Blog Posts by Sarah Lipoff

The other day I wrote an educational article about meditation, memory and the young developing mind, which got me thinking about meditation in general. I totally admit to not buying into the whole "pondering" thing, but have never tried meditating myself. I just don't really have the time to sit in a quiet corner to chant and ring a bell for a couple of hours.

Yes, as you can see, I'm totally uneducated.

I love yoga, have spent my wad on acupuncture (when trying to get pregnant), and eat pretty healthy. But, the whole chanting-breathing thing just doesn't bring to mind relaxation, memory building, or weight-loss assistance. It makes me think of feeling silly and time that could have been spent baking cake.

I do love cake.

So, imagine my surprise when I found some pretty positive research linking meditation with building healthy memory. I don't know about you, but the idea of not remembering things scares the bejesus out of me. I have a hard enough time getting

This time of year seems to be all about what you are not going to do next year and your plans to change those bad, bad ways. Everyone's buzzing about making New Year's resolutions - even my friends over at the Motherboard! After reading their suggestions and checking out what some real ladies are discussing, I got to thinking...

There are three New Year's resolutions that I will NOT be making this year. Hey, if they happen on their own, that's great. But, I'm not adding them to my list of things I'm up all night obsessing over. Nope. I've got enough to worry about.

So, here goes.

1. Losing weight. Yeah, it would be awesome to lose 10-15 pounds, but I'm not going to starve myself getting there. I love food and think I eat pretty well (no junk-food at my house). Cooking is my stress relief and the idea of having someone deliver my daily calorie-reduced food or laboriously counting food points makes my head hurt. I also live with a toddler who loves cheese and a

In anticipation of getting our first Christmas-tree-with-child, I totally admit to having some concern that the tree will just be a glowing full-of-lights tree devoid of any ornaments. We have some lovely ornaments from my husband's side of the family and I would hate for this to be the year that they were no longer family heirlooms.

So, I got to thinking and remembered a crafty project I'd done with students in the past. It's simple, easily accomplished at any age, and you can make lots and lots of them!

Squishy shiny balls of fun - which would make PERFECT unbreakable Christmas tree ornaments!

You probably have what you need around the house, and you can get the kids to create an assembly line if you are wanting to make a gazillion of them. Just make sure to cover your work table - this project gets messy! I made a couple with my daughter and gave them a test-run on a tree outside to see how the wee tot would treat them. She spent a good amount of time ooooohing

Well, now that Thanksgiving's over, it's time to decorate the house! Because we live in a place that doesn't get snow, I try to find ways to make the place feel festive, but without any of that fake snow stuff. Along with getting a tree and hanging some sparkly lights, I usually create a fun wreath to hang on the door. Sometimes I use branches and things from the yard, but this year, I had a new idea.

While browsing through some decorating ideas from my friends over at Midwest Living, I was inspired by one of their featured wreaths. It totally motivated my inner winter wreath making diva, but I didn't have a white feather boa hanging about the house. So, it got me thinking. How about doing something with all those white plastic bags hanging out under the sink? I know you've got a stock pile of them, too. So, instead of tossing them in the trash (which is a no-no anyway), why not turn them into a super-cool, recycled, repurposed wreath?!

I pulled out the bags and got rid