I was reading a blog post the other night about the habits of healthy people and one of the habits really stood out to me. It could be applied to most everything not just health. The quote was “healthy people talk themselves into doing, being, living a certain way. Unhealthy people talk themselves out of it.” Read more »

I wanted to talk about diet today and some of the changes I’ve made in my own diet. My dietary philosophy has changed a bit since I started this blog and I wanted to say something about that. When I first started Art of Balanced living I only ate fish and no meat or poultry. My dairy consumption was very limited and I drank soy milk and ate tofu occasionally. I avoided fats especially saturated fat and used vegetable oil in cooking regularly. I was always on the look out for the healthiest oil, but it was always some sort of vegetable oil. I only wanted to eat healthily and I wanted to feed my family the healthiest meals possible. I still do, but the way I approach it has changed a bit. Read more »

Your life is packed full of activities. Most people’s are. It’s become so much a part of modern living. We have an endless list of commitments and there’s always something that needs to be done. It is  part of modern living. Our ability to do so much makes us do more and more. Read more »

The other day I was reading something aloud to my husband when I came across a word I’d never seen before. Because it was a new word I had no idea how to say it, so I just kind of said something garbled and moved on. My husband stopped me though and said, “Do you have some kind of problem reading?” Read more »

“Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed.” Booker T. Washington

We all encounter hardships in our lives. Overcoming obstacles and hardships set before us is one reason why we’re all here. What are the obstacles you face? How can you overcome them? How can you make them your strengths instead of your weaknesses? Read more »

As many of you already know, I used to be a professional massage therapist. I don’t massage professionally anymore, but I do still have an interest in bodywork, skin and natural oils. My home is full of various kinds of natural oils and butters. I make my own moisturizers and creams. This article will include a recipe for a body butter that I use daily. It’s a great natural formula for fading stretch marks. Read more »

I took martial arts classes for a number of years when I was living in Korea. When I moved back to the States, I decided to continue my martial arts training. I studied Oom Yung Doe at a small place in the town I moved too. Read more »

Swine flu’s been in the news a lot recently. If you haven’t heard of it before you must be living under a rock. Read more »

My stepson is staying with his mother for the summer holiday. He went there about a week ago and will be there for six weeks. Yesterday, he called because he and his mother had an argument. “I hate arguments,” he kept saying on the phone. “Now my whole summer vacation is ruined. I can’t believe my whole vacation is ruined.” He kept insisting that his vacation was ruined because of one simple argument. Read more »

We all know exercise is good for us. It builds healthy muscle tissue, helps get rid of fat and is great for our hearts. Besides these obvious benefits, exercise can make you  help you beat depression and is great for your brain. Despite knowing all these things, many of us still struggle to make exercise a regular part of our lives. Read more »