and the section of the book where Elizabeth goes to India to deepen her studies of meditation and yoga to be pretty boring.

I can’t imagine how you would film someone really meditating and make it exciting. I don’t think meditation is exciting, if it was we would all be doing it and Elizabeth would not have had to go to India to do it.

LaSalle found the film’s spiritual insight superficial. It is superficial. It’s a movie. He says her journey toward self-acceptance, “arguably borders on solipsism.” Frankly, I was thinking the same thing about Mick, except I wasn’t quite sure what solipsism was. I don’t remember covering it in my 365 New Words a Year calendar. After much research, what he really wanted to say was that she was guilty of self-absorption. Yes, she was. Her life was turned upside down in a terrible divorce, her spouse took most of her money and her home, and her self-esteems was shot.

He does herald the arrival of Javier Bardem, hot fiance of Penelope Cruz, in Bali. He credits Julia Roberts with never being so relaxed and at home with herself. “She is a nice travel partner.”  For those of us who enjoyed the book or who are Julia Roberts fans, who love a great travelogue, or who want to escape with James Franco and Javiar, it sounds like 2 hours well spent.

This is what love looks like!

I saw Dinner for Schmucks and even though I love, love Steve Carrell, the premise is sad–making fun at the expense of people who are very different ( a blind artist/fencer, a woman who speaks to dead pets, and Steve who creates dioramas with dead mice). Paul Rudd is simply wonderful. Wait for the DVD.

For my money, the movie to see is The Kids are Alright with Julianne Moore and Annette Benning, sure to be Oscar-nominated, especially Benning. It is about a gay couple, Moore and Benning who have one child each with a sperm donor (unknown) and when the children reach 18, decide they want to meet their father (Mark Ruffalo). He enters their life and reeks havoc. He is a motorcycle-riding health-food chef and they are all changed by him. It brings to mind the following quote:

“Remember as far as anyone knows we are a nice, normal family.”– Unknown

Have a splendid weekend and come back on Monday!!

Diane–check out those TRIPS!!! (left on the page)

Good Afternoon Dear Reader:

I know that you have wondered why I have not shared any of my recent gardening news since I was so preoccupied earlier in the summer with the growth of my garden. I’ve been nervous about planning summer vegetables since a horrible episode back in 2000 when there was a convention of grasshoppers, mealy bugs and enormous green tomato worms convened in my yard.

Naturally, in addition to the important business they had to discuss, they took frequent snack and meal breaks. I hosted those, or should I say my poor little tomato plants did.

There they were, loaded with plump green tomatoes one day and the next, something resembling green Swiss cheese. I can’t begin to tell you how long my depression lasted from the sheer trauma of it all.

My sister Janet, who could coax a walking stick into bloom, assured me that my previous tomato disaster was a one-time thing and with her counseling I would be supplying my entire neighborhood with big, juicy tomatoes. Did I tell you she also insisted I plant bell peppers and zinnias? There truly is a fool born every minute.

Yes, I planted my crop, fertilized, watered, documented, hired a sitter when I was out of town and even resorted to camouflaging the vegetables like little net Christmas trees.

Professor Tomato was shocked at the sad state of my plants

The plants’ progress was slow. It was as if I had purchased the bonsai version of real plants. When they finally began to produce little veggies, I could have sworn I heard neighboring squirrels and birds discussing them. Holes began to appear in my tiny little produce. I rescued a few but the rest mostly resembled compost.

My 5 packages of mixed zinnias which I purchased at the exorbitant cost of $1 each from Wal-Mart have produced 4 possibly 5 plants which appear to have rickets. I had no idea plants could get rickets.

I’m sure if I ever get up the courage to plant again, if there aren’t insects or bird and squirrels, there will surely be a tornado or really bad neighborhood children to assault my garden. Therefore I am tossing in the trowel. I will gladly support the efforts of neighboring farmer’s markets and my local grocers, but I will probably never get over a bad case of tomato and zinnia lust. For your sake, I just hope it’s not contagious.

Fall style watch

The summer sales are in full swing as the department and specialty stores begin to roll out their fall inventory. No matter what fashion magazine you pick up, animal prints are just the hottest thing going. From the subtle to the outrageous, they are here to stay, at least one more season. Both TJ Maxx and Marshall’s are carrying some great animal print bags. These ranged from the small at $59 to the large bag at $99. A steal for these brand names bags.

InStyle’s here for our makeover

Great bags, great prices!

The fall 2010 issue of InStyle Makeover is on the shelves and if filled with some great looks for fall, including more beauty bargains, which we love. Page 30 has some of the best.

Look for these in a drugstore near you:

Andrea Eye-Q’s Makeup Correctors–$4, a pack of pre-moistened swabs for travel to remove eye makeup.

Roux Tween Time—$6. Touch up for between color jobs so those little roots don’t show. I still worry about the visible roots that some Hollywood types are rockin’. I am pretty sure they can afford a trip to the salon. Strange.

Aussie Moist 3 Minute Miracle Treatment--$3—Be kind to your hair!

Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Serum–$5. A silicone gloss for your hair, both light and non-greasy. One pump for fine, two for thick hair.

Have a simply lovely day!

Diane  P.S.

Don’t forget to check our our TRIPS, Come with me to Austria, Germany and Switzerland!

Good Morning Dear Reader:

Could it have been something I ate? 3 cream-based soups perhaps?

I probably have not told you about my new fitness program necessitated by the strange phenomena of my zippers quite suddenly not meeting. It was almost as if it happened overnight. One minute I am breathing perfectly normal while shoving great quantities of delicious food into my mouth and the next looking for some discreet location to unbutton anything not visible to innocent bystanders.

I blame the whole problem on travel, which I do love. However, when removed a sufficient distance from my safe and relatively empty refrigerator and confronted by meal choices that sound way better than low-fat boiled turkey, what’s a person to do? Most restaurants I visit have no really unappetizing choices. The Weight Watcher specials might be there but they are hidden by the deep fried, the honey crispy and the well-sauced entres. Did I mention I have no will power? The only real answer for me is going to have to be exercise, as painful as it is.

May tone calves, thighs & rear or may lead to hospitalization

I had started walking around my neighborhood, more of a stroll really. Then my husband decided to join me. If you remember, I bought a pair of the Sketcher Shape-Ups, the walking shoes with boats for soles. My stride in them was not quite perfected when he decided we should add trekking poles to our walk. He has watched the training video, studied the technique on the Internet and has it perfected.

As for me, did you ever see Elaine dance on Seinfeld? That’s about my form. I am sort of an accident in slow motion, not quite colliding with anything, but just on the verge. I am sure with my husband’s coaching I will be excellent in no time or one of us will be in traction. It’s a dangerous sport. If you see us on the walking trail just get out of the way.

Some good health news…

The new Consumer Reports is out for September and it is an excellent issue. It addresses the issue of multivitamins and supplements. There has been so much in the press lately about their safety and questions of whether we should even be taking them. Their research confirms that most are perfectly safe and that price is not a real factor in purchasing quality. There is also a list of safe and unsafe supplements that is very helpful. (Complete article, page 21) The article also suggests that we really should be taking our vitamins in the form of healthy food!

In an abbreviated list, the top multivitamins are:

Adults (the children’s list is almost all the same brands, plus Flinstones as costliest)

Kirkland Signature (Costco)

Equate Complete (Walmart)

Up and Up (Target)

Centrum

One A Day Maximum

Among recommended supplements:

Calcium (fights osteoporosis), Cranberry (fends off urinary infections), Fish Oil (decreases risk of heart attack), Glucosamine Sulfate (slows arthritis of knee), Lactase (combats lactose intollerance), Acidophilus ( prevents diarrhea when taking antibiotics) , Psyllium( helps lower cholesterol/mild laxative) , Pygeum (may reduce systems of enlarged prostrate), SAMe (may reduce depression/fight osteoarthritis), St. John’s Wort (helps with depression), Vitamin D (compliments calcium)

Finally, a cookbook with me in mind!

Also in this issue:

The best running shoes

The best laptops and printers

Surviving worst case scenarios

There is still more—saving money on cell phone bills and smart phones & the latest 3D TV’s!

It is a magazine that pays for itself every month.

Have a lovely Monday!

Diane—P.S . Tell your buds about our Girlfriends’ European Christmas Market Tour–deadline for great price is Aug. 13, click on TRIPS at left.