Megan McMorris

It’s a Monday before Thanksgiving at The Real Mother Goose gallery in downtown Portland, and there is an air of festivity as customers line up at the register, clutching glass-blown ornaments and thick wooden children’s toys.

Other shoppers gather at the jewelry case, joking with owner Judy Gillis as they try on rings. Still others mill through the 900 art glass works and one of the West coast’s la...

A couple of weeks ago, I received some bad news. The type of news that makes you question your very existence. The type of news, in fact, that makes you want to spend the weekend staring into space and watching Real Housewives of Dallas while drinking boxed wine. And I did plenty of those things. But because I was also dog-sitting that weekend, I also did a lot of things I probably wouldn't normally have. Showering and exercising and eating, for example.

Susan Carter's tennis game has never been better. Her secret? Yoga. "Yoga overall has made me stronger in all of my movements on the court. It helps me get my body behind the ball, especially on my serve and overhead," says the 37-year-old public relations rep, who played college tennis at George Washington University.
Carter has found what many tennis players, from the amateurs to the pros, are discovering—the combination of yoga and tennis makes for a win-win situation.
Unlike many sports t...

For WebMD Health Services, I worked with a graphics team to brainstorm and produce various advertising materials such as brochures, posters, banner ads, and emails. This poster was part of an advertising campaign for a coaching cessation program.

While food critics may not agree on everything, it’s generally accepted that certain ideas—from fusion to foam to food trucks—started on the West Coast and worked their way east. Today’s newest trend is no different: American diners increasingly value innovation over five-star pedigrees and fussy techniques. In other words, self-taught chefs like L.A.’s Akasha Richmond are looked to as rock stars of the restaurant world.

Richmond, however, would never consider herself on-trend in any way. Her...

When I think back to this year, I will forever remember it as the time I found my home. When I say the word "home," sure, I'm talking about a physical structure--in my case, a cabin-like eondo in the Mount Tabor neighborhood of Portland, Oregon. But when I think "home," I'm really talking about something deeper: a place where I finally feel like I belong. Where I have found my community, my tribe. I moved to Portland 17 years ago after a dramatic breakup...

The other day, I found myself wandering through my former neighborhood. I was cat-sitting in the area, and I took the opportunity to feel like a visitor in my hometown. As l walked down the main drag that used to be my home for seven years, I realized what made those particular streets so special to me: They served as the setting as I crossed the threshold between my Before and After Megan Lives, before I started upon a rapid succession of changes in all regard--personal, professional life. And the invisible thread that started me down this rabbit hole of life change: chronic back pain.

The rich are getting richer, but changing attitudes toward fine arts and crafts spell uncertainty for galleries and artists.
It’s a couple of weeks before Christmas, and holiday shoppers at the Real Mother Goose gallery in Portland are lined up at the register, clutching glass-blown ornaments and thick wooden children’s toys. Other customers gather at the jewelry case, or mill through the 900 art glassworks and one of the West Coast’s largest collections of fine wood furniture.
As it turns ou...

You could say that Trina Bayard was born to be a bird expert. As a child, birds were an important part of her upbringing. “I remember being so fascinated by them, and having such a strong connection to them,” she recalls of her two pet cockatiels, who became proud parents of seven baby cockatiels. An outdoorsy childhood in Woodinville, Washington, filled with camping and hiking trips, sealed the deal...

Sidestep Excuses
Tune In
Listening to your favorite downloads while you run or walk revs you up in more ways than one: A recent study found that tuning in to fast, upbeat music (think Fergie, the White Stripes, Amy Winehouse, Shakira) when you exercise can boost your endurance by up to 20 percent.
Find fun new workout playlists — 15 of 'em at:
Treat Yourself
If you have a reward, such as a skim latte, waiting for you at the end of a walk, there's a better chance you'll get out the door. Or gi...

1. You're on your way to work when you hit a traffic jam. What do you do?
a. Honk your horn and grit your teeth.
b. Use the time to check email on your iPhone or Blackberry.
c. Sit and listen to music, using the time as a break before your busy day.
Stress-o-meter says: A big source of stress is how you handle it, explains Paul Ratté, ND, a physician at Northwestern Health Sciences University in Bloomington, Minnesota. If you answered C, you've learned to let go of things you can't control. B...

Back pain often goes away on its own—90 percent of people will get better within 4 to 6 weeks without doing anything, reports the Mayo Clinic—but you want to feel better now. While there are several home and over-the-counter remedies that you can try on your own, it's a good idea to visit your primarycare doc anytime the pain is bad, not improving, or you're not sure what caused it (you can't trace it to a specific event/injury), says Jaclyn H. Bonder, MD, director of women's health rehabilit...

3 Weeks to a Bikini Body

Don't worry — there's still time to get a beach-ready body. We have just the plan: a high-energy cardio and sculpting routine that's guaranteed to boost your metabolism, melt fat, and blast calories. Best of all, you can do it in as few as 30 minutes a day. "By performing total-body strength moves along with high-intensity interval workouts, you'll be able to reshape your body in a relatively short period of time," says trainer Joe Dowdell, owner of Peak Performance S...

Go to your doctor for any medical condition, say, high blood pressure or cholesterol, and you’ll likely be asked about your lifestyle choices — what foods you eat, how much and how often you exercise, and what your sleeping habits are, all known factors in controlling many diseases. And the same holds true for mental illness. Yet according to a recent study, the medical community still has a long way to go in looking at a holistic picture of health when it comes to mental health, relying heav...