Blog Posts by Oprah.com

Photo: ThinkstockLong, Hot Showers and Baths

A steamy soak on a cold day might feel great, but hot water will dry your skin, says Heidi Waldorf, MD, associate clinical professor of dermatology at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Steam from the water opens your pores, which allows the moisture and natural oils to escape. To prevent this, shower with lukewarm water and apply body lotion to damp skin. If you can't skip baths altogether, stay in the tub no more than ten minutes and use bath oil, not bubble bath (which contains detergents that can strip skin's natural oils).

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Photo: ThinkstockIgnoring Your Cuticles and Nails

Like your skin, your cuticles and nails lose moisture in the winter. If you don't hydrate them daily, nails can crack and split, becoming more vulnerable to bacteria and fungus, says Elizabeth Tanzi, MD, assistant professor of dermatology at Johns Hopkins Hospital Center. During the day, whenever you can, apply lotion after you

Photo: ThinkstockBy Leigh Newman

Everybody has their inexplicable fears. I once knew a woman who was afraid of coconuts and spent her whole vacation in Hawaii sitting inside the condo, afraid that if she went outside, one was going to drop off a tree and onto her head. As for me I am afraid of leeches, weird cults that suck you in and brainwash you, and the wholesale collapse of the economy, which would cause my husband to lose his job, which would cause us to lose our house and....move in with my mother. Late at night before bed, I often rehearse this worst case scenario in my mind: selling off all our stuff on the sidewalk, assigning us new bedrooms, and somehow finding schools for my kids in the middle of the year. Hence, the bags under my eyes.

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My toddler, on the other hand, is afraid of dinosaurs. You do not want to be a two-year-old boy in America with this particular phobia. Dinosaurs are everywhere, lunging off lunchboxes, raging across raincoats, tromping with

Photo: ThinkstockBy M. Gary Neuman and Corrie Pikul

We're not going to pretend there's one quiz that can tell you for sure your husband is sneaking around.

RELATED: Pacing a Relationship: A Step-By-Step Guide to Getting it Right

There are, however, some early warning signals that can give you a sense of how vulnerable your relationship may be to an affair, and this quiz can help you identify what those are.

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M. Gary Neuman is a licensed psychotherapist and rabbi who has counseled thousands of couples over 24 years. After talking to many men who have strayed, Neuman has identified some of the most significant relationship issues that lead to infidelity.

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This quiz is adapted from his book The Truth About Cheating and has been updated with new, timely questions as well as specific advice from Neuman about what you can do to strengthen your marriage.

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More from Oprah.com:

• Oprah's Favorite Things: 2011

Photo: Courtesy of Yoox.comBy Amber Kallor

If you missed the server-crashing stampede when Missoni launched everything from shoes to shower curtains at Target, you'll get another opportunity to shop on Yoox.com.

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Margherita Maccapani Missoni designed a 12-piece collection for M Missoni, featuring the brand's zigzag pattern, to benefit OrphanAid Africa.

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And not only do we love that we're getting a second chance to buy these signature stripes at affordable prices (like these flats), but knowing that our purchase helps reunite children in Ghana-separated by poverty and HIV/AIDs-with their families, makes this bold line even better.

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More from Oprah.com:

• 6 Ways to Avoid a Fight While on Vacation
• The Season's Best Beauty Buys
• 22 New Ways to Get a Great Deal on Anything
• Rev Up Your Sex Drive Now
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Photo: Lorenzo Bevilaqua/TBS, Inc.By Leigh Newman

When I was younger, unmarried and idealistic, I had-oh dear, this is embarrassing-an idea. In the future, when I was married, I was not going to shout at my husband, which would only make him upset. Instead I was going to yell a chair. My husband would watch me chewing out this chair and be able to listen and understand the point of my view, since my fury would not be directed at him. He, of course, would do the same thing to me. He would yell at a bedside table or a lamp or a toothbrush. And I would listen.

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Now of course I am older and married and clomping around the house, yelling at everything except our chairs-creating a kind of dark mommy Muzak that is understandably ignored by all of us. I need no more yelling in my life and neither does my furniture-a problem which, of all people, Conan O'Brien has solved by inventing a sofa that hugs you. You sit down on the bright red seat and the arm physically moves to

Photo: ThinkstockBy Amy Shearn

This may be an unoriginal thought, but it's true: being a parent is hard. You worry. You worry that something will happen to your kid. You worry that the world will make your kid sad. Then today I read a story that made me think: True, but also, maybe your kid will someday make the world happy.

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Doug Wells is a 15-year-old Little League pitcher who recently achieved an athletic accomplishments many professional baseball players can only dream of: he pitched a no-hitter. Pretty cool.

Oh, and also: Doug is legally blind.

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As an infant, the New Jersey boy was diagnosed with glaucoma, and he has undergone surgeries his whole life to restore his sight, none of which was worked. According to Today, "When he pitches, Doug says his vision is blurry but he can vaguely see the catcher's mitt. When he bats, he only sees the ball a moment before it reaches him." Disability? Doug

Photo: Michael LovittBy Lynn Andriani

Crystal Cook (right) and Sandy Pollock (left) started dressing in '50s-era ensembles--full skirts, pearls and heels--long before the throwback style made a resurgence. The Joan Harris look made total sense for the two friends, who live in Austin, since they run a home delivery casserole business and wouldn't dare come to your door bearing a pot pie without wearing hose.

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The Casserole Queens, as they're called, serve dishes that are as retro as their outfits--meatball pie, corn dog casserole, tuna noodle casserole--which is one reason to love them. And if you don't live near Austin, there are many more reasons to make your own casseroles: They're easy; generally don't cost much; and can be made months ahead of time and frozen--then heated and served when you're ready.

RELATED: Your Guide to Healthy Choices at Thanksgiving

Cook and Pollock's new book, Recipes from The Casserole Queens Cookbook: Put Some Lovin' in Your Oven

Photo: Oprah.comBy Amber Kallor

Inspired by the eye-opening effects false lashes had on Gayle King, O's Deputy Photo Director Christina Weber split a big box of them (left) with another staffer to see if she could achieve the same look at home. Following makeup artist Carmindy's instructions, Weber has been wearing false lashes to the office almost every day-and the results are surprisingly natural-looking.

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Although it took her two or three times to get the hang of it, she says allotting yourself plenty of time to apply (it used to take her up to 15 minutes, she's since narrowed it down to five) and wearing them consistently is key. "One eye is going to be easier to do than the other," she says, "But with practice it becomes less of an event to put them on." We asked Weber (our new resident lash pro) to give us three of her best tips:

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• While Carmindy used black lashes on Gayle, Weber (who has light