It’s common knowledge that the best way to live longer is to get fit by eating healthy and excercising right. For me this just meant thinking about my food choices, walking more and switching to light beer. Just those little changes have netted me a loss of over 10 pounds in the past two months.

For other people, changes this small may not be enough. It might take serious thought as to their food choices such as going with a diet plan. Among my fellow food bloggers the South Beach Diet seems to be a favorite, but then it would be difficult to carry a food blog with the food provided by Weight Watchers or Nutrisystem, wouldn’t it.

If you’ve been considering a diet and exercise plan, I recommend speaking with your doctor before you do anything at all.  Health factors may preclude you from performing some types of workouts, and your body type may require different levels of calories to keep you moving, rather than the 1,400 per day that the “average” diet plan calls for. I actually saw a show the other night (the name escapes me) in which a marathon runner could not lose weight because she wasn’t taking in enough calories in a day.  When her intake was moved up to 2,200 calories, she started dropping weight like a madwoman!

As always, Cook from your heart and by the seat of your pants.  Live life to its fullest, and always, always take care of yourselves!

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If you have ever wanted to be in print, but you find that there don’t seem to be any Book Publishers interested in your idea, you might try self publishing.  You can read article after article on How to Publish a Book, but actually getting a book out there can be a serious hurdle for most people.

If you think that using a “vanity publishing” firm is a terrible idea, you may want to reconsider.  Two very notable careers have been launched in recent years through just this method. Both Christopher Paolini (Author of the Eragon Book series) and Paula Deen (The Buttah Queen) had their careers jump-started by self publishing books, and they’re both doing just fine!

So if you have a great idea and are willing to do a bit of marketing on your own, who knows.  You may end up being the next big name in literary circles accross America…  It’s up to you.

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Are you in the market for some new bathroom fixtures?  How about a completely new bathroom?  In either case, betterbathrooms.com can help you out with their full line of Bathroom Suites.

I’m usually not one to say “I love this site!”, but in this case, I really do.  It’s simple to navigate, has a wonderful selection of really nifty fixtures and accessories and enough product photos to keep me satisfied.  I feel like if I ordered from them, I would know exactly what I was going to get and in an online shopping environment, that’s something a site can brag about.

For me, this is a site that’s just been added to my Google bookmarks under “when we get a house”.  As a military member, I can’t do renovations on the homes we live in on base, but we’re only about six years away from buying, so I’m very closely examining my options when it comes to home improvement choices.  I intend to move into a home I buy only once, adn I’m only going to use the best.  Period.

Whether you’re in the market for a new bath fixture, tub, shower head or faucet, give bathroomsdirect.com a shot.  I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at their selection.  I know I was. (In fact, the faucet on the site’s main page had me excited just looking at it.  And it’s rare for a faucet to have an “Ahhhh!” factor!) Definitely woirth a visit!

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I wish I could wear contact lenses. At one time I could, but unfortunately the glass lenses I wore in the 80’s to make my eyes a lovely shade of lavender also managed to make it impossible for me to wear them any more. (Keep them clean, people!)

If you can wear contacts and you’ve been wanting to try America’s #1 rated contact lens, the acuvue oasys, now’s your chance to do so, without ever leaving the comfort of your own home.  These lenses promise to eliminate dry, irritated eyes, which is something I remember vivdly from my lens-wearing days.  That promise alone should be enough to convince you to try them out.

Just pop over to this page, enter your prescription information and order a box.  You’ll like the prices, too.

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Have you reached that point in your marriage where all the reasons that you said “I Do” are feeling a bit foggy?  Don’t think you’re alone, it happens to nearly every couple at one point or another.  There always comes a point in any long standing relationship where one one person or the other feels that things just aren’t what they had expected them to be.

If you’ve reached the point where you find yourself asking “Is there anyone that can save my marriage?”, the answer is yes.  That depends on both people involved.  But don’t you owe yourself and your partner the opportunity to find out?

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Research in stem cell treatments is the fastest growing field in medicine with good reason.  Stem cell therapies are being used to treat over 70 different conditions from cancer to anemia and with the rate of current research this is only the beginning.  Some very exciting research is happening on the dental front right now as well, with a UK based company planning to offer what it calls “Tooth Buds” (implantable material that will regrow your missing teeth) within the next ten years. (As a long time denture wearer, this sounds pretty interesting to me!)

Stem cell research is dead in the middle of a moral dilemma, with some parties on both sides in a complete fervor over its merits and caveats.  It will take a lot of time before the methods developed today are widely accepted, but the benefits of this branch of science has already been proven.  Your own child’s stem cells will be the perfect solution if problems arise later, as the chances for rejection are minimal at best.

Is this really the future of medicine? Cryo-Cell Innovative Stem Cell Solutions thinks it is.  In fact, they think so highly of the idea that they are offering a kit to help you and your doctor do just that. The Cryo-Cell’s “Protect Baby, Protect Mom” kit can even be rushed to your door for that almost-due child if you choose. The price is a bit stiff, even with their “Protect Baby, Protect Mom” Special Limited-Time Introductory Offer, but then having a baby isn’t exactly inexpensive either and to be honest, you’ll pay as much for less than a day in the maternity ward at most hospitals.

With all the new research being done in this field and all the successes that have come with it, I really think the question you need to ask yourself is this:

“Can I afford not to do it?”

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Nobody likes to think about credit anymore. For most of us over 30 (Yeah, Who am I kidding? 40 is less than a month away for me!) credit usually equates to “that thing we need to pay off.”  It’s definitely not the bragging right it used to be.

The problem is that with the cost of fuel and everything that depends on it rising steadily, our credit cards are sometimes the only means we have of handling every day needs like buying groceries or paying utilities.  They’re here, we need them and they don’t look to be going anywhere really soon.

So what we should be doing is looking for the best deals we can find.  lower interest, the option to defer payments, bonuses that actually mean something. (How many cards have you canceled with airline miles left on them?  I can’t count the number in our home.)  The thing is, if you do your research and make the right choices, your monthly expenses may just shrink by quite a bit.

Think about it.

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Isn’t it strange that no matter how many of our appliances and gadgets come with clocks displaying the time to us in all of their screaming LED glory, most of us still can’t function without a few wall clocks hanging in our homes or offices. One would thing that these necessities of the past would have long ago been relegated to the same place in our hearts that is held by our first Nintendo or Atari game system, or perhaps that one special place held by the first time any of us held our first real-live LP record in our hands.

(For those of you who don’t get those references, don’t worry.  It just means that you’re too young.  As a matter of fact, you’re probably too young to be reading this..  Now go out and play!)

Wall clocks are just something that we as a society seem to need to feel comfortable.  Perhaps they lend a feeling of control to our lives, or one of order, but whatever the reason, we can’t live without them.  It doesn’t matter if that clock is a Mega-mart special or something from Howard Miller’s collection.  we couldn’t care less if the thing is old and dented just as long as it keeps proper time.

In a way clocks are a symbol of our mastery over our environment, but in another they are a constant reminder that time is the one thing we can never truly control.  I wonder if we as human beings are simply trying to beat that clock at all times.  We don’t need it to remind us of TV shows, appointments or anything else really, computers, DVR’s, cell phones and PDA’s do all of that for us now.

There’s a post about the constancy of clocks over at the clocks blog that you might find interesting.  I know that I did.

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If you’re looking for designer clothes at reasonable prices, you’re Goldyn.  Where else can you pop online and browse designer clothing and accessories from names like Corey Lynn Calter, by francine and American Retro, including sale items, from the comfort of your own home?  I’ve actually been looking this site over and trying to decide if there is anything that my wife would like for the holidays this year.  But hey, most of my readers are women, and there’s no reason you guys can’t grab something for yourself!

Their selection is pretty fantastic but I think the favorite of their designers for my purposes (fitting a style to a 5-foot wife) has to be Corey Lynn Calter.  Her little black dresses are fun, yet classic and look like they would compliment my wife’s body shape well.  Trust me, in today’s world of super-tight fashion that can be difficult to do on a frame suited for A-Line dresses.

Whatever your style, I’m sure you’ll find something that will tickle your fancy or otherwise make it to your “must have” list.  The site is easy to navigate and can be browsed by designer, category or sale items. (Be warned though, even the sale items carry a top-designer price.  The Mega-mart this isn’t!)  But as I’ve always said, it pays to buy the very best that you can.  You’ll feel better in it and it will give more joy than something that won’t last nearly as long.

Check them out at shopGoldyn.com.

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I don’t usually promote any form of online gambling (or any gambling, for that matter.) To be honest, it’s just not my thing.  but when I heard that BackgammonMasters online was going to be donating $5.00 for every dollar spent buying in on their games for one month to UNICEF, I had to pass the word along.

Again, I don’t promote gambling, but if you like to play backgammon and you’re willing to pony up anywhere from $4.50 to $200.00 to help with a charity effort, I can’t see the harm in that at all. Really, how can a game of backgammon that has all proceeds donated to charity be wrong?

Granted, most of the casino’s business comes from the Orient, but the amount of help they’ve agreed to give is something that I don’t believe I’ve seen before, especially from an organization that is designed around the principle of making as much money as possible.

The offical press release thanks the staff of the casino for being generous.  I’d like to go ahead and give my thanks as well.  UNICEF is in business to help children, and God knows there are a lot of children in China right now that can use all the help we as human beings can provide.

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