With Valentine’s Day coming up, we thought a romantic song would be appropriate to help you get moving. It’s especially good if you want to practice dancing with your sweetie.

Whatever else you do, get up right now and stretch.

Put your hands up and reach for the stars!
Move your arms out to your sides, and reach to the left and then to the right. Go back and forth, stretching your sides.
Gently roll your head from side to side, stretching your neck and shoulders.
Reach down and touch your toes – or as close as you can get.
Then pull in your stomach and slowly roll up to standing again.

Doesn’t that feel good? Take a minute to stretch several times during the day.

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Even if the rest of the world can’t see it, you know when you’re wearing your sexiest lingerie. It gives you a special little secret to carry through the day, it makes you more aware of your body and how you’re moving, and you’ll feel sexier and more powerful.

There’s not one good reason to smoke. Not one. It’s the single most preventable cause of death in America.

But people (and especially women) seem to believe that if they quit smoking, they’ll gain weight. Or if they start smoking, they’ll lose weight.

The correlation is not that simple, and it’s certainly not a given. Plenty of people quit smoking and don’t gain weight. And really, if you do gain a couple of pounds in the transition, you’re still better off NOT smoking! Tobacco use is responsible for one of every five deaths in the USA. Cigarette smoking is linked to 87 percent of all lung cancer deaths in the USA, and 29 percent of all deaths from coronary artery disease.

Think about it. What better gift to give your heart this month than quitting smoking?

Set your DVR!

Accidentally in Love
Hallmark Channel
Saturday, February 12, 2011
9 PM / 8 PM Central

Eddie James, a disgruntled actor who wants to do more than play “Mulligan the Rabbit” on a children’s TV show, discovers life can change in a heartbeat when he accidentally gets into a car accident with single mother Annie Baker. In the unexpected friendship that develops between them, Eddie tries to help Annie’s nearly-blind daughter Taylor get an operation to restore her sight.

Stars Jennie Garth, Ethan Erickson, Fred Willard and Marilu Henner.

Check it out here.

Five minutes can make a difference in your day – at home and at work. We all have those really short segments of time throughout the day, and if we are conscious of them, we can use them to get things done. And that always makes us feel better about ourselves.

Here are some of our favorites for the office – both the one at home and the one at work. What can you do in five minutes?

• Cancel one appointment you don’t want (or need) to keep.
• Make one appointment you’ve been putting off.
• Reply to one email.
• Toss five things from your inbox into the recycling.
• Transfer dates from invitations and school flyers to the calendar.
• Test the pens and toss the dead ones.
• Sharpen the pencils.
• Shred something (anything).
• Open your file cabinet and get rid of five old files.
• File five things from your desk into their appropriate files in the file cabinet.
• Charge your portable devices.
• Sync your iPod.
• Sync your calendars.
• Check your voice mail.
• Move five files from your computer desktop to the correct folders.
• Sort or delete five emails.
• Download the pictures in your digital camera or cell phone to your computer.
• Pay a bill onlline.
• Check your bank balance online.

We made this for the Super Bowl, and it was great on the buffet table, but it would be just as good as a main dish. Serve it with a brown rice and vegetable pilaf, and a Greek salad for the perfect meal.

Kofte is traditionally a seasoned lamb “meatball” on a skewer, from the Middle East. This vegan version is adapted from a recipe in Gourmet magazine.

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Zucchini Kofte
Green * Serves 6

1 pound zucchini (about 3 medium)
1 teaspoon salt
2 garlic cloves
1/2 cup packed flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/2 cup packed cilantro sprigs
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup plain dry breadcrumbs
canola oil for frying

for sauce:
1 cup plain soy yogurt
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 Tablespoons chopped cilantro

For the sauce, mix the soy yogurt, minced garlic, and chopped cilantro in a small bowl. Refrigerate, allowing the flavors to blend while you make the kofte.

Coarsely grate the zucchini in a food processor. Toss with 1 teaspoon salt in a colander. Let stand for 10 minutes.

Pulse the garlic, parsley leaves, and cilantro leaves in the food processor until finely chopped.
Press the zucchini in the colander to get out some liquid. Then put the zucchini in a clean, dry dish towel (not terrycloth) and squeeze out as much liquid as you can.

In a large bowl, mash the chickpeas with a fork. Add the breadcrumbs, cumin, coriander, pepper, and the parsley-cilantro-garlic mixture and stir to combine. Add the zucchini, breaking it up, and combining everything well.

Form the mixture into balls, using 2 Tablespoons of the mixture for each ball. Place them on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet and chill for about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375F. In a skillet over medium heat, place enough oil to generously film the bottom of the pan (about 2 Tablespoons in a 12″ skillet). When the oil shimmers, add some of the kofte (don’t crowd the pan). Brown them on several sides, blot on paper towels, and put back on the rimmed baking sheet. When all the kofte are browned, cook them through in the oven for about 20 minutes. Serve with yogurt sauce.

So there’s a big sports contest today, between two good teams. Although one of the teams will win, both teams have garnered a lot of respect, and are already winners by getting to the game.

Do you consider yourself a winner?

What makes you a winner?
What can you do to play harder? With more heart?
How do you train for the game of your life?
How do you kick it up a notch when the going gets tough?
What’s your reward?

pssst…. get up and move!

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Super Bowl Sunday is the second largest day of food consumption, behind only Thanksgiving.

~ American Institute of Food Distribution

Six percent of Americans will call in sick the day after Super Bowl Sunday.

~ Dayton Daily News

The lesson? Pay attention to what, and how much, you eat on Super Bowl Sunday.

• Choose healthy options.
• Eat normal (not restaurant) portions.
• Choose one quarter of the game for “meal time” and don’t eat for the other three quarters.

Remember you’re with other people, and use your energy interacting with them, not with the buffet table.

And if you need a little guilt for motivation, think about the people who don’t have all that food available to them. Make a donation to your local food shelf or soup kitchen this week – maybe the amount of money you spent on Super Bowl food, or the weight of the food on your buffet table.

Five minutes can make a difference in your day – in how you feel about yourself, in how organized you are, in the length of your “to-do” list. We all have those really short segments of time throughout the day, and if we are conscious of them, we can use them to get things done. And that always makes us feel better about ourselves.

Here are some of our favorites. What can you do in five minutes?

• Clean the trash out of your purse (tissues, receipts, wrappers, expired coupons, etc.).
• Adjust all the bills in your wallet so they face the same way.
• Gather your reusable shopping bags and put them in the car.
• Straighten your underwear drawer.
• Put to-be-donated clothes in a bag by the door.
• Get one more thing from your closet to put in the to-be-donated bag.
• Fold the scarves and pair up the mittens in the coat closet.
• Polish your favorite shoes.
• Pick up five things and put them where they belong.
• Wash the dog’s or cat’s bowl.
• Test your smoke alarms.
• Water the plants.
• Call your dad.
• Write a thank-you note that you’ve been putting off.
• Write a card to a friend.
• Empty the bathroom wastebaskets.
• Check your stack of magazines and eliminate half.
• Take out the garbage and recycling.
• Tie up the cardboard or paper (whatever your community requires) for recycling.
• Floss your teeth.
• Look in your shower stall. Ditch any shampoos or body washes you haven’t used in forever.
• Move worn-out towels to the highest shelf of the linen closet.
• Clean one shelf of your medicine cabinet, wipe it down, and toss the expired stuff.
• Clean out one shelf of the refrigerator.
• Organize the freezer, and toss the really old stuff.
• Sanitize your kitchen counters.
• Clear off the top of the refrigerator and wipe it clean.
• Gather your plasticware lids into a basket (rounds in front, squares in back) to contain them neatly.
• Stretch.
• Reflect on a favorite quotation or poem.
• Look through a box of photos and frame one that speaks to you.

The extended Kennedy clan is known for (among other more important things) their football games on the lawn. This year, during your Super Bowl event, plan to be active.

Spend the pregame time playing touch football outside – way more exciting than all those sports commentators. Divide into two evenly matched teams. Have one person “hike” the ball to someone who can throw it to another team member. The defending team tries to catch the ball, or tags the receiver to end the play. It’s not very complicated, but it moves fast – and that’s the point!

Snow and rain are not an excuse – wear appropriate clothing and enjoy the fresh air. If you haven’t played football in the snow, you’re missing some real fun, and quite a workout. (The deeper the snow, the harder the workout.) If it’s raining, be prepared with a lot of towels and a big pot of soup.

Having guests for the game? Invite them to dress for touch football. Don’t think you like football? You won’t know until you try.