Archive for January, 2010

GUEST POST:

by Christina Frank

A study published last August found that people who divorce experience a decline in physical health after their marriage ends.

I guess that explains why, shortly after R and I separated, both of our backs broke. (more…)

by Leah Ingram

The second Monday of January is always National Clean Off Your Desk Day, and I’m kind of lucky this year: we just redid my office and I haven’t moved back in yet. So that means that my desk isn’t even set up and therefore I have nothing to clean off of it to celebrate the day. However, I still have plenty of office decluttering I could be doing, albeit not in my actual office. Here are some of the tasks on my to-do list: (more…)

by Dara Chadwick

Once again, fierce debate has broken out over who, exactly, is a “real” woman. This time, it’s in Australia, where Australian model Jennifer Hawkins has appeared unretouched on the cover of Marie Claire magazine. While many are applauding the “real” image of Jennifer unretouched, others have argued that because she’s beautiful, she’s not “real” enough to represent the rest of us.

I wrote about this topic a while back — frankly, when I look for a body image role model — or hero — what I want to see is someone who’s comfortable in her own skin, no matter what that skin looks like. You can be stunningly beautiful, but be who you are. Let’s not pretend there aren’t some stunningly beautiful women out there who hate themselves…just as we shouldn’t pretend that a woman who isn’t what our culture would consider beautiful can’t love herself, just as she is.

When I wrote about this topic previously, some of my readers said it would be tough for them to take advice on learning to accept themselves from someone who they feel has never had to face the body image struggles that they have faced. I get that. But all of us face struggles every day — even if that struggle is not being taken seriously because people can’t get past your good looks.

For more perspective on this topic, listen to fellow body image warrior, the Butterfly Foundation’s Julie Parker, on the subject.

Again, it doesn’t matter to me what you look like. What matters is how you feel about yourself. If you’re happy and confident in who you are, you’re a body image hero. And you’re real enough for me.

Dara Chadwick is the author of “You’d Be So Pretty If…: Teaching Our Daughters to Love Their Bodies – Even When We Don’t Love Our Own. She has been interviewed on NBC’s TODAY Show , as well as on a variety of radio and television programs. A former Weight-Loss Diary columnist for Shape magazine, Dara has written about health, wellness and parenting for magazines such as Woman’s Day, Family Circle, Better Homes & Gardens, VIV, For Me, Shape, Parenting and Working Mother. Her work has also appeared online at sites such as The Daily Beast and Psychology Today You can learn more about her at DaraChadwick.com.

by Lisa Zamosky

Drug prices, like everything but your salary, are going up. According to a 2009 article in the Wall Street Journal, the prices for about a dozen of the most popular brand name drugs increased by double digits in the first quarter of 2009 from just one year before – this, in the midst of the worst economic crisis we’ve seen since the Great Depression!

As a result of growing pharmaceutical costs, which have outpaced inflation, the Kaiser Family Foundation found in a survey conducted last year that 30 percent of Americans did not fill a prescription for medicine and 20 percent were cutting pills in half or skipping doses.  I expect those numbers are even higher today with unemployment rates topping 10% and health insurance benefits going away for so many people.

Many people delay a trip to the doctor or a medical procedure out of a need to save money. Not great, but most often not life threatening. However, skimping on doses of medication you take to manage a chronic condition can quickly become dangerous. Still, so many people today are faced with steep drug prices and diminishing wages, making it very difficult to continue to pay for needed medications.

Times are tough, but fortunately there are a number of ways to cut costs on prescription drugs, including accessing programs aimed at offering those in need free or reduced cost prescriptions. If you’re struggling to pay for your medications, here are a few ways you may be able to catch a break. (more…)

by Leah Ingram

1. Discover ways to get something for nothing. A recent survey on my blog uncovered that six out of 10 readers — savvy frugal people — had either never heard of or never used Freecycle. Freecycle, where one person’s trash is another person’s treasure, is a place where you can give and get free things, like plants for a garden or ribbon for wrapping gifts (two freebies I’ve scored via Freecycle). You can also swap stuff for free, such as clothing or books. In fact, thanks to sites like Paperbackswap.com and Bookmooch.com, I got my daughter’s summer reading list for high school last year without spending a dime. (more…)

by Brette Sember

The New Year is a time when many of us push the reset button on our diets, budgets, attitudes, and goals. This year, why not add your parenting relationship to the list? (more…)

by Kathy Sena

What do baseball slugger Mark McGuire and actors Vince Vaughn and Michael Landon have in common? They all wet the bed as kids. And all went on to speak out about it as adults to reassure both parents and kids that bedwetting is nothing to be ashamed of. (more…)