Blog Posts by Sarah McColl, Shine staff

Unlike most holidays that see us gobbling various meat products and passed out in a food-induced haze, TV Turnoff Week is a holiday that aims to increase our physical and mental health and well-being. What's the point of turning off the TV for a week, you ask? What's the harm in watching Dancing with the Stars?

The big picture problem is that every year in industrialized nations, screen time -- including televisions, computers, iPods, games, videos, and cell phones -- is on the rise. In the US and other industrialized nations around the world, the average daily usage has reached 9 hours per day, not including work time. That's a second full-time job! On average, people watch 4 hours of television and then spend another 4 plus hours with computers, games, video, iPods and cell phones. Even if that seems like a lot of time, why should you have to give up your precious recreational time watching The Real Housewives of New York? The reason, according to the TV Turnoff organization, is

Rolling Stone placed their entire archive online yesterday, which got us to thinking about some of our most favorite head-bopping, toe-tapping tunes. "Music, like play and laughter," writes Kay Redmond Jamison in her book Exuberance, "increases emotional arousal and disinhibits; it rewards the participant for passionate engagement in the here and now." In other words, turning up your favorite jams and dancing around the living room enhances your sense of pleasure and can even boost your mood. "Music is used to induce positive emotions in research subjects," continues Jamison. In an effort to boost your mood, we put together a list of some of the best smile-inducing, warm fuzzy, and fist-pumping anthems. Some of these songs are just plain happy-sounding hits, some have great driving beats (perfect for a workout mix) and some have the kind of lyrics that make you want to go out and "climb ev'ry mountain."

What did we miss? What's your instantly-in-a-good-mood theme song?

Economists say the recession is ending but many of us don't feel it yet. We're still looking for a job, using food stamps, and doing everything to cut the grocery bill. But even for those of us still slogging through, tough times test our mettle, and they can also bring a few life-bettering realizations with them, too.

Take me, for example: having purse strings pulled tight drove home lessons I knew intellectually but suddenly felt in my bones were true. I went back to the library and remembered how those stacks of books and the quiet hush of pages flipping is the backdrop to a world of knowledge unfathomably huge. There's a magic to it that big box book stores just can't touch. I learned that coffee from a can will do just fine and that Pandora is like manna to a music lover. And I learned something I had always suspected was true for myself but suddenly knew for sure: time is worth more than money. There I was, poor as a church mouse, and happier than ever.

This is not meant to

Most of us are drawn to dramatic change, if only for the entertainment factor. We love extreme makeovers, drastic diets, big moves. After the stasis of day-in, day-out, a big shake-up is so satisfying. Woo-hoo, life is really changing! The trouble, of course, is when we try to make over our lives from top to bottom and before the weekend is over, we're right back to our old ways. We creatures of habit can't handle too much change all at once. So what if we set ourselves up to succeed by implementing small changes? Instead of deciding to do a 10-day detox, how about just getting one more serving of vegetables a day? It might not have the drama factor, but when you give yourself one little life alteration and then fully adapt to it before taking on something else, you set yourself up for lasting change. Pick one of these practically instant life-improvers to try this upcoming week.

1. Make your afternoon snack a fruit or veggie. Baby carrots and hummus or an apple and a wedge of

A new study published in Archives of Neurology shows that people who eat a diet of olive oil, nuts, fish, poultry, and certain fruits and vegetables are at a lower risk for Alzheimer's. Eating foods specifically selected for their benefits to your brain health, such as foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids, omega-6 fatty acids, vitamin E, vitamin B12 and folate can reduce the risk of the disease by up to 40%, and because Alzheimer's has no cure, prevention is key. "Diet is probably the easiest way to modify disease risk," Columbia University Alzheimer's researcher, Yian Gu says. In the study, those least likely to develop Alzheimer's ate more olive oil-based salad dressing, nuts, fish, tomatoes, poultry, cruciferous vegetables, fruits, and dark leafy greens; they also ate less red meat, organ meat and high-fat dairy products.

The foods recommended for brain health are the foods encouraged as part of a Mediterranean diet, which has already proven itself as heart-healthy. With all the

Everett Collection/20th Century FoxEven though New York is the subject of glamorized tales in which women run around town in stilettos, drinking $15 pink cocktails and carrying puppies in purses, the reality is more like this: We commute long distances on a subway that often smells of trash and urine, abject poverty shares the sidewalks with glamazons, and the standard work week is usually a good deal longer than 40 hours. It's the most exciting city in the world, "they" say, yet even the most high-achieving among us talk in hushed tones at parties about what would happen if we escaped the glittering skyline and teeny apartments to embrace a better quality of life. And that's just what Cathy Halley did.

What led you to sell your apartment, quit your corporate job in New York, and move half-way across the country?

I'm a very lucky girl because I moved for love and money--well for a perfect-for-me job. Everything just fell into place the way it does two, maybe three times in your life. I'd been dating someone who lives

On Real-Life Makeover, we're all for streamlining and simplifying our lives wherever possible, but our makeup bags? It's like an archeological dig in there. Cluttered with free samples, broken compacts, and dried up tubes of---what is this?--it can be darn near impossible to pull together a polished look when you're sifting through make-up trends of yore. Starting from scratch, we're sharing the classic, never go out of style, sure to make you look gorgeous make-up bag essentials.

Tinted moisturizer with SPF. Talk about a multi-tasker. This product protects your skin from harmful UV rays (preventing premature aging), gives your skin a dose of moisture, and evens skin tone, all in one swipe. We love CG Smoothers and Laura Mercier for normal to oily skin, and Olay Complete Plus for drier skin.

Blush. The power of blush is pretty transforming, and yet this is a step the lazy bones among us often skip. Make-up artists sometimes recommend putting on your blush before lipstick or mascara.

When it's Monday and you've had to deal with a slew of annoyances in your persona life and career before the clock even hits noon, the prospect of squeezing in a workout is probably less tempting than settling in for some quality couch time with The Real Housewives of New York. But here's where a bit of mind trickery comes in handy. A couple of new vibrantly colored workout items can maybe, just maybe, psych you up for a little sweat time. And if that doesn't work, imagine a workout high that will feeling just as good as a skinny girl margarita buzz --- and with no hangover.

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