O, The Oprah Magazine articles from January 2005

O, The Oprah Magazine archives from January 2005

We hear you! Readers are bowled over by the charismatic Barack Obama, go back and forth on two-apartment marriages, thank heaven for little boys, and more ....(letters)(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2005... "Oprah Talks to Barack Obama" [November] gave me hope for the future of our country. After witnessing the desperate measures of both the Bush and Kerry campaigns, I was deeply moved by Obama's sincerity in the interview. Not only do his...

Corrections.(Correction Notice)
January 1, 2005... Corrections: In the November issue, the photograph on page 199 (Reading Room) should have been credited to Alex Berliner, copyright [c] Berliner Studio/BEImages, and the one on page 298 (What I Know for Sure) should have been credited to Bob...

Champagne for your brain.(here we go)(Editorial)
January 1, 2005... I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO learn Spanish. Like a can't-put-it-down novel on a blustery winter day, language is an instant passport to another world--an experience that stretches me beyond the woman I was last year, last month, yesterday. "The...

8th Continent[R]: a good place to start.(Time For You!)(Advertisement)
January 1, 2005... It's time for a healthier lifestyle and adding 8th Continent[R] soymilk to your daily routine is a good place to start. 8th Continent soymilk not only tastes great, but it is also a good source of soy protein, an excellent source of calcium and...

Curel[R]: good-bye, winter-dry skin.(Time For You!)(Advertisement)
January 1, 2005... Make dry skin a thing of the past with Curel[R] lotion. Curel[R] lotion locks in moisture for 24 hours to keep skin looking and feeling beautiful. Curel Ultra Healing Daily Moisture Therapy Lotion heals and prevents extra dry skin and is...

Aveda: give yourself nature's gifts.(Time For You!)(Advertisement)
January 1, 2005... Aveda's gifts are nature's gifts--pure flower and plant essences that energize, soothe, relax and inspire. Explore our inventive gift collections--starting at $20. Come by for gifts that only nature can give. Find Aveda at 800.409.7229 or...

GUM[R]: it's time to take care of yourself, both inside and out.(Time For You!)(Advertisement)
January 1, 2005... Research now shows that heart disease, diabetes and osteoporosis are potentially linked to gum disease. Good oral health starts with the GUM[R] 3-Step[TM] System of brushing, flossing and customizing your oral care regimen. With over 100...

The subject is breakthroughs.(Calendar)
January 1, 2005... January [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "If I were to wish for anything, I should not wish for wealth and power but for the passionate sense of the potential...." --Soren Kierkegaard [TABLE OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Dr. Phil: "if you divorce your husband to marry your 'soul mate,' that new relationship is all but doomed"; Phillip C. McGraw, PhD, on leaving a troubled marriage, recovering from the loss of a child, and finding yourself in an empty nest.(tell it like it is)
January 1, 2005... My husband and I have been married for 14 years. We have three children, a nice home, and a decent sex life. But I have not been in love with him for ten years or more. I've started having an affair with my first love, a man I dated when I was...

Suze Orman: "anyone capable of raising three kids while in a bad marriage is capable of taking care of herself"; Preparing for life after divorce ... deciding when it's time for a baby ... and dividing your parents' estate.(financial freedom)
January 1, 2005... After 12 years of marriage, I have just begun divorce proceedings. We have three children ranging from 1 to 10, and I've been a stay-at-home mom for the entire marriage. My physician husband has a substantial income, and our expenses are high...

Live your best life.
January 1, 2005... THE QUESTION I AM ASKED DAILY BY THE WORLD [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Was that all you wanted? --GENINE LENTINE

Tim Russert's aha! moment: how the newscaster found his real vocation.(LYBL)
January 1, 2005... FOR MY ENTIRE LIFE, I'VE BEEN A DRIVEN person, always striving. I was the first in my family to attend college, and then I went to law school. I worked for the government, then joined NBC and lived in Manhattan, going to concerts, restaurants,...

Mouse beautiful.(GIZMO)
January 1, 2005... French industrial designer Philippe Starck, who has charged himself with improving the world one object at a time, has most recently set his sights on the computer mouse. Inspired by the structure of the human brain, Microsoft's new Optical...

The first must-see movie of 2005.(MOVIES)(Movie Review)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... THERE ARE PLENTY OF good reasons to catch the new film adaptation of Shakespeare's complex, controversial comedy The Merchant of Venice, but the most compelling is Al Pacino in one of the finest performances of his career (Look, Ma, no...

A-i-i-y-y-y-y-y!(TREAT)
January 1, 2005... Hot sauce takes scrambled eggs, burritos, baked potatoes, oysters--any dish that needs a jolt--from zero to 60 in five seconds. We've tested the Hot Factor of a variety of our favorites, from slightly sweet (HF1) to hotter than hades (HF5), and...

Our last Sex and the City story. Ever.(ON DVD)
January 1, 2005... Where have you gone, Carrie Bradshaw? Our nation turns its lonely eyes to you. Just when we thought it was safe to wear flats again, Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte, and the Irrepressible Samantha are back to remind us that boys, bags, and of course...

To cook, perchance to dream: baked adobe. Crowing roosters. Centuries-old spice-filled markets. A dream? Welcome to a Mexican cooking school this side of paraiso.(TRAVEL)
January 1, 2005... IMAGINE A COOKING LESSON THAT leaves you just tipsy enough that you can't quite remember what you've learned. Welcome to margarita class (an evening session) at Cocinar Mexicano, a new culinary school one hour from Mexico City in glorious...

Good point.(LYBL)
January 1, 2005... "When we look back at our lives as a whole, we are most haunted by things left undone--romantic opportunities untried, career changes unexplored, friendships left untended. So the first suggestion is simply to act."--FROM IF ONLY: HOW TO...

And the nominees for best awards show are ...(TELEVISION)
January 1, 2005... Statuette season is upon us--the time of year when even the most trigger-happy channel surfer can't avoid the endless waves of red carpet arrivals and overemotional acceptance speeches. All this posturing makes for great TV, provided you know...

Something to think about.
January 1, 2005... You're considering a big change in your life: a new workout plan, bigger home, new job. Wouldn't it be great if you could preview the results before you took the plunge? * That's the idea behind VocationVacations, a year-old venture that lets...

A simple plan for a healthier life: you really can quit smoking. But you need more than stop-smoking aids alone. You need help and encouragement. You need a program tailored just for you. You need committed quitters[R].(Advertisement)
January 1, 2005... PROVEN TO WORK Committed Quitters is a unique new stop-smoking plan designed to work with stop-smoking aids like NicoDerm[R] CQ[R]. It was proven in clinical research to significantly increase your chances of quitting with NicoDerm CQ by...

Good boss, bad boss: whether you're in charge of kids, a cleaning lady, or a staff of thousands, you're the boss. But are you a good one--or a controlling dominatrix? Martha Beck gives you an eye-opening lesson in leadership.
January 1, 2005... FEW THINGS INCITE A FROTHING, wild-eyed rage like asking people to talk about bad bosses. People aren't just annoyed by poor leadership--they sputter and snarl as they describe their superiors, lusting for the chance to hit that bad boss with a...

Love myths: "everybody has one soul mate." "True lovers can read each other's minds." "All you need is love." A psychotherapist who's seen it all pokes holes in some of romance's little fairy tales and explains why life is saner--and happier--without them. Dawn Raffel takes notes.(couples)
January 1, 2005... IF WE COULD EACH PICK A FEW SONGS TO banish from our heads, Diana de Vegh would nominate all those soggy old refrains that say there's one--and only one--true love for each of us: our better half, our shining knight, the person we'll be lost...

Sanctuary: somewhere in your home, there's a place for you. Create it. Furnish it. Mood light it. Now curl up and relax. Julie Morgenstern takes you on a peace-seeking mission.(getting organized)
January 1, 2005... ONE OF THE GREATEST PLEASURES OF TRAVELING is sinking into the simplicity and calm of a hotel room. With no clutter and no backlog of chores screaming for your attention, you can breathe a sigh of relief and chill out. [ILLUSTRATION...

The O list.
January 1, 2005... "A few things I think are just great."--OPRAH Branching Out "If the guests at your last major tea party included two stuffed animals and an imaginary friend, it's time for a more grown-up get-together, complete with scones,...

New faces of 2005: bribe yourself to be punctual with a timepiece that's bright, precise, and up-to-the-minute chic. These delectable models, some attached with a scarf or ribbon, deliver a bit of discreet glitter.(KEY PIECE)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... TIE ONE ON Your straps are showing--and a good thing, too, when they're this splendid: a sinuous gold chain, soft scarf wrap, or bow-tied ribbon. (Inexpensive update for an old watch: Remove the band, take about a yard of satin ribbon or a...

Look what we found! A skin treatment we can't survive without, the tiniest and creamiest lip gloss, exotic treats, and more. Here's what O's beauty editors--Valerie Monroe and Jolene Edgar--fell in love with this month.(beauty)
January 1, 2005... SOMETIMES WE LOVE a product so much that we want to use it always. So it is with L'Oreal Age Perfect Double Action De-Crinkling & Illuminating Treatment ($20). Sealed separately (but delivered at once) in a single pump are two lotions: One...

Ask Val: how to fool around with fragrance; Why would you want to? You ask. Valerie Monroe. O's beauty director, shows you how to smell uniquely delicious.(beauty)
January 1, 2005... Q: I love the idea of combining scents, but I'm afraid that my nose is "blind." How can I be sure that my choices won't clear out a room? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A: I appreciate your concern for your fellow man. Is there anything worse...

Let's lose weight--fast!(to go)
January 1, 2005... No time to exercise? Give us eight minutes, and we'll give you the world. Jorge Cruise, who trained our makeover subjects this month, says that just two exercises in the morning will kick up your metabolism for the rest of the day. All you need...

The scoop on fish oil supplements: are they safe?(body wise)
January 1, 2005... ConsumerLab.com has important news for anyone concerned about recent fish pollutant scares: Now you can be sure you're getting the goods without the toxins. A company dedicated to the independent evaluation of supplements, vitamins, and other...

New year, new you, no kidding! Everyone feels a little uptick of motivation in January. So run with it. Here to help are eye-opening books, empowering Web sites, and brilliant finds--from antiviral Kleenex to your own MP3 fitness coach. Sally Squires reports.(body wise)
January 1, 2005... Read It The Step Diet Book (Workman; $23), by James O. Hill, PhD, and John C. Peters, PhD, with Bonnie T. Jortberg, MS, teaches you how to walk your way to a healthier life by staying active, increasing energy, and shrinking your waistline...

Magnetic appeal: put your fridge to new use.(body wise)
January 1, 2005... The relationship between a dieter and her fridge is often fraught, leading to late-night raids and oinking pig magnets meant to discourage such lapses. But Lynn Frank, Dateline NBC's Diet Challenge winner, has given magnets a makeover. Dateline...

The way to eat: it's a dietary jungle out there (beware of that growling chocolate mousse!). David L. Katz, MD, helps you hack an easy-to-follow path to great nutrition.(body wise)
January 1, 2005... CHANGE YOUR MIND-SET If your annual New Year's weight loss resolution disappears as quickly as the Champagne that prompted it, you can do something to make this year different. Start by remembering that willpower alone can't compete with...

Wild dreams.(reading room)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... The sudden thrill of recognition on coming face-to-face with a wild animal, the deep serenity of resting by a campfire on a velvety black night as "everything you ever learned is blown away by the keening wind": These are the rich rewards of...

Reflection in a rainbow "I": a sixties survivor goes on a psychedelic voyage of dazzlement and discovery.(reading room)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... THE FUNDAMENTAL TRUTH ON WHICH JOEL AGEE constructs his psychologically breathtaking, linguistically lush, and intermittently hallucinatory memoir, In the House of My Fear (Shoemaker & Hoard), is that his life has been a long, strange trip...

I knew it! Malcolm Gladwell's new book extols the wisdom of trusting your heart, soul, and gut.(reading room)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... THE GOOD NEWS IN Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking (Little, Brown), by the insightful Malcolm Gladwell, is that we should all trust our first impressions and honor our gut instincts much more than we usually do. Whether we're...

Soul swap: Fay Weldon's latest is a manic blend of fantasy and autobiography.(reading room)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... THERE'S NO MIDDLE ROAD when it comes to Fay Weldon. You either love her and are prepared to follow her bizarre digressions and missteps, or you don't. I'm in the first camp, and so for me her latest book, Mantrapped (Grove), is a huge delight,...

Travels with Charley: a father and son forge a quirky bond in Peter Carey's wonderful Wrong About Japan.(reading room)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... THE JAPAN THAT MOST tourists travel to see--temples and Zen gardens, kimonos and cherry blossoms--was not what novelist Peter Carey and his son Charley had in mind when they set out for Tokyo. Their mission was more modern and charmingly...

One of our own.(reading room)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... BOOK NEWS: This month W.W. Norton will publish frequent O contributor Pam Houston's first novel, Sight Hound, partly narrated by a three-legged wolfhound named Dante who teaches the young woman who owns him some crucial lessons about life and...

Talk to the animals: how Temple Grandin's autistic genius helps her channel the thoughts and emotions of dogs, cats, horses ....(reading room)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... WHEN TEMPLE Grandin was 2 years old and not yet talking, pulling wallpaper off the walls and eating it, but still undiagnosed as an autistic, her mother took solace in the fact that whenever she played Bach on the piano, Temple could hum along....

Biblio: recommendations from our shelf to yours.(reading room)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... * Name her poison: (a) cigarettes, (b) wine, (c) weed, (d) Blow Pops, (e) Barneys, (f) all of the above. In her clever, bitchy new memoir, Lighting Up: How I Stopped Smoking, Drinking, and Everything Else I Loved in Life Except Sex (Delacorte),...

Books that made a difference to Colin Firth; The eternally watchable costar of Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason goes for psychological intrigue, moral mud puddles, and lyrical truth-telling.(reading room)
January 1, 2005... WHEN PM REALLY INTO A NOVEL, I'M SEEING the world differently during that time--not just for the hour or so in the day when I get to read. I'm actually walking around in a bit of a haze, spellbound by the book and looking at everything through...

You do the math--I couldn't possibly: she's an award-winning Broadway composer, a successful author, a functioning grown-up, and an absolute ditz when it comes to divvying up a check or figuring out a tip. What is it about numbers that strikes terror into the hearts of so many women? With the help of three little girls, Liz Swados gets to the root of her math problem and (perhaps) yours.(tales of adventure)
January 1, 2005... I HAVE TO MAKE A CONFESSION: I'M AN IDIOT WHEN it comes to numbers. This is a source of great shame and humiliation to me, and amusement to my loved ones. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Now, I am a woman with a complicated and exhilarating...

Oprah talks to Sean Penn: one of America's finest, grittiest actors--last year's Oscar winner for Mystic River--lets down his legendary guard to talk about acting, patriotism, his short-lived marriage to Madonna, his bad-boy reputation, his envelope-pushing new film, The Assassination of Richard Nixon, and why he remains optimistic about our nation's future.(The O Interview)(Interview)
January 1, 2005... TWO PACES AWAY FROM THE RED velvet couch where Sean Penn sits to smoke and read scripts, a framed photo captures the moment at last year's Oscars when he stood before an audience of his peers, all on their feet applauding. His Best Actor win...

Let the sun shine in: shadowed by memories of a lost husband and father, this room (like its owner) needed an infusion of joy. How to brighten the mood without painting over the past? That's where the brilliant and intuitive Nate Berkus--who has transformed so many rooms on TV for Oprah--comes in.
January 1, 2005... NOT A LOT OF LIVING GOES ON IN Hilary Offenberg's midtown Manhattan living room. A palette of chocolate and charcoal is punctuated with only a trace of taupe in the sisal rug. Three sedate watercolors hang above an overstuffed L-shaped sofa; a...

How to dress ten pounds thinner: you know that weight you can't lose? O's downsizing team has surprising fashion strategies that make your body look as if you gave up dessert for a month. Eight women put them to the test.
January 1, 2005... The Butt Stops Here "I'm crazed about my hips, bottom, and thighs," says former Wall Street trader Heather Gerner, 29. But going undercover in a loose-fitting, skin-baring dress, below, makes her look depressingly fleshy, and the splashy...

Step-by-step to stunning.
January 1, 2005... If you don't think you can do your hair and makeup as all-out gorgeously as the pros, we have two surprises for you. One, it's easy when you know how. And two, the results can best be summed up as "Omigod, is that me?" Watch closely as...

Mind, body, mood breakthroughs.
January 1, 2005... Quick: Think of any rut you'd like to climb out of right now--a stalled project, a diet plateau, a repeating loop of love-eroding squabbles. Whatever you do, don't reach for another New Year's resolution to fix yourself. This month we're...

The love breakthrough.
January 1, 2005... "I'm right; you're wrong." "You never check in with me first." "You ignore me in public." News flash: These ordinary little annoyances are potentially ruinous for 80 percent of couples. Is there any way to stop the downward spiral? Couples...

I'm doing everything right--why can't I lose weight?
January 1, 2005... Out of the 100-plus women who e-mailed us this very complaint, we chose three and had a team of no-nonsense experts--a nutritionist, a trainer, a life coach--take them on. What were our subjects really eating? More important, what was eating...

Shortcut to bliss.
January 1, 2005... What lifts depression, jump-starts creativity, soothes jitters, muscles up immune systems, reignites sex lives, and zings your body with tiny arrows of pleasure? Would you believe: small--really small--amounts of regular exercise. Honestly,...

This could be the start of something new.
January 1, 2005... Between the thrill of novelty and the pleasure of mastery, learning--how to read palms, speak French, dance Flamenco, ski, build a sandcastle, fix a toilet, anything--makes your heart pick up a beat and your world expand. Where to start? Right...

How to get unstuck: if you've ever hit a brick wall--a project you can't get moving, a problem you can't crack--Lisa Dierbeck, who overcame a major case of writer's block, knows what it's like. She also discovered what to do about it, and if the solution sounds like fun--well, it is.
January 1, 2005... 1 Get stuck. I'd written 100 pages of my first novel when I got stuck. It happened unexpectedly, after weeks of smooth sailing. I'd always dreamed of being a novelist, and as the book had taken shape, everything I'd wanted seemed within...

In search of something more: she was a harried working mother looking for serenity, compassion, purpose. Then, 12,000 feet up in the Colorado Rockies, Peg Tyre caught a glimpse of her life as it really was. Call it an altitude adjustment.
January 1, 2005... WHEN I ROUNDED 40, much to my surprise, my stubborn atheism began to give way. My early rebellion against a strict Roman Catholic family had brought me into my red-wine-swilling, Sartre-reading 20s, which in turn had evolved into a decade-plus...

Breathing space.
January 1, 2005... Stand at the edge of this tranquil beach on Maui's western coast and dig your toes into the soft caramel-colored sand. Watch the late afternoon sun fade slowly into the Pacific, and feel its warmth all around you. PHOTOGRAPH BY JAMES...

Chefs' night out.
January 1, 2005... He did it on a dare (our dare, to be specific): asked four celebrated New York chefs to dinner, using recipes from their own cookbooks. The twist: He'd helped them write those cookbooks, all based on recipes the chefs actually fix at home. So...

Bright ideas: do at-home whiteners really work? Which treatment is right for you? Here, some answers to make you smile.(Beauty)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... 1. When we heard that iridescent blue lip gloss (like other cool-toned colors) might make our teeth look brighter, we bit our bottom lip to keep from laughing. But then we tried Lancome Juicy Tubes Pop in Icy Pop ($16), and guess what? The...

Chefs' night out; If you cook it, they will yum: rich tomato bread soup, fresh pepper-crusted tuna, a chocolate cake to die for (for story, see page 150).(THE RECIPES)
January 1, 2005... Shaved Fennel Salad (Portale) [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 2 medium fennel bulbs 2 Granny Smith apples, halved, cored, and thinly sliced 1/2 cup thinly shaved Pecorino Romano cheese 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus...

Shop guide (all prices are approximate).
January 1, 2005... COVER La Perla Studio cotton top, $63, and cotton pants, $86, La Perla boutiques; 866-527-3752; laperla.com. Coach stainless steel watch with leather band, $328, Zales stores. Mahanuala by Puma sneakers, $60; puma.com; amazon.com. Marc Bouwer...

What I know for sure.(Editorial)
January 1, 2005... I FEEL SO BLESSED THAT ANOTHER year is upon us and I'm still here, and, as the old folks in my church used to say, "clothed in my right mind." [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] My prayer for myself, my friends, and the world is that we become...