Greet the Day

We've all read about relaxing sleep rituals, but why not develop a waking ritual? Practice waking up with a relaxed attitude. Allow yourself to wake up slowly and take a few moments to notice your surroundings. How you wake up influences the remainder of your day. Make it a more positive one today.

Eerily Accurate Fortunes from Fortune Cookies

• Your husband will ask the same question repeatedly, regardless of your answer. :)
• You will spend five minutes looking for your keys, only to realize that, yes, they were in your handbag after all. :)
• You will receive an e-mail that includes an emoticon. ;)
• You will have good intentions about going to the gym this week but instead get sucked into So You Think You Can Dance. :)
• You will lose cell-phone reception, only to find it again. :)
• You will fall asleep during any movie you start watching after 10 p.m. :)

Happy Women Live Longer

Optimistic women are 30 percent less likely to die from heart disease, according to a new Women’s Health Initiative study, so thinking positively is even more crucial as you get older.

How do you make that a habit?

Study author Hilary A. Tindle, MD, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, recommends making time for simple pleasures like watching movies and planning vacations.

Another approach: Learn how to become more hopeful by meditating, exercising, building closer friendships, and—if you need it—getting therapy, says Anthony Scioli, PhD, a professor of psychology at Keene (New Hampshire) State College and co-author of the new book Hope in the Age of Anxiety ($29.95; Oxford University Press).

From Health magazine