LK's Grab Bag

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Tuesday, December 16th: The (then) U.S.S.R. accomplished this for the first time ever on this day…. what was it, and what year? In honor of that, come break down your communist blocks with me this Tuesday. NOTE: Bring your mat and 2, ~16oz. bottles (the ones that are about 10″ high) of water. I’ll give you some fabulous arms to remember me by over the holidays 🙂

Tuesday Holiday Shopping Tip: I have fallen in LOVE with this site…. you will find so many things here you have never seen before, and most are pretty reasonably priced. Here is a fun example, called the “Dunk Mug”… how cool is this? The compartment is for….. whole wheat crackers?? This would be such a cool gift, wrapped up with a great box of cocoa and a package of (homemade) cookies or tea and cookies, or coffee and scones, or water and hard tack for those naughty ones on your list. 

Find it and much, much more at Charles and Marie.

Tuesday Cosmetic Clean Up: If you check the link list in the column to the right, you will find a site listed under PRODUCTS called Pure Body Solutions. They have a wide variety of  healthy skin care, hair care, even pet care products, and they often will reference what the Cosmeticsdatabase.com rating is in the product descriptions. Take a stroll through there, read some of the reviews associated with the products and see if you find something that sounds good. 

Tuesday Clean and Green Tip:

I especially like the “How does your tap water stack up” link in #10… it is the work of EWG (Environmental Working Group), the same folks who run CosmeticsDatabase.com

10 Everyday Pollution Solutions

Your Guide to Going Green… 

Tuesday Nutrition Tip: This just in, from RealAge… A little fresh-fruit snack may put you on the fast track to better blood flow. 

People in a study experienced better blood flow in their brachial arteries just 3 hours after eating the equivalent of one and a quarter cups of grapes. At 60 calories a delicious cup, that’s a pretty juicy deal.

Boundless Benefits

The blood flow benefits were even better after 3 weeks of consistent eating. Researchers think it may be the antioxidants in grapes that help keep blood vessels relaxed and blood flowing freely. In fact, grapes may even help protect your blood vessels from fatty meals — something that normally does immediate, transient damage. And early animal research suggests that something in grapes may help protect your blood pressure from salty foods, too, but don’t go crazy with the salty snack foods.

Reality Check

Of course, no single food will make your heart and arteries impervious to the perils of a bad diet. So in addition to fresh fruit like antioxidant-rich grapes, feed your heart what it really wants, including:

• Garlic, olive oil, and dark chocolate.
• Oatmeal with strawberries and blueberries.
• A couple of shakes of cinnamon each day.
• Think that 120/80 is a healthy blood pressure measurement? Think again. 

RealAge Benefit: Keeping your blood pressure at 115/76 mm Hg can make your RealAge as much as 12 years younger. 

Tuesday Brain Game: The old “Concentration” game, but with really pretty pictures: Mastercards

Tuesday Fun Stuff: Dedicated reader Pat M. sent this little holiday snowball fight along… love it…