We had a fun time at Dodger Stadium with the other families from Nicky’s school.

My boys, Joey and Nicky, with their dad Rob
(I love this picture!)

Here I am with my husband Michael

Today’s organizational tip is to attack your ties and scarves.

Check the corners of your closet for strays. Toss all the ties with perma-stains (really, guys), or scarves that are unraveling. Make a pile of the ties and scarves that need to go to the cleaners, and put them in bag by the door. Hang the ties and scarves on padded hangers so they don’t get creases in them.

I’m so excited about my new show!

This will be my first-ever one-woman show. My brother Lorin and I are writing it, and it’s autobiographical. This is so different from anything I’ve ever done before – most of the time I take a role, and learn it, and reinterpret it as my own. This time, there’s no role to be learned; instead I’m creating a whole new way to look at my life.

We’ve had to work on choosing the perfect opening number, and the perfect closing number. And then creating the thread that tells the story – and the songs that make all the transitions. It’s so much fun – and so much work. I love it!

The show premieres on Saturday, February 21st at the Spencer Theater for the Performing Arts in Alto, New Mexico – and I’ll be taking it around the country. Check back here for more dates… and more updates.

***ALL NEW!***
THM® on a Budget
Good Health ♥ Smart Money
Monday, February 9 through Friday, February 20

Times are tougher than they have been in a long time.
How can you make your food dollar stretch?
How can you eat healthy on a tight budget?

Starting Monday, February 9, coach CindyR will lead you in an exclusive, all-new online class that will help you eat a healthy THM® diet for less than it costs to eat the Standard American Diet (SAD). The class will cover shopping for, cooking, and storing THM® food to help you save money. People complain that eating healthy is expensive – take this class and see how wrong they are!
Bonus topic – celebrating Valentine’s Day on a budget (whether you’re single or partnered).

This is going to be an exciting, fun, thought-provoking, and educational twelve days. By following the tips in this class, you could save enough money to pay for up to three months of your Marilu.com membership! How’s that for a bargain! Marilu is always on the cutting edge of total health, and money matters affect your health both physically and emotionally. Let’s get excited and embark on this journey together.

Classes at Marilu.com are free to all members. Not a member? Join today! Only $9.95 a month – for recipes, tips, and personal coaching to help you meet your goals.

Time to check out and organize your underwear. Get rid of all the old and stretched out undies, and everything that is just plain ugly. You know what you don’t wear and why – so just get rid of it. Put the “keepers” back neatly.

It’s good for everyone in the house to do this. Make a list of who needs what – because now you really know.

Get a copy of Marilu’s book Wear Your Life Well!

The livestock industry is responsible for about 50 percent of the antibiotics used in the United States. (source: United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization report, “Livestock’s Long Shadow,” 2006) Many scientists believe that routine use of antibiotics may lead to increasingly resistant bacteria – and that means more illnesses we’re not able to contain or control.

The antibiotics are given to animals in two ways – routinely, in their feed, and also when they fall ill. There is no question that a sick animal deserves appropriate care. But keeping animals in confinement (as they are on feedlots) creates an environment that is disease-friendly. The only way to control disease in a feedlot is to put antibiotics into the animal feed, without regard to the actual health of an individual animal.

Whether you’re concerned about treatment of animals, or the quality of the food you’re eating (yes, those antibiotics do pass through to your plate), or disease control for people – routine antibiotics are not a good idea.

Each day this week, we have an organizational tip for you. These tasks only take a few minutes but can help you feel more in control, and even more proud of your life. So here we go with the first tip…

Organize your sock drawer. Get rid of any mismatched socks or socks that have holes in them. Toss any solo socks (or make them into sock puppets, or use them to dust). Toss any tights or hose that don’t fit or have runs or snags.

You can do this in front of the TV, or just standing in front of the drawer. Have the kids do their socks, too. If you need to replace some socks, put that on your shopping list.

Take a break from the game – or the pre-game – and get your own exercise.

• Go outside and toss a football around.
• Play touch football with all the people at the Super Bowl party (boys vs. girls; young’uns vs. wise ones; Arizona fans vs. Pittsburgh fans – take your pick).
• If you can’t play football, be a cheerleader – be sure to jump.
• Run up and down the stairs a few times. In a row.
• Play tag with the kids.
• Go sledding. Volunteer to pull everyone up the hill.
• Clear the snow or ice from the driveway or sidewalk.
• Have a training session of calisthenics (jumping jacks, arm circles, pushups, crunches, toe touches, hurdler stretches, etc.).

Photo by Brenda Lamothe Coulomme

Freedom lies in being bold.

~ Robert Frost