Blog Posts by Oprah.com

Photo: Coral Von Zumwalt

Became a Firefighter at...66

Andrea Peterson
Firefighter
Quechee, Vermont

Her Dream
At age 5, Andrea Peterson was rescued from a fire in her family's Los Angeles home. "I thought it was a great adventure," she recalls. "I told the big firefighters that I wanted to be a fireman, too, and they laughed and said that little girls could not do that." Still, when a car crashed on her front lawn several years later and burst into flames, Peterson trained the garden hose on the blaze. "The instinct was there, so I just did it!" she says.

Her Detour
Pressured by her parents to choose a more "gender appropriate" career, Peterson became a flight attendant. It wasn't until 2008, after her husband passed away, that she finally started volunteering at a local fire station. At 107 pounds, she spent a year lifting weights and watching her diet before being approved for fire academy coursework. And when she began training in 2010 alongside men in their teens and 20s,

Read More »from 6 Women Who Prove You Can Change Your Life at Any Age

Photo: Christopher BakerBy Louisa Kamps

My kitchen's corner cupboard is one of those spaces I hesitate to get into, literally and figuratively. It's become the repository of so many broken culinary dreams: half-used bags of crackers, rice, and nuts languish alongside cute little cans of pâté that I imagined--what, two, three years ago?--serving at a chic party. Packed bunker-tight on the bottom shelf are enough canned tomatoes, corn, and beans to feed a whole town, yet oddly, they never seem to get eaten by my own family of four.

My overcrowded, under-tapped pantry isn't pretty, but it is typical. According to author Jonathan Bloom, who explores our food-squandering ways in his 2010 book American Wasteland, we throw out almost half the food we purchase. "People have this subconscious fear of not having enough, so we buy more food than we can possibly consume," Bloom says. And recessionary times have spurred the natural impulse to stockpile goods when they're on sale. Yet Brian Wansink, director of the

Read More »from 5 Deliciously Inventive Recipes You Can Make from Your Pantry

Photo: Mauricio AlejoBy Emma Haak

Your job is killing you.

"It's hard to tell a patient she needs to find a new job, especially in this economy. But stress can have serious cardiovascular consequences. I recently had a patient with palpitations, so I had her wear a device to monitor her heart. One day I noticed a potentially life-threatening arrhythmia and called her immediately: She told me her boss had just asked her to work harder than she was already working. When I explained what that stress was doing to her health, she decided to change jobs--and a month later, felt so much better. The bottom line is, if you don't change the situation that's causing the stress, you're putting yourself at risk for stroke, heart attack, even sudden cardiac death."
--Annabelle Volgman, MD, medical director of Chicago's Rush Heart Center for Women

The sun is bad for you, period.

"Some people believe they look healthier with a tan, or that they need UV rays to get vitamin D, even though you can get enough D fromRead More »from 5 Things Doctors Wish They Could Tell You

Photo: ThinkstockBy Suze Orman

Bad financial information doesn't come only from scammers; even our loved ones can unwittingly steer us wrong. That's why knowing what not to do with your money is often your biggest asset. In general, there are two little words that should set off everybody's suspicion meter: Trust me. Anyone who gives you this line--whether a financial adviser or your significant other--is disrespecting you. You should never entrust a money decision entirely to someone else. I know, I know: Sometimes you'd rather pass the buck. But remember, we're talking about your security, your future, your peace of mind. It's one thing to hire an investment adviser to help you choose funds for your IRA, or to cheerlead a spouse as he or she sets up a 529 plan to help pay your child's college tuition. It's quite another to tune out completely.

Find an hour or so a month to peruse a personal finance Web site or a magazine like Money or Kiplinger's, which will keep you up-to-date on the basics. The

Read More »from Suze Orman: The Financial Advice to Avoid at All Costs

By O, The Oprah Magazine

Photo: J Muckle/Studio DBy Kate Rockwood

If You Like Heath Bars Try...

Amy's Organic Andy's Dandy Candy in Crunchy

Bits of almond and a coating of deep, dark chocolate balance the sugary English toffee at the center. ($2.50 for 1.5 ounces; amys.com)

Photo: Nigel CoxIf You Like Milky Ways Try...

Whimsical Candy La-Dee-Dahs

Made by hand in small batches, these white-chocolate nougat and sea-salt caramel pinwheels dunked in dark chocolate are a swirly two-bite alternative to the boxy bar. ($6.50 for three; whimsicalcandy.com)

Photo: J Muckle/Studio DIf You Like Caramels Try...

JJ's Sweets Cocomels

Handmade with coconut milk and organic brown rice syrup, these caramels are buttery, transcendent--and vegan! ($9 for 12; jjssweets.com)

RELATED: 8 Desserts You Can Make in Just 10 Minutes

Photo: Nigel CoxIf You Like Life Savers Try...

Brooklyn Hard Candy

Traditionally, hard candy is created by

Read More »from Candy for Grownups

Photo: ThinkstockBy Lara Fox and Hilary Frankel

1.Be sensitive to the fact that she's sensitive to everything. Teasing, even if it's meant well, can really upset her--especially if it's focused on her changing body.

2. Don't say, "As long as you live under my roof, your room is my room." Her room is her escape and comfort. You take that away by claiming ownership of it.


RELATED: Home Makeover: Restyle Your Bedroom Nook

3. Pick your battles. If she wants blue hair and a 2 a.m. curfew, deny the curfew request; her hair will grow out. The fights worth fighting are the ones that affect her safety.

4. If you want her to call you from a party when her ride has been drinking, you need to tell her in advance that you won't judge her on the way home (even if she's been drinking, too).

RELATED: Who's In Control Around Here? (Hint: It Should Be You!)

5. When she's rude, it's because she wants you to take the bait. The best thing you can do is calmly walk away and let her know you're available to talk when she's

Read More »from 6 Ways to Survive Your Teenage Daughter

Photo: Marko MetzingerBy Amanda MacMillan

If the sense of accomplishment you get from painting a room is followed quickly by the need to open a window, consider this: That noxious smell comes from volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, which the paint can continue to emit for months. Some of these chemicals, like formaldehyde and benzene, have been linked to respiratory problems and even cancer, and others damage the ozone layer.

While low-VOC paints have been around for years, early formulas were often hard to spread and less durable than conventional ones. Even when brands claimed to be zero VOC, some colorants bumped up levels significantly. "Finding true zero-VOC paints is now easier than ever," says Annie B. Bond, author of Better Basics for the Home. "A number of companies offer milk- and clay-based formulas that work beautifully." Next time you reach for a brush, go a little greener by choosing one of these eco-friendly products.

RELATED: 3 Ingenious Ways to Decorate Small Space

Best

Read More »from An Eco-Painting Primer