Blog Posts by The_Stir

As a Weight Watchers Lifetimer, I used to bring my mini-tracker (a small food journal, for the non-WW alum) to the table during many a Thanksgiving meal. Between courses, I'd scribble down "2 potato latkes - 5 Points" or "1/8 slice pumpkin pie - 7-ish." By the time I got to "glass of red wine #2" ... the tracker had usually taken up residence in my purse for the rest of the evening. The next day, I'd look back at the half blank page and be disappointed in myself.

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Fast forward to Holiday Season 2010. If I see someone sitting at the Thanksgiving table hemming and hawing about helping themselves to another serving of turkey, salad dressing ("12 grams of fat per 2 tablespoons, you know!") or cranberries ("Too much sugar!") -- I'll be the first one to roll my eyes.

After all, it is one day, once a year. Do we really need to care so much about the calories?

Yes, we have an overall trend of obesity in

Sometimes you find good advice about sex and relationships in the most unsuspecting places. In this case, the advice is from a Polish priest named Father Ksawery Knotz, whose book Seks jest Boski (Sex Is Divine) was released last month.

Huh? This definitely got my attention especially as a Jewish girl twice-married to Catholic guys. The book isn't currently available in English but portions of it are on an English version of Father Knotz's website The Act of Marriage. The site incorporates some of Father Knotz's views on sex within the confines of a Catholic marriage.

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I checked it out and here's what I found: other than being surprised at the graphic sexual descriptions, a lot of the ideas and views that Father Knotz espouses hold true for any marriage across all religions.

Here are 5 highlights from Father Knotz's site:

1. "A sexual act that is planned for the evening should have its emotional beginning in

Prince William's recent engagement to Kate Middleton, a commoner, gives hope to all the single commoner ladies who are still looking for their very own prince. Real royalty.

Because isn't it every little girl's dream to grow up and marry a prince and become a real life princess? Maybe even a queen, one day.

And hey, if Kate Middleton can do it, then so can you. But it's going to take some work, some relocating, and maybe even some strategic friendships.

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So get started on your way to the palace by following these steps of How to Marry a Prince:

1. Preparing

You want to have the behavior and mannerisms of a princess before you meet your prince. Taking a How to Be a Princess class will prepare you for necessities such as the proper way to curtsy, wave to your subjects from a horse-drawn carriage, and even drink a spot of tea with your pinkie up. Sure, most of these classes are geared to

I'm just wondering: how often do you eat dinner with your family? I mean all of you, sitting down at the same time, to eat dinner?

I kind of thought my own family did this, more or less. But we were definitely doing it in a less-than-stellar kind of way -- as in, usually not all of us were actually at the table at the same time. And when we did all make it to the table together, my husband and I often let our son watch a movie so we could enjoy a civilized adult conversation.

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So one day I saw a challenge flicker across Twitter from a new organization, Time at the Table: could I pledge to eat dinner with my family three times a week, no phones, no TV?

Readers, we took the pledge.

Just in time, we also got our hands on Laurie David's new charming and essential book, The Family Dinner. It's filled with lots of helpful advice and ideas for making family dinner the fun, relationship-building experience it

woman heels kids 1940sThe vintage photo to the right, that's my Grandma with my mom and aunt when they were tiny tots. How stylish is my Grandma in her hat, fresh floral dress, and some gorgeous blue high heels. Yep, she was wrangling youngsters and she was still incredibly fashionable. What up, Grandma?

Moms like my Grandma and many of the moms featured on the website My Mom, the Style Icon give us modern moms a run for our high-fashion dollar. Is there any hope that, when our kids look back someday, we'll be seen as style icons? Or are more modern trends like the big hair and mom jeans of the '80s or today's skinny jeans or maxi dresses destined to make us look unsophisticated down the line?

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Seems like so many moms of yesteryear really were style icons. Perhaps it's the nostalgia for times past that makes all those women in photos taken 20 or 50 years ago look so chic and fashion forward. Or perhaps something's gotten lost

reindeer gamesA supermarket chain in the United Kingdom is drawing fire for selling reindeer steaks during the holiday season. In fact, reindeer advocates are so up in arms over the offense that they're accusing the retailer of "destroying the magic of Christmas."

Frankly, I find myself agreeing with them ...

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It's not just the fact that eating Dasher or Prancer for Christmas dinner seems more fetid than festive.

It's that according to the campaign group Viva!, killing reindeer for food is cruel and inhumane. That's because the process -- which often involves herding them with snowmobiles, motorbikes, helicopters, and lassoing them -- causes the deer huge levels of distress. I'm getting emotional just typing about it ...

Lidl, the grocery store chain behind the controversial sale, defended its decision by saying that the meat came from reindeer who "live[d] in their natural habitat and [had] plenty of space to

Dear Dating Mom:

I am going to be meeting my boyfriend's mom for the first time. I keep thinking she is not going to like me and when I say that to him, all he says is, "Who cares?" Should I tell him I don't want to meet her after all?

Signed,

Is it me?

Dear Is It Me:

Kudos to your boyfriend for at least being quasi, vaguely, passively aggressively up front with you. He could have been like my ex. When I was married, he swore upside down his mom would love me and, well, let's just say when SHE filed for OUR divorce (yes, you read that one correctly), I wasn't the least bit surprised. I believe the words, "Don't let the door hit you on the way out" would be a good way of describing how she felt each time we parted company.

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I'd ask your boyfriend if he could be a lot more specific about what he means when he says, "Who cares?" Perhaps you could start out by saying, "Well, I care!" unless of course his

Wondering why I look so happy?

It's because happy LA sent me this amazing gray cashmere wrap from its new cashmere collection by Dawn Baker -- and it is so gorgeous and cozy and soft and stylish that I've been wearing it over and over and over again!

It also served to remind me of a fact that I need to share with all of you.

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Cashmere? It's the bomb.

Seriously you've never known the warmth, the softness, the lightweight non-scratchiness of cashmere until you've experienced it firsthand. In my opinion, a cashmere scarf or sweater is a fabulous investment piece for your wardrobe.

It also makes a very impressive gift for someone else.

Now you're wanting some cashmere to call your own, aren't you? Okay, okay.

I've found the most affordable cashmere pieces I could come up with. Check them out after the jump ...

This cashmere cardigan (Charlotte Russe, $59.50) is a fantastic price for the look -- and it