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LAUGHLINTOWN, Pa. - Terry Coyne sowed the seeds for her new floral and gift shop while working as a nutrition researcher for 13 years at the University of Pittsburgh during the late '80s and 1990s.

Amaryllis and colorful Cape primroses, which are members of the African violet family, crowded her office, thriving behind floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors that faced east.

One of my favorite traditions during the holidays is to learn about other people's holiday traditions. I enjoy hearing about their childhood memories, like baking cookies for Santa or caroling for neighbors, and how they have woven their holiday heritage into their own observances as adults.

The holidays are upon us, which means tens of millions of Americans will soon be taking to the skies, rails and roads. An estimated 41 million people took a trip last Thanksgiving, even with record-high gas and fare prices. With airfare costs expected to be down between 10 percent and 25 percent, we may see up to 50 million people traveling this holiday season.

We have some great holidays coming up soon! Are you ready? Is your house ready, for that matter? Let's check out some decorating ideas.

Memory foam, a staple of ergonomic office furniture padding, has found its way into the bedroom. Mattresses with a sandwich of soft foam at the core and dense "memory foam" outer layers offer better support than traditional coiled-spring mattresses or solid foam pads.

Seasonal flu vs. H1N1 flu. What you should know that sets this strain of influenza apart from others:

Seasonal Flu

Typical influenza viruses infect the cells lining the main airway and nasal tract, according to Earl Brown, a virologist at the University of Ottawa.

H1N1

He was a healthy teenager from another country, visiting friends and relatives in Minnesota, when he got sick.

Then really sick.

Heart disease is the number one killer of both men and women.

But conventional wisdom has been that older men die of heart attacks, while women die of old age.

These friends start Tuesday morning by scouting out the lay of the land.

Under an autumn sky billowing with grays, they stroll a path in Swan Creek Metropark, near Toledo, Ohio, scanning for a slice of scenery with enough color, shape and inspiration to hold them for three or four hours.

It's been a while since we've checked in on our favorite guilty pleasure: the Center for Science in the Public Interest's "Food Porn" statistics. It's a rundown of nutritional horrors that restaurants foist upon diners. Take our highly caloric quiz: