WELLNESS | by VALERIE GRIFFITH

I LOVE TO RUN. BUT IT’S STILL HARD TO GET OUT THE DOOR.

A few simple strategies can help keep your running on track: Make it routine. Determine a time you can run each day and stick to it. Ideally, exercise early. Set goals. A mile, a 5K event, a breast-cancer fundraiser, a marathon. Commit to a partner. Celebrate your success by recording daily mileage.

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On a bad day I’ll procrastinate for so long that I never manage to cross that psychological ― and literal ― threshold. So for times when “Just do it” is just not enough, I’ve created this cheat sheet to help me get out the door. I mean, why wouldn’t you run?

• Nothing should come before your health.
• Endorphins. The happy hormones. Produced by high-octane cardio workouts, an endorphin surge delivers a tremendous sense of well-being.
• Running burns calories. A lot of calories.
• The glow. To run is to sweat, which in turn detoxes and revitalizes the skin.
• The body trifecta: Running strengthens the heart, increases bone density and boosts your immune system.
• Stress and running are mutually exclusive.
• Running is a first line defense against depression.
• Energy, energy, energy.
• Every run has at least one unexpected moment of beauty.
• Gratitude. To run is to be blessed ― by a perfect day, a sunset, or a downpour.
• You’ll feel fantastic when you’re done.

WELLNESS | by MOLLY MARTIN

WHEN I TELL FRIENDS ABOUT THE NEW EXERCISES THAT HAVE HELPED MY BACK and I mention the word “core”, most nod knowingly ― until I mention the transverse abdominus and multifidus.

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The new core exercises are much more subtle than pulling your belly button towards your spine. After learning them in physical therapy, I understood them better after observing a workshop for PTs, based on research by some Australian PTs.

The theory: Three key muscles can form a stabilizing cylinder around the spine to protect the back:

• the transverse abdominus or TA, short and cord-like, just inside the hip bone;
• the multifidus, small connectors of the spinal vertebrae;
• the muscles of the pelvic floor.

The research showed that people without back problems contracted those muscles 4/100^th of a second before they moved. Folks who had back problems contracted them when they moved.

So back patients re-learn to contract these muscles before moving and then do other specific exercises, many balancing one way or another.

Most women are familiar with engaging the pelvic-floor muscles via Kegel exercises.  It’s trickier for men: At the PT-training session, some of the therapists said the most effective phrase they found to help men learn this one was, “Scrotal lift”!

The other exercises are difficult to describe (not to mention teach) with words alone. The PTs in the workshop at first had difficulties getting the knack. (“If you’re sure you’re doing it, you’re probably not, you’re contracting too much and engaging larger muscles instead.”)

What to do if you’re interested? Ask a prospective physical therapist if she or he teaches how to engage your TA and multifidus, and refer to the book link above if needed.

I hope you find as much relief from them as I have!

BACK TO BASICS | by DEBRA PRINZING

JUDICIOUS EDITING OF YOUR PLANTS can create a more attractive ― and healthier ― garden. Pruning is one of the most important editing tools for the landscape, but I’m not talking about something that looks like Edward Scissorhands has come to play, or the tightly-clipped boxwood balls, cubes and animals belonging to über-formal estate gardens.

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Gardeners prune to achieve the following benefits:

• Produce better blooms and fruit (think of rose shrubs and apple trees)
• Improve plant health by removing dead and diseased branches (to allow for better air circulation and encourage light to reach healthy stems)
• Rejuvenate overgrown shrubs (eliminating overcrowded stems or limbs encourages the vigorous growth of younger ones)

Pruning is ideally scheduled for late winter, when woody trees and shrubs are in their dormant stage. For the best cuts, use sharp, clean pruners. This avoids ragged edges and prevents the spread of disease from one plant to the next.

Before you start, observe how your trees and shrubs are growing. Stand back; walk around the plant; take note of oddly-angle or wayward stems that might be worth removing. It’s better to prune less than more, so take your time. Make cuts that enhance a plant’s natural form. Cut no more than ¼-inch above the joint of a branch or new bud, to encourage healthy growth. The ideal cut is at a 45-degree angle on an outward-facing bud or branch.

Here are three of my favorite pruning tools:

Felco pruners. The classic red-handled tool is used by the pros. It comes in ergonomic styles and a range of sizes, including small (ideal for women’s hands). You can also purchase replacement blades.

Fiskars pruners. Lightweight and easy to use, this cool tool is designed with ergonomic features to minimize stress on the hand.

Floral pruners. From Wild and Wolf, these are thoroughly pretty and decorated with William Morris wallpaper florals from the Arts and Crafts era. This attractive tool is ideal for cutting back perennials and deadheading roses.

BACK TO BASICS | by JANNA LUFKIN

NO! I’M NOT STARTING A CLEANING SERVICE! But at one time I felt as if I was running one in my “off” hours. I’d get home from work, get dinner organized, then pull out the vacuum and Windex and whirl around the house. One evening while vacuuming I said, “What do you think this is, Janna-torial Service?” It’s a family joke now ― one of my more creative moments. My husband calls my broom “my ride”. Real funny! NOT!

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Honestly, I’m sure I had more in common with the Wicked Witch than Glenda the Good.

Finally it occurred to me that I needed to teach my family what I fondly refer to as “The Daily Basics”.

Work these quick and easy tasks into your day and gently teach your family to lend a hand.

• Hall entrance or mud room: Take off your shoes! It will go a long ways towards keeping the rest of your home dirt-free.
• Bathrooms: Swoosh out the sink and give the mirrors and faucets a quick spritz of window spray. It will shine in no time.
• Bedrooms: If you do nothing else, make the bed.
• Kitchen: Get dishes out of the sink and wipe down the counters. If you have an extra minute, wipe the fingerprints off the fridge.
• Main living spaces: Pick up papers and magazines and give the cushions a quick fluff.

In 20 minutes, you’ll have it done and be out the door.

I’m still the chief cleaner-upper, picker-upper, and yes, I’m the picky one. But now my little cleaning service has blossomed into a family business.

CELEBRATIONS | by SHERRY STRIPLING

RAIN SPLATTERED AGAINST THE WINDOWS, where 12 diners gathered to shuck off the dreary end of winter with a celebratory dinner: The last meal on the Titanic.

SOURCE: COOKINGMONSTER.COM

Theme dinners are an excellent way to break winter doldrums. They’re like Halloween without candy. People dress in quasi costume, suspending belief and adding giggles.

Our group had a 1920s night ­― “Flapper, yes sir, one of those!” ― then moved to the fedora 1940s before ending the season with a glorious rendition of April 14, 1912.

There’s nothing more cheery than knowing you are not going to the bottom of the sea but that you still get to sample that great ship’s first class meal, including poached salmon with Mousseline Sauce, Punch Romaine and Waldorf Pudding.

The entire 10 courses from menus that survived the Titanic’s sinking can be found online.  Author Rick Archbold details the preparation in “Last Dinner on the Titanic: Menus and Recipes from the Great Liner”, ($25.95).

Our meal hosts ― a 14-year-old boy obsessed with the Titanic and a 50-something woman who loved to cook ― modified the menu to lessen cooking demands. Wisely, we didn’t indulge in a different wine for each course.

Guests provided the drinks, chipped in food money and dressed in thrift-shop finery to sip champagne with the Astors and smoke real or imagined cigars with the Unsinkable Molly Brown.

In between courses, our hosts read details about the voyage’s grandeur and the menu. We stayed in character, making cracks about sinking under the weight of the rich food and asking each other if we wanted that drink “on ice.”

I’ve since read that the night serves an important life lesson about grabbing the gusto: Think of the poor souls who turned down the sweets cart.

TRENDSPOTTING | by ALEXANDRA SMITH

YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE SPORTED ONE since that Batgirl costume in third grade, but capes, and their shorter capelet cousins, are quite popular in helping brave the cold this winter.

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Hot as they may be, it doesn’t take an Anna Wintour to know that capes are hardly nouveau chic. Most of us can conjure the image of a turn-of-the-century gentleman in tweed cloaking (Sherlock Holmes anyone?), or perhaps think back even further to the sinister hooded capes of medieval Europe. In fact, it’s their very historical ubiquity that makes capes seem, at first blush, somewhat antiquated today.

Not so fast. There’s a reason this garment has survived so many centuries. Besides being ridiculously functional (what could be cozier, other than the Snuggie, but we won’t go there), capes are versatile, sophisticated and generally quite flattering. They pair well with evening and office-wear alike; they add polish to an otherwise casual boots-and-jeans ensemble.

Yes, capes are pretty easy to pull off. But there are a few things to keep in mind should you choose to wear one.

• First, an easy rule of thumb: The shorter the woman, the shorter the cape. If you’re under 5-foot-5, a capelet might be the better option.
• Second, stick with sleeker pieces underneath ― anything too bulky will throw off the lines of your cape. Skinny jeans or a pencil skirt, for example, would pair well with this look.
• Finally, unless you’re really looking to make a statement, keep the rest of your outfit ― particularly accessories ― minimal. Capes are powerful pieces (no wonder Superman wore one!) and can quickly become overpowering if one isn’t careful.

SUSTAINABLE LIVING | by CELESTE TELL

OUR LOCAL FARMER’S MARKET IS OPEN YEAR ROUND, and I generally go almost every Sunday. Jammed with tourists in the summer months, it is quieter, but soggier in the winter months. For years I have contemplated getting a weekly or biweekly CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) delivery instead of going to the market. But I never seemed to get around to pulling the trigger.

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Last winter I was at an auction and there it was, on one of the silent-auction tables. I bid. No one else did. It must have been destiny. Two deliveries of a CSA box. The certificate sat around for months. Finally I pulled the trigger.

For an admitted control freak, the CSA box is an interesting exercise, and while initially intimidating, turned out to be lots of fun. Rather than head to the market with a list or an idea of a weekly menu plan, your box shows up with the best of that week’s harvest. It may or may not be fruits and vegetables that you usually buy, or in combinations that you are used to cooking with. It forced me to get creative, digging through cookbooks and Google-ing to find new recipes. I still have that one head of cauliflower left, but everything else has been used up.

CSA boxes may be more economically sustainable. Our boxes would have cost $35 each, and lasted more than two weeks, compared with the $40 to $50 I often spend weekly at the market. And farmers prefer it too, as it makes their income and growing plans more predictable and, therefore, sustainable.

I still enjoy going to the farmer’s market, for the experience and the community. But I just might start ordering a CSA box once a month, just for the fun of it.

WELLNESS | by POSY GERING

WHAT’S HAPPENED TO YOUR 2010 RESOLUTIONS? If you’re like me, you had a long list on December 31. Now it’s halfway through the first month of the year. I can’t even find my list, let alone act on it.

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So I’m rebelling: I am resolving to do one thing less. Even just thinking about the possibility of doing less relaxes my brain. The moment of quiet I create is a successful completion of my resolution and a gift.

It feels so good to do a little less that I start getting ideas about what else I can release. One thing that comes to mind is not responding to email the second it arrives in my inbox and not even checking it until it is convenient for me. Until I made this new resolution, I let email run my life and interrupt whatever I was doing.

When I do just “one thing less”, I create a gift of mental space that is more satisfying and nurturing than chocolate. Doing one thing less feels slightly forbidden, so it creates the same excitement and satisfaction as getting away with cutting a class. It doesn’t cost anything and is completely sustainable.

I invite you to join me: Do one thing less in 2010 – and let me know about your experience.

DESIGN | by JANNA LUFKIN

WHAT IS THE MOST BASIC OF DESIGN PRINCIPALS? I’m sure you’ve heard it: Form Follows Function. It means that the way something works comes first and what it looks like follows.

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To me, however, Form and Function are equals. Paying attention to both is a bit more of a challenge, but in the end, that’s what makes really good design. When I approach an organizing project, I approach it as a design project.

Here are five ways to learn to think like a designer when you’re ready to get organized.

• Identify your style. Do you like Modern, Rustic, Country, Traditional, etc.? Purchase organizers that reflect your personal style.
• Pick a few favorite colors for your organizing tools and stick with them throughout. For example, if you like Modern, you might select shades of grey, black and white.
• Carry your organizing style throughout your home’s storage spaces. This helps to make your house “flow” from drawer to drawer and room to room. Plus, it keeps things simple.
• Throw in a fun object here and there, in a great color or pattern, just to keep things interesting. For instance, if you like Country, add a modern set of file drawers, then line them with vintage wallpaper.
• Never, ever buy anything that can’t be used for more than one purpose. A great set of baskets for your laundry room might one day work just as well holding wood and kindling by your fireplace.

If you think of your home-organizing projects as design projects, you will soon realize that your home is not only functioning, it’s functioning beautifully.

BACK TO BASICS | by SHERRY STRIPLING

“WINTER MUST BE COLD for those with no warm memories.”

― From the film “An Affair to Remember”

When it finally dawned on me that winter comes every year and that family death marches known as “the holidays” are hardly respites, I put my faith in little winter getaways: The guaranteed path to spring.

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Be they big, be they small. Be they into sunshine or facing winter weather dead on. The real benefit of these getaways is as beacons on the horizon ― one (or more!) to light up January, February and March.

One of our annual trips is deep into the woods for three days of cross-country skiing. The rustic cabins are out of cell-phone and Internet reach. The trails are groomed but isolated and with great dollops of powder snow.

As long as we keep moving, we keep warm. There’s very little daylight but we know the trails well enough by now that we venture out again at night ― our headlamps daring coyotes and owls.

Exuberant, exhausted, invigorated, we return to the reward of down comforter, warm light outlining the log walls:  hours of cozy reading with no Ring! Ring!

Each February, we walk into the storm at the ocean. Sometimes we meet friends from out of state to romp on the beaches, come in, warm up and go back out again. At night, we eat hearty meals and play games, play music and renew affections.

Mexico. Hawaii. The Caribbean. Arizona. They’re all winter goals we have yet to meet but their benefits need no explanation.

We do at least one neighboring big-city weekend for museums, IMAX movies, walks in city parks and luxurious ethnic meals we can’t find at home.

Small wonders that work! Winter, we confront thee ― with glorious guideposts get us through.