Secrets to A Good Night's Sleep

 He continued to eat, mildly amused by the annoyance in her voice. "Let me think about it. Why couldn't you sleep?"

"How do I know? The doctor's got some sort of holistic tea he wants me to try."

"Sex is a good is a good sedative."

"Maybe. Especially, for instance, if your partner's on the inadequate side. You can catch a quick nap during the act."

"I can promise you won't sleep through it."

She only smiled, and ate her salad.

ANGELS FALL

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Amin, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

When it comes to a healthy lifestyle, most of us ignore a good night's sleep. Our prime focus is usually healthy food, exercise, and appropriate water intake. Experts say that sleep is the time when our body organizes all of its functions for a healthier you. So, fix your sleep to be healthy.

MSN

Never-Fail Scalloped Potatoes

"I'm going to make scalloped potatoes for dinner."

Tonight and Always 

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Take the chill off any blustery day and make something special to accompany meaty entrees.

Taste of Home

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👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇

Look whOt I found 💓

Nora Roberts' Scalloped Potatoes

@ Rumble in the Kitchen

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She wouldn't trust him to carve the pork roast, which was vaguely insulting, but did so herself as she steamed asparagus. 

Brody decided not to complain, as the meat smelled incredible and he noted

there was a serving of scalloped potatoes in his immediate future.

Angels Fall

How to get a better night’s sleep

"Let me think about it. Why couldn't you sleep?"

 "How do I know? The doctor's got some sort of holistic tea he wants me to try."

 "Sex is a good sedative."

 "Maybe. Especially, for instance, if your partner's on the inadequate side. You can catch a quick nap during the act."

 "I can promise you won't sleep through it."

 She only smiled, and ate her salad.

Angels Fall

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By Édouard Vuillard - AAGyOnA867cXFA at Google Cultural Institute 

maximum zoom level, Public Domain, 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21880435

Most people know they need to eat right and exercise to be healthy. But what about sleep? We spend about one-third of our lives asleep, and sleep is essential to better health. But many of us are struggling with sleep. Four out of five people say that they suffer from sleep problems at least once a week and wake up feeling exhausted. So how do you become a more successful sleeper? Grab a pillow, curl up and keep reading to find out.

NEW YORK TIMES

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Out of habit, she switched on the white-noise maker on the bedside table.

When she moved away to adjust her bedroom air filter, Malachi switched it back off as he did every night. She never noticed.

Three Fates

Stars

Stars exploded around it, as it someone had loaded a shotgun with diamonds and blasted away. Their light turned the icing of snow on the peaks an eerie blue, and dashed the crevices and gullies into deep, rich shadow.

Angels Fall 

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By Michael J. Bennett - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26017472

Stars are difficult to study. We can see them, which makes them an easier subject than black holes

Those natural seismic also carry with them a frequency, and if we could directly hear this resonance, it'd sound like ringing bells. 

But how do we know? 

Well, we can see it, in the swirling surface and changing brightness of the star.

POPULAR MECHANICS

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But she laughed, shook back her hair to take a look up at the sky. "My God, it's so big, so clear. I can see the Milky Way. I think that's the Milky Way. And both Dippers, which is about it for my constellation knowledge."

"Don't look at me. I just see a bunch of stars, and a white, waning moon."

Angels Fall

Catch & Release

He drove out of the Fist. He wanted the flats, the bloom of them. 

The quiet and the space. He figured itwas a major shift in place that he didn't want all that alone. 

He wanted her with him. He was surprised by his own sentiment when he stopped where they'd had their first kiss. 

She stared out the window, saying nothing. 

Still silent, she reached out, touched her hand to his beforeclimbing out. 

She stood where the world was a carpet of color guarded by the silver and blue peaks or the Tetons,gilded by the sun that sat low in the west. 

Pinks and blues, vibrant reds and purples, sunny yellows spiked and spread among the soft green ofsage. 

And where the flats blurred into marsh was a dreamy green ribbon of cottonwood and willow.

Angels Fall

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Let it wash over me

I'm ready to lose my feet

Take me off to the place where one reveals life's mystery

Steady on down the line

Lose every sense of time

Day to day I'm blind to see

Take it all in and wake up that small part of me

And find how far to go

Matt Simons 

Catch & Release

More in Love

 "You know what I'd like?" she asked him.

 "Hmmm?" If he hadn't been so dazed, it would have amazed him that he could be dozing in bed this close to noon.

 "To stay here, right here in this bed, all day."

 "We've got a pretty good start."

Loving Jack

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By The Library of Congress - [Portrait of June Christy and Bob Cooper, 1947 or 1948] (LOC), 

Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=42835958

9 Things That Make Him Fall Even More in Love With You

You might not think #3 matters, but to him, it's HUGE.

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

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"Is that my shirt?"

"Well, yeah. I can't go walking around naked."

"Don't see why not. But since you didn't ask if you could borrow it, which is pretty damn rude, I think you'd better get your ass back upstairs and give it back to me."

"You're absolutely right." Everything inside her relaxed again. "I'm so ashamed."

"Ought to be." He took her hand, walked her back up the steps. "How would you like it if I paraded around in your clothes without permission?"

"I don't think I would. Although, it might be strangely fascinating."

Angel's Fall

Cooking Skills to Master by Age 30

She poured him a glass of wine. Turning, she took the roast out of the oven, set it on the stovetop.

"Ah. just like Mom used to make."

"Really?"

"No. My mother could burn takeout."

Amused. Reece finished stuffing the mushrooms.

Angels Fall

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By Crastino - Huevo batido, CC BY 2.0, 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12128068

Learning to cook is a lifelong process. It will take years—a lifetime really—to know what the pros know… But there are some basics that, as an adult, you should feel comfortable with. So if you’re turning 30 soon, make sure you can master these essential skills before the clock strikes midnight. Learn the items on this list, and you’ll not only know how to make many classic, everyday meals, but you’ll also open up a whole new world of roasting, grilling, emulsifying, and baking for yourself. Read on to transition from home cook to gourmet chef. 

MY DOMAINE

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“You’re right about the bread, too. My mother bakes bread. Baking’s kind of a hobby for her.”

“I can bake. You know you buy that cookie dough in rolls, slice it, stick it in the oven?”

“My specialty’s frozen pizza.”

“Another fine skill.”

The Search

Make a Macramé Wall Hanging

Amused. Reece finished stuffing the mushrooms. "What does she do?"

"She's a psychiatrist. Private practice."

Trying to ignore the automatic bump in her belly. Reece concentrated on the mushroom caps. "Oh."

"And she macrames."

"She what?"

"Makes things by tying rope into knots. I think she once macramed a small studio apartment. Furnished. It's an obsession."

Angels Fall

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 Modern macramé artist, Emily Katz, teaches how to make her signature bohemian wall hanging.

CREATIVE BUG

ground rules for dating a single dad

Freddie played with the edge of her blanket. "Will you come and see me when I'm not sick?"
"I think I might." She leaned over to make a grab and came up with a mewing kitten. "And to see Lucy and Desi."
"And Daddy."
Cautious, Natasha scratched the kitten's ears. "Yes, I suppose."
"You like him, don't you?"
"Yes. He's a very good teacher."
"He likes you, too." Freddie didn't add that she had seen her father kiss Natasha at the foot of her bed just the night before, when they'd thought she was asleep. Watching them had given her a funny feeling in her stomach. But after a minute it had been a good funny feeling. "Will you marry him and come and live with us?"
"Well, is that a proposal?" Natasha managed to smile. "I think it's nice that you'd want me to, but I'm only friends with your daddy. Like I'm friends with you."
"If you came to live with us, we'd still be friends."
The child, Natasha reflected, was as clever as her father.

Taming Natasha

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Great news: You just met a wonderful guy! ... Yes, you’re dating a divorced dad, and he’s a tricky species, indeed. Whatever rules you’ve applied to dating in the past, just throw them out the window. Because when it comes to having a relationship with a man who has kids, you’ll need to follow a whole new set of guidelines.

YAHOO!

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"And you've done everything you can to give him a happy and normal life. Don't you see how much I admire that? How much I respect it?"
Flustered, he stared at her. He'd never thought of parenting as admirable. "It's what I'm supposed to do.
Thinking of him first, that's how it has to be. It's not just you and me, Kate. If it were… but it's not. A change like this—a life-altering one—he has to be in on it."
"And who's saying differently?" she demanded.
"Well, damn it. I can't just go tell him I'm getting married, just like that. I need to talk to him about it, prepare him. So do you. That's the kind of thing you'd be taking on. He needs to be as sure of you as he is of me."
"For heaven's sake, O'Connell, don't you think I've taken all of that into account? You've known me for months now. You ought to be able to give me more credit."
"It's not a matter of—"
"It was Jack who asked me to marry you in the first place."
Brody stared into her flushed and furious face, then held up his hands. "I have to sit down." He backed up, dropped down on a flattened stump. Because the dog was shoving the rope into his lap, Brody tossed it. "What did you just say?"
"Am I speaking English?" she demanded. "Jack proposed to me yesterday. Apparently he doesn't have as much trouble making up his mind as his father. He asked me to marry you, both of you. And I've never had a lovelier offer."

 

Considering Kate

Ballerina Irina Dvorovenko: ‘All Artists Are Very Vulnerable’

 

“All ballet dancers, all artists, are very vulnerable,” Dvorovenko said. “There are so many insecurities because it’s a huge responsibility and you’re dealing with discipline, routine and pain. From an early age, you have to learn how to control yourself. And have tremendous inner strength.”

 

“The ballet world is pretty hidden,” Dvorovenko continued. 

 “We dedicate our life to it. The audience sees beauty, grace, glamour, lightness, passion. Behind the curtain it’s a very difficult routine and strict discipline.”

YAHOO!

On Nora's Birthday, let's go to the kitchen

"What the hell is apple brown betty?"

"It's delicious, that's what the hell it is. Go sit down, give me a minute and I'll prove it. 

She fixed the dessert, served it in the living area. 

"It's not sex,' she said, "but it's a nice end to a meal."

He took the first spoonful. "Where has this been all my life?"

"I learned to make it for my father. It was a favorite of his."

'"A man of good taste."

Angels Fall

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A cross between bread pudding and apple crumble, the Apple Brown Betty is a humble dessert made from day-old bread and sweetened fresh fruit (sometimes with berries instead of apples). 

 

In honor of National Apple Betty Day, we're serving up a batch with fresh whipped cream tonight! For the best betty, we consulted SAVEUR contributor Marion Cunningham, author of The Fannie Farmer Cookbook (Knopf, 1990). She passed this along with the advice that you won't need the lemon juice if your apples are flavorful. 

FOOD NETWORK
(previous link is no longer available)

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY NORA!

benefits in sharing a bed

"Why couldn't you sleep?"
"How do I know? The doctor's got some sort of holistic tea he wants me to try."
"Sex is a good sedative."
"Maybe. Especially, for instance, if your partner's on the inadequate side. You can catch a quick nap quick nap during the act."

Angels Fall

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Couples may get health benefits simply from sleeping in the same bed, a burgeoning field of study is showing. In fact, some scientists believe that sleeping with a partner may be a major reason why people with close relationships tend to be in better health and live longer.

WSJ

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Roz woke at four, too early to jog, too late to talk herself back to sleep. She lay awhile, in the quiet dark. It amazed her how quickly she'd gotten used to having Mitch in her bed. She didn't feel crowded, or even surprised to have him sleeping beside her.
It felt more natural than she'd expected-not something she had to adjust to, but something she'd discovered she no longer wanted to do without.
She wondered why it didn't feel odd to wake with him, to start the daily routine with another person in her space. The bathroom shuffle, the conversation-or the silence-while they dressed.
Not odd or strange, she decided, maybe because some part of her had been waiting to make this unit again.

Black Rose