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Holiday Programming Note (and Merry Christmas!)


As 2010 comes to a close, Blisstree staffers are taking a much-needed break this holiday season. (And we hope you are, too.) So we’ll be publishing fewer posts starting today through Sunday, January 2, 2011.

But not to worry, we’ve got plenty of original health and wellness content to keep you occupied, informed, and entertained between Christmas and New Year’s. (Not that you’re trying to escape your relatives or anything.) So come in, look around, and stay a while. … More »

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Holiday Programming Note (and Merry Christmas!)

Morning Links: Vegan Egg Nog Recipe


If You Feel Bad About Your Neck – There are less invasive ways to lift your neck than surgery, thanks to Ulthera and fat manipulation. (New York Times)

Airing Your Injury Online – We’re dubious about sharing health horror stories on Facebook, but this blogger makes a compelling argument for coping with illness online. (The Guardian)

Last-Minute Christmas Cocktails – You can do an egg nog without all the dairy; classic or peppermint. (Oh She Glows) … More »

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Morning Links: Vegan Egg Nog Recipe

Blisstree » LIVE 2010-12-06 13:16:01


Damn smushed holiday bows from Christmases past! Here’s how to give them new, eco-friendly life this season. (via The Alternative Consumer)
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… More »

Post from: BlissTree

Now, all of a sudden, it’s late November again, and despite my desire for a new pair of boots and a coffee table for my living room, I’m struck by the urge to scrounge up a charitable donation that’s become so well-timed to the holiday season. Am I a bad person for having such inconsistent motivation to help others? Am I the only one who’s so lazy during the other ten months of the year? I’d like to think that everyone else is a better Good Samaritan than I am, but something tells me I’m not unique in my start/stop pattern of giving/non-giving.


– Blisstree Deputy Editor Briana Rognlin on the emotional complexities of wanting to give to the less fortunate around Thanksgiving and Christmas, from her post: Charitable Giving: Are We Holiday Do-Gooders Just Selfishly Easing Our Guilty Consciences?
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Now, all of a sudden, it’s late November again, and despite my … More »

Post from: BlissTree

Now, all of a sudden, it’s late November again, and despite my desire for a new pair of boots and a coffee table for my living room, I’m struck by the urge to scrounge up a charitable donation that’s become so well-timed to the holiday season. Am I a bad person for having such inconsistent motivation to help others? Am I the only one who’s so lazy during the other ten months of the year? I’d like to think that everyone else is a better Good Samaritan than I am, but something tells me I’m not unique in my start/stop pattern of giving/non-giving.

Oprah Gives Away Favorite Things, Terrifies Audience Members


Obviously we’re just jealous, but we find Buzzfeed’s photo gallery of the Best Crowd Reactions From Oprah’s Ultimate Favorite Things episode to be completely hilarious. Part one of Oprah’s glitzy and teary holiday giveaway aired on Friday; part two happens on Monday. In the meantime, enjoy these 35 photographic gems (here are three of our particular faves), because this is as close as most of us are ever going to get to making Oprah’s Christmas gift list, much less getting her to fulfill ours. … More »

Post from: BlissTree

Oprah Gives Away Favorite Things, Terrifies Audience Members

Oprah’s Better Than Santa, So Here’s What We’d Ask For If We Sat on Her Lap


Part one of OprahPalooza 2010 Oprah’s Ultimate Favorite Things aired this afternoon, and although we’ve been periodically checking under our seats for gift certificates and cashmere, alas: We weren’t invited to the big sha-bang. Guests who have given back to their communities were specially chosen, but rumor has it that they howled and cheered just like anyone else would when Oprah gave away a 52-inch flat-screen TV and a watch worth more than $2K. It’s Oprah’s last season, and she only has one thing left to prove: She’s better than Santa Claus. … More »

Post from: BlissTree

Oprah’s Better Than Santa, So Here’s What We’d Ask For If We Sat on Her Lap

Oprah’s Better Than Santa, So Here’s What We’d Ask For If We Sat on Her Lap


Part one of OprahPalooza 2010 Oprah’s Ultimate Favorite Things aired this afternoon, and although we’ve been periodically checking under our seats for gift certificates and cashmere, alas: We weren’t invited to the big sha-bang. Guests who have given back to their communities were specially chosen, but rumor has it that they howled and cheered just like anyone else would when Oprah gave away a 52-inch flat-screen TV and a watch worth more than $2K. It’s Oprah’s last season, and she only has one thing left to prove: She’s better than Santa Claus. … More »

Post from: BlissTree

Oprah’s Better Than Santa, So Here’s What We’d Ask For If We Sat on Her Lap

My Wife and I Always Spend the Holidays Apart (And We Like It That Way)


Last Christmas Eve, my wife Kim and I performed our annual holiday ritual.

No stockings were hung, no champagne was toasted, no duet of “There’s No Place Like Home for the Holidays was sung,” no gifts were exchanged. Just a couple of simple ‘I love yous” before drifting off to sleep.

270 miles apart.

For ten years running, we’ve spent the holidays apart. And it’s not just Christmas. We usually go our separate ways for Thanksgiving, too.

Kim heads north to join her family in suburban Boston; I go south to sit on my Mom’s couch in her urban Philadelphia neighborhood.

Why, you ask?

Isn’t it obvious?

We adhere to a foolproof system for reducing the holiday-related torture known as in-laws. … More »

Post from: BlissTree

My Wife and I Always Spend the Holidays Apart (And We Like It That Way)