October 2008 - The "Getting Good at Love" Issue
Oprah - Here We Go:
"But as much as I love a good love song, what we're really looking to figure out is this: How come love can be so tough to get right, and more to the point, what can we do to get really good at it?"
The "O" List:
Here are a few of the best items from this month's "O" list:
- Bring the scent of summer indoors all year long with an eco-friendly candle complete with natural botanicals from daynadecker.com
- Anti-nausea bands never looked so good from Psi Bands found at riteait.com
- Want cashmere on a budget? Find Johnny collar sweaters from oldnavy.com
- Stop doing all the work yourself with a battery-operated vegetable peeler from Zyliss on amazon.com
Food Feature - 'Oil Riches':
Early America relied heavily on the use of lard and butter as primary fats before the introduction of oils to the country for use in cooking and for health benefits. But as the featured article details, after initially only experimenting with the clear and bland oils, America has broadened the spectrum of cuisine and welcomed a host new varieties. From grapeseed and avocado to olive and almond, mixing up the variety of oil can add a completely different flair to the same dish.
Beauty Feature - 'The Tipping Point':
After accepting an imperfection in her looks for a number of years, what is it that makes a woman finally do something about the feature she is less than pleased with? Three women took O's Beauty Challenge to try and make a change and see if the one feature made a difference in their lives.
From frown lines to rosy cheeks to mousy brown hair, the women made a change to their appearance and found that the process taught them something about themselves - that sometimes change is a good thing and other times that the way things were wasn't so bad after all.
Issue Special - 'Aspects of Love':
A look at love from all angles, including how we find it, keep it, let go of it, beleive in it, and much more.
Read Richard M. Cohen's take on the tests of true love or Rachael Howard's letting go to get what she ultimately wanted, to Susan Choi's love for a man who gave her a perfect moment or Lionel Shriver's un-coupled love affair with her best friend.
Whether it's romantic love, the love of others in gratitude, or the overwhelming joy and complete love of motherhood, the fact remains that we all need it and strive to do our very best to keep it around to make our lives worth living.
Regular Contributors:
Martha Beck: "Urgent! Urgent! (Or Is It?)"
What is the difference between what Martha calls "must-do-this-minute time killers" and "I've always wanted to...soul satisfiers"? Using a chart to organize your activities into those that are one of four combinations of urgent or important, Martha helps you get more out of life by wasting less time on those urgent but unimportant events:
- "First (and Second) Things First" -- break your to-do list down into 4 categories.
- "From Theory to Practice: Living a Quadrant II Life"
- "How to Determine What's Important"
Dr. Phil's Reader Questions:
"An emotionally draining job" -- "A relationship in limbo" -- "A backstabbing friend"
Suze Orman's Reader Questions:"
"Staying together to avoid divorce costs" -- "Loaning children too much cash" -- "Losing vital financial information"
Oprah - What I Know For Sure:
"What I'm only now realizing, though, is that while I think about food so much and have used and abused it as a substitute for contentment, I've never been a conscious eater. Kathy (Freston) cautions that the way to full consciousness isn't to give up every poor choice at once. She says, "Lean into it." Don't try to break a lifetime of bad habits overnight. I'm leaning."