Everything And Nothing

Set a Slim Table

DigitalDietIncentives.com lets you customize your plate with a diet motto. (You can write your own or use their stock versions.) You can also take a picture of yourself at your heaviest and put it on the plate - or put your head on a beefed up body for inspiration. (Depending on whether the stick or the carrot works better for you, I guess.)

And it's a 7 1/2-inch plate rather than typical dinner size, so that helps too. (Does anyone remember my Small Plate Diet? I should've done it. Sheesh.)

Tooth-brush holder

The English major in me loves the literalness. ;)

$24.95

Pocket Dentist

Brush, floss or scrape gunk off your tongue with this Pocket Dentist. Only 2 1/2" long. And only $5.99 too.

Fresh-Air Fun

To encourage all of us to spend more time outside (ideally an hour a day), the National Wildlife Federation has launched a new Web site, Green Hour, with weekly tips and suggestions from parents and pros on getting you and your kids excited about nature. You can also set up a family page on the Web site to share your own nature experiences and backyard adventures.

Old tradition, new vision

 

At Rock & Royal, Hans van Bentem mixes his talent and creativity with the finest Bohemian crystal. The results are stunning chandeliers - beautiful fusions of an old tradition and a new artistic vision. (If I'm ever independently wealthy, I shall have this umbrella chandelier hanging over my bright-red enamel clawfoot bath tub.)

A pound lost is 4,800 saved

In a study of 142 overweight men and women with osteoarthritis of the knee, researchers found that every pound patients lost equaled four fewer pounds of pressure on their knees. That's per step: Dropping just 10 pounds could spare each knee 48,000 pounds of pressure per mile, says Stephen Messier, Ph.D., study author and an exercise science professor at Wake Forest University. "People with osteoarthritis often avoid exercise. But this research shows that exercise and a little weight loss can reduce pain by 30%."

[ via Prevention magazine, September 2006 ]

Hotline helps diabetics maneuver holidays

A toll-free support hotline will be available through Saturday for type 2 diabetics seeking information on having a healthy lifestyle during the holidays. The live hotline, launched by Nutrition 21, will provide emotional support and condition management coaching from diabetes educators.

After Saturday, the hotline will be automated, allowing a caller to leave a message requesting to speak to a diabetes educator, who will return the call.

The hotline number is 1-877-PICK-330. Their Web site is www.pick3forhealth.com.

Foot Work

Take advantage of 2,000 years of Chinese health remedies. Reflexology and acupressure combine to give you the most relaxing foot massage ever.

$10, gadgetuniverse.com

Crutch Couture

Laurie Johnson's sister decorated her crutches with leopard-print fabric when she was feeling down after a plane accident that left her with a broken left leg (and took her 23-month-old son and husband). "They were a ray of fun for me in an otherwise sad existence," she tells People magazine (June 12, 2006).

Now she's launched LemonAid Crutches, which appears to be the first line of designer crutches. The crutches are sold on the Internet for about $140 a pair - or you can just buy the fabric covers for $40. Fifty percent of all proceeds go to establish Step with Hope, a nonprofit foundation for people who have lost multiple family members.

Dishing out the snacks

Portion control made easy.

These 4-oz. bowls hold just the right amount for an afternoon snack. Created by a mom to help her kids control portions, they will remind everyone what snack size really is. The bowls come in four colors and say "Yum yum time is...over." (But the over only shows when the bowl is empty.) Dishwasher safe.

$22 for four dishes, www.yumyumdish.com