On Your Table: For Memorial Day, get grilling!

Unofficial start of summer means it’s time to fire up the grill By Cathy Branciaroli, Food Correspondent, The Times Although summer doesn’t officially begin until June 21st, Memorial weekend unofficially kicks off the summer season, marked by picnics, barbecues and much outdoor dining.  A forecast of balmy weather and sunny skies can only add to the fun. Traditional Memorial Day pleasures...

Dad bods? What about Mom bods?

If guys can let themselves go a bit, why not women? By Kelly Hockenberry, Columnist, The Times Have you heard about “Dad bod”? Thanks to Clemson student Mackenzie Pearson’s blog post (read here: http://bit.ly/1DCrYSl) the concept is trending. Here’s her theory in a nutshell: Women are attracted to men that have a “nice balance between a beer gut and working out. The dad bod says, “I...

Toxic Waste may be more dangerous than it sounds to teeth

Super-Sour candy is almost as acidic as battery acid By Dr. Stephanie McGann, DMD FAGD, Columnist, The Times No really – one of today’s hottest super sour candies is called Toxic Waste. Yummy huh?   The website for Toxic Waste is full of cartoons, games and challenges. How long can you keep this sour candy in your mouth? Are you tough enough?   Now, to be fair Toxic Waste is not...

A mother’s note to her sons on Mothers Day

Reflections on raising two teen boys, the fears, the joys By Kelly Hockenberry, Columnist, The Times My dearest sons, Even though everyday is a joy with you little cherubs, I wanted to take the opportunity to tell you just how much you have changed my life for the better. The funny thing about parenthood (that no one tells you in advance) is how hard it is, ALL THE TIME. Not necessarily hard...

On Your Table: Celebrate National Gardening Month

Enjoy a family adventures starting vegetables from seeds By Cathy Branciaroli, Food Correspondent,The Times Planting seeds for a summer garden is a great family project. Vegetable plants can also be gotten at local garden centers. Starting seeds that will grow to produce this summer’s garden bounty and then nurturing a backyard garden plot can be a fun family project.   It’s the miracle...

Take care of yourself, it’s surprisingly sexy

When you feel beautiful, you are By Nancy Plummer, Columnist, The Times We’ve all encountered more than our fair share of unsolicited romantic advice from friends, from family, and (most brazenly) from drunken friends of the family! But with contradicting and archaic advice mixed in with the helpful hints, it’s hard to figure out which tips we should discard and which we should hold onto and...

No time to horse around: dressing for the Steeplechase

And yes, it is all about the hat — create one that reflects your sense of style By Kelly Hockenberry, Columnist, The Times Today is Point to Point and next Sunday is the Willowdale Steeplechase! Do you have the perfect dress? Appropriate shoes (my suggestion is a wedge as opposed to a heel…you won’t sink into the ground)? More importantly, do you have a hat? There are so few occasions...

Super Six: Mother’s Day edition

A little early list of hints of what to buy (or ask for) By Kelly Hockenberry, Columnist, The Times Ladies, in order to give the hubbies out there PLENTY of time to get shopping for Mother’s Day, I am doing my Sunday Super Six a little bit early. (See? I’m smarter than I look, sometimes.) I loooooove to share what is on my wishlist and this week’s selections are MUSTHAVES, I promise: 1....

Chief Cork Officer: 10 under $10

Great tastes and values in red wines By Brian Gurnham, Columnist, The Times Did you know that the average price paid for a bottle of wine in the United States is $6.30?  With the recent arsenic scare naming budget wine producers, maybe the average will go up.  But, as one who is doing everything budgetary possible to move the needle upwards, I thought it would be worth some semi-scientific research...

Spring cleaning can apply to health as well

Sometimes, a lot of little things cause big issues By Dr. Matthew Lapp, Columnist, The Times Spring has finally sprung and after the winter we had, we deserve it!  For many people, the change of season also marks an opportunity for spring cleaning inside and outside the home.  If you’re like me, maybe you’ve noticed that the shrubs and grass are almost due for a trim or that the basement...