I realized last week during an impromptu question and answer session that started during a friend’s BBQ that lots of car related “myths” exist. So what better subject for
this month article than a bit of automotive debunking.

Myth: Engine oil should be changed every 3,000 miles. Wrong. For the proper answer to this one your best bet is to look in that ever useful owner’s manual tucked snuggly in the glove box and ignore the quick oil change places’ fear campaigns. Under normal driving conditions, most vehicles can travel 7,500 miles or more between oil changes and many new cars and trucks have 10,000 mile recommended changes. Changing your oil more often certainly won’t harm your engine; it just wastes money (and oil). If you are trailer-towing, or going off-road, 3,000 miles between oil changes might be a good idea, but again consult the owner’s manual.

I don’t have anything against lemons. They are a brilliant shade of yellow—one of my favorite colors—and they are simply beautiful to look at and use in decoration.  I love the way they smell so fresh and clean, and they taste deliciously yummy in chicken picatta, lemon meringue pie, old-fashion lemon squares and my mother’s favorite, lemon-apricot cake. What I don’t like is a slice of lemon in my water.

Yes, your mother used to say it, and so did mine. In general, this is good advice, but in my case, not so much. I grew up on a farm with everything from cows, sheep, pigs and horses to chickens and guinea fowl. It was not all that safe to play outside if you know what I mean. You really had to watch your footing. The air was not all that fresh either. Again, you catch my drift?

As you all know we now have numerous ways to contact people—telephone, text, email, Skype, Facetime, IM, regular mail, Facebook, Twitter, Snap Chat and, of course, face-to-face visits. One would think with all of these innovative, highly convenient, practically instant methods of communication, the rate of return on RSVPs would be on the rise. Not so. It is at a dreadful, miserable all-time low, shattering etiquette books to smithereens and sending Miss Manners dangerously close to her deathbed.

For the record, let’s define RSVP just so we are all on the same page. This paragraph is also a public service announcement for those who have either forgotten or have never fully understood what those four letters in that particular order mean. Officially, the acronym RSVP originated in France and stands for répondez s’il vous plaît, which translated, is simply, “Respond, please.”

So, dear ladies, this is how you know the resolution business has taken a real downward turn: you dig out your notebook to make your resolutions and see that you have had the same ones five years in a row. How many times can you promise to lose 10 pounds, call your friends more often, eat a healthy diet, and be nicer to people? Well, I finally got on to the fact that these sorts of things were not only not working for me, but were actually making me quite depressed. What, you say? Never any better even with all of this resolving and reevaluation? Well, no more. I am about to share the secret of how to actually keep some resolutions and do it easily.

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Meet Gabi: Gabi Tapia moved with her family from Guadalajara, Mexico to Hilton Head Island when she was 3 years old. She is now 17 and a senior at Hilton Head High School. About ten years ago, her neighbor Amy, who then worked at Pink Magazine, took Gabi with her to a Pink Partini. 

“I wish I didn’t see quite so clearly,” said no one ever.
The eyes have it—they are boss, our windows to the world. Taking care of them is imperative to optimum vision, which is so important to our quality of life and staying active and independent. Don’t forget to have your eyes checked every year. Find an eye doctor and establish a relationship. He or she is a valuable resource in keeping your vision strong and letting you know all of the technology available today to try to stay
20/20 all your life.

Graduation time is rapidly approaching and with it always comes a few emails asking my recommendation/advice on the perfect car to purchase the graduate as a gift.

I approach buying a car for a teen as a careful balancing act. One must manage safety (lets face it, statistics prove it will likely have at least one fender bender), practicality and economics, while still being something your teen will consider somewhat cool. Regardless of the make and model you ultimately choose, there are a few mandatory basics for any teen car purchase:

These are all normal, yet frustrating, scenarios for parents; but there is a simple solution to this problem—read on!

Children are often in their own imaginative world, and they don’t even hear your instructions half the time. Other times they may not think that you’re speaking to them, or they don’t understand what exactly you expect. Regardless of the reason behind it, children of all ages respond much better to purposeful, eye-to-eye conversations, than vague across-the-room requests.

What is in a word? According to one definition a word is “a single, distinct, meaningful element of speech or writing.” If words are so meaningful, why don’t we take better care of what we say and what we express to one another?

I have been guilty plenty of times for speaking without thinking first about my words. Of course, these mistakes still happen today. However, I am more conscious in the error of my ways. I am now able to correct my thinking before I voice my opinions of myself and others. 

I don’t understand why we tolerate some things. I realize it takes different strokes for different folks to make the world go around, but there are some things Americans need to put their foot down about. Politics are one of those things, but I’m not going there. I am dedicating this article to aggravating telephone practices. And, while those can be numerous, I am limiting my complaints to two:

Automation and communication.

By January of each year, us Southerners have seen our fair share of northern blizzards on the Weather Channel, including a sidebar of winter driving and car preparedness tips that seem about as useful to us as tips for driving on the moon. Terms such as snow chains, rock salt and carry a shovel bring a quizzical look of loathing to the average coastal Carolinian.

The simple truth is, generally speaking, we never have to deal with that white wintery hell that, in my opinion, must be the reason for the mass exodus from Ohio to the Lowcountry.

But, just because we don’t get six feet of snow and temperatures so low that water poured from a bottle freezes before it hits the ground, doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t prepare for the cold weather we typically see in February.

One of the worse things to feel after a peaceful night of sleep is stiff. It makes even the youngest of us hobble out of bed and feel somewhat incapacitated. Inflexibility is inevitable as we age. It is also a side effect of inactivity and obesity in all ages—young and old. Staying flexible is not hard. However, the term move it or lose has never been truer than when it comes to keeping yourself free-flowing. Here’s what our experts had to say about flexibility:

What are the most common problems of not staying flexible?
The skeleton provides the body with support and our joints allow the skeleton to be flexible and move around more easily. We lose bone mass or density as we age and, for women, during and after menopause. Bones also lose calcium and some minerals and are easier to break.

Our strength and endurance changes as we age, as well. So, as we get older we may not feel like we have enough energy to exercise, but lack of exercise and activity may result in lack of flexibility.

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I have weighed as high as 223 pounds. Thankfully, I don’t anymore. Being overweight for most of my life, childhood included, I became the master of excuses. Once I got real with myself, I was finally able to defeat the false reality waging war in my head, and ultimately, lose the weight.

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So, dear ladies, this is how you know the resolution business has taken a real downward turn: you dig out your notebook to make your resolutions and see that you have had the same ones five years in a row. How many times can you promise to lose 10 pounds, call your friends more often, eat a healthy diet, and be nicer to people? Well, I finally got on to the fact that these sorts of things were not only not working for me, but were actually making me quite depressed. What, you say? Never any better even with all of this resolving and reevaluation? Well, no more. I am about to share the secret of how to actually keep some resolutions and do it easily.

It’s January. You may be one of thousands of people donning new workout clothes, heading to a new gym and exercising your resolution to finally get fit! Pink decided to offer encouragement and introduce you to Samantha Norris who got a head start by beginning her fitness program last August. We hope her enthusiasm, commitment and results—now four months into it—spur you to keep on going when the first flush of resolve fades away.

I am often asked where I take my cars to get washed, and my general response is “my driveway.” Surprisingly, the next statement is often, “Oh, I don’t know how to wash my car.” What? I just assumed this was a right of passage passed from parents to children around the time they got their driver’s license and perhaps their first car, if not sooner, while helping mom or dad wash at home.

Children are to be seen and not heard. I can’t tell you how many times I heard that from my father when I was growing up. I really never bought into it, but you can bet I immediately shrank into the woodwork when he said it. I knew, in no uncertain terms, that he meant to be quiet and behave, and that meant now! I also knew that if I didn’t, I would be the one on the losing end.

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Barbara Kiebel is a mom with two grown girls, a reluctant cat owner and an avid gardener. Herbs are a passion and she loves having a fresh supply for her forays in the kitchen.

“I love having friends over, enjoying their company and sharing food and drink together. While I’ve kept my best recipes online for almost 20 years, it was only in the past several years that I decided to turn that effort into a food and cocktail blog, where I can now share what I love with a wider audience. I love making old standards and creating something new. And, my love for making cocktails cannot be denied!”

The winter weather is cold and dry: it’s making me really itchy. What can I do?

Itchy skin in the cold and dry weather can be an annoying problem. The good news is there are several things you can do to help nourish and protect your skin from the cold weather and low humidity. Low humidity means more water evaporates from your skin leaving behind dehydrated, flaky and sometimes cracked skin. The main defense against this problem is doing everything you can to “lock in” moisture and re-establish the natural oils on your skin that go away with showering and bathing. What I recommend is to avoid very hot showers. My general rule is that if your shower leaves a fog on the mirror, then it is too hot. Keep it short and as mild as you can stand it. In the shower use a mild moisturizing soap such as Cerave, Dove or Cetaphil. Avoid fragrant soaps and only wash the “dirty” spots. Unless you have been exercising or working and getting very sweaty, generally the underarms, genital area, feet and face will do. After the shower, pat dry. Leave a little bit of moisture on your skin and then apply a good moisturizing cream (non-fragranced)  on all of your dry areas. Oils are also good, and a popular choice is coconut oil in place of a moisturizer.

It can be frustrating and embarrassing when your typically sweet little child refuses to share. Fortunately, this is totally normal and there are things you can do to help. Sharing is a complicated social skill that your child will learn with the help of your guidance and plenty of practice.

The brilliant work of great minds has shaped and molded the world into today’s advanced 2.0 version. People such as Leonardo Da Vinci, Winston Churchill, Madame Curie, Albert Einstein, Warren Buffet and Steve Jobs come to mind all as movers and shakers who made a difference in the world with their brilliance. Peoples’ genius brought us philosophies and inventions that were never thought possible like the airplane, helicopter, solar power, nuclear power, fax machines and the Internet. (I’m still amazed by the fax machine even though newer technology has made it almost obsolete.) Brilliance is also responsible for putting man on the moon, discovering medicines that cure deathly illnesses and building robotics that perform pinpoint accurate surgeries.

Most people view the tires on their cars as a necessary evil—
black rubber mystery tubes there to basically keep
their pretty rims from touching the pavement.

This month we wanted to “takeover” a woman who spends her life giving to others and let her be on the receiving end. Melissa Viets was the perfect candidate. Melissa, a certified nursing assistant and executive assistant at the Friends of Caroline Hospice of Beaufort, was suggested by her boss, Executive Director Lindsay Roberg. Everyone who knows Melissa agrees she deserved it.