Give Yourself a Break

Over on the New York Times "Well blog," there is a post about a book called, Live a Little! Breaking the Rules Won't Break Your Health. The author Dr. Susan M. Love argues that most of us are actually living pretty healthy lives and that we shouldn't let all of the rules about health stress us out.

Now, I don't know about most of us, but I bet if you are reading this blog and you think a lot about your health, you are already pretty healthy.

And I agree that trying to keep up with all of the latest information about nutrition and exercise can make us nuts. It certainly make me nuts sometimes. So I hope to read this book and I'll get back to you on Dr. Love's ideas about how to Live a Little!

Important Daily Randomness: My thoughts and best wishes to go out to the people of Haiti. If you can help out, please go to the Red Cross Web site and donate now. Every little bit helps.

Comfy Duds: Loft Lounge

I ran into Loft (the store formerly known as Ann Taylor Loft) the other day on my way out of town looking for some leggings or something comfortable to wear while traveling. And I hit the jackpot.

Loft has a new Lounge line of clothing. I got some great black leggings. They are a nice substantial, non see-through material and they have held up well to a few washes. I also got a great black, long, ribbed cardigan sweater that I wear everywhere. It is unfortunately no longer available online. But here are some other sweaters from the collection.





I've also noticed that Ann Taylor has a new Luxe Lounge collection. Love!


And get over to Loft (in person or online right now) for 25% all purchases!


Daily Randomness: Has anyone seen Men of a Certain Age? I have no idea why I enjoy watching middle-aged male angst, but I do. Maybe because it's interesting to see what the other half is actually thinking about.

Showdown: Burt's Bees vs. Neutrogena

I ran out of my favorite secret weapon against dry winter skin, Neutrogena's Body Oil. So I went to Target to get some more, but they were all out. (What's up with that?)

Anyway, I was desperate for a replacement. Not that I don't enjoy that awful itchy, parched skin feeling, but I thought others might not enjoy watching me do the entire body scratch that is necessary to stop the itching. I came across Burt's Bees Lemon and Vitamin E Bath and Body Oil, and I decided to give it a try.


So here's the comparison:

Packaging: They both come in easy-to-use plastic containers that aren't too exciting but aren't too offensive either. According to the Burt's Bees Web site, they are a member of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition (sounds good), which means they "strive to use the most environmentally responsible packaging systems available that meet or exceed regulatory, product and customer requirements." Neutrogena doesn't really make any claims about their packaging, but it does come in a #1 bottle, which is easily recycled in most areas.

Ingredients: Again, Burt's Bees is marketed as environmentally friendly and all natural. I don't like to delve too deep into the issue of "natural" because it starts to make my head ache. The ingredients do include six different types of oils, including canola so it's heart healthy too. The main problem with all of these "natural" oils is that I'm sure some of them can cause allergic reactions, so be forewarned. The Neutrogena Body Oil contains one oil, sesame (I can't remember if that one is heart healthy, or not) and it contains four other chemical sounding ingredients.

Scent: Burt's Bees oil smells like lemon (hence the name). It doesn't smell like Pledge though. It smells fresh and it's not overpowering. But I think if you are putting it on your body after a bath or shower, you might want to be careful about the other fragrances you are wearing that might clash. I think the Neutrogena fragrance of sesame oil is more subtle, and I don't worry too much about it overpowering my perfume. I had a friend in college who swore that the smell of this oil attracts guys. I can't really vouch for that, but it is defintely the sexier of the two scents.

Function: You can really use body oils in two different ways, as an oil to put in your bath or as an after bath/shower moisturizer. In the winter it's definitely not overkill to do both. As a bath oil, Burt's Bees won me over. I put a couple of tablespoons in the bath and it definitely felt like I was getting moisturized but the bath wasn't greasy. But as a body oil, I still love my Neutrogena. The key thing with body oils is to put them on before you dry off. I really didn't feel like the Burt's Bees was quite as moisturizing as the Neutrogena.

Conclusion: Either of these body oils will get the job done and release you from the torture that is dry winter skin, but I think I would still pick the Neutrogean Body Oil, Sesame Formula over Burt's Bees Lemon and Vitamin E Bath and Body Oil. I like the more subtle scent and the after bath feel was just a little nicer. But if you are concerned about natural ingredients (or your stupid Target store runs out), the Burt's Bees is a great alternative.


Daily Randomness: I finally watched the finale of Iron Chef: Super Chef Battle. The battle was between Mario Batali with Emeril Lagasse and Bobby Flay with White House Chef Comerford. The secret ingredient was anything growing in the the White House garden. I was so jealous of the judges. All of the food looked great, and I think it is great that Michelle Obama is setting such a good example with the White House Garden. Maybe I'll plant one this summer. OK, I probably won't. But I will enjoy the tomatoes my husband plants. Does anybody else have plans to plant a garden this spring?

Do You Detox?

Image by kahala via Flickr

Yesterday the Martha Stewart Show was all about detoxing. I like the idea of detoxing, but I'm pretty sure about 2 hours into it I would get a terrible headache and start eating everything sight. And yes, this would probably be a psychological reaction.

I'm a big fan of my juicer, and juicing is a big part of detoxing. But I'm not a big fan of eliminating food groups from my diet. I know all about how great I would feel if I quit eating meat or dairy or wheat or sugar or everything. But I just can't do it. Whenever I start one of these elimination diets (yes, I've tried), I just start to feel bad.

But maybe I'm doing it all wrong. So let me know if you have a detox plan that works for you. If you're looking for a detox plan, check out Martha's plan at Whole Living.

Happy detoxing!

Happy New Year!

Image via Wikipedia

My New Year's resolution is to update my blog regularly. I want this to be a place where we can talk about "taking care of ourselves with joy." This is a phrase that I heard used in a loving kindness meditation, and it really describes what I am covering on this blog.

So often taking care of ourselves seems like a chore. We have to do more of this and less of that, and who can even keep up with the latest news on nutrition and exercise?

But really, most of this stuff is common sense. Michael Pollan makes this point in his latest book, Food Rules.

So during this new year (and decade), I resolve to take care of myself with joy. I hope you will join me!

Time for Links

Here's what I've been reading. Hope you enjoy!

Already Pretty shares her thoughts on slips. Love 'em or hate 'em? I kind of hate 'em, but this post may have changed my mind.

Cranky Fitness discusses the frustration of reading New York Times health articles. This post was written before this article was published: Panel Recommends Mammograms at 50, Not 40. Ugh! Now I'm cranky too.

Allure lists the Best Baby Products for Grownups. I'm thinking maybe I'll buy some of that Baby Bee Shampoo and Wash for the whole family.

Dr. Weil has strategies for teeth grinders. I need to work on this. My jaw has been killing me. Anyone else have this problem?

Thank you Alpha Mom for these turkey downloads that my kids can color for Thanksgiving. Maybe this will give me a few moments of piece.

How's your Tuesday been? Mine's a little dreary. Hope to have more energy tomorrow.

DIY Spa: It's Time to Retreat

I had a great experience last weekend. I went to an all day silent meditation and yoga retreat. It was part of a wellness class that is being offered at my place of work. I know, I'm really lucky to be working some place that has such a great wellness program. I will blog more about that later.

I was little worried about the retreat, which was 7 hours long, although we did talk some in the last hour. I was worried about not being able to talk, about being bored, hungry, sleepy or all three. But actually it was great. We were in a church that was beautiful with lots of windows. The trees were beautiful, and the day was gorgeous. And it turns out that I loved not talking. I really didn't want to stop not talking. It's such a relief not to have to make small talk with people I barely know. But then I am an introvert. It might drive extroverts crazy.

At the end of the day, most of the participants talked about how great it was and wanted to know when the next retreat would be. And I too will sign up for the next opportunity, but I also think we can do our own silent retreat at home anytime we want to. Or anytime we can take a day off of work or get a babysitter to watch the kids.

In fact, I found this great book at the library, called Spiritual Spa. I highly recommend it because it gives a great schedule of meditation, stretching and spa treatments, even menu ideas, that you can do at home.

The key to having an at-home spa day is to have everything set up in advance. You don't want to spend half of your day running errands so you have the right groceries, toiletries, etc. And don't forget to unplug the phone!

So what do you think? Would a day of silence be good for you? Or torture?

There is no need to go to India or anywhere else to find peace. You will find that deep place of silence right in your room, your garden or even your bathtub. ~Elisabeth Kubler-Ross