My Irish roots go back to my grandmother, Bonita Jennings Strosser. She was the youngest of the Jennings brood, and her family moved to western Pa., from Ireland. I cherish her stories to this day, and I have a love of many things Irish.

The McDonald’s Shamrock Shake isn’t one of them, but it is such sign of St. Patrick’s Day, I almost want one. It will disappear in a few weeks. The beauty of a shamrock plant, something I do love, lasts a long time. Last year, after giving blood, I received a tiny shamrock plant and it flourished. I repotted it about three times and put it outside during the summer. The leaves were huge and the delicate white flowers never stopped blooming. I’m not bragging here. I usually don’t do well with indoor plants. So the shamrock must have had a bit of luck and perfect light at our home. In the fall, I forgot to put my green friend into a bigger pot, and it met its demise. I tried to revive it, but no luck.

I’m going to get another one and pay a little closer attention to it this year because it’s a beautiful reminder of my family’s Irish heritage. So is Celtic jewelry, Irish dancing, bagpipes, corned beef and cabbage and green beer, which is a nice complement to all things Irish. Just as the shamrock shake returns every year, I’m going to buy a new plant. And I’m wearing green — about the only thing my kids cherish about the bit of Irish heritage they have. Maybe someday they’ll appreciate it. Enjoy the holiday this weekend. Everyone is Irish for a day!

Blame it on the full moon, time change or allergies — it’s headache season. I have one and kids get them too. Funky cures I read about in First for Women magazine suggest going barefoot and lying down in the grass outside — a recommendation from Laura Koniver. M.D., of Charleston, S.C. She is even on Pinterest!

Another one from Vincent M. Pedre III, M.D., of New York City, suggests rubbing peppermint oil on acupressure points.

A final one from Kenneth J. Sebastianelli, M.D., of Taylor, Pa., employs visualization — deep breathing — inhaling in the good, and exhaling out the bad.

I often use caffeine with a mix of aspirin, but that’s not for kids. And allergies usually need more than nature can handle (but I have had success with saline nasal sprays!). A lot of natural cures are out there and some are worth a try. The three listed here aren’t going to hurt you, although I can’t lie down in the grass, because it would make me sneeze and itch. Bottom line: don’t mess around self-diagnosing and self-medicating with anything that you you are unfamiliar with. If you already have allergies, you need to talk to a professional first. Some herbs, oils and natural cures can be in the same family of allergens that trigger reactions.

If you or your child have severe pain or recurring headaches, it can be a sign of other problems. Docs are the professionals. Get professional advice and cures.

I never thought of carrots as a beauty treatment, but they are gaining popularity. Here’s a link to Saffron Rouge, a beauty supplier that sells carrot moisturizers and creams. One cream retails for $64 and contains carrot, marigold, castor oil, corn germ oil, citronella grass oil, lemon balm oil, shea butter, carotene (Provitamin A), Vitamin C and E.

Carrot oil is also good for hair. It repairs split ends and more.  One more thing to try — it reduces fluid retention. All good news from the carrot folks. Get ready everybunny – another natural thing to try.

We’ve heard about olive oil, coconut oil and other natural oils as moisturizers. Add this one and let us know what you think. I like them all, but I’m not keen on the odors.

Move over, Oprah.

At 41, the gal who made a comfortable girdle into a new-age garment and called it Spanx is on the Forbes magazine’s list of billionaires. Sara Blakely, the youngest woman to hit the list, did it on her own. No help from family. On “CBS This Morning” she discussed her original idea came from personal dissatisfaction with the way her butt looked in light-colored pants because of  those dreaded VPL — visible panty lines.

She invented Spanx, got them into stores, onto QVC, Oprah, and the rest is history. Sales in 2011 were about $250 million. Read her story here.

Her new products include swimwear for women, Manx T-shirts for men and more. A success story we love — no butts about it.

I’ve made myself over many times with career changes, hairstyles, makeup and more. The changes may not appear dramatic to others, but they are  to me. We have some seriously dramatic makeovers in the Sunday Times-News March edition of Her Times today.

Rebecca Styn writes about the empowering woman behind the Mercy Center for Women.  Lynn Rehm, pictured at left, completly turned her life around from a drug addict to an inspiration for all of us. She now helps others at the Mercy Center. You can read all about here. The Girl Scouts are 100 years young, and Nancy Irwin shares four successful Erie women’s experience. They dish on how scouting helped them get where they are today.

Denise Powell gets a terrific makeover from Sassy Peacock. A physical transformation you must see is in Debbie DeAngelos’s story on the Dean Ornish program at UPMC Hamot. Rick Stottlemeyer and Mabel Wiles have transformed their health and their lives with incredible weight losses. Read it here. There is much more to makeover this month. Try TRX with writer Christine Eddy. Learn about eco-friendly beauty tips from Jill Fosco. Meet our remarkable man, Brett Fallon. Find out what to snack on with dietitian Helen Agresti, and get a wax wrap with me.

Makeovers always inspire. Join us for some Her Times makeover madness.

It’s not your mother’s camo.

These images from Glamour.com reveal some colorful patterns that add a nice, light look to spring fashion. Glamour.com and most sites say dresses are IN — big time, and color and color-blocking is everywhere. Short suits are back — suits that pair a pair of shorts with a nice jacket. Been a while since we’ve seen those. Novel necklines are everywhere — not just the V-neck, scoop or spaghetti strap — and it’s all flattering.

Like camo, other colorful patterns are popping up — it has that 80s flavor — and it looks good.

If you don’t own something orange, now is the time to get it — and I mean reddish-orange, not peach. Tangerine is the Pantone color of the year, and it is hot — in dresses, jackets and more.

Metallic is still rocking the runway and we can all wear it. Check out HerTimes.com on Sunday for a wardrobe makeover that Sassy Peacock did for Denise Powell, an active mother of three. Bright lime-green print and a little metallic dress up a simple skirt or slacks. Wait until you see her!

We’ll be telling you about more styles at HerTimes.com in the next few months. In fact, send me photos of you wearing your favorite spring styles. You could be featured in the April issue of Her Times. Send to pam.parker@timesnews.com

We found some fairy tales that were pretty funny. ‘The True Story of the Three Little Pigs,’ by A. Wolf was laugh-out-loud funny. A. Wolf debunks the story that he killed the pigs. It helps, of course, if your kids have heard the real tale.

Another series of fractured fairy tales my sister bought to torture me. Every page of each fairy tale of

fered choices of what you wanted to happen next, and it could take hours to read one of those books. Bedtime delayed. I can’t find these books. Anywhere. I must have been very good at hiding them.

A series of Chatterbox books by Roger Hargreaves held my daughter’s attention for years. Here’s a youtube reading you’ll love.

An article in our March issue of Lake Erie LifeStyle about 98-year-old baseball fan Betty Peebles prompted a local fan to recall that our regiona had its own women’s baseball league much like the movie A League of Their Own. That memorable 1992 movie discussed the real All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, which is documented at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.

Hundreds of women played baseball while men were away at war. The league included 92 teams from 1943 to 1954, according to Wikipedia.

The movie starred Geena Davis, Tom Hanks, Madonna and Rosie O’Donnell. Penny Marshall directed. So far, we are researching the idea, but striking out. If you have any information, please e-mail me at pam.parker@timesnews.com.

If you waited until the last minute, it’s OK. Here’s what procrastinators can do: Contrary to popular belief, gift cards are acceptable. Just add a flower, a card and/or some candy, and you are done. Do it at lunch.

A spa service, manicure, pedicure,  massage or facial will make your loved one smile. Or, try tickets to a Bayhawks or Otters game, Playhouse event or Erie Phil concert.

For sweet treats, choose something your honey loves but would never buy for himself or herself. Around my house, chocolate-covered pretzels, bridge mix, strawberries, sponge candy, raspberries or potato chips (yes they do make them, and they are tasty), are fave treats. You don’t have to buy out the store — just enough to show you care.

Jewelry is always thoughtful, and you can finds gifts for under $20 (and even under $10) from regional boutiques like All That Glitters in the Colony Plaza. Another cool gift — try some beach glass gems from Relish. If your loved one loves art or something artsy — head to any one of the galleries, and don’t miss Glass Growers Gallery.

And if you have a real chocolate fan to buy for, buy tickets to Chocolate Sunday this Sunday at the Bayfront Convention Center. Now, that is a treat.

It doesn’t matter what you buy, just be thoughtful and romantic. The fact that you cared enough to think about a terrific gift will impress. Oh, and dinner — takeout can be a treat. Even if it’s Dairy Queen! Enjoy the day.

On the most recent episode of Shark Tank, an entrepreneur was shopping for investors for her Puppy Cakes, a cake mix formulated specifically for dogs. No one bit on it, but my husband and I thought it was extremely clever. And at $6.99 for a peanut butter, carob or banana cake mix. Who wouldn’t bite on that?

You can buy the mix at these retailers, but none are around Erie or at puppycake.com. I still think it’s a great idea, and even though the company didn’t get an investment from the sharks, it’s still offering a Shark Tank discount of 3 boxes for $20. Nearly 1,600 boxes have been purchased since it appeared on Shark Tank, two days ago. Now, there’s some news worth barking about.