Cathy: Ice It.

Cathy owns Advanced Health of Naperville and saved me last year when I threw out my back. With five treatments and six massages, I was back to normal and had a great rest of the year.

Two days ago, I slept funny and woke up literally unable to move. With one fingertip, I emergency-texted Cathy: “Is there ANY CHANCE I can get an adjustment and massage before Monday? Pinched nerve & I can’t move!”

She called back right away. That’s the kind of gal she is.

Today, while sitting in an otherwise-would-be-closed office with Cathy massaging/adjusting/ultrasound-therapying my back, she said over and over:

“Ice it. Don’t put heat on it. Heat causes inflammation. It makes your nerves tense up more. It might feel better at first, but there’s NOTHING I CAN RECOMMEND MORE than to ICE YOUR BACK. Six, 7, 8, 9 times a day. Ice, ice, ice.”

I’m icing. It’s helping.

Cathy, thank you SO MUCH for seeing me today. You are aMAzing.

Tammy: Eliminate Awkwardness.

Someone told me once there are two questions you should never ask:
1 – Are you pregnant?
2 – Are you the grandmother?

Tammy (a close girlfriend who works at Children’s Memorial Hospital and deals with a bajillion kid patients and their caretakers daily) has figured out a roundabout way of determining the answer to the second.

—–
Scenario:

Tammy walks into exam room all decked out in official doctor-type gear. She sees a baby, a woman who looks like she’s 25, and another woman who looks like she’s 45.

She asks the baby, “So, who did you bring with you today?”

The younger woman volunteers, “Oh, I’m her mom, and this is my sister.”

Tammy thinks to herself, “Thank-freakin’-goodness I didn’t ask if she was the grandmother.”
—–

Other awkward scenarios eliminated by this question:

“We’re his dads.”
“I’m her grandmother, and this is my neighbor.”
“I’m his uncle, and this is my girlfriend.”

But the workaround the “are-you-pregnant” question? You keep your mouth shut. And you never, ever, EVER ask.

EVER.

Dawn: Ginger is a Diuretic.

I took a cooking class at The Chopping Block, an instructional kitchen/cooking store in Lincoln Square and the Merchandise Mart: Healthy Cooking taught by local dietitian Dawn Jackson Blatner. She taught us how to make an entire meal surrounding healthy choices, including breaded broccoli, organic herb pizza, and soy mousse. And the appetizer was this carrot ginger soup.

Generally, I’m a big fan of ginger (except in cookies, because I think the whole concept of gingerbread is weird.) But what I didn’t know is that ginger is a diuretic. Dawn said, “Just throw in a teaspoon of ginger into whatever you’re eating to bring out the flavor. Plus, if you’re bloated, ginger helps decrease water weight.”

So now, I always have some minced ginger handy to throw into whatever I’m eating. Not that it’s really helping me lose weight. But at least it’s helping me to not feel completely puffy.

I’d love to hear other people’s strategies to not feeling puffy. Because I’m big into salt. And I always feel puffy. Okay – go.

Angie: Don’t pack a single pair of sweats.

Angie was my junior-year-of-college roommate. From Blue Springs, MO, her claim to fame is that her brother is best friends with David Cook. Although she didn’t know how to boil water or make scrambled eggs (seriously), Angie actually gave me some actual, practical, memorable advice before I went home for winter break (which haunts me every holiday season):

“Don’t pack a single pair of sweats. It’s winter. You’ll want to dress all cozy and comfy. DON’T. Because the second you don’t wear jeans or cords or something that holds you in is the second you’ll overeat. And then you won’t fit into your clothes when you get back to school.”

I’m sitting in sweats now and contemplating baking a BTS cake -> case in point.

Fitness Instructor Sara: Save yourself 100 calories.

It’s the end of Thanksgiving, and most of us are probably either a) in a tryptophan coma, or b) planning out our Black Friday routes. And though the pie is already long gone, Sara (who’s also a fitness instructor at a gym in Oswego) gave this piece of advice before indulging in our gluttony today:

“Don’t eat the pie crust on the edge. You can eat the bottom. But break off that edge piece and you’ll save yourself 100 calories, at LEAST.”

We did it. And we did it so well, we rewarded ourselves with a second helping of whipped cream. It is about choices, after all.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Jenny: Birthday = toothbrush day.

You know how you’re supposed to change your toothbrush every three months? And you know how you never remember to, and you go another three months before you realize the indicator on the toothbrush is worn down to the bottom of the bristles and you think, “Gross! My teeth are gonna rot!” and you book your trip to the dentist?

Well, my best friend’s older sister Jenny taught me how to remember when to change my toothbrush:

1. Change your toothbrush on your birthday.
2. Change your toothbrush three months after your birthday.
3. Change your toothbrush three months after #2.
4. Change your toothbrush three months after #3.
5. Three months later… happy birthday. Start over with #1.

So easy, right? And I’ve never had a cavity. It’s probably totally because I change my toothbrush every three months religiously. Totally.

Melissa: A lesson on Q-tips.

I think of my college roommate Melissa every single time I see a Q-tip. She’s an audiologist and has traveled around the world for her discipline. She’s my resident superstar of anything to do with hearing.

She moved in mid-semester, and I remember her FREAKING OUT when I started to clean my ear. (Sorry, maybe that was TMI.)

“Mari! A Q-tip is meant to only clear the exterior of the ear! Don’t you EVER stick it into your ear! That’ll damage your ear drum forEVER! Do you want to lose your hearing?!”

She scared me, and I haven’t done it since. I’m pretty sure that she’s bluffing, but I don’t want to find out.

Colette: You HAVE to try this stuff.

Colette and I met and bonded over our hair. I tell her all the time that I’ve never known a white girl who had my hair - coarse, frizzy, thick, and unmanageable. But yet the kind that everyone’s jealous of because it’s “so thick and so beautiful!”

The other day at a playgroup, she said, “My hairstylist just introduced me to Moroccan Oil – and it makes my hair so soft, manageable, and takes out all the frizz. You HAVE to try this stuff, Mari!”

So I bought a bottle.

Oh my goodness.

My hair has never felt so soft.

That is all.

(I love you Colette for many reasons, but sharing this secret with me is a definite list-topper.)

Veronica: I always bring “going-out” shoes.

@VeronicaPasia is a high power marketing girl. She’s also tall and beautiful and lovely and friendly and fun and smart. She’s like THE sept-uple threat (or whatever a 7x threat is called).

We met up for our friend’s birthday party and decided to go dancing afterwards. I was wearing flats. Veronica was wearing flats. I figured we’d go somewhere where flats were fine.

Then out of nowhere, VP produced a pair of FABULOUS (heeled) shoes from her bag and slipped them on.

Panicked, I said, “Oh no! You’re going to look hot! I’m going to look short!”

She said, “I always bring “going-out” shoes with me. It’s the city, girl!”

Well, I learned my lesson. And there’s always a spare pair of 4″ patent peep toes in my bag or car. Just in case.

Dana: Think copper.

I recently reconnected via Facebook with Dana, a friend of mine from high school. I was on the dance team, she was the lead colorguard girl. I remember talking with her about endurance.

I have the VO2 of a 3 year old. It’s pathetic. Back then, it was tough for me to get through a 2:30 dance routine without feeling spent.

Her advice: “Think copper, Mari.”

I’m working towards running my first official 5k with @chanthana, @krzimmer, @leyla_a – among others. And you know what?

I’m still thinking copper.