Blog Posts by Lylah M. Alphonse, Senior Editor, Yahoo! Shine

Happiness is a funny thing: The more you share it, the more of it you have. Inspired by the 2011 documentary "Happy," one Iowa woman opted to celebrate her 34th birthday with 34 acts of kindness, hoping to spread happiness by helping others.

Also on Shine: Paying It Forward, Jayden Style: Random Acts of Kindness in Honor of a Little Boy

"Me, if I can do it, then anybody can do it," Katie Jones told KCCI-TV, adding that she hopes that people think about "how that would change the dynamics of our own community, if people were just taking care of each other."

She left a bag of quarters at a local laundromat. Dropped a $5 bill on the floor at the dollar store. Stocked the baby changing area at a local Target with disposable wipes. Handed out Subway restaurant gift cards to homeless people. And thanked firefighters with boxes of chocolates. And along with each anonymous act of kindness, she left a handmade calling card, urging others to pay it forward.

Also on Shine: Man Celebrates 65th

When 18-year-old Shalom Rokeach married 19-year-old Hannah Batya Penet in Israel on Tuesday, it was more than just a lavish wedding -- it was the launch of a new era. The groom is the future leader of the revered Belz Rebbe, a Hassidic Jewish sect that began in Poland in the early 1800s. More than 25,000 guests attended the hours-long ceremony, which was filled with traditional significance and lasted until dawn the next day. Though the bride was surrounded by thousands of well-wishers, she wore a heavy veil throughout the ceremony, keeping her face hidden from her guests. -- By Lylah M. Alphonse, Senior Editor, Yahoo! Shine.

The Plaza Towers Elementary school in Moore, OK, was destroyed by the tornado. (Photo: Richard Rowe/Reuters)First responders continued to sift through debris in search of survivors on Tuesday, a day after a massive tornado ripped through Oklahoma, killing at least 24 people, nine of them children.

5 Ways to Prepare Your Family for a Natural Disaster

Experts typically encourage families to come up with a disaster plan in case of emergencies, but in the face of extreme and instant devastation, does a family disaster plan even make a difference?

"I would absolutely say that family disaster plans are worth having," Anne Marie Borrego, a spokesperson for the American Red Cross, told Yahoo! Shine in an interview on Tuesday. "It's something we should all do with our families to make sure we're prepared for any kind of disaster."

Tornado Survivor Finds Her Missing Dog During TV Interview

Though they're much more prevalent in America's Great Plains, tornadoes have touched down in every state in the U.S. at one time or another, the Red Cross points out.

"The Red Cross urges everyone to pick a safe room in

Steve Schneider is the 2013 Star of the Bar, thanks to a potent pink cocktail he calls The Dean. (Photo: Courtesy of Steve Schneider)The National Restaurant Association crowned a new cocktail king this week, naming New York-based bartender Steve Schneider their 2013 Star of the Bar at the International Wine, Spirits, and Beer event in Chicago on Monday.

Also on Shine: 3 Ingredient Cocktails

Schneider and five other finalists mixed their best drinks for some expert judges, including celebrity chef and author Anthony Bourdain. Schneider's creation, dubbed "The Dean," earned him top honors and a $5,000 prize. For his contest entry, he also served up a video of himself mixing the drink while sporting a (really bad) Howard Dean wig and doing a (pretty good) Howard Dean impression.

"I was watching reruns of Dave Chappelle's show when the text came in about the contest," he told Yahoo! Shine in an interview on Tuesday. Rather than submit a run-of-the-mill video of himself making a single drink, he decided to have a little fun. "That's what bartending is, you know? Having a great time."

Also on Shine: 7 Refreshing Cocktails

Anna Ipox (center) teaches a class at her Fat Yoga studio in Portland, Oregon. (Photo: Fat Yoga via Flickr)A yoga studio in Portland, Oregon, is busting stereotypes by catering to people who are pretty much the opposite of the typical, lululemon-and-lycra-wearing crowd.

Also on Shine: Studies Show that Gym Classes May Make Women Hate Exercise

Anna Ipox named her studio Fat Yoga, and she's not shy about why.

“I say I’m fat cause, guess what, I know I’m fat,” Ipox told KPTV. “Our American script says, ‘No, you’re not fat, just some other euphemism, thick, fluffy, big-boned, portly, whatever.’”

10 Things Yoga Teachers Wish They Could Tell You

"Fat is simply a descriptive word," she explained on her company's website. "We believe that a person should not be judged by the amount of fat they have, and that there is no “right” amount of fat.  A person’s physical health cannot be determined from simply looking at their shape or weight."

Ipox, who has practiced yoga since 2011, said that some traditional poses are too difficult for fat people to manage.

“Child’s pose is impossible of you have belly fat

Kaitlyn Hunt was expelled and faces felony charges for being in a same-sex relationship with a younger student. (Photo: Courtsey of the Hunt Family)An 18-year-old high school senior in Florida has been expelled and is facing felony charges for dating a 15-year-old freshman at the same school. Parents complained, and it became a classic "we don't want you to date our daughter" story, but with a modern twist: both of the students are girls.

Also on Shine: Dad's Love Letter to Gay Teenage Son Goes Viral

Kaitlyn Hunt was arrested on February 16 and charged with two counts of “lewd and lascivious battery on a child 12-16 years of age.” If convicted, she faces jail time or house arrest and will have to register as a sex offender, something that could affect her for the rest of her life. She has until this Friday to accept a plea deal -- two years of house arrest, followed by a year of probation plus sex-abuse counseling -- or take her case to trial.

According to the Hunt family, Kaitlyn met her girlfriend (who has not been named) months ago, during basketball practice at Sebastian

New York photographer Arne Svenson found inspiration for his latest work right outside his windows. "The neighbors don't know they are being photographed," he explained in an essay that goes with the exhibit, currently on display at the Julie Saul Gallery in Chelsea. "I carefully shoot from the shadows of my home into theirs." But the subjects of his photos, who live in a luxury apartment across the street from Svenson, were furious to find out that they had been photographed in their own homes without their knowledge. "A grown man should not be able to photograph kids in their rooms with a telephoto lens," Clifford Finn told the New York Post. "You can argue artistic license all you want, but that's really the issue here. I'm sorry, but I'm really bothered by this." The artist disagrees. "They are performing behind a transparent scrim on a stage of their own creation with the curtain raised high," Svenson said in a statement. Take a look for yourself and weigh in: Are these images

A new study finds a link between depression and stroke risk. (Photo: Getty Images)Middle-aged women battling depression may be twice as likely to have a stroke as women in the same age group who are not depressed, a new study finds.

Also on Shine: Recipe for Preventing a Stroke? 1 Coffee, 4 Green Teas a Day

"Although the absolute risk of stroke is low in mid-aged women, depression does appear to have a large adverse effect on stroke risk in this age group," lead researcher Caroline Jackson, an epidemiologist in the School of Population Health at the University of Queensland in Australia, said in a statement. "Our findings, however, suggest that depression may be a stronger risk factor for stroke in mid-aged women than was previously thought." The study focused on women aged 47 to 52.

Also on Shine: 9 Ways to Help Avoid a Stroke

A stroke occurs when damage to an artery deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, causing brain cells to die and allowing toxic chemicals to build up. Approximately 795,000 people in the United States suffer a stroke each year (75 percent of