Happy New Year!

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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

Spa Review: Spa of Colonial Williamsburg

Because of my limited budget and because of two little chains tying me to the house (AKA my darling children), I don't get to a lot of spas. But last spring I went to Williamsburg, VA on a business trip and so I booked myself a massage at the Spa of Colonial Williamsburg. I chose the WIFI massage. Here's the description:

"Step back in time and enjoy a true getaway from technology! Our WiFi massage soothes and treats points of wireless sensitivity and overuse. This full-body massage includes a focus on your hands, arms, neck, and shoulders. A soothing eye treatment relieves eye strain."

First, the facility was beautiful, both the buildings and the grounds. It's definitely easier to relax when you are in such a peaceful environment, and this spa is actually in the historical section of Williamsburg, which contributed a lot to the atmosphere.

The massage was great. I like my massage to be almost painful (so I feel like I'm getting something for my money), and the therapist (I wish I remembered her name) used great firm pressure. There was also some great aromatherapy touches, including the use of some herbal tea that smelled delicious.

I wish I had a chance to use some of the other facilities, such as the steam room or the whirlpool. They also had a really nice boutique, but I refrained from buying anything.

My only complaint (and this is not exactly about my massage) is that the signature scent used by the spa and the hotels in the Colonial Williamsburg resort, where I was staying, had a very strong lemongrass smell. I kept walking around the hotel wondering why so many people were wearing the same perfume. Turned out it was the smell from the complimentary bath products in the room that were created especially for the resort. I'm not super sensitive to smells, but it was way too strong for me. I would recommend that they make a fragrance adjustement to their freebees.

Despite the lemongrass debacle, I would definitely give the Spa of Colonial Williamsburg an A. Check it out if you have a chance.

Natural Beauty Enhanced: Vapour Organic Beauty

I'm pretty skeptical about "natural" beauty products. First, nature isn't always a good thing. Things that people are allergic to, like peanuts and pollen, are natural. And it turns out that a lot of things that are put in "natural" products, like peppermint oil, are skin irritants. Second, just look at the list of ingredients on some of these products. They don't look very natural. But they get away with saying they are natural because they were derived from something natural. Of course, they skip the fact that it took chemicals to turn the natural ingredient into something you would want to put on your skin or hair. And last, an awful lot of this emphasis on "natural" doesn't seem like very good science. They try to scare us about certain chemicals, based on very little evidence, and then they say that some natural ingredient will solve all your problems, again based on very little evidence. See Paula Begoun for more on this subject.

All of that being said, I do like to support companies that are environmentally aware and I think that there are probably some "natural" products that are better for the environment and for us. There is a new line out called Vapour Organic Beauty that I would love to try out. The products look really interesting , the packaging is very sleek and they even have some credibility behind their nature-y claims. The USDA has certifed their Lux Organic Lip Conditioner, so we know that it is actually made of organic ingredients. In fact, sll the products are at least 70% organic.

But the important question is does it work? Let me know if you have tried out any of these products. I plan to try out a few myself, and I will let you know.

Comfy Duds: Clothes for Travel

I love to think about traveling. I like to think I'm a good packer, and I can spend a lot of time thinking about what I'm going to pack and what I need to buy for a trip and how organized I'm going to be. But the truth is I often wait until the last minute to do the actual packing, and I don't really do such a great job after all.

Also I have the "rule of one" when I travel. This means that I will always forget one important thing. No matter how much planning and expert packing, I must forget one thing that will cause me annoyance throughout the trip.

With all of that in mind, I am starting to think about traveling at Thanksgiving. We always go see my mother-in-law. It will be a quick trip and we will fly. Oh, and this is very important, I have two sons. They are 3 and 6. So I am always struggling to find something cute to wear while traveling that is also practical and comfortable. You can check out Star's Airport Style for ideas about what I probably won't be wearing.

So what should I wear? I generally try to steer clear of the tunic and leggings look, but I'm wondering if this would be just the occasion for leggings. I know, Tim Gunn would say no.

I've also been dying to buy these jean-styled yoga pants. Could I get away with these at the airport? (Sorry, Tim. Please don't have a heart attack).

Or should I just tough it out and wear a pair of jeans? I guess they aren't that uncomfortable.

Any suggestions?

Moments of Zen: The Mystical Arts of Tibet

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Today through Thursday there are Tibetan monks, sponsored by Richard Gere, in my place of work. I bet you didn't think it would be cool to work in an academic library, like I do. But it turns out there are a lot of cool things that go on here and this is one of them.

So you may be curious about what they are doing and why they are here for several days. They are sand painting. To learn more about this, you can visit their Web site.

But basically, they painstakingly place millions of grains of colored sand onto a table using a metal funnel to create a beautiful pattern called a mandala. The mandala is used as a tool for re-consecrating the earth and its inhabitants.

On Thursday, they will destroy the painting and share the sand with the audience. I really want to get some of that sand. It seems like it would carry some very good karma.

Anyway, I just thought some of you might be interested in this. If there is no mandala sand painting going on near you, check out on YouTube.