Blog Posts by Reader s Digest Magazine

Ever wondered what's on your doggy doc's mind?We asked veterinarians and vet technicians to reveal pet tips and cautionary tales, which can save time, trouble, and trauma.

1. "The reason your pet is fat is because you are too. I would never say that to someone in an exam room, but the fact of the matter is, if you have an owner who overeats and is inactive, they are very likely to have an obese pet."-Oscar Chavez, DVM.

2. "Your vet may not have gotten into vet school! Vets who can't get into traditional U.S. veterinary programs due to bad grades and poor test scores often go to for-profit schools in the Caribbean, where, basically, if you can pay the tuition, you get in."-A vet in California.

13 Things Groupon Won't Tell You >>

3. "I hate to break it to you, but your $2,000 designer dog is a mutt. Puppy stores and breeders have created these cute names like Morkipoos and Puggles, and now people are paying $2,000 for a dog they couldn't give away at the pound ten years ago. Whoever started the trend is a marketing genius."-Dennis

Wisdom from MomMy mom had a wonderful way of helping you grow up and realize that your life is going to be what you make it. She had this circular way of making sure you took responsibility for your decisions and the person you would become. She would say, "It's your life, plus social commentary." That's number one.

Then, "What you want and what you get are sometimes two entirely different things." And then, "No one ever said life was fair." And she would mingle these comments together in such a way that you could never win an argument, and yet, the result was that you realized your life is going to be what you make it. So I might go to my mom and say, " I'd like to play Pop Warner football." And she'd say, "Well, it's your life, if you wanna go out there and get beat up and bruised and break your knees and limp around the rest of your life, that's fine." Which is when I would say, "Well, you know, that won't happen. I'm really fast." And she would reply, "Well, we don't really have the money."

Happy Together1. Make your relationship a priority.
The mental shift from me to we can be startling: You're a team-responsible to someone else in a new and profound way. Claudia Arp, who with her husband, David, founded Marriage Alive International and co-authored marriage books including 10 Great Dates to Energize Your Marriage, comments, "We see a lot of husbands and wives who never, ever reprioritize their relationship after marriage. They're still entwined with their family of origin, putting their parents and siblings first. Or they've been on their own for years and don't realize that their friends or job or other interests no longer take precedence. You need to be able to say 'My spouse comes first.' This is your anchor relationship. If you establish this now, it will be easier to hold on to when life becomes more complicated later in your marriage."

Marriage and sex therapist, Pat Love, Ed.D., says, "In our culture, we don't do 'we' very well. We're better at autonomy: I can take care of

QuietWe may live in what Time writer Bryan Walsh calls the "land of the loud and the home of the talkative," but social scientists have discovered that introverts are often better friends, wiser managers, and more creative thinkers than extroverts.

"Introverts are better at listening, and can spend long periods of time in solitary work, which turns out to be the best way to come up with fresh ideas or master a skill," writes Walsh. "Introverts forge deep and rewarding relationships, and often make smarter decisions than extroverts, because they're more cautious and deliberate."

Just don't call them shy, cautions Susan Cain, author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking. Shy people have anxiety about social judgment, while introverts "are just differently social," Cain told NPR. In other words, they'd simply rather be alone. Some sources estimate that 30 percent of people share these traits, including well known public figures like Joe DiMaggio and

Attention shoppers: You'll get the best bargains on daily deals sites like Groupon, Living Social, and others if you follow these insider tips.
These insider secrets about Groupon and other daily deals sites will keep your piggy bank very happy.
1. Hunt for deals outside of your area.
Do you live in Ohio but see a great deal in Seattle? Scoping out bargains in other cities might pay off. Quite a few "local" deals from national chains (say, Starbucks) are actually valid all over the U.S.-just read the fine print to double check.

Related: 5 simple ways to save money right now »

2. Consider secondary markets.
Sites like CoupRecoup provide a marketplace in which buyers and sellers can trade coupons from sites like Groupon, Living Social, and Social Buy. So if you're bummed you missed the window to snag great theater tickets before they sold out, or if you bought a hotel deal that you can't redeem before it expires, try these sites.

Related: How to save money while buying in bulk >>

3. Some sites are more discreet than others.
At newcomer Savored.com, for a $10 reservation fee, you get

Bell peppersIn addition to fighting colds, vitamin C helps create collagen (and plays a role in healthy skin), may protect the heart, and helps destroy free radicals associated with certain cancers. But the new research on vitamin C as a fat burner is so promising that we named it one of 13 fat releasing foods in our Digest Diet book.

Most Americans consume too little vitamin C, and one study showed that adults deficient or depleted of vitamin C may be more resistant to losing fat. Conversely, people who had adequate vitamin C levels burned 30 percent more fat during a bout of exercise than those low in C! Munching on more of the following fruits and veggies can help you meet the daily recommended intake, which is 75 milligrams for women and 90 for men.

Papaya
Vitamin C level: 188 mg
Serving: 1 fruit
Try it: Pineapple Papaya Slaw

Bell Peppers
Vitamin C level: 117 mg
Serving: 1 cup raw

Try it: Turkey-Stuffed Bell Peppers

7 Extraordinary Uses for Olive Oil >>

Don't waste those orange peels - use them to get rid of pests!Reduce, reuse, recycle: These expert tips will help you find new ways to cut waste in the kitchen. By Damon Beres

1. Regrow Veggies.

Strange but true: Scallions will regrow from their white ends. Just put them in a glass of water and let them get some sunlight. You can snip the green ends every few days for practically endless seasoning.

It can be hard to finish a whole gallon of milk before it expires, but don't wait for it to curdle. Instead, set some aside and make cottage cheese.

Used coffee grounds can keep ants away. Plus, they can get rid of odors, stimulate your potted plants, and more, making them worth holding onto.

7 Extraordinary Uses for Olive Oil >>

Orange peels can actually be put to good use, especially if it's summer. Insects like mosquitoes and ants will stay away if you grind them up, and they can get rid of musty smells.

Overripe, very

My Reading ListTwilight and The Lorax aren't the only books meant for younger readers that adults can enjoy too. In celebration of Children's Book Day on April 2nd, the Reader's Digest staff shares their favorite kids' stories that also appeal to grown minds.


The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordicai Gertstein
A fairytale-like presentation of Philippe Petit's historic tightrope walk between the Twin Towers, this book was a total tear-jerker for me, since I lived seven blocks from the World Trade Center and watched the towers fall from my apartment window in 2001. But while I cried reading the story to my kids, they loved it so much we read it over and over. Even with the ending: "Now the towers are gone."
 -Marti Golon, Art Director

The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton
This classic, beautifully illustrated book tells the story of a delightful country home that becomes engulfed in urban sprawl-until someone recognizes its value. I loved it as a child, loved reading it to my children, and