Blog Posts by Glamour Magazine

I'm trying to make a change in my life and re-assert my healthy living goals with strategies that will actually (hopefully) stick. Maybe it's time I actually listen to some of the same old advice we've all heard time and time again. For instance, we've been told that you're more likely to exercise if you have a workout buddy (the term alone seems so condescending--we're not kids on a field trip, you know?) to hold you accountable, but there are so many perfectly good reasons not to get one.

• I kind of cringe at the thought of going to the gym with a friend--it's like, what if they judge me?! What if they laugh at how little weight I lift or how little time I last on the treadmill? Tell me I'm not alone when I say this.

• There are just things that I prefer to do myself. The gym is a bit of private time in an ordinarily busy life.

• What if I want to quit? I'm an independent-minded person, and I reserve the right to quit whenever I damn well choose, and I don't want to feel pressured

Splenda.jpg
I confess: when I tried Splenda the first time, I was excited. It was sweet! Not slippery and weird like saccharin, not weirdly after-tasty like aspartame. In fact, to me it tasted even sweeter than real sugar. I was set!

I hooked up my bowls of Special K and my Starbucks iced teas with the stuff, feeling like I was doing good things for my body and was avoiding a jacked-up insulin response and potential sugar crashes. Awesome.

And then I started hearing things: that it was one molecule away from being powdered bleach and that maybe it wasn't really "made from sugar" like the box suggested. My friend Mopie started joking that she was going to grow a second head out of her stomach (which she named Splenda Head and gave hilarious Audrey II monologues). I realized that the 16 calories from a teaspoon of ultrafine vanilla sugar on my cereal in the morning wasn't going to kill me and I actually preferred the taste of unsweetened iced tea, so I walked away from Splenda like a one-night

I was at the lovely garden/home of my friends Jorge and Veronica - a beautiful place I love not only because it is super special, but because it was one of the first gardens I did solo, about 10 years ago. And it has grown and changed, the way gardens are supposed to; it is wild and kind of prehistoric, the way we wanted it, and it has taken on the reflection of the people who enjoy it and live in it - that makes me very very happy.

Something else made me very happy - and it is technically a mistake. The 'Garden Janitor' didn't know how to properly prune a wildly out of control fruiting pomegranate, so he cut the thatchy underside of the shrubby tree into ... a cave!

What the?... but it works! It is strange and mysterious, and gives us a nice Alice in Wonderland moment. And that feeling is enhanced by the beautiful burnished globes hanging so very enticingly within reach. How

I have a few friends who refuse--I mean absolutely refuse--to go anywhere near an eyelash curler. I've even heard one pal call it a "horrible lid-pinching torture device." Well, I get what the fear is all about--they do look a bit like something from the Medieval period! And I, too, avoided them at all costs in my high school years.

But I got over it sometime in college when I saw what lovely things they do for lashes. Now I am an eyelash-curling fiend. I even have a tiny one just for my corner lashes. My secret to staying injury-free: Just squeeze slowly. That way, even if you do occasionally catch a little skin, you can feel it and readjust before it gets to the blinding-pain level.

What about you? Are you an eyelash-curler user? Too afraid to give them a go? Have any tips for making sure you don't end up yelping in pain? Anyone have some other method of curling your lashes?

For all you scaredy-cats, here's a simple eyelash trick that will make your real lashes look like

A bad day got you down? Kim shares her recipe for homemade applesauce that will make it all better.

More from Elastic Waist and SELF:

• Splenda: Not so splendid, after all
• 20 Superfoods for weight loss
  It's time for a new slim-down mantra: Eat more to weigh less. No joke!
• Easy recipes that don't rely upon prepackaged foods
• Subscribe to Self for Just $1 an issue. Free Pink Striped Tote!

Hey guys, I've got a fab guest blogger today who could really use our help. Read her scary story and weigh in. Take it away, Sarah!

Hi everyone. I'm the blogger over at Vitamin G (come by and say hi sometime!), sitting in for Erin today. I couldn't think of a better place than this blog to share my recent news and ask you all for some advice (I really need it!). I'll dive right in: You know those moments when everything is fine, perfect really, and then BAM, bad news hits? That happened to me last week when my doctors found a tumor the size of a grapefruit in my left ovary. Important detail to add: I'm 26 weeks pregnant.

"I'm going to need to consult with an oncologist," my doctor told me. Oncologist. The word kept repeating in my mind, sending waves of panic through my body. No one wants to hear her doctor say that word, especially when pregnant. So you can probably imagine the tears of joy in my house when I got a call the next day with good news: the tumor turned out

Throwing a birthday bash for your kid and his ten closest friends can feel overwhelming, to say the least. What games to play? What favors to hand out? Do I need to put up streamers or something? Tin Parade's themed kits contain everything you need to throw a polished soiree. This circus version comes with invitations, matching thank-you notes, an ice tub, table runners, napkins, centerpieces, plates, popcorn cartons, cone hats, clown noses, and favors. Just add the birthday boy.

Check out more birthday party theme ideas. Plus, great party games that never get old.

More from Cookie:

• Cookie's All-purpose Gift Guides
  New mom? Birthday? Find the perfect present for everyone you know.
• Passport 411
  Before you book your next trip abroad, get the lowdown on the new travel requirements for kids
• Kindergarten Blues
  Should he stay or should he go? A mother's agonizing decision on when to start her child in school.
• Subscribe to Cookie

It seems like everyone is jumping on board the "eat real food, not industrial sludge" train. Lately, I've really been paying attention to what I eat, not in a calorie-counting way, but instead focusing more on eating less factory-made boxed foods and more foods that grow naturally. Doritos, you will be missed.

Find out if posting calorie counts on menus sway the way diners eat.

It's clear that the tide has been turning in that direction for a while now, considering the popularity of books like In Defense of Food. But as I was walking through the grocery store last night, I was struck by all the relatively new over-processed foods just for breakfast alone. Here are three foods found in your grocer's freezer that you probably shouldn't eat for breakfast on a regular basis.

• Jimmy Dean Chocolate Chip Pancakes & Sausage on a Stick: McGriddle me this, how are you supposed to get on with your day with this fatty, sugary thing sitting in your stomach? It's not that I don't appreciate the