“Let’s talk about building.
I don’t mean a house, I mean ourselves!”
– The Uphill Skater –

Let me tell you something you probably already know: We have all been through, and in many cases are still going through, a really bad time. All the things that have come together in the last months have not melded gently, they have collided, basically smashing into each other with a boom heard around the world.

What does this mean for each one of us in our own little worlds? I like to see everything as an opportunity. Can we try to look at it that way? Read on and let’s think about building, rather than burning, creating rather than destroying!

Netflix may be one of the biggest and most well-known video streaming services in the world, but it sure isn’t the only one. There are a lot of Netflix alternatives out there that will keep you entertained every night, some of which are even free.

Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Prime Video is one of the best, if not the best, alternatives to Netflix. Prime offers plenty of popular movies and television shows, as well as quality original programming. The shows that stand out are: “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”; “The Man In The High Castle”; “The Boys” and Tom Clancy’s “Jack Ryan,” to name a few.

The performing art form of purposefully selected sequences of human movement is known as dance. Now combine that movement with a creative imagination, and you have choreography. It’s not something that everyone can do; it takes a creative mind to see movement through music. It takes someone like Jamal Edwards. You might recognize this native Hilton Head Islander from 13 seasons of the local annual performance of the Nutcracker Ballet. Jamal began his dance career 20 years ago at Hilton Head Dance School. Now, he gives back to the school that propelled his life-long love and passion for dance.

The reversal of Jupiter and other planetary liberations will fly a permission slip into the month. Do your feelings. Emote. If happy, then feel the joy and dance on. Talking about why and trying to sort out the recipe diminishes the good feeling. The same goes for negative feelings. When you’re sad, angry, ashamed, just call it that, feel it and work it through. Don’t muddle things up by intellectualizing with a story or an explanation.

Read on for your horoscope...

Really? Do I still need the sex talk?

Of course you do! Sex isn’t a one-and-done when it comes to talking and learning about your sexual needs, desires and health. Our bodies change as the decades go by, which impacts your sexual health with new issues always arising. To achieve your best sexual health—and keep your intimacy in shape—be sure to talk to your doctor regularly about any concerns, strange sensations, or noticeable changes you may be experiencing. Don’t be afraid to ask any question, even if you find it embarrassing. Remember, sex is a science that your doctor has studied for years. One last thing: Tell all! You have to be 100 percent honest and detailed with your physician if you want the best solution. Rest assured, doctors really have heard it all!

“Okay, so here is a question for everybody:
Are we ready to get back to basics, or what?”
– The Uphill Skater –

I am willing to be the one to ask about all of this. Are we ready to let things be what they are? Are we ready to begin to come back in ways that are comfortable for each one of us? Can we finally, or for just right now, not be bitter and angry when we talk about politics? Can we still love our friends and somehow agree to disagree without being disagreeable? Can we just shut up and wear our masks and not make this simple thing into a huge deal?

The movie business is always changing, but these days it can be difficult to tell the difference between struggle and outright decline.

It is tempting during these dreary times to pin our hopes on a single solution to an intractable problem: One leader who might save us; one vaccine that might inoculate us; one day when suddenly everything will be back to normal. In reality, the return to normalcy will be slow and halting. Even once a vaccine becomes available, not everyone will receive it at once. We will return to our offices, our friends’ homes and, yes, movie theaters in small groups, then larger ones. Appealing as it was to cling to a symbol of resilience and the shared, communal experiences we yearn for, it was never that simple.

“An anchor is something that provides stability
or confidence in an uncertain situation”
– The Uphill Skater –

As I sit down today to write this article, I am very aware of the fact that one of you may be reading it on August 31, and that by the time August 31 arrives, the whole country may have turned upside down, yet again. Life may have changed significantly between then and now. Sometimes I think I should have stayed with writing this column about good food and a healthy diet instead of veering off into the realms of a total healthy life style, which involves much more than food. Mental health and physical health are so intertwined that science tells us that we can no longer separate them.

Countdown to Uranus Retrograde In these final days of Uranus direct, it is prudent to note the many ways in which our lives are enchanted by all that was built before we got here. Usually, what seems like immediate magic is actually the result of a long stretch of work that included hits, failed experiments and predictable wins. Keep this in mind as you go forward creating what someone in the future is likely to experience as immediate magic.

Read on for your horoscope...

Addiction kills thousands of Americans every year and impacts millions of lives, relationships, families and careers. Whether it’s a problem with alcohol or drugs, addiction is a mental disorder which compels someone to repeatedly use substances, or engage in behaviors even though they have harmful consequences. With more than 21 million Americans having at least one addiction, having open dialogue about this topic is imperative to finding help and the road to recovery. There is hope! Addiction doesn’t have to win. With more resources than ever, and addiction on the rise, reaching out for help is the wisest thing to do. Read on for insight and advice from our local experts.

Can you imagine living in a time when your voice, your opinion,
your ability to vote your choice was not recognized? Was not allowed.
Well ladies, that’s the way it was until August 26, 1920, just 100 years ago.

After seven decades of a civil rights movement to allow women to vote,
the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified.

In honor of the fearless, brave, courageous and patient women who helped make it happen, I dedicate the Reel Corner column this month with the following films. These are films of resistance, empowerment and justice.

Pain is part of living. Biologically, it’s the part that keeps us alive the best. If we weren’t always running from it, we’d be much more vulnerable to predators and other threats to survival. As much as we like to think we can rid our lives of pain, we can’t, and even if we could, it wouldn’t work to our advantage. The sun/Jupiter opposition from July 12-19 suggests we ascribe a meaning to our pain that will make it easier to embrace.

Read on for your horoscope...

Are you looking to reduce the signs of aging, or get rid of stubborn fat?  Perhaps you have thought about a face or neck lift. Maybe you want your facial skin to regain its more youthful dew. Have you been worried about your feminine health and felt uncomfortable talking to your doctor about it? Whatever you are looking for these days, chances are you can achieve it without going under the knife. We asked local doctors what’s new in non-surgical rejuvenation, and the news is exciting! Yesterday’s surgery is today’s in-office procedure with little to no downtime. You’re going to like what these professionals have in store for you.

“Change your (your word here) and change your life!”
– The Uphill Skater –

I’ve heard it, you’ve heard it. Any number of magazines, self-help books and websites all hold the magic promise. Change your diet, change your life. Change your spending habits and be wealthy. Change your job and change your life, and so on. Well, I am here to add one, so get ready to listen to the REAL thing that can actually change your life if you actually want to do it: Change your attitude, and change your life, and boy, do I really mean it.

We are bombarded daily, hourly, if not minute-by-minute by people trying to tell us what to think and what to do. We are told what to wear, how much to weigh, how much money other people have and how we can get it. Worse yet, we have to look at pictures of the “rest of us” whether we want to or not. The last time I watched network TV, I saw a total of 14 commercials in the one hour time frame. I am not going to put up with it anymore, and I am advising you not to put up with it either.

With much of the U.S. economy shuttered and people still being slow to emerge, families are finding that the drive-in movie theater presents the perfect escape.
The coronavirus has forced traditional movie theaters

to close their doors. That seems to be the recipe for a resurgence of drive-ins—
a slice of Americana that had its heyday in the 1950s and ‘60s.

If you drive on Route 21 from Beaufort toward Charleston,
you will pass the cool retro sign of Highway 21 Drive In reminiscent of days gone by.
Low and behold, this drive-in is alive and well and is an oasis for movie goers!

Locally, Highway 21 Drive In has always had a healthy clientele, states owner Joe Barth, but when the virus hit he was ready to close, even though drive-ins are perfect for social distancing. But the clientele outcry was so strong to stay open, he petitioned the governor, and Highway 21 Drive In was given permission, with certain precautions, to stay open. Highway 21 Drive In was built in 1978, Joe and Bonnie Barth bought it in 2004. They added a second screen in 2007 and went digital in 2014.

Jos Vicars has walked across the burning deserts of New Mexico, eating snakes and rabbits and breaking open cacti for water.

He’s surfed and camped for months at a time on the black sand beaches of Costa Rica. He’s strummed his guitar under northern lights, next to his fire of reindeer poop, while trekking alone near the Arctic Circle. In Amsterdam he slept on scaffolding several stories high, lugging his gear up on ropes every night because he couldn’t afford the hostels. He’s hiked New Zealand and Southeast Asia, kite-surfed and cave-dived in the wild gorges of Dominican Republic. He summited the highest mountain in Central America, 13,845-foot Volcán Tajumulco, where he ate out of the forest the whole way. By the time he reached the top he was so amped up on wild coffee berries and sick from the altitude that he got delirious and started talking to rocks.

The sun and Neptune are like a couple with an annual appointment with a marriage counselor to check in and make sure all is on track. In a safe space, these two air their grievances and attempt the sort of communication style that will allow conflicts to surface in a healthy, productive way. As it goes with these things, feelings are on the line. What’s said and done cannot be unsaid or undone, so go gingerly and with compassion.

Read on for your horoscope...

Maintaining optimal brain health gives us lifelong cognitive power.
Not only does the human brain control bodily functions,
it is the most powerful “computer” on earth, which helps us to understand
and grasp the world around us with a full range of thoughts, feelings and emotions.
Keeping your brain in tip top condition is imperative for quality of life.

Think about it! Knowledge is power, especially when it comes to the brain.
Meet our panel of local brain health and wellness experts,
as they give us the facts on protecting our beautiful bustling brains and
discuss needed tools for maintaining optimal
levels of brain clarity and function.

“Summer 2020 may be different, but we can
make the best of it!” – The Uphill Skater

Summer 2020 may kick off with a bang, or with a fizzle, and it may continue locked down, or burst full bloom into the kind of summer we all know and love. This month may or may not tell the tale either. As you read this article, you may be thinking I am a forecasting genius, or I am just another nut case, who thinks she can predict the future. I do not know any more of this story than anyone else, and most likely, neither do you!

With movie theaters closed and blockbusters-in-waiting being postponed all the way to next year, it's a lot for a film fan to take in. Thankfully, there are many, many films, ranging from the fantastic to the fantastically bad, that offer some escape and comfort in a storm of distressing news.

In other words, the Reel Corner’s got you.

Here are a few movies to watch (or perhaps, revisit) that you may have overlooked while we have been sheltering in place. They are perfect for every mood you might be feeling.  
Be Strong…Stay well …and wear your mask!

If the month of May 2020 were a movie, the week of May 10 would be the action sequence. Mercury enters Gemini. Venus retrogrades. And then Jupiter copies that. The omens suggest excellent and fast communication, which we’ll need as relationships and passions swing in an assessing and introspective direction. It’s review time for love, and this will be graded. Then Jupiter backs up, too, which will be felt more strongly in weeks to come.

Read on for your horoscope...

May2020 Issue - Pink Prescriptions
Give It A Boost: Your Immune System Will Thank You!

Your health is your greatest wealth. No doubt, no one wants to be sick, and people with great
wealth have never been able to pay their way out of death. Great health is the foundation of our quality of life; a strong immune system is the foundation of great health. It is the your frontline defense against illness, so the stronger it is, the stronger you are. Let’s find out more on how to boost your immune system to Herculean strength.

“I have been telling you for years to be yourself,
but now I am upping the ante.
Yourself is no longer good enough.”
– The Uphill Skater – 

For years I have been pounding the fact that being yourself is the only way to go for better or worse. Yet, today I am going to eat my words. We are in very troubled times no matter how you look at it, and it is time for all of us to see where we may fit in the new “normal.” Not just you, but “YOU,"  as the very best person you know how to be. The times call for it, and we need to do it for our own emotional and physical health. We are all a part of these unprecedented times, and I have done as I am advising you to do. In this column after all of these years, the only time I have ever given advice that I have not taken my self involved chocolate, so I am not doing badly.

And, what if…
If we subscribe to the philosophy that life is always working out for us, and that there is an intelligence far greater than humans at work…
That all is interconnected.
What if…
the virus is here to help us?
To reset.
To remember.
What is truly important.
Reconnecting with community.
Reconnecting with family, as there is more time at home.

What’s pinker than pink? The super pink moon that is the astrological feature of the first week of April. No, it’s not the official moon of Victoria’s Secret (or Pink Magazine). Rather, the pink moon is named for the flowers that bloom this time of year, specifically the phlox, which comes in other colors besides pink with an impressive intensity of hue. Other names for this moon read like a cosmic menu and include sprouting grass moon, egg moon and fish moon.

Aries (March 21-April 19). Though you have natural abilities and that special X-factor quality that draws people in, these gifts have little to do with long-term success. Wins are contingent on behaviors, habits and routines. The right daily actions are far greater drivers of performance than a flash of ability in the absence of those behaviors.