Weekend Treat – Information Worth Sharing

Oklahoma Hospitality Can Promote Good Health – a British 2 year-old suffering from a rare form of cancer got vital medical help from doctors in Oklahoma, but her parents think the state’s hospitality might be the real cure.  Lilly Gillon received lifesaving treatment in an Oklahoma City hospital last year, but her spirits faltered when she returned home to the U.K.  When Lilly’s father, Graham, brought her back to Oklahoma on a vacation last week, he noticed an immediate change in her behavior as she took in waves of goodwill from friendly Oklahomans.  “They were just so nice,” he said.  He is considering moving his family to Oklahoma to speed his daughter’s full recovery. ~ The Week

Art’s Economic Impact – one study estimated the impact of The Louvre (the world’s most visited museum) on the French economy to be between $870 million and $1.4 billion in a single year.  In another study, more than a million people saw Michelangelo’s David in 2009, paying more than $7 million for tickets at the Academia Gallery in Florence. ~ New York Times Magazine

How Gywneth Paltrow Became a Health Nut – Gwyneth Paltrow is obsessed with her health, said Justine Picardie.  She embraced a clean-living lifestyle in 2002 after her beloved father, hard-drinking, chain-smoking director died of throat cancer at age 58.  “All I’ve learned about health came from his cancer.  I’ll probably have a long and healthy life because he didn’t.”  When Paltrow talks about her father, her eyes fill with tears and she touches his wedding ring, which hangs on a gold chain around her neck.  “I would do anything to have him back, but half the reason my life is good, has real value, is that he died,” she says.  “As much pain and heartache (as his death) caused, there was an equal amount of positivity.”  ~ Haper’s Bazaar

What's Hot and Not In Home Styles This Year - “A home to call one’s own has long been part of the American Dream. But as tastes, technologies and regional preferences change, propelled by demographics and the socio-economic climate, the style, scale and comforts of that coveted real estate evolve. . . .Stephen Melman, director of economic services at the National Association of Home Builders said that houses shrank about 10 percent from their 2,500 square foot peak in 2007, and are expected “to get smaller and more efficient” with open floor plans, master bedrooms on the first floor and dining rooms distinguished only by a chandelier or architectural detail.”  Read more about the hot and not-so-hot home styles for 2012 at http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/whats-hot-and-not-in-home-styles-this-year.html

Remember to dwell in possibilities but make sure to enjoy yourself along the way!

Cindy