Thanks …

• For all you’ve taught us … and continue to teach us … about living with gusto!
• For everything you’ve shared with us about healthy living.
• For being courageous after the deaths of your parents, and taking that as a learning opportunity.
• For standing strong in love and knowledge when helping Michael battle his cancers.
• For being a mentor and a friend.

Happy Birthday, Marilu! Here’s to another great year!

Photo by Jim Frech

Don’t we all wish for a million dollars, or to win the lottery? We think that would solve all our problems, when really, it would only create new ones.

If I had a million dollars
We wouldn’t have to eat Kraft Dinner
But we would eat Kraft Dinner
Of course we would, we’d just eat more
And buy really expensive ketchups with it
That’s right, all the fanciest ke… dijon ketchups!
Mmmmmm, Mmmm-Hmmm

It’s good to know we can change our eating habits and make healthy life choices without having a million dollars. The THM® on a Budget class starts today, and can help you figure out how to spend the money you have (and pay down your debt, and save some, too) on healthy choices. You don’t have to be rich to be healthy.

Sign up for the class now – both good health and smart money can be part of your life!

Enjoy the song – and be grateful for all you have. Also? Get moving!

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The family. We were a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another’s desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together.

~Erma Bombeck

This past week has been filled with religious holidays, and this time of year often includes school holidays (spring break!) as well. Both of those things mean family time. And that can be really good, and it can be really stressful – usually at the same time. No family is perfect. Love your family members, however different they are from you. That common thread is there, somewhere.

Plant something in your garden, your mind, your heart, or in the mind or heart of someone else.

Take the time to plant a little seed of inspiration, and watch it grow. Take a lesson from the children’s book The Carrot Seed, which illustrates so simply that if you believe in the seed that you plant and nurture it with TLC, despite what other people think, it will grow beautifully and bear the fruits of your labor.

Join now to get two amazing Total Health® classes in April, and don’t miss Booty Camp in May if you want a hot bikini bod for summer.

• THM on a Budget * Good Health ~ Smart Money * April 5-15 * You don’t have to spend more on groceries or break the bank to live a healthy lifestyle. Coach CindyR shares a boatload of practical tips for being a good steward of both your body and your bank account. You’ll save money by implementing just some of these tips – this class pays for itself! Best budget tip – you also get the second April class with your April membership!
• The Role of Your Life * April 19-30 * A Marilu.com exclusive! Using exercises from acting classes, you’ll learn how to live as the star of your own show. This is a Total Health® class, where you’ll make connections between how you think about yourself and how you eat, dress, and project yourself. Fight self-sabotage and take on the leading role in your life. Be prepared for some introspective work on your own, and share as you feel comfortable. This class has been a life-changer for many members.
• Booty Camp ~ Get Ripped with the Jills * May 6-26 (pre-camp warm-up May 3-5) * Coaches Jill and Jill are pumped up for hard-core booty kicking. Join the fun, challenge yourself, and get results in this 21-day class. The class includes a meal plan, recipes, and more.

All members are automatically enrolled in every online class. Become a member and take a class each month (sometimes two classes) – meet your goals for your health.

Start a Fitness Log. Keep track of:

• activities * what you do
• time * how many minutes you exercise
• feelings * how your body feels during and after your workout
• music * what keeps you motivated
• equipment * what you need
• buddies * who you were with

You’ll find out what you love to do, and what you’d prefer not to do. You’ll be able to create your own motivating music playlist. You’ll see how often you’re really exercising (instead of what you think you’re doing). You’ll know when you started to lift more weight, and when you started to run further and faster on the treadmill.

What to do with the hard-cooked and colored eggs from Easter?

Note * Always use non-toxic, food-based dyes to color Easter eggs. Then, even if the white of the egg gets some color (and a lot of personality) through small cracks in the shell, it’s still fine to eat the eggs.

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Deviled Eggs
Blue * Serves 8

4 cage-free organic eggs, hard-cooked, cooled, and peeled
2 Tablespoons Vegenaise
1 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard
1/8 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
salt
1/8 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon minced organic parsley

Cut the eggs in half lengthwise and remove the yolks. Mash the yolks in a bowl with the Vegenaise, mustard, cayenne, and salt to taste. Spoon the filling into the egg whites. Garnish the tops of the eggs with the paprika and parsley.

Why do fools fall in love?
What do you love about yourself?
How do you love yourself?

We believe that loving yourself is critical to a good, happy, healthy life. Love yourself with food that nourishes your body. Love yourself with daily exercise. Love yourself with enough sleep each night. Love yourself with looking your best.

Right now? Love yourself by getting up from your computer (or phone) and moving. Diana Ross did a really lame music video for this song; we’re pretty sure you (and everyone you know) can do better.

(No offense to Diana Ross – music videos were a young genre in 1981, and they were all pretty… amusing. Plus, she can sing circles around us.)

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