FitSugar

Review: Hall Naturals Cough Drops With Honey

FitSugar — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 15:00:00 PST

I came down with a bad cold over the holidays, that targeted my throat and left me with out a voice for three days. I think my young daughters loved having a mom the could barely speak, but that is an issue to take up with my fellow sugar mamas over at lilsugar. Unfortunately, my sore throat coincided with my ski trip. When I was able to, I drank lots of tea with honey but needed cough drops to keep me going on the slopes.

Intrigued by the the "vapor action" of added menthol combined a soothing honey center found in Mountain Berry Naturals by Halls, I picked up a bag to try. Honey is a natural humectant, meaning it helps retain moisture, and it is also considered a natural cough suppressant.

To see what I thought of these drops

The berry flavor and the menthol battle for dominance when the cough drop hits your tongue. Luckily the berry flavor wins, though tinged with mild herb flavoring. These cough drops did not taste like candy, which meant my daughters stopped pestering me for them. The honey center allowed the soothing effect to linger after the lozenge completely gone. They did help my cough and soothe my throat. They were not as tasty as a Ricola cough drop, but they didn't taste overly sweet or fruity like other kinds of throat lozenges by Halls. As for the word "natural" in the name. All the ingredients looks familiar except MCT oil, which stand for oil medium-chain triglycerides. I have no idea what that is doing in a cough drop.

Here is a list of ingredients: Active ingredient -Menthol 2.5 mg, inactive ingredients - citric acid, cottonseed oil, elderberry juice, flavors, ginger, glucose syrup, glycerin, honey, lemon grass, MCT oil, sage, soy lecithin, sucrose, water, white thyme.

Even with the mysterious MCT oil, I would buy Naturals cough drops again. A bag of 20 retails for $1.99.

Down but Not Out: Tori Spelling Shares Her Friend's Perspective on Raising a Child With Down Syndrome

Tori Spelling — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 14:02:22 PST

We're excited to bring you a new post from mother and actress Tori Spelling! Every other week, we're bringing you the best parenting and lifestyle advice from ediTORIal by Tori Spelling, which is Tori's daily blog about everything from food and fashion to parenting and relationships. This week, Tori shares a letter from her friend about her baby who was diagnosed with Down syndrome.

Today, I’m sharing a guest blog by my friend Lisa, owner of Evolution Vintage. Her son was born with Down syndrome, and in honor of World Down Syndrome Day on March 21st, she has offered to share her story. When I read this, I had tears streaming down my face - not because I felt sorry for Lisa’s son Blake, but because she inspires me as a mom. I hope you are as touched by her story as I was:

Down But Not Out
By Lisa Graystone

Friday the 13th turned out to be the luckiest day of my life . . . in hindsight. I gave birth for the second time to my son Blake under very traumatic circumstances. He was born blue, lifeless and his first sounds resembled a watery gurgle, not a cry. His birth was fast and as a result he had lungs full of water and had the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck twice. I was unable to hold him before they rushed him to the special care nursery for respiratory therapy and monitoring. We spent six days in the hospital. During this time, due to the shape of his eyes, the doctors suspected Blake had Trisomy 21; also known as Down Syndrome (DS). He fought to live and to be here, only now to be faced with a prospective hurdle he would continue to jump for the rest of his life. The postpartum hormones were swirling as I sat down the hall from my new son who was fighting for his life; quietly smelling the receiving blanket from his NICU nest and pumping my breasts alone in tears. Nine agonizing days later, the test results confirmed the doctor’s suspicions. The joy and relief that my son was alive was immediately shrouded in darkness, sadness, despair and shock. I am under 35 and was not given the option of amniocenteses (the test that can conclusively tell you if your baby has DS). The blood test that was available I opted not to do because of the high false positive rate and the fact that there were no "risk factors" - my first child was healthy and my ultrasounds were normal and we were reassured that everything was "fine." I was surrounded by fear and unknowns, questions with no answers and a baby boy to care for.

Related: Children With Swag

I have no time to be on the "why me" program being the ambitious mompreneur that I am. I had to force myself to say: "WHY NOT" and bring it on to my already full plate. There seemed to be no other alternative than to take it head on and realize that the only thing I can control is my attitude, approach and perspective. I feel very lucky to have been given this boy and with him the opportunity for personal growth, education and evolution.

I introduced Blake to my family and friends (many who live 3,000 miles away in Canada) via this letter written from his perspective:

Keep reading to see Blake's letter and for more facts about Down Syndrome.

5 Sci-Fi Locations We'd Like to Vacation To

Kristy Korcz — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 08:39:07 PST

It's pretty obvious that we love sci-fi, space, and everything galactic, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that we can often be found daydreaming about vacationing to a totally out-of-this-world location. Call us crazy, but if buying a ticket to one of these spacey vacation spots were an option, we'd be all over it.

Cloud 9 - The Colonial Fleet's luxury liner was the perfect getaway for the crew of the Battlestar Galactica to unwind during leave, allowing them to soak in the (faux) sunlight and get a break from the cold steel and metal decks of the ship. If Cloud 9 was still around, it seems like the perfect way to kick off space travel while still keeping Earthlings sane with the comforts of home.
Endor - The forest moon resembles California's redwood forests, and would be a great place to really get away from it all and reconnect with nature by camping - or glamping - in a high (well-appointed) tree house.
Fhloston Paradise - This luxury space cruise ship has "the most beautiful concert hall in all the universe" and amazing views of the planet landscape below. We could do without any battle conflicts while we're aboard, though.
Etheria - This small planet that She-Ra calls home has lighter gravity than Earth so you can have some fun jumping far distances. Think of it like one big trampoline; just steer clear of The Fright Zone and Beast Island.
Naboo - The picturesque landscape of Naboo's capital city of Theed would be the perfect wedding location for Earthlings who are craving an out-of-this-world ceremony but still like the feel of Italy's Lake Como.

Downton Abbey Beauty: No Mascara, Please, We're Edwardians

Allure — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 03:05:00 PST

We're excited to present this story from our friends at Allure:

Fans of the PBS blockbuster Downton Abbey don't need us to tell them that season two has arrived, ending a painfully long wait for the return of the period drama set in a spectacular English country house stuffed with spoiled aristos and scheming servants. How ever did we survive? One bright spot was the video parody that appeared on YouTube with Joanna Lumley, of Absolutely Fabulous fame, playing an Edwardian housekeeper with Sephora tastes.

"Is that lipstick you're wearing?," a butler asks disapprovingly.

"Just a bit of gloss," replies Lumley. "Her ladyship doesn't mind."

The joke left us wondering what the Crawley sisters of Downton might actually have have in their medicine cabinets; or rather at the mirrored vanities where they seem to linger for hours, as a loyal maid brushes out their hair and listens to their secrets. That part, as it happens, has the ring of truth: Edwardian ladies never (no, never) cut their hair, according to makeup artists who work on the show, which has an on-set historian to police every gesture and costume. Find out what they had to say about Edwardian beauty now.

Say What? More Moms Are Moonlighting as Sex Phone Operators

Natasha Dantzig — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 11:52:41 PST

What are you wearing? Making ends meet is becoming increasingly challenging for many Americans, including many single moms, who will do just about anything to keep their families afloat. For some stay-at-home-moms that includes taking work of a slightly scandalous nature - as a sex-phone operator.

A Good Morning America story about the stay-at-home-mom as sex phone operator phenomenon reported that the number of women with young children doing this type of work has increased 400 percent over the past 18 months. Thanks to a dismal economy, high childcare costs, and the difficulty of finding decent, well paying jobs that allow women to be home with their kids, the sex phone business is just too lucrative to walk away from for many women, despite their conflict about verbally fulfilling the fantasies of strangers while their lil ones are asleep down the hall.

Would you ever consider this type of work? Or judge someone who does?

Glee-ful Highlights From Episode "Mash Off"

Becky Kirsch — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 07:48:51 PST

What goes around comes around, and Santana learns her lesson the hard way on this week's episode of Glee. When Mr. Schue and Shelby decide to put their respective singing groups head-to-head for a little friendly competition, things spiral out of control and get ugly. Very ugly.

While Finn and Santana are busy trash talking, the presidential election heats up between Kurt, Brittany, and Rachel - with one key player dropping out of the competition. There's a lot of foul play going on, so let's break it down when you

Puck (or should I say "Puck-fasa"?) has decided he's in love with Shelby - so in love that he expresses his emotions with a rendition of "Hot For Teacher," complete with crotch grabs from Blaine and Kurt. Though he's still keeping the torrid affair a secret from his friends, he's laying it on pretty thick with Shelby. She tells him the kiss was a mistake, but still lets him come over to see Beth, which is when Puck spills the beans about Quinn's plan to get their baby back. Shelby naturally doesn't react well to the information, and forbids Quinn from seeing the baby anymore.
It's no surprise that Sue has taken to mudslinging for her campaign, and her latest ad goes straight for Burt's heart, literally. I have to admit that I giggled a little at the comparisons between Burt and a baboon, even though the commercial sets a precedent that later comes back to bite Sue in the butt. Meanwhile, Brittany is doing some slandering of her own, saying that Rachel is (gasp!) on MySpace, and Kurt's face is used for My Little Ponies.
Mr. Schuester and Shelby try to set up some healthy competition with the New Directions and the Troubletones, introducing a "mash-off." (This show loves nothing if not a mashup.) It takes about 10 seconds for Santana to go into full attack mode, specifically targeting Finn. Normally I find Santana's insults amusing, but she goes way too far this week, making me wonder why Brittany even continues to stick by her side. Since Finn can't trash talk, he suggests that the two groups take things to the gym for a game of dodgeball instead.
The dogeball scene is cheesy as all get-out, but the entire cast looks like they are having a blast singing and dancing to "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" / "One Way or Another." It's all fun and games until Santana's nasty streak continues when she starts pounding poor Rory with a dodgeball. It's hard to feel sorry for her when Finn finally finds a way to hit her where it hurts: he calls Santana out on being a lesbian and says she's a coward.
At the presidential debates at school, Kurt is the only candidate who makes a speech that isn't completely ridiculous. While Brittany vows to protect McKinley from tornadoes, Kurt wants to ban bullying and dodgeball. His fellow students may not agree with Kurt's feelings about dodgeball, but it's sweet and touching to see him putting together a genuine campaign promise. To give him an extra boost, Rachel drops out of the competition and throws her support to Kurt.
Though no winner is crowned, both the New Directions and the Troubletones bring out really amazing mashups for the competition. New Directions definitely win the award for best costumes; they channel the '80s with a Hall & Oates mashup that's uptempo and fun to watch. Meanwhile, the ladies go for a more emotional number with a combination of Adele songs. Which group gets your vote?
Though Finn knocks Santana down a notch, she's not prepared for what happens next: apparently one of the candidates running against Sue overhears Finn calling Santana a lesbian, and uses it in his own attack ad against Sue. He implies that Sue is a lesbian and targets her for having a lesbian cheerleading captain. Not only is the ad shocking and inappropriate in so many ways, but it's the final straw for Santana, who breaks down and slaps Finn across the face after the Troubletones performance.

Did you feel bad for Santana by the end of the episode, or did she get what was coming to her? Are you liking Puck and Shelby together? Sound off in the comments!

Photo courtesy of Fox

Fit Over 40: Why Time Is Key (Even For Celebrities)

Self — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 04:22:42 PDT

We are pumped to share one of our fave stories from Self here on FitSugar!

Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Halle Berry . . . these days, when a 40-something woman steps out in a bikini, it makes news.

Turns out, there's a scientific explanation for why we're so fascinated by these lean, toned, impossibly supple bodies. In some ways, these apparent genetic wonders are defying the aging process.

"Once a man or woman gets beyond their 30s, they're in a situation where unless they are really proactive about what they do from an exercise standpoint as well as eating sensibly, they are going to lose some muscle tissue," says Cedric Bryant, Ph.D., FACSM, Chief Science Officer for The American Council on Exercise.

Read the rest of this post after the break!

Link Time - Details on Kate Middleton's First Official Royal Appearance in June!

PopSugar — Mon, 23 May 2011 13:27:30 PDT

Kate Middleton will appear at her first official royal event in June - People
Get ready to see sexy Leonardo DiCaprio back on the big screen in Titanic 3D - Rotten Tomatoes
Julianna Margulies has a bone to pick with network TV executives - Huffington Post
Celebrities seem to love showing their stomachs - TooFab
Even more details on William and Kate's wild honeymoon - Us Weekly
Are Katie Holmes and Halle Berry buddies? - Lainey Gossip
Arnold may have even more secret children - D-Listed
Kelly Clarkson shares sweet pics of her new puppy - JustJared
Christina Hendricks wants you to know her breasts are all natural - PopEater
Megan Fox goes topless on the big screen - Hollywood Tuna
Listen to Alanis Morissette's new song - Pink Is the New Blog
Jersey Shore is taking over Italy - The Superficial
Diddy is changing his name again? - popbytes

James Beard Awards Kick off With Book, Broadcast, & Journalism Awards

Katie Sweeney — Mon, 09 May 2011 09:38:53 PDT

The best of the best of the nation's food world glitterati are in New York this weekend for the industry's Oscars, the James Beard Awards. Although the main ceremony doesn't take place until later this evening, the events kicked off on Friday with the announcement of the book, broadcast, and journalism awards.

A huge congratulations is in order for our friends at the San Francisco Chronicle; they took home the prize for best food section of a general interest publication. To check out the full list of winners, which includes Alton Brown and Top Chef: All-Stars, keep reading.

Lessons Learned From Threadless Photographers

Kristy Korcz — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 11:49:38 PDT

Recently, Photoshelter founder Grover Sanschagrin visited the halls of Threadless (one of my favorite t-shirt companies ever) to see how and where its awesome images are captured for the online retail shop. Not only do we get an in-depth peek into a day in the life of photographers Sean Dorgan and Sean Donohue in the 10-minute video (which you can see after the break), but the tour offers up a few important lessons about photography as well. Take a look at the six tips I walked away with below!

Change up your locations - The guys at Threadless shoot indoors and out and aren't afraid to try new locations.
Try different lighting techniques - Whether they're in the studio or out in the alley behind the office, these photographers use light in dramatic ways. Don't hesitate to try new lighting techniques - lighting from behind, natural light, and different angles - to make the most of your shoot.
Take a lot of photos - With nearly 30 shirt photo shoots a week, these guys have each shot almost 1,000 shirts in total. Each shoot helps you learn what works and what doesn't, so keep shooting! Practice really does make perfect.

See the rest of the list, and watch the video for yourself, after the break.