#1 Reason Women Say No To Sex

I'll bet that one caught your attention huh?

It's no secret that us women can do a hundred different things and sex not even cross the brain. However, let it be a man.  Men think about sex all of the time!  Just answer me one question...What on earth does grocery shopping have to do with sex?  I rest my case.

So, to answer the question or rather address the statement.  The number one reason women say no to sex is STRESS.  Yes, that's right.

When we are under pressure to pay bills, when the kids are stressing us out all day and even when our husbands think they are slick by skipping out on chores, leaving us to do it all (oh wait, that was my bad)...You get the picture!  Sex is the LAST thing on the list of priorities when we are stressed out.

Now, some men may think she made that up. Nope. Not only would I bet that a number of women will agree with me, a research study was also conducted and the findings were reported in SHAPE magazine.

How you like them apples men.  The next time you are so hot for sex, take the kids for a day, clean the house and pay all the bills.  We'll be ripe for the pickin' then.

Michelle H Smith is a stress and pain management professional, published author and New York Wellness Examiner. If you liked this post, she's got 10 days worth of stuff to share on ways to actually relieve stress. Sign up for the 10 day Stress Less Recipe to find out more. There are a couple of bonuses for giving out your email address too. And don't worry, the bonuses don't entitle her to nor will she ever rent, sell or gift your email address to some sleeze ball who can't convince you to give it to him the honest way.

DANGER: Big FDA Food Recall

I am passing along some information that I received from business source:

FDA Food Recall. If you're experiencing symptoms of Salmonella, what should you do? Full story below:
The FDA announced that HVP manufactured by Basic Food Flavors has been recalled, and an estimated 10,000 products are affected by this recall. Hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP) is a flavor enhancer commonly used in processed foods.

HVP is found in snack foods such as potato chips and pretzels. It's also used in dry mixes for chip dips, gravy, au jus and marinades. HVP is also used in frozen foods (such as taquitos and quesadillas) and in fresh foods such as potato salad and fresh dips. In addition to these items, it is also used in many other grocery products.

The recall was issued due to possible salmonella contamination. Salmonella is one of the most common causes of bacterial food-borne illness in the United States. It can cause fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.

The following soup and dip mix products are included in the HVP recall.
Castella Chicken Soup Base
Concord Foods Vegetable Dip Seasoning - Homestyle
De la Casa Spinach Dip
Dean's - various brands of soup/soup mix & dip/dip mix
Delicioso Spinach Dip
Follow Your Heart Beef Au Jus
Fresh Food Concepts Garden Fresh Spinach & Spinach Dip with Real Yogurt
Great Value Ranch Chip Dip
Healthwise Cream of Mushroom Soup
Homemade Gourmet Tortilla Soup Mix
Johnny's French Dip Powdered Au Jus
Kroger Onion & Beefy Onion Soup Dip Mix
McCormick French Onion & Vegetable Dip Mix
Mrs. Gerry's Crab Creole Spread & Old Home/Old Fashioned Spinach Dip
Oak Lake Farms French Onion Chip Dip
Publix Beef Flavored Stew Mix
Reser's soup and dip mixes
Rojo's Garden Fresh Spinach Dip
T. Marzetti soup and dip mixes

Bouillon products
Herbox chicken, beef & vegetable bouillon

Dressing and dressing mix products
Follow Your Heart Organic Creamy Ranch Dressing
Reser's Ranch House Dressing
Trader Joe's Organic Creamy Ranch Dressing & Dip

Flavoring base and seasoning products
Garden Harvest Special Blend Seasoning
Minor's Bacon Base
Publix Meatloaf Seasoning

Gravy mix products
McCormick Onion Gravy mix
Publix Mushroom & Au Jus gravy mixes

Sauce and marinade mix products
Durkee Spaghetti & Marinade Mix
French's Thick Spaghetti Sauce Mix
Weber Grill Creations Italian Herb Marinade Mix

The following is a list of snack and snack mix products that are included in the HVP recall.

CVS Honey Mustard Pretzel Bites
Great Nut Supply Honey Mustard Pretzels & Bar Mix
HK Anderson Honey Mustard Pretzel Bites
Tim's Cascade Hawaiian style snacks
Herr's Sea Salt Flavored Kettle Style Potato Chips
National Pretzel Company (various)
President's Choice Honey Mustard Onion Pretzel Bite snack
Pringles Restaurant Cravers Cheeseburger & Family Faves Taco Night
Quaker Baked Cheddar Snack Mix
Rouses Louisiana's Best Snack Mix
Safeway brand Honey Mustard Onion Nugget Pretzels
Spec's Wines & Fine Foods
Sunflower Markets Honey Mustard Nugget Snack Mix

Frozen foods
Casa Solana Shredded Mini Beef Taquitos
E-Z Eats! Beef Taquitos
El Pasado Shredded Beef Mini and Beef Taquitos & Grilled Chicken Quesadillas
Giant Eagle Steak Taquitos
Jose Ole Taquitos
Posada Corn & Shredded Beef Taquitos
Tornados Ranchero Beef & Cheese

Prepared salad products
Reser's Redskin Potato Salad
Safeway brand Redskin Potato Salad
Walmart brand Redskin Potato Salad

Ready-to-eat meal products
Follow Your Heart Ready-to-Eat Meals

Stuffing products
McCormick Corn Bread Stuffing

Reduce Neck Strain - With These Alternatives

Awakening after sleeping in a poor position and spending long hours in front of a computer can all result in neck strain.  Neck strain is a result of your muscle tensing up due to being in the same position for an extended period of time.

Sinus Pain Relief Remedies So You Can Finally Rest

Sinus pressure is major cause of headaches, dizziness and tenderness to the sinus area.  The cause of sinus pain could be a bacterial infection, the common cold or something more serious.  If you don't have any sinus pain relief after a week or so, you should consult a doctor to rule out more serious problems.

In the meantime, treating sinus pain is relatively easy and in most instances, it can be done right in your own home.

There a number of remedies for sinus pain relief:

1. Steam water with added peppermint essential oil and inhale the vapor
2. Take pharmaceutical drugs to relieve the pressure
3. Apply a sinus pain relief pillow to the affected area. The sinus soother applies slight pressure with a mix of peppermint and eucalyptus for decongesting aromatherapy
4. Apply a warm compress to the sinus area
5. Nasal irrigation with a Neti pot (performed by a physician or you can get one at Whole Foods)

Regardless to the method you choose, sinus pain relief is available.  If one method doesn't work, try another.

About the author: Michelle Howard Smith is the founder of AntiStressAndPain.com.  She writes about ways to reduce and prevent stress and pain.  At the heart of her service is the belief that stress and pain are connected.  If you focus on reducing stress, you will reduce your instance of pain.  If you enjoyed this post, sign up for the Stress Less newsletter to received additional methods for managing the stress in your life.

Reduce Migraines and Headaches In an Instant

Pain in the neck and shoulders is often a result of stress to the area. Maybe it's due to long work hours or just plain pore posture, if you keep your neck and spine aligned you will notice a serious reduction in neck pain.

The Result: Reduced instances of headaches and migraines, resting more comfortably,  and overall feeling of wellness

There are many products available on the market to reduce neck pain and strain but I'd like to introduce you to one that many people are not aware of...Buckwheat.

Buckwheat therapy products like buckwheat hull pillows are so beneficial because the buckwheat hulls in the pillow encourage natural circulation of air between the hulls and the pillow.  Combined with aromatherapy within the pillow, the gentle scent of lavender reduces mental and physical fatigue.

Learn more about Buckwheat hull pillows

Warm Up Those Cold Hands and Feet

While we will enjoy warmer temperatures in a couple of months, there's nothing like cold hands and feet to damper a mood!

If you are stuck indoors, there's a tendency to start feeling down.  I was thinking about my last post about The Weather Affecting Your Mood and thought of some more ways to help you keep your spirits up why the weather is funky outdoors.

If you live in a place where you have no control over your own heat, there's a chance you won't get satisfactory heat when you want it.  Even if you live in your own house, there could be times where you don't want to crank up the heat due to the rising costs of fuel.  In either event, the first thing that's affected is your hands and feet and if you are anything like me, you hate having cold hands and feet!

So, how can you warm up those cold hands and feet?

Here are a couple of ways:

* Microwave 2 clean pair of socks on high for 10 seconds.  Run hands and feet under warm (not hot) water and then moisturize with a thick cream to seal in moisture.  Immediately after, put one pair of the warmed socks and one pair on your feet. Toasty!

* Don't want to go the "creative" route, then a portable TDP Lamp offers a great solution.  TDP Lamps are useful for reducing inflammation and soreness and are popularly sold throughout the winter months. BUT, they are also great for simply heating up your cold limbs

Don't suffer for one minute with cold hands and feet.  I've just given you two ways to heat them and neither of them will break your budget

About the author: Michelle Howard Smith is the founder of AntiStressandPain.com.  She writes about ways to reduce and prevent stress and pain.  At the heart of her service is the belief that stress and pain are connected.  If you focus on reducing stress, you will reduce your instance of pain.  If you enjoyed this post, sign up for the Stress Less newsletter to received additional methods for managing the stress in your life.

Leaving Blogger

Not sure if you saw some of my previous notes but I'm leaving blogger for a bigger, brighter world out there :)
I'm moving on to Wordpress in just a few weeks but I wanted to give you a heads up.  Once I have it set up and running, I will give you the new blog address and feed address.

In the meantime, I have some great posts for you in the coming weeks.  Stay tuned.

Weather Affecting Your Mood?

With all of the nasty weather we've been having here in New York, it's easy to get "under the weather" and stay there for a bit. However, the weather doesn't have to affect your mood unless you allow it to.

It doesn't matter if you are in the snowy, cold New York City area or in a town that's normally got great weather but has fallen prey to a dismal climate.  There are things you can do to keep yourself or get yourself out of a funk: