Healthy Habits

Leading up to the new year, I thought "why did my resolution last year fail so miserably?"  I mean, how could saying "I want to be healthier" be wrong?  You know why it failed?  It wasn't a S.M.A.R.T. goal.  I didn't know what success looked like.  And, more importantly, I kept telling myself (and everyone else . . . including the universe) "I'm so sick".  So enough of that!  This year, I found a solution.

My inspiration was born from an old episode of Oprah which aired on her radio network.  Oprah's guest was Dr. Christiane Northrup, the author of Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom.  She spoke about the healthy habits every woman should have and said that many people fail to reach their goals because they try to do too many things at once.  You know that moment in A Charlie Brown Christmas when Lucy diagnoses Charlie?

It was exactly like that.  I almost yelled "That's It!" which would have made my little pup run and hide under the bed.

So my 2013 New Year's Resolution was born.  I like to call it "One Healthy Habit".  I am going to add one healthy habit per month.  Knowing that it takes about 66 days to form a new habit and that slow and steady progress is the key to success, I have decided to start one new healthy habit a month for the next 12 months.  For January, I will be drinking at least 8 8-ounce glasses of water a day.  Dr. Northrup suggests that making one new healthy habit will lead to other healthy choices.  We shall see.

Here are some tools I'm using to track progress and to figure out new habits:

1. Livifi App - I met the creator of this app in the security line at LAX and am finally putting his useful check boxes to work.  This is a great app because it gives suggestions and back up research for healthy living tips.
2. Pinterest Board - I need a way to capture articles that may suggest the next month's habit.  I'm trying to live in the moment and devote myself to my one habit.  In the meantime, I don't want to wake up on February 1st with no inspiration for a new habit!

If you're at all interested in joining me, I'd love to hear about your progress.

Three Cheers For Voting Rights!

You probably haven't always been allowed to vote. 
Check out the following Voting Fun Facts to see when the US extended you that right (a.k.a. stopped denying you the right to vote):
 
1868 - 14th Amendment lets anyone born on US soil or naturalized to US become "citizen" and be allowed a vote
1870 - 15th Amendment lets people of all races, colors, or previous "conditions of servitude" vote
1920 - 19th Amendment lets women vote
1961 - 23rd Amendment lets people living in Washington D.C. vote for president
1964 - 24th Amendment lets people vote without paying a poll tax (a.k.a. stops denying people who can't afford it)
1971 - 26th Amendment lets anyone 18 or older vote

And don't forget the Voting Rights Act of 1965 which outlawed any voting practices that discriminated against groups of voters (i.e. literacy tests and poll taxes)!

So get out and exercise your hard-earned right to vote!  And if that isn't enough reason, LAist has a couple of additional incentives.

Mimi's Cornbread

Some days I feel a little homesick for my mom's cooking.  This is one of my all time favorites . . . Mimi's Cornbread.  My mom's mom, Mimi, was a little firecracker of a woman who knew her way around southern cooking.  If it could be put in a pot and boiled to death with a ham hock, then Mimi knew how to cook it.  If it required real culinary skill, she usually left it up to someone else.  My mom, Nana, learned all of the ins and outs of real skill in a kitchen and kept the Southern flavor alive.  Here's Nana's take on Mimi's cornbread:

Mimi's "Indian" Cornbread
Heat oven to 450°

• 1½ Cup Yellow Cornmeal
• ½ Cup Flour
• 2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
• ⅛ Teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1½ Teaspoons Salt
• 1 Tablespoon Sugar

Mix dry ingredients together.  Then add:

• 1 Cup Buttermilk
• 2 Beaten Eggs
• 3 Tablespoons Oil

Beat together with a fork until spongy.  Heavily grease a skillet or heavy pan.
Whip into batter:

• 1 8-oz. Can Creamed Corn
• 1 Cup Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
• 2 Teaspoons Dehydrated Onion (or ¼ Cup Grated Fresh Onion)
• Add up to ¼ Cup Buttermilk (making sure the consistency stays moist but not runny)

Stir together thoroughly
Bake at 450° for 25 minutes.

This is not a sweet cornbread but a delicious savory treat best paired with chili or a hearty winter soup.  When I'm feeling a little blue, I make a little of both (though mine never turns out as well as Nana's.)

If you love it, pass it along and let me know!  Nana would love to hear that her gift just keeps on giving. 

Got Milk?

soft skin quick tip - courtesy of Sagestone Spa & Salon (via FaceBook)

Soak your skin to softness: On your next trip to the supermarket pick up a box of powdered whole milk, add to your bath water until it turns milky-white and soak like Cleopatra.