A chocolatey weekend

Sure chocolate tastes great. Now chocolate can be fun. Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden is hosting its annual Chocolate Festival this weekend, with cooking demonstrations and free chocolate samples. Details here.

Protect your plants!

When it gets this cold, don't forget your plants! Delicate ornamentals could get damaged with our temperature dipping into the 30's. If you've got potted plants, bring them in. If they're in the ground, cover them. And if they get damaged, don't trim off the dead part yet, that could actually help protect the plant from further damage. More help here.

Presidential Website

It's a new day, and a new website for President Barack Obama. It's more interactive, has more features, a photo gallery and a blog. It also invites visitors to email the new president and his staff. He better keep his Blackberry handy!

Casting call for families

If you are a really strict parent who has your teenager under control, you might want to consider an upcoming casting call. Now on the other hand, if you have a teenager who is out of control, you might want to consider the same casting call.
The World's Strictest Parents upcoming TV Show is looking for host families and teens and they'll be in Miami January 23rd through the 26th. The show's premise is to send an unruly teen to a strict household and they need both. Details here.

Gender dieting differences

So you and your hubby are dieting and he loses quicker and doesn't seem to have as much problem as you pushing the chocolate away. How come? We are not only built different, but we are also wired different. New study finds men are better at suppressing their appetite than women. It appears women are hard-wired to eat when food is available. Great, now I can blame my brain! Read more about it here.

Chubby guys needed

Calling all manatees, not the sea cows, but chubby men who love the Marlins, and like to dance and cheer them on. Auditions are Sunday for the all male Marlins cheerleading squad. It's 9 am to noon at Florida International University, 11310 SE 17 Street.

Coffee drinking hazard

Nearly everybody enjoys a morning cup of coffee, and most research finds that's okay. But for those of you who drink many cups a day, like more than seven, you could be putting yourself at risk of seeing things that aren't there. New research has found those with a high caffeine intake were three times more likely to hear voices, sense non-existent people or hallucinate than those with low intake. So that old "I see dead people" thing was really just too much caffeine? Details here.

Your office making you sick?

Research has found open office plans can make you sick. Sure no walls and lots of cubicles save about 20 percent on construction, but they also hurt the bottom line.
Studies found open office plans cause high levels of stress, conflict, high blood pressure and a high staff turnover, leading to the obvious, lower productivity.
You can read more about it here and then share it with your boss. Good luck.

Ring finger linked to money

If you have a long ring finger, you could be making more money. Well, research has found that stock traders with ring fingers longer than their index fingers made more money. It has to do with male hormones in the womb, making the finger longer and qualities of risk taking, confidence and aggression that come with the hormones. You can read more about it here. I just want to know which finger needs to be long to pick the winning Powerball!

Overeating gene?

When it comes to cookies, I could eat the whole jar, the whole box, the whole enchilada so to speak. And now comes word from researchers that there is a gene that could be responsible for that. The FTO gene. They tested kids and found those who ate more cookies after a meal had certain variations of the FTO gene, a gene linked to larger body size. Could it be? I could blame it all on my genes? Read more about it here.

Miami Spice returns

If you love to go out to dinner, but don't love the cost, you'll love Miami Spice. It returns today. 50 of Miami's top restaurants are offering three course lunch menus for as low as $23.00 and special dinner menus for $36.00. Miami Spice usually runs in the summer, but it's now being offered the winter too, from January 12th thru February 12th. Yum.

Love in a pill?

Want to fix your marriage, take a love pill. Sound far fetched? It could happen in the future. Researchers are testing out those chemicals and hormones which affect the ability to help us form social attachments. So when would you take it? When you're going on a date or when you're close to divorce? And will they call it Love Potion #9? Details here.

Hats off to you!

You want to be protected from the sun, so you wear sunscreen, but what about the top of your head? You really should wear a hat, but let's face it, have you ever found a hat that makes you look good, protects you and is functional? Me either. That's where physician-endorsed hats come from. They are safe and fashionable and available at many doctors' offices and retail outlets. Details here.

Old computer? Smash it!

If you get the urge to take a sledge hammer to your computer, it may not be a bad thing, as long as you plan on replacing it. Experts say if you really want to be safe, smash your old computer to smithereens, so fraudsters can't get at your personal information. They say it's the only way to be 100 percent sure you're safe. Details here. I'm liking this idea a lot.

Celebrate our big bottoms

Us full figured girls have a reason to celebrate. There is now scientific proof that women with big bottoms are in good health. New research finds that the fat responsible for the pear shape is also responsible for protecting women form diseases like diabetes. But I still have trouble fitting into my jeans!
Read more about it here.

Get married with dolphins

If you're in love and love dolphins (not the football playing kind), you're in luck. The Clearwater Marine Aquarium is offering a free wedding package where one couple wil be chosen to get married on a platform over the main dolphin pool, with two dolphins assisting in the nuptials. How to apply, go here.

Is your sofa toxic?

Strange question I know. But I was reading this article that states if you don't know how your couch was made, most likely it is emitting toxic substances from formaldehyde, flame retardants, finishes, adhesives and foam cushions. What to do?
Switch to eco-furniture. I'm thinking a log with pillows might do. Read more about it here.

Love can last a lifetime

You can have a love that lasts a lifetime. There is scientific proof. Scientists have discovered that about 10 percent of couples appear to feel young love's first blush permanently. Previous research finds the first stages of romantic love fade within 15 months and after ten years has gone completely. Read more about it here.

Recycle your Christmas tree

Don't just throw it to the curb, recycle that old Christmas tree. It came from the earth, why not give it back! I took my tree to C.B. Smith Park and it's easy. You drop it off, and they turn it into mulch! If you want to know where to go in Broward, check here. They do it in Miami Dade too.

Some diets can blur memory

If you're starting a diet today, you might want to consider a new study first. It finds that a low carb diet may improve your focus, but impair your memory. And skipping carbs altogether can impair basic thinking. Read more about it here.