Water is a fascinating element. It’s powerful and useful and vital to our very existence. It also seems to be the go to answer for a number of ailments from constipation to muscle soreness to the common cold. You can scarcely make it out of grade school without being taught how important water is to our health and well being. For instance, “Water gives cells shape and acts as a medium where body processes can occur”. (source)

Adults are encouraged to drink anywhere from 8 to 13 cups of water a day (source) and “according to the American Dietetic Association’s Complete Food and Nutrition Guide, the average adult loses about 2½ quarts or about 10 cups of water daily. To maintain your body’s fluid balance, you need to replace it each day.” (source)

What’s the catch?

If you’re like me, even though you know all this, you still don’t get as much water and fluids during the day as you need. For many, it’s a matter of taste, water is boring and flavorless. It’s much more interesting to drink a soda or sports drink or fruit juice. MedicineNet.com suggests, “Adding a teaspoon of sugar, a little fruit juice or a small amount of powdered drink mix flavors plain water and may encourage fluid intake.”

And that’s what Crystal Light has accomplished with their newest product, Crystal Light Pure which contains no artificial sweeteners, flavors or preservatives. It is sweetened with sugar and Truvia^TM, an all-natural, no-calorie sweetener derived from the stevia plant, and it is colored and flavored with natural ingredients. It offers a naturally sweetened, great-tasting way for women to enjoy drinking the water they need and contains just 15 calories per 8 fl. oz. serving (one/half stick), compared to other leading fitness beverages which contain 10 to 50 calories for a similar serving size. (Compared to 10 calories in Propel, 20 calories in G2 and 50 calories in Gatorade per 8 fl. oz. serving)

March is National  Nutrition Month

With spring just around the corner, this a great time to shake off some of the bad habits that form during the winter months. And if you know you need to be drinking more water, the American Dietetic Association suggests:

Some great ways to make sure you’re drinking enough each day are to take a water break instead of a coffee break, keep a cup or bottle of water handy at your desk, take a drink whenever you walk by a water fountain and keep a bottle of water in your backpack or tote bag.

The new Crystal Light Pure comes in convenient On The Go packages and is available in five delicious flavors: Grape, Strawberry Kiwi, Tropical Blend, Mixed Berry and Lemonade. Keep some in your purse, your desk and your car. When you know you should choose water, you can be prepared to give it a boost of flavor that will be make drinking it fun and interesting!

Crystal Light Pure is a current One2One Network project.

Well, what you meant to say was, “cold in my nose”, but your nose is stuffed up and even when you blow your nose, nothing really comes out, your head hurts and you’re just plain miserable. You’re sick with a cold or maybe the Spring allergies have attacked your sinuses. Whatever it is that’s ailing you, you need relief.

Have you ever wished that there was something on the drug store shelves that would relieve the swelling of your nasal passages that causes all that congestion?

You may not even realize that’s the number one cause of nasal congestion. Most people don’t, they just know the feel bad, a recent poll revealed that 79% of Americans are not aware that “inflamed nasal passages” are a potential cause of nasal congestion.

So back to finding relief, you want something that will really tackle the congestion where is starts and Advil® has it! New this season and currently available in stores is Advil® Congestion Relief, a new solution that directly treats what is often the real cause of congestion – swelling due to nasal inflammation. “Advil® Congestion Relief combines the power of Advil® and an effective decongestant, to provide relief from sinus pressure, nasal swelling, congestion, and headaches.”

Several of our select members are going to be giving their thoughts about Advil® Congestion Relief over the next couple of weeks. We’re looking forward to hearing what they have to say about this new product!

Modern medicine is a wonder! Getting plenty of rest and staying hydrated while weathering a cold is also a good idea. And when I get sick, I like to curl up on the sofa with a soft blanket and a pile of DVDs. What kind of comforts do you indulge in when you’re sick?

Advil® Congestion Relief is a current One2One Network project.

I know the snow has been the bane of many at the moment but there are some instances that an abundance of snow is a blessing.  Personally, I like all kinds of travel but I think I’m more of a mountain/snow person than a beach/sun person.  Those who know me know that I’m happiest when I’m at the top of a mountain soaking in the view before I hit the slopes with my husband and family on our snowboards.

I had only ever gone riding in the west (CA, UT, CO, AK and BC in Canada) but recently I had the pleasure of being invited to experience Sugarbush Resort in VT.  The fun thing was that not only was it my birthday weekend (which I got to share with my best friends) but also, I got a chance to experience a Learn To Ski/Snowboard weekend.  After almost 20 years of snowboarding, I figured I was ready to ‘Learn to Ski’ again.  The last time I put on skis, I was in my late teens and they were straight skis and super long.  (Yeah, and I may have been sporting a headband and raybans as well.  So like totally awesome!) The technology has changed so much over the past two decades and I was ready to give it shot.  My daughter skis now and I thought I would be great to be able to have the choice to ski or snowboard.

Me & My BFF's Chris & Shanna

So as a guest of the fabulous folks at Cabot Creamery and Ski Vermont, we joined Susie and Chelsee of We Are Not Martha and Robyn Moreno of BePracticallyPosh to take the ‘First Timers’ challenge.

Sugarbush has a really amazing program where if you are a true first-timer to skiing or snowboarding, for only $230 you can take a 3-Day First Timer Package and then at the end of the third lesson, you get a SEASON PASS to Sugarbush.  What a brilliant way to not only encourage learning but also incentivize them to keep coming back to enjoy their new skills.   Sugarbush is only a few hour drive from Boston, Providence and New York and if you like to fly (like me), it’s a quick one hour flight into Burlington and just a 40 minute drive to Warren, VT from there.  It really IS perfect for a weekend trip with the family or a couple of friends.

So our weekend was to show it’s never to early (or late) to learn to ski or snowboard. In our group, we had ladies representing 20’s, 30’s, 40’s and 50 year-olds and yes, one wonderful newbie who was finally learning to ski at 60. Her kids had skied for years and now, it was her turn!

Here’s a video of our Team Snow How experience at Sugarbush.

There is no way that I could do a better job of showing what our weekend was all about than the girls at WeAreNotMartha did so check out all the fabulous details there.   The folks at Cabot and Ski Vermont really thought of everything.  You could tell how much care was put into the entire experience.

I’m not surprised though because the more I find out about people behind Cabot, it makes total sense, they do things from the heart…but that’s a whole other post.

There is still so much time left in the season and you might as well put all this snow to good use.  Here’s more information about Sugarbush tickets, accommodations and special events.  They also have great women’s programs and a resourceful ‘Parent’s page’ that answers a bunch of questions you might have.  I highly recommend it.

Thanks to our hosts Roberta Macdonald, Jen Neary and Candace Karu from Cabot, Kathy Murphy from Ski Vermont, the impressive President of Sugarbush, Win Smith, along with our instructors Gary and Meredith and ski legend John Eagan as well as renaissance-man (pro-snowboarder/video producer/graphic designer/cool daddy)  Sean Neary for the Team Snow How video, his bad-ass designs for our Drop goggles & gloves and for escorting me on one last run before we had to go.

Thanks again for such a lovely experience oh and by the way, that habanero cheese is ree-dic-u-lous!

Note: I attended this event where my travel, accommodations and lessons were gratis. There were no obligations to recap my experience and all opinions in this post are my own.

One of the most popular resolutions made at the start of a new year is to lose weight. Gym memberships increase, pantries get cleaned out and people head to the bookstore or Amazon.com for the year’s newest diet. With that in mind, we were very pleased to be able to offer our members the opportunity to review and try a new weight management program from best-selling author, Cynthia Sass.

Sass, whose first book, The Flat Belly Diet – a New York Times best seller, released her second title, Cinch!: Conquer Craving, Drop Pounds And Lose Inches last week, just in time for the New Year.

Cinch!, a 30- or 25- day program, focuses on getting cravings under control and teaches a healthy way of eating that can be continued beyond the thirty days. Our members are finding it very helpful!

From Mom Blog Network – “In my quest to loss 100 I have read countless books, viewed advice found on websites and considered more than my share our diet pills. None of these things ever put it into perspective like Cinch! … This single book has been a solider by my side helping me retrain my brain how to eat, stay on a healthy track and do what works for me in the process.”

From Obsessive Coupon Disorder – “If there’s one thing I especially like about “Cinch” it’s how Sass fortified her chapters with ‘side bars’ on related topics.  This is where her “diet” book becomes more. Sass incorporates mini-history lessons on topics such as: coconut yogurt, soy, chocolate, grapes, frozen vs. fresh, organic farming, emotions in relation to weight and there’s even a superb question-and-answer section.”

From Frugal Plus – ” Did you think you would see a recipe featured in a weight-loss book  for California Chicken Cilantro Burrito Bowl?  I luv cilantro and chicken, and this is one of my favorites!”

Another popular resolution is money management. Between credit card statements reflecting Christmas spending arriving in mail boxes, W-2 forms trickling in and tax forms showing up, this time of year definitely finds people thinking a lot about their money.

It may be that you want to make sure that you support your favorite charities more often this year. GiveBack can help you achieve that goal. It’s quick and easy to sign up and you will be able to direct funds to any charitable organization that has a tax ID.

What are some of your resolutions for 2011? What tools will you use to implement them?

I think we all know someone who has been touched by Breast Cancer in some way. You may have even been touched yourself. October is Breast Cancer Awareness month  and One2One Network is working with Milano again, this time to honor those affected by Breast Cancer.   Pepperidge Farm is turning their Milano packaging pink – inspiration for the cure!

Pepperidge Farm has launched a Facebook Campaign to encourage consumers to share a “Milano Moment” – one when they realized life is sweet.  Personally I have many moments and several of them include Milano’s!  Of course there are the obvious moments such as getting married, have a baby, watch the baby take his first step.   Maybe if you are a blogger it’s the first comment you got that wasn’t from your sister.  The hope is that we can have many moments when life is sweet and that fighting this disease will allow more people to survive and have those moments too.

Awareness is a good thing.

From now through October 31st, Pepperidge Farm is donating $.50 to Susan G. Komen for the Cure for every Milano moment shared on the Milano Facebook Page (up to $50,000).

If you are a One2One network member, you can sign up to participate in the “Milano Moment” blog, twitter and Facebook campaign.  If you are not a member yet then what’s keeping you?

You’ll find details on your One2one Network page.  Won’t you help us spread the word?

Disclosure: Members are participating in a campaign with Pepperidge Farm and One2One Network and are eligible to win prizes for their participation. Their personal testimonials and opinions about the product are their own.

Today is the social media push for the Lose-a-Palooza event, but Weight Watchers’ charitable initiative is not just about today. It’s a 7 week program known as Lose For Good and it’s an effort to raise awareness about hunger around the world.

Between September 5 and October 23, the Lose for Good campaign is teaming up members, online subscribers and charitable organizations with the incentive of donating up to 1 million dollars to leading hunger-fighting organizations. Join Weight Watchers and participate and they will donate based on pounds lost, meetings attended, and social media campaigns participated in. The beneficiaries? Share Our Strength and Action Against Hunger, two organizations that are changing lives all across the world.

You can make a difference in the lives of others and in your own life as well by joining Weight Watchers.  Remember the more you lose the more you win!

One2One is working with Weight Watchers on the Lose-a-Palooza and Lose for Good campaigns.

With all the time and energy that went into packing just the right fashionable items for Blogher, it’s still fun to see some of the wacky styles that the gals pull off for all the fun events.
If you have missed the CheeseburgHer parties, you have missed wearing a McDonald’s hat on your head. You could even bedazzle and embellish your hat to make it one of a kind. Alphamom Isabel serves the burger of the day to you with a smile and a particularly stylish bag hat.

Isabel Kallman (Alphamom)

Some bloggers have their own style and Aliza Sherman is easily spotted in her pink boa and tiara. It just shows that you can add personal flair to any outfit to create your signature look. Or just have fun! There are no fashion rules with this group of fun women!

Aliza Sherman and Danielle Smith

Sometimes fancy outfits have special importance.

Catherine Conners (Her Bad Mother)

You couldn’t miss the flurry of women (and men) in tutus during Blogher’10. An event, Tutus For Tanner, included a weekend 5k run through NYC to raise money for Catherine’s (Her Bad Mother) nephew Tanner who has Duchennes Muscular Dystrophy.

So if you wondered why a group of attendees would be proudly wearing tutus to a blogger conference when fashion was all the talk not days before, it was all for the love of Tanner. When the online community pulls together to support friends it’s so amazing.

We’d love to see your fashion best at Blogher’10. If you have any photos that should not be missed, link them up in the comments and we’ll give them a shoutout on twitter!

flickr photos credit
Jo-Lynne Musings
Jo-Lynne Musings
Jenisjen
OneCraftyMom1