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

Photo: Muppet Press/Alfred A. Knopf"Fortunately, I have always had very sound business sense, and so keeping my affairs in order has never presented much of a problem for moi," Miss Piggy writes in her 1981 book, "Miss Piggy's Guide to Life."

"Many people think money is something to be set aside for a rainy day," the extraordinary actress -- and a guest editor here at Shine -- writes. "But honestly, how much money do you really need for a dozen or so hours of inclement weather?"

Large amounts of money, Miss Piggy points out, is a fire hazard. And money that is stashed away for too long is prone to "cashosis" or "decashification," the horrible and debilitating process by which crisp $10 bills turn into "seven greasy ones and some nickels and pennies."

"I know you wouldn't think of putting fresh asparagus in the back of a drawer and eating it three months later," she writes. "And yet otherwise sensible people do take sizable amounts of money and pretty much let it rot."

In order to keep your money in top condition, you have

Read More »from Miss Piggy on Managing Your Money Wisely

A consumer group has picked the 10 Worst Toys for 2011.Godzilla and Captain Jack Sparrow action figures, mini trampolines, and Shrinky Dinks are among the toys that have been flagged because of the risk of puncture wounds, electrocution, choking, other injuries "or even death," a Boston-based consumer group warns. World Against Toys Causing Harm (WATCH) has issued their annual "10 Worst Toys" list, and several kids classics and new favorites are among their picks for the toys parents should avoid this holiday season.

"We've been looking at these issues for decades," WATCH director James Swartz told Yahoo! Shine. "The 10 toys aren't meant to be a list of the only hazardous toys on the market, but representative of particular hazards. It's a reminder that all toys on the shelves are not safe." On the list, which can be found at toysafety.org, are:

A wooden Twist n' Sort toy for toddlers
Power Rangers Samurai Mega Blade sword
Fold & Go miniature portable trampoline
Pulling Animal Duck
Schylling toy school bus
Z-Curve Bow
Stepper "Low

Read More »from Worst Toys for Kids? Consumer Group Picks 10 Hazardous Toys to Avoid in 2011

Teri Buford O'Shea was just 19, homeless and hitchhiking her way through San Francisco, when she joined Jim Jones and his People's Temple.

"I had come from a very violent household and going back home was not an option," she remembers. "When I was hitchhiking up from San Francisco, toward Redwood valley, I got picked up by a man. I was starving, I hadn't slept for a couple of days -- I had been sleeping in San Francisco bus station -- and he picked me up told me he know a place where I could get food and shelter and all that. He said it was a Utopian community, where everyone treated each other as equally as possible and worked each according to their ability and each according to their need."

"I went and, sure enough, I had a place to sleep," she told Yahoo! Shine. "I slept for two days. Then I got introduced to the church."

She stayed for seven years, living and working in San Francisco and at the Jonestown compound in northwestern Guyana. She left in 1978, just three weeks before

Read More »from Jonestown Survivor Teri Buford O'Shea Talks About the Massacre and Her Escape from the People's Temple

For the congregation at the First Parish Church in Framingham, Massachusetts, age really is just a number. (Photo: Damianos Photography, used with permission)The first thing that strikes you about the male models in the Celebrations 2012 calendar is that they're having fun. They're all over age 64, engaged in their favorite activities, and wearing huge grins. And, for the most part, they're stark naked.

Beefcakes, beware: These guys have lived long lives, and they're not afraid to show the rest of us what that looks like.

It's the second such fundraising effort by the folks at the First Parish Church in Framingham, Massachusetts. The first calendar (inspired by the 2003 movie "Calendar Girls") came out in 2006 and was a runaway success; it showcased 12 women from the Unitarian Universalist congregation, each of them age 64 or older, all of them in the buff. Janet Drake, 76, a librarian with three children and four grandchildren, was Miss June.

"I have been recognized by patrons that come into the library," she told The Boston Globe. "Someone would show them the picture and they would say, 'Oh, I know her. She checks my books out!'"

Seniors posted with strategically placed props for the calendar. (Photo: Damianos Photography, used with permission)For

Read More »from Seniors pose nude for fundraising calendar

Michelle KwanDominique DawesWhen you're talking about Olympic athletes, it's safe to say that fitness has always been part of their lifestyle. But even gold medalists like skating legend Michelle Kwan and gymnastics champion Dominique Dawes say they've gone through not-so-healthy times.

"There are many moments when I haven't made smart decisions and it's affected me," Dawes told Yahoo! Shine. She retired from professional gymnastics competition in 2000 and now works as a motivational speaker. "There have been months when I was not working out, when I was feeling depressed, when I was putting on pounds, when I wasn't feeling good about myself, when I wasn't productive in any aspect of my life. If I get out there, moving and eating right I feel better, can be more productive."

"I'm guilty of some of the things everybody else is guilty of," admits Kwan, who travels the world as a diplomatic envoy with the State Department now. "Eating sweets and fattening foods and not cutting out salt. Over time, you create

Read More »from Michelle Kwan and Dominique Dawes on Avoiding Fitness Fails

According to Congress, these kids are eating their vegetables.Thirty years ago, the Reagan Administration was taken to task for classifying ketchup as a vegetable in order to cut the cost of school lunches. And now Congress is trying something similar: In a spending bill released late Monday night, lawmakers insisted that a slice of pizza be considered a vegetable, thanks to the two tablespoons or so of tomato paste smeared under the layer of goopy, processed-cheese product.

In January, the U.S. Department of Agriculture had proposed limiting the amount of starchy vegetables (like potatoes, mostly in the form of french fries, but also corn and peas) to two servings per week in order to "encourage students to try new vegetables in place of the familiar starchy ones."

Their proposal, which was based on 2009 recommendations by the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine, also called for reducing sodium, increasing the use of whole grains, and quadrupling the amount of tomato paste needed in order for it to qualify as a serving of

Read More »from Pizza is a Vegetable, Congress Says, Blocking Attempts to Make School Lunches Healthier

The Umbrella Coat Raincoat combines two rainy-day essentials. (Photo by Vassilis Makris, via ABCNews.com)It's practical, sure, but is it pretty? Umbrella lovers, you be the judge: Greek designer Athanasia Leivanditou takes utilitarian to a whole new level with her Umbrella Coat Raincoat.

"Rainy days put a strain on my movements. I had to hold the umbrella and do other things at the same time," Leivaditou told ABCNews. "Instead of getting frustrated with the physical constraints that my body imposed in such situations, I thought that I should come up with a solution."

The design, which is not yet in stores, was the big winner in October's Silver A'Design Award and Competition. It won't protect your bags or books during a downpour, but it certainly does more to protect your hair than any other gear we've seen. "The umbrella hood unfolds like stretched bat wings," ABC news describes, and a clear plastic sheet drops down from it to shield the face. The whole umbrella/hood section is secured The Umbrella Coat Raincoat transforms zips into a jumpsuit.by strings, so it shouldn't collapse on your head.

It's more than just an extra-large hood attached

Read More »from Fashion that Makes Us Sad: The Umbrella Coat Raincoat

More hospitals are refusing to perform elective C-sections and inductions.Pregnancy is a miraculous thing, but most moms would agree that the last month of it isn't a lot of fun. (Michelle Duggar might beg to differ, but given that she's pregnant with her 20th child, we're going to go ahead and say she's not the norm.) You're uncomfortable, to say the least. You can't sleep, thanks to the tiny bundle of wonder practicing his or her best kicks at night. And then there's the heartburn, swelling, around-the-clock trips to the bathroom, and more.

Is it any wonder that so many women wish they could avoid as much of that last month as possible? Given that elective inductions and Cesarean sections have been on the rise for years, it seems as though many new moms are doing just that.

"I have seen women induced or have a scheduled C-section because they have family scheduled to be in town, because they want the baby to be born on an anniversary or someone else's birthday, because they want the baby born prior to Jan. 1 for tax purposes, or because they are simply

Read More »from More Hospitals Banning Elective C Sections