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Aromatherapy, fragrance oils and other yummy scented thing
Posted by Colleen McKie Categories: Advice,
There are several studies floating out there that make the connection between certain scents and well being. Cinnamon, vanilla and pumpkin pie are known to relax. Other scents, such as orange and grapefruit are thought to stimulate the mind. Each of us has certain scents that help relax us and others that might kick in the flight or fight in us or bring on feelings of sadness. Usually these scents are closely associated with an important memory we’ve stored in our minds. 
Aromatherapy, on the other hand, is more scientifically based. Certain essential oils can help with a wide variety of ailments. Lavender, peppermint neroli, rosemary, eucalyptus and a whole slew of other essence oils can help with stress, concentration depression, headaches, congestion and other ailments.
There are two basic ways that you can use an essential oil: inhale or apply directly. For example, if you have a head cold, boiling some water, adding a drop or two of eucalyptus and then inhaling the steam can clear you out. Rubbing some lavender on your temples can help relieve a headache. You can get the same level of relief as with over the counter meds, but without putting drugs into your system.
I am a huge fan of scented candles and I almost always have one or two burning. I also have oil burner and by adding just a drop or two of my favorite essence oil, not only do I make my house smell great, but I also get the benefit of the aromatherapy.
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Taking the Plunge… By Which I Mean the Chop
Posted by Katie Gutierrez Painter Categories: Advice, Editorials, Entertainment, Fashion,
Ladies, the tables have turned!
After five years of having very long hair, which I have to admit I think is one of my best features, the time has come. My appointment is February 25, and I’m anticipating chopping off about 12 inches. (I may need a glass of wine first.) I’ll be donating my briefly orphaned strands to Locks of Love, which I’m really excited about because frankly, who doesn’t want to do something nice for a sick child? I also think the cut will bring about some change in me (God knows what, but I can’t wait to find out!).
But what style should I ask for? The basics: It will likely fall somewhere between my jaw and chin, and I have full, blunt bangs. What are your favorite short haircuts? I challenge you to find the best! Send pictures, links; share your creativity! I can’t wait to see what you come up with!
Oh, and what do you think of the image here? Could it be The Cut?
We quite often read food labels to be aware of what we are putting in our bodies. But how about what we’re putting on them? You might not think too much about what’s in your make-up, shampoo or body lotions, but maybe you should. Some of the most popular ingredients in beauty products can also be harmful.
Parabens
There has recently been much controversy over the use of parabens in products with both sides of the debate being very clear on their position. Some health officials swear there is nothing harmful about using parabens, while others swear they are extremely harmful. My main concern with parabens is the potential for harm. It’s a chemical and has proven to be absorbable through our skin. The studies against using parabens have found that in cancerous breast tissue cells there is an elevated amount of the chemical. Has it been proven to cause or increase the risk of breast cancer? Nope. But remember, at one time it was thought safe to powder your face with lead.
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate
This cleaning agent can be found in soap, shampoos and body washes. Oh, yeah and as car engine degreaser. Sodium Lauryl sulfate and any of the other sufactants can cause skin and scalp irritation, irritates your eyes, cause hand, face and arm swelling and dries out skin and hair. The reason it’s used? Because it’s cheap.
If you have sensitive skin and use a product with sodium lauryl sulfate, you can irritate the underlying problem making your skin even drier and itchier. And what do we generally do when our skin is dry? Put on more lotion, probably full of parabens.
I have decided to become a beauty product label reader and will only use products that do not contain either of these chemicals. Because I think they are 100% toxic and will kill me? No. Because I want to live healthy and that includes what I put on my skin as much as what I put in my mouth.
What’s Your Locker-Room Body Image?
Posted by Katie Gutierrez Painter Categories: Advice, Celebrities, Editorials, Entertainment, Health,
Shortly before I got married last May, my amazing mom—who knew I’d been wanting to get back in shape—gifted me 20 half-hour sessions with a personal trainer. Fast forward five months. I received a call from 24 Hour Fitness; it seemed they checked their records and I still had 18 of my 20 sessions remaining. (Oops.) Did I want to come in and use them? Damn, I thought. But my summer of blissful post-wedding eating had taken a toll—ten pounds, to be exact—on my figure. I’ve always been pretty small, so that increase made a major difference in the way my clothes fit and the way I thought about my own body. So I said grudgingly, “Okay. I’ll go in tomorrow.”
Since then, several things have happened, all amazing in their own right. (1) I weigh the exact same as I did in September… but my body fat has dropped by 6%. I’ve gone from the “Acceptable” to the “Lean” range! (2) I’ve committed to participating in a triathlon in May… How did that happen? (3) I renewed my training sessions—twice—and am now in another class three days a week to prepare for the triathlon. All in all, I’m working out seven days per week—crazy! (4) I can do awesome man-pushups, and I feel strong and powerful. (5) My skin is clearer… a happy surprise, to be sure!
Of course, to be fair, half my pants still don’t fit, and I’ve been sore every day for, oh, five months.
Click to continue reading What’s Your Locker-Room Body Image?
5 Ways to Romance Your Man on Valentine’s Day
Posted by Vicky Lane Categories: Advice, Editorials, How To, Humor, Marriage, Relationships, Sex,
As I’ve said before, guys just aren’t allowed to ignore Valentine’s Day. First of all, it’s advertised everywhere in every store you could possibly shop in. Secondly, the retailers make it ridiculously easy for men to pick something up for us. Whether it’s a heart shaped box filled with chocolates, some silly stuffed animal, or a bouquet of flowers, guys have it easy. But what about us? What the hell do we get for our husband, boyfriend, or friend who is male? Candy? Sure, but that’s not very original and maybe you’re like me and have been buying Valentine’s chocolate all week. If I do buy Husband a cutesy stuffed animal I can’t expect that to be the only gift. He’ll take one look at it and toss it to the cat. And flowers? For men? I don’t think so. We may as well buy ourselves the bouquet of our choice.
So we know, for the most part, Valentine’s Day is really a test for men to see how romantic they can be. But I still like to return the gesture. I may be a taker but I love to give just as much. And as cheesy as Valentine’s Day really is, I think men want to be romanced just as much as we do.
Here are some “gift” ideas that I think men will appreciate this Saturday.
1. Be Sexy
Ok this one is obvious and probably the one thing he really (really) wants. If you’re like me, you have a drawer full of sexy lingerie that pretty much stays there most of the time. Maybe I’ll buy something new but then again, will he even notice if it’s new? Probably not. If you wanted to actually buy a gift to offer while looking hot, a basket of intimate “bedroom” products is a sure thing. Sex is really all men want most of the time so giving him what he wants is your best bet.
Click to continue reading 5 Ways to Romance Your Man on Valentine’s Day
ProFlowers $70 gift certificate winners
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Announcements, Features,
Our ProFlowers gift certificates giveaway has come to a close, and we wanted to quickly announce the winners. If you recall, all you had to do to enter was leave your best or worst Valentine’s Day memory on our forum, and we chose five winners randomly:
mynenni talked about her blind date disaster:
My worst was a blind date that a friend set me up on. It was horrible; well not to start with. He came to door with a big bouqet of flowers. We then spent the day at Magic Mountian where we quickly ran out of things to talk about and I learned he was a major wimp when it came to rides (really? then why did you bring me here?)
Afterward, we stopped at a classy resteraunt for dinner. I took my napkin and layed it across my lap…he took his napkin and layed it across the table. It was torture sitting across from him trying to come up with conversation as he ate with his mouth open. I have to figure that by this point he was trying to just be over the top horrible (I think we both knew it was not going past the first date); then at the end of the meal he put his face on the table (okay it was on the napkin he layed out earlier) and moved his head across to wipe his mouth. NO HANDS!!!
At least he didn’t make me pay…
All she wanted was to go see the UW vs WSU basketball game on Feb 14th. I picked her up from work, went to a bar to meet up with some friends for drinks and shots. Then she snuck in 6 airplane bottles of booze… and we drank at the game. I don’t even remember who won, but we had a hell of a time!
auntiethesis recalled a dinner date:
My best memory is last year’s Valentine’s Day. My husband took me to a great restaurant and I totally blew my diet eating steak and mashed potatoes. It was the first time I’d ever had Creme Brulee, too. While we were eating, he surprised me with a tennis bracelet that I’d wanted forever. It was a far cry from his usual Applebee’s dinner and a box of Stover chocolates.
Long-time reader gohan_bcc1 brought it back to high school:
My one and only valentine memory was getting to school in grade 12 and finding a really awesome gift in my locker. In my locker was a car model of my dream car (Audi R8) with a customized license plate to match my current license plate. It identical to my license including the plate # and the province and design. It was also an inside joke that the one we saw in the parking lot two months back was mine. It was really cool to see. Not only that but there was a note for me to go to the library and look on page 82 of the book of the last movie we saw. Which was actually Harry Potter: Order of the Phoenix. Inside this book was a note saying this entitles me to receive a package being held at the office. I go to the office and get this package. Inside was a bunch of hockey cards each with a letter written on it. All of these cards were of my favourite team the Calgary Flames of course. There was a hint written on the inside of the package that said to spell out a date. So after hours of figuring this out it spelt out Tuesday March 6th 8:00pm. After seeing the date i realized it was the date of a hockey game for the Calgary Flames. I then got a text saying to go back to my locker. And sitting in my locker were two tickets to the game on that date at that time. Best gift ever!
sandyu‘s was short and sweet:
The best when my husband got out of the military, he was injured but he was alive and home.
Congratulations to all our winners, your $70 codes have been sent to you via Private Message. To the rest of you, we’ve got more giveaways coming, and if you need flowers, here is a 20% off (with free vase!) ProFlowers coupon. Oh, and don’t forget to hit us with your best, or worst, Valentine’s Day memory.
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| Best and Worst Valentine's Day Memories
I am, in some cases, a true girly girl. I love beauty products. Lotions, lip glosses, body washes, perfumes, I love them all. I had totes of them stored in my closet because I ran out of room. And I probably had enough to open up my own drugstore.
You’ll notice I said “I had”. I have recently started thinking long and hard about all of my beauty products, what was in them, and really what they meant to me. I knew I had way more than I needed, but I really liked having the option of scent and color on a daily basis. But after doing some research I soon discovered that maybe my beauty products weren’t all that healthy for me.
So I purged. And I purged big time. I got rid off a lot of stuff, some that I had forgotten that I even had! And if I didn’t know I had it, I obviously didn’t need it.
So now I’ve gone organic. Lotions, shampoo, make up. The whole nine yards. It wasn’t easy. For me, gone are the days when I would just pick up whatever was on sale. I have now become an avid label reader and on line shopper. I get excited when I discover a new company or product that is all organic.
I’ll be sharing tips and secrets to going organic and why you should. But don’t worry, I won’t be climbing up onto any soapboxes and preaching from the gospel of organic. I just want to let you in on some information and you can decide for yourself.
Why Guys Can’t Ignore Valentine’s Day
Posted by Vicky Lane Categories: Advice, Editorials, Humor, Marriage, Relationships, Sex,
No matter how silly and ultimately meaningless this “hallmark holiday” is, every girl hopes that someone will acknowledge her on Valentine’s Day. When I was a single girl, I dreaded Valentine’s Day (and most holidays for that matter). But like most single girls, I still hoped and prayed that some secret admirer would send me flowers, candy, or some cute stuffed bear wearing a red tee shirt with some cheesy phrase like “be mine” on it . Hey, I’d even settle for a card. I just wanted something that day. Just to feel loved, appreciated, alive. And sometimes I would get something. There are some sensitive gems out there that are willing to play along. I had a male boss who always brought a single pink rose to every woman in the office as a gesture of appreciation. And of course there’s Dad. Even a Garfield or Snoopy card from Dad could cheer me up on a day that depressed the hell out of me.
I think the majority of men think Valentine’s Day is just plain stupid. But the bottom line is no matter how cool the girl plays it, she is most likely desperate for some offering on this day. She’s actually waiting and waiting for that moment to happen. When the delivery man comes to her desk at work with a huge monstrosity of roses, instead of passing her by and delivering to her neighbor, she is completely elated. Having flowers delivered may seem overboard for some guys but if she works in an office environment with a ton of women, you best be sending flowers. And mind you they don’t have to be roses. If you ask a woman what her favorite flower is chances are it’s not a rose. Whatever the flower arrangement is though, the worst thing that can happen is being surrounded by bouquets that aren’t for you. Even if you have a night out planned, send the flowers! You’ll have a much better evening if you do. (In order to make this even easier for you, here’s a ProFlowers coupon for 20% off any order + free vase - or you can enter to win one of five $70 ProFlowers gift certificates we are giving away, just in time for Valentine’s Day.)
Click to continue reading Why Guys Can’t Ignore Valentine’s Day
Easy Ideas for Cheap Dating
Posted by Vicky Lane Categories: Advice, How To, Humor, Marriage, Relationships, Sex,
In these times of economic crisis, people everywhere are looking for ways to cutback. This week, Netflix reported their highest sales growth in years. Could it be that those ridiculously high movie tickets are just too much of an expense these days? Last week Husband and I spent $30 on a trip to the theatre. Now while it’s not something we ultimately want to cut from our budget, signing up for a DVD rental program is a great way for us to save some cash. It’s also a really great way to spend an evening. Making a good dinner, putting comfy PJ’s on, and curling up on the couch to a good flick can be romantic and relaxing after a hectic work week. It’s also an excellent way to finally watch those movies you’ve wanted to see but never got around to. We’re renting some classics now like Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Lawrence of Arabia (which will take up your entire evening).
There are tons of ways to create “cheap dates” besides succumbing to the all you can eat buffet or the Mickey D’s drive through. For example, going to lunch instead of dinner is a great, cheap way to try a new restaurant. Or, how about taking advantage of the local scenery? We headed to the big Shedd Aquarium here in Chicago last weekend and it was fun and inexpensive. Museums, zoo’s, etc. in general are usually priced pretty low. Plus, it’s a great way to spend time with each other, get out of the house, and experience cool things right in your own backyard. A friend of mine just told me she and her husband toured the Anheuser Busch brewery in Jacksonville, FL for the first time even though they’ve lived there for at least 8 years. It’s amazing how we sometimes overlook our local attractions.
Click to continue reading Easy Ideas for Cheap Dating
For an Easy Hair Update, Go Old-School!
Posted by Katie Gutierrez Painter Categories: Advice, Celebrities, Fashion, How To,
Things I love about winter: boots, coats, hats, Christmas lights, steak (somehow, red meat tastes even better in cold weather), sidewalk cafes with heaters, and tamales. Definitely tamales.
Things I despise about winter: drafty houses (mine). MY HAIR!
Winter wreaks havoc on my otherwise moderately well-behaved hair. It’s the static. Mixed metaphors aside, my hair is a friggin’ lint trap for static. I can’t straighten it, I can’t wear it wavy. My only recourse, which I’ve been using for more than a decade, is The Messy Bun. Well, this season I rediscovered a more creative and infinitely chicer way to keep my crazy hair away from everybody’s eyes: The Braid. Now, before you whine, “But Katie, little kids wear braids!” let me at least make a case.
Sweet Side Braid 
On days—even in milder seasons—when my hair simply won’t be tamed (read: bangs channeling There’s Something About Mary), I turn to The Side Braid. Long-haired ladies, make a dramatic part in your hair—about a centimeter past the arch of your brow—and gather your locks over to the opposite shoulder. Begin your braid at the nape of your neck, and end it two to three inches from the tips of your hair. This prevents most shorter layers from haphazardly sticking out. Secure braid with a band the color of your hair. Check out Rebecca Romijn’s easy red-carpet ‘do, and for extra prettiness, clip a small bejeweled hairpin or barrette over the arch of the eyebrow on the opposite side of hair part.
Click to continue reading For an Easy Hair Update, Go Old-School!
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